ughhhhhhhhhhhhh this is going to seem cliche but hold out with me here
He's most grateful for Yugi.
Like I know I rant about this shit a lot, about how he loves Yugi and such. And don't get me wrong, he adores Yugi, but there's more to it than just the fact that he adores Yugi. He's grateful to Yugi, because he would literally be nothing without him.
Yugi solves the puzzle; freeing him from his prison of darkness. Upon gracing the waking world once more, he responds by going, put it nicely: Batshit Bonkers™. However, Yugi, though somewhat afraid by this, does not try to destroy him or anything of the sort, but tries to help him. He helps Yami stop being so crazy, think a little more clearly, become more of a "partner." He's making a choice by letting Yami take over by Duelist Kingdom, he wants to let Yami help.
By Battle City, Yugi literally puts his life on the line to save him. He nearly burned to death in order to save him and the puzzle. Yugi shares his body and wants to be with him forever.
Waking the Dragons, Yugi sacrifices himself so the Pharaoh's soul isn't lost.
Millennium World, he leads the cause in finding him, in finding his name, in helping him learn it.
Yugi literally saved his life, several times, while welcoming him to share his body as a partner. He was essentially a parasite to Yugi, living off his body, but Yugi only responded with kindness, compassion, and a desire to help him, and that is what he will forever be most grateful for.
"how does your character react to stressful situations?"
well, the first step is to take over Yugi's body. can't let aibou get hurt after all.
but for a more serious answer, Yami Yugi/Atem's answer to stress is honestly just to meet it head on. most of his life has been a stressful situation, from having to fight against a demonic lord to having to save his friends' lives. it's rare for him to be frazzled, but it can happen (see; first Osiris duel.)
in most situations, when Yami is met with stress, he can easily fight it off, taking the challenge, tackling the issue and strategically finding a way around the problem. this is where the pride and utter confidence in himself, his friends, and his deck comes in; how can he lose?
though for those times where things do look like he's down and out, he may spend a bit feeling hopeless. he begins to worry; he worries he may fail, that he may lose, and the consequences of what will come of that. he will still never step down, he will keep trying, no matter what, until he finds out the real way to be able to get through this.
at least, that's how it is in stressful, life or death, situations. more personal issues also cause him a bit of stress, such as his identity struggles and such, and that's usually responded to with being reserved about his feelings and keeping his problems to himself, determined to find out things himself; because heaven forbid he bother Yugi and his friends any more than he already does. (luckily, Yugi usually figures him out, and makes him talk it out anyway.)
A surprisingly short answer compared to the rest of my pharaoh ramblings: his friends.
Obviously, assuming we mean a real laugh, not the laughter of insanity as he brings justice upon those who have hurt his friends. But for real, true laughter, it's the times between the craziness, between the life or death fights, the times between the shadow games, when he can just enjoy his time with Yugi and his friends. He can chuckle at Yugi's attempts to flirt with Anzu, he can laugh at Jounouchi and Honda's playful fighting or arguments or their conquest of depleting the local burger joint of every hamburger. It's the times when he can joke with them, that he can feel comfortable as he and Yugi converse in their shared soul rooms, or the two can switch control so quickly, so easily, as if walking in and out of a revolving door.
Or even in the past: holding in giggles with Mana while the two hid from responsibilities in giant vases or laughing over a game of Sennet with Mahaad as they share how their days went. Even the times he could get a chuckle out of the young priest Set, although much rarer, and usually only through playful jabs.
It is when he does not have to be a pharaoh, when he does not have to be a leader. It is when he does not have to save the day or protect Yugi. It is in between leading a country or in between shadow games that he can sit with his friends, and just laugh at simple, everyday things. Nothing complicated, nothing hard, just being able to live as any 17 year old would wish.
Those are the times that make Atem laugh the most.
(so much for a short answer this time. whoops.)
"Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances to you find killing to be acceptable/unacceptable?"
even back in season zero, however, it was not something he did often. granted, this was because he generally prefers a good old fashioned psychological torture session, what with the brain breaking illusions or horrible visions someone saw. generally, the murder was reserved for people who were really and truly awful, such as an escaped prisoner with a gun to his friend's head.
back in season zero, it was acceptable because it was justice. it was what was right. these were people who had done others wrong, whether it was to Yugi or to a wider scale. but it was acceptable because these were not innocents, they were cheaters, thugs, people who preyed on those they thought to be weaker; so he was just proving who was stronger, and delivering justice where it was due.
during his time with Yugi, however, he does learn and grow, and by the end of the series, or even by the end of Battle City, I would certainly say that Atem no longer believes in such a harsh delivery of justice. he still aims to make things right; to stop those who commit wrongs against his friends or other innocents, but he does not have the same brand of harsh, unforgiving murder or psychological torture he once did. granted, by the end of the series his opponents may still be facing dark consequences, but hey, they started the shadow games those times, it's really their own fault.
that's not to say he's one hundred percent better--3000 years trapped by dark magic will do that to a guy--but thank Ra for Yugi, right?
"how do they relate to their appearance? how do they wear their clothing/style/etc?"
so obviously, atem shares a body for most of the series, so his appearance is essentially Yugi's. however, there are still a good amount of differences specifically to show their differences.
Yami's hair gets a bit crazier, his eyes a bit closer to red than Yugi's amethyst irises, and we can't forget about the infamous "bondage slave" look. Originally, in Season Zero, when he would take over he would also don large Ankh bracelets around his wrists, and we see this trend continue later in the series, with more bracelets. There is also the signature look of the jacket cape, as if to switch up Yugi's regular school uniform look.
these differences, although not huge, are still enough to show a difference between Yami and Yugi, even when he has no identity of his own. Yami's outfits are flashier, giant Ankhs and big wrist cuffs, big black strappy boots and a jacket cape to make even a Domino High uniform look like so much more. he wears Yugi's same clothing, but in a new way, and perhaps this is influenced by his confidence, the pride in his walk and the way he keeps his head held high, but even in a high school uniform he can still look regal, commanding attention of those around him.
when he's not sharing a body with Yugi, the look still continues. in modern times, he'd likely be partial to dark clothing, with a few accessories. dark t-shirts and flashy jewelry with some tight fitting pants. the flashy jewelry a left over from the gold he was so often adorned with in ancient Egypt. he commands attention with whatever he wears, he would dare to be different. he wears what he likes, with no fear of what others will say. he may not be the loudest person to walk into a room, but he certainly does not care what others think of him.
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"what are you most grateful for?"
He's most grateful for Yugi.
Like I know I rant about this shit a lot, about how he loves Yugi and such. And don't get me wrong, he adores Yugi, but there's more to it than just the fact that he adores Yugi. He's grateful to Yugi, because he would literally be nothing without him.
Yugi solves the puzzle; freeing him from his prison of darkness. Upon gracing the waking world once more, he responds by going, put it nicely: Batshit Bonkers™. However, Yugi, though somewhat afraid by this, does not try to destroy him or anything of the sort, but tries to help him. He helps Yami stop being so crazy, think a little more clearly, become more of a "partner." He's making a choice by letting Yami take over by Duelist Kingdom, he wants to let Yami help.
By Battle City, Yugi literally puts his life on the line to save him. He nearly burned to death in order to save him and the puzzle. Yugi shares his body and wants to be with him forever.
Waking the Dragons, Yugi sacrifices himself so the Pharaoh's soul isn't lost.
Millennium World, he leads the cause in finding him, in finding his name, in helping him learn it.
Yugi literally saved his life, several times, while welcoming him to share his body as a partner. He was essentially a parasite to Yugi, living off his body, but Yugi only responded with kindness, compassion, and a desire to help him, and that is what he will forever be most grateful for.
"how does your character react to stressful situations?"
but for a more serious answer, Yami Yugi/Atem's answer to stress is honestly just to meet it head on. most of his life has been a stressful situation, from having to fight against a demonic lord to having to save his friends' lives. it's rare for him to be frazzled, but it can happen (see; first Osiris duel.)
in most situations, when Yami is met with stress, he can easily fight it off, taking the challenge, tackling the issue and strategically finding a way around the problem. this is where the pride and utter confidence in himself, his friends, and his deck comes in; how can he lose?
though for those times where things do look like he's down and out, he may spend a bit feeling hopeless. he begins to worry; he worries he may fail, that he may lose, and the consequences of what will come of that. he will still never step down, he will keep trying, no matter what, until he finds out the real way to be able to get through this.
at least, that's how it is in stressful, life or death, situations. more personal issues also cause him a bit of stress, such as his identity struggles and such, and that's usually responded to with being reserved about his feelings and keeping his problems to himself, determined to find out things himself; because heaven forbid he bother Yugi and his friends any more than he already does. (luckily, Yugi usually figures him out, and makes him talk it out anyway.)
"What makes you laugh?"
Obviously, assuming we mean a real laugh, not the laughter of insanity as he brings justice upon those who have hurt his friends. But for real, true laughter, it's the times between the craziness, between the life or death fights, the times between the shadow games, when he can just enjoy his time with Yugi and his friends. He can chuckle at Yugi's attempts to flirt with Anzu, he can laugh at Jounouchi and Honda's playful fighting or arguments or their conquest of depleting the local burger joint of every hamburger. It's the times when he can joke with them, that he can feel comfortable as he and Yugi converse in their shared soul rooms, or the two can switch control so quickly, so easily, as if walking in and out of a revolving door.
Or even in the past: holding in giggles with Mana while the two hid from responsibilities in giant vases or laughing over a game of Sennet with Mahaad as they share how their days went. Even the times he could get a chuckle out of the young priest Set, although much rarer, and usually only through playful jabs.
It is when he does not have to be a pharaoh, when he does not have to be a leader. It is when he does not have to save the day or protect Yugi. It is in between leading a country or in between shadow games that he can sit with his friends, and just laugh at simple, everyday things. Nothing complicated, nothing hard, just being able to live as any 17 year old would wish.
Those are the times that make Atem laugh the most.
(so much for a short answer this time. whoops.)
"Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances to you find killing to be acceptable/unacceptable?"
even back in season zero, however, it was not something he did often. granted, this was because he generally prefers a good old fashioned psychological torture session, what with the brain breaking illusions or horrible visions someone saw. generally, the murder was reserved for people who were really and truly awful, such as an escaped prisoner with a gun to his friend's head.
back in season zero, it was acceptable because it was justice. it was what was right. these were people who had done others wrong, whether it was to Yugi or to a wider scale. but it was acceptable because these were not innocents, they were cheaters, thugs, people who preyed on those they thought to be weaker; so he was just proving who was stronger, and delivering justice where it was due.
during his time with Yugi, however, he does learn and grow, and by the end of the series, or even by the end of Battle City, I would certainly say that Atem no longer believes in such a harsh delivery of justice. he still aims to make things right; to stop those who commit wrongs against his friends or other innocents, but he does not have the same brand of harsh, unforgiving murder or psychological torture he once did. granted, by the end of the series his opponents may still be facing dark consequences, but hey, they started the shadow games those times, it's really their own fault.
that's not to say he's one hundred percent better--3000 years trapped by dark magic will do that to a guy--but thank Ra for Yugi, right?
"how do they relate to their appearance? how do they wear their clothing/style/etc?"
Yami's hair gets a bit crazier, his eyes a bit closer to red than Yugi's amethyst irises, and we can't forget about the infamous "bondage slave" look. Originally, in Season Zero, when he would take over he would also don large Ankh bracelets around his wrists, and we see this trend continue later in the series, with more bracelets. There is also the signature look of the jacket cape, as if to switch up Yugi's regular school uniform look.
these differences, although not huge, are still enough to show a difference between Yami and Yugi, even when he has no identity of his own. Yami's outfits are flashier, giant Ankhs and big wrist cuffs, big black strappy boots and a jacket cape to make even a Domino High uniform look like so much more. he wears Yugi's same clothing, but in a new way, and perhaps this is influenced by his confidence, the pride in his walk and the way he keeps his head held high, but even in a high school uniform he can still look regal, commanding attention of those around him.
when he's not sharing a body with Yugi, the look still continues. in modern times, he'd likely be partial to dark clothing, with a few accessories. dark t-shirts and flashy jewelry with some tight fitting pants. the flashy jewelry a left over from the gold he was so often adorned with in ancient Egypt. he commands attention with whatever he wears, he would dare to be different. he wears what he likes, with no fear of what others will say. he may not be the loudest person to walk into a room, but he certainly does not care what others think of him.
whoops ran out of time.