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

[siriusly]

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...!?]

Comments

closed to housemates

[siriusly]

Man...!

[Manabu can be heard huffing in exasperation over in one of the washrooms. the door's cracked enough to see him slouched in front of the vanity, sleeves rolled up on his button-up shirt, his hair...

...in a bit of a state.

look, he doesn't know how to style hair! it just exists there! but it's been getting pretty long, so he set to trimming ends. now, though? ugh...is it better to keep some swept over his face to hide his nasty, empty eye? wear a patch?

this is frustrating and it shows.

muttered:] How do people even do this...?

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael generally has no use for any of the bathrooms in the house, but it's...possible that he was low-key sort of responsible for some pipe damage in one of them a little bit ago. A little bit. It wasn't his fault though!

Anyway, that's why he's initially approaching, and hearing Manabu talking to himself in there doesn't really deter him.]

What are you doing?

[siriusly]

[Manabu yelps with a little surprise - a noise which makes his omen jump. Magnet had been chilling on the mat at his feet, but now the dog is up, sniffing around and off to sniff Michael's shoes.

meanwhile, looking like he just got caught shoplifting:] Huh?! What? Mi-Michael? Hi. Uh--what? [he has no idea what to do with his hands, so they go into his pockets...and then back out because that's stupid and also he needs to pull the hair tie out of the pathetic ponytail he'd put it in.]

[spiritwalks]

Do what? [Vyng lightly pushes the door open a little more — not completely, but at least enough so that he isn't peering through the crack like a creeper.] Get ready for a date?

[siriusly]

Gih--!! [Manabu startles, dropping the comb he had just picked up, straightening up and gawking over at Vyng with a red face.]

Huh? What? Get ready for--[his eyes wince.] A-auh, um--I mean! In...in theory, it's...it's not like I really...I mean, I don't--

[phaseflex]

[respecting his privacy, amara does not look in through the crack in the door, but she does knock and call out:] You've been in there for ages, man, do I need to call someone? You fall in, or somethin'?

[siriusly]

[hastily, punctuated by the clink of a comb dropping into the sink.]

N-no! No, it--it's fine! Why? [he pulls the door open and peeks his head out. his...frizzy, messy head.] Sorry. Uh, do you need the toilet?

[frogiturgy]

What, fix their hair?

[Perell hadn't been spying, per se, but it was impossible to ignore the frustrated muttering Manabu was making as he passed through the hall. Uncomfortable with the cold and dealing with a frustrating bout of lockjoint as the fronts rolled through, Perell had barely been anywhere but the house and the archives.

At least the people were entertaining.

Cracking the door open with his toe to better hear the lad, he leaned against the wall and rubbed his bare head.]

Man, it's been way too long... I don't think I can help you with that one.

[siriusly]

[Manabu startles, frozen in place with his good eye darting over as the door creaks a bit more open. his mouth shuts tight with a click of his teeth, mouth pursing into a thin, frowny line while he hums out an unhappy sound to voice his embarrassment before he clears his throat and tries blowing this off, straightening up and rolling his shoulders.]

I-it's stupid, anyway! I mean...people have whole jobs for this stuff, so why should I know how to do it myself, right?

closed to kazuma

[siriusly]

Eh? [blinkblink.] You can...wait, there's training? For... [for dates? color Manabu surprised. no, really, please color him something other than embarrassed, because so far he's wanted to crawl into a hole and vanish. dealing with feelings in anguish is well and good, but having let it spill that he's been pining for...you know...companionship is mortifying!! especially to Kazuma, because! because...!!

no, no because: Kazuma does not get that level of detail; the target will remain nebulous and unknown and Manabu will be at least thankful mention of training is at least something of a diversion from further explaining himself.]

How does that even work?

[truerevival]

[The suggestion had come out of the blue, mostly from noticing that something was off, and that he could help. Potentially. Maybe.

Either way, the reaction alone made it sort of worth the embarrassment of suggesting it in the first place.]

Practice. That's how it works. If you aren't sure how it should go, practice until you've got it figured out.

[siriusly]

People...actually practice that kind of thing? [Manabu is bewildered by this concept. he's never seen it before where he's from!

...has he? it's not like he ever paid attention to that kind of thing. is that what mixers were for??

he self-consciously scratches at his shoulder while asking:] But...how? It--it's not like sparring or CQC, you know...

closed to fern & varian

[siriusly]

[Manabu's knocking is punctuated by a couple barks. Magnet stands at his feet, almost tippy-tapping in excitement to see two of his favorite young people. it's not his first time visiting, either! though it is Manabu's...

he's got an armful of supplies - noodles he premade, spices from Ariadne's shop, and some extra odds n' ends he didn't need for the dish, but just thought would be nice to pass along. Fern was on duty to find some soup stocks.

cooking...culinary science...it's happening here.]

[droptheious]

[The house is definitely fucking weird - what's with that tower, even? Not that Varian is going to draw attention to it as he opens the door, smiling. He's looking a lot healthier now, the greyness of his skin from his corruption has gone completely. ]

Oh, hey Manabu. And hey Magnet!! [He's gonna bend down to give BEST BOY all the pets, before standing up, gesturing with his thumb as he enters the house.] C'mon in. We're pretty much all set up for you.

[laminae]

[Fern has, thankfully, been responsible and gone ahead and acquired a whole bunch of different soup stock. Vegetable, beef, fish, chicken - he wasn't totally sure which Manabu would prefer for their cooking adventures, so the stocks are sitting in the fridge, ready to be used.

He's in the kitchen when Manabu and Magnet arrive, and he pokes his head out, giving them a wave.]

Yeah, we're totally ready to cook!

closed to bolin

[siriusly]

Uoh, hey...

[Manabu doesn't get far into the Raccoon Room on off-hours before spying a familiar face - just not one he was anticipating. he's not super familiar with Bolin personally - most of his knowhow comes from Mako (sorry about him sniping your romantic prospects by the way, dude), and their exchanges are brief hellos...like he anticipates this one being!

but not today.]

Wu not around right now? Or is he in the back? He mentioned wanting some decorating help. Moving stuff, I think?

[pabugotmoves]

Oh! Hey, Manabu. No he's uh... somewhere. I've kind of stopped asking when he and Mako disappear, you know?

[Not saying they're off doin' the nasty but it's a possibility Bolin tries not to think about like.. at all.

It's a funny situation to be in. They know each other, they have been in the same room several times, but never really directly interacted. Time to fix that. A stranger is just a friend waiting to be made, after all.]

It was probably to help with all that stuff.

[Gesturing to the enormous heap of boxes. Glasses and table stuff and decorations.]

All these chairs and tables need arranging, too.

[Which, you know, he was doing.. he was just. Also.. not doing it very quickly. It's boring to work alone!]

[siriusly]

[Manabu's shoulders lift and fall with a light sigh - the kind of upbeat resignation to a big task. good - he likes having a lot to do.

after a bit of a shudder, he claps his hands together and, as he's taking his satchel off, Magnet - his noisy little omen - hops inside before the door can fully close, bouncing a few steps before making a bee-line for Bolin's shoes. these need sniffing, stat.

while taking his coat off:] Magnet, chill out! Jeez... [to Bolin:] Sorry. I can tie him up outside if he's annoying.

the gate ofc

[monoceroscaeli]

[Manabu is at Childe's favorite place to go in the whole city, so color him surprised to see his friend over here training hard with his sword. He watches a little bit from a distance at first, not wanting to interrupt him, studying his technique. It needs work, but it's coming along, right?

After a few minutes, he calls out to Manabu, giving him a friendly wave.]

Hey there! Looks like I showed up at a good time. How's your training coming along?

[siriusly]

[Manabu pauses at the call, doubletaking as he recognizes that particular redhead. from where he'd been laying and watching, Magnet hops up on his feet and trots over, tail wagging, sniffing at Childe's shoes.]

Aa, hey, Childe... Sorry, I should've asked if you'd be here around this time. [but this was spontaneous. not a real problem, so he moves on from that, wiping at his brow with the back of his forearm, saber dangling at his side in his other hand.]

It's okay, I think. I mean, without any benchmarks, it's kind of hard to say, but...I think it's okay.

[monoceroscaeli]

[He smiles down at Magnet, letting him sniff his shoes before he scoops him up to give him some well deserved pats on the head, laughing at the little dog omen before setting him back down again.]

Don't worry about it, [He dismisses the apology, as it's not needed.] You've made leaps and bounds since we first showed up here. I saw some of your techniques from across the way. It's a little unpolished, sure, but that's what the training is for.

Research

[searingwing]

What are you seeking? [Diluc comes out of an aisle to the right. Lately at work he has looked a little less intense. And sometimes he shows up to work with his hair down and only puts it up when he arrives.

Today his hair is back in a high ponytail that shows just how long his hair is. There’s what looks like a faded hand print on the right side of his face. He has books tucked under his arm. The titles all have some sort of mention of coldbloods and their skills.]

I’ll do what I can to assist you, if you want the help.

[siriusly]

Eh? Diluc? [Manabu doubletakes, surprised to see him here. maybe he shouldn't be - Diluc's a smart guy! but he wouldn't think...research-smart...more like street-smart. but there he is, with an armful of books already! and--

uh--]

Whoa... [his face! he double-blinks and then frowns.] Did you get in a fight earlier? That's a nasty mark. [he points at his own face in the same kind of area.]

Gaze

[onerthes]

Ah, well look who we have here. Come to visit the archives are we?

[Vira-Lorr was here not exactly often, but often enough that finding her in the midst of the books and tomes when it was a slow day in her workspace was not unheard of. She happened to be here around the time that he was searching for a map, leaning over to look amongst one of the various shelves for something...

No, the text she wanted never seemed to be here did it? It was infuriating at times.]

Haven't been having too much trouble this month, I hope?

[siriusly]

[Manabu straightens with a little startle, but perks up when he looks and sees who it is.]

Aa, hey, Vira-Lorr. [he turns away from the shelf so he can address her properly, bowing his head politely. when he looks back up, he's smiling thoughtfully.] I guess I should've expected to see you around here at some point, huh. [her being super smart and stuff...by comparison to his empty head, at least.

at the question, his expression gets kind of sheepish, and he rubs at the back of his neck.] Well, ah, no giant...fire-spitting monsters, that's for sure. And I haven't flown through a wall since then, so I think things are mostly okay so far. I hope that's the same for you...