[✐fan essay] kul elna speculation spectacular part 2
First off, after watching way too many videos of snakes eating mice, I have to retract the whole "just gulp 'em down" thing Diabound has been doing. Killing one's prey first does make sure it doesn't, you know, claw your throat going down. Yeah.
That said.
( and then my fanon got weirder )
That said.
( and then my fanon got weirder )
That said, I don't know how much you've read of the piles and piles of nonsense already accumulating on Papyrus's account, but - in her world, Mahaad is always the Black Magician, and is Atem's ka, taking permanent physical form the same way Diabound/Black Lotus has done for Papyrus. And, well. Mahaad was born when the invading country attempted a sneak attack on the young Prince's life, to prove they meant business. |D Attempt failed because SUDDENLY MAGICIAN FROM NOWHERE, but the palace's enchantments had been breached and the son of the Pharaoh had been jeopardized.
So. yeah. Items.
It only works for their specific AU, but I wanted all three of my pairs where the ka is a fully separate individual - Thief King-Diabound, Atem-Mahaad, Set-Kisara, to have their ka born as a part of the events leading to the Items' creation. (Diabound is born because of the Kul Elna trauma, Mahaad I spoiled above, Kisara is...abandoned as an egg...when Set moves and is told he no longer has a father.)
What I don't know yet is how much writing I'll be doing devoted to the other two pairs. Set and Kisara grow up separated so it's kind of hard - they just always know some part of themselves is missing. ;A;
Reply
I saw that! =D And while I usually mhrm over Atem-ka-DM connection, it's a pretty cool way of merging allegiances with the ka idea!
Hrm~ The Set-Kisara sound like they might be cool for a two pov drabble introspection, but yes, that'd be tough to do a back story on, unless you skip ahead of Papyrus for when they meet again. The Mahaad side strikes very fluffy funny... And no my mind did not go into tangent on "awwww, baby Atem saved and watched over by Egyptian Magician~"
Oh hey what's that make Mana?
Reply
Yeaaahh, it's weird to think about Atem and ka, since it's kind of cool that in canon we never actually see what his is. But for the purposes of the way this particular universe works, Mahaad gets to pass for human (he uses magic to disguise his ka-ness) until Black shows up and is all OH DEAR THE PHARAOH IS ONLY HALF HERE.
But yessss, I love the way it just happened to work out that each of my ka-pairs is composed of a different gender combination and have a different dynamic. Papyrus and Black are more like siblings or BFFs (though they have subtle power struggles over who is actually the mommy/protector), Set and Kisara remain semiromantic despite being two pieces of the same person, and Mahaad gets to be a head servant/mentor figure for Atem. If I write Mahaad's "birth", it may take the form of a report by Mahaad to the Pharaoh while baby Atem snoozes in Mahaad's arms, all tuckered out. XD
Mana, since she never performs the same fusion with her ka as Mahaad did in canon, is a normal magician. In order to give my protagonists (ie Black and Papyrus) some actually challenging opponents now and then, I've decided that people with sufficient heka could bring forth and manipulate their own ka for battles before the creation of the Items/without an Item, the way Mana does in canon. So for my world people who identify as "magicians" are people devoted both to spellcasting of a more lofty aim than everyday life (since villages had wise women, etc), and who study to be able to draw forth their own ka, etc.
/needs to do more with Mana in general
/will someday write about the fact that she inherited the Ring
Reply
Some days, I like to think Atem's ka might be Horakhty itself, explaining (sort of) why he needed his name/identity before summoning it. Others - and in a deadfic - I go with Dark Magician of Chaos. And there's the thought when Yuugi helps Atem summon Ra and I think maybe he was once his ka somehow. ...and then that goes into the whole "Is Yuugi really (part of) the Pharaoh himself?" debate that amuses and irks me at once and that's totally left field. x3
But yes, there is definitely enough bond there to buy Mahaad himself as his ka, in this world, similar to Set & Kisara. And it's cool how those varying dynamics kill any instant assumptions on what kind of bond they'd have with their kas!
..................that adorable image shall forever be making me xD for the rest of the day.
That works! And it'd also be good to keep Mana about for one actual friend figure for growing Atem. And so, will the rest of the priest be in a similar boat with the heka, or can they still summon ka/ba canon style? x3
/waves waves influence for the Mana-Ring fic yeeeeeees!
Reply
Horakthty is a good choice for a possible Atem-ka! Since ka in Takahashi-Egypt aren't the same as the actual conception of ka, I could see having Horakhty as a ka being a Pharaoh thing - every Pharaoh, being essentially a god on earth, has this God as their ka....
(How often is that "what is Yuugi" debate waged? In this AU I'm having him be Atem and Mahad reborn/united in the same person because I'd already decided I wanted Ryo(ko) to be Black+Papyrus, but I really did always figure Yuugi just looked like that because -well, he did, no deeper connection. XD Genes-wise he's apparently Siamun's doppelganger's grandson....though there doesn't seem to have been rhyme nor reason to when figures got "repeated" with time.)
The rest of the priests operate canon-style, since all I've done is explicitly give magicians the ability to summon their personal ka without an Item - to drag out someone else's/seal it in a slab, an Item is absolutely necessary. The biggest change I've made is the addition of this "special" class of ka, who come into the world physically and permanently in response to the wishes of strong souls. Which make Atem, Set, and Bakura the three most magically/spiritually powerful people in Egypt at this point in time. I think, if Mahaad isn't human in this AU, that fits. :3
It's a pity I'm taking the "very little of Papyrus in the Ring" route, because Mana is her type. I mean. Ahem.
I said nothing.
Reply
Hee~! I thought it's a little "isn't he just unstoppable godmode hero?" for it to be Horakthty, but then given all the work they go through to call the thing- x3 Though I'd have to nick the "all pharaohs have him" idea, namely since Akhenamkhanen's ka is named. Winged Sage Falcos, I think.
(It's, gone underground these days, though even when I hear something of it now it comes up in a "of course Yuugi is/isn't the pharaoh!" stumbled on manner, like all parties assumed it was a given and didn't look to fight over it. whoops. xD
I, definitely have to see it that there's SOME connection from Yuugi back to then given the huge role he plays, though perhaps it's nothing deeper than 'the gods' created a new soul specifically meant for this fate. There's gotta be something, at least, for Siamun's future self's grandson to look like Atem and be just perfect for puzzle solving and, as Isis put it, have a soul strong/big enough to contain YnYuugi. xD But my own take on how that works - reborn ka, soul-part, new made Atem replica, some unseen past relation/answer - changes by muse. I mean day.
But woah, Atem + Mahaad = Yuugi... This takes musing.)
And the canon-style operation makes it easy to slip my mind into the AU, since I don't have to wrap around a huge amount of deviation.
.............xD Yuri-Mischiefshipping. I cannot unsee.
Reply
If Candy can have a mini-library that wouldn't look out of place at Hogwarts, I don't see why canon Ryou can't be stocking up on ancient Egyptian literature. <3 He's the most traditionally "nerdy" of the group, though I feel odd saying that since Yuugi is - Yuugi. (But he is a different breed of "nerd".)
Oh, right, Falcos - derp. That's just animé, though, isn't it? Bakura doesn't pull that stunt in the manga. Since I started working on this AU I've actually been avoiding watching the AE arc too much, as so much changed in the adaptation. But point taken! (In this AU, his ka is Hasan/Shadi instead.)
Come to think of it, it sounded like Atem was the first person to be able to call one of the Gods, so that could also be potential backup for Horakhty being his ka. (His father has the "name of the Gods" quote, but everyone's floored when Obelisk actually appears.)
Pff, I hear you about having multiple theories for multiple versions - and about feeling there'd be something, but not being sure what. XD (Takahashi would probably just go "HAHA, FATE", but - I still owe everyone a big FATE IN YUGIOH IS MESSY AS HELL essay, huh.)
Because it's so big and sprawling and messy and fun, Yugioh really works well for AUs, doesn't it? We can't say anything for sure re: canon, but we can go "In this world it works like this", and see what happens. <3
Also you should watch this if you haven't already. I can't have a discussion of this AU without linking this video, I don't think. It's an illness.
Reply
I, really have no clue. xD I'll have to check the manga at home later. But either way, I also want to question (very weak canon(?) memory) that people can have more than one ka? Or if not, I do like the Hasan/Shadi connection! That kind of makes MORE sense than canon! Shadi should be some direct to Atem's dad.
...wait...
If Shadi = Hasan + Akhenamkhanen, then. OMG!!! Marik was right, Shadi IS the pharaoh? =O
...just, wrong one.
/ahem
Yeah, the whole summoning the gods has always puzzled me. Especially in the "where did the slabs of them in come from and who did they come from/used them/put them there?" area. Any ideas?
Yugioh = a veritable buffet of facts and theories and we are allowed to take what we want from the line to eat when we want.
Or just gorge ourselves all you can eat style. Whichever.
....ha ha, xD I've seen that before! It rocks! Though a rewatch will wait for the arrival home in a while. <3
Reply
I...don't think? people can have more than one personal ka (though what happens to everyone who gets their ka sealed in a slab is another matter - does it regenerate as a "good" ka now that the evil is gone?). As for Hasan/Shadi, he was sealed in the Items tablet by Atem's dad to protect Atem: he expresses that explicitly. So really all I did was say that instead of him being the "spirit of the tablet" or whatever, he's Atem's dad's ka, sealed there to protect his son even after his own death.
But yes, in this AU, Shadi is...half of a Pharaoh. Presumably after the Items were no longer needed he too went to rest and Akhenamkanen's soul is whole in the afterlife.
Where the slabs came from....man, God only knows. I'd say their design was inspired by drawings in the Millennium Tome, whence came the Item recipe, but that'd mean that in encouraging the Items' creation Zorc also encouraged the possibility of his own downfall. But it's not stated the Tome itself is from Zorc, just that he's been playing everybody since Day 1 - he wanted those Items made.
Either way, if the people created the slabs and then the Pharaoh could give them names - explained waaaaay too broadly, in ancient Egyptian magic, speaking a name/a phrase in a magical context made it binding or true. So if someone drew the form of the God without understanding really who it was, Atem could give it power as a representation and a summoning item by giving it its proper name. Again, that's playing hard and fast with Egyptian sorcery, but we're talking about a man with tricolor hair summoning a giant chicken that sometimes erupts into flame. I think I'm OK.
I will forever lament that my AU is not - well, more canon, as the other two are paired up with the proper lyrics in there (children of the sun and the moon). AT LEAST GIVE ME SHERYOU, CANON. THE GLORY OF SHERYOU. WHY.
Reply
Double ka does sound like a very iffy concept.
He did? Well if Akhenamkanen sealed Hasan/Shadi in the tablet before he died... Suddenly Shadi=Shada is not so straightforward! Unless it was just Hasan and Shada like, merged with Hasan after his own death or something. Either way, there's definitely a very easy transition between the Akhenamkanen/Hasan/Shadi to follow for the AU.
Oh gosh, that Tome. That things got to be the biggest, quietest black box of the entire series. And it's the source of near EVERYTHING. ...Which makes it the source of the gods in some way all the more likely. And you're take seems as likely as anything, and pretty well thought.
...
And now, no matter what I come up with, "we're talking about [a series with] a man with tricolor hair summoning a giant chicken that sometimes erupts into flame. I think I'm OK" shall be my go-to explanation of insanity. With permission and citing. =3
Reply
Ooh, yes. Yugioh high school is full of gamers...and horribly violent delinquents. And horribly violent delinquent gamers. (I love that the guy Kaiba defeats to show off Obelisk is a "villain of the chapter" from season 0. Apparently the punishment game wore off.) Ryou might indeed not be that off-putting.
I don't think there's a direct connection between Shadi and Shada at all, unfortunately. I'd say "Hasan based the form he assumed to protect the Items off of Shada, becoming Shadi", but that doesn't work: when Hasan is giving his life in the game world to save Atem & co, his mask strips off and reveals Shadi's face is already there. More messy writing from Takahashi? (I can track down exactly what Hasan says to describe who he is if you like - not right now, I'm not in my apartment, but later.)
My upcoming fic for journeystory may involve Black and Papyrus learning of the Millennium Tome and deciding to steal it. Perhaps. They have to learn everything Thief King canonically knows about Items (i.e., more than most Item priests) somehow...
Permission granted~ Oh, Yugioh.
Reply
Oh? I always took Shadi showing under the mask was a sign that Shadi had infiltrated the game too, like Yuugi & co., and we were just seeing his present self (properly) die within the shadow game. It wouldn't be too hard to believe, since Hassan comes from Babosa and Babosa was in the present, real world himself. Grant it, Yuugi & co. didn't play actual, concrete seen roles in the recreated world, but then they also had bodies left behind while Babosa didn't, showing rules are screwy with him.
...course, rules are generally screwy with Shadi, so who knows.
Hey, any mention of the Millennium Tome in fandom is amazing to me, much less as an active role. =3 It sounds cool!
Reply
Kaiba's case seems to indicate that when a person has learned his or lesson, so to say, they'll get better - but even then, his game was given a very set end period (there were only so many pieces he could put back together). What I find odder is that the guy in question is still a bully. XD Good old Yugioh. People don't change that easily.
Ah, I always read Shadi being under the mask to mean Hasan is another facet of himself, though Bobasa talking about "Master Shadi" does complicate matters (I see it as him hiding the truth). As you say, rules get screwy around Shadi. Which must make needing to judge people very awkward. XD XD
I'm holding off on starting to write until my program has ended; getting to write is my prize for myself, silly as that is. ^-^; It will - well, I can't promise it'll rival the chapter where Sugoroku flashes back to obtaining the Puzzle, but Thief King & Diabound lived similarly Indiana Jones-y existences, at least when on heists. :P Particularly when stealing from magicians~
even 3,000 years ago, people named bakura were doing dungeon crawls.
Reply
Leave a comment