287 lines
108 KiB
Plaintext
287 lines
108 KiB
Plaintext
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´ ³ f e d 0 / . ü û Ê É | { u t T S : 9 # " ð ï ä ã  Á � Ž ( ' Ì Ë œ › ~ } m l 2 1 ü û ç æ ‘ � L K à ß Ñ Ð K J # " ý ü Ù Ø � Ž g f J I ý ü Í Ì ˜ “Do yo"D"D"D"D"D"D"D"D"D"D"D"D"D"D"D"D"D"D"D"D"D"D"Do you need to dress special to go to museums…?" "I put my phone down and look around my room." "Anon: i’ll be there." "Fang: Meet me at the galleria at three alright?" "Anon: sounds like a plan." "Fang: So itll just be the two of us" "Fang: Sending them to a bunch of old record shops to cover more ground" "Anon: what about trish and reed?" "Fang: And youre gonna come with me" "Anon: that’s a lot of ‘gonnas’" "Fang: Were gonna learn how old bands did well, were gonna play our music at prom, everyones gonna love us, and its gonna be great." "Fang: Sure!" "Anon: is it really that simple?" "Fang: If we study from those old guys we’re guaranteed to do great!" "Fang: Lots of stories of bands pulling through last minute right?" "Fang: Theres an old museum of fine arts doing a special exhibit on music next week" "Anon: the source?" "Fang: First we need to learn right from the source" "Fang: To make sure the concert goes off without a hitch" "Anon: a plan?" "Fang: Alright i got a plan" "Later that night after school Fang texts me." "Highlight of our time here at Volcano High indeed." "Well, this can’t be a good sign." "Fang yanks her phone out and starts looking through an online catalogue of androgynous formal wear." F "I’ll start looking for a good suit to wear!" F "Ohh, thank you so much Anon!" "Frantic." "Maybe it’s just me, but she seems a little…" "But how she put it." A "I… Whatever. Fine." "When she puts it like that…" "..." F "We can’t afford to burn bridges when we can just accept things, right?" F "Come on, we both have limited friend groups." F "You should be more willing to forgive people." F "It’s easier than just letting it boil, right?" A "There’s more dicks on my locker than in a pride parade for fucks sake!" A "The janitors have stopped washing my locker since it just gets more dicks drawn on it every day!" A "Why in the seven fucks would I apologize to her?" A "Wh-buh… What?!" F "Oh, you can apologize to her at lunch today." A "She proba-" A "You sure about Trish though?" A "Guess I don’t have much of a choice." "So much for avoiding it. Fuck me." F "So you’ll go to prom to help us play, right?" A "I-I, uh, sure?" F "Isn’t that great!?" F "So the band’s back together!" A "Uh… ye-" F "Trish has been my friend for a long time, and I shouldn’t have been so harsh on her." A "Overreaction? But she-" F "Thinking about it again, leaving the band was something of an overreaction on my part." A "I-wait, you apologized?" F "Trish called with the idea last night and I apologized!" F "Oh, don’t worry about that." A "Wait, your band? But I thought you broke off last mon-" F "It’s the only way that everyone will finally see our talent." F "VVURM DRAMA has to play for the school at prom." A "Huh?" F "... I’ve decided." A "... Fang?" "Her worksheet lies untouched in front of her." "Something’s off with Fang, she’s gazing vacantly into space." A "Hey Fang. Do-" "Maybe Fang will feel the same about skipping prom and just going to the beach or something." "I honestly don’t feel like going." "My mind wanders back to the idea of going to Prom." "Eventually I’m able to focus on my own work again, making steady progress through the remaining problems." "I help Fang through the first few questions until she says she has a good grasp on the concept." ad : k ÿ ] \ Ý Ü Ò Ñ Š ‰ ? > ô
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ä ã Û Ú s r A @ “She thinks to herself for a moment and smiles.â€� A “Before we all meet together, do you want to stop by â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â âF F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F "Of course, I dragged you along this whole time after all." "She thinks to herself for a moment and smiles." A "Before we all meet together, do you want to stop by a restaurant or something, just the two of us?" F "Hm?" A "Actually, Fang, hold on a second…" F "Right, so I’ll tell her we should meet at-" A "...I see…" F "Oh! That’s right, I told her and Reed that we’d meet up after we were done with everything." "I hand her back her phone." A "You uh, got a text from Trish, I think." "That explains the fuck-ugly tie-dye monstrosity tide around her headcrest." A "Oh." F "Sorry, had to hit up the gift shop." A "What was that about?" F "Alright, sorry, I’m back." "This’ll throw a huge wrench into my plan earlier…" "It says these ebonics come from Trish, but I didn’t know they were meeting later…" "What…?" "Trish: hey r u rdy to mt up lik u sad we wud?" "While I’m gone her phone buzzes." "She dashes off back into the room we just came in, leaving my words dangling from my mouth." F "OH WAIT!" A "About that, I’m still not sure what your plan is meant to-" F "I guess… Just can’t have this part of the plan go wrong, you know?" A "I’m pretty sure we got everything, you could probably reconstruct the entire exhibit using only these pictures I took." F "Maybe… Just trying to think if we missed anything…" A "You about ready to go?" "Fang looks back at the room we just came from." "Eventually we loop back around to the entrance." "Fang drags me around a few more exhibits, cataloguing the various paraphernalia and stopping occasionally to obsess over some minor detail." "Pretty decent timing, sounds like a good plan." "It’s only four-thirty now, it’ll be about dinner time by the time we get out, too." "It’d be nice, talking about the pictures and things we’ve been taking over some burgers." "We’re in a city, but there’s bound to be something relatively cheap nearby." "Maybe after this I can take her to a restaurant." "She has her interests and I have mine." "But I guess she’d feel the same way if I bombarded her with anime." "I wish this was more of a date than a research assignment." "I’m glad she’s having fun and all, but…" "She drags me away from the screen to whatever it is she wants to take ‘inspiration’ from." F "I saw some good stuff in the next row over we can go check out. too." A "...Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Glad I could help." F "Maybe we could play something like that, show us as a champion of the common man!" "Fang’s voice makes me jump as she reappears out of nowhere." F "Ooh, that’s a good find, Anon!" "It sounded kinda cool, I’ll give him that much." "It was a clip of Stygy playing the national anthem as a protest song or something." "My eyes are drawn to a monitor on the wall playing documentary footage." "She can’t have gone far, guess I’ll keep taking pictures of things." "I stand in place looking around a bit, but she’s nowhere in sight." A "Oops." "I try keeping up with her ramblings while taking pictures, but somewhere along the way I lose her in the twisting corridors." F "And these are some letters he hand-wrote to his father! If my dad wasn’t such an asshole he could have pulled some strings and let us play in the precinct!" ad à p ÿ ã â • ” f e
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É È M L Ä Ã ³ ² a ` ø ÷ ‚ � J I $ # ß Þ n m R Q É È “ ’ t s 7 6 è ç q p = < ' & ¼ » g f à “We round the corner and I immediately lock on to a certain tri â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â "T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"Trish and Reed were already eating at one of the tables." "We round the corner and I immediately lock on to a certain triceratops." F "That’s just some dumbass at school, we can get some food and it’ll be fine." A "Fang, someone filled my locker with a shit-ton of hentai they printed out last week. It’s not okay." "For fuck’s sake." F "Stop being grumpy, Anon, you’re just hungry." "I still think this is a bad idea, I’m still not over what Trish did and I doubt her mind has changed much either." "Fang smiles and leads me back out of the museum and towards the food court." "At least I can talk to Reed about Rock Ring or something." A "Alright, let’s go then." "Not that it was ever much of a date to begin with." "Part of me just wants to call the date here and go home." "Really not looking forward to being anywhere near Trish but food is food." --"*Internal screaming*â€� F "Oh! I told Trish and Reed that we could meet at the Galleria food court, we can get something to eat there." A "Now about that food truck…" "Just please get me out of here." A "Er… yeah, it was cool I guess." F "That was really good! A lot of ideas for the band!" "As the screen fades and the lights turn back on, I silently thank Raptor Jesus for ending my forty-minute torment." "Not just because of how interested she is in Stygy Moldrix, but because I wouldn’t be taking notes." "I would have just slept through it if I knew Fang wouldn’t be upset with me." "How exciting." "Resigning myself to my fate, my eyes return to the screen which is currently going on about Stygy’s fourth unfinished studio album." "I glance over at Fang, who has been so engrossed in the film that she hasn’t so much as looked at me this entire time." "It’s been thirty-six minutes since the documentary started, only a few more to go before I can escape." "Stealthily as I could, I check the time on my phone before the light can distract anyone else." "I feel my stomach grumble for what feels like the fiftieth time, once again regretting not even buying an overpriced bag of popcorn." "Well this sucks." "..." "I guess seeing a movie with Fang isn’t the worst thing in the world." "Already I’m being dragged back inside." F "Come on, the next showing is in five minutes!" A "Yeah, I know this means a lot to you." F "Oh, thank you Anon!" A "... Fine. Let’s go…" "Well, it’s not like the truck’s going anywhere, at least." "I…" F "Just bear with me a while longer?" "Her eyes plead with me for mercy." F "I know, I know, I’m sorry Anon…" A "But what abou-" F "I didn’t see this on the way in, we have to see that too!" "And… It’s a documentary on Stygy Moldrix." "Some poster on the museum wall, it’s an advertisement for a documentary playing in the museum’s mini theater." "I peer at where she’s pointing." F "Look!" A "Huh?" "She stops dead in her tracks, head jerked to the side." F "Wait!!" A "By the way, do you take pollo or asada or what on your taco. Please don’t say leng-" "I think I saw that truck a block east from here…" "Instead of Fang dragging me through the museum, we walked out casually hand in hand." F "Alright, I’ll tell Trish to wait a bit." A "I think I can get us something from that taco truck I saw on the way in." A "Don’t worry about it." ad - r ÿ ò ñ ¬ † … g f , + ¶ µ k j Ú
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É È — – * ) ÿ Ú Ù ´ ³ Ž � < ; ò ñ Õ Ô Ä Ã ž � y x D C ü û ¹ ¸ ‡ † y x J I 5 4 þ ý ê é Ï Î ¬ @ ? ì ë ¥ ¤ c b M L Û F “What’d I miss?â€� “Fang returns a few moments later F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T "Just talking to White Knight about his taste in musT "Just talking to White Knight about his taste in music." F "What’d I miss?" "Fang returns a few moments later with a milkshake in her hand." "And now being anywhere near Trish is the cherry on the shit sundae." "I don’t even know why she needed me today when all she did was drag me around." "Normally I would love just spending time with Fang, but she’s been so preoccupied with the band lately." "God this was a waste of a day." A "Yeah, sure, whatever." "My fist unfurls." "I sigh." "Her stupid horn jammed right in her eye." "I can see it now." "My fist clenches tightly beneath the table." T "Maybe…" T "Maybe I’ll make a somebody out of you too." "I pointedly ignore her. She’s trying to get a rise out of me." T "Better than any of that weeb-pop trash you’ve got on your phone." T "Guess you’re starting to get some good taste." T "So happy you agreed to my idea." "Her grin is just short of vicious." T "So, Anon…" "To deal with this. These." "Leaving me here." "Fang gets up and turns to a nearby smoothie booth." F "Maybe… But let’s talk about that later. I’m cravin’ a milkshake now." "Know what. I don’t care anymore." "Reed is qualed by Trish’s sneer." Re "Hey man, that sounds kinda fun." "She’s just loving this, isn’t she." T "I’m surprised you agreed to that, I would have thought you wanted us to play some anime song instead." "Trish looks smug at that. What did I agree to?" F "Great! We can try Trish’s new song in the next rehearsal!" A "Uh, yeah. That sounds good?" F "...so Anon, what do you think?" "Before long my train of thought is broken by Fang saying… something." "Every once in a while I look up from my phone and catch Trish giving me a death glare before turning to look back at the others." "There’s another Grugsnax thread I can shitpost in to pass the time." "Digging into my basket of chicken tenders, I pull out my phone and head straight to the armenian graphic design forum." "It’s just one meal after all, I can ignore Trish for an hour and then Fang and I can leave." "I’m sure they can have a riveting discussion without me." "Welp time to clock out of that conversation." T "So what took you so long? He wasn’t wasting your time again, was he, Fang?" "While Trish is making a face somewhere in between judgemental and open contempt." "Reed gives me a thumbs up, wearing his giant oversized sunglasses again." "I place the basket of fries in front of Fang and she immediately starts digging in. So much for not being hungry." "Of fucking course." "I take the seat between Fang and Reed, which puts me straight across the table from Trish." "The moment doesn’t last long and I walk over to the table, food in hand." "I stand in line for a Cretaceous Fried Chicken stand and order my food, savoring every moment I wait and don’t have to interact with Trish." "Trish looking significantly less enthused than Fang. No surprise there." "I glance over my shoulder to see Fang saying something and hugging Trish, both of them turning to look over at me." "I split off from Fang to find a place to get food from." "Extra order of fries it is." F "Nah, I’m good. Not that hungry." A "I’m gonna go get something to eat first… You want anything?" "Fuck that." ad é é y ÿ ò ñ Í Ì O N
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ÿ þ î í © ¨ � Œ % $ ñ ð É È o n ³ ² ˆ ‡ / . ÷ ö È Ç † … W V Ø × ¤ £ � € = < î í ³ ² ~ H G Û Ú ¼ » œ › 7 6 é “I can hear Fang arguing with her parents in the other room â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â "I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I place my hands in my pockets, turn around, and head back into the foyer." "I can hear Fang arguing with her parents in the other room with Naomi not yelling at me anymore." N "This conversation is over." N "Just go, get out of here." "Naomi sighs and walks away, shoving into my shoulder on the way out, completely disregarding my presence." N "I can’t believe you. You really don’t get it." --"It was like she was looking at human garbageâ€� "Naomi’s face of sheer anger quickly turns to disgust." A "And you know what, she’s her own person! If she’s happy, I’m happy." A "I certainly did more than whatever you’ve ever done for her." A "I did the best I could, okay!" N "It’s like you didn’t even try to help her." A "She’s just fine, alright? --I just wanna grill for god’s sake!" A "What the fuck do you mean, ‘make her better’?" N "I thought you were gonna make her better!" "Naomi begins to somehow look even more earth-shatteringly mad." A "I… What the hell are you talking about?" N "How in the fuck did you manage to make Fang worse?" "I think it’s the first time I’ve ever heard Naomi raise her voice, or even swear." N "What the hell is your problem, Anon?!" "She gives me a death stare for what seems like a solid minute before she begins yelling at me" "Before I can even say anything, Naomi’s dragging me by the shoulder into the kitchen." N "Well, if you insist, Fang. Before you go… Anon, can I speak with you for a second?" F "I’m not sharing a ride with her." A "Maybe we should just go…" F "...Whatever…" FangMom "Okay, sorry, Fang. But please, you don’t need to use that kind of language towards guests!" "Fang’s mom just sighs." F "What did I say about that! I already told you, my name is Fang!" FangMom "Lucy!" F "Oh I love your dress too, you look just like a giant pink dildo!" N "Well your outfit certainly… pairs well with Anon’s." N "I-I see…" F "Nah, dresses aren’t my style." N "I thought you’d be wearing some kind of dress…" "Naomi side-eyes me a dagger." N "That’s an… Interesting outfit you’re wearing." N "Oh, Fang…" "The word plump is quite apt right now." "Not that I’m complaining." "Looks more like she took some dickies and made them into some booty shorts." F "Mooooom. This is better, it’s gender neutral formal wear!" FangMom "Oh, I was hoping you would wear the dress I bought you sweetheart." "Legs for days and days." "No less flattering though." "It’s certainly… Less traditional than mine." "Fang comes downstairs in a fancy getup." "..." "God damn it." "I give Fang a reassuring hug and promptly head towards the bus stop, not missing Trish’s dumb smug face as I pass her." Re "Peace, dude." F "Alright… we still have a bunch to talk about for the show. See you tomorrow, then." "That seemed to put her at ease." A "Everything’s fine, I just want to be ready for prom and your show." F "O-oh, it wasn’t anything I did, was it?" "I hate lying to Fang this way but I just can’t stand being around Trish any more." A "Sorry to do this Fang, I gotta go. See you at school tomorrow." A "Shit, I just got a text from the post office. Says my dad’s prom suit came and I wanted to get there before it closed." "I can’t deal with this anymore." "Fuck this." ad | t w ÿ ³ ² Ž � m l D C ¼ » { z U T ½
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ö õ ã â Ä Ã x w Õ Ô ´ ³ Ÿ ž � � X W J I 1 0 ä ã ¯ ® P O 6 5 # " ý ü à ß o n E D ÿ í ì × Ö © ¨ q p Z Y K J = < é è © ¨ � € ] \ ë ê t ! “I considered carrying the guitar case for her, but Fang is already a co"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"F"Fang leads the way to the school’s gymnasium. Her shoulders are tense and her wi"Fang leads the way to the school’s gymnasium. Her shoulders are tense and her wings are raised higher than usual." "I considered carrying the guitar case for her, but Fang is already a couple yards ahead power walking to Prom." F "You’d be surprised. Come on." A "Sounds like we got plenty of time." F "We still got about an hour before Spears told us to be on." "The taxi pulls away from the curb and rounds the corner back onto the main road." A "See you." F "Get lost." F "We know, we know." Driver "If you need a cab again, you know the number." Driver "Just have fun, y’know, and uhh…" Driver "Sure, yeah." A "Wait, really?" Driver "Uhh… Y’know what, it’s on the house this time, kids." "Fang opens her wallet to pay the toll." "Eventually the cab pulls up to the school gymnasium, illuminated by the celebratory decorative string lights." "The Driver sighs a little" Driver "Sure, sure." A "No Thanks." F "We’ll pass." F "I’m on a schedule." Driver "I can wait outside if you two want to, y’know… I won't even add onto the bill..." Driver "I know a good Chinese place around here…" Driver "You feel like stopping by a restaurant or something by any chance?" Driver "You kids uh…" Driver "..." "He gives a disappointed look through the reflection." Driver "Mmm." A "Please don’t." "He glances towards the radio." "In the mirror, the Drivers’ eyes start showing a bit of concern." "The engine is surprisingly quiet, and leaves the silence awkward between the three of us." "The cab starts down the street at what was easily twice the speed limit." Driver "Well, if you say so." A "We’re sure." Driver "Not too much party in you. You sure you guys are going to prom?" A "Yeah I guess..." Driver "Prom I’m guessing? Ya’ two high school sweet-hearts should stay safe out there! Crazy worl’ out there innit’?" A "We’re doing fine, take us to Volcano high "The driver chuckles at his own remark." Driver "Ay, it’s my favorite couple again! How’s the leg, skinnie?" "I open the door for Fang as she fits her guitar in the back seat." "It’s the same velociraptor driver from before. Of course it is." "We sit on the curb in silence until our ride arrives." F …’mme call a taxi or something." "Without a word she grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me through the front door, guitar in her other hand." "Fang looked ready to set her house on fire until she caught me in the corner of her eye." "Naomi’s words were cold but probably true." N "Maybe you should leave before this turns into a fight." "Did I really do this, Naomi?" "She turns to me, with an expression of very intently restrained rage on her face." "Naomi’s leaned against a wall next to the entry to that hall." F "I’m not a fuckin’ lady, dad!" FangDad "...That is no way to talk to your mother, young lady!" "The arguing from the other room quickly and very loudly breaks my train of thought and I stride back to where everybody is gathered." "Fang is happy with herself, for once." "No, no, she can’t be right!" "Could Naomi be right? About Fang?" "My walking slows, and the hall feels like it stretches onwards for miles." ad ! - | ÿ Ç Æ · ¶ † … v u L K ? > õ ô ¼ » � œ Z Y P O ¾
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ö õ Û Ú ž � S R Ú Ù Â Á « ª � � } | S R ð ï … „ P O × Ö › š q p J I ð ï ¾ ½ ‚ � " ! ½ ¼ — – d c P O $ # þ ý é è ± ° O N - “I should be memorizing their faces now to make their dumbstruck â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â "I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I know Fang can pull this off." "I should be memorizing their faces now to make their dumbstruck expressions that much sweeter." "Fang’ll show them how much they’ve all improved." "Feh. Screw ‘em." ??? "I’ll just start recording…" ??? "He was there last time, wasn’t he?" ??? "Wait, again?" "The audience’s applause decreases noticeably." Sp "Please welcome, VVURM DRAMA!!!!" Sp "They’ve had their trials earlier in the year, but I think everyone deserves a second chance." Sp "To close off this wonderful night, I’ve asked a student band to play a few bops for us." Sp "I promised your parents we’d be out of here by ten." Sp "Alright, alright, let’s stay on schedule." N "In just one short year, we-" N "My, I don’t really have a speech prepared. But…" N "This is such an honor to receive." N "Thank you all so much, Volcano High!" "The whole moment is picturesque, just like Naomi wanted." "Spears offers the crowns to Naomi, who puts the larger one on Naser’s crest to droop off, and then dons the tiara.." "The rest of the class is in a celebratory uproar." "Spears backs out of the spotlight, giving a polite applause to the pair as they rush onstage to accept." "He tosses the paper over his shoulder and yanks out the crowns from a pocket inside his jacket." Sp "Naaaaaser aaaaand Naaaaoooomiiiiii!" Sp "Aaaaaare…." Sp "Twenty-twenty class." Sp "For the one Mil." Sp "And your winners." "A mediocre recording of the drumline plays over the speakers as Spears clears his throat and tears open the envelope." "He smiles and nods, pressing one of the myriad of buttons on the block." "Reed steps onto the stage with a small block in his arms." Sp "A drum roll, please." "A few students are already congratulating Naser as he’s led by the arm by his handler." "Well this is a foregone conclusion." Sp "to announce Prom King and Queen." "The principal pulls a tiny gold sheaf envelope from his lapel and holds it up for the audience to gawk at." Sp "First thing is-" Sp "Alright everyone. Before we end tonight’s prom we have a couple of items to take care of." "Spears takes to the stage with mic in hand for once." "The music fades until all that’s left is chatter." "Everyone moves out of his way as he cuts his way across the room to the small stage." "The principal sighs and leaves me." A "...Sure, sir. I’ll keep that in mind." Sp "Got it, Anon?" Sp "Relationships are a give and take sort of deal." Sp "-ake responsibility and take it seriously." "...I just want to go home…" "I swirl the punch in my cup around before chugging the last of it." "I sigh and tune out the massive man standing next to me." Sp "Back when I was in the game, I learned a thing or two about-" "Ugh, here we go." Sp "Are you sure that’s what’s really going on here?" Sp "..." A "Not really, it’s just that I’m respecting her boundaries." Sp "I can tell these things." Sp "Seems there’s something else on your mind, Anon." "The two of us stare into the crowd’s mindless frolicking in silence." Sp "I see." A "Yeah, I was just getting in the way." Sp "Fang did?" A "Something came up… She asked me to leave." A "We were…" Sp "Weren’t you all getting ready in the music room?" ad Ô n ÿ ° ¯ ~ v u j i C B
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Ç Æ d c ÿ È Ç ‹ Š \ [ N M è ç ½ ¼ { z < ; Ý Ü Ì Ë ® � � y x [ Z I H ô ó ç æ ¸ · — – ‚ � x w 6 5 ë ê ² ± [ Z ÿ þ Ô â€œI run to the auditorium with only â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I stop at the foyer to catch my breath." "I run to the auditorium with only the sound of my footsteps echoing through the hallway." "That I sabotaged Fang’s guitar because it would make Trish look bad or something." "She probably blames me for this show going wrong too." "I turn around and leave, flipping off Trish through the window as I go." "It felt so satisfying to slam the door in their useless faces." "*SLAM*" A "And so is this." R "That was uncalled for, man." A "I don’t care, I need to find Fang. Now." T "I, whu-" A "You’re right, Trish." T "We’re doing fine too, not that you care. Asshole." R "To be alone." R "Probably the auditorium." A "Where’d she go?" R "Fang’s not here, dude." T "Great, what do YOU want?" R "Hey, man…" "Trish and Reed were sitting in the far corner of the room, and Fang was nowhere to be seen." "I slip out the side door towards the music room once again." "He jams his thumb in the direction of the exit Fang just took." "Spear’s lazer gaze is directed at me." "The room goes completely silent aside from the sounds of Fang’s sprinting footsteps and sobbing." Sp "ENOUGH!" "Except Naomi had her arms around his waist." "Naser was about to jump off the stage and tackle someone." "Spears rushes onstage and throws his coat over Fang." "The back of her suit shines a dull red in the stage lights, and she struggles to not slip again." "Shakily, she tries walking offstage again, only to be met with another makeshift water balloon." "A few more food articles follow while Fang scrambles to get up." "It splashes against her head, drenching her suit in red dye and making her smash onto the floor." "Then a student throws their red plastic cup of punch upstage." "She turns to leave as well, trying to maintain a calm composure." "Fang stays a moment longer, the despair on her face manifesting through hot streams of tears." "Reed puts his hand on Trish’s shoulder and the two duck out." "Then a few students start chucking balled up tissues at their heads." "The band’s already accepted their fate, both basses hang limply from their shoulder straps." "The crowd’s cautious cheers were long gone, replaced by a symphony of ridicule." ??? "PFFFT AHAHAHA THEY STILL FUCKING SUCK AFTER SIX MONTHS!!" "It’s horrific screeching, combined with the amelodious shredding on a bass creating a cacophony equal to hundreds of cats ritualistically sacrificed." "And then the vocals kicked in. Reed’s lyrical expertise was not on display here, no these sounded like they came from an edgy teen’s twitter page." "Just like before, Fang’s bass sounds horrifically wrong, far too heavy. She’s a guitarist using a fucking jazz bass, so of course it sounds horrid." "It all went tumbling down from there." "The band doesn’t bother introducing themselves. Instead Trish begins plucking her bass." "I think we all know what’s about to happen." "For a brief moment, Fang looks me right in the eyes." "The three finish making last minute preparations and give an anxious look at one another." "What were they thinking?!" "They’re just going to repeat the first concert?!" "They couldn’t find a new string?!" "Wait no." "Wait." "And then Fang comes on with her bass as well." "Reed wheels the drumkit onstage on a dolly, and Trish follows with her bass." ad 2 Ò ¡ ÿ Ë Ê ¬ s r V U & % Å Ä ˆ ‡ S R Ø
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Ò Ñ r q f e 5 4 Ö Õ ¼ » ™ ˜ ~ Z Y @ ? " ! ù ø î í å ä Ü Û » º ² ± ˆ ‡ ~ n m a ` S R : 9 Ñ Ð ¹ ¸ ” “ � Œ . - ê é ¾ ½ � � o n _ ^ Ò â€œI frown as I see her hair sticky and cling â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â âA A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A "Maybe you should take a shower. At least rinse the punch off." "I frown as I see her hair sticky and clinging to her dumb dress shirt." F "...Nooo…" A "You going to sleep already?" "Guess I’m sleeping on the floor tonight." "Fang collapses in my cot without a word." "I loosen the tie, but don’t bother to take it all the way off." "When I enter my apartment I remove my suit jacket and toss it on the floor unceremoniously." "..." A "Come on, let’s go home, Fang." A "S-sure. Of course!" "I can feel my face practically glow at that thought." F "I… Don’t want to see Naser right now…" F "Stay at your place?" F "Can I…" F "I uh…" F "Actually…" F "..." A "... Do you need me to walk you home?" A "Oh." F "...I don’t wanna be here." A "Uh." A "So." A "Good." F "Thanks, Anon." F "Y-yeah. I guess." A "See? Feel better, right?" F "It doesn’t matter." "The hiss is back but I ignore it." F "It doesn’t matter." F "...it… It doesn’t matter." A "It doesn’t matter." "She doesn’t look at me, but nods her head a bit." A "Alright?" A "Just repeat after me." A "I want you to do something for me, alright?" A "Hey…" "She flinches under my touch, which makes my heart heavy." --And my bladder full to bursting. "I ignore it, instead reaching out for Fang’s shoulder." "My eyes have finally focused enough to make out the smashed bass at Fang’s feet." F "..." A "Naomi doesn’t matter at all. She and her stupid plan don’t fucking matter." F "I-" A "Look, forget all of that. It doesn’t matter. None of it matters." "That startles Fang, making her mouth click shut." A "Fang!" F "If-" F "If she was never around Naser." F "If she had never come into my life." F "Fucking Naomi. She ruined this. She caused this all." F "Who the fuck else! Naser and that BITCH!" A "Whose?" F "Yeah… Yeah… it’s all their fault. Right?" "Fang’s voice started to take on a hiss." A "...Nah… You did your best up there." F "I didn’t fuck up. Right, Anon?" A "Huh?" F "I didn’t fuck up." A "Uh… Fang?" "Such as her eyes looking… off…" "I’m standing before her now, and my eyes have adjusted just enough to make out some details of Fang’s face." A "Fang?" "By this point I can vaguely make out Fang sitting at the bottom of the stage." "I slowly follow her voice down the aisle, using the chairs as my guide." F "... Nooo…" "The sobbing continues for a bit longer." A "I mean, are you gonna be alright?" "Great opener. Fantastic." A "Fang? You alright?" "From somewhere in the room, a faint sobbing echoes." "I can only stand in the night-veiled room for my eyes to adjust." "The door shuts behind me, leaving me in the dark." "Spear’s jacket is thrown over one of the seats near me." "The light spills through the foyer into the darkened chamber." "I push open the door softly." "At the same time, I can’t just stall here." "All of that’s terrible." "‘Just bear with it?’ ‘You still have friends?’" "What do I even say to her?" "My hands rest on the door, ready to push it open." ad ÷ ÿ ÷ ö  Á ° ¯ s r ` _ & % ò ñ « ª t s X W í
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Ü Û ¥ ¤ P O ! î í ™ ˜ v u K J " ! n m + * ä ã — – \ [ I H È Ç _ ^ V U ) ( à ß Õ Ô � Œ c b 6 5 û ú  Á ´ ³ ” “ b a A “I-I-I can’t! Fang, get a hold of yourself!â€� F “TELL ME YO A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"She jumps to her feet, carrying my shirt with her and lurching my head with it." A "I-I-I can’t! Fang, get a hold of yourself!" F "TELL ME YOU WORM --VVURM!!" F "Tell me!" "Fang grabs me by the shirt collar with shaking fists." A "Now’s not a good time, we should talk about it lat-" F "It’s not nothing. What. Did. She. Do?" "Fang sits up and is eye level with me." A "Well uh, Naomi kept… No, it’s nothing. Forget I said anything." F "Yeah?" A "Thing is, uh… you know when I just transferred in and everything?" "Uh oh, gotta tread real carefully here…" "Shit." F "Hey, Anon… You said something about Naomi having a ‘plan’ earlier. What did you mean by that?" --A "Hey Fang, what do you think about this scene where the character is humiliated and then set loose to genocide his enemies. F "Yeah, cool…" A "Takes more skill than using a spear thrower at least." A "Playing with a torch and rock combo is the easiest way to kill enemies." "Repelling a bunch of dinosaurs from the volcano caves, easy enough." "I decide to skip the cutscenes and get right into the gameplay." --A "See you get to play from the dino’s perspective, where every single level revolves around genocide, slaughter and betrayal. Just like real life!" F "I can just watch…" "Fang lets out a muffled sigh at that." A "Might help take your mind off prom…" A "You uhhh… wanna play first?" "She is just blankly staring at the screen, probably still thinking about earlier." "I let the campaign intro play and turn to Fang." A "This one’s my favorite Rock Ring story." "Fang flips over to see the TV as I take my spot on the floor sitting next to her." "I boot up the XROX and insert the Rock Ring 2 disc." "Don’t get many opportunities these days to use The Duke, anyways." "Screw it, I'll just go with Rock Ring. That always calms you down." "Senran- I feel retarded for even considering it, FUCK NO…" "Dark so-no…" "I got uhh… Kingdom he-no…" "Fuck me sideways, what do I have that’s presentable to someone else…" A "Uhh… Sure…" F "I don’t want to sleep yet." F "Play a game or something, I dunno…" A "So… Wanna do something?" "If only she wasn’t so depressed she’d look really cute right now." "Fang plops down next to me, the hoodie falling down to her knees and hiding the shorts I gave her." F "...Thanks…" "Fuck. What would cheer her up." "Maybe a movie or something?" "With that I go back to my bed and consider what to do next." A "I set a change of clothes for you. Yell if you need me to do some more cutting." "I knock on the door and set the custom cut outfit on the floor for her." "Some minutes later with my knife and I hear the shower sputter to a stop." "..." "Wings and tail." "Okay I think this should… wait." "I take that and some board shorts from my closet and kick it shut." "I shudder at the memory." "I think this was from that time I tried to cosplay." "I take an older black hoodie I have. It’s super baggy even on me." "Bulk buying seemed like a good idea at the time." "I open my closet and look at all my identical jackets." "Right. Clothes." "Fang gets up from my bed and trudges over to my bathroom." F "...’kay…" A "I’ve uh… I think I got some clothes for ya." F "..." ad À f ÿ Å Ä [ Z C B ) ( ö õ ¹ ¸ † … A @ ó
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Õ Ô c b a ` 0 / ì ë ê À ˜ o ú † c / ú p ø -- A “I don’t want to do this, Fang.â€� “Luckily, I manage to regain my balanc - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I"I raise my hands in a basic CQC"I raise my hands in a basic CQC stance." -- A "I don’t want to do this, Fang." "Luc"I raise my hands in a basic CQC stance." -- A "I don’t want to do this, Fang." "Luckily, I manage to regain my balance before falling"I raise my hands in a basic CQC s"I raise my hands i"I raise my hands in a basic CQC stance." -- A "I d"I raise my hands in a basic CQC st"I raise my hands in a basic CQC stance." -- A "I don’t want to do this, Fang." "Luckily, I manage to regain my "I raise my hands in a basic CQC sta"I raise my hands in a basic CQC stance." -- A "I don’t want to do this, Fang."I raise my hands in a basic CQC stance.""I raise my hands in a basic CQC stance."I raise my hands in a basic CQC stance." "Luckily, I manage to regain my balance before falling on my ass." "The force makes me stumble back several feet." "Before I can finish, Fang plants her foot on my chest and --Falcon Kicks pushes me away with all her strength." A "That’s not true! Fang, listen to me. I do lo-" F "You don’t like me, you just wanted to change me to something I’m not to get Naomi off your back." F "I can’t even fall in love without HER interfering with it!" "Tears are streaming down her face as I shift my grip to her arms." --F "What are we gonna do on your bed Anon?" A "Fang, really, you need to stop-" "My pleas are ignored, instead all I get are continued desperate grunts as she tries to pummel the wooden door." A "Fang, stop, you’ll hurt yourself!" "She starts kicking and punching the nearby shelf with all her might." A "Calm down! Don’t break anything!" "Hope Fang’s foot --toesiewoesies is okay." "With a swift kick, the Duke is catapulted into the bathroom." "Fang is convulsing as though possessed, frantically looking for other things to ruin." A "Fang, please!" "The bedsheets are quickly discarded to the other side of the room in a clump." "Physical therapy." "Fang, with no intention to vent her frustrations verbally, resorts to the next best thing." F "YOU LITERAL, ACTUAL TOOL!!" F "SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" A "Fang! Calm down!" F "THAT, THAT, THAT GODDAMN SLUT!!" F "THAT STUPID BITCH!!" F "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!" "Out of nowhere Fang’s energy returns into a fit of unrepressed rage." A "It doesn’t matter what Naomi’s stupid ‘plans’ are, we still-" A "You know I really do have feelings for you, I genuinely like you." A "Fang, I didn’t have any control over it…" "Fang’s hands cradle her head, as though squeezing it hard enough would wake her up from this nightmare." A "...By trying to have someone ‘fix’ you." A "Naser’s always worrying about you, so she wanted to get his full attention…" A "...Naomi made it so the two of us were together." A "..." "After what feels like a year of silence, I get the courage to stand again." "I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a look of hopeless despair." "All the tension has moved directly to her face." "Her grip on my collar loosens and her clawed hand lowers." "All at once, Fang loses all energy in her body." A "SHE PUT ME WITH YOU!" F "TELL ME OR I’LL-" "Her free hand raises into a slashing position, clenched into a claw so her nails protrude like razors." F "DAMMIT ANON, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN PLANNING WITH NAOMI?!" ad ë ÿ d c A @ Þ Ý Ã Â ˆ ‡ Y X < ; Ú
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í ì ” “ � Œ l k Ë Ê ~ } F E ( ' › š ~ > = < " ! ì ë Ò Ñ ¥ ¤ x w b a - , " ! Ü Û Â Á ° ¯ � œ ^ ] U T Ñ Ð ¥ ¤ • ” H G ú ù  Á D C “Fang’s hands â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"S"She pulls away abruptly, leaving me confused and lightheaded." "Fang’s hands grip my dirty dress shirt tightly as her beak presses against my parted lips, her tongue invading my mouth." "My words are cut off. My mind goes completely blank." A "But-" F "It isn’t, Anon." A "Even if it was my fault? I should have-" F "I said I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have blown up on you like last night." A "I… What?" "I don’t know what kind though. Or why." "There’s something about this all that is setting off alarms in my head." F "In fact, I’m sorry for overreacting last night." "What." F "It’s fine, Anon. I don’t blame you for what happened." A "-ight.. What?" F "It’s fine." A "Fang, about last ni-" "Shit. Should have actually thought about what I should say to her." F "So…" "Fang sets her backpack down on the kitchen table." F "Ah. Yeah. Sorry." A "I thought your dad was here to kill me." "I deflate, slumping lifelessly on my bed." A "Fang? Oh thank fuck." F "Uh… Why are you huddled in the fetal position?" F "Anon? You- oh! Hey…" "Before I can search for my knife, the door opens to reveal…" "Hopefully in that order." "Oh god, I’m gonna be murdered, butchered, my body parts sold on the black market and turned into some disgusting rhinorex’s sex toys." "The door I forgot to lock." "I’m shaken from my thoughts by a knock at my door." "My mind was turned off for most of that, guess I just lost track of time." "I glance at my phone and realize I spent ten hours playing Rock Ring." "Really wish I could just float away in an iceberg like Master Grug after last night." "Wake Grug when you need Grug." "..." "Guess I’ll play the next one, I really don’t feel like doing anything else today." "Ooga booga, finish this fight." "Master Grug, you mind telling me what you’re doing on that boat?" "..." "It’ll take my mind off things at least." "The XROX is still running, might as well finish --the fight(tm) Rock Ring." "I feel like a fucking heel right now." "How do I make this up to her?" "I sigh." "A check of my phone again shows that Fang’s at least seen my texts." "After I’ve swept up the bits of broken dresser I find I have no real clue what to do." "I check the controller carefully, only barely relieved that there’s no damage." "Shit. No way am I getting my deposit back now." "And a check inside my bathroom reveals that The Duke managed to crack my porcelain throne." "There’s laminate… something, splinters all over the floor from my dresser." "I always thought it was just a euphemism for teen pregnancies." "Fuck me. So this is what they mean by Prom Night disasters." "I take note of the mess that Fang created, a reminder of how badly I fucked up." "S’not like I can do much else for Fang right now." "Well, she’ll see it when she sees it." "...No immediate response." "Anon: he mustve been writing all night long" "Anon: just noticed your dad was pretty livid last night" "Anon: hey, you alright?" "I try texting Fang to see if she got home safe." "All the texts are written in a similar vein." "I’m starting to get the idea." FangDad "Maybe I didn’t make myself fucking clear. You will be sleeping with the fishes if Lucy is not home in the morning. I have a particular set of-" ad � ¨ ÿ Ñ Ð l k Z Y ô ó Æ Å � Ž S R # " ×
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À ¿ t s m l ^ ] 6 5 Ë Ê ¨ § U T 1 0 ÿ þ ä ã ˜ — 9 8 Þ Ý ¥ ¤ € : 9 ° ¯ � € > = Ñ Ð ª © { z R Q í ì Ý Ü Û ¨ K # “The police sirens have been outside fâ€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€â€"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"T"The police sirens have been outside for a while." -- "Unless you happen to be a British vam"The police sirens have been outside for a while." "Not even me." "Time stops for no one." "However." "Relishing in the possibility that there’s some hope left." "I’d rather just stand here forever." "There’s a chance it’s not Fang up here." "Even if Naser and Naomi are gone…" "As it is, it’s not the worst case scenario." "...How much longer could I get away with putting it off?" "...How long have I been standing here, staring at the doorknob?" "She’s behind that door with a loaded gun." "Fang isn’t here. She’s at home being grilled by her father for seeing me again." "You had just as much a hand in this as she did." "How could I have known this would happen? This isn’t my fault..!" "You know well it can only be her." "I haven’t seen who it was yet, it might not be her." "Somehow, the remaining two flights of stairs have gained another several hundred steps." "His hand makes a wet slap against the hard tiles one last time while I start up the stairs." "He’s got seconds left, anything I tried would just be a waste of time." "I can’t focus on him." "..." "Mourning." "Sorrow." "Disappointment." "His eyes meet mine for a moment." "He’s moved his arm in my direction, and still has the strength to move a bit." "Somehow, Naser’s still alive." "When I turn back to the stairwell, something makes a wet thud behind me." "One place where she’d go." "There’s only one place she can be." "The stairs." "..." "...Guess she didn’t get that ‘perfect highschool life’ in the end." "The only thing in there is the huddled corpse of our student council president." "Fang hasn’t been in that room since she started." "I already know I’m not going to see her." "There’s one open door in the hall, the one closest to the battlefield." "I just need to find her." "...Where is Fang…?" "...God...Damn it..." "Please…" "..." "..." "..." "Things are just fine, I’ll return to reality soon…" "I’m just having a nightmare after last nights’ episode." "This isn’t real, none of this is real." "It was Naser." "And the last one, who tried fighting back, now clumped in the middle of the hallway soaked in the collective pooling blood." "One slumped from a locker, smearing his remains all the way down like a puppet string." "Two were trying to run and still remain face down in their final resting places." "The spills and trails of blood tell the story of their final moments." "All I will ever remember from this is the sight of my former classmates splattered across the halls like bags of waste." "I couldn’t tell what sound I made, because I frankly don’t remember." "It’s a smell everyone instinctively knows." "I’ve never been in a real fight before, but even so…" "That electric, almost metallic stench of wet ozone." "The first thing that hits me is the smell." "My hand lightly glides along the handrail while I cautiously cross the stairs to the second floor." "... I can’t." "I can’t say for sure what, but my instincts are screaming at me to not go up, to turn back now." "I pause when I reach the stairwell upwards." ad : Î ž ÿ Û Ú ¹ ¸ ² ± ˆ ‡ b a ÷ ö ì ë ¤ £ ‚ � X W 3 2 Ö
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