#something about atem always being the one everyone wants

[fat-butch-dyke]

The implication that yugi will always be second place to atem in everyone's mind makes me aaaaaaa

[x-atlas-x]

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

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

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

He hears Atem hum in recognition, “Right…”

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

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

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

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

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

“Nothing,” Atem blurts a little too quickly.

“Atem,” Yugi repeats more sternly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I have?”

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

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

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

“Oh, Gods…” Atem murmurs in disbelief.

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

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

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

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

[kathairoette]

Various Yugi, Yami, and puzzleship headcanons because one I'm too busy to draw much, and two I wanted to write a little something for myself, just for fun. And you get to see them too (• 3 •) :

Yami’s transition from vengeful vigilante to kind-hearted yet prideful pharaoh was rocky to say the least. Not understanding and not quite willing to accept Yuugi’s kindness, most of his attempts to understand his newfound life was filled with stone-cold faces, confused stares, and offended petulance. But Yuugi is equally stubborn in helping his new friend acclimatize to being human again, so he does his best to teach him, even if not everything he does is successful.

Yami, despite loving Yuugi, doesn’t worship the ground his partner walks on. Instead he sees a person who’s gone through hardship, being lonely and bullied, and still somehow smiling at the end of it, and it amazes him as much as it confuses him. He’s unsure how to proceed with a person who seems so contradictory. Though with time, he recognizes Yuugi's inner strength and resolves to help Yuugi see what he himself saw in his partner.

Yuugi will never admit it, but whenever he gets the chance to become “the strong one” and help Yami out for a change, it gives him a heady feeling that rivals anything he’s felt before. For once, he gets to protect others, something he never gets to do, and plus, he’s protecting the one person who protects everyone else. He, the tiny and small Yuugi Mutou, protecting Yami no Yuugi, the hero! He finally gets the chance to be “the lead” almost, and it brings him greater joy than any other. Ofc he doesn't flaunt it, but it's definitely something he feels and to a degree feels ashamed about. Though he lets himself be arrogant, just a teeny tiny bit.

To Yami though, Yuugi becomes very vigilant and constant in looking out for him, something he does appreciate exclusively from Yuugi when he can no longer stand on his own. 

In terms of love, the spirit only knows it in theory. He loves his partner, he cares for his friends, he loves his home of Egypt, and he loves his priests and his people. But the kind of love where two people love each other, is less foreign and more of unsure territory for him. He recognizes it’s a love that goes beyond what he’s felt for anyone else, but doesn’t know how to approach it. Much less appreciate it. 

Yuugi meanwhile, understands love very well. He’s yearned for it for years, and finally feels it for Yami, his partner and dear spirit. He hides it of course, the world is more important than his feelings, but when it’s all over and he gets the chance to act on them, his desperate heart won’t let him be so selfless. He enjoys and revels in teaching Yami the many ways one could love, as to him, it shows just how much he loves Yami in turn. But he’s equally patient about it, taking it step by step. Sometimes, he’s so gentle that Yami gets impatient, but Yami’s equally weak to his partner’s tenderness, especially when it’s geared towards him. 

Their relationship isn’t fueled by something as small as one’s appearance, nor did it ever start from it. But when those moments come, Yuugi can feel his breath be stolen by Yami’s visage, or Yami blinking when he sees how the light refracts in Yuugi’s eyes. Still, they appreciate each other’s appearance and take full advantage to do so, especially when having separate bodies. They appreciate them as they entirely are, and not for singular details. 

Yuugi likes squeezing Yami’s butt. There isn’t much there, but whatever he gets, he gropes. Yami’s since then no longer bothered to scold him, only giving him a mild glare and blush whenever he does it. Though he always somehow knows when to smack Yuugi’s hand away when they’re out in public events. 

Neither are comfortable to sleep on because they’re quite lanky, even if Yami came back in Atem’s body (trust me, if he really is all muscle then those are rocks dude, not pillows) So instead Yugi and Yami both like taking a pillow and just putting it on themselves so the other can sleep on them. 

Atem, when alive, was a well-meaning king. A little spoiled, since he was such a golden boy, but overall, a good-natured king. He often listens out to his people, gets into quarrels with Seth because of his seemingly soft nature, and tries to be equal in his sense of judgement. But it never changes the fact that he was a young king, and there was much he had left to learn by the time Kul Elna’s history was revealed. These lessons unfortunately, he would never know, not until 3000 years later. 

When Yami/Atem comes back, he doesn’t come back fully human. Being locked in an ancient artifact with the remnants of darkness incarnate changes you. So while he looks human, he still holds control over the shadows and is as much of their slave as he was their master. The only difference is that the shadows don’t scream anymore, and are more or less docile unless Yami riles them up. And they don’t hurt him anymore, so that’s pretty good too. 

[gx-gameon]

How would the (DM crew) react if jaden actually got like kidnapped or badly hurt by someone or something of that nature

The world would burn.

It also depends on when in the story this is.

If it’s baby Jaden.

Yugi is panicked. That’s his baby. If Jaden is missing/taken/hurt he’s absolutely going to lose it on the person who took him. But Yugi’s first objective is Jaden’s safety. He’s going to be focused on getting Jaden away from them. Make sure his son is safe above all else.

Atem is the one that’s going to call the fury of the gods down. As soon and Yugi has Jaden and they are clear he’s whipping this scum from the earth. Atem is protective of all of his friends but Yugi and Jaden are on a different level. They are on the ‘no touch’ list and if anything happened to them Atem is going to kill everyone here and then himself.

Joey and Tristian are fight club. They will physically beat someone over this. (Im thinking about having someone try and grab baby Jaden (a paparazzi trying to get a picture of the duel prince) and Joey or Tristian just laying the guy flat.

Téa is also on the get Jaden out of here crew. Making sure Jaden is safe and to reassure the crying child he’s safe now.

Seto…. It depends when and why this happened.

If it is before him and Yugi are dating then the attack was probably aimed at Yugi’s throwing the king off his game by attacking his son. Seto is still going to help them find Jaden and be ruthless with the perpetrator, but not as much as the other options

If it is after Yugi and Seto are dating/ married than this is most likely an attack on Seto/Kaiba Corp. someone trying to get something out of Seto by hurting his loved ones, just like they used to do with Mokuba. He is Merciless here. Once Jaden is safe he has security close in in Jaden and Yugi. He knows Yugi wants a piece of this person to but he also knows Yugi will always put Jaden first. He’s going to use that to his advantage to secure both of them. He’s not letting his enemy get another chance to hurt either of them. Honestly Mokuba’s probably with them to. The three surrounded by security and being moved to a safe location.

Depending on how many people there are he takes Atem with him (this is not a negotiation Atem is coming whether it’s one enemy or 15 he’s not being left behind when it come to beating the person who hurt Jaden) and Joey. Again this depends on when this happens, but Seto knows one thing about Joey, he’s a guard dog. No one hurts his friends. Joey also has very little morals when it comes to protecting those he cares for.

The three of them handle the situation.

If this is older Jaden like post series.

It’s almost worst.

If this is most season 3 than they just survived the Dark World.

They know Jaden can protect himself. That doesn’t mean they’re all not going to go feral if someone hurts him.

I think if anyone ever got the jump on Jaden and the DM crew found out (they were there/were sent a video) and Jaden looked up and just called for his “Dad” in the weakest voice. Yugi is going to lose it. Gandora is summoned immediately. He just wild everyone out and gets his boy.

Honestly no one should touch Jaden for a few years. If he ever gets hurt and has to call the DM cast for help. It’s not ending well.

[asetoblog]

A Seto psychological assessment

So, I said I was gonna do this and now I finally did it. Behold, a Seto Kaiba psychological assessment about interpersonal relationships! (I'm gonna try to make this as simple as possible for everyone <3)

I'm gonna consider original dub Seto ONLY, since the american version totally fucked his character up.

ATTACHMENT STYLE

According to Ainsworth and Bowlby's studies there are 4 Attachment styles:

Anxious/Preoccupied

Avoidant/Dismissive (ding ding ding!)

Disorganized/Fearful

Secure

What are Attachment styles (or Internal Working Models)? In children, we can find that they behave in different ways according to the presence or absence of their parents in an environment: anxious children have a deep fear of being abandoned or left alone so they act really upset or even cry when their parents are not around; avoidant/dismissive children usually hate to depend on others and don't care if they are left alone (they like minding their business); disorganized children are harder to understand since they act fearful towards their parents but at the same time they want to be close to them; finally secure children have a healthy relationship with their parents.

I think you've already noticed which one fits Kaiba the most: of course he's gonna be an Avoidant child!

(Mind that I think his attachment style CHANGED after he and Mokuba got adopted by Gozaburo, so there's gonna be a paragraph about their biological parents' death, because I think Seto's behaviour was much different before the whole orphanage and adoption thing)

The attachment style of a child is of course going to define their behaviour as adolescents and adults. The attachment styles of teenager/adults are pretty much the same and now I'm gonna list any behaviour that confirms Seto's attachment (Avoidant/Dismissive): as the Adult Attachment Interview (the AAI, a psychological test) suggests, avoidant people tend to belittle or even ignore their own emotions concerning their relationships with anyone (Seto openly admits to love and care about Mokuba and no one else, but even this happens rarely in the series and when it does he's pretty much always ALONE, when no one can hear or see him. It happens only once in Noah's Arc in the anime, when he gives us that ssweet face in front of Yugi and Co). The fact that he avoids his emotions about relationships and attachment with caregivers is also held up by the fact that he never brings up his parents, nor even with Mokuba. In Noah's Arc only Mokuba says something about them; Seto doesn't answer. Avoidant people also tend to devaluate their attachment with their caregiver (in this case we're gonna consider Gozaburo as the “caregiver/parent” because he gave our boy big trauma): if I remember correctly, Seto says he stopped calling Gozaburo “father” at one point. HOWEVER, the rest of the Avoidant assessment doesn't really fit Seto's behaviour, because he remembers very well what Gozaburo did to him (being physically and psychologically abusive) and doesn't idealize him as a good parent (which is what Avoidant people tend to do), so I think he's got also a little bit of Preoccupied and Secure characteristics in him (I'm gonna talk about this in a sec) and I believe it's because he's got a little of the positive influence of his biological parents in him AND he's not an easy guy to control/influence.

According to the AAI, Secure teenagers/adults are fully conscious of the abuse they suffered (I think Seto totally is, he just – you know – AVOIDS it) and are able to find a way to be happy and healthy again (I mean, I don't really think made it to the end, but he's still young and he's got a long road ahead, maybe he'll fully heal some day and I believe he's capable of doing that, because we've already seen his character development since the begninning of manga to the movie DSOD. Mokuba has been his strength and, you may like it or not, Yugi and Co (especially Atem) being a good challenge, nosy and friendly helped him too, which is cute (also Atem and Jonouchi made him reconsider playing games for love and fun, instead of only winning, so he found that old spark he loved playing games for again). Also, this is a little unrelated to the attachment itself, but a Secure person can also be defined as an autonomous and functional adult and I think he is, since he's a freaking CEO(?).

Now, let's talk about the Preoccupied people a little: a part of the AAI says that some individuals feel anger and/or conflict towards one or both parents. I mean. I don't think I have to explain this one, but Seto perfectly shows he hasn't moved on from the hatred he feels fro Gozaburo (and rightly so, I might say lmao). In Battle City he destroys an entire Island just to get rid of Gozaburo's memory and Obelisk representes his wrath and hatred (the soundtrack itself is called Wrath of God).

So, there we have it: Seto's an Avoidant child/teen, with some Secure and Preoccupied behaviour.

Some time later, another theory entered the chat: Lyons-Ruth presented her classification system of the attachment adding new styles, which are Hostile and Helpless. HH behaviour indicates that traumas are still present and working (ouch).

Hostile individuals are busy trying to control their own unwanted emotions and feelings of vulnerability (lol, Seto I see you): they are pretty much in denial, trying to hide their feelings of fear and helplessness. They also tend to identify themselves as their abusive parent and they hate it (yeah... I mean, this is so Seto).

Now, as I said in the beginning, I'm gonna talk a little bit about his attachment style BEFORE the orphanage thing. Seto used to smile (a lot), play many different games with Mokuba (which suggests they grew up in a positive environment where the parents were loving and the family as a whole was functional, since there seemed to be no hostility betweet the two brothers), be supportive, be happy and active. This is important, because this indicates that the little guy had good caregivers (as I said the family was functional and he had and still has a good relationship with his younger brother) and that means: Secure attachment style. Being Secure means not freaking out about a caregiver's absence and this might be a little stretch since grief is no joke at all, but even if it's a traumatic event, Seto handled it like a champ. (Of course this doesn't mean that didn't hurt and he didn't suffer. Quite the contrary. But he's been very strong since childhood).

I think this is it for the attachment style! Moving on to ...

GRIEF IN CHILDREN

So, we all know Seto and Mokuba lost their parents in an accident when they were children (I think Seto was about 8 or 9 yo and Mokuba was 4). Studies suggest that 4 yo children start to understand how death works (it's irreversible and universal, that means that they know who dies won't come back and that everyone will have the same fate sooner or later), whilst 6 yo and older children fully understand other implications (e.g. vital functions - like breathing - stop, and so on).

Now, of course this is considered as a very traumatic event for children to go through, but they can be calmed if treated right. Which didn't happen with Seto and Mokuba of course (poor babies).

Not only they suffered the sudden loss of their parents, but they also had to face heartless relatives who didn't want them and abandoned them in an orphanage. At that point Seto decided to step in as a father for Mokuba, which is HUGE for an 8 yo child who doesn't even know to tie his shoes yet (but is really great at chess, yo!)(just kidding).

What the studies tell us is that children who suffer a sudden loss of their parents also lose their only source of safety and support, which will make them feel like they're in danger and abandoned. What emotional reactions this may cause: sadness, anger, anxiety, apathy, shame and guilt. I'm pretty sure Seto felt all of this, but ignored it and tried to stay focused for Mokuba, which is sweet and a great proof of psychological stregth.

Physical symptoms: headaches (I'm sure Seto gets a lot of them), anxiety, sleep disorders (like, come on...), always scared of what could happen to other people (you may argue Seto doesn't give a shit about anybody, but everytime Yugi and Co are in danger, Seto's always there ready to help even if he doesn't admit it), always on the alert.

However, the most interesting bit is what a loss like this causes to children's relationship with their peers: they start to isolate themselves and start to show aggressive or hostile behaviour, which is exactly what Seto does. He's definitely a loner even as a teenager and he's a little hostile and dismissive towards everybody, especially his peers.

So, I think that's all...? If anything else comes to mind I will edit this post and add it, but I think that's pretty much it. I hope you enjoyed this!

PS: I'm sorry if there are mistakes or weird sentences, english is not my first language. I tried! 💀

[l1ghtfromthecloset]

Whelp since you guys loved the last one so much (53 notes DAYUM) uh, let's do another one :3

Here are some MORE funny and wholesome Yu-Gi-Oh! (DM and DSOD) head canons!

(With the addition of my OCs L1m and Zephyr)

-------------------------------------------------------

Yugi: Has a strange obsession with oranges. Like he HATES orange juice but loves anything orange flavored. Especially fanta.

Atem (before afterlife): Shared the same obsession with orange flavored things as yugi. They often fought over the last can of orange Fanta in the fridge... They always ended up sharing it tho. (Via switching places in Yugi's body.)

Solomon: Could secretly see Atem stand next to Yugi, even though Atem didn't have a physical body. But... He never said anything because he knew the bond between Yugi and Atem was special. He also bought more Fanta for the two when he found out Atem liked the soda.

Atem (after dsod): Visited Yugi and Solomon regularly. Even though Yugi couldn't see him, Solomon could. For some reason, Solomon has the ability to see the dead? No one knew why. But Atem and the old man reconnected. Eventually Yugi found out, and they all talked again, reconnecting, and Yugi/Atem played Yugi's newest game together.

Téa: She would help Joey, Tristan, and Yugi with algebra homework when the trio skipped classes for go to the arcade.

Téa (dsod): when the boys skipped class for the arcade, so did she. They all had Bakura help them with Algebra homework instead.

Mokuba and Kaiba (dsod): Mokuba had a late diagnosis of Autism and Adhd when he turned 16. When Kaiba found this out, he invested about a good $10,000 into putting a volume/color easing setting on the duel disks so those with autism don't get over stimulated when dueling. He eventually added visual audio settings for the deaf and convinced Pegasus to add braile on the cards so the blind can duel too.

Kaiba (dsod): Cut Mokiba's hair himself. He knew Mokuba would want to keep his hair longer, but also knew that Mokuba needed something slicker for his ever-growing corporate personality.

Bakura and Marik (after DM) : even after the Pharaohs tomb collapsed, Bakura kept in touch with Ishizu and Marik. Eventually, Marik moved to Japan just to see Bakura, and they started living together as roommates (😏).

- (oc) KaibaCorp L1m1nal (after dsod): Was originally created as an experiment for Kaiba to see if he can give ai emotional sentience (this was before dsod arc) but they eventually just became Mokuba and Kaiba's extended family. (After dsod arc) Litterly they lived with the two brothers. They eventually just became a "third sibling".

- (oc) Zephyr (dm): didn't know Yugi and the gang much, but being a pagan and having a connection with the dead, they always saw 2 Yugi's. One taller, one shorter. They thought that it could have been a dead relative of Yugi just watching over him, but then saw Yugi talking to the taller Yugi one day. Zephyr brushed it off as Yugi being pagan too. (But it was actually just Atem).

- (oc) Zephyr and L1m (during dsod arc): Did NOT like each other. Zephyr had a disdain for artificial life, being the pretentious pagan that they are. L1m had a disdain for mysterious and unreadable people. But both found a common ground in confusing everyone with their genders (one is a biological enby, and one is a amab).

Joey (in general): Buys eyeliner for himself and the ones that have a color that he doesn't like, he gives to Serenity (she loves any color).

Yugi and Atem(dm): Found an old photo of Yugi's mother in his closet, though it wasn't in good shape. Later on that day, Yugi found it in a picture frame, good as new, on his bedside table. He knew only Atem could have done this.

Mai (after dsod): started running a cosplay/modeling agency for people who liked the duel monsters card game and cosplay. She even worked with KaibaCorp to develop realistic holograms to add flair to her shows. She found that life wasn't about just getting money, but just about having fun and working hard to help yourself and others. She became an inspiration for millions of young girls who wanted to rule to world.

Lemme know if y'all want more :3

(maybe I'll do side/arc characters next time)

[sesshy380]

For the gift thing, how about something casteshipping with eggnog for a prompt?

I was going to wait another week before posting any of my Holiday Prompts, but this one has been done for a few weeks now, so I'm throwing it out into the wild.

This ended up as an Office Party AU. Enjoy!

Atem sipped the hot cocoa in his hands, subtly listening to the conversations being carried on by the people around him and eyeing others as they celebrated the holiday festivities. He was glad to see that everyone was enjoying the party he’d set up for them.

Most of the people that attended these things worked in one of the offices or cubicles of the building, so seeing one of the janitorial staff was a bit surprising. Though, given who this particular janitor was…he shouldn’t have been.

He’d seen the white haired man a few times, and had even spoken to him on occasion. The man made it clear how he felt about the higher-ups, apparently not realizing Atem’s role in the company.

He had to admit, he liked how refreshing it was to have someone that was straightforward and honest with him, instead of kissing ass in an attempt to get into his good graces. He’d thought about revealing his position to the janitor a few times, but decided to wait until the right opportunity presented itself.

Right now, the man was getting a lot of annoyed glares. The fact that he kept walking up to everyone and slinging an arm around peoples shoulders like they were all close friends probably didn’t help.

Every group he approached treated him the same: Shrugging off the arm, rolling their eyes (sometimes with an arrogant scoff), and the group walking away to be somewhere else. He didn’t seem to be too put out though, as he’d just shrug and move onto the next group.

After massively failing to be included with any of the groups, the man finally made his way over to where Atem had been casually observing the room.

“What a snore-fest,” the man commented as he leaned on the wall and turned a scar-stitched eye towards him. “I always hear how wild these things can get. I have to say, I feel really let down.”

This prompted a smile and a small laugh out of Atem. “I suppose their boss being in the room keeps them on their best behavior.”

“Pffft, who cares,” the man said dismissively. “You can’t tell me he set out alcoholic eggnog with the expectations of his underlings being on their best behavior. No, this man wanted to see them loosen up.”

Atem glanced at the cup in the man’s hand. “I see you had no problem giving it a taste-test.”

The man took a large drink from the cup, making it obvious he enjoyed it.

“Best I’ve tasted. My guess is this shit is made from scratch with some top shelf booze. None of that cheap store-bought crap spiked with something just as cheap. Honestly…” He motioned towards everyone else in the room. “...those stuck-up assholes don’t know what they’re missing out on.”

Atem peaked a curious brow. “It’s that good?”

“Fuck yeah,” the man said casually. “Here, you should try some,” he said while holding the cup out towards Atem.

Atem took the cup from him, then gave him a sly glance. “Before I go drinking out of the same cup as you, can I get a name? You seem to have a bad habit of keeping your badge hidden when working.”

The man chuckled. “That’s because it keeps getting caught on everything when I’m cleaning up after these slobs…not that they care to know the name of the person that has to plunge the toilets after them. Seriously, that guy over there, he should lay off on Mexican food. I’m this close to calling a bomb squad each time I see him walk into the mens room.”

Atem couldn’t help but laugh loudly at that remark, and the man joined him, earning them quite a few stares.

“The name’s Bakhure,” the man stated once both he and Atem had subsided from their laughter.

“Well, Bakhure,” Atem said while raising the glass in his hand. “It’s nice to know that you enjoy my personal recipe.” He took a swallow and handed it back to Bakhure, who seemed to be suddenly piecing things together.

“Oh shit…you’re the boss…like…the Big Boss…”

“Hmm, I don’t know if I like ‘Big Boss’,” Atem said while pretending to think. “I think ‘Corporate Asshole who doesn’t have a clue what it’s like having to come to work sick because they can’t afford the day off’ was much more creative. Sadly, no one has been able to tell me if the ‘lowly peons’ like being able to accrue paid sick leave regardless if they are part or full time.”

Atem waited to see Bakhure’s reaction, feeling amused as it was obvious that more things were beginning to fall into place for the man.

“Okay…I gotta admit, that was a real breath of fresh air. We don’t spread whatever one of us has through the ranks now, because we can actually stay home and rest instead of coming in with a fever.”

He looked warily at Atem. “How come you never told me you were the one running things?”

Atem quietly laughed. “And ruin the opportunity to hear an honest review about myself and how I’m running things? Why would I have wanted to do that?”

“Okay, let me rephrase the question. Why tell me now?” Bakhure asked earnestly.

Atem sighed, keeping a pleasant smile on his face. “Because I’ve been curious for a while now as to whether you genuinely didn’t know, or if you just didn’t care who I was. I’ve also been curious if you’d be like everyone else and just start backpedaling and trying to kiss ass.”

Bakhure snorted. “I only kiss ass in the bedroom…and occasionally bite.”

Atem gave him a curious glance. “How much eggnog have you had?”

Bakhure grinned. “Not nearly enough.”

“So…does that mean…?” Atem asked, giving Bakhura a knowing look.

“Depends. Will sleeping with the boss get me a raise?”

Atem laughed again. “I was planning on giving you one anyways…but it would mean having to take on a new position.”

Bakhure gave him a playful look. “I like new positions.”

“I meant within the company,” Atem clarified, trying to keep his face from betraying his other thoughts to the rest of the room.

Bakhure’s playful look turned to disappointment. “Oh…”

“Though,” Atem began, his voice low and seductive, hoping no one would overhear what he said next. “If you wanted, we could go up to my office and ‘discuss’ the new position in more detail. Maybe grab some more eggnog on our way out? I’m certain you are more than qualified for multiple ‘positions’.”

Bakhure raised his cup in a toast to the air before downing the rest, licking his lips after.

“I assure you, I am very qualified…and I won’t leave you disappointed.”

Atem gestured for Bakhure to take his leave first, both stopping by the bowl of eggnog before heading towards the room’s exit.

[bastetwastaken]

Hello, if you don't mind me asking another one for Dragonshipping, this time I'd love to see Yami/Atem being Top (not for smut but domestic) and Jou being bottom... will you write 9 You love me...? & 22. I thought you were taken... a lil emotional scene of Jou doubting love in Yami/Atem's confession, believing he's not that important and at the end I crave for their fluff & happy ending... 😭

Aaaa hi! I am so sorry this took so long, omg, but I hope that it was worth the wait and that you enjoy the lil drabble ^.^

I also hope your day is being kind to you wherever you are and whatever you're doing <3

.........

Jou had expected a night of gaming, eating his own body weight in takeout and hopefully finally winning a game against his friends. He hadn’t expected Yugi to make his excuses as soon as he got there, to insist that Jou stayed whilst he ran to the shop to get snacks. 

Hadn’t expected to be left alone with Atem so suddenly and completely without a plan. 

Being alone with Atem in itself wasn’t an issue, of course, he very much enjoyed the others company…the problem was that he enjoyed that company just a little too much. 

His feelings for Atem had confused him at first, but then he’d just accepted it for what it was. This man had saved his life on more than one occasion, he’d done so much for all of them and the world in general that it was only right for him to admire him…

Only he knew it wasn’t just friendly admiration, or even the kind of admiration he’d seen in movies where the hero saved the world and everyone looked up to them for it. 

No, it was deeper than that. 

Most people didn’t want to kiss their best friends. Most people didn’t feel an unspeakable need to see them when they’d just woken up in the morning, to see how they looked when they were completely at rest. To find every excuse just to be a little bit closer to them, to crave any kind of physical contact they could possibly get- 

He knew he’d fallen hard for his friend. So when Atem smiled at him and beckoned him to join him in the kitchen, his stomach filled with butterflies. Although he knew he was just waiting here with Atem until Yugi came back, he wished it was more than that. 

But how could he possibly say what he felt? How could he tell Atem of all people that he wanted to be more than friends, wanted to hold him, kiss him and just…be with him.

Looking at him now, just standing there looking so fucking perfect with literally no effort at all…his feelings were painfully obvious to him, as was one particular thought.

Atem was too good for someone like him. 

“You seem distracted.” Atem said, that damned smile on his face which always threatened to turn his insides to mush and unravel him completely. “Is everything okay?” 

He thought Atem sounded nervous, but maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part, his need to feel like he wasn’t alone in the way he felt. 

“Yeah, of course.” He said with a shrug, moving to lean against one of the counters opposite where Atem was standing. 

“Good.” Atem said, relief edging his tone. “Cause I actually wanted to talk to you about something.” 

He nodded slowly, trying to swallow the nervousness he felt. It was never good when someone wanted to talk to you…not in his experience anyway. 

“Okay.” Atem nodded decisively, leaning back against the counter and exuding that air of confidence which seemed to come so effortlessly to him. He supposed it came from his past life. “So I’ve been trying to tell you something for a while now but it’s come to my attention that maybe I should just be a little more direct when it comes to these things.” 

Atem paused and he tried to convince himself to be calm, to not let the way he was feeling show on the outside. He was good at that, he’d had plenty of practice. 

“I don’t know when it happened, but I started thinking about you in a different way…as more than a friend, and I tried to show you that, to sort of test how you felt too but my attempts seemed to fall flat. So now I’m just going to tell you. I want to be with you, to be the one you turn to when things get tough, to be by your side for as long as you’ll have me…” Atem paused and a soft sigh left his lips. “What I’m trying to say is, you’re the bravest, most clever and loyal person I’ve ever met and I love you.” 

For a brief moment he wondered if he’d even heard Atem right, surely he didn’t just say what he thought he’d said. 

It wasn’t possible…was it? 

Atem stood there opposite him and just looked back at him, a hopeful smile on his face and he had no idea what to say. 

“You…love me?” He asked, the words coming out way more shocked than he intended. 

Atem stared back at him, eyebrows raised, mouth open and suddenly he felt like he’d missed something really fucking obvious. 

“Are you serious?” Atem asked after a moment, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes, a quiet laugh leaving his lips. “I’ve only been trying to hint at all of this for months.” 

“Months?” He repeated, unsure of how to react to Atems words. He knew what he wanted to do…but surely they weren’t there yet. 

“Yes, Jou.” Atem sighed softly, his eyes closed for a moment then fixed on him once more, a smile tugged at kissable lips. “I’ve explored every other possible option and the only answer I have is that I love you.” 

There were those three words again, words which until this moment he hadn’t even known he wanted to hear from Atem, hadn’t known he wanted to say back. 

He shifted awkwardly where he was leaning against the kitchen counter, he suddenly felt very out of place in this house he’d been in countless times, in the space he knew as well as his own home. 

Because now things were just a little more real. 

Atem was standing on the other side of the small space, only the island separated them and he wondered what to do next. Oh, he should probably start by saying something, Yugi would probably be back any minute now- 

Yugi. 

He cleared his throat awkwardly and shifted his weight to his other foot then looked back up at Atem, preparing to ask him a question which would make or break him. 

“Um, I thought you were…you know.” He paused but Atem said nothing. “Taken.” He finished awkwardly. 

“By who?” Atem asked, a small frown on his face again. 

Now he really felt like an idiot. How blind had he been to misread something so badly? But really, who could blame him. Yugi and Atem were joined at the hip, practically inseparable ever since Atem was given his second chance at life. 

They lived together, took trips together, were always together. He was sure that to anyone it would be obvious there was something between them. Something more than friendship…but Atems reaction suggested he was wrong. 

“Yugi.” He said with a shrug. 

Atem laughed quietly and nodded. 

“I can see why you might assume we were…” Atem waved a hand vaguely. “But no. Our relationship is purely platonic.” He nodded and looked down at his feet. “We share a strong bond, one which I don’t think will ever be broken but it’s not what you think. You forget that we shared a body for a long time…how that felt and everything that happened isn’t just going to pass now we can live separately. I think we’ll always need each other on some level.” 

“Of course.” He said, looking back up at Atem and shrugging. “Yeah, sorry.” 

“No need.” Atem smiled, then he sighed quietly and pushed himself away from the counter, moving over to the island between them and leaning on the surface, elbows propped up on the top, one hand under his chin. “So…you know how I feel.” 

“Yeah…”

“”I’d like to know how you feel.” Atems voice was soft but insistent, curious but cautious and he couldn’t help but smile as he looked back at the man who he now realised he’d fallen for a long time ago. 

“I…love you too.” He said, the words lifted a weight off his chest which he hadn’t even known was there, filled him with such a sense of relief that he had to laugh. 

Atems smile only grew, then he pushed himself off the counter and stepped around it, that confident smile on his face which Jou loved to see. The one which held the promise of a challenge, the spark in his eyes promised even more and he felt his heart beat faster.

He remained still as Atem pulled at his arm gently, moving him to stand a little straighter as he leaned in closer, a hand brushed against his cheek then soft fingers gripped his chin, leaving him breathless as Atems eyes moved down to his lips. 

“This is the part where I kiss you.” Atem said softly. 

He found his breath again for just long enough to laugh quietly, a hand nervously touched Atems waist, disbelief at what was happening mixing with pure elation as he closed the distance between them. Atems lips were soft, warm and fit so perfectly against his own that he was convinced he was dreaming. 

The feeling of Atem pressing his body against his though, the hard surface of the countertop behind him pressing into his back and the soft breath he could hear from Atem were much too real for his mind to construct. 

Atems kisses were much different than how he imagined them, they were insistent and just the right side of too much but he loved it. He loved the feeling of Atems hands sliding into his hair and pulling him closer, demanding more from him and he was happy to give him whatever he wanted. 

When Atem moved away they both looked at each other, breathing heavily and he couldn’t fight the smile which worked its way onto his face. 

“I love you.” He breathed out, smiling so much it hurt and Atem laughed breathlessly. 

“Show me then.” Atem said, pressing their lips together once more. 

........

There's a list of prompts here and I never mind people asking for lil bits of writing ^.^ <3 <3

[universestreasures]

Inferiority Complexes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[rainstormcolors]

hi! im curious how u feel about. Kaiba's ending in dsod as a devout kaiba fan

bc quite a few ppl ik *arent* rlly big on it for reasons that include but arent limited to "it ruins the message of letting the dead go and moving on like Yugi did" and etc which i dont agree with for sm reasons but im curious abt ur thoughts on the matter too 😭

Hello.

I’ve talked about DSoD and DSoD’s ending quite a bit over the years. I've come to understand the ending of DSoD to be layered on several levels, and it actually tackles several themes in the original work from different angles at the same time, and I think trying to force the ending into one neat "this is what definitely happened" box stifles that complexity. It’s deliberately open to interpretation. I also want to make room for fans who do not like DSoD. We have our preferences and individual concepts we value from canon, and carry personal experiences we relate to canon in different ways. Please understand to those reading this that it’s alright to omit this film from your internal design of canon.

I can talk some about my own relationship and journey with DSoD. I’ve loved Yu-Gi-Oh! for a long time. I watched the show as it aired and read the manga as it was released within the United States. One of my parents died when I was young. At the time I felt very disconnected from both that event and from the other people in my household. We never talked about our feelings and I was always vastly terrible at interpreting my own emotions and behaviors. The further catch here is we were seeing a grief therapist some, and I’d been in and out of therapy for a while before that as well. I just could not parse out any feelings at all and I didn’t know how to talk to other people about things. I was disconnected from it all. We flash forward to the release of DSoD. And to my surprise, something I didn’t expect from myself, I was talking to people. I was talking about what grief looked like even if a person wasn’t labeling it. I was talking about how sometimes we can’t name what we’re feeling. What I saw in DSoD were people grieving and I understood this. And I was communicating my ideas and emotions that had been so foggy up until then. I suppose this is the strange power of an autistic interest paired with personal experience – and I was actually trying to talk about feelings and trying to bond with other people.

And I was truly pondering on and reflecting -- not on a subconscious level but on a fully conscious one now -- on the loneliness and struggles the other people in my household had felt back then too. There had been a suicide attempt at a certain point which was something I had refused to let myself think about but I was now thinking about that too.

I like stories about the experience of grief over stories that are PSAs about grief. It was going to take a grief story with teeth and bite to awaken this piece of me, not a cutesy PSA on grieving. For me, it can feel like fandom at times has this idea that everyone has it in them to just talk about their feelings and reach out and that everyone has that, and that is just not true at all. (What a further surprise to me to discover later on why I was also drawn to elements of Death-T back then, back while I still felt so disconnected from “the experience of death.”)

I’m especially drawn to and touched by Seto’s narrative, but I think Yugi’s own story in DSoD harbors this as well. As I read this line, “it ruins the message of letting the dead go and moving on like Yugi did,” I think of how I feel the story was also about Yugi accepting that it’s okay for him to draw from the strength Atem gave to him and to feel inspired by Atem even though Atem is “gone” and that this is the meaning of why Atem joined Yugi in battle in that grand final showdown in DSoD.

As I said, there is the potential of multiple layered interpretations inside the film’s ending. There’s the theme of the power of friendship and love being able to break through the universe, that friendship can be so meaningful the barriers surrounding us can’t stop those feelings. It is love as a powerful force and Seto -- who had rejected others and feelings for so long, who has felt so disconnected from everything but those brief burning moments of winning -- has embraced love and what Atem meant to him. There is the hyperfictionalized portrayal of grief and its forms like emotions as art, and how grief stays with us but evolves and matures: Death-T as angry scarred grief and the negative impacts of the departed “villain” on the living “villain”, the Ceremonial Duel as the acceptance of grief and the positive impacts left by the departed “hero” on the living “hero”, and DSoD as finally seeing and understanding the departed one as just a person just as you are a person. And grief is a permanent marker on us. It doesn’t really go away. There’s the metaphorical portrayal of closure for the survivor finally being able to say goodbye to the one they love, to see that person outside of their grief for who they are and it’s painted in an artful and literal way, and it gives Seto the tools to move forward in life carrying Atem inside his heart. And there’s the wonder of science fiction as technology and humanity and the soul are fused. Our voices and images travel across the world through technology in our reality – could it travel even further? What are human beings capable of? And it’s about Atem still possibly being savable from this place, that death wasn’t his answer because people care about him. Someone wanted to see him this badly. There is no duel, no words we see exchanged, because this gesture already says everything. Seto being here to see Atem says everything.

It’s also a possible commentary on how scars don’t go away and sometimes we can’t save someone. Sometimes someone isn’t able to break free of their ghosts and it’s possible to wish peace for that person or to be left scarred by them or both at the same time. People can be warped by their trauma and not overcome it because it’s a hard hard road to walk. To only harbor any sympathy for the survivors who are healthy, cute, and palatable belies a very conditional idea of compassion. This isn’t to say the harm isn’t real or that people don’t need to be accountable for their actions, but they are human beings who have struggled and struggled. The wounds of trauma are not shallow and healing can be hard. Seto is only 18-years-old in DSoD.

Death and love are weaved throughout Seto’s entire story in canon.

While I understand what people mean as they say “Seto needs to face the consequences of his actions and should have a strain with Mokuba," when it’s employed as a critique of the movie, I also feel very strange and think, "That's just the way grief is. Or rather how it can be and how it is for a number of people.” As I said, my own family was horrible about any talking about our feelings in the wake of grief and then that suicide attempt. There was no PSA-type talk between us. For me, the mess of DSoD comes across as real even if it’s an exaggerated presentation.

I’ve also had very dark periods in my life, terrified of having no one understand me ever again, and this also grounds me into how Seto’s head and heart may have been working. I didn’t know how to talk to people about emotions, including my family even though I loved them, and everything felt dark and like I was endlessly sinking.

And I had a moment of truly understanding how profoundly alone my father must have felt when my mother died, as my father was just as friendless as I was and didn’t have outside family to help at all.

I had felt I was incapable of connecting with other people and I felt I saw that trait within Seto, and so watching canon tell me “the bond between Seto and Atem is real, it meant something” was very very moving for me. Even if you don’t know how to talk, you can find connection through what you do understand.

I do think it’s quite understandable for people to feel put off by DSoD and its ending. I think it’s quite fair that people root for Seto and Mokuba together and that they’ve hoped for a journey of healing. People become upset on Mokuba’s behalf. I personally connect with the messiness of grief and Seto’s conflicted heart and the artful and challenging portrayal of a person spilling over in grief. I do personally hold interpretations of Seto returning, so my answer here is also shaded by that. Even on Mokuba’s side, I’ve sort of been there and it allowed me to talk about that experience which isn’t an experience many people talk about. It’s very hush-hush in our day-to-day lives and it’s not easy to talk about.

Does DSoD reward Seto’s self-destructive behavior too much? I would say I’m not here for moral lessons and life is full of so many contradictions, so many tangled complicated layered emotions. It’s fair to hold this as a personal gripe with DSoD, but given the amount of audience backlash and discussion over this ending I don’t personally feel it’s actually a fully rewarding message. It’s more layered and thematic than that to me.

For a film for a big money-making mainstream shonen franchise, DSoD is unusually arty.

Again, people have their own experiences and people need different things from art. Someone else will carry a different relationship to DSoD, and someone else may need different things to come to terms with grief.

Thank you for the ask. I hope this answer wasn’t too wordy. I think it’s good to form your own opinions too. Thank you for reading my rambling.

[kujakumai]

Wherefore Art Thou 5,010 words; Complete [AO3 Link]

Atem has come out the ceremonial duel not with death but with a life of his own, and with that comes questions, problems, paperwork. He'll need a checklist of things, a birthday, an address, a hometown, a last name. A weighty decision, a name. They already went through so much trouble getting the first one.

About being in the right-wrong body at the wrong-right time and the chances we never expected to get; about how I was always me and you are no one else but you, and we'll never be like that again, but there are still things we can share with each other.

Or: A story in which Atem writes some things down, gets a new shirt, and fails to buy eggs.

Sunlight. That was the first thing you noticed about the house, the way the Ishtar siblings had angled everything towards it, falling in through wide-open windows and flooding the kitchen, bouncing off golden antiques brought up from the tombs and settling over the plants Rishid left on counters and shelves. In a place with too much sunlight, where it radiated over the sand without end, this place welcomed it, as if there could never be enough.

The second thing that came to mind was that there was something off about it, like you couldn't tell when it was supposed to be. It was half in old Egypt and half in 1998, shiny modern convenience sitting next to remnants of the old ways. Artifacts and incense, videogame systems and new athletic shoes, crashing up against each other without rhyme or reason like a patchwork quilt, like an odds-and-ends drawer, like a warzone. Atem found it unpleasantly mismatched and a little ugly, but oddly comforting in a way he could not describe.

It wasn't big enough for an extended visit, but while they were all in Egypt the Ishtars insisted that they stay for dinner at least once—Rishid, they were informed, was an excellent cook. So Atem, Yugi, Jonouchi, Anzu, Honda, Otogi, and Bakura were all piled into the cozy too-small living room, strewn about couches and on pulled-in kitchen chairs, and even then a lack of space left Bakura cheerfully sitting cross-legged on the floor. Ten people, too many, laughing about nothing and everything, about Anzu's study abroad plans, Ishizu's work, Shizuka's health, and a brief tangent where Honda and Marik traded bike specifications in arcane mechanical terms that left everyone else out of the loop.

"Ateeeeeeem, you're so quiet." Jonouchi flopped onto an overstuffed chair that Honda was already sitting in, elbowing him in the face and squishing in over his objections. "This is your party!"

"Ah, sorry." He had been quiet, listening to the conversation without hearing it, letting everything wash over him.

"Leave him alone, he's busy." Anzu scolded. "Atem has to get those papers done for Marik, or we can't leave."

"Atem has time! He should relax."

They were all saying his name a lot, more than was natural. He suspected they'd all gotten together when he wasn't in the room and agreed to practice it so they could stop accidentally calling him "Yugi." So they tacked it on to the end of every sentence, Atem, Atem, Atem, a very old name in new voices that had never spoken it before, or maybe a brand-new name in old and safe and familiar ones, or both at once or neither depending on your point of view. They all kept saying it a little wrong, reflexively adding the shadow of a "u" at the end, not used to the foreignness of it. Atem knew he should tell them that wasn't quite right but he loved it, and every time he heard the way they said it it tugged at something in his chest and made him want to smile.

Atem was sitting on the couch next to Yugi. Because he could do that now, sit next to him, because he had a body. Because a day ago he and Yugi dueled, and instead of taking him away forever like everyone expected the doors opened up and spat him back out, flesh and blood all his own just like the day he died, and before he even knew what was going on he'd been tackle-hugged by four or five people and everyone was sobbing. So he'd walked back out into the world and the sunlight, a little dazed and on his own two feet. He'd left his crown and cape at the hotel, kept his earrings and his cartouche, and put on a t-shirt someone had hastily grabbed from a tourist tchotchke shop. It was bubblegum pink and had a cartoon sphinx on it, and didn't fit quite right because they bought it in Yugi's size.

Yugi leaned over his shoulder in a way that very real and warm and solid and definitely not incorporeal, which Atem somehow never expected no matter how many times it happened. "What's it say?"

Atem offered him the two or three pages he was holding. "You can read it if you want, partner." Was it weird to still call him partner? Partners in what? They weren't in the same body anymore, so they couldn't duel together, exactly. Should he call him something else? If he stopped saying partner, would Yugi notice? Would he be hurt? What was the better word, then?

"This is a lot of info." Yugi's eyes traced down the page. Not so much a form as a handwritten list. Name, date of birth, place of birth, address, parent's names, blood type. "Marik really needs all this?"

"Yes. The more the better." Marik was sitting on the floor, eating nuts out of a bowl on the coffee table and trading cards with Bakura. "You can make up the stuff you don't know, just try to keep it believable." He looked up and gave them a mischievous smile. "Or don't. Go wild, if you want. I'm just putting it on paper, if you get stopped at the airport because your expertly forged new passport says you're three thousand years old, it'll be on you."

"I think," Otogi noted, from the opposite end of the couch, "if you're inventing a whole new identity from scratch, you're obligated to include at least one thing that's a little crazy. For fun."

"Exactly."

"Please don't listen to anything Marik says." Ishizu Ishtar was dressed more casually than any of them had ever seen her, but she carried herself with a practiced grace that always somehow emanated authority. She walked in with a silver tray covered in mugs of something, and held it out to Marik with a look that wordlessly communicated the ancient sibling art of I did this part, now you do the next.

Marik made a face, but stood up and started passing out drinks, and as he walked by Atem caught his own distorted reflection in the polished surface, which startled him because he looked exactly like he was supposed to look and not like Yugi Muto. Same hair, certainly, but not much else. An inch and a half shorter, because Yugi had grown but he hadn't, broader shoulders, not as skinny, warm brown skin. It shouldn't be that weird, just to see himself in the mirror. He'd has his memories for a month, even if the body was new. He knew what he looked like.

Tiny little discrepancies in his new existence, like someone secretly moving all the furniture in your house two inches to the left. A thousand irritants too subtle to notice, too minute to bother complaining about. Food that tasted a little wrong because he was used to someone else's tastebuds, the abrupt change in eyeline that made all his friends slightly the wrong height, the sound of his own voice in his ears, now lightly accented, because his head still knew Yugi's perfect Japanese but his new (old?) mouth wasn't practiced with the sounds. He'd picked up a phone this morning and stood there for thirty seconds like an idiot, waiting for muscle memory to kick in, until he realized that it wouldn't and had to search and press each button in a way he knew was slow and wrong. The weight of the puzzle was conspicuous in its absence. He was so used to it hanging from his neck and resting against his chest that the lack of it was odd, an empty triangular space where something should be, the way you suddenly notice background music when someone turns it off.

Ishizu sat down with perfect posture, somehow made a displaced wooden kitchen chair look elegant. "If you do have problems at the airport," she said, "call me first. I know people at the embassy."

Rishid leaned casually out of the kitchen doorway. "You won't have problems." he said, a spatula in one hand, his Japanese polite and careful. "Marik's work is good. We have never had issues." He smiled. "Easier than god cards."

"My papers are real," Ishizu said, with the tiniest smirk, "but you don't have time for that, pharaoh."

Jonouchi half-stood up and reached over and snatched the papers out of Yugi's hand. "So how far didja get?"

"Hey!" Yugi objected.

"Dude," Honda squinted at it from next to Jonouchi, "did you write anything yet?"

"I was thinking." Atem said, not at all defensively.

Jonouchi reached over to a side table and grabbed a pen, and clicked it. "C'mon, let's get this done with." He skimmed the page and seemed to pick at random. "When's your birthday?"

"19th of—" he started, automatically, before realizing midsentence that it was not the sort of date that anyone could use. "Shemu Epiphi." he finished, out of momentum.

Jonouchi did not write down "Shemu Epiphi," or anything like it, and just looked at him blankly, pen at the ready, awaiting clarification. Atem did not have any.

"Low water," added awkwardly, was the best that he could do.

Ishizu threw him a life raft. "That would be in the summer. Somewhere in July, I would think."

"It is not." Marik objected. "That has to be May or June. Early June."

"I'm sorry, Marik, do you have a degree in Egyptology?"

"No, but I—RISHID! Epiphi is early summer, right?"

"I cannot hear you, I'm cooking!"

Ishizu curtly gestured at Jonouchi to continue. "We will do the math later."

"Alright, easier one." Jonouchi resumed. "Place of birth?"

"Nowe." he said. The name rolled easily off his tongue. Capital city, on the river's east bank.

Jonouchi clearly did not recognize the name, and didn't write this one down either. He shot a glance at Ishizu.

"That's here." she corrected, or perhaps merely offered. "Luxor." She gave Atem what he was sure was supposed to be a reassuring smile. "Of course, in the interim it was Thebes, and in the Old Kingdom before your time they called it Waset, and there are several other..."

Jonouchi nodded and scribbled something on the page, and Atem felt weakly like he should object, because he wasn't born in Luxor, and this city was new and strange to him, and it wasn't the right answer. The right answer didn't exist, though, not anymore. There were only the ruins of what had once been right answers, crumbled to dust and built over by strangers, studied by experts and marveled at by tourists.

It wasn't wrong, it just wasn't right either. How he and Yugi kept bumping into each other because they didn't expect to both be corporeal, how the Ishtars' decor was confusingly out of time yet entirely correct, how he was alive and with his friends a day after everyone expected him to die and how the whole place smelled like food and sounded like laughter and it was supposed to be for him but for some reason he wasn't happy, how he mostly felt strange and tense and like he was doing everything wrong. A pervasive sense of not-rightness, all over his skin.

"Alright! Making progress! Next up is the easiest one of 'em all, name. First is Atem, aaaaand..." He paused. "What's your last name?"

Atem thought about this. Technically as pharaoh he had six names, none of which would sound normal on a birth certificate. "That's not really how it worked."

"You gotta have a last name, Atem."

"I don't know what to tell you. That's not how we did it." He smiled. That's what you're supposed to do, when you're alive and with your friends and at a party and everyone is staring at you waiting for an answer, is smile. Smiling always helped, when you didn't know what to say.

Yugi was thinking, and he leaned forward and tapped the back of his foot on the bottom of the couch. "I guess you can just pick something?"

"If you want to be boring, you can just choose something common." suggested Marik. "Omar, Sayed, Hassan. There's a ton of Hassans."

"He wants to be a Japanese citizen though, right?" Bakura piped up. "If he doesn't want to stand out, he could be a Satou, or a Tanaka."

Discord erupted. Suddenly everyone had a suggestion.

"I think he's going to stand out regardless..." "Just use your dad's name, maybe?" "He doesn't look like a Sayed." "Atem...puzzle? No, that's stupid." "Something related to pharaohs? Lots of names that mean king." "Takahashi sounds nice." "How about—" "What if—"

In the midst of the fracas, new names dueling on all sides, Yugi had his own polite suggestion, offered from right next to his ear. "You could always be Muto." he said, with a tiny shrug, like it was nothing. "Grandpa already thinks you're his grandson anyway." he added, with a smile.

The discussion continued but Atem froze and felt his mouth dry up, the world still moving while he stood still, and all of it turned to noise.

Names were still being thrown across the room but somewhere between "Kamiya" and "Qadir," Rishid poked his head out of the kitchen again. "I hate to interrupt, but I'm short an egg. Could someone run to the corner and—"

Atem stood up a little too quickly. "I will go." he announced, in the solemn tone of someone volunteering for a dangerous quest to save the realm from evil and not going down the street for a minor kitchen staple.

"You...sure, Atem?" Marik never added the phantom u. He pronounced it like he'd been doing it all his life. "We can make someone else go."

"Or you could go, Marik." Ishizu remarked.

"Nah, I'm good."

Atem was already extricating himself from the living room. "No! It's fine. I need the fresh air. And it's nice to see more of...Luxor." Keep smiling. No problems.

Atem escaped before anyone could say another word, out into the evening air. The desert didn't hold heat, but it was the end of summer, so it was only pleasantly cool. He was mostly looking for a place to breathe. After a block or so of wandering while looking very much like he knew what he was doing, because nothing in this city was where it was supposed to be anymore, he settled for a quiet bench under a date palm where there weren't many passersby.

And he managed to breathe.

He had lungs now, to breathe in. His own lungs, without borrowing. He tried to calm his antsy heartbeat and it didn't work very well.

Breathe. You're alive now. It is a good thing, to be alive. You are alive and everyone is so happy to see you.

He just hadn't been expecting it, was the problem.

"You can tell us if it's too much, you know." Atem nearly jumped out of his skin when Yugi spoke, appeared from nowhere, nearly silhouetted against the sunset. "It's okay. You've only been back for a day."

"No!" Smile. "No. I'm fine." He almost said "partner," and then didn't. Of course Yugi noticed. Of course Yugi went after him. Yugi, always after him. Yugi, always behind him, always standing just out of view.

"I wish you wouldn't lie to my face." There wasn't any malice in it. Yugi said it plainly, merely politely stating a fact in that incisive way he did. When did that happen, that Yugi stood up so straight and spoke so plainly? He tilted his head and gave him a small, sweet mile, the one that seemed to say You are not as good at hiding your feelings as you think you are. You get away with it because I let you.

Atem tried not to let a muscle in his face move, or show the way the words pierced right through him. Sometimes talking to Yugi felt like getting caught.

"Can I sit down?"

"Of course." Atem moved over.

Yugi sat down and bumped against him, in a way that continued to be very warm and solid and he should be getting used to that why isn't he used to it and why does it surprise him every single time stay cool stay cool stay cool.

Evening was turning into dusk and porchlights and windows were flicking on, yellow spots across the neighborhood. He and Yugi sat in silence.

On instinct, he mentally reached out Yugi in the way he always did, linked hearts and minds, and instead smashed facefirst into a brick wall in his own head. There wasn't any way out of himself. No other heart, no second voice or presence to be detected. Just his own thoughts, bouncing back at him over and over again when he least wanted them. He was so used to their peculiar sort of cohabitation, Yugi's thoughts drifting at the edges of his own, Yugi's memories crystal clear, Yugi's joy and Yugi's grief and Yugi's rage, tangled together until he lost track of what belonged to who. That was all gone now, had stopped abruptly at the start of the ceremonial duel. Whatever was going on in Yugi's head now was fraught and unknown to him. He put a hand up to his chest, instinctively, but there was no hefty chain to grab, so instead it wrapped around the much smaller cartouche, pressing the hieroglyphs into his palm.

"Sorry." Yugi looked up at him, sheepish. "I keep thinking things at you. None of that works anymore, but for some reason I keep expecting you to answer. It's weird, right?"

"I was thinking the same thing."

Yugi laughed, short and bright. "We have to get better at talking to each other."

"We do." He nodded, watching the sunset. "But some things are harder to say out loud."

Yugi considered this quietly. "They are," he said, "but we have to try."

More silence, easier this time. It was starting to get cold. Wind ran through the grass.

There are a lot of things, in fact, that are very difficult to say out loud. Many of them can arise from a situation wherein roughly 24 hours ago you were going to die, or more accurately that you asked your friends to kill you, and they did, because that is what they thought you wanted, because that is what you insisted you wanted. That you were a weight around Yugi's neck who did not belong in this world and whose time had long passed but now the chain was broken and you suddenly had a whole future in front of you that no one had told you was an option before and you have no idea where it goes or what happens next.

Atem was usually very good at knowing how to say things. He knew how princes were supposed to speak, and then learned how kings are supposed to speak, and then how friendly ghosts and great duelists were supposed to speak. None of those scripts fit anymore, and he didn’t have one to fall back on. He had assumed he would be dead by now and therefore had not written one. Another empty space where something should be. Now he had, what, another 70 years? That sounded like a very long time. He didn’t know of a script that went on that long and no one seemed set to provide one.

There were no clouds in this part of the desert, almost never, since there was never any rain, so the sky was clear and endless. More empty spaces, this one too big and dark to look at without getting vertigo, too much to look at at once. It seemed like it could swallow someone whole.

"There are endless options." He blinked at the sky, not looking at Yugi. "And it's so important. You only get one. How am I supposed to know what to do with it?"

Yugi smiled. "It's just a name. You can call yourself anything you want. It's up to you." He added, "You get two, technically."

"The first one is already done."

"Then that should narrow it down, right?"

"Anything that I want." he repeated, but he said the words reluctantly, like describing a pain he didn't want to trouble everyone by complaining about. He closed his eyes, as if tired. "I was never expecting to have to make the choice."

"I guess it is a lot." he said, looking down. "Sorry if I upset you earlier. You don't have to be a Muto if you don't want to." He was pretending not to be a little sad. "It was just a suggestion. I know you have your own name, and family."

Atem scrambled to ensure that Yugi didn't feel like he'd done something wrong. "It's not that." He struggled, again, in the search for the right words, a feeling that continued to be alien in its frustration. "It's not about that."

Yugi looked at him, curious, waiting for an explanation.

He didn't know how to explain it. That he was trying not to impose. That was all he'd done, for years, was impose on something that wasn't his, and Yugi had quietly let him and Atem didn't want to anymore. That Yugi let him have everything, and it wasn't right. He did not want to be the reason Yugi didn't stand up straight, and he was trying to find the right way not to be.

There had to be a way, for him to live and for them to be different. There had to be a balance, a way for him to be here and for Yugi to stand on his own, a way for them to sit together and be alone in their own heads, a way for them to share so much and be such different people, a way for them to rely on each other but in the right way, in the way you're supposed to, and not the way where they become each other's crutch. There had to be a way, because he couldn't be here and alive if meant that Yugi was going to keep standing in his shadow, because if there wasn't a way he would have to leave, and he didn't want to leave. He didn't want to leave. He never wanted to leave. How do you say all of that, though? Where do you even start?

Well. Out loud, maybe.

Yugi stood up off the bench and stretched, watched the strangers walking down the street. "You don't have to go back with us, if you don't want to." he said, his back still to him.

"What do you mean?"

"We all just kind of assumed." Yugi wasn't looking at him, quiet and plaintive. "This is where you're from, right? If you decided you wanted to stay, we wouldn't be mad at you. You should do whatever feels right." Yugi Muto's brave face, a shallow fake-cheer Atem knew very well, how Yugi swallowed fear the same way he covered up spiked accessories.

"No!" He said it a little too fast, a little too loud. "I told you, I want to be with you forever." He felt very stupid, saying that so loud, like it was obvious, a cheesy promise from years ago.

Yugi looked back at him again and smiled, relieved.

"It's just that I—" he started, attempted, still no script, he hated not having a script, looking like an idiot fumbling through uncharted territory.

Yugi waited.

"...We can't be," he said, "the same person."

Yugi wasn't expecting this answer, and after a moment of surprise he seemed to think it was a little funny. "That's what you're worried about?"

"You don't need me to take your place." he insisted. "It is yours, and I won't take it from you. You have to stand on your own."

Yugi glanced at the ground and murmured to himself, thinking. "Not in my place, and not in front." He sighed. "Can't you stand next to me?"

"What?"

Yugi's smile, sheepish, uncertain, polite, but always with more determination in his eyes than most people expected. "I don't want you to be me. We're not doing that anymore." Yugi stood up straighter, resolute. "I'm Yugi Muto, and I'm no one else but me." he recited, a day-old quote and a tongue-in-cheek imitation, and not a bad impression either. Atem felt a deep twinge of embarrassment hearing his own words thrown back at him. "And you're Atem! The only Atem in the world." He reached out a hand. "But if it's okay, I was thinking we could be Yugi and Atem together."

Atem took it, hesitantly, and let Yugi pull him off the bench, with more strength than he expected from Yugi, but there it was. Solid and strong and mutually corporeal.

"I'm glad you didn't really have to go." Yugi said. "If you left because of me, I don't know what I would have…" He trailed off, frowning.

"…Let's go back." Atem said, gently. "Before they worry about us."

And Yugi and Atem set off for the night, together and apart.

"What about the eggs?"

"...I don't have any money."

"Atem! What were you going to do?"

"I would have figured something out, partner."

--

"ATEM!" There it was again, that phantom u. Jonouchi was standing up as tall as he could make himself, face bright beet red in the way it got when he knew that whatever he was about to say was horribly schmaltzy and embarrassing but was going through with it anyway. Oh, god.

Atem smiled. "Yes, Jonouchi?"

"We were talking while you were gone." he said, crossed his arms, standing brazenly in the middle of the Ishtars' living room. "And I just wanted to, well, that you should know, maybe, thaaaat..."

"Spit it out, idiot!"

"Shut UP, Honda!" Jonouchi hissed, and you could hear at least three people snicker.

"I wanted to say," he continued, "that as a token of our friendship, and our unbreakable bond as duelists, if you really needed a name," he said, "You could be a Jonouchi. If you wanted."

"I am honored." he said, with the utmost gravity. "I will keep that in mind."

And Jonouchi nodded at him, and he nodded at Jonouchi, and this was all either of them needed to say.

"Um," Bakura started, politely raising his hand as if asking the teacher to call on him, "I pulled up the site I use to name role-playing characters and searched by etymological root, and I got a bunch that have meanings I thought you would like."

"And we," Marik said, with an arm around Otogi, who tolerated it with an awkward smile, "told him which ones were awful and made him cross them off the list until only the good ones were left."

"Thank you." he said, and meant it. "Anyone else?" he asked, as a joke.

Anzu looked like she wanted to say something, but when his eyes fell on her she just blushed. "It's not urgent. You'll think of something."

"He'll figure it out." Honda said. "We already almost died getting the first one. I think he can handle the next name by himself."

"I will." he said. He again reached up reflexively to touch the puzzle, but there was nothing there, so instead he just let it rest on his chest, which was his and no one else's, even if that still felt a little wrong. He would get used to it. He could.

Ishizu, standing in the doorway of the kitchen, sensed an end to the conversation and promptly intervened. "You know, you can all eat dinner as soon as you're ready. Any time now."

--

Somewhere around two in the morning, a couple of hotel rooms sat empty because everyone was having too much fun to leave the house once it got too late and the adults did not have the heart to kick them out. Instead Honda and Jonouchi had fallen asleep in one chair, curled up in a position they would both be very embarrassed about when they woke up in it tomorrow morning, which they would not do until after Otogi took photos; Anzu and Atem were both using Yugi as a headrest, close on either side of the couch; Otogi held a throw pillow and snored. The only ones left standing, Marik and Bakura, were still playing cards in the half-light until eventually ever so softly Marik asked, "So is he really just...gone?" to which Bakura smiled vacantly, opaquely, and did not answer except to put his deck back together, mid-game, and say he was going to bed.

Eventually the sun rose over the Nile, but there was no palace and no pharaoh for it to shine on, because there hadn't been a king of this country since 1952. Instead it fell through the windows of an ordinary house and on a very ordinary boy in a pink t-shirt, who wasn't a king of anything but just another exhausted teenager in a pile, drooling a little and holding tight to another ordinary teenager who bore a faint resemblance to him. When he woke up he would realize that he had no idea what he was going to do that day, and that was scary, but probably fine; and very soon he would go home and meet grandpa, properly as himself, and not realize until a few days in that he had been saying "home" and "grandpa" automatically and no one had tried to correct him, not once.

That would be in a few days, though. Today they would visit tourist traps, and buy a shirt that fit him better, and hand Marik a stack of papers, to which he would chew on the end of his pen and nod before returning less than an hour later with an ID and a birth certificate, and a copy of the left leg of Exodia as a freebie.

--

M U T O , A T E M 7 / 2 7 / 1980 KAME GAME 4-1-8, DISTRICT K.C., DOMINO-CHOU

[prickly-bulbasaur]

Atem's Last Adventure

Yugi was nervous, but it was nothing compared to the ache in his heart knowing that his spiritual friend Atem, who had been with him for several years, would have to leave now that Zorc Monster was defeated and return to the Shadow Realm.

Yugi, for the hundredth time, stop overthinking. It is hard enough for me to say goodbye soon when you flood me with your thoughts and emotions.

“S-Sorry. You and I have been together for years ever since I solved the Millennium Puzzle and I see you as a big brother of sorts. Hard to say goodbye to someone who is like family.”

A big brother? Atem chuckled as he gave it some thought. I guess that fits considering all the trouble you and our friends seem to get into.

“Hey! A good portion of it was because of your reincarnated enemies!” Yugi yelled back, huffing as he put on the choker. “Luckily, now that you have your memories you remembered a spell that lets others see you for 24 hours.” Yugi chuckled lowly, causing Atem to sweat nervously as his host blocked his ‘thoughts’. “You know Teia will be using that to her fullest.”

Atem chuckled nervously, aware that she was a plan demon and would create an entire itinerary in one day.

—

“You two are late!” Teia yelled, glaring at Yugi and Atem while Joey and Tristan snickered behind her, pointing at the duo. Yugi apologized profusely while Atem just gave an eye twitch of annoyance. “What took you so long?!”

“We happened to run into Kaiba and Mokuba on the way here,” Yugi said, removing his shoes before sitting on the picnic blanket. “He was saying goodbye to Atem in his own…unique way.”

Joey snorted and laughed. “If you mean giving a long-winded speech about losing one of his rivals and having a slight ego trip, then yeah, then that sounds like Kaiba all right! Always complicates things.” 

“True but in a way it is refreshing. The Seto I knew had the same persona, and he was a dear friend to me. He may be crass, but Seto has a pure heart.” Atem replied and sat next to Yugi before being handed the sandwiches and drink. “So after this what do we have planned?”

Teia smiled. “Well, after this we will go to the amusement park, then shopping though I know it will be pointless since you won’t be able to take the items home, but there are a few outfits on sale I need to get, then the movies will be after this followed by dinner…” She continued to  list everything in her planner, again causing Yugi and Atem to sweat nervously, and Joey and Tristan fell asleep within a minute of her monologue. “Then we can take an hour to two break before the night festivities in Kyoto before watching the sunrise at the Shrine!”

“Teia, we are supposed to give Atem a fun time not run him ragged,” Joey replied after waking up. “Besides, there are things we want to do with him, it wouldn’t be fair if we just use your list. I mean, I want to show him one of the best eating joints where I haven’t even shown Yugi yet.”

“Joey’s right, we should be mindful of others' choices, including Atem’s. After all, he will have to leave in a few days.” 

The mood suddenly changed to something somber, their hearts aching at the thought of their friend leaving. They may not have known Atem as long as Yugi, but they have had so many adventures together that he was one of them.

Joey suddenly chuckled, remembering the day they officially met Yugi’s Alter Ego. “Remember the first time we met?”

Tristen snapped his fingers at the memory. “That’s right! We’d been trapped in our favorite cards by Yami Bakura and that was when we got introduced to Atem, or at that time Yugi’s Alter Ego.” Everyone chuckled at the remembrance.

“Yeah, a complete surprise to us all. Talk about a difference in personalities, and height! Itte!” Joey hissed in pain as Yugi slapped him in the back of his head, huffing at the height jab. He glared at Yugi before grabbing him in a light choke hold, bringing him close, and noogied his head. “You are the runt of the group, Yugi, even Yami/Atem here is a few inches taller!”

Everyone laughed as Yugi struggled to get free from Joey’s grasp before finally being released, huffing and glaring at the offender before laughing himself. “Yeah, it was definitely a weird experience, and feeling the magic of the cards was interesting. Atem protected us as much as possible too when our lives were put in a dangerous situation.”

“Don’t remind me,” Joey shuddered as he remembered almost disappearing from life and the Shadow Realm. “I was seconds away from that Reaper taking my soul. Monster Reborn was the Ace I didn’t know I needed.”

“Too bad it didn’t help improve your intelligence.” Tristen snickered, before leaning back as Joey went bighead.

“HEY!!”

Everyone laughed again at the interaction, and Atem was smiling at the familial rivalry the duo had, again reminding him of the rivalry between him and his cousin Seto a millennia ago. They battled constantly to improve their abilities to summon monsters, rivals even to this era.

“You know,” Atem sighed, getting the attention of his friends. “This has been an amazing adventure. From meeting Yugi and helping with not-so-normal duels, getting to know everyone and rediscovering my name, to saving the world from a millennia-sealed monster, I can’t think of anything more fun than dealing with challenges alongside my friends.”

“Hell yeah!” Joey agreed. “It beats a normal life any day!”

“Well, it beats my old life that's for sure.” Yugi looked down as he remembered the bullying in middle school. “I never had any friends until I solved the puzzle. You gave me the courage to stand up for what I believe in. I am blessed to have the friends that I have now and will have in the future.” 

Atem’s lips slightly wobbled as an emotion tried to escape him before putting a hand on Yugi’s shoulder. “Well, now you have friends to continue your adventure. Mine will be in another Realm, but no matter what I will always have you all in my heart.”

Everyone hugged Atem, nearly crushing his ribcage from their monster strength. “I-I don’t think I want to enter the Realm this way, guys…”

Again everyone laughed before Teia looked at her watch and squeaked, yelling at them to finish and pack up before the movie started. She may not have been using all of her itinerary, but she was not going to let him miss the movie, no matter what.

[x-atlas-x]

🦄back atcha for puzzle boys :>

but also.......... anything for 🐅 for my boy Jou?👉🏻👈🏻

Ooh, okay!! This one is gonna be so much fun :D

🦄 - Characters’ Physical Appearance

Let’s start with Yugi:

I feel like Yugi would have piercings because why not? He loves dressing edgy to begin with, so having piercings means more jewelry to cover his body in.

Wears all black most of the time, but dresses in professional clothes (like his DSOD fits) when he has to run errands or he’s working. I think he’d wear platforms to add some height and tease Atem about being shorter than him now.

Chains and leather everywhere, a phase he doesn’t grow out of from high school. There are some days where he just goes out in pure bondage because it makes him happy. He’s embraced this unique side of him, and he’s okay with being the odd one out. Wears eyeliner, but he’s jealous of Atem’s natural ability to apply it onto himself.

Depending on if that pink part of his hair is natural or not, I like the thought of him dyeing it different colors (I mainly have this headcanon for modern AUs, but it can work for canon too). At one point, he does it full rainbow, but swears to never do it again because it’s too complicated to separate each color in his hair.

Atem time!

I love the thought of him having curly hair. Whether it’s 3C or 4C matters none to me, it’s just great in general. Let this man have curly hair 🙏

I believe Atem would also get some piercings here and there. Maybe not as many as Yugi, but definitely a good amount so he can decorate his body as he pleases. He loves to match his jewelry, and occasionally will have matching earrings or necklaces with Yugi.

I like him wearing clothes that are loose and flow nicely because it’s reminiscent of what he wore back in ancient Egypt. It’s also another feeling of freedom to him, not being constrained by tight fitting clothes like Yugi wears. Sometimes he’ll wear darker outfits when he’s in the mood, but most of the time, he and Yugi are like Yin and Yang, complete opposites (fashion wise).

Naturally good at his eyeliner/kohl, something he remembers from his past. Whenever Yugi gets frustrated with it, he offers to do it for him (insert that one drawing meme of sitting on someone while doing their makeup).

And, of course, he intermingles silver and gold jewelry to match both Yugi’s choker that he was given and the cartouche Anzu gave him.

🐅 - Characterization: Character habits, personality, etc.

For Jou! Ahh, yay, I never get to talk about him, but I have some headcanons for him in my brain ^^

In the beginning of the manga/show, we all know Jou is a bully that picks on Yugi. However, he learns about friendship and how to be a good friend. He’s there for all of his friends whenever they’re going through a tough time, and he supports them to the best of his abilities.

He prefers to be independent, and he doesn’t like offloading his problems onto his friends (hypocrite). He’d rather deal with them by himself than let everyone know what’s going on in his personal life. He swears to never drink alcohol because he despises the behavior/bad habits of his father. He smokes sometimes to relieve himself of stress, but he gradually stops when he finds dueling as another means of escape from reality.

He goes to Yugi’s house a lot to play video games, teaches Atem certain customs he’s not familiar with, walks with Honda sometimes, accompanies Anzu when she needs a shopping buddy (even though he hates it), and takes his sister out on the town.

He’s protective over everyone and always throws himself in danger to avoid them getting hurt or involved. He never wants to see his friends in a bad situation, and he’ll do everything in his power to get them out of it. He aspires to follow in Atem’s footsteps after everything Atem has done for him. He sees him step down from the plate after being resurrected and decides to take his place for him when it comes to defending everyone.

We all know he has his flirtatious, naughty attitude, but when it truly comes to dating someone, you know he’s gonna take good care of whoever it is. Good boyfriend and good brother.

In the past, you would’ve never caught Jou doing anything out of the norm. He would’ve laughed in your face about it and called you a loser. Now, he doesn’t care. He sees how freeing it is for both Yugi and Atem to be who they want and dress how they want. If Shizuka wants to paint his nails for her own enjoyment, then he’ll gladly let her do it and not care if he keeps it on when he goes out in public. It made her happy, and frankly, he doesn’t care what other people think (though he was embarrassed and flustered about it when he first started stepping out of his comfort zone).

[necrosin]

sometimes it occurs to yuugi that they probably EMBARRASS THEIR FRIENDS by virtue of their mere existence. when they press too close, nearly always touching, limbs overlapping, small displays of affection, all done without thought nor concern to their surroundings. pda has always been something that the group laughed about, tittering to each other, heads ducked together, sharing in one constant, gently cajoling, inside joke that always came back around, without fail. whenever a pair would start dating at school, unable to keep their hands off of each other, whenever honda would reach out for miho, for shizuka, a lovelorn expression on his face, only to duck out of jounouchi's swing whenever shizuka was involved, yuugi and anzu giggling to each other. whenever yuugi had stared longingly at anzu's hand, much too afraid to reach out.

it was different with friendly touches, an arm throw across shoulders, hands hoisting him in the air, fingers tousling his hair, small scuffles and wrestling matches, shoulders bumping, locking elbows together to walk in tandem, laughing, so on and so forth.

❛ i don't think i could ever do it, ❜ yuugi once said, laughing / the idea of it was terrifying / of reaching out to someone you adore in full sight of everyone and all the stars and beings in the sky / the idea had made him shy, the idea of being able to TOUCH ATEM ALONE had made him unbearable in his bashfulness, fingers poking together and head ducking and the whole song and dance, and yet ——

maybe it's a result of LITERALLY SHARING A BODY? what could possibly be closer than that? yuugi knows, knows now, that strange ache that fills him, that burst from his soul, a plaintive sort of wanting soothed only by proximity to atem upon his return to the land of the living ; as though his body protests at any distance between them at all, as though his soul demands for them to crawl back inside of each other, make homes inside of each other. physically, not just spiritually. and, short of literally tearing each other apart, near-constant touch is, really, the only other way to go ; which means that their hands tangle and their knees bump and their legs are thrown over each other and their arms intertwine and it's like friendly touches but not. INTENTION, and whatnot.

which is to say : YUUGI ISN'T SURPRISED WHEN THEIR FRIENDS ABANDON THEM AT THE ARCADE / they were practically sitting on top of each other without meaning to, his legs thrown over atem's, shoulders pressing close as they squint at the claw machine together, determined to win that beloved prize of a HUGE PLUSH to add to their ever growing ( slightly alarming ) collection. they were still nearby, of course, it's rare for them to get time together, anymore : distance and responsibilities and adulthood keeping them apart, but they were probably SICK OF THEM / in an affectionate way, of course.

❝ —— oh !! ❞ yuugi surges forward, the concentration on his face slipping as he drops the claw onto the corner of the giant plush they had thoroughly persuaded with nothing but brute force into getting closer to the prize slot, watching as it tips and tips and tips. ❝ atem, atem, i think this is it, ❞ he says, as though atem isn't right there, as though their arms hadn't been entangled and their shoulders pressed together and their sides of their hips pressed flush, bouncing slightly as he goes.

they watch with baited breath as it tips and tips and tips and then FALLS at long, long last. yuugi cheers and atem shouts in triumph, both of their hands lifting in celebration as they rotate towards each other, high fiving each other automatically, palms pressing and fingers tangling thereafter. "good work, aibou," atem grins / sounds pleased / warmly proud / soon he'll have to dedicate himself to getting another oversized plushie, just to make it even.

❝ nahhh, ❞ yuugi laughs, swaying close to atem, ❝ you did half the work, atem. ❞

atem laughs / chuckles / lifts their hands to press his mouth against the back of yuugi's hand, lips warm and sticky-soft with the lip gloss that he had snagged from anzu. despite himself, yuugi feels his heart flutter, a thrill bubbling through him / HE FEELS ALMOST SHY, AGAIN / like he's a blushing teenager utterly gone for the spirit that he shared a body with / his head even ducks for a moment !! ❝ i did 40% of the work, maybe. ❞

❝ pfffff, ❞ yuugi rolls his eyes, pressing close because he can, a quick kiss ( really more of a smooch, which should be embarrassing but isn't ) slanted across atem's mouth, the taste of cherries lingering as he flits in and then out / not lingering because while they were definitely guilty of EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF PDA, there are limits —— probably. it's just that he couldn't help but kiss him for a moment, his treasured atem, before pulling away to drag out the massive baby chick plushie that is, somehow, wider than he is. ❝ ready for the next one? ❞

❝ always. ❞

THE INTIMACY OF HANDS.—— [ hand kiss ] for the sender’s muse to kiss the back of the receiver’s hand.

[gx-gameon]

Slifer Slacker Jaden Mouto

Seto wasn’t upset the first time he heard that Jaden was in the Slifer dorm. After all that’s the system he set up. 1st years in Slifer. 2nd years in Ra. And 3rd years in Obelisk.

But he is furious when he finds out how the school is running the three dorms. His son, the son of the king of games and Seto Kaiba, is in the worst dorm? The dorm for drop outs? Is Seto missing something? He watched his son duel that pants off of one of the teachers durning his entrance exam. Is everyone in this staff stupid? Like yes Jaden is laid back but it’s a dueling school, his son is a pronominal duelist. Seto knows he was trained by the best…..and Wheeler.

The only reason the whole staff isn’t fired is Jaden. Yugi calls Jaden regularly. Jaden goes off on his own for privacy when he talks to his dad. He tell him everything, they are super close. He knows he can trust his dad with anything. And Yugi trust Jaden to know when to ask for help. He’ll be there in a heartbeat for his baby boy but he’s not going to over step Jaden’s boundaries. After all most of Jaden’s freshman year is relatively normal (for them)

Jaden tell Yugi all the ways Crowler tried to get him expelled but he’s always laughing and telling Yugi what a fun duel he had. Yugi might not like that this adult has it out for his kid but Jaden likes his teacher. And Yugi has to remember that people change. Joey, Tristian, Duke, and Seto weren’t the nicest people when he met them. But he knows Kaiba won’t see it this way. Nor will Atem. He doesn’t lie to them. He hates lying to them. But when he tells them about his calls with Jaden and his….adventures he knows he has to talk them down from storming the school and challenging Crowler to a duel.

He has to remind them that Jaden is happy. He’s having fun. And he’s sure that this teachers grudge will blow over. If it doesn’t they can step in but right now Jaden’s getting the opportunity to duel people a 1st year normally wouldn’t. So while know of them like it, Jaden is happy and being challenged so it’s okay, for now. (But if Jaden is hurt by Crowler though it will be game over)

Seto still wants to have Jaden moved up to Obelisk. They’re the best (apparently) and the dorms are much better taken care of (again he’s overhauling this school once Jaden leaves) but Jaden doesn’t want to move. Part of it is his friends. But the bigger part is that Slifer has always been ‘Yugi’s’ Egyptian god card.

His whole life the three Egyptian god cards have belong to Uncle Atem, but he knows battle city. And while Slifer was technically Yugi and Atem’s first Egyptian god card. He likes that he’s in his Dad’s dorm. Wearing the Slifer Jacket and being called the Slifer Slacker reminds him of his dad in a weird way. He treasures that connection. (Yes Obelisk is Oto-san’s card but it’s not the same)

But the 1st year is pretty calm until the Shadow riders come around.

Jaden misses a call with Yugi and as much as Yugi trusts his son, he’s panicking.

Jaden calls a few days later and tells them all about the Shadow riders and how he just dueled a vampire and the whole DM cast is like, “Oh no not this again.” Even Yugi’s ready to go but Jaden asks them to trust him. He knows he can do this and that even though they’ve lost some keys he and his friends can keep the rest safe. (Spoilers: they cannot keep the keys safe)

Yugi decides to trust Jaden. He almost has a panic attack when Jaden calls him to tell him about his duel against the sacred beast cards. “Seto why were those cards there! What if they were like the Egyptian god cards? What if Jaden got hurt?”

[zorcskhakis]

maybe something with Atem and Ryou? go wild :^)

(GREAT prompt I haven't thought much about how they would interact before but this one was super fun!)

"This evening was very entertaining, Ryou. Thank you for arranging it."

Ryou looked up from the board game box where he had been arranging the pieces as the rest of the group was sprawled in various states of half-asleep daze across the couches and on pillows on the floor, a movie Ryou couldn't name playing quietly in the background. It was late - nearly two in the morning, Ryou observed as his gaze shifted to the clock.

He turned his attention back to Atem, somewhat surprised at his sudden declaration. "Oh... of course. It was nice to have everyone over."

Atem never talked to him much, and Ryou had been nervous - as he was about everyone, he was beginning to realize - that perhaps Atem did not like him. His regal air was intimidating, and despite boasting several inches on him, Ryou felt small in his presence. But here he stood, conversing with a friendly smile.

"I'm very happy that you and Yugi are together."

Ryou blinked at him. "Really?"

Atem nodded sincerely. "Yugi has always wanted to be closer to you, and I know it was difficult for him to see you be so distant over the years. He's been happier lately."

Ryou grimaced. At the time, of course, he'd thought nothing of how much he isolated himself - it was only now that he'd tried to connect with everyone again that he realized how he'd inadvertently hurt them by spending so much time pulling away. Not that they blamed him, of course - they'd been all too happy to welcome him back with open arms, and even Bakura with him - but a faint guilt nagged at him all the same.

"Well... I'm glad."

"Yugi and I have a strong bond, so it's important to me that he's with people who make him happy. I'm sure you understand - it's the same for you."

Ryou could not stop himself from laughing out loud at that. "Uh. I think it's a bit different for me and Bakura. He needed someone to teach him how to be a person, and that just happened to end up being me. And he's still... very much a work in progress."

Atem chuckled. "Well, I think we may be more alike than you realize. And by the way... Yugi mentioned you play Duel Monsters as well."

Ryou nodded. "Yes, that's right."

"Kaiba and I will be touring in tag-duel tournaments soon," Atem said, glancing back at where Kaiba had dozed off sitting bolt-upright in a chair. "Kaiba would never admit it, but we could use some practice against actual duelists, not just his simulations. Perhaps you and Yugi would like to help?"

Ryou nodded with a small smile. "Sure. I'll warn you though - I'm a lot better than Bakura, and I'll give you an even tougher time with Yugi on my side..."

Atem grinned enthusiastically. "Marvelous! You two will be just the sort of strong opponents we need to hone our skills."