A mix of the manga, anime, season 0, some of the video games (like Forbidden Memories and Duelist of the Roses), spin-offs (like Yugioh R and Capmon), etc. Baking it into a more cohesive and connected narrative with overarching everything. I say rewrite but I'm trying to organize and connect everything more smoothly, adding stuff from the games and spin-offs, might go more in detail on another occasion? probably?


Duelist Kingdom extract: Seto vs Yugi

Half his foot dangling off the edge of the roof.

Hand raised, mouth open, but the order was cut off by a shriek.

"STOP!"

Clutching his chest, Yugi fell to his knees, panting and trembling all over, his eyes stung with crystalline tears. Taking over his body so suddenly and forcefully had depleted him of his strength, he felt like he wouldn't be able to, didn't want to, stand up on his own, maybe he would pass out.

Seto didn't say a word, just fixed him a brief stare before leaving.

Yugi was brought up to his feet by Honda's strength, his face in Ryo's hands, asserting his state before hiding the shorter man's face on his shoulder, surrounding him with his arms. He could hear Jounouchi screaming at the retreating Seto in the distance, Anzu being the one to stop him from resorting to punching the millionaire.

He didn't know if the sour feeling of guilt belonged to his other self or himself.

He had almost forgotten how it was to be afraid of his other-self.


Noah (now placed after Duelist Kingdom, in place of the episode in where Seto get's trapped in the videogame by the 5 sths and Mokuba goes ask for Yugi's help):

More context: Seto is going to remodel the house, while exploring for planning, he finds a hidden room with a machine that's starting to malfunction, he connects to check what's up and is trapped, so Mokuba goes to ask Yugi for help, they return and some of them connect, finding themselves in a labyrinth where t hey're separated, Jonouchi lands with Seto and Noah, Mokuba with Hanasaki and Ryo, while Yugi is on his own. They solve games and 'unlock' Noah's memories, this cuz the machine is crashing; Jonouchi, Noah and Seto are going through sth similar, their memories being shown to the others. Noah was angry that Seto 'took his place, but the memories are overwhelming, reminding him of his death and what led to it; the others arrive in time for Noah's mental collapse, giving up and helping the others leave the 'virtual world'.

This next part is almost at the end, having been revealed to Noah, Jounouchi and Seto some of the memories of the last 2:

Jounouchi and Seto stared at each other with wide eyes and pale faces.

They both had seen the memories, knew who those memories belonged to, and, of course, noticed the similarities.

An elder brother who wanted to protect their little sibling from their scum of a father, except, in one set of memories the mother took the younger sister and left, abandoning the elder brother; while on the other set, there was no mother, yet, there was a kind worker who looked after the pair of brothers.

Noah was also frozen in place.

Seto's memories had taken him aback, he didn't want to admit the monster who had abused Seto and had treated the then kid like a dog was his father.

His digital body was shaking slightly, he was suddenly scared, and guilt started to bloom in his chest.


Scooby-Doo Filler extract:

More context: to leave room for a breather and to just concentrate on the relationship dynamics, I decided that there should be a 'filler' episode between arcs (for example, the Ishtars get to kinda actually become friends with the protags in the Beach Episode after Battle City, in which, fulfilling his promise to Shizuka, Jounouchi -and friends- take her to that one beach. Otogi gets to interact more with the gang and ask for forgiveness in the 'taking care of the patient' episode after the Black Clown arc, and so on and so forth, I think you get the idea now)

Brotherly instincts kicking in. Jounouchi picked Mokuba up in his arms before dashing to the exit, but he fell backwards onto his ass when Seto managed to grab him by the back of his collar.

"Don't panic mutt, it's not a real ghost"

"Maybe, but what I'm feeling is real fear" whined the blonde.

Mokuba barely contained a guffaw.

Seto and Jounouchi struggled for a short moment, pulling in different directions; until Jounouchi's strength and adrenaline won and he managed to drag Seto with himself out of the room, Mokuba still in his arms.


Battle City extract:

More context: instead of Marik having a second, evil, personality, Yami Marik is made of the resented souls residing in the Millennium Rod.

"Marik?" called Isis.

Anzu's voice was plain, devoid of fluctuations or emotions, her vacant eyes went through all of them "I am not the bearer of the Millennium Rod, Marik Ishtar, I'm just a soul that has been too long without a name."

"And why are you in our friend Anzu?" asked Shizuka from the security of her brother's friend's side.

"The gravekeeper boy has sent me to you, to prepare you for the outcome, this is the last game, a game for the items, and no bearer has ever survived losing an item."

There were gasps of horror.

Isis swallowed the knot in her throat.

"Can you see what's happening?"

Anzu nodded, her posture that of a handmaiden listening to her master's order.

"The spirits are playing against Pharaoh, each player with their sacrifice, the gravekeeper and the vessel's souls, the shadows will take a part of their souls for each life point the player loses," she stopped, a soft 'a' scaping her lips "Pharaoh just received some damage, the shadows have taken the vessel's right leg," a contemplative 'mm' "it's quite painful."


Atlantis extracts:

More context: Orichalcos magic: It's, more than anything, a powerful amplifier and/or conductor which works especially well with Plana, it allows the sealing of space for a specific use without the interference of outsiders but allows the public to see (like, what if shadow games were able to be seen by non-players or what if penalty games were sealed in a place like shadow games, not allowing the players to scape) this by using the specific effect of the Orichalcos Seal, although, it especially draws magic and strength from the user's feelings/emotions (both positive and negative), after it's mix with the quantum cube, it was corrupted, not only drawing power from but also amplifying the user's negative emotions/feelings.

The cube makes its first appearance in the background of this arc, and the protags never really encounter it, but Shada gets his hands on it.

The backstories of the Atlantis arc characters have been edited (mostly Raphael), moe details about this on a later date I guess.

Also, Timaeus's chosen isn't Atem, is Yugi.

On the duel against Haga:

"I've squashed you many times already," a smug grin stretched his lips. "You're not competent enough to challenge me, what makes you think that this time will be different?"

Haga gritted his teeth but smiled nonetheless "Because this time I have this!"

The seal of orichalcos.


"Master Dartz was kind enough to give me the card that contains Yugi's soul,"

The Pharaoh felt a tick on his hand.

"And why would Dartz give my partner's soul to a cockroach-like you?"

Haga clicked his tongue "You should thank me, Master Dartz was considering discarding Yugi's useless soul, such a weak little thing is of no use to us, if it wasn't for me Yugi's soul would have already vanished."

The cards wrinkled in the Pharaoh's hold, brows furrowing further, smile disappearing.


The card was ripped in half.

The nameless Pharaoh felt a scream get stuck in his throat.

Haga laughed maniacally "It was just a joke, I don't know where Yugi's soul is if it even exists anymore."

The Pharaoh's boiling ire froze.

"I see."

Clouds of darkness slowly emerged from the floor, surrounding and caging the duelists in a capsule of shadows; there was no more wind to blow their hair.

Haga suddenly felt the urge to flee, but his feet were stuck in place.

"This is now a shadow game," declared the Pharaoh, brows furrowed, a mocking smile twisting his lips "Let's see who gets your soul first, orichalcos or the shadows."

A chill went down Haga's spine, as an inhuman laugh resonated in the void.

Stakes higher and rules unclear, Haga felt his doom approaching.


Timaeus materialized on the field but it looked back at the spirit of the puzzle and growled.

A voice resonated in his head, angry.

"Yugi's body it may be, but his soul isn't present here. It is only because he willed it that I have obeyed you before, nameless Pharaoh, so do not try to tell me what to do, for, without Yugi's backing, I will not listen."


On the final duel against Dartz:

The Pharaoh looked at the card in his hand, and, in his heart, he pleaded.

"We're so close to getting Yugi back, so, please, Timaeus, help me just this once."

Through clenched teeth, he declared.

"I call forth The Eye of Timaeus to the field!"

The dragon appeared and, barely looking back, sent the Pharaoh a small nod of acknowledgement.

A shaking smile appeared on Yugi's face.


After the Last Duel against Dartz:

Seeing Hirutani's poor form, Seto clicked his tongue "I told you that if I ever saw your ugly face-"

Before he was able to finish his threat, Hirutani launched himself at him, after a punch to his face and a kick to his stomach, he grabbed the billionaire by the right lapel of his coat, dangling him off the edge.

Seto was sure he heard Mokuba's scared call for him (and the others too).

His face darkened with hate and fury, but also helplessness, if Hirutani let him go he would be done for; loathe to admit it, when it came to physical strength, he was the weaker of the two.

Hirutani smiled, intending on letting him fall.

But right before he was able to, the blonde mutt rushed in, grabbing Seto's coat's other lapel and yanking him away from the edge, with his strength and the element of surprise, he managed to free him from Hirutani's hold.

At the same time, he kicked Hirutani away from them both.

Crossing gazes, Jounouchi looked as surprised bus his actions as Seto was, he let go of the taller as if burned and Seto was dragged to the floor by gravity. Instantly, Mokuba was hugging him, and the others surrounded him without touching him.

"Katsuya!" roared Hirutani.

Having his attention redirected, Jounouchi threw himself at Hirutani again, attacking and defending as he saw fit. He had already defeated Hirtuani once alone, but a part of him was still scared, Hirutani had always been a vile thing with the strength and influence to control him, he had even managed to drag him back to that hole once if it hadn't been for his friends…

Seto was tired of watching the show, he took out his gun, aimed, and shot at the floor between the fighting mongrels, who, each, jumped back, Hirutani falling off the edge.


Memory World extracts:

More context: adding from the plot of the game 'Forbidden Memories', meaning that MW begins with Atem being still a Prince following his ascendance to the throne, also, Bakura only takes over MW and makes a game when it is time for Atem's coronation, before that we just relive his memories with Atem not really remembering his time as a spirit. Also, specifying more on the items:

Puzzle: assemble and disassemble the mind, heart and soul, allowing it to extract the monsters from the souls they belong, originally known as the Pendant until it shattered when Atem sealed Zorc using his own name.

Rod: brainwash and control people

Ring: locate other items and magic

Necklace: sees into the future and past

Key: allow the host to enter and alter the soul room of people

Scales: used for judgment, measures the inner evil of people against the feather of Ma'at

Eye: reads minds and hearts

Universal powers:

Summoning monsters

A certain level of protection for hosts

Shadow magic

Penalty games: deathly games that use shadow magic and take place in our realm

Shadow Games: deathly games that use shadow magic but take place in the shadow realm

History: Created to protect Egypt from the Atlantean invasion, the 'recipe' was found in the Millenium Book, an antique of unknown origins, which has been in there since the time before bread; to create them, the required a sum of 99 human souls and the inhabitants of Khul-Elna were used, leaving a sole survivor behind; the souls mixed with gold and sealed in the Millenium Tombstone.

From when Atem was still a prince, from 'Forbidden Memories', almost at the end of the adventure:

They were lucky that the night was moonless.

The sharp shadows hid them quite nicely, and, with Jono's help, they managed to reach the throne room.

He sat there, the pendant hanging from his neck, his thumb caressing the gold. He ported a toothy smile as he stared at the servant girl in front of him.

She had her hands tied behind her back, she was on her knees, looking down.

"Let's see, let's see."

The eye of Horus shone on his head and Teana screamed, throwing herself back and writhing on the floor. His eyes widened in pleasant surprise, and he laughed.

"Give me your monster."

Her screams resonated in the large room.

The boys were frozen in their hiding spot, their hands itching to do something, but between their mission and horror, they couldn't move.

Then, a bright light shone from the pendant, and over the now immobile girl floated a creature.


After becoming Pharaoh, already at war against TKB:

Seth almost threw up.

He didn't understand how Jono was still awake, bleeding on the golden sand, it looked like a beast had taken a bite out of the side of his torso.

He tried to treat the mortal wound, but Jono probably wouldn't survive the day.

Jono begged to be taken to the Pharaoh, so Seth took him.

The panic they caused was predictable, those who saw him carrying the guard to the Pharaoh went ashen.

The Pharaoh ran to them, he looked like he was trying to not throw up. "Jono, what-?"

"My Pharaoh, please hear this humble servant's request," Pharaoh bit his lip in worry "That bastard was too strong, I barely managed to escape, and I won't survive till the morrow," Jono did his best to prostrate to the Pharaoh "Please, take the monster in my soul as your servant to fight that damned thief."

"Jono…"

They all knew how painful it was to take the monster out of the soul, they had seen Teana's monster be ripped from her soul, had heard her screams, and the memory still haunted them, yet, Jono was asking the Pharaoh to do that to him.

"This servant begs Pharaoh, I don't want to die so pointlessly, let me serve my Pharaoh even after death."

Pharaoh's eyes stung "... alright."

Pharaoh closed his eyes and placed his hands on the pendant, the eye of Horus shone on his forehead.

Jono was shocked by a scream, the shrieks that ripped his throat lacked air, it almost sounded like he was shocked in his blood. After a bright white light blinded them for a second, Jono's monster appeared.

A big, slender, black dragon with red eyes stood over the corpse of their friend.


Dark Side of Dimensions extract:

More context: in the movie Aigami/Diva mentions that Yugi is special like them and that Plana calls for him, I tried to make sense of this by working on the types of magic and making it so that Plana only works for and calls to those who have 'fractured' souls, which make them weaker and incompatible with the other magics (also building on the detail of Yugi being weak to shadow games, first noted in his duel against Pegasus in Duelist Kingdom), also, stretching DSoD a bit more to go into more details and yada yada.

"You are special, Yugi," Aigami said in all seriousness "You are like us Yugi, and Plana calls to you."

Frozen in place, Yugi didn't stop the other from placing his open palm on his chest. The small, golden, upside-down triangle shone on Aigami's forehead.

Yugi gasped and staggered a step backwards.

"Those shadow games were harder for you than the others, weren't they? and the orichalcos almost discarded your soul, didn't it?"

His chest looked cracked, like crystal after a punch.

"Plana calls to fractured souls like ours."

Tearing away his eyes from his chest, Yugi looked up at Aigami, his tanned face was cracked, one big line from the left side of his forehead to the right of his chin, from the bridge of his nose to the left of his chin and his cheek.

More info later (and maybe on a separate document just for it), probably, on one hand, I really like this and am having fun working on it and want to share it with the world but on the other hand, I'm not actually sure if y'all would like or be interested in sth like this. The idea is to make it all more cohesive, tone down a bit the card games but add more other games and yada yada. Also, not straying away from cannon, so, sadly, not canonizing my ships but also a hella lot more of subtext I guess?