deercountry | late bloomer jokes [feb catchall

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...!?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I don't mind at all. [Why would he? When he had suggested this how debacle in the first place? If anything, he feels a bit guilty for putting Manabu on the spot regarding his feelings.]

By all means...[A sweeping gesture toward the kitchen and all that entails.] I can still help--with the food and all.

[Let's just ignore how tight that kitchen space is and how ridiculous the offer of help is with such spacing, shall we?]

A--no, no! [insistent, flustered:] Since this whole thing was because of me, it's my responsibility!

[fists clenched in protagonist fashion:] It won't even take that long, so please wait a minute!

[A laugh follows. Amused, but not cruel.]

All right, all right. If you insist. I won't keep you from your work then.

[he does insist, because insistence is the most Manabu can be that doesn't feel so out of place with his usual nature. so he rolls up his sleeves, editor cues the montage, and cooking happens, all while Magnet gets the chance to bask in free attention from Kazuma as part indulgence, part mission for his person. there are some occasional growl-whines, resonating with the fussy distress Manabu's still in the midst of, but things are turning around for the better, it seems...]

Right... All done! [Manabu sets out a freshly-poured dish of udon noodles and a chicken stock broth on the table. there's some onion and carrots in there, spiced up a bit with some things Ariadne had in her shop - not an exact one-for-one of a traditional serving, but...pretty darn close.

he backs away, folding his hands behind his back, eyes big.]

What do you think?

[There's a hum of appreciation before Kazuma even has a bite. He can recognize effort--and this certainly shows effort. He's impressed, to say the least. With a quiet word of thanks, he takes a hearty bite of noodles, followed by a gulp of the broth.

There's a moment of contemplative silence, and then:] Delicious. You're quite the cook.

Eh, really?! [he brightens, smiling, relieved by the positive feedback, practically a mirror to the delight Magnet conveys unfettered. if he had a tail, it'd be wagging.

happily, while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.] Aa, n-not really! I think I'm just good at one or two. Or at least! The ones that aren't too complicated or hard to mess up... But as long as it's good, that's really all that matters, right?

Even if it's only one or two, that's more talent than I have. [It's said with a laugh, but there's honesty to it. Kazuma was not much of a cook.]

Honestly, you sell yourself short. If you enjoy it, and you do well...Take the praise and continue fostering it. Though I suppose you have a point: So long as it's good, that's what truly matters no matter the meal.

[this must be how his mom feels, making good food for people. he's usually got his eyes fixed on the long shadow of his father, searching for praise in matters of being a soldier, an officer, a man. he thinks of cooking as more of a feminine thing, not...something he ought to be praised for.

...but he doesn't mind this.]

Mn, well, I can...leave behind some notes? On how to do it. You'll see it's not so hard at all.

Notes? [He laughs softly. He's tried his hands at recipes before, but he didn't want to deny Manabu's kindness either.] If you think that might be a way to learn.

[Then there's a slow draw of a smile.] Or we can keep you on as a cook. [Teasing, teasing.]

[he responds the same way he always does when teased: flustering.]

I-I'm not a cook! This is just...basic stuff! No special tricks. You can handle basic cooking to, to survive on your own, can't you?

[What was soft laughter is now hearty and full-bellied. He hasn't laughed like that in a good while. Not since--well not since he had come here at least.]

I really oughtn't tease you, sorry. And yes, I can handle basic cooking. For the most part.

[in a withering exhale, the seasoned, put-upon little brother energy:] Jeez... You better, because if you can't do this much, then Trench isn't going to treat you very well at all, you know...!

[monsters, Kazuma. remember those? they don't deliver meals, they make one out of you.]

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

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