puppycrush2 | week three

[ Wow!! Spoilsport. Why come to a ren faire if you're not gonna eat a giant turkey leg? Someone isn't in the spirit of things. ]

Fiiiine. [ Takes a bite himself and then... talks while chewing. ] You ever been to one of these fairs before?

[ Do they even have ren faires in Japan?? ]

[A quick Google says... not really? Not like this, at the least.]

No. [The best his mom could do was take them to the park down the road.] I can see the appeal, I guess.

[In another time and place and life he can see this being fun. Or maybe just different weather.]

Have you?

[ Another tally to the list of reasons why this TV show isn't set in Japan. Alas! But Ryuji shakes his head because he hasn't been to any before either, this is his first. As for the appeal... ]

Food's good. Different. But it's really hot and crowded. I was kinda hopin' they'd send us somewhere with more AC.

[ Like an arcade, maybe...! But he laughs and shrugs and... continues to sweat. Eurgh. They're probably walking around a little aimlessly and Ryuji is definitely looking at the different booths as they pass them. ]

You been on a few, uh, outings, right? [ Ryuji hesitates to call them dates when it comes to Akechi. ] How's it been?

[He hasn't had an appetite since the first truth booth. Anger and anxiety have everything boiling roiling and it makes for a poor desire to eat. He may grab something here though... it does smell alright.

He is also looking over the booths looking for anything that might catch his eye.]

Outings? [He can't help but snort a bit. He doesn't want to call them dates either so this is fine.] From alright to horrid. I often think these locations are being picked to mock me in particular. And before you say that's paranoid... They put me on a cruise ship.

[ If Ryuji knew Akechi wasn't eating, he would absolutely make him eat. But he's been juggling his attention span in a few different ways so unfortunately, he has not noticed. Still, he does expect Akechi to get something here because it's definitely different than Japanese food. Live a little!

He was definitely going to say that was paranoid until the cruise ship reveal and then he just grimaces. ]

... Oh. Yeah, that's effed up.

[ Geez, Tsukasa!! ]

Who'd you go out on that one with?

I went with Kat. And we jumped off the boat together and swam the short distance to New York.

[Honestly? Despite the horrible boat that whole sequence of events of leaping off of it and having her cling to him as he swam them to shore and everything that followed was the most thrilling thing thus far. And it was rather fun to be away from the cameras and explore one of the most famous cities out there. A city he may have ha the chance to see or see again depending on how everything goes.]

So that was interesting. [He says instead of admitting he had fun.] The worst one would be with Anna. I can't decide which part of that one was worse. How failing to avenge my mother was a "huge bummer" or her insulting me the entire time and then repeating parts of our conversation to everyone in the house without the full context.

[When he speaks of Anna there is no shortness of bitterness in his voice. Everything about her is repugnant to him.]

[ Ryuji looks fairly impressed by that, eyes widening and an interested look being thrown Akechi's way. ]

Eff yeah, man. Take shit into your own hands, that's the way to do it.

[ He's so proud of you, Akechi!! But then he describes the date with Anna and that... that gets Ryuji to look rather upset. Surprisingly, on Akechi's behalf rather than Anna's. ]

That's not cool. The hell does she mean "huge bummer"? It's your mom. You did everything for her.

[ He sighs, lifting his free hand to scrub through the back of his hair. ]

I'm sorry, man. She seems kind of... normal? I dunno if she understands the kind of stakes you were trying to deal with. I bet it took a lot out of you to try and get her to hear you out and havin' her react like that sucks.

It was interesting, to be sure.

[Kat is alright in his book. Thus he defended her and all that. She's like a slightly less annoying Yoshizawa-san. You can't dislike her even if you kind of want to push her to the ground, a little. (Affectionate???)]

She was much too busy asking a hundred inane questions to try and figure out who my match was and then got sidetracked by insulting me as much as possible when I gave her my thoughts.

I won't deny that her stakes are relatively no stakes but that doesn't mean a normal person can't be cruel and conniving to get what they want. A date, to her, is the most important thing in the world and everyone else's problems be damned.

Her and Will risk upending the whole thing... And with those two picking in the last week there's reason to be concerned how this will all end. [He drums his fingers along his arm looking over little cat earring trinkets in the one booth.] I'm glad I jumped off a ship and saw New York while I was still able to. I think there's a good chance that we lose despite the lights.

[ Cute..... Ryuji is kind of relieved Akechi has at least One Person now. Phew. What a good thing. Even though, according to his sources (Will), Akechi doesn't want Will to be a person he has either. Something that Ryuji will address... sometime during this conversation. He doesn't want to ruin it just yet.

Anyway, he listens to Akechi's descriptions of Anna and while they're not exactly kind, Ryuji can't say they're entirely ... wrong either? She was pretty mean to him at first, and then not mean, and even he's noticed that this game is really important to her. Then her attachment to Will and then Will being so broken up over everything that happened this weekend... Sheesh, he got really lucky with his match, didn't he?

So, Ryuji is quiet for a moment, no longer that interested in his turkey leg. He'll toss it in a trash can nearby, wiping his hands on his napkin before addressing Akechi. ]

You think they're gonna let their feelings override the actual game, huh?

[ He... hopes Will is pragmatic enough not to do that, but considering how hard he took Akechi telling him to fuck off, Ryuji's starting to worry about that too. They wouldn't sabotage the game for their feelings, would they?

... Would they? ]

Even if we figure out the other pairs, if they're not willing to play the game 'cuz they ain't a perfect match, that's not fair to everyone else. You think Will would really let that happen?

I do.

[There's not a doubt in his damn mind. And if things are going to go to hell then they're going to go to hell on his terms.]

I think Will is learning a hard lesson that you can't have your cake and eat it too. At some point you have to make a choice. And based on all I've seen with my own eyes and what I've heard there's not a doubt in my mind that he'll pick her over everyone else's needs. He's already proved that in several ways.

Hell... Even if we debunk them there's no guarantee they still won't pick each other. [He breathes out through clenched teeth, fingers still drumming as he thinks.] We need to find their actual match so to take one of them off the board for good.

[ Now this... this is interesting. Because while he does agree on some level Will is having a hard push and pull right now because of the game and his feelings, he was also pretty positive that Will knew that too. But Akechi is telling him differently.

Ryuji's reaction isn't immediate again, needing to sort this out a little in his head. ]

I don't... think you're wrong that Will would choose Anna over anyone else here when it comes to his feelings.

[ Which, well, why wouldn't he? They've all known each other for two and a half weeks. They don't have the same history Ryuji and Akechi have. The game prompts you to consider everyone in the house as possible love interests. Will found his, and even if she's not his perfect match, she's still more special to him than the rest of the near strangers in the house.

But that's different than the game. The game needs to be played right so they could win so everyone can get their wish. Will isn't the type to shaft that, especially with what he's said to Ryuji in their conversations. ]

But for the game, Will said you said you wouldn't pick him for his match. So even if you two are a match, he wouldn't pick you 'cuz you don't want it. Which doesn't sound like what you're saying right now? You wouldn't throw the game 'cuz you hate Will, would you?

[He finally tears his gaze away from the little cat earrings to look at Ryuji.

Would he throw the game because he hates Will? No... Probably not. Would he throw the game because he hates most people here. Asa, Anna, Will, Tsukasa, Steve, Minami... Yeah. This has been a miserable experience and the sparks of good moments don't outweigh everything else. They couldn't possibly.

Not everyone deserves nothing but most people do. Himself included.]

I haven't decided what I'll do.

[ Ryuji looks back at him and while he can't read Akechi's mind, doesn't know the depth of his hatred of some of the people here, he gets the feeling that Akechi wouldn't be undecided if he was having a great experience.

But what constitutes as a "great experience" for someone as broken as Akechi? Even if he and Will matched week one and spent the rest of the time getting to know each other, like him and Wednesday, would Akechi have been happy then too? He can't say for certain. ]

Alright.

[ And if Akechi decides to sabotage himself, well. Ryuji has a back up plan. He will get Akechi to have his wish. ]

Gonna get those earrings for Kat? She might like 'em.

[He scoffs and purposely steps away from the booth.]

If you're looking to please girls you're keen on then there were spider ones there too. That sounds like Wednesday's style.

[He's not buying shit under Sakamoto's gaze. This is better than two weeks ago by a mile but Akechi is prickly as ever and is determined to keep a wall between himself and everyone around him. One that doesn't look like it's coming down any time soon. And some of his experiences here may be making things worse. Maybe it's all the cameras or the constant notes of friendship and romance that he has to listen day in and out but he feels almost worse in a lot of ways.

If you compare him to late January to now...? He feels borderline insane staying in this house.]

[ Ah, there we go. Two steps forward, five steps back. He's not surprised by this but despite Akechi wanting to insult him, he actually gives Ryuji a great idea. And it might be fun for Akechi too, even if he might not want to admit it. ]

Nah, I got a better idea. Wanna help me buy a sword for her?

[ He gestures towards the blacksmithing booth across the way and grins, bright. ]

Miiight be cool.

[ He doesn't expect Akechi to be happy in the end about having to spend some time with Ryuji, especially not in this heat and this crowd and all of this. But he doesn't want to make it a miserable experience for him either. He wants something more middle of the road. ]

[He considers it... Does he want to look at swords?

Yeah. A little... He's a teenage boy. Of course he does.]

Sure... [He lets out an exhale like this is a chore but begins to head to the blacksmith booth.] Wednesday gives off great sword user, to be honest...

[Well, axe user but she already has one of those.]

[ Ryuji brightens so much when Akechi says he wants to look at the swords. He knew he could get him to give in a little.

He'll follow after Akechi when the other boy starts to move, delighted. ]

She does, right? Her axe is cool but a sword would also be cool. Or — oh! One of those... flail things. Like with the spiky ball on the chain? I could see her using one of those.

[ Wednesday is so cool.... god.... she's truly the coolest. ]

A morning star.

[He offers the name of the weapon as they continue towards the blacksmith area. They're pretty weapons. He was always more of a sci-fi boy growing up. Laser swords and ray guns were what he always envisioned for himself. Though there is an appeal to steal, he can see. They can be decorative and impressive to look upon.]

They certainly won't let you keep the weapon on you while you're on the show but it is the thought, or so they say.

[ Ryuji looks duly impressed when Akechi names the weapon. Not that he can verify, but he just assumes Akechi is correct because he's that type of guy. ]

You would know that, hahaha.

[ Ha ha ha. Anyway, at least the booth isn't too far and there is some shade there which makes it a bit cooler. Thank god. Ryuji is immediately peering at the vast amount of weapons surrounding them, both intimidated and impressed. ]

Yeah, they prolly won't but I figure, they let her keep her axe so they might let her keep a sword too. They'll do that magic stuff they do to make it harmless if she tries to stab someone.

[He's a little surprised that Ryuji doesn't but... Saying as much might an unnecessary fight.]

Where does she live, anyway? [He looks over the swords while making some sort of conversation. An attempt, at least.] She's not from Japan, that much is certain. And a bunch of them are from another place altogether.

[Dorothea is from a fantasy land. Will is from a different fantasy land. Kat is from, what he assumes, is a super hero land. Some place he's never heard.]

I just wonder how the matches are supposed to find each other again when there's so much distance.

[Not that it matters in regards to his match. He'd sooner drown Will than step go visit him. But if he decides to stay in Tokyo he'd like to at least get a chance to talk to Wednesday again. It comes at the cost of hanging out with Ryuji but that's a price he might be willing to pay.]

Oh, I know this! [ Uhm, what's the name. It's not New York or California, it's — ] Shit... starts with a V? Vermond? Something like that. It's in America!

[ Like Mark, who is from Baltimore. See, Ryuji is learning these things. ]

But yeah, I was wonderin' that too. Maybe that's part of gettin' our wish. Maybe they've got some... way for us all to keep in touch after. I know we come from the same world but different but hopefully I can still give her my phone number.

[ Ryuji would be more than happy to hang out with both Wednesday and Akechi. He would encourage their friendship! Which might make Akechi hate him for being so hopeful but eh, he can survive that. ]

I also don't know how to speak English so... I hope whatever makes us able to talk here sticks around too.

week three | dates

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