supersonicadence-blog

[supersonicadence-blog]

Nice turned the corner into the next aisle of the supermarket and couldn’t help but stop and stare. There was a really kind of gorgeous girl standing a little ways down staring at the rows of shampoo like they were giving her some kind of existential crisis. Honestly, it wasn’t something you saw every day, even for a place as weird as this.

She was cute, so he kind of felt the urge to lend her a hand, but he also had no idea what could be confusing her so much.

“What’s the big deal? It’s just shampoo.”

@supersonicadence

“Ah… so many modern things. I don’t understand the point of some of these things?”

Serena frowned at the shelf, looking at all the shampoos. How could she tell what type of hair she had? She knew it took a lot of work to hold things and it didn’t feel oily….

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prayersoflight;

❇ Hikari anxiously looked around, wondering how she was going to ask for help. However, she was also worried that a stranger would be afraid of Tailmon’s existence. Nonetheless, she didn’t have to ask. Someone had noticed her uneasiness and approached. A teenage boy with bandages and headphones, who seemed around her brother’s age asked if her “cat” was up there.

“A-ah yes! Tail- Erm, my cat is stuck up there. She was trying to get my hat down.” She clasped her hands together in a silent plea for Tailmon’s safety.

“I’d really appreciate if you could bring her down! She’s my very special friend.”

So, it pretty clearly wasn’t a cat that was up there, and her stuttering about it more or less confirmed it. But there was no way she was lying about the second part--who would use something this obviously suspicious to play some kind of trick?

“I mean, I guess I could help.”

So, he had a soft spot for cute girls. Sue him.

If he’d had his superspeed, he could have gotten the “cat” down in the blink of an eye, but things were going to be tricky like this. He shrugged a bit and started climbing up the tree, branch by branch, until he was perched below the cat-like creature and looking at her warily.

"Here, kitty, kitty...” he muttered, reaching his hands out to grab her.

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fallengodcomplex;

  Perhaps it was the mental strain from dealing with his injury, or perhaps it was the fact that Nice had just carelessly trampled all over Art’s delicate relationship with his minimum and his own weakness all in one breath, but he found that his patience was running rather thin. He could feel the stubborn urge to ignore all the progress he’d made rising in his chest.

  Pursing his lips, he tightened his hand on his shoulder rather than moving to take off his coat as he had been instructed. He didn’t really want to be difficult for no good reason, but he also didn’t really want Nice’s help nor the reaction he would surely get once his friend saw how severely he had been downplaying his injury.

  “This isn’t exactly the best place to dress a wound,” he reasoned, glancing pointedly at the sheep-themed graffiti on the wall. Blatantly ignoring the fact that he’d performed much more serious medical actions in much worse environments during his stint in the criminal underworld, he moved to step back onto the main road. “Thank you for the concern, but I think I’ll manage.”

“Hey, Art.”

Nice had his hands stuffed into the pockets of his vest now, and he spoke quietly. They’d just reunited, but it seemed he was faced with his friend’s back once again.

It’s not like the two of them had a perfect relationship ever since the events of a few months ago, but they were making progress of a sort. Call him insensitive (most people did), but he was too stubborn to let that go because of Art’s wounded pride.

“You’re doing it again.”

✛ Invincibility Fallacy

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spiriteddefense;

  Oooookay. So she was going to have to be really straightforward with this one.

  “Jeez, and I gave him such a good hint, too…” she muttered under her breath, horribly disappointed that her meaningful eyebrow wiggle hadn’t been enough to get him to understand. Training newbies really was tough work!

  “When I said ‘balance,’ I meant you’re supposed to pick up all the plates at the same time!” she said, gesturing to all of the dishes still left on his table–and the one next to it, as well, although that was perhaps less intuitive. “You wouldn’t be able to get away with work this sloppy during a real lunch rush, you know. Just imagine it.”

  She put a hand on his shoulder so that she could yank him around to the places she mentioned as she painted the scene.

  “The customers who just came in want to sit down, but they can’t! The only two empty tables still have dirty plates on them. Oh, well, maybe they’ll take a seat at the counter–oh no! They can’t do that, either, because someone put the plates there instead of taking them to the kitchen! We’ll have to turn them away–it’s probably for the best, since the cooks don’t have any clean dishes left to make new food.”

  Shaking her head, she looked thoughtful. “Maybe you’re not cut out to be a waitress after all.”

Nice could feel his eye twitching.

“Hypotheticals are way too boring. No one’s even here,” he grumbled, but he grabbed all of the plates and balanced them into stacks in his hands. He was more than capable of carrying a bunch of dishes. If there were any situation here that had made him wish he could use his minimum, it was this one; imagine the look on her face if he dashed across the diner at the speed of sound and still didn’t drop anything.

“Maybe I’m just a lousy waitress because I had a lousy teacher. Where even is the kitchen, anyway?”

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bleuspaceranger;

╰ 🦁 ╮             Wow, what a way to bring down the mood he was trying to set up. Then again, he did just start rambling about nothing to a complete stranger that seemed to be talking to themselves. Well! Not anymore, Lance could save this …. Hopefully. Maybe, or he could just go back to finishing his drink considering how jerky this guy was turning out to be.

     “Oh yeah?” He would push on, for now. Hey, worse comes to worst? He could just leave. But, with anyone, why not try once or twice? Turning in his chair to fully face the guy, Lance brought his arm up on the bar to prop his chin upon his palm. “Then tell me, how were you before you came here?” he asked, as a way to say ‘hey, I’ll change your mind’, or something along those lines. 

Nice raised an eyebrow. He was kind of getting the impression that this guy might be annoyed at him. He didn’t really get it.

“Back in Yokohama, I was a private investigator with no cases lined up,” he said, “and it’s exactly the same here. The only real difference is that I don’t have supersonic speed anymore.”

He didn’t think that counted as a big deal. Actually, he knew lots of people who would probably consider the loss of one’s minimum a huge deal, but it was all the same to him, mostly. It’s just one thing that he had in Yokohama that he didn’t have here.

“Why, did you have some huge transformation into a different person when you got here?” Nice asked, tilting his head to the side out of curiosity. “It’s just a change of scenery, isn’t it?”

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Nice leaned back a bit in his chair, grin on his face. “You’re definitely improving,” he said, flicking Art’s king onto its side from across the table. “You just play a little too fast and loose once you start seeing chances for a checkmate.”

Then he grabbed his own king and spun it around a few times in his hand as he added, “It’s about keeping better track of your opponent in the final moves.”

Art was never very good at paying attention to his opponent. Nice didn’t really get why it was so hard for him, but it proved to be his friend’s weak point over and over. Even in scenarios far more critical than playing chess with a friend, but still similar in that he couldn’t have known his opponent better if he’d tried, Art still miscalculated...

Nice frowned a bit. It wasn’t really like him, getting caught up in memories like that.

@supersonicadence continued from x !

  Art blinked in surprise as he took in the position of Nice’s bishop, mind working quickly to determine that yes, his king could not be saved. For a few tense moments, he frowned at the board as though he was upset by the outcome (even though it really was his own arrogance that always got him in the final moves).

  Then, breaking into a small smile, he shook his head and leaned back in his chair.

  “And here I thought I’d been improving recently,” he said with somewhat of a wistful sigh. “Somehow, you always manage to undo me. You’d think I would at least see it coming by now.”

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fallengodcomplex;

  Art couldn’t help it–the second he read Nice’s wish, he burst out laughing.

  “No, Nice,” he said once he could manage to get a word in, still chuckling, “that wish is perfect. Thank you for thinking of me.”

  As funny as it was, he meant what he’d said. Their wishes weren’t all that different when it came down to it, even if Nice wanted to express his love in a more concrete way. Art just couldn’t resist poking a little more fun.

  “But I do hope you didn’t actually expect to get a lifetime supply of candy out of it… It’s just a tradition, you know.”

“Well, who says I won’t? Maybe I’ll win the lottery,” Nice said, hands folded behind his head leisurely. “If I do, I vow to give it all to you and Hajime-chan so that it comes true.”

This kind of promise was really nonbinding, right? Because he’d never win the lottery.

It was fine, though. Nice would have no idea what to do with that much money; he didn’t think he’d ever had more than 20000 yen at one time in his life. And what else would he use it for, anyway?

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cuddly nicearts

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fallengodcomplex;

  Art rolled his eyes good-naturedly at Nice’s somewhat childish rule, but he played along anyway. He wrote his own wish down on a separate wooden plate and hung it up as directed, right next to where Nice’s would go once he was done.

  “It’s a bit predictable for something like this,” he mused as he examined his own handiwork, “but I think it’s appropriate.”

  Wishing for the well-being of one’s family and friends might have been “boring,” but it was something he truly hoped for, and he wouldn’t waste a chance to remind himself that he should be thinking about it.

Nice finished with his wish and put it up next to Art’s, stepping back to inspect them.

“Wait, what? Your wish is way too different from mine!” he said as he looked at the two side by side. “Is that what you were supposed to wish for? Something vague like that?”

It was kind of stupid, but now he felt like he’d wasted his wish on something he couldn’t actually get.

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fallengodcomplex;

  “Perhaps they simply couldn’t stay away as long as they were supposed to,” Art said as his small amused smile grew into something much brighter. He even chuckled a bit as he added, “It adds to the love story, don’t you think?”

  There was any number of reasons that the festival was being held at the end of August, ranging from “time passes differently here” to “that’s when they wanted to do it.” It was obviously something they chose to do rather than something to do with the stars, whether it was intentional or not, so why even bother getting worked up about it?

  Brushing his hair from his face, Art nudged Nice in the shoulder. “Punctual or not, why don’t we offer our wishes anyway?”

Nice stepped forward and reached for a wooden plate, grinning at his friend beside him as he handed one to him. “Okay, but don’t blame me if it doesn’t come true,” he teased.

He’d never actually made a wish at a shrine for Tanabata, and so when he brought the marker to the wooden surface of his plate he suddenly came up short. You were supposed to wish for the happiness of your friends, right? Well... He supposed he knew how he could do that.

“No peeking until we hang them up,” Nice said, tilting his plate away from his companion as he hurriedly scribbled something down on it.

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fallengodcomplex;

  Art turned and broke into a smile as he saw Nice approaching him through the crowd. Ducking towards a less populated spot, he waved his friend over so that they could have a proper conversation before approaching the shrine together.

  Once he heard Nice’s question, though, he found himself shaking his head fondly.

  “Didn’t you read any of the fliers on the way here?” he asked, clearly amused. “Everyone is celebrating Tanabata.”

“I read them,” he sniffed, giving Art a little glare, “but I didn’t think it was a real thing. Tanabata is supposed to be on the seventh day of the seventh month. Isn’t it August already?”

Truth be told, Nice didn’t know that much about Tanabata or how you were supposed to celebrate it. He’d never bothered with it back in Yokohama. He was pretty well-versed on the legend behind it, though.

“Orihime and Hikoboshi can’t even see each other right now. They’re still separated by the stars, so what are we doing celebrating, huh?” He gave Art a conspiratorial nudge with his elbow.

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@fallengodcomplex

Nice was taking a leisurely stroll to Starlight Shrine, not in any real rush. Everyone else in Stella City seemed to be out and about today, and a lot of them seemed to be going the same place as him; it was kind of weird.

When he finally arrived at the shrine, he found the distinct head of purple hair that he was looking for almost right away.

“Hey, Art!” he called out to his friend, closing the distance between them rapidly. “Why’d you call me out here, anyway? Is it some kind of special occasion or something?

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fallengodcomplex;

  Sighing, Art turned to the cashier to deal with the purchase. He more or less expected this kind of behavior from Nice after knowing him for the better part of a decade, and besides, he needed time to collect his thoughts anyway.

  After paying with the weird inflated currency of this city, he thanked the cashier and took the bag of supplies with minimal wincing despite the way the movement irritated his injury. As he turned to leave, he felt ready to return to their conversation.

  “What’s done is done,” he said as he pushed the door open. “I suppose I made a mistake; I’ll try to do a better job reading the situation next time.”

   He fully intended to keep that promise, although it was difficult to do so. Just because he’d acknowledged that he should let others–let Nice in particular–help him when he needed it didn’t mean that he was good at admitting when that time had come. Not so long ago, he would’ve chafed horribly against the implication that he needed to rely on Nice, and old habits died hard after all. He would prefer not to subject himself to any more life-threatening injuries if his minimum no longer worked, though.

  The reminder of how this city blocked their abilities instantly made him uneasy again, to the point where he visibly winced. “As soon as I fix up my shoulder, we should start looking for a way out of here.”

Nice raised an eyebrow at that. “A way out of here? I couldn’t find one,” he said, scratching his cheek. 

“We might just have to lay low for a while. I’m sure Murasaki and Hajime-chan are looking for us. Besides, I kinda like this place.” He looked up at the sky with a grin as they walked, hands behind his head.

It was kind of relaxing in this city, and he wasn’t really in any rush to get back to Yokohama. It’s not like he wanted to stay here forever, but it was kind of like a vacation to Nice. Being without his minimum was a weird feeling, but it’s not like he needed it. He could go without his minimum while he was here.

He came to a stop in front of an empty side street, tilting his head to gesture towards it. “Let’s put the bandages on,” he said, grabbing the bag from Art’s hands. “Take your coat off so I can see it better.”

✛ Invincibility Fallacy

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sunablaze;

     « ☀️ » : as if this was truly educational, the prince fixated his eyes on the claw, watching it swing haphazardly then shifting his attention to the boy. wow, it’s the same exact thing he was doing, yet less cool somehow. maybe because he’s not  a regal prince with dignity. there was no attempt to stifle the somewhat pretentious laughter that followed the comment, his hands settling on his hips. “i see! just because you cannot win means the game must be rigged! how amusing! it seem you are the one not doing it right, my friend! here, i will try again.” 

     the way companies go out of their way to steal your money is not a concept to soma. he is certain you can win this easily enough. although, after sliding yet another token into the machine, being greeted with the same disappointment once, twice, three times, he was also starting to get a bit annoyed. a bottom lip jutted out, he pointed at the mechanism, “i do not like this machine. it is telling lies.”

“That’s what I said. It’s rigged,” Nice said, giving the machine another sour expression. “It’s just set up so that it takes your money without giving you anything back.” The only reason he even wanted to win at this game was because he had a particularly lucky friend who always got what she wanted from these damn things, and he wanted to do it, just once. But apparently that was just not going to happen.

He sighed a little bit, rubbing the back of his head and turning away from the money-sink garbage machine. “Whatever. There are plenty of games here that aren’t set up so you lose,” he said. Maybe it was time to play a game he was actually good at.

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fallengodcomplex;

  Art swallowed his frustration at Nice’s obliviousness, wishing not for the first time that he could just appreciate the kind intentions of a gesture like this without feeling so useless. He’d been right, though–Nice really didn’t understand him, and even if his actions were coming from a good place, it was hard to accept his help. He’d been struggling with that a lot ever since he got out of prison, and this situation only made it worse.

  He knew that what he really needed to do was calm down and be honest with Nice: he was never going to understand him if Art didn’t reach out as well. Unfortunately, that was a difficult enough process on its own without the added issue of Nice bringing up this particular topic of Art working solo cases.

  It had been a source of tension at Hamatora ever since Art had joined, but they hardly ever really talked about it since almost everyone understood what a touchy subject it was for him. Deep down, he knew that he only did it out of a misplaced sense of pride and, of course, a guilty conscience. He knew that it wouldn’t really bring him the redemption he wanted so badly, but he also couldn’t bring himself to feel truly accepted into the ranks of the detective agency, even though he knew he should. Nice had made that, at least, very clear.

  So, he really couldn’t help it that he found himself withdrawing even further away from Nice. Barely managing to bite back his frustration, he pursed his lips as he had no choice but to follow Nice to the shelf with the bandages.

  “I was, yes,” he said evenly, still working to keep the strain of his injury out of his voice. “There were more people involved than I thought at first. It was a bit too much for me to handle, after all. But my shoulder really isn’t that bad. I can bandage it myself, you know.”

Nice glanced to the side at Art, pulling the necessary supplies from the shelves. “You mean you went after them by yourself?” He had been paying attention to Art’s case because he was kind of curious about it, and it had been pretty clear to Nice that the group he was after was a little bigger than they seemed at first--definitely too big to take on without some kind of backup.

“You know, you could’ve just asked me for help,” he said, bringing the items up to the front of the store. He meant it as in he could’ve been Art’s backup (he would always have Art’s back if he asked, since they usually worked well together), but also that Art could’ve consulted him about the case at any point and he would’ve been happy to help. And Art probably wouldn’t have a gash on his shoulder to show for it, which would make him even happier.

He was basically ignoring the part about Art being able to bandage himself up, because that was just stupid.

But then the cashier was done ringing him up, and he took a look at the price of his purchases. That was out of his price range (everything kind of was).

He turned to look sheepishly at Art.

✛ Invincibility Fallacy

[supersonicadence-blog]

smcllyalcter;

“Yes, I don’t appreciate nosy detectives.” The brunette warned him. Well he can always tell him to back off with his Umbreon but that can be cheating, isn’t it?

“Trust me, I didn’t expect this job at all as their Researcher but I’m getting used to it.” He gestured towards the astronomy lab. Gary can tell he’s not the type to nose around for things. Good. That’s the least he can do.

“Well, if you don’t want to start anything, go ahead and take a look around.” He relaxed slightly.  “And, what’s your name for starters?”

“It’s Nice,” he said, sticking his hands in his vest pockets nonchalantly. He was still pretty curious about this research lab, so it was a good thing that he was sort of being given the go-ahead. He leaned over a particular piece of equipment that he didn’t really recognize and picked it up to get himself a closer look.

“What exactly are you studying here?” he asked as he turned to look at the rest of the lab. Obviously, it was astronomy, but the specifics might be something he didn’t know about.