FINALS ARE OVER. LET CELEBRATIONS COMMENCE.

[splinteredstar]

So. Yeah. Finals are over. Room is half exploded with extra stuff. Must make it habitable... tomorrow.

Stealing a book from edmondia's library.... DRABBLE REQUEST TIME.

(also clearly capslock time.)  I've been in FF7 lately, but besides that, y'all know my fandoms.

Throw something at me, and hopefully I won't take six months on it this time!

Comments

"Tabloids"

[starsplinter.livejournal.com]

Seto Kaiba led his brother away from the hotdog stand, barely bothering to conceal his snarl. People constantly hit on him, but the annoyance never faded, and this one was so blatant... Kaiba checked the sides of the paper container for his hotdog. At least the oversexed bastard hadn't written his number on it...

Mokuba remained happily absorbed in his own hotdog, even if he did have mustard caught in his hair and smeared on his cheek. Kaiba frowned, and caught the yellow streaked clump of hair to clean it off with a napkin.

Mokuba looked up at the tug on his hair, smiling. "Niisama, I *can* clean myself." But he was laughing as it said it, not angry or upset, so Kaiba just huffed and handed him the napkin. He settled back on the bench, his own plain hotdog already gone, and silently contemplated the pale pink puff of cotton candy he hadn't asked for, but Mokuba had bought for him anyway.

He carefully pulled a piece off and, feeling like he was testing a particularly unstable prototype, chewed on the pink fluff.

"Do you like it, Niisama?" Mokuba asked, wiping mustard off his face. Kaiba wasn't completely sure he understood the point of it - the stuff seemed to be sugar and little else - but Mokuba was still smiling, sure and bright and unafraid, so he shrugged and said,

"It's all right." Mokuba smiled even wider, and began chewing on his own with enthusiasm. At least there was no chance for this to smear all over his face, and his glow of happiness was enough for Kaiba to ignore the thought of what the stuff must be doing to his teeth.

Kaiba stretched his legs out in front of him and then stood, walking towards a newsstand nearby to flip through the infamous tabloid, "Domino Express." Disreputable and trashy, it was nevertheless read by many for its sensational, outrageous, and usually fake stories. This week's cover was a badly photo -shopped picture of Kaiba himself, with the headline, "Kaiba secretly British royal? Details inside!"

"Niisama?" Mokuba asked from the bench, still working on his cotton candy. "What're you doing?"

"Checking the scores." Kaiba said from behind the magazine. He heard Mokuba laugh, and then patter up next to him, his cotton candy forgotten on the bench.

"Hey, let me see!" Mokuba jumped for the magazine, but cheered as soon as he caught sight of the cover. "Ha! My story is on the front cover! I won this week, Niisama!"

Kaiba nodded his acknowledgement, having flipped through the magazine for his own submission. "Mine wasn't published. Ten points for you, zero for me." He mentally calculated. "Which brings the tally to 65/40, in your favor." He put the tabloid back on the stand, without bothering to read the "shocking story" that had been sent in from an "anonymous source", and filed the information in his head: apparently, for the Express, royalty won out over back room deals on the scale of publishable material.

"Okay." Mokuba's grin was so strong, Kaiba couldn't even feel that bad for losing. "This week, we try and get something published in Duelist, except that it *can't* be a shocking sex story."

Kaiba tilted his head, considering as he threw their trash away. "Yes, I suppose that would make it too easy." He started walking in the direction of his scheduled duel, mentally planning the next "anonymous submission." Hm. Not another secret sibling, not sex….Allegation of cheating? No, that didn’t seem to be as effective…

Mokuba might be able to fool the tabloid editors more easily, with an easy taste for the things people wanted to read, but Kaiba never put up with losing for long. Not even to Mokuba.


(...it couldn't be a normal game, you know)

Re: "Tabloids"

[nenya85.livejournal.com]

LOL I love it that it’s not a normal game – and that Kaiba can’t stand to lose even to his brother. Although I’m not surprised that if the game involves manipulating people, Mokuba has an advantage. I love the affection you've caught in all their interactions.

The image of Mokuba smeared in mustard, ketchup and cotton candy is priceless, as is the reference to him as a puppy-pony earlier, as well as Kaiba staring suspiciously at cotton candy as though it was a new threat.

Thanks!

Re: "Tabloids"

[starsplinter.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! It was loads of fun to write - so weird though, writing Kaiba interaction that isn't at least bittersweet.