FIFTH RIDE ✦ ACCIDENTAL VIDEO / ACTION [DANGAN HOUSE]

[diamondo]

[ VIDEO ]

[Have you ever wanted to see a biker gang leader be domestic? No? Well turn off your 'Gears now then.

Mondo has taken over the kitchen today, so anyone in the Dangan House has probably been unceremoniously shoved out by one of Mondo's smaller Pokémon. The biker gang leader himself is currently almost unrecognizable; his hair is down and tied out of his face and he's sporting a cute apron with Pichu and Pikachu patterns all over it. His shirt, pants, and shoes are the same, so that might be a clue to those who know him, but otherwise he's definitely looking pretty different today. It seems that one of his Pokémon has gotten bored and has decided to film him since the angle is a little low.

There's a small radio sitting on the kitchen counter blasting horrible rap music with far too many cuss words in it, which Mondo is happily singing along to. Beside said radio are quite a few different trays full of... cookies. Holiday-themed cookies. Little trees and snowmen are all over the place and they actually look pretty good, all things considered. Mondo is currently elbow-deep in dough - it looks like he's actually making these things from scratch rather than a box mix. He'll occasionally glance at a recipe, but he seems to know what he's doing.

After a moment of this, Mondo finally seems to notice that the 'Gear is in his Scrafty's hands and he makes a mad fumble for it, only for her to leap out of the way.]

Get the fuck back here, Ryder!

[Hope that didn't break anyone's eardrums... Also his reputation may or may not be ruined completely now. Whoops.]

[ ACTION - DANGAN HOUSE ]

[After that... embarrassment Mondo can be found packaging the cookies up in little bags. They're holiday-themed bags too; clearly he's gone all out for the season. He's still singing along to the terrible rap, but he seems to be in a good mood despite the hilarity from earlier.

If he catches sight of you, you're probably going to be handed a bag of cookies. Yes, even you Togami and you, Celes.

The cookies inside are actually pretty good! They're not burnt or anything and Mondo seems incredibly proud of himself for something like this. Come taunt him/demand cookies/wonder where in the good hell he got that apron?]

Comments

[shslasshat]

Hardly. She orchestrated two murders and was willing to send the rest of us to our deaths as well for a paltry sum of money.

[...Ten billion yen isn't a paltry sum to anyone but you, Togami.......]

I have no respect for someone who would accept a bribe like that.

[A magpie chases shiny baubles and thinks itself rich, while a dragon reclines on its golden throne and measures its wealth in the bones of the adventurers who come seeking to claim it.]

[diamondo]

[Mondo frowns. How could Celes do that? Doesn't she feel bad about it at all? The guilt of killing Fujisaki - even though it hasn't happened for him yet - has been eating at him ever since he found out. How can Celes be so calm about it?]

Can't say I blame you. That was a fucking terrible motive. I can't believe she'd stoop that fucking low.

[shslasshat]

[Better yet, she came to Johto convinced that she would get away with it, and seemed completely unfussed by the fact.

Togami isn't sure the exact moment when he stopped seeing his classmates as potential victims, but as their numbers dwindled his certainty had undeniably dwindled. He tried to convince himself that it was because there was a greater chance of being caught.

"If you need anything, you can come to me."]

What seems like a terrible motive to one person may be exactly what another one needs.

[He shakes the last of the flour into the batter, and then sets the bowl down.]

I can hold it again now.

[which is Togami for 'thanks'.]

[diamondo]

[Would he have killed Fujisaki had that motive not been handed out?]

...Yeah, I guess so.

[He hates that he can't answer that question. Mondo hands the bowl off to Togami and leans back against the counter again, arms folded.

What Togami said about the motives is definitely true; he didn't consider killing anyone to keep his a secret, but when he lost control that might have been a factor in why he killed Fujisaki. He doesn't know, he has no way of knowing unless he returns home, and he certainly doesn't want that.

But he's not the same as Celes. He can take some comfort in that.]

I can't believe she managed to get Yamada to work with her on this shit. I wouldn't have thought that kid would be a fucking murderer.

[shslasshat]

He was manipulated.

[It comes out easily, but the 'how' catches on the back of his teeth. If Oowada asks, he may elaborate, but for now he tactfully refrains from telling him that Celes framed Ishimaru for rape and used Yamada's honor to manipulate him into murder.

He wonders if Oowada knows about Ishida, or if that's something else that has been tactfully avoided.

When the batter is all mixed together, Togami scoops up a fair amount and pinches off a small chunk, rolling it between his fingers into a ball and holding it out to Oowada.]

Try this.

[diamondo]

He was?

[Togami doesn't seem to want to elaborate, so he doesn't press him on it. He can always ask Yamada about it once they bring him here.

...As far as Ishida goes? Mondo's met him once, during those strange three day periods. It was an interesting experience.

Anyway, he takes the offered dough and pops it in his mouth, nodding in appreciation.]

It's pretty fucking good! Lets see how they turn out once they're baked!

[shslasshat]

[Once Oowada takes the offered cookie dough, Togami pinches off a bit of the dough for himself as well, nodding in appreciation as well.]

The ginger has more heat in the raw dough than it will in the finished sables.

[because he's not going to call it a fucking cookie.]

I'll need room to roll it out. I assume you have cookie cutters.

[diamondo]

[Oh don't be so pretentious.]

Yeah, 'course I do!

[Are you prepared for the manliest cookie cutters you've ever seen, Togami? There are plenty of generic holiday shapes, and then there are super cute little Pokémon ones.

...To his credit, Mondo doesn't seem embarrassed by them.]

[shslasshat]

[He's going to take a moment to stare at the cookie cutters.

Then back at Oowada.

Then at the cookie cutters.

What even.

Then he just shrugs and sprinkles some more flour onto the wax paper on the counter, and plops some dough onto it, and starts flattening it out with the rolling pin.]

You can use whichever ones you'd like. I'll be using this one.

[He picks up the star. Boring.]

[diamondo]

[It's just best if you don't ask, Togami...]

Alright, sure.

[Jeez, Togami, couldn't you at least go for something more interesting?

Mondo will use all of the cookie cutters at least once. He certainly seems to be enjoying himself, despite the company! And thankfully he's not even going to start humming any of that horrible rap. Aren't you pleased with him?]

[shslasshat]

[Perhaps even the most ill-behaved of mutts can be trained, after all.

Togami certainly doesn't mind the silence - it's almost amiable, which is odd considering the company sharing it. They spread out the cookies on the cookie sheets, re-rolling and adding more dough as they make their way through the batch. The recipe doesn't lie when it says makes 2-3 dozen cookies, that's for sure.]

[diamondo]

[Hey, we don't want to run out of cookies! Besides, we're all (sort of) teenagers here; these cookies are going to go fast!

Mondo usually doesn't like the silence - it's something he's never gotten used to and he's made that plain to Ishimaru at least once - but there's something comfortable about it. He's content not to break it until they're done.]

Alright, done! Let's bake these fuckers.

[...Well no one said he was going to break the silence in an acceptable way...]

[shslasshat]

[All things considered, Togami takes the abrupt breaking of the silence in stride, barely even rolling his eyes at the unnecessary profanity.

There's still vastly more stars than there are any other shape, but the ratio isn't 1:1 stars to everything else, because Togami broke away at some point to prepare the egg wash and begin brushing it on. Satisfied, he puts the brush in the now mostly empty cup and wipes his hand on a towel before slipping an oven mitt on.]

It should take about fifteen minutes.

[During which time and for hours afterward the house will smell overwhelmingly like ginger and vanilla.]

[diamondo]

Yeah. I can keep an eye on 'em if you've got other shit to do.

[He kind of doubts that though, since Togami took the time to come help him out with this. He's still not entirely sure why, but Togami's help is appreciated.]

[shslasshat]

Hardly.

[Togami slides the first sheet into the oven, and the second right next to it, then shuts the door with an angry screech.]

How long have you been baking today?

[diamondo]

I started some time after lunch, so around noonish? Maybe later?

[He shrugs, clearly he hasn't been paying attention.]

Probably should've started baking all this shit earlier; we're probably gonna run out of cookies by Christmas!

[shslasshat]

[All Togami knows is that he left the house to go take a walk and maybe train a little when he heard the rap music start playing, and when he came back the rap music was still playing but now the house smelled like cookies.]

They're not a finite resource. It's always possible to make more.

[diamondo]

[Don't question his taste in music!]

Well, yeah, but I don't wanna spend the whole holiday season baking. 'Sides, I've still gotta figure out what I'm doing about presents.

[shslasshat]

[Ah yes. Presents.

Eurgh.]

Personally, I'd rather spend the season baking.

[diamondo]

That fond of it, huh?

[That's said in a teasing tone. Mondo wants to ask why Togami hates the holiday season so much, but he decides against it. There's already been enough awkward sharing for today.]

[shslasshat]

It's an asinine tradition.

I admit I was disappointed when the study didn't contain even so much as a bastardized version of A Christmas Carol, however.

[For a Scrooge, that's ironically one of his favorite stories ok]

[diamondo]

I'm sure you can find it at a bookstore or something. Though I've gotta wonder how many Pokémon references they'd put in it...

[Oh look, Mondo actually read a book while he was here in Johto? Shocking!!]

[shslasshat]

[It takes every ounce of willpower that Togami has not to answer that with 'I didn't know you could read'.]

Too many, no doubt.

You've read Dickens?

[He wasn't aware that it was translated into Japanese. Why would he care about translations when he was perfectly capable of reading the original English?]

[diamondo]

[...Well, thanks for that...]

Ah, no, I haven't. I don't really read much.

[YOU DON'T SAY, MONDO]

[shslasshat]

[and here he'd begun to have hope for you after all.]

I suppose it's one of those stories that's hard to not know the plot.