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scrunkore · 1 year ago

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Scunkore Media "Thread" 2023: Part 4

welcome back to the scrunko core

38) Miitopia (Switch, 2021)

Mii games are a dying breed, and honestly I'm not sure why they put this game on Switch when they did, but that's whatever really. It definitely has its fair share of improvements from the 3DS original, with a bit more content and an absolutely fantastic custom makeup tool that lets you make every Mii that much more unique, being put to great use by a whole bunch of creators. The game itself, though... it's still not anything special aside from that, and also its cute story bits and Mii interactions, but those get old well before you actually finish the game. And the game takes a while to get through, too, feeling very repetitive and grindy even while you constantly make progress. Basically, the game does some fun things, but it's not nearly enough to make the whole experience remain interesting throughout. It's just painfully average as an actual game, and I'd really rather have a new Tomodachi Life game, but that seems unlikely at this point. [2.5★]

39) The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Movie, 2023)

I'll never get over the reaction to the casting announcement for this movie, that was the funniest shit to come from that one Nintendo Direct presentation and unfortunately it might be more memorable than the actual movie itself. Chris Pratt Mario is the least of its issues (actually the voice acting is fine) - the plot and indeed most of the characters are pretty half-baked and it feels like they rushed the story through basic plot points between various action pieces, but at the very least that does mean it's never boring. Trouble is, that does mean I can't say the movie is good, despite the really nice-looking visuals and great soundtrack (when it's not using corporate-mandated licensed songs), both clearly made with a lot of love for the series. Sure, it was an entertaining movie, with some fun elements like Jack Black Bowser banging out the tunes, but realistically I think it's pretty average when I'm not giggling at the references - the critics were in fact correct, who knew. Still, does give me some hope for future Nintendo movies, because it was well-made. [3★]

40) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch, 2023)

Breath of the Wild, one of the biggest and most popular games Nintendo has ever put out, finally got its sequel, and it somehow makes that game look like a demo. Everything new that they added results in Tears of the Kingdom blowing Breath of the Wild out of the water - the world map is about three times the size due to the added cave systems and whole new areas above and below Hyrule, the abilities Link gets to use are so much more complex and fun to use (especially the building mechanics), the enemies/bosses and side quests are more interesting, the list really does go on. It even has an excellent story that, while still unfortunately leaning back into "rescue the princess", delivers a really enjoyable narrative only marred by the fact that you can kind of ruin it by viewing it outside of the intended order, but I guess for an open-world game that's fine. I held off on writing this bit because I didn't really know what to say other than "game good", and now I don't want it to go on too long because I'll start rambling. The game is just really fucking good, man. Sometimes things in it are annoying, but I say that about every game, including Breath of the Wild - it may not be a particularly interesting opinion, but I think this game has just about perfected what it wants to be, and I have no idea what the Zelda team is going to do next. [5★]

41) Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast/PC, 1999/2011)

Next time someone tries to tell me that Sonic "had a rough transition to 3D" and it's clear they're talking about this game specifically, I think I might push them out of the nearest window, because that lie has gone on for far too long, though admittedly the ports of this thing have a couple unique issues and that's kinda why I modded the Steam port to be more in line with the Dreamcast version. But regardless, yes, this game is really good fun. It's a pretty unique 3D platformer with an excellent hub world and several different gameplay styles that each offer something fresh - from speeding through levels to fishing for a kind of annoying frog, I do rather like them all to varying degrees. The general vibes of the game as a whole (mainly down to the locales but also things like the incredible music) are pretty cool too, and the solidly enjoyable story - especially the parts with Gamma - is told in cutscenes that may look a bit awkward now but still have a lot of charm to them. Everything culminates in the classic final fight against Chaos, and that will always be really cool despite the actual gameplay of that fight being a bit of a pain. If you haven't played a "good" 3D Sonic game, open your heart up to this one - but do grab the mod loader if you're playing the Steam release. [4★]

42) Sonic Adventure 2 (Dreamcast/PC, 2001/2012)

The sequel to Sonic Adventure is kind of a few steps forward and a few steps back, and production-wise we know it was a bit rushed, which does explain some issues, but thankfully the subsequent ports ended up having less issues than the prior game's. Adventure 2 takes a hit in not having a cool hub world to explore and instead opting for typical menus separating the two routes that include most of the different level types introduced in the first game, and one of those level types (the emerald hunts) is designed so much worse this time around for god knows what reason. In fact, the game can be a bit more annoying to play in a lot of areas, although plenty of the time it's just because it's deliberately more challenging and not actual bad design. But it makes up for anything that might be worse than in the first game by having even cooler presentation, with a stronger storyline featuring everyone's favourite grumpy hedgehog Shadow and better cutscenes, more banger music, and going right up into space for the supersonic finale. So generally it's both better and worse than the first game, but hey, you live and learn. [4★]

43) Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit (PC, 2022)

With the upcoming Sonic Superstars set to feature Fang for the first time since the original Triple Trouple, now's as good a time as any to check out the stellar fan remake that turns it into an awesome 16-bit style game mechanically rather similar to Sonic 3, like the more traditional Sonic 4 that we never got. It's a lovingly crafted game that perfectly re-imagines the zones from the original with much cleaner graphics and refreshed music accurate to the hardware it's trying to replicate, and more spectacular setpieces that give it a whole new burst of character, plus it's full of its own fun original gimmicks and surprises too. A full run of the game getting all Chaos Emeralds and defeating the incredibly cool true final boss won't take you very long, but if you're a fan of the classic games you're bound to enjoy the ride and want to replay it with the unlockable characters too. Definitely a really cool fangame that's worth checking out. [4.5★]

44) Pokémon Infinite Fusion V5.X (PC, 2022)

It's the Pokémon fangame that got all the content creators posting YouTube shorts of the funny things they made in it, and of course, it's easy to see why a game with a fusion gimmick would have so much mass appeal - it's a massive undertaking from the people working on the thousands of different sprites required, and the idea of fusing Pokémon together has been popular for over a decade at this point. And that's a gimmick that the game handles really well, every battle presents you with some new cute combination or hybrid abomination and you never know what's coming up next, plus you'll always be mixing and matching with your own stuff to see what happens and if you can make something completely overpowered (I recommend Shedinja + Absol for maximum cheese). Though, I'm not that big on the core adventure itself, because it's just Kanto again with some Johto and the Sevii Islands tacked onto it, along with more Pokémon of course, and the new story elements are just kind of whatever unfortunately. It's also an RPG Maker game, so there's some jank to be seen, but I'm used to that considering the other things I've played. So all in all, it's hard carried by the fusion mechanic, but at least it manages to nail that, and it's still being updated constantly with new sprites to check out. [3.5★]

45) Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! (Switch, 2023)

I don't feel much for this game, so I'll keep it short. I've only really dabbled in Puzzle Bobble once or twice, and so I figured I'd give this one a whirl, but it wasn't that good all things considered. Sure, it gets the core gameplay right, as it should, and the online multiplayer works pretty well, but what I found pretty annoying was the story mode - a lot of the levels are just stupid and a pain in the ass, at least for me, so maybe I'm not a hardcore Bobble-head after all. The characters are rather annoying too, but maybe that's just in this entry, who knows? If there are better iterations of this series then I'd be down to play those as well, I just didn't like this one that much outside of dicking around with non-story mode content, which was decent enough. [2.5★]

46) Nimona (Movie, 2023)

The once-cancelled Blue Sky adaptation of a comic from ND Stevenson, showrunner of that very queer She-Ra series, actually got rescued by Annapurna and actually came out this year, and boy am I glad it did, not least because of how poorly animation tends to get treated by so many of the large corporations. The movie is an incredibly fun and deeply heartfelt story of people society was all too keen to paint as monsters because of an authoritarian regime, and it's definitely pretty clear about its messages in a way that pretty much anyone can understand. It's also quite well-animated and put together really nicely, and although I have heard that it goes for a more family-friendly angle than the original comic did, it still manages to get everything across effectively and hit the right emotional beats, and it uses its runtime as well as one could expect from it. Also, I gotta say, this one's also very queer - the two most important male characters in the story are gay and get to kiss on-screen which is awesome, and I definitely get gender vibes from the titular Nimona, the awesome transforming girl who gets the most action in the movie. Maybe it's a good thing someone other than Disney released it, because I'm not sure how keen they are about gay people and anti-establishment messaging (this isn't even really a joke unfortunately). But anyway, this movie was awesome, and I hope we do see more projects like it. [4.5★]

47) Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (Switch, 2023)

Ghost Trick has always been one of those really cool and unique DS puzzle games that people have been demanding everyone play for years, and in this case it's easy to see why that's all they were saying about it (in a good way). The story of this game is frankly too good to spoil, with some pretty great twists and turns that it takes, and I highly doubt anyone will be able to predict quite how it ends because that truly blindsided me and I loved it. The excellent cast of characters kind of helped with that too, especially the best boy of all time Missile; it's just very well-written as a whole. Now in terms of gameplay it's no slouch either, delivering some honestly genius puzzles revolving around setting up Rube Goldberg-esque series of movements with various objects that you, a ghost, can take control to prevent people from dying. Some of these puzzles are real head-scratchers, but I think anyone can get through them with enough trial and error, and it is immensely satisfying when you do, so it's a damn good puzzle game. Also worth mentioning, though it goes without saying if you've seen the game before, is that it has a really slick visual style with character designs that pop, and an excellent soundtrack that is very much welcome. Genuinely an incredible game, and I think they should let Shu Takumi do more original projects if this is what he can cook up. [5★]

48-49) Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack (Switch, 2017)

Had to check out some of Inti Creates' flagship titles when I saw they were doing a Love Live game in a similar style, and yeah, this is a fun type of game that feels inspired by certain Mega Man spinoffs. Both games in this pack have cool run-and-gun gameplay where you can "tag" enemies do deal more damage to them, and of course you kind of have to balance that with avoiding taking damage yourself. Not a problem in the levels themselves, but taking on bosses is where it can get super tricky, especially towards the end of the first game which is just way harder than the rest for some reason (so the first game does seem to require grinding for levels and equipment). So the core gamplay is something I quite like, but I'm not a fan of how it often presents the story as text boxes appearing during the action where you're not going to be paying attention to them because you're busy, and honestly I don't much care for the story and characters anyway (and honestly why are there so many little girls in these games, they even turn characters into them in the second one). I do also enjoy the little gimmick of having straight-up idol music playing at certain times when you're powered up, and the music is just kinda good in general, so there is that. Decently fun games overall, there's not that much left to say about them. [3.5★]

Finally, I'm done catching up on this, future entries will just have their own posts. Hope you enjoy these poorly-made stream-of-consciousness mini-reviews!

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#scrunkore media 2023 #miitopia #super mario #zelda #sonic #pokemon infinite fusion #puzzle bobble #nimona #ghost trick #azure striker gunvolt

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veebs-hates-video-games · 1 year ago

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Ok time to go through some more small things quickly because I'm getting behind.

Will You Snail?

More fun and interesting than I expected. I wasn't really sure what I was getting into beyond it being cheap and having tons of positive reviews, but it turned out to be a precision platformer where you play as a snail (and can wear another smaller snail as a hat), and it's about the fear of AI literally taking over the world and whether reality is really real. Also the AI is an asshole and spontaneously spawns bullshit spikes and lasers and stuff exactly where it thinks you're about to go so you have to contend with that in addition to just making it through each room.

I had a good enough time to finish the story and get somewhere north of 50% completion, but I don't really see myself doing the optional stuff like beating everything on the highest difficulty. The auto-difficulty kept me somewhere in the 2-3 range out of 4 95% of the time with very rare spikes to 4, and with me getting worse at stuff like this over time as my reactions get slightly slower, my vision gets worse, and my brain just gets generally weird, I don't really see a point in pushing myself harder just to frustrate myself.

Lara Croft GO

It only took me forever to get around to this one, which I probably would've forgotten about if someone didn't gift me a copy a few days ago. Basically you, uh, raid tombs. Big surprise, I know, but this time it's a turn-based puzzle game. I liked the puzzles enough and different mechanics they introduced enough to finish it because some of them were reasonably clever/satisfying, but I'm not sure if I'll bother with the extra ones after the credits roll. Toward the end after I got the hang of it I tended to finish levels without having to retry more than a couple times, but just knowing I'd have to start over entirely for every mistake or misclick makes it less enjoyable.

I'm pretty sure it's my second favorite Tomb Raider game now, and one of only two I've ever finished. The other was the 2013 reboot, which I thought was great. I tried the sequel to that and didn't really like all the changes they made to the formula because they all made it less fun for me, and I always thought the pre-reboot ones were just bad. To be fair I heard the later ones did get better and I never tried any of those, but the PS1 era games were anti-fun for me.

I'LL KILL HER

More of a digital comic book than anything, like a visual novel with an extreme emphasis on the visual part and no decision making. The art style was enough to get my interest to try it, and that's probably the main thing it has going for it. The story is...fine? Not super deep or original and feels like it maybe has some translation or non-native English issues sometimes, but it all fits together well enough in the end I guess. All of the content warnings for this one for stuff like abuse and domestic violence and suicide.

Cris Tales

Somehow this is the only one of these that I gave up on before finishing it. A lot of stuff in it is absolutely gorgeous (go watch the animated intro, seriously), and I was getting into the setting and some of the themes it was hinting at, and the time shifting mechanics are pretty neat both for exploration and combat, but I just don't really enjoy playing the game very much.

Society has advanced beyond the need for random encounters, but Cris Tales has not. Good thing it has irritatingly long load times for each one, at least on the Switch, and it has to do it again going back from the battle screen to the main overworld. And I really am not into how the combat encounters are balanced. Even basic trash enemies a few hours into the game can do absurd amounts of damage, like 40+ when your characters barely have over 100 hp. You can reduce that with timed button presses like Paper Mario/Mario RPG games, but the animations while pretty are really bad at conveying the actual correct timing for stuff.

Basically I like most things about the game except for actually playing it. Well, it's fine in towns I guess, but there's too much other stuff I'm not into for that to make up for it. Oh, and the voice acting isn't terrible or anything, but it's definitely worse than most things I've played this year with voice acting and didn't really do it for me. Also it has the most basic and obvious bug that I'm mildly surprised I've never seen in anything else: it counts the entire time the game is suspended while the Switch is asleep toward your play time. I apparently spent 60 hours on the game, when really it was about 3.

#will you snail?#lara croft go #I'll kill her #cris tales

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kobalent · 2 years ago

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i got the nintendo switch online expansion for thd eventual promise of Kirby and the Amazing Mirror to the GBA library (which i've wanted to play since reading about it in my Club Nintendo magazines back in the day!!!! but never had a GBA) and i've been playing Mario Kart Super Circuit because it's like the only mario kart i hadn't played and i simultaneously think it's the worst game in the franchise and it also has the coolest shortcuts.

like the driving in general feels Not Great™ but there's a part in Ribbon Road (the same track in MK8DX!) where you can take two boosts before the first ramp and hold right at a specific time to fly through the track and skip a pretty significant portion of it! too early or too late and you fall out of bounds and Lakitu takes their sweet time putting you in a really bad respawn, but if you nail it you save a solid 15 seconds and if you're playing grand prix you don't have to worry about CPUs because they don't have enough time to rubber band to catch up

i mostly got the nso expansion to play through Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion (which i will get to soon!) since i got a used copy of the game and also to use the ACNH dlc that is included, but i do like the emulators they have because of the rewind feature. i played Mother 1 (Earthbound Origins) a couple years back and absolutely loved it because i figured out how to manipulate RNG to deal more damage and have the enemies miss their attacks lol i hear the N64 emulator they have isn't good but i really like the rewind feature (over regular save states since i don't have to manually set them) because it makes me feel like a TASer :)

okay all of that kinda reads as an advertisement so here's a little rant: the old games are really easy to find online and if that is the main reason you'd get the nso expansion i recommend to save yourself the money lol heck, my favorite way to play Zelda OoT is the Ship of Harkinian PC port because it adds a ton of accessibility, customization, and randomizer options and i think its now compatible for multiworld OoT and Majora's Mask and that is awesome! old games are much better in the hands of fans and nintendo should just make them open source instead of gatekeeping them and forcing us to buy them in some way every single time they release a new console. imagine if they released official mod tools for their gamecube engine?? i would kill for a way to easily create custom Mario Sunshine levels.

anyways, piracy is always a moral and correct choice!

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ichayalovesyou · 2 years ago

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Loving your Goncharov posts. Can’t wait for your Goncharov playlist. Who would you cast if making Goncharov today?

Oooh! That’s a toughy! I’ll do my best!

Goncharov: Oscar Isaac

Period drama with protagonist with a moral corruption arc, a looming sense of doom, a really frayed but sexy fucked up relationship with his wife while also coming off as incredibly bisexual? Who else could you POSSIBLY want?!

Mario: James Frain

He’s a conniving boot licker in Tron: Legacy as Jarvis, and a stone cold bitch as Sarek in the new Star Trek shows, Mario is somewhere in that ballpark so why not?!

Andrey: Michael Fassbender

Fassbender is sooooo good at simultaneously being extremely emotionally raw and cold and calculating and I swear to gawd if that ain’t Andrey he’s soooooo, gawd, such a juicy role. Plus I think it would be sick to see Oscar and Michael chew on the scenery together and be well… Like That. As Goncharov and Andrey

Michailov: Adrien Brody

I’ve said before that I’d love to see a Wes Anderson take in these film and Adrien Brody is in like all of Anderson’s movies and he’s always playing stuck up little hard asses like Katya’s brother so I think that works super well!

Katya: Elle Fanning

MAN I love Elle Fanning I can’t tell you how much I need this. Between the Maleficent films and also THE GREAT (she’s already a Russian aristocrat I mean come ON) she could totally pull the ‘disillusioned old money trophy wife’ thing easy! I NEED her to be Katya I neeeeeeeed it!!

Sofia: Jesse James Keitel

I mean… just LOOK at her??? Amazing, hardened chaotic and queer tough chick I mean please, Keitel can and has absolutely ROCKED that shit and would do it again, Captain Angel but make it 1970s mafia sapphic I mean that’s just CORRECT

Ice Pick Joe: Steve Buscemi

I know he doesn’t do a lot of on camera stuff anymore but god this man is so good in Fargo and I love it when he plays baddies and I think he could really lean into Joe’s homicidal tendencies with that sly voice I associate with Randall from Monsters Inc who also spooked me as a kid.

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megumin-jjk · 4 years ago

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Ayooooo can I get a hcs for Nanami, Gojo, Inumaki, Toji (or Megumi) going to a scary mazes with their s/o? I low key miss Halloween and the spookiness of it 😩

JJK + Scary Mazes with their S/O

A/n: thank you for requesting!! This took me a good few hours because I literally do not think after I wake up from a nap. I hope this is ok 😅

Characters: Megumi Fushiguro, Nanami Kento, Gojo Satoru, Toji Fushiguro, Toge Inumaki

Requests: open

Megumi Fushiguro

He takes you out to a corn maze with all the witches and crows !!

I can guarantee that you two will argue about directions for a good 10 minutes until he says some scientific thing about the stars that makes him correct

You’d think he’d be so calm and collected and yes, that him half the time there but the other half is him standing frozen solid in fear.

He loves it when you tug on his sleeve, asking to run or lend his jacket. knowing your boyfriend, he won’t budge an inch until you say pretty please.

His only goals are for you to have fun, keeping you safe, and make sure you’re not too scared even though he’s the one about to pee himself.

Will take your hand in his and make the both of you use your pointer finger so he can guide your hands to a star

Nanami Kento

Let’s you use his work jacket so you can cover yourself over your head to shield you from the cold.

Lightly says things like, “I never took you for being such a baby.” But will let you hide yourself into his side when get you scared right after saying, “I am definitely not!” As an “I told you so”

Will extend his arm so that it’s around you and will plant his hand from that arm on top of your head as you two walk.

He will tilt your head up with that hand, asking you to look him in the eye when scared.

He’s utterly immune to the clowns’ scares that the actors themselves are genuinely confused.

Makes the most deadpan comments and expressions that you can’t help but laugh

Satoru Gojo

He is LITERALLY the type of person you cannot take anywhere even if he wasn’t your s/o

WILL absolutely compare you to one of the characters

“That looks like you. Kidding” he laughed. “Toru!” You gasped, lightly slapping his chest.

Says he’s “the strongest” but he’s the one jumping 4 feet off the ground or hiding behind you when someone scares him

Insists on you holding his hand the entire time as if you’re the one who’s scared

Screams at random moments just to make you and the people around you jump

Toji Fushiguro

He’s not scared at the slightest but will mutter a string of curses as he has the most vulgar mouth

He whispers in your ear to calm you but tries to make it flirtatious at the same time ?

He makes things like, “shhh quiet, sweetheart” sound so hot ???

Utterly invested in the costumes and the setting that you’re the one having to drag him around.

Suddenly Becomes a costume and design critique at this very moment

Kisses you once you two reach the end, telling you that you did great

You two wear matching plain, navy crewneck sweaters and it’s so cute

Toge Inumaki

He’s more pissed than scared whenever a jump scare happens, yelling a “salmon” as if he’s just lost a round of Mario kart.

Places himself in the crook of your neck with a pout right after and when you tease him, he bites your neck

DOESNT think of the consequences because now he just got bonked on the head by his s/o

Tells you that he feels sick because he drank an entire bottle of soda before coming on this date

He’s the type of scared that will pass out at any moment if you don’t hold his hand and pepper kisses all over his face to reassure him

Actually, he’s very dramatic. He just wants your physical touch.

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whoacanada · 4 years ago

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Zimbits - Bartender!Jack + NHL!Bitty AU

Prompt: Retired NHL player Jack Zimmermann takes ownership of a sports bar in Pittsburgh and accidentally falls for the Penguins’ (closeted) new left winger.

A/N - just the start, I’d like to get around to more of this; the basic idea was an It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia AU, but I couldn’t manage to make everyone that terrible so Jack owns and operates a gay sports bar and starts crushing on one of his patrons.

“Can’t believe you’ve owned this place since ’89.” Jack coughs, waving the dust away from his face. “Did you ever come back after we moved home?”

It’d be disingenuous to say Jack had been expecting anything other than cigars and whiskey when his father had invited him on a trip down to Pittsburgh to see Mario and glad-hand some Penguins sponsors. In fact, he’d kind of been looking forward to sulking and getting shit-faced, not limping around a condemned building dodging roaches and rats.

“It was an investment opportunity. That was the trend back then, famous athletes buying up restaurants and clubs — I had big plans for this building. Then your mother got pregnant and I realized I didn’t really give two shits about running a nightclub.”

“Realized you were pretty lazy, huh?”

As Bob laughs, Jack picks at the peeling, lacquered bartop, trying not to imagine how many decades of grime he’s just collecting under his nail, the situation made even more disgusting in such close proximity to the glittering gold championship ring his father had insisted he wear to their lunch meeting with the Penguins front-office suits. Jack flicks the gunk away as Bob levels him with a weighty look, hands braced in the air as if outlining a play and not offering a tour of a cobweb-filled dive.

“Here’s my thought,” Bob says. “The bar. It’s yours.”

Jack leans against the counter, taking some weight off his braced leg, and asks, “What’s mine?”

“This place,” Bob gestures around the room. “The whole building. It’s just sitting here, empty, the bar, the liquor license, there’s apartments and office space upstairs, we’d just need to do some renovations and —“

Jack can’t help himself. He barks a laugh and says, “I’m not moving to Pittsburgh.”

“How many times have you and I talked about opening a sports bar? I’d wanted to get this place fixed up so it’d be ready when you retired, but since the final — you could make it a gay bar, even, if you wanted!” Bob says quickly, offering another awkward olive branch. “A gay sports bar. I wouldn’t care.”

“A gay sports bar. In Pittsburgh,” Jack echoes, reaching for a chirp to defend himself, but he closes him mouth as he realizes a sports bar run by a Zimmermann might not be a terrible investment idea. “The building needs a ton of work,” Jack settles. “I just saw a rat.”

“That was a mouse,” Bob dismisses, not bothering to look at the rat still clearly in view. “Nothing that can’t be fixed. Got a dollar?”

Jack pats his pockets, finds a spare looney and hands it over. Bob doesn’t hesitate, pulling an envelope out of his back pocket to exchange for the coin.

“Congratulations. You are now the proud owner of,” Bob looks around helplessly. “I actually don’t know what they call this place now. A Bar?”

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out.” Jack swallows against the tightness in his throat, holding the deed carefully in his hands. “Thanks, Dad.”

Bob brings Jack in for a loose hug and they both ignore the soft squeaking coming from the backroom.

Five Years Later

There’s a man examining the announcement board in the vestibule, and Jack knows that posture: the forward hip cant, thick thighs, a small but definite bubble butt — guy’s a hockey player, and he has been for some time.

“Hey. Hi.”

Blondie spins around at Jack’s address. Not quite startled, but something close enough that Jack feels a twinge of guilt. “You interested in playing in our beer league? You look like you might know your way around a rink.”

The man quickly looks at his chest, as if expecting to find something displayed, but relaxes immediately. Jack fights a grin, he was once old hat at wandering into public spaces decked out in identifiable team merch.

“Bitty.” The man squares up to offer his hand; his accent is warm and distinctly southern, not at all what Jack was expecting. “You can call me Bitty.”

“Oh, with a nickname like that, you have to play, now, no excuses,” Jack gives Bitty’s arm a firm shake, surprised at how complementary his grip is; not just an overcompensating bro who’s walked into the wrong club.

“If only I had the time,” Bitty placates wryly. “Is this place new?”

“Been here a few years, but not long. How about you? Are you ‘new’? In town, I mean.”

“Moved for work,” Bitty’s smile is timid, eyes darting around the room looking for other patrons, up at the memorabilia and the various pennants. “First year. Slowly learning the area.”

Jack doesn’t miss the way Bitty’s eyes linger on the Pride flag draped from the second floor railing, but Bitty doesn’t mention it, and Jack isn’t in the business of prying.

“Let me be the first to welcome you to The Bar.”

“I saw that outside, do you not have a name?”

“We weren’t creative. The owner didn’t realize he was filling in the wrong line on the business license so we are literally called ‘The Bar’.”

“That’s actually pretty solid,” Bitty laughs, the sound lifting Jack’s mood easily. “I’ll have to make sure I come back and patron your establishment at a reasonable hour.”

“What you aren’t interested at getting sloshed before noon?”

Bitty laughs, and Jack is enough of an adult to recognize he’s got a tiny bit of a crush.

______

True to form, Bitty slowly becomes a feature of Jack’s early afternoons. The first few weeks, he does little more than quietly purchase a single domestic beer before tucking himself away in a corner booth, hunched over his phone, ball cap pulled low for discretion. Jack gives him space, and aside from a few curious regulars, Bitty is little more than another closeted young man seeking quiet sanctuary.

That is, until, hockey kicks up and Mario hooks Jack up with season tickets beside the bench. It’d taken time for Jack to get comfortable with being in an arena again, especially without the ability to step onto the ice himself, but he’s acclimated and learned to appreciate his new lot in life. He can be happy for his success and mourn the end of his career with equal measure.

(Doesn’t hurt he still gets asked for autographs on the regular.)

Bittle, the new forward traded out of Columbus, spins to whip the puck between Lundqvist’s thighs and the score is 3-2 with a minute left in the third. Jack stands to cheer with the crowd as Bittle’s pulled into a celly with his line mates, and the new angle gives Jack a good look at the man’s sunny face, complete with a familiar, bright smile and missing canine. Jack’s heart leaps into his throat when he realizes Bittle is ‘Bitty’, and Jack can’t help but cheer louder.

________

After the game, Jack does his homework. Pulls up stats pages and articles on Eric Bittle. Looking to link the quiet hottie from his bar with the energetic man he saw tonight on the ice. If Jack wasn’t in love before, he absolutely is after watching highlights from Bittle’s time in Columbus.

The next time Jack finds Bitty slipping into the bar, probably between practice and a good nap, Jack makes his move; filling a pint glass, wedging an orange slice on the rim, and adjusting his shirt before striding to the corner booth as easily as one can with a titanium femur.

“On the house,” Jack says, setting down the glass gently. “Choice goal, Tuesday. Great bounce.”

Bitty’s grateful smile falters, turning into something guarded.

“What goal?” Bitty asks, voice steady, and Jack’s immediately alerted to his misstep. Jack casts a careful eye around the room and doesn’t find anyone watching, kicking himself for not thinking this through. He’s used to playing this game with guys who aren’t quite comfortable, who might be visiting with the wrong people, but he hasn’t had to do the closeted-pro-athlete dance in a while.

“You know, I must have been mistaken.”

“Happens all the time. Very sweet of you, though.” Bitty apologizes and pushes away the beer, but Jack waves him off. It’s the least Jack can do for calling the guy out.

“I should have known,” Jack tries to recover. “You’ve still got all your chiclets. But, between you and me, Bittle’s a spitfire, eh? Crazy soft hands. I’d like to meet him someday.”

Jack whistles low, rapping his knuckles on the table before turning back to the bar, moving slowly enough he catches the way Bitty’s cheeks flare pink at the compliment.

About thirty minutes later, Jack, half focused on counting down the till, nearly misses Bitty’s exit. He looks up to offer a parting wave, and Bitty returns the gesture, flashing a shy, incomplete smile; one canine missing on the left side.

________

“Anything new to report? Sales look good, think you might be able to take some time off and visit your poor parents?”

Jack slides open a window to let some air into his bedroom, not for the first time wishing he’d taken the chance to tear out a wall and convert a corner of the top floor into a balcony. There’s still time — his father never seems to wary of giving Jack renovation loans — but Jack loves his condo and hates the idea of relocating again, even temporarily.

“New distillery opened, cut a deal on some local gin. We’re working on drink specials, if you have any ideas for names I’m open,” Jack eases onto the windowsill and looks down at the line of people waiting to get into the bar. “And I met someone. Think he might be a hockey player.”

“No shit? Beer-league?”

“NHL.” Jack corrects, an edge of caution in his tone he knows his father won’t misinterpret. “Started coming around a few months ago, gave me a fake name. Went to a game last week, scored right in front of me.”

“Well, you going to tell me who or am I going to have to guess?”

“He’s keeping to himself,” Jack holds the curtain steady to catch sight of a particularly flashy person in a glittering teal gown, texting Holster to snag a photo for the bar’s Instagram. “Don’t go hunting.”

“Well, if he needs any help you let me know.”

“What could you do?”

“I don’t know. Talk to . . . someone. I guess.”

“I’ll keep that under advisement.” Jack placates, smiling at the saucy photo Ransom texts back immediately of Holster lifting their favorite Drag Race runner-up above his head like something out of Dirty Dancing.

“So.”

“Mmm?”

“Does this mean you’ve got a little boyfriend, again?”

Jack leans out over the railing and tries to see if the universe has blessed him with a sighting of his favorite new Left Winger. Sadly, it’s Saturday evening and the Penguins are in Dallas, so no Eric tonight.

“Working on it.” Jack offers, rapping his knuckles lightly against the window sill and trying not to think about the way Bittle’s face lights up when he sees that Jack is working. “Think I might really have a shot at something.”

“Well, you know what Wayne always says.”

“I do,” Jack breathes, pressing his forehead against the cool glass, taking in his one-of-a-kind view of the city. “I’ll let you know how it goes. Once he gets back.”

“ — You know, I’ve got the game on right now. I bet you $1000 I can tell who you’ve got the hots for. You have a specific type — ”

“Papa.”

“Okay, I won’t.”

“Thank you.”

“But it’s the kid we just got from the Blue Jackets, isn’t it. Bittle? You always like the fast ones — ”

“Goodnight, Papa.”

#bar au #jack zimmermann #NHL!Bitty #zimbits #Zimmermann #retired Jack #zimbits fic #look I wrote a thing #it's only been forever #my fic #my stuff #omgcp #check please

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killscreencinema · 2 years ago

Text

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)

youtube

I remember being so excited to play this when it came out in 1989! I was living in the country at the time when my parents had the terrible notion that it would be fun to live on a farm out in the middle of nowhere for no particular reason. I should add that despite having farmland, we didn't do any farm stuff, so the whole experiment turned out to be a pointless exercise in tearing me away from the familiarity I had worked hard to get comfortable with at my first school and starting all over again in a new school.

I'm going on this tangent to say that I was at a point in my life when I looked to games like TMNT, or Super Mario 3 (which also came out around this time), as a life raft of sorts to keep me from dying of boredom. I have a vivid memory of my uncle picking up this game and Simon's Quest while coming over to our house to visit and accidentally running his car into a ditch on the way over. My dad had to pick him up and when he got to the house, he handed me the games and was like: "These had better be worth it."

They really weren't... but I didn't really know it at the time. Not yet.

You see, as a child in the 80s living on a non-functional farm, with no cable TV, and no neighbor kids to play with, I tended to have a lot more tolerance for crappy games because I was so starved for entertainment. Hell, I even rented Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, one of the worst NES games ever made, around this time and made the best of it. Plus, this was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which I was obsessed with, and I hadn't yet a basis of comparison with the arcade game because I hadn't even seen it yet (although it came out the same year). So it was beyond my understanding that it could be anything but a good game, and I think a lot other kids at the time felt the same way.

It wasn't until the Angry Video Game Nerd reviewed this back in 06 that someone finally perfectly articulated why this game was actually quite bad.

I'm not about to defend it, as it is definitely not a good game, but I will go so far as to say it's at least functional... sometimes. It's playable when you're not dealing with slow down and flickering enemies. However, it's entirely too difficult - like, unfairly difficult. The game finds cheap ways to knock off your health, whether it's enemies attacking you while you're helpless on a ladder the moment you enter a new screen or the dreaded electrical seaweed in the underwater bomb disposal level (the stopping point for many an 80s kid).

A large part of what sucks about this game is how absolutely terrible every turtle is besides Donatello. Yes, he has great reach with his bo staff, we all know this (although I would argue in the later games it's not as long a reach as we remember), but it's also quite powerful, usually capable of killing most enemies in one hit. Whereas the rest of the turtles have to dispense multiple hits with their piddling little weapons before vanquishing anyone. Good luck landing those hits before taking damage yourself, especially with Raphael or Michelangelo, whose attacks are a joke. You can find secondary projectile weapons, like throwing stars or the scroll weapon (which is the best weapon in the game consequently), that great help making the rest of the turtles playable, but those are finite, so you have to use them wisely.

Another frustrating aspect of the game is the non-linear gameplay. You have a traverse a map and find the correct level in order to advance in the game (so for example, if you're trying to rescue April O'Neill, you have find which building or sewer level she is being held). Often, you have to find an item in order to even open up the rest of the map first. So unless you had a walkthrough, which most of us didn't back in the day, it's trial and error looking for this shit, all the while your turtles' health is being chipped away with each deadend, and if all the turtles die, it's game over. Oh, and you only get two continues, so good luck 8-year-old Craig, ya little pissant!

The one thing that I will say this game has going for it, that still holds up today, is the music. That opening beat for the title screen will forever be burned in my brain, as will the overworld map music and the first level music. I'm not as familiar with the music in the later levels because I haven't ever had a chance to play them until now by cheating my ass off using the rewind feature in the Cowabunga Collection, but that music is pretty decent too.

Revisiting this game as an adult, and experiencing its absurd difficulty and needlessly confusing gameplay, I can safely say it's an entry from the TMNT video game franchise best left forgotten when you can play the myriad of excellent beat 'em ups instead.

#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #konami #nes #nintendo #retro games #Youtube

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17tetsuro · 4 years ago

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could u do fake dating headcanons where they slowly fall for u w atsumu, kenma & oikawa,, gn pronounces are fine :)

haikyuu boys slowly falling for you (fake dating edition) (gn!reader)

feat: atsumu, kenma, oikawa

warnings: fake dating, abuse of cliche tropes and commas and question marks, timeskip setting because im anything but creative, swearing

requests are open!

a/n: thank you for requesting this!! i hope you like it :D

atsumu

* you’ve been friends with him ever since high school and you watched his career grow

* youre both equally proud of each other n your friendship is built on mutual respect, trust and love

* you basically live in his apartment, with how much time you spend over there

* he would complain 24/7 about not having anyone to go to events with

* at one point you wanted to strangle him for never shutting up about it so you propose you go with him from time to time

* atsumu: “yeah, that was a setup”

* he KNOWS you’re drop dead gorgeous and everyone will be jealous of him that you’re with him (and you also look very good in formalwear, which he very much enjoys)

* and you get to have free food and drinks and also wear immaculate expensive clothes

* so,, you became his regular date for sponsorship events and stuff

* and you never really outright said you were just friends?? so you’re used to the media portraying you two as lovers but your close circle is aware that your relationship is platonic

* everything was going great until one of his sponsor company’s heir started hitting on you

* atsumu saw you flirting with the person and his mind went blank

* he,, he didn’t understand why he wanted to commit multiple crimes on the spot

* bokuto conveniently showed up next to atsumu at that moment

“hey, atsumu? why is your date flirting with them?” bokuto asked, suddenly appearing next to atsumu, which startled the latter out of his thoughts.

a better question would be why atsumu saw red at the thought of you getting friendly with anyone but him that night. he tried his best to keep his composure, but it was hard when you rested a hand on the heir’s shoulder, leaning your head back while laughing.

“atsumu, are you not going to answer me? your lover is-“

“my what?” atsumu asked, attention now completely off you.

“your lover? is that a term you don’t like? i could say partner... significant other... or anything you want, really,” bokuto answered, apologizing.

“you- you think me and (y/n) are together?”

“aren’t you? what, with the way you look at each other i was convinced you two were like... high school sweethearts or something, who hate pda,” bokuto explained, while atsumu’s eyes trailed back to you.

“you think... you think they’d wan’ me?”

“are you blind, buddy?”

you must have sensed their gazes, because as soon as those words left bokuto’s mouth, your eyes snapped towards atsumu and bokuto. the latter started waving with a cheerful smile while the former just stood, entranced by you and your presence. atsumu noticed traces of confusion appearing on your face, and watched as you excused yourself from the conversation you were previously interested in.

“‘tsumu, are you alright?” you questioned, approaching the pair. bokuto grinned and left, which made you even more confused.

“yeah, i’m fi- fine. hey, uh, (y/n), say... do you- why did you offer to come to these events as my date?” atsumu asked, eyes dead set on yours. you cracked a confused smile. you seemed to be capable of nothing but confusion at the moment.

“because you’re my best friend and i hated to see you so down because of your loneliness at these gatherings,” you replied, holding his gaze. “why didn’t you oppose it?”

his eyes studied you and when he saw nothing but sincerity, he let out a loud sigh. this was all very new and confusing to him. it’s like bokuto calling you atsumu’s lover set off a bomb inside his head that instead of causing a mess, made everything fall into place; why his gaze seemed to linger on you more often than before, why he was so eager to choose your outfits for these events, why he went to parties he didn’t even have to attend, why he got so jealous and angry when he saw you with the cute heir.

“holy shit,” he breathed and ran his hands through his hair, letting out a nervous chuckle and lowering his gaze to the ground. “holy shit.”

“you look like you’ve been enlightened, and i love that for you, but ‘tsumu, i’m still very confused.”

“i’m in love with you,” he said in disbelief, and quickly snapped his eyes back to your face when he realized he said it out loud. “i- i mean- i’m not in love with you, no way in hell, you’re- you’re my best friend, you- you smack my head whenever i say somethin’ inappropriate, you keep me from underminin’ myself, you always lift my spirits and for fuck’s sake, please, stop lookin’ at me like that because i will be getting hopeful and if you’re just joking, i will never hear the end of it and-“

you finally hd enough of his rambling and cut him off with a kiss. at first he froze, but seconds later he melted into your embrace, hands sneaking around your waist, pulling you closer.

when your lips separated, atsumu gasping for air after his word vomit and the long kiss you shared, you spoke up. “miya atsumu, you’re a real dumbass, you know that?”

his breath hitched and you kept quiet for a second to let him suffer a bit.

“but you’re my dumbass. i love you, you absolute piece of work.”

atsumu honest to god giggled and leaned in for another kiss, which you gave him without hesitation.

somewhere in the room, bokuto was collecting the money sakusa promised to give him if he got you two to kiss.

kenma

* kenma and you are both twitch streamers with similar content so you knew of each other but weren’t properly introduced

* until one of your mutual friends invited you both to stream among us with them

* you obv accepted

* so during the 3 hr stream, you and kenma were imposters together a lot and had the biggest, most twisted imp plays

* a friendly competition broke out at one point, too, trying to see who exposed the most impostors between the two of you

* your fans ate your dynamic up

* from then on, you two interacted more and started to appear in each others’ streams

* kenma even invited you to his minecraft smp

* you became besties basically

* SO

* all fun and games

* and then a huge sponsorship opportunity rolled in

* and the people at the company assumed you were dating

* uh oh

* you couldnt just tell them they have it wrong bc the whole thing depended on your relationship

* so

* big brain kenma suggest you two start to “date”

* you were against deceiving your followers but kenma assured you you could have a public breakup and tell everyone you were better off as friends

* so you reluctantly agreed

* it was only for two months anyways, what could go wrong?

* both of you, on week 3, in separate discord calls: uh oh, im in l*ve

* you both tried to cope (read: repress everything) but the realization on both of your parts threw your dynamic off a bit and fans have noticed

* so you had to do something abt it

* so kenma suggested you try your hand at a minecraft challenge together

* it was all fun and games until it wasnt

* you somehow ended up flirting back and forth ????

* chat was goin crazy, even in sub only mode

* both of you: ha ha im in danger

* when the stream ended, you stayed on call, because that was a routine you stuck to no matter what

“so... how are you doing?” you asked kenma, trying to clear the awkwardness from the air.

“good.”

maybe you should have taken kenma’s refusal to talk about anything into account when initiating conversation.

kenma, on the other end of the call was anxiously playing with his fingers, trying to figure out if his chat was right, and you were indeed flirting with him. and him with you. god.

“hey, y/n,” kenma said after a while, “were you flirting with me?”

his bluntness startled you and you had to mute yourself for a few seconds while you collected yourself.

“is there a correct answer?” you asked hesitantly.

“yes.”

“oh... uhm, maybe? it wasn’t intentional. or maybe it was, subconsciously, i don’t know,” you admitted quietly.

“good. it was intentional on my part, i think,” and okay, that was not the reply you expected to hear.

“really?”

“yeah, i- i like you i guess,” he said, sounding more confident by the minute. “do you like me too?”

“i- yeah. i do. i like you, kenma,” you replied, sighing a breath of relief. it felt good to admit it aloud to him.

“do you- would you maybe want to come over?” he asked sheepishly, which made absolutely no sense because he sounded so confident a second ago. “we could play mario kart?”

you let the beaming smile you were holding back take over your face. “i’ll be there in 10, kenma.”

“i’ll be waiting for you.”

oikawa

* on god mans hated your guts

* like,, okay, you were iwa’s close friend but you were so annoyingly honest all the time

* it drove him mad

* what also drove him mad is the fact that you loved to tease him

* no matter what the circumstance, whether he was in japan or in argentina, you always found a way to make him blush

* okay so maybe hate is a strong word, because he kind of thought you were pretty, but in a platonic way

* dumbass

* iwa always give both of you shit for not liking each other

* so you came up with a big brain idea

* you: ”oikawa! we should date!”

* oikawa: “what”

* after you explained the concept of fake dating to him and its benefits (which included a staged dramatic breakup, giving you both a reason to hate each other without iwa complaining)

* he was totally down

* iwa, when he first saw you holding hands: “i knew it”

* SO!! thus began weeks of pretending to be in love with each other for the sake of iwa

* which turned from pretending to not pretending real quick for your liking

* falling in love with oikawa was not a plan of yours

* (falling in love with you wasn’t his, either)

* with iwa’s constant nagging of “i knew it, you both were head over heels for each other from the moment you met”, the time for the breakup came quicker than expected (maybe you both had enough. so what.)

* you agreed to do it in front of iwa so he could see it happen

* you chose a mcdonalds parking lot, because then you could storm off and iwa would follow you to make sure you were ok and oikawa could go home and sleep

* maybe winging it was not the best idea

“babe,” you said with venom, “haven’t i told you a thousand times that i do not want to hear about your exes? seriously, it’s like the only thing you talk about,” you complained, as your fake-boyfriend took a sip from his drink.

“well, babe,” his tone matching yours, “i would shut up about them if took the hint sometimes. maybe i don’t like going to the movies as much as you seem to, it’s boring,” he rolled his eyes, subtly glancing at iwa, who looked very uncomfortable third wheeling your argument. good

“jerk. i don’t even want to go to the movies that much, asshole,” you spat, crushing your empty cup in your hand.

“oh, you want to go to the movies plenty. face it, (y/n), you’re boring. no wonder you didn’t have a boyfriend before me,” he replied and his words, even though you knew were fake, still hit hard and you couldn’t help the tears gathering in your eyes.

“okay, then, thanks for these wonderful past few weeks, so glad you decided to take pity on me.” you tried to keep acting, encouraging yourself with the fact that if oikwa meant what he said, you wouldn’t have to talk to him if iwaizumi finally saw you two break up.

you expected a lot of things, but genuineness in oikawa’s eyes was not one of them.

“(y/n), i’m sorry, i didn’t mean it like that,” oikawa pleaded, clearly forgetting about your mutual goal.

with a mumbled whatever, you started walking home, letting the sunset wash over your face. when you knew you were out of sight, you sat down on a bench and just started crying.

you don’t know how much time passed, but you heard a voice behind you speak up.

“hey (y/n).”

“what the fuck do you want, oikawa? to rub in the fact that my first boyfriend was just faking it so his best friend would get off his back? leave me alone, jerk,” you said, trying to wipe your tears away.

“i- i didn’t mean it like that, please, believe me,” he replied, taking a seat next to you. you scooted away from him. he sighed.

“why would i believe you? why do you want to make up, anyways? this fight was pretty real, no way iwaizumi didn’t believe it,” you sniffed.

“because maybe... maybe i was very happy about the fact that i could be your boyfriend, even if it was fake. maybe i’m in love with you,” he said softly, leaning towards you.

“please, stop playing games. it’s over,” you replied, trying very hard to ignore the raw emotion in his voice as he spoke.

“i really am, (y/n). i wasn’t at first, i admit it, but now i am. i love you, please, believe me,” he begged and you finally made eye contact with him. eyes were mirrors of the soul, after all.

you studied his face for a few minutes, looking for anything that could indicate he was trying to pull a shit prank on you, but you found nothing.

“asshole. maybe i’m in love with you too, what would you do if i said that?” you asked, wiping your nose with your sleeves.

“kiss you.”

“do it, then, i guess. but you’re still not completely forgiven.”

“what do i have to do to earn your forgiveness, (y/n)?” he asked and you sent him a mischievous smile.

“take the blame for this whole fiasco with iwaizumi.” he froze at your words and visibly gulped, but nodded nonetheless.

“okay, i will. can i kiss you now?”

you rolled your eyes. “yeah.”

and he did.

#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu #oikawa x reader #atsumu x reader #kenma x reader

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moonlitkilljoy · 2 years ago

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👋🏻🤠 it’s the Pacific Rim anon back again! You are so right for getting me to watch it.

First off, the soundtrack blew my dick off. I never knew I wanted to see a big robot punch a big lizard with some heavy metal shred in the background.

I also adore the connection of the kaiju coming from the pacific. As someone who lives on the ring of fire, there’s the constant danger of fault lines buckling, tsunamis, volcanoes, etc so the fact that the destructive mega titans are coming from the pacific completely tracks lmao. And the fact that humanity’s poisoning of the planets ecosystems makes it more viable for terraforming?? It scratched the marine bio itch in my brain.

Oh yeah and the entire central plot of letting people into your brain and having them see your entire being in moments and choosing to trust and work with this person. The mortifying ordeal of being perceived but you run a huge robot with that. That you can share these bonds with people no matter how many times in the past you’ve been through suffering, you can always let people back in and it will hurt but in the end it’s what keeps you going. Maybe I cried 4 separate times watching it, what about it????

Newt and Hermann. My god. Right and left brain math and biology brain and heart. Insert picture of that Chihuahua dog crying and biting the pillow.

Anyway, I loved it! Tumblr is always supplying banger media to consume. Now to find a copy of Goncharov!

HI!!! IT'S LOVELY TO HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN!! I'M GLAD YOU LIKED IT!!! I actually saw that I got this ask while I was in the midst of rewatching Pacific Rim flgjdkflg

YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, THE SOUNDTRACK IS SO GOOD!!! Plus, I completely failed to think about the ring of fire!!!! that's such a good point!! AND THE WHOLE CONNECTION TO GLOBAL WARMING?? FUCK, DUDE, IT'S SO GOOD. AND!! I totally get the marine bio thing!!! this movie is VERY good at scratching my biology brain in the perfect way (not to mention my math brain, but thats just a whole nother thing. i, a guy who likes numbers, see a guy who likes numbers and lose my fucking mind immediately).

YOU'RE SO RIGHT ABOUT THE CENTRAL PLOT. PACIFIC RIM IS A MOVIE ABOUT SAVING THE WORLD WITH ROBOTS POWERED BY LOVE AND THE POWER OF HUMAN CONNECTION AND VULNERABILITY. I honestly couldn't have phrased it better myself though, "That you can share these bonds with people no matter how many times in the past you’ve been through suffering, you can always let people back in and it will hurt but in the end it’s what keeps you going." is incredibly poetic and sums up EXACTLY what makes the movie great. I cried so so fucking much as well, you're so valid.

NEWT AND HERMANN. I love these gay scientists so fucking much. I'm an expert, you can trust me on this. The fucking fact that them not being drift compatible wasn't even a possibility to think about makes me lose my fucking mind (evidently, seeing as I made a post about that exact thing fdgjlkdfj). I love their dynamic so much and I love them with my entire heart. Here's a screenshot, just for you, of a wip screenshot redraw of them that I've been working on :-)

(mario creatures are there because my girlfriend and I were playing super paper mario when I started sketching this ^^; oops)

I am delighted to have supplied you with some great media!!!! Feel free to dm me or send some more asks if you ever wanna chat more about it >:] or even if you have any art requests, or smth or other :D i'd prolly also be able to recommend you some pacrim fics, if thats your thing— i've accumulated quite a few in the last two/three weeks or so

And, again, i'm SO glad you liked it ( •̀ ω •́ )✧

LET ME KNOW IF YOU FIND THAT COPY, PLEASE AND THANK YOU <3

#asks #pacrim #long post #pacrim anon #last bit is /joking ofc gldfjgkfl #your asks have truly been making my day recently so tysm for that fgdkljfg #have a lovely day/night!!!!

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newtonsheffield · 4 years ago

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I have to imagine that Greg meeting Lucy's brother and uncle would be the most awkward experience but absolutely hilarious at the same time. Also, after they got together, did Greg and Lucy ever talk about him liking Hermione first/any insecurities Lucy had about that?

Oh I assure you, the night that Gregory met Lucy’s uncle and brother was truly, and astonishingly horrific: and it ended with her Uncle Robert storming out of the restaurant, Richard and Hermione nervously flitting between Lucy who was staring stony faced after Robert, and the door Robert had exited through, while Gregory had his face in his hands. Do you want to see a little snippet? It’s under the cut if you do!

Lucy knew, when she told Richard that she was now dating Gregory, exactly what he would say. It was, she thought idly, the problem with having asked him to keep Gregory’s indiscretion out of his papers. Not that she regretted that, she’d do it again in a heartbeat.

“Luce...” Richard trailed off a little tiredly, “Gregory Bridgerton, really?” Lucy had sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Yes. Gregory Bridgerton, Richard. And I’m not asking for your permission. I’m telling you that I’m seeing Gregory as a courtesy. You know, so we don’t show up to an event and completely blindside you.” Lucy finished pointedly. She heard Richard sigh on the other end of the phone. “I just want you to be smart Lucy, I don’t want you to get stuck with some hot head, that’s constantly getting into trouble. And what if he loses his temper with you? I just worry about you, Luce.” Irritation flares through Lucy at the implication.

“Gregory would never touch me, Rick. I told you, that what happened that night was an accident, and he was just defending himself. You don’t even know him!”

“I don’t need to know him, Lucy. I know a million guys just like him. And I know he’s probably very charming but-” Lucy could tell he was getting angry now, and they’d both always been stubborn

“We aren’t talking about this anymore, Rick! Let’s just... pretend I didn’t say anything!” Gregory had come to her flat later that night, looking adorable in his Star Wars T-shirt, his hair disheveled and she didn’t care what her brother had to say. She loved Gregory and that was the end of it.

Six months later she’d had a call from her Uncle Robert.

“Lucinda,” He’d started, and Lucy had barely suppressed a tut at the use of her full name. “This has gone on long enough. Richard tells me you’re still seeing this Bridgerton wastrel.”

“Gregory’s not a wastrel, Uncle Robert!” She’d shot back irritatedly, feeling all of 15 years old.

“I’ll be the judge of that. I have reservations for us on Thursday. You will bring Bridgerton with you, and that’s final.” And he’d hung up he phone before Lucy could protest. She’d hesitantly told Gregory, later that night as he lay sprawled on her living room floor, playing Super Mario Bros on his Nintendo that her brother and Uncle wanted to meet him. Gregory had stilled and started fiddling with his glasses.

“Well, you’ve met my family, So I suppose that’s fair.” His voice was even, though Lucy knew he was nervous.

“You have nothing to worry about Greg.” He’d nodded, chewing his lip. “I love you, you know” Lucy said lightly because she could tell he needed to hear it. She was rewarded with his crooked grin, his eyes shining up at her from the floor and her stomach clenched a little.

“Love you too, Luce. Always.”

Lucy knew this was going to be a disaster the moment she stepped into the restaurant, her hand holding Gregory’s tightly, rubbing soothing circles into the back of his hand. Her brother was seated already, Hermione at his side, Uncle Robert grinning across the table at them. As Lucy approached the table, Robert Abernathy had stood up, and squared his shoulders, as had Richard.

Uncle Robert, dropped a kiss to her cheek and greeted her tersely

“Lucinda.” And then he turned his attention on Gregory, eyeing him carefully. Lucy could tell he was unimpressed. Irritation flared in her chest. Richard cleared his throat

“Gregory isn’t it? Richard Abernathy.” He said, holding his hand out for Gregory to shake, Gregory let out a breath and took Richard’s hand gratefully.

“Greg, if you like. Pleasure to meet you.” Gregory said smiling his charming smile, and Lucy felt her lips curve upwards. Gregory then turned his attention to her Uncle as Richard returned to his seat. “Mr Abernathy. Gregory Bridgerton. Pleasure to meet you, Sir.” He held his hand out for her uncle to shake.

A nasty sneer dropped to her uncle’s lips as he said “Are you going to stop hiding behind my niece?” Gregory’s brow furrowed, confusedly in response trying to connect the dots. Lucy sighed.

“Uncle Robert’s just trying to scare you, sit down Greg.” And tugged him down into the seat beside her as she sat as she tossed an irritated look at her uncle. Hermione greeted them both happily and they settled in for the worst meal of her life, Her Uncle’s gaze watching them carefully.

Surprisingly, Dinner went fairly smoothly until the main course was being cleared away and her Uncle turned to Gregory, after a story from Richard about some charity polo match or another.

“So Gerald,” He started

“Gregory.” Lucy corrected, her temper instantly flaring. Robert continued as though she hadn’t spoken.

“When are you going to wise up and get a real job? Lucinda says you work as your brother’s gopher.” Gregory’s shoulder’s stiffened, Lucy narrowed her eyes and sighed irritatedly. Gregory took a deep breath and started

“Sir, I’m studying Law. I work for my brother because I thought it would be good to get a feel for the office, and how the business works.” Robert laughed humourlessly.

“So you’re just going to continue your little work-a-day life? Do you not think she deserves more than that, Gerald? Her mother’s father was an earl.” Lucy clenched her jaw, and gripped Gregory’s hand more tightly under the table. Gregory was getting flustered, colour rising in his cheeks, his other hand fiddling with his glasses.

“Sir, I think Lucy deserves the best of everything. I think she’s incredible, I love her and I will try very hard to make sure she’s happy, for as long as she’ll have me.” Lucy saw Richard nod approvingly, he and Hermione smiling their matching smiles. Lucy felt her heart ache at the earnestness in his voice. Uncle Robert was unmoved.

“Oh I’m sure you will, Gerald, working your meaningless little job, never finishing your studies, jumping from job to job, I know exactly who you are, boy-” Lucy’s patience snapped

“Enough, Uncle Robert!” Lucy snapped, “His name is Gregory! And he works very hard, in exactly the same job I do by the way-”

“Don’t even get me started on the ridiculousness of that, Lucinda.” Her Uncle cut across.

“I’m still talking!” She could feel her voice rising, feel the eyes of the other diners on her “You come here twice a year, and tell everyone how to live their lives. It’s ridiculous! Gregory is sweet, and Kind, and I love him, and honestly I don’t care what you think!” Everyone at the table was silent for a second. Her uncle Robert was practically purple, fury rolling off him in waves.

“Well, in that case I’ll leave you to it, Lucinda. Seeing as you can make your own choices, but don’t come crying to me when you’re living in squalor with this wastrel.” He stood from the table looming over them, Gregory was staring open mouthed, starting to apologise, his head in his hands. Richard and Hermione were both wide eyed.

“Oh You’ll cut me off will you? I should be so lucky!” Lucy snapped, stony faced. And she knew she’d gone too far, as soon as she’d said it. Her Uncle was furious now, his hand clenched in a tight fist,

“Richard, we’ll talk about this later!” He said finally, and then he was gone.

On the way home, Gregory finally spoke, in his smallest voice that made Lucy’s heart ache.

“Luce, I’m really sorry. I just... I don’t know what happened.” Lucy sighed loudly, and met his eyes, so sad, so disappointed.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. I don’t even like my Uncle, and I certainly don’t care what he thinks. I love you, and no matter what he says that’s not going to change. Do you understand?”

Gregory gave her a small smile. And when her Uncle called her three months later with a terse

“I understand you’re still with Gerald.” Lucy took great delight i saying

“Yes, I’m living in sin with Gregory in a cardboard box.”

(I’m so sorry! This went for much longer than I thought)

#bridgerton and sons au #Lucy x gregory #lucy abernathy #gregory bridgerton

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blackhakumen · 3 years ago

Text

Mini Fanfic #881: Not a Wise Choice (Super Smash Bros Ultimate x Kingdom Hearts)

12:34 p.m. at the Smash Mansion's Living Room........

TV Show: (Shows the Remake Version of Yoshi's Tropical Island on the Screen)

Sora: (Stares at the Screen in Awe Along With Kairi and Ryuji) Wooooah.......

Kairi: It looks even more prettier than the original......

Ryuji: I know, right? I would totally be down to go there for a few days.

Ren: Same....(Turns to Yoshi) Hey, how are those two Yoshi's been doing now that they're together again?

Yoshi: (Smiles Softly) They're doing great. One of them founded two baby eggs on the shores sometime ago. So they're already raising them as their own.

Sora/Kairi: AWWWWWWWWW!~ Yoshi family!~

Riku: Hmm.......

Ryuji: (Turns to Riku) Somethin' on your mind, man?

Riku: Somewhat.....I was wondering why Bowser isn't playable in this game.

Kairi: Yeah. I've been wondering about that too lately. Didn't Ms. Peach and the others finally invited him to the last party? What makes him wanna back to doing Bowser Spaces?

Yoshi: Well..........

Flashback

Peach: (Standing in Behind the Microphone Stand While Finishing Up the Uplifting Speech) .....So from the bottom of my heart and purist soul, let us all do our very best and have the BEST PARTY EVER!!~

Crowd: (Raise Their Glasses While Cheering in Rejoice) YEAHHHHAHAHHH!

Bowser: (Walks Up to Peach in a Bit of a Nervous Like Fashion) Hey....Peach.....

Peach: ('Gasps') Bowser! (Happily Hugs the King Koopa) You made it!~ Are you ready to get your party on? Or as the kids would put it....(Playfully Bumps Bowser's Shoulder) Getting Jiggy with it?~

Bowser: (Starts Looking Away While Rubbing The Back of his Head Back and Forth) Yeahhhhh...... About that..... I won't be partying with you guys this time soon. I'm gonna go back to causing havoc and mayhem around it like I always do.

And with that, plus the sound of glass breaking and the record being scratch, everyone immediately stops at what they were doing before gasping loudly and turning their heads to the infamous Koopa King himself.

Daisy: (In the Crowd) WHAT THE FUCK!?

Peach: (Almost at a Loss For Words) Y-You're....c-causing havoc.....a-again!?

Bowser: Yep. I done some thinking here and there and turns out I actually like messing with you guys a lot more than being invited to the party for once. Oh and also, I already told the guys to set up a bunch of Bowser's Spaces on each of the worlds. So uh......(Smiles Very Awkwardly While Doing Jazz Hands) Surprise!........

Mario: (Couldn't Believe What He's Hearing Right Now) Is this motherfucker serious right now?

Yoshi: (Immediately Spits his Drink Out)

Luigi/Daisy: (Quickly Turns to Their Son in Worry) Yoshi!?

Ryuji: Woahwoahwoahwoah! Hang on a second!

Abruptly Back to the Present

Ryuji: (Eyes Widened in Complete Shock) Mario CURSE!?

Sora: And it's a literal F-Bomb!?

Yoshi: Yeah, man! I was standing RIGHT NEXT to him when it all happened. It was crazy! But that's beside the point. After all shock and revelation.......

Back to Flashback

Peach: (Trying her Hardest Not Let Her Lose her Posture and Cool) Let me get this straight...and please..... PLEASE try and correct when I wrong, but....You are tell me, no....To EVERY SINGLE OF OF US HERE is that you spent YEARS tormenting us....for your inviting to each of ours parties....And when we FINALLY invite you to one....after all the begging.....all the ultimatums.....all the agreement we set out for each sides.....You decided....to come right up here and tell each and everyone of us here that you're going back to square one....ALL BECAUSE YOU MISS GIVING US MISERY!!!?

Bowser: ...........Yep. Pretty much.

The anger begins to fume even higher for the princess before she decided to take a huge deep breath in the very last second.

Peach: Okay. Fine. You win. You can go back to causing havoc like you always do.

Bowser: (Eyes Widened in Genuine Shock) Oh crap. Really?

Mario: (Immediately Rushes Over to Peach's Side) Peach, are you absolutely sure about all of this?

Peach: I'm sure of it, dear. I don't know WHY he decided to do this after everything we've been through to agree to invite him!....('Sigh') But I digress. If this is what he wants to do, then we should let him be.

Bowser: Ah sweet. Thanks, Pea-

Peach: HOWEVER!

Bowser: (Immediately Starts Cowering in Fear) Y-Y-Yeah?

Peach: (Glares at Bowser Harshly) Do not think for a goddamn SECOND that you're not getting out of this unscathed. Starting the First Day of the Next Month, you will do every single chore we set out for you to do throughout the entire mansion. Cleaning rooms, doing the laundry, cooking-......On second thought, nevermind the cooking part.

Bowser: Oh come on! I can cook just fine, ya know!?

Peach: Oh yeah? Then tell me. What dish you made that doesn't cause anyone to get food poisoning?

Bowser: I-

Peach: OR cause anyone to file a lawsuit against you?

Bowser: (Was About to Say Something Only to Sigh in Defeat a Brief Second Later) Okay. I see your point.

Peach: As what I was saying, you will be doing all of that and more for the entire month. Maybe even two or three if you decide to slack off, which by the way, I'll be sure to have Paulie and Bayonetta supervise you along the way.

Bowser: (Eyes Widened in Fear) Oh no....Not them.....A-Anybody but them!....

Peach: Yes. Them. And I'm sure that they'll do everything in their power to keep you in check.

Bowser: (Almost at a Loss of Words) Fuck......I don't think I'll last a day with them breathing on my neck.....(Quickly Turns to Junior, Roy, and Ludwig in a Very Panic Fashion) Kids, help me your old man out here! Please!

Roy: (Too Busy Reading a Magazine) Sorry, pops. You're on your own on this one.

Bowser Jr: (Too Busy Playing his Handheld Video Game) We warned you not to get on Momma Peach's bad side.....

Ludwig: (Too Busy Reading his Book).And now you have no other choice but to accept the consequences of your reckless actions. Pity.

Bowser: I'm screwed.....

Peach: Bowser! Turn back around right now!

Bowser: (Quickly Turns Back to Peach) Yes, ma'am! Sorry, ma'am! Won't happen again, ma'am!....

Peach: Good. Now, one more thing before we're finish.....

Bowser: W-W-What is it?.....

Peach: This party is suppose to be a fun and special occasion for us to remember for years to come. (Gives Bowser a Serious, Dark Look on her Face) If you even THINK about stepping out of line throughout all of it, I will NOT hesitate to pummel you to a pulp and send your sorry ass to the goddamn moon! Do you understand me!?

Bowser: (Rapidly Nodded)

Peach: Good. Now get out of my sight before you make me more angrier.

And with that, Bowser begins to runaway as fast as his life depends on it.

Peach: ('Sighs Heavily') Now with that out of my system.....(Went Back to Smiling Brightly) Let's get this party started, shall we?~

Crowd: (Starts Cheering Again in Rejoice) YEEAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

Daisy: (In the Crowd) THAT OUR PEACHY!

Random Guy: (in the Crowd) MARIO PARTY FOR LIFEEE!

Back to the Present.....Again

Yoshi: And that's everything that happened.

Sora: Wow....That....was pretty intense actually.

Kairi: I know......I never expected Ms. Peach of all people, be so brutal.....

Ren; Yeah. Momma Peach is a very sweet lady and all, but when you tick her and the other moms off, be expected for a world of pain and agony.

Ryuji: We saw them scared Kazuya straight once.....Pretty insane if you ask me.

Riku: ('Sigh') Well, I'm glad they were able to solve the situation before it got more-(Eyes Suddenly Begins to Widened at What is In Front of Him and the Others) Out of..... hand......

Bowser: (Has an Annoyed Look in his Face While Wearing a Maid Costume) Yo.

Ren: (Almost at a Loss For Words) Uhh....Heyyyyy, Bowser.....Wanna tell us why you're wearing....uhhh-

Bowser: Maid outfit? Your mom insisted I wear something presentable. So......('Sigh') They got me wearing this for the rest of the month.

Ren: Yeeesh......

Ryuji: Dude, why did you have to go back to being a dick in Mario Party? You finally got invited in the last one. And you could've been invited to more of them for years to come. But you just.....blew all of that away.

Bowser: Look, I'm sorry, alright!? Things change sometimes! And so is my enjoyment of things. You understand the feeling, right?

Yoshi/Sora/Kairi: Yeahhh......

Ren: I guess.......

Riku: It was still a bad move on your part....

Bowser: ('Sighs Heavily') Yeah......I know.....And I'm suffering for it......

Kairi: B-But hey! On the bright side.....(Smiles Sheepishly) At least you look cute in a the outfit.....In a less, intimidating way of course.

Bowser: Thanks. Now, if you kids excuse me......(Starts Walking Away) I gotta get back to work before the Goddess and Witch starts giving more hell to pay......

Sora: (Waves Goodbye to Bowser) Okay! Good luck!......I don't wanna be rude or anything, but....I.... really don't think he'll last for that long.....

Yoshi: I'll give him a week.

Ren: I'll give him three days.

@keyenuta

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@princekirijo

@26shann

@khtext

@cyber-wildcat

@ma-lemons

@albion-93

@illyrilex

@italian-love-cake

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kareofbears · 4 years ago

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plainly in truth, chapter 2/5

“Without you around, it’s sorta like stuff is just kinda…bleh.“

—

Or: hiding, confiding, and misguiding.

read on ao3 or below the cut :)

Yusuke wasn’t too sure if what he was doing was of the right mind, but his heart is definitely in the right place.

There’s a lapse in time between Jails and hitting the road. Everyone is out soaking in the last of Sendai; Ryuji and Akira (and by extension, Sophia) are on a quest to buy any last minute supplies that they might need while the girls and Morgana are taking in the sights that they didn’t quite manage to explore as much as they’d like.

Well, the girls who like crowds and sightseeing are on a quest, at least.

Futaba and Yusuke are in the trailer by their own volition—he didn’t need to see anything else that wasn’t a timeless statue, and he learned early in his life that if you pace your spendings, you can then use that money to spend in the future. Quite the contrary, Futaba has had a little too much excitement these past few days and is more than happy to hide away in her top bunk with only her laptop charger peeking out from the bottom of her fleece blanket.

(A cartoon rendition of the Sendai temple is printed onto the fleece. Apparently Haru had yet to see Futaba purchase anything ‘tourist-y’ and action figures of various anime characters don’t seem to count.)

He tugs on her laptop cord. “Hello.”

“...What?” she grunts, voice slightly muffled. Through the thin fabric, he can see the illumination from her screen.

“I need help reacting to something.”

“And you decided to ask me?” she deadpans. “The literal shut-in?”

“The previous shut-in,” he corrects. “You haven’t been a shut-in in nearly a year. A marvelous feat, if I do say so myself.”

“Yeah, and this is my way of celebrating.” The lump on the bed seems to curl further in on itself. “Begone. Do a painting or something. This is my me time. The equivalent of guzzling down a boat load of Arginade. There’s barely any time to be by myself considering the whole group is treating this RV like a pimped out party bus, so shoo.”

J-pop starts playing from inside the blanket fort, and even Yusuke knows a dismissal when he hears one. That won’t stop him, though.

He tugs again, harder. “That is the reason I’m asking you now. I can’t have this be heard by prying ears.”

Had there been a cat on the bunk bed, its ears would have twitched. “Is this…?”

“Yes,” he nods sagely. “It’s a secret.”

Futaba’s head pops out, eyes wide and nearly glowing in excitement. If there was one thing that she liked more than recovering her energy, it's uncovering every nook and cranny of people’s lives, whether they want it or not.

“Inari, you should’ve said something!” She throws the blanket off herself, snatches her laptop in her arms and jumps down. Slamming it down on the booth, she throws herself on top of the smooth faux leather. “Tell me everything. The deets, the specs, all down to the last dirty drop of tea.”

He slides in to join her, albeit much slower. “Before you tell me that I misled you, I want to make it clear: I don’t know what the secret is.”

“What!” she slaps her forehead, groaning. “Yusuke, why would you do me like that? That’s false advertising to the max, and I do not appreciate you tricking me.”

“There wasn’t a trace of trickery. What I’m about to say really does have to do with a secret, but I need your help with how to deal with it.”

“I’m gonna level with you here pal,” she puts a hand on his wrist. “I’m not the right person for this, but I’d be darned if I let you walk away without telling me anything. So let’s hear it! I’m ready for some juicy goss. Oh! Can I guess? Is it about Haru?”

He frowns. “No. Is there something about Haru?”

“I don’t know, that’s why I was asking you!” she says, patting her hands rapidly on the table. “Come on, just spill the beans already.”

“There are no ‘beans’ to spill yet, and besides, that sounds like a waste of perfectly good food.” He leans back against the plush cushion. Only a pinch of guilt arises in him as he says it. “It’s about Ryuji.”

“Ooo, Skull himself. Gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting him.”

“It relieves me that you said that. I share the same sentiment—it wasn’t until I had run into him the night before when I had started to truly suspect something. And what I found was…” he trails off.

Her lips pull downwards. “That bad?”

“It was worrying, to say the least.”

She sighs. Most of the energy in her seemed to have filed out in the presence of a more serious topic. “Dang. I knew it was fishy when he left, but he’s always been able to just hash things out on his own.” Her expression changes as an idea pops into her head, and it morphs into one he recognizes. “Does—?”

“No. Akira doesn’t know, apparently.”

Futaba splutters, and he has to resist the urge to nod his head at her reaction. “He—Akira—wait, what? He doesn’t know? Oh, it must be bad bad.”

“My thoughts exactly. Initially, I had thought that whatever this was, it was manageable. Like that time he had spent his month’s allowance on a claw machine to win Makoto that light-up buchimaru.” Idly, he touches her keyboard lightly, appreciating the kaleidoscope of colors that emanate from it. “You know how I feel. We’re the Phantom Thieves; we can’t allow anyone to suffer alone, even if the one we’re helping is a Phantom Thief himself.”

Futaba raises an eyebrow. “And how do you want to help him?” she asks. “By talking to him? Let’s be real, you and I have the lowest social stat in this group. Combined, we can maybe reach the nerd student council president, and the guy who can and should handle this doesn’t even know about it!” Biting down on her lip, “Should we tell Akira?”

“Absolutely not. That was the one thing he had requested, and we cannot go against it. By extension, I don’t think we should tell anyone else.” A thought comes to him. “Wait, he mentioned that Ann knows of his situation.”

“Great! Someone who knows how to deal with people’s problems and isn’t us. What are we waiting for?” She reaches for her phone, and Yusuke proceeds to smack her hand out of the way. “Ow?”

“Don’t call her!” he hisses. “Ryuji said that she’s, and I quote, ‘part of the problem’. We can’t have her knowing that we know something.”

“Ann is?” Futaba exclaims, shoving her glasses up her nose. “This is getting too deep. We don’t even know anything yet, and it’s really starting to feel like we’re part of some conspiracy.”

“That’s right, we don’t know anything, and it is our largest road block.” Yusuke crosses his arms. “We don’t know what happened between Ryuji and Ann, or if something even occurred between Ryuji and Ann. What if they had an argument? What if they’re fighting, and it becomes irreparable between them? What if it begins affecting our Jail runs?”

“You really gave this some thought, huh?”

“But of course. I must nurture the few friends that I have managed to treasure.” He glances outside and sees the crowds clambering to see their tourist spot. “We may be different from most teenagers, but I don’t believe we’re immune to the nature of cliques or dramas or even insecurities.”

“God, what a good friend you are, it’s bugging me,” Futaba accuses. “So what the heck, Mr. Philanthropist? We’re stuck between a rock and our friend group here. This mission was doomed before you even dragged me out from my hideout,” she says, eyes drifting away to stare longingly back at her bunk bed.

“Stop making that expression. There’s a reason why I talked to you about this.” He leans forward. “What I’m asking is, to be frank, unfavorable, but I really do believe that it’s worth it to do this.”

She looks at him, and it only takes her a few seconds for realization to set in. Her jaw drops. “Oh Inari, that’s vile.”

“If you’re uncomfortable with it—”

“I didn’t say I was uncomfortable with it,” she cuts in. The grin on her face is wide; a woman in her element. “I just thought you’re the one who’d be all against this kind of thing.”

Futaba pulls her laptop towards her. “Sit back and observe the master at work.”

He watches as her fingers breeze through the keyboard, eyes inscrutable as light reflects off of her glasses. “So you can do it?”

“I’ve hacked into the Diet Building’s security cameras on a dare back when I was twelve,” she snorts. “This is Mario Kart Baby Park with the railings up.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“It means—” With a flourish, she hits a key before glancing up at him, smug. “That this will be very easy. I’m thinking we can start with their text messages and work our way up to the big stuff.”

“Oh, right. You can go through our phones,” he grimaces. “You’ve stopped doing that, yes?”

“Of course I have! By the way, did you figure out what courses you wanted next term? I saw your advisor was bugging you about it, you should really email her back.”

“Yes, I’ve finally decided on sculpting as opposed to visual photography since it lets me focus on the anatomy of...” he pauses. “Wait—”

“Okay, looks like I got his text messages with Ann, so let’s all focus on this now!” she says loudly. “Scooch over, let’s go through ‘em.”

He does, and she moves to sit next to him. Yusuke peers at her screen. “Nothing out of the ordinary. There is a significant drop in the frequency of his replies, but that’s been the case for me as well.”

“Same here.” She continues scrolling up rapidly, so fast he wonders how she can keep up with herself. “Memes, memes, lots of ‘where you at’ texts, more memes…”

Something catches his eye. “Hold. Go down slightly, I think that link might be interesting.”

“‘How to treat knee pain: 11 steps with pictures’?” she reads aloud. “His knee is acting up again?”

“What’s peculiar is that I haven’t seen any sign of it.” He squints at Ryuji’s response to it—generic gratitude. “Even in Jails, he runs around without a care in the world.”

“What’s even weirder is that Ann is actually sending Ryuji wikihow links on how to treat his knee,” she snorts. “Let’s put a pin in this one and move on, Ann’s chat is chalking up to be a dead end.”

Rubbing her hands together, she straightens up like a professor in front of a lecture hall on the first day of classes. “Now Yusuke, when you’re looking to crack someone open like a tasty, moist omelette, there are two things that you must look into: their email and their bank account.”

After some clicking, Ryuji’s email pops up. “Email is obvious, since this pretty much tracks anything big. Delivery shipments, subscriptions to websites, acceptance letters. It’s all here in a neat little bow, ready for us to read.”

“‘Manga’s are 20% off for this weekend only,” he reads. “‘Anime convention next weekend’, ‘Pizza coupons’.”

“Ugh, he’s so boring! Next!” Clicking sounds through the RV, emphasizing how much they were snooping through their friend’s private life. “Bank account, show us your wisdom.”

“My word,” Yusuke gasps when the tab opens up. “That’s quite a lot of funds.”

“Inari, four thousand yen is definitely not a lot of money. How much do you have in yours?”

“I don’t have an account,” he admits. “I was on my way to the bank to open one, but I ran out of train fare. By the time I had gotten there, it was already closed. Quite rude, considering that it was only two o’clock.”

She levels him with a look. “Was it a Sunday when you did all this?”

“Why does that matter?”

“Never mind,” she shakes her head. “Okay, so nothing conclusive or even embarrassing. That means that whatever this is, he really doesn’t want anyone knowing about it.”

Futaba hops out of the booth and starts rummaging through everyone’s luggage. “That means we unlock the secret, classic, never goes out of style method of snooping—” with an expression of triumph, she showcases Ryuji’s backpack to him. “Going through their stuff IRL.”

Yusuke winces. “Don’t you think we might be going too far?”

“Hey, what’s with the cold feet? Where was your ‘justice’ from before?”

“I’m all for justice,” he watches her unzip the backpack, recoiling. “But even this seems a little excessive.”

“Look, we already went through his email, his bank account, his text messages. At this point, it’s kind of weird if we don’t find anything. Like—” she throws a pair of shorts behind her as she rummages. “What kind of teenage boy doesn’t have anything to hide? And also, it’d be kinda messed up to go through his stuff and come up empty-handed. If we didn’t find anything—” she pulls out several t-shirts and a crowbar and places them on the ground next to her. “Then we’d just be a bunch of snoops.”

“I suppose you’re right,” he reluctantly agrees. “Above all else, we need to find out what’s happened in his life to make him so upset.”

“Exactly. Oh man, wouldn’t it be crazy if we just found some porn mags or something? Retro to the max, but I can totally see him as the kind of guy to lug something like that along. Unless it’s of Akira.” She makes a face. “Ew. Funny thought is no longer funny.”

“Karma, if you will.”

“Shut it. Oh ho ho, what do we have here?”

“You found something?”

“It’s some fancy looking letter.” Futaba flops herself on the ground. She clears her throat. “'Sakamoto Ryuji. This letter is to inform you that…'” she stops all of a sudden.

“Futaba?” he probes.

“Um,” she blinks, and laughs nervously. “Um?”

He reaches over, and she doesn’t resist when it slips out of her hands. Skimming through the letter, only his eyes dare to move. When he finishes, he lets out a breath. “Oh no.”

“We shouldn't've read that,” she whispers, a perfect summation of what he was feeling. “We really should not have read that.”

—

There’s something to be said about the quayside in Sendai, in the way that it’s almost exactly like Tokyo.

Sure, the buildings here are definitely shorter—gone are the towering structures back home, and instead they’re replaced with shorter structures with cute local designs and colorful patio restaurants. The people here are different, too. Maybe it’s something to do with the water here, in how it’s cleaner and how you can actually see some fish down in the canals if you know where to look. Don’t even get him started in the air; jeez, do they infuse the oxygen here with something? He hasn’t stopped taking deep breaths ever since they got here.

But despite all of those discrepancies, the feeling of Akira’s hand in his is just like being home.

“And it’s actually really interesting,” he hears vaguely. “Because back in Leblanc, there used to be a couple issues about the temperature and stuff, but in my hometown there’s…Ryuji? Are you even listening to me?“

Akira’s telling him something. A story about Morgana? And Ryuji’s sure it’s very interesting, but he’s too focused on the way that sunlight hits his cheekbones.

“I’m listening,” he lies. “Keep going. This is just my listening face, I promise.”

“Sure, sure,” Akira agrees easily. “That’s just your listening face, rather than me and my wicked good looks, right? I totally believe you.” He wiggles his fingers. “Give.”

Ryuji offers him the caramel ice cream cone in his other hand, letting him bite into it like some kind of psychopath. “Done?” he asks, shifting the tote bag tucked into the crook of his elbow, careful not to rattle the eggs inside. Akira bravely offered to carry the groceries, but he had obviously refused.

“Mmm. That’s good stuff.”

“Right? I read about the ice cream here when I was younger, and they were really hyping it up on the ad.” He takes a lick, grinning when the taste hits his tongue. “And on a summer day like this? Unbeatable. It’s really reminding me of last summer when we hung out everyday in your room eating crap, taking naps, and playing games.” It also helped that hanging out with his crush was a daily thing, he thought.

“And I got to hangout with my crush a lot too, so that’s always a plus,” Akira adds.

Ryuji stops, and Akira turns around to give him a weird look. “What?”

“You get me,” he says in awe.

“I sure hope so,” he tugs him forward, and they continue their walk, their shoes rhythmically landing on the wood in unison. A comfortable silence takes over, but that’s no good. Ryuji wants to hear him talk.

“So imagine you get ten million yen,” he starts. “What do you do with it?”

It’s not the first time he’s asked this. They discuss it often, eagerly like the dreaming boys they both are. Akira considers it and Ryuji loves that about him. It doesn’t matter how stupid his questions are—he will always answer them with as if it were a serious question.

“For starters, Yusuke’s getting a place as soon as possible.”

“Duh,” he snorts. “Apparently, his roommate brought someone back to hook up with them. Poor guy got so traumatized he slept over at Haru’s.”

“We should be glad that he didn’t ask them for poses,” Akira laughs. “Next, I’m making sure that Sojiro has enough for retirement.”

“Obviously. Rest in peace Leblanc—you make fire coffee, but no one’s there to drink it.”

“And then I’m making sure your mom has the funds for retirement for sure.”

“I love you,” he sighs.

“I know.” Akira starts swinging their hands back and forth. “Then with the rest, I’ll buy us some new shoes for when we start training again together, and whatever’s left we can split it up with the rest of the Thieves and they can do what they want with it.”

“I bet Ann would go on a shopping spree in France,” he says.

“Haru would probably donate hers.”

“Makoto’s is going straight into university. I can see her going in to get a Masters with that kind of money.”

Ryuji refuses to let his expression fall. “That’s her. Big bookworm with a capital B.” Stop talking about this, stop talking about this. “How about you, Sophia? Any clue what you’ll do with a boatful of moolah?”

A harmonic beep rings through the air and Akira passes her over to him. “I would invest in cryptocurrency and turn ten million into one hundred million,” she says cheerfully. “Then I would take that hundred million and turn it into one billion yen.”

Ryuji coughs, sliding her into his back pocket. “You know what? That’s my bad. I should’ve expected that, honestly.”

Akira plucks the remainder of their ice cream cone from his hand and throws it in his mouth, munching. Wordlessly, he takes out a pack of wet-wipes from his pockets and hands it to Ryuji.

“Thanks.” Reluctantly dropping his hand, he thoroughly cleans through his sticky fingers. “You didn’t ask me what I was gonna do with my money.”

He nods in a go ahead way.

“After I give most of it to my mom, I was just gonna give the rest to you.” Ryuji kicks a stray pebble. It skirts off the edge of the boardwalk. There’s a tug on his arm. “Yeah?”

Akira covers his mouth with a hand, before making an incomprehensible garble of noise.

“Huh? My bad, I didn’t catch that.”

A few seconds of vigorous chewing, he swallows. “I said,” Akira says, eyes glimmering the way it does when he gets really excited. “I was going to do the exact same thing.”

“Dude!” Ryuji throws his arm around his shoulders, tugging him in close. “You understand me like no one else does. What the eff!”

“I’m glad,” he says softly. Wrapping his arm around him, Ryuji blinks at the unexpected hug. “It’s nice that we're on the same wavelength.”

Suspicion tingles across Ryuji’s skin. “Hold up.” Pulling away, he squints his eyes at him. “No.”

Akira immediately looks to the side. “What?” he says, defensive. “It’s nothing.”

“No freaking way.”

“I think I saw a cool arcade back there, it has cool prizes that I think you’d like, and—“

“Kurusu Akira,” he says sternly, grabbing his face between his hands. “Don’t tell me that you’re jealous.”

“I’m not!” he insists, pushing his glasses higher on his nose. “I’m not, you know I’m not that type of guy.”

“But?” Ryuji prompts.

“But…” he hesitates. “I’d be happy for you, if you find that it’s easier to talk to other people that aren’t me.” Akira straightens up, pulling out of Ryuji’s grasp but inspects his hand like it were something to be studied. How strange it was to see his long, elegant fingers grasp his brutish, blistered ones. “I’m relieved that I didn’t leave you alone. I just...miss being your go-to, I think.”

“Akira.” He says slowly. “My man. The love of my fucking life. You are never not gonna be my go-to. You’re my go-one.” Rapping his knuckles against Akira’s temple carefully, “Your hometown is messing with you up here, making you say weird shit like that.”

“I know, I know.” Running his index finger down his wrist, Ryuji can feel how cold he is. “You knew what you were getting into when you started dating an overthinker.”

“As a chronic underthinker, no, I did not.” He kisses Akira’s palm. “But it works out, so it’s all good.”

Turning them both around, Ryuji starts walking. “I know this is super duper impossible for a guy like you, but I’m gonna have to ask you for a favor.”

“Anything.”

“You have got, to the best of your ability,” he bumps into Akira’s shoulder. “Stop stressing out.”

He frowns. “It’s my job to stress out.”

“It’s our job to stress out,” he corrects. “You and me. Founding Thieves. We share the burden, bro. We got into this together, we’re getting out of it together. That includes you worrying about our relationship outside the ‘Verse, and extend it all the way to what dingy hometown you took the bullet train from.”

“I’ll try,” he says doubtfully. “You’re kind of enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean? No way I can enjoy the most perfect person on the planet be a little jealous over his boyfriend getting attention, what kind of asshole would I be?” And before Akira can say anything, “I know, not jealous, but I’ll take what I can get.”

“I love you.”

“I know,” he flashes a peace sign.

“I know you know.” A group of middle schoolers pass them, chattering about nothing and pointing out random things on the quay, all enjoying their summer vacation. “You know that you can tell me anything, right?” he asks suddenly.

Unable to help himself, he ruffles Akira’s hair, pitch black and hot to the touch. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

“I don’t?”

Gray eyes look into his brown ones, earnest and trusting. Just like that, the light feeling in Ryuji’s chest vanishes. “No,” he responds slowly. “You don’t.”

“Good,” Akira nods, and sees where they were heading towards. “Oh, you took that seriously?”

“You bet your crisp ass I did,” he says, pushing the glass door open. The arcade is bright, neon, and littered with claw machines. Add that to the list of similarities from Tokyo. “I don’t fuck around with arcades. I’m in the top hundred players in the Gun Gale in Shinjuku.”

“Was that with Shinya or without?”

“Not important.” He surveys the area. “There it is. Can you grab us some change? I’ll pay you back.”

Akira waves his hand, walking towards the coin machine. “Don’t. What kind of a boyfriend would I be if I let you pay for our dates?”

“A hot one!” he yells. When he turns the corner, Ryuji collapses into a bright red racing chair. “Fuck,” he hisses, heart beating too damn fast for it to be normal. “Chill out, Sakamoto, jesus.”

It only gets worse when a familiar beep rings out. “Ryuji, your heart rate is at 160. Is everything alright?”

“Sophia!” he wheezes out, relieved. “Can you—will—” he stops, scrunching his eyes closed. “I’m having a panic attack, I think.”

“Searching for how to treat panic attacks,” she says immediately, and he sags into the cool plastic gratefully. “Deep breaths will help, slowly to the count of ten.”

His heart is beating so hard that he can barely hear the jingles and the whirrs of the machines around him. “Count out loud. Hurry, before he gets back.”

She does, and he grips the side of the chair as he focuses on breathing. The attack passes by faster than he hoped it would. “Thank god,” he breathes. “Thank you.”

“No prob,” she says, before hesitating. “Akira—”

“Will not know about this,” he cuts her off, rubbing his hand over his face. “I’ll tell him eventually, don’t worry, et cetera. I know all this. Ann’s been hounding me non-freakin’-stop. Just don’t tell him, Soph. Please.”

Before she can say anything, Akira comes back, pockets full of change and that signature small smile resting on his lips.

—

The bright side about missing out on Sapporo’s snow festival is having its tourism as its lowest point when you visit it in the summer.

Even the shopping district just outside Susikino isn’t very crowded; there’s the usual street vendors and shops with bright pastries and cute clothes. But even having it right beside the Sapporo Tower, it’s still nothing uncomfortable. At least, it’s not uncomfortable when you get to observe the environment through a phone lens.

“This is nice, isn’t it? I don’t think I’ve had much of an opportunity to talk to you yet, which is quite rude of me.”

“No prob,” Sophia replies easily. She was swaying from Haru’s neck, hanging by a silicone phone holder that she had bought from a convenience store. Futaba had guffawed when she saw it, but Sophia’s happy about the purchase. It’s fun, and it lets her people watch from the perspective of one of her friends. “I have been meaning to talk to everyone one by one as to better understand each of you.”

“Oh, good! What better use of a nice chat while doing some shopping along the way?” Haru chirps, thumbing through a rack of out-of-season clearance sweaters as they pass. “I have to admit, I’m not the best when it comes to fashion and whatnot. Most of the time, I ask Ann-chan to accompany me.”

“I can try my best! Online websites are constantly updating in order to provide their readers with the newest trends.” Idly, she takes a peek. “Wide-legged pants are back in style.”

“That’s a relief,” she sighs. “I never pulled off skinny jeans too well. Long, flowy skirts have always been my thing. It just gives off such a nice aesthetic, doesn’t it?”

Sophia smiles. “I think you’d look good in anything. Have you considered going punk? You’d look very dope and intimidating with a black streak in your hair and a leather jacket.”

“Now that I can agree with, but that’s more Mako-chan’s style, I’m afraid.” She pauses. “Actually, I bet Mako-chan would actually like that. Sometimes I feel as though she isn’t willing to branch out of her circle of clothes past a pair of Oxfords and a deep-coloured sweater. A push might be what she needs.”

She considers this. “Is it possible to buy clothes for her? That can be a possible ‘push’, quote unquote.”

“Hmm, I don’t think so. She would never let us do such a thing.”

“One moment.” Pulling out a few files from inside her memory storage, she clears her throat. “According to my data analysis, Niijima Makoto has high difficulty straying away from well-mannered behaviours. Do you think that includes saying no to gifts given to her? That can be advantageous.”

Haru stops walking and pulls the phone up so that they’re at eye-level. “Sophia-chan,” she beams. “I have a feeling we’re going to be very good friends.”

They continue walking down the street when Haru gasps suddenly. “You literally can’t shop, can you?”

“Of course I can. I can get anything in the world for you,” she says proudly. “Anything.”

“Alright, we’ll have to test that later, but I mean you can’t use what you buy,” she frowns, eyes troubled. “Your sweater is adorable, but you’re forced to wear it everyday, right? Can you even do your hair differently? Is it possible for you to pin it, or even let it down?”

Sophia finds it endearing that she would let such a thing bother her. She doesn’t even have a social insurance number, but Haru’s worried about hair clips. “No, but I quite like it the way it is. It doesn’t get in the way when I do my work, and in the Metaverse, it gets completely hidden as to let me do my fighting,” she explains, karate chopping in her screen. “But I can understand the human desire for change.”

“Would you like that?” Haru asks gently. “To change? Um, change out of your clothes, and change mentally. Either one.”

“Change mentally, of course! I’d love to understand my friends better and understand how to help them. It’s a vast mountain of knowledge, but I’d want nothing more than to decode the mystery of the human heart,” she says eagerly. “But for clothes...I’m not sure. I haven’t tried it. I’m pretty sure I can’t try it.”

“That settles it,” Haru looks both ways before crossing the street, jogging slightly.

Sophia perks up. “If you’re heading somewhere specific, I can give you directions.”

“No need.” She has an intense, hungry look on her face, not unlike the one she had when the new axe Akira bought had finally arrived at their RV. “We’re just about here.”

They stop in front of a store, and she can barely read the sign from the phone’s angle. “‘Case in Point’?”

Haru pushes the glass door open, greeting the cashier. “It’s a phone modifier shop.”

There’s no effort to explain anything else, but Sophia can confidently add ‘anticipation’ onto her growing list of experienced feelings.

—

“Out of curiosity—” Haru begins as they exit the modifier store, the cashier still bug-eyed from the tip she had left at his counter. “Can you see everything inside Akira-kun’s phone?”

“Yes,” she replies. The environment that she lives in, and more specifically, Akira’s phone, is now a bright, perfectly polished shade of rose gold with a mint outline. A far cry from the matte black that it was before. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason.” Her voice is sweet as sugar. “Out of curiosity once again, is there anything interesting? Anything worth noting?”

She jumps as Sophia’s voice suddenly morphs into Akira’s without warning. “Nice try,” the phone plays. “But no.”

And just as quick, Sophia comes back to the phone. “Sorry about leaving,” she says. “Akira had asked me to play that clip if someone ever, and I quote, ‘tried me.’”

Haru giggles. “Just like Akira-kun to be so thorough. Impressive as always, leader.” She peers down at her watch. “I suppose it’s about time to head back, isn’t it?”

“We still have eight minutes to spare.”

“We do. Perhaps we should take a stroll around the park?”

“Cool,” she says. “Wanna ask Futaba and Yusuke if they want to come with?”

“Sure?” Haru blinks. “That’s very specific.”

“On your two o’clock,” she points out. “In front of the book store.”

They watch as Futaba and Yusuke stand across the street from them. Futaba is aggressively pointing her finger at the books on display, then slapping her fist against her palm like she was devising a war strategy. Yusuke shakes his head wildly, comically putting his hands in his pockets and revealing that there was nothing inside. She sighs and walks away, tugging along a dejected boy behind her.

“Aren’t you going to ask them?”

“In a moment.” Haru takes them to the front of the store. “This isn’t a bookstore, I don’t think. What’s it called Sophia?”

After a quick search: “‘Sapporo’s School Supply Store’,” she says. “The alliteration makes it fun to say.”

“Indeed it does.” Peering into the store, Haru makes an introspective noise. “Now isn’t this interesting?” she hums. “Do you mind if I make one more purchase?”

“Not at all,” Sophia says, thrilled to add another point she had learned: If Haru wants something, there’s nothing that will get in her way.

—

“So,” Makoto starts, and Ryuji has to hold back a groan. He knows that tone. He’s memorized that tone. All the second years can feel her tone from a mile away. Hell, Ann probably took an instinctive step back just now. “Have you started to think about university?”

“Nope,” he says, wiping the sweat off his brow as they jog around the corner of Odori park. Back before he had left for his hometown, Akira and Ryuji would be up at dawn to train. Lately though, he’s been using any free time he has that isn’t planning for, prepping for, or actively doing a Jail run to sleep in the RV. And hey, he has no beef with Makoto, and it’s not like she can’t keep up with his training (she can most definitely kick his ass in hand-to hand), but she has a tendency to push when it comes to this sort of stuff. “Not a single thought towards it. It’s been pretty good, actually.”

“I can tell,” she agrees. “It’s almost like you blocked my number.”

“I did not!”

“So you actively choose not to answer any of my texts?”

“Ugh, don’t set me up like that,” he winces. “You know I’m stupid enough to fall for shit like that everytime.”

“Hold on.”

Ryuji grunts as he feels a hold on his shirt, forcing him to stop. “Ew, don’t touch my back, it’s Nigeria there.”

“First of all, it’s Niagara.” She spins him around. He’s only a little taller than her, but something about her always seems to tower over him. “Second, do you know why I keep pushing all of you to go to university?”

“Because you hate us?” he mumbles.

Makoto glares at him. “Try again.”

“...Because you don’t hate us?”

“Because I don’t hate you,” she repeats. “You’re all rowdy and wild and sometimes I don’t understand the jokes you make—”

“You’re just mad ‘cause you fell for a deez nuts joke.”

“But I do, inexplicably, love all of you,” she pushes on, and that shuts him up. “I know what you’re all capable of. Amazing things! I understand you all believe that I’m the be-all end-all, and I appreciate your compliments, but there are some things that only Ann can do, or Akira, or Yusuke.”

Makoto continues running, and he reluctantly follows suit. “And you. You can achieve things that I can’t even dream of, Ryuji.”

He resists the urge to yawn. “Thanks for the pep talk, Niijima.” Looking left, the gelato is looking real good. “Wanna get something to eat? I’m starving.”

“You aren’t very good at hiding secrets, Ryuji.”

Now that grabbed his attention. “Whoa, whoa, whoa there, prez!” Speeding past her, he holds out a hand to make her stop. “What do you mean by that?”

She raises a brow. “Nothing in particular, but your reaction is showing me that I should have meant something by it.”

He gnaws on the inside of his cheek roughly. “Okay, but why did that come into your brain? Why do you think I have some kinda secret?”

“I live with a prosecutor everyday of my life, of course I know when something’s afoot.” Pushing her hair back, she squints up at him. “You’ve been more...jumpy lately, yet somehow more laid-back than usual. I wanted to talk to Akira about this—”

Blood pours into his mouth when he accidentally bites too hard. “You talked to Akira?!” he half yells, red dribbling from the corner of his lips.

“Oh my god!”

“Fuck,” he clamps a hand over his mouth. “Sorry. Bit too hard.”

“N-no! Don’t apologize!” she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a napkin, pulling him to a stone ledge. “Sit and take this so you don’t bleed all over yourself. I’ll be back.”

He doesn’t bother speaking, only nods as she turns around. When she comes back, she’s holding a water bottle. “Here.”

Taking it gratefully, he takes deep gulps before spitting it out. “Why the hell does this taste like the beach?” he splutters.

“I didn’t say to drink it! It’s salt water to get rid of infections!”

“Why would you do that to me?!”

“Because I thought you knew to do that from the second-year health class!” she shoots back. “Gargle it and spit. Near the gutter, mind you, it’s rude to spit in front of kids. They might get the wrong idea.”

As if kids are gonna see him and think that there’s something worth remembering. He sips, sloshing it around his mouth before gently letting it dribble into the grated sewer. “Blegh.”

“You’re welcome. Keep at it. And while you’re doing that,” she sits next to him, shoulder to shoulder. “Do you want to tell me what’s been making you anxious?”

He pauses. “Anxious?”

Makoto gives him a stern look. “‘Experiencing worry, unease, or nervousness, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.’ It was covered in your midterm.”

“Ah, right,” he mutters. Gripping the fabric of his shirt, his heart is beating too quick for it to be normal. Then again, when was the last time it wasn't? “You think I’m anxious?”

“I’m not sure. Keep gurgling,” Makoto chides.

He does, the salt water still red whenever he spat, and she continues. “All I know is when my anxiety gets really bad, I chew on my lip. Sae used to chide me when we were younger, but you know, she got busy,” she shrugs, as if he didn’t know how much it pained her to lose her only family member to a career of protecting the wrong people. “When I mentioned it to Akira, he took it upon himself to check up on me regularly during exam weeks.”

To prove her point, she takes her lower lip and flips it out for him to see—white teeth marks, but old scars instead of anything fresh. Letting go, her expression is smug. “He hasn’t felt the need to check in for a while now.”

Spitting, water finally running clear, he grins. “Good for you. I’m glad to hear that, dude.”

“Thank you, but that wasn’t the point. My point was that I was only able to get better because I told someone about it. Someone I trusted.” Makoto turns to him, her gaze serious. “I know that’s what Akira is to you. Habits like these are harmless at first, but they can turn into something else more dangerous. I won’t stand for that. My own justice won’t stand for that.”

Ryuji opens his mouth, before closing it. I’ll tell Akira, he wants to say. How many times does he have to repeat that line before he starts believing it himself? “Okay,” he says, because it’s the only thing he can say without hating himself even more.

“Okay.” She pats his knee before standing. “I can get us some gelato.” She stretches, wincing as her joints crack into place. “If you’re feeling up to it, start your cool down. Unless you wanna keep training?”

“I’m good. Felt enough blood rush for the day.”

She goes to the ice cream stand, and he stares up at the blue sky.

Makoto’s right, because of fucking course she is. She’s right, he knows she’s right. But she doesn’t get it. To her, Akira’s a friend. A guy who helped her out and changed her life, yeah. If he hadn’t met her when she did, maybe she would’ve become a scummy adult who didn’t look up from market pricing and hedge funds.

But Ryuji? Ryuji would be dead without Akira. That’s a fact and a half.

To Makoto, Akira’s a friend. To Ryuji, he’s Akira, and you can’t be on a higher pedestal in his mind than that.

—

It was Yusuke who took the first step.

“Ann,” he greets cordially. “How do you do?”

She gives him a weird look. “Kinda trying to focus here,” she says, gesturing at the scene in front of them. They, Morgana, and Sophia were in the B team as they watched the rest of them try and get rid of the remaining Shadows in Mariko’s Jail, tersely attentive and waiting on Joker’s word in case they needed a last minute switch. The Jail was environmentally brutal; the ice underneath the soles of their shoes makes them skid more often than they’d like. It almost makes the fights seem quicker, one notch faster than usual.

Yusuke pays her dismissal no mind. “I, myself, am learning many new things lately. Can the same be said about you?”

In the corner of his eye, Futaba pauses typing on her laptop to face palm.

“Are you...” Ann says after a brief pause. “Is this a threat? Are you threatening me?”

“No—”

“Panther!” Akira’s clear voice rings out.

Ann dashes forward without question, high-fiving Morgana as they trade spots.

Futaba marches forward, glaring at Yusuke like he was crazy. “You dolt!” she hisses. “What was that supposed to be? I said be slick and cool, not act like a fool!”

“While I admire the rhyme scheme, I don’t understand what you want from me. That was as ‘slick and cool’ as I’m capable of,” he furrows his brow. “I even opened with a question that seemed as though the conversation would be a normal one, but then used that to transition into what I actually wanted to discuss.”

“Stop looking so proud of yourself and—”

“Fox!”

“Back in a moment,” he says before he’s gone, Makoto taking his place, leather uniform still smoldering from when she took a fire move head-on.

“What was that about?” Haru asks, swinging her axe like a picnic basket.

“Nothing, Noir,” Futaba sighs, plopping back into place where Ann had stood. Carmen had kindly left a warm patch of concrete in her wake. “Just Inari became a big ole’ dumb-dumb.”

“I see,” she hums. “So this has nothing to do with what you two have been conspiring about lately?”

Her eyes shot wide open. “Con...conspiring?” she stutters out. “What do you mean by—”

A particularly loud scream rips into the air, and everyone turns their heads to see Captain Kidd slam his hook into the ground, purple arms erupting from the snow and wiping out a huge chunk of Shadows all in one go.

“Hot damn,” Futaba says, directing her focus back to her laptop and making sure Ryuji has enough health to keep going.

“He’s strong,” Haru observes, all playfulness gone.

“Too strong.” After Futaba gives everyone on the main team a good amount of health, something on her screen makes her pause. “Huh…?”

“Noir.”

Haru turns around to see Makoto waiting for her. “I need to discuss something with you.”

“Of course,” she steps closer to her and drops her voice. “Is everything alright?”

“I’d bring this up with Joker, but I don’t want to bother him if I’m not sure if there’s anything wrong yet,” Makoto pushes her mask up. “But have you noticed Skull's been acting strange lately?”

“Mona!”

He swaps with Ann, her pigtails covered in snow. “Ugh,” she grimaces as she shakes it out. “I could try and melt it, but it’ll just drip down my back and freeze later on, and I do not want that.”

“Panther, I’d like your input as well, if you don’t mind,” Makoto says.

“Sure. What’s up?”

“I was just talking to Noir about this, but did you notice anything strange about the way Skull’s acting lately?”

Ann takes a step back. “Well, what—No—I mean, that’s your opinion, I think!” she exclaims. “To me, Skull's acting is completely normal. He’s normal—actually, scratch that, he’s better than usual. Nothing about him is wrong, I think, and that’s pretty outstanding and impressive once you consider that he’s the one with the life-long injury. Not that that has to do with anything!” Ann yells. “I just wanted to point out how far he’s come, and how much he’s kicking ass right now. Actually,” her voice shifts to a stage whisper. “Don’t mention this because I don’t wanna cause drama, but Fox has been a little weird.”

“Weird how?” Makoto whispers back, looking extremely lost.

“Just earlier, he asked me how I was.”

“...I’m not following.”

“No, Panther-chan has a point,” Haru breaks in. “I can’t say for certain, but I have a strong feeling that Fox and—” she points at Futaba conspicuously. “Are up to something.”

“Sophie and Fox?” Ann breathes.

“Panther!”

“Damn, again? That’s what we get for going into an ice Jail,” she grumbles, swapping with Yusuke.

Haru sighs. “Panther-chan isn’t the best with context clues, is she?”

“Hello ladies,” Yusuke greets. “What were we discussing?”

Makoto gives him a suspicious look. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

His jaw drops, bewildered, but before he can say anything, Futaba waves him over. “Get your fox butt over here!”

“I...Alright,” he says, resigned.

“Look at them,” Makoto nods at the pair. “I think you’re onto something.”

“I think so too, but I don’t want to be too hasty. After all, the two of them are such good friends now; it would be unfair to assume negative outcomes without evidence, or at least confront them first,” Haru says nonchalantly.

She understands immediately. “You have evidence?”

“Something of the sort.”

“Noir!”

“Duty calls,” she gives her a thumbs up, before Ann comes back once again.

“I can’t wait for us to go to a really hot place again,” she kicks the snow with her heels. “Then I’ll be comfortably in the B team because all the Shadows have fire resistance to the max.”

“Oh good, she’s back,” Yusuke’s expression is one of relief.

“Fox—” Futaba warns without looking up from her laptop.

“Come here. There is something we would like to discuss with you.” Whether or not it was intentional, he rests his hand on the handle of his katana.

“Okay but before we start, I just wanna ask—what are you doing with Sophie?” Ann accuses. “It’s fine to be friends with her, but you have to be careful. She’s really susceptible to what we say right now, and if you try anything funny—”

“What are you even saying?” he says, offended. “I barely even talk to her!”

They all glance at Sophia, who had been standing perfectly still and silent. She gives them a wave. They all awkwardly wave back.

Makoto places a hand on Ann’s shoulder. “Panther, Noir meant Fox and Oracle.” Ann flushes red as she continues. “And while we’re all here, I wanted to bring this up with you as well. Have you all noticed something strange with Skull?” Futaba stops typing. “I’m not sure how to explain it, but I think he’s extremely anxious about something. You all know that I’m an overthinker, so I might have the wrong idea but…” she trails off.

Futaba glances at Yusuke. Yusuke glances at Ann. Ann helplessly glances at Ryuji, still fighting alongside Akira and the others.

“I know nobody asked me,” they all jump a foot in the air when Sophia speaks beside them. “But I can at least confirm for suresies that there is something strange with Skull.”

“Which is…?” Makoto prods.

“I don’t know the specifics.” Ann, Yusuke, and Futaba let out a breath. “But he did have a panic attack recently.”

“I knew it!” Makoto snaps her fingers. “He’s had signs of being anxious, but I wasn’t too sure about it.”

“Queen!”

She runs out, and Ryuji comes in, looking exhausted but pleased. “Hey y’all, what were we talking about?”

It was dead silent before Sophia steps forward. “Look what I can do!” she exclaims, changing the expression on her screen to be an emoji with a flower.

“Whoa!” His eyes bug out, and they all sigh in relief. “That’s awesome! Can you do more?”

“That’s super cool Sophie, but,” Futaba looks at Ryuji, skeptical. “Don’t you feel weak right now? Your health is way down.”

“Oh, I didn’t even notice,” he rubs the back of his neck. “Sophie, you mind?”

“Not at all.” She calls for Pithos and green sparkles fall on him. “Better?”

“Thanks, I owe you one.”

“Skull!”

“When the king calls, his knight answers,” he salutes, sprinting out as Makoto comes back in.

“So,” she glares at the rest of them. “What do the rest of you know?”

Ann groans. “Even if I did know something, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell you.”

“Wait,” Futaba points an accusing finger at her. “What do you know?”

“What do I know? What do you know? And for that matter, what does he,” Ann points at Yusuke. “Know? Noir said you guys are doing secret stuff together!”

“That’s preposterous,” he scoffs. “If it was secret, she wouldn’t have known.”

“That’s the dumbest argument I’ve ever heard.”

“How is it dumb?” he asks. “You can’t possibly think that just because Futaba and I are doing ‘secret stuff’ that it has anything to do with Skull’s situation!”

There was a pause. “Are those two connected?” Sophia asks. Futaba buries her face in her hands.

“That was...not the question I expected,” Yusuke answers weakly.

“Sophie!”

“God, I wish Joker would call for Inari instead,” Futaba groans.

Rushing out, Sophia high-fives Ryuji on the way. “Guess who’s back, motherfuckers?”

In an effort to bury their conversation, they all begin cheering overenthusiastically, Yusuke clapping politely. Bewildered, Ryuji instinctively gives them a thumbs up. “Thanks guys. Usually, my jokes don’t really land, but that made me real happy.”

“Uh, Skull,” Futaba raises an eyebrow. “How do you keep losing health? I didn’t even notice you taking a hit.”

“I’m low again? Damn, I didn’t even notice,” he groans loudly. “Queen, can you—”

“I’m on it.”

Just as Johanna heals him, Akira calls out once again: “Skull!”

“Joker really does rely on you, doesn’t he?” Yusuke observes.

Ryuji laughs. If they didn’t know any better, they would think it sounded a little nervous. “Well, gotta jet!”

High-fiving Makoto, he runs out. She stares at the remaining members of the B team. “You all know something,” she accuses. “And I understand if you’re all being loyal to him by keeping what you know close to your hearts. But remember this:” she takes a step forward, and they all take an unconscious step back, Futaba scooting from where she sat on the ground. “There comes a point where it’s actually more important to keep a person safe and healthy than to uphold a potentially dangerous secret.”

They all digest her words for a second, and flinch when a flash of blue flame appears, taking Akira’s Persona away.

“Finally.” He stretches his shoulders, satisfied. “That took awhile. Good work everyone, let’s keep going.”

Making their trek deeper into the Jail, Futaba half-jogs, half-speed walks to Ryuji. “Your health again,” she chides. “Seriously. I know I like to play around, but I always have my eye on you guys when you’re fighting. I literally have not seen you take a hit, but you’re getting drained like milk in a sink.”

He shrugs, unperturbed. “Whatever. You see my hits today, though? They were tough.”

“Yeah,” she agrees reluctantly. “But your health is still low. I’ll call Joker about that.”

Before she can turn, he grabs her wrist. “Nope,” he says. “I’ll ask Panther. Thanks though!”

Ryuji goes to Ann, and he can feel everyone’s eyes on him, watching him, surveying his every move.

All eyes except for the one that really matters.

#p5 #p5s #yusuke kitagawa #mine #fic tag #plainly in truth #ryuji sakamoto #akiryu #pegoryu #chapter two! neat #akira kurusu #persona 5

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