Another year, another round of YGO fics - I figured I’d end 2021 by sharing the fruits of my labour from the last twelve months haha As always, I present these (very) self-indulgent reading materials in case y’all need a break from the never-ending stresses of the world - and as a way for my fellow authors to share their awesome work, too :)
Domestic Ishtars Series
Control (thiefshipping, 5984 words, M)
It’s a Sin (thiefshipping / angstshipping, 5985 words, M)
Don’t Forget Me (taphoshipping / thiefshipping, 6990 words, M)
Rarepair AU YGO Fics
Cosmic Love (tornshipping, 21998 words, E)
When the World Ends (stealshipping, 12376 words, E)
Life in the Fast Lane (eclipseshipping, 12364 words, E)
Fics in Collections / Events
Bad Blood (kingshipping, 15292 words, E)
Delirious (altershipping, 25497 words, E)
Partition (thiefshipping, 8994 words, E)
Rusted from the Rain (eclipseshipping, 5295 words, T+)
Feel Again (gemshipping, 4997 words, E)
YGO Zine Fics
Conspire With You (conspireshipping, 17646 words, E) **co-written with @sitabethel, @mainstream-deviant and @ninjam117
The Only Thing Worth Fighting For (thiefshipping, 2473 words, T+)
Basic premise is that it’s stealshipping in an Old West AU :D So, lots of citronshipping, eclipseshipping and sickleshipping - because I will die on the hill of making the OT3 rarepair of them combined a thing haha
It was originally gonna be posted this year alongside the rest of my YGO poly rarepair AU fics, but then I realised I needed to work out a few historical / racial aspects before I got too deep...
I really do want this fic to see the light of day, but it might be a while before I feel competent enough to write it the way I want while also being sensitive to certain topics! But thanks for the ask - glad I at least get to discuss it here in the meantime :)
i fuckign love stealshipping (im not calling it fetishshipping suck my ass. why do the bakumali ships always get the weirdly sexual names?) OKAY heres a whole list of headcanons no one asked for (assume YM, who i’ll just refer to as mariku, is sharing a body with malik)
ok so lemme clarify this likely would have a really rough start. it would take place post-canon with bakura and malik already being together. mariku would likely come back because he’s never really left. he’s always a part of malik whether he likes it or not. bakura and malik would scorn him because they both hate him and he does pose a danger to them...
eventually they realize that mariku is not just a problem that will go away on its own and they need to find some other way to deal with him. it’s actually bakura who considers this possibility first, malik is not happy about it at all
mariku has only ever been met with hate and anger in his life. it’s all he knows. he’s not supposed to exist, but he’s still a part of malik. no one’s ever considered what he’s wanted, why he did the things he did. if you consider his point of view, he’s really mad at malik for not acknowledging him, not understanding why he kiilled his father.
and then here saunters in bakura who actually forces him to sit down and talk. just talk. for once someone listens to him. and bakura gets it. he knows what its like to not be wanted, to be treated like a disease with no one listening to you. they also both agree on hating malik’s father and its a good point to start having them open up with each other
bakura smacks him with reality. mariku cannot go on the way he is if he wants to live. and mariku’s sole desire is to want to live. if he acts out and takes more away from malik, ie killing his siblings, or bakura, then there won’t be anything left. mariku’s never considered this, and it’s through this conversation that they actually begin to reach some sort of middle ground
mariku basically doesnt really know what to do with himself. hes bored, he can’t violently act out in anger, and he becomes restless. as such he turns to bakura for amusement, following him around and bothering him and shit
bakura and mariku are the first to form a bond, with malik still being reluctant to give mariku a chance. bakura’s company starts becoming entertaining, even enjoyable. bakura’s willing to let him try things like food, video games, and all the shit bakura himself has recently taken an interest in since he’s actually started living.
eventually mariku begins developing feelings for bakura while not really being aware of it. he even abruptly switches control with malik mid-makeout with bakura “just to see what it feels like.” it becomes a really bizarre situation because bakura in return is starting to see mariku in that light - it’s still malik’s body after all, still malik, the attraction is still there - but he feels like it would be betraying malik and thus doesn’t make any moves of his own.
malik is pissed off and confronts mariku. he still doesnt trust him and thinks hes only out for bakura as a plaything. mariku retaliates with something like “it’s not like i can go out and have my own love life without your body cheating on bakura” and malik is pretty taken aback because wut he hasn’t even considered mariku would actually want that. but mariku is still a person with needs of his own, so he does admit he likes bakura, and the reason he gives malik is “he listened to me.”
well great now malik doesnt know what to do. mariku’s got a lot more depth to him than he previously thought. after a while, he tentatively says hes willing to share bakura and NOW the actually shippy stuff can start.
malik and bakura let mariku in on their split. it’s pretty endearing to bakura how NEW everything is to mariku. once bakura and mariku start sleeping together, malik actually finds he’s more willing to look at his other self in that sort of light
to further distinguish mariku as his own person, they all give him a name (doesnt matter what it is. YM has so many fan names at this point any could potentially work)
mariku and malik become more fluid with their switching, more in tune with each other’s feelings and bond. they talk things out, become closer, reach some sort of peace with each other. it’s nice.
so yeah. eventually it becomes less of a hypotenuse between malik and bakura and bakura and mariku, and more of a polyamorous situation between the three of them, which is still a bit strange because malik and mariku share the same body
they do have some nice soul room lovemaking sessions tho don’t get me wrong COUGH
malik and mariku can switch at the drop of a hat. as a result, to a third party, like bakura, it can look really hilarious seeing them argue back and forth out loud
bakura loves both of his boyfriends and im dying this is getting too long now rip
