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Hope you are all enjoying", "description_bbcode_parsed": "Shuffle up your elemental heroes and make sure your FTKs are first-turn!

Except it's not Yugioh this time!

Another short chapter, but the last two after it will make up for that.

Holy cow I am honestly shocked I'm this close to the end! Hope you are all enjoying", "writing": "Leashed Chapter 23: It’s time to Duel\nBy TerraMGP\n\n\tThe game shop door swung open wide. It didn’t slam. It opened outwards rather than in and naturally had one of those little hydraulic mechanisms that regulated the door opening and closing. In Simon’s mind it had slammed open, though. The sickly nearing dusk backlighting a pumped up chimpunk boy in Triforce Tee shirt and fishnet arm warmers. He’d painted each nail black and swapped out the typical cargo shorts for some cutoff jean shorts. Even his hair had been gelled into some femmy fluffy emo cut.\n\n\tConsidering how much time the munk had spent before showing up at FNM, he honestly wished now that he’d picked some song to blare as he walked in. It would have probably been ‘pumped up kicks’ if it were anything. Though the thought of striding in to what was essentially a toy store blaring a shooter anthem meant it was probably a good thing he hadn’t thought of it sooner.\n\n\tNone of that mattered right now. What mattered was he kept up his stride. A cheap deck box hanging off of his belt as he walked his way in to the store, eyes fixed on his target.\n\n\tA boy this time. The red panda seemed to shift decks whenever they swapped genders, so that at least told Simon something. If he were more skilled it probably would tell him his odds of winning. That’s how it would have worked in a Yugioh anime.\n\n\t“Well hey there.” Collin giggled the words. An implicit ‘slut’ hanging off the end of the words as he eyed the chipmunk boy up and down. “Someone got a bit of a glow-up didn't he?”\n\n\tThe munk‘s green painted lips twisted into a bit of a smile and he shifted into the type of femmy pose normally only seen on MTV back when he was sick as a kid. “Well I figured if today was the day I’m going to beat you, I should do it in style, right?”\n\n\tHe took in the various eyes on him. Gretchen especially. Out of his peripheral vision Simon could see the hints of a shocked expression. Mortified, he presumed. It was understandable. He looked stupid. He felt amazing though. To think he hadn’t even fully committed to this until a few hours ago. Without Dave’s words he may have just strode in here ready to lose as always and just looking to snag a bit of dopamine where he may.\n\n\t“Well damn, bitch!” Collin’s eyes lit up as he walked up a bit closer and leaned a paw on one of the cheap chairs, leaning down a bit to emphasize the few inches difference between the two of them. For someone so submissive the boy sure as hell knew how to throw a social blow or two. “I guess I have two people to look out for tonight, don’t I? What got into you, I wonder? Not that I’m complaining. You may be off limits but this lil turn makes you look kinda cute, actually.”\n\n\tThe munk was only dimly aware that he had started to blush, or that he was gnawing hard on his lower lip. Those big bucked teeth out in the open breaking any semblance of cool he may have had. “Y-yeah?” He muttered “Well, we’ll see if you keep that up when I beat you, right?” \n\n\tSimon didn’t really notice the manager until the man stepped between the two. He looked annoyed, but he was also grinning. One could only hope that the two hadn’t pushed him too far. “Ok you two, enough. Save the little skits for some other time. Everyone, brackets are up! Make sure to check and get yourselves ready for your first match!”\n\n\t“Try not to wash out early on.” Collin snickered “After all that bravado, honey, you really need to back it up.”\n\n\tThe wah turned with a hard flick of his big bushy tail. \n\n\t“Jeezie” Gretchen whimpered as she slipped up behind Simon. “Why’d you do that?”\n\n\t“I was sending a message.” Simon huffed.\n\n\t“You looked silly!” Gretchen yipped back.\n\n\tBad as he was at reading people, Simon still imagined he saw a bit of jealousy in the way she hunched over herself, muttering the words and tapping the tips of her diggers together.\n\n\t“Yeah, well, we’ll see how silly I look when I beat him.” He murred. “I’m feeling pretty dang good tonight!”\n\n--------------------\n\n\tSimon narrowed his eyes. He shouldn’t be nervous. From what he understood he had this locked down. “Ok.” He sighed “Let’s see if I have this right. I delve Dorothea, which turns into Dorothea’s revenge and I put that on the Mindlink Mech. Then I use my pilots to attack with the mind link mech and Prodigy’s prototype. That’s 11 to you. You’re down to 2, right?”\n\n\tIt was a nail biting little moment. Simon had been convinced that he didn’t care about winning for all of these weeks. It was just a game. He was simply humoring Gretchen. He didn’t know what he was doing. That it didn’t really matter how his opponent would use one of two different decks based on which gender they were that day, or how hard that made it for him to adapt or beat his supposed designated rival.\n\n\tNow here he was. At sixteen life with two pilots and two hover bikes. Which meant he could block two incoming attacks. All his opponent had was five lands and a snake equipped with a bunny. “Wow, that was intense.” He sighed finally “Good game?”\n\n\tCollin huffed in a deep breath of air and let it out slowly. The clothing wasn’t the only thing different between him and Xiulan. Posture, mannerisms. The differences were all subtle. Or maybe Simon was just bad at judging them. But they were clear enough. It was enough that Simon knew if he were looking at Xiulan right now her face would be twisted in a mask of sadistic glee. A slightly ‘mean girls’ edge taking the corners of her mouth and a few petty verbal stones chucked in the munk’s general direction. Collin simply offered an apologetic and oh so flirty little giggle before giving his opponent a nod.\n\n\t“I tap my Orochi merge-keeper and tap out my lands. I’ll toss out Avabruck Caretaker, and put the Rabbit Battery on her. Now, here comes the cheesy part” As Collin voiced the moves he kept himself locked on Simon. The young man had the most threatening bedroom eyes Simon had ever seen, and he’d seen some pretty violent combat hentai at one point. Collin licked his lips slowly and playfully. His left paw tapping on the newly played creature as he moved the little bunny creature under it. “So, Howling moon gives her +2/+2. Along with the boost from the rabbit battery that turns her into a 7/7. Unnatural growth doubles that, and since I have two…”\n\n\t“Twenty eight.” Simon sighed.\n\n\t“Whacha know? The accountant can do math! And the curse of hospitality means she’s got trample, so even if you block with everything you have left you’re taking twenty four to the face. And that.” He smirked and leaned in, poking Simon square on the nose with a triumphant boop “Is game.”\n\n\t“I think I’m getting to see why Gretchen doesn’t like you.” Simon sighed half heartedly while looking down at his own field.\n\n\t“Wait, she doesn’t? Since when?” Collin snorted and rolled his eyes “Come on now. Don’t feel too bad. The only reason you even got this far is because I got mana screwed early on. This deck is not supposed to take until turn eight to kick off. Besides I’ve been doing this shit for over a decade. It may just be some test deck to dick around with but I can’t exactly let one of my bestie’s slaves beat me in a duel, right? Well I mean besides my lil sis. But law of averages and all that.”\n\n\t“Which is why I almost beat- wait what, S-s-s-slave?” Simon was sure his cheeks were burning pink now. His fur always made it hard to hide the blush.\n\n\t“Oh, sorry. About that.” Collin sighed “I didn’t know you were keeping that on the DL. I mean, considering last time.” He snickered “I’ll let Justin off for not telling me this time, though. I mean I’m a bitch but even I can cut the poor guy some slack after the latest breakdown.”\n\n\t“Breakdown?” The shame was gut-punched out of him. “What breakdown? W-what happened?”\n\n\t“Woah, wait he didn't tell you?” that big bushy red panda tail fluttered and flagged while the rest of Collin slumped “Jesus it’s been a week since this one. I kinda figured he’d tell you.”\n\n\t“No. I-is he ok?” Everything was a dull ringing haze. Simon wrang his hands and bit on his lip. A sudden rush of bile-like horror roiled up into his chest while his brain put together. He barely even noticed when a familiar paw grabbed around his arm. The bad dream feeling kept clouding his mind when he saw Gretchen interposed between the other two. \n\n\t“Ok, that’s enough. I think Simon and I need to have a talk” The glasscutter scowl the mole carried seemed to bounce off of Collin. \n\n\t“What? What the hell did I do?” Collin didn’t seem to care as much as his words would imply, or maybe Simon was just too stunned to process it. \n\n\tGretchen didn't say anything. Simon ‘couldn't say anything. Not until they stood out in front of the store. The semi-chill of fickle Michigan spring was enough to snap him out of his stupor. Gazing at Gretchen. Watching her shift and shuffle. The fire of a moment ago knocked right out of her leaving her gripping her own shoulder and shuffling her foot into the cement.\n\n\t“Sorry. B-but you were going to make a scene!” She finally muttered, her tone somehow small defensive yet clumsily aggressive.\n\n\t“What’s going on?” Simon whimpered, his voice hollow. “What did he mean by breakdown?”\n\n\t“It wasn’t! I mean, it was. Sort of. It’s complicated”\n\n\tHe whimpered and resisted the urge to reach out and grab her shoulders. He hadn‘t been this out of control of himself in ages. Maybe ever. It was terrifying all on its own. “But he’s ok, right? I-is he dead? Or in the hospital?”\n\n\t “No” She sighed “It wasn’t that kind of thing. Master just got overwhelmed. You know, a stress thing! It’s not as bad as that bitch made it sound. Honest.”\n\n\t“So a mental thing, then?” It was at least better. At least it was until another possibility flashed in Simon’s mind. “h-he didn’t end up in Pine rest, did he?” Just the name of it was enough to turn the stomach of any west Michigan native. The boogieman of anyone who didn’t neatly fit in to the mold in school, passed down at least though one generation and possibly more. Simon had always told himself that it was just a normal mental care facility. That the bad experiences his father and the other kids back in middle or high school had spoken of were all the result of bad associations. People making it out to be like those asylum stereotypes in games or movies. Except now it was different. Now he couldn’t help but feel the terror of imagining Si- Imagining Justin shoved into some room in the place. Trapped with nothing to do and having his life picked apart by people who’d give him the wrong meds or leave him to hurt himself.”\n\n\tGretchen’s head shake vented that flash of anxiety like steam in a boiler ready to blow. A mental image the munk had to blame on making ‘The Shining’ his drive time audio book for the week. Gretchen didn’t look more relived. If anything her expression had become sullen and dour. “I don’t really feel comfortable giving too many details I’m sorry. He’s ok. Well, mostly ok. I promise. But yeah he isn’t working at the club anymore. At least for a while. I don’t really know all the details.” A humorless laugh left her lips with the tatters of a sob. Gretchen wasn’t good at making eye contact to begin with but now she was intentionally avoiding it. Her eyes sought out anything else beyond Simon. “Sorry. He didn’t want me to tell you. I think he’s still hoping the Madame will bring him back in before you get things figured out.”\n\n\t“But he’s ok?” Simon stressed. “You’re sure. It wasn’t like some panic attack or anything?”\n\n\t“Y-yeah, he’s fine.” She nodded, clearly taken aback a bit. She didn’t say more. She didn’t have to. Simon could read the unsaid question. ‘Why would you care’?\n\n\tHe opened his mouth to answer it even if it wasn’t asked. Except he couldn’t. Nothing came out. Nothing came to him. He did care. He cared so much it hurt. Just standing there talking to her with a bunch of half details was more than Simon Miller could stand at this point. \n\n\tAnd yet he knew all he needed to know. All he was entitled to know. That ‘Justine’ was, for now, on hiatus. That his time with her at the club was on pause. That was what mattered.\n\n\tWasn’t it?\n\n\tNo.\n\n\tHe knew it wasn’t. There was a Sisyphean stone in his mind threatening to crush him. He didn’t have the strength to push past it. The answer was right there and just out of reach. But it was important. He had to know. He ‘should’ know. Know if Justin was ok. Know what happened. Know what he could do. That last one especially. He should be able to do something. Because\n\n\tBecause…\n\n\tAnd just like that, the stone rolled free. Or maybe it rolled over him. It all hit him as if it had. What he was about to do was dumb. Possibly the dumbest thing He’d ever done. It was probably going to blow up in his face. But at least he could console himself with the fact that he didn’t really have much control over what he was doing anyways.\n\n\t“Hey, Gretchen?” Simon sighed. “I’m sorry to ask but can I get his number? I kinda deleted it after the last time with the car and, well, and I wanted to talk to him. If you think that’d be ok.”\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "Leashed Chapter 23: It’s time to Duel
By TerraMGP

\tThe game shop door swung open wide. It didn’t slam. It opened outwards rather than in and naturally had one of those little hydraulic mechanisms that regulated the door opening and closing. In Simon’s mind it had slammed open, though. The sickly nearing dusk backlighting a pumped up chimpunk boy in Triforce Tee shirt and fishnet arm warmers. He’d painted each nail black and swapped out the typical cargo shorts for some cutoff jean shorts.  Even his hair had been gelled into some femmy fluffy emo cut.

\tConsidering how much time the munk had spent before showing up at FNM, he honestly wished now that he’d picked some song to blare as he walked in. It would have probably been ‘pumped up kicks’ if it were anything. Though the thought of striding in to what was essentially a toy store blaring a shooter anthem meant it was probably a good thing he hadn’t thought of it sooner.

\tNone of that mattered right now. What mattered was he kept up his stride. A cheap deck box hanging off of his belt as he walked his way in to the store, eyes fixed on his target.

\tA boy this time. The red panda seemed to shift decks whenever they swapped genders, so that at least told Simon something. If he were more skilled it probably would tell him his odds of winning. That’s how it would have worked in a Yugioh anime.

\t“Well hey there.” Collin giggled the words. An implicit ‘slut’ hanging off the end of the words as he eyed the chipmunk boy up and down. “Someone got a bit of a glow-up didn't he?”

\tThe munk‘s green painted lips twisted into a bit of a smile and he shifted into the type of femmy pose normally only seen on MTV back when he was sick as a kid. “Well I figured if today was the day I’m going to beat you, I should do it in style, right?”

\tHe took in the various eyes on him. Gretchen especially. Out of his peripheral vision Simon could see the hints of a shocked expression. Mortified, he presumed. It was understandable. He looked stupid. He felt amazing though. To think he hadn’t even fully committed to this until a few hours ago. Without Dave’s words he may have just strode in here ready to lose as always and just looking to snag a bit of dopamine where he may.

\t“Well damn, bitch!” Collin’s eyes lit up as he walked up a bit closer and leaned a paw on one of the cheap chairs, leaning down a bit to emphasize the few inches difference between the two of them. For someone so submissive the boy sure as hell knew how to throw a social blow or two. “I guess I have two people to look out for tonight, don’t I? What got into you, I wonder? Not that I’m complaining. You may be off limits but this lil turn makes you look kinda cute, actually.”

\tThe munk was only dimly aware that he had started to blush, or that he was gnawing hard on his lower lip. Those big bucked teeth out in the open breaking any semblance of cool he may have had. “Y-yeah?” He muttered “Well, we’ll see if you keep that up when I beat you, right?”

\tSimon didn’t really notice the manager until the man stepped between the two. He looked annoyed, but he was also grinning. One could only hope that the two hadn’t pushed him too far. “Ok you two, enough. Save the little skits for some other time. Everyone, brackets are up! Make sure to check and get yourselves ready for your first match!”

\t“Try not to wash out early on.” Collin snickered “After all that bravado, honey, you really need to back it up.”

\tThe wah turned with a hard flick of his big bushy tail.

\t“Jeezie” Gretchen whimpered as she slipped up behind Simon. “Why’d you do that?”

\t“I was sending a message.” Simon huffed.

\t“You looked silly!” Gretchen yipped back.

\tBad as he was at reading people, Simon still imagined he saw a bit of jealousy in the way she hunched over herself, muttering the words and tapping the tips of her diggers together.

\t“Yeah, well, we’ll see how silly I look when I beat him.” He murred. “I’m feeling pretty dang good tonight!”

--------------------

\tSimon narrowed his eyes. He shouldn’t be nervous. From what he understood he had this locked down. “Ok.” He sighed “Let’s see if I have this right. I delve Dorothea, which turns into Dorothea’s revenge and I put that on the Mindlink Mech. Then I use my pilots to attack with the mind link mech and Prodigy’s prototype. That’s 11 to you. You’re down to 2, right?”

\tIt was a nail biting little moment. Simon had been convinced that he didn’t care about winning for all of these weeks. It was just a game. He was simply humoring Gretchen. He didn’t know what he was doing. That it didn’t really matter how his opponent would use one of two different decks based on which gender they were that day, or how hard that made it for him to adapt or beat his supposed designated rival.

\tNow here he was. At sixteen life with two pilots and two hover bikes. Which meant he could block two incoming attacks. All his opponent had was five lands and a snake equipped with a bunny. “Wow, that was intense.” He sighed finally “Good game?”

\tCollin huffed in a deep breath of air and let it out slowly. The clothing wasn’t the only thing different between him and Xiulan. Posture, mannerisms. The differences were all subtle. Or maybe Simon was just bad at judging them. But they were clear enough. It was enough that Simon knew if he were looking at Xiulan right now her face would be twisted in a mask of sadistic glee. A slightly ‘mean girls’ edge taking the corners of her mouth and a few petty verbal stones chucked in the munk’s general direction. Collin simply offered an apologetic and oh so flirty little giggle before giving his opponent a nod.

\t“I tap my Orochi merge-keeper and tap out my lands. I’ll toss out Avabruck Caretaker, and put the Rabbit Battery on her. Now, here comes the cheesy part” As Collin voiced the moves he kept himself locked on Simon. The young man had the most threatening bedroom eyes Simon had ever seen, and he’d seen some pretty violent combat hentai at one point. Collin licked his lips slowly and playfully. His left paw tapping on the newly played creature as he moved the little bunny creature under it. “So, Howling moon gives her +2/+2. Along with the boost from the rabbit battery that turns her into a 7/7. Unnatural growth doubles that, and since I have two…”

\t“Twenty eight.” Simon sighed.

\t“Whacha know? The accountant can do math! And the curse of hospitality means she’s got trample, so even if you block with everything you have left you’re taking twenty four to the face. And that.” He smirked and leaned in, poking Simon square on the nose with a triumphant boop “Is game.”

\t“I think I’m getting to see why Gretchen doesn’t like you.” Simon sighed half heartedly while looking down at his own field.

\t“Wait, she doesn’t? Since when?” Collin snorted and rolled his eyes “Come on now. Don’t feel too bad. The only reason you even got this far is because I got mana screwed early on. This deck is not supposed to take until turn eight to kick off. Besides I’ve been doing this shit for over a decade. It may just be some test deck to dick around with but I can’t exactly let one of my bestie’s slaves beat me in a duel, right? Well I mean besides my lil sis. But law of averages and all that.”

\t“Which is why I almost beat- wait what, S-s-s-slave?” Simon was sure his cheeks were burning pink now. His fur always made it hard to hide the blush.

\t“Oh, sorry. About that.” Collin sighed “I didn’t know you were keeping that on the DL. I mean, considering last time.” He snickered “I’ll let Justin off for not telling me this time, though. I mean I’m a bitch but even I can cut the poor guy some slack after the latest breakdown.”

\t“Breakdown?” The shame was gut-punched out of him. “What breakdown? W-what happened?”

\t“Woah, wait he didn't tell you?” that big bushy red panda tail fluttered and flagged while the rest of Collin slumped “Jesus it’s been a week since this one. I kinda figured he’d tell you.”

\t“No. I-is he ok?” Everything was a dull ringing haze. Simon wrang his hands and bit on his lip. A sudden rush of bile-like horror roiled up into his chest while his brain put together. He barely even noticed when a familiar paw grabbed around his arm. The bad dream feeling kept clouding his mind when he saw Gretchen interposed between the other two.

\t“Ok, that’s enough. I think Simon and I need to have a talk” The glasscutter scowl the mole carried seemed to bounce off of Collin.

\t“What? What the hell did I do?” Collin didn’t seem to care as much as his words would imply, or maybe Simon was just too stunned to process it.

\tGretchen didn't say anything. Simon ‘couldn't say anything. Not until they stood out in front of the store. The semi-chill of fickle Michigan spring was enough to snap him out of his stupor. Gazing at Gretchen. Watching her shift and shuffle. The fire of a moment ago knocked right out of her leaving her gripping her own shoulder and shuffling her foot into the cement.

\t“Sorry. B-but you were going to make a scene!” She finally muttered, her tone somehow small defensive yet clumsily aggressive.

\t“What’s going on?” Simon whimpered, his voice hollow. “What did he mean by breakdown?”

\t“It wasn’t! I mean, it was. Sort of. It’s complicated”

\tHe whimpered and resisted the urge to reach out and grab her shoulders. He hadn‘t been this out of control of himself in ages. Maybe ever. It was terrifying all on its own. “But he’s ok, right? I-is he dead? Or in the hospital?”

\t “No” She sighed “It wasn’t that kind of thing. Master just got overwhelmed. You know, a stress thing! It’s not as bad as that bitch made it sound. Honest.”

\t“So a mental thing, then?” It was at least better. At least it was until another possibility flashed in Simon’s mind. “h-he didn’t end up in Pine rest, did he?” Just the name of it was enough to turn the stomach of any west Michigan native. The boogieman of anyone who didn’t neatly fit in to the mold in school, passed down at least though one generation and possibly more. Simon had always told himself that it was just a normal mental care facility. That the bad experiences his father and the other kids back in middle or high school had spoken of were all the result of bad associations. People making it out to be like those asylum stereotypes in games or movies. Except now it was different. Now he couldn’t help but feel the terror of imagining Si- Imagining Justin shoved into some room in the place. Trapped with nothing to do and having his life picked apart by people who’d give him the wrong meds or leave him to hurt himself.”

\tGretchen’s head shake vented that flash of anxiety like steam in a boiler ready to blow. A mental image the munk had to blame on making ‘The Shining’ his drive time audio book for the week. Gretchen didn’t look more relived. If anything her expression had become sullen and dour. “I don’t really feel comfortable giving too many details I’m sorry. He’s ok. Well, mostly ok. I promise. But yeah he isn’t working at the club anymore. At least for a while. I don’t really know all the details.” A humorless laugh left her lips with the tatters of a sob. Gretchen wasn’t good at making eye contact to begin with but now she was intentionally avoiding it. Her eyes sought out anything else beyond Simon. “Sorry. He didn’t want me to tell you. I think he’s still hoping the Madame will bring him back in before you get things figured out.”

\t“But he’s ok?” Simon stressed. “You’re sure. It wasn’t like some panic attack or anything?”

\t“Y-yeah, he’s fine.” She nodded, clearly taken aback a bit. She didn’t say more. She didn’t have to. Simon could read the unsaid question. ‘Why would you care’?

\tHe opened his mouth to answer it even if it wasn’t asked. Except he couldn’t. Nothing came out. Nothing came to him. He did care. He cared so much it hurt. Just standing there talking to her with a bunch of half details was more than Simon Miller could stand at this point.

\tAnd yet he knew all he needed to know. All he was entitled to know. That ‘Justine’ was, for now, on hiatus. That his time with her at the club was on pause. That was what mattered.

\tWasn’t it?

\tNo.

\tHe knew it wasn’t. There was a Sisyphean stone in his mind threatening to crush him. He didn’t have the strength to push past it. The answer was right there and just out of reach. But it was important. He had to know. He ‘should’ know. Know if Justin was ok. Know what happened. Know what he could do. That last one especially. He should be able to do something. Because

\tBecause…

\tAnd just like that, the stone rolled free. Or maybe it rolled over him. It all hit him as if it had. What he was about to do was dumb. Possibly the dumbest thing He’d ever done. It was probably going to blow up in his face. But at least he could console himself with the fact that he didn’t really have much control over what he was doing anyways.

\t“Hey, Gretchen?” Simon sighed. “I’m sorry to ask but can I get his number? I kinda deleted it after the last time with the car and, well, and I wanted to talk to him. If you think that’d be ok.”
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