YGO PSL | ❝ if i told you that you're not alone, and i show you this is where you belong. ❞

[inheritedpuzzle]

INSOMNIA REDUX

( continued from here. you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find gifs of yugi and atem together and it's heartbreaking. it's all SHIPPING FANART. )


[ For Yugi, Lunafreya is an intimidating person. Not because she's cruel or throws around her power like the bullies in school did. It's more along the lines of how Atem is intimidating. Both can firmly put their feet on the ground and stand against any storm. He's the one that stands behind them and cheers them on. Is someone like that really worth bothering her when it comes to his wounds? It's a stupid thought, and he knows it, which is why he hasn't voiced it to his other self. ]

I'm pretty sure that if you asked she'd make the time too. You're the one that met her first!

[ He has no problem with it. He just wonders what it was that drove Atem out for a walk that night. ]

Maybe we should both ask her?

[ That makes things less intimidating. For some reason he can stare down gods, Shadow Games, and help fight the darkness in hearts, but this is difficult. He supposes it's because, deep down, he feels as if he should have been able to carry it for Atem. Now he needs to rely on someone else for it. When is he going to be able to do something without needing someone else to catch him? Maybe that's just the kind of person he is and he'll never be able to grow out of it. ]

There has to be somewhere we can start looking...

[ Atem already went to the exhibit with Téa, so that feels like it is off the table. Yugi can't even begin to think of how to get back in touch with the Tomb Keepers. Shadi has disappeared without a trace -- no one has even really heard from Pegasus. He sighs and looks over at the Millennium Puzzle hanging off the side of the headboard.

Because, where else is a teenager going to place his ancient mystical item?

He turns properly to look at the Pharaoh. They've talked so frequently that he doesn't even see him as a ghost. Atem is there and real as he would be in flesh and blood to Yugi. It doesn't matter if they talk like this, or if Yugi is the displaced one, or if it's in one of their soul rooms. There's a frown on his face now and a sigh in his expression. ]

But, you're not really a part of me... are you? [ Maybe it's time to talk about this properly. ] Not like we thought at first. You're someone that had his own life. You ruled over people and armies! You might have even built temples or the pyramids. I want you to stay here with us. That means you get a say in what we do from this point on, Other Me.

[ Because there is this nagging feeling deep down that one day Atem is going to want to leave. Yugi has no idea when it will be, or what will cause it, but it's a sense deep in his heart. One morning, the Pharaoh will just want to return to wherever he was supposed to go instead of being trapped inside the Millennium Puzzle. He's been trying to brace himself and prepare himself for that day and wear a brave face like the Pharaoh does. It's... he just can't.

What he can do is read anything he can find on Ancient Egypt. He'll dig wherever he can to see if it triggers something in the memories of his brother figure. If that fails? Then, he can help him make more new memories. ]

As long as you want to stay here with all of us.

Comments

are you sure that you want this guy around your dishes? Sounds like a recipe for disaster

[ifthereiswill]

[ But where Lunafreya is fierce and bold when she needs to be, she still has a lot of heart in her. Sometimes Atem finds himself being nothing more than a forceful presence, standing firm against anything that comes at himself and Yugi, but also offering encouragement (mainly to Yugi) when he needs it.

But where he is a strong force of will and determination, Luna is both of those qualities with the added benefit of having a deep well of empathy for others, something Atem's been told that he lacks. And, he wouldn't deny it either, if confronted with it. ]

Yes, that's true, Yugi, but that doesn't mean I have more right to speak with her or anything even close to that. She wants to help people if she can, and if there is anything worrying or troubling you, I am certain that she would want to help.

[ He does raise an eyebrow at that suggestion that they both ask her. ]

I suppose that we could do that, yes. [ There's no reason that they can't, after all.

And if he knew about the kind of thoughts that were going through Yugi's mind, he would do his best to dispel them, to allay his worries, because he has always thought highly of his young friend.

He is strong, regardless of what he thinks about himself and what he should be doing for the older spirit. ]

There may very well be clues somewhere around here, but I wouldn't know where to begin.

[ That is, where he could go that he hasn't already been. His gaze also travels over to the Puzzle's resting place. The item is important, and it's what brought them together, so of course it's of incredible significance to both of them.

When Yugi resumes speaking again, Atem merely crosses his arms in front of him and tries to process the words that Yugi is saying. ]

In the strictest sense of the word, I suppose not. But there are so many things that I don't know and don't remember, and until I do, who am I? What am I here for?

[ He shakes his head. ]

If my task at this time is to continue being here for you, then of course I will do what is expected of me.

[ And then as if his own thoughts are mirroring Yugi's, he adds: ]

Perhaps one day, our arrangement will change. But until then, even if it never comes, I am glad to remain here with you and our friends.

[ And then he's just going to smile encouragingly at Yugi, because somehow, he senses that's what he needs most right now: encouragement and the idea that he intends to be with him for a long, long time yet. ]

word count: 3,365 | 12,013 [total: 15,378]

[inheritedpuzzle]