wishshipping is so real god bless

You know, one of my most favorite yet underrated moments in early manga YGO is during that monster fighter chapter, after Yuugi lost to the cheating spider guy and got his fighter stolen.

Like, he comes in, having been punched in the stomach during the match and later punched again after losing, and finds his friends waiting in class. Obvs Jou and Honda are like “woah dude what happened to you?!?!” but instead of explaining or anything, he just looks up and gives Jounouchi The Look.

(Screenshot from that YGO S0 manga compilation you can watch on YT)

Like, just look at him. Look at that face. The shing and Jou's face. This boy knows he’s got a mou hitori no boku waiting for him, and he knows said mou hitori no boku can kick ass. And unlike before in Death-T, where he was afraid of him, Yuugi’s basically giving him the green light and a simple message: hello, please wreck that guy to hell and back for me. And yes, penalty games are allowed.

It’s just my absolute fav because it clearly shows that Yuugi isn’t as meek or soft-hearted as some might think of him as: he’s willing to fight for what he thinks is right, with whatever means are available. And of course, considering he’s got a way to fight for once, (Unlike ie Ushio, where he was physically too weak) then he’s gonna take it!

and well, come on. The idea of Yuugi just lookin Yami/Atem in the eye and going “You know what to do” is hilarious. Baby Panda’s got a gun and he wants you to shoot it right between the hunter’s eyes

(EDIT: I also forgot to mention that I loved this because it's the first time, the most obvious time at least, that Yuugi actively takes arms against someone after they've hurt him. Before, it was Yami who used the gun and shot it. But this time, Yuugi's giving him the ammo.)

(Also bonus reason why I love this chapter: manga-wise, we get to see the full bondage-outfit for the first time, in the most dramatic way possible. Case in point:)

Starter for @game-weaver​!

Atem was told stories of Aaru by his father growing up.  It was a land of gold and peace, where the weather was always just right and the fruit always the perfect ripeness.  The gods welcomed those who traveled the Duat and were deemed worthy by Ma’at into eternal rest.  Families were reunited, love was rekindled, and all worries were lifted.  Aaru was paradise in name and in its very existence.

Another one of his father’s lies.

Aaru was no paradise for Atem.  It was just a reminder of how far removed he was from his old life.  From the fighting with his family to the unrealistic expectations of perfection, Atem felt isolated from everyone, even his friends.  They couldn’t speak to him or hug him like his friends had in Domino.  They couldn’t even look him in the eye.  And he couldn’t talk to them about his feelings because a Pharaoh was supposed to be in control all the time.  Any attempts were dismissed as a “passing feeling.”  Well, they hadn’t passed yet.

It was the same story with the nightmares.  At the very least, Mahad was trying some magical remedies, but Atem refused to have any of the priests use the Millennium Items to cure him.  The fact they even still had them was upsetting to him--that was the topic of many an argument--but if they had to remain, he didn’t want that magic messing with his mind anymore.

Nothing seemed to do much good, though.  The heavy bags and dark circles under his eyes were a testament to that.  It was at the point that Atem dreaded going to sleep at night because of how horrific they were.  He would force himself to stay awake only to nod off at some point in the night, then wake up drenched in sweat and barely able to breathe.

This night was no different.  He sat up in bed, reading a scroll inscribed with one of his favorite stories.  Or, at least, he was trying to.  His vision was so blurred he could barely make out the words.  Still, he persisted, blinking slowly until he lingered a little too long in the peaceful darkness under his eyelids.

When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on his back in a crumbling stone room, with just the soft light of an oil lamp glowing from an unseen corner.  He could just make them out through the small space where the lid of whatever box he was in had been pushed to the side.  Fear gripped him immediately, the same way it did any time he saw those familiar stones.  He tried to move, to escape, to scream, but he could only wriggle in place.  Metal clinking against metal deafened him any time he moved.  His eyes darted side to side, up and down.  The box... it was a sarcophagus.  His sarcophagus.  His own heavy, golden, jewel-encrusted death mask pressed down on his skull while the chains that replaced the bandages of a typical mummy threatened to shatter his bones if he continued to struggle.

A friend on discord asked for a tragic, romantic, bittersweet drabble based on the song There Is A Light That Never Goes Out by The Smiths.

Sharing because it was fun <3

........

He slid into the passenger seat of the small car easily, Atem smiled at him but didn’t say anything, just as he usually did when he got late night calls from him. As they drove slowly through the small residential streets and headed out onto the open country roads he felt himself relaxing more and more. 

“Where are we going?” Atem asked. 

“Anywhere.” He said. A hand gripped the seatbelt over his chest and he sighed. “Just anywhere that isn’t…there.” 

Atem said nothing, but a hand left the steering wheel and came to rest over his thigh, he grabbed it, held it like a lifeline and Atem held him just as tightly. 

They both knew what he meant, both understood why he felt the way he did, but they also both knew that there wasn’t an easy fix. His problems went too deep and as much as he could run from them for short periods, he couldn’t leave them entirely. 

Not yet, anyway. 

He tried to focus on the way being with Atem felt so right, so comforting to him, on the music which played softly from the stereo and the relaxing motions of the car, the passing lights of the town outside the window, but his brain just wouldn’t let him be. 

It had to remind him of everything he had to deal with, everything he’d been through and everything which he still had to go through when he inevitably had to return to that damned place. 

Those thoughts overwhelmed him, threatened to unravel him and he hated that they seemed to mean so much to him but he just couldn’t stop thinking them. 

“Just a few more months.” Atem said gently as he turned off onto another road. The hand in his squeezed reassuringly and he nodded but didn’t look away from the window. 

Atems presence was always welcome. His boyfriend was the only person who he ever felt truly comfortable with, the only person who he could really be himself around. 

He was everything to him and it hurt that he couldn’t be who he felt like right now any other time. His parents wouldn’t allow it. They didn’t understand. 

His eyes slipped closed and he tried to fight the urge to cry with frustration. Atems hand was so warm in his, so comforting, his car was a safe place for him and he wished he never had to leave this place. 

That he never had to go back to that place which he was supposed to call home… but Atem was right. Just a few more months and he’d be free to be himself. 

He wondered if he’d last that long. 

“I love you.” Atem said softly. 

He would last, for him. 

“I love you too.” He replied. He took a deep breath and released it slowly, he stopped clutching at Atems hand so desperately. “Let’s go somewhere fun.” He said. 

Atem smiled and nodded, switching lanes easily so they could take a different path and he decided that for now he’d just try to ignore the bothersome thoughts in the back of his mind and embrace the time he’d been given with Atem this evening. 

……

Bonus under the cut cause I am incapable of not including happy endings even when asked to write angst <3 .......

The next time he called, Atem picked him up in a larger car. 

This time Atem got out of the car, walked up to him confidently and took one of the bags he was holding. 

With smiles on their faces they packed his bags into the trunk, closed it and climbed into the car without a second glance at the house which hadn’t been his home for a long time now. 

Atem turned to him, smiling softly as he asked. “Where are we going?” 

“Home.” He said, laughing happily.

His smile didn’t leave his face as Atem started the car, he didn’t look back as they drove away from the place which had caused him nothing but pain for the past ten years of his life. 

It didn’t fade as they left the city limits, crossed the border into the next state and continued on. 

He should have been surprised that he didn’t feel any sense of remorse, that there was no hesitation in his actions, no dread or fear. The place he used to live no longer mattered to him. 

They were starting a new life together, and that’s all that mattered. 

I did a tier list of all the final and penultimate duels in Yugioh

Because uh... I felt like it.

As for what qualified and what didn't, whatever I could find a picture for and qualified as either a "final boss" duel or a "ceremonial" duel and was within the last at least 10 episodes of its respective series. Yes, I am aware I put three duels for Zexal and that's because all three of those duels felt final in some way. Further explanations below:

'SHADOW REALM' Tier: The final Zarc duel.

It has some cool moments, particularly from Shay/Shun and Declan/Reiji, but it goes on for way too long, threw Riley's character completely down the drain for no good reason, and Zarc's character in this duel is so boring compared to what we got in his backstory.

'Why Did You Do... That?' Tier: Yuma vs Astral & Yusei vs Z-One

Both of these duels are interesting and fun if you're just looking at the cards that are being played. The character content though? Astral's final appearance in the show is him acting out of character and lying to Yuma to "help him have fun with duelling again." It always felt like a watered down copy of Yugi vs Atem and Judai vs Yugi to me.

Yusei vs Z-One is a little better for me since the Z-One twist is just disappointing rather than frustrating (at least for me) but both of these duels feel off because of one character decision so it felt right to put them in the same tier.

Serviceable: The Final Luke vs Yuga & Yuya vs Declan/Reiji

I don't have any huge issues with either of these duels. I'm obviously biased towards any Declan duel and while I wouldn't seek out this one in particular, it's still a fun one and an... okay choice to be the final duel of Arc V. Also, Yuya understanding Zarc is a great moment. I like that.

The final Luke vs Yuga duel (AKA: the table top duel where Yuga finally wins) was an interesting idea that's done fairly well. It's not the most standout thing on its own, it's more so the reason they're duelling and the fact that Yuga finally got to defeat Luke that I remember it.

Good: Yusei vs Jack (Round 3? I think?), Yugi Muto vs Bakura, Yuma vs Nasch

All good duels. They're not among my favourites but they hold my attention. DM's lawless overly long duels aren't my thing but Yugi vs Bakura was a great idea and short enough that it doesn't overstay its welcome.

Yusei vs Jack is... well, apart from the reason they're duelling (which is really emotionally resonant don't get me wrong) it's kind of just another Yusei vs Jack duel to me and... well, it was never dubbed and I admittedly find myself bored by Yusei and Jack's personalities in the original version. Still, the emotions behind it do hit hard and I do still like these characters so it's good overall.

It might be controversial of me to put Yuma vs Nasch as low as I did? I don't know, I always found it just... a little too long and Nasch throwing the duel to be a little weird? Still, it's a really fun duel and the emotions behind it do hit hard. This sounds weird but I feel like maybe I'd like it more if it were the final duel rather than the penultimate duel? Like, if it were the final note the series ended on it would hit a little harder?

Great: Yugi vs Atem, Yuga (and crew) vs Otes, Yuma & Nasch vs Don Thousand, Judai vs Darkness

Yugi vs Atem is my favourite DM duel, basic opinion I'm sure but the emotions hit me hard to this day and Yugi facing off against the partner and cards that helped him his entire journey was the perfect note to end DM on.

I did not give Sevens' final duel enough credit when I first saw it, this duel went hard. I love the way they involve Yuga's friends, I love the fact that it's SEVEN friends duelling the final villain, I love the silly absurdity of duelling in spaceships. The final arc had its problems with pacing but this duel still slapped.

And Zexal's final boss duel is also genius. The three main factions (Astralworld, Barianworld, humanity) who were fighting each other the entire second half of Zexal teaming up to defeat a god was just... the perfect way to do a final boss. Also, the Numeron Code and the way they beat it is some bullshit but it's the kind of silly bullshit I enjoy from Yugioh.

Not gonna lie, I was tempted to put Judai vs Darkness in top tier but if I'm being completely honest, Darkness is a boring villain without much buildup. He was built up through other characters but not on his own if that makes sense? But uh... fuck if I care, he may be cardboard for Judai to beat up but he's cardboard that lead to Judai using Super Polymerization to fuse Yubel and Neos. And also, the power of that scene where everyone is freed from the darkness forgives all perceived problems with this duel for me because of just how much that scene continues to mean to me. That part is top tier.

Peak: Soulburner vs Revolver, Ai vs Playmaker, Judai vs Yugi

I love how varied and interesting Revolver's duels are so it's no surprise I love his final duel as much as I do. It's also such good closure for Soulburner, the only character who was allowed to get proper closure in VRAINS if I'm being honest. This duel is both epic and emotional, propping it this high.

Ai vs Playmaker and Judai vs Yugi I've discussed extensively in other places (ie: my 'Favourite Duels of Each Series' post) so I'll keep this brief: Ai vs Playmaker is tragic in all the right ways, slowly unraveling and revealing Ai's motivations amazingly well before hitting us with that tragic as all hell final note. It's fantastic, and probably the 'best' final duel and one of the best duels in the franchise.

But Judai vs Yugi is my favourite because it's the most fun. It's swift, it's simple, it's fun, it's unique, it's two pros equally trading blows in ways that are easy to follow, in a good way. It's probably the duel I rewatch the most (outside of maybe Judai vs Yubel). The whack logic of the duel taking place at all aside, this was such an uplifting perfect feel-good note to end GX on and such a wonderful way to complete Judai's character arc with. I love that he hit rock bottom in season 3 but was able to crawl back up in season 4, maturing but learning not to abandon his inner child, his love of duelling, and what better way to do that than have him duel a duelling legend? He earned it.

If you'd like for the ask meme: Mokuba for 4, 5, and 28 + Pegasus, and also Honda for 5 + 24 if you'd like. Thank you!

ohhhh! all my favorites, thank you! :-)

MOKUBA

4. Favorite Line:

Ohhhhh this is a really tough one! It's more than a line, but I adore the moment in the manga when after Death T, when he and Seto's goons are trying to beat up the gang and he puts a stop to it. His bristly little "That's Enough!" is so endearing to me. He doesn't want to seem kind or weak hearted, so he couches it in this "they won so there's no point in fighting" implication, but it was really that he truly just wanted the muscle to leave them alone! Similarly, the little expression on his face before he tries to leave without commenting on the fact that he saved Honda strikes me for the same reason.

5. Best personality trait

I think Mokuba's best personality trait is his resourcefulness. He is a really quick thinker and does his best to be helpful in a situation (swallowing the fake key in Duelist Kingdom, stealing the star chips to gain access to Pegasus, hiding information with the maid for Kaiba when he woke up, the way he cheats at Capmon, headbutting Diva when he jumps on the puzzle, etc etc). He's the younger Kaiba but it doesn't mean he should be discredited in any way!

28. How Mokuba feels about Pegasus

AHHHHH! GREAT ONE GREAT ONE! I think that to Mokuba, Pegasus is the absolute scummiest that scummy can get. He threatened the two singular things that Mokuba cares about: his brother and their company. (He was working overtime to give Pegasus a run for his money which I think is so absolutely courageous... he essentially spat in Pegasus's face when he swallowed that key. I don't think I'd have the guts.) I also think that to him, Pegasus is probably extremely scary. Not only does he not have a problem taking Mokuba from his own home and locking him up, he's been told by his brother, the strongest person he knows, that Pegasus is nigh invincible. And for Kaiba at least, this is objectively true. Seeing fear for someone in his brother has got to be a really uncomfortable feeling.

HONDA

5. Best Personality Trait

I think Honda's best personality trait is his kindness. He is always looking out for people. He cheers Jounouchi on and is sometimes a little mean, but he does it with the intent of protecting him and his feelings. He will go to bat for someone with zero expectation of reciprocation. (helping the Kaibas and going on a secret hunt for Shizuka, who he didn't even know about until a couple of months prior). I love that he feels deeply, too. when he cries when Jounouchi comes back and when he realizes that Atem remembers him... so cute!

24. Most annoying habit

I would say his helicopter parenting of Jounouchi! haha. His heart is in the right place, but I think sometimes in his effort to manage Jounouchi's expectations of a situation, he ends up kind of short changing him... if I'm remembering correctly, he does call himself out on this in Duelist Kingdom, though. In the anime, I'd have to go with whatever he has going on with Shizuka and lying about being good at duel monsters or whatever that was. One of the most infuriating subplots probably in the entire series. Why would you lie about that, king.

Preamble

I originally intended for this to be a response to a different post however my thoughts just wound up going to how much I dislike ASG3's story for being one of the worst conclusions I've ever waited an unreasonably long time for. So yeah let's just get into it.

Early Game: The introduction to the problems

ASG3 is... An ending to a trilogy. I wish I could leave it at that but I have things to say about this game's story. Firstly the themes surrounding GV the theme of GV's arc is that of living guilt and learning to move on past that and I think this theme is set up rather well because at the literal end of the intro stage GV just got out of being Godzilla (kinda, he's a dog now) and we with he have found out that GV's time as Godzilla+ Sumeragi stealing his electricity to power all of Japan has led to dragon aids floating in the air and turning everyone into dragons. So GVs eternal guilt complex is at least set up rather well it's just not explored as deeply as I'd hoped, the early game (GV and Kirin sealing up the victims of Dragon aids) is fine we get a whole montage of GV contemplating that this whole mess is his fault and Kirin telling him no that's whatever it's's good setup the problem almost instantly starts at the mid-game (Atems pull up) and almost instantly the guilt complex loses focus which you could consider fair since GV's guilt complex seems to have come from the dragons fucking shit up but as the late game reveals that is not at all the case.

Late game: The problems

Starting straight with the true nature of GV'S guilt complex it is the manifestation of his every failure from falling to save Joule in the first game all the way until now. Now that's a lot to unpack but we are at the near end of this game and good lord we are far too late to unpack it at this point and it shows. For starters we only delve into this in full *during the duo boss fights and nowhere else* but even then even then at the absolute most it vaguely brings shit up just vaguely and GV can't even say anything about it the poor bastard, Kirin has to come in and save him from the ghosts of Christmas past while at the same time saying that the ghosts may have a point so it doesn't do anything in the end. Even worse is that the absolute *most* that occurs is the game framing GV as a thoughtless murder hobo and not elaborating at all. Once all is said and done GV's inner monologue right after his him still doubting every action he has ever taken so that whole segment is just frankly rather pointless AND THEN THE ENDING MAKES IT EXTRA POINTLESS

The ending: Peak Garbage

Gunvolt 3's ending is to put it frankly PEAK GARBAGE, half those problems are Morbus and how he just pulls up out of nowhere and is too goddamn powerful for there to be a final boss that could possibly top him in terms of stakes and the other half is very sadly how they handle Gunvolt. To start he's been possessed by Morb and Kirin has to fight him leading to one of two possible endings the bad and true endings. The bad ending it's just GV killing himself and Kirin crying about it that's about it and the true ending is Morbvolt getting all sealed up, Morb telling GV that he's gonna nuke the planet to death and that the only thing he can do is turn himself into a baby about it and so he does that. The bad ending is fine I guess I don't have any real thoughts about it other than it at least being a culmination of GV's guilt complex that he's been dealing with the whole game (have fun with those implications). The true ending on the other hand is the worst thing ever and it's not because GV being a baby now makes no sense or is stupid and contrived(it is rather contrived tbf), it makes perfect sense despite Morb pulling up from out of nowhere and that make it worse because BABYVOLT IS A CULMINATION OF ***NOTHING*** IF THEY JUST HAD GUNVOLT KILL HIMSELF AND LEFT IT AT THAT THE GAMES STORY WOULD HAVE AT LEAST BEEN MEDIOCRE BUT NO THEY HAD TO WRITE ONE OF THE WORST CONCLUSIONS OF ALL TIME THAT CAME FROM FUCKING NOWHERE, JUST BEFORE GUNVOLT BECOMES BABY HE CONTEMPLATES "man if only I could redo my whole life" WHICH BRO HAS NEVER ONCE THOUGHT ABOUT IN HIS WHOLE LIFE AND IT INDIRECTLY AND GOES AGAINST THE THEME OF LEARNING TO LIVE WITH AND MOVING FORWARD WITH LIFE PAST YOUR GUILT HOMIE DIDN'T LEARN SHIT ABOUT LIVING WITH REGRETS OR MOVING ON FROM THEM HE JUST TURNED INTO A BABY ABOUT IT AND LEFT WITH ZERO ELABORATION NONE, NADDA, NULL. HE'S A BABY NOW LIVE WITH IT, ON YEAH BTW ENJOY YOUR NEW PROTAG BYE.

Continuing from x

@brazenlystrong

Listening to his explanation on the matter, he wonders about how much some of that actually reigned true for the sorcerer. It also made him think about his own situation of when Atem left and how it affected Seto. Even though Gojo was correct about how one should carry on, he couldn’t help but wonder if there’s a double meaning behind this conversation.

He noticed how different the other was; going from the crazy goofball one minute and then giving him this serious banter the next. His striking blue eyes kept locked upon him, scanning through his mannerisms. Hm.. Gojo might not be entirely truthful; he was far too calm in responding to that.

There was one thing that Kaiba was truly good at and that was reading people. The clothes they wear, how they react to certain topics, humans were just books to him.

“As much as I’m willing to believe you..”, he began, catching the ball with ease. “Humans rely on the past to get better or worse for the future. To fully dismiss your past just tells me that you’re not willing to confront it. Your past is just as important as your future.”

He dribbles the ball a few times, now eyeing the basketball. “I told you about how the Blue Eyes White Dragon is my inspiration to get through life. Well, it’s also my heavy reminder of what I have suffered through. You say that you’re not stuck within your past but how much of that is actually true?”

Another dribble onto the ground. “You’re right; we all grieve differently. The loss of a love one, for example, may not show up on one’s appearance, however, they are never fully forgotten. What you fight for relates to you staying within your past. You don’t escape it; you express your trauma into your goal. What you suffered in the past, use that to your advantage and make it better for the future.”

He began approaching him, getting rather close to him when he caught the ball with both hands. “Sorcerer or not.. being human, that’s what makes us equal in power, Gojo Satoru. I don’t need curses or magic to see right through a facade.”

As he said that, he ran by and tossed the ball into the basket, watching it dunk through the strings. Catching the ball once more, he tosses it over to Gojo.

Hi! I'm writing a Pokémon AU with Yu-Gi-Oh, I have an Idea for the Ryou and Bakura Team, but for the others I have no clue, I just have their initial based on personality and goals (defeat Atem lol), you can give me some ideas for their Pokémon? 🥺

Fair warning, I'm not as deep in Pokémon as I am with yugioh. Keep in mind that I am very bad at building teams, and usually, I just let my friend build them for me XD

Right of the bat, Jonouchi strikes me as a Charizard guy. The rest of his team is probably filled with Normal and Fighting type pokémon like Scarfty, Pangoro or Furfrou. But to be honest, he'd probably just want cool looking pokemon in his team at first lol.

Yugi is probably mainly Psychic focused, but he'd probably have the odd Dark type in his team. Espion, Indeedee, Gothitelle, Hoopa or Zoroark are all pokémon I could see him use at one point.

To me, Anzu is definitely Fairy/Fighting-type focused. I think Diancie, Aromatisse, or Bewear could be good potential choices for her. Maybe she could even have a Sylveon to match with Yugi's Espion!

Honda's team is probably Rock/Steel type. Maybe an Aaggron could work? But Onyx, Lycanroc or Metang could work too.

Dragons. Kaiba just has dragons. The more powerful the better.

Malik is probably Water/Psychic. I think Starmie could work, maybe Bruxish, Intelion or Espurr?

Yami Malik has a Fire/Poison comp all the way. Salazzle, Eternatus, Golbat or Moltres could work too (I love legendaries lol).

I hope this helped a little anon!

tabletop game night but its ryous turn to DM and the campaign is. too scary.

"As you enter the temple basement, you finally see the creature. It has a thousand hands, and a multitude of eyes which all seem to be focused on the party as you descend the stairs. The thing has multiple open wounds, weeping effluvium onto the..."

Ryou trailed off as he observed his players sitting across the table from him. Kaiba was as surly-faced and hard to read as ever, Atem was similarly stony-faced, but Ryou could see a slight concerned furrowing of his brow. Yugi had blanched, and sat wide-eyed and seemed to be holding his breath, and Marik appeared flatly disgusted. Bakura, sitting at the corner of the table, listened attentively, sitting forward and propping his head on his hand, elbow resting on the table.

Ryou frowned. "Still too scary?"

Yugi laughed nervously, reedy and high-pitched. "Hahah, what? No! No, it's..."

"It's horrifying! What is wrong with you, Ryou?!" Marik demanded, scooting back away from the edge of the table.

Bakura scowled at them. "That was too much for you?! You guys are a bunch of babies!"

"Oh, I'm sorry I'd rather play a handsome bard flirting his way through a beautiful countryside than go spelunking in a disgusting dungeon to fight a giant piece of sushi!" Marik shot back, throwing a die at Bakura's head. It whizzed in between the protruding spikes of his hair.

"You're a disgrace to the name of Hewlett-Packard Lovecraft!" Bakura accused, pointing in Marik's direction.

"It's okay Ryou, really!" Yugi interrupted Marik before he could shout at Bakura again. "I'm fine!" His voice was still squarely half an octave higher than normal.

"I did find it a bit frightening, honestly..." Atem muttered sheepishly.

Kaiba shrugged. "Hmh. I didn't think it was scary at all."

Marik grumbled. "Oh, easy for you to say, Mr. Paladin, with your holy armor that the eldritch beings can't get through--"

"Okay, alright," Ryou sighed, setting aside his notes for his custom-written campaign. "Pathfinder appears to be a bit much for everyone right now. Perhaps we should go back to Monster World."

pulling my tags from that last post to make my own bc MANNN

Kaiba is able to smile and take a step away from his battle to focus on his original goal and mission statement, because at this point he has NO reason to believe there's a time limit in his rivalry

in that moment, he says ''our battle isn't over yet!'' and he thinks Yugi MUST feel the same way. he would've said something otherwise right ????

nevermind that Kaiba pulled his little disappearing act leaving in the jet without telling anyone and making everyone think he planned to go out with the battle tower lol he was too busy thinking how funny their faces must look to think maybe Atem needed to tell him anything before they left

he had every reason to think Atem would still be there when he got back

I wonder who told him about Egypt and when. did someone tell him during that month between memory world and the ceremonial duel and he put it off telling himself he didnt care ???

or did he find out the day before Atem left and ran to his jet to try and meet him in time ??? obviously no one expected to see him standing in the desert when the shrine collapsed

like when you think about it that was, his obsessive spiral in DSoD makes so much more sense. he feels so BETRAYED that Atem just left!!! what about their completely unspoken vow to keep fighting?? their battle isn't over yet!! nevermind that Kaiba never actually said that to Atem, he feels like he shouldn't have had to.

Kaiba will do a lot to destroy his past.

In Battle City, he was so motivated by hatred for his step-father that he would do a lot of terrible things to finally bury him, dead and gone. And to me it's kind of funny, because what Yuugi had to do to bury Atem was defeat him, too. To take his sword from him.

In Battle City Kaiba was falling deeper and deeper into hatred and despair and anger and just a desire to finally destroy Gozaburo in the background and it was like, so obvious. I love the Virtual World Arc a lot, but I think Kaiba actually being able to bury Gozaburo was a bit too early--a bit too much. Kaiba doesn't handle abandonment easily. Kaiba doesn't handle getting things taken from him easily.

Atem noticed, and Atem noticed because Kaiba was shocked into the idea of having to depend on someone, and Kaiba initially took the idea of Battle City just so he could have all three of the gods and become the Duel King, but it was more because now he'd be able to stand at the top, to be the King that his step-father didn't think he could be, and then this stupid idiot other side of Yuugi shows him that he's stronger when he's not standing alone, and he hates that, and he hates that because it means he can't bury Gozaburo alone, because it means Gozaburo is right, and then he's getting desperate after that, agitated, because this is supposed to be his tournament about burying his feelings but Malik Ishtar showed up and his family and now it's not his anymore and can't he have anything of his own? Who are these people? Wrecking his tournament? Why can't he have this? Why can't he have any of this?

And then Bakura shows up, too, and Kaiba is so angry at this point that he just wants it over and done with, he wants his fight, he wants to throw his hatred and anger at whomever is standing across from him, and Mokuba sees it, and he starts screaming at Other Yuugi to trample Bakura with Orisis even if he's hurting, and he starts throwing Jou under the bus after saying he respects Jou, and he starts talking about carrying Jou's coffin, and he's sinking, sinking deeper into a well of hatred, sinking deeper into anger, and Dark Yuugi notices, because of course he notices, because Kaiba didn't act that way before the finals, because Kaiba was actually listening before the finals, because Kaiba cared about Jounouchi's life before the finals, but Kaiba has sunk so far that all he wants is to destroy this place, and destroy everyone with him, and Dark Yuugi recognizes the hatred boiling inside of him, the same hatred that would leave Mokuba to Cards with Teeth, the same hatred that targeted him directly, the same hatred that said if he loses this he'll die, the same hatred that consumed him to the point of both staring with madness at the other, the same hatred Dark Yuugi had and was consumed by and the same hatred that consumed Dark Malik and the Thief and himself and created the Demon God and

Dark Yuugi saw him, sinking, sinking deeper and yelled at him back, yelled at him about the same thing that Kaiba did to save him when he was sinking, about to fall to his knees before Orisis, about to fall to a god

To

Stand up again and control your life

And it was a perfect case of misdirection, I think, a perfect case of thinking it was that same hatred in DSOD, and it was set up the exact same way, of needing to kill his past, until the scene where the Puzzle piece fits and Yuugi takes the time to. Talk to him. Gently. Because it's not the same drive, not the same motivation, and Kaiba is almost in tears and it's not the same, it's grief, it's not wanting to destroy his past this time it's

Missing a friend instead.

For the latest ask game, if you'd like: Puppyshipping 2 + 9, and Mokuba 7 if you'd like. Thank you! ILU

Thank you for the ask. :D ILU too.

Puppyshipping:

2. ...why I do or don't ship them. It started with childhood obsession with interest in the characters individually, and I still really love both of them. I don't know if they're my favorites, as I'm attached to so many YGO characters now, but I do still spend a disproportionate amount of time thinking about them.

Ultimately, I've always enjoyed shipping rivals, characters who rub each other the wrong way, and ones with diametrically opposed themes/backgrounds. They're not the actual rivals in YGO, nor do they even interact all that much in the grand scheme of things, but it's always interesting when they do. There's a palpable contrast in their histories and their living situations and their ideals, and that's fun to play with. Lots of room for interesting conflicts.

I also feel like Jounouchi is exactly the right kind of stubborn, temperamental, aggressively affectionate fool to be able to get under Kaiba's skin, given enough time and exposure. That it's difficult only makes him more persistent. He wants to be acknowledged. And I also think, generally speaking, it's good for Kaiba to be wrested out of his own head sometimes. Even at his most irritated, Jounouchi has always cared about Kaiba to some degree. The same is... not true in reverse, lol.

BUT even this scene is really interesting to me, because this is a point that Kaiba acknowledges Jounouchi: when he thinks he died in the pursuit of victory. He disparages him for loss and weakness in the same breath, but Kaiba really and truly believes there's merit in sacrificing yourself for victory and dying if you can't achieve it. Which is why the perspective of Atem and Jounouchi is so fun to confront him with: losing isn't shameful, and strength comes from doing your best and picking yourself up again no matter what happens. The fight, the journey, matters as much as the outcome.

Nobody represents that better than Jounouchi, and it's so much fun to butt up against Kaiba's issues. Jounouchi won't just lay down! He doesn't even have the grace to stay dead when he dies. Jounouchi doesn't care who he loses to or how many times he loses. For Kaiba, that existence would be crushingly shameful, but Jounouchi is fine. He's resilient. He learns from his defeats and (at least according to the text of the series... we won't talk about the idiot ball) gets better at dueling all the time. He's proud of becoming the third best duelist in the world. That's gotta be so irritating from Kaiba's perspective, if he would give it more than half a moment of thought at a time.

... I didn't know if I honestly had that much to say about them that I hadn't said already, but there you go, lol.

9. ...what my ideal endgame for them is.

Hmm, ideal is hard to consider since I'm into exploring them from a lot of different angles with a lot of different conclusions, but I am a sucker for them getting over themselves enough to grow into a comfortable, stable relationship in which they can maybe grow old together. I think they really could be good for each other if they'd slow down and let themselves be vulnerable and not make every conflict the end of the world. Big ifs, lol. I can't even begin to envision them having this kind of relationship until considerably after canon, when they've matured a little and had some distance from everything that happened (and probably from each other as well).

But I like it. I want Kaiba to soften his edges and process his trauma enough to get by without feeling like he has to put himself on the line all the time to be worthy of anyone's time, and I want Jounouchi to get the same kind of recognition and affection he gives so freely without feeling like he has to prove himself all the time either.

Mokuba:

7. ...the scene that I think adds depth to their character or the relationship this character has with someone.

Ahh, this is harder for me because what I've read of the manga is kind of scattered, and I think Mokuba probably is a deeper and more interesting character in the manga. Need to fix that sometime.

But as far as the anime goes, I love how anytime Mokuba is given a little bit of responsibility or authority, he gets so excited, like... it's childlike in a weird way. His circumstances kind of force him to be more mature and responsible in general than any kid that age should have to be, but he still really wants to help and blow his whistle at BC and be baby vice president and wear his DSoD suit and tie. He guesses he can get you a dueling booth at Kaiba Land under the table because, you know, he has connections.

There's just something about the enthusiasm he handles this kind of thing with which serves to point out that he's just a kid who wants his brother's approval, a kid playing at being a bigshot. It's also sad, because he really is stuck being one, dealing with Kaiba's behavior/handling things in his absence, and we can see how Mokuba reacts to even the slightest, most occasional bit of praise for it. Good stuff.

Questions here.

Late night duel-watching!

Normally fight/battle scenes in movies are shitty due to the problem of "the actors have not ACTUALLY trained for years in weaponry" or "we don't want TOO MANY hospital bills," but a Viking reenactment site (http://www.vikingsofbjornstad.com/VikingMovies.shtm#Vikings1958) named the 2004 "Troy" film's duel between Achilles (Brad Pitt) and Hector (Eric Bana) as an excellent example of preindustrial single combat, and they're right! Reviews of the rest of the movie seem to be mixed, but when you're doing a war movie, you do as much as you can for the fight scenes. Except for the duel between Paris and Menelaus, which is an intentional aversion. See, Paris is a wimp and after like two hits from the forty-eight-year-old king who wants to kill him for running off with his young and sexy wife, Paris panics and runs/crawls crying to his brother Hector. Near the end of the film, we see WHY Paris hid behind Big Bro. First off, Achilles and Hector use their spears like actual spears, not like pointy staves or broomsticks! Example: I love The Mandalorian, but sometimes Din swings his beskar spear like he's clearing a path through the jungle. I noticed that at some points, Hector is visibly having trouble juggling his spear and shield while trying to tank all of Achilles' hits, which seems to be due to the small but REALLY important differences between shields--Hector's got a plain circular shield, and Achilles' shield has notched sides that clearly let him aim his spear better. In the Iliad poem, Achilles got a new set of armor crafted by the smith-god Hephaestus, so that obviously gave him a BIG advantage over poor, mortal Hector with his mortal weapons. Once they both break the other's spear and have to switch to swords, Achilles loses his advantage and neither of them can keep a distance anymore, so they're constantly in each other's faces and shoving at each other. These two put the CLOSE in close-combat, and I love it! A lot of times, the actors in duels (or "duel-like showdowns" in modern movies) are obviously staying far apart or barely making contact for 1) insurance purposes, or 2) doing flashy moves to show off, but not Achilles and Hector. Achilles does seem to be toying with Hector because he is just so damn fast, but I love that when these two make contact, you can FEEL it. Leading to something I noticed, in how it DIDN'T show up: A lot of camera crews don't know/care how to shoot fighting or dance scenes where the whole body is involved, so you often get the camera crew zooming in so much on the actors' pretty faces that we can't see the rest of them DANCE/FIGHT, but this crew does not make that mistake! Especially notable since it's Eric Bana versus Brad Pitt, two extremely pretty men! No, we get a couple of nice portrait shots for their pre-fight talk, and then as Pharaoh Atem from Yu-Gi-Oh says: "IT'S TIME TO DUEL." We get some really great shots of their fights at a distance as well as close-up, and it's almost shot like the moving version of comic-book panels. A+ for both the realism and the great way of shooting it! Apparently Brad Pitt and Eric Bana didn't use stunt doubles and also had a running bet on how many accidental hits they'd land on each other. Brad accidentally hit Eric A LOT. The different combat styles are well-shown: There's a sense of HEAVINESS with Hector, who knows he's going to die in front of his people, but cannot avoid it, but he will fight anyway to buy his people a little bit more time. This contrasts Achilles' seething rage, his need for vengeance/glory, and his lightning-fast footwork. Especially since he's literally described with the epithet of "swift-footed" in the Iliad! If the writers and director knew about this, A+ for reading your source material! I really like how they use shots of the sandy field in front of Troy's wall to give the sense that these two are EXPOSED, especially since they've taken off their helmets for physical "exposure." You're forced to look at them. Normally I want people to wear their damn helmets, and taking them off is a dumb move to show the actor's face, but given the context where Hector mistakenly fought Patroclus in Achilles' armor and Achilles went "LOOK, IT'S ME THIS TIME! LET'S GO!", to which Hector takes his own helmet off as a show of honor, this is a great exception. It also gives the sense of inevitability. Again, Hector is going to die--he doesn't need a helmet anymore. The realistic close combat also has the effect of making Achilles' speed and his superhero vault-stab move look terrifying and otherworldly. The Trojan royal family's reactions were a more polite version of my horrified face. Fucking hell, if I was a camp-follower on the ground and saw Achilles literally roll UP to stab Hector, I would absolutely think that Achilles is a demigod. At bare minimum, I'd think he borrowed Hermes' sandals, but Hermes is friends with everyone, so I don't know if that counts. Folks have said Achilles looks like an Assassin's Creed character. People also note that the vault-stab is usually Achilles' FINISHING move, but the fact that he uses it right out of the gate against Hector says just how much he wants this dude to die. A+ duel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ62frK74u0

Analysis - 4Kids And An Enhancement They Added To Yugi and Mai's Duel

When it comes to 4Kids, some of their decisions and choices have been mocked for several a right reason, such as forcibly trying to Americanize certain things and being too afraid to step on parent's toes by bowderlizing many things (though some is understandable even if I may not agree with it, given how moral guardians can act). But sometimes, 4Kids did try to polish the story so that things could flow even just a little bit better. And one such case would be Yugi and Mai's duel in the Duelist Kingdom finals.

In the field between the two, Mai is able to grasp a significant lead on Yugi/Atem due to him not playing at his best, but the reasons for that differ in the languages. In the original Japanese version, Atem basically allows Mai to gain such a lead because he doesn't take her seriously and is focusing on fighting Pegasus. Now, that doesn't sound very much in character for Atem, given how he takes every opponent he goes up against, even when the stakes don't involve high-risk magical shenanigans, seriously and doesn't underestimate them even for a millisecond. And keep in mind, Mai won at least 15 Star Chips (5 extra to pay Yugi back for his kindness) from duelists that Pegasus deemed worthy enough to grant an invite to. And for those of you who don't know (however few it may be), this alarmingly out of character moment also occurs in the manga, which is rather startling. So, what does 4Kids do?

4Kids manages to have the reason for Yugi and Atem's poor performance early in the Duel have to do with a distracted Yugi and fully tying up a mini-arc from when he had his rematch with Kaiba, and lost when Yugi chose to call off his attack with Celtic Guardian when Kaiba pulled out his ultimate Trap Card, Castle Battlement Ledge, with the Pharaoh all too willing to win even knowing that Kaiba would likely end up hurt. When Mai tried to give him Star Chips to replace the ones he lost to Kaiba, he's still too shaken to respond to her and Téa picks up the slack for him, winning them in a duel against Mai. Now, you think that would be the end of it? Not quite. What follows after that but before the Duelist Kingdom finals tears open that barely healed wound. The event in question being Pegasus defeating Kaiba and stealing his soul and the subsequent nightmare Yugi has of Pegasus' captives on monoliths and Yugi's grandpa telling him to use the Millennium Puzzle's power to counteract Pegasus' Millennium Eye.

Yugi's able to put on a brave face and have the Pharaoh duel, but it's clear that what happened isn't just something that would go away in one episode. Subsequently, Yugi wants to get the Duel over with before he thinks Atem gets any ideas about trying to use the Puzzle's power to hurt Mai (remember that in the anime, Atem managed to swap the places of Bakura and Yami Bakura's souls so that they didn't run the risk of sending their good friend to the graveyard). As a result he tries to keep Atem on a short leash and refuses to have him try and work with him, thinking that outmuscling Mai will get the duel finished with faster. Which ends up to their detriment. But it does get resolved, with Mai's help.

Mai still retains her abrasiveness in the 4Kids dub, but the dub also remembers her character development and her desiring a fair fight and win against Yugi. She can tell that he's still hurting, and in her own caring, but rough way, tries to help him get back on track by forcing him to confront the problem, pointing out how Joey taught her to confront her issues head on and to trust in her herself and her own abilities. This in turn finally allows Yugi and Atem to conclude their mini-arc, the former finally choosing to fully trust in the latter again. Atem even apologizes for going against Yugi's wishes of not wanting to win even if it meant hurting someone. As a result of their resolution, they are eventually able to triumph over Mai.

In a case of understated brilliance, 4Kids' dub doesn't add a plot hole but undoes a startlingly out of character moment from Atem done for forced drama. And ultimately, uses these changes to put an end to a mini-arc of Yugi's character development in a satisfactory way. And all without making anyone out of character.

*EDIT: fixed some spelling errors.

Hey, love your writing. For the prompt thing would love to see no.5 :) Yugi jealous yey.

Again, sorry it's taken me so long to get this one done! Work and life got in the way :(((

I love a jealous Yugi, give me all the jealous Yugi. I struggled with this, but only because I could legitimately write an entire book of Yugi being jealous...and that's kind of what my Demon AU is turning out to be...

So I'm sorry it's short, but I tried to be strict on the length of these so I could answer every one I got. It's sweet and hopefully you like it. Thank you for your lovely words it means a lot <3

5. "Wait a minute, are you jealous?"

Enjoy! <3

.............................

“Did you have a good day?” He asked as he looked up from the sofa. 

“I did.” Atem said happily. “It was great.” 

Yugi watched his boyfriend shrug off his jacket and kick off his shoes and he smiled. Moments like these still filled him with joy, just knowing that Atem was there, that they were together, it was the best feeling. 

“I’m glad.” He said as Atem turned to face him, walking further into the room to join him. 

“It was really nice to see the city.” Atem told him, a fond smile on his face. “Jou showed me so many things. We went to the arcade for a while and played that fighting game you used to like, then we took a walk down to the docks and Jou bought us ice cream too. The sun started setting whilst we were there and it was the second most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Yugi nodded along with what Atem was saying but he couldn’t help the feeling creeping into his mind. The feeling of irritation that Jou had taken Atem to the places that they liked to go together. It shouldn’t matter to him, he was happy that Atem had friends too, that he didn’t have to rely on Yugi constantly like he once did. 

But…He had wanted to take Atem to watch the sunset at the dock, he’d thought it might have been romantic and it annoyed him that Jou had taken him there and he’d seen it without him. 

“Wow.” Yugi said once he realised he hadn’t responded. “Sounds like a date rather than a day out with your friend.” He tried to keep his tone light, but he may have sounded a little more irritated that he wanted to. 

Atem laughed and sank down onto the sofa next to him. 

“Yeah, right.” He laughed again. “Jou’s a great guy but I’m afraid my heart already belongs to another.” Atem said as he flopped down on his back, his head in Yugi's lap. 

He knew Atem was only teasing him, but the words grated on his nerves anyway. He hummed and shrugged as he reached out to run a hand through his boyfriend's hair. Atem sighed and closed his eyes. 

“I really did have a great day.” Atem said. “My only regret is that you were busy and couldn’t join us.” 

“Yeah.” Yugi breathed out. “Work is awkward sometimes. Believe me, I’d much rather have been there with you.”

Atem opened his eyes and looked up at him, his lips pulled into a smirk. Yugi sighed and looked toward the TV. 

“Wait a minute….” Atem said. “Are you jealous?” 

Atems voice was light, teasing and Yugi refused to look at him because he knew Atem would have the biggest grin on his face now, he knew that he’d never let it go. 

“What?” Yugi let out a forced laugh. “No, of course not.” He kept his eyes on the TV in front of him, anything to avoid Atems stupid grin. 

“Oh?” Atem moved to sit up, turning to face him and leaning closer. Yugi could see him out of the corner of his eye but he remained stubborn. “Then why do you look so mad?” 

“I’m not mad.” He said quickly. 

“Hmm.” Atem leaned even closer. Yugi could feel Atems soft laugh against his cheek. “You don’t need to worry, my love, my heart is yours.” Atems lips brushed his skin lightly. “It always has been, and it always will be.” He added in a whisper. 

Yugi tried to hide his smile, not wanting to give in so fast to Atems beautiful words. He sighed when Atem kissed his cheek softly, his breath caught when those lips dropped to his neck, soft kisses trailed slowly over sensitive skin. 

He laughed when Atem stopped his kisses and instead licked the side of his neck. He batted his boyfriend away and leaned away from more licks. 

“Okay.” He said, laughing when Atem followed him as he shuffled away. 

Atem smiled as he leaned close to Yugi again, eyes moving down to Yugi's lips as he climbed into his lap. 

“I love you.” Atem said seriously, his hands resting under Yugi's jaw. “I really do.” 

“I know.” Yugi breathed out a laugh, mirroring the way Atem was holding him. “I love you too, and that’s why I’m jealous.” 

“I knew it.” Atem teased. 

Yugi would have argued back, but Atem had already closed the distance between them and when Atem was kissing him he couldn’t ever think about much else.