[Ah.....she's figuring out who she is? Now that she doesn't have to be the Ultimate Gamer....he can sort of remember what that was like. When he was trying to figure out who he was, besides the other Yugi.]
I used to think what made me me, was Yugi...I was just, "the other Yugi" -- what he was like, when he had the powers and knowledge of darkness! But that was wrong...
...because there's things that have made me me, that are always there, even when I'm different monsters, or a me that's not a monster. Even when I was the other Yugi, or Adam, or Ankhsunatem...
[He's quiet a moment, trying not to get distracted by how tickled and fond he is, of her flopping down in his hair. He owes her some seriousness -- this is a serious discussion!]
My heart is made of a lot of different pieces. All of my friends are pieces of my heart...everyone I've ever cared about is there! The feelings I feel, that I wouldn't have felt, if we'd never met...the ways they've changed me...that's something no monster type or mid-month fog can change! So, the things I learned from Yugi -- from Jounouchi and Anzu and Honda, and here, from Ryou and the Ring-Spirit, and Nagito and Celeste, Ima Wiggles, Horatio, Amanda, the Thief-King! Noa! Kaiba, when he was here! Everyone...they're all...
[He presses a thick-nailed hand to his chest, and has to stop walking for a moment, to close his eyes.]
They're all part of a heart that will do anything to protect them. To protect their hearts, too...whatever that means, whatever it looks like. I, Atem -- I'm someone who pays attention! I look for advantages. I find ways to create them, if they're not already there. For the sake of my heart!
[With satisfaction -- because he's satisfied with this answer, it rings true to him -- ]
cw anime possession that manifests as DID
I used to think what made me me, was Yugi...I was just, "the other Yugi" -- what he was like, when he had the powers and knowledge of darkness! But that was wrong...
...because there's things that have made me me, that are always there, even when I'm different monsters, or a me that's not a monster. Even when I was the other Yugi, or Adam, or Ankhsunatem...
[He's quiet a moment, trying not to get distracted by how tickled and fond he is, of her flopping down in his hair. He owes her some seriousness -- this is a serious discussion!]
My heart is made of a lot of different pieces. All of my friends are pieces of my heart...everyone I've ever cared about is there! The feelings I feel, that I wouldn't have felt, if we'd never met...the ways they've changed me...that's something no monster type or mid-month fog can change! So, the things I learned from Yugi -- from Jounouchi and Anzu and Honda, and here, from Ryou and the Ring-Spirit, and Nagito and Celeste, Ima Wiggles, Horatio, Amanda, the Thief-King! Noa! Kaiba, when he was here! Everyone...they're all...
[He presses a thick-nailed hand to his chest, and has to stop walking for a moment, to close his eyes.]
They're all part of a heart that will do anything to protect them. To protect their hearts, too...whatever that means, whatever it looks like. I, Atem -- I'm someone who pays attention! I look for advantages. I find ways to create them, if they're not already there. For the sake of my heart!
[With satisfaction -- because he's satisfied with this answer, it rings true to him -- ]
That's who I am.