i. feel the friendship

[ For whatever reason, animals don't seem to care for Maruki too much—that's been his perception over the past couple of years, anyway. But when all's said and done here, it's probably just that, well, these are crabs, and crabs skitter all around, don't they?

He won't lie -- he can't immediately recall the last time he's eaten, and they... don't look unappetizing. Still, he's not the sort of guy who can bring himself to personally slay one or more of the poor innocent creatures just to sate his appetite, so it's a moot point.

...Until he comes across the first whiff of actual cooking, which may or may not be the same person to emit the yelp he hears from somewhere along the beach. Be awfully convenient if it was, though. ]

Hey, is everything all right? I thought I heard a noise just before. You're not hurt, are you? I'm not a doctor, but -- er, well, I am a doctor, just not that kind -- um, anyway, hope everything's okay over here.

ii. phallus phestival

[ All right, look. They do this in Kawasaki every year, and it's fine. Maruki's no anthropologist, but the other social sciences aren't wholly unfamiliar to him, either, and anyway, he remembers enough Freud from his undergrad career that... you know. He gets it.

He... he gets it.

And it's to help this world heal itself, isn't it, so...

In no way do any of these realizations prevent him from being any less bashful as he observes the festivities from the edge of one crowd, pink flush in his skin plainly visible against the stark off-white of his toga. He's worrying his bracelet in the fingers of his other hand, dimly aware of the cool slide of it up and down his wrist, up and down, not enough of a distraction to matter -- but enough of one to make him jump when a friendly robot brandishes a distressingly large and anatomically correct candy-pink lollipop that he feels way too pressured not to take.

For some time he's sort of just standing there, helplessly holding the thing. The moment he locks eyes with another person he glances anxiously from them to the penis on a stick in his hand and looses an embarrassed chuckle. ]

U-um, please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't suppose you're hungry? I... can't possibly carry any more of these.

[ He's got like three of them tucked into his toga already and he doesn't know what to do. ]

iii. fireside adventures

[ Liquor and a bonfire. Perfect. This is definitely more Maruki's speed. To his credit, he's done a really good job keeping it together up to this point, especially when you consider how he's still reeling from his best laid plans crumbling around his ears only hours (or days?) before this.

Though he seems to be less bruised now than he'd feared, the combination of the firelight and exposed skin seem to bring out their color: a muted purple in most places, excepting the sickly green-blue-black at the back of his neck -- a groaning tenderness he can't see for himself but feels very, very acutely, where something once sunk deep inside but has since left. Deeper still, Maruki feels a yawning emptiness where his persona should be, an echoing silent ache.

It might've been better if he hadn't had the chance to let his thoughts catch up with him. He drains most of his drink, sighs heavily, and only then does he realize he's not alone by the fireside. ]

Oh--! Didn't see you there. Or, I guess it's more correct to say I wasn't paying attention, ahaha... Don't suppose you're as new as I am?

[ By no means is this person the only one he's failed to take notice of tonight, but, well, he's... got a lot on his mind. ]

iv. wildcard!

[ You know what to do. \o/ ]