suddenlybees | || IC INBOX

[ This is where he thinks they're different- he knows he bottles up a lot, but he's never expressly felt like he's going to explode holding it all in. Even if he did, it wouldn't manifest as anger, but instead, he thinks he would probably cry, like he'd cried a lot when he was younger but it'd never solved anything, it only ever made things worse. But it still felt good.

Tap, tap, tap, the bat goes on his shoulder.

Anger... what's that supposed to feel like? He can pretend; he's good at that, isn't he? He cups one hand by the side of his mouth and fills his lungs up with air. ]

FUCK YOU, DAYBREAK!!!

[ And then he hurtles the bat at the back window of the car like a javelin, because stabbing must run in the family more than smashing. ]

[Mav doesn't really have a moment to consider whether or not he believes that outburst, as he has to dart a hand out and yank Kano over to him. The thing about car windows...is that sometimes things bounce off them, and in the case of something being thrown like a javelin? It tends to take the same path back.

His poor bat, clattering to the ground all sad...but it's better than Kano taking the butt of it to an eye.]

Boy, this shit really doesn't fucking come naturally to you. Okay first attempt.

[ why are car windows so much tougher than he imagined?? dangerous... that was dangerous, it would have been much funnier if it happened to somebody else but instead, Kano just sees his life flash before his eyes and is disappointed. ]

Why does it not pierce through like in the movies??

[ How movies are... hood bent and engine smoking, steel pipe through the roof and a car window. Lies. ]

Uh, so people don't fucking get a chunk of glass in their face when they get in an accident? And so movies are fucking interesting?

[Like...sometimes those things will go either way, but generally speaking... Safety!!!]

It's kinda like... You fucking hit it with a big enough area of the bat that it could distribute it and handle the stress, like a trampoline. But if you stab a fucking trampoline, the knife'll go through because it's got a concentrated fucking point and the weight of your body behind it. It shatters real fucking good once you get that little break point through.

[ There's a lot of science of physics behind this that Kano's never given any thought to, but... what Maverick is saying is... ]

Hey, hey, lemme borrow your knife!

[ If he throws this at the window, surely it'll pierce through. ]

No.

[Doesnt even have to take a second to consider it.]

Oh! Here, come on.

[He has to cross to the front again, for this...and he takes his tattered gloves off so they don't get dirty or caught on anything, which sucks, but it wasn't like they had fingers keeping him warm anyway. It takes a bit of doing, but thankfully these were old and useless, too, and eventually...ta-dah! Spark plug. That he promptly drops and crushes under his heel.]

Here you go.

[Have this itty bitty fragment and have fun.]

[ Kano stares at this fragment of a spark plug like he has no idea what it is— and he doesn't, he's never used ninja rocks before, and looks back up at Maverick with a frown on your face. ]

Are you making fun of me?? How's this supposed to work better than knives?

Oh, you sweet summer child.

[Yesss. This is what he was hoping for.]

Have I ever steered you wrong? Just fucking give it a try.

[ Has Maverick ever steered him wrong...? Actually no, he's always tried to steer Kano in the right direction, even with Kano stubbornly insisting to do something stupid despite everybody's best efforts.

So he gives Maverick one last suspicious look, and then steps back for a clear shot of the car window. His throwing isn't quite the impressive baseball pitch, but more the flick of the wrist one would use for skipping rocks, but even that much sends the piece flying straight and fast enough it hits the exact center of the window, and the entire page comes crumbling down. ]

...........................holy shit, [ he whispers to himself, stunned still for a moment, and then stoops to pick up the rest of these spark plug pieces to shove into his pockets. ]

[He can't help the excited little bounce of anticipation, because as much as he loves to beat the shit out of stuff with his bat, there's nothing quite like the complete annihilation that comes from the spark plug trick, or the look on someone's face the first time they see it.]

Careful. It's just the ceramic pieces that'll do that. Lot fucking harder than glass and iron and shit, but sharper, too. Splinters can be a real bitch to get out.

Which one's the ceramic?

[ He just crouch there and hug his knees until Maverick tells him which are okay to pick up and shove into his pockets and... maybe think about wrapping up first before doing that, because digging through his pockets later would be a real and literal pain. ]

It can't be right that they're harder than iron, right? Mother would always get mad at me when I break ceramic cups and stuff, they're way too easy to break!

[What a good boy that waits to pick up dangerous things and who also just says things to confirm even more than necessary that Maverick would fucking hate this kid's mom. Though being mad about breaking cups is a pretty...normal...thing. Whatever, he still hates her. Mav squats down next to Kano and begins pointing out all the chunks of ceramic.]

It's science. Has to do with molecular structure. Mugs and stuff will fucking shatter if you drop 'em, sure, but that's because they don't have a lot of flex to them. In...trampoline terms, I fucking guess, it's a tight weave versus a loose fucking useless net. You can stretch the net more, but it won't have the same strength. Ceramic won't bend, just break, so it's hard but brittle. Metal is more flexible, so it'll bend a lot fucking sooner, even if it doesn't break right away. You can actually sharpen knives on the bottoms of mugs because ceramic's the harder of the two.

[Isn't learning fun!!!]

Want me to get the other spark plugs for you?

[ Science is... a lot. But Maverick's explanation is easy enough to follow, with examples that he can visualize, and when he gets home later he'll be texting Ellie to try sharpening her knives on the bottoms of her cups. ]

Yeah, let's collect all the spark plugs~! But maybe not smash 'em, 'cause I don't know what'll happen to everything inside the bag if it tears~

[ He picks up one of the ceramic pieces, finding one with a large enough flat edge that he can hold it in between his fingers without worry. ]

Something like this could kill somebody, huh... But it'd be safer than a bullet? Because it won't explode?

Yeah. Way fucking easier to transport them intact.

[But he'll happily straighten back out, stretching his arms up to the extent of their length before he gets back to digging around in the engine.]

I mean, you can fucking kill someone with anything of you try, dumbass. I guess most of the time it's fucking safer? It's a speed thing, too, but for a general rule, smaller and cleaner you can get an injury, the easier it'll be to get patched up again. That's why they say "twisting the knife".

[ Ugh, yeah... Kano definitely knows what twisting the knife looks like, how much pain and blood is involved and it'd be nice if he could die with a bullet straight through his head, a clean in and out with none of the mess involved. He doesn't need to kill anybody, though, so he entertains himself by watching Maverick fish out spark plugs, so he knows what to nab the next time he needs to replenish his supplies. ]

How smart~ Another question for you! Since today's turned into an educational field trip~ Ramona says you know how to hotwire a car! Teach me~

Yeah, I don't fucking know how that happened...

[It's fun, though... Awh, heck, he's been forgetting to get pictures of Kano. He's been the one going around feeling all good and stuff, when this was meant to be a trip to make Kano feel better and honor Ellie.

Hotwiring, though. Mav slows for a moment, easy grin falling a little. It wasn't hotwiring itself that was the problem, or even thinking about how he came about that knowledge... Going from freely sharing fascinating information to being asked to divulge information like that, though... You take what's useful and get out. That's how people have always been, even when it comes to others.

He's so stupid.]

I only know old cars like this. Newer ones don't work the same.

That's fine, isn't it? All we have is an old car here, so the other way doesn't work?

[ The newer ones probably have some sort of security system that'd make it impossible, but it's not like everybody in the world has fancy new cars, there are plenty of people still driving junkers around and so the knowledge isn't outdated. ]

Just sayin'.

[well, he won't show him the quick and easy screwdriver way, anyway. Gotta work for your crimes, cricket.]

Hop in the passenger side and pay attention. We won't be able to actually do it, but I'll show you where shit's supposed to be and what it should do.

[get ready for method one, but with some unenthusiastic swearing thrown in. He'll put up with questions and requests to show him again, at least.]

[ He's quiet when he watches, focused and still so he doesn't miss a step in memorizing the process, which wire goes where and the need to be careful and exact or else he'll fry himself, probably. It's disappointing that they can't actually make the car run... ]

Hm~ In the end, the movies are a lie, huh? [ It's not that easy!! He definitely wants to find a real car and try it out now. ] As I thought, I can't rely on this method, in the end~ Never mind, never mind~ You said there might be motorbikes here, right? Let's go find a motorbike!

After you get all that shit done, you just gotta make the wires fucking touch again and it gets going. Just the first time's a pain in the ass.

[He crawls out of the car again, brushing fragments of glass off his back and behind where he'd carelessly sat on it, and retrieves his bat again.]

Yeah, yeah. Run along, cricket, it's your turn to model, anyway.

[Go nuts for the camera.]

It's too troublesome~ I'll just bring you when I need to!!

[ Off he goes, turning his attention to dumpster diving... Motorbike, motorbike... He finds a regular bike, but it's missing its wheels so the most he can do is stand it on the ground and pedal without going anywhere. A camera? A film camera, with no film, but he hangs it around his neck anyways. Christmas ornaments- a tree topper, a mess of lights, baubles... He tosses the bauble up and down in his hands, glancing over at Maverick. ]

Batter up!

Mmmhm.

[That's what he thought. He's just someone around to be used when it's convenient.

His phone pics are pretty nice. Not award-winning, and without that unrestrained, joyful expression that the shots of Maverick had had, but he's working with what he's got.]

You're supposed to be the fucking batter, idiot.

[ He's happiest when he's just quietly doing his thing like this, but that's not what Maverick wants to capture- instead, it's this, right? The laugh that escapes Kano's throat as he holds his hand out for the bat, smile on his face that's the usual, rather than holding any particular joy. ]

Alright~ Go easy on me, okay? Trade you, trade you~

[ Here are the baubles. Give him a soft, underhand toss. ]

[It's not about what Maverick wants to see, even if big bright smiles are a language he understands better than quiet enjoyment. It's about making Ellie jealous so she'll hurry on up and get her ass back here. The variety is good...so he only pauses a second before offering the bat out.]

I'm not gonna throw it too close, or you'll find a way to jack up your face.

[The split second before he tosses one of the ornaments, he remembers.

He has The Worst Aim.]

-- shit. Sorry!

[ -—IS HE ACTUALLY BLIND

Kano had very little confidence that he could hit the ornament in the first place, but he reflexively stretches out to try to hit it, and as bad as Maverick's aim is, Kano's grip is weak and there goes the bat flying through the air- it misses the ornament, and also Maverick's face, but barely. ]

...That's a "bunt," right? It still counts??

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