[MINGLE ] And many happy returns to you, Bakura!

[wildcard_of_the_desert]

[Has a creepy, stalkerish or just plain rude valentine made it under your doorstep? Probably, at least until Bakura got lazy and stopped bothering. Regardless, do you want to express how you feel about said valentine to him? Then this is the place to do so!]

Comments

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Artsy shit came naturally to Ryou, but Bakura didn't really have the patience or talent for it. It was stubbornness more than anything else that had led him to do it. He'd simply refused to accept that he couldn't draw a goddamn rose properly. It had pissed him off to the point where he'd actually torn the first one he did right, and he'd gotten pretty mad at that.]

...I don't care what you do with it.

[Relaxing his tense posture, he folds his arms over his chest.]

It's not like it's a confession or anything, after all.

[whiterosefoes]

That's a good thing, I think. If that's what you do when you don't care... you'd make poor Ryou's hands bleed with that confession!

[she puts a hand on her hip, smiling wryly. He kind of opened himself for teasing here.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

O-oi! I wouldn't go to that level of effort for something as sappy as that!

[Yeah, he's not telling her what happened when he tried making something for Malik a while back. His hands were bleeding like a bitch for ages.]

[whiterosefoes]

Too bad, my expectations have been raised. You better hope you never fall for me now.

[She doesn't think that'll be too difficult though.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

Wouldn't that make things so much more interesting?

[Maybe he should pretend... no, Malik would never forgive him.]

Unfortunately, you're cute - and not bad-looking, in terms of your body - but you're a little too nice for my tastes.

[Those pesky morals get in the way, yo.]

[whiterosefoes]

Interesting like playing with fire. [What was he thinking of just then? Harriet frowns at him a little suspiciously. But he keeps talking - when he complimented her bod, she was already planning some snide quip on how she can't return the feeling since he doesn't have one. But him calling her 'too nice' kind of kills that.

She pauses before she replies, with a bit of a laugh.]

I think I can live with that. Though you're one of the only ones who'd say it.

[fluffydeathdealer]

And that's still interesting, isn't it? You can't be bored if you're screaming. Though if that was the case, it wouldn't be in pain.

[More out of mocking than anything else, he licks his lips in an eerily fast movement. Everyone with the fire jokes... It's a good thing he's gotten over his dislike of fire by now. Though her reaction to his offhand comment on her morals surprises him.]

By my standards, you're practically a saint. But even if I'm going off of skewed standards, I don't see what you've done that'd make so many people adverse to saying it.

[whiterosefoes]

It's not that ... I don't really care about the "many", about people who don't know who I am. But if you can't see it, then I'm not about to spell it out.

[He's probably too evil to see the problem with them anyway.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

What? Are you telling me you're secretly a villain? Don't screw with me like that! You're entertaining enough without making up stories.

[Really, he sees the problem. It's just not a problem for him.]

[whiterosefoes]

[and that's why he's "one of the few!" Though she looks sort of amused.]

Well, when you say that, it just sounds ridiculous.

[she may have cheered up a bit just then.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

Heheh. [Good. She's boring when she's moping... most people are. And he doesn't know what got her downcast anyway.]

You're talking to a guy who's older than sliced bread and deeply associated with the occult, and even I find it absurd~!

[whiterosefoes]

[He'll find out soon enough. For now, it's passed.]

Fine, I'll just have to accept being nice!

[fluffydeathdealer]

Heheheheh. Looks like I win.

[Hardly surprising. He wins all the time. Except for all the times he doesn't. But they don't talk about those. those are embarrassing.]

Since so many people here are from the West, I used the western definition of the day, so don't think you have to do anything for White Day. That'd be kind of awkward, since you're a girl.

[whiterosefoes]

[That just gets him a clueless expression.]

Er, well I wasn't worried... Sorry, I don't actually know what you're talking about!

[fluffydeathdealer]

Heh. It's alright. I was just making a joke. Basically, there's two Valentine's Days in Japan; the 14th of February, where girls give things, and the 14th of March, where boys return the favor. I reversed the order since most people here would know the February one better and it'd be funnier.

[whiterosefoes]

Oh, I see... but what's the point of splitting it up like that?

[fluffydeathdealer]

Because the second one's reciprocation for the first. You don't know who's going to give you stuff on the first one, so you repay them by giving them something on the second.

[whiterosefoes]

...So basically, it removes guesswork for the men? But how are the women supposed to know how the men feel if all they're doing is returning a favor? It sounds efficient, but not very romantic.

[fluffydeathdealer]

It's Japan. That last bit's a perfect description of it. Hell, they even encourage women to give courtesy chocolates to all the guys they know. Like when you're a kid and you're told to give valentines cards to the whole class.

It's a load of bullshit.

[whiterosefoes]

For everyone? ... That's a total scam.

[fluffydeathdealer]

The kids are less likely to do it than the adults, surprisingly. For the kids, it's a popularity thing. I know Ryou's locker used to be packed full of homemade or cheap chocolate on Valentine's. For the adults... they just tend to give it to everyone. If they bother at all.

Valentine's is less of a romance thing and more of a hassle. It's a crock of shit anyway. Who the hell thinks "Oh, I'll only give my loved one something one time a year as a token effort"?

[whiterosefoes]

Nobody, but in couples there's still hell to pay if you forget.

[she shrugs]

Do you think Ryou's going to be depressed if he doesn't get anything then?

[fluffydeathdealer]

Hell no. He'll be celebrating.

[whiterosefoes]

[snorts] He hates it too?

[fluffydeathdealer]

Not quite. Ryou dislikes that girls fawn over him so much. He doesn't like pushy women at all.

Valentine's Day's just another awkward time for him, because he can't ignore them so easily.