#then because Atem has a smirk we know that Yugi does NOT have a smirk

[team-frightfur]

Atem's also a really good demo on how strong constrast and saturation can make a character look much more 'resistant'. I think because it visually connotes a refusal to blend into the background? And the sharp edges make them seem combative (If that makes sense). In turn, though, red is a shade of pink so, in that way, you establish a connection between the two. Man, I love such clear messaging. Even I (a stupid idiot) can understand it! Good work!

yeah i totally mirrored them on purpose hahaha

original separate posts here

(please don’t use without permission)

[jenivi7]

First Lines Tagging Meme

I'M SO HAPPY TO BE TAGGED IN THIS TWICE!  Thank you @ink-flavored and @clyde-side !! (I almost just did this on my own too because I love babbling about my own fics...)

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line.

Now pinned and under a cut because it became a really long, really good introduction to me and my stories! 

Hello!

Unnecessary and overly wordy introduction/personal musings: I love opening lines so much. When I worked at a bookstore, I used to open books and hardcore judge them on their first lines. I had barely any free time to read at that point so if it didn’t grab me in the first line or two, I put it back. The first Harry Potter book is actually in my pile of really good openers. “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” (Subtle alliteration, HELLO??) So I'm super excited to see if my own first lines come even close to the standards that I apply to other people lol. MY OWN MONEY IS ON NO. I have the feeling that I'm so frantic trying to get the story down on paper before the good words disappear from my head that I'm not actually paying attention to the first line. BUT LET'S SEE, SHALL WE.

So just straight up going backwards, I've written and posted TWO BRAND NEW THINGS after being away from fandom almost entirely for 10+ years! They're drabble length but they're shiny and new! <3 (All available fics are linked!)

1. Tango:

She teaches them to dance so that they can dance with her but when Atem gets that mischievous smirk on his face and pulls Yugi into his arms, their bodies spark and the dance floor smolders at their heels.

(The fic is so short that this is a full 1/5 of it but actually, I think I crammed all the good stuff right into that first line. This already might be my favorite. Like it says there in the line itself, Puzzleshipping.)

2. No Betting:

Anzu sat at the kitchen table writing carefully calculated answers onto sticky notes before attaching them to a fourth-grade math worksheet.

(Peachshipping! This one doesn't pop off until about line five so here's the rest of that bit:)

She had the same arrangement with her spouse as most parents had. When the kids were good they were hers. When they were bad, they were his. And when they were winning at games because they picked up rules with uncanny speed and read their opponents with more insight than ought to be available to a child, they were definitely, definitely his.

3. If you wanted honesty that's all you had to say (working title):

When he realized that the figure sitting under the game shop display window and smoking wasn’t Ryou, the physical body response was as though it had discovered a coiled snake not two feet away.

(This one! It's a NEW half finished(?) WIP. I actually started this one before the drabbles but wanted to finish before posting it. Then it got out of hand, then work got out of hand, then I started a couple more projects and well. I keep putting words on it though and eventually there will be a Kleptoshipper that turns into Puzzle and Tender for your reading enjoyment. Also, fair warning - don't use song lyrics as a working title. Every time I look at the document I get the song stuck in my head.)

Now we have polished up reposts of old stories for their move to AO3, where I'll basically keep my master archive. Not full re-writes but I fixed a bunch of typos and awkward sentences and they're much stronger for it. Most of these are from a pairings contest way back when so LOTS of different pairings and lots of AUs!

4. Human:

It was like a bad noir, the thought crossed both of their minds.

(Scifi AU, Rivalshipping. That one's not bad for a first line. Actually no link at the time of writing cause the re-edit is going up in like, a half hour? an hour? a half day? It's my next project after finishing this, finishing up the edit and posting it on AO3. Now with link!)

5. Blood:

Fingers through midnight black hair, whispers in his ear, touches that sizzled along the skin, awakening nerves and senses. 

(Dungeonshipping, Pegasus x Otogi, vampires AU. Oh that’s a nice first line! <3)

6. Crazy for You:

The keys are too large and too heavy for the doctor more used to more modern facilities but she doesn't say anything, just follows the orderly as he pulls the large door open.

(Manipulashipping, Anzu x Marik, Psychward AU. Still one of my favorites from that era. Big bold warning though, THIS ONE CONTAINS NON-CON)

7. Finality:

“What are you doing here?”

“Saying goodbye.” Bakura’s translucent arms swept across the graveyard. “Is this not an appropriate place for it?”

(First two or so bits of dialogue as the first first is a generic question. You can tell this is one of the really old ones just by that but it's a sweet, sad little Tendershipper that still has a special place in my heart.)

8. Pieces of You:

Glitter caught the light, leaving shimmering trails in the air as it got everywhere.

(Glittershipping, Anzu x Kisara. Another one that's special to me. Kisara is my girl and my first writing muse. <3)

9. Cambodia:

“It was summer of fifty three...”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute, it can't have been fifty three. You might be that ancient but I'm not. It must have been sixty three.”

(Jiishipping. Yes. Sugoroku x Arthur. HEY, IT CAME UP IN THE RANDOM DRAW FOR THE SHIPPING CONTEST OK. And my writer's brain hasn't backed down from a challenge yet... Another one that takes 4 lines to pop off but it's a good start. Actually, here's the rest of the bit just because I cannot get enough of these two bickering:)

“What do you mean it must have been sixty three? You don't even know what story I'm trying to tell.”

“Am I in it?”

“What?”

“So you're deaf now as well as daft? AM I IN IT?”

“Of course you're in it, y'old coot. Don't know why I'd tell a story without you in it when both grandkids are sitting here.”

10. Coffee and Cigarettes:

"Cigarettes and coffee? That's not a very healthy lunch." 

Mana crossed her legs and took a refined sip of her own coffee even as her company was not. 

(Mischiefshipping, Mana x Thief King Bakura. Oh this one I'm actually sad that it doesn't immediately sparkle in the first line cause it's one of my absolute favorites of everything I've written. And I think it's the only time I've ever written Mana but I LOVED IT AND HER. Oh no! I lied, I've written her at least one other time though I don't think that one quite captures her sheer chaos energy like this one does.)

11. A Million Missed Chances:

Somewhere along the line, someone made a choice.

(This one. THIS ONE. I think this is by far the most epic idea I've tackled. I still don't know if the sheer scale of the thing came across in the actual fic but in my head it was massive and I remember pounding away at my teeny tiny laptop late at night because the whole thing hit me maybe a day or so before the story was due for the pairings contest. We only had a week to write each fic and my really good ideas never came to me before the very last minute. T.T Conquestshipping, Mai x Valon.)

12. A Fear of Falling:

She drove.

Like she always did when something bothered her.

(Oh the first chapter on this is also one of the really ancient ones. Like one of the very first things I wrote. That first chapter really shows its age and is a little shaky but the others are better and the last one is what fits into the chorological order here. Polarshipping, Jou x Mai. One of my very first ships. Probably THE first actually <3)

13. What Our Creators Make Us:

"Well, well." The match flared, scattering dark shadows until it was blown out and the only light that remained was the red glow from the cigarette end. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

(Psychoshipping, Marik x Spirit of the Ring Bakura. With a bit of Bronze, Angst and Tender in the follow up. Old but I'm ridiculously proud of it, hence it's place in the master archive. Ahaha you can tell how old it is though by how clever I think I am. I thought it was funny to make my audience figure out who was talking and not reveal the characters for a good fourth to third of the fic. Ahhhhhhh. Sorry about past me.)

14. A Revolution of the Spirit:

It wasn't fair.  It just wasn't.

That they were close was understandable (you don't get much closer than sharing headspace) but that even now, after deals were made with gods, endless arguments, compromises and the ultimate guilt trip that he had only been a teenager when he willingly sacrificed himself for all of humanity, things she had only half seen and only partly understood even though they had all been there to witness, that even now Atem continued to invade Yugi's personal space as though he belonged there got on her nerves.

(Woah Nelly! That third sentence should probably be three, four and five. Even if I just split it in half we'd continue the pattern of things popping off in the fourth line. I think that's one pattern that's emerging! A really good bit takes me about four lines to set up and deliver! Oh, the challenge was Revolutionshipping, Anzu x Atem, but the fic is actually Spiritshipping, Anzu x Yugi x Atem.)

So confession time, I haven't been out of fandom completely, I just hadn't written my own standalone stories in a very long time. There are a few (ok ok more than a few) long-running rps that @miss-moberg and I have been adding to on and off over the years. I can't resist throwing in a couple of these.

15. Cafe!

The door shut behind them with the soft click of the latch and the exhale of a breath long held.

(This opening line was from December of 2020 when we rebooted a very old Prideshipper and that is a damn good opening line if I do say so myself. I can definitely see the difference now between the newer works and the older ones. I've gotten better, she's matched me pace for pace and eventually something will be finished, I'll work up the courage to ask permission to post it and the whole internet will get to see how brilliant the two of us are together.)

16. Treasure Hunt!

"Ryou, I think you're going to regret letting me tag along on your adventuring this time."  Yugi didn't bother turning away from the airplane's tiny window to see if his seatmate was paying attention.  He was more thinking out loud with his friend playing the role of a convenient sounding board.  "Because I think this trip is the only thing I'm going to talk about ever again."

(One more from RP because it's got that fun, four line punch that we've discovered is a pattern for me! Opening entry is from 2017.)

Also, in truth, my count is a little off when I say I'd been out of fandom 10+ years. I've been away from YGO for that long but I did spend a brief stint in Homestuck where I read a ton of fanfic, flirted with a couple group RPs and even wrote a tiny bit. 9 years without writing a new fic isn't as impressive as saying ‘over a decade’ but it is a little more accurate.

17. What You Will:

In the land of fair Illyria, along a small, sandy stretch of its rocky shore, a ship has come to ruin and one lone woman lies still as death among broken wood.

(The beginning of a Homestuck/Twelfth Night crossover that I'm still determined to work more on someday. It's only got a single chapter but it's magic though now I'm concerned about not being able to recapture that. Not a bad first line though. The style is so different it took me reading it a couple times before going, oh yeeeeeah, that's pretty good!)

18. Relentless:

You pull him to the deck and then across it by the remains of his shirt. Let him say one last goodbye. His ship pillaged, his crew murdered, his hands bound behind his back and at your mercy.

Funny word, that. Mercy.

(The first line is pretty decent but there's that four line combo again! Five but I could basically fix that with a comma. Featuring the troll ancestors Mindfang and Dualscar because every time Hussey introduced new characters they were instantly my favorite.) 

19. Black:

There is dark and there is dark and there is dark and then there is black. She is black. Licorice and coal. She is hate and resentment and everything that tastes bitter, the kind of black that coats the tongue like oil, drips down the back of the throat and keeps going.

(Oh wow. Am I allowed to say that about my own work? A Terezi/Vriska drabble that I'm putting as much here as I think I can get away with because it's so good that it fucks me up a little going back and reading it.)

And here it gets tricky because I think the more recent of the old, old fics are in the Drabbles and Shorts collection on ff.net and I can't see a post date. So I'll just pick a good one to end on.

20. Two Princes:

It was inevitable as the rising of Ra's chariot after a long night, as the flooding of the river banks every spring, and Atem always knew that Yugi's kiss would be as warm and gentle as the evening breeze in the summer that brought relief from the scorching day. It was.

(How about the final honor going to more Puzzle/Blind? This probably has the strongest first line of its era. Actually I'm not sure when it was written. It was just hanging out in my writing folder and, thinking about it, I probably wrote it when I was fading from fandom the first time around but still trying to hang in there. No wait! That’s too sad, we can’t end on that! Lets add one more to the list for the sake of personal narrative!)

21. Linger:

The world doesn't need him anymore. It doesn't need his sword and it doesn't need his pen.

(A tiny Princess Tutu afterward that I wrote for myself. Nice one-two punch in the opener. Also it rounds out the personal story that accidentally developed here with a line later in the fic, "Words, however, never stray far from a good writer..." Like, wait, stop. Past me, how did you know T.T)

Did that take a sudden emotional turn for anyone else or was that just me. Can I offset that a little with an honorable mention? Let’s do that while I collect myself. Here’s one more.

Honorable mention: Ryou and the Thief

There was a storm gathering and too much magic in the air. Much more than occurred naturally and magic at this level was never a good thing.

(I can’t have a list of things I’ve written without having Ryou and the Thief on it. If you click on this one though, BEWARE, it’s old, it’s silly and it has a ton of explicit gay sex that… would be written very differently if we were handling it today I’m sure! This is the first RP @miss-moberg and I ever did together and our excuse to Gemship and Puzzleship turned into us running the boys through a whole adventure based on the Osiris myth. It’s the longest thing I’ve ever completed and I’d still consider it kind of my legacy.)

And that’s the last 21(+1!) stories that I’ve written! 

The clear winner of best first line for me is 15. Cafe! It’s short, elegant and manages to contain a whole mood even without the context of what’s going on and who’s involved. (Spoilers: It’s Seto and Mokuba making an AU escape from Gozoboro.) Close second is Tango, the most recent story. It’s neat to see just how much better I’ve gotten and also really cool to see that even if the first line itself doesn’t contain a punch, it’s usually because there’s a nice, strong idea being set up and delivered in the first four lines (or so). What a pleasant surprise!

AND WOW, this whole tag thing didn't need to be so long! Or personal! Seriously, if you get this tag from me the challenge is only to list the first lines to 20 stories and maybe try to draw one or two conclusions from them. You all thought I was joking when I said I loved talking about my own writing! But actually, I guess it’s fine like this as I ended up using it as a way to re-introduce myself. Like, "Hey, I used to live here a long time ago and oh my god I love what you've done with the place!" Rather than being someone who's just popped up out of nowhere a few weeks ago to creepily bother all your best of the best creators so....

^///^ Hello!

Thanks for letting me ramble!

Tags! I think I've seen most of the authors I follow do this already but on the off chance you haven't been tagged yet: @elexica (checked your blog to see if you'd already done the tag and saw that you're another person returning to writing fanfiction after 10+ years. Same! Hello!!), @danieco, @draconicmaw, @nedjemetsenen (has someone tagged you already?) and two shots in the dark, @miss-moberg and @edmondia (I'm so sorry you two. T.T Please feel free to block me forever.) And please, anyone else who wants to babble about their own writing! Do this, it was so much fun. <3

[vivinightingale]

Jealousy headcanons for the DM main characters?

~i live for this tbh~

~Yugi Muto:

Yugi doesn't get jealous easily, he knows that you have other friends, and he respects that.

However, if he sees someone blatantly hitting on you that when the jealousy will kick in. He will then simply walk over to where the two of you are talking, wrap his arms around you, and give them the most menacing smile. (its kinda scary tbh)

If the person still doesn't get the hint that the two of you are together then he will bluntly tell them that the two of you are together, and they need to respect our relationship.

And honestly if that doesn't stop them then somewhere along the lines Joey will step in and yugi will pull you away. 

After such a scene is made he just wants to cuddle and cover you in kisses. He tells you how much he loves and adores you. It's the sweetest tbh

~Yami Yugi/Atem:

This man likes to believe he is above things like jealousy, but when he sees you talking with some attractive individual he can't help it.

He won't be aggressive in the approach, he will however be clingy. As your talking with them he will be hugging you from behind leaving small kisses on your neck.

After that if your still giving them you attention he will say out loud "I believe we have a date to attend to love" 

When you leave he will be all over you. You name it he is doing it. Hand holding, stolen kisses, holding you, lingering hugs ect. Just please remind this man that you love him because he needs it.

~Joey Wheeler/Jonouchi Katsuya:

This man is very verbal about his jealousy (I mean he doesn't really hide his feelings very well) 

“Well if it isn't MY SO!” he would practically wrap himself around you as he spoke to whoever you were talking to at the time “im THEIR BOYFRIEND one OF THE BEST DUELISTS around joey wheeler.”

He would be too busy trying to prove how better he is that you would have to be the one to pull him away.

When you try to ask him about it he tries to evade the question or act like it never happened. At the end of the just please pressure him that you love him, and wouldn't trade his goofy butt for the world.  

~Tristan Taylor/Hiroto Honda:

Much like Joey when he sees you talking with some he feels is more attractive then him get ready for the flexing.

He wants to prove to them that he is the better boyfriend so he will start naming all the things the two of you have done, and how he has helped you.

“Oh yeah me and (y/n) have been all kinds of crazy places! Hell, I even saved their life a couple times!”

If you don't pull him away he will go on all day, so unless you don't mind him talking about how great the two of you are then just tell him you are hungry, and he will happily take you somewhere to eat. He will honestly act nothing is wrong after the two of you left.

~Duke Devlin/Ryuji Otogi:

DID SOME SAY SHOW OFF?????? Honestly this guy puts Joey and Tristan to shame when it comes to showing off. He will even go as far as challenging him to dungeon dice monsters.

As the two of them play he will make sure you are watching as he wipes the floor with this person. As he beats them he will pull out all the stops. From summoning his best monsters to blocking his paths.

The whole time he will look over at you with a smirk and his chest slightly puffed out as you smile and cheer for him. God does he love you. (Lowkey gets distracted by you)

After the battle to show good showmanship he would shek the other person’s hand saying they did well for a beginner then usher them out of his shop. Afterwards he will walk up to and gloat about he beat them just for you.

Praise him but just not too much it might get too out of hand.

~Seto Kaiba:

Im sorry??? Someone got close to you?? Who does he have to fire for not doing their job properly?

He will have to solve that later right now he is more focused on the person who thinks they stand a chance against him. 

He isn't one for PDA so instead of being all over you he will stand behind you looming over you with one of his icy glares. He would also be spewing insults at the said person.

After words he would pull you away from them going on about how you shouldn't let someone like that talk to you, you are too important for that.

(afterwards he is gonna find that bodyguard that was SUPPOSED to be watching you) 

~Bakura Ryou:

He knows what it's like to have a constant fanbase. So he knows the difference between a friend and someone who wants more. 

So when he sees you talking to someone like that will jump into action. He will be a mix of yugi with his passive aggressive smile and protective arm around you, and tristan with his bragging about how great the two of you are together. 

If you try to tell him that you're hungry and the two of you should do something he will INSIST on letting the other person tag along.

Through the whole “date” he will show them just how much he loves you by kissing you and keeping you close to him. The other person will feel so awkward about the whole thing they will excuse themself.

When you try to question him about it he will act innocent like he has no idea what your talking about (he pulls it off well too)

~Yami Bakura:

Normally this man doesn't have time for petty feelings like jealousy, but when he sees someone trying to take HIS doll??

Guess the shadows will get fed tonight.

He doesn't act immediately, no he waits till the two of you part and then he will corner the poor soul and challenge him to a duel.

He pulls out the stops to make the duel quick and when he is done feeding the shadows he will return to you with that evil grin you know a little too well.

At this point don't question it (you probably don't want to know), just let him shower you in all the hickeys and kisses as he once again marks you as his own. 

~Marik Ishtar:

He knows what jealousy is, and to say he hates the feeling is an understatement. So when he gets that feeling again seeing you talk with someone else he can't help at being ad. Mad at himself for feeling this way, and the person who is making him feel this way.

Unlike the others though, he won't approach you. He knows that you love him, and he can't keep his temper in check so he will simply walk away.

 You notice this and chase after him no longer thinking about the other person. When you catch up to him he is slightly surprised that you chased after him.

When ask him about it he has a hard time conveying his emotions to you, but he tried , and when you figure it out please hug him and tell him how much he means to you (he really needs it)

~Yami Marik: 

This man does hesitate or wait around. As soon as he sees someone trying to hit on you he immediately drags them into a shadow realm duel.

He toys with them prolonging their torture (you try to stop him but he cant hear you over the fun he is having)

When the duel is done and the poor soul is suffering in the shadow realm he will walk up to you, grab your wrist, and drag you home.

“I believe you need to me reminded who you belong to my queen.”

[dxmichelle]

🌟  2020 fanwork highlights 🌟

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your favourite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

I was tagged by both @atembomb and @rainstormcolors! 

2020 was wild. As I mentioned in my year-end wrap-up post, I wrote a ton of things, and since you can always check out the post through that link, I’m only going to share a few snippet quote here. 

From Nerdshipping Shenanigans, I present passages from both “Blind Date” and “Weekend Getaway”, which I think were the two best ship pieces I’ve done this year.

In “Blind Date”, Ginny coaxes Hermione to attend Hogwarts’s winter formal, and sets her up with a date in the process.

Ginny turned the page in her book. “Is he stopping by Hogsmeade in two weeks?” There have been three Hogsmeade weekends so far through the year. Each time, Seto had traveled from wherever he was working to see Hermione, and she had never seen her friend so eager to visit the village before in all the years she had known her. One time, he even brought Yugi, and the three of them spent almost the entire afternoon at one of the outside café tables next to Wermes Bookstore.

She looked up to see the smile slip from Hermione’s face. So he wasn’t coming this time…interesting.

“He’s going to be at a convention that weekend,” Hermione said. “But he has the rest of them in his calendar. That was the only one he won’t make.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” said Ginny. Her face softened and she smiled sadly at her. “It must be really hard being so far away all the time.”

Hermione sagged back against her pillow and looked away from her.

“…So where is he these days, anyhow?”

“Right now, San Francisco,” said Hermione, and she leaned forward to pet Crookshanks. “He’ll be in back in Japan during Hogsmeade weekend, promoting a new video game for his company.”

“Guy sure does get around,” said Ginny, “How do you keep track of all the places he keeps going to?” She then smirked over at Hermione and cut in before she could respond. “The answer is – you can’t. Like that one time when –”

Hermione’s face reddened. “It was one time!”

“Weekend Getaway saw Hermione sneak Seto out of the office to celebrate his birthday. 

Seto woke to the faint sound of squawking seagulls and his eyes slowly opened to the darkened bedroom. Hermione was snuggled in, sharing the other half of his pillow with her head resting against the crook of his neck with one arm draped across his chest. He could feel her slow, deep breaths; each exhale a puff of air that warmed his skin just above the collar of his pajamas.

Of all the places she could have taken him, he did not expect a quiet coastal town off the eastern shore of the United States, in a little rented house that sat right along the beach, and the front steps led right onto the boardwalk that seemed to continue on forever in each direction.

“This place is charming,” Hermione had said when they first arrived. “Someone from the Department of International Magical Cooperation mentioned this town to me when I was trying to make plans for the weekend.”

They had spent the better part of yesterday exploring the town. The summer tourist season had ended last month, clearing most of the crowds from the beach. Cool crisp air rolled off of the water to counter the unusually still warm autumn weather. They had to have walked up and down most of the quaint little town, and wandered into a number of tiny little shops.

The longest brunt of time was spent in a hidden gem of a bookstore, four blocks from the house.

“I swear I didn’t know about it when I made the reservations!” she had said. Did he plan on spending half his vacation day in a bookshop? Nope. But was he going to begrudge her the chance to find something to take onto the beach, after seeing how much her eyes lit up once she saw the sign above the shop door? After seeing the pleading look of ‘can we please detour on our way to the museum, just for a few minutes?’ Absolutely not.

It didn’t matter that five minutes turned into a couple of hours.

Sufficed to say, wandering all over town on foot had tired him out more than he expected, and he felt he slept better than he had over the entire last week.

Despite waking up at six in the morning, like clockwork. Hermione seemed to be still asleep.

He shifted, to try and get out from under her arm when she suddenly let out a sad, whiney sort of noise, and she tightened her hold on him.

I also had the fun of writing a gift fic during this year’s YGOME exchange and had the most fun diving into Yugi’s headspace as he returns home from Egypt. This is from Guilt.

Yugi didn’t talk for the majority of the plane ride home, but did manage to give a small smile and a wave to his grandfather at the airport. Grandpa naturally pressed for details but only received short, clipped answers in return: what happened to the Millennium Puzzle? (“Gone.”) Did they get to finish what they set out to do? (“Yes.”) Did he still have the God cards? (“No.”)

Though he had to check himself on the last one. It was no secret that his grandfather loved to admire them, but Yugi vaguely remembered the tomb taking back the God monsters, just as it did the Millennium Items, as if to say the Pharaoh has left. The Millennium Items are gone. Their work is done, they can all finally rest.

Yugi sank down onto his bed and, with a shaking hand, pulled the golden box from his bag. Inside sat both his new Duel Monsters deck, and the one he used to share with Atem. He removed his deck and put it safely away in his deck box. But he couldn’t help but stare at the set of cards he left inside.

Ten years…

Yugi scooted back against his headboard and clutched the golden puzzle box tightly against his chest, eyes closed.

If he went back in time ten years to the date Grandpa handed him the Millennium Puzzle, broken apart in this very box and told his younger self of all he had to look forward to, both the good and the bad, he would have thought himself mad. Eight years to complete a simple puzzle? Ridiculous! Magic? Come on!

Gonna cut it off here because otherwise I will be dropping fic snippets for the next week. OLSSM, Sapphire Road, Ghost in the Machine, and Murder Most Foul all have too many great moments and I love them all equally. 

Continuing forward, I’m going to tag @darksidechick823 and @bellamy-taft! But if you see this post and are a writer, consider yourself tagged too! :D

[bluejaytaco]

Superhero AU

Here’s the AO3 link! You guys know the drill at this point! :P (I just can’t shake the urge to title it as the Superhero AU on here. So I won’t!)

Atem leaned in the doorway of Kaiba's office. He eyed his self-appointed caretaker unblinkingly and kept his arms crossed. “You usually want to talk about this.”

“Well, now I don't. I thought I'd try something new.” He didn't look up at Atem. His eyes stayed fixed on his screen.

But Atem wasn't ready to give up. He kept his gaze locked onto Kaiba's face as he studied every little feature. “Are you angrier I was with Yugi or that I was with Jounouchi?”

Kaiba stopped typing but didn't look away from his computer. To a normal human eye, his expression didn't change much. But Atem picked up on it all.

There was a new twitch near his left eyelid. His lip turned down ever so slightly and his eyes narrowed just enough to compensate for the twitch. The moment the name 'Jounouchi' was left in the air, Kaiba's pupils gave a slight dilation, not enough to express full interest but definitely enough to where it was clear Atem wasn't wrong about their relationship.

Kaiba pushed himself out of his seat without looking at Atem. He walked to a corner of the room where he stored expensive liquor and crystal glasses.

Atem pushed himself off the wall and followed after him. “What happened between you two? Is he the reason you don't want me near Yugi? Are you afraid I might force you to be around an ex-lover?”

“You shouldn't ask questions like that, Atem.”

“How does one hope to learn if they don't ask questions?”

“Maybe this is something you weren't meant to learn.”

Atem grimaced and sighed through his nose. “Fine. I'll stop prying.”

“No, you won't.”

“No, I won't. But you can consider this a break on the subject.”

Kaiba snorted and poured himself a glass of some kind of amber liquid Atem never bothered to ask about. “Then I assume you have another subject on your mind.” He took a sip as his eyes fell on Atem's.

Atem just stared back.

Kaiba knew instantly what the other was about to say. “I swear to any god listening if you say anything about-”

“Malik.”

Kaiba growled and tensed. For a moment, it looked as though he were trying everything he could to control the rage inside him. The rage fueled by a subject that had been gone through so many times, the mere mention was enough to induce it. He tried to suck in a deep calming breath. “The last time you dealt with him, he told you to leave him alone.”

“He doesn't speak for her.”

“No, but I think her not showing up or even attempting contact would be her speaking for her.”

He knew it struck a nerve before he could even see Atem's face. The air around them tensed and became heavy. When he looked at the other boy, he was staring into eyes debating on the best method of murder.

But Kaiba was far from afraid of Atem. “You were abandoned, Horus. Just like the rest of the orphans in the project. But what makes this even crueler is how she handed you over knowing something would happen to you. This is not a woman you will contact because she left you, an infant, to be torn apart by a group of scientists in order to see what makes you tick.”

Atem sucked in a shuttering breath as the murderous rage fled as quickly as it came. He looked away from Kaiba and down at the floor.

Kaiba eyed him as he took a sip of his drink. He watched for any sign of relenting or even just a loosening of his grip on the hope of the situation. He could see tears beginning to well up around the enhanced eye.

That eye always teared up faster than the other.

“But why?”

The question was spoken so softly Kaiba nearly missed it. He just waited silently, knowing Atem would continue.

“Why did she leave me here?”

Kaiba felt his heart sink.

“Did she have no choice? What was to become of me if she kept me?” He looked back up at Kaiba. “What made her sacrifice her own child like that?”

The CEO felt like he was backed into a corner by the questioning. Atem still looked at him as if he could give any of the answers. But he couldn't. He shook his head and uttered words he rarely could admit. “I don't know.”

Atem gave him a short, curt nod in response. “That's why I need to talk to her. She's the only one who can answer me.”

Kaiba sighed. “This might be another example of questions that shouldn't be answered.”

Atem looked down again. He didn't want to agree but he was finding it difficult to find the reasons why not. Every time he found a path, he was greeted with another roadblock. Malik continued to be annoyed by the pestering, Kaiba was offering him no help, and he couldn't find anyone else who knew about the project.

Maybe he should give up the search. Maybe he should just hope Isis would find her way to him.

He didn't look back at Kaiba. Instead, he silently walked out of the office, only pausing when he saw Mokuba a few steps away from the door. He could feel the younger Kaiba's eye on him as he walked down the hall and to his room.

Mokuba pursed his lips into a thin line and walked into the office. “What did you say to him?”

Kaiba walked back to his desk. “What he needed to hear.”

-

Atem closed the door to his room silently. He moved slowly through it as he took in everything. It was a large room with a bed much bigger than the poor excuse for a cot in the basement. He hadn't been much for decorating but there were a few items strewn about and pictures from times he couldn't fully remember.

Along with it was an old photo of a woman with piercing eyes and long black hair. Atem stared at it for a little longer than necessary. The questions still echoed in his head until he finally tore his eyes away and walked over to the large windows. Windows he'd made a habit of climbing out of in order to go and be the Pharaoh.

Once again, he climbed out. This time, he only wanted to be on the roof. He didn't want to go find Malik. He didn't want to fight the man for answers. Malik probably didn't know any more than he did.

Although, Malik would know where to find Isis. And that knowledge was enough to make Atem want to seek out the other.

Atem could almost yell out in frustration at everything. Instead, he just found himself a seat on the roof and tried his best to ignore the feeling of being watched. It wasn't completely unbelievable that Kaiba would have installed cameras on the roof in order to keep an eye on him. He's done much more invasive things to keep Atem under his thumb.

Such as keeping him in the basement labs when he was first woken up. Or using the chip in his head to find his exact coordinates.

Someday he would have to figure out how to completely deactivate that without hurting himself in some way. But one problem at a time.

“Horus.”

Atem snapped around to see someone near the edge. He wore a mask but there was a strange feeling of kinship he knew he felt before. The same kinship he felt when he was around...

“We need to talk.”

The strange new masked one took a step closer to him. Atem jumped to his feet in response. Maybe there were still a few doors he could open.

-

He was kind of surprised what a couple of days without seeing Atem was doing to him. This was somewhat new territory for him; to be this frustrated with someone's absence.

Yugi admired his work. There he laid on the bed with his upper body fully exposed and vulnerable to anything Yugi wished. Those deep red eyes glistened and told a tale of need as he panted through kiss-swollen lips. His collar and chest were already littered in red bite marks and light bruising.

And, if the eyes were anything to go on, he was practically begging for more.

“Yugi...” His voice was husky from overuse. So many cries out from every sensation being laid upon his skin.

Yugi leaned down and grabbed the other's wrist to pin him to the bed. “Say my name again. Just like that.” He nipped at his ear and pushed their hips together roughly.

The other arched into the delicious friction. “Ah-! Hn..”

Yugi smirked, his hand inched down to the other's trousers as he lightly kissed and nibbled on his neck.

Then something jabbed him in the side. Hard.

He snapped back into reality and shot a look at Ryo as he recalled where he was.

Ryo just twirled the pencil in his hand and smiled. “Well, don't start to daydream in the middle of a description.” He tapped the pencil against his pad. “It must've been a good one for me to get such a glare out of you.”

Yugi sighed. “Guess you could say that.”

“You're drooling a little.”

He quickly rubbed at his lips and looked back at the phone. The pictures Jounouchi had sent were still on screen. After meeting Atem, the blond had made a point to hang out with him. At first, Yugi was concerned with what Jou might be attempting when it came to Kaiba.

Now, he wondered if he should be more concerned on what this meant for him. Because now he was getting photos of Atem.

Atem playing games at the arcade. Atem laughing at something Jou had said. Atem stretching, his shirt riding up just enough to expose his hipbone.

Atem with some kind of cream on his face as he looked at the camera in annoyance.

There was also a text from Jou. It simply said you're welcome!

Ryo looked at the phone then glanced at Yugi knowingly. “Oh, I see. But we can't put this off anymore.” He sat back again. “We have to finish the concept art before we can go out and play.”

“What's going on?”

“Yugi has a boyfriend.”

Before he could protest, the phone was pulled out of his grip. Yugi tried to snatch it out of Bakura's hand but it was too late. He continued to chew on his pastry as he took in the vision of Atem. “Hm, he looks like a dick.”

Yugi rolled his eyes. “You think everyone's a dick.”

“And I have yet to be wrong.” He dropped the phone unceremoniously onto Yugi's lap before he climbed over the couch and landed next to Ryo. He eyed the sketch; the beginnings of what looked to be a castle. “Besides, where did you find a boyfriend when you're free time is spent just playing games?”

“He's not my boyfriend.”

“Stop making goo-goo eyes at your phone and I'll believe that.”

Yugi locked the phone again and sighed at Bakura. “We met in class and from there we just kind of became friends.”

“Taking the slow road again, Mr. Romantic?”

He shrugged. “Not everyone can have a soulmate who was there with them since birth.”

Ryo and Bakura glanced at each other before the latter got up and headed out of the room, a light blush on his otherwise expressionless face.

Ryo just watched him leave with an amused shake of his head. He then returned to the sketch. “Let's just get this done. Maybe we can catch up with Jou and your new friend later. I'd like to meet him.”

Yugi's eyes lit up and he nodded. “Yeah. Let's do that!”

Bakura continued to peek from around the corner. He watched Yugi closely as the short boy returned to the task at hand. He could almost feel Ryo's thoughts mingle with his own.

But he couldn't worry about this now. There were more important things to concern himself with.

-

A few hours passed and Jounouchi's phone buzzed. Atem looked over at him as he pulled out the phone and smirked. “Yugi's free now. And our friend Ryo's coming to hang out too.” The blond turned to Atem. “Guess those pictures really got his motor runnin'.”

“What pictures?”

Jounouchi tensed. “Shit, I didn't tell you.” He smiled sheepishly.

Atem raised an eyebrow. “You've been sending him photos of me, haven't you?”

“....Just a few.” He immediately tensed when Atem frowned. “C'mon, bud. I'm just trying to help my friends. Trust me! Half the reason he's coming is because of it.”

“Are one of those photos the one where you spit your milkshake in my face?”

“Okay first, I said I was sorry. And second, would you be mad if I said yes?”

Atem's frown morphed into a glare.

“Guess that answers that.”

“You're making me look foolish.”

Jou laughed. “Yeah, I don't know if 'foolish' would be what Yugi gets out of it.” The laugh died down a little when Atem's expression didn't change. “He's coming to see you, ya know.”

The glare softened.

“And Ryo's coming. You'll like Ryo. He's a pretty cool guy.” Jou looked down at his phone with a thought. “His, uh, boyfriend though... I could see you two not really seeing eye to eye.”

“Why's that?”

“Bakura's an.... acquired taste. I don't know what he'd do if Ryo wasn't there to calm him down.” He began typing something back to Yugi. “But maybe he's working or something.”

A few seconds later, he frowned at the phone. “Well, maybe it won't be so bad. We can just bite that bullet right away.”

Atem just looked on in confusion. Surely no one could be so different from him that their personalities would immediately clash. Sure, he fought with Kaiba more than he agreed but he wasn't going to say he had to 'bite the bullet' whenever it came to interacting with him.

But when they finally met up with the three, Atem took one look into the other's strangely pale eyes and saw what Jounouchi was talking about. This man was not going to be his friend.

This man would be someone he would tolerate at best.

By the look in his eyes, it would seem the feeling was mutual. Bakura eyed him and squared his shoulders as Yugi and Ryo turned to see the two. He, like everyone else, was taller than Atem. His tanned skin and muscular frame was a nearly perfect contrast to Ryo's lean, pale form. Ryo looked at Atem with a calm curiosity.

Yugi looked happy to see him. He smiled at both him and Jounouchi.

Atem felt a light flutter in his gut. He smiled back.

“Yo!” Jou grinned at the three. “You finally got the concept done?”

“After overcoming all distractions, yes.” Ryo glanced at Yugi pointedly.

Yugi coughed into his hand before grinning at Atem again. “Atem, this is Ryo and Bakura. Ryo's a design major at DIT.”

Atem shook Ryo's hand with a smile. “It's a pleasure to meet you.” He glanced over at Bakura.

The other just crossed his arms stubbornly. “I'm sure it is.”

Atem raised an eyebrow at him.

Ryo just glanced at Bakura in exasperation. He looked back at Atem and smiled awkwardly. “He's just a bit... rough around the edges.”

“I believe you.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and tilted his head at Bakura. His eyes narrowed. There was something strangely familiar about these two.

He was snapped from the thought by a sudden clap on his shoulder. Atem snapped around to look as Jounouchi, who grinned tensely.

“So, me and 'Tem completely demolished all the high scores at the arcade.”

Yugi chuckled. “All of them? I really doubt that.”

“Oh yeah? Why don't you come check it out?” That grin didn't fade as the challenge was put forth.

It set off a spark in Yugi's eyes. Atem smiled when he saw a little bit of fire at the prospect of a challenge.

He pretended not to feel eyes on him as he took in Yugi. Pretended they weren't attempting to drill into the side of his head and identify him like he was meant to be taken apart. Jounouchi was right; he and Bakura were not going to get along.

He just couldn't pinpoint exactly why.

-

Mokuba walked in through the door and immediately fought the urge to panic. There, standing in their kitchen, was a blond he never thought he'd see in the house again. Alongside him were his brother's greatest rival, two people Seto has made it clear aren't trustworthy, and his faux cousin.

Yugi was the first one to see him. “Hello, Mokuba! Sorry for the intrusion.”

“It ain't an intrusion,” Jounouchi called out, “we were invited.”

Atem nodded and smiled at the blond before he turned his sights on Mokuba. “Welcome home, by the way.”

Mokuba just stared at Atem for a minute before he walked in and grabbed hold of the other's wrist. “Excuse us for a second.”

Everyone watched as Mokuba dragged Atem out of the kitchen. He was pulled into one of the guest rooms where Mokuba shut the door and glared at Atem. “Are you fucking crazy?!”

“Hey, language.” Atem frowned.

“Do you know what you're doing?”

“Breaking an asinine rule?” He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “What's the point in having a place of this size if only three people use it?”

“There's nothing against you making friends, Atem. But you made friends with a few of the only people Seto told you to stay away from.”

“Without giving me a reason.”

Mokuba clenched his jaw and bit his tongue. He so wanted to give Atem a reason but it wasn't his place. He could only watch as Atem turned and walked back out of the room. And now, he could only hope this wouldn't end in a blaze.

But who was he kidding; of course it would!

-

Kaiba was going to do the one thing his father failed to do. Kaiba was going to kill Atem. And not in the humane 'give him an injection and he'll die peacefully' way but rather in a 'disembowel and listen to his screams' way.

He was lucky Mokuba gave him the warning. That way, when he walked in, he could grunt a 'hello' at the uninvited guests and disappear into his office. There, he would make sure all the rooms containing evidence of Atem's true identity were locked away.

And he could rest easy knowing the maze that was his home would be enough to keep Yugi from trying to get him to open up or whatever.

There was a light knock on the door and it pushed open before he could tell the visitor to go away. Kaiba didn't look at him; He didn't have to.

He knew who it was.

“You're not eating again.”

Kaiba still didn't turn. “I've been busy.”

“Too busy for a sandwich? C'mon, Se-” He remembered himself before the name came forth, “Kaiba.”

The change made Kaiba's heart tighten in his chest. A horrible reminder there was once something else between them. He turned and faced the blond. “Why can't you just pretend you don't care?”

Jounouchi glared at him. “I'm not you. I can't just shut off my emotions at will.”

“Is that why you're here? To be emotional?”

“Atem invited me. I took him up on his invite for Yugi's sake.”

Kaiba rolled his eyes. “Jounouchi Katsuya: the all-caring altruist.”

“Fuck you.”

“So, I'm guessing you followed me here to further cement this whole 'For Yugi's sake' shtick? Or did you come because you noticed I lost weight in the point two seconds you saw me?”

Jounouchi didn't say anything. He just stared into Kaiba's eyes. It was almost as if he were attempting to pinpoint any and every thought running through the blue.

Kaiba fought the urge to look away.

“You should come hang out with us. Maybe you can learn some social skills.”

“I'm fine.”

“No, you're not.” Jounouchi backed up towards the door. “If you're not down with us in an hour, I'm gonna come find you and drag you out, rich boy.”

“Like you have the power.”

“You know I have the power.” He pointed at Kaiba one last time. “One hour.” then, he walked back down the hall.

Kaiba looked down as soon as Jou was out of sight. At some point, he backed up to lean against his desk and now his hands were gripping the wood as if to break it.

He let go, his grip shaky as he did so. He debated on following the blond and just making it easier on himself later. But, instead, he turned and sat down at his desk. Maybe Jou wouldn't make good on his promise.

Maybe, some part of him wanted to see Jounouchi come to do just that.

Maybe, he looked back on the past he had with the blond and felt regret and guilt. Maybe they shouldn't have had that fight. Maybe he should have told Jounouchi the truth. Maybe it wasn't too late to do just that.

Kaiba ran a hand through his hair. Maybe it would be better to keep from having Jounouchi alone. He might do something stupid.

With that thought, he stood up and walked out of the room. He tried to keep his mind from racing as he headed down to a large common room where he knew Atem would take the group. It was a room full of all different games, from large arcade style to consoles to board games. The group of six were gathered around a large TV and yelling different orders as Ryo controlled a character on screen. Even Mokuba seemed to be getting into it, despite his own glances at Atem and Jounouchi.

Kaiba looked at Atem. He didn't get a look back. Instead, the red eyes stayed locked onto Yugi. His expression stayed soft and his lips continued to display a smile neither of the brothers had ever seen.

And it was then Kaiba knew for certain his 'cousin' was doomed.

[deejadabbles]

@ygotplusweek Day One! What made you fall in love with this ship? What made them fall in love with each other?

Gonna start off this fan week light, and just do some headcanons/ranting regarding my ultimate OT3 and why they love each other! Hope you fellow encourageshippers enjoy them <3

((edit: *coughs nervously* so apparently what I meant by “light” was actually “a giant essay on why these three adore each other” so umm yeah I’m gonna put it under the cut because it turned out a lot longer than I expected heh))

 I think the main thing that really “made me ship them” was a lot due to the fact that I loved seeing the characters grow together. One on one, each of them had very unique friendships with each other. 

Yugi and Anzu had the sweet, simple understanding childhood friends type bond, Anzu and Atem had to put a bit of work and time into their friendship and let it grow which imo made for a very strong connection, then of course Yugi and Atem shared this impossibly deep, intricate partnership that’s almost indescribable. I just see these bonds meshing well and easily growing into a very healthy, well rounded relationship. Whether or not the persons involved would make for a healthy future is always a BIG factor in me shipping something, so these three having the such sweet, selfless and strong bond with one another makes me very drawn to them.

Now, as for what made them fall for each other? *cracks neck* well lets take a look, shall we?

Yugi is most definitely drawn to strong personalities, which both Anzu and Atem posses, as well as kind, fair hearts. But lets look at their individual qualities. 

Anzu was likely one of his only friends growing up, so not only does he have that nostalgic fondness, but something much deeper that grew from it. Kids are cruel and we know poor Yugi was bullied, probably pretty consistently, but Anzu stayed by him. She played hand-held games with him, stood up for him when classmates took their teasing too far (say she didn’t do that i’LL FIGHT YOU) but most importantly, she simply stayed with him. It didn’t matter how quirky he was, she smiled and laughed along with him. It didn’t matter that every other boy was getting their growth spurts while his body acted like someone put a stopper in his biological clock, she would just shrug and assure him his would come someday. It didn’t matter when his timid, shy side showed through and overwhelmed him, she stood up even taller in the hopes of sparking his own confidence and sass. She accepted him as he was first and foremost, likely at a time where he had never experienced that (aside from maybe family members). She understood and accepted him, who’s to blame him for falling for his best friend?

Now enter Atem. Yes Yugi was fine the way he was, but he had this confidence and bravery inside him that was stunted, blocked somehow. While Anzu loved Yugi for who he was, Atem always encouraged and brought out what Yugi could be, the best version of himself he was always meant to be. Not only that, lets also not forget how Atem made Yugi feel like he really mattered, like he was needed by someone. Yugi always wanted to be the person someone else relied on and confided in and Atem was that person. Yeah on the surface Atem seems like the cool collected one who had everything figured out and under control, but deep down that’s simply not the truth. He even admits himself (pretty readily) that Yugi helps him in ways no one would even realize and I think Yugi know’s that. Atem grabbed Yugi and depended on him in a way that fulfilled a side of him no one else had. Yeah, I’d fall for that too tbh.

Now let’s talk about Anzu and her love. We’re talking about two men who, together, are arguably THE PERFECT man. But what makes the perfect man?

Again, Yugi is the comfortable, familiar, cozy sweater of a person due to their childhood friendship. In fact so comfortable, it took a long time to actually realize she was more than a little in love with him. So what if she walks with him to school every single day? They’ve done it since they were in fifth grade! So what if she always chooses to sit next to him no matter where they are? It’s the best position to talk with him, duh! So what if she’d rather sit inside during lunch and listen to Yugi go on and on about duel monsters instead of watching the popular boys play basket ball? You’re the crazy one not her- I mean do you see the sparkle in his eyes she can’t pass up a chance to see that! If you actually asked her what she loved most about Yugi, she’d think of nothing and everything at the same time. His lovable qualities: his kind heart, his loyalty, the way he makes her feel like the most important person in the world by just looking at her, those things are all so familiar and apparent to her by now, she can barely define them. 

But that familiarity came at a price, because the first one she actually knew she fell for, was Atem. The knight every girl, in some way or another, dreams about. Yes she is a strong woman who can stand her own, but who doesn’t love a confident, smirking, mysterious hero-type? Atem awoke a sense of adventure and discovery no one else could provide her with. But there was also the complexity of their situation, for a long time there was this distance that seemed impossible to shorten, which likely only made her all the more interested. And then when they finally closed that distance? Oh boy, dose that make a girl feel special. Her patients and persistence paid off and now she gets to truly discover him, even if it was only as a friend at first. The best part? His mystique and confidence wasn’t all there was too him like so many ‘bad boys’ who may have caught her interest, he was kind and genuine at his core. Yeah he has his moments of overt arrogance, but in his heart of hearts he’s a good person, and that’s the winning factor that really sealed the deal for her heart. Girl you’ve got good good taste.

And finally, we have Atem. Woo boy, does he have a future full of love with these two. The first two who accepted him in this new chance at life.

Yugi saved him. Simple as that. Okay okay so, not that simple, let me elaborate. Not only did Yugi free him from his prison inside the puzzle, but this sweet sweet boy selflessly lets him share his body so that he might have at least something that resembles a life? How did he get so lucky to find this embodiment of all things light. Yes, light, that’s what Yugi is, his light. Atem has always been scared of his darker tendencies, ashamed even, worried that the darkness is who he is deep down. But again, there’s Yugi, his light and reminder that he can be better than his lesser qualities. People always praise him for bringing out Yugi’s confidence and strength, but in Atem’s eyes, that pales in comparison to what Yugi brought out in him. Yugi is the reason he can be kind and gentle, the reason he didn’t fall into darkness forever. They make each other the best versions of each other, and Atem is forever grateful for that. 

But let’s not forget Anzu. Admiration is likely the first word that pops into his mind when thinking about when he first fell for her. Her determination to make her dreams a reality no matter how hard it was. Loyalty that ensured she always stood up and by her friends no matter the situation. Valor and heart mixing together to make the perfect balance of fearless defender and caring supporter no matter how life tried to break her. Even if he didn’t show it outwardly, he was entranced by this pillar of love and strength. She was the first to really accept him as his own person, instead of an extension of Yugi (save for Yugi himself) and that truly awoke him. Yugi helped bring the light to his life, but Anzu lit the passion in his soul. Her own enthusiasm for life and the things that filled it, in turn, made him love life again, albeit in his own more even-toned way. Her passions spilled over and fueled his own, even if she didn’t notice it. She is drive and zest and spunk and joy all in one! Simply put, she makes him feel alive, and who doesn’t love that feeling? 

Whew, wow, if you read all the way through that I appreciate you, friend! Please please feel free too add your own thoughts and comments or just talk to me about these precious babies! Thanks for reading <3

[x-heartofthecards-x]

@captivatedbyaibou

It always amazed him how selfless that Yugi could be and truthfully, that quality of his partner’s probably always would amaze him. Yugi was the only one he knew who would give up so much without another thought for the sake of another. Many times already his life had been threatened, many others would have already thrown in the proverbial towel. But not his hikari, he stood with him all the way to the journey’s end. And now they were on another journey together, but this one, to see what the future held.

“I want you to know, that’s not the reason I stayed,” he said, wanting to nip any possible doubts in the bud.

Atem’s arms loosened to place his hands on Yugi’s shoulders instead. It was meant as another form of comfort. In doing so, he comforted himself as much as he hoped he comforted the young man standing before him. Even as he marveled yet again on the fact that he could touch him.

“I would have felt that same pain. You became so dear to me aibou. I simply wouldn’t be able to find peace if I left you behind.”

Like Yugi, he knew that his loved ones on the other side would have attempted to comfort him. But they wouldn’t be able to, not really. Because as Yugi said, they just wouldn’t get it. Unless they had shared a bond like the one between himself and his partner, no one could fully comprehend and grasp the pain of separation in such a final way. Thankfully, that future was no longer looming over their heads and the future looked bright.

“Though, chocolate does sound rather good to me at the moment,” he added, a smirk on his lips once again. “Its been a long time since I’ve had it.” He said it mostly to get his hikari to smile again as he moved a hand to wipe away any remaining tear drops from that sweet face. “What do you say, partner? Shall we embark and explore? I find myself quite curious on how my homeland has changed.”

The assurance that Atemu did not stay solely for Yugi's benefit did help quite a bit. He would hate to think that his partner had given up his chance for rest just because he was worried that Yugi would be hurt by his absence.

He lifted his own hands, letting them rest on the other's arms, letting the warmth and life of his tanned and beautiful skin sink into his fingertips, savouring the finally tangible touch as Atemu smirked down at him and tenderly cleaned his face.

Yugi nodded at the offer with a bright little laugh and replied, "I'd really love that. I can't really say that I have absorbed a single thing about being here so far. There has been a lot going on."

The boy then took a moment to look at the Pharaoh's outfit— he was certainly dressed the part at the moment. He chuckled again and said, "We can probably grab you some clothes too. I don't know that sharing clothes is much of an option anymore. You've got a full five inches on me in height. All of my t-shirts are going to be crop tops on you. Which is kind of a shame. You are pretty much fully responsible for every decent looking thing in my wardrobe.... Aw man, I am going to have to learn to do my own makeup now too, huh?"

[pleasinglytherandom]

Soul Split Drabble #2 kinda sorta

Okay, some context here. In the manga, a month period happens before the gang goes to Egypt to send Atem off to rest. While driving home one day, I remembered this and had the random thought--”What were they doing in that period?” And for some reason, the first thing that popped into my head was the idea of this drabble. Realistically, the most I would do is reference this time period in story and come up with something relevant. But it definitely gives some good material and leeway to write with. I actually debated on writing this for a couple of weeks and finally decided “ to hell with it” and wrote this in 4 hours (with distractions) lmao. I figured this would still fit in the au, so eh. Why not? So...fair warning, this is absolutely raw and unedited, so ignore any mistakes. Because chances are I won’t go back and edit it on here lol. (I reference my past work a lot to see what mistakes I have made and try to better at it)

Still can’t tell if I made myself cry while writing this is or good not

Enjoy!

~~~~

Yugi and Jonouchi walked into an arcade one late afternoon. School was finally over for the day and they had no tests to study for. There was also no immediate concerns for them. Battle City has ended, Atem has retrieved his memories, and they have all the necessary items to send him back. The only thing that is to do is to make the trip to Egypt. In a fortunate way, making the money will take some time for the group to make this trip, so that meant more time to spend with Atem. The group all sat down and planned it out of how long it would take to create the funds for them to all go, and the answer they came to was a month. In that month, they all made plans to hang out whenever possible and split the time up as fairly as possible.

Today, it was Jonouchi's day. It has been a long while since either of the boys have played anything else that wasn't a card game. It has been a long time since they stepped inside an arcade in general. The changes were startling to both of them; nevertheless, it was a scene that was familiar to them. The sounds of buttons clicking and joysticks clacking, the sound effects of various video games going off from every corner of the room, and the ocassional whooping from some kid who beat a high score. Not likely Kaiba's high score, but a high score of some sort.

“Alright Yugi, where to first?” Jonouchi asked as he put a few yen into a machine. The machine dispensed a handful of coins and he pocketed them into his jeans. “Check out the newer games or go for ‘ol reliable?”

Their “ol reliable” was the typical beat 'em up games. They used to sit on the stools for hours, fighting each other with their favorite fighter. Sometimes they would even see who was the better Bruce Lee. Yugi would always win, but they had fun regardless. It was a simpler time.

“Let's go check out the newer games first,” Yugi answered as he retrieved his own set of coins. “But I also promised Other Me that he gets first play on whatever we decide to play.”

“That's cool and all, but no cheating! Don't help him on the controls or anything!”

“Ha ha, I can't promise anything Jonouchi-kun, we do share the same body after all. I can only promise I won't tell him anything myself.”

“Man, the one time I might be able to win at something and you can't even promise me you won't cheat...”

“Alright, alright, how about this? I promise on my honor I won't help Other Me or help him cheat as far  as me telling him is concerned. When it comes to my body and muscle memory, I can't help that.”

“Better.”

Despite their competitive bicker, they were smiling widely and laughing as they passed all of the machines. Any outsider wouldn't be able to tell anything was amiss in their lives. If one really looked hard enough, they could see the pain behind the glint in their eyes and grins. For the moment, they could forget the weight on their shoulders. They could have normalcy for a day.

That was all they really needed.

Yugi and Jonouchi looked side to side in the aisle of the games, noting which ones were new and which ones weren't. They rounded a corner and spotted a shiny pinball machine with bright colors and lights. It had a comical mascot dressed up in a princess dress and being carried away by some sort of monster on one half, the other half with another mascot dressed in a hero's outfit giving chase, a sword and shield in hand. They stared at it, attempting to make sense of the story the images told. A light layer of dust covered the glass, making it difficult to see the visuals clearly.

Yugi gave a pitiful smile and walked up to the machine and used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the dust away. Clearly it hasn't been used, but it was still taken care of to a certain degree. Jonouchi walked up behind him with curiousity, looking over his shoulder. Upon closer inspection, yellow letters was written to tell the player the point system and how many coins to insert per turn. At the top in between the mascots, bubbled characters was bolded with what the machine was called.

“ 'Save the Princess', huh?” Jonouchi read it out loud with minimal amusement.  He shrugged and leaned against the wall with one hand, looking back at Yugi. “Not very creative title. So you decided on this Yugi?”

“Yup,” Yugi nodded, a more genuine smile appearing on his face. “Every game deserves a play. What do you think, Other Me?” Yugi titled his head back and looked over his shoulder, the question directed to the spirit. Yugi smiled even more and laughed, then cradled the Puzzle in his hands and shuts his eyes, like he normally does to switch places with Atem.

Jonouchi couldn't see him, but he can feel his presence there. He used to not be able to tell, but after the Memory World escapade, Atem felt even more like of a separate entity that inhabited the Puzzle. He isn't entirely sure why, but he suspects that seeing him in his own body had something to do with it. Did it reaffirm the fact that he indeed was someone else? Is it because he emits the aura of a regal being rather than the aura of a different Yugi? Is it because he is confident of his own identity and it shows—or rather, oozes?

Jonouchi shook the questions out of his head and came back to the present, seeing Atem now standing there in Yugi's place. He jingles the coins in his hand while looking at the game, his eyes narrowed in contemplation. He looks at the contraption from side to side, pressing one of the buttons with his free hand, an eyebrow shooting up. He pulls on the knob that shoots the pinball out, then releases it. The thud from the action made him jolt in surprise, but his face turns into amazement right after.

“Are...are you trying to figure out the controls?” Jonouchi asks, trying to hold back a bit of a snicker. His mouth twists a bit from his effort, but a snort comes out of his nose. He knew that it would be amusing to watch him play more unique games, but his raw reactions could be compared to a kitten testing a new toy for the first time. To put it simply, he couldn't handle it.

“Yes, I am,” Atem mused for a bit more before inserting a coin in the slot, causing the game to come to life. He puts the rest of the currency in a pocket and rests his hand over the knob and pulls it back as far as it could go and releases, watching the pinball shoot out of the slide and bounces around. “Grandpa's shop has many games, but a pinball machine is not one of them, so I am not familiar with it or it's functions. Partner isn't that familiar with them either apparently.”

“All the better for me then! Makes the playing field more fair. I bet I'll beat your scores every time!” Jonouchi stands up straighter and watches closer, the pinball going from side to side on the board, sounds pinging when something is activated inside.

“Are you sure it's wise to make a bet like that Jonouchi?” Atem smirks, the competetive determination lighting up inside his violet eyes. He observes carefully, his fingers twitching at the sides on top of the triggers for the flippers.

“Wise? Who said anything about wise? I am making the bet because it'll be fun to test your skills at something you have never played!”

“If that is what you want, then that is what you will get.”

The pinball finally began to drop down into the middle of the board, then the bottom, and launched back up by the flipper. Fortunately for the King of Games, Yugi has above average timing and reflexes, and that is all he really needs for a simple game like this. His luck can cover the rest. The score board went higher and higher as Atem kept playing, the ball yet to drop to it's death.

Jonouchi clicked his tongue as he witnessed the score rack up higher gradually. He shook his head and crossed his arms, finding it hard to swallow that Atem can be good at something he has never touched. There was no possible way for him to find time to know these games existed, let alone practice. However, he couldn't bring himself to be mad. Atem was into it and enjoying himself, and Jonouchi was able to witness it for himself. It brought a smile to his lips, and that much he was grateful for.

“I would like to thank you, Jonouchi.” Atem said softly, the ball finally whizzing past the flippers, unable to be saved. His eyes look up to his friends', a gentleness that the blond was not used to seeing. “You and everyone else are working hard for my sake. Not only to help put me to peace, but to spend time with me and feel like a person of this time. To help me feel like I could belong on the last moments of being here with you. It makes me incredibly happy and honored that you all would do that for me. So, thank you.”

A lump jumped into Jonouchi's throat, and a burning sensation settled in the back. He swallowed hard to prevent any tears from coming, and he smiled sadly at the words. He knew they couldn't ignore the obvious, it was inevitable that it would come up. But, that was a part of their normal. The obvious was always there in front of them. They just ignored it.

If only they figured out what would happen sooner.

“I feel the same too, Atem.”

[riyuyami]

starmaiden777 replied to your post “I want to write more today. What should I write next? ”

Heba and Atem should go on a stroll through the gardens. Or you know, we could always just get more angst.

A stroll in the gardens sounds lovely.

A continuation of this one-shot, the one where Atem gives Heba a back rub.

I had to go look up how the Egyptian calendar worked, just for one god damn reference to Heba’s age. And to let you know, he’s older that Atem, just like Yugi is with Atemu. His birthday would be in the first month of the Harvest (Low Water), meaning he was born in June, like in canon.

So all you fanfic writers who want to know what Yugi’s Egyptian birthday would be, it’s the 27th of the first month of the Harvest, the month is called Pashos, which, ironically, is named after a moon deity who happens to be the son of Amun-Ra! 

BOOM! MORE SYMBOLISM!

--

Heba sighed happily as he curled up. He was laying on the softest thing he had ever felt, and though he could feel Aten’s outstretched rays, gently warming him to the morning, the blanket that laid on him was nice and cool.

This was the most comfortable sleep he’s had in ages.

But wait, why was that?

Cracking open an eye, Heba noticed he was not in his chambers with the other scribes, nor was he anywhere he had been before in the Great House. It took him a moment to remember last night. The last thing he remembered was meeting Pharaoh, and then...

Gasping, Heba sat right up, taking a look around. He was on Pharaoh’s bed! He was in his chambers...! Oh gods above and below, had he fallen asleep while with his king?! How rude of him to do such a thing!

“I see you are awake.”

He let out an embarrassing squeak as he looked over at the door, seeing Pharaoh standing there, a tray in his hands, a smile on his face. “You were out cold, I was a bit worried you wouldn’t wake. I brought food, I thought we could enjoy the morning meal in here.”

Heba stared at him, confused. “W-what... happened last night?”

“I told you, I was going to help you relax. Do you not remember?” Pharaoh ask as he approached with the tray. Setting it down, Heba saw what looked like fresh bread, a pomegranate, grapes, and two full glasses of beer.

Pharaoh sat on the bed and picked up the bread, along with a knife, and began to cut off chunks. “Eat.” He said, and Heba nodded, taking a piece of still-warm bread, putting it into his mouth. “I am not surprised you don’t remember, I started to rub your back and you went into a trance-like state. It was rather funny. You then fell asleep on me.”

The scribe felt his face burn, making him look at his lap. “I am sorry for falling asleep on you, my Pharaoh.”

There was a sigh, before Heba’s chin was lightly tilted upwards by slender fingers. He looked up at Pharaoh, who stared at him with sun-disk eyes. “I asked you last night to address me by name when we were alone.”

Heba looked at him in confusion, before he remembered something.

“You may call me, when we are alone, Atem.”

His eyes widened. “You told me your name...” He whispered. Pharaoh’s name was never publicly stated when he was crowned, or even before then. His father, the former king, had said it was a sacred name, and must only be spoken by those worthy of knowing such a powerful name.

Pharaoh... deemed him worthy to speak such a hidden treasure.

“Atem.” Heba spoke, testing the word on his tongue. He liked it, it seemed simple, but there was a great power to it. It was like that of Amun’s, the creator god, the most mysterious of them all. It would only make sense for Pharaoh to share a name with the god that blessed him to always carry the sun on his head.

Atem looked at him, before a smirk came to his lips. “It sounds lovely when you say it.”

This caught Heba by surprise. “What?”

“Care for some seeds?” Atem asked, picking up the pomegranate. He struggled for a moment, before splitting it in half, holding out one side to Heba.

“Thank you, my P- Atem.” He blushed, accepting the fruit. He wouldn’t have said no, even if he wasn’t with the king, this was his favorite fruit. He happily began to eat a few pieces, almost moaning at how delicious it was. The god king watched him curiously, putting two seeds to his mouth before picking up a cup, taking a drink of the weak beer.

“Heba, would you care to see my chambers after we finish our meal?”

The boy looked up, blinking twice, before nodding. “If you are offering, yes.”

Atem sighed. “You do not have to act like everyone else around me, I want to know if you want to or not, and not just because I am Pharaoh.”

“What... do you mean?”

“I mean...” A faint shade of red crossed his cheeks. “I mean, that I would like for you to be yourself around me, when we are alone.”

Heba paused. “To be myself? Why?”

It was surprising to see embarrassment cross the king’s face. “Because it is more interesting that way. You don’t have to obey my every word.”

“Oh.” Heba raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’d still like to take a look around, there is only so much that I can see from your bed.”

Atem smiled a bit, giving a nod. “Good. Well then, let us continue our meal.”

The two sat in a comfortable silence, quietly eating from the tray. When Heba felt he had enough, Atem removed it from the bed before helping him off.

He brought him through a doorway that let to a large room with a square hole in the ground, beautifully decorated with designs of lilies and Nile plants. He stated that this was his private bath, where a bit of magic was used for the water. It could even heat up the water if he so wanted it to.

The next room was what caught Heba’s attention more. It was full of games and written material. The scrolls and books were full of stories from all over the kingdom, both north and south, and even some foreign works, written in their tongue!

The games, oh, they were beautifully decorated boards and pieces! So many different play things, toys of all sorts. Atem smiled, seeing Heba happily move about, looking at everything as if he were a child and not seventeen harvests old.

“Do you wish to see my favorite area?” Atem asked, distracting Heba from a toy lioness he was looking at.

“Oh yes, please.” Heba grinned, following his king back to the main room, and through one last door. They stepped outside and Heba gasped.

Never in his life had he seen a garden so lush and green before in his life. Even at his old temple, there was nothing like this in the gardens. It was large, it had to be bigger than the throne room! 

There was a large pond of sorts, more like an oasis, in the center. Heba was surprised to see a small boat sitting on the water, tied to a pole nailed in the ground. Plants and flowers of so many types grew all about, this was... he didn’t know what he was looking at it.

It was like a piece of Sehket-Aaru, the Field of Reeds, was here in Khemet with them.

Atem gently took his hand and began to walk with him.

“Atem,” Heba spoke up, catching his attention, “why are you doing this? I am.. I mean, I am grateful, this is amazing, but... I’m just a scribe? Why are you treating me as if I am of a greater importance to you.”

The god king glanced at him, a small frown came to him as he continued to walk around the garden, never once letting go of his hand. “I would like... for us to be friends. I would like for you to see me as such, so we can talk normally to one another, and enjoy each other’s company.”

Heba’s eyes widened once more as he looked at the other. “You... why?”

“I like the fire that burns in you, when you stood up for yourself when we first met, in front of the most powerful people in the kingdom. I like what I see when you are talking with Jono, and your other friends you have made here. I... would not mind if you acted like yourself when around me as well.”

Atem toyed with a lock of blond hair that fell in his face.. “When I became Pharaoh, everyone’s attitude around me changed. They always act like they must be polite and obedient when I am in the room, people do not act like themselves, they always want to stay in my good graces. I miss my friends, they take things seriously, even Mana does now. I know she wishes to play games with me like we use to, but... she is so busy with her training, and she has taken on some of Mahado’s behavior towards me.”

He stopped, turning to face Heba, placing his free hand against the other’s soft cheek. “I would like for you to see me as Atem, not as Pharaoh. I want to be myself around someone, and I feel like you would see me as myself, even with this crown on my head.”

Heba stared into his eyes, seeing that he spoke only the truth, there was no trick to any of this. Pharaoh... simply wanted a friend. A smile came to him, before it turned into a grin. “Of course, Atem, I would love to be your friend. And, if you ever need someone to help you relax, well, you can always come find me.”

Atem looked startled, before he chuckled, then began to laugh. It was a beautiful, rich sound to Heba’s ears as he saw the pure joy on his king’s face. “Come! Let us spend the day together, I am sure my court will be fine without me for just a few hours or so, I want to play!” He pulled Heba along, the joy never leaving his eyes.

The scribe just continued to grin, loving that he could make Pharaoh feel like this.

[nagito-komaedas-boxer-briefs]

YgoPridecember: Candles

(I had too much fun with this. Grammar might be spotty. Warning for slight sexual jokes.)

“I’m find Jiichan. Really. Me and Atem will be alright.”

The power mysteriously blew out on their side of town around the evening. The game shop along with Otogi’s shop are both covered in darkness. Thankfully the gas is still on. Yugi is wearing one of those weird Japanese style robes and Atem has on a Snuggie of all things.

“You don’t need to come here on our account! Go have fun and I’ll see you New Years.” He already received a post card from his parents with information telling them that they would arrive  to all go to the shrine.

Yugi sighed as his grandfather wished him final farewells and hung up. He turned around only to be shocked by Atem holding up a flashlight looking like the times with his eye shining on his forehead.

“AHHHHHHHH!” Yugi screamed and dropped his cell phone.

“Aibou I-” The former spirit is cut off when the other male slapped him on the arm.

“Don’t do that!”

“Sorry.” Atem didn’t sound sorry and Yugi make a noise against his teeth. Glaring. “As I was saying I found candles.”

“The ones that Jounouchi gave as a gag gift? The sexual ones?” He bought them for Atem as a joke on Christmas. They came in bizzare scents like Cherry exotic passion, and Figmination, or Durian fruity booty.

Yugi couldn’t tell if Atem shrugged in the darkness or nodded. “Yes.”

“There’s no other ones.”

“No.”

Yugi laughed. “Gods. Alright I’ll light them and you get started on dinner.” He went upstairs and turned on the small heater along with the kotatsu; placing a plaid blanket on top.

Atem managed to scrounge up using the gas stove sayadiya, a type of rice with fried onions, almonds and pine nuts, pickled vegetables similar to Tursu (a type of Middle Eastern version,) and leftover sardines that he seared.

‘Did he use shadow magic on this. How in the world.’

They ate in silence. Normally they would talk about small things, managing the shop, or even about their lives. ‘It’s weird.’ Being apart from each other, Yugi didn’t share his thoughts and actions with Atem. He almost missed it.

He decide to test the waters, having the courage to lead on compared to before. “How was the event yesterday? Did you blow their socks off?”

Atem blinked and then gave a low chuckle. “They were captivated. Kaiba told me that they were not aware of my origins.”

Yugi smiled as Atem fell into conversation easily. “They never seen an Egyptian before? Really?”

Atem gave a one off shrug. “They gazed at me like an exotic ripe fruit. It was overbearing.”

“I thought you would be used to the attention.”

Atem made a face. “Not that kind of attention. I don’t mind the ones from duels but not men twice my age giving me propositions.”

“Lucky you. Maybe if you lead them on and took all of their money-”

“Aibou!”

Yugi laughed. ‘I missed this.’ A shrill ring came out in the room. Atem sighed and pulled out his phone from somewhere in the Snuggie.

“Yes.” Atem said with a small tone. He pulls back when yelling over the phone and cursing pours out. The darker male sighed and places it on the table; putting it on speaker phone.

“-And another thing I swear I will fire everyone who decided that it was a good idea to not double check the back up generators!”

Atem put a hand on his face. Yugi raised one eyebrow at hearing an angry Seto Kaiba.

“Are you alright? Do you need me to drive by and pick you up? The power is still working here. I will make them pay if you are freezing-”

“No Kaiba. Me and Aibou are fine here.”

“Why do you keep calling that shrimp Aibou! He’s not your partner I am!”

Yugi chuckled behind his hand as Atem sighed again. “Yugi is the closest person besides you Kaiba. Just like Mokuba is with you. I call Yugi Aibou because he’s my other half in the figurative sense. Now anyway.”

“That’s different!”

“How is that different? Kaiba if I didn’t love you I wouldn’t be marrying you.”

Silence. Yugi laughed harder. Thankfully Kaiba didn’t hear him. Atem smirked and Yugi knew what was coming. “Again we are fine. We have Jounouchi’s sexual candles here keeping us warm.”

More roaring and cursing. Yugi ended up in a fit of giggles on the floor. Atem calmly went back to his dinner when the dial tone rang out.

That’s why he isn’t surprised that less than thirty minutes later is a furious Kaiba pounding on the door. Yugi opens it up; pressing his lips together to not burst out laughing again.

“Why does it smell like figs and a weird type of lubrication in here?”

“How would you know how that smells?” Yugi teased which started another bout.

[ayma-nidiot]

In the White Light - Prideshipping fanfic Chapter 22

Also on AO3.

Author’s note: I know this is a weird time to mention this, but did I happen to mention the strong, frequent Fire Emblem influences throughout this fic yet? :3 For instance, the “ancient Egyptian” is just the backwards Japanese lyrics to FE songs that have lyrics.

Fire Emblem Fates is said to be the worst game in the series, but I quite like it. This fanfic might as well be considered a Yu-Gi-Oh/Fire Emblem Fates crossover. Overall, I love Yu-Gi-Oh to death, but Fire Emblem has been part of my life for over 17 years and will always be my number one fandom. I highly recommend the "newer" Fire Emblem games (Fates, Awakening, Echoes, and Three Houses).

Chapter 22 – Dawn Breaks

Yami Yugi waited for Mana and Kisara’s departure before saying anything. “Kaiba…”

“…Pharaoh.” At first, Kaiba didn’t mind the old rival’s tension that lingered in the air. But that feeling lasted only a few seconds before the KaibaCorp president approached Yami Yugi and hugged him.

“K-Kaiba… My love?”

At that moment, Kaiba dropped his tough demeanour, not giving two shits at the “Dweeb Patrol” that saw this side of him. “You know, ever since I started that duel with Bakura, I’ve realized something. I love you. I’ll never find another man like you, one who can match my skills and fulfill my every wish. If I can’t have you because we live in different times… If I have to go back to modern day Domino City without you, then… I would rather die alone.”

“Me too, Kaiba…” In between kisses, Yami Yugi spoke, “Just like in my past life, I refuse to find a queen if that queen isn’t you. I’ve sworn my heart to you ever since the events in Dartz’s lair.”

Kaiba now held the pharaoh by the shoulders and looked into his eyes. “So. What is this ‘information that you have learned today?’”

“I have finally learned what my real name is. I’ve finally learned the last piece of my forgotten memories. But now that our true enemy is vanquished, I’ve no need to use its true power.”

“Good.” Kaiba pulled Yami Yugi in again. “I think we’ve had enough ‘epic’ battles for one day.”

Just then, a voice with seemingly no source appeared. “That’s fine with me! It will make taking over all Egypt that much easier!”

“Oh, great,” Kaiba scoffed. “How many times do people have to die in this joint before they really die? Bakura.”

“Listen more closely, love. It sounds like the Bandit King, but his voice is warped. I mean, more than usual. In fact…” Yami Yugi gasped when he slowly started to realize just who it was that now stood before him. “…Zorc.”

“Pharaoh.” Zorc stared the couple down. “We meet again. Ah, if the Bandit King wasn’t dead because he sacrificed himself to revive me, then I’d thank him.”

“Tristan, don’t even make jokes about this guy’s penis again,” Joey spoke.

“Joey…” Kaiba had never addressed Joey by his first name before. Already half-shifted, he ordered, “All of you need to get the hell out of here!”

“No way, Kaiba! Don’t you remember how we all fought together on Atlantis?”

“No, Joey, he’s right,” added Yami Yugi. “I admire your courage, but this is not your fight. Go take the others where it is safe!”

“Pharaoh… Fine, then I trust you.” Joey summoned Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and everyone else quickly mounted it. “Hiyah!”

“How bold of you to think that just two puny humans could defeat the all-powerful Dark One Zorc! What makes you think this fight will be any different from the fights we’ve had in the past?”

“I’ll show you what I mean.” Yami Yugi closed his eyes. “Hear my name and tremble, Dark One! I am the son of Aknamkanon… Atem!”

Kaiba said nothing as a beam of light emitted from the man he loved, revealing a man with a gold crown, white tunic, and skin the colour of cinnamon. “Atem…” He loved the sound of the pharaoh’s name.

“Kaiba… There is only one way to defeat him. You must shapeshift while I weaken him with the Pharaoh’s Incantation.”

“No! What if you-”

“There is no time!” Atem yelled as hordes of zombies and mummies crept out of the dunes. Adding to the gravity of the task were the presence of golems, hurling rocks at Atem that he barely dodged in time. “I hate to sound like a broken record, but don’t forget our promises.”

“And ours!”

“Joey!” Kaiba turned around. “I thought I told you dweebs to flee.”

“See, here’s the thing you gotta learn about us friends, rich boy. We don’t concern ourselves with trivial things like ‘fleeing.’”

“And we don’t concern ourselves with trivial things like letting Joey Wheeler show us up!” Rex and Weevil spoke in unison, completely in human form now.

“You shouldn’t be out here either! Unless…”

“Y’all heal fast,” Joey finished Atem’s sentence. “Eh, must be a shapeshifter thing.”

“Truth be told, I’m still tired as hell from that last battle, so I can’t transform… But I can use this!” Rex summoned Serpent Night Dragon, and soon after, Weevil’s Metamorphosed Insect Queen followed.

“I am by your side too, my pharaoh,” Kisara joined in with her Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

“So am I!” Mana twirled her staves about. “This is for Master… I’ll show you all what he’s taught me!”

“I will use my cards for good this time,” spoke Marik. “You can count on it.”

“Everyone… Join me! And fight for the salvation of all Egypt!” Atem paused before beginning the Incantation. “Ukuyimusus ot e imay… Azuo on aukah anorustu…”

“My power is… fading… But why?” Zorc glared down at an unfazed Kaiba. “Priest Seto’s modern incarnation… It’s all your damned fault! I’ll kill you just like I’ve done in the past!”

The light from Kaiba’s transformation shone brighter than the sun directly above. “Zorc… I am going to destroy you once and for all!” he growled as he, with an energy beam at the ready, charged at the Dark One.

“Hah!” Nice try, you dumb dragon!” Despite his colossal size, Zorc could evade Kaiba’s attack just fine. He leapt from sand dune to sand dune like a hare while locking his spite-filled gaze on Kaiba.

Neither the constant need to take a deep breath nor the whiplash from the recoil after many shots stopped Kaiba from his attempt to kill the Dark One. “You get weaker and weaker! Is this seriously all you have after all these years?”

“Oh, quite the contrary, Kaiba.” Zorc smirked. “You haven’t seen the last of me yet! The powers of all that is unholy compel you!”

“Oooh. I’d be shaking in my boots, if I had any.” Kaiba attempted to shoot another Shining Neutron Blast at Zorc, but every time he did so, a fiend or some other appeared to take the hit instead. With each fiend destroyed, the cloud of sand whipped up even more. “See? I can fight like one of you shapeshifters now!”

“Don’t you dare put yourself on par with my kind, vermin!” Kaiba thundered, soaring into a lone cloud and firing a beam across the desert.

“You’re right, I shouldn’t,” Zorc admitted halfheartedly as he lured Kaiba farther from the dragon’s allies. “After all, I am superior to the likes of you!”

“You’re not going anywhere!” Kaiba, with a powerful gust underneath his wings, followed Zorc towards the villages. “Here? Does your wickedness know any bounds?”

“What’s the matter, dragon boy? Scared of harming this pathetic excuse of a country?” Zorc heckled as he demolished a few houses near Kaiba without remorse.

“If you hate it so much, then why do you live in it?” Kaiba returned the attack, narrowly avoiding destroying a stone building.

“Because it is my goal to rid this country – along with the rest of Earth – of all its life.” Spurring Kaiba to follow him to an especially poor village, Zorc aimed an attack there. “This village… It doesn’t need to exist. Don’t you agree?”

“Oh gods…” A butcher left his shop, staring at Zorc with chills across his body. “What is that thing?”

“No!” A baker, with a weak leg, from across the street clung to a nearby wooden post. “It’s an evil god! He’s going to destroy our village!”

“Don’t you dare, Zorc!” Kaiba warned through an expression full of hatred.

“Oh, yeah? What are you going to do to me? Use your self-destruction Shining Nova? I dare you to try! I am going to blast this puny village, and there’s nothing you can do about it!”

“Zorc, no!” Kaiba, ignoring the cruel whip of the wind on his face, tried to block the shots. But already had witnessed wood splinters and rubble of the village scattered where it once stood.

“Our… Our village…” The butcher, who along with his fellow villagers barely managed to escape the explosion, knelt on the sand and mourned as the splinters dug into his knees.

“It’s now a wasteland…” The baker and his wife held each other while they cried. “We need to get the survivors to the nearest medical ward! Maybe the palace…”

“Don’t think I’m going to let you live!” Zorc threatened, poised to shoot the village’s survivors down.

“Don’t think I am going to let you kill them!” Kaiba let loose a long beam that blocked Zorc’s shots.

“Out of my way!” Having lost interest in the villagers, Zorc returned to just outside the palace. He noticed that during the course of the battle, Rex and Atem had been separated from the rest of the army. “Pharaoh…”

“Argh…” Kaiba tolerated the fresh gash on his left temple and endeavoured to catch up with his opponent.

“Prepare to fall, pharaoh!”

As Zorc prepared another attack, Rex happened to notice the Dark One before Atem could turn around. Whilst running to protect the pharaoh, the dinosaur duelist yelled, “Atem! Look out!”

“Rabbit stew! Babe!” Kaiba didn’t care that the gash slowed him down, he tried his best to conjure up an attack of his own anyway.

Luckily, he wouldn’t have to, as a “new” ally came to Rex’s rescue, chanting, “Urataw imu on arozihsoh! Asabust ikaneragek!”

“Isis!” Atem beamed in relief at the sight of his High Priestess, whose incantation created a barrier. “Thank Ra that you’re okay! But Mahad… He-”

“I know, my king, I know… That is why I will fight alongside you and protect you.” Isis looked up to Kaiba, who had just arrived at the scene. “And you as well, Kaiba.”

“Ishizu… No, Isis.” Kaiba turned his attention back to Zorc. “Let me handle this dirtbag.”

“Grr! Why do you care so much about the people of this country?” Zorc temporarily ceased fire. “Are you not the president of a modern corporation who rejects all ‘occult nonsense?’ What is the point of doing it all if you’re destined to return to your own time anyway?”

“I just want to prove how much better I am than you, that’s all. And… I want to leave behind a peaceful world for the man I love.”

“A man of few words, I see.” Zorc generated a rope of thick shadows from his hands. “The only thing you’ll be leaving behind, however, is your corpse when I unleash this attack upon you.”

“Of what do you speak, fool?”

“Oh, you’ll see soon enough.” The rope of shadows danced about the desert, clearing the dunes in its path. “And now, be prepared to taste the power of the darkness of people’s hearts of the past five thousand years!”

“That’s a few too many ‘of’s’ for my lik-”

For a short while, Kaiba held his position firmly, ready to give his life to protect Egypt. The shadows abruptly emerged from the dunes, catching him off guard and hitting him square in the chest. As quickly as a peregrine falcon, the dragon dove headfirst into the sand dune below, too weak to hold onto his dragon form.

“K-Kaiba! No!!” Atem shrieked, beginning to panic.

“Red-Eyes! Take us to where Kaiba just fell!” Joey ordered as the others followed.

“Hehehe…” Zorc didn’t intervene. “It’ll be fun watching Kaiba slowly die before the lot of you dies!”

“Do you see him anywhere?” Atem asked.

“Not yet, milord,” Isis replied as she helped her pharaoh survey the area.

“What if he…”

“Atem! Over here!” Marik alerted, having spotted tufts of chestnut hair barely sticking out from the sand.

“If he’s buried that deep, then…” Atem frantically started digging as he feared Kaiba’s fate even more. The sight of his beloved’s mutilated body shattered his heart. “Oh… no… Kaiba!”

“What awful wounds…” Weevil gaped, covering his mouth with his hands.

“Kaiba… Kaiba, can you hear me?” Atem picked Kaiba up, attempting to slap him awake. “My… My love… Please, open your eyes…”

“Pharaoh…” spoke Joey. “Kaiba is…”

[sitabethel]

re corporate-conspireshipping, who did seto fall for first? was he aware of the conspireshipping going on in the background beforehand, or was he the 'first' of the harem (bc we all know ryou's in charge obvs) to appear?

I sort of answer that in this old post, but here’s an extension to the beginning bit. (So to sum up: he falls for Ryou first, but not until well into the RPG. Yes he knew about the the corporate fracturshipping going on beforehand. Ooops, I just realized that fracturshipping and conspireshipping are different ships [like just this moment realized you said conspireshipping instead of fracturshipping], but I already wrote this so, um, have an extra Bakura on the house?)

Card games, Seto wanted card games, but it was more than card games, Seto wanted the passion. He wanted to be challenged, he wanted the drive to push himself further than he’d ever had before and come through that trial of fire in a new transcended state, and one person had ever given him that level of intensity.

 Atem.

 Thus, Seto restored the Puzzle, fought Diva, acquired the Cube, and build a ship that would allow him to penetrate that impenetrable veil between this world and the Other. In that moment he saw him, the Pharaoh, rising up from a golden throne with an amused grin. There, in the land of gods and spirits, Seto had put everything on the line with a challenge to a card game.

 “If I win,” Atem said in a warning voice. “You can never come back. It’s not time for you to be here, Seto.”

 “Oh I don’t plan on returning.” Seto smirked. “Because after I win, you’re coming back with me.”

 Atem sighed as if he expected no less but didn’t have the heart to tell Seto that his desire to bring Atem back was impossible. Atem descended down the steps, a duel disk that matched Seto’s appeared on his arm. He stood in place- as fiery, determined, and set on winning as Seto remembered him.

 “Let’s duel!”

 Hours later … Seto won.

 And Atem came back.

 His idiot cheerleaders rejoiced. They thanked Kaiba, as if he did it for them. They recounted the old times and explained everything Atem had missed since he left, but Seto didn’t care about any of it. He wanted another match. He’d beaten Atem in one world, now he’d beat him again in this one. Their rivalry picked up where it’d left off, only far more fierce, until one night the tension broke when Seto slammed Atem against a wall and smashed their lips together with angry, graceless, force. Atem grabbed Seto by the hair and pulled them closer, breaking the kiss only to add bites to Seto’s throat.

 They wake the next morning sore, and scratched, and exhausted despite the hard sleep. They do it all again after the next card game, and the card game after that. It’s everything Seto ever wants.

 Except all the empty moments in between.

 The Pharaoh has many admirers, and he loves Yugi most. There are many nights without cardgames. Seto buries himself in work as usual, swears he’d glad for the opportunity to get things done, but there are too many long nights, and too much caffeine. Seto also finds himself being dragged to group gatherings, and he hates it. Seto often forsakes Atem altogether in those moments, and goes off to a quiet room to catch up on his emails via his cellphone, or take a powernap on a spare couch. During one such nap during Honda’s birthday party, Seto can hear voices entering the room. He’s a light sleeper, so it wakes him, but he doesn’t want to participate in the conversation, so he keeps his eyes shut in hopes that the speakers will see him and move on.

 “But how can you live with him? After everything he did to you?”

 It was Atem’s voice, so Seto cracks an eye open, wondering what the conversation is about. The next voice is Ryou’s.

 “I keep telling you, I didn’t bring back the Spirit of the Ring- Marik did. I was trying to rescue the Thief King.”

 “I thought they were the same.”

 “They are, and they aren’t, the spell made them two separate people, although they’re still a little connected. It’s complicated.” Ryou exhaled. “The entire thing was complicated, but no one was really happy until we all came together.” Ryou tapped the spot on Atem’s chest where the Puzzle used to sit. “Our own puzzle, all our broken edges fit together.”

 “But they said Bakura still has Shadow Magic.”

 “Quite honestly,” Ryou said in a straight, upfront manner. “I don’t think he’s completely human, not physiologically. He’s more of a chimera.”

 “Then how can you blame Yugi for asking me to talk to you?”

 “I don’t blame Yugi for anything. I know he’s concerned, and I’ve tried to assuage his fears on multiple occasions, and I do appreciate that everyone cares enough to worry about me, but I’m not leaving them. Atem, I love them all.”

 “But, Ryou-”

 “Oh look, Seto’s asleep on the couch.” Ryou walked over to the sofa and pulled the throw off of the back in order to tuck it around Seto’s body. “We shouldn’t wake him. Let’s go back to the party and finish this conversation later.”

 Seto shut his eyes when Ryou approached, so he didn’t see them leave, only hear footsteps. Before he opened his eyes again, he heard Ryou speaking directly to him.

 “Sorry to use you as a scapegoat, Kaiba, but I had that conversation with Yugi a dozen times already, and I just don’t have the energy for it tonight.”

 “You knew I was awake?” Seto opened his eyes.

 “Of course, unlike Atem I pay attention. I’m sorry if we woke you” Ryou dropped to the end of the sofa, leaning back, but keeping enough space so that he didn’t press too closely to Seto’s feet. “It’d be different if I was bruised, or hurt, or if I cried to them about being mistreated, but things like that never happen. They’re all very sweet to me, even Kek.”

 Seto made an acknowledging sound to show that he was listening.

 “You know, we finished our last Monster World campaign last week, and next week we start a new one. You should come play with us.”

 “I prefer Duel Monsters.”

 “Yes, of course, and I normally wouldn’t invite you, but you see, our next campaign is a dragon universe, and I think you’d love it.”

 “… I’m listening.” Seto tried to resist, but couldn’t. Dragons were the one thing that could still distract him from anything, even Atem.

 Ryou shifted to his side so he could look at Seto. His left arm braced against the couch, making white hair spill down his left side.

 “It’s a world where characters form telepathic bonds with a companion dragon. It makes for an interesting battle system because each character has to play as their job class and as their dragon class, and there’s several species of dragons. There’s a species the size of a large house cats, it’s sort of meant for thief classes. The most common species is a type of wyvern the size of a horse used for knights and mages. There’s even huge, shapeshifting dragons that can masquerade as humans- which also means there are half dragon offspring of all the major races as well.”

 “That… does sound interesting,” Seto confessed. It sounded amazing, actually. Part of him felt like he did as an excited orphan hearing about the Blue Eyes White Dragon trading card for the first time.

 “Join our campaign. It’s only once, sometimes twice, a week, so you’ll still have plenty of time for card games.”

 Noise from the party that went on without them echoed through the closed door. Seto glanced at the barrier keeping Ryou and himself isolated from the rest of the group. Seto never really fully belonged in that group, and he supposed Ryou had always been standing on the edge of it as well.

 And dragons!

 That boyish excitement filled Seto. He could be a dragon knight on a white mount. He could bond with three dragons. Even if it wasn’t part of the campaign, he was sure he could figure out a loophole and do it. He could-

 Spend a night doing something that didn’t involve waiting on his royal majesty to grace Seto with his presence, something that wasn’t work or staring at the ceiling.

 “Okay,” Seto heard himself saying. “Next week. Give me your address and I’ll be there.”

[pxiao]

5 reasons I love Arc-V

Today as I was bored, I kept reading metas of why some people loved Arc-V or their favorite moments of the show and I decided to analyze why Arc-V is my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh! show and honestly one of my favorite shows period(this honestly shocks me today still) Also in this piece I’ll generally talk about the previous series and I don’t mean to insult them(well most of them) but I’ll have to talk about what I found about them lacking and how Arc-V fixed that for me, sorry if anything I say is offensive.

Lessons

I’ll be blunt, most of the franchise’s “lessons” are generic lessons like believe in yourself and your friends will help you do anything stuff, especially when Yoshida is writing, that you can find in any show for kids. While yes it’s important for kids to learn this but when that’s the lesson for nearly everything it gets old fast, especially for a franchise that’s 2 decades old. That’s not to say there aren’t some good lessons in there as well like the past makes who you are and by trying to ignore it, you’re not doing yourself a favor but it’s soooo overwhelmed by the generic lessons. 

In comparison Arc-V gives some really unique and interesting lessons. Like when Yuya was scared of not being special because Reiji was cracking Pendulum monsters, instead of the generic “everyone is special” stuff, Shuzou gave Yuya a great goal, become the pioneer of Pendulum Summoning thus everyone will remember and look up to you. That’s not something you hear regularly if ever. 

The best example of this is how Jack continually called Yuya out on using his father’s dueling and we all expected this would be Yuya breaking free of his father’s influence and “be himself” whatever that means. But Jack gave a rather interesting spin on it, that people are influenced by others and you know what that’s FINE. To be yourself doesn’t mean everything has to be original but that you’re able to understand the influence that others had on you and use to it explain your will. And that craziest thing is, Jack’s right. People are ALWAYS influenced by others, no matter what you say, we always look up to others and use them as examples whether it be our parents, friends, celebrities or fictional characters. A strong example is writers, every writer will tell you that there are no more original stories, every possible story that can be told has been told, but if so why are some stories seems original while others feel bored and generic. Easy the writers of original stories take the story elements of well known stories/genres and put their own spin on it, they make it their own. While generic stories are the result of writers lazily copying what was done before and hoping it works. For example Game of Thrones takes the basic fantasy tropes and then takes out the part where the heroes somehow survive and actually face the consequences of their honorable but stupid actions  

Standing

I’ll admit watching people duel is fun and if I didn’t like that I wouldn’t like this franchise. But at the same time, you have to admit it gets OLD having two or more episodes, DM sometimes took FOUR episodes on 1 lousy duel, of two people yelling at each other, pointing and smirking. 

5D’s riding duels were an attempt to fix this by having the duelists and the monsters in motion and giving the characters something to do beside react. But if I have to be honest, Action Duels are the perfect way to fix this. By having Action Duels, we get to see the characters in motions and show off their agility or showing their monsters helping them. Who didn’t enjoy seeing how agile Sora and Shun was when they dueled in episode 34. It gives a sense of suspense and the previous series generally lacked cause if they were in trouble, we thought, oh they have an face-down, that’ll save them. 

Predictability

Yu-Gi-Oh! is many things but unpredictable it is not. We generally knew the result of every duel and every twist before it ever started. Sure there are some twists like Atem playing the seal, Kaito dying despite winning, Carly dying and the whole Supreme King thing in GX. But this was more of the a treat in a LONG, LONG WHILE. 

And lets face it, whatever you felt about Arc-V it was always unpredictable don’t try to deny it. In plot development, characters and even duel results. A great example is Yuya vs Yuri. We knew they were going to duel because of course they were, they were the counterparts that represented the greatest extremes. But when the episodes finally came out, NOBODY was sure if Yuya or Yuri was going to win, it was a literal toss up. We questioned, argued and were shocked that Yuya did win. The day when we have a duel with the protagonist and the fandom is literally split 50/50 on the result shows the writers were great at surprises.  

Main Characters 

Ok this is going to get me in the dog house but Yuya is a fucking breath of fresh air in modern anime. It’s so nice to have a sympathetic main character that gets continuous character development and has flaws, like HONEST to god flaws that aren’t there to make him look good. That’s not to say there aren’t good protagonists in recent anime like Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul or Yato from Noragami just they’re more and more rare due to the many, many harems or how many shows are more or less power fantasies. And Yuya as a character is even more amazing especially this compared to Yu-Gi-Oh! protagonists, not to say I hate them, except one, but that Yuya just blows them out the water. 

For Atem got the short end of the stick as he did get character development but the anime started at the start of said development so we didn’t get to see how he changed. DM started at the end of the Death-T arc where Atem was starting to get more kind. His mind crush is literally the nicest punishment he’s given, he literally drove people crazy and set a man on fire before. And for Yugi, look the anime also shafted him, he rarely got focus and most of the time that was for exposition. By the time we saw his development, it had occurred off-screen and well that’s one of my pet peeves in terms of writing.

Judai, Ok I admit out of the protagonists before Yuya, he got the most development. But he got it in his third year and that’s it. He spent his first and second year more or less unbothered by the events around him and then said third year broken him into a million of pieces and tried to put him together in time. But at the same time, his development bothered me too, it most or less came down to this phrase, “Children card games aren’t all fun and games, it’s serious”. Yeah that’s ridiculous. 

Yusei, oh this is hard to admit as he’s either my second or third favorite protagonist(it’s tight race with Atem) but he has the least development of the protagonists or more than Atem in the anime. I admit, he rarely changes and that’s sad, especially when Yoshida got his hands on him. But luckily Yusei was interesting enough to work as a character but the issue remains he’s pretty static and a bit too perfect.  

Yuma ....... You know how I said Yusei’s issue is he’s a bit too perfect, yeah Yuma’s the exact opposite. And Yuma fans look away, I’m going on a fucking rant here. Yuma’s issue is that he does have flaws but his series continually pushes it’s head up it’s ass to convince us that said flaw is actually a strength despite showing yes it is flaw. And then there’s how he gets everyone to fall in love with him, the show bending it’s logic so he’s always right and the biggest annoyance is that he remains the fucking same. Just as stupid, just as naive and just as flawed and we’re supposed to support that. HELL NO.

While Yuya is this guy that wants everyone to be happy and well he has flaws that stop him from doing this. He can be selfish, stubborn, lacks self confidence and hesitates. And this just makes him all the better, Yuya has flaws like real people, he suffers like real people, he questions his ideals like more people should but he changes and we get to see it in front of us for three years. No matter what people say Yuya will always be one of the best characters Yu-Gi-Oh! has ever produced.   

Suspension of Disbelief   

Look I’m not going to mince words here to watch this franchise, you need to turn off your brain. This happens for every show where all conflicts can be solved by using consumer goods that are for some reason connected to magic. 

And the BIGGEST reason I love Arc-V is well they do a great job justifying everything. Why are card games dangerous, holograms with mass are awesome to kill people with. Why use holograms with mass, cause it’s awesome and people will pay to see it. Reiji’s being a dick, Yuya tries to punch him. Police lose a duel, they still try to catch the “criminal”. With Arc-V, you get the sense of what happens if you take Yu-Gi-Oh! and put in in the real world and watch the chaos as the rules we know and love are twisted by reality. 

And some of you reading this might wonder if I even like Yu-Gi-Oh! beside Arc-V and I do besides Zexal but I can admit that Yu-Gi-Oh! as a franchise has many problems, how it handles the female characters for example ..... and I can admit Arc-V has issues too, pacing and sadly how they treated female characters in the end too. But again just because you like something doesn’t mean you should believe it’s perfect.   

[ifwegettherebysunset]

There are little to none awkward love confessions and first kisses fics in the prideshipping tag!

What is this travesty we must rectify it

(I hope I do it justice)

Awkward Love Confession

Or, read it under the cut!

Leave it to Atem to get bored without something to fight.

Leave it to Seto Kaiba to be stubborn―and prideful―enough to say he can and he will find a way to drag him back into his rightful dimension. Also leave it to him to actually fulfill his word. Then make the occasion the biggest spectacle this side of the world.

Now that Atem has an established identity courtesy of Kaiba, he is taking part in an exhibition duel for the new tournament. He claims to want to participate as a regular duelist with Yugi and their friends, but he agrees to it without hesitation.

So here they are, back in the living world, once again standing across from each other. The sun shines over Kaiba Dome’s opened roof, highlighting the gold of Atem’s hair and the red tint of his eyes. The shadows under his lips as he grins his confident grin and turns to draw with as much flair as his rival.

The year without him has taught Seto one important thing: just as Atem finds the stagnant nature of the afterlife boring, he finds life without Atem unbearably boring. This right here, this is what he’s been waiting for.

“I play the magic card, Dark Magic Curtain! By paying half my life points, I can summon my ultimate monster!”

Atem thrusts a hand to the sky. A familiar burst of dark magic blasts from the curtain.

“Come forth,” he yells, “Dark Magician!”

The crowd falls over itself cheering. Seto himself takes in the familiar face with a slightly manic smirk.

This Atem is not a hologram. He is here, and he is beaming at his monster, at his new duel disk.

“Now, Kaiba,” he says, “the real duel begins!” he makes a grand gesture. “I set two cards face down and end my turn!”

Seto has an entire arsenal of comebacks for that, built by the years before and the year without. He’s ready for this, as he’s always ready to face the only person in any dimension who can take him on.

Drawing his card with a flourish, he shouts, “I love you!”

Of course, that one had not been on his list.

The crowd gasps. The arena plunges into silence. Joey falling out of his chair creates echoes.

At least Atem’s as wide-eyed as Seto is, kingly composure shattering into an almost comical gape. His hands have fallen limp at his sides but for the iron grip on his cards. Even the jacket around his shoulders seems to slump against his back.

Somehow, the Dark Magician’s jaw has dropped too, as if he can understand what just happened. The one Blue Eyes he summoned a couple turns ago is staring at him.

“I—” Seto clears his throat. “I fuse my three Blue Eyes to create my ultimate monster! Behold, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!”

Ultimate Dragon unleashes a small roar before turning all three heads to stare at him.

Atem blinks at the dragon. He visibly shakes himself, clacking his jaw shut.

He makes a ‘time out’ sign. Up in the control module, Mokuba reacts instantly. Above the competitors’ heads, DUEL PAUSED is displayed for the first time in pro-dueling history. Dark Magician and Ultimate Dragon freeze.

Atem’s footsteps echo across the platform.

“What is the meaning of this?” Seto growls, “It’s still my turn!”

No reply. Atem keeps walking. He’s already halfway there.

Seto’s voice comes out just shy of desperate: “As President of KaibaCorp, I order this duel to resume!”

He can practically feel Mokuba’s “not a chance, big bro.”

Atem ducks around Blue Eyes. His expression is irritatingly neutral.

Their almost toe-to-toe. Atem looks up at him. Seto grits his teeth and glares back.

“What?” he snaps.

After another tense moment, Atem—smiles. It’s a Yugi-esque smile, which Seto has never seen on him: almost innocent in how carefree it is, big and beaming and. On his face, beautiful.

Damn it.

Atem’s free hand cups the back of Seto’s neck, and they’re kissing.

Seto can’t be sure, but it almost sounds like Yugi’s the first to cheer. It’s quickly overrun by everyone else screaming themselves hoarse, even as Seto knows he looks entirely undignified, hands hovering awkwardly around Atem like he has no idea what he’s doing, which is never the case no matter what. Atem, meanwhile, seems perfectly content to stand there and keep kissing him like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

Seto hadn’t just created a complex AI just for kicks. He had planned for every strategy Atem would use. Every card in his deck was tailored to counter every card in his opponent’s deck.

This is not part of the plan.

Then Atem licks at his bottom lip and everything snaps into focus.

Atem wants to challenge his claim? Seto Kaiba has never apologized for anything he says, and he’s damn well not going to start now.

Yes, the stupid confession punched out him. Does Atem think he’s going to back down because of that? Ha.

Seto clamps his arms around him and closes his eyes. Atem lets out a small gasp; yeah, that’s right. Seto has experience, and he’s not afraid to take advantage of it.

The crowd’s high-pitched screams deepen into deep-throated roars of approval. Or maybe that’s just Blue Eyes.

Either way, this exhibition duel is one for the record books.

[anazen333]

Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Side of Dimensions Movie Reaction!

My nostalgic heart is all a flutter from seeing Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions!!!

Whenever I look back on the original series, I can’t help but laugh at how cheesy (and so easy to make fun of) it was. Everything was so dramatized, despite the fact that all the fights were centered around and settled by playing a children’s card game.

But watching YGO DSD brought back those excited and heart pounding feelings I got when I first watched the series and began collecting the trading cards.

It rekindled my admiration and awe of animation, the childlike glee from obvious but still humorous lines, and most importantly, the ups and downs of watching an epic story unfold and holding your breath with the characters as fights get down to the last wire.

In the back of your mind you know it has to turn out but you don’t know exactly how and you’re at the edge of your seat waiting for it to come but at the same time never wanting it to end.

But the story does end (in a way), though I wasn’t left feeling disappointed. I don’t know what it is about Japanese stories but somehow whenever a favorite series of mine ends, I’m not angry or sad. I simply feel...content. And that is the mark of a truly great story to me. A story that you enjoyed experiencing to its fullest and even when it ends, you are left with a sense of satisfaction, because you know the memories of experiencing the story are more important than it coming to an end.

So when I left the theater after seeing YGO DSD, I felt light again, like the carefree kid I was when I first discovered YGO. If it wasn’t for the YGO franchise, I never would have gotten into writing or drawing. So thank you, Takahashi-sama, for creating a series that sparked my imagination and continues to inspire me!

And now onto total silliness to lighten up the mood!

SPOILER ALERT!

While I was pretty happy to see that Kaiba finally got his chance to face the Pharaoh again, I can’t help but think Atem isn’t going to be wearing that smirk for very long...

Several weeks after Kaiba’s first visit...

Kaiba: *bursting into the throne room* PHARAOH! FACE ME IN A DUEL!

Atem: *groaning* Oh, dear gods, not you again! Haven’t you had enough yet?

Kaiba: No! I will not leave until I defeat you once and for all!

Atem: *sighing* Fine. Let’s get this over with.

Approximately thirty minutes later...

*Kaiba in the lead with 8000 life points while Atem only has 100*

Kaiba: *thinking to himself* Something isn’t right here. This whole time the pharaoh has done nothing to defend his life points or make a move on mine. What’s his game? Is this part of some ultimate strategy that involves letting his life points almost reach zero and thus enabling him to wipe me out in one move? Does he have a card that can do that?! Is there a card that can do that?!?!?

Atem: Kaiba, would you just hurry up and destroy the rest of my life points already? If we don’t end this soon I’m going to be late for my weekly council meeting.

Kaiba: Wait a minute...you’ve been letting me win on purpose! You haven’t been trying at all!

Atem: Look, would you just take the win and leave me alone, already? I’ve got a country to run and your constant visits are disrupting my schedule.

Kaiba: This is unacceptable, Pharaoh! I will not leave until I beat you in a duel!

Atem: Now see here; the first few duels were enjoyable, I admit. But now it’s just gotten tedious and it’s only because I’m a good guy that I haven’t Mind Crushed you already (and because Yugi wold probably come after me in a righteous fury for resorting to my YGO Zero days). Look, why not travel further back in time to when I was a kid? You should have no trouble defeating me then.

Kaiba: Because that’s not the same thing! Now duel me properly!

Atem: Gods, I hope Bakura attacks the palace soon...

[nagito-komaedas-boxer-briefs]

YgoPridecember: Card

(I keep shifting between using Japanese pronouns to English ones orz. The card mentioned here is from Zexal originally but I decided to take liberties.)

“Kaiba-kun wants all of us to go to the mansion?” ‘I’m not hearing this correctly am I?’ “Are you sure Kaiba-kun invited all of us to his home? Not Mokuba right?”

“No Yug he did a mass text to all of us.” Yugi swipes his phone and finds the simple message there in his unread folder. “Look, I’ll meet you there. Honda is giving me a ride. Sorry that the idiot hasn’t installed the side car yet.”

“Mmmm it’s ok. You think you do please me a favor and drop off your sister here? I need someone to watch Pschent.”

“Sure.” Jounouchi chuckled. “I forgot that you have a cute furry friend now.”

“Thanks a lot Jou. See you there.” Yugi hangs up and rubs the back of his head. “The last time I went over is during the board game incident. Hmm.” He decide to not ponder on it long and get ready. He sends a quick text to his parents and grandfather just in case they arrive early (not likely.)

Wearing a purple duffle coat, he greets Shizuka by the door and tells her where everything is at for the kitten before closing up shop and going. Yugi eventually reaches the mansion and sees Jounouchi, Honda, Mai, Rebecca of all people, and Otogi outside with Isono. Thankfully it’s not that cold.

“Do you know what’s going on?”

“I don’t have a clue Yug.” Jounouchi shrugs and scratches the back of his head. “Too bad Anzu can’t make it.”

“She’s in America and won’t go all of the way here just to amuse Kaiba.” Honda says matter of fact.

“That doesn’t matter. I’m here with Yugi again! And the rival is gone!” Rebecca sighs dreamily and hugs Yugi tight. The others are glancing at him with curious eyes. He just shrugs his shoulders. She’s harmless. Maybe.

Suddenly they are surrounded by vans and out pops the news crew. “Come on! Mr. Kaiba is going to do a personal interview and make a big announcement at the end! Chop Chop!” Miss reporter sees the gang and approach them. “Question: What is your involvement with Mr. Kaiba? Are you the King of Games and the secondary champion of Duelist Kingdom?”

Yugi almost rolls his eyes when Jounouchi looks smug and puffs out his chest. Before he opens his mouth Isono coughs. “I’m sorry to interrupt but Mr. Kaiba is waiting inside.” The older man leads everyone in and directs them to an area past the dining room. It’s full furnished with overhead crystal lighting, two sofas along with an arm chair and a settee.

Isono situates Yugi and the others on the sofa first before directing the camera crew and lighting to different areas in the room. Miss reporter is guided to the arm chair. It takes no time at all for Kaiba, Mokuba, and shockingly enough Atem to come into the room.

Yugi waves and mouths: ‘Do you know what’s going on?’ Atem shrugs and shakes his head. Kaiba sits down on the settee like it’s a throne and is soon joined by Mokuba. It takes a bit of coaxing to get Atem to sit on the other side, with Kaiba in the middle.

Miss reporter take out notes. She shuffles them several times before giving up and throwing them back into her bag. “Ummm...Is it ok if we start?” She looks nervous. Most people are when they see or talk to Kaiba. He has that type of ambiance.

Kaiba inclines his head. The interview starts off slow. They talk about things such as Kaibacorp. Then it turns into information about Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, and anything that is not related to magic and saving the world. She even ask Mokuba and Atem questions. Nothing really invasive. In fact it’s kind of boring. Yugi sees out of the corner of his eyes Jounouchi falling asleep and Honda looking bored.

“Is there something else you want to tell us before we wrap it up?”

Kaiba chuckles and smirks. Yugi sweats. ‘Oh boy this isn’t good.’ The CEO pulls out a card from (somewhere) considering that he’s not wearing his typical coat and handed it to the former spirit. Atem glanced at him with a raised brow, read the card, then Kaiba, then the card again.

Yugi, in the three years that he knew Atem, never seen his Mou Hitori no Boku flustered and red faced. His cheeks and neck are lit up like Rudolph’s nose and his eyes are impossibly wide. He stands abruptly; opening and closes his mouth. A loss for words. Finally he says with conviction: “KAIBA!”

Kaiba looks downright annoyed at the reaction. “Most people answer with a yes or no Atem.”

Yugi puts two and two together quickly. It’s not a duel or Atem wouldn’t react the way he did. And the news crew did say ‘announcement.’ That could only mean... ‘Oh my.’

Atem, who can’t make up his mind if he wants to throw the card on the ground or at Kaiba, gives it to Mokuba. He talks in rapid Arabic; face ablaze. Kaiba gets up and stands next to him. Face to face, if he realizes it or not, talking back in the same language. Everyone in the room is confused except for Yugi.

Mokuba looks at the two and slowly peers down to reads the card. His eyes grow big. “Oh…..HOLY CRAP.” He laughs and looks delighted. At least one person is happy. “Nii-sama just proposed!”

“WHAT?!” Everyone is floored. Miss reporter looks like she wants to sink into the chair and die. Mokuba shows off the card. It’s a custom made one called ‘Devoted Love.’ A beta card, the text on the bottom is obviously clear with, “I challenge you to marry me.”

“Hey Yug you know what Atem is saying?” Jounouchi looks towards Yugi for clarification.

“Ummm...” Yugi picked up a bit of Arabic from being around his other half for so long. “I think they are arguing about their relationship.”

“So Atem didn’t want to get married?”

“Ummm...” Yugi squints. “Kaiba is talking about-”

“...Because I want everyone to know you are mine!” Kaiba interrupts him with a snap of his arm, speaking back into a language everyone understands, on the edge of throttling Atem.

Silence.

Atem falters like someone hit him with a mind crush. He recovers and yells back in Arabic, obviously angry. They move towards the far corner of the room, yelling back and forth. Nobody understanding what they are saying.

The camera crew are all confused. Miss reporter is hiding somewhere behind the sofa chair.

“I guess the interview is over.” Otogi supplies.

“You owe me money Jou.” Mai pipes up towards the other blond, who is rolling on the floor laughing.

“Oh man this is both crazy and horrible. I never thought Kaiba would propose on national television. Hahaha Yug this is great!”

“I wonder does Anzu know.” Honda questions.

“I think she knows.” Yugi sweats at the text messages he received not only from his friend in America, but also Bakura and Shizuka, the latter seeing the whole thing on the news.

Yugi attempts to sign in on Twitter and isn’t surprised to see it down. “I think Kaiba-kun killed social media.” Facebook still works but most of the pages are discussing the announcement. Asking if the two dated before the pictures to things like them having sex on the blimp in Battle City.

‘Atem respects me and my body to not do that.’ Right? Yugi wonders as he sees the two still arguing. If his closest friend had the chance would he do a quickie with the CEO? Fool around after a duel from the heat of the moment? ‘I better not ponder on that.’ He instead makes sure Rebecca doesn’t get handsy during the chaos. Her not reacting makes him wonder if she knew beforehand or not care. “Oh I just received a text from Ishizu and her brothers.”

“Wow I haven’t heard from them in a while. What are they saying?” Mai looms over, ignoring how Rebecca is seething.

“Ummm Ishizu is translating what Atem and Kaiba said.” Yugi’s cheeks puff up as he holds in giggles. “Atem said that most people do this in private and why does he have to make a spectacle. Kaiba said something along the lines that he wanted to announce to the world that he loves him and starts talking about wedding plans. Then Atem says that this is embarrassing. Umm after the part with the whole ‘you are mine,’ Atem basically told him that he’s never going to be used to Kaiba-kun being over the top.”

Yugi glances at Kaiba who seemed to calm down and laughing. Atem, still red faced, is hiding behind his hands. “They were arguing about their relationship and Kaiba-kun had doubts. Like Atem didn’t love him. Ishizu couldn’t understand it all since they went out of camera but they made up. I think?”

Mokuba looks at the group, the panicking camera staff, and Miss reporter who looks like a pile on the floor. “So I get to be a brother in law?”