Yaropi

“Note to self: I REALLY need to listen to my gut instinct more often.” There is no shame in going about your duties in life; the real concern is how long you immerse yourself in them before it becomes a problem, and unfortunately for Yaropi, he has kind of gotten past that point. For roughly the past hour or two, he has been running errands for himself and for loved ones, thinking he would have been done with them by now. That hasn’t happened, and even a short rest or two hasn’t helped. At least the weather’s nice. “Five Points, Anaheim Canyon, Historic Palms… is there any part of town I haven’t gone to? Maybe an extra break won’t be a bad idea. Where am I gonna do it, though?" As if fate smiled upon him, he quickly manages to find a quaint park nearby, and almost immediately rushes to the cool, welcoming shade, sitting down haphazardly and kicking off his flip-flops in an equal fashion. How he isn’t a sweaty mess is a miracle. “Phew, so much better; my legs were starting to feel like jello. If I’m extra lucky today, Mrs. Soto will show pity on me, hehe.” ... “Ah, who am I kidding? She is going to kill me. Worth it, though.” The big-footed lad chuckles to himself, already imagining what sort of sound thrashing he’d probably get. It would definitely suck, but right now, he doesn’t care; between the smell of the nearby flowers and the grass rustling against his stompers, he could be like this all day! Before he can keep fantasizing on that, he spots a passerby gaze at his direction, not that he minds. If he’s going to milk this break for all it’s worth, a good talk or two can help with that! “Hey. Sorry if my rambling seemed a bit odd. I've had one heck of a trip today, and I just need some time to breathe, let my body calm down... whatever you want to call it. What about you?”

“And the vent system leads to here and here, and just HAS to be placed up high… or does that say it’s down low? I really got to pay attention to the meetings more often.” One may wonder what someone like Yaropi could possibly want from being a thief-in-training if it's not for money, and there's quite a list, one he keeps secret: improving his confidence, the simple thrills, not having to be forced into LARP as a tickle slave because some people are TOO attracted to his feet… the small things in life. In this current situation, the job also quite educational, considering how much effort Layla puts into planning heists. Speaking of the she-devil, it’s one of those days where she had no heists planned for the near future, and is thus solving it by offering her services to others; an interesting venture, all things considered, but considering his inexperience, the deal-making side of it still hurts his brain. Yaropi still wants to try and be more involved in the hustle, though, and thus he is passing the time in the hideout by trying to teach himself on strategizing future heists, all while laying prone comfortably on a futon. The key word is ‘trying’. “How does she get so skilled with this sort of stuff? Heck, how did she even figure any of this out, in the first place? It almost makes me want to praise her for her skills. Well, if it wasn’t for her handwriting; my doctor probably writes better than this!” Plop! Plop! Plop! The lad continues his studying efforts for a few seconds, barely acknowledging the schmuck Layla—oh, he means Lady Softstep was negotiating with, standing right behind him. Neither says anything to the other for a few seconds, Lad Longsoles’ only action being to subconsciously rub his feet against each other as he tries to think of what to say. ”What does this guy want?” Sure, he can just try and shoo the guy away, but knowing the dear lady, pissing any paying clientele is simply a massive no-no. Maybe playing it calm and polite will get this over with? It’s not like acting in such a manner is foreign to him! “Uh, hey there! Don’t mind me; just a relatively-new sidekick doing sidekick things, trying to get myself up to speed and all. And if my leader has been pushing your buttons so far, trust me, you get used to it… eventually, I guess. Can I help you with something?”

“The things I’d do for walkie-talkie, right now. Then again, where would I even carry it?” Curious minds often find themselves tangled in bad livelihoods: some get into substance abuse, while others join gangs. For Yaropi, or ‘Lad Longsoles’, at the moment, he's busy helping on a heist in Santa Monica. Considering how it was a spur-of-the-moment decision by his leader, a far cry from how they usually operate, joining was reluctant for him. Unfortunately for him, Layla just had to get laser-focused on some massive diamond here, so him backing out wasn’t an option. So far, the mission's been a mixed bag. Sure, the duo got the cameras down and slipped in quickly, but as he sneaked through the art galleries, quietly muttering to himself, that worry crept back in. He not only got lost, but he could hear a security guard nearby. Just his stupid luck. “Really wish I could run for it, but the last thing I need is for the damn lady to get into trouble.” The sidekick groans immediately after saying that, hardly able to even think of putting his faith in such an idea. groaning to himself. Knowing Layla, she probably did mess up… “Universe, I beg of you, let both of us escape from here in one piece. Here goes!” WHACK!!! The twink delivers a swift roundhouse kick, knocking the guard down with ease. Easier than expected… “SHIT! Sorry!” He winces from the aftermath of his actions, wanting to be on his merry way by now, but if his training has taught him anything, a loose end needs to be dealt with. Within seconds, he pins the poor soul to the ground and restrains them with their own handcuffs, not even processing the fact he has his feet firmly planted on their face. Who would, if they were quietly apologizing and panicking like crazy? “Nothing personal about this; just in a rush, and I hope you don’t have a concussion. Granted, I should’ve aimed for the chest or something, and I hate hurting people, but we both have a job to do I guess. Besides, it's not like your goods are at risk and...” Yeah, he's going to be rambling for a while.

“Why did I choose to come here? Bad ideas are not supposed to be MY specialty, damn it!” Yaropi lives a complicated, confusing life, to say the least. He tries his best to be someone to like, someone to trust, and it mostly works out for him; it’s just the fact that he and his feet constantly have to find themselves in trouble. In his defense, he is never the instigator in these situations, and if anything, his biggest crime is usually just showing his gullible side. “I probably should’ve checked a map or something before I got here, because this seems awfully familiar, and not in a good way.” But as he stands at this rough patch of Long Beach, he has no excuse, for once. He’s been here before, learning just how “daring” some of the foot fetishists here can be to try and get up close with his soles, and he has been warned not to come back, at least while wearing some flip-flops, if he knows what’s good for him. He’d normally listen without a second thought, but unfortunately for him, he is planning to meet up with a friend nearby, said this neighborhood just had to have been the main route there. “O-on second thought, maybe a little reconsideration or two wouldn’t hurt anyone; tempting fate isn’t exactly what I’m known for, and I’d rather die than suffer the consequences…” The lad ponders to himself for a few seconds before coming to a stop, his hands curled into a trembling fist as he gains a somewhat more confident expression. No. He is a lot more capable than he was a few months ago. He knows how to move and fight with some level of authority now; if he plays his cards right, he can go home unscathed. “Screw it; you can hardly gain anything in life without some risk. I can do this!”

“L-Look, I know you guys warned me before about coming here, but I just, uh, forgot! By the time I remembered, it was kind of too late to go back, trust me!” And for all his bravado, he didn’t even go five minutes before getting jumped and caught. The threats he got before weren’t just mere bluffs, either, as he was quickly stripped naked, hands tied above his head, and his feet were now trapped in stocks, with his big toes being tied together, for good measure. “Besides, I got places to be, loved ones who will be worried sick if I am AWOL! Would it hurt for me to just swing by later or something? Please?” Struggle as he may, Yaropi knows all too well there's little chance of him breaking out, even without his ticklish body being eagerly gazed upon. It's going to be a LONG night.

“Here I was thinking this place was a mistake!” If Yaropi was told a decade ago that Universal was adding Nintendo-themed attractions to their theme parks, he would have been dumbfounded… and probably concerned at the implied movie adaptations. Now that he’s experiencing Super Nintendo World himself, even if he’s working part-time here, he has to say, it looks nice! Granted, this one out in Hollywood could have used more IPs than just Mario and is a bit small, but hey, fun is fun, at least that’s what he is telling himself. He’s still just a little anxious for ‘reasons’. “Keep on smiling, Yaro-kun; just try to worry about jinxing yourself and act like your worst concerns are still your bank account or something.” Scratch, Scratch! “Those, and maybe find some cosplay that, ‘overall’, don’t feel itchy, haha!” Yeah, it’s March 10th, AKA, Mario day, so of course he had to dress like the iconic plumber. He’s got the hat, shirt, gloves, overalls... not the boots, though; he couldn’t find any brown ones his size, so he stuck to wearing flip-flops. Regardless, his corny impromptu pun was enough to boost his mood a bit, and sometimes, it’s all one needs when feeling down. “That’s enough pessimism, for one day; what I need is a place to relax before my shift starts. But where should I do it?” The lad wanders around the amusement park , quickly eying a quiet, quaint, and heavily secluded area. The only real thing of note is a warp pipe prop in the center, and some benches on the side. Perfect! “Huh, convenient. The prop department could have done a lot better here, though—WOAAAAAHHHH!!” Out of nowhere, Yaropi’s flip-flops get caught on who knows what, causing him to stumble and clumsily fall into the pipe head-first. Time seemed to stand still for him in the meantime, his main thoughts being to just brace for the inevitable impact. That never came. “H-huh? Where am I?” He slowly opens his eyes, feeling quite an awkward mix of emotions. The good news is he can still breathe and the pipe prop is, well, a prop, so no getting isekai’d. The bad news: he’s now stuck hanging upside down, wedged and immobilized tightly in the pipe shoulders-down. Not only that, his feet didn’t fall in, with his toes and heels keeping them snugly caught up against the rim of the pipe. Sadly, this also makes him barely able to move his feet, sans a scrunch or twitch. As the cherry on top, his flip-flops fell off, because why not! “In a previous life, this would scare me; the fact I’m more shocked my bad luck kicked in so fast is sad. Touché, fate; touché. At least I shouldn’t be stuck here for long; someone should spot my feet by opening hour…” Such thoughts make him groan in resignation immediately after. It’s going to be a long day for him, isn’t it? “Is someone out there? Help?”