#free post friday | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

radioactivepeasant · 2 months

Text

Snippets: Free Day Friday

Trespasser, In Which Jak Gets Another Bad Idea

When he'd hastily redressed and stumbled out of the garrison locker room before anything else could happen, Jak quickly found himself confronted by that Strom guy again.

"An hour? Really?" Strom pursed his lips disapprovingly. "You think we have some magic supply of water to spare?"

"Lay off, we weren't washing for an hour -- much as I'd love to," Daxter argued, "The big guy fell asleep!"

"In the shower? Isn't that dangerous?"

Jak shrugged. "How would I know?"

Strom decided after a moment that this fell under the category of "none of my business". He sighed and waved for Jak to follow him.

"The king says we're to put you up in the barracks for now." He eyed Jak's face, somewhat startled by how much younger he looked under the dirt. "How old are you?"

Jak shrugged. "Midway through seventeen-ish. I think. My "guardian" wasn't exactly a reliable source."

More things to file under "none of my business"

"Oh...kay..." Strom did his best to move past one or two odd questions surfacing in his mind. "Well that narrows down which dorm you're in, at least."

"How so?"

They stepped back out into the late afternoon heat, onto the main road through the Gate District. The burning sun barely touched Jak, deflected by his wet clothes as if he were wearing his own air conditioning. He decided to pretend it had been intentional. Just in case someone asked why his clothes were all wet.

They were led towards the end of a row of houses built into the city wall, leading to an impressibly high flight of stairs into some kind of coliseum. Strom did his best to explain as he led them up the stairs, but he wasn't usually the guy they called for rookie orientation for a reason.

"It's um. So- okay look. The Arena sublevels are divided into three floors: the hospital, the armory, and the barracks. Barracks are split between militia, citizen candidates, and teenage Squads."

He didn't explain Squads.

"You're going to end up in that last one -- probably Dorm 4, that's where they put orphans or unregistered foundlings."

"Orphans?!" Daxter chirped indignantly. Then he paused. "I mean. I guess it's accurate, but you didn't have to say it!"

They didn't end up in Dorm 4.

The Resident Advisor took one look at the slightly dusty, slightly soggy, boy and ottsel and assigned them to an empty bunk in the second hall, Dorm 2. Jak was handed a canteen and a folded set of sheets before being unceremoniously ushered down the hall and into a sparse dorm room holding two bunk beds. For the moment, it was empty.

"Lights are out at 9 bells, no exceptions unless you got a case of the screaming meemies," the RA said gruffly. He pointed at a bottom bunk without sheets -- Jak's, apparently.

"You're responsible for keeping that bunk at least clean enough to pass weekly room checks. Check the schedule on the wall if you want to know when mess hall is open. If you miss that, you can hit the markets, but you're on your own for paying for it."

Jak eyed the bunk uncomfortably. He was responsible for maintaining this bed? He probably wasn't even going to be here that long! He cringed when the RA pushed a twelve by six metal box across the floor with a terrible scratching sound.

"That's your footlocker. If you want a lock, get it yourself. You kids keep losin' em and now we're out." The RA snorted. "But most of the squad in your room is on home rotation this week, so you only have to worry about maybe Sam stealing your stuff. He won't, by the way. Too busy training."

He turned to go, then turned back quickly. "Oh. Gotta confiscate your gun mods, so don't lose your marbles when you get your gun back plain."

"The rot you do!" Jak protested, "I earned those!"

"Don't care." The RA shrugged. "None of your dormmates have and I don't want 'em getting ideas about "borrowing" em."

With a stern warning not to start any fights, and to not miss allotted mealtimes if he didn't want to go hungry, the RA keft Jak alone with Daxter. They stood in the center of the room, blinking incredulously.

"Well..." Jak said after several seconds, "It's not a cell."

"Or an alley," Daxter agreed.

He hopped down and examined the mattress. Nothing fancy, but it was miles better than they were used to.

"Here, gimme the fitted sheet."

"What's a fitted sheet?"

"The one with the stretchy corners." Daxter pointed. "That's the one that goes on the bottom. Wraps around so it don't get pulled off if you roll around a lot."

"...oh. Weird."

Jak handed the thing to Daxter and watched in fascination as his friend set about attaching one corner at a time. It looked difficult.

Before he could offer help, his talk-box activated. That was a bit of a surprise. They'd been traveling for two days already and nobody had made a peep. Daxter had thought they'd have noticed the first time he turned off the location tracker!

"Jak! Jak, where are you?!"

Samos. Jak's stomach churned.

"Don't know," he answered flippantly. "I think we just got put in an orphanage."

"Don't be ridiculous! Get out of whatever nonsense you two knuckleheads have walked into and get back to Main Town! Something is going on, and I need time to investigate without those blasted Deathbots shooting at me!"

"Life's hard."

"What did you just say?"

Jak scoffed, feeling a little of the bubbling anger of dark eco in his core.

"You can't handle a little gunfire? You didn't have an issue making a couple kids walk into it daily. You'll figure it out."

"How can you say something so horrible to me?! I raised you to be a hero, Jak! You sound like that mercenary!"

Jak snorted."Well good. Sig's the only adult in that city I still trust."

Samos sputtered for several seconds in helpless, bewildered anger. Then he gathered himself.

"Get over yourself, Jak! Lives are at stake! I don't care what you're playing at, you turn around and get back here before something worse happens!"

Jak rolled his eyes. The sage sounded like Ashelin. He tossed Daxter the top sheet and studied the foot locker, wondering if he should use it.

"Nah, can't."

"What do you mean "can't?"

Jak shrugged as if Samos could see him. As if Daxter hadn't placed a piece of tape over the lens when he got tired of the spying.

"Oracle says I'm not done out here. Wherever "here" is. Lay off, wouldja? The Precursors sent me out here!"

He listened to Samos's stunned silence a moment before dryly asking, "Did you think they only spoke to Onin, or-?"

"But-" the old sage stammered, "But why would the Precursors send you from us when our need was greatest?"

"Probably because yours isn't the only city in the world? There are other people out there, Haven can get over itself," Jak flung the sage's words right back at him.

"What makes you think there's anything beyond the walls other than ruined wastes?"

"Those eco shipments for Praxis were coming from somewhere," Jak reasoned. Then his voice darkened to match his mood.

"There's no law that says I can't investigate. Sandover may have turned into Haven, but that doesn't mean I'm chained to it. You people already tried that, remember?"

"Jak!"

"I think the Precursors want me to find out who else survived," Jak said, though he wasn't sure that was it at all.

"I'll let you know if I find any sages."

"But Jak-!"

"Have to go, Samos. That hall monitor guy didn't say comm calls weren't allowed in the dorms but I need this thing, so I'm not taking chances."

He ended the call before Samos could make more than an outraged cough. When he looked down, Daxter was watching him with a funny expression.

"What?" he asked, a bit defensively.

"Nothin," Daxter said, unconvincingly. Then he gave a bittersweet grin. "Just never heard you stand up to Loghead like that before."

Jak looked away. "Should've been fighting him from day one. Like you. You knew he was bad news from the start, didn't you?"

Daxter rubbed his arm ruefully. "I um. I don't got a lot of memories of my folks. I was pretty little when the shark got em. But I remember my old man saying "Never trust a man who won't apologize to a kid", and then Samos came through dragging you. An'...an' you cried that whole first day, kept pointing to the sky and making a circle with your arms. And Samos ignored you."

Jak swallowed hard. "I don't remember that," he said softly. "Or much of Sandover at all now."

He sat down on the floor next to Daxter. The thanks he'd given Samos just weeks ago sat sour in his stomach. The real person he should've thanked had been right there beside him and he'd overlooked him just like Samos always did.

"Daxter?" he said gravely, "Thank you. For everything. All of it. I wouldn't be here without you."

Daxter leaned against his shoulder. "Well duh," he joked, trying to lighten a somber moment, "Heroes don't leave their sidekicks with weirdos! It goes against the bro code!"

Then he sobered.

"For the record, I don't blame ya for not knowing he had his hooks in ya. He um. I mean, you were real little, y'know? I think you maybe stuck with him at first because he was the only familiar face, and he used that against ya."

Jak laughed bitterly. "I wonder if I'd have had the guts to say all that if he was actually here?"

Daxter recognized the beginning of a spiral and elbowed him hard in the ribs.

"Well he ain't! And we're not gonna will that into existence with what-ifs!"

He scurried up onto the bunk and spread out in the middle of the mattress.

"Ahhhh! Hey, are you gonna know which morph gun is ours when we get the key to that gun locker?"

Jak pushed him to one side and, after a moment's debate, unlaced his boots.

"The stock on mine looks striped because of all the tally marks on it. The others are completely blank."

"Oh! Didn't see that!"

Reluctantly, Jak took off his goggles and gauntlets and dropped them into the foot locker. At least if it didn't have a lock, he could get them back out at a moment's notice. His knife and amulet he kept on him.

The Call hadn't subsided. He still felt it, and he still didn't know what it meant. So for now, that seemed to mean staying in this hostel/barrack/orphanage combination with more Wastelanders than he'd ever known existed. At least they were Wastelanders and not soldiers. He would've slept on the streets before letting them put him in a dorm with soldiers.

The wall schedule said that the cafeteria didn't open until 6 bells after noon. That left roughly an hour before they could find out if they were allowed to take anything from it.

For a time, Jak occupied himself by polishing his channeling ring with his damp scarf. Daxter tried and failed to braid Jak's hair, but the condition it was in was just too poor.

"Pal," Daxter said reluctantly, "I don't think these mats are comin' out."

Jak sighed in resignation. He'd wanted to avoid this -- the only haircut he could remember had been a traumatic buzzcut because a KG accidentally spread bugs through the cell block -- and got himself a spot in the cell two doors down from Jak when the bugs spread to Errol. (Who was absolutely hideous with a buzz cut, and was in utter anguish about his "beautiful hair". Couldn't have happened to a nicer person. It had been the absolute highlight of Jak's entire year.)

Jak took his knife, sheath and all, from the back of his belt and held it out to Daxter.

"Do what you gotta do," he groaned, "Just don't cut it all off."

The roommate who wasn't on "home rotation", whatever that was, came back midway through the haircut. In his state of exhaustion, he didn't actually see Daxter.

"Your...hair is falling off," he mumbled in confusion.

"It's on purpose," Jak said.

"Oh."

Sam leaned against the door to pry off his boots, then blinked.

"Wait, what?"

"He's getting a haircut, doofus!" Daxter sniped.

"Ohhhhkay, the kangarat is talking." Sam dropped his boot and stared with very wide eyes. "Cooooolll coolcoolcool everything's cool."

"Ottsel, not rat," Jak corrected. "Daxter is sensitive about that."

"...uh-huh..."

Sam swung a gear bag up over the top of the top bunk bed post. With little effort, he swung himself up the ladder after it. Apparently he shared the bunk Jak had been assigned.

"Are you new? I don't remember you," he yawned.

"First day here," Jak admitted, "still dunno what's going on."

Silence for a few seconds. Then, "So...does that mean you came from Outside?"

"I guess? Don't know how I got here from Haven, but I'm not complaining."

"Oh."

Sudden Sam was leaning over the rail of the bunk, spiky blonde hair falling in his face.

"No kidding? Me too! I mean, I ran away from Kras, but. Stowed away on a cargo ship and got caught at the docks."

Kras. The name was familiar. Something to do with racing, but Jak hadn't been paying attention.

"So you planning on the Arena too?" asked Sam.

"I still don't know what the Arena is," Jak said pointedly. "Is it for races?"

"See, that's what I thought at first!" Sam exclaimed, "But apparently the only races they do in there are Leapers. It's kinda a community place? Big meetings, festivals, executions, games, theater, combat trials-"

"Festivals?" Jak was mildly intrigued.

"Executions?!" Daxter was not.

"Yeah man. Though to be fair, there's so many ways to die normally outside the walls that it takes a lot to get the death sentence around here. You have to do something really bad for Lord Damas to kill you himself. Like "engaged in the slave trade" or "abused a kid" or "betrayed the city to enemies" kind of bad. Stuff that dishonors a warrior's name for life. Otherwise he gives you a chance for pardon in combat trials."

Jak squinted up at their temporary roommate. "How...does that work, exactly?"

Sam rolled back onto his mattress with a noncommittal sound.

"Depends on whatcha did I think. Smaller offenses you gotta fight a metalhead. Bigger offenses get you more than one metalhead. If it's bad but not death sentence bad, you fight other Wastelanders who already know how you fight."

"Remind me not to get on these guys' bad sides," Daxter stage-whispered.

"So then why would I enter the Arena if I didn't do anything wrong?" Jak pushed.

"Oh yeah, that's the other thing. Civvy candidates who want to be permanent residents gotta prove they can survive the three main dangers of the Wasteland: enemy shooters, treacherous terrain, and lava. So the king makes us do combat trials simulating those conditions until he's satisfied that we won't like. Immediately die if he lets us outside."

Jak considered this for a moment.

"Fair enough," he decided.

"No??? It's not??" Daxter finished slicing off the last mat and gave Jak an appalled look. "Precisely none of that is normal!"

Jak swept the clumps of hair onto the floor and leaned back to let Daxter continue braiding what was left.

"So...you prove you can handle yourself, and they let you stay?"

Sam reappeared over the rail. "Well, you also gotta prove you're willing to work. They don't like lazy people out here, everybody does at least one thing that keeps Spargus operational, even if it's just sweeping the sand out of the stables -- which is about all they let me do on account of last time-"

"What happened last time?" Daxter asked as he finished tying off three fishbone-braids.

They could almost hear the wince.

"I...kind of...failed so hard at wall patching that I dropped an entire bucket of wet clay on a district representative. He got a concussion. It was bad."

There was a chagrined silence, but then Sam rallied. "So yeah, I'm not allowed near construction equipment anymore and I can't switch chores yet. All kids get maximum one job a day, but you get to pick what you do once you either turn nineteen, or get through the third trial."

Wheels were beginning to turn in Jak’s mind. He'd never given much thought to the future, but what if he just. Didn't go back to Haven? What if the crisis ended and he didn't go back? Might be nice to have a place like this on standby.

"So that what the grouch-in-chief said you're training for?" Daxter asked.

"Yep! Already got my first amulet and gun mod!" Sam said cheerfully. "First full trial hurts like a son-of-a-cob, but at least Scatter rounds are non-lethal."

"No they're not?" Jak sputtered.

"Yes they are?" Sam wrinkled his nose. "Scatterguns are what they give kids and civvy candidates because it's not live ammo?"

"No," Jak argued, "You can definitely kill with Scatter rounds. It just takes like six shots."

Sam stared at him with wide eyes.

"What the rot, dude," he whispered.

"What?!"

"You're telling me you've killed people with a practice gun?!"

"Well- well Haven doesn't know they're practice guns!" Jak defended.

"Okay..." Sam grimaced. "Well. Don't do that in your first trial. Only way anyone is supposed to be able to die is if they try to prioritize hunting an opponent over avoiding lava."

"None of this is making me want to try this Arena thing!" Daxter complained.

"What's the second trial?" Jak ignored Daxter's complaints.

Sam looked a little unsure suddenly. "Yellow eco trial. That's um. That's going to be my first combat to the death. And not many candidates signed up for this month's trial so it's just me and three others against a Marauder crew they captured."

"Marauders?"

"Colonists from the mainland," Sam explained. "They're wannabe Wastelanders and I'm pretty sure they're all insane because they run around out there with no shirts, ever. They also run most of the slave trade between Haven and their colony."

Jak's eyes darkened.

"They're slavers?"

"Yep." Sam shuddered. "I've seen some of the survivors brought back when the Wastelanders raid their camps or when Marauder defectors start a riot. They've been through it. And like half the Arena Guard are survivors of the Marauders, so the ring isn't where you wanna end up if you're a blood merchant."

"It's not the guards they should worry about," Jak muttered darkly. Before Sam could ask what he meant, he looked up. "So if you get through three trials, then what?"

"Full rights as a citizen, same as if you were born here."

There was a glint in Jak’s eyes that only Daxter could see, and it Concerned him.

"Ja-aak, nooo-" Daxter groaned, but he knew it was useless.

"I'll go in with you, when they do the trial," Jak offered. "World could always use one less slaver."

"For real?" Sam raised his brows. "You've only been here a day, dude. You need to do some training before you're ready for that."

"Haven's an active warzone," Jak retorted, "and I got forced onto the frontlines for a year. I'll be fine."

"I mean. If you're sure," Sam relented, "I wouldn't mind the company."

"I would," Daxter grumbled under his breath. "I have some objections!"

So, it turned out, did Damas.

#Trespasser Jak au #Trespasser au #fic prompts #writing prompts #free day Friday #long post #jak and daxter #dadmas #king damas #Jak and Daxter and the adventures of dorm life #samos hagai #every time i worry that I'm character bashing Samos i re-watch the games and nope he's in-character #yeah Jak is NOT supposed to be anywhere near that Arena because he hasn't even been cleared by a medic yet #Damas had a very amusing reaction when he saw that gremlin in the ring #he is heard to constantly mutter over the next few months 'I'm either gonna kill him or take him as an apprentice'#he keeps warning Jak that if he pulls too many death-defying stunts in public he's going to end up with a legal guardian as a consequence #jak thought he was bluffing. he was not bluffing.

42 notes · View notes

chidoroki · 1 month

Text

My Dress Up Darling ch107

*KICKS DOWN DOOR IN ABSOLUTE GLEE* I know I haven't rambled on about any other chapter previously despite following the manga for a handful of months but NOW I MUST! "But why now so suddenly?" Because confessions actually happened baby, that's why! To heck with putting spoiler warnings; we all wanted this to happen anyway! I honestly just wasn't expecting it to happen now of all times, especially after Marin stated in the previous chapter that she wasn't going to ask Gojo for help anymore.

Poor Gojo, zooming all the way over to her place worried because she wasn't answering his texts back and he's met with something he probably never imagined hearing. Sure, things have been a bit awkward between them ever since the Haniel cosplay at Comiket, but they still managed to have lunch at home with grandpa and Marin's dad and even visited a hina doll festival together. I'm not certain how many days it's been since Comiket, but it's no wonder Gojo is thrown off a little despite how distant they were at school too. We, of course, know where this sudden change is coming from on Marin's end though.

The mood shifted between them after she noticed how quiet Gojo seemed after the Haniel photoshoot and while she had every intention to ask him what's wrong during their hina festival trip, she held back and put on a fake smile just to try and enjoy a normal day together. The need to fix whatever gap that's forming in their friendship slips further away after Gojo admits to his cousin in ch104 that he hasn't been able to practice making hina dolls as much recently, which is true due to how determined he was as creating the perfect Haniel costume (& every costume that came before it really), but the truth hits Marin harder since Gojo had just mentioned previously on their way to the showroom in ch103 that he wants to show all his progress and achieve his dream of becoming a kashirashi while his grandpa is still alive. Understandable how that admission leaves her speechless and causes Marin to feel some guilt starting to eat away at her, since I'm certain she would feel absolute horrible if her requests got in the way of Gojo feeling that heartfelt praise from someone he admires so much. Hell, she even excused herself from the showroom with a lame excuse just for us to see her at the end of ch104 breaking down and crying at home.

Marin believes she's been a burden to him and interfering with his progress, now wishing that Gojo called her out on it earlier and while I'm very pleased he denies straight away that he never viewed her in such a way, I'm also so relieved that he manages to figure out exactly why she might be suddenly looking down on herself.

He then brings up his grandpa's advice about how doing all kinds of stuff can come in handy one day and improve his skills with hina dolls, which was confirmed by the sweet old man himself when he commented Gojo was improving his line work after doing Marin's makeup (ep7/ch18). Marin does indeed know this because after hearing about how closed off Gojo was during his childhood, she suggested the two of them should experience all kinds of places and activities during their summer vacation, to which Gojo happily agrees with that day at the beach.

He reiterates that choosing to create all of Marin's costumes was solely because he wanted to, not because she forced him into it (which further supports how dearly he listens to her advice from ep1/ch1 about not letting anyone use you for their own personal gain). Branching out really changed him for the better too. Not only is he learning more and more about clothing and designing but he's also making new friends and cherished memories through all these months spent with Marin which is something our once lonely boy desperately needed in his life.

And I appreciate that he expresses his thanks to her since it's usually her that's showering him with praise after ever perfect costume he spends countless hours making for her. I will admit that I wasn't expecting her to.. snap back quite like this though.

Of course I remember how desperately she wanted to know what's going on in his mind after Comiket, but to see her get ticked off like this? Damn. I mean, it isn't uncommon, as we've at least seen her tell off creeps before in both anime (ep1) and later manga chapters (only example I can remember atm is ch77), but to Gojo? Oh boy. It's not just him she's acting strange to either, as she wasn't nearly as lively and carefree as she normally seems around her other friends too when they went out for karaoke, so it's safe to say that this new distance between her and Gojo really put her mind in a bad place. Going from being incredible close friends to barely speaking a couple words is bound to throw anyone through a loop.

I'm not saying her shouting is a bad thing either. One of the first things she ever tells Gojo (ep1/ch1) is to not hide his feelings and speak up about them to others, so I can understand how she can be a bit annoyed with how closed off he's been for however many days it's been since Comiket. It can hurt even more considering how they became such great friends since the series started however many months ago too. He has the chance to explain himself, but cuts himself off and the silence becomes too much for her to handle, leading her to dismissing him.

It's not like Gojo doesn't have an answer for his recent behavior; he does, but he's purposefully holding back to avoid making a real big mistake which is saying something you know you'll regret.

I'm glad I actually went back a couple days prior to this chapter dropping to read the last 10ish chapters on a whim because I feel like I understand this big, internal battle Gojo has going on in his mind right now a bit better. I believe Gojo thinks of Usami first (the fabric store clerk who actually wasn't in the anime for some reason?) because Gojo is leaning towards the idea of remaining quiet as to not upset Marin, but then remembers the story Usami told him back in ch105 about how he originally wanted to design clothing but chose a different career path in order to please his father. While Usami does eventually follow his dream and switches jobs thanks to his wife's kind words, he tells Gojo his biggest regret was not being able to tell his father how he really felt back then. I'm sure this is what gets Gojo to consider telling Marin the truth about why he's been acting so quiet lately, but then remembers Nobara (the girl we saw from his first flashback at the very start of the series) and how harsh her words to him were back when they were both kids. We know how deeply those words affected Gojo all these years but also learn in ch106 that Nobara herself has been regretting that moment ever since as well. Fair to say that small snippet of life ate away at both of them in different ways, which is what leads into the memory about Marin from ep1/ch1 about being true to your own feelings and how keeping them to yourself will only hurt you.

So, despite us readers seeing in big, bold text how Gojo's repeatedly telling himself to keep his mouth shut in order to preserve whatever kind of friendship he and Marin have left, the flashbacks allow him to think a bit more clearly and push him enough to finally reveal why he's been acting so strange since the Haniel cosplay: our boy was jealous. And it's not a recent realization either. He's harbored such feelings for quite some time, at least since watching Marin model for her job (ch50) and from watching her slay in the Rei cosplay during the school festival (ch62). He just suddenly has a name for his mood.

I can't say I totally blame the kid. Having so many strangers admire a friend of yours in such a would no doubt instill some protective/jealousy vibes, especially if you really care for said friend a decent amount. Same kinda feelings if someone was ogling your bf/gf/partner, ya know? The whole "make me your prisoner" line is from ch96 and was indeed a request from Gojo to Marin for the Haniel cosplay. From what I remember, the creator of the fictional 'Mandate of Heaven' series is very hard to please and any adaptations of his work could never meet his high standards. I can't recall if there's a serious reason behind it or not, but Gojo took it as a personal challenge to create the perfect cosplay, but it could only be done with Marin's help by really showcasing an uncaring attitude and emotionless smile that would cause everyone to fall for her anyway. And oh boy, does our girl nail it. A bit too effective in Gojo's case too.

The "I wanted it to stop" and Gojo admitting himself as selfish does bring up the offer Marin received in ch100 to my mind. Basically, a lady from some fancy agency gave Marin her card and told our girl to get in touch with her if she wanted to cosplay full time. I honestly don't remember if Marin had ever mentioned that she wanted to go professional or if she ever believed she could reach such a level, as this seems to just be a hobby she finds joy in, but with such an offer now on the table, I wonder how that idea will play out now that we're all aware of Gojo's jealousy. Seeing Marin draw a crowd during the school festival and at Comiket seemed a bit irritating enough for our boy, so imagine how he might feel when Marin's influence reaches an even larger audience. I highly doubt Gojo would ever actually tell Marin to stop cosplaying just to spare him of feeling jealous though, and I don't think she would consider stopping herself either. If anything, she was about to tell him about it, until a phone call from Gojo's cousin interrupted their conversation, but perhaps this could still be discussed next chapter or sometime in the future.

Anyways, Gojo admitting his jealousy is one thing, but he's too good of a boy to tell Marin to stop cosplaying. I can't imagine all the cosplaying would end either since that is quite literally the main idea for the series. It also wouldn't feel right for him to continue to pursue his dream working with hina dolls if she can't go out to enjoy her passions either. All that aside, he's too busy figuring out why in the world he's feeling jealous in the first place.

I WISH I could remember exactly which chapters all these Marin flashbacks belonged to but for the life of me, I simply can not. I just skimmed through the entirety of it and quite possibly too quickly to find them all, so I apologize. That being said, I was certain the first one was from the first chapter when Gojo first showed Marin the hina doll inside the sewing room at school, but that panel isn't anywhere there, so I'm mistaken. I fall short with locating the second panel as well, since it doesn't give me any clue on what outfit she might have on like the others do. The third however! That's from ch61! Right as Gojo is getting ready to do her makeup for the Rei cosplay during the school festival. Their whole class is crowded around Gojo to watch him work his magic, unknowingly adding to the pressure he feels, when Marin notices his nerves and simply asks if he's okay. The fourth flashback is from ch89, when they're out shopping for supplies for the Haniel cosplay. Gojo is taking his sweet time browsing through all the fabrics, making sure he finds the best choice when Marin suggests she goes off and gets a head start at looking at other stuff they'll need to buy. She tells him to leave this part to her and that "cosplay is a two person affair, right?" So, two outta four ain't bad I think, but I do wish I had context for the first two flashbacks considering the next panel is just..

THIS. Our precious boy actually saying those wonderful three words! Sure, he's told her how beautiful she was during ep5/ch14 (though he was falling asleep on the train) and sorta offhandedly admits that Marin can be cute during his conversation with Shinju in ep9/ch28, but THIS is to her face! Out loud! With purpose and feeling! I honestly wasn't expecting him to openly confess first like this, especially with how much time we've spent in Marin's head as she wasn't shy at all with her thoughts and fantasies to us readers, but whatever! It's real and happening!

Dude feels so ashamed of himself for no reason. Okay, I know there's reasons, as we've just spent how long going through all his buried emotions to understand what he's been feeling for the past however many weeks or months it's been since he first had these feelings, but I can't be too bothered by it all since that grab of his scarf has captured all my attention.

YEESSSS SWEETIE! Get your man! No hesitation! No teasing cheek kiss to a big bunny costume he's wearing to a Halloween party like during ch48 either! Thank fuck! Damn, I'm gonna go crazy whenever this entire chapter get animated.

Ohhh it feels so long since she first admitted her love to him over the phone in ep12/ch39 to an already dead asleep Gojo, but girlie does not waste a single second to spill her feelings out for him to actually hear loud and clear this time!

Absolutely love how any and all tension that was looming over these two kids the past couple chapters effectively vanishes in an instant when Marin switches right back to her usual cheerful self. The big sparkles in her eyes and even the heart backgrounds in her excited text bubbles are too precious!

Pfftt, his completely blank face. Someone save our boy for he has no idea what he just got himself into.

I appreciate that Marin isn't mad about Gojo being jealous, since he was so worried that it could've ended their friendship, but I do hope they can both work to lessen their slight jealous tendencies since their feelings are now out in the open and mutual. I don't think the jealousy is gonna be a complete serious issue between them, but Marin has brief moments. The only moment that comes to mind however is when she finds out Gojo asked Shinju to come over to his place to work on her cosplay (ep10/ch30), but I can chalk that one up for laughs more than anything. With Gojo, I dunno. I'm certain Marin will tell him not to worry about anyone else and perhaps how she's only interested in him, or something along those lines.

Our boy has not moved an inch throughout Marin's adorable love ramble. Gojo is truly stun-locked.

And let's goooo, we even get another kiss! As high on cloud nine as I am for these two.. Marin, honey, you gotta slow down! Gojo is so overwhelmed by all this right now, he's practically shaking! Whether it's because she also confessed or because.. well, she's still laying right on top of him like this. Our boy needs a moment to relax!

Sweet lord.. I'm so thrilled for them. The confession was so worth the wait and done real well in my opinion if my endless chatter wasn't proof of that enough. I haven't a clue on what will happen next chapter, but for Gojo's sanity, I pray that Marin's dad does not walk through that front door. Other than that, I think Marin will eventually bring up the professional cosplay offer she received and ask for Gojo's opinion. I have a feeling she might discard it so their cosplay duo can continue just like it does now, but I can also see how Gojo might make her reconsider, like if he's gonna continue with his hina doll goals then she should have a grand dream of her own too. The whole jealousy thing might be talked out a little bit more, but maybe it's just solved for comedic purposes. I dunno, but we shall see.

So yeah. I've fangirled enough over these two cute kids. For now. Who knows if I continue these ramblings for upcoming chapters or not. It certainly wouldn't be first time I planned to chat about just one chapter and ended up writing out several more for a series. It's quite possible.

#my dress up darling #marin kitagawa #wakana gojo #chidoroki used chatter #so funny story.. i um. wrote this all out last week. like friday when i saw the ch. but forgot to post. so here it is. finally free. huzzah

40 notes · View notes