Hero

Where It Always Rains

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Son of a bitch. How did she know he was going to turn it around on her?!

Shiori immediately opened her mouth to protest but immediately snapped her mouth shut. Instead, she quickly looked around, scanning the place. Okay, good, no sign of Ariyoshi. That meant it was safe to talk without fearing that smug, knowing smile of hers. The girl was a witch when it came to this sort of thing, so she wanted to make absolutely sure the coast was clear.

Alright, first things first: Shiori could not ignore his smartass comment. "If anyone has been flirting all day, it's definitely you," She countered, placing her boba down so she could properly glare at him. "It's like you're going out of your way to rile me up. That's why Ariyoshi is convinced this is a date, you can't go five seconds without teasing me!"

She let out a huff, all riled up again. "I'm just reacting to all the things you're doing. You're the one that decided to look cute, so I'm just paying compliments where they're due," She stated. "That said, if you weren't so smug about it, I'd happily accept the flattery."

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Where It Always Rains

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Shiori was happily sipping her boba when Totsuka decided to indulge her and draw the card. She couldn't help the slightest bit of smugness from it--he wanted to know just as much as she did! There was nothing wrong with playing a silly game, anyway, and whatever the case was, she would live with it. She sorta hoped for a high number, but a low one would be good to finally get Totsuka off her back for a little bit.

She was taking a sip when Totsuka placed the card on the table: a ten. She made a small noise of confirmation and readied a smart-ass comment, but she stopped and did a double-take. It was a ten?! So then that meant they were romantical--wait, wait, wait! That couldn't be true! They were that romantically compatible?! She could already feel her face burning as several thoughts of domestic bliss played out in her imagination. So he liked to cuddle at night and go out for walks and would kiss her forehead when she was feeling down? But they had just met! How the hell were the cards supposed to know, anyway?!

As she got herself riled up, she refused to speak first and focused more on emptying her boba. Unfortunately, a pearl promptly got stuck in her throat, and Shiori immediately started choking, clapping a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from spilling the contents in her mouth all over the table. Her other hand was pounding on the table as she tried to clear her throat, but after a few seconds, she swallowed hard, finally clearing her throat.

As she gasped for air, she looked over at Totsuka. Her reaction was...less than ideal. Once she managed to get herself back to normal, she stared at him. It's fine, all she had to do was just play it cool. "Somehow, even though I shuffled, I knew that was going to happen," She admitted outright, taking a more conservative sip so she wouldn't nearly kill herself again. "Crazy coincidence right? It's gotta be rigged somehow."

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Where It Always Rains

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Shiori's chewing came to a halt as she watched Totsuka's hand draw a card from the deck. Holy shit, he was really doing it! She swallowed her snack, hastily occupying her mouth with her straw to prevent her mouth from hanging open, though her eyes never left his hand as he placed it down. Was this a challenge? Could he read her thoughts? No, that last one was impossible, but the former could very much be true. Maybe he wanted her to voice her protest or to back out. Was this some weird game of chicken?

Alternatively, he was indulging her, but she was too hardheaded to think it was that.

Well, too late to back down now. She took in a breath as subtly as she could, trying to play it off as nonchalantly as possible. This was so stupid. Drawing a card from the top of the deck, she placed it face up across from Totsuka's. She had a seven, and he had a two. For whatever reason, it made her laugh a little; considering the most they had in common so far was a love of cigarettes, it didn't surprise her too much.

"Shame, doesn't seem like we have much compatibility when it comes to friendship," She mused out loud, visibly relaxing. As she went to draw another card, however, a thought occurred to her--Ariyoshi had definitely had some sneaky way to shuffling to have the cards come up a certain way. Her outstretched hand quickly snatched up the deck and she reshuffled it.

Placing it down, she drew a card and placed it down--a one. "Your turn," She said as she relaxed in her seat, sipping her boba.

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Where It Always Rains

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He did look better with a smile.

Tragically, the pair were in the same boat for Harumi's timely arrival. There was some odd thought in the back of Shiori's head that thought it was karma coming for Totsuka, but she wasn't thrilled by the girl's return, either. And especially not after her comment. At least it hadn't been aimed at her this time, and watching Totsuka deflate was a little amusing. It did, however, weirdly annoy her how he denied that this was a date--not that it was. But if it was, saying there would be no second date would be kinda rude. But it wasn't, so no harm, no foul.

She grabbed one of the snacks and promptly chomped it down. "What he shaid," Shiori mumbled, chewing.

Harumi frowned, but she recovered quickly. "If you're sure about that, then I won't bring it up again," She said as she dug into her apron pocket. "While you wait, here's a little card game you can play in the meantime."

She brought out a well-loved pack of cards. The back had a surprisingly intricate design, an assortment of different colors forming a heart. "This is the deck I usually use for my compatibility tests, but they're perfectly serviceable as a regular deck, too," She said as she shuffled them expertly. "Now, what I usually do is tell each person to draw one card and place it down. The closer the numbers, the better the friendship. Then, they draw two more; the farther these numbers are, the more romantic potential they have. And the last time relies on the symbol, with two symbols meaning--"

She stopped herself, letting out a gasp. "Wait, no, you're not interested in that sort of thing! Sorry, I'm so used to explaining the rules," She placed the deck down between them and took back the tray. "I'll make sure to have the kitchen take care of your order as quickly as possible, so I'm sure a game of goldfish could be fun."

Giving the pair a bow, Harumi was off. Shiori almost couldn't believe it, her mouth open the entire time their classmate was talking. As if she wasn't being obvious! She angrily sipped her boba, staring at the cards. Still, it was a really dumb tactic. It wasn't like they couldn't just ignore the cards and choose to sit in awkward silence instead. At least her other attempts were more respectable if obvious what her intentions are.

There was, however, the smallest, tiniest shred of curiosity in the back of her head, however.

Letting out a sigh, she looked at Totsuka. If she admitted she was curious, he'd definitely make fun of her. Her stare unintentionally got more intense as she deliberated on what she should do, chewing angrily on a snack.

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Fire Emblem: The Slumbering Goddess

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Tomai gave little more than a wave whenever he was greeted. While Lavender had yet to respond, it was clearly because she was focused. Once she finished, she turned to face her trio, looking at each of them with a smile.

"All will be explained shortly," She promised, ushering them to take their seats, though she had hers sit towards the front. "Hmm...we're missing one. Still, it's best to brief you all on today's mission."

She drew a circle around Garreg Mach and Magred, tapping the Magred Way twice. "Professor Michail is overseeing the carriages and has left it to me to inform you all of today's mission. The Church has received a plea from Magred, requesting assistance," She stated. "There are some dissidents of the Church that have been demanding the people to forsake the Goddess' teachings. Such blasphemy can't stand, and thus the Knights of Seiros will be dispatched. In the meantime, this Unit will assist by helping the townspeople that have been stranded in their homes while the Knights are occupied taking down the leader of the dissenters."

She drew a small diagram of a battle formation. "In order to ensure the success of the Rose Unit, four members of the Iris Unit will be assisting. Albrecht von Varley, Aileas Hyland Dominic, and Ezekial Gloucester will strengthen the frontlines while Celeste Gloucester will strengthen the backline. As they are under my tutelage, I can promise that they've been trained sufficiently and will be beneficial to the Unit as a whole."

She tapped several units. "Professor Euphemia, Professor Michail, and I will act as an advance unit. We will be taking a couple of volunteers and splitting our forces into two," She said. "The advance unit will enter the town first and weed out the leader, while the rest will be strictly on guard duty, protecting the townspeople. We have intel that states they intend to hold the townspeople hostage and we cannot let that happen. Both parties will have their danger, but so long as everyone follows orders, I have all the confidence that we will succeed."

Placing the chalk down, she looked at the students. "I'll happily take any questions at this time, as well as any volunteers for the advance unit."

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Where It Always Rains

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He would take it in stride. Shiori wasn't entirely sure why she thought she could get away with her comment if her words were about as shaky as an autumn leaf on a windy day. Well, it was out there, and now he had the wrong idea. That was on her, she should have put more effort into it. It wasn't like it was a total lie, either; he did look good, she did like it. Admitting it was just...difficult. Especially when the recipient seemed to enjoy her struggling.

Crossing her arms, Shiori slouched down in her seat, throwing Totsuka a glare. He really said she was the one to ask him out! You know what? She had nothing to lose. She already embarrassed herself, there was nothing more that could go wrong.

"I can't go asking you out again, it'll give you an ego," She huffed. "Next time, you're going to have to ask me out."

"Planning the second date so soon? How wonderful!"

Shiori outright jumped up in her seat, though she immediately shrunk down, suddenly fascinated with the table. Harumi had returned with a tray of both drinks and the treats Shiori had requested. She placed the tray between them, her smile the same as always.

"Please excuse the wait, it would seem we're still a little busier than usual," She said. "I thought you could have your drinks and snacks in the meantime. But if you need ideas for a second date, I'm happy to make suggestions, Totsuka-kun."

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Fire Emblem: The Slumbering Goddess

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Derec slowly blinked as Auberon spoke, catching about every third word or so. It was his own fault for having stayed up all night, though, in his defense, the shadows striking through his room had been enough to haunt his nightmares. Actually, his sleep deprivation was likely the result of the sheer amount of stress he was experiencing. Those damned Crest classes were going to be the death of him. It was a good thing that he didn't care much for his grades, otherwise, he would probably have to worry about that, too. But he was caught in a relentless cycle: he could not properly concentrate, and he could not concentrate out of fear of revealing his Crest, and he could not reveal his Crest because he could not concentrate.

But none of that related to his current situation. It took him much longer than it should have for him to realize that Auberon was waiting for a response. He slowly nodded, gently closing the door and making an effort to rub the sleep out of his eyes. It was best to go now lest he fall to temptation and end up passing out on his bed. And so he went about getting ready at a quick pace, splashing water on his face and pinching his cheeks to wake himself up.

By the time he stepped out, he still looked tired, but at least he was dressed. "Sorry for the wait," He mumbled, resisting a yawn as he looked at Auberon. "I, uh, wasn't expecting you to wait up."

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@Scribe of Thoth

Where It Always Rains

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Ah, at least Harumi hadn't made things too weird. Totsuka was all too happy to jump back into their previous status quo--which consisted of him poking fun at her again. Shiori would've been relieved if it hadn't been at her expense. She raised a hand to her face like she was brushing her bangs in a feeble attempt to hide her face, feeling her cheeks burning already. As much as she wanted to blame him, however, it was her own fault for letting her guard down. Or rather, she was so concerned with Harumi that she definitely forgot how much of a goddamn tease Totsuka was.

"Thanks..." She managed to mumble out a word, wishing it wasn't suddenly so warm in this stupid cafe.

Wait a second, she had nothing to be embarrassed about! It wasn't that weird to dress up on the weekends! She was a girl, after all, and eventually, she'd enter the workforce and probably have to wear a nurse's uniform. What she needed to do was go on the offense since he attacked relentlessly, always catching her off guard. Harumi had the right of it; if she wanted him to let up, she needed to attack, too.

Shiori straightened up, hoping most of her blush was gone as she placed both her hands on the table and stared directly at the pompous asshat. She was determined to give him a taste of his own medicine, even if it came after a small gulp. "I also--I meant it, too. Before, I mean," Her bravado hadn't quite reached her words, though as shaky as she was, she stayed the course. "I think the uniform's stuffy, so this is...it's good. Should probably do your hair like that more often. 'Cause I...like it."

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Avatar: The Legend of Sinaaq

Lmao advanced

@Salsa Verde

Avatar: The Legend of Sinaaq

[hider=CS][CENTER]AHVAHTARR OONG
[img]media1.tenor.com/images/72b6de1da9855…
[sub][color=darkgray]"Will you go penguin sledding with me?"[/color][/sub][/center] 
[indent][color=darkgray][sub][u]NAME[/u][/sub][/color]
[indent]Ong[/indent]

[color=darkgray][sub][u]AGE[/u][/sub][/color]
[indent]112+[/indent]

[color=darkgray][sub][u]BIRTHPLACE[/u][/sub][/color] 
[indent]one of the asir temples idr which one (southern? i wanna say southern)[/indent]

[color=darkgray][sub][u]ELEMENT[/u][/sub][/color] 
[indent]all of them cause avatar[/indent]

[color=darkgray][sub][u]APPEARANCE DETAILS[/u][/sub][/color] 
[indent]bald
got some arrows
likes yellow[/indent]

[color=darkgray][sub][u]PERSONALITY[/u][/sub][/color] 
[indent]goofball
nice boi
tells you to bite the curb when in avatar state tho[/indent]

[color=darkgray][sub][u]BIOGRAPHY[/u][/sub][/color] 
[indent]his history is in the history books cause reincarnation[/indent]

[color=darkgray][sub][u]TRIVIA[/u][/sub][/color] 
[indent]was left handed in a previous life[/indent]
[/indent][/hider]

result is

CS

AHVAHTARR OONG

_{"Will you go penguin sledding with me?"}

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_NAME

Ong

_AGE

112+

_BIRTHPLACE

one of the asir temples idr which one (southern? i wanna say southern)

_ELEMENT

all of them cause avatar

_{APPEARANCE DETAILS}

bald
got some arrows
likes yellow

_PERSONALITY

goofball
nice boi
tells you to bite the curb when in avatar state tho

_BIOGRAPHY

his history is in the history books cause reincarnation

_TRIVIA

was left handed in a previous life