#‘lucky idiot’ they justifiably called me

[lukashaa]

Manhandling this little guy for 10 minutes without knowing the species was definitely one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done, looking back

[pyreo]

I'm comparing the Dungeon Meshi manga to episodes I just watched and now I gotta capital-p Post about this one episode (spoilers past Episode 12)

So this part is an emotional side-step from the central throughline so far - Laios and Marcille got Falin back successfully and reunited, and they got that payoff from the very beginning where they thought it would be impossible. But Chilchuck is very much a part of these layers of development, so after that dragon finally dies, we stop for a second - Laios and Marcille are recovering, Falin has disappeared again - how does Chilchuck feel at that point?

It's the perfect stage to insert that because he didn't really share in that sense of victory in the same way as Laios and Marcille recovering someone extremely close to them. And that's on purpose because he keeps everyone at arms' length. As soon as that arc hits its end and Falin is recovered, there's at last space to ask - why is Chilchuck even here.

He's asking himself that through the chapter. Now that they've lost the person they intended to save, he regrets agreeing to come.

And starts shouldering responsibility for everything ending up this way. We saw that when he got stuck in the mimic room before - he refuses to let himself ask for help, or he'll try to take burdens alone to lessen relying on others. The original Touden Party was six people, and when Laios insisted on going back underground they were two, and he knew they would die, and figured maybe, maybe if they were one more, with his skillset, maybe they'd have a chance. He couldn't let them walk back down just to die.

And he's going back to that mindset - their lives are on me. He thinks he could have prevented this if he'd chosen differently. Essentially, the walk alongside the orc woman is him working through a guilt spiral.

He sees a second chance to correct that mistake of joining the party. He wants them out now, before they die. The orc asks him how they defeated a dragon and, in explaining it, he reminds himself of all the risky, ridiculous things they had to do, and he isn't satisfied with just getting lucky. Laios got his foot bitten off, on purpose! This proves to him that if they go any further they will not survive. And he hints at this dissatisfaction a couple chapters later, wishing his teammates prioritised things other than winning at all costs...

Like, obviously. The point of this chapter is Chilchuck pretending to be a self-serving coward. To the point where others react with disdain, even disgust, towards him because he wants to lie to Marcille and Laios to ensure they turn back. He's desperate to get out of a hopeless situation by any means necessary, and will destroy his standing in the group in a blink if it means nobody else dies. He has to go on a stupid mental health walk for his stupid mental health and talk through his little bout of panic and doubt.

'You called me a coward so don't be surprised when I act accordingly'

He needs someone very blunt to tell him 'dude you're not being a coward for wanting your friends to get out of hell alive. you're a coward for making excuses instead of honestly telling them your concern is genuine' and he BSODs about it. He needs to rant and externalise that frustration over their recklessness at a third party. He needs to scream that they are idiots because he's the only one for which the ends don't justify the means and he can't keep losing his mind over everyone's safety. Down to a point, the orc praises their ability to survive the explosion from the dragon's fuel sac, and it only justifies Chilchuck - Falin didn't even know she could cast the spell that stopped them all being killed, and they cannot continue getting lucky like this.

Anyway. The reason I stopped to think about it was this part-

Where he recovers Laios's monster-infused sword. The thing that made their situation in the dragon fight go from bad to worse, that he swore at Laios for in every language he knew. The most angry we'd seen him. And now he calmly picks it up and praises it for being the only one of them smart enough to make a run for it.

He's projecting, obviously. He's internalising the label of 'coward' and changing himself to fit it. And, look at him, he's so tired of this. It's evidence of his sheer exhaustion that his anger immediately disappears and he actually gives it a compliment. Him and Laios's sword, the group cowards, the only one who agrees with him.

Then, because he had a walk before getting into the argument, he's organised his feelings and drops all the walls and pretense and just says it.

There's a rule of writing where you contrast your high energy sequences with parts that are slow and mundane, to make the difference more apparent. I think that's why I like this bit so much. The fight against the dragon is long, and the emotional stakes are enormous. Right after that we have the bath scene with Falin and Marcille, and Laios ruffling Falin's hair, and this part that pauses everything to explore the stuff that Chilchuck finally needs to say. And it's wrapped in this neat little solemn journey to pick up their supplies and remember how it felt when all five of them had a meal around a real dinner table at last.

And because he doesn't resort to individualistic trickery, because he explains his point as a duty of care rather than pitting himself against the others, he gets backed up. Senshi agrees that they don't have the supplies to continue, and the orc lady mentions her brethren will return later and can give them support, all of which together breaks down Laios's singleminded devotion to his cause.

Personally I think the manga's better suited to comic timing, but in the anime you can get fleshed out little moments, like Laios's face journey as he realises the other three are making a good case for their survival.

This was my favourite part so far, and I like how both Chilchuck-centric episodes have separated him from the others. Because he won't reveal anything he's thinking otherwise. lmao

[slowlydifferentbluebird]

Dreams come true - Aespa High School AU - Day two

Hello people, the new chapter of my new Au is here. Reader is slowly getting in confidence with the four girls more. Let me know what do you think, which one of them is convincing you more. And as always opinions and suggestions through comments and DMs are welcomed.

"Bro, second day and you already late?", you asked, walking so fast that it seemed you were training for the olympics. "It's not my fault, blame Johnny and Tae, they convinced me to stay up all night to play Fortnite", Mark justified, his lack of sleep giving him an hard time to follow you. "You're lucky I already got the street memorized", you sighed, gaining even more speed; at this point you were basically running to arrive school in time. Luckily even if you are lazy af, you managed to enter the building few minutes before the start of the lessons, your best friend basically dying on the floor, trying to catch his breath.

Your other best friend was eagerly waiting for you in class instead, in fact the moment you put your shoes inside, she jumped at your neck. "Bestieee, you made me worry, I was afraid you were going to skip school", she complained cutely, pouting at you. "Sorry, Aeri, this idiot arrived late at my apartment and he almost screwed me up. And don't worry about that, it's too early to skip classes...maybe in a week or so", you reassured her, earning a punch on the shoulder. "Well, at least if you really have to, bring me with you", she added, her pout melting in an happy smile. "Sorry to interrupt the moment, but if things keep going this way, I may have to change class soon: I can't stand this bitch acting lovey-dovey", Winter said, feigning to puke. "Shut up, Minjeong, it's not my fault if you have nobody who you can be affectionate to", Giselle rolled her eyes, clearly pissed by the tease of her friend. "Ah no? I don't? Too bad", Winter shrugged, before going towards her seat, but not before giving you a last quick look, and, damn, you felt your heart stopping for a second in front of her smirk.

Soon enough the lesson started, so you barely had the time to greet all your classmates. Of course it was not the case of your deskmate, Ning, who already seemed way more comfortable around you compared to the previous day. "Already late? You're such a bad student", Ning teased you in a whisper, giggling slightly, hidden by her books. "What are you talking about? I arrived before our teacher, so I'm still a model student", you replied, while taking notes of the argument miss Sunny was explaining in the meanwhile. You kinda got Ning already, she was on the surface all cute and shy, but deeply she was this lethal teasing machine. Aeri suggested during last night call to simply ignore her or tease her back and for now it was working. Ning bit her lower lip, almost holding back her next tease, but probably seeing you all focused on the lesson, she must have decided to let it go.

The chance for her was going to arrive really soon. During the mid morning break, Karina cautiosly got close to your desk, before placing a chocolate muffin on it. "Hey...good morning. We have not had the chance to talk at all today", she started the conversation, playing with the hem of her skirt shyly. "Yeah, you're right...is this for me?", you managed to overcome your brain freeze in front of her beauty. "Oh...yes. Giselle casually told me that you often don't have breakfast, so I bought this muffin for you...you know, as a way to thank you for becoming my friend", she admitted, becoming more red on her cheeks at every word. "Well, thank you, Jimin, I have a pit in my stomach right now, so perfect timing", your small joke made Karina chuckle, and it was your first time hearing someone so pretty having such a dorky laugh, but you loved the contrast.

"Look at our model student, already going behind the princess of the school", Ning immediately attacked once Karina went back to her place. You tried to ignore her but your eyeroll was not missed by the younger girl. "Seriously, you just needed a day to pick your target, you didn't even give a chance", she crossed her arms, ready to replicate yesterday scene, but actually her remark produced a different effect on you. "Why? Already interested on me? Such a bold way to confess", you replied, for once teasing her back. Your comeback surprised Ning who got speechless. "No, I...I...ehm, of course I'm not interested, you would like that situation, uh?", Ning tried to gain back the control of the situation, but she was defeated by her own tease. "No need to panic, I'll keer your crush on me secret. Oh, and don't worry, I'm still single...for now", you smirked, messing up her hair with your hand. She didn't expect you to play her like that, and the fact you managed to silence her right in time with the end of the break left her even more flustered. She needed to be more careful with her tease from now on, but she couldn't help but want wanting your attention for some reasons...

"Hey loser, wait for me", you heard a soft voice calling you from behind. You turned your head just to look at Minjeong skipping in your direction. "Why are you following me? You don't even know where I am going", you asked, intrigued by her behaviour. "Right? However I know where you are not going: the cafeteria; it's in the opposite direction", she tried to make you notice, pointing behind her without rotating her body at all. There was incredibly sassy yet cute in her, she really had a different aura compared to the other people of your class. "Yeah, I know, but I'm not hungry right now, so I wanted to explore this building", you explained waiting for her to finally reach you. "Oh yeah? You won't be already tired of your loved bestfriends, right?", why did everyone was so obsessed with teasing in class? Was it the trend of the moment or what? "No, not tired all, simply I ate a muffin before and now I'm full, but I know Aeri pretty well to know she would still force me to have enough protein to make me a bodybuilder", you explained kindly, making Winter nod in agreement. "Well, if you really want to explore, let me be your guide", she said, taking your wrist and starting to show you around.

"-and here we have the rooftop", the girl with bob says standing in front of a metal door. "Are we even allowed to come here?", you ask, raising an eyebrow. "Well...technically no, but I'm sure in this moment the custodian is in line for food as everyone else, so there won't be any problem", she said, taking out of her pocket a small key and insterting it in the door lock, before looking at you again and seeing your doubtful face. "But if you're too scared, we can skip this place", she added, leaning against the wall and waiting for your next move. "Scared? Girl, you don't know me well enough", you snorted, pushing the wall to go out. Honestly this was an unnecessary risk but there is no way someone can think you're a coward. Winter followed you in the open space, a satisfied smile on her face. "You're an interesting one, aren't you?", she kinda praised you, walking toward a bunch of chairs, probably left on this rooftop by who knows how much. "I have always to beg Gigi and the others to come here with me", she explained with a sad smile and yet a bright sparkle in their eyes. "You should give your number, we can have a lot of fun together", she casually added, amusement clearly visible in her expression.

Also the second day of school somehow passed. Lessons were not terrible at all and you were starting to get your classmates and how to get along with them, even the most unhinged. You were putting your stuff in your backpack, when you saw Mark waving hands from the other side of the room. "Where are you going, man?", you asked confused, placing the backpack on just one shoulder, as usual. "Sorry, bestie, today I feel too tired, I need to go to sleep as soon as I can", he explained, standing on the threshold of the door. "But you have spent all the day napping instead of following", you protested, facepalming. "Yeah, but it's not the same as resting on my bed, you know", he justified, stretching and yawning. "Also, you already know the way perfectly, and it's not like I'm letting you go alone anyway", he added, disappearing from your sight, letting you even more confused. "Who are you talking about?", you shouted behind him, and the answer appeared, grabbing your arm tightly. "He's talking about me, dummy!", she exclaimed, snuggling againts your shoulder.

"...I can't believe they really made My Hero Academia end in that way!", Giselle said, wiping her laugh tears away. "For real, and I thought Attack on Titan had the worst ending", you replied, snickering loudly. The two of you walked with your arms linked, talking about some of the manga you were reading those days; it's a costum you two developed since the first days of your friendship and it was refreshing to be able to do it finally face to face. Slowly you arrived in front of the building where your apartment was. "So here we are...", Aeri mumbled, looking down at her feet; you could tell from her tone and body language that she didn't want to let you go already. "Hey Aeri...maybe do you want to...come inside?", you proposed, massaging your neck, a bit embarassed. Aeri was your best friend and you wanted to spend more time with her too, but she was still a really pretty girl and that would have been the first time you two were alone somehwere. "Really? Oh my God, yeah, I was hoping you would have asked me", she cheered, not losing yet another chance to squeeze you in a warm embrace.

"Finally I can see the inside of your cave, yesterday you were able to escape, but today you're all mine", she joked, admiring the really plain interior of your house."Yeah, it's not like there is much too see, I moved here few days before school started", you explained, removing your backpack and launching it on a random place of your small living room. "I can tell, this room is so anonymous that it seems fake", she made you notice, making you shrug, it was not your fault for school had no taste in interior design. "You know what? I will help you to give to this house a touch of style", she announced, nodding, sure of her decision. "I'm on board, as long it's my style and not yours", you teased her, obtaining a middle finger from your best friend. "Thank you for tha...hey, where are you going?", you asked, seeing her going toward the home door. "I told you, I'm going to help to decorate this place, and I'm starting from now. Be ready to work hard tomorrow after school", she told you, her mind already planning on what changement to do. You opened the door for her. "Thank you for letting me come inside, see you tomorrow, bestie", she said, before quickly pecking at your cheek and going on her way, ready to go who knows where. After she was gone, you plopped once more on your couch, closing your eyes and living through your memory the day that has just passed: Ning, Jimin, Minjeong, Aeri...everyone of them made you felt something different. You were not used to feel so much stuff where you lived, but honestly you couldn't wait to experience even more.

[that-house]

We only live like 80 years. 100, if we’re lucky. Whatever. That’s not that much time. Certainly not enough time to justify wasting even a single second of your one and only certain life. So why do people bother with manners?

An ordinary idiot, a sort of cosmic mark if you will, buys into the scam of burying what they actually want in layers of pleasantries. These poor, misguided fools will enter a social situation with a clear goal in mind and then waste time saying “how are you today?”

By shaving off the greeting, you can buy yourself as much of a year of extra life if you’re a particularly gregarious and social person. I’m not, and I was an asshole who didn’t bother saying hi to people before I had this revelation so I’m not really saving any time with this trick.

Where the real benefits come out to play is in avoiding any of that “please” bullshit. You see, some people will expect you to negotiate with them, to not just outright say what you want, to couch your language in a million worthless platitudes.

You folks in the service industry have it almost figured out. I need to get on with my busy day and you need to stand here for eight hours wondering if the next customer will be the one to drive you into a killing frenzy.

There’s no point in us having any back-and-forth, no worth in repartee. Sometimes we can even conduct our business in mutual silence, save for when you have to offer me your mandatory spiel on the benefits of a membership card. Now that’s what I call efficiency!

But really, if you could stop crying and empty your register into the bag that would be great. You’re holding up the line.

[starlight-eclipsed]

DPXDC Social Media AU

Fic below!

The video started, the camera focusing on the scene before it. A teenager’s bedroom was shown, decorated with posters of space and model rockets. It was deceptively normal, had it not been for fans pointing out that they weren’t labeled LexCorp, Wayne, or any of the other leading names in aerospace.

“Hey everyone!” The teen in question greeted, smiling at the camera as he waved. “Danny here! Sorry for the radio silence—two of my rogues decided to do a collaboration and kidnapped a bunch of people. My parents grounded me and took all my video games since I kinda trashed a bunch of their equipment saving them, so I finally had enough time to record this. Again, grabbing a smartphone from you guys’ dimension was absolutely the right call. Looking forward to when the ones here will get to that level and I can use mine in public.”

Sitting back in his seat, Danny waved his hands. Papers from around the room were pulled up in the air, showing a variety of news clippings, report cards, and event flyers from the last year. “Sweet, that worked! I know it’s been a year, but I’m still getting used to these powers. Anyway, today’s topic is: secret identities! Specifically how much they can suck sometimes.”

The papers drop as he spins in his chair and folds his arms.

“Okay, so I’m gonna start this by saying I only speak for myself. Your dimension has a ton of other heroes who have all kinds of perspectives on this kind of thing. It’s also not an invitation to start harassing your friends and coworkers if they pull any stunts like the ones I’m gonna talk about. Some people are just flaky, some have other things in their life going on that they don’t want to talk to you about. In the extremely unlikely chance that you’re right and the friend who keeps bailing on you is a vigilante, you should leave that shit alone. No matter how justified you are in getting upset that they don’t have the time for you, trying to expose them can kill not only them, but everyone they want to protect. Don’t do it.”

Clapping his hands Danny tilts his head to listen for something before continuing. “With that out of the way and my whole family leaving the house, let’s get to it. Going ghost!”

A flash of light marks the transformation, revealing Phantom at the end. He adjusts the camera so that he remains in frame as he now floats in his room.

“So if you’re new here, let me run through the basics. When I was fourteen, I died and came back wrong. No, I won’t go into the details—I don’t need any of you getting any ideas. I can appear as human, so me and my two best friends decided to keep it a secret from my parents, who are ghost hunters. The current arrangement is that I go out as Phantom to fight off aggressive ghosts when they attack, and the rest of time I try to lead a somewhat abnormal civilian life.”

“Onto the topic. Now, the main reason people keep their identity secret is so that their enemies can’t use it to hurt them. I…sorta do that? I mean I’d be in a lot of trouble if ghost hunters figured me out, and the government here kinda revoked my human rights so there’s that. But there’s no hiding from other ghosts. Not when we can sense each other. I’m just lucky for the anti-ghost hunter solidarity, it’s probably the only reason my rogues haven’t revealed my human identity to the world.”

He shivered dramatically.

“So, humans. People. Being a superpowered vigilante is all fun and games except when an attack happens during class. I don’t even ask to go to the bathroom anymore, the teachers gave up on stopping me,” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Don’t get me started on how many times I’ve gotten grounded or given extra detentions because I was busy stopping someone from torching a building or possessing someone to ruin their life in creative ways. I can’t just tell them why I wasn’t there, so I either have to act like an idiot who forgot that I have classes to attend or pretend like I was skipping on purpose. Which I was, but not like that, ya know?”

“Another thing! My grades have completely tanked. I used to be a straight A student, I needed to be if I wanted to be an astronaut. But no, I had to go and get myself killed, and now my biology is all messed up so I can’t even qualify for the physical if my grades were good enough. Which they aren’t, because now I spend most of my time brawling whatever ghost of the day. And like, sure. I could do my homework and study in the rest of the time I have that’s not spent sleeping. But that’s exhausting, and honestly I’d rather take the F than spend all my time working.”

He sighed, slumping down a bit in his chair.

“It just sucks. My sister is setting records on her exams, and I’m a few pity-grades away from being held back a year. At least now I can handle most of the regulars by myself, so I’m not dragging my friends down with me. They deserve better.”

Danny opened his mouth to continue, but was cut off by mist escaping his lungs. He groaned, using his telekinesis to put his room back in order (notably cramming his graded assignments behind his dresser) and reaching for the camera.

“That’s my cue. Here’s hoping I can handle whoever’s out there fast enough so I have time to get started on my book report. Over and out.”

The video ended there. For many, that would be the last they’d hear of what was speculated to be the best performance-style LARP series for a while. Fans would start analyzing the footage not in the comments section, which was disabled, but in a separate online forum.

However, there was one place, albeit less well known, that one Danny Phantom would respond in.

———

Anonymous said

its good to see yuo posting again, but you looked really stressed. are you ok?

phantompaining

lol no

—

metwise said

I completely agree with you on your recent video. Vigilante work is hard; I was lucky when I started out, and I still nearly died many times over. Don’t let your grades get to you, if your school system is anything like this world’s equivalent then it is based heavily on busywork. Next time you’re visiting this world, try looking into online schooling. There should be free resources online you can download and follow along at your own pace to supplement the classes you miss. So long as you score well on tests, you can make up for the homework grades.

phantompaining

oh ill have to look into that, sounds neat. not sure if ill get around to actually studying any of it, but its better than nothing. i cant wait for my earth to catch up with yours, online school sounds so much better

gottabeoakin

Ayo is that Red Robin? Why tf is he takin some kids larp so seriously

implusivefruit

bold words from the deathnote rp acc

—

phantompaining

shoutout to my rogues, who beat the shit out of me, dropped some new ghost lore, then backed me up in fighting an army of the undead

also mech suits hurt like hell how does skulker do it

beetletakethewheel

Mech suits shouldn’t hurt??

phantompaining

my parents’ one runs on lifeforce

anyway if i had a dollar for every time i woke up somewhere i didn’t pass out in these last few days i’d have enough money to buy a burger

killmetwise 

How much do your burgers cost

phantompaining

(:

—

phantompaining

when the hell did so many supers start following me where are you people coming from

superttk

‘why r there so many heroes’ says the hero on the hero site

01101001-01100011-01110101

its like the only anonymous platform left that doesnt suck

totallynotharleyquinn

Free entertainment <3

phantompaining

ok fair

phantompaining

wait a second

—

coalminesinger said

Hello Phantom! I just wanted to check in on you after your last few posts. Did you enjoy your weekend off?

phantompaining

nope lol, technus escaped and I used one of my parents inventions to split myself to try and relax while handling the ghost issue and just made more work for myself

metwise 

#on the plus side my house is now on the beach #just in time for summer

You live in the middle of town???

phantompaining

yea putting it back is gonna be a pain

—

phantompaining

ok this is gonna be a heavy one folks. like arkham asylum levels of shit. i just spent the last week with my family convinced i was going insane, and i need to vent

:readmore:

discowinginginging

That really really sucks, and I’m so sorry you had to go through that.

I went through a similar experience (only I was under the influence of a hallucinogenic drug that made me see, hear, and feel the villain in question, who wasn’t actually there). I was lucky enough to be on a team with someone who could read my mind and figure out what was happening, but if you can’t do that the next best thing is figuring out code words with anyone in the know. Obviously it’s not perfect, but some kind of word indicating that you feel like something is very wrong could save you a lot of trouble.

More under the cut.

:readmore:

phantompaining

…that could work? ill have to talk to my friends about it, but it sounds good

#thanks #still cant believe so many of yall are following this

[piracytheorist]

Episode 29 thoughts

I made some passionate statements about the first part. Now it's time for a bit of analysis.

So I had seen the trailer where Anya looks sad after having failed her tests and it kind of struck me how she reached the point of crying alone in her room. And well, now I know it was because she was scared of being separated from Becky.

And because I can't keep my mouth shut about this, one of the reasons Anya's friendship with Becky helps her - probably without her realizing it - is that she has someone to back her up when Damian and co. bully her. Becky is always on her side and losing that could cause her severe stress. Sure, they'll still be in the same school, but when your school environment is so toxic and also demanding, losing the constant presence of a friend in the class can be devastating. Trust me, I know of toxic environments in class, and I know of not having someone to back you up. I don't call Damian a bully just to spite fans.

At the end, Damian, despite willingly choosing to let Anya win, he inwardly accuses her of manipulating his feelings - when in fact Anya was simply terrified of losing Becky as a classmate, and that's why she cried. He's still not ready to confront his feelings. He showed sympathy to Anya and then told himself that she manipulated him into that. It shows that he has potential but in no way does it justify the way he makes fun of her - as well as practically encourage Ewen and Emile to jump in on the bullying.

Anyway. Tests go bad, and Anya despairs that she'll be separated from Becky. Becky however, continues believing in Anya. I wonder if Becky would ever consider purposefully flunking her tests so that she can stay as Anya's classmate. She's not doing that well in the friends department either.

Twilight notices her achievements in ancient language (jesus what are they teaching those kids) and is surprised, searching for a reasonable explanation.

We are reminded that he doesn't know anything about her past, can only speculate about it, and decides that since he doesn't have the full info there is no point to do that. The dutiful spy regaining control after the still-in-development paternal feelings got him trying to make sense of his daughter's mind?

Despite her failing scores, Loid still announces to her he made her favourite dish, which instantly fixes her mood.

I think, when in the first episode Anya heard Twilight's thought about how he wants a world where children don't cry, it gave her the impression that he would provide her with an emotionally safe environment - something that was solidified when he was ready to punch Swan for making her cry. Even if she doesn't realize it fully due to her young age, she chose to stay with him and do her best to get into Eden because she trusted that in his heart, he truly wants her to be happy.

So one could argue that Anya is very lucky that despite the levels of Twilight's emotional constipation, he really has the heart to comfort her after she's had a bad day. But it's not really a matter of luck, when she chose to stay with him after she saw what he hides beneath all the spy front, is it?

Warning for blood under the cut.

I gotta say, the transition to the second part was way too jarring. Since the last sight of the first part was a background, the second part should have slid in with another background - like for example, the busy city around Franky's kiosk.

I feel like an idiot, having spoken about the Cyrillic sentences in the previous episode, and now we get this.

I... What even are some of those. Why so many alphabets. Where are those even from and what do they have to do with the Ostanian culture. Does anything make sense anymore. What is life.

Anyway. Anime-onlys are finally introduced to the name Garden and What. The. Fuck.

This image isn't in the manga. I think it's the first time the anime shows more violence than the respective manga chapter, lol. Where did they even get that much blood and how did they get it so high on the wall? Asking the real questions here.

"They eliminate one traitor after another on the shadow government's orders."

That is extremely interesting! Shadow government? Employing an independent assassin group to clean out their traitors?

... Traitors, a group which would include Twilight and Franky?

Franky immediately describes someone fitting Yor's fighting abilities and Twilight is like "No such thing!" shaking his head even. The denial runs deep already, lmao.

Honestly, a bit of a shame we were robbed of Twilight's face as he walked away.

"This isn't worth any intel you might promise me."

Franky puts his skills and connections to use and it was cool to see him in his natural environment, being so smooth and certain in searching around for information.

The part of Franky working with Yor could be summarized with "expert meets expert but they're both such idiots they do not immediately suspect each other". Like Yor I understand being naive and so trusting she sees all those contraptions Franky creates and immediately believes he's all legal about his business. Now how Franky saw her demolish his decade-old work and was like "I shall not question this" beats me. Guess he was also lovestruck for that Kacey woman, and like Loid, he sees a clear spectacle of extraordinary physical strength and goes like "Everyday occurrence. I'm just sad my invention is gone."

That cat is traumatized for life.

Yor's coworkers are... a bunch. We got some sympathetic moments from Camilla in episode 16 but she's still the mean girl type in the office. Yor's naivete truly protects her sometimes from having her feelings hurt, doesn't it?

I think this will play a role in identity reveals. When it comes to everyday civilians, Yor sees the best in them and assumes they have the best intentions. When she kills, she considers her victims bastards and traitors. Right now, Yor has an amazing impression of Loid... how will that flip when she finds out about all the lies he's told and all the ways he's been using her and Anya?

The change in her expression though, when she realizes she's getting a call from Shopkeeper!

I wonder what client was so important that he had to call her in the middle of her workday. Hopefully the plot kicks off from the next episode and this thirsty anime-only shall find out!

[rocketnottheraccon]

Forever With the Juggalos

Another random-ass Shinbaku oneshot in which class 1-A discovers Katsuki and Hitoshi's... questionable taste in music

---

~Shinbaku

~Crack/fluff

Art by: @istehlurvz

It was a Tuesday such as any other. 

Most of class 1-A was enjoying their afternoon, studying in the common room together and, consequently, getting of topic. 

This lead a certain blond haired teen to pack up his things. 

“Uh… Bakugou?” Kirishima had asked, raising a confused brow at Katsuki, who hadn’t bothered announcing his exit. 

Katsuki looked up with a ‘The-Fuck-Do-You-Want’ expression. 

This caught the attention of Mina. “Awh, your leaving?” She asked from the floor, a pout playing on her lips. 

“There’s no fucking reason to stay,” Katsuki explained with disdain. The rest of the class remained absorbed in conversation, the subject of class work long forgotten. “What? You thought I was here to fucking bond with you guys or something?”

Kirishima chuckled lightly, disappointment written into the redhead’s tone. “Well, yeah. Kinda.” 

Katsuki rolled his eyes, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “You thought wrong. Bye.” And with that, the teen was retreating to the elevator. 

Mina and Kirishima made eye contact for a short moment, before shrugging it off and joining back into the conversation. 

--

There were many people in this world in which Katsuki found annoying, idiotic, or just plain weird. The majority of- if not, all- those people could be found in his class…

But there was one, and only one, that Katsuki could put up with, and would willingly choose to do so. 

The explosive teen knocked on the door right of his own. 

“Fuck do you want?” Came the muffled, indignant response. 

Katsuki scoffed in amusement, leaning his weight on his left leg. “It's me, dipshit,” he answered. 

A couple beats later, the bed creaked and a shadow appeared beneath the door. 

“What’s the password?” Hitoshi asked, and despite the fact the sleep deprived teen couldn’t see him, Katsuki sent a glare straight through the door. 

“No,” was his stubborn, immediate response. 

Katsuki could hear his snicker behind the door, before it unlocked and revealed Hitoshi, hair down as it appeared he’d just showered, adorning a plain white shirt and red and black plaid pajama pants. He had a smirk on his lips, and headphones around his neck. “They finally got on your nerves?” 

“Fuck you mean ‘finally’?” Katsuki scoffed. “They stay on my nerves.” Looking over the purple-haired teens shoulder to his room, he made one, single observation. 

It was a mess. 

“No.” Katsuki shook his head. “I’m not studying in this pigsty.”

“Then go back to your room,” Hitoshi replied with a huff. 

“Okay. Go get the speaker and let’s go.” 

Hitoshi rolled his eyes at this, crossing his arms. “I don’t want to watch you fucking study.” 

“You don’t have a choice. Speaker. Now.” Katsuki was many things, and persistent and stubborn in order to piss people off was definitely one of them. 

Hitoshi sighed, grabbing the pill-like device off the desk by his door. 

“I fucking hate you,” he said, lightly shoving Katsuki as he passed. It was clear he was only playing, so Katsuki reciprocated, ruffling his hair and pushing his head away roughly. 

“Sure you do, dickhead,” he drawled , disbelieving as he closed Hitoshi's door and Hitoshi opened his own. 

“I’m being for real, bro. Your a royal pain in my ass,” Hitoshi justified, collapsing onto Katsuki’s bed, horizontal, with a deep inhale. “Your lucky your bed’s so goddamn comfy.” 

“Damn right it is,” Katsuki replied with a smirk, settling into his desk chair. 

Katsuki then went on to unpack his notes from his bag, and Hitoshi connected his phone to his speaker. 

“What’re we listening to, Kuckles?” Hitoshi asked, scrolling through Spotify. 

“Can you stop fucking calling me that?” Katsuki requested, glaring at the boy from atop his reading glasses (Hitoshi, Eijirou, and Izuku were the only ones in the entire school who knew he wore them.) 

“Nah, I’m good,” Hitoshi replied, nonchalant. It finally seemed he’d chosen a playlist, if the little ‘ooooh’ he let out beneath his breath was any indication. 

“What’re we listening to DJ Eyebags?” Katsuki asked, not looking away from his studies. 

“Murder music.” 

The first song to come on was My Axe by Insane Clown Posse, and Katsuki couldn’t deny this was one of the many reasons he asked out the sleep deprived teen in the first place. 

“God, I love you,” Katsuki whispered, unheard over the sounds of… well, murder music. 

Hitoshi proceeded to hum along to the words, kicking his legs over the edge of the bed as if he was a pre-teen listening to One Direction. 

“It’s so nice dating someone who appreciates good music,” Hitoshi mused, holding his phone above his face as he scrolled through social media. 

“Obviously. I’m literally awesome,” Katsuki replied, grinning with pride. 

“So, what you studying?” 

“English,” Katsuki sighed. “You’re so lucky, you bilingual fucker.” 

“America ain’t no better than here,” Hitoshi said with indifference.

“Still. We’re probably learning what they teach the fucking five year olds.” Katsuki groaned, resting his head on his fist. “Like, why the hell are there two different spellings for ‘where’?” 

“Technically there’s three, and one of them’s pronounced ‘were’ and the others 'we're', so,” Hitoshi shrugged, pulling himself up and sauntering over to look at Katsuki’s work thus far. 

“Your handwritings shit, bro,” was all he said. 

The next song began; Insane in the Brain by Cypress Hill. 

“Oi, get of my dick. Your Kanji ain’t a sight for sore eyes either,” Katsuki retorted.  

 Hitoshi scoffed. “Kanji’s fuckin’ weird, man. Not my fault you guys draw instead of write.” 

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Looks better than whatever the hell this is.” 

They stayed quite a while after that, simply enjoying eachother’s company and listening to the music. 

“That’s not how you spell that,” Hitoshi pointed it out, and Katsuki only grumbled in self-irritation as he erased it. 

“That says ‘cat’ not ‘can’,” Hitoshi once again corrected, and Katsuki grumbled some more, fixing his mistake. 

--

“This is a pain,” Katsuki announced after the fifth mistake. He slammed down his pencil and closed the book. “Shit’s not due till Friday, anyway.” 

Hitoshi snorted, patting his head in mock-reconciliation. “Finally.” 

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Jackass.” 

“Hypocrite,” Hitoshi fired back, landing a short peck on his forehead.

Katsuki scoffed, getting up and sitting behind Hitoshi's head.

The two sat in relative silence after that. Hitoshi had moved to have his head in Katsuki’s lap so the blond could play with his hair, and would show him a funny post from time to time. They went through several songs, many different artist; Panic! At the Disco, Arctic Monkeys, more Insane Clown Posse. 

To be real, it sounded like the soundtrack to a Suicide Squad movie. 

And they were not the only ones who took notice to that fact. 

--

Eijirou was only now retreating from the common room, it being 11:30 on a school night, chatting with Mina and Uraraka as they scaled the stairs. 

“Hey, uh, do you hear that?” Uraraka asked, tilting her head in slight confusion. 

“Uh…” Eijirou held that note, tuning in to whatever sound there might be to hear. 

Only the satisfaction of slaughter will return it to the darkness, from which it came.

“What the hell?” Mina asked, concern seeping through her indignant tone. 

Boogie woogie woogie woogie wu

“Is that…” Eijirou paused, processing the- what he thought were- lyrics as they further approached their floor. “A- song?” 

“A song about killing little children?” Uraraka questioned, brows etched together. 

“I mean…” Mina drawled, making her way to the door where it seemed the sound came from. “Look who it’s coming from.” 

Both the other teens make there way to the door, pressing their ear up against it to hear a very… disturbing conversation, at best. 

“You’re fucking wrong, bro. What kid thinks to look under their bed before they go to bed?” 

“One with a brain.”

“Do you have one? If I hid under my sisters bed with a fucking axe or something, she wouldn’t notice until her legs're chopped off. Little kids are not that observant.” 

“They already think there’s something under their damn bed, Hitoshi. If there’s actually something there, there gonna know. They’re already in edge as it is!” 

“No, they won’t.” 

“Yes, they will.”

“No, they won’t.”

“Yes, they will.” 

“No-!” 

It was then when Eijirou decided to knock on the door. 

“Fuck do you want!” Came the simultaneous, unnecessarily aggressive response. Eijirou cringed away from the door, sighing in defeat. 

“Sorry bro,” he said. “Music’s just a little loud!” 

And so, of course, the music only got louder. 

Uraraka facepalmed, Mina rolled her eyes, and Eijirou grimaced. 

How about this one? Duhduh duh, duhduh duh, duhduh duh duh duh?

At this, both Eijirou and Mina wailed out in displeasure. 

As the Slipknot song continued, Eijirou was beginning to give up on sleeping that night. 

The elevator door dings, and out stormed Iida, in his blue night gown and matching hat. 

“WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE?!” He screamed, stomping over to the trio. “DO YOU KNOW HOW LATE IT IS?! PEOPLE-“

“We tried, Iida!” Uraraka complained, stomping her foot and tossing back her head. 

“They’re just being assholes,” Mina groaned. 

“And he’s in there with Shinsou, too, so who knows when they’ll go to bed!” Eijirou added, slumping his shoulders. “At least Shouji seems to be sleeping fine.” 

(Shouji was wearing soundproof headphones and listening to ocean ambiance) 

“Still! This is not the type of music a future hero should be feeding their brain!” Iida then preceded to knock harshly on the door. “BAKUGOU-KUN! SHINSOU-KUN!” He yelled over the music. 

“FUCK OFF!” They both screamed back. 

Iida’s face contorted to a scowl, and he knocked again, louder this time. “I NEED YOU TO TURN DOWN THE MUSIC! HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO PUT OUR BEST FOOT FORWARD IF YOU TWO ARE DISRUPTING OUR SLEEP?!” 

“YOU’LL LIVE,” was clearly Hitoshi’s response. Iida grumbled. 

“IF THIS DOES NOT CEASE AT ONCE, I WILL HAVE TO CALL AIZAWA-SENSEI!” 

There was a joint groan inside the room, and the music came to a pause. There were footsteps approaching the door, and for some reason, Eijirou felt the need to activate his quirk. 

The door cracked open, just wide enough for both their head to pop out, Katsuki’s on the bottom, Hitoshi’s on the top. 

They took one look at Iida’s attire and burst out laughing. All three standbyers facepalmed. 

“I’m going to bed,” Uraraka announced, retreating to her bedroom door.

“Bakugou-Kun! Shinso-Kun!” Iida exclaimed at a normal-loud volume. 

“No,” Bakugou said, once he settled down. “No fucking way am I listening to you when you’re dressed like that.” 

“Yeah bro, what 15th century museum did you find those in?” Hitoshi replied with a few lingering chuckles.

“My night wear has nothing to do with the fact that you’re both a disturbance to the dorms!” Iida reprimanded, chopping his arm. “Cease this at once and perhaps I won’t called Aizawa-sensei.” 

Katsuki rolls his eyes. “Yeah, whatever Specs.” And like that, they both returned to the room. 

Eijirou and Mina sighed in relief, thanking Iida profusely as they headed to their doors. 

“No problem,” Iida spoke, a proud grin on his face. “It is my duty as Class representative to make sure we are all in tip-top shape!” He turned back to the elevator. “Goodnight Kirishima-Kun, Ashido-San!” 

“Night, Iida,” Mina said, tiredness written across her tone. 

“Thanks again bro, I owe you one,” Eijirou said, pumping his fist lazily as he stepped into his dorm. 

--

15 minutes later…

With no consequence I will do it again

So hard up, and hunt me down, down, down

Jump the gun, bust a cap, hit the ground!

There was collective groan that spread between Mina, Uraraka, and Eijirou as the music started back up, just as loud as before.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading <33 Songs I used are; My Axe by Insane Clown Posse, Insane in the Brain by Cypress Hill, Boogie Woogie Wu by Insane Clown Posse, Custer by Slipknot, and What Do They Know by Mindless Self Indulgence. As someone who's gotten called out on their questionable taste in music, this was really fun to write! Bye, til next time!!

[lockandkeyhyena]

My parents reaction to this rlly irked me so I wanted to know your opinion

Protesters tore down a captain cook statue in Victoria (can’t remember where), in protest of Australia Day. Personally I think it’s justified but what’s ur take

My dad legit called a First Nations spoke person an idiot like.. I was so uncomfy

yeah thats shitty. my mum thought they should leave just the feet there as a sign that colonialism existed and had an effect (so we’re not erasing history) but that people are taking the power back from the colonists and moving forward. anyway i think we should tear down all statues of colonisers and so do my parents, but i’m lucky to have a very very progressive family

[hanako-kozume]

Ah, who doesn't love a good old Fake-dating and there was only one bed trope? The fanfic classics and I can imagine no better for this than our beloved SakuAtsu ship.

Chaos is truly an underappreciated piece of art.

"What do you want Motoya? I'm at practice," Sakusa grumbled while pressing the door to the locker room open with his shoulder since his hands were occupied with his bag and phone, as well as a water bottle he intended to drink from when his cousin called. Apparently early in the morning when both of them had their respective occupations was the best time for a little chat.

"No, you're on your way to practice. Subtle but important difference." Komori corrected.

"Not really, I'm already here and late. Miya won't let me live this down the whole day."

A small chuckle echoed from the other end of the line. "I know but you still gotta change so just put me on speaker. I have to talk to you."

Sakusa rolled his eyes but obliged. His cousin for sure could be annoying but if he said there was something to talk about he trusted him that it wouldn't be something trivial. "You're lucky that you caught me the one day I'm late. If the others were here I wouldn't—"

"If by day you mean week then sure. You're not as unpredictable as you think, Kiyo. Whenever you're stressed you over-organize stuff until you're so far in the future that you forget the present. Happens every year when family events roll around."

Sakusa scowled at his phone as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Which by the way is exactly what I wanted to talk about." Komori continued.

"There is nothing to talk about. I'm not going." Sakusa insisted.

"You will."

"Why? So that my parents can pretend they have forgotten my coming out yet again and play matchmaker, setting me up with one of the daughters from Mom's friends. Again."

"I'm not saying you're not justified in not going, I'm just saying that you won't. Despite everything I ever tell you, you can't seem to cut ties with them." The libero let out a sigh.

"If you haven't noticed they hold my inheritance and any financial support over my head like a guillotine, ready to be cut off any time. If volleyball doesn't—"

"But it will. Honestly Kiyo, you're doing so well for yourself."

Silence followed his statement as Sakusa wasn't sure what to say to that. He went to the sink to refill his water bottle just to have an excuse to finish the conversation before attending the very job he was putting in jeopardy over this.

"Doesn't matter." Komori continued. "We won't get anywhere like this. I just wanted to say that maybe I have a solution for the matchmaking. I know you hate it."

He did. He really did but any attempt to stop it was a fight against the tide. The flood would come regardless.

He lied about having a boyfriend, it continued. He lied about having a girlfriend, they wanted proof. He had an actual boyfriend, who broke up with him because he couldn't endure his parent's antics anymore. They tried setting him up on dates in front of him.

To say he was tempted by Motoya's suggestion was an understatement.

"I'll take your silence for curiosity. So why don't you get yourself a date?" he suggested.

And here he had gotten his hopes up. "You know how that went the last time."

The pain was far from fresh anymore but he was still upset. It wasn't like he had been the love of his life but he was nice and certainly didn't deserve to be treated like garbage and worst of all Sakusa already had a really hard time finding someone he considered genuinely romantically attractive from which point on most were scared off by his odd nature and germophobia and now the rest was chased away by his family... great, he thought sarcastically.

"No, that's not what I meant. Nothing serious just a fling or it could even be fake. Get someone who can put up with these idiots and warn them." Komori elaborated. "If you want your peace of mind ask a woman, if you want to piss off your parents find a good partner in crime. Personally, that's my favourite option."

"You're clearly overestimating my social skills. How many friends do you think I have who I could ask something like that?"

"Okay, so the fling isn't an option?"

"I won't toy with anyone's emotions like that."

"It's not 'toying with someone's emotions' if the intentions are clear from the get-go and both agree." his cousin protested.

Sakusa knew that. After all, he had several flings throughout his high school years, and shortly after, some just to spite his parents. It was a lame excuse and childish because quite frankly after a few rebounds — just casual stuff nothing serious — following his previous relationship his parents had ruined, he felt no desire to get involved with anyone for a while.

Not really to his surprise, casual sex wasn't really for him and he indulged in it less and less over the years. It helped that he got more independent and mentally stable as soon as he was away from home.

"As to who, what about 'Miya'?" Sakusa almost choked on air. "If he manages to tick you off so efficiently, your parents should be a piece of cake." He could practically hear the grin in Komori's voice.

"We are not friends." he close to growled, trying to convey the disdain toward Motoya's idea.

The liberi pretend not to hear it. "I'll admit the amount of sexual tension between the two of you is a bit uncommon for platonic relationships but I won't judge and hey, I think you're on a pretty good way," he said encouragingly.

Sakusa's jaw clenched and he felt the distinct desire to reach through the phone and throw something at his cousin. "I have to go to practice now."

"Think about it! You could—" He hung up. The ace placed his phone in his bag, took his water bottle, and quickly hurried out to the others, bowing to his coach in apology as he passed him before joining the others.

Meian acknowledged his lateness with a slight bit of earning protest from Atsumu that he would always get scolded when he was too late, which admittedly didn't happen as often as Sakusa expected — he truly seemed to love his job — bit still on average no one could compare to Sakusa in being on time.

--------------------

To make up for being late Sakusa ran a couple of extra laps around the gym after training, unprompted but earning a nod of approval from coach Forster. As such he was last when entering the locker rooms again, catching a few snippets of a very interesting conversation.

"I'm telling you, Bo, there is something between Omi-san and Tsumu. I'd bet on it." Hinata whispered, which meant the whole team could hear.

"No way, Tsum-Tsum for sure would have told us if that was the case!" Bokuto added. He was certainly the only one who was even worse than Hinata at controlling the volume of his voice.

"Don't you see how they look at each other sometimes?!" the smaller insisted.

At each other? He didn't think he glanced at the blonde any longer than necessary on and off the court.

"I'm kinda with Bokuto in this one," Thomas chimed in. "Atsumu is such a show-off. He wouldn't have shut up about it if—"

"If what?" The person in question joined the conversation. "You know it's not nice to talk about propel behind their back." Apparently, he had just left the showers while the others were already changing into normal clothes again.

"Is there something between you and our favourite germaphobe?" Inunaki asked him directly.

"Who? Omi? Nah, but I'm sure he likes me." he said in his typical confident tone and Sakusa rolled his eyes, though he was sure Atsumu didn't mean it in a romantic way.

"As friends or—?" Hinata questioned.

"Of course, as friends. I'm not even sure he likes men."

"Dude, you're blind." Thomas laughed and Sakusa heard a rustling as he shouldered his back.

"Yeah, though I think you'd be too annoying for him. Even as friends. Sorry, Tsumu." Inunaki added nonchalantly.

"Huh?! Who are you calling annoying!? I bet he likes me!"

"Sure, let's say ten bucks?" the white-haired suggested.

"You're on!"

From the corner, Sakusa heard the not-so-quiet mumbling of Bokuto and Hinata making their own bets about whether they'd end up together.

Sakusa leaned against the wall of lockers separating them exasperated and contemplating his options. Maybe, just maybe, Motoya wasn't so wrong. And now he had something he could offer Atsumu in return, his pride. He was fairly certain Miya would do a fair deal for that.

He walked in, knowing that waiting any longer would come off as weird — if it wasn't already — and went straight to the showers. He knew he would have the chance to catch Atsumu afterwards before he left. He was always the last to leave while Sakusa was usually the first. The only reason he noticed were days like these when he was late in the morning.

True to his expectations once he returned Atsumu was still there slowly dressing himself.

"I heard about the bet." he started after the last of the others had left.

He said it as nonchalantly as possible while putting the towel aside and putting on his neatly folded clothes. Atsumu flinched and made an unintelligent noise of being caught.

"I'm sorry Omi, it was just a silly little... If you prefer I'll cancel it. Not that there is much use to it now anyway."

Sakusa watched him struggle and waited until his blabbering subsided before he continued. "Not necessary."

The blonde looked up surprised.

"I actually wanted to suggest a deal that might be beneficial for the both of us."

Atsumu's eyes narrowed in suspicion and Sakusa had the slight hunch that he didn't want to know what was going on in his head at that very moment. So he quickly resumed talking. "My parents plan a family get-together for this weekend. They are quite conservative, not to say outright homophobic, and always try to match me with some random girl so Motoya suggested I bring a date to stop them. "And preferably annoy them a bit. Since I know no one more annoying than you..." he explained.

Atsumu raised his brows before his typical smug smirk spread on his face that made him look somewhere between punch and kissable. "So ya want me to be yet date Omi-Omi?"

"Fake-date" he was quick to clarify.

"Sure, right. Because you don't actually like men."

"I like men, just not idiots like you."

Atsumu's eyes grew round in surprise. He was shocked, so much so that he almost forgot to be offended by the last part. He pouted. "And what do I get from that? I don't particularly fancy ya taking jabs at me for the whole weekend. I don't really have a thing for humiliation." he grinned as Sakusa almost choked and struggled to keep his composure, while his cheeks burnt red and he glared at the setter.

Deep breaths. This was exactly why he was perfect for this.

"This. You can be your full-on obnoxious self the whole weekend, flirt with me as aggressively as you like with no holding back and piss off some conservative assholes in the process. I know that that is one of your favourite hobbies."

Atsumu grinned wildly, almost feral and Sakusa just knew he'd be in for a wild ride if the blonde agreed. Letting him run free was a dangerous calculation for Kiyoomi's dignity and just hoped he would get to enjoy his parent's sour expression without getting too flustered and before he died of embarrassment.

"And you win the bet," he added finally.

The clear, joyous laugh of the setter echoed through the room and from the walls as he held his sides, as though Sakusa had just told him the funniest joke he had ever heard, irritating the spiker further.

"You got a deal, Darling." the blonde grinned.

"Save the pet names for the weekend, Miya." He quickly rushed to get out before Atsumu could see the blush blossoming on his cheeks, rapidly rising in intensity. Pray to the gods that he'd survive this one.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: ML Season 5 episode 21 Confrontation

Spoilers below

-Ohhh okay, starting out with the drama bomb

-So for those that forgot (Like me) Gabriel is sending adrien to London for Private school. And Adrien cant fill out the orientation form because of it

-Plagg... My boy. No cheese jokes.

-So all the students are stressed about the meeting

-Oh so Marinette also got the guilt that now that Lila is the class rep there will be some fishy business.

-Yea the jobs are what I would expect for Nino and Alya

-Ivan out here showing himself to be loyal af. All other men need to step up their game. Mylene showing ambition.

-Juleka wants to be a mortician. Sticking to your asthetic, but didnt she want to model? Or was it just to help her get out of her shell. Meh

-Sabrina wants to be a nurse,

-Yea, Marinette's worries are justified

-Chloé and Lila having Opposite goals, one doesnt care because she is rich, Lila basically wants to "Resolve everything" but thats a lie

-Adrienette cuteness!

-Adrien, you are going to have to tell her eventually

-You can screen shot this and write "Moments before a disaster" and it would be accurate

-And they are shredding them. Im not even surprised

-"In case of a problem, blame it on your predecessor." Its nice to know kids shows are accurately explaining politics to children for once.

-"Its gonna hurt people?" THATS 90% OF THE S*** CHLOÉ HAS YOU DO! NOW YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT?

-Also Sabrina being a whistle blower is TOO on the nose, even for this show.

-Principal damocles is going to find out about the resistance! Wait, is he cool with it? He actually covered for them. I guess being a hero has helped you be less of a jerk... BUT I still am not cool with the BS from episode 14. You are on VERY thin ICE Owl man

-The class wants to go to the same school together, thats sweet

-Oh, that call must have been Sabrina. But we will see

-Oh right, Adrien still hasnt filled out his form

-Welp now he did

-But now I believe this is where all the pennies drop

-Why is there a just a random ass toilet trailer? Is that really the only bathroom in the school?

-Adrien exhibiting true AND KEN behavior.

-Lila once again proving that all the adults in this show are idiots. Bustier does seem at least a little bit suspect tho

-It is interesting to see how the teachers are. Bustier is suspect of it since she knows her students, Damocles is being his best to be supportive and Mendelev doesnt give a f***

-Juleka already repeated a year, thus confirming Luka and her as twins via the retcon

-Cue the reactions

-Juleka is gonna get akumatized...

-Monarch must have a guy that writes all of these speeches for him to speak before he does this.

-Yea I know Rose was trying, but yea. If I was repeating a year. I would NOT be in a mode to try and be positive.

-And she gets Roarr

-WHY IS ALWAYS REFLEKTA THO?

-Bustier realize she let this happen

-Lucky charm is tape.

-"You cant touch the bakers, I love their croissants to much" and their daughter. You forgot that last part chat noir

-SO THATS WHAT HAPPENS IF TWO FALCON PUNCHES COLLIDE?

-Wait... thats it? That barely lasted 2 minutes. and the episode isnt over.

-Monarch thinks there will be more akuma soon. I see

-Chloé and Lila really pulling this crap

-Oh they remember how Sabrina can forge handwritings and thus Marinette isnt going to get in trouble. And Chloé throws her under the bus

-Lila and Chloé really didnt expect Sabrina to turn Whistle blower on them. Chloé I get, because Sabrina has been loyal dog for years and the writing for her has Chloé have the mental capacity of a parsnip since season 4.

-Okay Lila that was well played lie right there. That is A tier gaslighting.

-I will give this scene credit, Lila is absolutely HORRIFYING. I can see the next season's main villain already. Since I assume Gabriel is probably dying this season.

-Chloé out here being a dumbass

-Sabrina you sly dog, you got her Monologue-ing

-Sabrina I put you as the least favorite classmate after episode 14, but now I gotta retcon that. Sure it was messed up what you helped chloé with. But that absolute MASTERY of playing Lila. Just, Chef's kiss. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

-Sabrina and Marinette's plan worked. Also, Mr.Damocles was okay with that?

-Ah so none this matters. Because Andre is also being whipped.

-Damocles looking like he cant take the bulls*** anymore and Monarch ready to capitalize on it

-The magic reacts to emotion, which means... IF the person is strong enough emotionally to resist it. Then the charm has a purpose

-Lila just straight up left.

-CHAT NOIR! But he is making it worse

-JULEKA! This moment probably will not have as much impact as it does in any other dub. French dub superiority

-OOOO it makes a shield that purifies the mega akuma. Neat

-Monarch crying like a bitch

-Damocles finally standing up to Andre. Good on him

-Damocles going out like a G.

-Chat noir telling ladybug what happened and her having to act like she didnt know

-Bustier calling Chloé in.

-"You cant expell me." "Nah bitch, thats a problem for you." is how I saw that exchange

-LILA WAS WEARING A WIG! I KNEW SHE WAS A FAKE B****

-HER NAME IS CERISE?

______________________________________________________

WELL that was a lot.

So i think part of me really likes this episode, but also doesnt.

I like that Lila finally got exposed and Damocles got his redemption for his failures of the past. Going out like a G.

But all this stuff with Lila having ANOTHER life. Thats just nuts.

so overally 7/10

I will do a review of Collusion tomorrow

[electricbluebutterflies]

i'm not drunk enough for this. -kabby

Modern AU, PG-ish, also on ao3.

Chaperone the Debate Team retreat, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.

Well, actually it was more like “as the teacher nominally supervising this horror show of a student activity, you get to make sure these kids don’t kill each other in the middle of nowhere after one of the worst seasons in school history”, with undertones of “if they collectively decide to murder you, no one will blame them”, but…

Marcus is heading for a midlife crisis anyways. If this latest bit of administrative fuckery is what finally pushes him over the edge, so be it.

It’s not the kids he’s worried about, really. Well, he is worried about them, but most of them are graduating next month and legal adults on paper and most of those have been his problem for the past four years and well…

He knows he can’t exactly control which of the mothers decides to be the other chaperone, but why did it have to be that one?

Abby is the kind of nemesis you can only have in a smaller town, and Marcus does not say that lightly. She’s done everything in her power to make his life difficult since they met, and her marriage to one of his friends gave her so much opportunity until that accident, and the number of major life events that should’ve either outright stopped that woman or kept her too busy to terrorize him and yet somehow didn’t…

Unfortunately for him, Abby has a very blonde daughter who takes too much of her and was the only kid on the team to even make it to State this year, and Abby is the most involved debate team parent by a mile, so…

This is a circle of hell, Marcus thinks. Possibly multiple overlapping ones.

The kids don’t really need that much supervision. The kids are loose on a state park that hasn’t quite hit the normal tourist season for the year, and the only reason to have adults present is to make sure someone in the vicinity has the common sense to call 911 if needed. For intents and purposes, Marcus is stuck in the great outdoors for two and a half days with nothing to do except-

“I’m not drunk enough for this.”

He’d assumed, at some point, that his counterpart would’ve correctly estimated the weekend’s actual responsibility level and brought a book or two to keep herself occupied, but apparently-

“You do realize we’re just here in case someone gets food poisoning from an undercooked hot dog,” Marcus mutters.

“Is that likely?”

“You do realize I’ve somehow gotten stuck with every questionably parented kid at the school who’s been kicked out of football or… I don’t know what the aggressive girls did before but-“

“If you are describing my daughter as questionably parented, I will-“

To be fair, the thought has crossed Marcus’s mind a few times, but his goal for the weekend is to not get murdered, so-

“At least you’re an involved parent,” he says instead. Might be better for everyone if she wasn’t, but-

“She didn’t want me to come, but the school basically told me that no one else wanted to do this and unless I was in the ICU…”

“Would you have taken a way out if you’d had one?”

Abby laughs. She’s pretty when she does that, impossible to look away from, he is trying to keep his eyes on her face but the neckline of her shirt is… she’s going to get bug bites in some sensitive areas, he can’t wait to see how venomous she gets when-

“Probably not.”

He’s not that lucky, more like.

“The trip does end early if someone breaks a bone. Anything less than that…”

“Broken bones are nothing. Clarke was a Girl Scout for a bit, you wanna see bad parenting in the middle of nowhere…”

“Don’t tell me you volunteered for this hoping you’d get to practice your field medic skills.”

“No, I just thought you were out of your mind for taking this bunch of idiots to a remote location and letting them run wild and-“

“They had a bad season, the administration wanted to do something, the budget was minimal…”

“And that’s enough to justify that some sixteen-year-old is going to get poison ivy somewhere awkward and make it my problem?”

“Yes?”

“You’re a terrible person.”

That probably shouldn’t sound like a compliment from her, but-

“You did technically volunteer.”

“I’m being forced to use vacation days and if I stay alone in that house all weekend…”

“So trying to make me miserable had nothing to do with it?”

“The idea barely crossed my mind.”

He doesn’t believe her, but their sparring matches are so much more fun with an audience and they don’t have one right now, and-

“If you say so.”

[useless-bi-otch]

Cookies'n Cream - Chapter 19

Last chapter / MasterList / art by @aneenasevla

Chapter 19 - Trial and Error

Okubo knew that when he saw his friends again, they would ask about his night at Tomori's house. They'd ask for all the sordid details, probably hoping to feed their own fantasies with them. They wouldn't accept vague answers and probably wouldn't believe him if he tried to lie, to create a false scenario to throw them off. He would have no choice but to tell the unvarnished truth.

And he knew they wouldn't be happy. He showed up at Kaneda's apartment when he was invited to another game night a few days later, already prepared to deal with the general outrage, name-calling and questions about his manhood.

Or maybe it was his lucky day! Perhaps, if he explained in detail what happened, the guys would be understanding. Who wouldn't lose all desire to fuck after what he'd witnessed, anyway? Maybe he would find some solidarity there...

"YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!!"

Or maybe not.

"Guys, tone it down," Kaneda asks with a sigh, pausing the game while Rihito and Himuro stuck their faces into Okubo's personal space, snarling furiously, the three of them practically glued to eachother on the couch. "It's past nine, the complex has rules about noise at night even on weekends..."

"Sorry, man, but there's no way not to scream! It's our way of venting frustration out with such levels of stupidity!," Rihito justifies himself, gesticulating, almost hitting Okubo's nose. "Seriously, Okubo, does your heart pump blood to your brain at all?!"

"You should also ask if it pumps blood to his dick, because holy fuck..."

"Screw you guys!," Okubo growls, red with anger and mortification at Himuro's comment. "You don't know shit about what happened and yet you stay there, talking shit, not even letting me explain-"

"Explain what? How did you completely squander the golden chance we got you over some stupid stuffed animals?," Himuro interrupts him, to which Rihito nods vehemently.

"Yeah! We were just joking at the time, damn it! You're not that old to be going limp for such a shitty reason!"

"I didn't! Are you dumb or deaf?," He asks, his tone squeaky to make himself heard amidst the accusations. "Just shut up and listen to me, okay? First of all, there were no plushies in her room! At least not as far as I've seen..."

"We heard that part, but we still find it hard to believe," Kaneda comments, leaning back a little and resting his hands on the rug while looking at them over his shoulder. "Why else would you've given up on sleeping with Miss Uta like that? This has nothing to do with her in particular, does it?"

“Uh… no. I mean, yes, but at the same time no...?," He gestures uncertainly, making a face at their irritated expressions. "Look, I know it sounds crazy, but if you close your mouths and listen to me, you'll understand my side! None of you would've been able to perform if you'd seen what I saw. No, Himuro, not even you," He says quickly when Himuro opens his mouth to retort. This makes him frown.

"Huh? Do you really think I couldn't do the deed over some stupid stuffed animals? You wouldn't believe half of the absurd places and situations where I've banged a chick, believe me."

“I'd ask for details, but your man-whore escapades always piss me off and I want my ire fully focused on that idiot,” Rihito points at Okubo, who lets out an angry grunt while rolling his entire head, since rolling only his eyes didn't seem good enough.

"Holy shit, didn't you hear anything I said? There was no fucking stuffed animals in her room! Believe me, I wish there was...," He then moans, holding his head between his hands. "It would've been so much better than what I saw..."

"…Okay, Okubo, you're starting to scare us," Kaneda puts the joystick aside as he sits on the left arm of the sofa, a little worried. "What was in her room that was so horrible? was it something offensive, politically incorrect..."

"If by 'politically incorrect' you mean things like race supremacy, fascism, racism and all that stuff, no," He shakes his head, grimacing. "And by 'offensive'… well, I got a little offended!"

"Jeez… wait, did it have something to do with you?," Rihito frowns. And then his eyes widen. "Holy crap… is she one of those fujoshi girls by any chance? Did she make perverted drawings of you?! Himuro and Kaneda said that she likes to draw, so..."

"Damn it, Rihito, did you really need to bring such a mental image into the conversation?!," Himuro complains with a disgusted grimace. "Now I won't be able to stop thinking about that shit! I mean, Miss Uta never gave me the impression of being the type of girl who draws lewd stuff of her idol with other guys, but it's not like we know her well enough to make any claims."

"What- holy fuck, no!," Okubo screeches in horror. "It's not like that! I'd have jumped off that boat and swum west to get as far away from here as possible if it was something like that!"

“Then what the hell is it? What was in her room that was so hideous that you couldn't perform and have a hell of a story to tell us while we beat the cops and run over people with an ambulance?," Rihito asks while opening his arms, and Kaneda looks disapprovingly at him.

“This taken out of context could result in the police coming to visit my apartment before midnight, you know?"

"I'm talking about the GTA ambulance, dude."

"Yeah, but my neighbors don't know that!"

"Focus, you two!," Himuro raises his voice impatiently. "We have a more pending matter here. Now spit it out, come on," He turns to Okubo, practically commanding as he points at him. "What made you go limp, anyway?"

"I didn't...! Aaargh, forget it," Okubo puts his hand over his face, giving up. "It was the damn posters on the walls! There, i said it!"

He stares at them, in complete silence, as he sees the confusion on their faces.

"... Huh?," Rihito blinks. "What do you mean by 'posters'? What posters, dammit? Posters of what? A boy band she likes? Actors? Some yaoi anime, I don't know?"

"No, I'd accept it easier if it were those things… except the yaoi anime stuff…," He snorts. "They were posters of fighters."

"Wait, like the ones in her living room?"

"Yes, but make it triple," Okubo widens his eyes, raising his hands on either side of his face and moving them a little away from each other to emphasize. "I could barely see the walls underneat them, damn it. Can you still blame me for giving up?"

He waits for their reactions, wanting to see some sympathy, however small, in their features. And, as expected, he doesn't. The room that was a cross between a living room and a kitchen is filled with grunts and the sounds of hands smacking over faces in loud clacks.

"What do you think? I'll blame you, your age, your fagness, everything I can blame!," Rihito throws his arms up in frustration. "Who the fuck cares about a bunch of posters?!"

“That's fucking why I didn't want to tell you anything! Where is the solidarity with the suffering of your peers?," Okubo asks indignantly, and Himuro is not moved.

“It went down the drain after we heard such a stupid reason! Posters, Okubo? They're just pictures cut out of magazines and pasted on the walls, nothing more! And you even had the nerve to say that I wouldn't have been able to perform in such a place..."

"Stop trying to play the playboy act when you haven't been in my situation, damn it! I'm telling you, that room looked like the headquarters of a gay magazine!," He gestures almost desperately. "There was no pornographic pictures, but it seemed that they were all in ambush, just waiting, wanting to watch and judge my performance..."

"For fuck's sake, stop freaking out, Okubo!," Rihito slaps him on the back of the head, and he wasn't fast enough to dodge. "What are you thinking? That this is Harry Potter? That the posters would magically come to life and the fighters would point at the two of you on the bed and go 'put that baby carrot away, loser' ?"

"No, damn it! Let me finish before you keep talking shit!," Okubo threatens to kick Rihito in the face, who, unlike him, managed to dodge the blow. "These posters weren't of just any fighters! They were..."

"… Oh. They were posters of our friends, weren't they?," Kaneda is the first to conclude, widening his eyes a little. "Sekibayashi?"

This makes Rihito and Himuro widen their eyes as well. They turn to Okubo, who nods slowly with a grim expression.

"Yep. And Gaolang."

“Ooh, jeez… and both of them were shirtless, right?"

"And sweaty, yeah. Flexing muscles and all."

Kaneda sucks air through his clenched teeth, shudering a little.

"And there were others like this? In the entire room?"

"The entire fucking room, man. Now you understand me, don't you?," He faces his friends, seriously. "I'll ask again: can you blame me? Huh?"

Kaneda shakes his head, his expression solemn. Rihito and Himuro were still speechless with astonishment, their jaws hanging open. Himuro even seemed to have pale slightly. The two look at each other, the bridges of their noses sweating.

"Hey, Himuro… do you really think you'd be able to perform in a place like this?," Rihito asks, to which Himuro looks to the side, his expression uncertain.

"Uh... I had sex with a girl who had a Karl Marx poster on her bedroom wall once, but I think this current situation is much worse..."

"I'd change places with you without thinking twice, dude, trust me," Okubo affirms, moaning softly before plopping down on the sofa. "Few things are more of a turn down than that, honestly. Which sucks, because everything was perfect. We cuddled up together on her couch while we watched a movie... but by then I wasn't in the mood anymore."

"Man, that sucks…," Rihito laments, and Okubo was pleased to see that he now seemed more supportive of his struggle. "I thought girls got over that phase of turning their rooms into shrines dedicated to their idols when they got out of their teens. How did she think you'd go along with doing anything there, huh?"

"I don't know," Okubo shrugs. "I wasn't going to ask, I sneaked into her room and if I said anything about it, she'd find out that I snooped aroung and might get mad at me. It was on me, curiosity got the better of me and I paid the price."

"I tried to warn," Kaneda sighs, while Himuro shudders.

"Yeah, but maybe it was better that way. What if you only saw her room when the two of you got in there with the intention of fucking? She'd see you going limp firsthand."

"Don't remind me of that! But yeah, it could've been a lot worse," Okubo concedes, his expression softening a little. "The night wasn't wasted, anyway."

"How so? Is this what? The fifth or sixth time in a row that you miss a chance to get laid for a completely random reason?," Rihito scratches his hair, messing it up even more. "It seems like the universe is conspiring against you or something."

"Come on, if he’s saying that the night wasn’t wasted, it’s because he took advantage of it in other ways," Kaneda comments. "At least there didn’t seem to be another room available…"

“Of course there is! What about her crafts room?," Rihito asks, and Okubo shakes his head.

"There was no bed or divan there, it'd not be comfortable. And it was full of photos not only of her friends, but also of her parents and brother."

"…Oh," Rihito doesn't even try to reason with that one. Himuro leans a little towards Okubo.

"Alright, but what about the living room? Couldn't you try to do anything on the couch?"

"No, man, the living room was full of posters too."

"Holy shit...

"What about the kitchen? I've been in her kitchen before and I'm pretty sure there weren't any posters there!"

"No, dude, having sex in the kitchen is not romantic for a first time..."

"Damn it, Okubo, there's no way we can defend you then!," Rihito opens his arms again, frustration making him almost scream again. "How long are you going to keep making excuses? That way it looks like you don't even want to bang her anymore!"

Okubo immediately opens his mouth with the intention of saying he wanted to, because damn, of course he wanted to! He had never stopped wanting to. The problem was, that wasn't the only thing he wanted anymore when it came to Tomori.

He wanted to sleep with her. And he also wanted to go on other dates with her. He wanted to practice more baseball batting, explore other restaurants where they could eat, watch bad movies that the two of them could make fun of together, introduce her to his favorite anime, watch her draw and paint, learn to cook from her, holy shit, he just wanted to stay by her side no matter the situation...!

He wanted to explain all this to his friends, to say that there had been a slight change of plans, that now his goal was no longer about getting casual sex, but getting that woman to accept being his woman. But at that moment he couldn't, as much as he wanted to. The strong embarrassment prevented him, the fear of becoming the target of ridicule, the fear of showing that fragile side of him in front of them...

Was it what they'd call toxic masculinity these days? Yeah, probably. He sighs heavily.

"Just because I encountered some obstacles along the way? No way, Rihito. Of course I still want it, and you can bet I'm not giving up because of it. I just concluded that I simply won't be able to do that on her house.

"Jeez, what a fussy fucker…," Himuro snorts, sarcastic, turning around to get something from the kitchen. "You'd tought that he's the one about to be fucked, with the way he's acting..."

Rihito bursts out laughing, throwing his head back and slapping his own thigh. Even Kaneda makes a farting sound from his mouth, quickly looking away when Okubo glares at them as if he wants to spend the first culprit on them.

"Damn, I'm giving up on you!"

"We're the ones who should say that! But anyway, that's your problem, not ours," Rihito waves a hand. "We're already doing our part, it's not our fault if you're too stupid to take advantage."

"Leave him alone, Rihito," Kaneda coughs to contain his laughter. "At this point rushing things isn't going to change the situation."

"And walking at a snail's pace, like Captain Erectile Dysfunction is doing, won't change it either."

"Captain Erectile Dysfunction? That's not what your mom called me yesterday, asshole!"

"Oooh, so we're doing low blows now? You're really bringing moms into this? Then don't complain when your face looks even more fucked up than usual after I'm done with you!"

"Don't start fighting in the middle of my living room, you two," Kaneda grumbles while the two gorillas put themselves in fighting stances, snarling at each other. "Soon the food will arrive, then you'll be able to put those mouths to a good use. Liu sent a message, Himuro," He shows his phone to Himuro. "He'll booze drinks too."

"Excellent. It's what we need the most after all this fuss," He nods with a snort. "Games, booze and not talking about that stuff anymore, for the sake of my sanity."

"Yeah, mine too," Rihito grunts, Okubo and him giving each other the middle finger before relaxing their postures and going back to the couch. He was relieved that the conversation was over. Who knows if his friends couldn't get more embarrassing truths out of him if it went on too long. They called him a loudmouth for a reason, after all...

* * *

When Okubo said that he was willing to do anything to show that he regretted his wrongdoings and that he wanted to prove it to her, Tomori chose to believe him. She saw now that she no longer needed to worry about regretting that decision.

She just didn't expect him to go through with the promise after he had earned her forgiveness. And not to those extremes.

"I'm really sorry!," He exclaims, a little too loudly, while bowing deeply before the astonished manager, the waitresses and even the cleaning staff of the bistro. "My behavior that day was inexcusable!"

"Ooh… we appreciate the attempt, sir," The manager says after exchanging a brief look with one of the waitresses. "But there's no need-"

"Yes, there is! I mean...! Uugh, I'm sorry for yelling...," He scratches the back of his neck quickly when two of the women flinch slightly, a little nervously. "I know it's kinda late for this, but I won't be able to be at peace with myself if I don't do that. I disrespected your work environment, inconvenienced one of your employees, and made a lot of people uncomfortable. Mainly my date here," He raises his eyes a little to Tomori, who was standing by his side with arms crossed. "Apologizing is the bare minimum. And covering the damage of what I broke too..."

"Oh, but that has already been covered. You paid for the broken crockery."

"Uh… I did?"

"Yes, just before you ran off after that lady," One of the waitresses nods, and Tomori recognizes her as the one who had the tray with orders knocked out of her hands by the disaster that was a drunk Okubo. "You paid with your card, and it was more than we needed to replace the broken crockery."

Okubo blinks, a little perplexed, and then turns his eyes to Tomori.

“I…I didn't remember that. I was drunker than I thought, holy cow..."

She lets out an accidental giggle, clapping a hand over her mouth afterward. Now that everything was settled, it was easier to remember that night without feeling resentful or embarrassed. At least not like before.

"Yeo! And I'm glad you transferred money to people who deserved to be reimbursed, and not to someone taking advantage of your drunk generosity. They could have whiped your bank account clean..."

"And would you've let them?"

"At that time I felt very vindictive, so I think you already know my answer."

"Damn, you're mean...," He makes a pout, to which the manager and employees allow themselves a brief laugh.

“Our work ethic wouldn't have allowed it. Anyway, we appreciate your gesture, Mr. Okubo," The man nodded with a kind smile. "And we accept your apology. Fortunately, nothing serious happened that night that would justify your permanent expulsion from the establishment."

"Oh… so my date and I can go back to the bistro?"

"As long as it doesn't happen again, yes. Our zero-tolerance policy for drunk customers is still in place," The manager warns. "But since the damages were paid and the apology was sincere, I don't think we have anything to worry about. Now we just need to return all the extra money you gave us, it wouldn't be right..."

"No need, you can keep the extra as compensation for the trouble!"

"Sir, we cannot accept this, it goes against our policy..."

Okubo and the manager stood there, arguing about pay, work ethics, and other related matters, and the employees took that as their cue to get back to work. They bow briefly to Tomori, then go their separate ways, and she stands there, patiently waiting for the subject to be over so they could sit down to eat. It was so good to be back in this place and not feel sad and out of place because of the memories.

And it was all thanks to him, who had kept one of the last promises she expected him to keep. And without her needing to push him into it, to top it off! It wasn't something that deserved a standing ovation, as apologizing for execrable behavior was the least thing to do, but it was still something she appreciated and that made her want to hug him, kiss him, find a private place so they could get all cozy and confortable...

"Later. Baby steps, you predator, baby steps..."

"… Very well, half of the amount will be refunded then. This is my last offer, it's take it or be thrown out of here for good," She hears the manager suddenly threaten, and that's enough to make Okubo back off.

"Okay, okay, half then! Damn, being classified as persona non grata in two establishments would look really bad on my resume...," He grumbles with a slight shudder. "Can my date and I sit down and place our orders then?"

"Sure, make yourselves comfortable. Your waitress will come to you soon," The man says goodbye to them with a polite bow, moving away towards the kitchens. Okubo sighs heavily before turning to her with an arched eyebrow.

"Come on, are bakery and restaurant owners always this inflexible, to the point of being scary? Or did your boss taught a few tricks around the commercial areas of Tokyo?"

Tomori laughs heartily. "I said it to Rihito, and now I say it to you: cooks in general are pretty tough and adamant about their convictions. It was almost a miracle that Kanny accepted you back into the bakery, considering what I've seen and heard from her."

"Do I have to consider myself lucky then? I don't even want to think about what will become of the poor bastard who pisses her off to the point of being kicked out for good," He touches his own jaw with a grimace, smiling when it makes her laugh again. "But anyway, I did what needed to be done. Now I can show up here with you without feeling like a complete idiot."

"Yeah...," She nods as the two of them walk to the veranda, choosing a vacant table; it was a beautiful, sunny Sunday and it made more sense to enjoy it outdoors. "I'm glad for that, really. But... is it really okay for you? I still haven't forgotten that conversation about how this place brings back bad memories."

"Tomori, if I were to run my whole life away from bad memories, I wouldn't be able to consider myself a fighter," He steps forward, pulling out a chair for her to sit on, making her blush with the chivalrous gesture. "You said yourself that I need to face my problems head on like a man, and that's what I'm doing. And in addition, I can make good memories with you," He smiles as he sits down in front of her. "Let’s exorcise this place together?"

She puts a hand over her mouth quickly, trying to stifle a laugh. "Keep it down, or you'll offend the manager with that out of context comment, and that's when you'll get kicked out."

"Damn… I'm noticing that, since you came into my life, I've been running more risks of being kicked out of places, for good or not," He comments playfully, to which she arches an eyebrow.

"Oh really? So am I to blame for that?"

"No. I'm to blame for being an idiot full of behavioral problems and who now needs to bust a gut to improve them, all for the ankle-biter he likes so much. So, the near expulsions are kind of unavoidable consequences," He reaches across the table to pat her hand. "But I’m not complaining, the pros far outweigh the cons…"

"Uugh, you..." She hides her red face in her free hand, the other still being stroked by his callused fingers. And even though she knew it was inappropriate in a public place, she didn't want to remove her hand from under his. "Apparently the first joint memory I'm going to create here will be of me, holding myself back from getting up and kissing you in front of all these people."

"See? We're already starting to get over the bad memories," He laughs, all happy, scratching his nose. "I knew coming here was a good idea, even though it was kinda uncomfortable for me. You won't want to die of embarrassment every time you come here, will you?"

“I… damn, I did say that, didn't I?," She opens an embarrassed smile, but the joy with his words prevented the feeling from lasting long. "No, I won't. I mean, not until you take that task on yourself. I expect everything from that silver tongue of yours."

He chuckled again, and she noticed that he didn't seem to understand the double meaning her words carried. Funny… she had the impression until then that he was a very physical man, in every sense of the word. He had a past as a womanizer, after all. He should pick up on that kind of insinuation pretty quickly, shouldn't he?

So far, the two of them hadn't done anything physical beyond hugging, kissing and groping here and there, though never in intimate places. She appreciated his clear attempts to be respectful, but by now she was more than ready for them to take things further. It was what she wanted from the beginning, after all.

The difference was that that desire was now tempered with other feelings that she could no longer ignore. She had lived too many special moments with that man and known too many facets of him to just want one night with him and nothing else. It was time to let the wolf that everyone accused her of being show her fangs a little. Just a little, so as not to scare him too much. But enough to make him want more.

“Just wait, big guy. I will make you want nothing else after I'm done with you.”

"Ahaha, you don't need to worry. If I ever embarrass you, it will be in a way that'll make you laugh, instead of getting mad," He promises, oblivious to the direction her thoughts were taking. "But now that you mention a silver tongue..."

"Oh?," She straightens her shoulders at this. "What about it?"

"We've gone out to several places together, but never to a karaoke," He smiles excitedly. "You said it's another one of your family traditions, right? I'd like to hear you sing! And then I'll let myself belt out too, hehe."

... Oh. Damn, if she didn't know him better by now, she'd think he was extremely innocent. Or that she was being too perverted. But she would never complain about having another date with him, or spending any time with him in general. She smiled.

"Haha, yes, it is one of our traditions, especially at family gatherings! I even have a karaoke machine at home and would've turned it on the last time you visited if I'd known you were so into it."

“Nah, it's not even that. I mean, I do like karaoke, but I was thinking more of a place where you'd like to go and where we would feel more comfortable," His smile becomes more ingratiating. "Karaoke bars have private rooms, after all. What do you think? Wanna go to one, one of these days?"

"Oh, I’m in! We can have a competition and then sing as a duo!," She claps excitedly. "​​What do you think? I'll even let you choose Baka Mitai to have an advantage, I've been generous lately."

"Hey, hey, making fun of my musical tastes is a low blow," He snorts. "Baka Mitai is an ode to a lost love whose lyrical self only knew how to appreciate when it was too late. It's sad and beautiful, as all good songs should be."

"I didn't know you liked that kind of music. From your clothes I always thought you liked rap, especially the American style..."

"Rap is cool, but what attracts me the most is the clothing itself. My thing is enka!"

"Seriously? Wow, you'd get along great with my dad then," She laughs. "He's always listening to Sakamoto Kyu, Miyako Harumi, Itsuki Hiroshi..."

"A man of culture, indeed," He crosses his arms and nods, very solemnly, and she laughs more. "Maybe one day he and I will have a friendly competition at karaoke…"

He then shuts up, seeming to realize what he had just insinuated, turning very red and clearing his throat with a fist in front of his mouth.

"I- I mean...! In a completely hypothetical situation, of course, no one can predict the direction that life will take. I mean, if one day he suddenly shows up at your house when I'm there... no, no, that wouldn't be very good either, what would he think...!"

Tomori can't think of anything to reply, her face hot, her mind filling with ridiculously sugary scenarios. Many of them involved Okubo and her father, chanting Enka at the top of their lungs in her parents' living room, while Tatsu complained that the yelling was interfering with one of his work calls and her mother, Saeko and she watched with fond exasperation...

Okay, if writing imaginary fanfiction during conversation, in a public place, wasn't a worrying sign she was losing her mind, she didn't know what else could be. She tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear, laughing a little too loudly.

"Haha, no- no need to worry about that, my parents never show up at my house unannounced. My brother sometimes does, but that's because he's a complete no-brainer. And because he wants to make sure I'm not hiding any men there."

"Jeez, how old does he think you are?," Okubo rolls his eyes, still a little red. And then he seems to think harder, frowning. "Wait… I don't think I know that either. How old...?"

"Twenty-seven," She replies, smiling, relieved that they were changing the subject. "Twenty-eight in February! Yeah, I'm getting old, I know, hehe..."

Okubo blinks, then looks away with a strange expression. It looked almost like…guilt? Tomori frowns.

"What's wrong? Come on, I was kidding! Twenty-seven is not that old..."

"No, that's not it! It's just that...," He scratches the back of his head, pressing his mouth in an uncomfortable line. "I'm thirty-six. That means I'm almost a decade your senior."

"Yeah, so...?"

“It's just…I don't know, isn't that a little weird?," He now whispered as if he was afraid that the people at the tables nearby would hear them. "I get closer to my forties every day, while you're not even in your thirties yet..."

Tomori ends up laughing in disbelief. "Damn, I think you should've thought of that before agreeing to go out with me and make out with me over all these weeks, hahaha!"

"Hey, hey, as far as I know the make-out sessions were completely consensual, and the consent was enthusiastic on both sides!," He points at her with a pout, and she laughs even louder.

"It was! So why bother worrying about it?," She shrugs with a smile. "I always knew about your age and it never bothered me. I mean, if I were a fresh-out-of-school girl, with no steady income and immature, it'd be really wrong. But I have a job, I own a house, I pay bills and taxes and I even have a completely developed frontal lobe," She jokes, raising two fingers of her right hand in a V for Victory. "Rest assured that you're not taking advantage of an impressionable girl."

"Heh… I don't really know about the “impressionable” part," He ends up saying after reassuring himself, smiling again. "You always seemed very impressed with my accomplishments, hehe."

"Of course! It's impressive and admirable how you're still able to keep your belt even though you're close to the age at which most fighters retire."

"Are you seriously calling me old? That's uncalled for!," He complains, but his tone was still playful amidst the indignation. "I'll show you who the old man is, just wait and see."

The laugh dies in her throat, her mouth still open as she processes his words. A funny, familiar tingle creeps up her spine, accompanied by an involuntary shiver in her legs, and she finds herself pulling them together in an attempt to contain it.

Ooh, damn... did that mean he finally wanted to-

"Get ready to bust a gut when we go to practice batting in the park!"

... Aaaand no, he didn't want to. At least not at that specific moment. She calms down, trying to hide the slight disappointment to return his smile.

"You always say that, but I often see you holding back when it's your turn to throw the ball. I know the strength those arms have and I want to see more of it."

"If you know that, you should be asking me to go easy on you," He jokes. "But that's ok, I can step things up if that's what you want. Let's see how far you can take it without asking for a break, hehe."

Tomori shifts in her chair again, biting her bottom lip lightly. Holy shit, was he doing that on purpose or did he really have no idea what his words sounded like? If it was on purpose, he was being a little cruel. You didn't play around like that with a horny woman, dammit!

Good thing she came prepared for the occasion, wearing clothes that showcased her assets well and that he would be unable to ignore as he watched her move. She wasn't stupid or had a low opinion of herself: she knew she was pretty and she knew it affected him, even if just a little. It was time to get something out of it.

"Just you wait, I'll make you swallow these insinuations," She promises, hoping he got her subtle message. "But for now I just want to eat something. What do you say we order that baked camembert I was eating that other time? You didn't get a chance to try it..."

"You're right. Too Drunk and acting too much like an idiot for that," He opens an embarrassed smile. "Let me pay for it this time-"

"No. Stop right there. We'll split the bill," She decrees adamantly, pointing to him in a warning. "If you keep paying for me left and right, then I'm going to start thinking I'm too young for this relationship."

"You should've thought of that before you let me pay for that whole second date, lady! Now I'm too used to it," He doesn't shy away, smiling cheekily. "But I'm willing to negotiate..."

"Oh, are you?," She plays with her fingers on the table, batting her eyelashes slowly at him. "And the terms of the negotiation are…?"

"At least let me pay for the camembert and I promise I won't hold back when we go to batting practice," He offers, his smile widening. "Take it or leave it."

... Oh. Seriously, was she going to spend the entire afternoon interpreting his joking words as sexual innuendos and then be proven wrong? At that rate, the date was going to be torture! The best kind of torture.

She ends up smiling more widely. If he only knew how much she enjoyed that kind of foreplay, the innuendos would be even more blatant. And she couldn't wait for him to realize that.

"Alright. Just the camembert then. And I won't forget your promise."

"Okubo Naoya doesn't go back on his words. You should know that by now," He reaches across the table, and Tomori doesn't resist the invitation, also reaching for him and intertwining her fingers with his.

Yeah, she knew that all too well now. It was one of his traits that she most appreciated. And a part of a whole she had decided she wanted all to herself.

* * *

There were some sights that were pretty common to see in a park over a weekend. One was couples enjoying a sunny, peaceful day together. Another was that of parents playing with their children, sometimes practicing baseball pitches and hits.

What was not common was the vision of a mixture of both situations. Okubo was well aware of how much attention Tomori and him must have been drawing to themselves, playing hit and catch with a professional baseball apparatus; a relic of his days as a player. Not to mention the fact that he was too big, and she, too beautiful, and that was a rather unusual combination.

But dammit, he couldn't care less! What son of a bitch wouldn't lend an arm to be in his place? Especially with her dressed like that...

"Alright, I'm ready! Give it all you got!," She exclaims as she positions herself, holding the bat as he had suggested and spreading her legs, which were partially exposed by that pleated skirt that didn't even reach her knees. If she lifted her leg just a little, he could probably see the tattoo...

"Naoya? I said you can throw the ball now!"

"Uh- Oh, okay, sorry!," He lifts his head with a start, being awakened from his rather inappropriate thoughts for the occasion. "I got a little distracted here..."

"Too busy coming up with a last-minute strategy?," She asks with a provocative smile, swinging the bat a little. "Do you realize that my hits are a little too much for your tired legs?"

"Is that any way to talk to your coach? I'll make you some push-ups if you don't quit it!," He warns, half joking, half serious. Man, her doing push-ups in clothes like that would give him a blessed view...

"I can handle it! Just throw the ball to see for yourself," She raises her arms in the air, still holding the bat, and stretches with a small groan. "Just let me stretch a little..."

She had closed her eyes, and Okubo took the chance to enjoy the scene, swallowing a little. She was wearing a comfortable, short-sleeved shirt, the hem tied just above the waistband of her skirt, and as she stretched, it rose a little and partially exposed the skin on her abdomen. Her skin looked so smooth and soft... she even had an adorable little mole near her navel, damn. what he wouldn't give to smack some kisses around there...

"… Naoya? Getting distracted again?"

"Wha- aah, yeah!," He jerks his head up, face burning, praying he wasn't blushing too much. "I- I was assessing your posturing! Wanting to make sure it was right so you don't risk straining a muscle while swinging the bat."

“Ooh, got it,” She nods, resting the tip of the bat on the ground, looking a little thoughtful. And then she smiles, offering, "Want to help me with that?

“Uh…what?”

"Help me with my posturing! I've been doing this for a good few years, but who would deny receiving guidance from a professional?," She shrugs a little, her smile becoming sweet. "Can you give me a hand? C'mon, I want to hit better so I can make you proud..."

Holy shit... He sure could give her a hand, as many hands as she wanted. To be able to hold those hips, that little waist, feel her so close to his body, her back pressed against his chest, the movements under his hands every time she swung the bat...

“Okay, you're sounding like a thirteen year old now. Get a fucking grip, this isn't porn!”

He inhales and exhales discreetly to calm himself. If he wanted to prove to Tomori that what he felt for her went beyond mere sexual attraction, he had to start by not acting like an idiotic teenager. He nods, smiling as he approaches her.

"Damn, what a diligent student, haha! Alright, I'll help you with your posture. I particularly thought it was good so far, but if you're feeling like there's something that needs to be improved..."

"It's more to relieve conscience. Again, I trust your judgment," She explains it simply. And then she lets out a little gasp as he places his hands on either side of her hips. "Ooh…"

"What? Was it too sudden?," He asks worried. "Sorry, I should have told you I was going to-"

"No, that's not it," She says quickly, straightening her shoulders and returning to position the bat high. "It's just that… wow, your hands are really huge, haha…," And she rotates her hips a little, as if testing the firmness of her grip, his hands accompanying the movement while the hem of her skirts went up and revealed a little bit more of that skin...

“Holy fuuuuuck...!”

Okubo experienced a few seconds of self-indulgent pride as he managed not to have any stupid reactions. On the outside, he maintained an expression of neutral calmness, but on the inside, he felt an almost primal urge to take her in his arms and go find the nearest love hotel. Or the most secluded area of ​​the park, in case they couldn't countain themselves long enough.

Hell, as much as he was still ashamed of his behavior that Saturday when he and his friends found her at the market, there was no denying that Rihito and he were right in their analysis. A nice, soft body with curves and extra fat in all the right places. The wonderful personality that accompanied it only made him feel even more like he'd won the lottery. So he had to pull himself together and wait, hold back until he was sure she knew he wanted her in every way, not just the physical one. Until then, he had to be respectful. So hold your fucking horses, dammit!

"Ahaha... yeah, I've been- I've been told. Gorilla hands," He laughs, managing to blush just a little. "Okay, back to your posture! You know that the rotation force when turning the bat is all in the hips, right?"

"Yes, I know! It's all about steadying your legs and turning at just the right angle, isn't it?," She nods, not looking at him, still testing the bat's mobility. "I try to do like the professional hitters, but I always end up with sore hips after a while, haha."

"It's the lack of habit. Muscles retain memory, you know? That's why I encourage you to practice even when I'm not here," He explains, placing his hands on her hips to help her straighten up. "Your body will gradually get used to the movements and withstand the bumps more. But until then, let's stop trying to bat like me and try to bat more like yourself. You're doing great anyway."

"Does that mean you don't have to help me after all?," She asks, again moving her hips under his hands, and Okubo holds his breath for a moment when the tied hem of her blouse rises and he feels the softness and warmth of her skin in contact with his fingers. Holy crap...!

“Take a deep breath and keep it inside your fucking pants!”

"Yes, I do, like any attentive coach!," He declares, because even if he was going to keep his perverted toughts to himself, any excuse to touch her was very welcome. "Now try to follow my hands, as if this were a dance. But without wiggling, otherwise the hit comes out more like a weathervane, haha!"

She stops moving, allowing him to guide her. She looks to the side, and for a second Okubo thought he saw her frown and pout. Did he sound too harsh in that last recommendation? He was going to comment on it until she straightened her back and locked her hips in place.

"Like this?," she asks, bracing her legs and back…which almost presses against his chest, the curves molding so well to his muscles and filling his head with fantasies that involve a lot of that friction, a lot of sweat and none of those clothes...

“Bloody hell, this woman is going to kill me at this rate!”

"Yeah, like that," He tries to pull away discreetly, putting a safe distance between his hips and hers, still holding her by the waist. How he was managing to keep his voice from denoting his arousal was a mystery. "Remember the feet too. They need to be steady, but can follow the movement of the hips to keep their balance, like this," He rotates his hips to the side, feet firmly on the ground, but moving accordingly and leaving small furrows in the grass. "How about we try it now?"

“Yeah, just throw the ball,” She nods, smiling, but again she looks a little uneasy about something, her brows still furrowed. Okubo was afraid he was sounding cold, maybe even robotic, but dammit, if he didn't countain himself, she would notice his excited frenzy and be embarrassed, maybe even offended! He would make up for it by showering her with praise after the hit. He puts on the baseball glove.

"Alright! Get ready... yeah, just like that!," He nods approvingly. And then he smiles cheekily. "Just don't complain after experiencing all my potency, huh! ... Tomori, you've moved out of position," He notes confused, when she flinches a bit and brings her legs together in the process. She shakes her head.

"Sorry, it was just an annoying itch here on my leg… ok, you can throw now," She straightens the bat, a little red, and Okubo, although confused, doesn't inquire further. He nods, lifts one leg to propel himself, and throws the ball, putting more power into the motion to make the projectile whizz as it slices through the air.

She swings the bat with clenched teeth, and he cheers, throwing his arms up as the ball hits hard, flying over his head.

"Attagirl! Now c'mon, run, put those legs to work!"

She drops the bat, laughing and panting a little as she dashes to run around him, as if reaching for the bases of a real diamond. He was going to run to catch the ball... but he finds himself frozen in place as he follows her with his eyes, a little transfixed.

Her skirt fluttered with the constant movement of her legs, her belly more evident when the hem of her blouse rose with the running, her hair rippling making him imagine a creature that only existed in dreams running through a forest. What was the name of those deities in Greek mythology who were more beautiful than humans...? Nymphs! Yes, the sight made him think of a giggling, playful nymph becoming one with the elements as she ran barefoot on the grass...

Except she wasn't barefoot. And not naked, as nymphs usually were. But he could still fantasize, dammit, fantasies were free and private...

“Watch out before your hard-on becomes too obvious, you idiot!”

He shakes his head to dispel the inappropriate thoughts as she pretends to throw herself onto her side, sliding a little on the grass, laughing out loud. He immediately crouches down to her level, laughing too.

"Nice job! Hell, I should've used the stopwatch on my phone to count your time, but I forgot."

"And apparently you forgot the ball too, haha! You've been a little distracted today...," She comments, panting a little, lying on her side on the grass and resting an elbow on the ground and her chin on her hand, blinking slowly at him. Holy shit, that position only accentuated her figure even more and made her legs look shiny with sweat. He could almost see the tip of the tattoo under the hem of her skirt...!

"Sorry about that, it's just that I'm really thinking about the best way to help you improve your skills. Analyzing, planning and such…," He rubs the back of his head, smiling and hoping she doesn't take his embarrassment the other way. She blinks, surprised.

"Wait, really? I thought we were just playing..."

"And we are! But we can still learn while we play, can't we? This will be good for your physical conditioning, for your health... I don't know, I just want to help you in some way, even if a little...," He scratches the back of his head.

Tomori blinks again, and then she blushes. She looks away, biting her bottom lip, reaching out to grab some grass as she clenches her fists.

"That- That's very nice of you, but... why?"

Okubo swallows hard. If there was a chance to subtly demonstrate how he really felt, it was now.

"Come on, do we need a reason to want to see someone we like improve and be well?"

She stares at him as if she can't believe her eyes, which were huge and shining. Ff she realized now, if she said something about it, if he'd gone a little too far..."

"You...! Help me stretch!"

"... What?"

"You heard me!," She whines a little, still furiously red, sitting down on the grass and stretching her legs out in front of her. "Acting all smooth, making me all red and flustered like that… how am I supposed to concentrate on batting practice like that, huh? Be a good coach and help me not get cramps at the end of the day instead of making me want to kiss you and getting us kicked out of the park for misconduct, okay?"

“Uh… yeah, sure,” He nods, perplexed, sitting down across from her while holding her foot.

Was she mad at him? Why? Damn, had he gone overboard in his attempt to be romantic and she'd taken offense? But she said she felt like kissing him, so that couldn't be it, could it?

Fuck, he was lost as a fucking goose! He sometimes agreed with Rihito's assertions that women could be incomprehensible creatures.

He looked up at her, watching her reach out to touch her feet, wanting to ask, wanting to understand what had made her so mad… and being summarily distracted by the sight of her blouse's neckline, deepening as she moved her torso, the breasts that seemed just the right size to fit in his hands tempting him. Was that a little mole just above the right one? Fuck, she was so beautiful, so hot, so...!

“Enoooough! You're supposed to be a gentleman, not a pervert who can't hold his pants in place, damn it!"

He clears his throat harder than necessary, making her look up. "I… I didn't bother you with what I said, did I? I really need to learn when to shut up..."

She stares at him as if assessing him. And then he sighs, closing his eyes a little.

"No, it didn't bother me. On the contrary. It's just that sometimes I can't stand how cute you can be without making the slightest effort. I almost feel jealous..."

"Why? You're adorable!," He says, astonished that she thought so. "The cutest girl I've ever met, and I'm not just saying this to get on your good side. We're kinda past that phase, haha..."

She bites her bottom lip, blushing, and Okubo had know her long enough to learn to recognize the mixture of happiness and irritation in her expression. Shit, had he said something he shouldn't have said again? He just couldn't stop making an ass out of himself that day!

"Eer... Tomori, I-"

"Let's keep playing!," She interrupts him unceremoniously, raising her voice to the point of squeaking a little and raising her hand in the air. "Help me to get up, please."

He does so, confused and worried, lifting her without trouble. He even puts his hands on her back to help her steady herself, her breasts pressing momentarily against his chest and holy fuck, control yourself, control yourself, control your fucking self...!

"Let's go batting again, and this time, I want to see if I can make you sweat," She says in a determined tone "And don't forget to run after the ball this time, huh! I'm going to hit it as far as I can."

"Haha, o-okay! I know you can, just apply everything I've taught you so far," He nods, trying to smile. And then he blinks. "Uh… are you wanting a tighter hug to feel more confident or…?"

"Huh?... Oh! I'm sorry…," She pulls away from him as she takes two steps back, embarrassed and also looking…frustrated? Damn, he couldn't tell! Maybe he should spend a few hours watching those body language videos or something...

She picks up the bat she'd dropped on the floor minutes before, swinging it around in the air as if testing its weight, but doing so with an abruptness that, honestly, scared him a little. He just hoped he hadn't pissed her off enough for her to want to hit balls other than the baseball one. He puts on the glove.

"Are you ready?," He asks, and positions himself when she nods.

"Yes. And throw it hard! No taking it easy on me!"

“Okay, you asked for it…,” He nods seriously. He didn't want to overdo it, but if he held back, she might get even angrier at him. Better not risk it. He lifts one leg to gain momentum and throws the ball with a vengeance, grinding his teeth.

Tomori does the same by swinging the bat... and hitting the ball with her face instead of the bat when Okubo's throw pierces her block easily. Her head snaps back with the impact, and he widens his eyes in horror as she screams sharply in pain, landing on her back. Fuck!

"Tomori! Shit, shit, shit...!," He runs towards her, seeing her grab her own nose, her eyes closed tightly and watering with pain.

"Ooouch! Ow, ow, ow, fuck, shit, goddammit...!"

"Sorry! Holy shit, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I thought you could handle it!," He screeches, a little terrified, while helping her to sit, ignoring the people who passed further ahead and stared at them with reproach, because of their dirty mouths. "Are you hurt? Is it bleeding? Let me take a look..."

"Uugh, the... the ball!"

"Huh?"

"The ball is rolling down the slope!," she exclaims, pointing with one hand while pinching her nose with the other. And sure enough, there went his prized ball, hurtling down the small hill. "Go get it before someone else does!"

"But- But your nose..."

"My nose is fixable, but a stolen ball is not! Hurry up, Naoya!"

"O-Okay!," He exclaims, jumping up and giving her one last worried look over his shoulder before running down the slope, looking for his ball, but with his wild thoughts still on Tomori.

Hell, few things were more disastrous than making a girl bleed in the middle of a date! If she was mad at him before, now she must be wanting to kill him! Or telling her boss about what he'd done, which would be the same thing.

Would she forgive him if he let her hit him too? If she threw the ball in his face too, or if she hit him with the bat... would it hurt less in his face or balls? Definitely in the face! He just wanted her to stop being so angry with him, or at least explain what was wrong...

He finally descends the small hill, ending in a paved section of the park that people used to jog. The ball had come to rest a few yards away from the walkway, still on the grass, and luckily there weren't any overly curious children around. Just a couple of jogers, an old lady passing by with her dog on a leash, and that was it. Thank god. He bends down to pick up the ball, not paying attention to the jogers, the old lady or her dog that had broken free of the leash and was running towards him...

... Oh, fuck.

"Pochi, no!"

And Pochi, like the little shit he apparently was, didn't listen to his owner, running towards Okubo and his ball with that typical body language of dogs when faced with food or their favorite toy: the skins swaying in his running pace, tongue sticking out, drool flying everywhere, mouth already opening to snatch the ball…

Okubo lets out a half-alarmed exclamation, grabbing the ball and leaping to his feet. He had to run fast up the hill, then there was no way that fat bulldog could catch him! He turns, making a dash for the grass, the dog's rasping breath at his heels...

* * *

"... And there you go, Mr. Okubo! Fortunately, the fabric of your pants prevented the bite from going too deep, so you won't need stitches," The doctor rubs his hands, smiling. "And how's your nose, Miss Uta? Has the bleeding stopped?"

"Yes, it did. Thank you so much for the cotton," Tomori smiles embarrassed, feeling quite stupid with those cotton balls coming out of her nostrils. "And you were right, we really don't need to lean our heads back to stop a nosebleed."

"It is a very common mistake. Now you know how to proceed the next time you go to baseball batting practice," He laughs, and they both groan softly in embarrassment.

They were at that moment inside one of the wards of an emergency room; the last place either of them had expected to stop when that date began. Especially Tomori, who now didn't know how she would even look at Okubo, who was glumly staring at the bandage on his bitten ankle, in the face.

The meteoric throw and the canine attack that he suffered seemed to have clarified her thoughts, previously taken by a mixture of lust and desperate frustration. All she could think about now was how her ridiculous, pathetic behavior had indirectly resulted in him getting hurt and having his pants ripped. Just because she was mad about the ball she took on her face and didn't want him near her until she was sure she wasn't going to explode and curse him...

“Who told him to throw it with all his might, you idiot? It's your fault!"

Yeah, she knew that, and it didn't make her feel any better. Just very guilty. But there was still that damn frustration to temper...

“Yeah, we'll keep that in mind, Doc. Thanks," Okubo nods, making a move to unroll the leg of his pants to cover his ankle, but then apparently remembering that the hem had been ripped and eaten by a dog. He huffs, straightening up again in his chair. "Can we go now? Or we have to sign some form or something..."

"Oh, not yet," The doctor shakes his head. "You were bitten by an animal, and even if the wound has been treated and disinfected, we still cannot rule out the most unpleasant possibilities. I already contacted the nurse and she will bring the rabies vaccine-

"Vaccine?!," Okubo jumps up half a foot from his chair, turning pale, his eyes bulging. "What vaccine? Nobody told me anything about any vaccine!"

Tomori glares at him, astonishment at his reaction sweeping her guilty thoughts into her subconscious for the moment. The doctor, on the other hand, didn't seem surprised.

"Yes, a vaccine. It's standard procedure for any animal attack, Mr. Okubo."

"But- But the dog had an owner! It wasn't a stray," He tries to argue nervously, gesticulating agitatedly. "I- I doubt he had anything, doc, I don't need any vaccines-"

"I told you, sir, it's standard procedure," The doctor interrupts him, albeit politely. "Rabies becomes intractable once the symptoms appear, you know? It's better not to risk it," He then smiles. "Don't worry, the application is very quick. It won't hurt. You don't have to be afraid."

"Afraid? Who's afraid?! I'm not afraid of vaccines, are you crazy?!," He screeches, furious and embarrassed, his face very red. "I'm a man, okay? Men aren't scared of those things!"

"Of course," The doctor nods, unshakable. "If you don’t want the vaccine, you will need to sign a term stating that you've been warned of the consequences of refusing treatment..."

“He'll take the vaccine,” Tomori finally finds her voice, stepping between Okubo and the doctor. Okubo's eyes widened in astonishment.

"T-Tomori?! I'm not-"

"Don't 'Tomori' me, sir," She points to him, seriously. "Would you rather risk getting a serious infection than take a three-second shot? I won't let you be so remiss about your health, Naoya! Come on, I'll stay here by your side if it makes you feel better."

"No- no need...!," he splutters, so red he looks like he's about to hyperventilate. But in the face of her unresolved gaze, he had no choice but to lower his head and stammer, “O-Okay then. I'm gonna take the vaccine... but I'm not scared! I'm not! I just think it's unnecessary, that's all!"

"Of course," The doctor nodded. "I'll talk to the nurse. I'll be back in a few minutes. Excuse me...," He bows briefly and leaves them both alone in the infirmary.

The awkward silence lingered longer than she would've liked. They hadn't had moments like this since they'd made up, and Tomori didn't know how to act with all that guilt. Was he offended that she was being bossy? She had no right to tell him what to do, she wasn't his mother (and thank god she wasn't!). But she still couldn't let him take unnecessary risks because of a silly fear, she cared about him too much for that.

Who knew Okubo Naoya, Ultimate Fight's heavyweight champion, was afraid of needles? There's so much about him she didn't know, the kinds of things you didn't see in interviews or press conferences or sports magazine articles... and she was wasting the opportunity to know so much more by behaving like a hormonal teenager, throwing herself at him without thinking about whether he would feel comfortable or not...

"Tomori... I'm sorry."

His murmur silences her tormenting thoughts. Tomori turns to him, surprising him with his head down, looking nervous.

"You're sorry? For what?"

"I… I don't really know, to be honest," He makes a face. "I just know that you seemed upset about something today, back in the park, and all I could think of was that somehow I'd screwed up. Again," He sighs. "If you tell me what I did wrong, I promise I'll try to fix it. I just don't want you mad at me again..."

Tomori felt like the most heartless person in the world at that moment.

She really traumatized him, didn't she? It had been deserved the first time, but now that they'd patched things up, he didn't deserve to feel that way anymore, constantly walking on eggshells in an attempt not to piss her off again. She didn't wanted him to be constantly fearing he'd lose her for any slip he made.

Specially because the slip of the time was on her account, not his. She was so determined to seduce him that she forgot the most important thing about that date: enjoying the day and having fun with him. Damn, sex could wait, the priority there was the relationship that they both were cultivating!

But she sure as hell felt frustrated. She was confident that she could get him wrapped around her little finger, but he hadn't even noticed her attempts. He even turned the tables and left her falling head over hells for that 'adorable idiot' act, which she had no idea she liked until she met him. It was so unfair!

And yet, none of this was his fault. She shakes her head.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Naoya. I wasn't mad at you," She guarantees, approaching and touching his shoulders with her hands. "I was just a little frustrated with some things."

"What things? Is it something I can help you with?"

“It could be, if you just stopped being such a gentleman and fucked me already!”

“Nah, it's nothing for you to worry about. It's just that…,” She sighs, and he blinks in surprise as she leans over and rests the side of her head against his, eyes closed, “I still have a hard time dealing with your cuteness and how it makes me act like a fool, especially in public places. Every time I go out with you I discover a new side of you that catches me off guard. Quite different than what I used to imagine."

"… Different good or different bad?," He asks, uncertain, squeezing the fabric of his pants between his fingers. She smiles tenderly, placing a kiss on his temple.

"Different very, very good."

His face lights up with the cutest idiotic smile in the world, and she would have kissed him again, this time on the mouth, if the doctor hadn't chosen that moment to return, bringing the apparatus he was going to use in a sterilized tray.

"I'm back! The vaccine is ready. Let's get this over with, shall we, Mr. Okubo?," He smiles playfully, and Tomori feels Okubo shrink completely under her arms when the doctor picks up the syringe and the needle to fit them.

"L- Look, is this really necessary? I'm pretty sure the dog didn't have rabies..."

“If you don't want to risk developing fatal symptoms, yes. You can hold your date's hand if it makes you feel better."

"I already told you I'm not scared, for fuck's sake!"

"Language, sir."

"Sorry... but I'm not scared! You heard it, right, Tomori?," He turns to her with an intensely clouded expression, sweat dotting his forehead and the bridge of his nose. "I'm not afraid of these things, I've faced much worse in the octagons!"

She holds back the urge to laugh, albeit with difficulty. She extends a hand to him, the other on his shoulder. "Of course, Naoya. Here, you can hold my hand. Protect me from the sight of that horrible needle piercing your arm..."

"Don't put those mental images in my head, woman, for crying out loud!," He practically squeaks. And then he clears his throat, intertwining his fingers with hers. "But- But of course, I'll hold your hand to comfort you. No need to worry, okay? It's- It's just a little shot, I'll barely feel it, really, hahaha...!"

She didn't know whether to feel sorry for him or burst out laughing. The doctor, apparently used to those demonstrations of feigned bravery, showed no reaction as he prepared the syringe, moving his shirt sleeve away and cleaning the area where the injection would be applied with cotton. Okubo holds his breath, tensing in his chair and squeezing his eyes shut as he squeezes Tomori's hand. She comforts him by patting his shoulder, smiling from ear to ear.

It was hilarious. And adorable. How a man that size managed to be so cute, she had no idea, but she wouldn't question it. He would only appreciate how tremendously lucky she was to have the privilege of his trust.

"O-Okay, doc, I'm ready! Just- Just do it quickly, I don't want my date to be nervous...," He mumbled, still with his eyes closed. "And go easy too... come on, why is it taking so long? Just get it over with! It isn't nice to make me wait when I don't even know if-"

"I'm done, Mr. Okubo."

"... Oh. Okay."

Tomori puts her hand over her mouth as she makes an involuntary farting sound, her shoulders shaking, managing to feel a little guilty when he glares at her with a pout.

"C'mon, It's not funny! I was worried that a sight like that would make you nervous, okay?"

"S-Sorry! Thanks for worrying,” She strokes his face, which seems to quell his irritation right away. He closes his eyes again, smiling.

"You're welcome. Anyway, glad it's over..."

"Yes, the first dose has already been applied," The doctor nods. "Let’s schedule the second one for next Sunday, and the third one will be twenty-eight days after the second application-"

"I'll have to take two more shots?!," He screams, horrified, as Tomori flinches, the strident noise making her ears ring. The doctor is unfazed.

"Yes. Immunity is only one hundred percent effective with this procedure."

"I-I think I’ll settle for only seventy, eighty percent effectiveness, honestly-"

“He'll show up for the other two shots. I'll make sure of it," Tomori cuts him off without pretense, ignoring how he stared at her with his mouth hanging open. The doctor nods again.

"Thank you. Now about the care this wound will need..."

He finally dismisses them after making some recommendations and after reminding Okubo about the booster shots, much to his thinly disguised dismay. They leave the office, Okubo limping slightly and Tomori enjoying how he looks at her with hurt eyes.

"What? I'm the one who should be making that face, considering you bloodied my nose."

"It was unintentional, I already apologized! Was that your revenge by any chance?," He asks in an accusatory tone "Getting even for the ball I threw at your face by putting me to be stung again and again?"

"My god, you're so dramatic...," She rolls her eyes. "Vaccines are for your own good. I feel like a mother saying these things, dammit..."

"Ew, no!," He shudders all over with that, his expression disgusted. "I don't want to think of you as my mother while I kiss you!"

"Then don't! Think that what I did was because I cared and wanted to help you. And think that I can accompany you when you take the next doses," She smiles. "Wouldn't you like that? Me, holding your hand and telling you how brave you are..."

His grimace dissolves, his eyebrows rising a notch as he seems to consider her words. And then he smiles, bending down to bring his face close to hers, speaking in a low, husky tone that sends shivers down her spine.

"Oh yes? So I was a brave boy?"

"Heh... the bravest boy," she murmurs, returning his smile, and closes her eyes when he brushes the tip of his nose against hers.

"Good to know… but in that case I think that brave boy deserves an reward."

"Hnnn... and what does the boy want as a reward? A chocolate bar? Another baseball? New pants?," She asks playfully, and he laughs low.

“Nah, that I can arrange myself. What I want, only you can give me..."

"Me! Say I'm the one you want!"

"A kiss from you."

"Damn it!"

"Not here in public...," She looks away, blushing, placing her hands on his chest and giggling when he makes an exaggerated pout, wanting to reach her mouth. "You're nuts… wait until we go back to your car."

"Wow, not even a peck?," He whines, and she ends up not resisting. She holds his face between her hands and pulls him so that their lips touch, in a peck that takes longer than she intended to give, because he rests a hand on her back to keep her in place.

Such a sappy man... how could he make her crush on him gets even bigger?

They only stopped because some hospital workers passing by looked at them reproachfully. They grinned at each other, holding hands as they left the premises.

"Seriously, thanks for today, Tomori. You don't have to accompany me in these next few sections if you can't…,” He comments, to which she shakes her head.

"If I can, I will for sure. But if something unforeseen happens...," She thinks for a second. "Shall we mark the days of your next appointments on your phone's calendar? Then you get notified and don't forget."

"Alright! Let me just... uugh, I forgot...!," He groans as he takes the phone out of his pocket. And Tomori makes a pained face when she sees the phone's screen. If it was already ugly to look at before, now it seemed absolutely irreparable, completely cracked and even with spots of liquid crystal leakage.

"Oh, damn... was that when Pochi attacked you?"

"And I fell on my ass in the middle of the pavement, yeah. And dammit, you remembered the dog's name..."

"Kinda hard to forget when both the owner and you were yelling 'No, no, bad Pochi!' at the top of your lungs."

"Don't remind me of that! I won't forget the name of that fleabag any time soon, either," He snorts, looking at his phone with disgust. "It's not worth keeping this thing anymore, honestly. I think it's time to buy a new one..."

"I'll help you choose a very exclusive model, so you don't end up as another victim of some mediocre fad," She grabs his arm, bouncing happily, and he ends up laughing in spite of himself.

"Looks like I'll always be able to count on your presence in my random endeavors from now on, doesn't it? My faithful squire..."

She laughs too, thinking that she would like to be more, much more than that. But for the moment, being like that with him was enough.

NEXT CHAPTER

[leam1983]

Fat Cat Envy

The shift's ended, and Sarah's still working through the Wizard Game, while Walt and I are shooting the shit and backseat-gaming.

"I just love the boardroom aesthetic, is all," justifies Walt. "I've never been slim, I'm not built for tank tops or open shirts or anything, and I'm not the type of Fat Gay Guy who lets it all hang out, y'know? I need to feel braced, and I need a vest to do that. None of that should suggest that I'm shilling for the Fat Cat aesthetic."

Sarah pauses. "Welp, you kind of are. The difference is, you're self-aware. You're not Patrick Bateman who's expecting all of this to define him as a human, you're trying to assert a sense of identity that's only really expensive if you're hung-up on designer brands. There's a baker's dozen worth of Italian brands that don't come with Milanese pedigree and that don't have the price tag to match."

Walt waffles for a few moments and then rolls his eyes in concession. "Yeah, sure, I guess. I just don't know what's wrong about knowing what the fuck you're supposed to do with gingham and having a couple pinky rings to cycle through."

I watch Sarah as she Avada Kedavra's a big wolf-dog, whose only crime consists of being a wolf-dog in this particular location. As per usual, she does it while poking fun at Ralph Fiennes' delivery of the incantation.

"Stalin wore suits like you, Walt," I tell him. "Malcom X and Martin Luther King wore the shit out of their suits, too. You're not just a guy in a suit selling cars, and you're not a jagoff going for his fourth yacht or his third Mercedes. You knowing male haberdashery like the back of your hand isn't some moral fault of yours, okay? It's a choice you've made and an interest of yours. Some people collect Pokémon cards well into their forties, some people have a little lacquered box with a bunch of select watches like you, and I bet some other people just like you have another little box for their tie clips and pins."

I grip his hand. "Only two persons alive get to call you a Fat Cat as a positive - that's Sarah and me."

He blinks. "So you don't mind the contradiction between my values and how I look?"

I sigh. "Hon, you're a consumerist with a conscience. There's tons of people out there like you, starting with me. We buy shit we don't always need while being aware of their impact, and we otherwise try and make responsible choices. Count yourself lucky you never fell in with PC gaming or car ricing, 'cause then you'd be financing underage labor and exploitation. Christ, Walt, the last tie pin you bought came from a local artisan. You gave money to a local. How is that Blind Fat Cat logic?!"

He follows mine. "And if you bought that Oculus Quest in a few paychecks, you'd be in a moral quandary."

To which I have to agree. "I would, actually. I don't need that VR headset, but having the option to go untethered sounds nicer than my current setup. Maybe I'd get more mileage out of the Quest than my Rift S, which I only bring out with the office's VR PC for showroom car demos."

The big guy seems surprised. "And you're fine with that?"

Sarah pauses her game again. "Sweetie, real life isn't a video game. There's no Good alignment and no Evil alignment. Either you do the best you can and likely die forgotten by everyone, or you're an ass in a few select aspects and get a shot at notoriety or infamy. Please don't go down the Self-Flagellating Penitent route; my last boyfriend had anxiety attacks over which brand of coffee we bought!"

An angel passes, followed by a thoughtful nod. "So you can either be nihilistic about it and join the douchebros spending their way to an early grave, or you can be realistic about it. What then?"

I hug my Sales Adjunct. "Pick your battles, you idiot. Book sales, fantasize about that Burberry coat for next Fall while being aware you'll probably go for a Chinese knockoff at a fraction of the price, dress to the nines all you like - but make a difference where you can.

He's silent for a while and just hugs me back. After a minute or two, Walt sharply exhales.

"I take it back, I'm actually super rich, if it's all a question of perspective."

Sarah sees it coming and gives Walt a smirk and a slow sideways glance.

"I'm super rich because I've got you two," he says, assuming a bit of that Alpha Douche posture he uses it blend in, with his shoulders squared off and his girth allowed to take up space.

Suddenly, reaching the endgame phase doesn't matter all that much to Sarah. We're both in Walt's arms, and he fakes a self-satisfied laugh. "This fat cat's got two kittens to groom," he suggests, adding a deliberately lusty Meow before locking lips with me.

[raichukfm]

Sick of seeing this shit, honestly. Everybody always complains about the necromancy! "Ohhh you're perverting the sanctity of nature!" "You're trespassing sacred boundaries mortals were not meant to cross!" Oh I am so sorry I transgressed mundane laws of nature, however could I have done such a thing? It's like I think I'm a wizard or something! Magic is as natural as everything else. You think these lines shouldn't be crossed? Give an actual good reason.

But, ugh. That's not what makes my blood boil. No, no, that's the child's stuff, just a simple logical fallacy. No, this is what's worse. And better yet, you're probably screaming it right now, looking at your screen or cauldron: "You're defiling the dead and denying them their rest!"

So many self-righteous nags parroting this, every time, all the time. You're all hypocrites, you know. That or idiots, anyways. If you're so concerned with the wellbeing of the dead, if it's really their behalf you're upset upon, then why don't you ask them? Every time I've been ratted out by treacherous weasels I was foolish to trust or stumbled on by some unlucky pipsqueak who just couldn't keep a secret, you know what people do? The first thing your so-called heroes to the rescue get up to?

Mass banishment. And that's if we're lucky, and they don't just decide to start lobbing around flames, because being burned to cinders is such a kindness. Yes, yes, truly that's respect for their remains. Because those are what's important. The remains. It's not like those are important because they used to be people, hm? And worse than that, you craven sheep, I made them people again. Oh but that doesn't count. They're surely mindless monsters, or phantasmal illusions playing out the roles I've assigned them, and I'm just "too delusional" to tell they only say what I want to hear. Or, maybe they're grateful that I gave them life again? Have you ever actually considered that?

No, you haven't, because that would be heretical and if you start having heretical thoughts you better keep them to yourself and not breathe a world, before you get hunted down. Whatever you think, however you justify your moral beliefs to yourself, that's not what grounds it. You're just rationalizing the beliefs you're told to have to yourself.

Do you think the system cares about nature? Do you think the system cares about sanctity or sacredness or life? No. The system cares about keeping itself afloat, and the easiest way to do that is to enforce the status quo. It doesn't matter if change would threaten the system or benefit it—change can't be perfectly predicted and so change is risky and risks get squashed. It's not a conspiracy, after all, not some phantom council—ugh, phantom, they've even got me saying that like it's a bad thing—it's just people dutifully playing their little parts.

But that doesn't mean the system doesn't exist, because it certainly does. It's a gestalt, an egregore, and not one that even needed summoned. And the system cares about things. And you know what it doesn't care about? Life. Your life. Not really. If you step outside the arbitrary lines it has chalked on the world, it will do its best to destroy you, and all the while those cogs bearing down on you will act so self-righteous. Protecting the right way of things, destroying the abominations that dare try to exist without the weight of tradition giving them permission to.

It's all so obvious, and it's all so crushing, and it's all so unavoidable. Trying to fight it is futile. It's not any singular thing I can oppose, I know that. It's not as simple as trying to oppose a government—as if major structural reforms are simple to begin with. And I'm not some madwoman trying to stomp over them with a tide of thralls to enforce my will instead. I'm not deranged, whatever the speculatory drivel written about me might say. No. No, that would be easy in its way. Sure, I'd still fail, but it would be... I don't know. Simpler. Cathartic.

No, no, I'm doing all this because I just can't help it. How can you? How can you look at news of a tragedy, or a graveyard, and not wonder how many there want to come back? To have a second chance? How can you not feel like you should offer such a simple and profound kindness wherever you can?

That has to be it, right? It's just because you can't. You shrug your shoulders and mutter an excuse or two, some moral rationalizations to justify not learning, and then... That's that. Nothing should be done, and so nothing can be done, and so you can live with it. And that's... That's fine. I get angry about it, but that's not fair. It's not your responsibility to take all that suffering on your back and try to do something about it, and it wouldn't be even if basically the whole rest of the world wouldn't try to kill you afterwards. I'm not asking to be joined. Hells and the Void, I'm not even asking to be understood. I may be insane on some level but I'm not stupid.

No. I guess... All I'm asking for, all I think I realistically can ask for, is if you find yourself stumbling on someone who seems to have taken some length of absence from the world of the living... Maybe ask how they feel about that.

And then go home. Just... go home and do what your heart tells you. Maybe that will be to keep it a secret. Maybe it will be to report it. Maybe... Oh, whatever, I can't enumerate every possible choice you could make. But maybe if I get found out again and put on one more damned wanted list... Maybe I can spare a thought that maybe, just maybe, I wasn't the only person involved who gave the dead enough due to get their thoughts.

everyone had that one guy at their wizard school said edgy shit like "dark magic is just misunderstood, not evil" that ended up wanted in three countries for necromancy

[the-firebird69]

It looks like the max plan to kill you and they sit here everyday saying I might or might not get money the apartment might burn down you dumb m************ might break in and ruin it every single f****** day until your death I'm going to have to listen a stupid s*** out of you John remoulard that's been years of the stupid crap from the max through you stupid s*** is you're so f****** lame and dumb imagine everything is hingy on a certain item and you don't think so she go ahead and f*** it up and well that's it and this guy this is unimaginable it has nothing to do with my people the failures of these gifted people as you call them astronomical they go from 800 mph to zero in like 2 seconds can you read that it's way out of proportion there's no comparison proportionally it does not match up error you can make them as big as you freaking want 300% of the population they're still dumber than a wet sock. This guy next door this loser Joel Watts has lost so much money and stuff the people who are poor should have money from him you can break open one of his bank accounts and feed everybody for a year did this poor I'm sick of looking at his face and having the same done things he's a very very wealthy person he's just extremely stupid I I can't believe I can't explain this correctly your little boy here had enough wealth to control the planet and chose not to because he's a fucking huge asshole.

Zues Hera I hate him too a lot but really what he says it he's saying you had him do it but he's really stupid and blew it and he blew like everything out the door just like he hates it and stuck to him it's really gross he stores all the stuff I've loses it and just sits there she has to go after him you find out it's just dumb now he's got other hate his things but really nothing justifies the stupid crap here

..

They're absolutely right this guy so far out there and he's a nut and he's insane he's clearly insane Howard Stern said it the guys just nuts he's a retard who's also insane and Insanity happens all the time the zombies are insane and TBI victims and he happens to be both of those as well. And really that kind of spent so someone thinks is good is probably foreigners who have a fight each other I tell you I don't think he's ever going to get it and we're talking to nobody and is regurgitating stuff. But you sure you're right about something he has so much money it's such a wasted place to have money if a friend here had money he'd be doing things to at least help society it'll be covered that this guy does his dog s*** he's Biff from back to the Future and he was Beth and super 8 and gets his face bit off and there's some symbolism there but they take the face and tell you what they've done comparisons to his voice and the laugh of the creature it sounds like him it says it shouldn't really sound like me because it's a creature and we say this that's actually true and they've been dumping it in and little garth is starting to blab and what a weirdo you should hear what these kids sound like. They are horrible.

They are delusional as hell and they demand that he believes stuff. I almost reached in there and pulled this idiot's head off and it's guarth. So it happens every day now I mean like it's a Lucky strike it's in there going no you have to try and fool me a little retards. And we're getting mad cuz it's real.

Macs

I can see it now they separated in their cities and the threatening everyone that they blow everything up the max are going to be sitting here saying we don't have these chips and they don't they're not ready yet and they're just investigating these other ones I mean this is a disaster these people are way out of line and it needs to go into a council meeting and we have one and we should have to bring it up and are my grandson says we have clout and we just don't believe it and we need to do something we need action that Grandpa's in trouble again and he got hurt by these fools and they don't know how they're doing and my grandson says it looks like I'm doing it but there's only one of me and you're always trying to harm me so we have to go after them and very hard this is a pile of s*** here

Bill

Olympus

[dxy-drxxm]

⭐ | COMMISSION IV : Backstage Wreckage

"Wrecking a wedding is... One of the pettiest things one can do, that's for sure."

"Is it?" Navina asked, currently in the middle of eating their lunch for the day. "I think it's justified."

Kunimitsu raised an eyebrow at what they said, almost perplexed to think it was even morally okay.

"What?" they asked, scoffing. "It's an ex, Kuni. Would you ever want to be invited by your ex after finding out the shit they did? To a wedding, no less? Ugh, I'd rather not."

"Hmph. You say that like you're not pretending to deny it," the man interjected, making them guffaw. Despite having been eating somewhat of a heavy meal, he could tell the matter amused them.

"Hah! I'm not even gonna deny it— I think it's fun if we took it!"

His eyes widened at their sudden decision, making them grin as they took their final bite with their meal. Humming in satisfaction, they reached over to wipe their mouth and drink their cup, emptying it's contents.

"Ah, it's going to be a first for me to attend the wedding, though," they continued, giggling at the idea. "I've never attended to one, so it'd be fun to see what it's like. Ooh, what dress should I wear, though? I can't wear white, as far as I'm concerned..."

While Navina was in their own mindless venture to how they can sabotage the wedding with their client, Kunimitsu watched them. From the way they seem so... Keenly excited of this happening, he couldn't help but think twice about all of this.

...

It's been 5 days since I've got them here, he thought, watching them with a look of... Adoration, but to many who can see his expression, it looked sick. Obsessive.

Hah, 5 days and we only have the half of it left? I don't want to think it'd end so soon.

...

I refuse to see it end soon.

His lips curled to a frown at the idea.

So as long they keep that necklace on them, they'll be staying with me, he mused, ignoring his beloved heart calling. They won't be taken by that blasted abyss, just like those that we've met before.

It's not like they'll remember anything after the 10th day mark, if they kept it.

And it'll certainly make things easier with those people.

"—ni? Kuni?"

All I have to do is to keep them separated from her, and—

"Kunimitsu?"

He blinked a few times as he heard his beloved call to him, noticing that they looked rather worried.

... Huh.

Worried? Why are they—

"I'm fine, idiot," he scowled, returning back to his normal expression. "Anyways, what was it?"

"Oh, I was just calling out to you to tell you I paid," they said, though they did look rather worried. "You were spacing out and muttering something about that necklace, so..."

... Shit.

"I'm fine, see?"

... Although he said that, he could tell they didn't believe him.

"Yeah," they nodded, but they weren't smiling. "I hope so."

Meeting up with the client and planning for how they can crash the wedding is a different ordeal. To Kunimitsu, his way of crashing it would end in more drama than the two can handle, but he knew better than to tell them.

However, what the two had in mind was... Simply put, quite diabolical. And he had a feeling that it would simply just end in jeopardy if they screwed it up.

It was past afternoon when Navina had met up with one of the people working in a wedding shop, and with their client in tow, they managed to convince the workers that they were shopping for wedding dresses for their 'friend', and needed to try it on with her.

Kunimitsu waited outside of the shop as his partner began to do the impossible— taking a random dress and having her with them to find the room that the groom's side was keeping for the suits.

Yes, it worked mostly to cater for the brides in their attire and dresses, but there was a side for the grooms, and they were lucky enough to have scored a good one as the ex of hers made the grave mistake of sending a photo attached to their client.

Which, of course, was the sight of the tuxedo he'd be wearing the day of.

After a while, Navina left the store with their client, stating that they haven't found any that they'd like and would come by another time. To the workers, they were understanding and wished them both the best of luck as they left to meet with Kunimitsu.

"Do you think ruining the suit would work?" their client asked, watching as Navina stuffed the evidence in their bag with a hum.

"Oh, I know it will. Besides, your ex did say in his letter that his suit is custom made, right?"

"Yes?"

"Now, if a custom-made suit is ruined... He'd certainly be in a pickle on what to wear," they added, almost like ruining something so expensive isn't a big deal. "We'll just get to hear the aftermath in the wedding, if you want to attend, of course."

Kunimitsu shook his head as the client agreed, knowing that with them around to see the wedding... It was bound to turn into chaos.

Hmph. I doubt it'll end well when tomorrow comes, he thought, watching the client leave with a thanks and handing them her payment to get back home.

But seeing those dresses outside did made him think of marriage. Perhaps, in a few years time, he would also be that groom and get married to them.

... At least, he hoped so.