#[ thankfully though i only have one that's quiet! the rest are more eccentric and chatty (even if not as extroverted compared to vivian) ]

[unladielike]

    "Is he now? With how super human you make him seem, it's kinda hard to picture him as another fellow homosapien... but it's honestly wild non-mediocre guys like that actually exist. Tell me - was he absolutely shredded or does he have a physique similar to yours?" Vivian questions while keeping in mind what Mizumachi had told her earlier about football terminology. Honestly, stuff like that tended to fly over her head, but since it clearly meant something to him, she figures she should make an effort when it came to remembering the difference between a linebacker and a quarterback.

    The moment she senses a throbbing tightness emerging behind her temple, however, Vivian would soon immediately grimace. Ah... that's right, she didn't exactly drink her coffee yet, did she? By that point, she'll then muster an apologetic smile up at Mizumachi before slowly emerging to her feet. "S-Sorry. I think I'm now just developing caffeine withdrawal symptoms, so I'll talk to you later, okay?" Vivian brings herself to half bow. Why, as much as she regretted cutting their conversation short so abruptly, she was truly starting to feel a headache coming on, to the point where she doesn't think she could exactly ignore it.

    "Hopefully, though, you derived some enjoyment from the low effort waffle and hot chocolate I made! Still, if you ever need anything, you're absolutely welcome to text me," she later reminds him, and upon giving him one last wave, hurries out of the kitchen.

[水]

Mizumachi smiles brightly at her reassurance that she liked the fact that he talked a lot, so he didn’t have to try hard to reserve a few brain cells to remember to dial it back a little bit. It’s hard when you’re a chatterbox! You sometimes forget to turn off that voicebox!

“You’re a great listener! It’s fun talkin’ to ya!”  

Mizumachi laughs at the NPC comment as a certain ‘chibi’ came to mind instantly. Komusubi-kun always spoke in various grunts and snorts. Very rarely would he actually say a word or two when the grunting wasn’t going to cut it. They called it the language of the strong guys, and sometimes Mizumachi found himself understanding what he was trying to say, but his understanding was lacking when you asked someone like Otawara or Kurita to translate.

“I know someone who talks in a series of Fuugooo and uuuugoooo kinda sounds. The real TOUGH guys can understand what it means, it’s kinda cool, actually! Haha, I could understand a bit of it.”

Hm… a linebacker… the guy who would pass and throw around the ball? Anyone on the team could throw and pass the ball around if the situation called for it, but—that was probably the quarterback she was thinking about, right?

“A linebacker is a defensive player. You have offense and defense, and at the line of scrimmage, the linebacker will try to stop the opponents from advancing. They’re usually some big and strong guys. The quarterback is usually protected by this big guys, he’s the one who passes and throws the ball to start the offensive play. The real mastermind of the team.”

Mizumachi wasn’t the smartest tool in the shed to put it mildly, but he was pretty sports smart! He was an incredibly athletic sort, being able to excel in most sports if he tried.

“Shin? He’s great! I don’t think I’ve ever seen him eat anything unhealthy. He’s easily one of the best players. He was on Team Japan when we represented the nation.”

Good times, good times. That was so much fun! It was wild!

[camkablam]

Day One - Modern AU

So I’m arriving, like, nine days late? Hadn’t really planned on doing this because I doubt I’ll actually be able to stick to it, so... guess I’m doing it at my own pace? Eh, ah well. Would really like to stretch my writing muscles, I guess. Enjoy.

Hiding a pig in a foster home, as Jesse was rather quick to find out, was really, really hard.

Of course, this didn’t stop them. Reuben had been with them since before the accident, and they were damn well going to keep it that way afterwards. Even if they had to stuff him into a backpack and sneak him carrots to keep him quiet from where they were seated in the back of a particularly chatty social workers’ car.

“Oh, you’ll be very happy in this home, Jesse,” they’d assured them for the fourth time, “You’ll be going to a nice school in a wonderful neighbourhood. Your new foster mother is very excited to meet you.”

She hadn’t been excited, exactly; not that Jesse could really blame her. When the social worker had led them inside (and he’d hastily covered Reuben’s snuffling with a cough), she’d had her arms full with young children. She’d only had enough time to greet him with a smile and direct him to his room upstairs before she was pulled away to deal with a screaming toddler.

The social worker didn’t leave until they’d found their room. They wished them good luck, and then Jesse was left sitting alone on their new bed, at a complete loss as to what to do with themselves. There was a second bed across from them, the blankets rumpled and unkempt; obviously slept in. That meant they had a roommate.

Jesse seriously hoped they liked pigs. And could keep a secret. And weren’t a jerk.

They really hoped they weren’t a jerk.

Their backpack jerked, falling over next to them. Reuben tumbled out in a heap of pink, nose twitching as he took in his new surroundings. Jesse smiled at him, but it came off weak; they weren’t sure if they could hide him. It all depended on their roommate, when it came down to it (immediately, at least), and that terrified them a lot more than they’d like to admit.

This all terrified them.

The door opened. Jesse leapt to their feet, heart lodging itself into their throat, blocking Reuben from sight. The girl’s eyes were glued to her phone- she seemed to be in the middle of a game- but paused in the doorway when she realised the room wasn’t empty.

Her phone sang a remorseful tune, signifying her digital death. Jesse stared, shocked. Because they knew this girl. Because this was the girl who was constantly challenging them to a race. Because this was the girl who hung out with them even though they were sure she could find someone better.

In their new foster home. In their new bedroom.

Most probably their new roommate.

“Petra?” Jesse said, finally. Petra blinked at them slowly, game completely forgotten.

“Jesse?” she frowned, “What are you doing here?”

They opened their mouth, but an answer didn’t come. Thankfully, Petra seemed to realise that the question wasn’t a particularly smart one, for she winced and slipped her phone into her one of the pockets stitched into her shorts.

“Sorry. Dumb questions.”

“It’s fine,” Jesse murmured automatically. This was Petra, after all. Simply talking to losers like them and their friends was an amazement that still had them gaping at her.

Reuben sneezed. Loudly.

The two not-quite-friends stared at each other. Petra raised an eyebrow. Jesse’s cheeks dusted pink. Hesitantly (because maybe Petra was fine with them having a pig, but if this was her room than there was a likely chance she wouldn’t be all that happy about it, and dammit Jesse had no idea where they were meant to keep him if not here), Jesse stepped aside, their little pig cocking his head as he finally registered Petra’s presence.

The redhead stared a moment longer. She glanced over her shoulder, out into the hall, as though to make sure no one was there. Then she slid further into the room and quietly closed the door behind her.

“Jenny doesn’t like pets,” she informed them, as though they weren’t already aware of this, “Hope you can keep him quiet.”

“He’ll be quiet,” Jesse hastily assured, slumping in relief when she didn’t go running to their foster mother (their as in both of their foster mother; that was a strange thought).

An awkward silence came upon them. Petra frowned at the far wall, as though there was something particularly worrying about it. Jesse nervously shuffled their feet, before deciding sitting back down on the bed was the best idea. Reuben was in the current process of inspecting their pillow.

Finally, Petra seemed to snap out of whatever state she’d fallen into, tearing her eyes from the wall. She glanced at them, before making her way over to her own bed, shoving the sheets aside to collapse on top of it. She glanced at Jesse again.

“So,” she said, slowly, “Guess we’re roommates.”

Jesse shrugged, attempting to appear nonchalant; it came off as nervous and awkward instead, “Looks like it. Does… Does that… bother you?”

Petra snorted, lips twitching, “Of course it doesn’t, Jesse. I’d rather have you than some stranger, anyway,” her eyes darted over to Reuben; he’d decided the pillow was now his and had curled up on top of it, “Besides, he’s bound to make things a bit more interesting around here.”

They shot her a smile; the first honestly genuine one they’d been able to muster in a long time, “Thanks, Petra.”

“Anytime, Jesse.”

They glanced away, fiddling nervously with their sleeve. The terror that had come with them smuggling in Reuben had been stifled, at least; having Petra as a roommate had not been something they’d been expecting, but it was most certainly welcome. A familiar face in a strange place and all that. Someone they could rely on. It was comforting.

“Does… this mean I’ll still be going to school with Axel and Olivia?”

Petra paused. She raised her eyebrows. “They tell you otherwise?”

“Social worker mentioned a nice school.”

“Huh,” she seemed to think for a moment; shrugged, “Well, I go there, so I don’t really see any reason as to why you wouldn’t, especially if you’re already enrolled,” her face softened, “We’ve been worried about you. Haven’t heard from you all weekend.”

Jesse winced, “Oh. Uh… my- my phone was broken.”

“Ah,” a brief silence. As though she were debating whether or not she should ask. “How’d it break?”

Screaming, screaming, glass shattering, the device flying from his hand and disappearing in the chaos, his whole word tumbling and tumbling and tumbling-

“Accident.”

“Oh.”

The awkward silence returned with a vengeance. Jesse shifted on the bed, then swallowed, taking a few moments to work up the courage to break it.

“You… You won’t tell anyone about Reuben, will you?”

Petra turned to look at them again; shot them a reassuring smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “Of course not. It’s Reuben.”

Jesse’s cheeks flushed slightly, a guilty pang hitting their chest for doubting her. This was Petra, dammit. They could trust Petra.

Suddenly, the girl snorted.

“To be honest,” she said, “If you are, for some reason, going to a different school, I think we’d all drag you back to our one. I mean, do you realise how lost Radar would be? He’d have no one to follow around like a love-struck puppy.”

Jesse snorted as well, “Yeah, he’s… eccentric.”

“In a good way.”

Jesse’s lips twitched upwards, “In a good way.”

“Then there’s Romeo,” Petra continued, ignoring their wince at the mention of him, “Guy gives me the creeps, but he wouldn’t let you go to a different school than him, that’s for sure. He’s hellbent on either being your bestie or your mortal enemy.”

“So, what do you think he’d do?” Jesse asked, a tad hesitantly (a part of him didn’t really want to know), “Drag me back to the old one or force himself into the student body of the new one?”

Petra chuckled, “Both are equally terrifying.”

“I’ll say.”

“And I don’t think Cassie would be able to go a day without glaring at you from across the room,” the redhead declared, “She’s planning your murder, I swear.”

“Can we please not talk about Cassie?”

Petra’s grin widened, “Why? She scare you?”

“Incredibly.”

The redhead laughed; Jesse wasn’t sure whether or not they should be insulted, “Okay, fair enough. She is pretty creepy. What about Lukas, Axel and Olivia?”

Jesse hummed, “They’d still visit me outside of school. Or kidnap me. Whichever comes first. Lukas would protest, but he’d go through with it anyway.”

Petra chuckled, “Think Jack and Nurm would help?”

“Maybe?”

“Oh, please. Pretty sure Jack’s proclaimed himself as your big brother.”

Jesse blinked, cheeks colouring, “I don’t- He wouldn’t-”

“Yeah,” Petra chuckled, obviously taking pleasure in their embarrassment (curse her), “He’d probably be the one to suggest kidnapping. Hey, do you think Ivor’s gonna adopt you?”

Jesse gaped, brain spinning at the sudden change of topic. Their cheeks reddened further. “Why- I- I don’t think he’d-”

“Probably only a matter of time,” Petra shrugged, tucking her arms behind her head as a makeshift pillow; her real one was somewhere in the tangle of blankets, somehow, “We should all just buy a big house and live there together.”

She sounded almost… wistful. Her smile slipped from amused to something a bit more heart-tugging. As though the lot of them just piling together into a big house was something she wished would actually happen. With Ivor and, heck, the rest of the teachers (who were always there, who they’d playfully dubbed the Order of the Stone, who’d declared them the next generation of it) acting as parents, with Axel and Olivia and Lukas and Petra as their siblings, and Jack and Nurm as their big brothers and Radar, running around with that beaming smile and his notebook, their little brother. And maybe Stella would be there, a cousin they didn’t like until they looked just a little deeper, and Cassie would probably be dragged in by Soren because he’d claimed both her and Lukas, and Harper would be there too, wearing that little smile she always wore whenever Ivor was spluttering and stumbling over his words simply due to her presence. And there’d be smiles and laughter and stupid fights they’d forget about the next day and silly problems that would always end alright because, in the end, they would have each other.

Like one big, mismatched family.

Jesse’s chest hurt. They looked away, blinking away the tears that had sprung to their eyes. Petra didn’t seem to notice; she was still lost in that wistful little fantasy.

But that was all it was. A fantasy. A stupid little fantasy that would never come true.

Because nothing ever really went right when it came to Jesse.

They had the accident to prove it.