sentence starters

     He hadn’t realised he’d been quietly singing to himself until he heard one of Mana’s usual exclamations, cutting off whatever words were going to come next. He was quick to raise his hands in a form of surrender at the idea. It was embarrassing enough that Mana had heard him singing at all.

“Ah… What? Y-You don’t want me to do that…”

kitsugawa:

“Good?”
[ How naive. These were mere sketches that were having their quality significantly
ruined by the jerking of the bumpy train ride. Yusuke supposed that the boy wasn’t
an artist himself, or perhaps was just merely being kind. Well that didn’t have to be
true- there was something appealing about free-flowing and careless art. It gave off
a sense of childish innocence even. ]

[ It’s not like Yusuke thought his art was bad or anything- he just had a habit of being
critical of all his work in order to prevent himself from stagnating in his growth and
becoming too comfortable. Yusuke needed to step back sometimes and learn to
just appreciate his work for what it was sometimes. ]

I thank you for your words of kindness. Although I must admit
that I am not drawing anything of interest at the moment; just
a few quick studies to pass the time on my commute, is all.

     A few, baffled blinks were all he could spare to begin with, unsure of how to interpret the one worded response he’d been given in reply. Anxiety began to work its way back into his system, worrying if he’d, perhaps, accidentally offended the other somehow. After a bit of an awkward pause he opened his mouth to explain that he hadn’t intended to come across as rude, only to be interrupted (saved, really) when the other boy spoke again. 

Yugi was quick to sigh in relief when, instead of being reprimanded for what he had said in any way, he was thanked. Clearly, he’d been worried about nothing. He really needed to get better at that, but that was a task for another time. He leaned back in his seat, waving his hands in dismissal at the other.

“No, they’re really cool! I think so, anyway. But I guess that probably doesn’t mean much coming from me… I’ve never really been all that good at art.”

@nightmaretroubadour || continued from here

     After a few awkward strokes with the aid of a spare broom, the other’s unconscious writhing finally came to a stop, bringing a sigh of relief from Yugi. He didn’t know what was wrong for him to turn in his sleep like that, but it hardly mattered now that it was over, he supposed. However, his small moment of relief was brought to a quick end as the lump on the couch quickly changed shape, hissing before confronting him about his course of action. 

It would have been embarrassing enough to have to explain himself to Ryou, but trying to explain to this guy was a chore and a half. The broom was quickly set aside as frantic hands rose in an attempt to dismiss himself, waving slightly as he shook his head, obviously flustered.

“N-No, that’s not it. You- or Ryou or, um- you guys- were turning in your sleep and, well- I don’t know. Your blanket looks kind of itchy so I didn’t know how else to comfort you since I didn’t really want to touch it…”

@destinyboards

     It wasn’t uncommon for Yugi to think he was hearing voices in the midst of the night’s silence nowadays. There was something about being alone in the dark that made him uneasy. When he was younger, he would find himself unable to fall asleep without the company of a nightlight, but ever finding the Millennium Puzzle in the depths of the store’s basement, he’d felt a little better about the darkness. Even before he completed the puzzle, he hadn’t felt quite so alone in the darkness with that box sitting beside his bed on his desk.

These past few months though, that overwhelming loneliness that he remembered from his childhood had begun to escort him through the night once more. Sometimes he questioned why he could still be afraid of such a childish thing. He knew, why, though. It was because now he really WAS alone in the dark. He still had his other friends, sure. He had Jou and Anzu and Honda and Ryou… He loved and appreciated their company, of course he did, but with Atem gone, it felt like a piece of him was missing; a piece he’d never get back.

He rolled over in his bed, throwing his blanket loosely over his head as he gripped the puzzle that lay beside him with a single hand. It felt almost wrong to have it back after having accepted that it, that Atem, was gone, but he couldn’t abandon the artifact. He owed the pharaoh that much, at least. And he wasn’t REALLY gone, right? Not as long as he remembered him! But the more he told himself that, the cheesier it sounded. Memories of him would never be quite the same as having his other self with him.

The muffled voice that seemed to emanate from the darkness didn’t disappear as it normally did, nor did the anxious nagging in his head. Perhaps he was just tired, but that didn’t make him feel much better; it didn’t console him as he failed to convince himself that he was all right. Logically, he knew that it was just his anxiety making him hear things that weren’t really there, but that didn’t stop him from peeking his face out from under the covers to speak out into the darkness that surrounded him.

“Atem?” He knew that he would only be met with silence, but speaking the other’s name managed to calm his nerves at least a bit.

swordsmanlandstar:

Jounouchi stopped in his tracks when he heard the distinct voice, turning around to see the little short stack running his way.

“Hey, Yu– Be careful!”

He let out a little laugh, always appreciating the other’s excitement. However, being handed the paper, he blinked, face lighting with curiosity.

“Huh? Are you sure? I mean, I know I’ve been doing pretty good in duels and all…” He couldn’t help feeling a little proud of himself, though his self confidence was justified. He had been kicking butt recently, literally and metaphorically, and he felt he was on the top of his game.

“You sure your gramps wouldn’t be too upset if I did this? Don’t wanna go hurting his feelings.”

     He couldn’t help but smile a bit too wide, perhaps more pleased than he should be knowing that his friend was feeling confident in his skills as a duelist. It may have been silly, but hearing things like that always filled him with joy. 

Duel Monsters had done so much for him and his friends, hadn’t it? It was kind of weird to think that something as simple as a card game could do as much as it had, but that didn’t matter. A small laugh was stifled moments later at his friend’s comment about his grandfather. 

“Grandpa’s really good at overreacting, but it’ll be fine! It’s my birthday present, and I want you to be the one to scratch it!”