#kudawrite

Atem and Yugi’s romance takes some time to fully bloom. They’ve had a mutual attraction for a long time, but many things (atem’s bad self-esteem and yugi’s hesitance) get in the way of it, and the stress of having to be on the lam doesn’t give much room for that to grow

a mutual deep respect and endless loyalty to each other, yes, but romance not so much. Plus Atem learning he’s a walking magic bomb and Yugi having to work double time in keeping the both of them cloaked while Atem’s untrained magical signature is a giant ass beacon of HEY COME GET ME doesn’t help atem’s self-image. 

They end up fleeing the country, moving to a more sparce and less magic-focused country that’s more of a neutral ground than anything, so it’s a bit safer for them to hide out in. They spend a lot of time, some months at least constantly on the move till they find a nondescript town deep in the middle of the neutral country and settle down in an abandoned shack in the surrounding forest. (they clean it up surprisingly well)

atem feels utterly disgraced and distraught that this happened and that yugi's putting himself in danger for him, and many times tries to convince yugi to go back and plead insanity or something. yugi refuses, saying he'll never leave atem alone again when he needs him so badly.

so atem does his best to learn quickly from yugi, but on-the-run teaching isn’t the most thorough way, though Atem does learn best being shown and when under duress/challenge. Its difficult because yugi's not experienced with teaching and atem's magic works differently than his. students usually get teachers that are more experienced with their specific type of magic for ease of teaching.

atem is a fast learner though, and stubborn as fuck, and learns well enough to be able to control his magic enough it's not a danger.  though it has different skills and uses than yugi's does. it gets to the point that it's dangerous for either of them to be seen as they are, and while yugi gets skilled at disguise magic, it's not in atem's skillset and disguising for two is very draining.

So, in a fit of crazyness (as yugi called it) and late night reading, atem gets a brilliant(?) idea. he tells yugi to make him his familiar

familiars are usually made between a non-human magical entity and a humanoid, and demons fall under that non-human entity category

and atem is a demon conduit. he thinks its brilliant! familiar owners can change their familiars form at will, familiars can hide in their owner's shadows, and the owners can forcefully command the familiar in dire situations. if atem ever loses it again (something he’s terrified of doing though while he has had some close calls he hasn’t had any relapses in his training) yugi can just tell him to stop! yugi thinks he's mad - familiar contracts are not only very binding, they've never been recorded happening between two humanoids, let alone a conduit, and demon familiar contracts are tricky and can backfire.

atem insists, he'd never set any contract lines that would hurt yugi, he's loyal as fuck, and he admits that if capable he'd willingly spend the rest of his life serving yugi. not exactly a declaration of love, but yugi understands what more or less what he means

yugi's overwhelmed, tells atem he needs to think on it. atem thinks he's fucked up in more ways than one, and they have a day or two of awkwardness but yugi eventually concedes, saying that while it is very clever, it is also very dangerous. but he wants atem to be safe, and he too wants to spend his life with atem - he just didn't see it ever happening like this. something atem gets depressed over momentarily before yugi snaps him out of it and says he will never regret making his decision to save atem

they make the contract, magical circle and all, and while the magic goes a bit dodgy for a bit, it ends up working out - but with the unrealized side effect of the two of them being able to speak/see each others thoughts via soul link

atem as an awakened demon conduit had always been hyper attuned to human's emotions and feelings, being able to smell and feel them himself, but this was a whole new step. and yugi not being alone in his head was very jarring

it puts a lot of stress on them, along with learning how the contract works - if yugi asks atem to do something, if he doesn't word it carefully it comes out as a command Atem is compelled to do forcefully

like 'atem, shut up' becomes literal even if it was meant jokingly.

he learns to use nicknames more often, but atem does enjoy the nickname yugi gave him as a kid so he doesn't mind, and he knows the command could be useful in a pinch (or bad for him if yugi is in danger and forces atem to leave, but he makes yugi swear he'd never do something like that - atem knows he's probably fibbing but its the best he can do)

another thing is atem learning to live in yugi's shadow if need be, but he hardly uses it, yugi usually transforms atem into a dark dark red cat with some gold stripes, so atem can sit on his shoulder as he goes out and about so yugi only has to disguise himself, and its easier to hide one person in a crowd instead of two

also in times like that the mental link comes in very handy, but it still takes time for them to learn how to block each other off from the others minds for privacy or other stuff. they eventually get comfortable enough being pretty open with their thoughts, but that takes a while.

-----

I’ve thought a bit on it and it’s a bit hard to decide, but I think what’ll happen is that while Anzu will be someone Yugi used to be friends with back at their old village and left behind sadly, Jou and Ryou will be two villagers living in the new town. they end up becoming friends, but friends with ‘not-Yugi’ or the disguise Yugi puts up when he goes to town. They know there’d be less of a chance of them being recognized in a different country, specially just Yugi on his own, but they don’t wanna risk it. 

I think eventually yugi and atem will reveal themselves when jou and ryou prove loyal friends, but it’d be some time before they do that. For the longest time, jou and ryou just think yugi’s this eccentric magic collector who talks far too much to his cat.

Yugi and atem will make some living doing small magic practices, ending up being mostly an apothecary than anything else because it’s simple and unobtrusive and living in the forest gives them lots of supplies. also people in this neutral country trust natural remedies a bit more than straight up magic, though yugi uses it while making any potions or poultices to make them more effective. Atem with his great memory and quick thinking ends up being a walking library, (not literally) devouring any book he comes across and collecting an even larger mental catalog than Yugi does. he swears his reading is just a past-time but yugi knows better. 

they do sometimes like small bounties or clearing out any dangerous magical critters from the surrounding area but they do it quietly and under disguise to keep things safe. 

One of Atem’s new skills turns out to be shape-shifting of some amount (separate from the shape-shifting that comes with his familiar status under Yugi)

Mainly he has to retain some sort of bipedal form, but he can add and retract wings, a tail, horns, scales and claws and other such details. He avoids anything hulking and monstrous like what Zorc forced him into in his awakening, choosing to always keep his human face and general form. His shapeshifting prerequisites are horns, claws, and some form of tail no matter how hard he tries to keep the tail from growing. That’s when his nub tail makes its most usual appearance, the shortest he can get away with (yugi loves it)

He can do some digitgrade-ness, or specific amplification like giant yaoi hand claws and stuff for offence if need be. he can’t like breathe fire or anything easily cause it requires more amplification to his body than he likes (his face/throat/chest) but if need be he’ll use it. The wings he’s never super fond of because he doesnt quite like the feel of multiple limbs he has to keep track of and coordinate, but Yugi convinces him to at least learn how to use them in case they ever need to use them. He’s glad that he can go without them. 

In any of his altered forms his speed and strength is greatly intensified, as are his senses. the more he allows himself to shift away from human the more intense his demonic urges are (aggression, hunger for magical power, general nasty emotions and urges) so he sticks to as human as possible at all times. When he’s loafing around at home with Yugi he’s rarely in any altered form unless he’s feeling in a particularly good mood (self-confident) and he allows himself to be more open. 

Also: Atem has a heck of a time trying to control his vices. His main one is gambling, though he manages to get his minor drinking problem under control with yugi’s help. Gambling is something that he just can’t seem to get rid of, but Yugi helps by setting safer stakes and bets for him to get his high off of, plus Yugi himself enjoys a good game and is a good opponent for Atem always.

So, I think this is the most of what I have so far for this au. I’d love to write it up one day, but it’ll have to wait ;v;

(First thing’s first: while the smutfic is a part of this AU, I started working on it BEFORE I fleshed out more of the world and storyline, so some parts of the smutfic might not fully line up with events in the storyline. it’s more of a ‘what-if’ almost, but I’m undecided on that. Just a heads up if you’re wondering where it is in the storyline.)

Atem is a conduit, a type of magical human-or-other who more channel elements and energies rather than manipulate them like wizards and other magic users. Conduits are usually very powerful but dangerous cause they can get overwhelmed by the natural magic current and cause destruction to themselves and others.  normally conduits show their magic traits early on in life and are whisked away for strict training, or if need be, magical dampening. Atem never showed any magical inclination or skills, so it was assumed he was a non-magic.

But thru events in the story, turns out he’s not just a conduit, he’s a Demon Conduit, the most dangerous type and usually the type killed on sight instead of trained.

and because he was never trained and is naturally very powerful, he grabs the attention of a very powerful demon called Zorc, who uses his body and takes it over to come through to the physical plane.  but before Zorc was able to fully take control of Atem or get anchored in the physical realm, Atem fights back and all but tears Zorc’s soul from his body, and from Zorc’s power, and casts his soul back into the demonic realm, leaving Atem with massive amounts of demonic power completely untrained.

Atem was about to be killed on the spot because of this (he had passed out right after) but Yugi rushed in, and despite the danger and consequences, blinked the two of them out from danger and now they’re fugitives

Conduits are fairly empathic to feelings but it’s more of a ‘hunch’ than anything direct, but Demon Conduits are much more sensitive since demons feed on human emotions and desires. It becomes almost a scent at that point, but with the extra effect of osmosis-through-touch that can be overwhelming to the untrained.

——

The AU starts out with Yugi and Atem being kiddos and friends in a small village. they’re fast friends, almost to the point that Atem is possessive over Yugi. as they get a bit older, Yugi starts showing magical attributes and promise, and as a result has to leave their village to go to the city for training, because the village doesn’t have any magical teachers. 

Atem is, of course, incredibly upset and angry about it, to the point he convinces Yugi and him to try and run away together so they wont be separated. they get into trouble in the forest, and Yugi ends up saving the both of them with his magic instinctively. They are found and taken home, and Atem has to confront his possessiveness and the fact he will be losing his best friend for possibly years (its rare for magic academies to let students visit home during their training)

Yugi promises that no matter how long it takes he will come back for Atem. He thinks he’d be gone for at most a few years, but Atem knows that Yugi’s got too much promise for that and it will take a lot longer. They promise to write to each other at least, and Yugi is taken to the city leaving Atem alone (he doesnt have many other friends because he was a little hellion as a kid aka a milder season 0 almost)

Years pass, and Atem grows up without Yugi. It becomes really sour at one point when some of his distant family moves to the village, one of them being Mahad who is an excellent magical teacher. Atem rues that if he had moved there just a few years earlier then Yugi wouldn’t have had to leave, but things happen.

Atem eventually warms up to him, and his cousin Mana (who is far too loud and bubbly for his tastes but he gets used to it)Also Atem is kind of seen as a minor disappointment in his family of magic users, for he shows absolutely no inclination for magic at all, something else he’s bitter about. He tried for years to get magic to work for him, but it never did, so he kind of grows to hate it. He also becomes rather sharp and gets a bit of a gambling addiction (and minor love of alcohol) to the point he’s known in the region for some not so nice things. Nothing that would get him killed or arrested, but he’s not allowed in quite a few taverns for multiple reasons. 

Over the years he stopped returning Yugi’s letters, and eventually stopped opening them even, bitter about the separation and feeling betrayed the longer Yugi never comes back for him. He never got rid of them, buried in the bottom of a chest in his room, but he’s too hurt to open them Also he could never lie to Yugi, and is somewhat ashamed of how he’s turned out, and doesnt want Yugi to see who he’s turned into.

——

One year atem is visited by someone, and at first he’s rather blunt and rude to them, but turns out, it’s Yugi!! who he hardly recognized over the years until he got a good look at him, and oh jeese he’s cute

Yugi is a proficient magic user now, highly skilled and powerful using multiple magics thanks to his rareish open affinity to magic (most of the time it’s skewed to one speciality or another)It took him some time to untangle himself from the academy because they didnt want to let go of such a valuable student, but once he was deemed fully trained and free to research on his own he immediately aimed for his old home.Ends up dragging along a boorish and snobby prodigy called Seto who he somehow managed to befriend in some form of another, partly because the academy ordered Seto to go with Yugi for protection, partly cause Seto wanted to to stay by his friend (mokuba is back home studying himself so he’s safe)Atem’s floored by Yugi, ashamed of himself and is royally pissed towards Seto, kind of avoids Yugi as much as he can at first. Not like he can clean up his reputation even if he wanted to, and he doesn’t have much to his name besides being the best gambler in the region.Yugi sticks to him like a dustbunny attracted by static, you brush it off and it sticks to your hand no matter how much you wave it around

Yugi was a bit hurt by atem not returning his letters, but assumed it was for a good reason. Is more hurt when he learns that Atem stopped replying for multiple reasons, and is determined to help Atem shine again. He made a promise and by gum he will stick to it, he missed atem dearly.Atem’s hopelessly entranced by Yugi but constantly tries to detach himself. Its a very stubborn tug of war of wills until Atem eventually relents in an angry bout of yelling of how much he hates himself and how Yugi’s better off anywhere but with him, and Yugi helps piece Atem together and try to put him on the right path again.

—-

I havent quite decided on the trigger that will be Atem being discovered as a demon conduit, but it’d be pretty big. Possibly him constantly being around such powerful magic users, combined with possibly a trip to the city? Which would be drenched in magic and loosening the locks on his power. Also the emotional draining he’d go through first with Yugi and then being in the city around so many people all so full of themselves and looking down on non-magics (like him) that it’d probably bring back his old desperate wish for magical power, and that would be what Zorc would take advantage of.

The event would be explosive, not like in the middle of town but he’d be with at least Yugi, Seto, and some other characters when it happened.  He’d be [] this close to being lost before hauling himself back from the brink through pure willpower and rage at something taking advantage of him, and would split Zorc asunder and absorb his demonic energy because that is his body, by thunder, gtfo

Atem collapses outright after it happens, his body slowly turning human back from its shifted hulking form that Zorc forced it in to, and Seto steps up absolutely ready to obliterate Atem on the spot. He’s far too dangerous to be allowed to exist, particularly so close to the capital and other sources of magic, and he’s never liked Atem anyways.

Yugi dashes in front of him, up to Atem, trying to get him to wake up. Atem’s out cold and trying to move him is like trying to carry a load of sopping towels. Seto demands Yugi move, or do the dirty work himself, because he knows Yugi knows Atem is dangerous. 

Yugi refuses, and despite knowing the consequences, blinks the both of them away from the spot and out to who knows where before Seto or anyone else can stop themThus begins Yugi and Atem’s life as fugitives, because Atem won’t be allowed to live and Yugi would be imprisoned and have his magic sealed for treachery.

:3