shotank

[shotank]

nia & daichi.

“Is this really happening? You’re doubting yourself?” Nia gasps dramatically. “Shota, I think we need to find a doctor for him right away.” 

@shotank​

"doubting himself or wanting to hear he can so we’ll feed his ego?” shota smiles as he speaks, obviously teasing his cousin, “is elizabeth here tonight? get nia to play wing-woman for you, i’m sure it’ll end well.”

[shotank]

──  *  at the gala with @marthaseong​

“nice dress,” shota greets because he’s not blind or unfashionable. “how’s everything so far? gotta admit, food’s kinda shit.”

[shotank]

──  *  at the gala with @damixn-atlas​

spending so much time in other forms makes staying in his own form throughout the gala somewhat uncomfortable. even with the mask on, he feels too exposed out here in the proverbial light. he’s caught in these thoughts when someone rushes past him. they come too close and he moves back to avoid catching an elbow to the gut, only to end up elbowing someone else. “shit, sorry.” he shoots a sharp look back to the retreating offender, “people, you know?”

[shotank]

──  *  at the gala with @fckdavid​

unable to find nia or daichi and bored out of his mind, shota makes his way through the crowd. he finds no familiar face but that’s expected, for all the time he’s been in new york he hasn’t made many friends. he wouldn’t call his personality the type that gets along well with others. case in point ... “hey,” he comes up beside a stranger, “i just want you to know i don’t have a problem with you being here. some people keep telling me i should but you seem like an alright guy.”

[shotank]

──  *  at the gala with @endlesshvnger​

shota’s at the refreshments table when he sees the other. he doesn’t know his name but he does know his apartment number. “hey,” shota greets with his usual air of nonchalance, “did you get a warning from the landlord?”

[shotank]

──  *  at the gala with @jrzixmerman​

“aren’t you that guy who scares cats?” shota asks, recognizing the figure from the alley a few days ago. small world.

[shotank]

NEW YEARS EVE GALA, 1997. 

shota was not going to miss the chance to attend his first nye celebration in america. he’s arrived to be a mischievous little bastard, even if it means just walking up to people and going “i just want you to know i have no problem with you being here, i’m on your side.” and then walking away. he’ll be hanging around people he knows most of the night, primarily nia and daichi. 

[shotank]

june.

PATIENT,  STEADY  AND  SOOTHING,  fingers  pull  loose  skin  taut  and  provide  relief  for  the  tiny  feline  in  the  form  of  a  subcutaneous  shot  of  analgesic.  “she  can  stay,”  his  reassuring  nod,  punctuated  by  the  soft  click  and  clatter  of  the  needle  being  capped  and  deposited  within  the  sharps  box,  was  both  for  the  animal  and  the  man  adjacent,  “we  don’t  get  too  many  unexpected  visitors  so  there’s  not  much  for  her  to  be  bothered  by,  nice  and  quiet  for  her  to  rest  up,”

HIS  SENTENCES  FLOW  EASILY,  june  was  one  of  those  people  who  could,  when  not  overthinking,  put  at  ease  the  most  contentious  of  situations,  “if  you  want  to  come  back  for  her,  you’d  have  to  leave  some  way  to  be  contacted,  or  we  can  agree  upon  a  time  for  you  to  check  back  in,”    he  clipped  the  bright  orange  injury-tape  as  he  finished  splinting  the  leg,  “if  you  don’t—and  that’s  okay,  no  judgement  here—i  can  facilitate  an  adoption  with  the  aspca.”  slender  hand  is  offered,  almost  as  an  afterthought  “i’m  june  by  the  way!”

despite himself, shota felt a little better about leaving the injured stray with this vet. had it been any other vet, namely a human one, he thinks he would’ve just pushed back his current plans to look after it. “i’ll come back for her, how long do you think it’ll take for her to recover?” he’d rather set a date to return. he was good at keeping appointments he wanted to, and he knew he wouldn’t be abandoning this cat. leaving behind contact info wasn’t his way of doing things. was it a little ridiculous considering he was at a random vet office? yes. so what.

he took the vet’s offered hand with little hesitation, shaking it once before pulling back again. june... the name and the face matched, sort of. it was a friendly name, if anything. “naoto,” shota said in return, slipping back into the comfort of his alias. though others would consider it a lie, shota figured it was a half-truth. he was naoto, in a way. as if june even cared. “so, you don’t get a lot of patients?” already, he was thinking of perhaps just bringing any strays in need of help to june. it’d be better to have one vet than the random ones he’d been popping into the last few months. 

[shotank]

elizabeth.

alleyways are a comforting space to elizabeth, as she practiced her abilities many a time in various spaces like these growing up. it’s why she’s smiling as she waits for shota to finish up his task, nearly reminiscing as she does. when he finally does acknowledge her, she considers reprimanding his casualness. but, he’s daichi’s cousin and daichi vouched for him and assured her his lack of words didn’t come from a place of disrespect. daichi’s to be trusted, and, of course, she has a soft spot for him. however, that means she’ll be kind up until a certain point. “i had no idea you were such a cat lover,” she observes, watching as the cat greedily eats the food beside him. “do you have any plans in the next few days?” 

recognizing elizabeth, shota feels himself sober up. his outward demeanor doesn’t appear to change aside from a slight straightening of posture but within, he’s giving elizabeth far more attention than he would to most others. he glances down at the stray, contemplates not saying anything, before simply responding, “there’s a lot to like.” the conversation quickly moves on. seeing as all shota does is steal whenever he needs money or a thrill, he’s free most days. “no, i’m free if you need me for something.” there’s a question left unsaid but heard nonetheless: do you need me for something?

[shotank]

jerome.

Jerome loved animals, he always wanted a pet growing up but his mom was allergic and basically shattered his dreams. Now that he was older and no longer living with his mom, he could get a pet. But then there was the whole thing with his roommates and if they were cool with it– it was a lot, alright? “You feed them a lot?” Jerome asked, smiling gently at the other. “I’ve always wanted to do the same but there’s like, no strays that come near my place. Or at least not to my knowledge. Because I would buy the cat food in a heartbeat but no cats want to give me a chance. Sucks, right?” 

shota listened to the stranger go on, shrugging at their question, “sometimes.” the phenomena of strangers engaging in conversation out of nowhere seemed to be commonplace in new york. despite the other’s apparent friendliness, he kept his guard up. wariness was his default when it came to these types of interactions. well, most interactions really. regardless, the other just seemed to want to talk about the cats. “you could be scaring them,” he commented before adding, “unintentionally.” it was hard to imagine the stranger purposely scaring away cats. the stray before him finished gulping down their meal and trotted around the stranger, staring as it made a sort of circle around him. it was a friendly thing, shota would give it that, “you can buy cans and carry them with you. makes it easier to feed any cats you see. leaving food out is okay too, they’ll come when you’re gone and eat it.”

[shotank]

finley.

@shotank​

It’s always too easy to get wrapped up in a mess in New York City. Every individual is living their own lives, the main character while every city dweller played nothing more than a lowly extra. It wasn’t surprising to see people in the city fight, but it was unfortunate to be caught in the cross fire. It was some couple, arguing over who was right about something or other, Finley didn’t bother to pay much attention. She was just waiting for the crosswalk to open up. That’s when the shoving started. The man toppled into her, and like a domino, Finley toppled into the person next to her. She was quick to recoil, eyes wide as she gave them space. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.”

in terms of personal preference alone, shota hated crowds. it wasn’t the noise that bothered him, it was that within crowds were many individuals who were often inconsiderate and rude. how many times had he been walking down the street only for the group in front of him to stop to take photos, uncaring that they were in the middle of the sidewalk. morons. it was then with little shock and a sharp burn of irritation that he nudged away the person who toppled into him. an insult came to his mouth but he took a moment to glance behind her and it slipped back to allow for a more civil response, “yeah, i can tell.” he nodded to the couple behind her who were shoving at each other. he watched the two go back and forth for another moment before glancing back the stranger, “it’s too early for this.” miraculously, the crosswalk had not yet opened, leaving them spectators of the escalating fight. spectator that he had become, he hadn’t noticed the slip of paper fall onto the street floor when the stranger knocked into him.

[shotank]

daichi.

LOCATION && WITH WHOM : : VALTORIA / DAICHI’S PLACE W / @shotank​

He still couldn’t go out and use his ability which was beginning to bother him. This was the perfect time to use it, he was literally in his element. The snow that covered the sidewalks and streets, the chilled air, the bits of ice on the ground that people were slipping and sliding on– oh wait, that was Daichi secretly creating that. It was funny! Sighing loudly, he leaned more into the soft couch cushions, a snowball that he created in his hand. “Shota,” he called out the other’s name as he lightly tossed the ball into the air before catching it. “Shota! I’m bored. Let’s go out and do something.” 

pulled towards the living room by daichi’s call, shota abandoned his book to sit on the arm of their sofa. he glanced at the perfect snowball in his cousin’s hand, only somewhat wary of it being thrown at him, “like what?” it was a rather mundane day. shota had initially risen with no plans to leave their home but the desire to stay in fell away in the face of daichi’s words. “wanna go see the tree? take pictures?” he joked, knowing there was no way either of them were going to be up to that. shota had little interest in an oversized christmas tree. but, if they were going out to begin with ... “i was going to visit a store. see if it’s a place to target. want to go with me?”

[shotank]

──  *  open starter

in the midst of opening another can of fancy feast for the alley cats by his apartment building, shota doesn’t fail to notice someone else’s presence. he empties out the can on the ground for the calico cat waiting beside him before finally standing and looking at the other person, “yeah?”

[shotank]

june.

VET  PRACTICE  WAS  SMALL  and  hidden  away  from  main-street  foot  traffic;  a  second-story  unit  with  one  floor-to-ceiling  window  that  looked  out  onto  the  brick  of  the  building  just  adjacent,  lit  by  hanging  bulbs  that  would  shiver  with  every  step  the  upstairs  occupant  made.  the  waiting  room  was  warm,  with  a  neatly  patched  but  clearly  old  settee  surrounded  by  two  armchairs  by  the  sides  and  a  wood  coffee  table  propped  up  on  three  legs  by  thick  medical  textbooks.

THE  CAT  WAS  LAX  as  june  scrutinised  it,  leg  hot  and  tender  beneath  his  fingers,  only  rumbling  unhappily  when  he’d  found  a  particularly  tender  spot,  “i’m  going  to  give  her  something  for  the  pain,  but  i  don’t  feel  a  complex  fracture,”  a  good  sign,  rose-coloured  gaze  fixates  for  a  moment  on  the  person  opposite  before  he  crouches  back  on  his  haunches,  unlocking  the  cabinet  below  the  observation  table  and  rooting  around  for  a  moment,  “afterwards  i  can  splint  it  and…”  a  long  pause,  punctuated  by  the  closing  of  the  medicine  drawer,  “i  can  keep  her  here,  for  a  bit,  or  you  can…  take  her  with  you?”

the thing about shota’s ... career path was that it kept him busy. that could also be the result of shota’s inability to take a break that lasted longer than a day. taking the cat home wasn’t a feasible option, not with its injury. it would need extra attention that shota didn’t have to give. his other cats were used to his constant absence, they didn’t need him as much but an injured cat was different. 

“you keep her for now,” shota said as he gently pet the stray’s head. he glanced around the sterile environment of the examination room before his gaze landed on the vet, whose name he still didn’t know, “are you going to keep her here or take her with you?” did vets take patients home with them? he had no idea. the office didn’t seem like such a bad place for the stray to recover in. 

[shotank]

maxine.

maxine’s not the type to have ‘work friends.’ she finds the concept absolutely trite. but in the interest of having a wide social circle (as it’s been drilled into her), she’s done her part in mingling with other lawyers from different firms in the city, and somehow… this. lunch with—“amulya,” she smiles, “it’s all right, i’ve had my lafite keep me company. please, take a seat.” maxine gestures to the seat opposite her and says, “so, what brings you to this side of the city? i doubt it’s solely to visit me.”

playing amulya is easy, hers is a well worn mask. amulya is charming and playful but with a bite dangerous enough to excuse any potential slips into shota’s true character. "and what good company it is!” amulya teases as she takes her seat across from maxine. crossing her legs, she remains the picture of perfect posture as she reaches for the glass of ice water before her, “oh, you know. this and that. i had a meeting with a client earlier, i figured i’d need a nice lunch after that.” she takes a sip from the glass and keeps it hand, “how has work been treating you?”

[shotank]

──  *  at the vet with @deathlooms​

shota keeps a hand on the docile cat, trying to provide some comfort to the injured creature. its back leg looks to be the problem but he’s no expert. hence, the vet before him. he chose the place at random after he picked up the cat in a nearby alleyway, the fact that the vet is so obviously a mutant puts shota somewhat at ease. 

“it was limping when i found it,” he recalls as he looks down at its black and white fur. the white is dirty, stained from its time on the streets. “could be a broken bone. what do you think?” he glances at the vet. 

[shotank]

──  *  at a restaurant that would be marked $$$ on google today with @silverplatters​

it’s nearly noon when shota’s led through tables of murmuring patrons. the floor is carpet, probably thanks to a tacky interior designer who fancies themselves a visionary, and so the heels on his form make little noise. the polite hostess soon comes to a stop and gestures to the half-occupied table before them, “your table, miss.” shota smiles, thanks her, and takes his seat across his lunch partner. 

“maxine,” he starts, amulya’s voice brighter and lighter than his own, “it’s good to see you! were you waiting long?”