ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ this is hungry work

(this is the most tumblr will allow. click for the full version and the +ring version!)

Ryou sneaks out of the birthday party thrown in his honor when an innocent question unexpectedly strikes him hard: Why do you always hide what you want?

When he arrives home, Bakhura (the King of Thieves) is surprised to see him back early, and Bakura (the Spirit) points out how he looks unsettled more than usual, "What's wrong with you?" Tonight's events ignited a fire in Ryou's veins, and with his personal conviction as fuel, he purposefully strides over to the two and pulls Bakhura into a fervent kiss. An incredulous Bakura asks what the hell he thinks he's doing. Reluctantly, Ryou extracts himself from a speechless but, nevertheless, receptive Bakhura and turns to the other.

"Taking what I want... Don't you always say I should be more honest?" His voice is low, breathy, desire wrapped around every word. Invitingly, Ryou tugs at Bakura, who goes willingly and reciprocates the kiss with the same intensity. "So have me. Both of you. Right here..."

---

Ryou is the first to pass out, and following some aftercare, the two tuck him into bed. After a long and passionate night, Bakhura's brain is swimming in a pool of happy chemicals, and he doesn't resist the call of the many pillows for his bone-tired body. He slots himself beside Ryou but pauses upon noticing his pale counterpart merely sitting at the edge of the bed, unmoving like a statue and staring at Ryou's sleeping face. A fleeting thought crosses Bakhura's mind that makes him chuckle. As he slides under the covers, Bakura asks what's so funny. "You're still here, is all. Didn't think you were the type to stay the night."

Bakura huffs indignantly, displeased with being profiled but concedes. "You're not wrong." He goes back to watching Ryou and, contrary to his bold words, decides to shuffle under the blanket after an endless minute.

Another chuckle, unmistakably mocking this time. "You just can't keep away, can you?"

the four dialogues at the start of the fic are actual npc lines in the game. other npc dialogues are woven into the text.

the "many eyes" ryou feels on him as soon as he enters yharnam are the amygdalas infesting the town, watching him. his insight is too low for them to be visible to him at the moment (hes currently at 0 and needs at least 40 or to be at endgame).

there are no amygdalas in central yharnam in the final cut of the game, but theres one in the alpha version. its back there now for the fic 😄

ryous weapons are the saw cleaver and hunter pistol. I initially wrote him using the hunter blunderbuss cuz it looks cooler, but it would be very difficult to miss the rabid dog rushing at him because its shots have a wide spread. sorry ryou, I need you to get quite hurt in this chapter. lore accuracy is my passion!

bakura is where Lonely Old Dear would be in the game.

bakura is a Great One masquerading as a human. ryou gains insight (the whispers/lightheadedness) as soon as ryou lays eyes on him. this is the in-game sound effect.

bakura is slowly making ryou frenzy. works a bit different in this fic. frenzy only builds up the longer ryou holds eye contact with bakura.

not sure if I want bakura to be the actual Moon Presence, but he is the one orchestrating everything/backing ryou up with power (the reason why ryou is a dreaming hunter).

also not sure if I want omegaverse dynamics in this LMAO cuz game lore states Great Ones yearn for surrogate children... well idk if bakura wants children, but he does want ryou for his own, unstated purposes.

this is what the hunter's salutation is supposed to look like, but bakura bastardizes it cuz hes rude.

the screeching ryou hears is the cleric beast.

some roles I assigned to other ygo characters for fun even tho they wont appear in the fic.

yugi as the doll

atem as lady maria

isis as eileen the crow

mai as arianna, woman of pleasure

seto as the bloody crow of cainhurst

yamima as micolash (LMAO)

tkb as orphan of kos

yugi and atem are who they are considering that the doll is based on lady maria.

the horrific raiding of the fishing hamlet mirrors the massacre at kul elna. its lady maria's greatest shame, and she desperately wants to keep what happened there a secret. I thought atem fit the theme pretty well.

with that said, tkb being the orphan of kos lines up. but I still want to keep the yamiba and tkb connection, so Im on the fence on what I want to do with their true identities.

for gameplay reasons, everyone else in bloodborne is taller than the player character. so in this au, please imagine ryou (and bakura since hes borrowed ryous looks) being towered over by everyone 🤭 to me, its because hes an outsider/yharnam natives are just giants like that. also watch this.