i’ve always loved how Millenium World revealed that, like Yugi, Atem was the biggest crybaby growing up. sure we got his emotional angst fest during Douma/Waking the Dragons arc when he lost Yugi, but we all know it wasn’t canon in the manga even though it was pretty spot-on characterization, especially when you consider how over-the-top emotional and dramatic ancient Egyptian kings were when handling grief but i digress. this final arc, however, was Kazuki Takahashi actually confirming Atem used to sob till kingdom come. he used to be shy and frightened of the dark and he’d always run to his father’s arms for protection. as prince, he got frustrated over class distinctions and inequality, much like how Yugi always gets upset whenever he sees people getting mistreated and bullied, even in the earliest manga chapters. in the anime, every single flashback we have from Atem’s pov has him crying, and then he never does after his father’s death. Atem doesn’t even cry in the final duel against Yugi, which makes sense given how strong he had to present himself because he was pharaoh, but that look into his past really solidified that, had things been different, he really is just a boy like Yugi. a little king with the heart of a champion. and also the biggest crybaby. and, since Yugi does live on and follow in his other me’s footsteps, he does become stronger and more confident, but that childhood softness will never go away, just like how it never did for Atem. their souls are so intertwined that even their tears manage to cast the other’s shadow
