" .. I Think It's Dead, Boss "

" .. I think It's dead, boss━ "

💀 — [ he pulls the world's most charred pizza out of the oven, ]

" MAGMA MIA! "

“I would die for you.”

“Yeah, but you won’t shut up for me, will you?”

This is still the prettiest thing I've ever written

When her expression changes to one of surprise, smile vanishing, Ryuji can't help the pang of worry in his stomach that he did something wrong.

Maybe he did, a part of him murmured, you did just make a scene then proceed to ask if she wanted clothing coupons in public, you know? Maybe that'd be embarrassing for her, both in the ways of her disliking such attentions; her efforts to keep her head down royally dashed by sheer virtue of her befriending of him, not to mention the metaverse as a whole; and in the ways of what thoughts it might inspire. ( while Ryuji hadn't first known, hadn't first realized, the concept passed right by him entire until pointed out with pen and paper like an assignment he missed the date for; how many others shared that first unawareness? how many other people would judge her for it? their peers so often tore her apart as it is, a feeling Ryuji was so familiar with. was this feeding the vultures? was it baiting them in? if not appearance in one way, then they would always find another. they would always find something different, they would always find something. )

for a split second, his center of gravity shuddered just enough to make his nerves feel shaken, and he tries not to look too worried. it was just surprise, and if she did turn it down, really turned it down, he could give them to someone else; the sentiment, hopefully, not a bad one. not a lost one. ━ but he hoped she'd take them. he couldn't know what it was like to be who she is trying to outlive who she used to be known by, but he wanted to help, even if he couldn't. wanted her happy, even if it was fleeting. he knew that always, always, she'd deserve that much. ( so he hoped she'd take them. he really hoped she'd take them... )

but Ryuji almost gets blindsided by his own momentary past self as he straightens out properly with his breath regained, not expecting to be caught red-handed in his half-step falter of language; he should've, Akari was quick, quicker than anything, and he finds himself kind of glad for it, but also a little embarrassed at being called out

" Oh! Uh.. " the bleached-blonde falters, not untruthfully, and scratches at the back of his head, openly unexpecting of it, as the other arm he holds the coupons with bends & lowers only slightly in his thought, the offer still blatantly on the table despite the motion " Reason I asked is 'cause, well… I wanted to know if you'd wanna go together! "

might as well be honest! ( double down! )

" I don't really know how to style an outfit like you or the others, a-and I don't know nothin' 'bout girl clothes, " Ryuji bounces his leg by the tip of his shoe, scraping it against the ground, bluntness overpowering the anxiety beneath it " but I like hanging out with you anyways, no matter what we do, and you deserve something nice! "

Ryuji's conviction of the statement is honest, heartfelt, unhesitating. he doesn't even need to think about it to believe it, like it's just a fact to him, like simple truth. he waggles the coupons like it's proving a point, flimsy paper slips shivering in the wind " and if I gave 'em to Ann, I'm pretty damn sure her closet would explode at this point… "

[Plotted Asks!]

@quillheel wrote in… »» " Hey, Akari-! " brazen as ever, like a bull in a china shop, you can hear the blonde before you see him. Ryuji manuevers, almost dance-like ( if not for how ungraceful he is ), around the groups of students departing from the academy. To his benefit, at the very least he's not toppled anyone over… this time. ducking, weaving, before hopping haphazardly on one leg, a backpack of supplies hooked on his arm wild with momentum, to part through a gap of people and at last make it to Akari. He's as bright as ever, though red in the face from the strain & speed of himself, frame shaking with heavy breathing. he hunches, hands on knees, to catch his breath. He seems not to care as people stare, just a little, at the commotion. " H-hey━ sorry about that, I uh- I wanted to ask if you were free today-? Real last second, I-I know, but━ " Well, that explains the seeming bid for attention: it was. like Akari's time would be snatched up if he wasn't fast enough. ( some days, that was true… ). he digs out two slips of paper from his bag, and waves them like evidence, reason to his social crime. " ━ wound up getting coupons for that one clothes place down the way, in Shibuya, and they expire in a couple of days so I-I wanted to ask if- " come on, spit it out! " if you wanted em-! " ━ damn! he meant to ask to go together, even if Ryuji didn't know his head from his feet in fashion, but… ah well, it's the heart that counts, right? as long as Akari had the chance to get something she liked, it was worth it either way.

The moment Akari heard the all-familiar, less-than-inside voice beckon to her, the moment she dared to turn around--she half-expected to witness some poor soul get trampled over by the incoming stampede headed in her immediate direction. However, she would be humbled in her assumption--surprisingly so, don't get her wrong--as she instead caught a showing of Ryuji attempting to hop, skip, and jump his way over to her, somehow avoiding the outcome she'd predicted.

"Ryuji, you know that you could have just said my name and I would have waited for you... right?" There's a shake of her head, but she did have to stiff a small huff of laughter. There was no reason to make such a showing, but in a twisted way, she was glad he did.

Embarrassing? Oh, yes--everyone within the vicinity was now staring into their very souls. Weirdly amusing and worth watching? Also yes.

However, when he'd expressed his intentions further, Akari's little grin had faded for an immediate reaction of surprise. She blinked a few times under her glasses, both at the invitation, and, of course, at the two tiny sheets within the blonde's grip. Coupons... for a clothing store? And, judging by his own language, he acquired these at his own leisure, and not by any sort of random chance.

Yes, extremely unlike Ryuji. To the point where she's still wearing that expression by the time she spoke again. Her thumb and index slowly trailed downward over the strap of her bag; Morgana must have jumped out at some point, maybe when he heard Ryuji coming...? He definitely would have said something less-than-ideal by now if he were present.

"A... are you sure you wouldn't want to give these to Ann?" Ann was the actual fashionista of the group, after all--surely she was the better candidate. And yet... here he was, offering them to her instead.

She... wasn't quite sure if she should be the one accepting these, out of all people... and not merely due to her lack of fashion. So, she would not extend her hand to accept them just yet.

"...You asked if I was free?" Surely it wasn't related to this, right? Ryuji didn't quite strike her as the type to enjoy that kind of shopping.

// dyn. tag dump! @tenebriism // @gldhte // @theyrots // @cardedsoul

━ ♔ Every version of me dead and buried in the yard outside / We'd sit back and watch the world go by ━ SANS/O’DELLE: theyrots

━ ♔ Just believe me when I say / I mean no harm; open arms; I will keep you safe until you / Pass me the knife ━ AKECHI/YUSUKE: tenebriism

━ ♔ Silver; crystal; carousel your effervescent touch / But everybody knows that home is where your teeth sink love ━ BILLY/STU: cardedsoul

━ ♔ After the foxes have known our taste; After the raven has had his say; I'd be home with you / I'd be home with you ━ LINK/GAIA: gldhte

♡ // for Yusuke and Akechi~ c;

Send me a ♡ plus a ship and I'll tell you... // always accepting!

WHO ASKED WHO OUT FIRST? ━ Honestly? it depends! Akechi is very much someone to take initiative and roles of leadership in many areas, personal included, but he's also EXTREMELY adverse to Fully allowing himself to break the distance he always puts between himself and others & as a result allow them to Know him beneath the masks he wears and the way he Wishes to be presented and the way he Is in a very genuine, raw sense. he is raw meat when you remove the skin and as much as it's honest, it's also sometimes ugly, sometimes it's volatile. he doesn't want to tie himself to someone who becomes an obligation he must mask himself to rather than an individual he's forged a connection with and can drop that false disposition, even slightly, with. He doesn't expect to be able to fully, and frankly I don't know if that's more Yusuke or Akechi restraining himself, but even slightly is something unparalleled to him. Akechi has more than enough nerve and articulation but it depends on how Yusuke responds for him to use any of it and lower himself from the distance he tries to keep to meet him on truly equal footing.

it'd also take Akechi coming to terms of an admission of his sexuality and therefore offering a direct 'crack' in his facade that, while maybe not major to others as individuals who are meant to be considered his friends ( and most of them probably Also queer, even if canon doesn't Say as much ) and the fact sexualities can change and often do over time, IS major to Akechi who often labels himself ━ knowingly incorrect ━ as straight to appear what is Expected of him in every avenue. 'appealing' isn't the right word, too sickly sweet of a term for this, but it's the closest I can think of when Akechi's domain is dominated by namely older individuals and a social norm based in homophobia where you are simply expected to be straight and if you are not it is expected to be secret, you as a person and you on the screen as two different people who should never clash and hell breaks loose when someone finds something they shouldn't and it does.

even in instances of this world where this Isn't true and Japan is much more accepting or where homophobia is just simply ignored, Akechi will always feel as though he must be either private ( always fun, always coy, always 'can you figure me out?' more than an actual right to his own secrets, always like a game he's playing with the audience that isn't one at all ) or performative, and the concept of directly admitting the contrary to someone, even unspoken, is difficult and daunting for him. Akechi wants to appear the 'nicest' option to those in his field and his fans, but part of this is also the fear of information being used against him. the question is ━ do i trust Yusuke enough to keep my secrets even when i want this? i may love him, but is it worth breaking the act for? breaking character? how much does this person mean to me, and is it enough? love and trust are two separate ideas, levels, 'love' being a foreign concept to him, and he must ask if they are cause enough to risk his person for. if he decides that 'yes, it's enough', then the decision, the asking is a quiet one, but one that cannot be stopped. Akechi has always been a stubborn, dedicated person when he sets his mind to something he so deeply believes as truth. Yusuke, on the other-hand, i think could be much more direct about it! after THREE PARAGRAPHS of me writing about how fucking complicated it'd be for Akechi where a solid 99% of it is ENTIRELY internal and HALF subconscious!!!!! Yusuke feels to me as a very withdrawn quiet character in a way, shy, which would probably make it harder but he feels as though he could ask much faster than Akechi could. Akechi takes months upon months of small moments reaffirming trust and reinstating a belief that Yusuke is worth this trust where he whittles down the distance despite how uncomfortable it makes him, and while I don't know what Yusuke could take, Yusuke always struck me as a honest, if romantic person. he doesn't need less, but I think he might trust Akechi more. the thought more approachable; he does, of course, perhaps have less to lose WHO WENT IN FOR THE FIRST KISS? ━ AKECHI. honestly it's extremely likely and i wouldn't be shocked at all if THIS was how Akechi wound up 'confessing' or 'asking Yusuke out'. Akechi is a very thoughtful, complicated individual but he's also very impulsive at times and while he has SO much strategy in Everything he does, he flips between intense self━restraint and intense, overwhelming, impulsiveness and sometimes, a lot of the time honestly especially where the metaverse is involved ( and Yusuke as a result since! well! he's part of the fucken phantom thieves! ) that side of him wins. in particular, I like to think it happened somewhere secluded at perhaps a holiday party when one of them stepped away, potentially Akechi, and the other found them, or late in the evening after a long night of spending time together; perhaps initially with the entire group before everyone went home and it was left as just the two of them, going home, the subway station almost ghost-like with them as the only people left there at such an hour, and either of how those quiet moments can invoke such a sense of disregard to caution when there is nothing left but conversation and opportunity, waiting to be taken to see what happens. AAAND that's as far as I can go without Tunglr LITERALLY refusing to post the damn thing so WOE google doc in the source it is