#Yugi OT9

[saijspellhart]

Thoughts about the Puzzlepile AU. And how it might begin.

Yugi knows about AI-tem, and has been avoiding him because he knows it’s not Atem. And he can’t bear to be reminded that a facade exists of the person he misses and wants to be with, but cannot have. Atem is Yugi’s most intimate friend, and AI-tem feels like a cruel joke to him. Yugi misses Atem so desperately, and despite knowing it was his decision to send Atem to the afterlife, he resents himself for doing it, and wasn’t prepared for the empty void inside.

Meanwhile AI-tem observes Yugi from afar via Kaiba’s network. He watches all the old recordings of Battle City and other events from when Yugi and Atem were still together. He doesn’t have all of Atem’s memories, because Kaiba didn’t have access to such intimate knowledge. What he has is surface level. Enough to make a believable pretense, guise. But he isn’t Atem, he doesn’t know what he is. But there is a part of his program that longs and yearns for Yugi. And he’s convinced it’s a remnant of the real Atem.

AI-tem sees how Yugi suffers, and it kills him seeing the way Yugi looks at him with both longing and agony. But Yugi won’t even give him a chance. Not that they could interact physically.

Then one day above Domino city, there is a blinding explosion of light. Kaiba has used his dimension hopping machine to break into the afterlife to see Atem again, (and kidnap him) after the events of DSOD. The entire city of Domino shields their eyes from the light, feels the aftershocks that shake the city.

Hours later, Yugi is walking down the street, headed into the heart of the city to meet his friends when he spots a strange person standing in the road who looks suspiciously like Atem, dressed in ancient Egyptian garb. Albeit not as opulent and rich as Atem would have worn. The man is scared out of the street by a honking car, and darts into an alley. Yugi gives chase, and when he catches up, the man turns to look at him. And it’s himself.

Yugi is staring into a frightened and terrified eqyptian mirror. The ancient Egyptian Yugi speaks to him in an ancient language, frantic and confused. Yugi tries to reach out and touch him, but the Ancient Egyptian Yugi suddenly flees.

Then Yugi hears a scream, and the city is shaken again as a massive green dragon flies overhead. He runs out into the street to see the dragon heading to Kaiba Corp, where it descends on the tower. He knows this dragon, it’s Timaeus (from season 4). He has a suspicion that something has got to be Kaiba’s doing, and starts heading that direction.

Along the way, he bumps into a what he thinks is another mirror of himself, dressed in period British royal clothing. But upon looking up he’s staring into Yami’s face. He’s bewildered at first. The man stares at him with no recognition. And this “Yami” is also terrified just like the ancient Egyptian Yugi had been. Yugi tries to call him Atem, but the man doesn’t respond to the name. He gets that same uncomfortable feeling he gets from AI-tem. That “this isn’t my Atem,” feeling. And instead of staying, he runs from this British royalty Yami.

He continues to stumble upon a few more versions of himself and Atem on his way to Kaiba corp. that feeling of intense dread growing, something is very wrong. At the base of the Kaiba Corp tower he encounters his Atem. Except it isn’t his Atem. This Atem is pale like Yugi is. And looks like Atem used to look when they still shared a body. This odd pale Atem turns to him, and actually looks upon him with recognition and reverence. This pale Atem speaks to him in a voice he’s missed so dearly, calling, “Yugi!”

Yami runs to him to pull him into a hug, the most tightest of embraces. Because the chaos unfolding in the city frightened Yami. And the last thing he remembered was getting separated from his Yugi by a flash of light and energy. So he’s thrilled to see his partner and he pulls this Yugi into a tight hug, and tells him how glad he is that Yugi’s safe.

And Yugi just short circuits. He just can’t. He hasn’t felt Atem’s touch or presence in YEARS. And this pale Atem recognizes him, sees him, looks upon him with love and adoration and reverence. This Atem is embracing him the way he’d always wanted Atem to embrace him.

And that’s when Yami realizes this isn’t his Yugi. Because he can FEEL how thin and fragile this Yugi is, in a way Yami’s Yugi never was. When he pulls away that’s when he sees the tired, defeated, despondent agony that’s wracked this Yugi for years. Because he’s realizing, this Yugi isn’t his Yugi. This Yugi looks weary, and older. Worn down by grief. This Yugi is thin like he hasn’t been feeding himself. This is not the Yugi he had been with just moments before all the chaos. This is a Yugi that spent the last few years without Atem, and dying inside.

But all Yugi can see is the Atem he used to have. The person he wants most.

Even as Kaiba returns to the present day with having kidnapped Yugi’s Atem from the afterlife. Yugi and Yami (pale Atem) enter Kaiba Corp to find Kaiba being loaded on a stretcher, to be taken to the hospital, his little brother fretting over him. And Yugi’s true Atem is standing in the front room bewildered and raging. Screaming at Kaiba for ripping holes in time and space.

Cue all of them being tasked with combing the city to find all the Yugis and Atems that got scattered across Domino.

Anyway, the whole AU is basically most of the puzzepile gently coaxing DSOD Yugi and his Atem to reconcile, reconnect, and rekindle their relationship. And Yugi being absolutely unwilling to let his real Atem get that close, because he just CANNOT experience that heartbreak again. But it ends up starting with Yugi holding Atem at arms length, not allowing himself to get close again, because he knows Atem will have to leave again and he cannot experience that heartbreak a second time.

They start with a series of small moments that build into bigger moments. Slowly the two of them dismantling walls and rekindling the trust and devotion they once had, but with a romantic element to it now

Meanwhile all this is happening, Yugi bonds with all of the other Yugis and Atems, each of them carving a place in his heart. All of their threads of fate intertwining. Because even across time and space their different incarnations and versions are drawn to each other. A bond that defies even the gods.

[saijspellhart]

Hilarious headcanons involving the Yugi OT6+ (now affectionately named the Puzzlepile)

The reason all the Yugis (there are now more than nine, people keep sending me more) are in the same place is because Seto Kaiba built an invention designed to pull Atem out of the afterlife, and ended up accidentally yanking Yugis from different times, spaces, and dimensions like some Into the SpiderverseYugiverse bullshit.

Kaiba has made himself their self-appointed sugar Daddy.

Kaiba built them a condominium building, to keep them all in one convenient location.

Twice a week they all take turns dueling Kaiba until they tire him out.

All the Yugis get together for game night officially three times a week. (But we all know that they break off in smaller groups and game every night.)

Once a week all the Yugis play DnD with Ryou Bakura.

The Yugis frequently get together for a movie night in Atem’s condo. Where they become a massive Yugi cuddle pile.

Kaiba just inserts himself among all of it. And they tolerate him.

Not all of the Yugis like Kaiba. Mao(s0 Yami) for example, holds a grudge against him because of Death T. Mao cannot be left alone with Kaiba.

All the Yugis have to take turns babysitting Mao to keep him from setting things on fire, running around with a knife, and murdering/cursing people.

Heba has the hardest time adjusting to the modern world, and is the shyest Yugi. So all the Yugis give him lots of hugs and encouraging words. But Heba stays home the most.

s0 Yugi (aka Baby Yugi) gets loved on and cuddled like the tiny little happy meal toy he is. All the Yamis and Atems are severely protective of him since he is the Yugi that got beat up and attacked the most.

The various Yugis go out to try and get different jobs so they aren’t completely reliant on Kaiba. (Some do it out of spite, others out of wariness. And some are just bored.)

Henry. (*wheezes*) I cannot get over the fact that there is a British Prince version of Yugi named Henry. It will never not be funny.

When the Yugis go shopping for clothes it’s an entire event/holiday. They come home with loads of shopping bags, and leave exhausted leather stores in their wake.

AI holo-Atem is touch starved. Because he can’t touch anyone.

Every game they play it’s unnecessarily dramatic and competitive.

There are so many intense emotional looks, and hand-holding.

They all do each other’s make up and hair.

That’s all I got for now. Feel free to add more. I can’t stop laughing about this. What a crack-ship.

[saijspellhart]

J, O, and E for the fandom ask game! Bonus points if E ISN'T the Ultimate Yugi-only OT9 (10?? 11?? How many Yugis did that even get up to??) -Pyro Sea

Thanks for the asks Pyro! ❤️

J - Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over tumblr

Miraculous Ladybug. Saw chat nerd gifs all over tumblr and became intrigued. It looked kinda interesting. So I ended up renting disk 3 of season one from the local movie rental shop. And it took two watches of the disk before the show really grew on me. My husband liked the show from the first watch.

O - Choose a song at random, which ship or character does it remind you of

I set my Work Music playlist to random, and Crazy Chicks by Ken Ashcorp started playing. The ships I think about with that song are Deathshipping, and Season Zero Puzzleshipping. Cause YMarik, and Mao (s0 Yami) are heck’n crazy. And I wouldn’t want them any other way. Love my unhinged boys.

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what

I mean I drew art of Yugi trying to kancho Atem, and by extension other people. So I take responsibility for Kancho Yugi existing.

I’m responsible for Yami with the Speak & Spell. It was silly joke at first, and now it’s just canon to my fanfic.

I also put waaay too much effort into making Radicalshipping a thing. (Yugi x YMarik x YBakura.) It started as just crackship, hilarious fun, but then a friend helped me name the ship, and then I drew more art for it. And now a fully illustrated multichapter Radicalshipping fanfic is in the works. @nedjemetsenen and I have been busy. So crack ship turned more serious ship I guess. But it’s my crack ship, I’m nurturing it.

Those are the most crackish examples I can think of contributing to the fandom that are NOT the Yugiverse nonsense. And I can’t even claim full responsibility for the Yugiverse/Puzzlepile nonsense, because people have been shipping multiple Yugis together since forever. I just don’t think people took it to as much of an extreme as…. (6,7… 9… Yugi, Heba, Atem, Timaeus, Yami, Mao, Baby Yugi, Orichalcos Yugi, Orichalcos Yami, Henry, AI-tem, GX Yugi, and I can’t think of anymore. I’m sure there was more. But that’s 12) 12 Yugis! Alas it was a hilarious and fun adventure.