deercountry | late bloomer jokes [feb catchall

Entry tags:

late bloomer jokes [feb catchall - open & closed prompts]

Who: Manabu & others
What: Misc hijinks
When: February
Where: Misc locations

Content Warnings: Will be marked in tls/comments as needed

February is weird. Manabu feels...weird. He's always an impatient kind of person, needing to always be moving somewhere or doing something, but this is a different kind of impatience. More and more, he's noticing the way couples interact, double-taking at public displays of affection which he'd typically fluster and look the other way at. He pines for a lot of things here in Trench: his family, his coworkers, his job... but he's not used to pining for things like...y'know, hand-holding.

So goes Manabu Yuuki's 24-year old awakening to romantic pining; it's going to be coloring a lot of the month for him! And that's weird and confusing for him, so you bet this'll be coloring the way he interacts with folks he runs into! Lots of word spaghetti, lots of hair frizzing with static, and some apple-red cheeks...at least he has the cold weather to blame for that.

...Even if he's a coldblood.

Shut up. It's nothing!!!

open prompts

o1. Willful Machine: Errands and Odd Jobs
[regardless of these roiling, blood-based feelings throwing him off his game, Manabu still throws himself into work of all sorts. he does errands and handiwork around the Roost for Diluc, but also picks up the occasional odd job for locals - Sleepers and natives alike. he's a jack of many trades and definitely master of none, but what he lacks in expertise he makes up with patience and determination.

perhaps you see him replacing tiles on a store's roof, or maybe he's hauling a wagon full of winter supplies, or part of a small squad lifting some heavy furniture by pulley up to a second floor, or simply carrying someone's groceries! either way, prime encounter opportunity.

also, Magnet is always there: that little mutt's noisy, but friendly, and always apt to bounding away from Manabu to sniff out a friend or potential friend...or at least some pets.]

o2.The Gate: Gunswordplay
[maybe it's too much to bank on, but smacking around the unsnake last month's given Manabu a boost of combat confidence (never mind the concussions)! that said, he definitely needs to get better at this gravity saber business; swords are really archaic, but seem to be quite a common thing here! and look, he wouldn't admit it, but he wants to be cool with the swords, too.

here Manabu can be found a couple hours before sundown after busy workdays, stretching and then trying to master balanced, repeated strikes on dummies with slashes or sparks of flame...boring stuff, but he knows it builds results. still, if anyone's itching to spar, he'll jump at that.]

o3. Gaze: Research
[if things are too slow as far as work goes, Manabu will veer off and go to the Archives - a place he actually hasn't made a point to visit much before! he's not a big studying kind of guy, but he knows the plans he has in mind require a lot more research and thought than just running on hunches and rumors.

also? he wants maps. an atlas feels like a reach, but if he can cobble together some maps...

so that's what he's up to: cringing and veering away from ickier aisles of oddities, picking at the spines of assorted books in increasingly lessening hope.

what's it take to find a map of the world around this place...!?]

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[Magnet echoes the sound, tail wagging, and hops ahead of them to beat them to the kitchen. Manabu trails behind Vyng, feeling both somehow a little better being distanced from a mirror and his own stupid face...and rather apprehensive of the prospect to speaking to his own stupid face.

he'll position himself near the table, out of the way of any tea prep. he won't sit down 'til Vyng does, however...it's only polite!]

[Manabu awkwardly peers back at the sound of the door creaking. he's just standing there with a comb in his hand, hair all frizzed out from static...truly, a human pomeranean in some kind of distress.]

That--I mean... [hh.] You're not wrong, but that's not really...making me feel any better. I wish it did.

Stoppit!

[after a few leg shakes, Manabu hops back a pace and drops into a chair, pulling his knees up and swatting the dog's nose away. Magnet growls, pacing around the chair like a shark.]

He was! Fine earlier...for a while, even! He hasn't been this bad since, since like the start of all of this...

[his hair fluffs with a little static at mothering and protecting - GOSH, Vira-Lorr, he's a grown man!! such a cool adult ok!!

huff.

right...back-on task. how, indeed... he looks around, eyes lingering over at a far window, and then up...]

I wonder... if there's tools to be able to survey from the sky?

[It is an interesting development, gotta say.

Magnet seems like he doesn’t know when to quit. Neither does Bolin.]

Is.. hm.

Do you think it’s because you didn’t want to talk about stuff before? Sometimes Pabu stops me if I’m about to mess up. I almost hung up on Sasuke the other day because I felt stupid but Pabs stopped me and we talked it out and now he’s going to tutor me in science. Sasuke. Not Pabu.

[as expected, Childe comes out on top, but Manabu could at least hold his own for a few passes. it's tough to keep up with two blades when you have just one functioning eye to work with, you know!

he's sweaty, which leaves frigid, icy patterns on his visible skin and little crystals of ice on the tips of his hair where Childe's water blades sliced too close and splashed at him.

on the plus? he did not get tripped up on his ass this time.

just his face.]

Hoo... [he doubles over, hand on his knee, saber propped up in the dirt.] Not...not bad, right? Haa...

[bonds...right...

Manabu exhales in a huff.]

I don't know whether or not I should be glad it's not my fault... I'm getting sick of being jerked around by other people, you know?

[Diluc closes the distance between them and gently grips Manabu’s shoulder. He gives it a light squeeze as he quietly says,]

I know. It is upsetting and rage inducing. We can’t change it or even convince them to stop. All we can do is live with it and that isn’t fair.

Remember you’re not alone. Remember who you are. If you need to burn off energy we can do more lessons. With weapons or magic. Or anything else you wish to learn from me. Hard to think when you’re too exhausted to stand.

Not bad at all, especially for your first time against a Harbinger.

[Sure, he might of gotten tripped up on his face, but that was embarrassment and lesson enough on its own.]

Though, I've been meaning to ask you...what spurred you on to dedicate yourself to learning swordplay? The last time I asked, you didn't know. Now you fight like you have a reason.

[Manabu did mention earlier that one doesn't know when the next mess is going to hit- but that's only one part of a reason, usually.]

There are some things I will not do for you, jaan but believe me, I will say no immediately if I am asked.

[she stops cutting, carefully placing the scissors on the counter to wet her hands and get his hair properly straight. then... probably immediately regrets this...]

I wouldn't know...Ryunosuke's more of the cook between the two of us.

[He supposed it made some level of sense that Manabu wouldn't want this to be common knowledge. Though Kazuma saw nothing to be embarrassed about.]

If having other people around is a problem, I'm sure I could find some excuse to have Ryunosuke leave for a while. He may already be out, in fact.

Gih!!

[static sparks out and bites at her fingers, causing him to flinch and nearly headbutt the mirror.]

Sorry! Sorry, I'm sorry! Aaa- [he sucks a breath through his teeth, drawing his shoulders up and covering the back of his neck with his hands.] Are you okay?!

Okay, can do.

[He does as told, tyring the food as Manabu explains it- given the happy little noises he's making and the fact he's just gonna...scarf it down. Varian rarely really enjoys food- just eating it as a thing needed to keep him alive more than actually enjoying it- so the fact he's clearly liking this is a pleasant change of pace. At some point, he stops chewing to look up.]

Hah, that's a good idea, bet you've never had the same dish twice doing that. [He points at his half-eaten bowl.] This is really good.

[there's an inevitable and involuntary bristle to being touched without warning, leaving Manabu stuck tensely in place as his heartrate spikes. still, he willfully gulps his heart back down, ears stinging a little with Diluc's words.]

Mn... [...] I can't exactly...do my best for everyone like this, either. I need to...be better at handling things. And that only works if I practice, right?

[he turns his head slightly. it's his blind eye's side, but he can still get a sense of Diluc behind him.]

I need to get better with that saber, you know. If I'm going to be able to make it out on the perimeter or further.

[insistent:] Then, then check! Otherwise there's no way this is gonna work!

[come on, Kazuma: put yourself in Manabu's weird little shoes! you wouldn't want your crush to watch you practice dating!!]

[Considering that, at this moment in time, that crush would be on the exact same person? It'd be all too easy to put himself in Manabu's shoes. If only he knew.]

Fine. I'll go check. Wait here...

[The things he does for friends. He could just as easily message Ryunosuke, but that might get more questions and suspicion. So--a quick trek to the homestead it is before he reports back.]

Free and clear. We'll likely have the place to ourselves for a bit.

[Magnet stops pacing to look over at Bolin, ears perked up and nose twitching a bit. Manabu...does not appreciate the obvious conclusion here, grimacing as he puts his chin on his knees.]

M-maybe? I don't know. I, I already apologized! Do I need to...apologize better?

It's personal responsibility.

[he straightens up, frowning back at him.] What business do I have keeping this...if I'm not going to know how to use it? And besides... If I'm going to go out there, to go find what's outside of Trench...I need to be able to handle myself.

[a beat.]

Aa, I didn't...mention that to you yet, did I. Well...

Understood! I'll be there in a couple minutes!!

[the idiot signs off to gather some stuff back at his place, packing a satchel full of things with only a passing glance at this or that, hoping for the best while trying to not waste time.

he's soon rushed to the house, up the stairs with dog in tow, huffing from the rush over between lamps.]

Here! I'm here! Let's--let's do this! [bark.]

My apologizes, I mean additional lessons on top of the ones we are already doing. You are doing well so far, and I do want to push you a little because I know you can do even better.

Only a little bit of a push, I will begin to change what weapons I use against you. The more practice you have against other weapons and how to repel them, the better.

[He won’t be a terrible arms master and use his best first. A spear and a bow, wouldn’t be bad. Or an axe. He lets go of him, giving him a little more space. He’s felt him tense.]

With your permission, of course.

[he gives out a soft affirmative, looking back ahead.]

Absolutely. Between you and Childe...I should be able to make some good headway, keep ahead of this crap.

[That makes him pause and there is a visible recalculation going on his head.] What has Childe taught you so far?

Just curious. [Bullshit. Diluc is reshuffling proverbial papers on his head. He schemes as much as any other tactically minded person among his friends.

One reason of many he is so dangerous.]

[Somehow, Kazuma is not surprised that Manabu seems to have made haste to get here--if anything he looks amused. Being that they are at his home, he's dressed down, comfort is key when at home.]

You didn't have to rush over here...[But the door swings wide to let him in. And in good manners, Kazuma offers Magnet a few good pets in greeting.]

[Manabu takes a step away, clearing the hand before turning back around to look at Diluc.]

Mostly footing and precision exercises. Says it'll make more sense for a thin weapon with projectiles.

That makes sense, right? It does to me...

[while Magnet soaks in the attention, Manabu hurries to peel his boots off by the door before properly stepping in, still ruddy-faced and fluffy of hair.]

Eeh? What do you mean? I-it's important to be diligent and fast with your commitments! You're the one taking time out for me, so I can't waste it, you know!

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late bloomer jokes [feb catchall - open & closed prompts]

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