#these two just can't work until you put Yugi in between them

[shinayashipper]

I cannot stand KaiAte but AteKai is... well, just to relieve Tension it's Nice 👀 but specifically with Atem being Mean to Kaiba if you know what I mean... heh

[hereforthefunnyguys]

Just a thought, but like you should totally talk about how much you love irateshipping.

I lvoe it so much you guys my thoughts are sometimes easy to figure out and sometimes they're just kind of a blurry static field of warmth but i'll try my best.

As a side note, this got. Uh. Long. So it's under a cut now.

Okay so the first thing I adore about it is that it can really easily switch between a kind of funny domestic dynamic with two teenagers who don't know how to make emotions work and also can be “fucked up traumatized dudes try to kill each other with a gun.” That part is great for me.

Second of all, I talk a lot about like mariks perspective on the whole thing but I don’t know if I talk about Joey's perspective on the whole thing where like... Marik is objectively everything he hates. He's controlling, he's wealthy, he's narcissistic, he's like kaiba if kaiba was somehow worse and had nicer hair <- whoa who said that? Yet he still possesses a kind of inherent charm that ends up pulling you in closer and sort of forces Joey to have some kind of feeling about him, whether that be hatred or love or just "Wow! What a Freak".

I like to picture (read: there's no canon evidence for it, but a man can fantasize) that there's kind of a... weird attraction to Marik, especially with the brainwashing in a "i don't have to think anymore" way. Like, uh how do I explain this; Joey is used to having to work all the time to support himself and his family.

He goes for 7 straight hours at school doing work he doesn't understand with teachers that hate him, around friends that love him (and he loves back!) but always seem to overshadow him and, at least in canon, don't seem to quite 'get' the situation he's in at home, plus, you know, Yugi + Atem always overshadowing with the one big hobby he has. Then he goes back home, gets yelled at by his dad and has to play tip-toe around him (or, at least, I'd assume so), then hauls ass out to go work until 9:00, buy cheap dinner, then collapses and wakes up at 6:30 the next morning to go work again before going to school again. He's burning out 24/7. First man to ever desperately need a workers union for the simple act of existing.

But then Marik comes along with the Ghouls, and gets to say, you don't need to think anymore. You don't have to worry anymore. All the decisions are made for you. And it's never explicitly stated (probably because it would be a lie lmao) but in Joey's head this also has a connotation of you're finally safe. And you know what? To Joey, that's kind of blissful. No thinking. No more worrying. Just sort of... existing.

Of course, he hates it too, obviously. It's sickening to feel yourself be puppeted like that, out of your own control, forced to fight the people you love, etc. So we can't be having that. But there is still a certain bond thats formed by having someone inside your mind, and it goes both ways; not only is Joey dealing with the feeling of having all his brains pried open and picked apart like stir-fry, but Marik also now knows everything that happens in Joey's head. What's that even like??? Does it make him feel bad for Joey? Is he attracted to it? Does it just make him think Joey is stupid? Does he feel a sense of responsibility to maybe try and fix some of those problems when he becomes a Good Person? Is he now like the Expert on how Joey's brain works and has to decide how to use (or abuse) that knowledge?

Post-Battle City, I think they have a very awkward relationship. In canon they seem friendly, but imo thats kind of a cover-up for the awkwardness, because what else are they supposed to say to each other? "Hey, again, guy who brainwashed me and saw the innermost depths of my mind!" "I told you I don't do that anymore :(" type stuff. If you put them in a room alone, it'd just be like. An hour straight of pure silence, occasionally interrupted by asking where the bathroom is and conversations that go like "well uh how's life been?" "Not great." "ah. okay. cool. Cool."

At least imo Joey doesn't actually realize what he has are romantic feelings. In his mind, this weird sweatiness he feels and inability to put Marik out of his mind is probably a side effect of brainwashing or something. Marik does though. Marik is pretty much permanently looking at Joey like he wants to eat him alive or, perhaps more scandalously in his mind, hold his hand.

Also... This is a different conversation but I think marik is like - Jealous? Approving? Something like that- of joey. Not in a “I want to be an impoverished delinquent bad boy who breaks the rules” way but more in a “see, this is what I Should Have Been. The loyal son that sticks by his father no matter what.” And in one hand he doesn’t particularly care for Joeys father (finds him classless and unappreciative) and, on a surface level, recognizes that their situations are very Very different, but the jealousy remains. Like. That should be me trying up there.

Because both Marik and Joey have the same specific form of daddy issues where they wholeheartedly believe that they are the problem here, so if they just go the Right Chance they could fix everything with their parents and could live happily ever after. So they end up in an endless feedback loop of (nodding) "yes, he's doing the right thing by trying to make it up to his dad" and don't get why their friends are all like "please go talk to like. Someone else about this. Anyone."

I do think they have potential to actually help each other out with this type of stuff as they mature and are able to also recognize the affect that it has on the other ("You go deer-in-the-headlights whenever you're around open fire"/"you start cringing uncontrollably whenever someone throws anything at you") but also Not Right Now! right now they're not even talking to each other.

Anyways. Yeah. God. I'm in love with them in case you couldn't tell. I don't even know if this makes sense to anyone else other than me but I'm having fun and thats what matters mostly

Also yeah sometimes its that marik just wants to date a stupid jock and hes so real for that. Let marik have a good boyfriend and psychologically torment joey more 2k24 campaign.

Anyways enjoy a Collection (of scenes where they are in the same panel)(*devours my rarepair scraps*)

[amane-by-together]

Hanafuda || Amane Yugi

(Part 4 of 10)

genre: fluff, school, slice of life, modern au (where all wonders live)

warning: cursing

summary: amane yugi spends his school days skipping classes until he meets [name] [surname], a student from the other class, who was also skipping classes and eventually the two of them formed a platonic friendship. cutting classes and playing hanafuda together strengthens their friendship but soon unexpected feelings blossom between the two.

“I don't know how I will face her...” Amane was wiping one of the tables in the cafe he's working in. It's a donut cafe, no wonder why he chose that. “Is [name]-san mad at me?”

The two teens decided to take the whole class out of awkwardness. “Yo, Yugi-san!” one of his seniors playfully smacked his back. “You've been sputtering nonsense while blushing, you okay lil bud?”

“It's no big deal Senpai.” Amane sheepishly laughs, rubbing the back of his neck with imaginary flowers surrounding him. Akaji is Amane's senior who is in college and probably the only person he could talk to in the cafe.

“Hm.” Akaji took a seat and skeptically looked at Amane. “My gut instincts told me you're having girl problems.”

“S-Senpai!” Amane swatted his hand while chuckling nervously. Currently, he's having problems wondering what was [name]'s reaction when he tried to kiss her.

Akaji grinned, putting his legs on top of the table as he crossed his arms. “Girl problems then, I knew this day would come—ow?!”

“Ah, Good evening! Matsubara-senpai!” Amane bowed when the sky blue-haired girl whacked the back of Akaji's head.

“Good evening to you too, Yugi-kouhai.” Matsubara greeted him back in a stern tone. Akaji rubbed the back of his head and gave the female a sour look. “You should set a better example towards your juniors, Houta!” she scolded.

“I was about to tell him some advice, Kanon.” Akaji deadpanned. Matsubara was Akaji's childhood friend, they're both in college but they go to different schools. “Looks like Yugi-san has a crush on someone from his school.”

“So what if I do?” Amane retorted back.

“Stop it.” Matsubara gave Akaji a cold glare to prevent him from teasing Amane even further. “It's normal to have a crush on someone from school, besides we've been through that phase.”

Amane slumped his shoulders while pouting slightly. Asking advice from his seniors from work is a handful, Akaji is someone who would give bad but useful advice while Matsubara, being a calm and collected woman, is the one telling them whether you should follow his ways. “I do have a crush on someone from school...”

“But I may have made things awkward between us.”

“What did you do though?” Akaji asks.

“I almost kissed her...” Amane mumbled which Matsubara and Akaji heard him. Akaji lets out a small snicker, earning a pinch from his childhood friend. “So I decided to go to class without saying a word to her.”

“I think she hates me now.” Amane covered his face. Matsubara stayed behind the counter as a cashier. Akaji stood up to stretch his arms. Amane pulled out his phone to check out the time. It was already 6:17 pm.

“Who's that on your wallpaper?” Akaji places his arm on top of Amane's head while looking at his phone.

“Akaji-senpai!” Amane hid his phone from the redhead quickly. Akaji snickered mischievously at his embarrassed junior. Akaji is like that one friend who had polished nails and hoops who knows all sorts of tea. “I-It's none of your business—”

“Houta!” Akaji flinched at the blue-haired girl's voice coming from the counter. “Give the kid some personal space!”

“Isn't Yugi like 16?”

“Guys, guys, cut it off.” Amane prevents them from bickering by raising his left hand like a cop. Sometimes you would think that Amane is the mature one in the trio yet he was dubbed as childish from [name]. “We don't want customers to think that the two of you aren't working together.”

Amane adjusts his apron wrapped around his hips. He brushes his choppy locks between his fingers while licking his lips. The door opened with a ringing of the small bell. “Welcome—[name]-san?!”

[name] entered the cafe with eyes of bewilderment as her eyes landed on Amane. She was wearing an unzipped oversized hoodie, a tucked-in white shirt, and a denim skirt. “E-Eh? A-Amane-kun?!” she stammered.

Her little brother, who's in grade school, was standing next to her. “Neechan?” Jiro asked, looking up to his big sister. The siblings sat at a table near the counter. Amane couldn't look at [name] in the eye without blushing.

“So you work here, Amane-kun?” [name] asked in a slightly teasing tone. Amane averted his gaze while holding the notepad, waiting for [name]'s order. “Not gonna lie, your outfit suits you.”

“I told you it's embarrassing.”

“I said it's not, you're pretty handsome Amane-kun.” [name] convinces him otherwise. Amane's heart skipped a beat and wrote down [name]'s order. “You know, I almost cried recently...”

“Why did you cry?” Amane worryingly asks [name] until he realizes why. He went to the bathroom and never came back to the rooftop since he decided to take classes to avoid her. He didn't mean to do it, it's just that he's too flustered. “Wanna sort things out privately?”

“That sounded like a booty call to me—”

“Houta, you ass!” Matsubara pulled on to Akaji's ear, pinching it painfully. “There's a kid!”

[name] nodded slowly in Amane's direction. She told Jiro that she needed to sort things out with Amane so that they could go back to being best friends again. The two of them went to the locker room. “I'm sorry,” Amane apologizes. “I didn't come back, it was an accident I swear—”

“I thought you hate me or something...” [name] started to tear up. Amane died a little inside because of how precious she is, like, you just gotta protect [name].

“No, no.” Amane cupped her cheeks while smiling fondly at [name]. “I will never hate you, [name]-san.”

“Really?” [name] asked while placing her palms on top of Amane's warm hands. Amane hummed in response, he doesn't hate [name], how could he hate her if she keeps making him fall for her even more?

“You're too cute, I swear to god~” Amane nuzzled his nose against [name]'s, eliciting a blissful giggle from the female. “By the way, I'm still sorry about before I invaded your personal space.”

“It's fine.” [name]'s face lit up with happiness with a warm blush enveloping on her mochi cheeks. “You can be affectionate and clingy around me. I felt really warm when you gave me that hug.”

“Then, will a kiss on the cheek suffice~?”

“I'll just hug you—” Amane interrupts her by pressing a kiss on her cheek. [name] froze yet she was warm. Amane chuckled at her reaction, so he gave her a closed eye grin.

“They say kisses heal a burn so your whole face is burning, can't help it~” He says at her blushing state, then he lightly pinches her cheek. “Cute~”

“Okay, okay, that's enough—” [name] pried his hand off her cheek. Amane obliged and pulled his hand away. “So we're good now?”

“Always~!” Amane dusted off his apron. “I gotta go work now or Akaji-senpai will get the wrong idea if we take too long.”

Amane turned around to leave the locker room. [name] twiddled her fingers while smiling. “You know, it would have been better if you continued it...” she mumbled.

“Hm?” He turned his head back to [name]'s direction. Amane was sure she had said something but he couldn't make out what he had heard. “Were you saying something?”

“Nothing.” [name] flails her hands with a quick smile to reassure him that it wasn't a big deal. Amane sighed in relief and headed out first as [name] followed.

“Neechan!” Jiro waved his french fries to get [name]'s attention. Her eyes brightened as she immediately went over to her little brother. “I watched your milk tea and donuts by the way.”

“Thanks, kid.” [name] ruffled his hair and sat back down to her seat as she grabbed her milk tea with pearls. “Sorry I took longer, I had to sort things out with Amane-kun.”

“Is he your boyfriend Neechan?”

[name] choked on the pearl when Jiro asked if Amane was her boyfriend. “J-Jiro—!” she scolded between coughs. “Why so sudden?”

“Here, have some fries Oneechan.” Jiro offered her some of his fries. Amane chuckled at their dynamic, to think that [name] was also an older sibling is admirable.

“He's your younger brother?” Amane grabbed a chair and sat in front of their table.

“Yeah,” [name] replied. “Jiro [surname], he's 5th grade.”

“Nii-chan, want some?” Jiro handed Amane a donut. Amane quickly thanked the little boy and received the donut, munching it gratefully. “Ah, Oneechan! A classmate of mine is gonna come over tomorrow!”

“Ne, Amane-kun.”

“Hm?”

“When's your shift over?” [name] asked.

“Later at 7:00 pm, why?” Amane questioned her back.

“I was wondering if you'd like to come over to my house...”

Amane choked internally. He looked at [name] in pure disbelief, shakily pointing a finger at her. “You want me to come over?” he asked.

“I hope you don't mind, it's okay if you decline of course.” [name] swats her hands in front of Amane. “You're probably busy after this.”

“Maybe some other time, [name].” Amane answers, it made [name] a little bit sad but it's fine nonetheless. Amane felt kind of bad for declining her request of coming over. He has his own life too, like taking care of his brother or doing the housework. But then an idea came to mind. “I'll walk you two home instead.”

“Is that okay for you, though?”

“I don't want you to go alone at night, it might be dangerous.” Amane insists. [name] nodded and sipped on her milk tea slowly. He slowly averted his gaze with a small blush on his face. “And I can't afford to lose you...” he murmured.

[name]’s cheeks warmed at his sudden words. She glances away from the amber-eyed boy and continues to sip on her milk tea to compose herself before she can face him again. Amane shyly stares at [name]. He lets out an exaggerated sigh, thinking to himself that he was crushing so damn hard on [name].

Amane pulls out his phone from the pocket of his apron. “Ah, [name]-san,” The amber-eyed boy looked at the time. “My shift is finished, come on, let's get you two home.”

“We'll wait for you outside.” [name] stands up from the table along with her little brother. Amane cleaned up the table with a stupid in loved smile upon his strikingly perfect visuals.

Akaji rests his elbow on top of Amane's choppy hair. “So, that's your crush?” he asked with a teasing tone. Amane blushes and pried his senior's arm off his head. “It's amusing seeing you being in love~”

“Then what if she is my crush?” Amane glared at him as his whole face was heating up like crazy. He let out a small 'hmph' from his lips and headed over to the locker room.

[name] was waiting outside, carrying her brother's school bag while humming. Amane got out of the cafe and tiredly smiled at her. “Sorry if I take too long.”

“No worries.” [name] reassured the boy. “Come on, let's go.”

The three started to walk together in the night. Amane side-eyed the female next to him and his amber eyes trailed down to her hand. ‘Am I in love with [name]?’

Amane subtly wrapped his pinky finger around [name]'s while looking away. ‘Amane what the actual crumbs are you doing—? Should I pull away—?’

[name] clasps his gentle hand, her face warms along with her ears. The two teens averted their glimpses from each other as they continued walking alongside without the knowledge of her little brother. Amane is definitely feeling butterflies in his very own stomach, maybe this isn’t platonic at all since he’s catching feelings.

“Ah, we’re here now,” [name]’s eyes trailed down to his hand that was still interlocked with hers. Amane seems he doesn't want to let go of her gentle hand. “Amane-kun, your hand…”

“Sorry!” The choppy haired boy quickly drew back his hand and scratched his cheek. [name] beckoned her brother to go back inside the apartment just to have an alone time with Amane. Now, the two of them grew silent waiting on who will talk first.

Fate decided, Amane should speak. “No hard feelings?” he winced, shrugging his shoulder like a dork he is. Y/n smiled softly and spread her arms.

“Hug?” she asked. Amane ran in her arms and gave her a big hug, pressing his cheek against hers and squealed a bit as. “Hey Amane-kun?”

“Yeah?” His face warms up.

“I like you.”

Amane pulled away from the hug to look at her while processing what the girl had said. “So I'm going to stay by your side no matter what.” then she swatted her hands to betray her feelings. “Of course I meant it as a friend thing—”

“I like you too, Y/n-san.” He reached over to mess with her hair. “You’re the first girl who ever told me that she liked me, I appreciate that.”

“I gotta go home now,” Amane pats her shoulders and walks away a bit. “I'll be making lunch for us two, so better look forward to it~”

Y/n gave him one last smile. “Always,”

taglist: @closetweebsmh @closetwaffle @beonanagyu