marie

It started with a brief glance on one sunny afternoon which swiftly turned into routine every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

You shouldn't be staring out the window like this. Especially at work.

You yawn, turning your head away from the monitor, pushing away from the desk to roll your chair nearer to the window. Hours of writing narrative reports or organizing sheets and statistical charts can take a toll on the human mind due to all the monotonous boredom.

It all changed that fateful Monday afternoon when you caught wind of some android with flashy white hair, blazing golden eyes, and a red jacket, hunched over one of the games at Godfinger, the arcade placed temptingly right in front of your office.

Normally, you'd pay interesting strangers no mind, but this fellow looked strikingly reminiscent of Starlight Knight Ichigo– the first Starlight Knight made for the franchise. You didn't get to make a proper conclusion until Wednesday.

You caught the fellow sauntering out of the arcade with a whoop, carrying the box of the re-released, highly articulated Starlight Knight Ichigo figurine! You would've been seething in absolute rage, if you had not caught a good look of the stranger's face.

You wouldn't call yourself a total enthusiastic nut over Starlight Knights. Instead, you were the most avid, obsessive devotee to its cousin: the Masked Drivers. The art of *Tokusatsu is a genre you've come to appreciate to a blood-pact level, if it were to wither and die, you would too.

When the local cinema on Sixth Street did a reshowing of the Starlight Knight Ichigo movie (in honour of the upcoming anniversary), that was when you were hooked. From that day onwards, he became your favourite variant of the Starlight Knights franchise, and also became one of your biggest fictional crushes of all time.

That was until this totally handsome android started appearing in front of your building!

Sometimes you'd see him with three girls, one with light-pink hair, the other with green chunky headphones, and one with cat ears. Other times, you'd even see the owners of the video store you frequent, Random Play, join him for a few games!

You thought you were imagining it, going crazy, even. It's the third week since you've started watching him, and his facial plate is modeled eerily like Ichigo. You even made sure to rewatch all 49-episodes of Starlight Knight throughout the week! He's like an exact replica-- minus Ichigo's distinguishing red scarf.

You've ran a thousand possibilities in your mind:

A.) The office has a gas leak and you're imagining Ichigo to cope before your inevitable, mortal doom.

B.) Your apartment has a gas leak and you're imagining the robot, and your co-workers have been watching you stare at nothing by the window like some freak.

C.) Some sick, unfathomably more obsessive fan created a robot-replica of Ichigo that escaped containment and now lives an independent life away from his creator, yet he still carries the shackles of his undeniable past--

"...Hey!"

You blink, turning to face your boss' furrowed brows and eyes filled with concern and mild aggravation.

"Boss?" You manage to croak out, caught in-between the internal battle of relentless apologies and excuses.

"Your report. Give me the hard-copy by the end of the day. If I'm not in my office, just leave it on my desk."

"Right." You say.

"You've been loitering around this specific window all the time. What's with that, kid?"

Your eyes frantically shift between side-glancing the window and your boss, who begins to lean over, trying to get a peek of what's outside as well.

You gulp, looking down with wide eyes. This is it. You're getting fired because you just couldn't help but stalk not only some random guy, an android too! Your co-workers are going to start rumours about you, it'll follow you like a paper towel trail from the toilet cubicle after taking a big shat--

"...can't blame ya. I miss being at my prime too."

You pause, looking up with a scrunched up face of confusion as the words finally fade in. "Pardon?"

"Godfinger. I used to be at the top of those leaderboards. Snake duel, to be exact."

"Wow, boss! I didn't know Godfinger had been around that long--"

Then, a shocked mix of a chortle and a scoff echoes throughout the floor. "No! What the fuck? I mean, 2 months ago before I became the boss of this stupid paper company. How old do you think I am?"

The secretary pops up out of nowhere with a reminder of a meeting in 5 minutes, saving you from such an awkward position to answer. Your boss sighs, almost turning around to leave, before a pause:

"Kid, I'll forget whatever you insinuated right now if you can get me one of Godfinger's new prize drops this Saturday. You'll get a day off and a raise if you do.”

Suddenly, you're clocking out with at least 2000 dennies and a credit card (which your boss claims to be used for arcade-expenses exclusively) in your spare wallet and a potential comeback for your savings and income.

The android you've been spying on is long gone as the evening sky begins to set, but the building giddiness you feel isn't going to disappear anytime soon. A part of you hopes you'll meet him, get his name, his number even. The other half wants to dig a hole and scream into the dirt out of fear of embarrassing yourself in front of him.

I mean, either way... What are the chances you'll catch him on a Saturday?

———————————

❤️ His Love Languages…

Billy is THE prime example of acts-of-service. Whether it be for battle or finishing up your errands, with one syllable or flick of the hand, Billy is already standing at attention. Quality time comes second. If Billy can do something for you while you're with him, even better! He can show you how a Starlight Knight can vanquish mundane social interaction (“They asked for no pickles!”) or how to eliminate bothersome monetary disputes! (He will ask Nicole for advice on taxes, Do not take it).

While not one of his primaries, Billy does also have a habit of complimenting and positively commenting on traits, actions, or things he finds cool or respectable.

💕 Love makes the heart grow fonder! What's he like with his crush?

By default, Billy is already a pretty friendly and easygoing guy. It would be hard to notice even the most subtle of changes because one may, instead, arguably try to rationalize it as him acting like usual. It's both Billy's greatest dread and relief.

He might get a little shy or fumble just a tad bit, but Billy would almost always initiate first (especially if his crush is shy or reserved), so you'd see and talk to him more often than others. He'll invite you out, even for the most mundane things, just so you're both together.

Billy isn't afraid to be a little bold either. Don't get too shocked when he invites you out for quality time and cheekily declares it as a ‘date’.

Most importantly, Billy will ask a lot more questions. Recent shows you're watching, movies, food you like– He's mentally jotting it down like his life depends on it. Forgive him if he pesters you too much with queries! It's hard to be anything but endeared when he genuinely begins to engage with what you like– He may even become a fan too.

Billy would sit and watch 400 episodes (where half of it is pure filler) with no complaints purely because of you. Compared to others, Billy just wants to get a little more involved in your life (that may hopefully grow to be for a lifetime).

💞 Sometimes our hearts clash with love and heavy sorrow. What does he struggle with?

Billy's primary way of showing love stems from his want and need to be… Well, needed. For a majority of Billy's life, he was ‘just’ a machine. Made and used for combat, to relentlessly battle thugs, and be a symbol of death in the Outer Ring. Despite all of these directives, Billy was ultimately aimless– After all, what use was a combat android with nothing to fight for?

Billy is long past blindly following orders, but old habits die hard. Billy still places parts of his worth on how much a person needs him, and in turn, he has a tendency to put the people he admires and loves the most on pedestals or to see them in a much grander light than what is in grounded reality. This is also partially due to Billy sometimes subconsciously discerning himself as inferior to others.

Additionally, this is part of why he idolizes and loves the Starlight Knights so dearly. To him, being a hero is to be undeniably loyal and in service to those who righteously deserve it.

💗 There are certain people and things in the world that make the heart beat faster than normal. What makes his heart race?

Billy adores receiving the same energy and love he gives out. Asking him questions beyond the topics of his robo-physiology and combat skills, Billy would be beyond ecstatic to explain the entire Starlight Knight franchise to you. He's also a huge sucker for compliments, so calling him things like ‘handsome’ would surely have him overheating in mere seconds.

Nicole, Anby, nor Nekomata have ever seen Billy so smitten until they tell him you've been looking for, or even better, missing him. He'd fall flat on his face and be head over heels if he wasn't already.

But, what would make him hopelessly, irretrievably in love is if you see him as Billy. The goofball, the protector, the fan-boy, or the fighter– When you talk and look at Billy as the whole, his different facets combined and not just his literal body and personality parts seperated. It's where you make him discover and understand himself in a different light than what he usually perceives himself to be.

💔 Hearts are fragile things. How can you break his?

Billy is friendly, approachable, and excitable but contrary to what people may think, Billy is not an open book by any means. He has been called a goofy dork, scrapyard junk, and a ruthless reaper under different days but all under the same sun. The extreme contrasts in how people perceive him makes Billy appreciate understanding and kind, inquisitive minds the most.

He has no qualms if they won't be a Starlight Knight superfan, but they could at least remember which one is his favourite. He loves making them laugh, but he'll visibly deflate if you “shy” away or ignore him when he wants to talk about more morose, less comedic aspects of himself. He'll force a laugh– where static tails the end of every huff, making his voice sound much more grittier– if you make him the butt of every joke, especially when it pertains to his intelligence (or what is claimed to be the lack thereof).

Above all, he would shut down (quite literally) if you were to describe him based on his combat, his service, and his android parts alone. Especially after months of being so called friends or lovers, The most devastating way to break Billy's heart is to not know him at all.