softspokenlandlord | IC Inbox

[Ryou tenses when he hears the hitch in Atem's breathing, the hiss of his snakes betraying his alarm even further.]

H-hey, it's okay, calm down. Talk to me, Atem. What's wrong?

[He's immediately worried, of course, and tries to push himself up which works about as well as any other time he's done it, especially with a panicked naga wrapped around him. Nope.

Abandoning that, he pulls his hand from Atem's head, instead putting it on his shoulder, squeezing to get his attention.]

We can stop, just tell me how I can help.

[Because he is very confused, which definitely helps him unwind from their fooling around. Thank god for that.

It would be embarrassing if Atem had to figure out how happy Ryou is to be here. ~~Pretty ironic, given why Atem's panicking.~~]

I--!

[...what the fuck is going on down there, it's mostly stopped but he can still feel it almost happening, and a deep blush is covering his face and neck. God, he hopes something horrible's not about to crawl out of what he's thought of as his ass this whole time, he would die his next death, right here.]

I think -- I think I'm all right, I -- something just moved inside my...

[Wait.]

...tail...

[hang on.

It's not, like, coming out, so it's not, say, eggs or something even grosser. It doesn't feel like that. It feels kind of squirmy, like he wants to keep moving it, like if he pressed his body against something to up the internal pressure he could just--

oh, no.]

[Oh no.

Ryou's got his dense moments. He's not even a professional to know how snakes work. But there's something about the way that Atem trails off...and somehow he's got a theory of what's going on here, and he's not going to say a single thing. He's going to be an adult about it!]

...Haha...um. Want to, uh. Talk about something else?

[Don't think about it.]

L-like, uh. What I mean is, it's going to be okay. It's--

[Don't.]

...Natural, I think. P-part of you.

[Oh god oh fuck don't blush don't even think about it this hard. No, he refuses to speak anymore. He's got a snake wrapped around him with something moving inside his tail.

And Ryou's curious but like hell he's going to put his foot--no his whole damn LEG--in his mouth like that. He's a little weirdo, not an absolute creep.]

[Ah, shit. Shit, they both know what it is. Atem's almost certain that's what it was, since it's settling down now that he's -- well, not calm, exactly he's not relaxed, but less excited.]

I didn't think it was going to be a problem...

[Leave him here to die! He miscalculated! He miscalculated terribly.]

[Ryou can't help it, he sighs, and smiles.]

There's always a surprise hidden somewhere in the game.

[He cups Atem's cheek in his too-long fingers, but it's not an overtly emotion-driven move. Just a touch without subtext. He understands that Atem isn't comfortable with this, so he's not going to press the matter. Even if he's curious, it has never been a part of who Ryou is as a person to force someone into an awkward situation that they were very clearly not into.]

At least when you've changed back, there won't be anything unexpected, right? We can do whatever we like and whatever happens...happens.

[Or do vampires also have weird...stuff going on? The ~~sacred tomes~~ romance novels didn't say anything about that.]

[He doesn't like surprises hidden inside his own body! He's preferred very much, up until now, to sidestep the entire question of "what do I want, sexually?" and answer it, "I don't!" Atem frowns, though not at the contact, and takes a deep, slow breath.

Does this change things? Is he going to need to keep further away from Ryou for the rest of the week? Atem doesn't want to, but he also doesn't particularly want to explore an awakening that involves mystery anatomy. It's a lot, very fast!

Is he going to have to wear...like...snake pants? None of the other nagas do...it might be weirder, to start now, and draw attention to it...

Oh, Ryou's talking. Ryou is talking about doing whatever they like, and that sounds really nice; Atem is still wrapped around Ryou, and he's feeling warm and restless, he wants to, he wants to...?

No. Nope. Don't chase that. He wants his body to stop doing things without his permission, that's what he wants, that's it.]

...I need to get off you.

[He doesn't want to! His heart protests! So do other parts! His snakes have calmed down and are reaching for Ryou again, but Atem is the mothersnake and what he says goes. He is going to, very carefully, retreat from being on Ryou's chest, and slither the rest of his body over to his side of the bed, too. Shame snake. Atem's not ashamed of the things he means to do, because he's decided to do them, but he is embarrassed by accidentally almost inflicting mystery anatomy on his boyfriend-of-less-than-a-week, who is, if not severely, significantly injured.]

[Ryou nods, and although he's disappointed knowing they can't do anything else anymore, he keeps that squarely to himself. Atem had gone to great lengths to make him happy and comfortable. This is the least he can do.]

Okay.

[He lets his hand fall away, allowing Atem to slither off of him. It's...actually very uncomfortable? Not the slithering, but having Atem's weight shift off of him at all. He'd been happy there, with a snake wrapped securely around him. Now that the weight was gone, he was reminded of everything else. It was almost as if everything they were doing, even the weight of Atem's body, was shielding him from what he knew he should have been feeling.

...He knows that doesn't quite make sense, probably? But it's hard to argue when his wounds are aching more than they had before.]

Nngh! Oww...

[Man, he almost preferred mystery anatomy over this. But maybe that's just his own not-quite-diminished state of arousal speaking. At least his anatomy is behaving! Pain is a buzzkill.]

Sorry.

[The apology's for the pain, but also...he gets the sense that it's disappointing? That he's left? Aaah. The approach seems to be...the more attention Ryou gets, the better, and he prefers not to be brought back down to earth...but he has to be, sometimes. Atem can worry about the practical things, even if they aren't always happy.]

That medicine must be wearing off by now. Is it time to take it again?

[Not yet time to change the bandages. Those stay on another few days. He's keeping track.]

N-no, don't be sorry! You didn't do anything wrong, it just...hurts. You're right, the medicine's worn off, I'll feel better once I've taken some more.

[He's supposed to take it a little more often than this, but he'd slept through the cycle, and that's not entirely a terrible thing.

He's not sure why, but he feels like even though he tried to hide it, his stupid, stupid feelings had been expressed anyway, so he reaches out, because Atem's not so far away from him that he can't reach for his hand. Shade reach is honestly the best.]

You know you've been very good to me since...um. Since we got back. I just wanted to thank you for everything. U-up to and...including what we just did. It's nice.

But...there's other things we can do, you know. Maybe we can find a card game I can beat you at.

[Ha HAAAAAAA sure, Ryou. You keep thinking that.]

[Holding hands is all right. Holding hands is safe! Atem doesn't mention the fact that he's absolutely planning to get Ryou a soul to eat sometime tonight, absolutely not. Instead, talking about maybe playing a game does cheer him up; he looks interested, less down. Atem goes from passively having his hand held to curling his hand around Ryou's, affectionate.]

Heh! Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're gorgeous!

[It is going to take much more than a pretty face to distract him from the sanctity of card games.]

[Ah! No! Not compliments! He's flustered now, and it shows in the color at his cheeks and the pout on his face.]

That's going a little far now, isn't it? I mean...y-you're more attractive than me.

[Gorgeous? Gorgeous? Atem, come on. He's not what The Boys like. Boys don't like pretty soft faces and long (well, usually long) hair, do they?]

A-anyway, I wouldn't possibly try to use any kind of advantage like that! Games should be played for fun, without subterfuge!

[...Someone should remind him who he's dating.]

[Ryou gets a Look at that first bit, a cocky that's not what I think, but the second thing Ryou says makes his face relax.

Because. Yes. A lot of games are not for fun at all. But sometimes they are. With friends, they should be!]

Yes. Yes, we'll play a game for fun.

But first, you've got medicine to take. Are you hungry?

[He means normal food, for the moment. Atem takes a different tone when he's talking about eating people.]

[Whatever way that Atem meant it, Ryou is honestly about ready to say "yes let's eat a person right now." But he's trying to keep it together on that front, so...]

I could eat. But once everything's settled, a game really does sound like a nice continuation, it's not like we have time to enjoy such things half as often as I'd like.

[Okay. Time to try levitating, let's go...let's...yes! Ryou is able to lift himself up, just a bit. Actually, it's surprisingly easy to do so. Maybe the sleeping did help, or perhaps it's the good mood in general.

Either way, he's pleased with himself. Finally, he's being a good shade again.]

...Are you starting to feel a little better?

[More...himself and less weird?]

[He sits up!]

I feel fine!

I can't sit around feeling sorry for myself all night just because something unexpected happened. Not when we're going to play a game...and it looks like you're feeling better, too!

[Look at Ryou go. Shades are very much like ghosts...Ryou not being able to float well was really holding him back. Atem puts a mental pin in, "see how Ryou practices using his powers and maybe help him with it." It could even be fun...they could make a game out of it...]

[Not being able to float, and not having a foot were very difficult. Atem had sorted the former, and...Ryou has a bit of a feeling that, unconsciously, he had helped with the former.

Ryou was contented. Very much so, despite the awkward happenings just prior. For the first time all month, he's felt as if he was somehow made whole, because Atem is here, with him. Romantically? Voluntarily?! It seems to be affecting how his powers act, to be so happy.

He'll take it, of course. He wants to move. He wants to be able to roll weightlessly in the air for once. Actually this is, in fact, one of the few times Ryou's almost completely intangible. The parts of him that are still close to Atem are more solid than the rest of him so that he doesn't cause pain, but for the most part his skin's gone completely black with a almost wispy quality, and his aura's pretty much at maximum, licking up from his edges like a smoky flame.

He's a happy shade. This is apparently what a happy shade looks like!]

Do you have a deck of cards handy? I'm sure I left one on one of the living room shelves, but it'll take a moment to find it.

[As he says this, he floats to his nightstand, taking the pill bottle in hand. He can't put that off much longer.]

[Huh, there he goes...Atem sees Ryou's opacity change, notes the difference in aura, and wonders if there's a correlation with his mood. If so, that's important information...]

Heh. Of course I do!

[He's slept in the one piece of clothing he wears these days -- a hooded sweatshirt with pockets. Pocket space is at a premium, but the important things to keep in there include money, dice, a multitool, and a deck of cards, and Atem pulls that last one out. It's still in one of those small cardboard boxes, so none of them get lost or damaged in a way that a card can be identified by a tear or crease, but Atem doesn't open it yet. He just takes it out long enough to show Ryou that he has it on him.

Really, what did you expect.]

[You know...Ryou probably shouldn't have expected anything different. And yet, he'd asked the most nonsensical question of his ultimate gamer friend. Atem's the final boss. Of course he has cards in his pocket.]

Honestly...I don't even know why I asked.

[Said with amusement, of course. He floats back over to Atem, attempting to peep the deck before it disappears back into its pocket. Any interesting design on them?]

You're always prepared to play a game. Heh! Cards are an easy vehicle for creating games of chance on the fly, aren't they?

[A brief nod! Nothing about the cards is particularly special; it's an ordinary 1950s-style deck, but the design on the back is a little dark.]

Yes. It's important to pick the right game for the right person...but there's plenty you can do with cards. I keep some dice, too. That was how I caught the two Tågevalgten last month...

[Some people carry weapons on them! Atem does! This is what they look like.]

[Look, that's a great design. It fits Atem pretty well, actually?

Ryou nods at Atem's words. It's true that there's plenty to do with cards and dice. He, especially, would know plenty about dice and their versatility. He might even have asked Atem if he preferred to play a dice game, but he's kind of married to the idea of a card game right now, because after having spent so long seeing Atem play Duel Monsters back home, it's been a bit strange having him play anything but card games.

...They're not the same cards but that's not the point!]

Did they cheat when you went against them? You somehow seem to attract cheaters, you know.

[A pause.]

Oh, but not me. I wouldn't dare. To devalue the sanctity of a game like that...well, unless it's written into the rules that someone has to cheat, that's unacceptable.

Mm.

[He nods.]

One of them did. He tried to use weighted dice. I let him....until the last round.

Of course cheating's fine when it's part of the rules and everyone knows it! And, [he adds, thinking again of monsters and survivors and who holds power in the narrative,] if your opponent cheats first...then cheating back is fair play.

But when someone uses an obvious trick like weighted dice, it's very easy to turn that back on them! All you have to do is switch them out when he's not expecting it, then get him to wager it all on what he's sure is a safe bet.

...

Also, he planted some of the Jeweler's Row explosives. So, I'm definitely going to eat him.

[Ryou can't help himself when he lets out a quick, awkward laugh.]

Atem, you can't just say that, honestly!

[Even though Ryou's used to Atem's straightforwardness, it is still amusing to hear him talk so matter-of-factly about eating someone. But also...it reminds Ryou of the uncomfortable gnawing at the pit of his stomach that feels as if its twisting up his chest, his throat, making his teeth want to grind. It's a familiar feeling, and one which he usually tries to suppress.

But he hadn't eaten in the dollhouse. He'd tried, out of curiosity, but the taste of plastic, liquid or otherwise, was enough to make him gag. So nah. No nondescript synthetic soul substitute for him.

...No. No no no, he wants to play a game first! Be quiet, stupid shade body with your instinct to rip the living soul out of something. Not now. He wants to be normal, do normal things with someone he cares about.]

But maybe we can...share him later.

[That came off a little too interested, didn't it? Something in the way Ryou says it at all, the way his glowing eyes seem to intensify. He generally doesn't discuss feeding unless he has to.]

[They might both be coming off a little bit too interested, because although Atem laughs at you can't just SAY that, because yes he can and yes he will, Atem's also looking at Ryou in that way where you've done something thoughtful and expect it to go over well but there's still an undertone of I hope you like it.]

...I did save him for you.

[Any chance he has to get a judged soul to Ryou, he takes -- petrification makes it easier to store someone who's still living, and the second Tågevalgten was deliberately put away for later in the month, to recharge after the fog event. It's probably been terrible for him. But he bombed people Atem knew. He can deal with it. He doesn't have a choice!]

[...It takes him a second, but it does click.

Atem's being thoughtful, as usual. He's helping Ryou get through his mandatory task of snuffing out the existence of another, and not just that...he wants Ryou to know that it was for him, doesn't he? Not just that he did it out of duty.

Not this time.]

It's very kind of you to have done that. I appreciate it.

[He smiles, then floats a little closer to Atem. The aura around him recedes a little, on instinct, and his facial features clean up just a bit more, coming back from the generally unsharpened shadows that he should be, if he didn't put forth so much effort to be solid.

He needs to be solid now, so that he can kiss Atem on the forehead, a brief, loving little gesture.]

Thank you for always making it easier for me.

Edited 2021-09-21 16:41 (UTC)

[Good. Good, his work's appreciated. He doesn't put together that he's acting like a cat bringing in half-dead terrorized rodents for humans it loves because it loves them and wants to share with them, but, that's absolutely the vibe.

The snakes part to allow the forehead kiss, surrounding Ryou's face like a little snakey cloud, flicking their tongues at him happily. 🐍 Ryou! 🐍 Very good! 🐍 Won't go hungry! 🐍 Won't be unhappy! 🐍 Stay close! 🐍 Ryou! 🐍

Their plans for dinner settled, Atem brings up the other priority--]

So...you wanted to play a card game?

[Ryou giggles. Yes, he giggles, don't judge him, the snakes tickle and it's adorable! He's not even bothered that Atem hears it because truthfully, if he can't accept him at his dorkiest, then they shouldn't be dating.

...Dating. Heh. He still thinks that's nice.]

Oh. Yes! Yes, um. We can play anything at all, I'm just happy if we're playing together, you know?

[He moves towards the doorway, floating with such laziness out of the room that one might mistake the area for having no gravity at all. He's comfortable without weight on his limbs, with Atem here, and most importantly, without the constantly running background routine of keeping himself semi-solid to solid, he actually feels incredibly light and relaxed.

Ryou trust Atem will follow, of course, but if he doesn't, then uh. Ryou can just come through the wall. But they definitely need more room to play than what his bed or desk offer, and cards need stable surfaces.]

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cw animal cruelty ment in meta

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WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, WhiteWizard. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 007.80.751.19 * WhiteWizard has joined 007.80.751.19 <WhiteWizard> Hello, this is Ryou Bakura! <WhiteWizard> Feel free to reach out to me if you need anything. :) <WhiteWizard>** I will get back to you as soon as possible.