R1 DEADLAND PT2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

[lockdownmods]

[it’s strange, for the people who were already dead, the shift in scenery is sudden and complete. For those who have just arrived? It’s like you’re back where you left?

How strange.

But if you ever need her, you can always reach out to the guardian of this place.]

LOCATIONS
Note: locations lag a week behind the living counterparts

Comments

[supportrole]

Well, he never had to take care of anyone else's cat after business hours, so it probably wasn't that bad.

[starswink]

I knew it... regular bosses don't do that. But other than that it was exactly the same, huh?

Did you ever have any pets of your own?

[supportrole]

Probably not exactly.

Uh, I had a hamster once?

[ It also died... ]

[starswink]

[Yoosung seems really amused by that answer.]

Oh, cuuute! You know, the RFA had this Q+A once where they asked us what animal we all thought each other were like, and hamster is what Seven said I was like... cause I'm small and I try really hard, like a hamster in a wheel. He said it was because I'm nocturnal too with my gaming, so I guess there were a lot of reasons I'd make a good one! You want me to be your new hamster?

[This interview is a real thing that happened, but he's joking. He swears. Probably.]

[supportrole]

[ Mishima laughs; he can kind of see it, but it still doesn't seem like the most flattering comparison. ]

I dunno, it might be hard to find a big enough wheel.

[ Anyway, Tama was a good hamster and everything (probably, he's actually still not sure what makes a hamster good) but sharing a room with him was hardly on the same level as the sleepovers Mishima and Yoosung had had here. ]

Besides, I think I kinda like you better as you.

[ He's looking into his eyes with affection while saying that, and might get a little closer than intended. ]

[starswink]

[Those eyes are full of moonlight... they draw him in like the tides. Yoosung has been aware of their bodies the whole time, mostly the comforting weight at his side, but a face being this close turns him on high alert. All of a sudden, Yoosung's cheeks are burning with red. The distance is so small now, either one of them could close the gap in an instant. Is he getting a kiss!? Would Yuuki kiss him? Sure, the words that mouth formed contained "I like you", but it wasn't direct... his heart is going crazy from wondering if that was really how he meant it. For that matter, anyone would get some kind of nervous about kissing, but this is a different kind of fear than any guy who's kissed him. It's a fear that he won't. He never thought he'd feel that way... Caught up in his attraction, Yoosung leans forward even closer still. His lips are parted, questioning, even inviting. Yuuki could feel his breath.]

...

[But he musn't do this.... they're drunk. Yuuki would make only female AIs if he could, and Yoosung might still have a pre-girlfriend out there if he wasn't dead. They depend on each other too much for their self esteem. And as a kindred internet foreveralone spirit, his junior might not have even been kissed yet before... so he just stays where he is now, thinking of a way to express his feelings.]

I... I like you too... [There's a long pause, so he can hear that all on its own, before he finishes.] As you are.

[He'll leave it up to him to decide if he also means "as we are," a half moon and falling star still waiting to light up the sky.]

[supportrole]

[ It's true that it's the alcohol that's lowered Mishima's defenses this much -- not any outward walls, because Yoosung already got past those and reached him a long time ago, but his defenses against some of the parts of himself that he's always tried (with varying degrees of success) to keep locked away. It's that subconscious gatekeeper that always made sure he added a disclaimer of "but not like that" to even his inner monologues whenever he thought of his appreciation for Kurusu, or, now, whenever he feels himself flush at Yoosung's kind words, or the warmth of his hand in his.

It's only now that the voice of his inhibitions has softened that he's able to express his affection purely like this, without thinking about the implications. And he's not thinking about it, really, or even where it might lead in the next second, until there's that moment of quiet where he can feel Yoosung's breath against his lips, and suddenly his heart is racing.

Oh. ]

O-oh... uh.

[ Mishima's eyes are wide, and he can feel the deep red heat in his face spreading to his ears, but... he doesn't pull back at all, even when Kunikida crosses his mind for a moment and he feels a strange pang of guilt (though he knows she'd probably only ever thought of him as a good friend anyway). She's still alive, unlike him, and given what it would mean for her if they were to meet again... he kinds of hopes she never has to see him again. That's... probably kind of how Yoosung is looking at it with his girlfriend too, right? Neither of them could wish this on someone they cared about.

What they have here is each other, and that's... really, really precious to him. So, if one of them closes this last bit of distance... it can't really be bad, can it?

I like you too is a line Mishima feels like he's spent most of his life wanting to hear, and now that it's there ringing in his ears, even if he doesn't quite know what to do with it, he doesn't want to let it go.

He swallows, vaguely taking notice of a small lump in his throat, and... smiles, anxious and hopeful all at once. ]

Really?

[starswink]

[Yoosung's face couldn't get any hotter, but when Yuuki's expression changes, he feels like he's going to die of embarrassment. He'd read him wrong... but at least he still looks happy about it... his heart is in his throat but he feels good too. Yuuki isn't rejecting him. He's right here. If he thinks about it, this was almost a confession and now he's asking to hear more. But he's right about his girlfriend, how he prays with his all that she's alive and won't ever come where he is - that he's still managed to keep her safe with the only love he was able to give her. Yoosung has only just now realized that he might love Yuuki the same way. If that were really the case, he would want to tell him properly, the kind of heartfelt confession there's no way he's articulate enough to string together right now. Before they kissed... he would owe him that much... Yoosung's eyelids flutter as he comes to another realization. His smile stretches wider, confident in his response.]

Yeah.

[And then he finally closes the gap. Not with his lips - he touches their foreheads. He wishes to convey to him the precise way he has felt in this moment, so he can understand. He sends this sentiment gently, synchronizing their breaths for a moment. Then he pulls back, back to the distance they were before, so he doesn't overload him. He hopes he got the message.]

[supportrole]

[ Mishima lets his eyes close when their foreheads touch, though it takes him a few seconds to even understand the intention. Ah... right, this is a thing they can do here.

It's different than the other times before, though, in part because that warm, deep affection is flowing both ways. Coming from anyone else, he might still have had trouble believing it, and thought the person connecting with him had to be faking all of this to manipulate him to some end. But between the two of them... he can believe that feeling is real, because he trusts Yoosung so completely, and because this is so close to what he was already feeling himself.

When Yoosung draws back, Mishima opens his eyes again, smiling back at him with greater certainty. ]

I, uh...

[ ...Well, certainty in his feelings, not necessarily in his words. ]

Me too.

[starswink]

[The tide of this love just keeps rising... he feels a profound contentedness knowing his feelings were received. He wants to capture this moment and freeze it in time. His hand reaches for Mishima's - but stops short, and he laughs. His songpyeon is still in it. He'd almost forgotten.]

...Hey, Yuuki. Did you ever figure out your wish?

[supportrole]

[ Mishima blinks for a second, and follows Yoosung's gaze to his songpyeon. Oh, right--! Jeez, he'd almost forgotten too. ]

Mm... I dunno. I was thinking before that maybe I'd just wish for the Phantom Thieves to keep changing our world without me.

[ He shrugs, and looks back up at the moon with a more wistful smile. It still looks like the moon he's always known, though he knows it's not real -- he's not sharing it with any of the Thieves back home. ]

I mean, I'm pretty sure they can do that whether I wish for it or not, honestly, so maybe that's a waste... but I also don't want to wish for anything that's too impossible, you know?

[starswink]

I don't think it's a waste. You've always given them the strength of your belief. Why not give it some extra power?

[He smiles a bit.]

Unless you have another good idea.