A LAWFUL WASTELAND
Dec. 8th, 2022 04:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
counterattack[ it's December 8. Law turns 18 today. at this point, he's been living in Copalli for over a year. during the final relic fiasco, he achieved trance within about five seconds (because it's basically overlimit) and faced Tiamat in her castle because he had a score to settle with dragons (dragons, wyverns, same shit) and had enough taking shit from these mother fucking guardians in this mother fucking jungle. it was epic.
anyway, it's a few months later and Law lives in Tikal again, down at the bottom of the crater. they've built bridges and pulleys aboveground, as well as created a system to keep the crater from filling with water when it rains. although most of his farm was lost during Tikal's fall, he's rebuilt it bigger and better than ever and repopulated it with even more chickens, hogs, cows and even a few semi-domesticated mist monsters. there's also proper crops, probably due in part to at least one friend or another planting on the huge expanse of land he's set up there. he also rebuilt the inn that collapsed on top of him back then, and this time it's actually finished. he got a local business manager to help run the place and they export animal products and crops all over Copalli. the inn is booming. it's great.
all is well.
except now it's his birthday and Law is just trying to go about his business like he doesn't know that, strapping on his fancy wolf gauntlets and shouldering a big pack of supplies to go make some delivery trips to the other cities. nothin' to see here, not ya lil dude all growed up, a solid 5'9" (and a half) with some cool tribal tats done over his wyvern scars and something of a more mature countenance, buuuuuttt still the dweebo dorkus doofus meathead he's always been.
ANYWAY, THIS IS #LATERGRAM INCENSEDVERSE. medallion him, meet him at any of the cities, fight monsters together on the road, pretend there was a party planned that he's trying to sneak out of showing up to, WHATEVER WORKS. ]
anyway, it's a few months later and Law lives in Tikal again, down at the bottom of the crater. they've built bridges and pulleys aboveground, as well as created a system to keep the crater from filling with water when it rains. although most of his farm was lost during Tikal's fall, he's rebuilt it bigger and better than ever and repopulated it with even more chickens, hogs, cows and even a few semi-domesticated mist monsters. there's also proper crops, probably due in part to at least one friend or another planting on the huge expanse of land he's set up there. he also rebuilt the inn that collapsed on top of him back then, and this time it's actually finished. he got a local business manager to help run the place and they export animal products and crops all over Copalli. the inn is booming. it's great.
all is well.
except now it's his birthday and Law is just trying to go about his business like he doesn't know that, strapping on his fancy wolf gauntlets and shouldering a big pack of supplies to go make some delivery trips to the other cities. nothin' to see here, not ya lil dude all growed up, a solid 5'9" (and a half) with some cool tribal tats done over his wyvern scars and something of a more mature countenance, buuuuuttt still the dweebo dorkus doofus meathead he's always been.
ANYWAY, THIS IS #LATERGRAM INCENSEDVERSE. medallion him, meet him at any of the cities, fight monsters together on the road, pretend there was a party planned that he's trying to sneak out of showing up to, WHATEVER WORKS. ]
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Date: 2022-12-10 07:02 pm (UTC)If we do, I’ll have to ride with you. I’m still considered too short to ride one alone.
[ She isn’t quite as noodle-arms as when she first arrived, but no amount of magic might save you if your mount desires to flip over backwards, crush you with its weight and then eat you! ]
They are a bit easier to catch and tame. [the mantises that is.] not everyone has your way with animals, after all.
Fuuufuuuu.
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Date: 2022-12-10 08:27 pm (UTC)[ Law forgets to be all worked up about what day it is and is immediately impressed by the sheer volume of garbage food. there's a lot of it, yeah, but it's also just really exciting to his caveman eyes, who have never seen basic things like shiny plastic bags with neat colors and designs and stuff that contain chips. it's just plain exciting to look at, like each is a wrapped gift all on its own. he can't read anything that's on any of them, but some of that is taken care of for him by having, like, cartoon dancing potatoes or pictures of what's in it right on the packaging, not that that does the complete job of telling him what a lot of it is. even the bottle is kind of a mystery to him.
at the end of the day, no matter how much things change and how long he's lived here in Copalli, he's not sure he's ever going to get used to seeing a whole shitton of food in front of him like this. you don't spend your life starving and basically willing to kill someone for the crumbs under their fingernails and not get blown away by a pile of free junk food. ]
Wh...what even is all this? I didn't even give you that much!
[ on an even trade basis, he considers it incomparable. disbelieving, he looks from the mountain of snacks to Gladio's face, all of that grown-up-tough-guy-been-through-some-shit countenance gone, so that he's nothing but an impressionable kid again. ]
I can't take all of this, that's crazy.
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Date: 2022-12-10 08:32 pm (UTC)Still? Wow, that's crazy.
[ okay OKAY OKAY he won't go all-in on making fun of her this time. maybe. maybe. He snuffs his thumb across his nose and veers them toward the penned monsters without another thought. ]
Yeahhh, I think we should take a spiracorn. I really don't get what's so hard about taming them. Some of the other ones, yeah, but they're just... really big horses. They like carrots.
[
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Date: 2022-12-10 08:56 pm (UTC)You’re cute. But not that cute.It’s one mirrored by Hootle, who carefully slips off her head to perch-lurch on her shoulder, paws slowly shifting back and forth. Will he jump? Won’t he? His wings aren’t unfurled yet, so there’s still time. ]
And blood. [deadpan tone is deadpan] The fact none of the stabled ones go for you is still a source of confusion for some of the trainers. They don’t believe me when I say it’s not magic, it’s just you.
[ his legs may be longer now, but Rinwell doesn’t have to lengthen her stride to keep up. Much. ]
Do you have a particular one in mind?
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Date: 2022-12-10 09:06 pm (UTC)Then grab whatever looks interesting. Or try everything, and I'll bring the rest back to Kiichpan. They won't last long enough to risk going bad either way between all of us.
[ he knows Noct would descend upon it like a ravenous sabertusk and that's not even taking the others into account. after some thought he reaches into the pile and retrieves a little package of some sort of cake with stripes on it, then tosses it towards his chest. ]
You want my advice? Try the Garula cakes. I know it sounds a little unappetizing but they're addictive, I swear. Iris used to make me buy 'em all the time when I'd go to the convenience store a couple blocks away my place. And these—
[ a tap to a black bag with a funky looking malboro holding a... pizza of some sort above its head in its little tentacles. nobody better diss Li'l Malbuddy, okay? it does its best and that's all anyone can ever ask for. ]
You only turn eighteen once, right? Treat yourself and go wild.
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Date: 2022-12-10 10:55 pm (UTC)Ugh... I didn't tell you when it was, did I? Actually—maybe I did, I dunno. Or somebody ratted. Anyways... I guess, yeah. Thanks.
[ It's a good thing Gladio gives him a suggestion, otherwise he wouldn't even know where to start. In theory, he's perfectly happy to rip open every bag and pop every top to taste a little of everything, but even then—where to start?! He catches the packet and turns it over in his hands a few times, studying it. Looks like something Rinwell would probably lose her mind over, and it's a cake? Yeah, he's gonna have to save one of these for her. Once he picks apart the flimsy plastic and peels it away, he takes a bite.
Oh, Astrals. His eyes squint. Is this baby's first encounter with high fructose corn syrup and artificial sugars? It might be. Just talking with his mouth full, nbd: ]
Auuuugghhhh... it's so sweet...
[ yeeeep, Rinwell would claw his eyes out for a taste of this. Just gonna save the rest of this for her. ]
On the upside, Rinwell would kill for this, but on the other hand, it's so sugary she'll probably go into withdrawals when there isn't any more of it. Maybe it's a chick thing?
[ as if dudes can't like sweets. anyway, Malbuddy looks badass, he's going for that next. ]
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Date: 2022-12-10 11:04 pm (UTC)I've tried teaching them! I don't get why nobody else can figure it out! All you have to do is keep your palms flat, be cool, don't make eye contact, let them come to you... just like a regular horse.
[ He sees that impending pounce, Hootle. Pointedly, he doesn't move any further away and keeps his shoulders straight so he can make that leap cleanly if he decides to go for it, fully prepared for his ear or hair bead to get nipped. It's just one of those things in life you have to accept. ]
Yeah, Lollipop. She's one of the smaller ones, and she's pretty calm.
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Date: 2022-12-10 11:48 pm (UTC)Lollipop? Really?
[she can’t imagine the spiracorn is as cute as the name implies - but this IS Law she’s talking to, and she can’t help the smile she gives him. Before reaching up and catching Hootle mid-launch, hugging his squirming cat-body to her as he hoots in surprise. How did she know?! (As if he hadn’t done such a thing before.)
Spared today only. She’ll let him go back to pouncing your tail tomorrow.]
How fast is she? Can she carry two if she’s small?
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Date: 2022-12-11 12:07 am (UTC)[ and it wasn't as if he could just go ask - except he really actually could've - lest Law think he was planning something big and over the top. maybe if Gladio could've gotten him back on Eos, sure, but here? he had to improvise a little, and... sometimes huge parties aren't all that. he always preferred smaller, more intimate ones with the people he cared about versus the Big Fancy Ones that came with nobility, and given Law's own upbringing he figured that he might be the same.
when Law makes for the bag of chips, Gladio reaches across to catch his chin for a split second. just long enough to swipe away a couple crumbs and the tiniest spattering of frosting left behind, but he still does it. ]
I dunno if it's strictly a chick thing, though. My dad had a sweet tooth and so does my, uh... guess you'd call him my godfather? He's got one too even if he won't admit it.
[ if his hand lingers a little longer than it ought to have, Gladio doesn't draw any attention to it. he withdraws and instead reaches for Law's empty glass next to pull it over to his side of the table along with his own, and slides them next to the bottle. the best for last, as always. no point in drinking on an empty stomach, right? even if it's junk food. ]
Maybe I should've asked for the ones they sold during solstice if it's that sweet, huh? Those ones were always more mild.
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Date: 2022-12-11 04:07 am (UTC)[ Funny how he's gotten used to calling them "monsters" now, too instead of defaulting to zeugle. Honestly, it's for no other reason than because he got sick of explaining the word "zeugle" to off-worlders, and also if he had to see it spelled back to him on the journal as "zoogle" one more time he might've lost his mind.
Better believe Law has a great big smirk in stock for Hootle when he gets grounded, too. He shoots it over his shoulder at the struggling gryphlet, but it goes soft at the corners when he catches Rinwell's smile. ]
Well, yeah, 'cause of its horn. It looks like one of those swirly lollipops. She can still carry two, probably even three if we had to squeeze someone in. And, uh... she's fast when she wants to be...?
[ yeah great care to elaborate?? the ominous snorting, growling and whickering coming from the stables all seems to come to a stop right as Law walks in. ]
She's not technically fully trained yet, so she still kinda does what she feels like doing sometimes.
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Date: 2022-12-11 05:59 am (UTC)[ He Just. Whatever he just is summarily forgotten the moment Gladio reaches for his face. Law's not so jumpy that his first inclination is to flinch or pull back, which turns out to be his downfall. Color rushes to his cheeks before Gladio's thumb has even finished its pass across the corner of his mouth, and as much as he wants to be indignant and pull a stoooop maneuver, he just can't seem to work his way up to it. Instead, he makes a choked sound in the back of his throat and sits there looking like a dork even after his face has been released. ]
...Uh.
[ what was he saying ]
...I just, uh... uhh... [ FUCK ] Y'know what, never mind, doesn't matter. I-It's not a big deal. The— the sweets, I mean. I don't mind them, they're just not my favorite. Never had anything that sweet before, though. Hey, you said you got that bottle from your dad, right?
[ One has to assume it's liquor, or something, and Law has to assume he'll be able to put it away just like the straight gasoline they call drinks here, too. Evidently, he inherited some "tastebuds are basically rocks, just like the brains" gene from one or both parents, but maybe if he drinks something with actual, y'know, flavor? Guess we'll find out. In the meantime, he has such a time opening the chip bag that he ends up ripping it in half and exploding chips all over the table. His eyes widen, briefly jarred, but... yeah, he sure is eighteen. That shit is funny. ]
Hehe... whoops.
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Date: 2022-12-11 07:37 am (UTC)There's a first time for everything, huh? But, uh... Y-Yeah, sort of.
[ his eyes drop back to the bottle and if he really tries he can imagine parts of the label worn down by his father's thumb tracing the letters on it. the yellow tint. if a bottle could speak... six, the stories it could tell. ]
Technically I only got a shot from this back home. S'really old and dad kept it for special occasions but I guess it just decided to drop the whole bottle in since delivering one might've been a stretch.
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Date: 2022-12-11 06:53 pm (UTC)Geez... you sure it's okay to have something like that? This isn't really a "special occasion. " I mean—like, a major one.
[ Sure, birthdays are great and all, and yeah, after everything he's been through it's basically nothing short of a miracle that he's made it to an actually sort of adult age (never saw that coming, tbh), but "bust out your dad's fancy liquor" levels of momentous? Eh. That's probably just his bias talking, though. And he doesn't even know about Gladio and his dad! If he did, maybe he wouldn't be unceremoniously stuffing his hamster cheeks, he'd take it more seriously. Over a year in this place and frankly, the Dad Angst has only gotten more complicated. Then you add to that all the things he's seen his friends go through, the times they've been a lot less fortunate than him, things like that... yeah, he doesn't have any business not being solemn about that kind of thing. ]
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Date: 2022-12-11 07:49 pm (UTC)They don’t stop being monsters just because they’re under harness. Unlike certain puppies, these things are intelligent.
[ She is very fond of the runt wolf she gave to Law oh so long ago, and while it certainly grew in size while “domesticated”, she could swear there are only 2 brain cells in that little head.
The gryphlet-owl in her arms grumbles, legs dangling as she carries him; Hootle isn’t happy, but not inclined to fight when Rinwell’s here. (But he will remember this. There will be repercussions! ..just, not today.) ]
Behave. [her attention shifts to the bundle of feathers and fur in her grasp.] Or you get to stay with Kisara till we get back. I hear she has some fish.
[ which isn’t all bad, if the way Hootle perks up is anything to go by.
Or is it over the sudden good behaviour of a barn’s worth of murder ponies? Could be both. As it is, Rinwell’s stepping down the center of the aisle between the stalls, all the better to stay out of reach of snapping teeth - no matter how placid they look in Law’s company.]
Technically? Either she’s trained or she’s not, Law.
[ And while she trusts you, the look on her face spells the potential beginnings of regret at agreeing to this venture. ]
no subject
Date: 2022-12-11 08:00 pm (UTC)[ he likes poetry, ok. silly little humans and their silly little art forms. ]
The concept of "day" and "night" didn't yet exist at the time. So, by definition, I can't have a birthday.
Also, I wasn't born, per se.
[ hashtag normal things ]
Why are you trying to hide yours?
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Date: 2022-12-11 09:37 pm (UTC)[ get it?? because Calaglia? no? yeah, that one was pretty bad, but there's a realization that turns his wolfish grin a little more sober for all of three seconds. even if he did know that Gladio had gotten into the Good Booze stash he... couldn't ground him. not because he was an adult, but because he was dead. funny how he still hasn't taken the time to actually grieve it in the near-year he's been here in Copalli.
nearly a year.
the thought gets Gladio to reach up and rake a hand through his own hair — grown out and tied into a sloppy half-pony much like what he'd sport ten years down the line — and huffs a quiet laugh. ]
I don't think he'd mind in the longrun. One? You're eighteen. That's a milestone, and that's when I first got a taste of this. Two? The bullshit we've all been through? The shit you've been through? That's worthy of at least a couple, and I'm pretty sure he'd think the same. You got the heart of an Amicitia. Three?
[ a breath, and Gladio brings the grin back. ]
Since I'm supposed to be the next head of the family one of these days, I say it's okay. Just don't tell your old man 'cuz I don't wanna get turned into a behemoth-skin rug.
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Date: 2022-12-11 11:05 pm (UTC)[ says the guy trying to avoid having a party, apparently. ]
I'm not hiding it, just—I dunno, it feels weird. I didn't celebrate mine for a long time, up until last year. And after everything that's happened this year, it... yeah. Feels weird.
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Date: 2022-12-11 11:14 pm (UTC)She's, like, half-trained! That's a thing!
[ With nearly everything in the barn suddenly vibing on Law's animal whisperer wavelength, it's weirdly quiet, and his voice carries more than strictly necessary because of it. A few things poke their heads out of whatever window they have to watch them go by, mild as can be. There's a bucket of produce, mostly scraps nobody's planning on eating, that are typically thrown into the stalls to distract the monsters when it's time to saddle them up, but Law uses it a little differently. Plucking out a carrot, he heads straight to a pen with a spiracorn that immediately starts kicking the walls and ramming into the door when it sees them... and then placidly takes the carrot from Law's hand when he offers it out. ]
Here she is. See? She's just excitable, that's all.
[ she looks fucking satanic is what ]
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Date: 2022-12-11 11:44 pm (UTC)[ Law's expression sobers for just a moment, but then he smiles. At the very least, he can appreciate the idea of found family, seeing as it's all he's really had most of his life. Even when his parents were alive, their little community in Ulzebek and the Crows were as much his extended family as anything else. He's never said anything about it (doesn't have the nerve to, for one thing), but he's already felt like Gladio and his friends are as good as honorary family, too, so this isn't a stretch. ]
Oh, my dad won't mind. There's, uh, no drinking age where I come from or anything, and we've already been here putting away the stuff they serve here before, so...
[ just normal things to do with your dead/estranged dad, play drinking games with engine degreaser. Law crams another few chips in his mouth, thoughtful, and then talks with his mouth full, because he's a dignified and well-raised individual with manners who cares how he comes across around rich people. ]
Just as long as I don't get completely trashed, I guess. Probably goes without saying, but I don't got such good judgment when that happens. Like, at all.
[ what an understatement. ]
—These're really good, by the way. What are they?
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Date: 2022-12-12 01:27 am (UTC)[ it's Gladio's turn to falter and do his cheeks actually darken? maybe it's just the lighting of Viento's. it's gotta be, right? there's no way that such a little admission could be getting Gladio of all people flustered. for all his bravado and candor with all of that, it's almost funny.
...okay, it's just funny. especially in the way his ears droop a little in his own embarrassment. ]
It's not bad, just... Y'know.
[ an awkward clearing of his throat and Gladio forces his attention to the bag. is it way better to focus on that than admitting that he gets Affectionate™? y e p. ]
They're potato chips. They don't have 'em where you're from?
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Date: 2022-12-12 02:10 am (UTC)[ Yeah, he sees that, and he's flabbergasted. And intrigued. When has Gladio ever looked embarrassed about anything, since he met him? Literally never, as far as he can recall. The guy's pretty much always confident, maybe even downright shameless. It's been a source of inspiration for Law to try and emulate, not that he's done all that great of a job at it so far. He's getting there, but it's never really going to be all that similar to Gladio. Or to Alphen, his dad, or anyone else he looks up to, for that matter. Thing is, he's always had an independent streak about him, and he walks his own path. Can't be anybody but himself, y'know? So he'll learn how to be a horse's ass all on his own time.
In the interim, he'll just be here, fascinated. ]
No, I don't know! You get what? Sloppy? Dumb? I'm pretty sure that's kinda standard... no need to get all embarrassed about it, dude.
[ And here he is, talking with his mouth full again, and then practically spitting them out when he chokes: ]
These are potatoes?! No freakin' way! No—wait, never mind that, don't change the subject! There's a story here, and I wanna hear it.
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Date: 2022-12-12 03:05 am (UTC)six, strike him down right now and save him. ]
Sloppy? Who do I look like? Blondie?
[ sorry not sorry prom, but it's true!! ]
I don't get dumb, either. I...
[ Gladio's face twists up in another half-grimace, half-scowl (which winds up looking more like a pout than anything), and to buy time he grabs the second garula cake that Law had abandoned. time to shove that thing right into his mouth and "manners and upbringing" be damned, he's talking with his own mouth full. ]
I get... Touchy. Happy?
no subject
Date: 2022-12-12 03:59 am (UTC)Ohhhhhh. ...O-Oh.
[ Oh.
Touchy.
No, okay, yeah, he's laughing. Laughing is a lot easier than overthinking that and getting all twisted up about it, too, and then potentially running his idiot mouth and saying something really embarrassing. ]
Geez, even I'm not that bad. I just, like, get... competitive, or something? I dunno, I just turn into a daredevil and forget stuff hurts. More than usual, I mean. But you, there's no taking you anywhere.
[ Sure would love to see that, though. Happy, touchy Gladio... astrals, save him. He's too weak for this. He finishes off the last of the chips that'd gotten exploded across the table and then reaches over to nudge Gladio in the arm with his knuckles. ]
Better pace yourself, then, big guy. We're in public.
[ ha ha ha HELP HELP HELP ]
no subject
Date: 2022-12-12 04:46 am (UTC)Yeah, well, I don't have a problem with a little PDA if that's what you're tryin' to get at.
[ spoiler alert: Gladio lives for it. little touches to the back, arms slung over shoulders, or even an entire body draped over the other person's back while they're doing something else? great. stealing little touches of affection right in broad daylight? perfection. ]
'least people don't gotta worry 'bout me running off to one-v-one a Catoblepas just because someone bet me a hundred gold that I couldn't. Am I gonna have to babysit you too?
[ another joke because he knows Law can handle himself, and just for added measure he reaches out to grab one chip that Law had missed and... yep, flicks it right at his face. ]
By the way? You can take me wherever you damn well please.
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Date: 2022-12-12 03:59 pm (UTC)[ he's kidding.......... but also, yeah, that is the exact kind of thing he would do. Hell, he doesn't have to be drunk to do something like that; he'd throw out a "bet I can take that thing" any time, any day, no alcohol required. Maybe a little less often after the events of the last few months—almost dying, actually dying, beating up a god wolf, Copalli almost being completely destroyed, trance, hatching a lot of chicken eggs and somehow surviving The Cluckening—he has at least a modicum of caution when it comes to taking risks that might gamble with his life, but for the most part? Nah, yeah, he's still reckless.
He just probably won't run out half-cocked and try to kill anything on his own today. Like, on his birthday. That'd be pretty messed up. But also fitting? Hmm.
Anyways, check these reflexes: he moves his head and catches that chip in his mouth right out of the air. CRONCH ]
I'm kidding. Nah, I'll be good.
[ He... might have been getting at PDA, yeah, maybe, if not in quite so many words. Instantaneously, Law's lizard brain immediately leaps to exactly all of the places he would be more than happy to take Gladio, drunk or otherwise, and he busies himself with pawing through the pile of junk food to find something new and interesting to snack on to distract himself from that bucket of fish. Listen, how is he supposed to rein it in when the opportunities to flirt are handed to him on a silver platter? The only thing stopping him is his own lack of experience, but that budding seed of confidence along with really growing into his looks is helping to overcome that real damn quick. He's half "high school heartthrob" and half "battle-hardened badass" and he wears it pretty well, if he does say so himself. (He doesn't. He doesn't say that himself. It would kill him to hear himself described that way.) ]
Heh... if we get kicked outta here for being too weird, we'll have to crash at the coterie, y'know. Not sure how much I'd trust a cab to get us anywhere in one piece at that point.