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kaptainandy · 4 years

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My Complete In-depth TLOU 2 Thoughts:

Yeah I know, y’all have already read through countless reviews and thoughts, but I gotta get my thoughts out there. So, continue under the cut for some somewhat coherent, essay-ish style ramblings. There will be a TL;DR at the end because this is going to be long. (Spoilers ahead).

Okay so my overall perception of this game is that it’s average and I’m slightly disappointed. I’m going to start with the things I really liked and enjoyed before I get into what I didn’t like.

The visuals and gameplay were solid and enjoyable with small improvements upon the first game’s already fun and interesting, gameplay. The NPCs felt less like they were following a track in terms of their movements and felt more natural. The dialogue between enemies felt more varied than the first game, and the addition of giving everyone a name made me feel more immersed and the reaction from other characters to their fallen friends felt more believable. I feel that overall, the development of gameplay from the first to the second game felt “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” and I think it worked out because it’s one of the aspects I liked about the first game. The addition of craftable silencers, varied stealth takedowns, ability to go prone, tall grass to hide in, cars to hide under, larger infected (bloaters and shamblers) now being able to destroy weak walls, etc. were fun editions that helped the combat feel less repetitive. And lastly, the areas of combat that included both human enemies and infected, (and later WLF soldiers vs Seraphite soldiers) was really cool and felt more realistic for the world of the Last of Us. It was something I think the first game lacked and it was really interesting to choose who to take down first and let the enemies fight each other.

The level design was also great. I felt it gave the player a lot of options of how they wanted to traverse the area to takedown enemies and look for supplies. Everything felt huge and worth exploring. The player was rewarded appropriately for checking every nook and cranny, and the addition of going prone to fit under small spaces or breaking glass to get into locked buildings was a lot of fun. The first day in Seattle as Ellie was especially enjoyable as you got to explore the city and mark things on your map while engaging in dialogue with Dina. Every building held something new and acted as an opportunity for Dina and Ellie to banter.

The art direction was incredible and I don’t think I’ve seen a more stunning looking game. It felt like a lot of time and care went into the design of each item and every corner of every environment. My favorite environments were definitely the homesteads of the major characters/factions (Jackson, the stadium transformed into a village by the WLF, the Seraphite island, etc.) because it told the player more about what everyday life is like for these characters and how they’re similar and different. Also, the weather, time of day, lighting, and use of space (or lack there of) added tension and changed the tone in scenes and levels appropriately. I felt engaged in each moment. I think the best use of visuals and atmosphere to set tone and really immerse the player was in the lower level of the hospital during the Abby playthrough. It was claustrophobic, damp, dark, ominous, and it always felt like danger and despair were right around the corner. And the massive clicker cluster fight in the small hospital corner was one of my favorite parts in the entire game. What would have felt like a silly and dumb concept if encountered elsewhere, was actually legitimately terrifying and really cool due to the tone set from the scene. Seeing the effects of a ground zero site for infection 25 years later was really cool to see.

The music? A masterpiece. We have to stan Gustavo Santaolalla. What more can I say? He did a great job. If nothing else, give the soundtrack a listen.

The acting was incredible, as to be expected. The emotional moments were really sold and carried by the actors and the music together. Ashley Johnson, Troy Baker, Shannon Woodward, and Laura Bailey I expected to be phenomenal and they were, but I’d like to give a shoutout to the newcomers and more minor actors as well. I felt no one had a bad performance, or even an average one. Every performance felt genuine and made me more connected to the characters.

As for new characters, I felt Yara and Lev were the ones I felt the most for and were the best written. The inclusion of Lev being trans was really cool to see as a trans person, and I felt it was executed well within the story. Lev being exiled from the Seraphites for questioning their ways and attempting to transition while Yara fought to remain by his side and protect him, made them both interesting and likable characters. They had depth to their characters. Despite coming from an environment that seemed ruthless and unforgiving they both acted as voice of reasons and wanted to help others, which was their strength and their weakness in the end, adding to their complexity.

The story had it’s moments. I found myself being impacted more during light and happy moments more so than the traumatic and sad ones. I felt a lot of time was put into showing the love and care between Ellie and Dina, and I found myself smiling like a goober when they were being goofy or together or cuddling. This also ties into the LGBTQ representation, which I personally thought was well done as I briefly touched on with Lev. I understand and respect those who felt there was too much trauma forced upon the LGBTQ characters, and I agree with that when it comes to Ellie because the whole game was essentially torturing her. I’ll at least give Naughty Dog credit for avoiding the “bury your gays” trope when they very easily could’ve done that given the constant death in the world of the Last of Us. Treatment aside, as a gay trans man, the overall presentation of these characters I felt was realistic, respectful, and gave me hope for future LGBTQ representation in triple A titles. I know this is literally doing the bare minimum but we gotta start somewhere.

Now, as for things I disliked about the game, there was a lot and I felt the weight of things I disliked outweighed those that I like since the overall experience depended on them more heavily.

I’ll start with the small things that irked me, that could be somewhat excused and are more a personal preference. For starters, I felt the game was too long. After awhile it got repetitive and having nearly the entire game take place in one city (as opposed to the first game that took place across the country), the scenery got old pretty quickly. I feel like a lot of the traveling could have been cut. For example, instead of showing a cut scene where characters say “we have to get to x” and having to basically travel the entire way, it would’ve worked better had it cut to them being at or close to their destination, thus cutting back on repetitive combat. It didn’t feel super rewarding and it only sometimes resulted in something added to the story. In the end, I felt it should be exempt for a similar reason you don’t need to show a character’s entire traveling in a movie, it’s just unnecessary.

Another minor detail that bothered me was the shamblers. Not as a concept, because I thought they were really fun new enemies and added something to combat, but the fact that they felt thrown in with no explanation. Where did they come from? Are they only in the northeast of the US? What caused them? It’s mentioned briefly by one character (I forget who) that it could be a result of excessive rain, but it was just a guess and not further elaborated on.

The fact that events and characters of the first game that were influential to Ellie and Joel’s character seemed to be inappropriately forgotten about. I understand the game is meant to be enjoyed by people who haven’t played the first game as well as fans of the first one, but it could still be done in a way to cater to both audiences. It would also help people who didn’t play the first one learn and connect more to Ellie and Joel. Why was there no Riley-related dialogue for Ellie upon seeing “The Turning” arcade machine? Hell, Riley was never mentioned at all. Same with Tess. Bill was briefly mentioned, but not by name. Ellie’s mom still remained a mystery, and I don’t recall her being mentioned. Henry and Sam? Also never mentioned. Upon seeing Sam’s robot toy in Ellie’s room (which I thought was a nice touch) I would’ve thought he might’ve been brought up in discussion with Dina about past friends. I get that it could be implied Ellie has discussed her past with Dina and others before the events of the game took place, but you have an audience to think about. Essentially you have to think that if the audience didn’t see it or hear about it, it didn’t happen. I feel the omission of past characters and events was a disservice to the first game and was really disappointing.

This relates to something else I disliked: It felt like too much time was spent on characters solo traveling and being in combat and not enough on story and relationship building. I felt the time spent traveling alone as Ellie or Abby was far greater than traveling with a companion. The dialogue and interactions between Ellie and Joel in the first game was crucial to the story and relationship, and when the characters were apart, it made the player that more eager for them to be reunited. They were only ever apart when one was missing/injured or they were unintentionally separated and it made sense to the story. In terms of missed opportunity, I especially thought Jesse’s character was mishandled and wasted. Just as the player was really beginning to know his past and connect with him, he dies a seemingly (in my opinion) stupid death. Not only that, but there’s almost no mention of him or his death after it happens, and Ellie and Dina seem relatively unaffected. I felt like Dina’s character also could’ve been fleshed out better. She was one of my favorite characters, but the things we knew about her didn’t seem to impact the story or her character that much, especially the loss she’s suffered. Her thoughts about her sister’s death and Jesse’s death are barely touched on, and I just felt like I was left wanting more.

Jesse and Dina could’ve definitely been handled better, but at least I cared about them. I didn’t have those feelings towards anyone in Abby’s story (except Yara and Lev). This relates to the bigger problem with the timeline of events and the and the order they were shown in the game, but I’ll touch on this in a bit. Before beginning to know these characters, the only thing you know is that they were involved in killing Joel, and happy about doing so. Now the challenge was to get the player to like them, which the writers failed abysmally. I couldn’t even remember half of their names when they were brought back up. The most influential of Abby’s friends, aside from Owen, seems to be Manny and the only things we get to know about him is that he’s horny, likes to get drunk, and - much like the writers - tries to force other characters to like each other (i.e. Mel and Abby). He only exists to establish Mel and Abby’s relationship and to save and help Abby when they encounter Tommy trying to snipe them. Mel and Abby (who I will touch on extensively in her own paragraph because yikes) both seemed like miserable people to be around and their relationship seemed catty and to simply revolve around Owen. I’m kinda sick of having women characters’ relationships revolve around the fact that one of them used to date the guy that the other is now currently dating. It’s stupid and I couldn’t give less of a fuck if that’s the biggest roadblock in their relationship. Also Mel calling Abby a piece of shit seemed unwarranted based on what we knew. Like we knew Mel was against the brutality of Joel’s death, but the way she spoke to and of Abby seemed like there was something else that the writers forgot to tell/show the audience. Abby never did anything personal to Mel (that Mel knew of) yet Mel decides to hate her guts and be unreasonable? Nora was kind of okay and seemed like an actual decent person (aside from wanting Joel dead and them making that shitty comment to Ellie) in her relationship with Abby. She was willing to risk getting in trouble to help Abby, but we weren’t given enough time with her to make me give a shit, especially after what she said to Ellie. Owen had potential to be likable; he was charming, funny, a bit of a fuckboy, but nonetheless was optimistic and hopeful. But for some reason the writers decided to throw out any ounce of care we had for him by having him cheat on Mel with Abby in a shitty sex scene.

Now for my thoughts on Abby. My thoughts about her also relate to my thoughts on the order of events, and a few other aspects I haven’t mentioned yet, so forgive me if my thoughts are a bit all over the place. I really really tried to sympathize and like Abby, but holy shit they fucked up every possible opportunity to create some sort of likability. For starters, it boggles my mind that they had her commit the atrocity that was Joel’s death as basically the introduction to her character. Not only that, but just mere minutes beforehand Joel had saved her life and shown her nothing but kindness and she goes on to torture him and continue to do so while his surrogate daughter begs and screams for her to stop. She shows no guilt both in the moment or afterwards. It doesn’t eat her up inside at all. Every time Joel is brought up by Abby and her friends, she wastes no time expressing how elated she is that she not only killed him, but did so in such a gruesome way. You really expect fans to even WANT to like this character after she tortures and kills the only other character (besides Ellie) that fans LOVED. And I’m not upset that Joel died, because I expected he would and there were a million ways it could’ve been done appropriately to both the story and fans. But the way he died and how early he died at the hands of essentially some nobody really rubbed me the wrong way, they essentially threw him away without any honor to the experience we had with him in the first game. So, that’s our introduction to Abby and her friends. Again, the writers had the challenge of trying to make us like her, but it felt like they didn’t even try. Every attempt to make her likable fell flat either due to an action that happened right before or after. Abby’s only expression of sorrow is after the death of her father and Owen. Manny’s death is never mentioned after it happens and she seems to act like it never really happened. There is no remorse when she kills Jesse and Tommy, or anyone for that matter. She and (seemingly most of the WLF) condone and even get off on torturing Seraphites (they’re terrible people but if you’re trying to make me like a character, I don’t think you should have them condone the torturing of anyone). Abby is quick to kill Dina even after learning she’s pregnant, to which she comments, “good” and only stops because Lev is an actual decent human being and gets her to stop. And the writers have the gall to try and compare her to Ellie; trying to be like, “see she and Ellie aren’t so different uwu.” Meanwhile, Ellie is crying each time she hits Nora; she just wants Abby, she didn’t want to have to torture Nora like that. Ellie is traumatized after finding out that Mel is pregnant after killing her. Ellie is constantly shown to be grappling with the consequences and feelings of her actions. She experiences guilt and shame while Abby is shown time and time again to not regret her wrongdoings. The writers really tried to push us to like Abby by having her care for Yara and Lev, but I felt she did it out of selfishness and needing to feel good about herself not because she truly cared for these kids.

Going back to Joel’s death, the gruesomeness wasn’t even warranted based on Abby’s reasoning. Abby’s dad didn’t get murdered in front of her and he was killed because he stood in Joel’s way, holding a scalpel to Ellie. Jerry’s death was quick and painless too. And I know people will be like, “but Abby was also mad because now there’s no cure because of what Joel did!!!” However, she had no problem wanting to kill, or leave Ellie alone despite knowing she was immune. Abby was never on a quest to capture Ellie or talk her into finding the Fireflies with her (which would have made for an interesting storyline actually), she wanted her dead too. Joel’s death was the most tasteless death of a beloved character I think I’ve ever experienced.

Also the order of events was really detrimental to the story and especially Abby’s character. The way that flashbacks were thrown in throughout the story after Joel’s death fell flat and made Joel’s death feel even worse. The Joel and Ellie flashbacks were honestly the highlight of the game because we got to spend time with the only 2 fleshed out and likable characters. Had they been placed at the beginning of the game and also showed more of their relationship after Joel tells Ellie the truth about the Fireflies, I would’ve felt his death would have been more okay (still shitty, but slightly better than what they gave us) because it would feel more unexpected and it would hit better emotionally after these moments we had with Ellie and Joel. Hell, the majority of the game should have been as it was advertised (which is another issue I’m gonna touch on shortly): the rocky relationship between Joel and Ellie after Ellie learns the truth and the two of them going on a revenge quest together, as Joel tried to earn Ellie’s forgiveness. The events presented in the order in the game also made it impossible for anyone to try to like Abby. We learn she commits the biggest atrocity and we know all her friends are going to end up dead, so there’s no emotional impact when we see how they die because we’ve known the whole time they were gonna be killed by Ellie. Both Abby’s character and the story they were trying to tell could’ve have been really great and interesting but it was just so poorly executed.

The story itself seemed so amateur as well. It just boiled down to “revenge and violence are bad uwu” while giving the player no choice but to engage in said violence. They tried to create a gray area between good and evil like they did in the first game, especially with Abby’s story but they ended up doing the opposite. Also the weak use of animals and pregnancy to create emotional impact is just so easy. They couldn’t think of any other way to make us connect to the characters except “hey look they love this animal” or “this is someone who is going to have a baby under these rough circumstances” and it’s just sloppy writing especially because they use both tactics MORE THAN ONCE.

The intersecting stories, themes of “what really is good/evil,” redemption of a thought to be unlikable character, and the death of a beloved character would have been so interesting and emotionally impactful if done right, but it felt like Naughty Dog chose every terrible option and outcome, resulting in the wet fart that we got. It felt sloppy with no honoring of the previous game or characters. We all cared, but apparently the writer’s didn’t. The ending with Ellie essentially being left with what she feared most, being alone, would’ve been way more appropriate had anything prior warranted this consequence. Not only is she alone, but Ellie loses the ability to play guitar, a way in which she remembered and felt connected to Joel. Like she goes through hell, and 99% of her actions are justified, yet she gets punished.

Lastly, I want to touch on the false advertising for the game. Normally, I wouldn’t be upset because movie trailers do it all the time where there will be subtle differences or added scenes that don’t occur in the movie, but this was a whole other level of fuckery. I get trying to mislead people to think something is going to happen only to steer them in a different direction, in fact I think this is really cool and fun when done well. However, this was straight up lying and essentially selling an entirely different game. Not only were these lies perpetuated in trailers and ads, but even in events such as E3. Neil Druckmann constantly harped on the idea that the game was going to be about Ellie and Joel having a falling out after Ellie learns the truth and how they navigate their relationship through their next adventure together. Yet the game was never about that, instead it was just a story about drawing shitty parallels between a beloved character and a new character who was destined to be unlikable from the start.

In the end, I think it’s still worth playing because I’ve seen so many mixed reviews floating around so I feel it’s best to make your own opinion. And if nothing else, it’s a fun experience if you’re just looking at a fun game to play if you don’t really care too much about the series or characters as a whole. Will I return to this game? Not anytime soon likely. But just being the fan that I am of the series I think I’ll try to get most of the achievements eventually, and to experiment with photomode because the visuals are so good. Even with how much of a disservice this game is to the series, I don’t think it ruins it for me. It just makes me love and appreciate the first game even more and I think they could bounce back from this, but they’d need to put in a shit ton of work to earn their core audience back.

TL;DR: As an addition to the Last of Us as a series, the game is a huge disappointment and disservice, but as a standalone game it’s slightly above average. The gameplay, music, and visuals slap but the story, characters, and relationship building (or lack thereof) suck. Naughty Dog lied in a highly scummy way to fans via advertisements and trailers. Fuck Abby. Stan Lev and Yara.

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seitjun · 7 years

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tea parties

title: tea parties

pairing: akakuro

rating: G

summary: akashi seijuurou didn't know someone like kuroko would appear in his life, but there he is, suddenly in his life. in the end, though, he finds that he doesn't mind him at all, especially when it's over tea.

notes: for my akashi, @ssanctuses , despite how the beginning sounds, it’s actually super lighthearted and is closer to a humor/romance genre! i tried to write a cool thing, but am i cool enough? nah, but i did throw in a fight scene.

read on ao3 or below!

As the emperor of the greatest dynasty in all of Japan’s history, Akashi Seijuurou is powerful. He knows this perfectly well, spending the last twenty-six years of his life and the last eight years of his rule in finely-tuned, absolute control; everything that happens is planned and everything that’s planned happens.

It’s a simple fact of life for the Teikou Empire, but not so for the little, outside village of Seirin.

Scarlet-gold eyes watch as person after person are pushed down to their knees to kneel below him. His gaze travels the entire room, mentally counting all of the present people, only to frown in displeasure when he realizes there’s one less person in the room from his guard. Who was missing didn’t click until a second later, one second too late as a loud yell had already traveled to him and his ears.

“Ryouta! Find Daiki now!”

A head of blond hair immediately moves into action, bolting out of the room. A head of green and purple only stare at the disappearing figure, but Akashi can see the tenseness in their shoulders, the slightest frown on their lips, and the hard glint in their eyes.

Contrary to popular belief, he cared quite a bit for his personal guard, and whoever had caused Daiki to scream and for the others to be worried, they would die.

Another scream erupts, and Akashi is debating if he’ll have to send himself to dispose of the attacker – or he’s assuming it’s an attacker, at least. But his debate proves useless in the end when familiar gold enters his vision, followed by limping navy carrying sky blue before the body is thrown carelessly onto the floor.

Akashi eyes Daiki’s state, narrowing at the sight of slashed skin and dripping blood, feeling a tundra creep into his body. He moves onto the pitiful lump in front of him, sneering at the audacity of the man for attacking his reputed guards; he had guts, but it meant nothing if he didn’t win in the end.

Before he can speak to announce the fool’s punishment, Daiki is already speaking…

“Sheesh, Tetsu, you didn’t have to be so harsh on me! 8 years we don’t get to see each other, and this is how I’m greeted? Pft!”

...and laughing.

Raising an eyebrow in bemusement, he switches back to the lump on the floor, eyes widening in surprise when the figure picked their upper half up, supported by weak and shaky arms, but unblemished.

“Perhaps you weren’t fighting harsh enough, Daiki, if this,” Akashi gestures his hand to the navy-haired guard and the guest, “is the result of your fight. Do you wish to be trained by me again?”

Fear overtakes Daiki’s navy eyes, but it’s ignored for a sudden tinkling of soft, barely there laughter, echoing everywhere and capturing everyone’s attention.

“He was actually much harsher on me,” blue eyes suddenly appear in Akashi’s visage, and he suddenly feels enamored for a foolish moment. “It’s just in less obvious locations. Take that however you will.”

“Oi, Tetsu, don’t say shit like that! We’re not fucking,” Daiki denies, red blooming beneath tanned skin. “We’ve just been friends for a long time now, graduating from the Academy at the same time. And y’know, the whole 8 years thing I said earlier.”

Oh. Now, that was an interesting fact. Akashi muses, now viewing the tiny blunet in a new light; this frail looking man managed to graduate from such a prestigious school and not only manage to at least tie Daiki in a fight, but also be friends with him? Heterochromatic eyes gleam in amusement.

“Yes, hello. I am Kuroko Tetsuya,” the ‘Tetsu’ kid greeted, slowly getting up onto shaking legs and bowing. “And as you can tell, I’ve come here to tell you that you’ve captured the wrong people. I’d like for them to be released, but I can alway do so myself.”

Akashi doesn’t miss the sharp gleam in teal eyes and the smallest smirk on his lips; his own lips twitch slightly. Is this what being finally surprised at something truly unexpected felt?

“There’ll be no need for that. We’ll talk in my study.”

And it’s only a few moments later that Akashi and his personal guard find themselves watching a certain Kuroko Tetsuya sit in front of them. He sits primly and properly, sipping his green tea apathetically as he silently nodded along to Aomine’s words.

Aomine is the only one sitting on the same couch as the boy, a tanned arm lazily hanging around a pale neck while sporting a lazy grin and fond look as he spoke. It’s clear to the others that the kid is special when Aomine himself looks so cheery and docile for once, his usual smug and fiery aura suddenly gone.

“I wish you coulda’ seen me at the sparring competition held in Teikou last year, Tetsu. Bet you would have been impressed with how easily I beat everyone,” he brags, flexing his free arm and showing off his muscles.

“I actually was present for a few of the matches, Aomine-kun,” Kuroko replies. “My favorite was your last match in which you managed to somehow stab yourself instead.”

“Oi, that was an accident! The guy was nimble as hell! And how come that’s your favorite, bastard?!”

It’s useless for the taller male to argue when everyone around him starts to chuckle or make a noise in agreement with Kuroko. He shuts his mouth immediately and sulks, grumbling about ‘traitor friends’ and ‘a stupid Tetsu’.

Akashi is the only one besides Kuroko and Aomine that isn’t laughing, but his eyes betray his slight amusement before he clears his throat; the room turns silent almost instantaneously, and Kuroko’s eyes shift over to him.

“While I’m pleased that you’ve had your overdue reunion, we originally came here to talk about your Seirin friends, yes?”

The other males nods. “Yes, I came here because I heard that you deemed the Seirin responsible for the massacre in Seihou last month.” He doesn’t elaborate, instead choosing to take out a slim folder – where was that hiding? – the white sheets of the files inside peeking out, and hands it to Akashi.

Heterochromatic eyes read over the information, expression remaining unchanged as he flips over page after page. His personal guard looks between their emperor and the guest, slight worry blossoming in Aomine’s chest; he knew how Akashi could be if meetings like these were found unsatisfactory, especially if it dealt with crimes or information. After all, he joked silently, it was hard to impress the emperor with information when Satsuki was on his side.

Except his worries turn to naught when Kuroko’s hand gently touches his arm, and he looks up to see a smug smile on Akashi’s face. It’s cold and sharp, much like the look in his eyes, and Aomine feels himself shiver, but at least Kuroko wasn’t being executed for being ‘unsatisfactory’ to the redhead.

(Akashi’s words, not his, Aomine says later, defending himself to Tetsu.)

“So, Hanamiya Makoto is the true perpetrator?”

“Yes,” Kuroko confirms, nodding once more and placing his teacup down. “His original motive in arriving at Seihou was to recruit the village into their own budding empire due to the old family lines that lived there. Many of them were samurai families, and while quite a few still follow that path, most of them are at least experts in ancient martial arts and possess ancient moves that have been long forgotten by most societies today. Not only that, they also hold quite a varied storage of weapons that specifically improved their fighting styles, and in extension, their skill.”

“While that’s a fine explanation, how do I know you aren’t doing to trick us into giving you your Seirin friends back? What if you were secretly part of Hanamiya’s entourage? And even if you aren’t, you could also easily be lying to get us to incarcerate the wrong people.”

The tealnet didn’t seem bothered by the accusations, choosing to slightly tilt his head as he regards the emperor. “You read through the information and asked me a question regarding the information instead of ignoring it and immediately sentencing me to death. You at least accepted the information, finding it accurate. You’re also quite known for knowing when one is trying to deceive you. Besides,” Kuroko paused, “you already captured the wrong people once. What would be new?”

Akashi’s personal guard swallow the lump in their throat, feeling sorry for Aomine’s friend; Aomine himself just gapes at Kuroko’s bluntness, silently mourning his good-as-dead friend. May he rest in peace and hopefully in one piece once the redhead was finished with him, he prays.

But Akashi simply mirrors Kuroko’s head tilt and rests his cheek on the palm of his hand, his other hand motioning for him to continue on; he ignores the surprised looks of his guards aimed at him. Maybe he’ll appoint them some more rounds of his training regime, feeling slightly irked that his personal guard found it surprising that he wasn’t always violent.

“And anyway,” Kuroko continues, ignoring the atmosphere, “who said anything about you having to worry about incarcerating the people? I already have him and his inner circle of nobles captured, currently being held by Kiyoshi Teppei and Hyuuga Junpei, both members of Seirin.

“Do you now see why I asked for Seirin’s people back? Of course, if you oblige, I’ll hand over the culprits to you. If need be, I’d be willing to offer more. If you don’t, I’ll simply let them free and call it an accident on my part,” he finished, shrugging lightly at his last sentence.

Akashi hums in contemplation while half-lidded eyes finally took in more of the small man in front of him. He didn’t look too impressive at first glance being so tiny and soft with only the odd blue hair and apathetic expression being noteworthy; yet the male ended up being sharp and fearless, close to being a threat after he had seen the navy-haired man’s appearance after the surprise match.

(He’s suddenly slightly glad for said tanned male to be friends with the tealnet. It’d be annoying if he was on completely opposite sides of Akashi.)

“How irritatingly fascinating,” he faux sighs before smirking. “I’ll agree to your deal of exchanging Hanamiya and his men for Seirin. However, I’ll also take your offer of adding more if need be, and I wish for you to temporarily join my personal guard.” Akashi ignores the surprised yell from said guards, eyes focusing only on Kuroko.

“I’ll gladly do so, Akashi-sama. I’m pleased that we have reached an agreement.”

Kuroko picks up his tea again and Akashi’s eyes flash in acceptance.

“Ah, there’s a steam of a tea leaf standing up.”

“I thought the kid would die for sure, Midorimacchi, but instead he gets temporarily hired by Akashicchi instantly!”

“Stop your annoying wailing, Kise. While I admit that it’s a surprise that Akashi didn’t punish the boy, it’s obvious that the boy had caught his attention the moment he was thrown to the floor and noticed Aomine’s wounds. You, of all people, should know how hard it is to harm the idiot in a fight.”

“Aka-chin also smiled more or at least looked somewhat happy. Plus he volunteered to be the guide while Kuro-chin stays in the palace for a while.”

“No way. And Kuro-chin? You give him a nickname on the first day, but it takes me a year?!”

“Shut up, that’s not the important part. I’m annoyed that Akashi did this without consulting us first, but we’ll have no choice to accept it. And despite the outcome of Aomine’s match, Kuroko still looks extremely weak, and it’s only a matter of time until Akashi retracts his invitation for him to join the guard.”

“True, Midorimacchi! Don’t let Aominecchi hear you say that, though.”

“He does look like he can be crushed easily…”

“So you were the one who took out the entirety of Fukuda Sougou? Even Haizaki Shougo himself?”

Akashi finds himself asking as Kuroko nods over his cup of tea. The both of them had been spending the early morning out in the palace gardens, having tea as they learned more about the other. And suffice to say, the redhead was learning quite a lot, and he felt himself being more and more enamored.

His eyes momentarily flicker towards the contents of the table: the multiple pages of information concerning Tetsuya surrounded by pencils, the momentarily forgotten shogi board still unfixed from their last match – and the empty china that once held strong and warm tea.

“I admit that he wasn’t an easy fight, far from it, but even the strongest man will fall to a silent, invisible threat. How that threat plays out is a different matter. Don’t you agree, Akashi-sama?”

He raises an eyebrow at the question. “Is this your own way of threatening me? I’ll have you know that there’s a reason why I have a bloody reputation.”

The bluenet chuckles lightly. “Of course not, Akashi-sama, and like most people in this world, I know who you are. But I still stand by my previous statement.” Kuroko bows. “Forgive me.”

Without hesitation, Akashi pushes his chair back and dodges to the left, eyes narrowing at the sound of a broken teacup. He stands up, Kuroko following, and unsheathes a small kunai hidden in his sleeve before lunging. Kuroko evades him easily, and he catches the glint of a silver dagger coming straight for his eyes.

He parries the blow, a grin overtaking his features as he pushes Kuroko back. A soft breeze alerts him of another weapon, but far too late to prevent the shallow cut on his cheek. He ignores the cut, focused on evading both of the weapons. He pulls away to gain some distance from the dual-wielder, foot trampling on flowers.

His eyes narrow again as he watches Kuroko stay back, scrutinizing him as well. Akashi shifts into a defensive position again, barely blocking one dagger as the other lands another, deeper cut. He clicks his tongue at his own inability, but a few cuts wouldn’t mean anything as long as he won.

His free hand jerks forward, catching the wrist holding the unblocked weapon, and presses a finger against a pressure point. Kuroko hisses and drops the dagger, aiming a high kick towards the redhead and twists his body around. The grip loosens and he drops down into a ball to roll away before stopping and squatting in the soil.

He glances at the soil before secretly grabbing a handful, watching Akashi lunge towards him. He growls quietly as the kunai slashes his cheek and tosses the soil into a pair of heterochromatic eyes. Said eyes shut tightly reflexively, and Kuroko doesn’t hesitate as he disappears.

Akashi opens his eyes only to find no more Kuroko in front of him. His guard is up even higher, gaze flickering everywhere in the garden, but he can’t fucking find the dude until the brief feeling of cold metal against his nape makes him twitch away. He ducks under Kuroko, his hand holding the kunai already moving to knock the last dagger away as he trips the bluenet.

Kuroko huffs as he falls and his second dagger is kicked away from him before rolling to the side as a kunai lodges itself into the soil where his head once was. He huffs again as he gets up, bolting towards the table and grabbing a pair of sharp pencils, immediately throwing two of them. They catch onto the hem of Akashi’s robe, keeping him there for a brief moment.

But the garment is easily shed, and Kuroko discards the idea of throwing pencils. He slips one into his own sleeve and drops the rest before grabbing the pot of lukewarm tea and chucks it. He doesn’t check to see if it hits Akashi when he can hear the sharp hiss of said male.

Kuroko takes a moment to breathe, already feeling his stamina start to run out at the fight’s fast pace. But he grunts almost silently, grabbing the shogi board as a shield, wincing as the tip of Akashi’s weapon almost went straight through. He shoves the board back at Akashi and takes the brief glance Akashi aimed at the board to disappear again.

His eyes flicker towards his kicked weapon and dashes towards it only for something to grip the hem of his pants, and he feels himself collide with the soil. Kuroko kicks wildly before slipping the pencil out and jabbing it forward, stopping just before Akashi’s golden eye right as a kunai presses against his throat.

Blue eyes look at a pair of red-gold ones hovering above his body, Akashi sitting on his waist to keep him still.

“How lewd, Akashi-sama, we’ve only known each other for a week.”

“How irritatingly fascinating,” Akashi simply repeats.

They get up from their positions and start to dust themselves off. Despite the minimal amount of cuts and bruising, Akashi couldn’t help but grin again at their brief fight, at the momentary feeling of being alive.

He watches Kuroko from the side of his eyes as he helped restore some sort of order in the unfortunately ruined garden, picking up scattered shogi pieces and fragments of shattered china. The two of them nearly silent with the only sounds being their harsher than normal breathing and the shifting fabric of their clothes as they moved all over the garden to fix it.

Akashi is the one to find Kuroko’s weapons in the end once the cleaning is done, for the most part, hidden in a once beautiful but now trampled section of red roses. He chuckles as he hands the two daggers to the bluenet while in the roses, the smaller male flushing before bowing in gratitude.

“Once again, forgive me for the sudden brawl I had initiated, Akashi-sama,” Kuroko apologized, but a small smile had overtaken his lips as he stared fondly at his daggers. “However, that was one of best legitimate fights I’ve had. As someone who’s used to stealthy and subtle assassinations, I don’t get to fight directly much.”

“It was no problem at all considering it was also one of the better matches I’ve had in my life. However, I could see what you mean by an invisible threat from what I’ve witnessed and what Daiki had briefed me a few days ago. Though, I am surprised that you chose to stop using your misdirection during your stay so far.”

“Yes, I usually employ misdirection everywhere at all times subconsciously, but it does get tiring after a while. It explains why I hadn’t been able to use it much during the fight or my stay here so far.” Kuroko hums for a moment before adding on. “And now that I think about it, my fighting style could be considered an invisible threat, but I was mostly referring to poison and such.”

The bluenet sheathes his daggers and wipes the sweat from his forehead, eyes glimmering with something as he meets Akashi’s gaze after.

“We should train together and spar again, Akashi-sama.”

A smile graces the redhead’s at the other’s suggestion, nodding his head in agreement. He looks up, only now noticing the blinding brightness of the overhead sun, and clicks his tongue before turning to the bluenet, offering his arm.

“It’s nearing lunchtime. Let’s return back, and talk more over some food and drinks. And if you won’t mind, preferably in my study as everyone in my personal guard will most likely question us.”

Kuroko accepts and loops his arm around Akashi’s offered one, letting the taller male lead him until he muses, “I find it quite offensive that Akashi-sama says everyone in his personal guard, but forgets that I’m temporarily part of it.”

“Ah, that is true. I apologize for that,” he chuckles as he enters the house and takes a left turn. “However, please, don’t call me Akashi-sama anymore.”

“But Akashi-sama is the leader. It’s only polite to address you as such.”

“And as the leader, I’m telling you to address me in a less formal way.”

Kuroko sighs inwardly. “You can be Akashi-kun, but no more than that.”

“That’s good enough for now...Tetsuya.”

“Seriously?! The guy is here for a week, and Tetsu is already comfortable enough to let the sadist touch him and let him call him by his given name? The fuck?”

“Is that jealousy I hear, Aominecchi?”

“Kise, fuck off! Don’t tell me you don’t find it weird that the redhead psycho was being nice and smiley when he passed by us with Tetsu.”

“Fine, you do have a point, Aominecchi…”

“Oi, you two idiots! Have you been the ones ruining the garden? There’s sections of flowers all trampled, soil dug up, and the furniture’s been all moved and dirtied. I thought I told you to start acting responsibly!”

“Eh? I’ve been with Aominecchi working on the whole Seirin and Kiridai exchange at the gates this whole morning!”

“Who else could have done it then besides you idiots?”

“Ah, Mido-chin, stop being so mad...it was Kuro-chin and Aka-chin, y’know? They were in the garden for morning before they fought and left.”

“What?! They fought?! Great, now when Akashi calls, I have to dispose of Tetsu’s body. I can’t believe my best friend is dead already...”

Kuroko hums lightly as he sits on a couch in Akashi’s study with said owner sitting next to him; his body is pressed up to Akashi’s side, head resting against the broad chest and legs almost intertwining with each other’s. His eyes lazily follow character after character of the paper the redhead is reading, only speaking when he points out a mistake in the numerical reports of the villages – otherwise, he hums, enjoying the feeling of Akashi’s hand running through his hair and the taste of warm tea.

He thinks about the last three months he’s spent in the redhead’s home, originally here to only be a temporary part of his personal guard, yet now finding himself enjoying the home more and more; it was like a permanent base, a place to return to after difficult missions and to spend time with the people he had grown close to.

More than that, it was where Kuroko could return to Akashi over and over again.

He sneaks a glance towards the taller male, eyes tracing features he had grown to memorize and appreciate. His lips quirk up into the smallest of smiles only to quickly bring the teacup to his face to hide his smile when Akashi caught him looking.

“Is there something on my face, Tetsuya? Or are you staring because of my looks?”

Kuroko suppresses the urge to roll his eyes, only commenting, “How egotistical of you.”

“I’m simply going off of what a few of the women in our city whisper about me. Besides, I didn’t hear Tetsuya denying it,” Akashi smirks, leaning down to bump noses with the smaller male. “Tell me, Tetsuya, do you find me attractive?”

“Quite honestly, I do think of Akashi-kun as attractive,” he confesses, placing down his tea cup before shifting his body closer to the Akashi and looking up, blue eyes meeting red and gold. “Of course, I find him attractive in other ways besides appearance such as his intelligence, hard work in improving his skills, and even his odd sense of humor.”

Akashi finds himself smiling genuinely at Kuroko’s words – even at the slight jab of his sense of humor – and the pair of blue eyes that were glimmering with heartfelt fondness, his heart picking up the slightest bit. He chuckles softly, pressing his forehead against Kuroko’s, his mind racing with thoughts filled with the same affection and fondness.

“Is this your way of confessing your feelings to me, my dear? If so, I believe it’s too late when I’m quite aware of your feelings for me.”

Kuroko huffs quietly. “Then Akashi-kun should have told me and rejected me the moment he realized instead of doing nothing and leading me on.” Blue eyes tear away, and Akashi finds himself dropping the pile of papers and lifting his hands up to cup both of Kuroko’s cheeks.

“Who said I was leading you on, Tetsuya? It’s actually the opposite considering that I, too, am infatuated with you and your odd self. From your apathetic exterior yet emotional interior, your need to be polite and kind to everyone yet also be so witty and teasing towards me, your own hard work into improving as well, and of course, there’s a lot more to list, but that’s for another day,” he lists, voice slowly quieting into a gentle murmur at the end.

“Yet you still didn’t do anything earlier?”

“Forgive me for that. As surprising it may sound, I’m actually not the best at handling and processing emotions, love included. It took me a while to realize that I did indeed reciprocate your feelings for me after all,” Akashi admits. “That, and the fact that Daiki will become much more annoying than before.”

Kuroko jerks slightly as he breathed out a puff of laughter at the last comment, his eyes turning back to face the redhead, now shining again with love.

“You’re an idiot, Bakashi-kun.”

“Yes, I am, my love,” Akashi sighs, resigning himself to his nickname as he watched his now lover pick up the teacup again. Except instead of drinking from it, blue eyes peer into the cup before looking at Akashi once more.

“Ah, Akashi-kun, look at all the bubbles in this tea,” Kuroko smiles. “Do you know what means?”

Akashi raises an eyebrow at the bluenet, but gives in to his quiet laughter before pressing his forehead against Kuroko’s once.

“If I’m correct, according to superstition, it correlates with how many kisses you’ll receive. Considering the amount of tea we’ve had together over these last 3 months, we’ll be extremely busy, my love.”

“I don’t mind at all, Akashi-kun.”

Akashi steals a glance at the bright look in teal eyes before it flutters shut, Kuroko pressing his lips against the emperor’s. He can feel the softness and warmth of smooth lips, the taste of strong, black tea, and the electricity buzzing under his skin as they shifted closer until there is no more room left in between them.

Their kiss is innocent and gentle that it reminds them of the feeling of light spring breezes that hit their skin in the palace gardens, of the warm and bubbling tea they would always talk over, of quiet days spent in the study simply enjoying the other’s presence, and of their deep yet sweet-tempered affections.

It feels like forever had passed when they finally pull apart, Kuroko now sitting on Akashi’s lap with pale arms wound around his neck and the brightest smile Akashi had ever been gifted with. It’s gone a moment later when it turns to the laughter he had heard months before during their first meeting, and Akashi finds himself falling further into fondness without any fight.

“I love you a lot, Akashi-kun.”

If this was what defeat felt like, Akashi Seijuurou would have chosen to lose a long while ago.

“You’re kidding me, right, Kise?”

“No! Why would I joke about our Akashicchi dating your Kurokocchi?!”

“You joke about a lot of things, Kise. That, and you’re pretty dumb and gullible sometimes.”

“Fine, let’s go ask Akashicchi and Kurokocchi if they’re dating then since you won’t believe me, Ahominecchi!”

“Oi, Tetsu, you here with Akashi?!”

Kuroko levels his best friend with a blank look for barging in unannounced into the study. Glancing at Akashi, he can see the displeasure starting to form along with a frown. He blinks as he waits for the reason as to why Aomine thought it’d be a good idea to just storm in impatiently instead of waiting like a normal, refined person.

(Of course, Kuroko knows that Aomine is the farthest thing from normal and refined, but he digresses.)

Another familiar head pops up right beside his, golden eyes sparkling in happiness and curiosity the moment his eyes landed on the bluenet. Kise opens his mouth to yell out something and lunges forward, only to be stopped by two fists grabbing the collar of his shirt, and instead ends up whining by the doorway.

“Oh, look, Midorima’s here too. You interested in hearing?”

Said green-haired male glares at the tanned one before replying, “Interested in hearing what? You two being fools and rudely coming into Akashi’s private study without notice or invitation?”

“Man, I sure do feel bad when you put it that way,” Aomine sneers. “No, carrot-top, we’re here because we’re asking Tetsu and Akashi if they’re dating or fucking or whatever.”

“Aominecchi, that’s crude,” Kise screeches, whacking him before huffing and turning back to face two in question. His face morphs back into cheeriness, personality back to being like a dog. “So? Is it true that you guys are finally together?”

Kuroko only sighs in exasperation at the rest of the group while Akashi chuckles in amusement. He intertwines his hand with the bluenet’s before lifting it up to show to the rest of them before moving forward to place a soft peck on Kuroko’s lips.

(Still soft and reminiscent of tea, he notes.)

Kise is screeching again, but out of happiness, and smiles smugly at a shocked Aomine, his mouth open in disbelief. Midorima only turns away, jaw clenching and unclenching as he tried to process the new information.

“Hmm..? Why is everyone here?”

“Oh, Murasakibaracchi! You’re here,” Kise grins. “We just got the official news of Kurokocchi and Akashicchi finally being togeher!”

Aomine rolls his eyes before asking, “Oi, Tetsu, that means you’re staying here permanently now, though, right?”

Kuroko gazes at Akashi’s face, smiling lightly before nodding and feeling the smallest warmth travel to his cheeks.

“Ah...Mido-chin was wrong before. Kuro-chin ended up staying with Aka-chin in the end.”

“Murasakibara,” Midorima glares, looking affronted.

“Oh? Shintarou, what is Atsushi referring to,” Akashi smiles, grim and sharp.

“Yeah, a few months ago, Midorimacchi thought you would end up finding that Kurokocchi was weak and take back your invitation for him to join your personal guard,” Kise happily supplies.

“Kise!”

“You thought Tetsu was some weak guy even though he ended up tying me and managing to actually harm me in an actual span? He even managed to land at least a cut on Akashi when you couldn’t!”

“Daiki speaks the truth, Shintarou.”

“You can’t blame me for thinking that way, and even Kise and Murasakibara agreed with me,” Midorima argues, trying to lessen the damage.

“Daiki may not be able to blame you, but I can. I’m offended that you thought so lowly of my lover, and for that, you’ll be properly punished. You’ll be on cleaning duty for my entire home for 2 months, become a personal helper for Daiki during those 2 months, and as well as returning to old training regime for you, only tripled this time. Ryouta and Atsushi will haves their punishment decided later.”

“U-Understood,” Midorima says, balking.

“I think I should be the one offended since I was the one being insulted,” Kuroko interrupts, eyes narrowed in annoyance. “Am I allowed to poison him, Akashi-kun?”

“Tetsu, you’re already just like Akashi! What the fu–”

“Excuse me, what is that supposed to mean, Daiki?”

“Nothing!”

“Good.”

Kuroko just sighs again, but looks at the scene fondly before squeezing the hand intertwined with his, and rested his forehead at the nape of Akashi’s neck, feeling happiness flutter in his heart.

OMAKE:

“Akashi-kun, do you remember our fight and how we conversed for a bit after that?”

“Yes, Tetsuya, what about it?”

“Poison isn’t my only specialty,” the bluenet hums, “I also do quite well with seduction.”

“Is this another threat?”

“I retract my statement.”

“What?”

I’ll be sleeping in Aomine-kun’s room tonight. Good night, Akashi-kun.”

“Tetsuya!”

#AkaKuroValentine2017 #akashi seijuro #kuroko tetsuya #akakuro #knb #ssanctuses #kuroko no basuke #will the real otp please stand up #seiju writes

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