aefenglom | Video; un: 1000

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Video; un: 1000

Name: Yuki
Date: September 25ish
Format: Video

[He's clearly used to being on camera, and this whole thing looks and sounds vaguely like he's doing a TV interview, but...]

Good evening, fellow Mirrorbound. I'm Re:vale's Yuki. This is my first time greeting most of you.

[Yuki shows off a rather interesting picture of a certain partner of his.]

This man is probably more familiar to some of you. He's my partner, Momo. We've been partners for several years, but he's been here longer than I have. So, bearing that in mind, two things.

One, if you know Momo personally and we haven't met, since it's probably my fault I'd like to correct that now.

Second. Regardless of who you are, if you see him fighting or doing anything dangerous, stop him and remind him for me that I will know if he gets so much as a cut or bruise, so he should be more careful than he has been in the past. And if it's on his incredibly handsome face, I'll find whoever or whatever did it, and we'll discuss alternate methods for conflict resolution.

[His smile is ice cold. But he's still devastatingly handsome, so whatever. Please note however Momo is definitely the brawn in this partnership.]

At any rate, thank you for your kind cooperation. Please make sure to tune in to Momo's radio show each weekday morning and late night weekends with all your burning questions.

This is Re:vale's Yuki, signing off.

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[Absolutely never.

He flinches at the touch, putting the knife he was using down rather gingerly as Momo fades into view. Unfair use of magic. He almost sent some carrot-like vegetable flying in surprise.]

I wouldn't have to drag other people into it if you'd listen to me to begin with.

[He's vaguely aware that that is the completely wrong thing to say, but he's also Yuki and therefore kind of a petulant brat when it comes to protecting Momo from things he absolutely cannot protect him from by conventional means.]

[Momo makes sure the knife is down before his grip on Yuki's hips tightens and he moves to turn him around, gently but firmly. Mostly just so he doesn't have to carry out this whole conversation over Yuki's shoulder.]

You know this is the one thing I can't listen to you on. [Most of the time he's ready enough to do what Yuki wants, or at least trick Yuki into thinking he's doing what he wants by distracting him from the main point. It's just the matter of protecting Yuki from getting involved in anything dangerous that's a stalemate subject, and in this case Momo's determination to protect other people.] I can't just hang back to save my own skin when people are in danger. And you can't fight. Bringing you means I have to keep both of us safe instead of just me, so it's safer for me to go alone. Sometimes that means I take a hit or two.

[Or twenty, considering the condition he came back from the Northern Outpost fight last month in, but that was a special case. He does know a lot of healers he could ask for help, but usually in the wake of those battles there's so many people in need of what he considers actual help that he can't really bring himself to. And he can only close so many of his own wounds with how draining speeding up one's own injury healing can be.]

[In all honesty, thanks to the telltale markings on his neck and arms and elsewhere, Yuki would frankly rather not be looking at Momo for this. But he goes with the movement anyway, leaning back against the counter and crossing his arms. The spots on his wrists turn black, and the ones on his neck do as well. The area around them swims with a pale ever-shifting shade of bruise-like purple.

Maybe Momo doesn't quite realize how that statement hits Yuki, because the initial response is a lengthy silence.

Momo getting hurt is something Yuki has to grudgingly accept out of danger land here. But seeing Momo as hurt as he was, well... it didn't sit right. Kind of like how he feels like he's being called a liability right now isn't sitting right.

Emotions are hard. Expressing himself constructively instead of lashing out or turning off is kind of the worst. He doesn't bother trying, and the look on his face is dark.]

I get it.

[...Darker still.]

So if I learn how to fight, that solves your problem with me. Otherwise I'm just in your way.

[That's not a colour Momo sees on the markings very often, and it's already a bit telling that he might've approached this wrong. He'd been hoping framing it as more dangerous to Momo if Yuki was there might get him to back off purely because of the risk factor, but hearing how he actually took it makes his eyes widen.]

I never said that! [It's sharp, but a little bit desperate, because he's argued this particular point with Yuki before and it's never landed right.] It's not about you being in the way or a liability or whatever you're thinking, it's never been like that for me. I just want you to be safe, Yuki, I--

[His expression crumples, half resigned and half still stubbornly refusing to let go of this one thing he always wanted, always tried to make happen to the best of his ability.]

Why won't you just let me protect you? Have I not done it well enough before?

[Because ultimately, it's always going to come back to Momo thinking the problem is with him, isn't it.]

[Yuki understands on every level that Momo does so, so much for him. He's sure there are things he still doesn't know about that Momo has done for him.

It makes Yuki feel useless. He doesn't want to just accept his place as Momo sees it, or wants it to be. He wants to be able to stand up beside his partner no matter what, no matter where, together.

It's something that's incredibly hard for him to articulate. Still...]

What good does it do me if I have to go through any of this without you? Why can't I keep you safe, too?

[Surely Momo doesn't see him as that useless of a guy... He doesn't want to have to protect Momo from anything, it's not like that at all. He wants them to have successful lives being good at what they do side by side without all the dangerous side shows they've been subjected to... or involved themselves in for whatever reason.]

I know I'm... [He stops, stumbling through the thought process and deciding too slowly whether or not he should be totally candid.] ...I don't know what you even see when you look at me right now. Do you see some pathetic guy who can't do anything useful other than hide at home while you go play big damn hero? I can barely play the guitar right now, so you're asking me to sit here, do nothing, wait for you to come back knowing you're going to be hurt... Just so I stay safe? I'm not made of glass.

[Yuki shakes his head.]

Honestly, I'm sorry I'm not a witch, because then maybe you'd stop saying ridiculous things like... like that I don't think you're doing good enough. You're more than I deserve, and I know that. Every day I'm here I'm reminded that I don't do anything for you.

[Pro or not, something like Yuki plugging Momo's radio show at the end of that PSA was just an attempt to contribute. Because he hates being a monster, hates the feeling of Momo looking at him with pity or maybe even the beginnings of contempt. If Momo were to overextend himself and get sick of Yuki, Yuki wouldn't last.]

[If anything, Momo looks more and more upset at the idea that Yuki thinks that's Momo's opinion of him. They'd touched on the subject the night of the spell, when they'd confessed, but that time it hadn't felt quite as raw and direct as it does right now. It's not quite enough to make him cry, but his eyes are definitely a little shimmery with wet when he responds, clasping for Yuki's hands.]

Do you really think that's what I think about you? That the only reason I could want to keep you safe is that I think less of you? You were the one who told me to stop treating you like a god the last time we argued about this! [Momo has been doing his best to move on from that mindset, but it takes time. He's made progress shedding the more insidious parts of it, the ones that made him question his worth on the regular, but these ones are a bit more stubborn.]

Just because it's not the same as what I do for you doesn't mean you've never done anything for me. All I ever wanted back from you was to see you keep singing, see you smile at me...you saved me and then you granted my selfish wish to keep singing for me, and every day you keep doing that is doing something for me. In return... [He hasn't really delved into this before, but now's as good a time as any.] ...in return, I wanted you to stay untouched, not because I thought you were weak but because I thought you didn't deserve anything less from me. Because I thought you'd been through enough. Even if you think I'm more than you deserve, every time you had to go out of your way I felt like you deserved better. That it was my fault I wasn't trying hard enough. So now, if it becomes my fault you feel like you have to fight and get hurt next to me...

[He pauses to wipe at one of his eyes.] I know it's because you care. More than I ever imagined you could care about me. But it feels like I failed you. Again.

[Or maybe Momo just has astronomically, unreasonably high standards for what he should be able to shield Yuki from short of basically controlling his life.]

Momo...

[His tone softens a little, and the spots on his neck and wrists turn a hazy chartreuse. It's his comfort color, one he turns when he's trying to be confident.]

How do I get you to just start treating me as an equal? Saying I need to be protected to that degree isn't much better than saying I'm so far above you. If I told you not to be by my side because I was doing something you weren't naturally great at we wouldn't be Re:vale. We never would have made it out of indies.

[He won't tell Momo necessarily that he learned this all the hard way. Trying to protect Momo was what broke him down during all those rumors. Wanting to protect with one's whole heart goes both ways here. He almost did incredibly stupid things to keep Momo from harm, because Ryou wasn't allowed to break his best friend and partner. Because he knows he's a powerless guy in the end. All he has is his music, and that's useless here.]

Me feeling powerless isn't your fault. Can you please try not to make it worse? If I can't get you to be more careful, I'll learn to fight, and I'll stay with you the way you always stayed with me. I can't just wait around like some helpless maiden while you go off into danger. Never again, Momo. You're too important to me.

[He smiles wryly, still disappointed in himself but trying so, so hard.]

It's too bad we can't fight with music the way we did back home. It'd be a lot easier for me to get on your level that way.

[Momo bites his lip subtly at the mention of not making it out of indies, because that coming in with absolutely zero experience is a big part of what all this ended up stemming from. That night he'd cried in Yuki's arms because he thought he was holding him back - a lot of things have changed since then, but that part has maybe changed less than he'd like.

Forcing a smile at that last remark gives him more time to construct a sensible answer to everything else, so he manages one that looks all too convincing and is probably just a reminder of the lengths he went to hide his pain in the past.] Well, there's your siren song, but I think you have to be in water for that. But it's not that easy to break habits, Yuki. I need time to move towards feeling equal and getting out of the locking you in a tower mindset.

[Since he mentioned maidens. But now that he thinks about it, it's almost a shame the tentacles and siren song are only a thing he can do in water, because those would probably give Yuki an edge in a fight. Still, his grip tightens, and his expression hardens as if he's resolving himself for something. He hates this, he hates that it's even necessary and it goes against everything he's tried to do in the past - but this isn't like their world, when they can have this argument once when one of them gets into mortal danger and then probably not have to have it again. Momo had always known they were going to come to some kind of stalemate on this if Yuki ever arrived, which was most of why he'd been afraid of Yuki ever arriving. As the Dorchacht festival incident made all too clear, this is a world where even avoiding fights isn't necessarily going to keep you out of fights forever.]

I... [It's clearly reluctant, like one last digging of his nails into something as he's dragged away from it, but he continues.] Let me help you find a weapon, then. Something that's not as brute force as most of what I use. I'd lend you my club but it's so heavy even I have trouble with it in longer fights...

[He huffs, like the bad progression of bat technology here is a personal inconvenience. Yuki's never going to be a brute force fighter, but half the point of a good weapon is that you don't necessarily have to be the strongest ever to use it.] Maybe we should try to commission a metal bat off someone, that seemed to work for you.

[It's said so deadpan it's impossible to tell whether he's joking or not.]

[Maybe someday Yuki will say things right and Momo will actully understand that he's Yuki's idol in so many ways. Momo has a warmth and an ease with people that he almost envies. Momo hs tenacity that can more often than not even take Yuki out. He has passion and drive and guts and a mind Yuki treasures getting to know even a bit of.]

Don't worry. I'd never expect you to change overnight. Just give me a chance to pull my weight here, too. If my Momo leaves me behind, I'm going to be so screwed. I'll work on catching up, too.

[This is a serious conversation and it's productive in the end, which is an immense relief to Yuki. He won't tell Momo how much he doesn't want to be in danger either, because wanting to be at Momo's side is infinitely more important. Wanting to not be a burden, wanting to contribute... it's been weighing on him since the changes set in fully and made him have to start adapting to previously simple tasks being weirdly difficult.

An idea hits him, straight out of movies, and the grim expression on his face softens slightly.]

...This might sound kind of weird, but even though I'm not a witch, is there a way I can fight at a distance? You know, like how you'd use magic. Mm... Throwing, shooting?
[A beat, and Yuki smiles, a fully genuine one. He's entirely clueless about the weapons tech here, but...] Are bows sexy? I could figure that out.

[So sue him for basically proposing a way deadlier weapon. Yuki has been overthinking this place in the worst ways.]

It keeps me out of close distance fighting, theoretically. That's a good compromise, right? And when I'm underwater, I'll use merrow stuff. I'll even make more merrow friends to ask, okay? Imagine me being that social.

[It occurs to Momo that they probably needed something like this to drive them to talk, because last time this happened Momo was way too drunk for it and then both of them were way too drunk for it and it was terrible. He still doesn't like having to make this concession, but at least sober he can justify it to himself. In the end, he probably needed to hear that it was making Yuki feel lesser and not just that he was worried about Momo, because the latter was much easier to write off.

Momo hums an assent to the throwing stuff, looking like it might've given him an idea too. But bows are a decent start, even if Yuki's going to have to find someone else to learn how to use one.

The talk of being social is enough to make him laugh and tease a little, though.] I'll believe that when I see it. But I think a lot of the Wilders use bows, so there should be somewhere you can learn. If you think you'd be able to get used to it, I could show you how to use throwing knives, too.

[Momo has been knives akimbo for the most part since he arrived, though he's hoping Yuki's ability to set aside his phobia to use a knife for cooking might be enough to get him through using them for fighting too.

That said, he raises a hand to Yuki's chin to cup it in a somewhat domineering manner, because he can't entirely take the L here. His tone, however, is somewhere on the middle ground between joking and demanding.] Though if we're doing this, remember: Momo-chan is a healer here too. So if you get hurt, I'm dragging you back here and you're grounded in this house until my professional opinion says you're healthy again, okay?

[what was that about the locking him in a tower mindset]

[Yuki visibly relaxes when Momo laughs, because it sounds like a legitimate laugh, and the tension was getting on his nerves. Even if at his core he knows that relationships of any kind take effort, he absolutely does not know what he is doing and will avoid having to get out of his comfort zone when he can. But for Momo... anything. He won't let himself consciously repeat the mistakes he made with Banri, because if he lost Momo he'd lose himself entirely.

He's ready to agree to the knives with feigned confidence when Momo touches his chin. Immediately, he smirks with a mix of defiance and dry humor.]

I'm not complaining about you putting me on bed rest if I get hurt.

[Hah. Turnabout's fair play, peach boy.

In response, though, Yuki finally uncrosses his arms and settles his hands on Momo's hips. He hesitates only briefly before pulling his partner close with that grip, lazily sliding his hands to the small of Momo's back.

Tracing the muscles there appreciatively, he looks right into Momo's eyes.]

Now I'm worried you'll try to whip me into shape. Not to give you ideas, but what are you going to do if I get solid muscles? I might end up being able to take you in a fight, even.

I bet you will if I set the city on you afterwards, though. You know what Momo-chan's networks are like. [Momo may or may not be prepared to abuse his radio show to get in contact with a few more people than just the Mirrorbound. Either way, he's not backing down from putting a certain level of qualifier on his resignation to necessity.

He's not surprised Yuki moves to flirting so quickly, though, because this is one of the more intense conversations they've had in a while. For the first few moments, he plays along, pulling back a little shyly and holding a hand to his cheek as if flustered.]

I don't know, it's too sexy of a thought... [And then his hands dart down and seize Yuki around the waist, practically tossing him over one shoulder with ease and holding him at the knees with one arm so the vast majority of him is just dangling down Momo's back towards the floor. He's had reason to increase his beef even more since he arrived here.]

But how about you set your sights for being able to lift me first, darling? [Momo bares his teeth in a challenging grin thrown over his shoulder, though it's probably hard to see with one's head dangling down near the floor.]

[Hm.

Plan backfired.

Interesting.

Yuki's plaited hair almost brushes the floor, and he wonders faintly how he got to this point in life.

And then, maybe a little unexpectedly, he laughs.]

I'll never finish dinner if you're slinging me around. Do you want to eat, or are we continuing the maiden theme?

[If only Momo could see his grin. The tension is broken enough that he's kneejerking in the opposite emotional direction from relief.]

Carry me off and lock me up, if you're going that far. I kind of like it when you play the villain.

[His fingers flex as he half dangles.]

My Momo, the rogue.

[Momo hums appreciatively at that, shifting his grip and bending forwards so he can roll Yuki back into a position that's more sitting on his arms, a bit like how he carried him after they confessed. Those fangs are still out, though.]

Don't say stuff like that, Yuki, you know the kinds of dreams I have about you. [That involve locking him up, and brainwashing, and Momo yelling about them in chats after the fact and getting roasted by literally everyone for being possessive. And then continuing to mention them because when has a public roasting ever stopped him from doing...anything, really.] You're going to unlock 3D Momo-chan one of these days, and it's not the kind you're thinking.

[Unless he immediately thought the "dirty, dangerous and demeaning" acronym, though it's apparently common enough that Tsumugi knows it too, so he may very well think that immediately.]

[Yuki cooperates, and soon enough he has his arms draped around Momo's neck and is leaning in while he plays with the ends of his dear partner's hair.

Dangerous ideas form when he's like this, both trying to challenge Momo and trying to prove his own mettle. This set of thoughts, while particularly dangerous indeed, is actually pretty logical.]

What if I want to dream about 3D Momo-chan? I'd have to really get a feel for him first.

[One hand's fingertips just trail down to Momo's chest... casually.]

But you know, if you're off being dangerous and sexy you're not here being dangerous and sexy, so maybe I'll never get to...

[[Continued over here because reasons]]

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Video; un: 1000

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Part 2+ spoilers in here if you're avoiding!

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