#throttles him and Ryou both

[metatemu]

The absolute tragedy of the fact that Yuugi makes people love themselves and Atem never ever EVER getting to say "it wasn't my fault."

[coffeetablettowers]

Headcanons I’ve bounced off of @idreamofdragons because she’s great and indulges me. Most are Seto/Joey and some are Tristan/Ryou.

Kaiba loves ramen, but somehow sucks at making them (he either doesn't wait long enough for them to cook or he waits too long and they're all mushy) so mokuba or joey makes it for him and really it's a double win because he gets his fav food AND somebody he loves made it just for him.

When Joey cooks Seto becomes joey's taste tester and he takes that role very seriously. When he tastes something really good he becomes quiet and savors the taste, then kisses joey.

joey is an energy drink person and seto is a coffee drinker. joey bought seto a coffee flavored energy drink Once (1 time) and seto was so disgusted by it he ridiculed joey about it All Day. Joey did not kiss him that day, but at night when Seto's laying in bed and realizes this he starts to feel bad and text's Joey "thank you".

(about that one post with the kitten sleeping in the shoe)  seto and joey have a kitten and one morning while seto's getting ready to leave he finds the kitten sleeping propped up in his shoe. he takes like twenty pictures of it and is quietly gushing over his perfect little creature. When joey wakes up he finds that his phone is flooded with pics of the kitten in the shoe. their kitten is so damn spoiled. seto gets it the best researched cat food, no tap water for this kitten seto uses filtered water (joey convinced him to use a breta filter water pitcher after he learned seto was always buying water), and the cat bed? blue eyes white dragon castle kitty bed baby.

seto is not a morning person. why else would he drink coffee at the tender age of 17 (or 16. however old he is. either way teens should not be drinking coffee or energy drinks). when he first tried to set his alarm clock to the time that he should get up mokuba caught him just staring off into space in his bed because he was just so tired. Mokuba got into his cellphone and set it to like an hour or two earlier so Seto can space out as long as he needed and gather the strength to get up for the day. when joey spends the night and sees Seto spacing out in the morning he thinks it's the most adorable "omg seto is human" thing ever and takes a picture.

joey dressed up as santa claus and gave mokuba that gift that he wanted (he saved all his money for it) and then gave seto a small gift and then whispered to meet him under the mistletoe after mokuba's asleep ^_~ with a little squeeze to seto's nonexistant booty. seto jumps at this and starts to blush and fumbles with an excuse when mokuba asks him what's wrong

Kaiba probably has a maid/maids. he's rich enough to have security team so he probably has maids to deal with all the little stuff around the house that he and mokuba don't have time for. Joey doesn't get used to this fact. he finds it odd to have people cleaning up after them. After being together for some time one time Joey dressed up as a maid, hid in Kaiba's office, and popped out asking, "Mr. Kaiba" if he could be of any service to him. He had never seen Kaiba turn so red from blushing before and teased him about it, but kaiba shut him up with a kiss while slamming his door shut.

seto and joey sometimes sleep big spoon/little spoon. they switch between who is big spoon and who is little spoon, but most times if seto's had a really bad day he's the little spoon. But to wake-up in the same position is a miracle because joey is a mover in his sleep. seto has been slapped and kicked by him before.

Tristan and ryou watch a mixture of horror, action, and rom-com movies. They get all their snacks and blankets together and are just super cozy. Tristan has nightmares after the horror movies and clings to ryou in his sleep. Ryou thinks it's adorable and hugs him back so when they wake up they're limbs are tangled with each other.

How they celebrate New Year’s:  seto/joey: celebrate with fireworks and when joey's away from mokuba seto kisses him.  tristan/ryou: ryou baked a bunch of pastries and tristan learned how to make some cocktails for them to celebrate while watching fireworks on the tv

Also New Year’s:  The gang, seto, and mokuba gathered for fireworks. Tristan and joey being dumb with fireworks and mokuba wants to join them so bad, but seto said no. When seto's away joey gives mokuba some roman candles to shoot off and he has a blast. When seto comes back and sees mokuba with the roman candles he wants to THROTTLE joey because who else would go against his word, but he just sees how excited mokuba is and settles with a frown towards joey.  Yami Yugi LOVES fireworks. He has mastered holding two roman candles in each hand and likes the really explosive fireworks. He gets all the debris, puts it in a pile, and lights it on fire. Seto has never seen this side of yami and is so confused by it.

Hell have no fury like joey stopping seto from drinking his fifth traveler sized mug of coffee.

seto will make damn sure everything is done on his schedule/to do list if it's the last thing. It haunts him until he gets out of bed and does the thing he missed if he doesn't get stuff done.

 seto has all the figurines and novelty items of blue eyes white dragon in their own glass cases and joey has to hear seto talk all about it, but you know what? joey love hearing seto talk so passionately about stuff he loves. he also likes watching seto pick out which coat he's going to wear for the day. seto tries on at least 5 before settling for one he likes.

  seto had a whole walk-in closet dedicated to his coats. When they were in the beginning stages of their dating and seto brought joey over for the first time he showed joey the really big room with all of his interests and seto rambled on forever about them. Joey couldn't believe it and was just as excited as seto. Both of their excitements fed off of each other and they were like dorks in a game store. Also joey liking his stuff gave seto an ego boost.

  Seto and joey both think each other is the hardest person to gift for birthdays, valentine's, and christmas because, Seto's reason: wants it to be so perfect he overthinks Joey: what do you get the guy that can just do whatever he wants Mokuba is utilized by both. Joey asks him questions and Mokuba makes offhanded suggestions to seto. Seto and joey get Mokuba gifts as well.

 idreamofdragon’s addition to the above:  Seto is SO SAPPY. And Joey's touched everytime even tho he doesn't need big extravagant and expensive showings of love. >< He's also always like Joey doesn't have to get him anything but like...... he feels he does and is wrecked by itttt.

 Joey/Yugi:  Joey likes to carry yugi on his shoulders. It doesn't always come up, but when it does he is always excited. In fact joey never misses a chance to tell yugi he's his perfect fun-sized boyfriend

  YUGI'S SCHOOL CLOTHES IN THE MANGA LOOK TOO BIG ON HIM. He has trouble shopping for clothes and knows how to make his own. That's why he ends up with his own fashion sense of belts and chokers because only really fashionie people are brave enough to wear that.

Joey’s birthday:  First birthday together: seto has a limo pick joey up and take him to wherever seto is meeting him for breakfast. It's awkward in the beginning and even more so when seto tells him he has to get back to the office, but joey can use the limo for whatever he likes and then gives him a credit card and says to buy himself whatever he likes. Joey voices that he can't just buy him things and expect it to be okay and that next time he expects to spend some actual quality time with his supposed boyfriend. Seto's taken aback by this, but calmly takes his cellphone out and tells his secretary to cancel all his meetings, delegates other things, then hangs up and tells joey he better be worth clearing a whole day for. Joey fumes and is like, "OF COURSE I'M WORTH IT. I'D DO THE SAME FOR YOU JERK". Moved in together: Mokuba makes breakfast for joey and it always brings a tear to his eye. Where joey sits at the table there's a little giftbox from Seto and it's a new pin to add to his denim jacket. Seto comes out of his room and asks joey what're they doing for the day. For lunch and dinner Seto calls ahead and has them clear out the restaraunt so it's just them three (for lunch) and two (for dinner).

tristan knows nothing about hair. hell he barely knows what to do with his and lucked out on finding a good style for it. so when ryou is in a fun mood and asks him to fix his hair he freaks, but figures brushing and putting it in a ponytail will be good enough. so they're sitting on his bed and tristan's brushing ryou's big mound of hair and he notices how soft his hair is and before he knows it ryou's giggling at him and asking if he's as soft as a bunny. tristan jumps and turns red which makes ryou laugh and the sound of ryou laughing makes tristan's heart pitterpatter. finally he has ryou's hair up and ryou turns around and kisses him on the cheek. tristan asks if he's going to look at it and ryou's like, "nope. i already know it looks good because it was done by you." and really tristan is goop now because his boyfriend is so cute.

every saturday joey has the gang over at seto's place to play guitar hero. why seto's place? because he owns the game and console. seto tries to do some work in a near-by room, but keeps hearing how god awful some of their playing is and comes out, tells them, "move dweebs. let me show you how to really play" and just ROCKS IT. He is very into it and when the song's done everybody claps. the gang lives for seto playing his 1 round every saturday. they try to get him to stay longer, but he tells them that he doesn't want to associate with dorks. joey fights back with, "who's the dork that owns the system?!" seto ignores him.

when ryou is in a playful mood he tries to see how many times he can make tristan flustered and turn red. for the most part though when they're around the gang they aren't showy or lovey-dovey about their relationship. they may hold hands or brush their fingers against the other's arm, but they're not really out for some reason, which is why it's a big surprise when they're all departing and tristan gives ryou a quick kiss before ryou leaves for his apartment and the rest of the gang is just like, "what was that?!" tristan turns red. the gang already knew tristan and ryou were dating. they spotted the two holding hands when they thought nobody was looking or the way tristan always fretted over ryou, but knew they didn't want to bring attention to themselves so for tristan to kiss ryou in front of them is an opportunity they're not going to miss to playfully tease him and also be like, "finally!"

Jin: Tristan's so adorable when it comes to relationships. He doesn't realize how obvious he is. But he's h u g e romantic.

[fizzingwizard]

We got episode 3 “Into the Digital World”! And the good news is we are still Very Much at it with the Taishiro lol

This pic pretty much sums up the whole episode for me:

❤️!

Spoilers under the cut...

So let’s knock the most important thing off right away, at the end of the ep they DO go to a real digital world!

And it looks like a child’s fantasy... a beautiful natural world full of amazing creatures. I have no idea how similar it’s gonna be to the world we know, though! So far everything’s different, even things that seem the same. Keeps me guessing.

The landscape is pretty intriguing. Looks like a planet/moon on the horizon? And I’m sure that interesting island’s gotta mean something...

But back to the beginning.

So last week, I was all boggled because they introduced Omegamon and Jogress so early. It was easy to think that since they’d started this hype wave, they were gonna keep riding it out, especially with Hikari and Takeru seeming to receive magic feathers and all. Well, that’s not really how it goes down.

The battle is very quiet, with few words - none at all from Taichi or Yamato until Koushirou gets their attention. I am not 100% sure about this, but from the way Taichi looks to the side when an attack comes his way and Omegamon then takes it out, I think it might mean Taichi and Yamato have some mental work of their own to do to help Omegamon fight and that’s why they’re so quiet. But that’s just a thought. I do love the idea that the kids’ ties to their Digimon have more of an affect on their ability to battle than just their evolutions.

One thing a Jogress does is make you glow. Yeah yeah, we glowed before too. No, I mean GLOW.

Like, nonstop.

Also, I have figured out that Taichi and Yamato must have suction cups on their shoes and that’s how they don’t fall off Omegamon while he’s hurtling all over the place

Cue awesome rock version of the theme song battle music!! Omegamon kills nu!Diaboromon the same way he kills him in Our War Game, with a STAB. But that doesn’t stop the missile. Here I thought would be Koushirou’s turn to shine, but aside from continuing to keep tabs on things, he doesn’t get to join in the fight this time.

Omegamon is somehow able to detect missiles, I guess?

And lock on to the infected one, which conveniently shows an actual lock, is red, and even has the monster’s eyeball symbol. We also see a bunch of Digi code before this.

He absorbs the powers of all the Crests into his sword (!!) ...

(notice they’re still glowing!)

... and stabs it. Because in Digimon, stabbing is always the answer.

BOOM shakalaka

People of Tokyo: Wow that’s bright! I should probably avert my eyes or put on sunglasses. But first, to Instagram!

Thanks, Kouushirou’s computer.

The missle blows up way up high and no one gets hurt. They also don’t seem to care all that much about what this is either! Seconds later everyone’s devices lose power, including Koushirou’s computer. He is very distressed, but the outage doesn’t last long.

Yamato and Taichi’s suction cups finally lose their grip and they fall away into a bright light...

Omegamon became a butterfly!!

It is now certain, Taichi didn’t pull a Kouichi xD He’s perfectly fine. That’s the RIGHT way to get in and out of the digital world at a train station. Take notes, kids.

OK before we move on I must take a second to appreciate these text messages Koushirou receives from someone named Mr.Unknown (gee I’m sure we’ll never hear from him again!)

OMG my life is

WHAT KIND OF REACTION IS THAT TO YOUR IMMINENT DEATH!?!?

“Someone stop it!” Suddenly Japanese (also from Mr.Unkown)

Twenty bucks says this guy is Gennai? Ryou? Wallace? KEN?!

no don’t bet against me please, I have no money.

Have an adorable Hikari, who didn’t get to do anything with the feather in the end. Who knows if she even really has it. She DOES seem to totally know what happened with her brother though. Takeru might know also? But Hikari definitely does. Our little oracle is back.

So Taichi is fine, Koushirou is fine, Yamato is fine. They all get back to the human world safely. Taichi and Koushirou head home, wondering if all that really happened, talking about what could happen next. More importantly, the Taishiro power returns at full throttle.

Koushirou: Do you know about this? This? This?

Taichi: Hmm... hmmm... hmmm.. thinking makes my head hurt...

(Like I rag on Taichi for not thinking but tbh he’s quite the thinker and planner... maybe more so in this season than in the original.)

Gloves returned to pocket. Goggles still at the ready.

Then Taichi reaches out his hand... Koushirou stares at it like he’s not quite sure what to do with it. And Taichi’s like, “Thank you so much, for everything, you were a huge help!”

Koushirou: “But I didn’t do anything.”

Taichi: “You helped so much by doing all that research! You’re awesome!”

Koushirou: :D “Y-Yeah!!”

He agrees that he’s awesome!! My baby!!

They shake hands! They’re such good friends now!

... Then Taichi walks backwards out of the elevator with his hand still outstretched, staring at Koushirou

WHAT

WHAT THE HECK IS THIS!?!?

This show producers aren’t even TRYING to hide their bias hahaha okay that’s the Taishiro fan in me but HOW ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO READ THIS SCENE CMON LIKE!?

So Taichi’s about to go home, and at this point I’m thinking “I guess Koushirou’s never gonna ask that question about camp...!”

Then Taichi is like, “Oh yeah, didn’t you have a question about camp?”

Fricking. TAICHI.

I am absolutely stunned that it’s him who brings up Koushirou’s original errand xD Koushirou himself has completely forgotten about it! (Too busy basking in the glow of being called awesome about twenty times in what this episode establishes is less than an hour!)

Seriously Taichi is SUCH A DAD!? His mom comes home and tells him about her day. Hikari comes over and he pats her on the head and tells her she was brave and did a good job. All he needs is a newspaper and a tie to reach peak Dad-ness.

Hikari: “Thanks big brother!”

Taichi: “...? For?”

So about Yamato... on the elevator Taichi realizes he never found out where Yamato lives...

... It’s Shimane. Grandma’s house in Shimane! Well I mean, they could make it somewhere else, but the point is it’s super inaka countryside. Yamato has a call with Takeru which makes it seem like they indeed don’t live together, as Takeru shyly asks Yamato if he’ll come visit since it’s summer break, and Yamato says he does intend to go to Tokyo and see him. Not sure yet who Yamato’s living with, if it’s still his dad or he lives with his grandparents in this version, or there’s some other reason he’s not in Tokyo...

Yamato also asks if Takeru’s okay, and Takeru replies he was inside all day so he’s fine. That’s what makes me think Takeru knows about Yamato going to the digital world. He might not, but I like the idea that he does. My guess would be he knows because he’s seen Yamato do it or something, whereas Hikari just knows because she’s psychic :P

Then guess what! WE GO TO CAMP!

Only for like, two minutes, though. That was a bummer for me. Camp is just a vehicle to introduce a couple other characters, then they go home. Well, we don’t need two of the exact same show I guess... I’ll just appreciate this as a nod to the original.

First we see Jou! He’s hancho again and trying to tell other kids how to use a knife. He immediately cuts his finger. Good ole Jou I can’t wait to have him back.

Taichi and Koushirou are walking around camp and Koushirou trips due to Jou yelling and basically throws his laptop straight into the air

Laptop: “FREEEEEDOM!”

Mr Superior Reflexes AKA Taichi quickly grabs Koushirou and prevents him from smashing face first into the dirt. GOSH THEY JUST WILL NOT STOP WITH THE TAISHIRO. I CANNOT.

Koushirou: “H-H-Human c-c-contact?!?!?! Is this SKINSHIP”

Like y’all know this isnt my fault right? I wouldn’t have to say these things if the show didn’t make it so durn easy. Bahahahaha.

Guess who catches the laptop! Soooooraaaaa!

My girl is back! She’s got butterflies!

Koushirou says he knows who she is because the girls in his class always talk about how she’s so cooooool!

This episode establishes that Sora is 1) popular 2) well-liked 3) responsible 4) quick-thinking 5) athletic 6) Taichi’s old friend 7) coooooool in like, thirty seconds.

Taichi and Koushirou continue to spend aaaaaall their time together. My one complaint here is that all they do is talk about the digital world. And while I know it’s no surprise, the one thing I always loved about old Adventure was that to a certain extent, the kids got to act like kids. Of course they had uncanny adult wisdom and ability to sit still, lol. I understand that. So far in this show, they’re not really acting like children even a little bit. It’s all superheroing. That’s how I feel at the moment though - the only one I expect to really act like a child is Takeru, and probably Mimi, I’d guess. I do hope we get to see a larger range of personality from all of them in the future. It is only episode three.

Koushirou’s icon is a pineapple <3

So there’s a new threat but it’s not as obvious as the old one. Another power outage happens but they don’t know how important it is right away. Then both Taichi and Koushirou’s digivices start to glow! Taichi runs out, and here we finally got some new personality from him, something beyond friendliness and bravery: He really, really wants to see Agumon again. He’s already feeling the depth of that bond and it’s really been weighing on him that they parted so abruptly. He has so many questions. I would say, Koushirou talked about the digital world non stop because he finds it interesting, but Taichi talked about it because he misses Agumon. (Koushirou after all hasn’t met Tentomon yet.)

Before he can run out, Taichi runs into Hikari in the living room. She’s worried, and she clearly knows what he’s up to, but all she says is “Itterasshai.” I super appreciate that the set up and lighting is the same as these scenes between the two of them in original Adventure! It’s a total throwback to that hallmark ep of Adventure, episode 21.

Unable to think about anything but seeing Agumon again, Taichi runs outside to the train station where Koushirou is (I wonder if the train station is going to become like their base point or something). He doesn’t even notice Sora, but she notices him...

... and in true Sora fashion, immediately turns around and starts chasing after Taichi without a word xD

ugh I will always hate how PINK she is in this

Sora: “Taichi’s running somewhere awful fast... he has that look on his face... he’s going to get into trouble ugh I just know it”

The digivices glow and both Taichi and Koushirou disappear into the digital world. As they go through the vortex, we see a bunch of colored lights...

So this one is clearly Taichi and Koushirou, and Sora as well. My guess is she gets swallowed up as a result of following Taichi.

However, over here we have Yamato, Jou, and Mimi, but why would they all be together? Yamato’s fine, but how are the other two getting in?

It doesn’t seem like Takeru’s joining this time, which is interesting. But I might be wrong - only episode 4 will tell.

Taichi wakes up in the real Digital World and is finally reunited with Agumon. End episode 3 <3

I’m really curious about what’s coming next! I’m still pretty shocked that a Jogress happened so early, but I’m gonna guess now that we might not see it again for a good long while. My prediction is that Yamato’s gonna be more like the lone wolves of other seasons (Ken, Ruki, Kouji, etc) who don’t want to join the main team right away, then suddenly just do. Everyone loves a rogue hero. I am super excited for the whole team to be together though so we can see all those personality dynamics grow! I really want them to not go home for a while and have to live by their wits, but I don’t think that’s the way this show wants to go, it wants the drama of going back and forth between lives... OTOH, we now know for sure that it IS summer break, so I suppose they don’t really have a NEED to go home. Maybe we’ll get a bit of both - they usually go home after, but sometimes end up on a longer stay?

I think what I need most from this show is the rest of the team before it will really feel like Digimon Adventure to me. So looking forward to episode 4!

eta: I totally forgot about the pics I took of the trailer for next week!

Look how awesome this is! This is exactly what I am hoping sticks around for a good long time! We need the partners to bond and we need to live up to the name of “Adventure”!

Since the trailer only shows Taichi and Sora, I wonder if that means everyone’s split up. Koushirou’s light seemed a bit distant from the other two in that screencap up there, so maybe he lands somewhere else and they all have to find each other. Makes sense, really. I’d expected that for the other three but figured Koushirou would be with Taichi... but it’ll be awesome if he has to try to get by on his own in the beginning. Also, so excited for Birdramon!

Bonus: I found a vid on youtube that claimed to have English subs and I clicked out of curiosity... this is what it wrote when Taichi says “Koushirou”:

X’D Koushirou has so many nicknames now. DJ Wiseman, Kou the Bro, Awesome, Taichi’s New God, Godzilla... I love Youtube.

[shadowofthelamp]

I’m Right Here

For @deathshippingweek day 5: Hurt/Comfort. Kek has a nightmare and Ryou has to talk him down when he thinks he’s back in the shadows.

Ao3 link

Warnings: None

Rating: T (just for language)

Ryou woke up when he felt movement, but it took a few moments to actually open his eyes. He rubbed his forehead, hearing a crash from the living room. “Mmm?” A quick glance at the clock showed that it was three in the morning, and he groaned. He slid off the bed, noting Kek’s absence from his side. At least it wasn’t a burglar, then.

“Kek?” Ryou creaked the door open to see Kek huddled in the corner with only the open fridge light to illuminate him all the way across the room. There was a butter knife grasped in his shaking hands, and he was shirtless with sweatpants, like he usually slept.

“Get the fuck away from me!” Kek brandished the knife, and a few crumbs fell off the butter still clinging to it. They’d had eggs and toast for dinner- he must have grabbed it from the sink. His eyes were dark and blank, and when Ryou tried to take a step closer, his grip on the handle tightened. The shadows cast around him made his face almost ghoulish, and when Ryou got between him and the fridge’s light, it only got worse.

“Kek, it’s me. It’s Ryou.”

“What’s a Ryou? You look like-”

“The Ring spirit, I know. You had a nightmare.” Ryou bit his lip- they’d been through this before, but it never got any easier. “I promise, I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Bullshit!”

Ryou knelt down in front of him. “You’re not in the shadows. You’re in my apartment. You’re twenty. It’s been a year and a half. You’re not just part of Malik, you’re Kek. You picked that name, and we both laughed at it enough to keep it, remember?”

Kek’s grip on the knife loosened a little, so Ryou continued.

“I found you, and I gave you some food, and then I helped you warm up since you were freezing.” He grabbed the edge of a blanket, leaning forward to drape it around Kek’s shoulders without pressing his chest against the knife. “You still have nightmares about the shadows sometimes, but you’re not there anymore and you never will be again.” He kept a cautious eye on Kek, knowing he could still be in panic mode. A person could still do a lot of damage with a butter knife, jabbing it into an armpit or an eyeball. “I’m going to turn the light on, alright?”

“Alright.” Kek said quietly, watching Ryou like a hawk and squinting when the light clicked on.

“I’m going to make us some tea. There’s still a few cookies in the cabinet, we can have those too. Are you ready to give up the knife yet?”

Kek shook his head, and Ryou nodded. “Alright.” He pulled a pillow off the couch, setting it down in front of Kek, before getting up to boil some water.

Kek watched him, and Ryou smiled to himself when he heard a small thud when Kek dropped the knife to pick up the pillow.

“Just take deep breaths. Focus on the carpet and look around the apartment.” Ryou said when the kettle was set up, bringing back the small tray that had three cookies left. He took one and offered the tray to Kek, who grabbed the other two. He examined them for a moment before jamming one in his mouth. “Try not to choke. You’re not starving anymore. You can feel that, can’t you?”

Kek bit the other cookie to hold it in his mouth and patted his stomach, feeling that there was a small curve outwards instead of the ribs he’d expected. He swallowed, then dropped the cookie into his mouth. He blinked. “Ryou?” “Yeah. Welcome back.”

He practically crushed Ryou in a hug, tugging the pillow out from between them. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m-”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Ryou started stroking through Kek’s hair, feeling sweat beading on his skull and his heart jackhammering even through his pajamas. “You’ve been through a lot, and you’re getting better. That’s what matters.”

“I-I could have hurt you…”

“You always go to this corner and I can run fast.” Ryou said. “Besides, this time you didn’t actually try and stab me. That’s progress.” He kept stroking through Kek’s hair, hearing his breathing begin to slow. They stayed hugging for a few more minutes before the kettle started to whistle. “I’ll go get it.” He stood up, allowing a few moments for Kek to let him go before he started pouring the tea.

Kek picked up the pillow, hugging it to his chest as he walked over to the kitchen. Instead of sitting across from Ryou like he usually did, he dragged the chair around so he was sitting right next to him instead. Ryou smiled, dropping a cube of sugar into both cups before handing one to Mariku. He cupped his hands around it, and Ryou heard his sigh of relief. He’d worked himself up into a sweat, but tea almost always helped.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Ryou asked.

Kek thought for a moment, before shaking his head. “Tomorrow.”

“Technically speaking, it is tomorrow.” Ryou said. “When we wake up, then.”

“It was the same as always. Smothered, half-blind…”

“You didn’t deserve that.” Ryou said. “You were-”

“-Just really shit at coping.” Kek finished. “I know, but it still happened.”

“You survived.” Ryou said.

“So did you. How many days were you there?”

“Three or four.” Ryou said. “No, wait… after Diva, it was more like six or seven.”

“Little fucker’s lucky he’s in Egypt, otherwise I’d-”

“Don’t spill the tea, you’ll burn yourself.” Ryou said, noticing Kek about to make a throttling motion. Still, he smiled- he was going back to normal. “I know, he was bad, but he’s out of our hair, hopefully forever. It’s just us.”

Kek took a sip of the tea, before setting it down and holding Ryou’s hand. “Just us.”

“It’s like our justice was just surviving all the shit.” Ryou said, and Kek’s hand twitched on his.

“We should have more than just scraps.”

“Surviving means we can make a happy ending. We’re just still dealing with the end of the bumpy part. We’re here, drinking tea and eating cookies, and when you’re ready, we have a warm bed.”

Kek swirled his cup around a bit, watching the sugar dissolve before taking another sip. They sat in comfortable silence for a bit, before he kissed Ryou’s cheek. Ryou smiled.

“When we finish the tea, I’m turning the fan on.”

“That’s fine.” Ryou said, watching Kek. His posture had relaxed. “I’m proud of you, you know.”

“Mm?”

“It used to take you all night to calm down. You’re really getting better.”

“You help.” Kek said, before giving him a squeeze. “Plus you’re a human-sized teddy bear, that helps me get back to sleep.”

“What can I say? I’m a natural-born cuddler.”

[ursae-minoris-world]

Of hoverbikes and macaroni salad

1109 words, chapters : 1/1, canon divergence: kuron lives (and is called Ryou), post-war; this was written as kurosheith, but this is so fluffy and innocent that it can easily be read as platonic or as sheith & Ryou

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Ryou appreciates Shiro and Keith's kindness to him. But he's not sure he deserves it, when he keeps messing up.

Read it here on AO3 !

---

Ryou pressed the throttle from his hoverbike. About two hundred yards ahead, Keith and Shiro had already stopped. They were looking back at him, and Shiro waved encouragingly. He was dragging behind. It was such a weird sensation, having trouble with the hoverbike. He had such clear memories of riding it so easily. It was hard convincing his brain that he was actually doing this for the first time, even if he knew it to be true.

When he finally joined Shiro and Keith... he nearly slammed into Shiro's bike. He banked last minute to avoid him, and slipped into an uncontrolled slide. After a few seconds of panic, he managed to pull the hoverbike to a stop. He took a moment to steady his breath, his heart still beating hard. He felt his neck and ears burn under Keith and Shiro's stare.

"Are you all right?" asked Shiro, clearly concerned.

"...I'm fine." He didn't need Shiro to baby him. He dismounted, and Shiro and Keith did too. "So, you want to eat here?"

Keith nodded. "It's a nice place. I like the view."

They were on top of a mesa, and the desert was stretching in all directions. Ryou wasn't sure how the view here was different from anywhere else, but it was, indeed, nice. They were facing the sunset, and it was achingly familiar to Ryou. But again, those weren't his memories. He carefully took his flask and food container out of the bike's storing compartment and sat down. Keith sat next to him, holding his own Tupperware.

"Anyone wants beer?" asked Shiro. "They're fresh!" Ryou and Keith both cheered. Shiro opened a cooler and took three bottles of beer out. He gave one to each of them, gently squeezed Ryou's shoulder, and settled down on Keith's other side.

Keith opened his bottle...and only avoided being covered in froth thanks to his good reflexes. "Shirooo..." he complained, the bottle now half empty. They all laughed.

"Sorry!" apologized Shiro "guess they've been shaken from the ride. Let's put those back in the cooler, and wait for them to settle before opening them!"

When Shiro came back with the cooler, they placed his and Ryou’s beers inside. Keith opened his food box. It was crispy fried chicken. Ryou’s mouth watered at the sight.

"Wow, Keith, they look perfect!" exclaimed Shiro, impressed.

Keith let out an embarrassed chuckle. "Thanks". He turned to Ryou: "What did you bring?"

Ryou felt his stomach drop. He slowly opened his container.

"What... is that?" asked Keith. The worse was that he was being genuine.

"Macaroni salad," admitted Ryou, defeated. He had overcooked the pasta somehow, and when he had added the mayonnaise, it all became some kind of macaroni mash. It looked like plaster.

There was a stunned silence, before Shiro slowly said: "I... I'm sure it's..." He hesitated. "...edible", he stated, for lack of a better word. Keith nodded, but his raised eyebrows betrayed his doubts.

They watched the sun set while enjoying Keith's chicken and sipping their beers, which didn’t cause any further issue. Ryou passed his salad around, but no-one was able to eat more that two spoons of it’s compact mass. Food goo was a tasty treat in comparison, Ryou had to admit to himself. Despite the quietness of the moment, and how kind Keith and Shiro always were to him, he couldn't find the heart to take part in the easy conversation they were having. Between almost crashing the hoverbike and his terrible attempt at cooking, he kept messing up. It was as if everything kept reminding him that he would always be second to Shiro. He watched the sky turn to shades of gold, pink and purple, wondering if he would ever find his place. If he would ever be worthy of being loved by Keith, Shiro, and the rest of the team. After all he had done to them. He closed his eyes, trying to avoid remembering that time where he had lost control of his mind.

"Hey, Shiro." Keith's voice broke Ryou out of his reverie.

"Yes, Keith?" answered Shiro. Those two really liked saying each other's name. Ryou wondered if he wasn't intruding somehow, if he should give them some space. But then, they had been the ones who had invited him in the first place.

"Didn't you say you would bring dessert?"

To Ryou's surprise, Shiro blushed, a nervous smile failing at hiding his unease. "I did prepare something." He got up and went to his hoverbike again, bringing back a baking pan. Inside it was a dark, carbonized clump.

A small smile was tugging at Keith's lips. "What's that?"

Shiro looked like a wounded puppy. "A brownie," he claimed. He looked at his plate. "It's a bit burnt."

Ryou chuckled. "A bit?" At least, he wasn't the only one who sucked at cooking.

"If we scratch away the burnt part, I think underneath it should be fine. Stop laughing! It's not like your dish was better!"

Ryou had a hard time keeping himself from giggling, specially now that Keith had joined in.

"It's ok Shiro. You didn't have to bake it yourself, you know," assured Keith.

Watching Shiro's pout made Ryou self-conscious. Did he look like that too when he was disappointed? No way.

They tried to take the worst parts away, but the cake still tasted like charcoal. It was so hard and dry that Ryou almost choked on his part, getting into a coughing fit until he drank a bit out of the flask Keith had hold out to him. "I thought you had become better at this," he admitted to Shiro.

"Did you think I was able to learn baking in the astral plane?" retorted Shiro.

"Sorry. It's just... I always mess up, so at least this time I'm not the only one."

Keith bolt up, frowning: "What are you talking about?"

Ryou wanted to disappear in a hole. "Nothing..." he shrugged, frustrated, "it's hard to live up to the original, I guess."

"Ryou." Shiro was getting all solemn. "You are your own person. And we love you just the way you are."

Keith nodded. "Yeah. And what do you mean messing up. You don't have to be perfect."

Ryou blinked to keep tears out of his eyes. "Thanks guys. I don't know. I'm just a bit overwhelmed sometimes."

Keith smiled. "Hey. No big deal."

He held out his hand. Ryou took it, easing into the hug that followed. Shiro joined in, wrapping his arms around both of them. "I'm so lucky to have you both."

Ryou closed his eyes, enjoying their embrace. He finally felt like he belonged.

[cartoonus-maximus]

Trying to knuckle down and get this dang chapter finished.

Here’s a sneak peek if anyone’s interested. I’m trying out typing it with the Japanese dialogue all in bold, to separate out when the characters are speaking Japanese and when they’re speaking English.

    Yuugi worried her lip, tearing at the thin skin in frustration. Otogi's words were still in her ears, his face still in front of her face, both having been burned into her mind. She couldn't ignore it or forget it, hard as she might try.

So here she was, dueling another opponent, trying not to let the bad experiences she'd had so far dictate the rest of her trip.

“Silent Magician, attack one final time!” Yuugi held up her hand, pointing dramatically at her opponent's monster, guiding her own monster to the target. Her opponent's points plummeted down to nothing, and minutes later Yuugi found herself sliding another starchip into place on her bracelet.

“You're on fire, Yuugi!” Anzu cheered.

Jou laughed aloud, ruffling Yuugi's hair with his knuckles, smirking while the petite girl spluttered and tried to escape his grip. “Sure are! No one defeats the Queen of Games, eh?”

Yuugi didn't even get a chance to answer her friend. A voice that she felt she was becoming a little too familiar with by now suddenly spoke up from somewhere behind them.

“I heard someone mention a 'queen of games,' so I assume you were talking about me.” It was none other than Mai Valentine, of course, smug grin and all. “Oh, I'm sorry. Were you talking to your little friend there?”

Yuugi sighed. She heard Jou actually growl somewhere behind her head. She didn't have the energy to deal with this!

“Ah, come off it, Kujaku!” Jou snarled at the woman. “I've seen you duel on TV. You're not that tough! Not even close to Yuugi's skill level!”

Yuugi decided to try defusing this situation before it escalated even more. “Jounouchi-kun, please – !”

“Oh, really?” Unfortunately, it seemed like Mai was having none of it. She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring daggers at Jounouchi. She spoke with a strange mix of formal Japanese and casual American English. “You think I'm a bad duelist, loser punk?”

“Not a bad duelist, but nowhere near as good as you seem to think you are!” Jou took a few steps away from Yuugi, assuming some sort of fighting stance. He met Mai glare for glare. “You think you're so high and mighty, huh? Why don't you try dueling me?!”

“Is that supposed to be some sort of challenge?”

“You heard me! You, me, an arena. Think you can beat me, Kujaku?”

“'Beat you?' Kid, I'll throttle you!”

“Then stop talking about it and do it, woman!”

Yuugi stood alongside Ryou, Anzu, Honda, and their new friend Atem, the five of them watching and listening in dismay as Jounouchi and Mai took the arena. As much as Jou needed to duel more people, dueling Mai “Valentine” Kujaku was anything but a good idea for an amateur duelist like he was. After all, Jou had only just learned the rules of the game two months ago, while Mai was already a well-known duelist around the globe!

“Maybe it'll be a short duel?” Honda suggested, his voice sounding hopeful.

Yuugi shrugged. She settled down on the ground with the others, preparing to watch the duel and cheer Jou on as well they could. “Go get her, Jounouchi-kun!”

“Remember what 'Jii-chan taught you!”

Honda was supportive in his own way. “Don't screw this up, stupid!”

This earned him a glare from his friend at the podium. “Watch your mouth, jerk!”

“Hey, wise guy!” Mai interrupted them. “I'm ready for my easy victory. Are you going to duel me or not?”

Jou growled lowly in her direction. “Oh, I'm dueling!”

The two of them, the Japanese teen with a checkered past and the American woman with the bleached blonde hair, both set their decks down on the podium, signaling the game to start.

“Let's duel!”

[line]

To no one's great surprise, the duel was not going very well. In fact, Jou was losing at an alarming rate. Not only was he dueling against a professional competitor, but Mai had made a bit of a name for herself as a psychic in addition to being a tactical duelist.

“I wonder if she really can see the cards in her deck before drawing them,” Ryou mused aloud. “What do you think, Yugi? Think she's psychic?”

Anzu made a huffing sort of sound. “Fat chance. It's probably a trick of some sort.”

Yuugi couldn't think of an answer. Honestly, she was finding that it was still hard to get Otogi's words out of her head, despite the distractions around her. Again his words echoed in her mind, and again she wished that the scenario had gone differently.

She blinked in surprise when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Turning, she found herself facing Atem, the boy's eyes looking at her with concern. He tugged her a few feet away, so they could talk in relative privacy while still staying near the others.

“You are upset.” He furrowed his brow. “Why?”

“... I don't know...” Part of her wanted to ask how he could tell, but she chose not to. “I guess I just let Otogi get to me, is all.”

“Hm... He did seem rather upset.” His hand didn't move. She didn't feel the need to shrug it off, though.

Yuugi frowned, remembering the face Otogi had made as she walked away. “He looked so angry. And... I think he threatened me?”

Atem quirked an eyebrow. “Threatened you?”

“I don't think he'd actually do anything, he didn't seem like the type, anyway, but... He looked so unhappy, and angry, and scared.”

Atem was silent for a moment before fixing her with a look. “Are you upset about it because you feel that you hurt him, if not because you think he would actually harm you? Or - ” His serious look was replaced by a playful smile. “ - is it just because he was pretty and you didn't want him to dislike you?”

“What?” Yuugi was startled by his question. “What do you mean by that?”

“Oh? You didn't think he was pretty? With those eyelashes and those gorgeous cheekbones of his?” Okay, now he was just teasing her.

“Okay, okay, he's very pretty! And I didn't want to make a bad impression! But... ” She glanced away, trying to find the words to explain how she felt. “... I don't like causing problems for people. I don't want to be a problem, for anyone. And it's even worse when the people seem nice and friendly, like Otogi.”

They sat in silence for a minute or so. Atem's hand remained on her shoulder, it's pleasant warmth acting almost like an anchor, giving Yugi something to focus on and try to ground her thoughts with.

“Yuugi?”

His sudden question almost made her jump. “Eh?”

“I... I know we don't know each other that well, but I have to say, I have a hard time picturing you as a problem for anyone.”

Yuugi sighed quietly, muttering under her breath in Japanese. “You don't know my father.”

She didn't realize that she'd spoken aloud until she saw the look of confusion on Atem's face.

“I'm sorry?”

“Ah, no, no!” Switching back to English, she held her hands up in front of her and shook her head quickly, light bangs slapping against her cheeks. “Nevermind!”

Atem continued to look at her for a moment, but then he let it go, turning away with a smile. “Those two brothers we met earlier? What did you say their name was – Kay-obah?”

“Kaiba, Seto and Mokuba?” Oh man, she would have to file that mangled name away for later. If nothing else, Jounouchi would appreciate it.

“Yes, them. You dealt with them like a person of experience, with the patience and dignity of a woman many times your age.” He gave her a gentle but meaningful smile. “You're a very strong, kind young woman, and I'm only saying this because you look like you need to hear it from someone: You are the opposite of a problem, and if someone doesn't like you, then it's their loss, not yours.”

He sounded so genuine, Yuugi couldn't help but blush a little bit. Her heart fluttered a bit as she returned his smile. “Atem, I... Thank you.”

She would have said more, but, before she could get anymore words out of her mouth, Mai and Jounouchi started a screaming match. It was hard to make out what Mai was trying to say as she just began screeching angrily, and Jou... between something about 'perfume' and 'cheating,' there were a lot of words leaving Jou's mouth that would make a grown man look away in shame.

“I don't know what he said...” Atem's voice cut into her thoughts, his broken English reminding her of their little language barrier and making her thankful that Jou's yelling was in his native tongue. “... but he sounds angry.”

Yuugi sighed. “Trust me, you're better off not knowing what Jounouchi is saying. In fact, you're better off just not knowing what Jounouchi is saying most of the time.”

“Stop pretending to be psychic, woman!” Jou was yelling in Japanese. Other island duelists were starting to stop and stare. “Each of your cards has been sprayed with a different scent of perfume! I can smell it from here...”

“What, are you a bloodhound?” Mai sneered. “Okay, so what if you've seen through my trick? When last I checked, I was still winning!”

“Oh, yeah? We'll just see about that!”

Atem blinked in confusion before asking in English. “What are they saying?”

Anzu frowned, answering him in a short, clipped tone. “Jou says Mai is cheating.”

“Is she really cheating?” Honda asked. “Or is it just that her psychic gimmick is apparently a lie?”

Anzu's tone somehow became even more clipped. “She's cheating.”

Yuugi couldn't help but let out a small laugh at her friends' antics. Turning back to Atem, she tried to get back to what she had wanted to say to him earlier, before her thoughts were interrupted. “Anyway, Atem, about what you said... Seriously, thank you. It... It means a lot to me.”

The Egyptian turned to her, his mouth stretching into a smile. “You're welcome, Yuugi. I'm glad I could help you feel better.”

“That's really sweet of you.” Yuugi gave him a grin that could almost be mistaken for mischievous. “And you're very pretty, too, by the way.”

Atem's skin was dark, so maybe it was just her eyes playing tricks on her, but... she almost thought she caught him blushing slightly as she turned away.