this answer is waay longer than i anticipated but the bottom line is : this man can EAT 😜

DOES ANYONE ELSE JUST START BURSTING INTO TEARS—

CAN'T remember when or why the hell he started comin' back 'round here when they stopped (then again, he can't always remember what he ate or didn't eat for breakfast or dinner the day before, either... maybe not remembering- or, forgetting- is its own form of memory, for some?). but, turns out, a bat and ball make for some of the best listeners out there! they don't talk back, they don't say the wrong things- well, they don't say a damn thing, obviously. they're made a' leather and metal and shit, ain't they? then again... sometimes, the silence says maybe just a little too much. sometimes, peace and quiet brings with it its own kinda noise... and too much quiet means too much time. time for thinking. remembering. forgetting to not remember like, about how some dogs can make peace with their cages and even come to think of it as a space all of their own, eventually- maybe something a little like home, even- while others shake and gnaw and keep bitin' at its bars. or, that story 'bout that dog who followed his owner to work every day and waited for him to get back home. thing kept on waiting and watchin' even when he wasn't coming back for him, 'cause one day he walked off to meet his maker. just watching and waiting day after day... 'til he wasn't. or, like how maybe a cage ain't always four walls or a whole damn city, even. sometimes, it's just your skull. or, your body. or, a part of that body that used to belong to it but no longer does anywho. there's something special 'bout this place. this cage. sacred, even. now, if his boys so much as dared to hunt him down here after he went m.i.a. for a couple hours (or, maybe it was a day or two. can't remember) he'd prob'ly hit 'em so much and so hard they couldn't crawl outta the damn place, let alone walk! remember. forget. remember to forget. rise and repeat. same old dance and song. but, nova... well, nova's a whole 'nother kettle a' fish. nova's like his skin and bones. blood. like family. and maybe, with all she's been through, the lady could use a turn at bat or a punching bag every now and then. ❛ heh, sure ya can, nova-chan! you ever play ball before? or, do any battin'? ❜