They're not even velcro....

[eternallypunished]

Okay...I'm only going to say this once.

[Closes eyes, takes a deeeeep breath.]

Shut UP about my shoes. Yeah, haha, they have a zipper, obviously this means I've never tied laces before. Right.

[...Wow, this is, uh, a little angrier than expected. Actually, this is being taken the wrong way. Obviously you know how to tie shoes, the zippers just seemed a little...well, silly.]

And? Why do you even care? It's convenient. Is convenience funny to you?

[N.......No? It was just a joke, man, come on.]

Oh wow, a joke? From you? You're kidding, what a surprise. What even are you? You're like a Bizarro Katusya who jokes about everything but still has this need to nitpick anyway. What's your deal?

[...Okay, obviously you need to cool your jets so I'll just back off. Do what you want. For the record, though, the zipper shoes are endearing.]

...Tch. I'm eighteen, not five.

Comments

[spelucky]

[Leo gives a small chuckle at the boy's distress.] Ah, I'm sure your mun meant no harm by it, my friend.

Mine likes to joke that I have a thing for leather straps and buckles.

I think that zipper-shoes are... charming! In fact- my friend Emilie has a pair much like those.

[warriorscribe]

Why does he care about your shoes?

*Says the man for whom most shoes are strange-looking.*

[eternallypunished]

Ah...Thanks, I guess. [Charming isn't really what he thinks of when it comes to his shoes, but oh well. Tatsuya sighs and reaches for the lighter in his pocket.]

Good, cuz he's acting like he's never seen them before. It's so annoying you'd think he's training as an Olympic athlete in being annoying.

[eternallypunished]

He thinks it's funny.

[He can't help but roll his eyes while he explains.]

Something about how I don't have time to stop and tie my shoes or whatever. I don't know.

[deathboss]

Taachan!

...dude you sound pretty tense. You okay?

[spelucky]

[Leo laughs again.] Ah, I wouldn't worry about it. Many would find your shoes to be quite stylish, I'm sure....

[A pause.] In fact, the last time I ventured into the city, I'm fairly certain that I saw a large group of teenage schoolgirls with shoes very similar! I suppose their popularity must be spreading.

[Among cutsey schoolgirls]

now the keywords are relevant lmao

[eternallypunished]

[Ohh. Ohhhhhh great. Fantastic.]

Ahh, uh. [...What does he do? He didn't...really think about actually encountering anyone from the Other Side. ...He's assuming this is the Eikichi from the Other Side, with the familiarity. The alternative is that he remembered and, well...Tatsuya awkwardly coughs and tries to detrail that train of thought.]

Yeah, don't worry about it. It's just annoying, is all.

[eternallypunished]

[...Oh. Okay, he sees where this is going.]

These are men's tennis shoes...

[You know. For men.]

Ahahaha a+ 1/2

[deathboss]

[Something's wrong here. For a few seconds, he stares at Tatsuya.]

2/2

[deathboss]

[Thumbs up!]

Well shoes aside, that new outfit you got looks real good on you!

[eternallypunished]

[...Heh. God bless Eikichi for being a dumbass.]

Thanks, man.

[No snide comment about Eikichi's fashion sense, no shrugging it off, no nothing. Just genuine thanks.]

[deathboss]

[...yeah something is definitely wrong. You didn't crack a remark.]

...I'm taking you to a hospital.

[eternallypunished]

[Wh-What!? Why?]

Hospital? I'm not sick, you dumbass.

[Oh whew, there it is. There we go. Everything's better.]

while i wait for my laundry to wash, you get rika instead of homura tho

[defyfate]

I think they're kind of cute, mii.

!!!!!!!

[eternallypunished]

[THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE CUTE OR CHARMING OR WHATEVER THEY'RE JUST SHOES why does everyone keep SAYING that??? Ugh, okay deep breaths. He doesn't exactly want to blow up over something so silly.]

If you say so, but I don't really see it...

[defyfate]

[She laces her fingers behind her back and stares up at Tatsuya, looking as innocent and child-like as can be.]

Miii, I bet they're much easier too, right? You don't have to worry about tying them up, just zipzip and you're ready to go!

[eternallypunished]

[Oof, this sweetness is practically giving him heartburn. Disgusting. She's just a kid, though, so he's a little more lenient.]

Yeah, that's kinda the point. I don't get why he thinks it's funny...

[defyfate]

Hm...

[She taps her chin thoughtfully, and finally just shrugs. Hell if she knows, man. ]

I dunno! Maybe he's just being tough on you because he likes you bunches and bunches. Nipaa~!

[eternallypunished]

[Geez, that cutseyness is kind of excessive for a kid...isn't it? ...That's kind of a weird thought, though. Like a kid would fake being cutesy for no reason.]

I kinda doubt that. He's just being immature. Pretty sad for an adult to act like that, huh?

[defyfate]

[Hah. though its partially muns fault for being rusty and needing to remember how to properly balance cute phrases]

Being an adult doesn't make you magically more mature than anyone else, mii! They can be just as silly as us little kids, sometimes even more so.

[eternallypunished]

[...Okay. Is that something a little kid would even say?]

Aheh, where did you hear that? [It might as well be a rhetorical question, really, said in a way that adults usually address children who say something like that. Bemused, questionable if he's even taking it seriously.]

[defyfate]

I'm the last remaining member of the Furude family, one of the biggg super important families of where I live, so I get to sit in on the city meetings when I feel like it! Usually they're pretty boring though, but sometimes it's fun to listen in, mii.

[eternallypunished]

Oh, yeah? [If nothing else, that sounded kind of interesting.] I'll bet you learn a lot from those, huh?

[runtothesunlight]

I didn't know they still made those.

[Hi, have a kid from the late 2000s/early 2010s.]

[eternallypunished]

[Oh, haha, was that some kind of joke??? Because he...er...doesn't get it. No really, it kinda flew over his head.]

What do you mean "still make those"?