#ah yes lets make farmers out to be the bad guys for making things safer for both them and the cows

[platonic-prompts]

I'm bored, and I saw a thing calling breeding cows r*pe and its like, my guy-- (Description of animal husbandry ahead)

Anyway, cows basically go into estrus every 18-21 days, estrus is what can be considered 'heat' so she's essentially minos's wife from the minotaur story but without the bestiality, and for the cow, this actually has the potentially to be very dangerous because no matter what people want to say, nature isn't pretty

In the field, if a cow in estrus and a bull are together, then the cow really has no control over whats going to happen to her, because the bull basically makes it so she can't run and can't breathe while he--- you know. With AI (artificial insemination) the cow just...does not care. They are for the most part chill, and please remember if cows don't like something, they very much can hurt you. They're not cute defenseless puppies, they weigh over a ton.

So either way, the cow is getting knocked up, one is much more painful than the other, and one carries much, much less risk to farmers (because they don't need to deal with a bull)

And before any militant vegans rise up with their bullhorns (no problems with regular vegans except the one teacher at my school who didn't understand the concept of how small dairy farms sell their product, like dude, you're also hurting small farms) animals aren't humans. They don't think like us, they don't have the same morals as us, and they certainly don't have the same wants and needs as us. If I held down a full grown human woman and forced her to take a pill, that'd be bad, but me forcing my cat to take her dewormer isn't. Not to mention that a lot of the descriptions used by sources are very misleading and honestly disgusting

Honestly I want to know if they think reaching into a cow to help her give birth without losing the calf or the cow is bestiality too

But main point here is: The cow is getting pregnant either way, AI has less chance of severely injuring or even killing the breeding stock (Bulls can trip, cows pelvis can get crushed, bull fights, etc)

And I think my favorite comparison from the article I read to double check everything was: Did your cat or dog sign a consent form to be spayed or neutered? What about giving them kibble or canned food?

Animals cannot give or withhold consent (which is why everyone who is a zooph*le can go burn in hell) to anything, but that also means you can't use that as an argument (ZPs THIS IS NOT AN EXCUSE BURN IN THE FIERY PITS)

Animal caretakers are just that they take care of their animals, which means making decisions that are in their best interest. And sure, sometimes those interests also line up with whats good for humans, but that's not a bad thing.

Also the so called 'r*pe racks' articles talk about, they don't exist. They're just things like squeeze chutes (used for vaccinations and other things) stanchions (Commonly used for vet visits), and various head-gate systems (keep the cow in place essentially. We had these in the milking parlor, they did not care, they loved headpats there though)

So, i hope that this has been informative for anyone planning to write a farm story, and also for people who've seen this and are not writing a farm story

Also have a somewhat graphic link to the page I read while doing this. I just think its good practice to look at the side who, you know, actually deals with the animals for a living rather than the people who've never stepped foot on a farm (looking at the vegan who was on the tennis team and keeps her hunting dog cooped up in a small apartment)

[sunshinelikesstarwars]

Paths of Life 9

AO3 - FanFiction.net

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 -  9 - ?

The new trailer is out! I gotta finish this before the new season!! Again, @plainrea and @bellehillary, your comments kept me motivated to write, so thank you so much!

They came out of hyperspace and the Mandalorian began flying them towards the open hangar.

Omera took a deep breath. They had a plan. Everything would be fine.

They landed and she, for a brief second, imagined that they decided to fly away immediately. Maybe they could start homesteading in the Unknown Regions. No one would look for them in that wild part of the galaxy, right? Surely that would be safer than this?

But no, it was time to focus—she was no longer Omera the farmer, but Mer the bounty hunter. The new clothes they had traded her woven items for felt strange, but she tried to relax and settle into them. Calm and detached. She was a killer, a trick-shot, her rifle strapped to her back and her pistol an increasingly normal weight on her hip. She was merciless and unflinching. Aloof and unaffected. And it was just an act—this would not be what she would become. This was a cloak, to be worn in disguise and then set aside.

For she may be any or all of those things at times—merciless, a killer—but they were not parts of herself that she liked.

She checked the children, tucked away in the berth. “Alright. Remember, be very quiet. You’ll be just fine. Winta, you have the headphones?” Her daughter held up the two sets they had picked up. “Good. You guys can listen to some quiet stories, like we talked about. No making noises, though. We’ll be done with this soon, and then we’ll go somewhere nice for tonight, okay?” Winta’s wide eyes showed how unconvinced she was of the sanity and safety of this whole event and Omera wanted to sigh.

This was risky. It was, as the Mandalorian had so gracefully put it a few nights before, a bad idea. But without guild work, bounty hunting was harder than ever, with clients either not paying in full or at all unless threatened. Omera’s weaving had gotten them the clothes she was currently wearing, yes, but it had taken an obscene amount of time to make all the belts she had with the scant resources available to her. Winta could help her, but had limited patience, and the baby needed to be watched most of the time so he didn’t run off into mischief.

She turned as the Mandalorian hopped down the last few rungs of the ladder and the kids both looked at him as he came over. “You two all set?” he asked, coming over to gently pat the baby’s head. Winta nodded, smiling wide, and Omera bit back a laugh. When the Mandalorian asked if she was alright, Winta would happily say yes, but not for her own mother? So that’s how it was going to be for a while. Omera would have to take the Mandalorian aside and talk to him about that—but not now. (There seemed to be a lot of those “not now” conversations, actually.) Now, it was time to play her part to keep her kids fed for possibly the next couple of weeks.

“Be good, and remember: stay quiet,” Omera added, kissing both children’s foreheads before the Mandalorian shut the berth door.

The two parents looked at each other in the quiet. Omera felt her heart racing, her palms sweating. There were so many ways this plan could go wrong. After a bit, the Mandalorian tipped his head towards the exit and Omera took a deep breath, then nodded. Time to get going.

The hangar was busier than she had anticipated, although it was a fairly good-sized space station, so maybe it wasn’t too strange. People paused when they saw them: a Mandalorian, rare, and a Mandalorian’s partner, even rarer.

They approached a man with wild gray hair, who laughed and called the Mandalorian “Mando,” a nickname that had never sat well with Omera. She wondered what the Mandalorian thought of it. “Mando” was being especially quiet and restrained--for all that this man pretended camaraderie with the Mandalorian, she didn’t think the feelings were genuine on either side.

The man was called Ran, and she noticed his sharp eyes linger on her. “And who’s this you’ve brought along?”

“My partner, Mer,” the Mandalorian replied. “She’s a crack-shot. Good for any job.”

“Well, I’m afraid I can’t pay her for this one. With you and your ship, we’ve got everyone we need.”

They’d discussed the possibility that Ran wouldn’t hire her on. What they hadn’t discussed was the possibility that he’d want to use the Razor Crest. Omera felt the start of a mild panic. She took deep breaths to disperse it and attempted to look mildly disappointed by not getting the job instead.

“The Razor Crest? That wasn’t part of the deal. What do you need my ship for?”

Ran talked about it being off-the-grid, something Omera didn’t really understand. Surely there were other unregistered ships? He seemed to have decided, though, and she felt the Mandalorian’s reluctance to push too hard against him. Ran might decide not to give them the job, or simply have the two of them shot and take the ship, kids and all.

She stepped up next to the Mandalorian, who turned to look at her. She really wished she could see his eyes, but she tried her best to communicate with hers. “I can go get the ship ready, if you want,” she said. Warn the kids. Hide any evidence of anyone besides “Mando” and “Mer.”

He turned back to Ran. “How long of a job is it?”

Ran, who was watching them with interest, shrugged. “An hour or two, three tops. In and out. Your, ah, lady friend here—” Omera frowned at him. She had a name, thank you— “can even wait in the ship, if she doesn’t mess with anything or slow you down. Might be a bit crowded, but like I said, it’s not a long job.”

Omera was still breathing deep, as slow as she could without drawing attention to herself. She needed to be calm. If they took the job, she would have to explain the change in plans to the kids quickly. Oh, it hurt her heart to leave them in the berth for so long, but it was the safest place on the ship—out of the way of prying eyes.

She wondered if this low-level panic would become the new normal for her. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

It took another long moment, but the Mandalorian eventually nodded. Ran smiled and smacked his pauldron. “Excellent! I’ll introduce you to the crew.”

As the other man turned away, Omera leaned towards the Mandalorian. “Like I said, I’ll get the ship ready.” He nodded again, so distant, even from her, and she wondered what he wanted to say. There wasn’t time, though—she had to hurry.

She set off at not-quite-a-jog to the ship. Once inside, she glanced to see if anyone was watching from outside and saw a few mechanics moving parts, so she focused on cleaning up any toys or other things that would give away the game. After that was done, she looked out again. She was worried someone would be coming up the ramp already—but she had to risk it.

She opened the berth door to see two surprised little faces. Winta started to smile and pulled off her headphones, but Omera shook her head. “New plan. Stay very quiet. More people will be on the ship for a while.” Then she shut the door and checked to see if anyone was watching. None—they were safe. Her shoulders relaxed (she hadn’t even realized they had tensed up) and she felt her heart racing.

If the Mandalorian suggested they do something like this again, she was going to have a very long talk with him.

A droid was the first to board the ship. It (he?) looked at her, then proceeded to look around the ship. “I am Zero. I am the pilot for this job. I must run a diagnostic of the ship.” He then climbed up the ladder to the cockpit before waiting for any response. A quick glance out the door showed that the Mandalorian was standing with a group of people around a holo-deck and that no one else was likely to board anytime soon, so Omera climbed up after the droid.

He was running a diagnostic, like he said, but when he checked the comms, a recorded message started to play. When the droid didn’t immediately stop the recording, Omera walked over and turned it off. “If you don’t mind,” she said in a hard voice. He looked at her for only a moment before turning back to his work. She frowned. The droids back on Sorgan had been very polite—this one seemed nothing like them. She supposed he wouldn’t be if he was a bounty hunter or something similar.

She waited until he was done, then followed him down. He left the ship without saying anything and Omera wasn’t sure if she was annoyed or relieved.

A Twi'lek boarded next. She glanced around lazily. “Just like I remember it. He certainly hasn’t changed much.” Her gaze landed on Omera and she smiled a sharp, unkind sort of smile, twirling what looked like a dagger in her fingers and looking Omera up and down. “And you must be Mer. I’m surprised to see him with a...partner. Especially with...well, I’m sure you already know.”

Omera did not like this woman, she knew that.

The purple-skinned woman continued, “I guess that makes me, well, the ex, in this situation.” Another smile and a horrendous giggle. “How awkward for you. I’m Xi’an, if you were wondering. Maybe he mentioned me?” Omera let no reaction show. This woman was trying to get a rise out of her, and she wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. And she highly doubted the Mandalorian had consented to anything but a working relationship with this Xi’an. “I always knew he’d come back,” the woman went on, strolling around, taking in the stored luggage and bedroll before setting down on the bench and starting to balance one of her daggers on a finger. “It was just a matter of time.”

Sweet stars above, did this woman think she was a holostar or something? Did real people say things like that?

But Xi’an’s words reminded Omera of what the Mandalorian had said, about how coming back here felt like crawling back to an abusive master. Oh, she was liking this job less and less.

Two men boarded the ship, one a pale-skinned human and the other a red-skinned alien she didn’t know the species of.

The human waved. “Hi, I’m Mayfeld. The big guy’s Burg.” Burg grunted.

Omera nodded back at them, arms crossed. “Mer.” She wanted this job to be over with already.

Both the droid and the Mandalorian returned, and it was suddenly a bit claustrophobic in the small area. The two of them both went to the cockpit and they were soon underway.

Not too long into the journey, Burg began pacing and growling. Omera moved in between him and the closed door of the berth, just in case. He punched the ceiling and she winced, but it didn’t leave any dents, thank goodness.

Xi’an snapped at him, to which he just growled again.

Normally when things around her were this tense, she’d try to diffuse the situation with some soft words. Maybe ask about interests or planets they’d visited. Easy conversation, mostly pointless, but calming.

Something told her that wouldn’t work too well with this group.

Still, she was considering striking up a conversation with Mayfeld, who seemed polite enough when he’d introduced himself, when Burg started pressing buttons and activated the small armory.

Startled, Omera quickly left her post by the berth to close the doors that had swung open. “Those are private.”

Burg growled and looked about ready to punch her.

“Hey, hey, we all have stuff we don’t want people getting into,” Mayfeld said. He had risen to his feet and held out his hands in a placating gesture. “We’re good, right, Burg? Mer?” Omera wanted to raise an eyebrow. Was he suggesting she was somehow at fault here? She kept her face neutral, though, and nodded once. Burg just growled again, but paced off to the other end of the ship.

It was then that the Mandalorian hopped down from the upper level. Omera hoped that now, maybe, tensions would ease.

Oh, she hoped in vain.

What followed could only be described as taunting, possibly discrimination, and definitely out of line.

Omera wanted to scream at them, kick them off their ship, and fly far, far away. But the Mandalorian did nothing. Was this what his life had been like with this crew? Offensive innuendos from “ladies” and whoever else, outright hostility and mockery of his way of life? How could he bear it in silence?

When Burg looked like he was about to grab the Mandalorian’s helmet and rip it off, Omera did something very foolish. She stepped in between them and put her hand on her pistol. Summoning every bit of righteous bravery (and possibly stupidity) she could find, she said, “I think it’s time for you to take a seat, Burg. I think I hear the ship getting ready to exit hyperspace.”

If she had thought Burg looked angry before, he looked furious now.

“Hey, it’s just a bit of fun,” Mayfeld said with a sneer as Xi’an cackled. “Just a joke. Nothing Mando can’t handle, right? Maybe not, though, if you need some woman to fight your battles for you.” Omera couldn’t believe she’d ever thought he was polite.

“All the same,” she replied, willing herself not to tremble as Burg growled lowly, “it’s time to sit down.”

The ship did exit hyperspace then, immediately beginning to spin and jerk around. As she fell to the ground, she heard her daughter shriek before stifling it. Her blood ran cold. These...these monsters could not find her children. She’d fight them all off first, bare-handed if she had to.

The noise seemed to have been lost in the chaos, though, and while Mayfeld gave the closed berth door an odd look, he turned to the business of getting into whatever ship they’d docked on to.

She felt a hand rest on her back as the Mandalorian stood from where he’d fallen next to her and she relaxed the smallest bit. She wasn’t alone, and she wasn’t leaving the kids. They just had to finish the job and they’d have the ship back to themselves.

The crew were soon dropping out of sight, and when Zero stayed up in the cockpit, Omera risked knocking on the berth door. “Are you alright in there?” she whispered.

There was a bit of shuffling, then a tense, “Yeah, we’re okay.”

Omera sighed. “We’ll be okay, sweetheart. We just have to wait now, okay?”

A pause, then, “How long?”

“I don’t know. Maybe an hour or so. Why don’t you keep listening to your books, alright?”

There was a sniff. “Mom, I...I want to go home.”

Oh. Omera leaned her forehead against the door. “I know, sweetie. We...we’ll talk later, okay? Now’s not a good time. There’s still someone in the cockpit.”

There was no response, and Omera closed her eyes. Home? Where was home? They’d left the village behind. Omera’s family was all dead. Home...this ship was their home. They’d let those people into their home, and Omera would count it a blessing if she never saw their faces ever again.

Unwilling to leave the children alone, even to check on what Zero was doing, she paced around. Was it worth getting out the new belt she was working on, just for something to do? Ran had said the job would take an hour or two, but she wasn’t sure if that meant the job itself or with travel time included. She needed the distraction, though. Her hands were shaking, and she didn’t know if it was from fear or anger or both.

As she brought out her next project, her mind wandered. The others might come back in bad shape, for whatever reason, and she resolved to have at least the very basics of first aid available. Just if they were in danger of bleeding out, though. She put down her work and started to sort through their things. It didn’t take long to gather some supplies, and then she was back to the belt.

Zero came down the ladder after a while. He looked slowly around the small space before saying, “I’ve lost contact with the team. Standard procedure is to wait at least an hour before leaving unless the situation is too dangerous.”

Her breath caught as she stared at the droid. Leave? Leave?

“If they have not returned in that time frame, or if we are in danger, I will come down assist with detaching from the ship.” He then turned and went up the ladder.

No. No, Omera would not let that happen. She’d shoot the droid, climb down to the other ship, and scour the place herself before she left the Mandalorian behind.

The shaking in her hands was even worse now, and she put the project aside and tried to breathe deeply and calmly.

Later, much later, although that might have just been her perception of time, the Mandalorian called up to her from below the docking port. Something in her chest eased and she stood with a sigh of relief.

Omera helped the Mandalorian get a new Twi’lek man up the ladder and safely secured him. The Mandalorian went up to the cockpit, and after a few minutes, they were off again.

She wondered what terrible thing had happened that most of the crew hadn’t made it out of this so-called “easy job.” It wasn’t hard not to dwell on it, though, and she instead kept an eye on their captive. He, thankfully, was not talkative.

They were soon back to the station, and Omera watched Zero escort the imprisoned man down to where Ran was waiting. To her surprise, the two men hugged. So...not a prisoner? Bounty hunting was even more baffling than she’d thought.

“No questions asked, right?” the Mandalorian said in response to Ran’s query about the rest of the crew. The man shrugged and tossed them a pouch of credits. The Mandalorian didn’t even count the credits, but rather hurried to pull up the ramp and close the exit.

“Get ready to jump as soon as we clear the station,” he said, tossing the bag of credits to the side before hurrying up to the cockpit. Startled, stood staring for a moment after him. Surely they weren’t in too much danger now that the job was over?

Regardless, the kids were safe to come out now, and she opened the berth door to see a silently crying Winta cuddling a sleeping little boy. With a heavy heart, she helped them out, then wrapped them in a blanket and had them sit with her on the bedrolla spread on the floor. Winta kept crying, soundless, and Omera hated this even more than she’d hated having that…crew on the ship.

The Mandalorian rejoined them after she felt the ship jolt into hyperspace, lowering himself to the floor with an almost inaudible grunt of pain. He just looked at the children for a moment before looking down at his hands

“Yeah,” he said, sounding weary in a way she hadn’t heard from him before, “that was a bad idea.”

[dancing-with-dichotomies]

ALSO I APPARENTLY???

Started writing a WLW AU fic for SOSTOT?? Yuzuki/Kasumi, with Yuzuki being female here? AND TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT IT?  XD;; IDK it’s half decent so far, anyone want me to continue it...? ^^;

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

After a day of teaching a classroom of children, dear though they were to her, Kasumi was ready for a much-needed soak at the spa. She had just partaken of a light supper at Ginjiro's, some healthy spinach soup, and now she was on her way to see which of the deluxe spa treatments were available that night. It had been a few days since she'd checked, or did anything fun with anyone, she'd been rather busy with planning, grading and training and such...

She knew which one she was hoping for... The wine bath that the kind farmer at the crossroads, Sandy, had acquired especially for her earlier this year. How Kasumi lamented that she'd recently married, of all men, -Wayne-. Just... Why -Wayne-? Nothing could be more perplexing. Ludus, perhaps, might have made sense, he had such nice flowing hair at least --  But the crazy cowboy that used to flirt with almost everyone and gave really bad gifts...? Ugh. There was no accounting for the tastes of heterosexual women, and Kasumi was infinitely glad she was not one of them...

Then again though... Sometimes it could get a little frustrating too, which was why she often took her baths at the very end of the night, when there was usually few or no others left around. It was a little extra frustrating to be reminded of her former and now bygone crush on Farmer Sandy, now that she was in the arms of Crazy Wayne, as Kasumi called him only in her head... But she loved the smell of the sweet, tangy wine bath she had created just for her too much to stay away from it, even if it bore painful reminders for her now, it still soothed her muscles, if not her broken heart...

And ah, how fortunate. Tonight was Deluxe Wine Bath night~

Farmer Sandy had in fact since then also donated a few extra types of wine to the spa owner, apparently, to get people to try her new wine blends. Instead of the usual grape wine bath, tonight it was going to be a cherry wine bath, and the next week there was to be a strawberry wine bath. How delightful! Sandy, though your taste in men might be horrible, one could at least say nothing ill of your taste in wine...

There was a small handful of women in attendance that night. Shizu and Omiyo were there chatting together in one corner, Beni from Crimson Farm was also having a soak, and in one corner by herself, sipping from a cup of tea that Kasumi knew without even asking had a more than generous amount of honey stirred into it, was Yuzuki...

She was a strange but sweet girl, that Yuzuki... Kasumi had known her ever since she was a little girl. Often a very sick little girl... Kasumi felt so sorry for her. Abandoned by her own parents to live with her grandparents just because she was sick... They then went on to have another child and raised them, without any care for the first. Without care for how she'd nearly given up hope at their betrayal and wasted away in the hospital until her new friends and family managed to nurse her back to health.

Chiefly her grandparents, of course, but Kasumi hadn't been able to stay away either. The second she first saw the frail little girl, temporary trapped in a wheelchair as her poor old grandparents pushed her to her doctor's appointments and in and out of hospital stays... Kasumi knew her parents were only keen on the idea of her helping the other child because they knew it would make them look good to the community, but Kasumi was grateful for their help anyways. They allowed her to take flowers to the girl, some reading and schooling materials, and some healthy soup.

Yuzuki had been just as happy to see Kasumi as she was to see her gifts. They talked for hours. Kasumi would help Yuzuki with the schoolwork and read to her until she fell asleep. When they were close enough, Yuzuki confessed that although she was grateful for the soup, she had been madly craving some sweets, and begged Kasumi to get some for her. Of course it was a childish request and Kasumi knew she shouldn't let a sick person eat anything unhealthy, but she compromised by at least bringing her a bowl of peaches, cherries and strawberies the next time she visited.

Yuzuki eventually got better, and was allowed to go home. Kasumi still said hello to her and made light conversation whenever she saw her, but it wasnt nearly as often as before. For the first thing, they lived on completely different sides of town, with Yuzuki down low in South Tsuyukusa and Kasumi living much further up North, and working even further away than that at the school in the next town over. No one ever really stressed it, but there was also the issue of their much different social status. Many men and women in Tsuyukusa, not just Yuzuki, tended to treat Kasumi much more stiffly and politely than other people. She in turn adopted the same mannerism towards them.

She wished she could be more like Komari or Yuzuki. Though Yuzuki was quite respectful like Kasumi, she also had an air of casual, nonchalant familiarity with most people. Not quite as brash and obvious and in-your-face about it like Komari, who by the nature of her being unashamed in her approachability made it much easier for her to crowd Kasumi first whenever she saw her. Yuzuki would easily say hello and make small talk when she saw her alone, but if she was busy with something or someone else she'd keep a respectful distance instead...

Kasumi really missed the old days, their long conversations at the hospital...  But of course it was better than Yuzuki didn't have to stay there anymore.

A little over half an hour passed. Omiyo started getting a little lightheaded and Shizu offered to take her home, saying she needed to get back to her family and make supper anyways. Yuzuki said goodnight to them both and then they redressed and left. About fifteen minutes later Beni also wordlessly excused herself.

They were both hyper aware of the other's isolated presence after that. Kasumi was frozen silent, wanting to say something, but unsure if a bath was the sort of place to strike up casual conversation when you haven't spoken too much in a while...

Yuzuki seemed to wonder the same thing, waited a few minutes to see if Kasumi would also excuse herself... But when she didn't, and figuring it would be more awkward to stay silent, Yuzuki finally spoke up, mentioning, "This cherry wine bath is really nice, isn't it? I don't really like wine, but I've always kind of wanted to try Sandy's cherry and strawberry wines. They look so good, even though I know I wouldn't like the taste, the bottles are just so pretty! But I like it better in a bath like this, I think -- I get to smell it without having to taste it! It was so kind of Sandy to make the extra donations. I mentioned the same to her and she immediately offered to let me try the wines in bath form! In a couple of weeks Iluka and Siluka are going to come for a special Tropical Mango Bath night too! Ooh I do look forward to it! Aaah, a cacao bath sounds really good too..."

"Yuzuki..." Kasumi lightly chided her, hiding a smile behind her hand. "Be careful now... So many baths in a row might make you lightheaded..." She was starting to feel a little extra steamy herself, since Yuzuki mentioned that Iluka and Siluka would be coming another night.

Kasumi didn't have the courage to outright flirt with others, but when she did look upon others with romantic thoughts in her head, it was often girls from out of town. Iluka and Siluka, or Lisette. They were dream-girls. As in, literally only to exist as such in her dreams and in her head. It was safer with them, at least. How could she look upon Komari or anyone else in Tsuyukusa that she had to see regularly if she allowed such thoughts about them? At least with the other girls... If something ever did happen to ruin their friendship, she could just avoid ever going to Westown or Lulukoko again. Being banished/ostracised in your own home would be a much more complicated and inconvenient state...

So it caught her a little off-guard and confused when Yuzuki suddenly giggled, a strange kind of way... "Admittedly, this wine bath might be making me a little giddy... But I swear I didn't drink any, I just had a few sweets earlier..."

Kasumi cast a doubtful look at her. "A few?"

"Ahh... Just some yomogi and mitarashi dango..."

"...And."

Yuzuki knew she wasn't hiding anything at that point, bashfully coughing up the truth after a short pause, "...A-And monaka..."

"..." Kasumi didn't even prod verbally this time, just gave her old friend a knowing look.

"...Okay, okay, and a strawberry shaved ice! I'm completely sugar-high, I admit it!"

"Yuzuki..." Kasumi rolled her eyes then, wondering how the other girl managed to stay so abnormally stick-skinny despite how much sweets she consumed. Kasumi was skinny too, but she did have at least a few womanly lumps, even though she hardly ever ate sweets...

Looking for a change of subject quickly to take some of the shame off of her, Yuzuki then mentioned, "Y-Yes, it sure was nice of Sandy to make those donations! She's really a great woman... But, just... Ugh, can you believe she actually married WAYNE?!"

Kasumi's mouth fell open just a little in shock, and she involuntarily leaned a little closer in without realizing it... "I thought I was the only one who thought that..." Obviously you keep such thoughts to yourself normally... But it was just the two of them here, and Yuzuki was thinking it too...?

The girl with the sea-green hair scooted a few seats closer to Kasumi too, now leaving just a respectful distance between them. "No way, I thought so too! He's seriously crazy! Like he's a good guy, he's not dangerous, he's just crazy! Nothing he does makes sense except for organizing the mail! I guess Sandy must like the wild type, but that cowboy is too wild for me... And he DID try to flirt with me once, before Sandy came along. He wonders why he got a reputation as a playboy but he WAS an awful flirt before he met her! It's one thing to flirt with someone you really like, but when you flirt with every pretty girl you see, and then wonder why you suddenly have so many ardent admirers? Truly, only an insane person would do that and not realized what caused it, I think..."

That was just what Kasumi had been thinking! "I'm glad at least that he seems to be properly devoted to Sandy now... She's an absolute godsend to all of our communities, so she deserves only happiness..."

Yuzuki nodded sagely. "I think so too. But then, we deserve happiness too! We work hard too, right Kasumi? This is really nice. Soaking your muscles after bending over a work-table for hours is nice by yourself, but it's even better when you have a good friend to spend the time with~"

Kasumi smiled appreciatively back at her. "I agree... It's been too long since we talked like this, hasn't it... It was rather hard to see each other for a while there, but... It would be..." Oh dear, that wine was making her blush now too... Yes, the wine... "It would be... V-Very nice, if we could see more of each other!"

Yuzuki blushed deeply at that too. "I'd like that... And..." Kasumi thought she was about to say something deeper and more meaningful, but then... "I'd also like some more sweets..."

Kasumi felt an eye twitch. The girl was insatiable... "Yuzuki, honestly..."

But then the green-eyed girl fixed a stare at her, an extra-open and honest gaze that made Kasumi feel like her own black orbs were magnetically attracted to them... "Honestly, Kasumi..." She repeated back to her coyly. "I want more... But... The sweetest thing I see here is you~"

...WHAT...?

Kasumi was struck with dumbfounded silence for a moment... Then just as suddenly, she erupted into mad giggles. "W-WHAT, Y-YUZUKI, THAT--Y-YOU...! AHAHA... You sounded just like WAYNE there...!" SURELY, since they were just talking about him, Yuzuki was just doing a funny impression of him as a joke... Right...?

Yuzuki blushed and looked down at the water bashfully at that comparison. "Hehe, I guess so... Flirting is harder than it looks, I suppose... I wonder how Wayne manages to get all the girls he says it to take him so seriously..."

Wait... She sounded... Genuinely a little forlorn by that...? "Y-Yuzuki...?"

Their eyes met again. Yuzuki scooted just a fraction of an inch closer, and Kasumi didn't scoot back when she toed into her personal space. "Kasumi... We've always been rather a lot alike, wouldn't you say? I've been wondering for a while... How much more like me you might be...?"

She was leaning ever closer... Kasumi felt no inclination to move away or stop her, the exact opposite in fact... It almost felt like her beauty was drawing her in, like a magnet to metal, until their lips were finally pulled together...

Heaven. Nirvana. Honey-sweetness still clinging to her lips and breath. Such a sticky-sweet breath, like a candy factory in one person's mouth. Normally Kasumi would never seek so much sweetness for herself, but the feelings it was stirring in her belly despite it being just a simple meeting of mouths was leaving her quickly craving more...

Her lips were so soft, moisturized by cherry lip balm... Sweetness on top of sweetness, softness she would now forever be tempted to touch again... She clung to the top of Yuzuki's shoulders, as if she might drown in water half her height if she didn't hold on... And Yuzuki, her hand slid around her waist, to her lower back and then...

Kasumi suddenly gasped and pulled back, looking around. No one was watching for that split moment she'd lost herself, thank goodness, but...

She looked back at Yuzuki... Knowing in an instant, there was no way she was giving this up... But all the same... "W-We can't, at least, not here..."

Yuzuki nodded right away, just as reasonable as her, but also just as eager to proceed. "No, of course not... And, we couldn't go back to my place either, since my grandparents live there too, but... We -could- tell them we decided to have a sleepover at your place, and we could be alone there... What do you say, Kasumi...?"

Say? Was she even capable of speech anymore...? Almost mute, her mouth began to move, but very little sound was coming from her shocked self. "Ah, I-I...?"

Yuzuki quickly let go of her, and looked away. "Unless I was mistaken... I-In which case, I'm sorry, and I'll leave you alone--"

Reflexes quick as lightning and her grip much stronger than Yuzuki's, Kasumi quickly reached in and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back close to her again.  Yuzuki's eyes went wide and her heart skipped a beat as the feminine lady suddenly displayed her strength, holding her tight, their torso's aligned. "...Get what you need, and meet me back at my home in half an hour... Okay?"

Shaking a little, feeling a bit weak in her hold but in a rather delicious way, Yuzuki nodded. She then kissed her once more on the cheek, and got out of the bath to collect her clothes and go home.

Feeling extra naked and exposed even though she was now alone, Kasumi quickly followed suit, putting her kimono back on while shaking like one of the early autumn leaves falling outside...

Was this real...? Was this really real, was this really really about to happen...? Did she perhaps drift off into an extra-realistic dream...?

Well, if she was dreaming, then she was hallucinating... Because it was an hour later than she ever accepted guests, and someone was now knocking at her door...

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO