#I need to chew on him like gummy candy and absorb him

[goron-king-darunia]

I want to open this by saying that I'm sure everyone put in their utmost effort and that their translations are correct. I am not chalking up any of my observations here as a failure or mistranslation on their part. I'm also not saying that just because the stuff in the event doesn't match my headcanons doesn't mean the stuff that happened isn't canon somehow or that the event should cater to me specifically or that somehow the people at Bamco don't know what their own intentions are. These are my observations and opinions and I'm petty as shit because I have been in deep with DotNW for years and I'm very precious with it and I'm sure I have nostalgia goggles for it the same way ToS fans have nostalgia goggles for the original game that make them overly precious with how the Shepherds of Regeneration were handled/mishandled in DotNW. With that out of the way:

Richter and Aster are cute as always of course, even if I do NOT get the direction the writers went with some of these lines. But it makes my feelings for Ratatosk even more complicated than they already were.

Ratatosk calls Richter out for what the narrative agrees is Richter looking down on Emil and treating him as a kid. Richter and Emil do push back on that and the narrative does imply that while Emil is correct that Richter is at least in part trying to keep his confidence up, Richter himself admits that he still sees Emil as the scared kid he met in Luin and not the man he became through their journey. So on the one hand it's kind of nice to see Ratatosk have something between paternal, fraternal, and self-love toward Emil, wanting Emil to be able to do things himself and shine and be his own person because that courage really earned Ratatosk's respect and he's glad for Emil to be handling things with his own power, even if that means "holding back" from using their spirit powers which Ratatosk considers extensions of his own strength. Emil's independence is something he agrees is better for Emil, even if he doesn't understand Emil's strange logic about it.

Like, it's nice to see Ratatosk openly caring about the other version of himself, the part he hated so much he made it an entirely different self, even if it reads a little bit like narcissism because, like. That's growth. Ratatosk cares for and believes in that part of himself that he shoved away before and embraces Emil as his own person but also as a valuable part of himself. That proves the journey he took in DotNW had an impact on him and what he considers strength and what sorts of qualities he considers valuable to foster in himself through his new self AND old self.

But at the same time Ratatosk is SO FUCKING MEAN TO RICHTER. And, I'm not expecting him to be friendly. These two were fighting one hell of a cold war with each other in their own world because they both had reasons to feel hurt and both had very valid senses of being wronged and wanting justice and that doesn't go away just because they got swept into a new world where at least some of the harm from before was undone. Aster may be back and (If I remember correctly) Kharlan or at least a world tree that is partly like Kharlan has been brought to this world, so like. Yes, the major points of pain for those two have been addressed but that doesn't magically make those emotional wounds go away. I get it. I'm glad they're not super chummy or whatever and pretending they're letting bygones be bygones because having those things unfairly ripped from them AT ALL doesn't simply undo what was done and doesn't mean they didn't suffer and aren't still suffering.

But Interpreting Richter's desire to, like, not have Emil drown or almost drown to death as "underestimating and looking down on" Emil or seeing him as some weak human or treating Ratatosk as some stupid weakling that would let Emil drown is, like, super uncharitable. I'm not calling it a mistake. In fact I do think it says something about Ratatosk for him to be mean as fuck to Richter. But at the same time, it just complicates how I feel about him because, like... I get that you're still mad my dude, but holy shit Ratatosk. Richter can genuinely care about Emil and implying that he doesn't after everything you went through is uncharitable as fuck, bro. Again, I think it genuinely works for the story, I'm pretty sure the point IS that Ratatosk is still growing and still has problems he needs to grow from because, like, being uncharitable toward people who are ultimately trying to help you is generally a flaw that people need to work through, so the narrative setting this up as something Ratatosk can still grow from, that he isn't just a stagnant lump that's done growing and changing, is good. But holy hell. I will never not find that abrasive, which is really sad because I know a lot of people including my closest DotNW mooties love Ratatosk a lot. And during his better moments I enjoy him, but holy hell. If they wanted to write him like a hate sink they wouldn't need to change much.

And then we have whatever this is. XD This screenshot is just funny as fuck to me because this is playing very loose with BOTH the implied canon of the game that Richter and Aster could have been "More than Friends" in DotNW because their relationship is suspiciously vague beyond, like, "best friends" and Rilena is barely a character (sad.) But it ALSO goes against the retcon/rewrite/technically canon compliant expansion of Onshuu no Richter where Rilena and Aster are, if we trust the fan translation, implied to be engaged.

Like, make up your mind, Bamco. Is Aster gay for Richter, Straight for Rilena, Bi for both of them, or whatever the fuck kind of nerd loser shit you're implying here where this absolute rizzlord is SOMEHOW STRIKING OUT WITH THE LADIES AND NOT GETTING ALONG WITH GIRLS?! I can't even tell if I'm supposed to read this as "so gay he doesn't know how to get along with women and Rilena is the tomboyish exception off-screen" or "so straight he gets nervous around pretty girls" or "absolutely insane rizz in mixed company but abrasive personality when left alone with a girl" or even "secretly misogynist somehow." Because I think we're meant to read it in context as "Aster is jealous that Emil pulls bitches and Aster somehow isn't or can't pull bitches?" Aster you pulled the baddest bitch ever by landing Richter, shut up! XD He even brings up Rilena in the next line but not in a context that implies he misses her company or anything more direct like "I miss my wife, Richter." Regardless of what we're actually supposed to pull from this about Aster's relationship with Rilena, Aster is landing bitches, I guarantee it. The autism gets him mad bitches. Don't lie to me Rays. I know your word is technically canon, but you are wrong. The council has decided but the council is stupid and I'm ignoring it or whatever the meme is. If we're meant to pull from this that Aster is not a hit with the girls, you are daft, Rays. Because either you're trying to tell us that Rilena is the only girl Aster could pull and yet later imply that he still wants to ogle other women, or that Aster is available, adorkable, and NOT PULLING ANY GIRL HE WANTS. Like, I'm sorry, these are bot absurd to me. Whatever you say is law, Rays, but even if I didn't already ship Aster with Richter, I would absolutely be ignoring whatever this is. Aster could land anyone he wanted, change my mind.

Also, Richter has a long beat of silence after this implying that Aster/Rilena IS considered canon here, or that he's at least aware that Aster is straight. But that only redoubles what I said before. Why isn't Aster directly saying "I miss flirting with my fiance." or anything more direct? Because being vague about it makes it sound like he wants to CHEAT. I refuse to believe Bamco treats all men the same way they treat Zelos. Aster is not a fuckboy, like come on. Also the long beat of silence for Richter implying that the gay love is entirely unspoken and unrequited oof ouch.

(Feel free to argue with me or refute these ideas by the way, I am one nerd and I built these headcanons in a shed out of the tiny scraps of content we got drip-fed before Rays was even in development and it's been a while since I completed the game and my brain is a sieve at the best of times so, like. I am once again not trying to say my word is gospel here. I am saying I have opinions and I want to bang out the dents here and understand what they were going for so I can adopt the canon stuff I see fit and absolutely burn the rest. XD)

Also, I don't know how to feel about this.

If it was only this, I might soften up on Ratatosk a bit, making a "concession" to hide himself away while Richter helps Emil so that it doesn't bother Richter. But pulling this out now when Ratatosk is offscreen and can't explain himself, in fact, doing it behind Ratatosk's back so he specifically cannot speak for himself, almost cheapens the stuff from before where Richter guessed, and Ratatosk basically confirmed, that at least part of the reason he was hanging back and letting Emil do things was because Ratatosk trusted Emil to handle himself and was agreeing to let Emil handle things on his own.

Waiting to bring this back I think is meant to be a surprising reveal like "aw, Ratatosk does care!" but because it's not coming out of Ratatosk's mouth and because it's being delivered as a different and separate idea that is phrased as though it negates the idea that Ratatosk was hiding so Emil could do things on his own just... cheapens both reasons instead of consolidating both reasons as proof that Ratatosk cares about himself AND about others and he's willing to work with Emil and even Richter to do what's right for Marta and the team. I understand this is maybe a little picky of me because "He's not apologizing the way I want him to" is petty. But coming from Tenebrae who is saying this without Ratatosk asking him to, is it REALLY Ratatosk apologizing?

I know Tenebrae divulges that it's Ratatosk's pride that prevents him from apologizing directly, and I know Ratatosk outright tells Richter in a different Chapter of Rays not to forgive him and that he wants a rematch as a sort of subtle "I can't say it to your face, but I understand my rash actions in our original world were wrong, and you're right to be upset and you don't have to forgive me and I won't ever ask you to and I want you to be able to see us as Equal now that I understand you and see you as Equal (thus worthy of a rematch) but This Is Me reaching out and saying in my own way that I'm sorry and that I'm saying it, not because I want forgiveness but because I owe it to you that I acknowledge my mistakes. I need you to know that you made an impact and that I understand and that you are heard."

But Tenebrae apologizing on Ratatosk's behalf and putting words in his mouth is just... again, really cheap to me. I believe genuinely, in what the narrative is saying here, that Tenebrae says things on Ratatosk's behalf because Ratatosk is too proud to ever say it. But it means way more for Ratatosk to tell Richter to his face "Don't forgive me. Keep hating me. Let that hatred burn in your chest so we can fight again someday." than to have Tenebrae here like "by the way I want you to know that Ratatosk is actually sorry and he just won't say it so I am telling you that his explicit reason for not showing up while you were coaching Emil is not actually because he believes in Emil and wants Emil to win on his own merits, oh no, he actually cares about your feelings and won't say it. Please ignore that he showed up earlier to chew you out for not believing in Emil thereby ignoring both his stated purpose of supporting Emil by going around picking fights with you and my own stated reason that he's trying not to upset you with his presence."

Tangentially, the fact that Aster gets called by the title "Professor Laker" baffles me too. I'm sure it was explained in a different scene and I just don't remember or haven't seen it. I'm not saying he couldn't have earned it but the fact that they're implying he was already qualified in his own timeline and just died before getting the title is really sad.

Also they are straight-washing him so hard in my opinion. Like, yes it's not explicit in the game, not even in the JP version as far as I'm aware. But the fact that it mattered so little in the context of the DotNW game and now both Rays and Onshuu are trying to prove how VERY STRAIGHT ™️Aster is is just... really funny to me. But him being this much of a lecher about it is absolutely insane.

Granted I pegged him as a letch, but for Richter exclusively and that sat better with me because at least in that context, they would have mutually been interested in each other. Having Aster who is still implied, vaguely but still implied, to be with Rilena TRYING TO OGLE OTHER GIRLS IN THEIR BATHING SUITS?! Unacceptable. I am contextualizing this as gay-best-friend behavior because I otherwise cannot square this with what we've been shown about Aster before otherwise. Unless THIS is the reason that for some reason he can't get along with girls. Maybe he doesn't get that this kind of comes off a little skeevy to, like, not want to leave an area because you want to see your opposite-sex friends in their bathing suits. It would be different if they were hanging out or if it was a little more clear this was a friendly thing. But it comes so out of left-field for me here that it just... feels like they forgot they were writing Aster and not Zelos? This just sounds like something I would expect from Zelos, you know?

I can buy Aster as bisexual, really I can. I would even concede that even if it never got brought up in canon that Aster was meant to be straight and with Rilena. Heteronormativity. Me preferring him as Richter's gay boyfriend has nothing at all to do with the canon and straight characters are allowed to exist. But a lecherous creep to anyone but Richter or at the very least someone else who is clearly interested in him back? No. My man Aster is not Lupin III. This is not a guy that gets excited for girls in bathing suits. I refuse. I don't care if it's canon, Rays, you are lying to my face. Maybe I'm being hyperbolic but still.

Again, I'm not saying they aren't making a purposeful choice or are wrong here. It's their character, they can write him how they want. This is just a really unexpected way for them to characterize Aster and I kind of DO NOT vibe with it? Am I alone in this? I have just never gotten the vibe that Aster is the kind of guy who would actively announce that he really wants to see his female friends in bathing suits when he clearly has other places to be.

And I say this as someone who has absolutely based some of my headcanons of Aster's behavior, including guessing ahead of Onshuu that Aster would be adept with a gun, on Lupin. They both have a vibe of "No active thoughts but somehow still geniuses" in their own genres. But the lecher quality is 100% never something I would pin on Aster. This guy likes mischief and a good time but this man is NOT Zelos Wilder. Even if I buy that Aster likes, tits and coochie, this is not a man that gets all hyped to see his allies in bathing suits. This is a guy who downloads 18 petabytes of porn on the company laptop like a decent human. This is a guy who feasts his eyes on what others deign to show him of free will and never stoops to asking for it. I will buy that he's a horny teen trying to make the most of his second life. But I don't care that a brush with death would fuck a guy up. Aster is not a creep. This is not a funny haha quirk like with Zelos, Bamco. Don't slander my boy.

NOW THIS IS MY BOI. This is not a guy who wants to see free cleavage, even from the pancake squad. This is a guy who proudly proclaims he has no athletic prowess like it's a TALENT, grins like a dope and announces himself as the hostage to his captors, and APOLOGIZES TO HIS BESTFRIEND/BOYFRIEND FOR GETTING MURDERED. Aster telling Richter to shut up about his feelings during a serious discussion and then APOLOGIZING because he knows that even though it was necessary to keep Richter's feelings out of it that it was mean and that it's important for Richter to know that he DOES understand how his untimely death affected him.

Even with how much I just do not get about what they were going for with the DotNW squad in this event, this moment from Aster was so good. Especially because Richter calls him an idiot under his breath because it was already water under the bridge and he's just happy to be with Aster. Their chemistry is just so bang-on and cathartic to see. Richter hiding the fact that he's enjoying himself behind excuses of having to tag along with Aster. Aster bragging on his behalf about how Richter's actually a nice guy who cares about and is good at taking care of others, even if he doesn't show it. Aster demolishing junk food during his break and Richter calling him out on it later like "practically your whole day was a break, all you did was eat yakisoba." It can definitely be read as brotherly or even best-friend banter, but my god, to my shipping ass, that stuff smacks of romantic chemistry. I'm so weak to them. Honestly, Aster's such a good hype man for Richter that I bet if he hyped up Rata, I would like Rata more too.

Also goes without saying how Richter fucking apologized for Alice being a dick when it's not his fault and then agreed to help Emil train up to beat Decus even though he doesn't see himself as an expert. We have the two other skits where Richter admits that he doesn't see himself as an expert in most things and doesn't understand why others would come to him for sword training, either, and yet when Emil asks for help on that too, he also offers to coordinate so they can train together. I really love seeing that, though unspoken, Richter genuinely enjoys spending time with Emil and sees them as allies. I doubt he's forgiven Ratatosk. But because they have a sort of truce and Richter genuinely grew to like Emil over the course of their journeys, he doesn't seem to mind putting up with Ratatosk because Aster's safe and he enjoys Emil's company. Not to mention him trying to learn to cook later when he notices Emil needs it.

Bamco may have pulled a lot of unexpected stuff for this event, but I'm glad Richter's whole "doesn't want to be thought of as a mother hen but has THE MOST mother hen energy ever toward everybody but especially Emil" is, like, a consistent thing. They just keep delivering. I love this soft man so much.

So yeah, as much as I don't get the direction some of these interactions went in, still my favorite Rays event and forever salty that global fans never got swimsuit Richter and the official translations for all these delicious skits.

Honestly, though, I am a complete freak when it comes to anything Richter. Short of completely assassinating his character, I would enjoy anything and everything about him so I'm glad he got to shine as Emil's big supporter. He and Aster doing their utmost to help Emil win because Alice went out of her way to be a massive jerk is delightful.

And while it's uncomfy for Alice to call Decus a slave, even when it's not meant that way and even though Marta still lays her affection onto Emil way too thick, it's a genuinely great display of the DotNW characters' interpersonal dynamics, even if I am utterly baffled by and disagree with some of the choices.

Translated by Polka. Proofread by Aera and Seine. Video editing by Scarfy.

[kittehkwrites]

Self-care day

Warnings: fluff

Having a selfcare day was a necessity

It was the time in which you took for yourself to destress. You were able to just laze around, mostly carrying out your washday routine, and then eat whatever whilst watching movies or listening music.

Just a day full of You.

A few days ago, however, your friend, Yahya, had messaged you to let you know he was going to be in town for the weekend and wanted to spend some time with you since you both were on busy schedules.

You had told him to come over and have a self care day and take some of the pressure off of himself to indulge in himself.

you told him to come over once you had finished your detangling (this would be after having washed, conditioned, and treating, your hair.)

When he arrived, you had just finished sectioning and plaiting your hair to keep it from knotting overnight and layed out the snacks in the living room. 

You were getting ready to get the necessities for the face masks you wanted to review when you heard the knocking at your front door and then receiving a notification from Yahya that he was outside and needed to use the bathroom.

“Aye! I know you know its me!” He’d yell out through the barrier of the door and your house.

You’d quickly open the door, in hopes you’d reach in time so he wouldn’t pee on himself.

You’d fling open the door and before you can get out a hello, he'd be running in, shouting out ‘gotta go gotta go gotta go’ down the hallway leading to the guest room. You couldn't do much but laugh at the way he was acting.

You just closed the door, thankful your next door neighbours were out of town or else you'd be hearing a lot about your friends antics the following day.

Once he had finished in the bathroom (obviously making sure his hands were clean and he didn’t leave the seat up or forget to flush) he’d make his way back out to the front of the house and see you sat on the couch with a face mask on, eating a bowl of mixed berries and watching Futurama on your wide screen tv.

“Hello to you too sir” You’d say smartly, he would just turn and respond with a ‘Hi’ and say thanks for getting the door quick.

“No problem.”You would bite into a juicy strawberry and chew on it for a bit as you were so absorbed in the tv until he snapped his fingers in front of you to break you out of your trance. “We wouldn’t want you to walk around like that in these peoples neighbourhood” You ate another berry before placing the bowl down and asking if he wanted anything, pointing to the variety of junk and healthy food you had placed out on the coffee table centred in the living room.

He would take some of your berries, popping them into his mouth and laughing at the annoyed look you have at him refusing to use the extra bowl you had out incase he wanted some.

He knew it would annoy you and you knew he did it on purpose so you just shook your head and proceeded to pick up your bottle of water and drink some of its contents. 

---

“So what’s on your face?” He’d motion to the mask you had painted on yourself.

“This, my barbaric friend, is a face mask.” You’d get up to stretch before picking up the diy mixture you wanted to try out and pushed it towards your friend who was no stranger and had gotten up to change into his extra shorts and old hoodie he left behind.

“I know you no-” you’d cut him off before he could finish asking the rhetorical “anyways this mask is supposed to help open your pores and detox your skin.” You’d continue to speak while reaching for the clean brush that you’d use as an applicator for your friends face.

He’d look down questionably at the mix before looking back up at you, who was now standing in front of him and smiling, waiting for him to give in so you could apply the mask to his face.

He’d sigh before handing over the product.

You’d do a little happy dance at the fact he didn’t put up much of fight, but you chalked it out to be due to the fact that it was a self care day and he wasn’t meant to be worried about anything other than taking care of himself.

He’d sit up straight and come closer to the edge of the couch to allow you to place the mask on his face and to be safe in case the mixture fell onto the couch before it reached his face. He noticed the towel you had placed over the space between the central carpet and the couch (even though there was a gap where you could see the floor under the massive rug, he knew you were just being extra cautious to reduce clean up)

As he sat and let you apply the mask, he did start to relax and not long after you were finished and he could lay back in the couch, finally being able to spread himself out again to get comfortable for the remainder of the day with his close friend.

The two of you sat and watched a few more episodes before going to wash off the face masks.

As you were patting off your face, you caught Yahya staring at himself in the bathroom mirror and couldn’t help but ask “what did you think?”

He looked at his skin a little more.

“Yay or nay, Yahya?” He still didn’t say a thing to you. “You actors and wanting to create suspense” you’d let out as you rolled your eyes at his dramatic pausing and serious face he had put on.

Once you had finished drying your face, you were met with your friends kind smile and a “I like it.”

You wanted to slap him for the theatrics.

Had you thinking he wasn’t feeling it.

“Well mr. Emmy-Award winner” you start off as you both made your way out of the bathroom, disposing of the face towels you had placed out for you both into the clothes basket, “glad you liked it. That means you can buy me some masks when you travel to places like South Korea or Singapore.”

Yahya would let out a little chuckle.

He knew there was something up with you wanting to share your skin care and he now got his answer.

“Oh! So that’s why you wanted me to come over? To try on some face mask so you could persuade me to buy more when I’m away to bring for your bougie behind?” You could hear the teasing in his tone but continued to play along.

“I mean...” you’d turn around and shrug your shoulders to the man walking behind you before you both got situated on the couch again.

He’d look over, amused at your behaviour before chuckling and nodding his head.

“But nah.” You’d let out after a brief stare off which was caused by your straight face to his accusations. “I genuinely wanted us to hang out” you’d say as you picked up a bag of dried mango.

“I mean how many times do we get to see eachother or happen to be in the same city at the same time for longer than 4 days?” You’d say as you opened up the pack, in which he helped himself to a good sized palm of its contents.

“You right” 

“I know. Now stop eating my snacks when there’s enough for the both us”

You both would turn from watching the tv to talking about random topics or anything going on in your lives that the other missed and it felt like you guys hadn’t been separated for so long.

You guys shared some laughs, got up to make some food before going back to the couch to be lazy.

You’d turned off the animated shows and switched to playing music once you both cracked open a bottle of wine to compliment the food you'd made.

Both buzzed and full, you guys cleaned up any mess made and just let the calm energy in the room take over. You both caught the itis and didn’t try to fit it.

---

By time you had woken up, your head was on yahya’s shoulder and he was sitting comfortable with the tv on low and munching on some gummies.

He’d ask how you slept and you'd say great and he’d say the same before you guys continued watching whatever he had put on while you were still sleeping.

It wouldn’t be until the late hours of the night that he’d decide to head back to his hotel room.

You’d try to get him to spend the night but he said he wasn’t going to be able to leave if he didn’t leave now.

You stopped fighting him and walked him to the door, sending him off with a couple more of the candy packets amongst other junk food (which he technically stole but you weren’t about to start anything with this man when you were still feeling tired.)

As he got to the front door, youd both hug and you’d watch him get into his rental before closing and locking it. You'd clean everything up, packing away any unopened food items, folding any blankets, fixing the couch pillows etc. before heading up to your bedroom where you would get ready to get under your comforter for another deep sleep.

before you could sink into the dreamstate, you got a text notification  (you normally had your phone on dnd once you got in bed but this time you forgot) and saw it was from no one but your friend Yahya

“We gotta do another one of these again girl. These chill days aren’t common anymore” You’d laugh at the message as you imagined him saying it in front of you and hearing it in his voice.

“I agree” You’d respond and he’d send you a couple memes to show his excitement at the future of this possibly becoming a ritual between you both whenever you saw each other.

“Goodnight Yahya.” You’d send after snickering at some of the images he sent you.

“Night beautiful.” 

You’d feel the butterflies flutter and try to ignore the heat in your cheeks.

You may or may not have had crush on the man for God knows how long, but that was neither here nor there and you were gonna punch those thoughts and feelings to the back of your head because sleep was more important right now.

As you thought about other things, you hadn’t realised you fell asleep after blinking a couple of times.

It was lights out for you.

---

on the other side of town, yahya was waiting to get a response from you and after a good couple of minutes he figured you’d gone to sleep and decided to follow the lead as he thought about the day you both spent together.

One day, he’d think as he was getting comfortable in the bed before placing his phone on charge.

As he was about to fall asleep, his mind ran across the topic of discussion earlier and said to himself that since he was flying out of the country in a few days, he’d bring you back a couple of things for your future self care days.

He went to sleep with a smile on his face as he thought of the look of pure joy when given the products. Just thinking of your happiness brought him happiness and helped him fall into a deep sleep with thoughts of you running on his mind and the future of self care days between you two possibly being something he’d try to upkeep for as long as he could.

Hey loves!

Hope you guys liked this one.

Thanks to the anon who sent it in (sorry it took so long to get out of the drafts) 

Hope you guys are taking time out for yourself and keeping safe.

Remember to like, comment and/or reblog and thanks for the continuous support.

I appreciate you guys so much.

Stay safe,

-K💜

[skinnedhearts]

and so, he begged

Wamu convinces Anzu to join his band for a quick practice in hopes of landing a permanent (and highly needed) guitarist. Anzu is just really gay.

The mask on his face felt uncomfortable. Nimble fingers toyed with the thin straps tight against his skin and the outer shell of his ear. Anzu fumbled with the cloth, two minutes later, he accepted defeat. Thin mask lowered and tucked under his chin, Anzu leaned back against the school's bricked wall and slipped three gummy worms into his mouth. Slowly, he chewed the candy. From his spot (an emergency stair case smacked between the chemistry lab and the music room) Anzu had the perfect view of the outskirts of the baseball field and the complete layout of the school's fancy tennis courts. 

A practice session was in play. 

Anzu doesn't care for the sport, he found it dull and quite pointless…His eyes are glued to the first court where a player rolled his shoulders and fixed his stance. Green curls of hair hugged his face, his unreadable expression made Anzu frown. The distance blurred the details and it would continue doing so until Anzu gathered the courage to infiltrate the tennis' benches. For now, he settled for hard to distinguish actions and ant sized scenes. 

Picking a red and yellow gummy from the plastic bag in his hands, Anzu chewed on the worm's head and promptly slurped it down like a noodle. Absorbed in his daily activities, he hardly noticed when a skinny boy waltzed up the stairs and plopped himself down two steps below. It wasn't until the boy cleared his throat that Anzu lowered his head, a green gummy hanged from between his lips. 

"Hello! My name is Wamu!" Wamu eagerly greeted, "You don't know me! But I know you!" 

Anzu arched an eyebrow. A row of dreadlocks slid from his shoulders and hugged his handsome face once he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, "Do you now?"

"Yup!" nodded Wamu, "I've seen you around and er-" Wamu's forehead wrinkled in hesitation, "…Heard things about you."

Intrigued, Anzu's lips twitched upwards, "All good things?" 

"Not entirely." Wamu solemnly admitted before he perked up and beamed from ear to ear, "But I'm not here to talk about shitty rumors!" 

Scrambling closer, Wamu scooted up a step, and then another, until he was seated besides Anzu, who blankly stared at the flamboyant boy. Once he was settled, Wamu stretched his short legs out, tipped his head back and basked in the warm sun. 

Silence filled the space between the two boys. Above their heads, the limbs of a tree trembled and as it swayed in the breeze, sunlight slipped between the leafs and branches. Illuminated spots of light danced across their shoulders, legs and shoes. The chirps of an army of cicadas drifted through the warm, summer afternoon and there they sat, in a shared, short-lived silence. 

Unbothered by the newly (and unfamiliar) obtained company, Anzu slid another gummy worm into his mouth, frowning slightly when he noticed the plastic packet running low on candy. Savoring his last gummy, he found his attention drawn back to the courts. The green haired tennis player stood surrounded by teammates and Anzu didn't have to be near by to know he was joyfully laughing. 

"Where's your guitar?" Wamu finally asked. 

"Home." Anzu dryly answered. 

"You always have it with you though!" 

"Not today."

"Why not? You practice up here, don't you."

Anzu would've found Wamu's extensive knowledge regarding his personal life troubling if it weren't for the rumors circling their school, because really, Anzu had heard them all before: He's a drug lord, a thief, a murderer, a low-life, dirt-poor bastard, a part-time model, a homeless bum, a playboy, a plagiarizer…The rumors go on and on, most gravitate around fear or admiration and some held more truth than others. 

While he could speak out and address the hushed whispers, Anzu preferred not to. Clearing his name meant acceptance and acceptance led to unwanted friendships. Of course, every once in awhile, Anzu would cross paths with red-cheeked girls, who shyly bowed their heads as they bashfully twisted their fingers through their hair and unloaded heart felt confessions of love…All which Anzu would turn away with a simple word: Nah. 

After, came the bomber jacket cladded jocks, with their toothy grins and worn out insults, all which were ignored by Anzu. His brother, Kiel, had said it was borderline harassment, something Anzu had dismissed with a shake of his head.

The ugly words, dirty glares and mocking laughs didn't bother him; the world is much too loud, they're all so small and Anzu's head is stuck in cotton candy clouds. Half of the time, he's swimming in a lake of drugs, the smoke drips from the point of his teeth and the edge of his tongue, it's thick and blinding when pressed against his skin…His peeling skin, or at least, Anzu felt his skin recoil and later expand like the shedding of a snake. It's partly the drugs and when it's not, it comes down to his fragile immune system and aching body. He's always in pain, it always hurt, it always stung…

"Anzu?" Wamu's bright, pink eyes blocked his view. 

Though Wamu's face was uncomfortably close to his, Anzu kept his distaste under wraps.

Next, came the weirdos, the over-the-top, friendly, weirdos. Besides Wamu, there was a blue haired boy who loved to shove plates of food in Anzu's empty hands. The blue haired boy would giggle as he cheerfully explained his mistake: Oh, I made too much food again! It's really good! You should try it! 

Anzu saw right through the boy's white lies, he knew what the other was up to, he could almost taste the pity and sympathy leaking from his wide smile…Anzu accepted the food with a nod and moved on. 

However, Wamu wasn't here to offer him food. 

"I practice when I have time." Anzu said.

"Aaaaand…You're busy right now?" Wamu sang.

"Yes." 

He's not busy. His favorite past time involved the soft hum of his guitar, the vibration of chords under his fingers as he fully focused on the green haired tennis player in the distance. There's inspiration behind Micah's fluid movements…There's art behind his curly hair, freckled skin and skinned knees…There's a song hidden on his bottom lip and there's untold lyrics in the dip of his hips. Perched on the stairs, those far off stairs, Anzu watched as his crush bared his teeth and ripped his heart apart with a swipe of his racket, because at some point, the tennis ball was replaced with Anzu's bleeding love.

"You don't look busy to me." Wamu insisted with a lopsided grin. 

Finally, Anzu forced his gaze away from the tennis courts and onto Wamu's eager face, "What do you want from me kid?" 

"Kid?" Wamu wrinkled his nose, "We're in the same grade!" When his question was met with a bored stare, Wamu cleared his throat and continued onto business, "I know you're really good on guitar!"

Anzu shrugged, "That's just a rumor."

"But I've heard you play at the tattoo shop, you-"

A growl vibrated in Anzu's throat, "How do you know about the tattoo shop?"

Completely unphased by Anzu's sudden display of emotions, Wamu carried on, chipper as ever, "My older brother has loads of tattoos! We recently made an appoint at The Heartstained Room, don't you remember me?" he asked, wide eyes as round as buttons, his head fell to the side, "We talked for a bit!" 

Again, Anzu shrugged, "Shop's always packed."

"You were cleaning your other guitar, the electric one, and I asked if you'd ever be down to play in a band and you, um…Shrugged." 

"Sounds about right."

Wamu puffed out his cheeks, "Well," his voice shook and slowly, it regained its confidence, "Join my band!"

"You're…In a band?" Anzu asked, disbelief lacing the question.

"Yeah!" Bouncing to his feet, Wamu fist bumped his own chest and posed, "Don't I look like your typical lead singer?"

No, Anzu had not bothered to take in Wamu's appearance when his vision was filled to the brim with crispy clean, white, tennis uniforms and brand name sneakers. As Wamu stuck his leg out and stretched his arms above his head, Anzu's eyes skipped from Wamu's dirty combat boots, his ripped, skinny jeans to his faded, black leather jacket with too many buckles and rounded studs to count. His hair was decorated in bright, streaks of pink which made him look too much like a colorful skunk. 

Anzu leaned back, his uninterested tone tore through Wamu's sparkling aura, "I ain't into the techno bizz."

Wamu's mouth fell open, he gasped and stomped his foot, "We are NOT a techno band! We're a rock band! The best of the best!"

"What's the name?"

"..Huh?"

"The name of your band." 

"Oh! That's…" Wamu hanged his head in shame, "We don't have one…YET!" The 'yet' was said with an excited shout as he brought his fists to his sides and hopped about, "We'll have one soon though!"

"Sounds real fuckin’ messy."

"It's not!" Wamu reassured Anzu with a big, dazzling grin, "We're really good! We just can't decide on a name."

Anzu nodded, "Cool."

Wamu's smile broke into a pout, "So?"

"So what?"

"Will you join us." Wamu hopefully asked.

"Nah." 

"Pleassseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee….Pretty pleaseeeeee, join us for one practice! You can judge us yourself."

Anzu collected the empty plastic bag, now void of gummy worms, and threw it into his bag, "I ain't got the time to be playin' made believe rock bands with you and your friends." 

With the simple rejection out in the open, Anzu collected his belongings and stood, but before he could take a step, Wamu wrapped his arms around his left leg. Like a drowning man, the small boy clung onto him, head angled upwards as distraught inked his pleading face, "Anzu…pleaseeeeeeee we need you!"

If Anzu had doubted it before, there was no question about it now: Wamu was one-hundred percent one of the weird ones.

"I ain't bullshittin' when I say I don't have the time-"

"It won't take long! Just a couple of songs!"

"I don't-"

"ANZU PLEASE!" Wamu exclaimed, "PLEASE I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!"

"I don't want anythin'." Anzu calmly replied.

"PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEE. I'll hold on for as long as I have to!"

"I have to get to work kid. Can't be late for that."

"Guess I'm coming along!" Wamu said as he hugged Anzu's leg tightly.

Anzu rolled his eyes, "…You’re actin' like a brat."

"…I know but…" Wamu's eyes twinkled with tears, "This is important to me. Come on, there must be something I can do for you in return."

Tugging his mask over his mouth, Anzu then cursed his weak body…Wamu was a small boy and if Anzu wasn't currently aching and coming down with the flu for the 3rd time that month, he would've picked Wamu by the collar and placed him aside. Seconds away from kicking Wamu off, the distance glee of a cheer caught Anzu's attention. In the tennis courts, Micah celebrated the end of perfect practice game. The tennis player threw his shirt off and used it to wipe his sweaty face. Anzu's skin burned. Swallowing down an awkward hitch in his voice, Anzu then addressed Wamu.

"Are you friendly with the tennis team?"

"Yes, I know most of them." Wamu blinked his innocent eyes, clueless to what Anzu had in mind. Anzu previously noted how oblivious and stuck in his own world Wamu tended to be and while it was annoying, it had it's charming strides. 

"What about their captain? You know him?" 

"Micah!? Of course I know him! He's pretty good pals with my best friend!" 

"Your best friend?" 

Wamu nodded, "He's our drummer! You'll like him!"

The drummer, all he needed to do was talk to the drummer…A plan fell into place inside Anzu's head. 

"Cool. What time do you want to meet up?"

Wamu's eyes nearly popped out of his head, "A-are you serious!?" Much too caught up in the moment, Wamu didn't question why or what had made Anzu sing a different tune, "W-whatever time works for you! We practice every night after school so we're all free whenever you want to drop by and-"

Anzu cut Wamu off, "How about tomorrow?"

"Yes! Yes! Tomorrow is perfect!" Wamu released Anzu's leg and instead hopped up to wrap his arms around Anzu's waist, "Thank you! Thank you so much!" 

Anzu allowed the boy to squeeze him tightly before he lightly shoved him away,

"Aight, knock it off or I won't show up."

Not having to be told twice, Wamu stepped aside and continued spewing a storm of thank yous. Even when Anzu made his way down the stairs and disappeared around the corner, Wamu continued to drown him in gratitude.