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skittymon · 4 years

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Finally finished Tales of Eternia!!

And that makes 11th tales games finished and 15th overall played in some degree (Phantasia, Legendia, Innocence, and DotNW being the ones I havent finished yet).

Once I started again in December I decided that instead of liveblogging I’d make a review at the end instead.

So here we go! I will keep this spoiler free as possible!

I’m pretty scatterbrained but I’ll try to divide this into: combat, story, characters, and other game mechanics.

Combat: So obviously, the combat is above Phantasia and Destiny’s, being made after them. I honestly have grown fond of the 2d linear style format. There’s so many different boss fights in this game that can only work in a 2d field rather than 3d.

On the flip side, that’s not always a good thing. I count bosses like the wild dog thing in Vesperia, and Fodra Queen of Graces to be among the hardest mandatory boss fights in tales. Welp, Eternia added one to the ranks. Rem (aka Aska the light spirit) is one of the most frustrating boss fights I’ve done. Apart from constantly slowing healing itself, on the field it brings a shiny ball with it. You cannot destoy the orb, it’s there all fight, and if you touch it it hurts you. And of course it blocks the way to Rem. There is a way past it, it moves up and down so you just have to wait until its up to move past. BUT GUESS WHAT THE AI DOESNT DO. So your party will probably either be dying or constantly in pain. AND REM CAN MOVE THE ORD ANYWHERE. Also you cant physically hit Rem while its casting a spell only far away skills. So if you ever play this game just cheese it and spam variations of Sonic Blade.

Of course, on the flip side it’s every easy for you to cheese boss fights and just back them up into a corner unable to move or do anything until they die, so it evens out.

The sprite animations for the artes are gorgeous. Reid moves so fluidly in his artes, he’s honestly my third favorite protag to play as behind Yuri and Ludger because of this. The caster animations are great as well, granted it can become cluttered and hard to see in when artes like blizzard and earth shaker are used. BUT GOD DAMN I CAN WATCH MEREDY USE METEOR ALL DAY IT LOOKS SO COOL.

Nitpicks about the combat system are, Life, the reviving spell Farah has, takes to long to charge, and for Meredy and Keele to use healing artes you have to mix and match who has what craymel (spirit). There might be a guide but I didnt look beyond reddit so Life was the only resurrection spell I had.

Last nitpick comes from the Aurora Artes. Aurora Artes are skills only Reid can use, but in order to use them you have to have health below 15% and press circle, square, and x at the same time, so it’s very easy to mess up and die. Then to use more Aurora Artes you press the same buttons repeatedly, and after you use them Reid is left with 1 hp. AND the final boss has an automatic kill skill, you have to press the buttons at the right time to activate it and keep everyone alive, or you can cheese it like I did and have Farah hold a reverse doll to revive her after she dies. Did I also mention this skill happens in phase 2 of the fight when the bosses health is less than 20,000 after starting from 300,000? If you fuck up thats like 10mins of redoing.

But to end on a better note for this section, I love the way artes are learned. You have to use certain artes a number of times before you can unlock it (I THINK abyss and vesperia and many others are like this but this is the first time I found it rewarding). I grinded like hell to get the best artes for Reid AND YOU BET IT WAS WORTH IT. Omega Demon Chaos I love you,,,,

Story: Like countless other Tales titles, the conflict comes from two worlds being at odds with each other. However this game does something that none of the other games have done with this story beat. Language barriers! It’s super cool in the first couple of hours theyre just trying to figure out how to talk with Meredy. Of course by the end this point is nearly dropped entirely, everyone else just getting the special ear ring I spent 3 hours to get so the plot can move on.

Like most tales, theres a moment you thought the story would end but BOOM the twist. I wasn’t shocked by it, but that’s because I knew who the final antagonist of the game was prior to playing it, but still it was executed well.

Something that makes this Tales stand out is how they deal with backstory. So the main fours backstory is vital to the story and their characters but they don’t show it till like 20 hours in. It’s like if Graces you start off in main arc and learn about the childhood arc 2/3 of the way through and went “ohhhh that’s why they were distant with each other.” And other stuff about it but I won’t spoil it.

Overall a good story, though I do feel like I’m missing things either from missing some side quests, or because of no skits.

Characters: The main ones to shine are the four main characters (Reid, Farah, Keele, and Meredy), everyone else literally is either one dungeon and/or optionable. Chat does still feel like a character being the owner of the Van Elita aka means of transportation for half the game. Max and Ras tho rip. ESPECIALLY MAX. Ya know how every tales there’s the mandatory Talk Before The Final Battle? Yea well they all get one except Max. You see him, but he doesnt talk, YET THEY CRAYMELS DO.

Another odd, yet charming, thing is that there’s no big moment of character development for anyone like Luke cutting his hair, Magilou keeping the portal open, or punch in the face like Alvin. They just. Slowly change. And its really weird cause for all of disc 1 Keele is basically an unbearable asshole and he just? Learns to be a better person from everything he sees? There’s no callout or moment of realization, he just slowly learns and it’s super refreshing.

Reid is probably one of the most relatable protagonists up there with Jude. I’m sure most of you know the “he doesn’t want to do shit lol” persona he has BUT GOD WHY HE’S LIKE THAT BABY I LOVE YOU. Farah’s personality is also explained in the backstory, so for any of you crestoria players that Farah’s backstory is really different like how Emil’s is, but the sentiment of why she’s like that is the same and stem for a similar event.

Meredy’s also great. I thought I’d get annoyed of her and her “You bet!” but god when she says it the last time at the end of the game, I was pretty moved. I wish I knew more about her backstory but I’m pretty sure a certain section of her life info was left to skits and ya know we didn’t get those till Symphonia :)))

As antagonists go, besides the Craymels who are there to test you before you get their power, there’s just two. Main boss and their lackey. The lackey is eh. You see him once at the beginning of the game, then see him destroy a city, then one last time where you kill him. You do get his backstory and stuff but eh I’m usually not fond of tales mini villains minus Chimerad, God Generals, and Artorius’s lackeys

The main antagonist tho, I really don’t wanna spoil it but it’s hard to talk about why I’m conflicted on it without spoiling. So it’s like Destiny’s final boss but written better in some part and worse in others. So at one point it’s super emotional and pretty powerful with the message eternia wants to send but at the same points its a jrpg where you gotta kill god cause he doesn’t think humans are worth it.

Oh one more thing thats honestly hilarious, there’s literally SINGLE animated cutscene by Production I.G in this entire game minus the op.

Other things: the amount of mini games in this game is insane, but the amount you have to do IN JUST THE SECOND DISC to continue the plot is more than any other tales game I can recall. Some of them are fun like the card game, others like the bomb one I want to throw in a fire.

There’s also so much Destiny pandering in this game. There’s portraits of the characters, you can collect lens, I’m 95% sure the way a certain character is done is because they wanted another Leon, you can SUMMON THE SWORDIAN USERS ARE AS AN ACTUAL SUMMON. While all Phantasia gets is the cameo battle and the Eternal Sword. I mean I didn’t mind cause I’ve finished Destiny and it’s one of my fav tales games but damn it was pretty obvious.

EXPLORATION IS SO FUN IN THIS GAME. Mainly near the end when you have free reigns. YOU CAN DIVE UNDERWAY AND EXPLORE THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA WHAT OTHER TALES GAME LETS YOU DO THAT???

In conclusion: A fun game! I don’t think it was worth 133 dollars tho consider my play file was 35 hours and thats with a good chuck of side quests and ex bosses. Probably in my top 5 combat systems of tales and final villains, but not in terms of story or characters. A really hope it gets remastered soon I’d love for more people to play it.

#skitty rambles #tales of #tales of series #tales of eternia

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secretagentfan · 4 years

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Safe Haven

Chapter 4 of my Ludger/Jude Xillia 2 Zombie AU is up!

On archive!

The cracked pavement outside of the bed-and-breakfast had seamlessly given way to dirt roads and fields in a way only rural land could manage.

With Ludger as he was, the walk took twice as long as they had planned. He had alternated between leaning on Jude and stumbling alongside Elle. Sharing the load, Elle had called it. Ludger wasn’t totally sure how he felt about being the load, but hey. She was happy. He was dizzy. Jude seemed like a nice guy.

They were all out of breath by the time they reached the orchard outpost.

This world of good smells and greenery still felt foreign to Ludger, even after all their traveling. Having grown up in the city he knew asphalt and exhaust, firmly understood how it felt to ride a bike and scrape his knee on cracked sidewalks littered with cigarette butts.

He felt most comfortable in the city settlements, where trees were just now beginning to fight their way through the concrete. City settlements had buildings. They were looted and dusty, sure, but buildings, nonetheless. You could spend a few hours tidying up and then easily pretend that life could return to normal any day, inside a building.

There was no pretending in the country. Farmland measured the effects of time by how much vengeance mother nature decided to have—and often, she was pissed. She had taken back this place. The long stretch of land was filled with tall grass, weeds, and the whispy beginnings of fully rooted trees. Ludger could hear the slosh of a river, somewhere behind all the overgrowth.

The only thing she couldn’t lay her claim on was the tall hydroelectrically powered fence that encircled the settlement. Farmland shelters like this one had become a sort of cultural hub for survivors - if you could afford to get in. The fancy fence was as much a declaration of dominance as it was of protection.

Dread pooled in Ludger’s stomach, as he remembered his last stay at a shelter like this one. Elle was scowling at the electrified metal; Jude just sighed. They all knew they didn’t have a choice. They were sweaty, and exhausted – this would be their home for the night, whatever the cost.

“I’ve had enough of fences,” Elle mumbled as they elbowed their way into the rambunctious line of survivors trying to get in. It was late, likely around 11 or 12 at night, but there was never any shortage of desperate people looking for a safe place to stay. “They’re stupid and they don’t work. Zombies just build up and then people get hurt!”

“I don’t think that will be problem here, at least,” Jude supplied. “There are guards.”

“I guess,” she huffed, pointing a look in Jude’s general direction. “I don’t really like guards either though.”

Jude exhaled an almost-laugh. “I know what you mean.”

The guards at any outpost were often sketchy vigilantes that took it upon themselves to keep the crowded shelter safe at night. They stood at the gates with guns, checked those that came in, and eliminated any infected that approached during the night.

That part was fine. The problem was how they took payment.

Guards were paid in the form of non-optional tolls: entry fees from those desperate enough to need a place to stay for the night. The whole situation was ripe for misuse, and it often was; Ludger knew firsthand.

This particular outpost looked to be a bit of an odd case – independently managed, with less guards than usual. A group of four was stationed at the gate for payment collection and health examinations. What they lacked in number they made up with in intimidating artillery.

A woman in glasses with two pistols strapped to her hip and a large hunting rifle on her back was narrowing the family units into thinner lines, sometimes by force. Next to her, an intimidating man in all black was taking what had been collected as toll from the other two figures, a mountain of a man and—

“These are the guards?” Elle blurted. “One of them is a little girl!”

“I think she’s just short, Elle,” Ludger whispered over the slightly unhinged stare of the fourth guard, the ‘little girl’ Elle pointed out. She had grey hair and a cute red dress—both fine, but what really stood out was the enormous, threatening machine gun strapped to her back. It was nearly as big as she was.

Jude winced at Ludger’s reply, and Ludger blinked, before realizing that his response was not the whisper he intended it to be, but more of a shout. His ears had been ringing for the last mile. The girl had definitely heard both of them— heat rose to his face, almost as quickly as her machine gun.

“Sorry!” He said (or rather, shouted) to the young girl.

“I’d shoot you right now if you didn’t look so damn pathetic, loser!” was her gentle reply. She spat on the ground, as if spitting somehow made her older and more mature. It did not. Ludger swallowed.

That said, she was right. He definitely did feel pathetic, barely standing, only staying upright through Elle and Jude’s help and sheer stubbornness.

“Agria,” said the mountain. Ludger glanced up at his eyes, confident he was at least four Elles in size. “Refrain from pointing your gun at civilians.”

“These guys don’t count as civilians. They count as bugs.”

“Listen to Jiao.”

A quiet, irritated voice came from the man dressed in all black. He had abruptly appeared behind the girl, Agria, but she didn’t seem phased in the slightest. She was waving her machine gun around concerningly.

“Buzz off, Wingul. I’m not gonna actually shoot ‘em. I don’t shoot losers,” Agria stated, half to Wingul, half to the survivors that had started to retreat in terror.

“You shoot zombies,” Wingul replied, voice dry.

Agria paused, blinked a couple times, and then grinned in a way Ludger could only describe as demonic. “I guess I shoot some losers.”

“Get a move on you three, you’re holding up the line, and Agria put your gun away.”

The woman in glasses spoke up, which was impressive, because she was standing a good distance away from them and had her pistol on the back of a young man’s neck.

Jeez, what the hell did he do? Ludger wondered, before noticing the bandages on the man’s shoulder. The realization was ice in his stomach. The infected man’s companion, a teenage girl, probably around fourteen or fifteen was pleading with the woman. Ludger’s mouth felt dry.

“Please! You have to let him through! We don’t have anywhere else to stay for the night! He still has time, I promise—five days, at least!”

The woman’s response was cold. “You can’t prove that. Get out, before I have to take care of him myself.”

“Please! Just for one night!” the girl begged. She had fallen to her knees.

Ludger swallowed. He felt Jude’s eyes on him.

Wingul interrupted any potential conversation, drawing the attention of the other observers in the line.

“Infected, even early-stage, are not permitted behind the fence. If you are bitten, leave now. No exceptions.”

“Ludger, are you okay?” Jude asked, in his ear. His head felt foggy, knees weakening.

“I don’t think I can stand much longer.”

Jude’s arm wrapped around his waist, holding him up. It was embarrassing, but necessary.

Wingul spoke again, issuing orders to the guards this time.

“Jiao, take care of things here. Agria, with me - there are plenty of others in the line for you to irritate.”

Jiao nodded grimly, stepping in front of them. His huge form blocked the scene from view completely.

“You don’t get to order me around! I still have to check out this guy—”

Ludger knew, even without looking, that Agria was pointing at him. Elle’s eyebrows drew together watching her.

“I bet he’s hiding a big old bite mark under those bandages. You should be thanking me for being observant— don’t look at me like that, you boring old man,” Agria hissed. “I’m telling you, he’s a zombie in the making!”

You might not be wrong, Ludger thought, half-hysterically, but held his tongue.

Elle, on the other hand, had plenty of input to provide.

“Stop bullying Ludger! He’s had a bad day and you shouldn’t bully people after they’ve had a bad day!”

“Elle!” Ludger warned, alarmed.

“No! You can’t stand on your own— that’s bad!” Elle shouted. She was reaching her breaking point, sweaty and exhausted. She was too old for temper tantrums and seldom had them anymore, but today seemed to be the exception for a lot of things. “You can’t just let people push you around because you’re scared of them, Ludger! They need to be nice to you because we’re guests, and you’re hurt!”

Agria’s mouth was open, eyes wide. Wingul seemed greatly amused.

“The young lady makes a point,” Jiao approved.

“What do you know, you big bully?” replied Elle, chin pointed up. She looked very small, whole body dwarfed by this man’s shadow. Ludger felt his soul leave his body.

Thankfully Jiao just laughed. “It’s not every day we see someone stand up to Agria, or to me. You’re a strong little girl, but be careful. Not everyone is kind here.”

“Elle, please,” Jude spoke up this time. Ludger was relieved to find him calm, when he was about to start frantically apologizing. “Let’s all calm down. We don’t want any trouble.”

“By the looks of it, you three couldn’t even handle trouble if it found you,” Wingul commented.

Jiao stepped forward. “I’ll be collecting your toll, so if you could all head this way…”

“Hey, what are they gonna do to that guy? He’s not hurting anybody right now,” Elle was walking alongside Jiao, evidently having deemed him not enough of a threat. Ludger was leaning against Jude’s shoulder, but he kept a hand on his gun. It was empty, but threatening enough, probably. He hoped.

Jiao definitely noticed, eyes flicking to Ludger. He looked as if he were appraising a particularly unfortunate animal.

“I’d like to know as well,” Jude said, and Ludger was surprised by the quiet edge of anger in his voice.

“Right now,” Jiao clarified softly - to Elle - entirely avoiding Jude. “That man is not hurting anyone, but he will, in a short amount of time. We cannot trust him in the walls. We are the protectors of this shelter, and we can’t allow anyone, no matter who they are, to violate that safety.”

Ludger felt Jude’s exhale. He was holding something back, but now was far from the time to discuss it. Jiao led them a few feet to the side. The line behind them had bulked up considerably. Ludger tried not to notice. He was so tired. His eyes slipped shut.

Jude shook his shoulder. “Ludger.”

Shit. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Stay awake a little longer.”

Elle was still chatting. “Well, what if it’s one of you or your friends?”

“Even if it was one of us. No exceptions.”

“Oh.”

Her voice was quiet. Jiao seemed unfazed.

Ludger was mercifully saved from having to weigh in by Jiao calmly asking them to take out their bags. He didn’t miss, however, the sound of a revolver being fired a short way behind them. Jiao didn’t look back.

“A warning shot,” he said, clarifying to the group. “They will not kill him, if he leaves.”

“But whatever is out there, will,” Jude replied.

“He is already dead. Letting the undead into a safe zone puts everyone behind these walls at risk. Or would you rather be awoken by a horde of infected in the middle of the night?”

Jude opened his mouth, then closed it. Disagreement was written all over his face, but he knew as well as Ludger did, that they needed the shelter. His gaze tilted downward, gloved fists clenched.

Jiao spoke up. “It is time to collect your toll. Hand your bags to me, please.”

Ludger bit the inside of his cheek and did as he was asked. Elle followed suit.

The first time he had stayed at a camp like this, he was with Julius. Elle was still a baby, warm in his arms. The guards had taken all their food and water and pressed a knife to Julius’s throat when he argued against them. Lara had intended for Elle to have her necklace when she got older. They took that too.

Julius’s gun was the greatest loss. At the time, it had been the only thing keeping them safe, and it had been taken from them, ruthlessly, without hesitation.

Ludger didn’t have any sentimental items left. Jude seemed to be the same, handing over his doctor’s bag to the guard easily. That was the cost of safety.

Elle’s backpack with the silly face looked ridiculous in the massive man’s hands, he sifted through it with three fingers before pulling out a small comb and handing it back to her.

Ludger had looted the comb from a dollar store, back when Elle had her long hair. It was plain, cheap, and easily replaceable.

His eyes narrowed, not trusting what he was seeing. That was it, from her?

“Your bag next,” Jiao said, looking through Ludger’s bag in the same impassive way he had checked Elle’s. He pulled out a can of beans and put it in his sack next to the comb.

“You like beans?” Elle asked.

“Yes,” Jiao replied.

“Me too,” mumbled Elle. She kept her hands on her hips. Ludger could have sworn he saw Jiao smile.

Jude was next. Jiao’s eyes immediately went to the fancy gold gun. Ludger could feel Jude tense.

“This is an expensive weapon. How did you get it?” Jiao asked. His voice had grown cold, Ludger wondered if he thought Jude had stolen it. The idea was preposterous.

“It belonged to my friend.”

“Sentimental value then?” Jiao asked. Jude nodded.

“A lot,” his voice had gone quiet, the smallest hint of desperation sneaking in. “A lot of sentimental value.”

Ludger winced, so Jude did have something he didn’t want to lose. Dangerous.

The large man pulled out a syringe—it was a nice quality one. Judging by the clear conflict on Jude’s face, it was difficult to get ahold of, but less important to him than the gun.

“This will do.”

“What are you looking to use that for?” Jude asked. “It’s a good piece of equipment—"

“That’s not your job to figure out,” the hardness had returned to Jiao’s voice. His tolls had been a joke, considering, but he was clearly not one to be argued with.

Jude held his tongue. The man handed him back his bag which he slung over his shoulder.

“Payment accepted. Now both of you, jackets off.”

“We have to undress too?” Elle whispered.

“By the looks of this one—” Jiao pointed a massive finger at Ludger. “—you three have seen some things. We can’t afford any risks.”

Asking someone to remove their outer layers was a surprisingly difficult task. It was the peak of summer, yet Jude was wearing a full coat with a couple of button downs, and Elle had on a baggy cardigan over one of Ludger’s shirts, a dress, and leggings. Layers were as close to armor as they could manage when it came to dealing with the infected.

Ludger pulled away from Jude to allow him to undress. He leaned against a nearby tree for support, shutting his eyes. For the first time today, he was glad to be without a shirt, if only to avoid having to take it off.

By the time he opened them, Jude and Elle’s clothes had formed a small, but impressive pile.

Jude looked somehow younger, and older at the same time, dressed down to a plain black undershirt. Without the tan coat, he no longer remotely resembled a doctor. In fact, his toned, gently muscular arms left a separate impression entirely.

Ludger swallowed, politely looking away, as Jude rested his hand on the base of his undershirt.

“This as well?”

“You can keep the undershirt on,” Jiao said.

Jude nodded, as Jiao looked them both over, checking for injury.

“You’re both clean.”

“Told you,” Elle said. “What about Ludger?”

“I’m going to have to look at his arm, first.”

Jude spoke up, “I have to advise against that. It recently reopened, and exposing it now could lead to worse blood loss—"

“No look, no entry. Those are the rules.”

“It’s fine,” Ludger said, too tired to argue. His fingers were already reaching for the bandage.

“Let me,” Jude interjected. “You are a patient under my care and I don’t want to risk infection.”

A patient? Ludger let his hands fall to his side. “Go ahead.”

Jude stepped forward, carefully unraveling the now-red cloth he had placed on his arm hours earlier. Fresh blood was still coming out of the wounds.

It hurt like hell still, but at this point, Ludger hardly felt it. Between the heat and the running, and the stress of the whole day, constant pain was just sort of a fact of life at this point.

Jiao monitored Jude’s actions closely, looking over the wound carefully while Jude held his arm in place.

“What is this from?”

“Barbed wire,” Ludger mumbled, eyes half-lidded. God he just wanted to lay down. “Climbed a fence.”

After a few painful minutes, possibly seconds, Ludger couldn’t be too sure. Jiao nodded.

“Cover it up again, you can go through. I am handing you a number. You are to go to the spot with that number. Cause trouble, and you’ll be shot. No questions asked.”

“Mm,” Ludger said, intelligently.

Jude’s eyebrows raised, and it looked like he was considering saying something, but he didn’t. He rewrapped Ludger’s arm again, and they were pushed through the gate at last.

It was crowded, but beautiful. If Ludger didn’t know any better, he would say it looked like a large amount of people having picnics. There was a farm house at the center of the compound, where Ludger figured the guards stayed. Their number led them to a small plot of land by an apple tree.

That was really all he had time to notice before his legs finally gave out and he tipped face first into the grass.

“Ludger!”

Elle spoke up, unfazed. “It’s okay, he does that.”

“Collapses?”

“Yeah. Like this.”

There was a quiet thump beside him, Elle laying down as well, probably.

Jude’s voice was dubious. “Just be careful with your shoulder, Ludger,” he advised.

“Mmhm,” Ludger replied. He half-opened his eyes to catch a glimpse of Jude laying a couple feet away. He was sleeping with his medical bag like someone would a teddy bear. Ludger was confused for a moment, before remembering to drag his own backpack under his head.

Safe from thieves, for now.

“Night Jude, night Ludger,” Elle said. She had curled a little closer to Ludger in a way he knew she’d deny in the morning.

“Goodnight Elle,” they both replied.

They were asleep in minutes.

#Xillia 2 #Tales of Xillia 2 #Tales of #Jude/Ludger #LudJu #fic

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delkios · 5 years

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Brings My Soul so Close to You (ToRays/ToV)

Please continue to pardon any inaccuracies with characterizations as I still haven't gotten around to familiarizing myself with games other than Vesperia and Rays. Title for Wonders Never Cease by Morcheeba. Thanks to suguelya for giving it a look-through.

(dreamwidth) (pillowfort) (AO3) Title: Brings My Soul so Close to You Fandom: Tales of the Rays, Tales of Vesperia Rating: PG Word Count: 7203 Characters: Flynn, Yuri, Hubert, Estelle, Velvet, Ludger, Mikleo, Ami and Ix Summary: Set in a nebulous post-Mirrage Prison timeframe. Five different looks into Yuri and Flynn's relationship "Yo. You still doing the perfume thing?" Hubert looked up from his book, eying Yuri carefully as he lounged up against the door frame. "I do." Hubert didn't particularly dislike the swordsman but they also rarely interacted, leaving Hubert to mostly know of Yuri through his reputation which... had some worryingly unsaid parts to it. "I thought you didn't care for it." He shrugged, not quite looking at Hubert and Hubert couldn't decide if it was an actual sign of nonchalance or a show of it. "I don't really, but it seems pretty popular with everyone else and there's been a couple I've liked." "Okay, then." He still wasn't sure if Yuri was being honest with him or not but Hubert couldn't really see how this could be a joke. He pulled a piece of paper and pen from a nearby desk. "Did you already have a scent in mind?"

~*~*~*~ "A scent?" "Yes. Your friend, Yuri, came to ask me to make perfume for him- his first, actually -and I realized that I don't believe anyone told you this is something we do." Hubert said, his posture formal but relaxed. Flynn was much more comfortable for him to interact with than Yuri. He chalked it up to mutual military professionalism. "People make requests for what kind of perfume they'd like- specific scents, if they have any in mind -and I try my best to create a perfume to their satisfaction. I will admit that it's been far more successful than I expected." "That seems like a lot of work," Flynn said, "having one person do all that." Hubert chuckled lightly. "Oh, the material gathering is shared with others. Normally I give a list to groups going out foraging or getting supplies. The actual mixing is done by myself." "And it won't be too much trouble making something for me?" "Not at all. Most people reorder perfumes I've made previously so I don't often get a chance to make an entirely new one. I'd appreciate the challenge." "Hm. Where we grew up, perfume was only used by the rich or for special occasions. Even when I was able to afford such things, it never occurred to do so, so I never really gave it much thought." Flynn tilted his head, eyes glancing upward as he thought. "I guess... Yuri?" It took a moment for Hubert to realize what he said. "I'm sorry, you want it to smell like Yuri?" "When we were little, we used to share everything: toys, clothes, even a bed. He was always with me through the hardest years of my life." Flynn laughed, ruffling his hair. "It's embarrassing to admit but my mind eventually came to associate his scent with comfort. I know it's silly but they say smells are closely tied to memories." Hubert smiled, warm and full of emotion. "No, actually. I think that's wonderful." Hubert immediately regretted his words. It took nearly a week of gathering and experimentation before he was finally able to approach Estelle with two bottles of perfume. "Yuri," he said crisply, setting one bottle down, "Flynn," he set the other down, a hand span away. "They actually asked for perfume?" Estelle asked with surprise. Ever since Hubert was persuaded to allow distribution of his perfumes, he'd gotten Estelle to name them. "That's a surprise, I didn't think Yuri liked using anything scented asides from soap. And Flynn always had to borrow perfume from other officers before official events." She giggled to herself as she picked up the bottle Hubert had said was for Yuri. As she opened the bottle, Hubert said, "It's an odd combination and it took me a bit to get the balance right, but I think it turned out well." Estelle sniffed lightly. "It's smells... like the ocean? And something flowery?" "Ocean and cherry blossoms." Among other things to help blend the two scents together. Estelle looked at Hubert for a moment, a slow smile spreading on her face. "Did Yuri pick those?" "Yes," he looked a little suspiciously at her, "why?" "Oh, no. It's just two of the first places Yuri and I went when we started our adventure. We restored a giant cherry blossom tree to protect a village and then we went to a cliff and saw the sea for the first time." Estelle laughed. "Both times Yuri talked about Flynn. I didn't think it was very important back then since I knew they were close friends, but I didn't realize that Yuri isn't the kind of person that casually reveals his thoughts." She swirled the bottle slightly, looking like she was thinking on a memory. "I think he was a little sad he didn't get to share those moments with Flynn." Hubert crossed his arms, thinking over her words. "Flynn's someone Yuri thinks about a lot?" "More than he's willing to admit, I'm sure." Eyes dancing with mirth, Estelle wrote 'Close to the Heart' in decorative script on the bottle. "And this?" She picked up the one for Flynn, opening the bottle and taking a whiff. "It smells kind of familiar." Hubert looked both annoyed and embarrassed. "Flynn said he wanted it to smell like Yuri and at the time his reasoning was quite sweet but then I realized it meant having to steal from Yuri's laundry and it was just such a hassle." He'd gotten caught by Repede of all Nexuses and Hubert had stumbled over his words trying to find an excuse before remembering- dagger and surprising intelligence aside -Repede was just a dog. He still felt compelled to assure him he'd return Yuri's clothes, however. Estelled gave it another whiff. "But you did it. This very much smells like Yuri. What did Flynn say that made you think it was sweet?" "He said that Yuri was with him through difficult times and his mind equated him with comfort." "Aww, that is sweet." She smiled and wrote 'Home' on the bottle. "I think they'll both like it though I don't know how likely they are to actually use it. I'm not entirely sure either of them really understand the point of perfume." "Well," Hubert picked up the bottles, lips quirked into a faint smile, "that's fine. I've been toying with the idea of scent diffusers, I might experiment using these. Everyone treasures things in their own way, after all." ------------------------------------------------- For a moment upon reading the note requesting her assistance at her leisure, Velvet considered ignoring it. In part because she was curious to see how long Flynn would wait for her to show up but mostly because, though Flynn seemed decent enough and Laphicet greatly approved of him, he reminded Velvet of Eleanor early on in their relationship. Though she was fairly sure he wasn't nearly as annoying or frustrating as Eleanor had once been, it wasn't a headache Velvet was particularly eager to relive. Of course, now that she was standing right there in front of him, Velvet really didn't have much of a choice. "What is it?" "I apologize for asking this at the last minute," he gave her a somewhat contrite smile, "but I was hoping you'd be able to help me make a White Day gift for tomorrow." She narrowed her eyes. "Didn't I see you with whole bags of gifts last week?" "Those are return gifts. As much as I would've like to return handmade chocolates in kind, I'm afraid my schedule and the amount didn't make that feasible. But I was hoping to do something a little more personalized for my companions." Velvet had no idea what Flynn's cooking abilities were but the folks from his world- Yuri especially -had been fairly adamant about not allowing Flynn to cook though the use of terms like 'alone' and 'for others' had her more curious than anything. "And you're asking me specifically because?" He looked somewhat embarrassed. "I know my cooking can be... divisive. But you strike me as the kind of person that won't hold back. If you see me doing something incorrectly or suspect, I'm certain you wouldn't hesitate to point it out." Velvet starred at him long and intense but Flynn didn't so much as twitch. "Fine." She pulled her shoulders back, fists planted on her hips and her face was set as hard as the most ruthless military instructor. "You will do what I say and only what I say. You only get one chance at this so the first time you go ignore my orders, I'm done. Understood?" Flynn snapped to perfect attention, "Yes, ma'am!" ~*~*~*~ "I need your help figuring out something for White Day." Ludger nearly jumped at the sudden voice behind him. He turned to find Yuri there, arms crossed and stance as easy as ever. Ludger gave him an odd look. "How am I supposed to help you with something like that? I know for a fact you don't have issues working with chocolates, Elle raved about the bonbons you made last year for weeks." "And if this was for any normal person, it wouldn't be a problem." Yuri tsked. "Unfortunately, Flynn's got a fucked up sense of taste and doesn't care that much for sweets." "...Flynn?" Ludger asked with a slow blink. "You're doing this for Flynn?" Yuri just shrugged as if this was a perfectly normal thing. "Sure. Mileena said on White Day guys are supposed to give gifts to girls and people important to them, right?" "I suppose that's true." He wasn't sure if it actually was. Asides from Kocis and Ix whose relationship was somewhat unique, Ludger didn't think any of the other guys gave their guy friends, childhood or otherwise, a gift. On the other hand, he also didn't want to get into an argument over it. "But why do you think I can help?" "You're more experimental with your recipes than Velvet and they mostly come out pretty good. You might have better ideas how to make a chocolate he'd like." Well, Ludger wasn't exactly immune to praise, especially when it came from someone whose cooking skills he respected. "If nothing else, I can at least try. What are his preferred tastes?" Yuri's expression flattened out, apparently already expecting his words to screw everything up. "Savory. Spicy. Meat." Sure enough, Ludger's thoughts skidded to a halt. He put one hand to a table and the other to his head. "Oh boy." ~*~*~*~ Velvet set down the recipe on the counter in front of Flynn. "Here. The ingredients and technique are simple but the results- when done correctly -make it seem much fancier and complicated than it actually is." She gave him a moment to skim over the paper before slapping her hand on the counter to get his attention. "First lesson: cooking is an art, baking is a science. Experimenting and changing recipes is much easier when you cook because you can constantly taste and adjust the food's flavor. With baking, once it's in the oven, that's basically it. Once it's been cooked, it's near impossible to change the flavor or texture. That means, with the way the ingredients and heat interacts, unless you really know what you're doing," Velvet got right up in his face, eyes deadly serious, "never deviate from the recipe." Flynn swallowed reflexively. "Understood." Velvet watched with a hawkish, critical eye as Flynn pulled the ingredients and dishes out, treating this as seriously as he would a strategy meeting and, while she found that hilarious, it was also understandable. Cooking for someone could leave you feeling surprisingly vulnerable, especially when it was for a special occasion. Even with all her confidence and experience, Velvet still felt that on occasion. She stayed silent and vigilant, speaking up only to instruct Flynn to grease the ramekins more. When he'd done so to her satisfaction and placed them aside, Velvet looked down at the ramekins, going over the count in her head: Estelle, Rita, Judith, one for Velvet to test... "Why are there five?" Flynn paused in measuring out the ingredients, checking to make sure he hadn't miscounted. "One for you, Lady Estellise, Rita, Judith and Yuri." "Yuri?" "Of course. It's a day for men to show appreciation to the people important to them, I can hardly leave out my best friend." ~*~*~*~ After a number of trials and errors- and an emergency shopping trip to restock -the two men were fairly certain they'd gotten a recipe that wouldn't burn while making, wasn't too brittle and wasn't overwhelming. Of course, given the ingredients, neither of them felt qualified to actually judge how good it was. Deciding to stay out of the process for making the chocolate that would actually go to Flynn, Ludger asked, "So why exactly are you making chocolate for Flynn? Especially since you said he's not particularly fond of sweets?" "I told you already," Yuri said, intently focused on his chopping. "I know, I just don't remember you giving something to Karol or Raven last year." "Yeah, well I also didn't spend nearly every moment for over ten years hanging out with them." Well, Ludger had to give him that. Then Yuri added, "Besides, he'd gonna get me something so I need to give him a gift in return." ~*~*~*~ Velvet still seemed unconvinced. "So you're doing this because you think he's going to make you something?" "I know he is," Flynn said with utmost confidence. ~*~*~*~ "What makes you so certain of that?" Ludger asked. Yuri scowled- the one everyone knew was just for show. "Because that's just-" ~*~*~*~ "-the kind of guy he is," Flynn said with a bright smile. ~*~*~*~ Gatherings for gift exchanges on holidays in the dining area was becoming customary, several tables filled with groups chatting and passing things around. Yuri had already given the women of his group their chocolates, each decorated and personalized for each one though they were happy to break off a piece so one of the others could give it a try. Yuri was preening at their compliments. Velvet, part out of curiosity and part to be supportive, helped Flynn bring out the plates before joining her own group. Each small dish had a delicately ridged, slightly tapered cake placed in the middle, liberally dusted with powdered sugar and a bright red strawberry, sliced and fanned out on top. Velvet hadn't even had to give Flynn any direction on it, his eye for detail apparently extended to gorgeous plating. She put her plates down in front of Judith and Estelle, both women's eyes brightening at the sight but there was still something stiff in their posture. "How pretty," Judith said, picking the fork up from the plate but making no move to actually try it. "You followed a recipe for this, right?" Yuri asked, glaring suspiciously down at the plates Flynn set in front of him and Rita. "He did," Velvet answered instead as Flynn took the last remaining seat. "I was with him to whole time." Yuri's glare intensified. "Are you sure?" Velvet glared right back at him. "Do you really think he could sneak something by me? Especially when it comes to food?" "Well, we should at least try it," Estelle said slowly despite her encouragement. She, also, didn't make a move to actually take a bite. Velvet rolled her eyes. "He made an extra and I tried it. I wouldn't let him feed you anything inedible." Yuri grabbed his fork like he was grabbing his sword. "Alright. Here goes." He pierced the edge of the cake, chocolate oozing out from the middle, screwed his face up like he was saying a prayer and shoved it into his mouth. His eyes shot open. "Oh. That's really good." Flynn beamed like he'd just discovered world peace. The girls dove into it a heartbeat later, each heaping praise on Flynn at first taste. Yuri, already on his third bite, paused to slide the package he'd brought towards Flynn. "Here. For you." "Thank you," Flynn carefully worked a finger under the seams, opening the gift without ripping the paper. "You didn't have to, you know." "Yeah, I did. Tried to tailor it to your taste so I don't know if you'll actually like it." It was a seemingly plain bar of chocolate but when Flynn bit at the corner, his eyes went wide. "Yuri, this is amazing!" "Heh. Good to know." Seeing that uncharacteristically soft smile on Yuri's lips, Velvet decided it was best to make her escape. ~*~*~*~ Ludger waited a discreet distance to intercept Velvet. "Surprised to see you playing waiter." "More like reassurance," she said blandly. "That Flynn hadn't accidentally poisoned them." His eyes flickered to the table, then back at Velvet. "Out of curiosity, did Flynn say why he made one for Yuri?" Sensing there was more to it than simple curiosity, Velvet studied Ludger closely. "Because Yuri is his best friend and Flynn was certain he'd make something in return," she said slowly, "why?" "Huh. That's pretty much exactly the reason Yuri said he made something for Flynn." Ludger couldn't quite tell if Velvet was amused, annoyed or apathetic. "So let me get this straight. Yuri made Flynn chocolate as a return gift for the chocolate he made as a return gift for Yuri." "Well," he hooked his thumbs in his pockets, "they weren't wrong about the other getting them chocolate." For a long moment, Velvet stayed quiet. Then, "They're both idiots in the exact same way, aren't they?" "I'm kinda getting that, too." It looked like everyone had or was just about finished with their cakes and there had yet to be any abrupt exits, blanching or chugging down water. All good signs in Ludger's book. "You helped Flynn make chocolate lava cakes?" "Watched, really," Velvet said. "He followed the recipe without any problem, picked up techniques quickly and they came out perfectly fine. Not anything like the kitchen disaster I was expecting. He even did the plating without any help. I don't know what Yuri's talking about." There was a brief pause. "Wait- you said he followed a recipe?" "Of course. I told him he wasn't allowed to deviate even the slightest." Ludger nodded to himself, "I think I get it. Yuri wanted my help making a chocolate bar because he said Flynn has, uh, unique tastes." "You helped Yuri make a chocolate bar?" The question was obvious in her words and, at the face Ludger made, Velvet looked like she almost didn't want to know. "What kind is it?" "It has chopped bacon and ground chili peppers." Her mouth pressed into a thin line, watching Flynn happily take another bite, oblivious to her, Ludger and Yuri's disturbed expressions. "Yeah. Now I get it." ------------------------------------------------- Honestly Mikleo thought the addition of Flynn was one of the best things to happen to the group. He basically took over assigning field and guard duties and helped Cress out with training. It allowed Jade and Leon to focus more on the finance and logistics and intelligence gathering side of things which meant Mikleo really didn't have to deal with an infuriating cryptic or overbearing critic anymore. He was also thankful for the fact Flynn came at it more like a taskmaster than an officer, preferring to ask for volunteers rather than ordering someone for a mission and trying to keep assignments within the person's interests or skill sets whenever possible. A number of Nexuses were or had been part of the military on their respective worlds and while Mikleo's experience with an actual military organization was pretty minimal, it was a relief that Flynn had no interest in restructuring the group into a military framework. Though, he'd admit, the military's tendency to organize and schedule things did come in handy from time to time. There were two kitchens anyone could use at any given time though, by unspoken agreement, the larger one was reserved for those who had cooking duty while the smaller was for those who could cook for themselves so the chef for the day didn't have to cook for everyone. With such a huge group, it was unfeasible to expect one person to feed them all on their own so there were always volunteers to help out in the kitchen. And despite all the work he did, Flynn often checked the kitchen to ensure there was enough people working and was always willing to chip in his own time if staffing was lacking for any reason. Whenever Yuri was on kitchen duty, Flynn, more often than not, was in there with him. It was somewhat surprising, really, given Yuri had be vehement about not allowing Flynn to cook- which didn't stop Velvet from allowing the knight to help her but most things didn't stop Velvet. Then again, Flynn was generally relegated to things like prep, washing and chopping food, getting out tools and dishes, setting things up to serve and cleaning up afterward. Mikleo volunteered to help them when he could, he found the way Yuri and Flynn worked together fascinating. They seemed to have an instinctual awareness for each other, always aware of where the other was and when they were in need of something. It was almost like a dance. Mikleo, conversely, had nearly bumped into or been bumped into on numerous occasion no matter how he tried to keep out of the way. He couldn't help saying, when the food had been set out and the three of them were cleaning up, "You two work surprisingly well in a kitchen." Yuri shrugged, putting some of the food into containers to be taken to those that wouldn't be able to make it to dinner. "We spent a few years working at an inn to pay for board. I cooked, he cleaned." "And did whatever odd jobs the owners needed to have done," Flynn added, taking the dishes Mikleo had washed and drying them off. "Is that how Yuri got to be such a good cook?" "And why Flynn became such a clean freak." Flynn shot his friend a mild glare. "If you knew how some people left their rooms, you'd understand." He turned back to Mikleo with a faint grin, "It was also rather meditative. Not a lot of people interrupt cleaning staff so I always had time to organize my thoughts." "You should've seen it during the rainy season," Yuri grinned, leaning over to look at Mikleo passed Flynn's shoulder. "He'd sit by the door with a mop and bucket, trailing after anyone tracking mud, no matter who it was." "Dried mud is pain to clean up!" Flynn protested. Yuri's eyes suddenly lit up. "Hey, you remember the time you reamed that captain for dumping his filthy cloak on the floor?" Flynn's mouth opened, the beginnings of a justification on his lips when he abruptly froze. His eyes went large and Yuri's grin wicked. Flynn didn't even react when Mikleo nudged his hand with a ladle. ".....that was Captain Schwann." Yuri roared with laughter. "Hell yeah, it was!" He slapped Flynn's back and Flynn closed his eyes with a pained sigh. "I can't believe I'd forgotten about that!" "I can't believe you reminded me of it." "Schwann?" Mikleo prodded at Flynn's hand again until he took the ladle. "Isn't that Raven's old name?" Yuri was still chuckling, smirking broadly. "I'm gonna have to ask if he remembers that." "You don't have to," there was something almost pleading in Flynn's voice. "Oh, I absolutely do. You yelled at him until he went out on the stoop and wrung out his cloak then made him hang it up!" Packing up the last of the containers, Yuri wrapped them up in a large cloth. "I'm gonna take this to Rita and the other eggheads." He gave them a wink. "I'll leave the rest to you!" Then he was off and Flynn glowered after him. Mikleo did his best to stifle his laughter. "He really seems to enjoy pressing your buttons." "Too much, sometimes." He took the last plate from Mikleo who then drained the sink. "But I suppose that's to be expected with childhood friends." "I can understand that. Sorey and I have had our fair share of arguments." "Oh yeah, you two are childhood friends as well, right?" "Yup." With the last of the water gone, Mikleo began to wipe down the sink. "We've been together ever since I can remember." Flynn chuckled, "I can barely remember what life was like before I knew Yuri." He put the dry plate on a stack, taking a portion of it to put into the cupboard while Mikleo put the utensils back in their drawers. "Have you two been together the whole time?" "A little while back we went about three years without hardly speaking to each other. I told myself it was because I was too busy or because of some silly slight from the last time we passed each other by but, I can admit now, it was because I was hoping he'd miss me enough to come back to the Knights." "Was it difficult?" Mikleo asked as they put away the last of the dishes. "Absolutely. Not in the same way losing my parents was or trying to survive on the streets before the inn keeper took us in, but it was a hardship I never had to deal with before: being without my greatest support. But I think it was the best for both of us. Admittedly, Yuri did flounder a bit, but we got out of each other's shadows and grew into our own person." Flynn rinsed off the towel, then wrung it out and began to wipe down the counters. "Introspection is much easier when you don't have someone covering up your weaknesses." His brow furrowed, something inside knotting uncomfortably at Flynn's words. "Do you mean you think being with someone for too long stunts your growth?" "Ah, that did sound like that, didn't it?" Flynn tilted his head to one side as he thought over his words. "Can, I think, would be more accurate. And I'm certainly not suggesting cutting off ties for years is the way to go, but taking a day or two for self-reflection every once in a while is helpful. And, even if something does happen that keeps you separated, you'll realize that you carry a piece of them inside your heart. That the time you spent together and the memory of them has and continues to shape you into the person that you are." Mikleo liked the way it sounded much more. "So?" He asked teasingly, "How did Yuri shape you?" Flynn just laughed. "Oh, patience and forgiveness, mostly." "He certainly strikes me as the kind of person that gets into trouble easily." "True. But mostly I meant forgiving myself." Mikleo paused, then turned to look up at Flynn. "What do you mean?" "Yuri likes to point out my flaws and mistakes. To tease me, mostly, but also to remind me that I'm only human." Flynn grinned self-effacingly. "Sometimes, even though I know better, I expect myself to make every decision perfectly, no matter the circumstances." "So Yuri reminds you to forgive your imperfections?" "Something like that. But also he's been with me through the worst times in my life and no matter how badly I screwed up or the times when I wanted to hate myself, he always forgave me. And even though I have issues with the way Yuri goes about some things, there's no one I trust more, nothing I have more faith in than him." He smiled at Mikleo, something warm and deep that was a lot like being wrapped in the sun. "I figure if someone like him can forgive me when I'm at my worst, then I could learn to forgive myself, too." The sheer faith momentarily took Mikleo's breath away. "That... that's an amazing sentiment. I can't imagine what that's like." Or admit that it made him a little jealous. "Really? Your relationship with Sorey seems quite similar." "Not quite to that level." "You're closer than you think," Flynn said, squeezing Mikleo's shoulder. "You just have to have as much faith in yourself as you have in Sorey." "That can be surprisingly difficult sometimes," he said ruefully. "I know. But that's why you need people like Yuri or Sorey in your life. Someone that will always remind you that, no matter how much you want to give up on yourself, you're still worthwhile." They lapsed into silence, Mikleo lost in thought. That brief pang of jealousy of the bond between Flynn and Yuri- unbreakable, irreplaceable -had faded at Flynn's words. What he and Sorey had was just as deep and strong, just different. And, more importantly, it was theirs. That revelation had Mikleo smiling to himself throughout the rest of clean up. ------------------------------------------------- "Excuse me." Yuri looked down at the hesitant voice addressing him from somewhere around lower-torso level. He recognized her immediately as Chester's little sister. "What's up?" "Um," she said, pressing her lips together and tugging at her skirt. "Can you braid my hair?" Yuri leaned down, hands braced on his thighs so he was eye level with Ami. "That's a weird thing to ask a random person." "Chester said he was gonna do it this morning but him and Cress got called off to do something else and I don't know when they're gonna come back." "There's plenty of women that can braid hair." At least Yuri was mostly sure of this. Ami's mouth twisted, looking much like Ted or Karol did when they were about to admit something they thought was childish and dumb. "When Chester or Cress braid my hair, they always hum or sing me songs and it's... not as comforting when it's a lady." Considering the issues that came up with her exoflection, Yuri didn't have the heart to deny her such a simple comfort. He stood upright. "Well, if that's the case I can't really help you. I've never braided my hair. But," he said as Ami's face fell, "I know someone perfect for the job." When the situation was explained to Flynn, he just nodded and began to remove his gauntlets. "In that case, we'll share the job. I'll braid your hair and Yuri can sing." "Why are you volunteering me for this?" Flynn merely lifted an eyebrow. "Seems fair considering you volunteered me." He noticed Ami's look of concerned and smiled warmly at her. "Don't worry, Yuri has a good singing voice though he hasn't done it much since we were kids. Please, have a seat and make yourself comfortable." He hadn't sung much because Flynn used to always watch him with an expression that made Yuri self-conscious. Not that he'd ever admit to it, of course. "I'll hum instead," Yuri announced before all but throwing himself down on the nearby couch, arms crossed behind his head and eyes closed. He heard Flynn ask Ami if she was ready and the little girl's quietly excited reply, then Yuri began to hum. It was one of Ranko's songs, one she said she sang as a duet. Flynn seemed to like it. A few bars into it, Yuri cracked an eye open and watched his friend comb his fingers through Ami's thick hair. From the small smile on Flynn's face, even with the slowed tempo Yuri hummed, he obviously recognized the tune. "How do you know how to braid hair?" Ami asked after a while. "I used to braid Yuri's when we were kids. Sometimes I put flowers and clovers in there." "Really? That sound so cool!" "I also used to help him put his hair in buns and twists, too." "Chester never does fun stuff with his hair and he won't let anyone but me play with it. How come Yuri lets you play with his?" Flynn didn't say anything but Yuri could practically feel the glance his way so Yuri said, "When I decided to grow my hair out, some older kids gave me a tough time about. They'd tease me, pull it, try to tangle it up." Ami made an angry sound. "Some boys did that to me, too, but Chester and Cress never let them get away with it." "Boys are the worst," Yuri said decisively. "They are! They stopped when one tried to put mud in my hair and I punched him in the nose. All the moms wanted Chester to punish me but he couldn't stop laughing." Yuri snickered and he heard Flynn chuckle as well. "Flynn would stick up for me, too. Once, though, one of 'em manage to cut a good three inches out of my hair. That was when Flynn started helping me put it up until I got big enough to fight 'em off myself." "I'm sorry. You have such pretty hair." "Thanks," Yuri craned his neck around to smile at Ami. Flynn was carefully sectioning out her hair on one side. "I talked Flynn into growing his out once but it kept turning into a tangled mess no matter what we tried. Even when it's short like that, he can't do anything with it." "I'm perfectly happy with my hair how it is," Flynn said dryly. "I know you are 'cause no one can tell you haven't brushed it." Ami giggled and Flynn tried to hide the twitching of his lips. "Aren't you supposed to be humming?" "Right, right." When Flynn had finished and handed Ami a mirror to look into, she gasped. "It's so pretty and fancy! Did you braid Yuri's hair like this, too?" A thick braid ran down each side of her head and where they met at the nape of her neck, he'd blended them into one. "No," Flynn said a little wistfully, "Yuri wouldn't let me get too creative with his hair." "But when the girls and young women in our side of town found out how well he braided hair, they came to him all the time to do theirs. Before festivals, there'd be an entire line of women waiting for him." Yuri snickered. "All the guys were so jealous." Flynn just rolled his eyes. "Not like they couldn't learn themselves." Yuri just snickered harder because that had never been the point. "Ami!" Elle half called, half sang as she came in, "finally got back from shopping, did you wanna- oh wow! Your hair is so pretty!" "Thanks!" Ami kicked her legs happily, beaming at her friend. "Flynn did it for me!" "You can do braids?" Elle asked with wide eyes. "My daddy would do it for me sometimes. Ludger tries but they always come out." "If I may," Flynn said, holding out a hand near Elle's hair and running his fingers through it when she nodded. "Hmm. Fine hair tends to have trouble staying up. Yuri's hair is thicker than yours but also pretty fine so I think can make yours work." "He said he can even put flowers in it!" Ami said. "Really?" Flynn laughed. "Why don't you two gather whatever flowers you want me to put in your hair? I can redo Ami's hair after I do Elle's." "Yay!" The girls bolted for the door. "Thanks, Flynn!" After a moment, Yuri sat up on the couch. "You're such a sap." "I may be." Flynn patted the seat Ami had vacated. "Want me to braid your hair while we wait?" "...sure, why not." ------------------------------------------------- He'd been floating on the edge of consciousness for some time before a knocking pulled him out completely. "Yuri? Have you seen Flynn? No one's seen him today." Groggy from lack of sleep, Flynn half-turned to his back. In part to pull out the strands of Yuri's hair that had gotten into his mouth before pushing himself from the bed. It really wasn't big enough for two men to sleep comfortably but neither had the bed at the Comet they shared right up until they joined the Knights. Flynn supposed it was a good thing they'd gotten used to sleeping piled on top of each other long before they reached the age when most boys found that degree of closeness to be awkward. He padded, bare foot, across the floor, putting on a shirt- Yuri's -as he went and scrubbing a hand through his unruly hair. When Flynn opened the door he found Ix there, staring at him with wide eyes. "Oh! Uh... sorry, did I wake you?" "It's fine." He'd worked on less sleep many times before. "Is there something wrong with your room? I know it can't be comfortable having to share a room with three other people. Sorry, Mileena didn't think there'd be so many of you when she made this place." Even with those that decided to stay on the Heimdallr with the Salvation Front, a lot of rooms had to double-up to fit all the exoflected. It was a good thing Yuri had picked one of the smaller rooms from the start, he didn't have to share with anyone but Repede. And now occasionally Flynn. "It's fine," he said again. Before Mileena had gotten around to exoflecting another bunkbed in one of the larger rooms, Flynn shared Yuri's bed. Just like old times. "And I enjoy my roommates." Sharing a space with Asbel, Hubert and Kor was a lot like living in the barracks before Flynn became an officer. It was kind of nice. A few had offered to give him a room of his own in deference to his rank but he'd been adamant about not turning this into a military operation or getting special treatment. "Then I'm interrupting something private." "Ix." When he looked up, Flynn just gave him a warm smile. "It's alright. There's nothing you need to worry about." Ix hummed, gaze dropping again and it took Flynna a moment to realize Ix's eyes were caught somewhere around sternum-level. Flynn looked down at the star-burst shaped scar on his chest- more of a burn, really -perfectly framed by the edges of Yuri's shirt. "Ah. That. I'm sure you understand," he told Ix with a faint smile, "it's better to risk your life than someone you love." His expression went pensive, something Flynn was quickly learning was fairly common on the young man. "It must have been painful." Flynn thought back about how hard it was to breathe, not just from taking Alexei's attack to his chest but from hearing that Yuri had gone missing, that he must have fallen off Zaude. How, day after day, ships and soldiers combing the ocean and shore would report back to him having found nothing. Then, one day, with his hope just a tenuous string, he'd gotten a letter from Estelle saying Yuri showed up in Zaphias, injured but well, and they were off to Zopheir to test a hypothesis of Rita's and for the first time in a week Flynn could breathe clearly. "Yes," he said softly, "but it was worth it." Ix gave a little huff of laughter. "I'm kind of envious how open you are about these things." "Well," Flynn looked over to where Yuri still lay on the bed, having scooted over to take up some of the space Flynn had vacated. "It took a lot of time and hardship to get to this point." He looked back at Ix and smiled. "But that was also worth it." When Ix's pensive look remained, Flynn asked, "Is something on your mind?" "I..." he bit his lip, visibly gathering his thoughts. "I agree that taking on danger in order to protect those I care about is worth the risk but... are you ever frightened about the thought that the person you care about thinks the same? That they'll take on the danger to protect you?" "Of course," Flynn said without hesitation. "If they weren't important to me, it wouldn't be frightening. It can be difficult, even painful, when they take that burden for me, but I'd imagine it hurts them just as much to see me take theirs. And because they're important to me, I have to respect their wishes. There is, however, a vast difference between respecting someone's wishes and allowing them to act thoughtlessly and recklessly." He sighed, memories bubbling up in the back of his thoughts as he spoke. "There may certainly be disagreements as to which side of that line someone's decision falls on." He gave Ix a gentle look. "However, while one's willingness to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others can be noble, I think it's better to protect each other and face the danger together." Ix's his smile was subdued but bright, something in his eyes settling more comfortably. "I'm glad you're here. Having so many unique and eccentric personalities can be fun but also really draining to deal with. It's nice to have more people mature enough to give open and sensible advice around." Flynn laughed quietly. "Well, I know not everyone appreciates that. But I'll endeavor to help out whenever you or any of the others need me." "Sure, just remember to take care of yourself, too. And let me know if you ever need anything. We're in this together, after all." Ix waved before retreating down the hall. Closing the door, Flynn shrugged out of the shirt before brushing Yuri's hair out of the way and sliding back into bed. "Wuzzit?" Yuri murmured, still mostly asleep. "Ix." "Wha'd he want?" "I think the shock of seeing me partially dressed in your room first thing in the morning made him forget to ask. Sorry. Pretty sure he thinks we're sleeping together." Yuri let out a soft, amused snort. "Not inaccurate." He turned his head, not enough to actually see Flynn but enough so Flynn knew he was irritated. "Yer lettin' the cold air in." "Move your legs, I'm about to fall off the bed." Yuri let out a put-upon sigh, shifting his legs enough so Flynn could tangle his own with them. They lay there, pressed skin to skin, one of Flynn's arms resting comfortably over Yuri's waist, breathing matched long and slow. After a while, however, Yuri said, "Can feel you thinkin'." "Sorry." "Don' be sorry. Sleep." "I don't think I can." "Still tired, aren't ya?" "Yeah," Flynn admitted. He started to move again. "But if people are looking for me, I should get up. There's plenty I could be-" "Nope," Yuri didn't move his face from the pillow but he grabbed at Flynn's wrist. "Yer nightmare's bad 'nough you came to me in th' middle o' the night, you need ta sleep in." Then, before Flynn could protest or argue, "Repede!" Almost instantly the bed dipped and Flynn looked down just as Repede settled his head heavily on Flynn's thigh. The man sighed, letting his head drop back down next to Yuri's. "Try'n move now." Yuri shifted just enough to send a smug, sideways look to Flynn. "Don't wanna disturb our sweet li'l puppy, do ya?" Glancing down at Repede, the dog merely stared back at Flynn, amusement clear in his one eye. Flynn sighed again, body relaxing. "You're both terrible." Yuri chuckled, drawing Flynn's arm further around him. "Love you, too." Flynn just pressed his face against Yuri's back, hiding a smile in his hair.

#i've been sitting on this for a couple days #making insignificant little changes until i finally got sick of looking at it #so enjoy or something #fluri #fic 2019 #tales of the rays #tales of vesperia #flynn scifo #yuri lowell #hubert oswell #ami burklight #estellise sidos heurassein #velvet crowe #mikleo #ix nieves #ludger will kresnik

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emblemevents-newyear · 5 years

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Semifinal: Howling Wyverns vs. REBELations

“You thought were were done, huh? But it's me, Lyn, back again for one more match -- this time contesting for third and fourth place. So, let’s give it up for our two teams now --

HOWLING WYVERNS VS. REBELATIONS

“Alright, everyone, to your places! For the last time -- on your marks...get set....go!”

"I think that after last evening, the players seem more well rested -- and hopefully less likely to...er...combust? Things seem safe as everyone starts to ready their cannons...except for Kathryn and First Mate Morgan who, still, are so eager to get started that they’re firing empty cannons. Old habits die hard? At least, Camilla and Claire are double-checking their ammo, while Rinea is helping Zuzu carefully with the loading. Considering their unlucky track records, I think that’s a pretty good idea. Captain Megan, however, tries to load the cannon on her own and get a head start on the opposing team -- uh, I don’t think she’s turning the cannon far back enough though. Watch out, because as we’ve seen all too well, if you’re not careful with your turning, you can -- “

BOOOM!

“ -- hit yourself in the torso like that. And Captain Megan marks our first casualty and first self-destruction of the match! I...don’t think this is her morning.” (Captain Megan [REBEL] eliminated)

“Kamui, seeing Megan’s early downfall, takes a little more care with his turning and aiming, but he’s still quick enough that he manages to nail a cannon-loading Haru in the chest! (Haru [HW] eliminated, +3 to REBEL) That’s more like it! Now that everyone else’s cannons are loaded, the back-and-forth barrage starts up again too -- Carrie hits Dimitri’s leg! (+1 to HW) Camilla hits Morgan’s foot! (+2 to REBEL) Unfortunately, Clara bumps into Captain Nora while she’s aiming, sending Nora’s shot into the REBELations’ mast instead. But Lydia manages to get Kamui back a bit by hitting him in the leg! (+1 to HW) Karin tries to follow up and finish the job, but she’s just a hair away from hitting Zuzu’s...well...hair. Rin rattles off a set of balls on his end, and Bat is so busy trying to aim for a tripping Felicia that he doesn’t even see that headshot coming! (Bat [HW] eliminated, +5 to REBEL) That’s a sneaky one...”

“Felicia gets back up quite harmlessly and starts firing at everything on the other side of the ship that she can see! I’m not sure if that’s much of a strategy, but somehow the barrage corners First Mate Morgan into taking a hit to the torso! (+3 to REBEL) She’s not letting that one go, though, because she counters by sending a cannonball to Felicia’s torso as well! (Felicia [REBEL] eliminated, +3 to HW) And unlike Morgan, when Felicia’s out, she’s out!”

“Continuing that thunder, Captain Nora scores a hit to First Mate Yuki’s foot! (+2 to HW) Gaius follows up by hitting Rinea’s foot as well! (+2 to HW) The hit seems to make Rinea practically jump on impact, and it’s enough to make her lose control of the cannon! Rinea scrambles out of the way as the cannon swerves back towards her teammates, but she can barely get out a warning fast enough before the cannon fires straight into Kamui’s torso! (Kamui [REBEL] eliminated) Ouch...”

“Clara is fumbling a bit with her cannon -- I can understand if she’s nervous! Still, every movement counts here, and one wrong one can spell your downfall -- as we’ve seen lots of times already! Unfortunately, she makes the mistake of reaching for a dropped ball and -- the cannon fires back into her own torso! (Clara [HW] eliminated) Sorry, Clara...”

“Meanwhile, Captain Nora returns from a trip to the Crow’s Nest, trying to move as quickly as she can towards a cannon, and manages to slip out of the way of a dangerously fast cannonball from Dimitri -- though he still manages to hit her on the leg. (+1 to REBEL) Nora manages to return the favor by landing a light blow to Camilla’s arm but not without getting hit on the arm herself! (+1 to HW, +1 to REBEL) Then First Mate Yuki shoots a ball to First Mate Morgan’s hand, and Kathryn hits Lydia’s leg! (+3 to REBEL) They’ll rack up plenty of points if they can keep this up...but Zuzu and Rin are knocking against each other as they reload, making Zuzu misfire onto her own torso, and Claire also misfires when she doesn’t turn the cannon around -- yep, that’s also a torso hit. (Zuzu [REBEL] and Claire [REBEL] eliminated) Maybe they can’t really keep this up...”

“Nora and Karin go back up to the Crow’s Nest, while Ludger and Rin scale their own, soon followed by Kathryn. They’re probably going to discuss some strategy up there, but in the meantime, First Mate Morgan gets revenge on Camilla for the beginning by nailing her in the torso! (Camilla [REBEL] eliminated, +3 to HW) Carrie tries to make a quick follow up, but she’s looking at the REBELations members rather than her own work as she reloads -- it’s good to be aware of your surroundings, but here it’s a recipe for a misfire, and she’s cooked it up all too well!” (Carrie [HW] eliminated)

“First Mate Yuki hits Captain Nora’s hand, which causes her shot to hit the mast -- harmlessly, in a sense. (+2 to REBEL) But it looks like everyone’s missing right now, because Dimitri, Rinea, and Kathryn ALL end up blasting the mast -- you know, those would be pretty effective if they were hitting a person, huh? Ludger continues the trend by bouncing his cannonball off the enemy ship, and Rinea attempts to fire on First Mate Morgan, but it sails just over her head. Finally, something seems to land, because Kathryn and Gaius exchange arm blows, and Nora hits Yuki’s leg! (+2 to HW, +1 to REBEL) At least...that lasted for a second. Karin looks like she’s aiming towards Rin but she’s not even close, and Lydia hits the REBELations’ mast too. Trying to make up for her teammates’ misses, Nora loads up a whole line of shots in her cannon -- that's a bit risky if she can’t control it! Her first shots bounce against the enemy ship -- including everyone’s favorite target, the mast -- but as Nora tries to aim it at some of the REBELations members on the far end of the ship, it’s not working out too well! And oh no...now the last few bits of ammo in Nora’s cannon are flying around the Howling Wyverns’ ship! An unlucky Gaius gets caught in the blasts, and sadly but fittingly the final ball in the set hits Nora’s own torso! Talk about friendly fire...” (Gaius [HW] eliminated)

“REBELations is taking this time to load their cannons precisely...sort of. Rinea’s shot towards Lydia flies just past her ear, and Ludger accidentally sets off a bunch of cannonballs whizzing about the REBELations’ ship -- Dimitri’s foot is one unfortunate victim, and Kathryn’s thrown off guard so she hits a very familiar spot in the Howling Wyvern’s mast. And in a kind of familiar scene, Ludger himself gets hit in the torso by one of those balls... (Ludger [REBEL] eliminated) Actually, I they’re flying everywhere now -- because Captain Nora has to jump out of the way of one, sending her shot to Yuki towards the REBELations’ hull instead. But she’s not done yet either -- Nora’s scrambling to control her own now-automatic cannon, but to no avail -- the cannon claims a victim in Karin’s head!” (Karin [HW] eliminated)

“First Mate Morgan manages to dodge a stray cannonball, but she hits Rin’s hand instead of his torso...I guess it’s something! (+2 to HW) In fact, the shot still throws Rin's aim so far off that he fires into Dimitri’s torso instead! (Dimitri [REBEL] eliminated) ...And Rinea, who tries reload and shoot amidst the chaos, sends a ball flying to Kathryn’s chest! ...Oof.” (Kathryn [REBEL] eliminated)

“After that fiasco I think most people are understandably laying low...In fact, Morgan’s practically flattened herself on the deck. I guess that’s a way to stay safe, so long as your teammates don’t trip on you.”

“Rinea, however, attempts to make up for her past misfires by aiming veeeeryyyy carefully with this hit...But will it work? She tilts the cannon ever so slightly, and fires -- “ BAM “ -- right to the side of Lydia’s head! (Lydia [HW] eliminated, +5 to REBEL) Fantastic accuracy, though that does look like it hurt...”

“Seeing her teammate take such a hefty blow, Nora stands back up and begins firing again -- although most of her shots are hitting the mast, she does manage to trade arm blows with Rinea while Rin and Yuki practically trip over each other. (+1 to HW, +1 to REBEL) Yuki decides it’s more useful for him to observe from the Crow’s Nest by then, although Rinea follows after him...Nora’s trying to get back at Rinea still, and attempts to follow Rinea with the cannon as she climbs up to the Crow’s Nest -- but too far, too far! It’s too late as Nora lets go and the cannon swivels back around so fast that poor Morgan doesn’t even see the torso hit coming! Oh no...” (Morgan [HW] eliminated)

“This was a bad time to lose her first mate, because Nora’s the only one left for the Howling Wyverns! But I’m sure Nora won’t go down without a fight, because she’s got plenty of fire in her left -- she lets loose another set of shots, and Yuki just barely escapes with a hit on the hand. (+2 to HW) Then she fires onto Rin, but at the last moment, Rinea jumps in front of Rin to take the hit to the torso...After all those misfires, Rinea finishes her swashbuckling career with a noble sacrifice! (Rinea [REBEL] eliminated, +3 to HW) But will it pay off, is the question...?”

“Nora keeps it up, going for a speedy reload with the intention to let out another rapid-fire set, but she’s just off this time; her shots bounce around the deck, but they’re not hitting anyone! Yuki, on the other hand, has been waiting for a good opening, and when he sees it, he takes it -- firing a shot straight to Nora’s torso! (+3 to REBEL) Just one more hit, and the captain will be down...”

“Rin tries to finish it by loading up and firing as fast as he can, but he’s too hasty! His cannon turns back on him, and blasts him in the torso! So much for a sacrifice, huh...?” (Rin [REBEL] eliminated)

“With just the Captain and First Mate of the teams remaining, they're not hesitating one bit! Nora goes on the full offensive, loading up and shooting cannons left and right in an all-out one-man barrage; unfortunately, they’re not very accurate! Yuki’s busy dodging so he can’t get a good shot onto Nora, but he seems to get a chance as Nora slips up a bit on one cannon’s aim -- he’s preparing to fire at the Captain, but Nora’s cannon beats him to it! Before she can react, it shoots her right in the torso, and the ball bounces off and rolls onto the deck. Unfortunately...a torso hit is a torso hit, and Nora, that was your last one! (Nora [HW] eliminated) Howling Wyverns’ captain is down, and REBELations’ Yuki remains the last one standing!!”

Howling Wyverns: 23 points MVP: Captain Nora REBELations: 30 + 5 = 35 points MVPs: Rebel Rinea, First Mate Yuki

"Well -- that was an intense battle...It really left me on the edge of my seat! REBELations takes the win on this one, earning them third place; but don’t be down, Howling Wyverns! You did well to make it this far, and fourth is plenty too! Good work, everyone -- and take a really good rest this time, alright?”

(( Simulation results can be found under the cut: ))

#Mod Lyn #season segue ;; summer solstice #pirate panic ;; summer solstice

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b1a4seeyou · 5 years

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A-5, B-4, C-3, D-10, E-6, F-8, G-9

Oh me oh my, Anon. I see what you're trying to ask me about. 👀👌

These answers will contain majority of the Tales of Series spoilers and VERY LONG so heads up!

From this ask! :

A-5 - Favorite major antagonists

I couldn't tell who's my favorite main villian but it's either Chronus or Julius (wait, does he count as a villain? Idk but he fought the others anyway xP) Something about their reasoning to stop the team's tracks is kinda... something. Well, Chronus is more to giving the team the "trial" but Julius knowing he'll be part of the fractured piece and trying to stop them from going any further just SADDENS ME. He already knew it might affect to Ludger, thus the bad end, and forcing himself to work under mister greedman, Bisley so Ludger won't get involved is just JWOEBFOCJV. JULIUS DESERVES TO BE HAPPY WITH THE LIFE HE HAS BUT NOOOOOO, THE GAME JUST LIKE TO WRECK OUR HEARTS ;;

B-4 - Favorite parent-child relationships

Okay, I'll be honest here. *INHALES* The Lhant boys and their parents, especially their mom. Yes, the boys ended up separated, Hubert as a step son to.... I forgot his name aksnldkc, and Asbel went to this knights academy. Even tho these two went separate ways, their parents still love them and let them have their own choice. Tho except rebellious Asbel skdjfkcn. Their mom still thinks of them, even after the lost of the father, as if theyre still little baby boys. Mom instincts, man. They still treat them as babies even theyre all grown adults. XD If I'm not mistaken, there's this one cutscene where Hubert and the mom had a little teatime together and talk about how she misses him being inseparable to the big bro and honestly, I giggled and cried at the same time bc it's JUST TOO PURE!!!! We all know he still loves his family even tho he still has the grudge but hey, it's mom and son bonding!! And of course, their father still loves them even tho Hubert is taken away and had a fight with Asbel. He always does. ;; And Asbel repaying him by keeping his kingdom safe and continuing the quest just shows how he tries to prove his father that he'll take the responsibility he left!

C-3 - Favorite worldbuilding

OH, THIS IS INTERESTING!!!!! I'll have to say Xillia one and two's world. The combination of modern and tradition made me happy to see!! Focusing on each region from both games intrigues me to walk around the city and also around nature. uwu. Vesperia's travel to one continent to another is pure genius. I love it~!! Oh!!! Forgot about Berseria/Zestiria's too. Their plain fields and caves are all stunning 👌👌

D-10 - Favorite green place locations

WBPSFJCOVJ HOW CAN I PICK ONE IF THERE'S SO MANY OF THEM XDD. Maybe the majority of Zestiria's fields count cause there all just... green. Jsowlnekfv

E-6 - Favorite event battles

THE KATZ KORNER BATTLE IN ZESTIRIA BECAUSE I CACKLED A LOT WHILE PLAYING. FREAKING LUDGER AND JUDE TURTLEZ. AMAZING 😂😂

F-8 - Favorite character theme song

Ah. I see youre making me emotional over one song uwu. Does Hymm of Proof count?

youtube

G-9 - Favorite school costume

Too broke to get these akandockv

#Asks #Anon #Tales of #Tales of Series #Sobs I'm using mobile so the keep reading link isnt here ;w;#And I think I'm more biased with Xillia KSOSJCKB

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oniusagimaru · 6 years

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[Kresnikcest Fanfiction] - Unknown Territory

Title: Unknown Territory Pairings: Julius/Ludger Author: Oniusagimaru Rating: T Chapter: 1/? Warnings: Ludger being a big ass nerd Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters Summary: Julius just wanted to know what Ludger's hobbies were...he didn't expect to get sucked into them as well. A/N: This is what happens when you detest OreImo but like the idea of one sibling discovering the other is a huge ass anime fan

---

Staring down at the box he’d placed on the kitchen table, Julius knows this one accident has screwed up his entire relationship with his little brother.

The package in the mail had simply been addressed to a ‘Mr. Kresnik’, and Julius had ordered their cat an assortment of toys that was expected to arrive that very week. So of course he opened the inconspicuous brown package without a second thought, and if he could rewind time, he’d punch himself straight in the jaw for being so hasty. What slipped out of the package was a thick, rectangular box wrapped in plastic, and as soon as his eyes landed on the cover, all Julius could do was stare in utter shock.

Across the top was the title ‘Your Sweet Love – Fan Disk – ENGLISH PC VERSION‘, and underneath it was a drawing of a man surrounded by several other men, their hands all over the body of the one in the center. His mind went blank for a good minute, and once he came to his senses he damn near dropped it in a moment of panic. After a quick catch he placed it on the kitchen table, and for a longest time all he could do was stare at from where he sat.

Running his fingers through his hair, Julius knows there’s only two options right now. One, he can put the game back in the parcel, seal it up as best he can, and pretend he’d never touched it in the first place. Or…he could confront his little brother about it and just get the awkward moment over with. Julius really, really wants to go with the former, but his mind screams at him that the latter is the correct way to go. Why? Because as hard as it is to admit, Julius knows NOTHING about Ludger.

Despite growing up together, he couldn’t think of one time when his brother picked up a hobby or expressed an interested in something. Well, except cooking, but that was only because Julius is an absolute disaster in the kitchen. He really didn’t know what his little brother like outside of the basics, and this is a golden opportunity to finally dig a little deeper. Ludger liked…whatever the game is enough to purchase it, so maybe he could get him to talk about it, if only a little.

He jumps upon hearing the door to their apartment open, and all he can do now is swallow hard as he readies himself for what’s to come.

“Sorry I’m late,” he hears Ludger say, “I stopped at the grocery store since they were having a sale. Is lasagna okay for tonight? I know we’ve had pasta two nights in a row already-”

“Hey, um, could you come here for a second?” Julius asks, and he’s really trying his best to hide the nervousness in his voice.

“Sure,” Ludger says before placing the plastic bags he’s holding on the counter.

Clenching his jaw tightly, Julius can hear his heart pounding in his ears which each approaching step Ludger takes. Oh god…he’s really going to do this…wait, can he really do this?

“What’s up-?”

His words are cut off by the strangled sound he makes once he lays eyes on the box on the table. Ludger’s eyes widen, and for a split second his face pales before it’s dyed a shade of bright red that manages to reach the tips of his ears. Julius has never seen him so embarrassed before. Damn, now he doesn’t know what to say, so he watches Ludger fidget in place like a kid that’s in trouble-

Shit…Another wave of panic begins to set in because Ludger thinks he’s done wrong; Julius hasn’t given him a reason to think otherwise, so that’s probably the first thing he should address.

“I’m so sorry, I thought the package was for me since I ordered cat toys for Rollo, that’s why I opened it,” he quickly says, “and um, it’s okay if you like cartoon games, really.”

Seemingly explicit cartoon games he wants to say, but he manages to choke that one back.

“Ah…” Ludger squeaks out, eyes on the floor.

They go silent, and it feels far more awkward than Julius had imagined. He wanted to know what Ludger is interested in, but how does he even start that conversation? ‘Oh hey, tell me more about this weird game’, ‘what are those guys doing?’, ‘it’s porn, right?’…None of those were going to work, and it’d only make him shrink back further. Julius really wishes he’d thought this through a little more, at least enough to get past this silence.

“It’s, um…a dating sim…” he says barely above a whisper.

“Oh…okay. So, you, uh…play a guy that dates other guys?”

Ludger lets out a groan that makes it clear he’s absolutely mortified, and as he covers his face with his hands, Julius feels terrible for making him feel like that. He should stop the conversation now.

“Please just tell me it’s weird, you don’t have to beat around the bush,” he says, voice raising a good two octaves as he does so.

Julius clenches his jaw again before answering.

“Yeah, it’s…it’s weird, Ludger, but…” he lets out a long, shaky breath before continuing, “It’s your thing. I may find it weird, but you’re an adult. And really, I want to know more about the stuff you like…because I feel so out of loop when it comes to your interests. I mean, if you really don’t want to talk about it, I understand.”

Silence falls between them again, but this time it doesn’t feel as heavy as it did before. Ludger slowly begins to drop his hands from his face, but his eyes are still glued to the floor. Julius opens his mouth to say something else, but quickly closes it. He’s said more than enough, so he leaves whatever needs to be said to Ludger.

“…Can we…talk about this another time? J-Just so I have some time to think and make a decision…”

“Yeah, of course.”

The moment he sees Ludger start to relax a bit, Julius begins to do the same. He quickly retreats into the kitchen without another word, so Julius takes this as a hint that the conversation is over.

An entire week goes by, and Ludger seemed to do everything within his power to pretend that their little talk hadn’t happened. The very next day he was all smiles as he went about his daily routine, but as Julius watched him, he couldn’t help but notice Ludger’s slip-ups. The two of them never held eye contact for more than a few seconds before his little brother averted his gaze elsewhere or quickly excuse himself. When not actively fleeing from him, Ludger looked lost in thought, which wouldn’t have been a problem if he wasn’t doing chores while it happened.

He’d ironed through three shirts, burned their dinner twice, and walked right into the wall next to his bedroom door. But when Ludger damn nearly cuts off a finger while preparing a meal, Julius realized he needed to put a stop to things. On his way home from work he was determined to tell Ludger that it was all right, that he didn’t need share anything with him if just thinking about it was causing him so much distress.

Well that was the original plan before Ludger grabbed his wrist as soon as he entered the apartment. Before he could get a single word out, he was quickly dragged to his brother’s room, the door shutting loudly as soon as he entered.

So he just sits on his brother’s bed, watching as he gives him a stern look. Despite the air of seriousness Ludger tries to give off, Julius can see a light dusting of pink on his cheeks. After a few seconds Ludger looks away, but he seems to gather his wits and look back. Now is probably a good time for Julius take a bit of that weight off his brother’s shoulders, but as he opens his mouth to speak, Ludger beats him to it.

“Did…did you mean what you said before…?” he questions, leaning forward a bit as he does so.

“Um, about what-?”

“About being interested in the things I like.”

Without hesitation he tells him that yes, yes he meant what he said, but more importantly he wants Ludger to be comfortable talking to him. Another silence falls, but this time Julius thinks it’s not from awkwardness but from Ludger taking what he said to heart. Julius might’ve been curious, but he would not allow his curiosity to win out at the expense of his little brother’s comfort.

“…I don’t think I’ll ever be totally okay with talking to you about it, I mean…” he averts his gaze, the blush on his face deepening a bit. “You’d be the second real life person I’ve talked to about it, and Nova barely counts since she was already in the know about this stuff.”

Straightening up, Ludger admits that having someone else to ‘rant to’ other than Nova would be nice, though Julius withholds feeling flattered until his brother gives him the okay. After a few seconds Ludger lets out a loud huff, and Julius doesn’t resist as his brother pulls him up by the wrist. They don’t go far; Ludger stops in front of his closet, a place Julius never ventured into so of course it’d be the perfect place to hide whatever. Ludger pushes aside a couple of shirts to get to the back, and he knows exactly what he’s doing.

With both their closets there’s a space for extra storage behind a sliding door in the back, and even though Julius thinks it’s not quite big enough to fit a bunch of stuff, Ludger has clearly made it work for his hobby. His brother gives him a quick look over his shoulder before he begins to open the door, and once Julius has a clear view of what’s inside, he’s dumbstruck.

The first three shelves are lined with what looks like books, and as he scans each row he sees boxes that resemble the one he’d accidently found in the mail. Some of the titles on the spins are in English while others are written in a language he vaguely recognizes; Ludger will probably explain it to him, so he simply moves on. The middle two shelves are occupied by figurines of various sizes, each one striking a different, dynamic pose. He stares at one positioned near the front for a few seconds, and then it dawns on him that he’s seen that character…on the cover of that PC game.

The last shelf holds plush toys of strange animals Julius can’t even begin to identify, though one does vaguely resemble a cat if he squints. Next to the toys are an assortment of keychains; some of them look like miniature versions of the figurines, while others looks like drawing printed on a thin piece of plastic. There’s just so much stuff that in front of him he can’t help but feel overwhelmed, and it’s amazes him that he’s never he caught a glimpse of any of it until last week.

“I like anime and manga…they’re basically Japanese cartoons and comics,” he mutters, blush reaching the tips of his ears again.

Julius doesn’t mean for the ‘huh’ he gives off to sound indifferent, so he clears his throat to give a proper response.

“I see…Wait, so you can understand Japanese?”

“Yeah, I’ve been teaching myself since middle school.”

That’s…impressive. As soon as he tells Ludger how amazed he is, his brother gives him a goofy, lopsided smile, but it disappears as quickly as it appears. He admits that learning a language just to further enjoy his hobby doesn’t seem like that big of an achievement, let alone something worth praising. Julius can’t help but feel taken aback, even if some part of him was expecting a response along those lines. Sometimes he forgets about his brother’s self-esteem issues, and it’s in these moments that Julius knows he needs to flex his big brother muscle.

“No, I mean it, I’m seriously impressed,” he says while placing a hand on Ludger’s shoulder. “I don’t think I’d have the motivation to learn a different language just because, let alone for as long as you’ve been doing it. I’m proud of you.”

Ludger looks skeptical, but as a small smile slowly spreads across his lips, Julius knows he’s taken his words to heart.

Once he relaxes a little more, Ludger goes over everything in his closet, from the comic books called manga and why they’re read backwards, to a brief history of what anime is. As he listens intently, flipping through one of the books as he does so, something catches his eye in the corner of the closet.

“What’s that?” Julius asks while motioning to the unmarked carboard box.

“Oh, that? I just keep my old OTP stuff in there. I mean, I still ship a lot of it, but newer stuff…takes …priority…u-um…”

He has no idea what his brother just said, and as Ludger blushes deeply while covering his face, Julius has a feeling this is going to be a long process…

#kresnikcest #fanfiction

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