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You think so?

[A hand, its nails carefully cut short, slides around the back of Ryou's neck. He really does like it when their foreheads are together -- it reminds him of all the other times it's happened, it's reassuring, it's comfortable.]

Should I guess what it is, then? I could try it out, and see if I'm right...

[They were playing a game without a predetermined number of rounds, it's fine, it's fine.]

You could. I wouldn't be bothered if you did.

[He's definitely not bothered by Atem's fingers settling at the back of his neck. There are benefits to still having short hair, though it has been growing out some.

He is trying so very hard not to close the distance, to let himself sit in suspense there, but only because he trusts Atem to break the tension with something nice. Right? As a consolation, he reaches forward, sets his hand on Atem's knee, though with the size of his hand, he has to curl his fingers inwards just a bit to remain marginally appropriate.

...They can play more games later, maybe. Yep. Not now though.]

[...he could turn this aside at the last second. Pretend he's misunderstood, and was talking about something else. It would be extremely funny, and he knows Ryou can dish out pranks like that, and the look on Ryou's face would be priceless...

...maybe later. What tips the scales into sincerity is a combination of a few things: one, birthday. Two, Ryou outplayed him, which, knowing Ryou can has Atem feeling...essentially, the opposite of retaliatory. He doesn't want to get back at Ryou; he wants to get hands on him. (He has no idea this is anything but a normal response to finding out your boyfriend can keep up at dice games.) Also, the hand on his knee is warm, and that's very nice. Three, it's still early; there's plenty of time to kid around later. Four, birthday.

So, instead of pulling something silly, Atem picks sincerity. He does let out a short laugh -- Ryou might read considering-mischief as it flashes through Atem's eyes, then is replaced by affection and nah, this isn't a joke -- before going in for a kiss, a real one. One Atem wants, too, if the way his hand goes up into Ryou's hair almost right away is any indication. Good! This is a good boyfriend, who he'll put plans on hold for, to play games with! Atem likes being with him so much!]

[Ryou does see a little of the emotional shift on Atem's face, it'd be hard not to when they're this close, but he's pretty distracted by the actual proximity that the range of emotions doesn't really register.

Atem wouldn't play with him like that, right? Ohh, if he did Ryou would pout something fierce, and maybe that would be a reaction Atem wanted to see, but it doesn't matter, because after that laugh they're kissing, yes! Ryou immediately relaxes into it, his pointed ears slowly lowering. The hand on Atem's knee migrates to his waist instead and Ryou's fingers curl loosely around the small vampire's back.

Unsurprisingly...wish granted. He's pretty easy to make happy, he's come to find, and aside from simply existing in Atem's general vicinity while they go about their day, it's been nice to do these kind of things. Boyfriend things. This was something Ryou hadn't...well, he hadn't quite looked down on it, but he didn't understand it either. Now he really does see why people can't help but want to stay by their significant others. He can't imagine doing anything else for the next...month? Year? Forever?

~~Ryou please.~~]

[Atem hadn't understood it either, until the dreamworld.

And then he'd understood it all in a single moment, terribly and completely. A piece of the human experience he'd lost fell back into place, and he ended up with feelings growing in his heart like creeping vines, the root-system taking hold deep, so no matter how clear he kept the surface, it was always, always there below.

Now that he's not bothering to clear it, it's only gotten worse. New things keep happening to make them grow faster, stronger. Ryou helping him through the shed is one of them. Wanting to show his feelings more clearly is another. Losing a round of liar's dice did it, too...but also, sometimes, it's just an expression, or an idle tic Atem notices and realizes is cute. His whole house is going to end up covered in ivy, at this rate, and Atem doesn't mind at all.

All this to say, Atem trusts that when Ryou gets restless and wants to get back to games, Atem will be able to tell. He doesn't push things further, but settles in for some PG kissing and hair-stroking until then, letting the warm feeling he always gets when he and Ryou touch wash over him. He's glad he still gets it, as a vampire.

(He respects Ryou's decision to grow his hair back out but disagrees with it, and will be taking advantage of the time he has with it as much as he can, thank you.)]

[PG kissing is welcomed for quite a while, especially when aided by the fingers stroking through his hair. Ryou really likes Atem's fingers in his hair...there's a pleasant warmth that travels from his scalp to his chest...to pretty much everywhere when his hair is tugged even slightly. He ought to meter his reactions more, so that Atem doesn't get that good a read off of him since they've been starting to get closer...sometimes even a bit more daring with what they're doing.

Oh, not now though. This is relaxing, all-encompassing, and maybe later on it'll get a little more...aggressive, but they'd only just started to play a game, hadn't they?

So after what feels like...honestly an entirely too short amount of time, Ryou does pull back, and the look in his eyes is ridiculously affectionate. He looks as if he's ready to pull Atem into the world's tightest, most needy hug and then kiss every inch of his face. But he doesn't. Instead he keeps his fingers settled at the small of Atem's back.]

Couple more rounds...?

[...Of dice. He's definitely talking about liar's dice.]

[He's never going to get tired of seeing Ryou look this happy. It isn't even pride in being responsible for it; it's not about that. Ryou could be happy about anything, and Atem would feel the same way.]

If that's what you want. I'm not opposed!

[He absolutely assumes Ryou is talking about dice.

Kissing's nice but so are games, especially against someone good at them. Atem will absolutely stop kissing to play dice games. He is a games murderghost, there's no helping it; this is where Ryou has chosen to place his affections.]

[They play out a few more games of dice, with Atem netting three wins and Ryou managing two, before finally Ryou decides he's feeling peckish. He doesn't particularly mind whether Atem wants something to snack on or not as eating normal food is generally a Ryou activity, but it does provide Atem an opportunity to get himself a "drink" if he wants one. Ryou contents himself with a sizable anpan he picked up recently, because of course it's something sweet. Of course.

~~Never mind the baked goods he has in the fridge and freezer.~~

Once they're both settled, Ryou glances over at Atem thoughtfully.]

Hmmm...there's still plenty of evening left...but I want to take a breather before we play any more games, if that's okay.

[He loves games, but it's more fun when you take breaks before transitioning! You don't burn yourself out or get all sore if you're constantly losing.]

So a movie, then, I suppose. Ah...is there any movies we haven't seen yet, or did we run through them all while I was stuck as a shadow beast?

I think there's a few left.

[He heads over to the stack of tapes by the 50s-era television and flips through the pile, separating them into watched and unwatched piles. They'd gone through the more atmospheric ones in the collection, the slow-build horror, but there are others...]

It looks like we haven't seen Friday the 31st...All Hallow's Eve...Vandare Chainsaw Massacre...or "Hell-lifter"...

[What on earth is that last one even.]

...is "Ghostbotherers" even horror...? What's it doing here?

Edited 2021-10-17 17:33 (UTC)

It has the word "ghost" in it, I think that should be enough.

Hm. We could do Vandare Chainsaw Massacre, then maybe Hell-lifter. At least one of those sounds like a slasher, so I'd be alright with that.

[Behold: your boyfriend. Weirdo. Big, stupid weird ghost.]

If we really wanted to, we could make a drinking game out of it. I bought alcohol.

[...Son of a bitch did he just propose a game? They will never escape the binding rules of a competition. But in Ryou's mind, this isn't the same.

This will be different. Drinking games are for adults! Somehow...that makes it not the same as playing Liar's Dice.]

Oh?

[Ryou's not been in the fridge yet. He's not spotted the little bottle of icewine tied with a ribbon and a joker card tucked into it.]

So did I.

Heh...if we have that much, we'd better get started on it, right? I'll play!

You'll have to set the rules, though...I haven't seen a lot of "slashers."

...You did? I didn't see anything--oh.

[Oh. Ohhh Ryou hasn't looked in the fridge, has he? Maybe he should have. Now he's equal parts curious and equal parts embarrassed, so he hides behind his anpan, taking a slow bite.

Just give him a moment to sort himself out. Nice things being done for him still short-circuits him from time to time. Yes. Even on his birthday.]

[His eyes go to the fridge, then back to Ryou. Hm? Hm? Did you really think a doll he'd been given as an event-aftermath side effect was it, Ryou? Did you think he'd regift you something from the Ryslig mods and call it a day? What the hell kind of boyfriend would he be?

He'll wait.]

Edited 2021-10-20 02:48 (UTC)

[Ryou gets the idea eventually, stands up while still holding his anpan like therapy pet. Nice things for him? Nice things for him?! This is absurd.

He moves towards the fridge, then pulls it open.

He sees the wine.

And stares at it. That's for him. That's...for him?! Oh...look, there's a little Joker card and everything! Argh, don't look at him, don't look at his ears trying to figure out what emotion they're attempting to convey, wiggling and moving down.]

Um...uh...Thank...you?

The boxes are for you, too.

[Unobtrusive little pastry boxes, not an uncommon sight in this fridge -- but there are more than Ryou last saw in here.]

It's not quite one of everything...but if you want to do that later, I don't mind!

[Because they can do that. Birthday.]

[Haha. Hahahaha.

Ryou takes an unnecessarily huge bite out of the anpan because...because he doesn't know why!! He's nervous! All of that's for him?! He already bought so much, what is he going to do with all these sweets?

(Eat them. Eat them all. He'll die a happy young man.)

It takes him a moment to decide what to do, but eventually he chews and swallows that ridiculous mouthful of anpan, shoves the rest of it in his mouth like a piece of toast, grabs the bottle of icewine and one of the pastry boxes, then walks back over to the couch and sits. All of this is done stiffly, because he's flattered and nervous and this is the best birthday ever but being doted on evidently ruins him.

He sets the items down on the coffin-table, then moves to pull the remainder of the anpan he'd been holding between his teeth away.]

You. You ah, planned this very well.

[Said faintly, and his eyes are pretty wide. He's still trying to figure out how to properly thank Atem, and he'd been so worried about that task that he hadn't even gotten glasses for the wine.

...He just leans on Atem. Processing.]

[Planned?

This is an extremely last minute birthday. This is, "I think he'd like to have this doll as a memento, he wants a day in with sweets and wine and games and movies, so that means pastries and the sweetest wine type I can find, and a cleared schedule."

If Atem had planned this well, more friends would be here. As his arm snakes around Ryou's waist:]

You made it easy. What you wanted wasn't hard to plan! Next time, ask for something harder.

[Look out, next-year Ryou.]

D...did I? I guess...

[He's still pretty touched by all of this to the point of inarticulacy, but he's clearly happy. He can't help the shy behavior though, the way one clawed foot settles over the other, like he's trying to comfort himself by becoming smaller somehow, or how he takes another bite of his snack that's too big and chews it thoughtfully for a few seconds before swallowing and responding again.]

I would have been happy just being here with you. But all of this is very nice.

[He glances at Atem fondly. He has no idea what he did to deserve any of this. Honestly, he hadn't done enough to deserve Atem in the first place...but his kindness was on another level.]

[If he's looking for what he did to deserve it, Ryou set up a birthday party for Yugi and a nameday party for Atem.

But Atem can't actually read minds, so instead, he passes Ryou the copy of Vandare Chainsaw Massacre.]

Well? You're the horror expert...what will the rules be?

Oh. Right!

[Ryou takes the movie, flips it over and reads the synopsis thoughtfully while finishing off his anpan. Oh, yes. Definitely a slasher. Hmm.]

It sounds as if this is going to be...a mess. I mean the title alone would lend to it but typically that means the people are messy as well.

I say take a drink every time someone gets hurt, anytime someone makes a decision that runs against common sense, and every time someone dies.

...Is that okay?

[He's never made a drinking game before, so he can only hope it's okay.]

That seems like it'll cover it...I'll agree to those rules!

[Oh boy his tolerance is nothing, and there's no strategy to speak of in a game like this. This should be interesting.

Small sips.

He gets up, fetches glasses, and pours two precise and perfectly even amounts. How did he even do that? DEX minmaxing, bitch.]

[While Atem gets the wine ready, Ryou sets up the movie. His part takes a little longer since he's fast-forwarding through previews, but eventually he makes it back to the couch.

Before he settles in though, he opens the pastry box he'd picked out of the fridge and...hell yeah, macarons! He only takes two, before curling next to Atem to watch the title crawl.

Don't get him wrong, he's excited to try the wine, but...surely the cast wouldn't do something drinkworthy within the first fifteen minutes, right?

...Right?

(Spoiler: They do TWO.)]

[Just a bunch of human teens, driving to a rural homestead, picking up hitchhikers. Hmmm....is that one a bad call? Atem has to think about it, one arm around Ryou, the other holding the glass.]

In a situation like that, I wouldn't be afraid to pick up a hitchhiker, either! They probably thought the blood on his face was from working at the slaughterhouse.

[....but not only does that hitchhiker injure himself, he injures Hanklin, and he sets a gunpowder fire inside the car.]

That's two injuries and a no-sense decision. Although, I have to give them credit...they didn't go to his house for dinner and made him leave the car!

[Here's to you, Tally and Hanklin, and all your doomed, partying friends.]

[Ryou pops one of the macarons in his mouth, which oh my god may be a dumb idea? It's super sweet!

...But no. No regrets he's gonna enjoy the hell out of it. It's his birthday, he can do what he likes!

He's done with the second one by the time all of the nonsense unfolds, and while he's not entirely against Atem's logic, he can't keep his own opinion to himself here. He is the horror boy.]

Oh come on, they should have made him leave the van sooner than that, let's be honest. Even by normal standards, allowing him to stay in the vehicle that long was...more than inadvisable. Bet he'll come back later as an antagonist.

[Ryou's seen and read enough horror to know picking up a hitchhiker and letting him be weird in your van is ridiculous okay?

So he reaches one conveniently long arm forward for his glass and...in the interest of compromise, takes a single drink.

He proceeds to then miss the teens arriving to the gas station because he has opinions on this wine.]

...This is really good, where did you get it from?

[No worries about the movie. Someone will start screaming eventually, right?]

[Atem has to give him that. The slaughterhouse talk was enough to set off warning bells, but once the stranger took Hanklin's knife, that's about when Atem would be queuing up behind Yugi's eyes, paying sharp attention for the moment he'd need to step in.

Yugi wouldn't have kicked him out of the car, but that's what Jounouchi's for.]

Oh, the same place the 38 stocks their bar from. I figured any winery they dealt with would be monster-friendly enough to sell to me.

[He's glad Ryou likes it.

Oh no...there's a gasoline shortage in the area...bad news for this crew.]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, PLAYER1. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 10.11.0.0.01 * PLAYER1 has joined 10.11.0.0.01 <PLAYER1>** If you're looking for someone you knew as Yugi before June, you've found him! It's Atem, leave a message.

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alright we're BACK!!! now with more timeskip!

i will edit this gag and reserve the right to retcon any movies they see if someone apps in

these are all perfect fffh

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i have to reuse the icon it's so perfect

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cw fictional self harm

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