[open] ring ring, bingo?

[esperimental]

WHO: Ritsu Kageyama and people who are probably nicer than him
WHERE: All around the city
WHEN: Throughout July
WHAT: Frustrated teen wants answers, does silly things for it; July catch-all, you know the drill!
WARNINGS: None for now!

[ My plotting post for bingo help is over here! ]

i. At least they're not grayberries

[ On the university school grounds of Apprassage, Ritsu mans a respectably built stand of questionable legality. He's fairly certain he can get away with it even with age alone, his professor guardian may have lost his memories of Retrospec, but was supportive in Ritsu's inexplicable one-day business venture. ]

Blueberry juice.
Freshly squeezed.
We have ice.

[ Now that sure is a passionate sales voice, yessir. Also before anyone asks, it's a Royal We. ]

ii. The hero nobody deserves

[ Some kid in a mask stands... uhh. Not that tall. Not that proudly. Maintaining a cross-armed pose lacking in passion. But the summer wind blows, and his cape dramatically flutters. He really hated he got a task like this in summer. He'd hate it all other seasons too but now the weather would be against him as well. Should've checked the forecast, should've picked another day. Wished he had money for sunglasses instead of goggles.

... Should concede and open up that umbrella, now before he gets sunburn. And maybe the shade would make him slightly harder to recognize. Ah, who was he kidding. He looks like some lost kid who wanted to celebrate Halloween a full couple months early. ]

Hey, you.

[ There's a point now, sorry if you were trying to ignore him. ]

Tell me, what do superheroes do?

iii. Maybe impossible

"Flash mob"...

[ Echoing the text on the square as he's seated at Tribunal Terrace, there's a frown on Ritsu's face even more intense than his usual one. He goes ahead and watches a video, shaking his head in defiance after a couple seconds. He's seated outside so the lack of earphones shouldn't bother too many people, but some might've still heard a pop song or Broadway that they knew. ]

No way. Definitely no way. A musical isn't any better. I can't do this kind of thing even with a team. Did anyone else get this kind of assignment? There's no role I can fit.

[ Could always be Robert during Enchanted, does that count Ritsu? Watching on, his will seems to be wilting, and his brows remain furrowed. ]

... Is this supposed to be music?

[ Well, even if you can't help him with such a monumental task, you can still take those as fighting words. ]

Comments

[esperimental]

Yes, I honestly read those for fun.

[ No sense of irony in his voice here!! ]

[chargebomb]

Ritsu... [ grips shoulder grimly. ] Got it. I'll rec you some manga and comics. You're welcome.

I bet you'd like One Punch Man.

[ ... why does he think that?? ]

[esperimental]

[ ... ]

I'm not buying anything, so I'll just borrow from you.

[ Why is he being so compliant with this guy. HE DOESN'T KNOW. ]

[chargebomb]

Fine, fine! Just remember if you're going to cosplay as a hero, you need to learn who your role models are. [ and apparently that's... saitama. who knows.

anyway they seem to be getting quite far away from the commercial center or any malls and closer to... the beach?? he's great at directions, swear. ]

[esperimental]

[ He kind of doubts he's going to be repeating this unless for god knows what reason Retrospec demands him to again, but. There are things of more immediate concern.

Like how they got all the way over here. "Despite himself" might as well describe everything about Ritsu re: following Shou around, because his steps aren't stopping. ]

... Suzuki? Why are we at the beach.

[chargebomb]

[ ...... good question. ] What the...

Maybe the mall moved. [ because OBVIOUSLY his directions were perfect? he actually looks kind of clueless, like... how did they get here? ] What's up with that--heeey, look, there's an ice cream truck. [ and... instantly distracted, because if they can't have AC in the mall then frozen treats are the next best thing. ]

[esperimental]

[ why did he trust this boy ]

At least we've done our backwards-order exercising off these calories.

[ he is too dead from the heat to grill shou, count yourself lucky ]

Well, line's not too long. What are you getting?

[chargebomb]

We'll probably sweat everything out, summer is like a sauna here...

Anyway, mint chocolate chip for me. How about you? [ he's already checking his pocket for his wallet. well, it's a fan's privilege to pay for his hero, right? ]

[esperimental]

... That sounds really good right now. I'll get the same.

[ Well secretly most sweets sound good to him but he can't brain food decisions right now either. Ritsu can't really tell if he's reading Shou's body language right, but he waves his hand. ]

Oh, you dont have to pay for me. I barely spend on anything as is.

[chargebomb]

Oi, you're a hero, right? Saving people from criminals and rescuing cats from trees and whatever? An ice cream's the least I can do to pay you for your public service. [ ...... that and, well, his funds are his father's. shady. he doesn't feel the least bit bad about using it just for a treat. ]

[esperimental]

[ But you didn't do anything.jpeg except self-perceived. Whatever, it's not like it's going to be some ridiculously priced thing, right?

... Was the ice cream man lifting out an entire fancy-looking tin. Suzuki what did you order while he wasn't paying attention. ]

We're never going to be able to eat all this before the sun melts it.

[ Not with that attitude! ]

[chargebomb]

Hope you're really in the mood for mint chocolate~

[ .... no but if worst comes to worst, shou could probably polish off the whole thing by himself. which is one: crazy, and two: ... well, he's unbelievable, but he does seem to have enough energy to burn it off sooner or later. ]

[esperimental]

[ Ritsu's going to go ahead and swipe those spoons while you pay up, Shou. ]

Hope you're ready for torture by brain-freeze.

[ Whatever!! He's not losing to Suzuki. Wait when did this turn into some sort of pride thing-- dammit he's letting himself be overly influenced. This is no good. Sharing dessert has never been so romantic. ]

[chargebomb]

Hah--it'll take more than this to kill me.

Five cartons, maybe. [ he just laughs but buys out the big fat carton and leads the way to a mildly shady spot beneath trees overlooking the water. ] Last one who dies of brainfreeze gets to set the other out to burial at sea~

[esperimental]

... I didn't bring a swimsuit.

[ That makes it sound like you're going to lose already Ritsu, come on now. ]

[chargebomb]

Aw, your super suit doesn't count, huh?

... You can go skinny dipping. [ IS HE KIDDING yes he is, punchably so. ]

[esperimental]

[ YOU'D LIKE THAT WOULDN'T YOU he just graces shou with a glare instead ]

--Anyway.

[ Ominous glint of the spoon! ]

Prepare to get drenched, Suzuki.

[chargebomb]

[ the impressive spoon... ] Just do your worst, Ritsu.

[ ANYWAY ICE CREAM battle go--!! he might be shorter but he can definitely pack it away, time to beat ritsu. at brain freeze. ]

[esperimental]

[ Ritsu inserts the spoon into the ice cream with the same haste Shou had and
already hits a roadblock.

It's stuck. Why?? Let's put some more pressure into it and... NO GOOD ]

I-it bent...?! Wait, time out!

[ The will of the ice cream demands you to be heroically dumped into water, Ritsu. You better run and get another spoon. ]

[chargebomb]

[ shou is struggling a little with his too, but digs through with sheer force of will and also hotheaded shonen determination or something. ] Hah! There's no such thing as a time-out in an ice cream match, Ritsu! [ what the heck is an ice cream match. ] I can't believe yours bent, touch luck--

[ ... and... on cue, his does too. too much force. ] ... This ice cream is really strong.

[esperimental]

[ HA because you showed him no mercy earlier, Ritsu's absolutely only going to get his own spoon and not help out with one for Shou. >:3

Except... when he gets to the stand he freezes in place, staring at the bent spoon. A feeling washes over him. Relief? Adequacy? But why.

Then the guy just. Takes it and hands him a new spoon while he's distracted. ]

Um. Wait I...

[ ?????? in a face. Both his and the guy's faces. Ritsu's been lingering here so long Shou probably has caught up to him by now. ]

[chargebomb]

[ he'd catch up, but the look on ritsu's face is... slightly concerning. the lack of competition also tells him something's up, but he's tuned in enough to ritsu too.

... he waves a hand in front of ritsu's face. ]

Brainfreeze already?

[esperimental]

I-- No!

[ EXTRA DEFENSIVE HUFF while he dons his signature frown of denial. ]

I mean, just because you weren't going to play fair, doesn't mean I wasn't... of course...

[ So why is your voice shrinking Ritsu. ]

Ahem. Back to it then. [ He'll even wait for you to get your spoon!! See how polite and by the rules this whole thing is. How boring. ]

[chargebomb]

[ something about this is totally shady...

it takes a lot to distract shou from ice cream, but ritsu acting shady is a good distraction. he grabs ritsu's wrist, stares him dead in the eye. ]

If something's up, tell me. Like... [ glances down... maybe it's not the spoon? ] Do you actually hate this flavor, or something?

[esperimental]

[ oh my god don't just touch him out of the blue

but uh

his concern is kind of moving?? best friends are nice to have huh ]

No, nothing like that. I think... I got one of those weird memories, with zero context. It's not a big deal, Suzuki.