puppycrush2 | week two

[ Fancy cheese and grape juice.... delicious little nuts and other snacks to eat with them... yes, this is very pleasing (cheesing) to Josuke's ears and eyes. Delicious, expensive food is always a highly prized treat, especially if it's food he doesn't get to eat often.

They start out at a relatively tame table, with some fancy cheddar! ]

You ever go to one of these things, Yanami? We don't have them in Morioh...

[ josuke is about to learn something no other contestant has: ]

Really? I thought it was an annual tradition... My family drops by stuff like this for my dad's work every year.

[ ... that she's... quite rich... richer, anyway... and she's dressed the part too, hair put up in curls with what has to be faux-onyx around her neck. ]

[ his someone nearby is rich senses are tingling ]

Are you serious? No way, my family never had stuff like this.

[ Case in point, he is looking at the small cubes of cheese like he's trying to figure out if it's rude to just pick them up. ]

Your family gives this stuff to your dad's work?

[ JUST HOW MUCH MONEY DO THEY HAVE....!!!! ]

[ oh, just follow anna's example then, she's using a toothpick to pluck them.

like she's spearing multiple at once but that's because she's a fatass. ]

Mmhmm! Because my grandma always gives us the extra after she has her friends over, so we just pass it along.

[ it goes BACK ]

[ Oh, so the dad's work place gets the leftovers, and it's still enough......... wow..... ]

Well, like I told you, [ He takes a toothpick and gets one of the cheese cubes for himself. ] I have a single mom. We're doing pretty well, but not that well...

[ He thinks back to the little sheets they were given, and decides to go on more. ]

My old man is is a crazy rich real estate tycoon, but it's complicated.

[ oh....... right. that must be tough. just like akechi and his corner store sushi. except that's because he's busy. cheese into her mouth. ]

Bad blood?

Not as much, anymore.

[ And after he munches on a piece of cheese: ]

My old man got with my mom one time when she was in college. He was sixty-two... and married. Didn't even know I existed until this year, when his family was trying to figure out how to split his inheritance. But mom spent all this time heartbroken over him.

[ For as upsetting as the topic is, he delivers it pretty neutrally. Anna seems to be pretty serious about the sanctity of love. Maybe she'll understand, intrinsically, how all that shaped him, without him getting into it deeply. It's the biggest reason why he's slow to make these kinds of connections. ]

I used to feel a type of way about all of it... we've made up, but it's still weird, you know?

[ immediately: ]

Filthy cheater.

[ ... ]

Oh, yeah, no, I totally see how it'd be weird. Did you punch him?

[ sorry. this is important. ]

[ Immediately: ]

He's like, a seventy-nine year old man, Yanami.

[ HE'S NOT GONNA PUNCH THE ELDERLY!!!! ]

I got pretty pissed at him and told him off at one point, though... that's in the past, now.

[ giving him a look that couldn't be more clearly "what does his age matter" before she spears another line of cheese cubes. ]

Your mama raised you well if you turned out such a gentleman... I'll make pudding for you to take home for her before we're kicked out of the house at the end.

[ Oh? Pudding??? The promise of sweet treats down the line in the future makes him forget momentarily about the subject of his old man. ]

Seriously? Well, if you insist...! [ He'll find some way to repay her, though. Fondly: ] You'd get along great with her. She's a total romantic, like you, and she doesn't take shit from anybody. But she can be pretty scary when she's pissed.

[ wonder where he gets it from..... anyway, now he's moved on to eating crackers and grapes. He hesitates to say what he does next, almost like it's a little too personal to say on TV. ]

As for me, well, I dunno if it's as much how she raised me, [ cronch ] But more how I saw her growing up... she used to cry over the old geezer all the time. It pissed me off.. nowadays, I just can't stand irresponsible guys like that.

[ If a man seems the type to make girls cry, he is just programmed to hate on them :/ ]

Sounds like you hate 'em too.

[ ooh, the fruits are out... now she's focusing on making a kebab of cheese, grapes, and a drizzle of honey. yummy. don't worry, she's listening, glancing up from her work to make sure josuke knows too. ]

I'd love to meet her! And I do, from the very bottom of my heart! No one's worse than someone who cheats -- man or woman. [ monch ] It's why I'm really glad Will-kun's such a good guy... he always makes sure to check in with me if he's using the Embrace Space with someone else, which has only been once but he was super honest about how long he was in there, too.

[ and

she's supposed to get double the kisses for it but we're not touching that. ]

[ He listens patiently about her relationship tidbits, chewing thoughtfully all the while. Sounds about right — he couldn't imagine Will acting any different. ]

You guys are getting kinda serious, yeah?

[ As serious as something can be after two weeks. The exclusivity makes him think their bond goes beyond just thinking about the game — good for them. ]

[ her untimely inhale's sending that grape right down the wrong way please she's waving her hand for something to drink or... maybe just a hand to help ]

— you okay?

[ LORD... mercifully, Josuke pats her on the back, and using his invisible powers, he can easily and gently help her expel the grape without struggle. ]

[ oh my god. you're so useful, josuke. she feels so much better when he's patting her back... that thing's going back in and being mercilessly crunched though. try and kill her, huh. see how long you last in these pearly white gnashers. ]

I'm fine now. Thanks, Josuke-kun. I seriously would've died if you weren't here.

[ nevermind it's his fault in the first place, technically...

anna stabs another grape, but it's... just to stab at it. it doesn't lessen her pink cheeks, which are not from her choking. ]

Will-kun's just a decent man, like you. Whatever he feels about it, I've been serious about him since day one.

[ you know, love at first sight and all that. or so she's claimed. ]

[ It's his #1 skill.... making everyone feel better :) ]

Well, if he's doing all that about the Embrace Space and stuff, he's gotta feel somewhat serious about it.

[ Though... also, Will said he only came here for his political campaign. Maybe his situationship with Yanami is just a happy accident? Or is he just trying to be diplomatic? ]

What do you mean, "whatever he feels about it," anyway? Shouldn't you know?

[ ??? he's seen yall go in there and hang out there's no way they've just been making small talk this whole time, right... ]

Checking in with me is because he knows how I feel about cheating, that's all, really. A decent guy, promise. He's good and kind. I mean, of course he's doing it because we're together, but it's kind of a courtesy thing.

[ that much is true, it is because he knows how she feels about cheating and potential cheating.

but crap, right, she should, shouldn't she? because they're oh-so-close and stuff? that poor, ravaged grape is being paired with a cheese and eaten. god, she wishes she had some meat. salami would kill with this. ]

... Will-kun... is both easy and hard to read.

[ this. too. is true. but not for the reasons that one might assume. reasons she cannot confess to towards her fellow contestants for the most part. ]

But I guess if you think so, then there's truth to it.

[ He still thinks she should have an inkling... during the first week, he might've thought Will passive enough to just be swept up into anything around him. He knows better now, though; Will's a pretty resolute guy. If he's by Yanami's side, there must be a reason for it. ]

I'm just an outside observer, [ He drawls, looking up when a waiter brings by two flutes of fancy grape juice for them. ] The only way you'll know for certain is to ask him directly.

[ That's what he thinks she should do, anyway... based on his impression of him, Will doesn't seem like he'd be a very good liar. Asking him straight out ought to do the trick! ]

[ uuuuuggggggggghhhhhhhh thanks for the drink she's draining the whole thing in one go. this is something she really can do, setting the glass down firmly. ]

... Not a chance.

What? Why not?

[ Visible confusion??? Seems like a pretty obvious solution to him... he's gonna wait on the juice until he gets to the bottom of this. ]

Confidential. But there's no way I can ask him, okay? Just trust me on that.

[ moodily picking at her cheese now.

... it... sure does seems like she wants to be asked about it though, not gonna lie, with how she peeks at her from under her bangs. maybe. ]

If the two of you are going to keep picking each other, it's probably best to get to the bottom of these things... sooner rather than later.

[ Which he offers mildly, keeping his comment contained to the matters of the game so that she hopefully doesn't take it too personally. It's possible there's a real reason she can't talk about it, which he can understand. But the way she's peeking at him through her bangs makes him think she's just being bashful about it. ]

[ ...

back to spearing a poor grape. another board arrives, this time with Stinky Cheeses, and anna stares at one before giving it a shot

and deciding she isn't a fan. ]

It's for publicity.

Will told me he came here because of an election, yeah.

[ He's not as brave as Anna, he's not even going to attempt to eat stinky cheese. He'll just keep eating crackers. It's pretty easy to make the next logical conclusion, but he's careful with his words, his voice gentle. ]

Was pairing up with you part of that?

week two | dates

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