yusuke kitagawa「 FOX 」 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wantsnudes) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
hadriel_logs2018-11-02 08:33 pm
wantsnudes) wrote in hadriel_logs2018-11-02 08:33 pm
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[Yusuke has been spending most of his time resting after his run-in with Caedra, and while Law had patched him up with unsettling efficiency and treated the wound regularly, it still needed time to heal on its own. That, coupled with the need to lay low in the city for now to avoid drawing attention to himself meant Yusuke was largely housebound. So after missing Ianchus's birthday and being in too bad shape still to visit, Yusuke bites the bullet and asks Ianchus to come see him at his and Akira's apartment instead.
Whenever Ianchus arrives, Yusuke is tired-looking, but much less deathly pale and drained than he'd seemed in the clinic. He even smiles when he sees his friend, stepping aside to let him in.]
Hi, Ianchus. Thank you for coming all this way.
Whenever Ianchus arrives, Yusuke is tired-looking, but much less deathly pale and drained than he'd seemed in the clinic. He even smiles when he sees his friend, stepping aside to let him in.]
Hi, Ianchus. Thank you for coming all this way.
[Yusuke's still bandaged up under his shirt, and his movements are careful and stiff as he moves to lead him into the apartment, but he doesn't seem to be in any severe pain any more. And there's something strained -- sad? -- behind his expression, as though something is weighing on his mind. But he's brighter now Ianchus is here.]
Much better, thank you. Can I get you a drink, perhaps something to eat? Or would you like to see what I've prepared for you right away?
Much better, thank you. Can I get you a drink, perhaps something to eat? Or would you like to see what I've prepared for you right away?
[Ianchus absolutely notices that strain, though he doesn't comment on it. He's known him long enough to know that Yusuke has an entire undertow of emotions under his calm surface, and that they'll come out in time. He trusts him enough for that, at least.
He follows Yusuke, laughing a little at the offers]
Please. Don't strain yourself too much. I'm not too hungry.
He follows Yusuke, laughing a little at the offers]
Please. Don't strain yourself too much. I'm not too hungry.
Well, help yourself if you need anything. Our home is yours, after all.
[He gestures for him to follow from the sitting room to one of the bedrooms. Originally this was Ann's old room, but since she went home Yusuke has used it as a studio.
It's like an explosion of organised chaos. On the walls there are pencil sketches pinned, much of it scenery or creatures Yusuke has seen around the city, from the cave to the desert to the islands they reside in now. Some sketches are of Akira, and one of the sketches is a profile of Komaeda, standing on top of one of the towers, the setting (or rising?) sun catching his face. Various canvases of abstract art are propped against the walls, as if he finished them and left them side without even thinking to hang them or display them anywhere. There are pencils and brushes on a side desk, and paint splotches that haven't been cleaned up littered all over the floor. In the middle of the room are two easels, but whatever's beneath them both is covered by cloths.
In short, it's a mess compared to Yusuke's usually fastidious and tidy appearance, but the artist doesn't seem to think there's anything strange with that as he leads him in.]
This is where I do most of my paintings. It's a bit cramped, but there's enough space to at least present you with the works I prepared.
[He gestures for him to follow from the sitting room to one of the bedrooms. Originally this was Ann's old room, but since she went home Yusuke has used it as a studio.
It's like an explosion of organised chaos. On the walls there are pencil sketches pinned, much of it scenery or creatures Yusuke has seen around the city, from the cave to the desert to the islands they reside in now. Some sketches are of Akira, and one of the sketches is a profile of Komaeda, standing on top of one of the towers, the setting (or rising?) sun catching his face. Various canvases of abstract art are propped against the walls, as if he finished them and left them side without even thinking to hang them or display them anywhere. There are pencils and brushes on a side desk, and paint splotches that haven't been cleaned up littered all over the floor. In the middle of the room are two easels, but whatever's beneath them both is covered by cloths.
In short, it's a mess compared to Yusuke's usually fastidious and tidy appearance, but the artist doesn't seem to think there's anything strange with that as he leads him in.]
This is where I do most of my paintings. It's a bit cramped, but there's enough space to at least present you with the works I prepared.
[It's idiosyncrasies like this that make Ianchus love people, that make him want to learn more about them, to get to know them more. In a way, the chaos suits Yusuke...the half-finished musings of a true artist. He dallies as he enters, looking at both the art and the mess, equally fascinated by both.]
How lovely. Small, but it seems to do the job, ah?
How lovely. Small, but it seems to do the job, ah?
If I run out of space, I can always work in my own room. There's plenty more room than I had to work with at home.
[Yusuke's student dorm was just the one bedroom (again, used as a studio, but with a futon dumped in the middle) and a bathroom, so this apartment is a luxury by comparison, cramped or not.
He seems a bit shy next as he rifles through the pictures he's left stacked by the door. First he offers him a charcoal piece, showing Carrah's harbour at night. There's just enough light from the moon and lamplight to suggest the outlines of buildings, ships, and reflections on the water, as if looking down on it all from the view outside the palace.]
This is the first thing I wanted to give you. Perhaps it looks familiar...?
[Yusuke's student dorm was just the one bedroom (again, used as a studio, but with a futon dumped in the middle) and a bathroom, so this apartment is a luxury by comparison, cramped or not.
He seems a bit shy next as he rifles through the pictures he's left stacked by the door. First he offers him a charcoal piece, showing Carrah's harbour at night. There's just enough light from the moon and lamplight to suggest the outlines of buildings, ships, and reflections on the water, as if looking down on it all from the view outside the palace.]
This is the first thing I wanted to give you. Perhaps it looks familiar...?
[Ianchus' eyes widen as he takes the picture, a faint smile slipping over his lips.]
...Carrah.
[His eyes roam over the details, taking it in, noting the way the white of the paper lends its colour to create the illusion of moonlight.]
...When did you make this?
...Carrah.
[His eyes roam over the details, taking it in, noting the way the white of the paper lends its colour to create the illusion of moonlight.]
...When did you make this?
[Making it a night scene is cheating a bit, because he can cleverly cover any details that might be inaccurate or misremembered with the excuse of darkness. Still, he hopes Ianchus likes it, watching his reaction as he takes it in.]
This one... It was a month before your birthday, I think. I started it around the time when, ah-- Love affected the city.
[When everyone all of the city wanted to touch and cuddle each other, he means.]
This one... It was a month before your birthday, I think. I started it around the time when, ah-- Love affected the city.
[When everyone all of the city wanted to touch and cuddle each other, he means.]
[Ianchus laughs a little bit, and then holds it up closer. Even if there are inaccuracies, he hardly notices them--more than that, he's astounded at how accurate the portrayal is, at the little details that he himself remembers so well, even some that he's forgotten.]
Yusuke, you remembered it so well...!! It's...amazing! Truly.
Yusuke, you remembered it so well...!! It's...amazing! Truly.
You truly like it?
[Yusuke brightens in excitement. He takes a sketchbook from his desk next, offering the sketchbook to Ianchus. He'd sketched as much as he could remember: the market, the merchant who had sold them clothes, details of the ship, even some of Atlas. Some pages are torn out or others crossed out in evident frustration, but overall the sketches are detailed and careful, sketchy only where there are things he's struggled to remember.]
Then, you may look through these too, if you like. I couldn't decide what to draw, so I drew everything I could think of until I settled on a landscape piece.
[Yusuke brightens in excitement. He takes a sketchbook from his desk next, offering the sketchbook to Ianchus. He'd sketched as much as he could remember: the market, the merchant who had sold them clothes, details of the ship, even some of Atlas. Some pages are torn out or others crossed out in evident frustration, but overall the sketches are detailed and careful, sketchy only where there are things he's struggled to remember.]
Then, you may look through these too, if you like. I couldn't decide what to draw, so I drew everything I could think of until I settled on a landscape piece.
Yes! Truly!
[Ianchus flips through it eagerly but attentively--he spends plenty of time on each page, though his hand trembles with the desire to move on to the next picture...and occasionally, once he does, he has to flip back, as if to check for something he missed. Sometimes, he thrusts the sketchbook back under Yusuke's nose, pointing something out--]
Ah, that outfit she's holding, that's what I dressed you in? I forgot about her mole! And there's our hill behind her, isn't it?
[or--]
Was that booth really there? We didn't visit it--ah, shame, you may have liked those!
[When he gets to Atlas, he lets out a laugh--]
Ah, it looks just like him!
[His face is flushed with pleasure, and once he hits the end of the sketchbook he flips back to look at it again, shaking his head lightly.]
Yusuke, I--I don't know what to say.
[Ianchus flips through it eagerly but attentively--he spends plenty of time on each page, though his hand trembles with the desire to move on to the next picture...and occasionally, once he does, he has to flip back, as if to check for something he missed. Sometimes, he thrusts the sketchbook back under Yusuke's nose, pointing something out--]
Ah, that outfit she's holding, that's what I dressed you in? I forgot about her mole! And there's our hill behind her, isn't it?
[or--]
Was that booth really there? We didn't visit it--ah, shame, you may have liked those!
[When he gets to Atlas, he lets out a laugh--]
Ah, it looks just like him!
[His face is flushed with pleasure, and once he hits the end of the sketchbook he flips back to look at it again, shaking his head lightly.]
Yusuke, I--I don't know what to say.
[Yusuke looks thrilled with how much Ianchus likes his sketches. Where Yusuke himself can see glaring flaws and imperfections in his drawings, all Ianchus can see is fond memories and familiar faces. He couldn't be happier.]
You needn't say a thing. Perhaps it was presumptuous of me to draw so much, but I got to bear witness to something very special to you. I felt I had to record it, while it was still fresh in my memory... I don't want to forget anything from that day.
You needn't say a thing. Perhaps it was presumptuous of me to draw so much, but I got to bear witness to something very special to you. I felt I had to record it, while it was still fresh in my memory... I don't want to forget anything from that day.
[He's usually so careful around Yusuke--even when Yusuke was more receptive to physical contact, he was careful--but he can't help it. Something seizes him, his heart caught between Yusuke's words and the treasures in his hands, and he puts an arm around Yusuke's shoulders, leaning in close and pressing his forehead against the other's, half-nuzzling it like a cat. He's mindful of the injuries, careful, but the joy in his face is almost overwhelming.]
Thank you. Thank you so much. These are--ah, you'll let me visit and look at them, right?
Thank you. Thank you so much. These are--ah, you'll let me visit and look at them, right?
[Yusuke lets out a quiet laugh and carefully hugs him back, raising the arm on his uninjured side, closing his eyes and feeling elated as Ianchus nuzzles against him. After making him worry so much, after they'd quarrelled and made up, after all the other difficulties they'd been through here, he could make him happy again with his art. Just as his mother did for him with the "Sayuri"... perhaps he's finally succeeded in passing his feelings on to others, too.]
Take them with you, if you wish. Carrah's beauty belongs to you more than myself, or anyone else here.
Take them with you, if you wish. Carrah's beauty belongs to you more than myself, or anyone else here.
You...really liked it that much.
[Ianchus opens his eyes, pulling back a little but keeping close. Carrah's had its fair share of painters, of course, both commissioned and independent, but Ianchus had always been critical of them, thinking they couldn't capture Carrah's true beauty. But Yusuke's black-and-white sketches, however rough, stir something inside him that art rarely has.]
You liked Carrah that much. You...remembered it.
[Ianchus opens his eyes, pulling back a little but keeping close. Carrah's had its fair share of painters, of course, both commissioned and independent, but Ianchus had always been critical of them, thinking they couldn't capture Carrah's true beauty. But Yusuke's black-and-white sketches, however rough, stir something inside him that art rarely has.]
You liked Carrah that much. You...remembered it.
I loved it. It held far more beauty to me than anything I'd seen in Tokyo... It was a wonderful place.
[Yusuke smiles at him as he pulls back, tucking a strand of hair from behind his ear and looking a little nervous again. Still, the warm feeling blossoming inside him gives him some encouragement.]
There's still more I want to show you. [He gestures to the two paintings, still covered and resting on the easels behind them.] I finished them some time ago, but I wasn't sure when I should give you them... Or if I should. So...
[With that hesitating explanation, he'll let Ianchus decide for himself whether he wants to go have a look.]
[Yusuke smiles at him as he pulls back, tucking a strand of hair from behind his ear and looking a little nervous again. Still, the warm feeling blossoming inside him gives him some encouragement.]
There's still more I want to show you. [He gestures to the two paintings, still covered and resting on the easels behind them.] I finished them some time ago, but I wasn't sure when I should give you them... Or if I should. So...
[With that hesitating explanation, he'll let Ianchus decide for himself whether he wants to go have a look.]
[Ianchus looks up, surprised.]
Those are for me...? [There seems to be a gravity around them that he can't quite grasp. He gently offers Yusuke the sketchbook for safekeeping, and then moves over, reaching for the cloth of the painting on the left. He glances back at Yusuke to make sure it's alright and then lifts the covering.]
Those are for me...? [There seems to be a gravity around them that he can't quite grasp. He gently offers Yusuke the sketchbook for safekeeping, and then moves over, reaching for the cloth of the painting on the left. He glances back at Yusuke to make sure it's alright and then lifts the covering.]
[Yusuke takes the sketchbook, clutching it to his chest, biting his lip nervously as Ianchus removes the covers.
It's a portrait of Dini, in a traditional western realist style, as if she were sitting for a royal portrait in the palace.
Yet rather than being a stiff, distant interpretation of an important royal figure, Yusuke has tried to capture smaller details about her. Her furrowed brow, the proud set of her chin. Her eyes curious, distant, or perhaps sending a silent challenge to the viewer. Her curled hair slightly askew and a book held loosely in her lap, as though she'd been interrupted. A window, open in the room, perhaps hinting at a desire for escape. Overall the piece has a much softer, intimate feeling to it than a normal portrait, that would be far obvious to Ianchus than to an average observer.]
It's a portrait of Dini, in a traditional western realist style, as if she were sitting for a royal portrait in the palace.
Yet rather than being a stiff, distant interpretation of an important royal figure, Yusuke has tried to capture smaller details about her. Her furrowed brow, the proud set of her chin. Her eyes curious, distant, or perhaps sending a silent challenge to the viewer. Her curled hair slightly askew and a book held loosely in her lap, as though she'd been interrupted. A window, open in the room, perhaps hinting at a desire for escape. Overall the piece has a much softer, intimate feeling to it than a normal portrait, that would be far obvious to Ianchus than to an average observer.]
...Oh.
[Ianchus' voice is small, thin and surprised, as he takes a step back, uncovering the portrait entirely. And then a little laugh, just as soft, as he takes in the details--the messy hair, the expression--for a moment, it feels like she's really there, looking at him, about to tell him off for visiting her. His gaze slowly moves to the other covered portrait and, hand now trembling, he reaches to uncover that one, as well.]
[Ianchus' voice is small, thin and surprised, as he takes a step back, uncovering the portrait entirely. And then a little laugh, just as soft, as he takes in the details--the messy hair, the expression--for a moment, it feels like she's really there, looking at him, about to tell him off for visiting her. His gaze slowly moves to the other covered portrait and, hand now trembling, he reaches to uncover that one, as well.]
[Perhaps unsurprisingly, this second one is of Kay. Painting someone younger had proved to be more challenging to Yusuke, given his relative inexperience with young children, but he had given his best effort nonetheless.
It's likewise in the mode of a portrait, except in Yusuke's imagining, Kay doesn't seem particularly interested in sitting still for the painter. He has a mischievous smile on his face, an eager twinkle in his eye, and his hands are resting on the edge of his seat as if he's ready to jump up and run off somewhere. This one is much brighter and less solemn, but the style and overall composition make it clear that despite the contrasting subjects, the two paintings are meant to be viewed as companion pieces to each other.
Yusuke can barely breathe as he waits for Ianchus's verdict, standing perfectly still and unmoving.]
It's likewise in the mode of a portrait, except in Yusuke's imagining, Kay doesn't seem particularly interested in sitting still for the painter. He has a mischievous smile on his face, an eager twinkle in his eye, and his hands are resting on the edge of his seat as if he's ready to jump up and run off somewhere. This one is much brighter and less solemn, but the style and overall composition make it clear that despite the contrasting subjects, the two paintings are meant to be viewed as companion pieces to each other.
Yusuke can barely breathe as he waits for Ianchus's verdict, standing perfectly still and unmoving.]
Ah.
[Ianchus stares at the newly unveiled painting for a long time, then takes a step back, taking them in together. His breath is caught in his throat. He's rarely had love for portraits, thinking them a pale, unnecessary shadow of the real life that they're meant to portray. But these--these-- his eyes roam over the details, and he shakes his head slightly, trying to understand how it can be such an honest portrayal of his siblings when they'd never sat for something like this]
When... [His voice is soft.] When did you...make these?
[Ianchus stares at the newly unveiled painting for a long time, then takes a step back, taking them in together. His breath is caught in his throat. He's rarely had love for portraits, thinking them a pale, unnecessary shadow of the real life that they're meant to portray. But these--these-- his eyes roam over the details, and he shakes his head slightly, trying to understand how it can be such an honest portrayal of his siblings when they'd never sat for something like this]
When... [His voice is soft.] When did you...make these?
[Yusuke is still rooted to the spot, nervous.] I started the initial sketches when we were returned from Carrah, and my memory was still fresh. When you... When you told me what became of them both, I felt I had to finish the paintings, but I didn't know when to give them to you. Or if I should.
[He bows his head, as if half expecting a scolding, for springing something so sensitive on him without asking. Perhaps it was arrogant of him to think he could capture them, or cruel, even. Surely he couldn't do anything matching the emotion of "Sayuri".]
It felt wrong not to show them to you, at the very least.
[He bows his head, as if half expecting a scolding, for springing something so sensitive on him without asking. Perhaps it was arrogant of him to think he could capture them, or cruel, even. Surely he couldn't do anything matching the emotion of "Sayuri".]
It felt wrong not to show them to you, at the very least.
[Ianchus swallows, and turns back, taking a step closer, once again taking in the details, but his eyes keep going to the faces--his poor dead brother, his poor slaughtered sister.]
You...remembered them so well. So well. You... [He trails off, his mind filled with the images before him.]
You...remembered them so well. So well. You... [He trails off, his mind filled with the images before him.]
[Yusuke isn't sure what to say that the paintings haven't already. So he moves to gently place a hand on Ianchus's back, a silent gesture of comfort.]
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