He lets Ryou lean into the touch, stroking his face gently with his thumb and the tips of his fingers as he talks. Shh, relax that jaw.]
Ryou, do you remember what you told me in June, about how this place smashes us up, and we have to put ourselves together again?
You've been hit hard this time. In a way you haven't been hurt before. I promised I'd help put you back together, before the next attack came. We were going to support each other, remember?
[They were. Ryou was there for him, when Atem got caught unexpectedly by a snake-shed. That had helped a lot...that had mattered. But, now, Atem's facing what Yugi's going to have to do, something he dreads so much that he'd take going home at the moment of his own death and never seeing Anzu or Jounouchi or Honda again over forcing Yugi to take someone else's soul, and Ryou's too upset by something else to hear about it. Atem can't talk about how he feels about his own permanent death and whether or not he wants to go through with it, eirher, because Ryou's been hurt so badly that he won't eat. Ryou isn't comforting himself, which means he has to be helped, so that whatever meter drove Javert and Daniel and maybe even Fabius to what they did doesn't run out for Ryou, too.
Atem can keep going a while longer.]
Please, will you tell me what's on your mind? Whatever it is, I'll understand.
cw self harm itt also, and self sacrifice ideation
He lets Ryou lean into the touch, stroking his face gently with his thumb and the tips of his fingers as he talks. Shh, relax that jaw.]
Ryou, do you remember what you told me in June, about how this place smashes us up, and we have to put ourselves together again?
You've been hit hard this time. In a way you haven't been hurt before. I promised I'd help put you back together, before the next attack came. We were going to support each other, remember?
[They were. Ryou was there for him, when Atem got caught unexpectedly by a snake-shed. That had helped a lot...that had mattered. But, now, Atem's facing what Yugi's going to have to do, something he dreads so much that he'd take going home at the moment of his own death and never seeing Anzu or Jounouchi or Honda again over forcing Yugi to take someone else's soul, and Ryou's too upset by something else to hear about it. Atem can't talk about how he feels about his own permanent death and whether or not he wants to go through with it, eirher, because Ryou's been hurt so badly that he won't eat. Ryou isn't comforting himself, which means he has to be helped, so that whatever meter drove Javert and Daniel and maybe even Fabius to what they did doesn't run out for Ryou, too.
Atem can keep going a while longer.]
Please, will you tell me what's on your mind? Whatever it is, I'll understand.