#chatshipping

[yuusaris]

@rochelle-echidna showed up in the thief king bakura tag cuz I follow it, doing a "post a couple paragraphs of your WIP" share-a-thon thing and said anyone who sees it could do it and I saw it and I wanna do it, I wanna I wanna I wannaaaaa!!!!!

tagging @millenniumringg, @justapalspal @nightingalejune and @ladymdc and anyone else who just wanna wanna wanna like meeeeeee

I'm obvs gunna do a few of these, obviously. I have too many WIP's not to share. I'm gunna do my lmk ones first, then the ygo's and I'll end on a very delayed WIP for rvb, mmkay? mmkay.

--[Unnamed]--

(Context: My last dump was to make way for this - a whole new plot and direction for a fic whose name doesn't suit it right now and is thus unrtitled - the idea is... well, honestly, this is almost all of the first chapter, so, it'll speak for itself.)

“Like a…bri-- a- a wife?” Macaque’s brow furrows. “You want to get married? You.”

“What’s that tone? I could get married if I want!” Wukong spits. “If I even want a queen - I mean, it’s not like we even need one.”

“Then why are you thinking about it?”

Wukong groans, “Well, everyone else’s got one!” and deflates at his status - the odd-king-out. “Bull’s totally gunna marry Jade Face, Peng and Tusk are saddled up, King of Confusion’s just got that new thing on his arm, even White Snake snagged herself some human to mack on-- Not that it matters!” Wukong defends - no, declares, because it is a fact. “Cuz I don’t need one just cuz everyone else is doing it, just - why’s everyone dipping on party time because of some spouse, what’s so important about them? Am I missing something here?”

“If you have to ask, you’re probably not ready for that kind of relationship--”

“Relationship, shmelationship, what’s that gotta do with anything?!” Wukong, just as he finishes, decides he doesn’t like the look on Macaque’s face either. “Y’know, for my right hand man, you’re not bein’ too helpful right now.”

--[Almost And Enough]---

(Context: My S4 Wukong In The Broken Scroll fic I've been working on sinceeeeee fffffuck, whenever it was S4 came out. I've been working on this all year and Chapter 1 IS done, but I want to finish the fic before I post. Either way, we've got a Wukong - currently not Wukong and therefore Monkey -deciding to share his Secret, that being, he's going to leave to find immortality. And he picks a very particular person to share it with first...) The Macaque looks to the sky, the trees, the fruits - as long as it’s not as his King. “The others should know.” Is his only, halting, response.

Monkey shrugs, shoulders hiking then rolling back in a way he hopes is cool. “I wanted to tell you first.”

“Why?” The Macaque asks with a dismissal that’s purely performative. “We’re not close just because we’re part of the same troop - We’re almost strangers, we’ve never even talked.”

Lies are sort of like secrets--

“You should tell the other mountain troops to merge with ours.” Monkey had suggested. “It makes no sense for us to hoard the cave when there’s others who need the shelter too!”

“I can do that,” replied the monkey, a macaque with three round ears to each side of his head. His face was a wild splatter of red with exciting flares, more extravagant than the smooth curves of Monkey’s peach-pink patch. “You’re King now, so...”

--but much less fun.

“Well, ‘almost’ isn't a stranger, is it?” Monkey grins when he finds a stick in the ground - almost a branch but just shy of earning the title. Absently, he answers as he slings it over one shoulder, “Besiiiides, us not talking is as much on me as it is you so, this is me breaking the ice and you being forgiven for not trying.”

--[My Poltergeist Is Dead And Everything Is Worse Now]--

(Context: a trauma-release fic I've been writing while mourning my cat. Weirdly took on life with sections named after bits of Bojack's eulogy for his mother. It's a funeral, taking place within the Milleniaum...Cube? Cube. Plana Cube, after Ryou got ousted from the movie by the Cube. If Joey went to a place no one remembers him, Ryou went to a surrealist funeral, where he'll be around all the people he lost, with a big focus on the Spirit of the Ring. His family is written in past tense because they have passed away and this cannot be undone or forgotten)

He sits at the pew, next to his mother, with his sister crawling into his lap. The Spirit sits behind him, and toys with Ryou’s hair, drawn back as respectably as a boy with long hair can manage. Ryou shakes his head to shake the hand off, but only succeeds in garnering Amane’s infant hands instead. 

“It doesn’t make sense, him being gone.”

Ryou listens to her speak, his eyes on the casket.

“It doesn’t feel real.”

Ryou looks to his side. His mother’s head was bowed, not looking at the coffin. Her stiff body and closed eyes unnerve him from her seat. In a rhythm, she took one long breath, exhaling, and each after became smaller and smaller. In a moment, she didn’t seem to breathe at all - Ryou checks for her chest to rise wide again, and ends up staring instead.

“Did you love him?” Ryou asks her, a thing that’s haunted him just beneath his foundations.

A glassy eye was open, pointed in Ryou’s direction. The answer took longer than Ryou was comfortable with, and the answer itself had been no sweeter.

“Do you?”

--[Love, The Me That's Killing You]--

(Context: Ryou has discovered Bakura's got Hanahaki disease and it's killing them both as they share a body. So he's trying to figure out who is it Bakura could possibly be in love with. Despite efforts to dissuade him, Bakura eventually concedes to the search, rushing Ryou past pictures of the Battle City finals until--)

“That one!” Bakura points. To a young girl with cinnamon brown hair.

“Jounouchi-kun’s sister?” Ryou asks, dreadingly, as Bakura nods, furiously. “...She’s… thirteen.”

There’s a choking sound. “Not… not that one, then.” Bakura rasps. “The other one, there was another one, still had the hair and the - there! Yes, her!” He points, it’s Isis. Ryou’s confused.

“But you just said-”

“I made a mistake, am I allowed to make mistakes?”

“About someone you love,” Ryou gestures to the petal pile, “this much?”

“It was - dark,” Bakura stutters. He stuttered. “And windy, and there was - we were in a lot of pain, Landlord…” Bakura’s brushing it all off.

“You’re dying over someone you just mistook for someone else?”

“Well, it’s not like I spent a lot of time with her, is it?!” Bakura barks. 

“Then what could you possibly love about her?!”

“That… is…!” Bakura stops, sputtering, “That is exactly it! She doesn’t speak to me unnecessarily, just how I like it! She knows her place, unlike a certain someone!” 

“Seen and not heard, is she?” Ryou gags, of his own reflexes, in disgust at the slime-coated sentiment. With a choke, Bakura balks, mumbling about Ryou understanding when he’s older.

--[3 Reasons Why (I Never Told You I Was Playmaker)]--

(Context: I love VRAINS. I love Chatshipping. I will write the Chatshipping somehow.)

“You don’t gotta tell me all that,” Shima says - as if it’s so simple to say even this! “Just say you don’t wanna talk about it.”

“You would have complained that I was keeping something from you,” Yusaku replies, without looking. “You would have felt hurt, gotten upset and run off.”

“I’m never upset with you!” Shima’s shocked, somehow. Yusaku only glances at him, brows stitched in dulled disbelief. “Well.. not for more than an hour, at least!”

‘Not for more than an hour’. Typical Shima.

“And," he continues, pointedly, "I wasn’t upset you ‘got secrets’,” Shima looks out, as if looking for where Yusaku’s eyes had just been. “You act like I’m too stupid to understand stuff.”

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” Yusaku’s quick to deny. Something about what Shima said twists a knot in his chest. “I think you’re overexcitable and you don’t always think things through, and-”

“Sounds like a stupid guy to me,” Shima interrupts with a frown. 

Yusaku’s mouth is stuck open from that, having no course correction for that comment.

Shima, not Typical Shima, stands up. He’s not looking at Yusaku. His fists go into his pockets.

“Whatever,” He shrugs. “See you at school.”

With too straight a gait, Shima walks with a tremble. It quickly gives way into a bursting sprint once he can’t hold it back. And Yusaku is the coward who doesn’t stop him.

--[Wedding Soup (Chapter 2)]--

(Context: after a sleepless night and wrestless workday, Ryou's sunset afternoon ends with many... many tsuchinoko in the backyard. They are notorious liars, known for their penchant for drinking and a deadly bite.)

“And I didn’t even get a chance to answer, the cashier just went,” Ryou pauses, as another dizzy spell hits him. “ ‘Cash or Card’.” With an offended sniff, he takes another long drink of tea - black and intense and brewed with double the teaspoons to make sure it keeps him awake. Ryou sets the mug down with a huff. “As if I’m doing something burdensome by personally restoring a cultural landmark.” 

“This is a nice trap,” One of the tsuchinoko says from the writhing ball. 

“It was certainly the nicest there,” Ryou says. “Not too painful, is it?”

“Agonizing!”

“Oh good, you wouldn’t believe how awful the others looked.” At the corner of his eye, Ryou spies another one slithering towards a covered trap. If the others are aware, they’re just as keen to warn it as Ryou is. “I even looked some up before I went out -  for every humane trap I found in that place, there were ten more glue traps.”

“Sounds fun!”

“I know. I swear, the heartlessness of some people--”

A snap, a yelp, then the frantic rattling of metal as the tsuchinoko flings itself across the trap cage. Ryou dons his thick gloves again, getting up from his spot on the back porch. “Here, here,” he says softly. One hand holds the snake firmly by the back of its tiny head, the other taking the flat bottom of the small cage. He lifts it from the ground, quickly shifts it to the larger tank, and tilts it before opening the flap. 

“In you go.”

--[Gore Couture]--

“Just last week, residents of rural Blood Gulch reported screaming around 2 AM. Police responded within minutes of the third report, but were only able to narrow down the location an hour after arriving on the scene. When officers arrived, they found no body, but confirmed the presence of human blood and organ tissue.”

“Can this schmuck emphasize any more words?” Isaac leaned against the break room counter, watching up at the screen.

“This isn’t a gossip channel,” Mason Wu’s stressed tone signaled agreement. “Someone’s missing at least a liter of blood.”

The television at the station at least showed part of his work on the news, a brief interior look into the storage cubicle. Without the corpse in the arranged outline, there were only blood splatters, disarrayed furniture and a signature - Gore Couture by Felíx.

Maybe the accent on the ‘i’ was a bit much.

“A liter?” Isaac gaped. “Ho-o-oly shit.”

“You’re a damn sociopath,” Wu whipped back to glare. “You do know you’re on thin ice for being a no-show that night--”

“I told you already,” Isaac shrugged. His coffee sloshed dangerously close to the rim of his mug. “I was with somebody.” It wasn’t a lie - Isaac was with abody.

[merryfortune]

Three Months (and he was ready)

Written for @ygorarepairweek

Prompts: Hanahaki | Stargazing | Childhood

Title: Three Months (and he was ready)

Ship: Chatshipping | Naoki/Yusaku

Series: Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains

Rating: T

Word Count: 1,317

Tags: Post-Canon, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Childhood Trauma, Meeting the Family, Secret Identities, Swearing, Shovel Talk

   Three months.

   That is how long Yusaku gave himself before he decided if he was ready or not. If he wasn’t, then he figured that he was never going to be ready and if he was never going to be ready, then it was best not to bother anymore. He would break up with Naoki. It would hurt but it would hurt more if they kept hurtling towards an inevitability that Naoki was completely oblivious to.

   But here’s the thing.

   Yusaku was ready. He wanted Naoki to know. Everything. Absolutely everything there was to know about him. That terrified Yusaku but he was ready so it was best for Naoki to know.

   It was such a weird thing.

   Yusaku didn’t think anybody could have picked it. He certainly hadn’t expected it, to not only gain a crush on the most obnoxious geek boy in school but have it requited but that’s just how the school days unfolded. Naoki had been really worried about Yusaku going MIA and was glad that he was back. They were in different years and classes now but they were still friends.

   Yusaku didn’t even realise they had been friends prior but he decided, for Ai’s sake, he wanted to try having this whole friend thing. Turns out, he really liked it. Especially when they had no connection to the Lost Incident and everything surrounding that like Naoki.

   He was just so refreshingly normal. The quirks which once bugged Yusaku about Naoki - like how loud he was and how expressive about his interests he were and how self assured he was - became qualities that Yusaku admired. So, he put in effort and soon enough, effort became effortless and a crush formed.

   It was part of the normal high school experience, wasn’t it? To have a go at dating under the nose of the teachers so Yusaku shot his shot. He wasn’t expecting much of it. Naoki had a very blatant crush on Playmaker, someone whom he did not realise was one and the same with his friend and schoolmate Fujiki Yusaku, and kind of a crush on Aoi as well as her persona as Blue Angel but… Naoki responded.

   “Yeah, sure, sounds cool.” 

   Naoki’s response couldn’t have been more blase but it sent Yusaku over the moon. It was that casualness that he really liked about Naoki. But it couldn’t be casual hang outs forever. Yusaku knew that much.

   So it was time. He had to know.

   “Oh, wow, you look… deathly serious.” Naoki commented as he sat down with Yusaku on the park bench.

   Yusaku’s head hung low, he held his own hands, in the middle of a suitable manspread. He looked miserable.

   “When you said you wanted to talk, I was a li’l worried but now I'm like, way worried.” Naoki rambled.

   “I have something I want to tell you.” Yusaku announced and he began to raise his head a little higher.

   “Dude, you're scaring me. You’re not… breaking up with me, are you?”

   Yusaku laughed cynically as he stared off into the distance, into the cityscape beyond the park, “Surprisingly? No. I thought about it, though.”

   “Oh.” Naoki made a small noise.

   “I want to tell you something really important about who I am.” Yusaku said.

   He fidgeted, moved slightly. Curled in towards Naoki and Naoki was struck by how terrified Yusaku looked. His green eyes were shiny with tears that he was fighting back, his lower lip quivered and his chin pruned.

   “Naoki,” he said, “I was kidnapped as a child.”

   “What the fuck…” Naoki’s jaw dropped.

   “And it doesn’t stop there. I was kidnapped and held in captivity for six months where I was forced to duel for my food. If I won, I ate. If I lost, not only did I not eat, I was electrocuted.” Yusaku confessed.

   “Bro, what the fuck?” That was all Naoki seemed capable of saying right now as his face was a mixture of disbelief and disgust. Not aimed at Yusaku, Yusaku knew, but as his captors. 

   “The reason I was taken was because I… I made friends with the wrong boy. The son of the scientist in charge. It wasn’t his fault and he is still very important to me, even if… even if he is…” Yusaku changed his mind. It wasn’t his place to spill Ryoken’s secrets, only his own. “It doesn’t matter who he is. What matters is that he is still a friend of mine and the reason his Father took me, and five other children, was to make these…”

   Yusaku lifted his wrist up to Naoki and… tada.

   “Hello Brave Max!” 

   Ai’s cheery voice was in total opposition to the mood and the revelations were now dropping left, right, and centre. Naoki’s already dropped jaw was now basically on the ground. He was Playmaker’s biggest fanboy, he was at least a little aware of what this black-and-purple little jellybean was. He knew what this meant.

   Fujiki Yusaku and Playmaker. After all this time and all this mouthing off, they were one and the same, Naoki put together. Yusaku could practically see the connection being made in the lights of his eyes.

   “This is Ai. He is the only family I have. No one ever came forward to claim me after the Incident concluded. Ai is an artificial intelligence with free will.”

   “You better take good care of my Yusaku.” Ai sneered, arms folded in front of him. “Or you will be in big trouble, buster.”

   “It… It would mean a lot to me if you knew this.” Yusaku said, shaky, teary. “I wanted you to know. I realise it's a lot.”

   “Yeah, it is a lot.” Naoki dumbfoundedly agreed.

   “But it's okay, right?” Ai asked, leaning up, his body turning into purple string cheese as he tried to get up into Naoki’s grille.

   “Uh, yeah, it’s okay.” Naoki said. “You can’t change the past and I do not have the fancy-schmancy vocabulary to, like, accurately talk about the magnitude of fucked-upness this whole thing has but dude. You are like. So brave, so strong, and I;ll be brave and strong, too. ‘Cause Playmaker can’t be cool all the time.” he rubbed under his nose.

   Now it was Yusaku’s turn to be dumbfounded. His mouth agape as he processed Naoki’s reply. When it finally computed, he laughed the teeniest-tiniest laugh that impressed both Naoki and Ai. He shouldn’t have expected anything else from his boyfriend, bombastic weirdo extraordinaire! He couldn’t have been luckier to have someone like Naoki to call his.

   Yusaku’s heart swelled, “Thanks, Naoki. I appreciate it.” The tears that he had been holding back began to stream down the side of his face.

   Naoki scooted in closer along the wooden plank of the park bench. He leaned in and he smiled a small smile, he wiped tears from Yusaku’s eyes.

   “Hey, man, thanks for telling me. I know I've got a big mouth but I promise, if this is the sort of thing you want to keep on the DL, I’ll keep it on the DL.” Naoki quietly said.

   “Thanks, Naoki.” Yusaku said again, all choked up this time, however.

   Ai popped up a little bit taller. He leaned into Yusaku and Naoki reached across, to half-hug Yusaku and get Ai in the mix.

   “It’s good to properly meet you now, little dude.” Naoki added as a whisper.

   “Yeah, same.” Ai murmured.

   Yusaku smiled. His heart raced but it didn’t hammer him like his anxiety or panic attacks or any other number of conditions he had leftover from the Incident, it just raced in a comfortable way. He was exhilarated from being vulnerable, from telling Naoki the truth and seeing his two most important people get along. That really, truly did mean the world to him. 

   He was glad that he had worked up the courage to tell Naoki these important things about him.

[tepperzart]

CHATSHIPPING CHATSHIPPING CHATSHIPPING CHATSHIPPING

i love them, thank you for @yuusaris for loving them with me

[naoki-shima]

I HAVE SAVED PLAYMAKER FROM EVIL HANOI!!1 (very evil)

[umbrellanest]

There should be a week all about Chatshipping

👀

would... people be interested in that

[checkurselfb4umachuwreckurself]

I agree with the Chat thing... write it...

*cries into the birthday hat* check can do that

Naoki spent a lot of time watching. Either the clock, the teacher’s presentation, or Fujuki. He obviously didn’t spend enough time doing, since time drawled on, he wasn’t doing perfect in school and- well… it’s not like he was going to “do” Fujuki…

“If something’s on my face, I don’t care.” Yuusaku said abruptly, snapping Naoki out of his thoughts. He watched as he brushed his face lightly, stood up, and walked away. That’s right… class was over. Neither of them were the first to leave or first to show up, they had that much in common.

“Fujuki!” Naoki called, getting approximately 00.02% of his attention. “Don’t forget Duel Club is after school!”

Yuusaku looked at his Disc, could almost make out someone talking before he interrupted it. “I can’t make it today. Please tell Hosodamy apologies.” With that, he hurried out.

Naoki huffed. Why was he always so secretive? At least he didn’t feel the need to give him three reasons why he had to skip. It was always such overkill.

Duel Club was fairly busy, talking about setting up a tournament for the school festival. There were seven of them, so if they even got one other person they could set up an 8 bracket. Of course that would require Yuusaku or Aoi to show up for once…

Naoki sneaked glances at his tablet, checking for news about Playmaker or Blue Angel. He found a video of a Playmaker duel that was only a few minutes after school was over. He was sure to bookmark it to watch later.

…

Hosoda was staring at him.

“Something more important than the festival?” Hosoda asked, with a bored expression. He was always ready to chew Naoki out for not paying attention… or showing up late… or talking too loud…

Naoki laughed, running his hand through his hair. “Playmaker dueled again?”

Tanaka sighed. “I don’t understand your obsession with him.”

Naoki’s eyes lit up with vigor. “He’s so cool! So mysterious and calm under pressure! You know I met him and-”

“He entrusted Cyberse Wizard with you” the whole club said simultaneously.

Naoki poked his fingers together sheepishly. “I guess I told that story before.” the whole club nodded, and went back to planning. Just coming up with silly banners and deciding between play mats. An idea popped into Naoki’s head. “Maybe we could all cosplay as our Vrains avatars!”

Suzuki rolled his eyes. “You just want to dress up as “Lonely Brave”.”

Before Naoki could correct him the president cut in. “It’s not a bad idea. Could you run the idea by Zaizen and Fujuki if you see them?”

Naoki nodded. He’d probably see him by the hot dog cart. He tried to think about what kind of avatar Yuusaku had. Probably something really generic- nothing fancy like him or Playmaker.

The club adjourned and Naoki headed off to the main square, almost too impatient to wait to watch the Playmaker duel. He sighed dreamily. If only he could convince Playmaker to duel him- or duel with him in a tag battle.

As he got to the square, he told himself he wouldn’t let Yuusaku not show up to the festival- and he would definitely help him make his costume, because he couldn’t possibly wait until then to see his avatar. He nodded to himself. Playmaker believed in him, and he believed in Yuusaku, so that was just like if Playmaker believed in Yuusaku directly. Twice that even!

He grinned, spotting the cotton candy colour haired boy in the food truck, and rushed over. What was the point of being Brave Max if he couldn’t share that bravery?

[autismgirl4998]

Here is a pairing list with the ships of Yusaku Fujiki/Playmaker NOTP: Chatshipping (I didn't add a picture of Shima in it because I didn't feel like it) I Don't Ship Him With: Angelmakershipping I Ship Him With: Moonlightshipping and Datastormshipping OTP: Aiballshipping Just Friends: Takeru Homura BROTP: Shoichi Kusanagi

[elemental-daddy-neos]

Yesterday my Vrains video got reblogged and tagged with chatshipping, and I had to look up the ship name to learn it was Yusaku/Shima

Wasn't the intent behind the video, it was really just me going "Look how fucking gay Shima is", but you know, I'm not bothered by the tag

I don't actively ship them right now, it really just reads as a one sided hero crush Shima has on one of his idols, but I'm definitely not like. Against it as a pair. I just think Shima deserves a #1 Playmaker fan shirt and maybe an autograph from his hero.

[yuusaris]

Person: Wait.... you're married to him? **points to Yusaku**

Shima: You bet, Yusaku is amazing, he's a great duelist and handsome and honest and he listens to me do you wanna see our pet robots he's so good with them-

---

Person: Wait.... you're married to him? **points to Shima**

Yusaku: Yes, I am.

Person: ....isn't he kinda dum-

Yusaku: I would kill and die for him.

[merryfortune]

Help yourself to seconds (and thirds)

Written for the 100ships Challenge on Dreamwidth

Prompt #65 Spice

Ship: Chatshipping | Naoki/Yusaku

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains

Word Count: 2,057

Rating: T

Warnings: No Warnings Apply

Tags: Post Canon, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Panic Attacks, Food as a Love Language, Meeting the Parents, Found Family (?)

  Yusaku stood in the doorway awkwardly. He wanted to muster a smile, he really did, but meeting new people was not exactly his strongest point. Luckily, he had Naoki next to him and he was a lot better at that, being a social butterfly and all that. Not to mention, it was Naoki’s parents that Yusaku was meeting.

   With a hand gesture for a flourish, Naoki spoke up to the entire floor of the apartment complex, probably: “Mom, Dad, this is Yusaku.” he said at the top of his lungs.

   “Hi.” Yusaku waved his hand and spoke in a very, very tiny voice. He could feel his knees knock.

   “Oh, honey, Naoki’s brought his classmate over!” Naoki’s Mother cried out from the kitchen and began to shuffle over in her fluffy slippers.

   “Mom!” Naoki groaned. “I told you, Yusaku is my boyfriend. I’m a bi king, remember?”

   His Mother, Yusaku noticed, was quite short and quite stout as well. She also had Naoki’s nose - er, no, other way around. Naoki had her nose. Upturned at the front and was kind of chunky looking. She had flushed, rosy cheeks and cat’s eyes glasses as well as the biggest grin. 

   She came over closer to fuss with Naoki, pinching his cheek, “Yes, yes, I know but you’ll always be my little princey-pooh.”

   “Moooom,” Naoki groaned, blushing, embarrassed, “you're embarrassing me in front of my boyfriend.”

   Finally, Yusaku began to relax and even let the corners of his lips curve into the tiniest smile, “I think it's sweet.” he admitted.

   She then turned her head to size up Yusaku. He felt incredibly studied under her gaze as she tried to determine whether or not he was eligible to date her only son. Yusaku was all but sweating bullets until her gaze softened, became maternal even unto him.

   “It's good to finally meet you.” Naoki’s Mother said, addressing Yusaku and reaching out to him, holding his hands. “You seem like a very nice boy, I’m sure.”

   “Thank you, Shima-san.” Yusaku replied shyly, but his heart just jumped a million steps.

   “Let’s get you inside, supper’s almost ready. And you should meet Naoki’s Father as well.” she said, fussing, she very much had her own tempo and appeared to expect that everyone else to match it.

   Yusaku slipped his shoes off and wandered more into Naoki’s apartment, crossing the threshold. The entire place smelt of home-cooked food, specifically curry that was warm and made him salivate. It was a very normal-looking apartment, too. The walls were coloured cream without so much as a chip in the paint, let alone entire cracks. The floors were hardwood and marked with colourful rugs. The set-up was cosy and situated perfectly for a tight-knit family of three.

   Naoki’s Father had been watching the news and Naoki raced up to him, plopping his hands on the back of the lounge, “How’re the ponies goin’, Dad?” he asked.

   “We’ll make a few bucks yet, lad.” his Father affectionately replied.

   Naoki’s Mother shook her head, “They never learn but it is exciting, nonetheless. They’re very tuned into the news, you know.” she explained.

   Yusaku smiled. He wondered if Naoki’s fanboy-ism for the Link VRAINS had gotten its start from mimicking his father watching the news as boy before finally sinking into his own hobbies to obsess over. Yusaku could all too easily imagine an elementary school Naoki sitting his father’s lap, watching the news, getting all the adult jargon explained to him and then regurgitating it all to his classmates the next day.

   “Also, Yusaku’s here for dinner.” Naoki added to his Father.

   “Oh! Oh, um, yes that was tonight.” his Father said.

   “I was just trying to tell you that.” his Mother lamented.

   Naoki’s Father got up from the lounge and laughed sheepishly, “Couldn’t hear you over the TV, sorry.”

   Naoki’s Mother rolled her eyes and Yusaku bit his tongue. The rapport and banter he could see in front of - and was a stranger to - was very fond and playful. He envied it. He… He wanted to be apart of it but that was selfish. He was just Naoki’s boyfriend and whilst meeting the parents was a huge milestone, aiming that high this soon felt too ambitious for him.

   Interrupting his bittersweet reverie, Naoki’s Father walked up to Yusaku and bowed in front of him, spurring him to imitate on impulse. Then, Naoki’s Father offered his hand to shake and Yusaku returned that gesture as well. He tried to have a firm grip, he didn’t want to leave a limp impression and judging by Naoki’s Father’s approving grin, he did well.

   “It's good to meet you, boy.” he said.

   “Likewise.” Yusaku replied.

   Naoki’s Father had a brilliant smile. It was wide and wonky and looked good on him. He wasn’t much shorter than Naoki as well, making Yusaku feel extraordinarily tall around the three of them. His hair was also a darker shade than Naoki’s, Yusaku noticed. They really did look like three peas in a pod, to be expected of them, he supposed.

   “Naoki, why don’t you be a dear and set the table? I’m almost done in the kitchen.” his Mother called out after checking up on the pots and pans that she had simmering. Then, she turned her head to Yusaku, as though she had just forgotten something dire. “Oh, Yusaku, honey, how spicy do you like your curry? We have it very hot, did you know Naoki’s Father and I honeymooned in India. We can’t get enough of authentic curries nowadays because of it.”

   “That sounds really exciting.” Yusaku replied. “But, um, I’m not a picky eater.” he assured her. He swallowed the rising feeling of how he had never been given the option of being a picky eater.

   “Good to know.” Naoki’s Mother beamed, nodding her head as she rounded the half-wall. She patted Yusaku’s shoulder when she arrived beside him, “Now why don’t you sit down and get comfortable? Put your feet up, you're our guest. Do you need anything? Something to drink? I can heat up some naan bread to nibble on if you want entre.” 

   “I’m alright, thank you, Shima-san.” Yusaku replied.

   “Oh, please,” she playfully smacked his shoulder, “you are seeing my son, please, call me “Mom” or “Oka-san”, whatever floats your boat.” she insisted.

   Yusaku blushed and he couldn’t even start to stutter out a reply so he just nodded his head then sat himself down at the dining table. He watched as Naoki flitted about, placing down cutlery and napkins, giving Yusaku a cheesy smile as he rounded the bend of the table to set down a combination especially for Yusaku. It did flatter Yusaku, making his heart skip a beat and when Naoki finished, he sat down across from Yusaku and held out his hand.

   Yusaku smiled and he placed his own hand on the table, letting Naoki hold it. Their fingers threaded together and it was very romantic for all the six seconds allowed because soon enough, Naoki’s Mother brought down pots of rice and curry, plates of naan bread. It was a verifiable feast with three different styles of everything, Yusaku could swear. 

   Just looking over the table now laden and burgeoning with food, he could feel his stomach swell in anticipation of what his eyes thought he could eat. His mouth watered and Naoki’s Mother noticed. She giggled impishly, sitting down next to him and Naoki’s Father sat at the head of the table.

   “Like what you see?” Naoki’s Mother whispered to Yusaku as a joke.

   “Y-Yeah.” Yusaku breathlessly replied.

   “Then let’s dig in.” Naoki excitedly said. “Thank you for the food.”

   “Thank you for the food.” Yusaku and Naoki’s parents chorused back to him and then it was a jovial feeding frenzy.

   Yusaku just watched as Naoki and his parents shared the bowls between them, ladling out helpings of food and when Yusaku hadn’t even budged an inch, Naoki’s Mother was sure to help him out. She piled up the rise and curry on his plate and he just stared. He admired how thick and rich the sauce was, the various cubes of hand cut meat and luxurious looking vegetables scattered through it.

   Yusaku then, finally, at long last, picked up his spoon. He had a small nibble and it was immediately the best curry - no, the best anything, sorry Kusanagi - that he had ever eaten. Period. The beef curry that he had sampled was utterly opulent, the sauce was succulent and the beef was tender. The sauce was so spicy that Yusaku couldn’t tell if his eyes were watering and his nose was running because of it or because of this dinnertime atmosphere. He had never experienced anything like it before and apparently, given the cravings he was having, it was everything that he had ever wanted.

   He swallowed and wiped his nose on the back of his sleeve. He felt embarrassed, being rude, but he couldn’t help himself. The fun, innocent tears of eating food that was too hot and spicy gave way to everything that had made him anxious about dating Naoki, meeting his parents, being here at all.

   Yusaku sobbed at the dinner table, stopping everyone in their chatter and tracks. He just bawled and no one quite knew what to do. He hated that he was being stared but years of envy and pittance had bubbled to the surface, because of a meal, of all things, and just weren’t stopping.

   “A-Are you okay, Yusaku?” Naoki’s Mother asked and gingerly, she reached out and put her arm over his shoulders, giving him a half embrace from the side.

   Yusaku choked down a sob and tried to look up, he saw Naoki who looked beside himself with concern.

   “Naoki,” Yusaku said, “y-you're really lucky to have all this. Thank you for sharing it with me. I-I’m just…”

   “Is this about the… thing?” Naoki asked.

   Yusaku nodded. He hadn’t told Naoki everything yet. Just that he had been kidnapped as a child and that it has seriously messed him up ever since. He hadn’t told him about being Playmaker or even about Ai but Yusaku did want to tell him more but… Look at what he had. It was wonderful. Two parents, a warm, loving home, a regular school life, decent grades. Yusaku didn’t want to burden him and yet, being around him and even his folks, Yusaku could feel himself lighten up with respite for once in his life. 

   “I-I’m sorry for…” Yusaku murmured as he got over the last bumps of his bawling. “It just… I’ve never had a family before and you guys made me feel very welcome.” He could feel hot tears rise again, right behind his eyes but they were overflowing with gratitude.

   “It's okay, oh you poor sweet possum.” Naoki’s Mother murmured, stroking his back to soothe him.

   “We may not know what you’ve gone through but you seem very strong to have taken it on at your age. It's okay to cry, it's not weak, if that’s what you're worried about. Its good to let it out when its too much.” Naoki’s Father added on with words of kindness.

   “Thank you.” Yusaku hazarded a meagre smile.

   “And if you ever need anything, anything at all, you’ve got me. Promise.” Naoki smiled.

   “I know. It means a lot.” Yusaku replied.

   Naoki’s Mother smiled a small smile, “Feeling better now?” she asked.

   “Yes.” Yusaku replied and though his hands were trembling, he picked up his spoon and he ate more with joy. “It's very delicious, Oka-san.”

   Naoki’s Mother beamed with pride, “And there’s plenty of it, so don’t be shy. Look at how skinny you are! Let’s put some meat on the bones. C’mon now, help yourself to seconds, if you want them.”

   “Yes, please, and I hope to go for thirds, as well.” Yusaku uncharacteristically joked with them but it more than amused Naoki across from him.

   “That’s the spirit. What’s mine is yours around here, Yusaku.” Naoki encouraged him.

   “Thank you.” Yusaku replied, his voice a little wobbly but with his outburst gently put aside and he was absorbed more into that wonderful dynamic that Naoki and his family had. Truly, Yusaku thought to himself as he continued eating, there was nothing more precious nor a higher honour than being Shima Naoki’s boyfriend.

[yuusaris]

BEAN DREW MY SHIP, BEEB DREW MY SHIP AAAAAHHHH

Not enough Chatshipping, bean has given me a CHALICE FROM WHICH TO DRINK

CHATSHIPPING CHATSHIPPING CHATSHIPPING CHATSHIPPING

i love them, thank you for @yuusaris for loving them with me

[naoki-shima]

ME AND MY HUSBAND ON DATE ! (HE WAS BLUSHING!1!)(very)(EXTREMELY)

[incorrect-vrains-quotes]

Do you have a headcanon of chatshipping?

I might have a couple of jumbled thoughts

Naoki never learns Yusaku is Playmaker but its not for lack of trying. Yusaku has told him multiple times but due to increasingly terrible contrivance and coincidence, the wrong thing comes out or Naoki gets distracted or there’s a truck horn

I’m a sucker for the Naoki flirting over the counter with Yusaku trope; that’s adorable to me

Yusaku actually feels undeserving of Naoki since he’s just such a warm and normal person, like he’s middle class and Yusaku’s just above scraping the poverty line and he doesn’t seem himself as a ‘hero’ but closer to ‘fugitive’ or just the right person for the right time in connection to all the missions and stuff in the Link VRAINS

I think Naoki brings him home as ‘mum, dad, meet the bf’ type thing and his parents fawn over him because Yusaku seems like this quiet, studious guy but Yusaku panics and probably flakes half way through it due to the above reasons

But he does come good eventually but he deals with all these cycles of self-worth issues first because good god, he is jealous of what Naoki has but eventually, the Shima parents come to feel like his own :’)

Yusaku genuinely craves normalcy and he loves how normal it is to be with Naoki. Like, literally every other person he cares about, is one way or another tied in with his trauma and stuff, it’s just nice to have a reprieve from all that. to have someone he’s not tied with by destiny or whatever so he really enjoys Naoki’s company

Meanwhile, Naoki seems Yusaku only in the most golden of lights - with or without ever learning that the hero of the Link VRAINS is his goddamn boyfriend

Whenever Yusaku smiles for him, his heart stops and he’s just overcome with Love and it’s good and great. Like, Naoki jokes that hell must be frozen over if Yusaku smiles but goddamnit, he was the one who made Yusaku happy and smiley and he’s gonna take pride in it, even though it embarassed the heck out of Yusaku but just makes it all the more worth it

so yeah. Chatshipping huh

- Mod Playmaker

[umbrellanest]

I drew Chatshipping for the first time

I’M VERY PROUD OF YOU

[checkurselfb4umachuwreckurself]

Shima: -we just might move in together

Ai: oh my god they were roommates

Yuusaku: shh

[pendulumprince]

Hey so uh,,, after seeing the new episode, did you zero in on the precise moment that Yusaku warned Naoki about the Another incidents? Because im so proud of my boy taking his first steps in trying to make friends. Maybe this shows he was somewhat shaken by Akiras words about having his own life and his own friends? In any case, im glad Yusaku has at least some sort of value in Naoki that he warns him about the danger

And by “new episode” you mean episode 22, because as is typical I am Late Like a Dog lmao

Anyway, that moment was golden. It revived my lowkey chatshipping heart (and you know that shit went into overdrive in episode 27, what with all of Lonely Brave’s Gay Fantasies™). I think Yusaku and Naoki’s friendship is gonna be a slow burn; how deep it’ll get depends on whether Naoki/Brave Max continues to get involved in Plot Shenanigans.

But you do bring up an interesting idea, which is Yusaku taking Akira’s words to heart. We know Yusaku doesn’t think much of him rn, and that Akira said what he said in part because he doesn’t quite understand Yusaku’s PTSD. But in a way, he was right: learning the truth will give him closure, but what happens after that? Revenge isn’t going to satisfy him in the long run, and may actually lead to his ruin (as seen at the end of episode 31, where he would’ve been crushed by the falling debris had Ai not forced him to log out). So it wouldn’t hurt to take these baby steps, you know?

And besides, Naoki is such a *safe* choice. He isn’t involved in Plot Shenanigans (yet?), so Yusaku doesn’t ave to worry about endangering him. He doesn’t know anything about Yusaku’s past. He isn’t even remotely connected to either the KoH or SOL. As we discussed before, he’s a taste or normalcy for Yusaku—so I’m also glad that he might be showing that he cares, at least a little.