There is information for how I rp on my blogs and Marik stats undercut, that way if people want to like the doll or reblog the doll they don’t have to worry about a long wall of text.
There was a very clear spark to Marik’s eyes. There was clear cunning intelligence there. He did seem to come to his senses, grabbing Ryou’s shoulders and speaking more hushed.
“Not hoping to get, getting hope. Hope that we all end up in our own vessels.”
It might be moments like this where some of Marik’s intelligence, and clear apt for schemes shines through as he starts connecting dots.
“The other night Seto mentioned to me that the Pharoah had been making fun of him, recently. He never elaborated but if we could talk to anyone Yugi is the only other helpful person I can think of.”
He tilts his head, smiling just so. “This has to be a topic that interests you, atleast a little, right?”
The very first thing that comes out of the blond’s mouth is confusing, but he manages to catch up after a moment. Oh.
He’s been looking for ways to separate the spirit from him physically without outright destroying the ring, and he’d not once thought of asking Yugi about it. To be fair, that had been before the knowledge bomb that Atem might actually be back.
“Of course! Some of the books I’m looking for are actually about that exact subject.”
Now he’s the one that needs to lower the volume. He covers his mouth instinctively, but leaves enough room to be heard.
“That’s a fantastic idea, actually. Even if he doesn’t have any insight himself, Atem might. “ He grins behind his hands. “We should at least give him a call.”
Marik pulled his hands away from the other feeling a large amount of victory.
Marik nodded. “Let’s pick out your books then, I would not mind giving the information a read myself. Then we can continue the hunt for knowledge.”
He sighed feeling rather content. His eyes shut for only a moment. “Its really nice to have a friend again.”
He opened his eyes back up. “Alright.” He picked up his book. “Where is the magic ritual section~? I am unfamiliar.” He said in a teasing tone.
The other’s face reflects heat so easily. He gave a bit of a wry smile
“Sorry, that wasn’t intended to make you uncomfortable, just. Whatever the connection is… it just felt important to make sure you know it’s ok.”
His expression became silly. “Maybe if it was someone else, I would be upset if someone named my alter and started hanging out with him. But honestly there is very little you could do to upset me. You and Yugi could commit murder and I would just hide the body.”
He closed his eyes but after a second they popped open. There it was. A spark had lit the blaze on fire. He stood.
“Yugi, he might have an answer. I’m doing it, I’m thinking!”
He’s not exactly uncomfortable - he was just a bit unprepared for having to think about… that. He’s going to have to do some reflecting later. Right now, he tries to shove the train of thought out of his head. He nods to signal that he understands.
The mention of Yugi sparks a little surprise. They haven’t talked about him in quite some time. The sentiment is nice, though. He’s pretty sure he’d do the same for either of the other men, too.
He takes a quick step back as Marik stands, trying to get out of the way.
“Hey, watch out!”
He’s quiet, but the blond isn’t. The outburst draws the attention of several nearby patrons, a couple of which give a loud hush sound. The others just look on disdainfully.
“Do you not think all the time?” Ryou asks, blinking a couple of times in confusion. “But - wait, what kind of answer are you hoping to get from Yugi?”
There was a very clear spark to Marik’s eyes. There was clear cunning intelligence there. He did seem to come to his senses, grabbing Ryou’s shoulders and speaking more hushed.
“Not hoping to get, getting hope. Hope that we all end up in our own vessels.”
It might be moments like this where some of Marik’s intelligence, and clear apt for schemes shines through as he starts connecting dots.
“The other night Seto mentioned to me that the Pharoah had been making fun of him, recently. He never elaborateed but if we could talk to anyone Yugi is the only other helpful person I can think of.”
He tilts his head, smiling just so. “This has to be a topic that interests you, atleast a little, right?”
His eyes widened a moment. These were the kind of moments he was missing, something soft warm and genuine. His thief had done a good job the night before, but overall it was something Marik wanted to experience more of from friends.
He rested his forhead against the other man’s chest. He sighed, speaking softly. “You really are something else, you know that? How you put up with any of the three of us is a wonder to me…”
Some gears were trying to turn in his head. Ryou had named it, they had spent time together and both had been hiding it to some degree.
He moved one of his hands up to grab Ryou’s bicep, the other arm moving around the brit to return the hug.
“It was always genuine, you know? Wanting to be your friend. We share a lot in common, and your incredibly kind… I admire that about you. But… as you are unfortunately… incredibly aware of. I am stupid and also unfortunately fond of that aweful ugly little troll that lives inside the ring… I don’t understand why but he’s not always the same with me as he is with the others… my experience is not the same as everyone he’s tried to kill…”
He looked up at Ryou. “Do you understand what I am trying to tell you? You were not at battle city in the same way we were… and you’re not me… so… if your experience is different… and you find yourself fond of the other half of me… I want you to know that… it’s ok.”
The three of them. He’s never really thought about it, but he supposes that Marik, Karim, and Bakura are perhaps the people he might be closest to, despite the varying degrees of torment within those relationships. Two of them are his favorite people. The third… Well, he’s essentially all that Ryou had known for a long, long time.
He gives the other man a little, reassuring squeeze.
“I’m glad to be your friend, Marik.”
Of course he is aware that Marik’s experience with the spirit is different than any other. He doesn’t know what specifically about the man has drawn the entity to him. There are plenty of things to like, but… That’s a question for another day.
“You’re not stupid. That much is evidenced by the fact that you are aware of the situation.”
He can’t even blame the tomb keeper. The Millennium Ring’s ghost has done a million things to ruin his life and Ryou still has a hard time hating him.
At the next question, he has to stop and process. Is… he being given permission to continue his strange friendship with Karim? That’s got to be it, right?
Fond… the way Marik’s said it… Is he?
Ryou finds himself feeling a little flushed.
“I-” Oh, boy. “Uh, thank you?”
The other’s face reflects heat so easily. He gave a bit of a wry smile
“Sorry, that wasn’t intended to make you uncomfortable, just. Whatever the connection is… it just felt important to make sure you know it’s ok.”
His expression became silly. “Maybe if it was someone else, I would be upset if someone named my alter and started hanging out with him. But honestly there is very little you could do to upset me. You and Yugi could commit murder and I would just hide the body.”
He closed his eyes but after a second they poped open. There it was. A spark had lit the blaze on fire. He stood.
“Yugi, he might have an answer. I’m doing it, I’m thinking!”
Any expression fell from the Egyptian’s face. Perhaps a hint of fear would slip through.
“You have a lot of faith thinking I have a plan.”
He rubbed the back of his head, a bitter huffed of a laugh escaping.
“It seems a bit hopeless doesn’t it? For the Pharoah to banish that part of myself, and yet my soul to still be so toxic it manifested it again? I just… want to get better. Maybe its time I actually look into therapy, I don’t know…”
He quickly scanned through everything he did know, and yet nothing quite fit what was right. “I don’t know… its hard to make a choice for something… that might be just as much Marik Ishtar as I am? And we haven’t talked… So I only know the moments, Karim has tried to erase me completely…”
This is about as much of a game plan as Ryou had expected, to be honest. If Marik has been ignoring the issue, it’d be safe to say he hadn’t been actively working on a solution for it.
He rises from his chair a little tentatively, and steps around the table to approach the blond. And he wraps his arms around the man’s shoulders.
“I don’t think that your soul is toxic. Everyone is capable of darkness and light. Some people go through things that make one a little more prevalent than the other, sure, but that doesn’t define them as a person.”
He gently lays his chin on the top of Marik’s head. He knows what it’s like to be on the receiving end of an evil double trying to destroy him.
“I don’t mind… being a go-between, if you need. It’s kind of hard to talk with someone when you can’t be awake at the same time.” He speaks softly. “And I can help you find someone if you want to try seeing a professional.”
Will that… get rid of Karim, actually? Ryou feels a spike of anxiety at the idea. But he can’t say anything. Technically, it would be a good thing… right?
His eyes widened a moment. These were the kind of moments he was missing, something soft warm and genuine. His thief had done a good job the night before, but overall it was something Marik wanted to experience more of from friends.
He rested his forhead against the other man’s chest. He sighed, speaking softly. “You really are something else, you know that? How you put up with any of the three of us is a wonder to me…”
Some gears were trying to turn in his head. Ryou had named it, they had spent time together and both had been hiding it to some degree.
He moved one of his hands up to grab Ryou’s bicep, the other arm moving around the brit to return the hug.
“It was always genuine, you know? Wanting to be your friend. We share a lot in common, and your incredibly kind… I admire that about you. But… as you are unfortunately… incredibly aware of. I am stupid and also unfortunately fond of that aweful ugly little troll that lives inside the ring… I don’t understand why but he’s not always the same with me as he is with the others… my experience is not the same as everyone he’s tried to kill…”
He looked up at Ryou. “Do you understand what I am trying to tell you? You were not at battle city in the same way we were… and you’re not me… so… if your experience is different… and you find yourself fond of the other half of me… I want you to know that… it’s ok.”
Atem really said “I have concluded that all the millennium items are evil because everyone I’ve ever known who uses them are evil. Except me. and Ishizu. and my dad. and my excellent and trusted friend Mahad. and Isis, she seems okay. and Siamun and Shada, of course, and Karim. Honestly, Set also seems pretty trustworthy. Shadi maybe? I’m still not sure whether Shadi was evil or not so I’m keeping him off the evil list. Anyway, as I was saying, everyone who’s ever used a millennium item–”
Marik’s a really good character to write because sometimes you’re like “what contrived circumstances do I need to come up with to get these characters in the same room” but with Marik it’s easy because he’ll just choose someone to annoy to death. The circumstances are that Marik was bored and Rishid’s not here and on god someone is going to listen to him talk.
I think a lot about these specific lines, for a lot of reasons
First, because there’s the obvious question: Is this true? Does Yami Bakura really believe this? There’s a lot of very good reasons not to believe a single word that comes out of YB’s mouth, especially since this is an appeal to trust him. But parts of it come off as pretty genuine to me, or at least truthful (even if intentionally manipulative or somewhat twisted), partially because they sort of give a lot away, and partially because they’re so esoteric–if all he needed was something reassuring, there are less opaque and bizarre things to say, so it doesn’t make a ton of sense for him to have completely made it up.
Second, this is the first real lore drop and (though veiled) reference to the actual Zork. It’s the first indication we really get that Yami Bakura knows a lot more than everyone else about what’s going on. Way, way more than he seemed to know in Monster World. Makes one wonder if his memory is coming back over time.
Third, obviously the items being pieces of a puzzle and the references to greater consciousness are a reference to how you need all of them to summon Zork, and implies Zork’s being is split among them, but the way YB frames it here is fascinating. YB, who is part-Zork, and the millennium items, also made out of a little Zork, are all parts of a big happy whole to him, Atem included? But no, not Atem–he’s not speaking to Atem in this scene. He’s speaking to Yugi. Yami Bakura thinks Yugi Muto is a Zork-aspect he shares common cause with? Again, does he really believe this?
Fourth, “We can’t exist without each other.” It’s stated before that YB had no ability to communicate with Bakura before vicinity to the puzzle “activated” it somehow. But the idea that the items are somehow awakened by the others never comes up again, and isn’t true for any of the other items we see. In any case, everyone certainly does plenty of existing when they other isn’t around and before they meet. So what does this mean? And again, Yami Bakura knows the difference between Yugi and Atem, and he’s knowingly saying this to Yugi.
It feels like a brief glimpse into Yami Bakura’s bizarre little worldview and exactly what he knows, and one of the only slips of how he genuinely thinks that we ever get before Memory World.
Oddly that was nice to hear for Marik. A soft smile formed on his face as he continued to drum his fingers.
“Well the spirit didn’t tell me, and… Karim?” He grimaced. “It didn’t get sloppy hiding it from me.”
He glanced up. “An unrelated party confronted me about my phones GPS and his satellite Surveillance system not having the same location for me. Kaiba keeps a pretty close watch on me since discovering I have the rod. And it was because of his stuff I knew we had been going to your home… I was… scared… for you at first… but…”
He pulled his arms back folding them over his chest. “Nothing bad had happened to you. And there had been a lot of care in me not knowing… I knew you still wanted space… weather you were hiding it for revenge, or you felt justified, or you just didn’t want to talk yet… didn’t and doesn’t matter. It felt easier to pretend nothing was happening at all. So I did.”
It.
He’s not sure why, but Marik calling Karim an it rubs Ryou the wrong way. He used to do the same for the spirit of the ring, sure, but he eventually fell out of the habit. He’s acknowledged that both beings have their own personalities and desires and goals… Though not in the most traditional sense, they are people.
He frowns, but doesn’t look up.
“Kaiba?”
Hm. That’s a little surprising. He supposes that it does make sense - the CEO has a tendency to overreach, and he’s a pretty adamant control freak. It’s been years since Ryou has seen him, though. He’s apparently been something of a recluse. At least he’s talking to someone.
“You know that ignoring problems isn’t the way to solve them.” Gray eyes finally turn up to view the blond. He quietly hopes that the man’s posture doesn’t indicate that he’s angry. “I appreciate your concern, though. Again, the worst he’s done is follow me around.”
A pause.
“What do you… plan to do?”
Any expression fell from the Egyptian’s face. Perhaps a hint of fear would slip through.
“You have a lot of faith thinking I have a plan.”
He rubbed the back of his head, a bitter huffed of a laugh escaping.
“It seems a bit hopeless doesn’t it? For the Pharoah to banish that part of myself, and yet my soul to still be so toxic it manifested it again? I just… want to get better. Maybe its time I actually look into therapy, I don’t know…”
He quickly scanned through everything he did know, and yet nothing quite fit what was right. “I don’t know… its hard to make a choice for something… that might be just as much Marik Ishtar as I am? And we haven’t talked… So I only know the moments, Karim has tried to erase me completely…”
