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jayeray-hq · 3 years

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Twin Kittens (Part 1)

Hey everyone! This is my part for the Paws and Claws Collab that was with @katslutski The theme of the collab was hybrids (puppy/kitty/bunny etc) so if you’re interested check it out!

Unfortunately as usual I got excessively wordy, so this is going to be split into three parts. This part alone is about 20K words and we're only about a third of the way through! so it definitely had to be split up.

If you like this feel free to check out my Atsumu or my Osamu masterlists!

While there is no smut in this part there will be in the future thus this story is 18+ minors DNI please!

TW: Previous mentions of past abuse, gaslighting, verbal, death threats, hybrids have been treated like slaves before

This story is Fem Reader x Atsumu x Osamu but there will be no actual incest. While there will be a threesome at the end the boys won't ever touch one another sexually.

“Are you alright?” your neighbor Ojirou asked, a concerned look on his face as he watched you listlessly stir your drink with the straw, playing with the melting ice in the glass.

The two of you were actually good friends, having lived peacefully side by side for over five years now. You’d met on the very first day when you moved in, you’d been struggling to open the door with a large box in your arms and he’d rushed to the rescue. He and his hybrids diligent Kita, the blue merle border collie, and sly, sleek Suna the Siamese cat, had all pitched in to help you get moved in and settled. You’d been good friends with all three of them ever since.

It was his turn to host your traditional Friday night dinner, so you’d gone over to his apartment determined to enjoy yourself. However, something must’ve given away the rough day you’d had, because all three of them had been casting you concerned looks all night and trading glances when they thought you couldn’t see.

It was apparently Aran’s job to confront you about it, though both hybrids were looking at you expectantly. Well, Kita was looking at you expectantly, Suna was pretending not to pay attention, his phone in his hands, but you could see him watching out of the corner of his eye.

“What makes you think something’s wrong?” you asked determined to at least give it a try.

The stern look you got from Kita and the sympathetic smile from Ojiro told you how ultimately fruitless the effort had been, so you caved in with a sigh, pushing your glass away so you could slump face down on the table burying your head in your arms. You’d tell them, but that didn’t mean you wanted to be necessarily looking them in the eye when you did.

“You know how I went to that thing with some of my girl friends today?” you asked tiredly.

There were acknowledging hums all around even from Suna who you saw from the corner of your eye was no longer pretending to look at his phone and instead watching you like some rare breed of animal in a zoo doing something particularly fascinating.

“Well it was fun, great even,” you told them with a small quirk of your lips, “Right up until we started talking about significant others. Apparently two of them are getting married soon, one has a baby on the way, and the rest are in steady loving relationships or have openly declared they aren’t interested in that kind of thing. So guess who was the only sad single there?”

“Ah,” Ojirou acknowledged a well of sympathy in his voice.

“And of course once they found out, they were like ‘oh I think my husband has a brother’ or ‘oh I have this great friend from work you’d just love,” you ranted, earning a quiet snicker from Suna, which prompted you to lift your head up so you could dig back at the cat hybrid who looked to be having far too much fun at your expense.

“They even asked me why I didn’t date my nice neighbor, the one I’m always hanging out with,” you added on ruthlessly, ignoring Ojirou’s shocked sputters, “But I told them he was in a committed relationship. They were skeptical at first, but then I told them that I was sure because someone is extremely loud, enough that I’m forced to use headphones to drown out the yowling.”

Poor Ojirou was coughing, clearly dying of embarrassment, and even Kita had the faintest red tinge to his cheeks. Unfortunately, Suna, unbothered as ever, simply smirked at you, which confirmed some of your suspicions that he’d been doing it on purpose, the brat.

Heaving another forlorn sigh you decided to give up and give poor Ojirou a break, making a mental note to make it up to him somehow. The poor guy really didn’t deserve to be caught in the crossfire between you and Suna.

“So, I spent the time being relentlessly hounded until it was time to leave,” you continued on, pretending not to notice Kita patting Ojirou’s back sympathetically, “I tried to explain to them that I just don’t have the time and energy it takes to go out and start dating people, that work was taking up too much of my time, but they weren’t having any of it.”

“It sounds like a rough time,” Ojirou told you, with genuine sympathy, the man too kind even after you’d embarrassed the hell out of him, “like when I go home and baa-chan asks when I’m going to settle down and get married.”

Suna let out an involuntary hiss at that, and Kita’s shoulders stiffened up a bit. Even though hybrid-human relationships were accepted and even almost expected between them and their owners these days, it didn’t mean that everyone accepted them as ‘true’ relationships. There were a good chunk of people, mostly conservatives and the older generation who believed that human/human relationships were the only valid ones.

This was no doubt because of the fact that most hybrid children, once they hit eighteen chose to go to hybrid adoption centers rather than staying with their parents. This was partly because it was one of the few good ways to get out from under your parents roof.

Hybrid rights had come a long way from when they’d first been implemented a few decades ago, back when they were considered something of a toy and a pet, not better than a slave. However, they technically still required a human ‘owner’ to do things like go to school, find a job, or even be out in public unsupervised.

There were people working to change that of course, and you’d donated heavily to the cause and actively supported it, but change was slow going, so for now it was what it was. It didn’t help that there were a good deal of people around like Ojirou’s grandma who viewed hybrids as less than human, and would probably never acknowledge his relationship or any children they had, especially if the children were hybrids too.

It was something you’d listened to him vent about more than once, happy to lend him a listening ear, especially since he’d done the same for you plenty of times over the years.

“It wasn’t quite that bad,” you admitted, giving him your own sympathetic smile, “but it was rather depressing.”

“Do ya even want a companion like that?” Kita asked her reasonably, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard ya talk about wantin’ a relationship other than rantin’ about a few failed dates here and there. If ya don’t I don’t see why it should be a problem, and not any of their business either.”

“Except I think I kind of do,” you admitted with a grimace, to the practical dog-hybrid who always gave solid, dependable advice, “I never planned to spend the rest of my life alone you know? I just always put my career first figuring relationships could come later, when I had more time, but now I’m starting to wonder if later will ever come.”

“And ya don’t want to date?” Kita asked with a slight frown, “I’m sure ya could make time if ya really wanted to, we could change our dinners around fer a while maybe?”

“No way,” you protested immediately, “Dinners with you guys are my only bastion of sanity. Plus I’m not even sure I want to go out and meet people, frankly at this point I’m not even sure I know how. It just… gets a little lonely coming home to an empty apartment sometimes you know?”

“So why don’t you get a hybrid?” Ojirou asked, his tone eminently reasonable despite the shock of what he’d said.

“A hybrid?” you repeated a little dumbfounded, “Me?!”

“Well why not?” he defended, stroking his recently grown goatee with his thumb and forefinger, “You’re wealthy enough to afford one, it would solve your companionship issue, and you wouldn’t have to date anyone, just go to a hybrid adoption center and find someone you’re compatible with.”

When he put it like that it did sound reasonable, even if it wasn’t an idea that had ever occurred to you. A lot of your friends, not just Ojirou, had hybrid companions, one of the weddings discussed earlier that day was even to a hybrid even if it wouldn’t be official until they could get proper legislature passed. You just had never really considered it an option for yourself.

“Do you think I could?” you asked with a light frown, turning the idea over in your mind, the question directed more at Kita than anyone else, both because he was always the most reasonable of the three and because as a hybrid you thought he’d probably be more qualified to answer whether you were a fit ‘owner’.

However to your surprise it wasn’t Kita, but Suna who answered first informing you in his normal lazy drawl, “You’d do well with a hybrid I think, probably something lower energy, like a cat, and we’re pretty self-sufficient as you know, so you wouldn’t have to worry about leaving it home alone like you would a pet.”

“He’s right,” Kita agreed, after a thoughtful pause, “Personally I believe ya would do well with a hybrid, ya get along with us well enough. Plus if yer worried we can help ya look after them. Suna needs a playmate anyway, he’s been getting’ up ta too much mischief lately when Aran and I ain’t here.”

Suna didn’t even bother to protest, just shrugged, completely unbothered by the accusation. Figuring you might as well take advantage of the situation you asked a few more questions, all of which were answered by your friends who all had a lot of input on what kind of hybrid you should get.

You left that night with your head stuffed full of information, after telling them you needed time to think it over. Getting a hybrid was a lifechanging thing and you didn’t want to run off half-cocked. It had gotten you an approving nod from Kita and a supportive pat on the shoulder from Ojirou. Suna had simply given you a knowing smirk, as if the smug cat hybrid already knew exactly what you were going to do as you walked out the door.

You stared up at the hybrid adoption center, not quite sure how you’d ended up here. For the last week or so, ever since Ojirou had brought it up you’d had hybrids on the brain. You’d found your eyes wandering to look at them when they passed you in the street and idly daydreaming in your down time what it might be like to have one waiting when you came home and fantasizing about what kind you might get.

Normally you were very focused and productive at work, but somehow, you’d found yourself scrolling through different sites, putting in research into what kind of facility you should visit and what you’d need to do. It had gotten bad enough that some of your coworkers had noticed your distraction, which was the final nail in the coffin.

You’d already known which center Ojirou had used to choose Kita and Suna, and so at the end of a particularly long day, quietly dreading heading home to your empty apartment you’d instead found yourself driving over to the center.

It was on the smaller side when it came to hybrid adoption centers, privately run and owned by Azumane Industries, a fashion line that created clothes that specifically catered to hybrids. Ojirou had, had nothing but good things to say, and so gathering your courage you left your car to head resolutely inside.

The lobby was rather quiet, only one other patron and two people manning the desks, both of whom looked up when you entered. You were a bit surprised to see the only two workers in sight were hybrids, one a silver cat of some type and the other clearly a German shepherd.

In hindsight it made a lot of sense to have hybrids be in charge of the adoption of other hybrids as they would likely know best how to match people up. However, you rarely saw that kind of practicality when it came to hybrids especially because you knew there was a lot of prejudice out there.

You offered the cat a hesitant smile, stepping up to the desk, the smile he gave back one that was both kind and welcoming as he introduced, “Welcome to Azumane Industries Hybrid Adoption Center. My name is Sugawara, how can I help you today?”

“I’m looking to adopt,” you admitted, unsure what else to say you tacked on, “My friend recommended this place to me, so here I am.”

“Well, we’ll take good care of you,” he assured you calmly, “Usually we do this by appointment, but you’re lucky. It’s a slow day and we have an opening, so I’d be happy to start the process with you if you’re willing.”

“Great,” you told him with a quiet sigh of relief, glad that he could fit you in. Honestly you should’ve known that a place like this would require a call ahead at least. It would’ve served you right for being so impulsive if they hadn’t been able to squeeze you in, “Just tell me what I need to do.”

Sugawara offered you a sly grin, one that reminded you of Suna as he promptly pushed a large stack of paperwork in your direction and handed you a pen. You grimaced at the sight of it but set to work, quietly filling out the forms one by one and handing each of them to Sugawara after so he could log them into his computer.

The forms reminded you of a loan or job application in a lot of ways, asking after your health, your income, your living situation, if you had a criminal record, any previous experience with hybrids etc. It took you quite a while to fill them all out, and by the end of it your wrist was sore and you’d signed your name more times than you cared to remember. However, since Sugawara had been filling in as you went you didn’t have to wait long to move on to the next step.

“Congratulations,” he told you with an amused smile, watching as you massaged your wrist, “You’ve been approved to adopt from our center, which means we now get to the fun part.”

“Fun part?” you questioned a little warily, having learned from Suna that a cat hybrid smiling at you didn’t necessarily mean good things for your sanity.

“Tell me about what kind of hybrid you’d like,” he told you leaning forward, elbows braced on the desk as he watched you intently, “Do you have any preferences? I’ve read all your information as we’ve gone along so I have some ideas, but I’d like to hear from you what you think you want.”

“I’m not sure where to start,” you admitted, feeling a little overwhelmed.

“That’s alright,” he assured you, “That’s what I’m here for. Let’s start with species, that’s always good and will narrow things down a bit.”

“I know I want a cat or dog hybrid,” you told him immediately glad to have some kind of answer for him, “Rabbit and rodent hybrids have heats and ruts too often for me to handle given how busy work keeps me.”

Heats and ruts were one of the big things that separated hybrids from humans and were part of the reason it was hard for them to find and hold down jobs. There were two kinds of hybrid within each species, alphas and omegas.

Alphas were usually more aggressive, stubborn, and willful. You needed to have a more dominant personality to have an alpha hybrid otherwise they’d walk all over you. Alphas also had a period called a rut, where their hormones skyrocketed and made them want to breed with anything and everything. It was a really uncomfortable time for them, and made them even more aggressive.

Omegas were generally more passive, quiet and compliant. They tended to be favored over Alpha hybrids as companions because of their more docile nature. They had periods called heats, which were similar to an Alphas rut, the only difference being they wanted to be bred rather than to breed. It made them needy and clingy the entire time.

Both heats and ruts lasted anywhere from a couple of days to a week depending on the species of hybrid. Dogs and cats had week long heats, but they only happened two to three times a year, whereas rabbit and rodent hybrids only lasted a few days, but happened every week and a half to two weeks.

You knew it wasn’t necessarily expected for a hybrid owner to stay home when their hybrid was in heat or rut, but you also knew it was those times that hybrids tended to be more reckless. Most of the research you did advised that you should if you could, even if you weren’t the one who was going to be sexually intimate with your hybrid. There were of course hybrid heat centers, where hybrids could go to find willing partners and get their needs taken care of, but you’d heard horror stories about places like that and didn’t want to use one unless you absolutely had to.

“There are medications to manage heats and ruts,” Sugawara pointed out reasonably, a slight frown on his face.

“I know,” you agreed, “But I did some research and it looks like most hybrids don’t like to take them because they have nasty side effects, like potential infertility, mood drops, and weight gain. If there’s a rodent or rabbit hybrid that wants to voluntarily take the medication then that could be fine, but I’ve heard only a few ever want to risk it.”

Sugawara looked surprised for a moment, then slowly nodded, “It’s good you’ve looked into things, and it’s nice to see someone who’s come prepared. I’ve heard a bit of that too, so no rabbits or rodents. Do you have any preference Alpha versus Omega?”

“Not really,” you admitted with a helpless shrug, feeling a little bad for not being able to narrow down the criteria for him, “I’m pretty open so long as they can fit into my lifestyle, are a little more independent, and think they’ll get along with me.”

“Well you’ll at least have lots of options,” Sugwara assured you, with a smile that told you he wasn’t off put by the fact that you didn’t know exactly what you wanted either, “Does that mean you don’t have a preference for breed either?”

“That’s right,” you agreed with a firm nod, “I just want someone who’s going to be compatible with me, everything else is secondary.”

“Okay,” he told you cheerfully, “I’m sure we can do that! Though it might take us a little bit to narrow things down. Since you aren’t picky you might as well come with me to start looking. Daichi can you manage the desk on your own?”

“Sure,” the german shepherd hybrid agreed, from where he’d been sitting quietly, keeping watch over the two of you and typing away on his computer, since there was literally no one else in the lobby, “Just keep a radio on you so I can call you back up here if it gets busy Suga.”

Your soon to be guide agreed with a smile, plucking one of the aforementioned radios up and attaching it to his belt, before standing up from the desk. He stretched in a very feline manner, then ushered you towards a door that led toward the back of the building, tail swishing peacefully behind him.

“Each species of hybrid has its own floor,” Sugawara explained as he led you through the hall, “Bunnies are on the top floor, rodents underneath them, cats on the second floor and dogs here on the first. Each floor has four separate wings, separated into categories depending on whether the hybrid in question is male or female, alpha or omega. These wings have private rooms in them and are connected by a shared space.”

“We’ll be going into the shared space,” he explained pausing outside one of the doors, “It’s where hybrids come both to hang out, and to meet people. If a hybrid isn’t interested in being adopted by a specific human they’ll simply return to their rooms until the human leaves. This way we ensure that no one gets coerced into adoption. We also keep a close eye on things with security cameras in the shared space, for both the safety of humans and hybrids. Before we enter the room, I need you to give me verbal consent to allow yourself to be filmed.”

“That’s fine,” you told him, more than a bit impressed with how thorough and organized the whole thing was, along with the lengths they went to, to ensure everyone’s comfort.

“Alright then, let’s introduce you to the dogs,” he teased, with a confident smile.

The minute the door opened, almost every head turned in your direction, making you feel a bit awkward and unsure. Some of the hybrids were in their human forms, ears and tails the only hint of their non-human status, while others were lounging around in their secondary animal form.

The animal form of a hybrid was indistinguishable from a normal animal of the same breed. The only thing that might give it away was the high level of intelligence. Your research told you that hybrids tended to act more on their instincts when in animal form, which could be both a good thing and a bad thing.

Case in point, the minute you entered with Sugawara one enormous grey and white speckled dog came bounding over barking his head off. He was absolutely huge, and only the madly wagging tail kept you from cringing back as he charged over, his barking immediately setting off a few of the others.

You got the wind knocked out of you a bit as he collided with you, though thankfully the door was behind you, and kept you from being knocked off your feet as he placed enormous paws on your shoulders, burying his face in your hair and sniffing enthusiastically. You froze, unsure exactly what to do in this situation, and more than a bit uncomfortable.

Luckily Sugawara immediately came to your rescue, shoving the big dog off as he scolded, “Bokuto! What have I told you about jumping up on our guests!”

The big dog immediately began to whine, tail tucked between his legs, and you wanted to feel bad for him, except you were still a bit unnerved.

“Sorry about him,” Sugawara apologized with a sigh, “He’s harmless I promise, just incredibly enthusiastic about new people.”

“It’s okay,” you assured him, hesitantly reaching out to Bokuto palms first to see if he might be interested, only to have him turn away. Unsure what to do you glanced at Sugawara, whose tail was swishing in clear agitation.

“Ignore him,” the silver haired cat hybrid told you, “He’s just sulking because he got scolded. In fact, better yet ignore all of them, since they can’t stop being rude and barking.”

This last bit, along with the fierce glare that accompanied it was leveled at the room in general, earning some sheepish looks from a couple of the dog hybrids who were in human form, and managing to quiet several of the barking ones who were in animal form.

“Come on,” he urged with one last flick of his tail, “I should’ve started you with the cats anyway. You seem like a cat person to me, and I assure you they’ll have much better manners. If you don’t find what you’re looking for there, we’ll come back, but let’s explore the cat option first and give them time to recall their manners.”

You allowed him to usher you out of the room and toward the elevator, trusting his judgment. It was funny that he’d said you were a cat person, as he was actually the third cat hybrid to have told you so, Suna being one and the Siamese hybrid of one of your coworkers being the other.

It took you less than a minute to get up to the next floor, and when Sugawara ushered you into the cat hybrid room you could immediately feel the difference. There was no noise for one, just a bunch of curious eyes turned in your direction, but it didn’t feel hostile at all.

Sugawara quickly introduced you to the cat hybrids, telling them you’d come to adopt and had ‘just been slobbered all over by the dog hybrids’ so if they could all ‘mind their manners’ that would be great. You were a little amused at the exasperated hybrid’s antics, and you weren’t the only one, if the quiet snickering from a hybrid with particularly messy hair was any indication. However you were also grateful to him for being so diligent as he introduced you to everyone.

Slowly, several cat hybrids meandered up to you, some in human form, some in cat form, though some also stayed in place clearly observing everything. You chatted lightly with the ones in human form, while letting the ones in cat form do as they pleased, answering their questions and asking a few of your own.

It was a much more relaxed experience, something you were infinitely grateful for after the sudden chaos of the dog hybrid room, and you had to wonder if the cat hybrids who’d pegged you as a cat person hadn’t been right after all. You were in the middle of quietly talking to a lovely female alpha hybrid named Shimizu when Sugawara’s radio blared to life. Apparently, the front had gotten rather busy and Daichi desperately needed his help.

“Will you be alright if I leave you here?” Sugawara asked you seriously, “This shouldn’t take too long, and Shimizu is more than capable of looking after you.”

“Sure,” you agreed, after a quick glance at the hybrid in question, who gave an acknowledging nod of her head, “I don’t mind.”

“Good,” he agreed with a bright grin, before rounding on the rest of the room, “And all the rest of you better behave or I’ll hear why!”

With one last warning glare around the room he turned on his heel and left, leaving you in Shimizu’s capable hands. The two of you continued to talk amiably as several cat hybrids came by in one form or another to sniff at you or listen in on the conversation from nearby. A number of them only came over for a few minutes, lingered a bit and then left, spreading back out to the room or going into the hallways that led to their private rooms, however a good chunk of them stayed nearby as well.

Chatting lightly with Shimizu and a few of the others you found you really liked the poised and graceful cat hybrid and might’ve looked into adopting her. Unfortunately, Shimizu quickly made it clear that she had some plans of her own, that included getting herself and her young and adorable munchkin kitten hybrid Yachi adopted by one of their frequent visitors.

She was however, more than happy to give her own opinion on some of the other hybrids around, most of whom seemed to respect both her and her opinion a lot. You were listening to Shimizu tell you a bit more about Yachi, who was watching from a safe distance, clearly anxious, but also unwilling to leave, when you felt something paw at your leg.

A quick glance down revealed a long haired fluffy looking cat, in shades of silver and white who was staring up at you expectantly. None of the other cat hybrids had actually dared to touch you, a few coming close, but none making actual moves to greet you.

A little intrigued you crouched down so you’d be closer to his eye level, and extended your hands for him the same way you did for Suna when he was in his cat form, giving him a choice about whether he wanted to be touched or not. The cat hybrid eyed your hands thoughtfully for a minute, before sauntering within reach, nudging his head against your palm.

Taking your cue you allowed yourself to pet him, gently rubbing at his silky ears and enjoying the feeling of his thick, plush coat. His back arched pressing closer into your hands, eyelids lowering in contentment as you carefully massaged your fingers through his fur in a way you knew Suna enjoyed.

A rumbling purr escaped his throat and you couldn’t help the pleased smile that crossed your lips at the sound as he pressed his way closer to your torso, entering the circle of your arms and keeping himself there. You were caught up in petting him for a moment and didn’t immediately notice, but after a few seconds you realized the room had gotten very quiet.

It had been quiet before, as cat hybrids didn’t make a lot of noise in general, but now it was almost deathly still outside the small purring sounds from the cat under your hands. You immediately froze and glanced up at Kiyoko who was watching the two of you with wide eyes.

“Is something wrong?” you asked, more than a bit concerned.

“You pet him,” Shimizu murmured, more to herself than to you.

“Should I not have?” you asked worriedly, moving to pull your hands away, “I’m sorry I didn’t realize. I pet my neighbor’s cat hybrid all the time when he’s in the mood for it.”

The cat hybrid under your hands made a noise of protest as you pulled your hands away, giving Shimizu what you assumed to be a rather annoyed look based on her baffled and slightly contrite expression.

“No,” she assured you quickly, “We like to be pet, physical affection is important to hybrids. It’s just that particular one doesn’t usually allow anyone to touch him.”

“Do you mind?” you asked the hybrid in question, holding out your hands again.

He gave an agreeing mew and pressed his head to your palm, which you assumed meant you could resume petting. The fur under your fingers was clearly well taken care of, soft and plush and you truly wouldn’t have minded continuing to pet him until he got sick of you.

However, you were interrupted by a furious yowling sound that immediately made you jump, your head snapping up to search for the source of the noise. It turned out to be another long haired fluffy cat, this one in shades of gold and white who came charging out of the halls and ran straight at you.

You didn’t even have a second to react as the cat that had been in your arms darted around to hide behind you. Not that it stopped the oncoming golden one who didn’t even bother to go around and instead went right over you, claws digging into your arm as he attempted to get at the silver one.

You let out a yelp of surprise and pain, as he launched himself off your shoulder at the silver cat behind you who immediately darted out of reach, running around you in dizzying circles with the golden one fast on his heels both of them yowling, hissing and spitting, clearly having some kind of argument.

It only took a moment for you to regain your bearings and decide you needed to put an end to whatever this was, since poor Shimizu didn’t look at all ready to step in, an utterly appalled look on her face. Luckily you had quick reflexes and managed to snag both cats around the middle and stand up quickly, the abrupt shift immediately silencing both, no doubt shocked by your interruption.

“I think that’s quite enough of that,” you scolded firmly, as you hefted the two carefully, keeping them firmly separated. They were a bit heavier than they looked but certainly not too much for you to keep aloft.

“You,” you scolded the golden one, gently shaking him, who had turned to stare up at you with wide copper colored eyes, “I don’t know what he did to you or why, but I’m sure whatever it was could’ve been resolved without the ruckus. I also don’t appreciate being climbed on or used as a spring board.

“And you,” you gently shook the silver one in turn, who looked equally surprised to be addressed, “I’m not sure if he deserved whatever you did or not, but you shouldn’t have been causing a ruckus either, and I don’t appreciate you using me as a shield.”

“From what I understand, in order to be here you have to be considered adults,” you continued firmly, “So I suggest you act like it, and figure this out between yourselves without dragging innocent bystanders into your mess!”

With that you loosened your grip, fully expecting both of them to jump to the floor. However, both continued to simply hang limply in your grasp, watching you with curious eyes that you realized rather abruptly were almost completely identical.

“Siblings huh?” you asked no one in particular, nodding to yourself, “I suppose that explains a lot.”

“Are you alright?” Shimizu asked you worriedly, “You’re bleeding.”

A quick glance at your arm showed you were indeed bleeding, small pinpricks of blood welling up from where the golden cat had dug his claws into you. It stung a bit, but you didn’t think it was too bad.

“I’m alright,” you assured her, kneeling down and releasing both cats, since they seemed disinclined to continue fighting, and you wanted your hands free, “Though I’d appreciate some disinfectant and some band aids if you’ve got them.”

“Of course,” Shimizu assured you with a quick nod, “Just let me get them and I’ll be right back.”

The elegant hybrid moved with enviable grace and speed as she exited the room, leaving you alone. A quick look around the room showed that almost every eye was now on you, and you heaved a sigh, not exactly pleased to be the center of attention, especially since none of them did anything but stare, none of them bothering to approach, just look.

You glanced down in surprise when you felt something touching your leg, only to find the golden cat headbutting your shin, rubbing his face against your calf affectionately as he twined his way through your legs.

“Does that mean you’re sorry,” you asked, crouching back down and offering your hands to the pretty, fluffy cat.

He immediately rubbed his face against your hands too, which you took as permission to continue your petting, rubbing your hand affectionately over his head and earning a happy purr from the feline who arched happily into your hands.

You were distracted from your petting by a paw, which came to rest on one of your wrists, the silver cat watching with obvious envy in his pretty copper colored eyes. Luckily for both of you, you had two hands, and you reached out to pet him too after assuring it was okay. The golden cat clearly wasn’t too happy about his brother’s presence, but didn’t kick up a fuss, instead pressing himself closer and becoming more insistent as he purred ever louder. The silver cat didn’t seemed to pay him any attention though, simply soaking up your attention and affection.

“Here,” Shimizu offered as she came back, first aid kit in hand, “Do you need any help getting bandaged up?”

You were about to accept her offer, as attempting to bandage your dominant arm was always a pain, when you felt something strange under your hand. You turned your attention back to the cat hybrids you’d been petting just in time to see the silver one shift, form becoming large, limbs extending, body lengthening and bulking up until he stood in front of you in human form.

You blinked, utterly startled as you stared up at him, taking in his appearance. He was incredibly handsome in his human form, with the same silvery grey hair as his fur in cat form in an undercut and bright bronze eyes that peered out at you from under heavy lids. He had a strong, slightly square jaw and thick eyebrows, with blunt cheekbones and cupids bow lips.

He was also surprisingly big, at least six feet tall, and maybe a bit more than that, with broad shoulders and a trim waist. He was wearing a simple black t-shirt that clung to his chest, showing off the definition of his muscles. To top it all off he had two cat ears poking out from his silvery hair and a fluffy tail that was slowly waving back and forth as he looked at you.

“I’ll do it,” he told the two of you, his voice pleasant and lightly accented, his hand held out to Kiyoko gesturing for her to pass him the first aid kit, “I’ll bandage ya up. It’s only fair since the moron who scratched ya is too busy bein’ pampered.”

That earned a hiss from the golden cat, who immediately began to shift under your hands. You watched in surprise and no small amount of awe as he turned into a carbon copy of the other man who’d appeared, only with golden hair, ears and tail. You’d realized the two were related, but you hadn’t realized they were identical twins. Twins were really rare for hybrids, even more rare than human twins. As such they were usually snapped up for adoption right away, so it was rare to see them in any sort of center.

“If ya hadn’t stolen my puddin’ I wouldn’t have chased ya and scratched her in the first place,” the golden cat hybrid hissed at his brother.

“Well if ya hadn’t eaten my onigiri, maybe I wouldn’t have had to eat yer puddin’” the silver haired one retorted, his tone and expression both flatter compared to his sibling who looked like he might lunge at his twin at any moment.

Not wanting to get in the middle of a literal cat fight you held your own hand out to Kiyoko, who gratefully placed the first aid kit in your hands, then plopped down to sit cross legged on the floor. Your sudden movement startled both cat hybrids who turned to look at you, but you pointedly ignored them as you worked on opening the kit, and pulling out the things you’d need.

“Here I got it,” the golden haired one told you, plopping down beside you, “That scrub ain’t right about a lot of things, but he is right about this. I scratched ya, and I should fix ya.”

You gratefully held your arm out to him, and watched as he gently dabbed the scratches with disinfectant, grimacing slightly at the sting. You were distracted enough by his careful movements that you almost didn’t notice the other twin, right up until he gently smeared Neosporin over the scratches, placing small bandages over the deeper punctures.

“Thank you,” you told them both when they finished, automatically reaching up to pet their heads, but then pausing as you realized the gesture might not be as welcome in their human form.

Your worries were quickly allayed through as the golden one practically fell into your palm, soft, happy purring noises leaving his mouth as you gently scratched the base of his ears. His twin however didn’t immediately move for you, and you turned concerned eyes on him, worried he might be offended. The minute he saw you looking though he immediately leaned forward, pressing his head to your palm, his own soft purrs leaving his throat as you carded your fingers through his hair.

“I’m back,” a familiar voice sang, the door to the room sliding open to reveal Sugawara, with a cheerful grin on his face, a grin that was immediately replaced by wide eyed shock as he saw you and the two hybrids who were nearly in your lap with how close they were pressing towards you.

However, shock melted into fury as his eyes saw the open first aid kit and the bandages on your arm, his words nearly a hiss as he demanded, “What happened?!”

Both hybrids immediately stiffened under your hands, drawing closer to you, either looking to protect you or looking for protection you weren’t sure. Either way you allowed it, rubbing your hands over the backs of their necks in a way that always seemed to sooth Suna as you answered, “We just had a bit of a mishap is all, but we’ve cleared it up.”

“Are you sure?” Sugawara demanded anxiously, “We were told when they were brought in that they’d had a bit of trouble before, but they never mentioned that they might attack humans.”

The golden-haired twin seemed to bristle, and if he were in cat form you were sure all his fur would be puffed out as he glared at Sugawara. His twin didn’t look nearly as bothered on the surface, but close as you were, you could see how tight the muscles in his neck and shoulders were as if he was about to spring forward at any moment.

Instinctively you pulled the golden twin toward you, tipping him over into your lap. Despite his size it wasn’t all that difficult given he’d been practically leaning all his weight on you. He let out a yelp of surprise, but stayed still as you buried your fingers in his hair, keeping his cheek pillowed on your thigh. Your other hand gently squeezed the back of the silver twin’s neck, both holding him still and reminding him of your presence.

“It wasn’t an attack, simply an accident,” you assured Sugawara, as you soothed your thumb over the tense muscles of the silver one’s neck, hoping to get him to relax, “A bit like what happened with the dog hybrid earlier.”

“If you’re sure,” Sugawara told you, watching your pet the twins with wide eyes, like he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing, “Does that mean you’ve decided to take them then? I know you were a little worried about adopting one hybrid so I never imagined you’d want two at once.”

“What?” you asked, a little overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of information, and the assumption he’d made.

“You’d have to take both of them,” Sugawara explained gently, “Admittedly sometimes twins are separated, but we don’t do that unless they want to be separated, and in this case both of them have stated they want to stay together.”

“That makes sense,” you agreed, with a smile. It was good that the center accommodated things like that, and you made a mental note to thank Ojirou for directing you to such an upstanding place.

“Should I get paperwork started?” Sugawara asked, with an answering smile, “If you’re taking the twins it will take a bit more work than usual, so I’d like to get started right away. No pressure though, you don’t have to make a decision today if you don’t want to.”

“I hadn’t really thought about adopting them,” you admitted, and felt both twins stiffen under your hands, so hurried to reassure them, “We haven’t had a chance to chat much yet. I’d like to talk to them a little bit first before we make any decisions.”

“Of course,” the kindly hybrid agreed with an understanding nod, “We’ll give the three of you some space and let you get to know one another a bit better.”

“Thank you,” you told him politely, waiting until he’d ushered Kiyoko a little bit away, clearly trying to give you some sense of privacy despite the fact that they were still well within earshot for hybrids, and likely interrogate the elegant female about what exactly had happened while he was gone.

“Do ya not want us,” the golden haired one asked you, once the two were gone, rolling over in your lap to peer up at you with wide copper eyes, the hint of a pout on his lips, and a little bit of hurt in his eyes.

“I don’t know yet,” you told him honestly, gently stroking his golden hair away from his eyes, “We don’t know each other, yet do we? Do you even know if you want to come with me?”

The two cat hybrids glanced at each other, clearly communicating silently with each other for a moment before turning back to you. The golden haired one had apparently been elected spokesperson because he was the one to admit, “We wouldn’t mind goin’ home with ya.”

“But you don’t even know my name, do you? And I don’t know yours either,” you pointed out, utterly baffled that they’d apparently already decided.

“I heard mister pleasant over there when he introduced ya,” the silver haired one told you with a shrug, “But if it matters so much to ya, I’m Miya Osamu and he’s Atsumu.”

“I can introduce myself ya know,” the golden haired on hissed, doing his best to glare at his brother, though you were sure the effect was entirely lost considering he was apparently refusing to move from your lap and was upside down, “And I didn’t get to hear yer name.”

“That’s because ya were sulkin’ in our room,” Osamu pointed out.

“And whose fault is that huh?” Atsumu demanded with a grimace.

“Yer own,” Osamu countered, looking utterly bored as he peered down at his brother. Atsumu made to lunge out of your lap, but was stopped by your hand pressed firmly to his forehead holding him in place. You took advantage of his moment of distraction to introduce yourself, gently rubbing behind his ears until he started purring again.

“And ya wonder why we want to go with ya,” Osamu told you sardonically, watching the two of you, “I ain’t ever seen anybody who could get ahold of Tsumu like that.”

“Do the two of you always squabble like that?” you asked, a little amused and a little concerned, “If I didn’t know better I would’ve thought one of you was a dog hybrid with how well you’re getting along right now.”

“It ain’t always so bad,” Osamu told you, turning his face away though you thought you saw the faintest hint of pink to his cheeks, “We’re just a little restless is all. We haven’t been here long so it’s just new, not as much freedom as we’re used to either bein’ cooped up for most of the day.”

“Surely they let you out if you want out,” you questioned, a little appalled that the center might be keeping hybrids like prisoners.

“Well sure,” Osamu answered turning back to you, his head tilted to the side as he studied you, “But there are only so many places a hybrid is allowed without an owner ya know.”

You winced slightly at the blunt statement, but couldn’t refute it. The law stated that all hybrids had to have a registered owner, and it was then up to that owner to set limits on the hybrid, about where they could go and what they could do. This was because if the hybrid caused any trouble, it was always on its owner to take responsibility which made things quite limited for them at times. There were lobbyists working to change that of course, as it was viewed as inhumane, but for now the law was the law.

“Did you have more freedom before here then?” you asked curiously, “I’ve heard this place is pretty good.”

“It’s not bad,” Atsumu piped in, his voice content and rumbly as he turned languid eyes in your direction, clearly not wanting to be left out of the conversation, “Better than the first center we were at when we first went up for adoption.”

“So you’ve been adopted before? Or did you just get moved from one of the other centers?” you asked curiously, only to have Atsumu go absolutely rigid under your hands as Osamu hissed at him, clearly angry with his brother, who’d apparently revealed something he shouldn’t if the way he shrank away instead of hissing back said anything.

You glanced between the two of them warily, unsure what to do as Atsumu pulled himself out of your lap so he could look at Osamu. The two of them were clearly communicating, both their tails swishing back and forth in clear agitation.

“We had an owner,” Osamu admitted at last, his words clearly careful as he peered at you from underneath the fringe of his hair, “But we didn’t get along with him so he surrendered us ta the shelter again and they sent us here.”

A part of you really wanted to ask why exactly they hadn’t gotten along with their old owner, but given the way Atsumu was refusing to meet your eyes, his nails practically digging into his thighs where he sat next to you, you got the feeling it would be kinder not to. Instead you carefully redirected the conversation back on topic and asked, “And what makes you think you’ll get along better with me than your previous owner?”

“Yer nothin’ like him,” Osamu told you bluntly, effectively shutting that avenue of conversation down.

“If you say so,” you told him calmly, holding his gaze until he glanced away, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

It was clearly a sensitive topic, and you didn’t want to push. You’d just met the two of them today after all, you certainly wouldn’t have liked it if they tried to pry into your past, fair was fair after all.

“What do you picture yourselves doing all day?” you asked instead, figuring you might as well.

“Doing?” Atsumu repeated confused, tilting his head in a manner that you couldn’t help but find rather adorable.

“I’ll be at work most of the day during the week,” you explained patiently, “Which means you’ll be by yourselves for quite a bit of time. You’d be more than welcome to laze around if you really wanted to, but I figured I’d ask.”

“What kind of things are we allowed to do?” Osamu asked slowly, a strange look on his face that you couldn’t quite interpret.

“Anything within reason,” you told him with a helpless shrug, “I have money, it’s not an issue, so long as it’s legal, and doesn’t have the potential to hurt me, you or anyone else then I see no reason to place restrictions. My neighbor has a dog-hybrid who works a small rice farm that Ojirou bought him, but his cat-hybrid Suna spends most of his time either lounging around their apartment or playing sports with some of the other hybrids who live in the neighborhood.”

“Which sport?” Atsumu asked, eyes bright, all hesitation forgotten in the face of this new information.

“Volleyball I think,” you told him with a shrug, “Ojirou and I have gone to watch a few games, though I don’t think it’s just volleyball either.”

If Atsumu had been a dog-hybrid you were sure his tail would’ve been wagging a hundred miles an hour with how eager he looked, copper eyes bright in his face as he told you, “I like volleyball. Do you think he’d let me play?”

“You’d have to take it up with Suna, but I don’t see why he wouldn’t,” you admitted cautiously, earning a happy smile from the hybrid.

“What about you Osamu?” you prompted gently, “Do you play too, or is there something else you’re interested in?”

The silver furred hybrid looked startled to be addressed, but then slowly admitted, “I like to cook.”

“That’s amazing,” you praised, “I live on take out a lot of the time, unless I’m headed over to Ojirou’s or Kita, his dog-hybrid makes an extra bento for me. I really should cook more, but I tend to be on the go a lot and don’t want to dedicate the time.”

“It’s a bit of a shame though,” you admitted, feeling more than a bit sheepish, “One of the best features of my apartment is the kitchen and I hardly ever use it.”

You continued to chat lightly with the twins learning quite a bit about the two of them in the process. Atsumu was definitely the louder twin, always eager and a bit blunt with his words, always saying the first thing that came to mind. Osamu was quieter than his twin, letting his golden furred brother do most of the talking for the two of them. He wasn’t necessarily shy per se, and would answer when spoken to, but he seemed content for the most part to quietly observe before adding his two cents in.

The two of them together were utterly charming, which made you wonder just how they hadn’t been adopted yet. You were fairly sure it must have something to do with the reason they’d been returned to their adoption center, though for the life of you, you couldn’t guess what that reason might’ve been.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Sugawara cut in gently, interrupting Atsumu telling you all about the last volleyball game he’d played in, “But the center is closing to visitors in a few minutes.”

“I’m sorry,” you apologized immediately, hurriedly scrambling to your feet, feeling more than a bit guilty, “I hadn’t realized how late it had gotten.”

“That’s alright,” Sugawara assured you with a kind smile, “It sounds like the three of you are getting along well.”

“I think so,” you admitted, glancing at the twins who’d both risen to their feet as well, both of them far more graceful than you could ever hope to be.

Both of them were watching you, Atsumu with tentative hope clear on his face, and Osamu completely unreadable except for the agitated twitch of his tail which told you he wasn’t pleased your conversation had been interrupted.

“I’m glad,” Sugawara told you, “Do we have any kind of decision made?”

“I…” you started glancing between the twins, who were both looking at you. Gut instinct meant you wanted to say yes. You’d gotten along well and you thought you might continue to enjoy one another’s company. They seemed like they’d slot into your life pretty easily. However you were still a bit hesitant. Adopting one hybrid had seemed like a big deal, but adopting two?

Plus you’d only met them today. Maybe you were being overly cautious but a single day didn’t seem like nearly enough time to get to know someone before inviting them to live with you, no matter how much your heart urged you to say yes.

“Actually, it doesn’t matter,” Sugawara interrupted, an apologetic expression on his face, pulling you from your thoughts as he explained, “We wouldn’t have time to finish the paperwork before it’s time to close, so you wouldn’t be able to take them home with you anyway, not today at least.”

“But…!” Atsumu tried to protest, but quelled as Sugawara shot him a stern look.

“I think that it will be good for all of you to sleep on your decision,” the cat-hybrid told all three of you firmly, gently beginning to usher you from the room, before telling you, “You can come back tomorrow if you like. We’re open at the same times then.”

“Alright,” you agreed, following after him without a fuss, only to pause in your tracks at a heartbreaking mewling sound.

You turned around to see Atsumu staring after you with devastation written all over his handsome features, his hand outstretched like he was trying to reach out and physically stop you from leaving. Before you’d really thought about it your feet had carried you back, and you’d pulled the hybrid into your arms.

Atsumu clutched you tightly, burying his face in your neck and rubbing his cheek against yours in a move you recognized as scenting. You let him do as he pleased without protest, gently running your fingers through his soft golden hair. However, you were conscious of Sugawara waiting for you, so you gently extracted yourself after a few minutes.

Turning you saw Osamu watching you with an unreadable expression on his face, but you stepped toward him, offering your open arms anyway, waiting patiently. You were rewarded for that patience as he stepped into your hold, nuzzling at you the same way his twin had on the opposite side.

“I’ll come back,” you found yourself promising, “I have work tomorrow, but after I’ll be here.”

Osamu drew back and peered into your face, copper eyes boring into your own, clearly searching for something before nodding, “We’ll hold ya to that.”

You let Sugawara usher you out after that, but found yourself tearing up a bit as you followed after him. You desperately didn’t want to leave the twins behind. Somehow, someway you’d gotten terribly attached to them in just a few short hours.

Your sniffling apparently caught Sugawara’s attention, because he turned around and hurriedly fumbled a packet of tissues from one of his pockets.

“I’m sorry,” he told you apologetically, “I thought maybe you wanted more time to think things over. We can still do paperwork tonight if you want I don’t mind staying a bit late.”

You looked at him, startled that he’d apparently picked up on your hesitation as you gratefully accepted the tissues, dabbing at your eyes and blowing your nose before replying, “No, no you’re right. It’s not a decision I should make impulsively. I do want to think it over I just…”

You trailed off helplessly, unsure what to say or how to explain that you’d gotten incredibly attached and were currently having a crisis as your head and heart were at war with each other. However, Sugawara apparently understood as he nodded in clear sympathy.

“Don’t worry,” he assured you, “That’s completely understandable, adopting a hybrid is no small thing. Those troublesome twins will still be here waiting for you tomorrow, so take all the time you need to think it over.”

“I will,” you told him, then tacked on sincerely, “Thank you, for all your help today. I really appreciate it.”

“It’s my pleasure,” he told you with a bright, pleased smile as he walked you to the door, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow,” you agreed with a smile, letting yourself out and heading back for your car.

The drive home your thoughts were absolutely full of the twins, and what it might be like to have them with you. Your heart and your mind were at war with one another, your heart desperate to run back to the center as soon as it opened in the morning for the cat hybrids, and your head worrying about what it might mean to have both of them and why they’d been returned to the center by their previous owner.

You were so preoccupied with your thoughts that you almost didn’t notice Suna as you walked passed Ojirou’s door, headed to your own.

“What is that?” Suna demanded, his voice making you pause in your tracks.

“What is what?” you asked him baffled as he strode toward you nose in the air, clearly picking up something.

“You smell like hybrid,” he informed you his tone accusatory, watching you with narrowed golden eyes.

“Do I?” you asked mildly.

“You do,” he affirmed, “Doesn’t she Kita?”

“Doesn’t she what?” the collie hybrid asked, emerging from somewhere deeper in the apartment.

“Smell like hybrid,” Suna explained, his tail twitching languidly behind him and eyes alight with interest.

“You do,” Kita agreed, after carefully scenting the air, “Two of them actually.”

“Really?” Suna asked, clearly surprised, moving closer to sniff at you again, “You sure?”

You held still, too used to his behavior to be bothered by it, partly amused and partly annoyed at the cat hybrid who was clearly digging for information.

“Yes I’m sure,” Kita told him calmly, “They’re very similar, but there.”

“They’re identical twins,” you explained, figuring the jig was up anyway, and hoping maybe Ojirou or Kita would have some advice that might help you with your quandary.

“Ho?” Suna asked a purr of interest in his voice as he inhaled and nodded to himself, then asked slyly, “And what were you doing with these twins to have their scent on you so thoroughly?”

“Is Ojirou home?” you asked Kita, completely ignoring Suna’s question, earning a chuckle of amusement from the Siamese.

“He’s here,” Kita agreed, “Did you need to speak with him?”

“Both of you, if you have a minute?” you questioned hopefully.

“For you? Always,” Kita assured you kindly ushering you in.

“Oya, I think I’m hurt,” Suna told you as he followed along behind, a feline smirk on his face, “What about me? Don’t you want my advice too? After all they’re cat hybrids aren’t they?”

“They are,” you agreed with a huff as you plopped into your normal chair, “But are you going to give me good advice, or are you going to say whatever you think will be most amusing for you?”

“What’s this about cat-hybrids?” Ojirou asked, emerging from the hallway, where Kita had gone to fetch him.

“She’s thinking about adopting twin cat-hybrids,” Suna informed him before you had the chance to speak up, smug as the cat who got the canary.

“Are you really?” Ojirou questioned with a grin, taking his own seat.

“Yes,” you agreed, shooting the smug Siamese a look for interrupting and stealing your thunder, “I went to that adoption center you recommended today.”

“That’s great,” Ojirou told you, leaning forward in his chair eagerly, “How did it go?”

You explained your meeting with the twins, happily accepting the drink Kita pressed into your hands, which was your favorite, as the collie hybrid got everyone settled and then settled in himself to listen. You talked about how much you liked them, but your wariness about getting not one but two hybrids, and the strange issue with them having a previous owner and being so cagey about it.

“I can see why you’re wary about used goods,” Suna noted.

“Don’t call them that,” you snapped, despite the fact that you could hear the tinge of sarcasm in his voice and knew he didn’t really mean it, unable to help yourself, “people aren’t like items, and shouldn’t be treated like them.”

“She’s right,” Kita told the Siamese sternly, “Even as a joke, that was a rude way to refer to them.”

Suna slouched in his seat, looking thoroughly chastised as he admitted, “I know you don’t see them like that. You’ve always treated us just like normal people.”

“That’s because you are just like normal people,” you told him, stroking your fingers through his hair to let him know you forgave him, “Just with enhanced senses and a different set of instincts at times.”

“I don’t know why you think you need our advice,” Ojirou pointed out reasonably, “It sounds like you’ve pretty much already made up your mind, you clearly adore them already.”

“It’s just a lot,” you admitted, “Do you think I can handle twin hybrids? Especially since I’ve never even had one before? I mean, I’m not like you, none of my family ever had one growing up, and the only ones I really know are Kita, Suna, and a couple that come into the office with Tendou from time to time.”

“We’re not exactly children,” Kita reasoned, logically, “We don’t actually require all that much care outside of the basics, which I know you’re monetarily able to provide, and companionship, which is the whole reason you decided to seek out a hybrid in the first place. One or two, does it really matter? It might even be better as they’ll be able to keep each other company if they get lonely when you’re gone, and I see no reason we can’t help you look after them too.”

“You’d do that?” you asked the collie hybrid, surprised.

“Of course,” he agreed with a tiny smile, “We’re friends are we not?”

You smiled at him, touched, and extremely reassured by his ever cool logic. It did make sense, and quelled some of your worries, plus knowing the extremely reliable hybrid would help you out if you needed it was incredibly comforting.

“I wouldn’t worry about them being returned to their center,” Suna told you, surprisingly serious, “Hybrids get returned for all sorts of reasons, but most of the time its owner incompatibility rather than behavioral issues. Plus that center wouldn’t let you adopt them if they thought they’d give you trouble.”

“But Sugawara did say they’d heard the twins gave someone trouble,” you admitted, recalling the conversation with the worried cat-hybrid.

“Yes, but they didn’t give you trouble,” Suna pointed out, “We cat hybrids tend to make up our minds pretty quickly about people. It sounds like they decided they liked you, and unless something really terrible happens they’ll keep liking you, we’re terribly stubborn that way.”

“If you’re really worried you can always ask the center about it,” Ojirou told you, “They keep records, and would probably tell you, especially if it’s a concern about their adoptability.”

“I don’t want to pry into something and lose their trust,” you admitted, even as part of you was incredibly tempted to do just that.

“Then maybe try asking if the center if they think whatever the issue was, will be an issue with you,” Suna reasoned, “And if they say no then let it lie and adopt them, and if they say maybe or yes, then tell the twins you can’t accept them if they can’t tell you what the issue was.”

“That seems fair to me,” Kita agreed with a nod, “Just make sure you’re honest and tell them you asked, just in case.”

“Okay,” you agreed, letting out a relieved breath, “Okay that sounds really reasonable to me. It’s just… do you think I’m rushing into this too fast? I mean going to the center today was an impulse.”

“I don’t think so,” Ojirou assured her thoughtfully, “You’ve been thinking about it for a while, haven’t you?”

“She’s put so much thought into it she’s actually over thought it,” Suna interjected wryly before you had a chance to answer.

You made a face at him but couldn’t actually argue. He might have a point about overthinking it. Reassured you spent a good couple hours talking with your neighbor and the two hybrids as they answered more of your questions, and you told them about the twins.

Eventually however you headed home, determined now to get at least a little bit prepared for the arrival of your two new housemates tomorrow. Luckily it wasn’t dirty, but running a load of laundry and doing a little vacuuming never hurt anyone. You didn’t have a whole lot for them and didn’t know what kind of things they might have or need, but hopefully your office with pull out futon and guest bedroom would suffice for now until you could take them shopping.

Falling into bed that night you let yourself feel your excitement for the first time. You were adopting a hybrid, not just one but adorable twin hybrids. You couldn’t wait to bring them home and maybe put an end to your loneliness once and for all.

Osamu glanced slowly around the room, trying not to look at his twin, the clock, or the doors to the main area of the shared living space the way Atsumu was. Yesterday had been a bit of a revelation. He’d never actually expected to approach the woman who’d shown up looking to adopt. After what happened with their last owner he’d never expected to ever actually want to be adopted again. However, somehow he’d found himself entranced by her, and he had no one but himself to blame.

When he’d initially strolled over, it was because he’d known via his bond to his older twin that he’d finally realized that Osamu had snagged his pudding for himself and was throwing a fit about it. He’d thought that his twin wouldn’t dare make a fuss if he was with a potential owner.

The rules of this place were pretty lax compared to the first center they’d lived in. It allowed them a lot more freedoms. It let them come and go from their rooms as they pleased rather than on a regimented schedule, and allowed them to turn down any potential adopter that they didn’t like, which had felt utterly shocking and unprecedented when he’d first been told about it. They gave them a small allowance they could spend or save as they chose, and even let them deal with their heats and ruts in whatever way they chose, including with other tenants so long as birth control was used.

It honestly felt like heaven compared to the first center they’d been at, and maybe even better than living with their previous owner even before everything had gone to shit. He wasn’t sure he’d even ever wanted to leave, which he’d been assured by several other tenants was also an option if he so desired.

However, the one rule that was the same between both centers was that they weren’t allowed to cause trouble with the humans that came looking to adopt. This was only good sense considering how much the law favored humans in cases of hybrid vs human issues. However, unlike the first center they’d lived, this one at least didn’t threaten to put them down if they misbehaved.

They’d been young back then, everyone in that center was, all of them below the age of twenty-one, because anyone who reached their twenty-second birthday disappeared and was never seen again. Thus he hadn’t known it was actually against the law to kill hybrids, none of them had known and the caretakers had perpetuated the rumor that those who reached twenty-two were killed instead of shipped off to other centers in order to make them that much more desperate to be adopted.

It had made him more than a bit bitter once he’d been with their new owner long enough to learn more about what was and wasn’t allowed when it came to human hybrid interactions. The man had actually found their previous beliefs amusing and had laughed at them more than once for being so naïve.

It was positively galling, and had made his hackles rise more than once. However he’d known better than to lash out and had better impulse control than Atsumu who’d been punished by their previous owner more than once for acting aggressively. Fortunately, Osamu had never liked being made fun of, and spite was a powerful motivator, meaning he’d practically memorized any and all of the laws that had to do with hybrids.

It meant the few times their owner had toed the line with Atsumu’s punishments that he’d been able to cite the law to pull him back, right up until their owner had decided he no longer cared and pushed too far, leading to them being removed from his home and put back up for adoption at this new center.

They had been here for just over a month and while several people had been interested in adopting the ‘rare gold and silver hybrid twins’ he had absolutely refused to engage with any of them. It was probably why that female alpha hybrid had been so shocked when he’d first approached.

He’d fully intended to just use the human to keep Atsumu at bay, right up until she’d crouched down and offered her hands to him and he’d gotten a whiff of her scent. He’d known from the few lessons their ma had bothered to teach them that hybrids relied a lot more on their sense of smell than humans did, and that scent was the basis of the instinct that told them who would be a good mate and who wouldn’t.

He’d originally thought compatibility could only be found with other hybrids, after all he’d met plenty of humans before both when he’d lived in the adoption centers and with his previous owner and never once had he gotten a hint of compatibility with any of them. He thought he could be forgiven for completely losing his head and giving over to his instincts as he caught the scent of the most compatible person he’d ever met.

Her scent was honestly indescribable, and his instincts had him purring within seconds as he tried to rub her scent all over himself. She’d obliged, petting him with fingers that had felt magical, her touch kind and soothing and perfect as she rubbed his ears, carded fingers through his fur and rubbed her hand along his back.

He’d been lost in a dizzy haze of touch and scent and probably would’ve remained that way if not for the fury of his brother, which had jolted him out of it. It had been like a bucket of cold water dumped over his head pulling him from his happy haze and reminding him of the whole reason he’d come up to the human in the first place.

He probably should’ve run off, but hadn’t been able to bring himself to move very far, instead darting around to hide behind her. He’d thought that once Atsumu saw her he’d stop and at least hold off attempting to get vengeance until later, but he’d overestimated his brother again, who was apparently more incensed than he’d guessed about the lost pudding.

Instinct had kicked in and before he’d really thought about it he was running away from his brother, darting around her legs in a game of chase that was both amusing and a bit annoying, especially when he could tell how much it was pissing his brother off, his sibling’s annoyance pulsing down their bond in waves of sparks.

He wasn’t sure how long it would’ve continued, as they’d actually run around like this until someone got tired before, usually Atsumu as he got fed up and didn’t have the patience to keep going. However, he’d suddenly found himself plucked right up into the air.

He’d been amused when she’d scolded Atsumu, though the amusement had faded a bit when she’d decided to scold him too, leaving him feeling properly chastised. He’d been more than a bit pissed off with his brother when he’d realized the nice smelling woman was bleeding because of him, though there’d also been a small frisson of fear, wondering what the consequences would be.

However, to his surprise she hadn’t actually seemed all that angry with either of them. Instead she’d immediately accepted Atsumu’s apologies as his brother, who’d managed to get a lungful of her scent had cuddled up to her. He could feel Atsumu’s deep interest in the human. His brother clearly also scented compatibility with her, which wasn’t surprising given they’d shared almost everything else in their lives.

He’d found himself more than a little bit jealous as he’d watched his brother soak up her attention. It had always been like that to an extent. Atsumu had always been the more outgoing one, the one who attracted attention, who wore his heart on his sleeve and somehow managed to win people over despite his often crass personality. Osamu had always kind of faded into the background as he was much quieter and had better control over his emotions, the silver to his gold, the shadow to his light.

Normally he didn’t mind, but this time being forgotten had stung. They’d always competed with each other, but most of the time he’d been humoring his brother, or simply hadn’t wanted Atsumu to win rather than wanting the prize of winning himself. This time though it had felt like more than that. No way was he going to let his brother steal her all to himself.

Before he’d really thought about it he’d reached out a paw, and to her credit she’d immediately offered him a sweet smile and resumed her wonderful petting. Atsumu hadn’t been pleased, but he hadn’t cared a bit.

It hadn’t surprised him at all that when Shimizu had come back with the first aid kit that Atsumu had insisted on taking over when he’d been the one to offer first. The two of them had continued to quietly compete over her attention as they fixed up her scratches, though he could at least feel his brother’s guilt for inflicting them on her in the first place, which did help sooth some of his annoyance with his older twin.

It was utterly gratifying that even when she had Atsumu literally in the palm of her hand, she’d still looked for him too. He’d tried to shove the feeling down and away, trying to remind himself that neither he nor his brother actually wanted another owner, but found it wasn’t working well. The combination of her scent and her fingers as she massaged her fingers through his hair enough to make him want to curl up in her lap and never leave.

He’d thought they might get in trouble when Sugawara returned. His fellow silver cat-hybrid belonged to the owner of the center, and took his job very seriously. He wouldn’t allow any of them to make trouble, and while he respected him, and admittedly envied him a bit for the clear trusting and loving relationship he had with his owner it didn’t stop him from wanting to claw his eyes out for bringing up their past in front of her.

Right when he was considering attempting to verbally eviscerate the other hybrid and damn the consequences his brother’s shock had pulled him from his thoughts, and he turned just in time to see her pull his twin into her lap. The feel of her hand gently squeezing his neck from behind practically made him limp with pleasure as Atsumu’s own bliss at being so close to her combined with his own to thoroughly distract the two of them, though not so much he didn’t notice her excusing their behavior and ensuring they didn’t get in trouble.

However, both of them had snapped to attention when the other hybrid had asked her if she wanted to adopt the two of them. He’d been able to feel his twin’s building hope, his impulsive brother apparently forgetting all about not wanting another owner, already clearly more than half in love with her despite not even knowing her for a day.

It was a trait he both hated and envied in his twin, the ability to be so impulsive, to move on so quickly and let go of past hurts. It wasn’t something he was capable of. He knew he was a grudge holder and far slower to trust than his brother was. He liked to think it served him well and kept him from being as naïve as Atsumu could be, though there were times it made things difficult too.

He’d been unsure whether he wanted her to state her intention to adopt them or not, right up until she’d said she hadn’t even considered it. It stung more than he’d expected, his own small hurt amplified by his brother’s though both of them had been somewhat soothed by her explanation that she wanted to know them better.

It was extremely reasonable and made him like her all the more, knowing she was the cautious type, more like him than like Atsumu, even if he simultaneously wished she’d been a little more impulsive just this one time and said yes instead. Though he found himself heartened by her honesty. That she’d actually asked them if they wanted to go with her rather than making any sort of assumption had settled things for him.

He hadn’t needed Atsumu’s silent pleading to forget their original plans to agree that maybe they should give this human a chance, though it did make it easier in the end to agree as he wasn’t the only one who wanted it.

They’d both tried to win her over, and though they’d accidentally fallen into squabbling more than once she’d handled it like a champ, not at all put off and even amused by it if the smile was any indication. However, despite the fact that they were the ones trying to win her over, it seemed every word she spoke was actually meant to win them over instead.

She was nothing like their previous owner, who’d been strict with his rules and harsh with his punishments. In fact she didn’t speak about punishments at all. He wasn’t naïve enough to think there wouldn’t be any if they misbehaved, but the freedoms she was offering in turn more than made up for anything she might throw their way.

The biggest hiccup had been when Atsumu mentioned their previous owner. The horror and guilt he’d felt from his twin was the only reason he’d managed to keep himself from doing more than hiss at him. His stomach had sunk when she’d gently pressed them for answers, but he knew they had to give her something.

He’d tried to give her as little as possible unwilling to volunteer the information, both because he hated even thinking about their time with their previous owner and because he was afraid she might somehow decide she didn’t want them because of it. In the end she’d changed the subject herself, and not brought it up again, but as she’d walked away from them with Sugawara, leaving them behind he’d wondered rather despairingly if that hadn’t been a mistake.

It didn’t matter that she’d turned around to comfort them when Atsumu had been unable to keep his heartbreak quiet. He’d known the minute she walked out the doors the chances of her coming back were slim to none. That was the other thing that remained consistent between this shelter and the last. Once a potential owner walked away claiming they needed to ‘think on it’ they never came back.

Still he hadn’t been able to turn away from her embrace, or to stop himself from scent marking the opposite side of your neck from the one his twin had claimed, laying his own personal stamp with the faint hope it would remind you to come back for them. However, no matter what you’d said, he couldn’t bring himself to hope. He knew hoping would only lead to more disappointment, and he wasn’t like Atsumu he wouldn’t be able to bounce back from it.

Not that his twin was making it easy on him. His brother’s hope was so fierce it was almost painful and he could feel the slightly desperate edge to it. He’d gotten attached to her, not that he could blame him, he was more attached than he wanted to be too. However unlike him, Atsumu had fill faith you were coming back, so much so he’d actually packed up his room into the bags they’d brought from his old place and was ready to go.

Nothing Osamu or any of the others, who also seemed to understand how small the chance was that she’d come back for them, said could sway him. The moment it had passed three o’clock Atsumu had brought hjs bags out to the shared living area and began to sit vigil, waiting for her to come back.

Stubborn as ever his twin had ignored all the pitying looks sent his way and the fact that slowly but surely time had slipped by, leaving just half an hour until they were supposed to close. Though his face was resolute, his brother wasn’t actually stupid and Osamu knew it was only stubborn pride keeping him in place. He could feel the slow onset of his twin’s hurt and despair as each minute ticked down.

He’d contemplated leaving him, going to his own room to wallow, but he knew he could never abandon his twin. They’d been through everything together, and he certainly wasn’t going to leave him now.

He was trying to figure out if he could coax his brother into leaving his post when the door swung open, revealing Sugawara, who had a wide beaming smile on his face. His fellow silver hybrid cast a quick glance behind him before ushering his follower into the room.

He barely caught a glimpse of her before his brother practically launched himself at her, but it was enough to freeze him in his place, because it was her. She’d actually come back after all.

His brother had wrapped himself around her, burying his face in her neck and clinging to her like favorite a stuffed toy, not that she seemed to mind, if the hands she was running over his hair and back meant anything. He couldn’t quite hear what they were saying, the words too quiet to hear over the sudden near painful hope and the rapid beat of his own heart at the thought that she’d come for them.

Atsumu’s joy was practically burning through him, combined with his restored faith and smug satisfaction that he’d been right all along about her coming back for them. It probably should’ve annoyed him, but he found that all he could really feel was a bone deep sort of relief.

“Where’s your brother?” she asked, as she finally managed to gently extract herself a bit from his twin’s embrace, though he noticed he didn’t let go entirely, one of his hands laced firmly with hers.

He immediately stood, letting himself fall back into his more human skin as he made his way toward them, not waiting for his brother to out him. She seemed to spot him immediately and the relieved smile on her face was enough to make his traitorous heart skip a beat.

“Osamu,” she greeted warmly, more warmly than he thought he’d ever been greeted by anyone before as she opened her free arm in an inviting gesture. It was maybe a little pathetic how readily he accepted that embrace, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, as he fell into her hold, face automatically nuzzling against the side of her neck that Atsumu had left unclaimed. A rumbling purr left his lips as he felt her press her face against his affectionately, as he allowed himself to cling to her for a bit.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” she murmured to him quietly, her arm squeezing affectionately around his waist, genuine regret in her tone, “My boss made me stay a little longer than usual, and then there was an accident on the freeway. I called ahead though and Sugawara has almost all the paperwork done. I just need to collect the two of you, do some signing and we’ll go home okay?”

“Really? Yer takin’ us home?” he almost didn’t recognize his own voice given how weak it sounded, the quaver in it making him feel utterly ridiculous and overly emotional, something that was supposed to be his twin’s job, and frustrated him enough that he bit his lip nearly hard enough to bleed as he wrestled with himself, trying to get back in control of his emotions.

“Yeah, as long as you want to come, then I’ll gladly take you,” she offered with a gentle smile that made his heart squeeze nearly painfully in his chest, “Though there’s something I need to admit to first.”

He froze a little at that, staring at her anxiously as Atsumu also looked on, his blabbermouth brother finally silent and clearly wary. She carefully released him, though she still reached for his hand, peering between the two of them, anxious but also obviously determined. He allowed her to grasp her fingers, squeezing them automatically, anxiety making his heartrate skyrocket and bile rise in his throat.

“I asked the center about your previous owner,” she confessed, the words automatically making his heart drop, as he wondered numbly what they could’ve told her. Had she asked for the details? Was she afraid now? Had she changed her mind or decided to add some stipulations to their adoption?”

“I didn’t ask for details,” she clarified, her voice managing to cut through the haze of panic that had been rising in his chest, “All I asked was if they thought whatever had happened with your previous owner would cause trouble for me, or put any of us in any sort of danger.”

That didn’t actually sound so bad, and was even fairly reasonable the storm of hurt and anger that had been building behind his anxiety slowly dispersing the more he thought about it. He noticed that his grip on her hand had loosened a bit, and he retightened his hold, hoping the center had responded in a way that reassured her. Given that she was here, talking to them, he thought it wasn’t unreasonable to be hopeful.

“They said none of us would be in any danger, otherwise they never would’ve offered to take you both in, in the first place, and that they were sure you’d be alright with me,” she explained, her hand gently squeezing his in return.

He wasn’t sure if the bone deep relief he felt was his or his brother’s but he couldn’t bring himself to care, too caught up in the surging hope that followed it as she asked, “So, even knowing that I asked that, are the two of you still willing to come home with me?”

“O course we want to go with ya, right Samu?” his brother replied instantly, nuzzling into her neck insistently, clearly begging for attention, attention she seemed more than willing to give if the affectionate smile on her face was any indication. When she looked at him for confirmation all he could do was nod in agreement, unable to find the words for how very much he did want it and unwilling to sound ridiculous again.

The next half hour passed in a strange almost dream like haze, as he packed himself up, his smug brother clinging to her and gloating over how he was already finished, soaking up her attention as he made a mental note to get back at his annoying twin later. Once he finished packing all there really was, was a couple of signatures before he found himself in a nice car that was speeding along the highway.

Atsumu was chatting away in the front seat, practically bouncing as he asked their amused new owner anything that popped into his head as he tried to digest what had happened. Somehow, someway, they had an owner again.

You smiled to yourself as you listened to Atsumu babble away happily in the seat next to you. The golden furred twin hadn’t stopped bouncing since you’d showed up at the shelter, clearly over the moon that you’d come back for him. Osamu was quiet in the back seat, and you might’ve been worried he was happy to come with you if not for the way he’d scent marked you, almost frantically his hand clutched tightly to yours as you’d signed the paperwork to take them home.

It was pretty clear both twins had thought you weren’t coming back for them, and it had broken your heart a bit, and made you even more resolute that you’d done the right thing for all of you. You’d been anxious the whole day to get back to them, not nearly as focused on work as you probably should’ve been, which had been part of the reason for your delay in the first place.

You’d panicked more than a bit when you’d encountered the accident on the way there, afraid that you’d break your promise to the twins. It had only been Sugawara’s kind voice, assuring you that he’d start the paperwork while you drove and even stay open late if necessary for you to get there, that had kept your guilt and panic at bay.

Now that you had them with you weren’t quite sure how you felt. Dazed that it was actually happening, excited for what the future might bring, and a little anxious about all the changes you’d have to make in your life even as you looked forward to those changes more than anything.

However, before you headed for home there were a couple things you needed to do first. Luckily you would hopefully find everything you needed in one place, at least for today. You wanted to give them time to settle in a bit, more shopping could come later when they’d decided what they needed.

“Where’s this?” Atsumu asked, pausing in his excited babble to look at you with confusion, as you pulled into the large parking lot, “Ya don’t live here do ya?”

“Don’t be stupid,” his brother huffed from the backseat, “Yer gonna make her think we’re some kind of bumpkins, ya know what a mall is Tsumu.”

“O course I know what a mall is,” Atsumu blustered, twisting around in his seat to glare at his twin, “I just thought maybe she had an apartment nearby is all. Who knows how rich people live?”

You huffed in amusement, reaching out without thought to ruffle his ears affectionately. The golden haired hybrid froze for a minute under your touch, and you wondered if you’d done something wrong, freezing as well, before a rumbling purr left his chest as he pressed his head further into your hand.

“You’re too cute,” you murmured almost to yourself as you gently scratched his ears and stroked your hand over his face and neck, unable to keep the smile from your lips.

“We’re only stopped here for a quick couple errands,” you explained to both twins, reluctantly pulling away from Atsumu who offered a pout but didn’t protest, “I noticed you don’t have as much as I thought you would, and I want to get you more comfortable collars to wear when we’re in public.”

Both twins hands immediately flew to the simple brown leather bands around their necks. All hybrids were required to wear collars in public to identify them as belonging to someone. The collars had a tag on them, which was essentially a small chip that had all their owner’s information in it, that when scanned would tell someone how to get in contact with their owner. It was to ensure they behaved and that if they didn’t their owner could be forced to take responsibility for their actions. Any hybrid who walked around without a collar immediately had the police called and was brought in and held until they could figure out why they were without.

You’d heard horror stories about the way such hybrids were treated, innocent hybrids who’d accidentally lost a collar somewhere and been so traumatized when they were finally returned to their owners that they were never the same again. Which of course was why you were determined it was never going to happen to your twins, even if a part of you balked at the idea of putting a symbol of ownership on another sentient being. Judging from the looks on their faces, Atsumu’s much easier to read than Osamu’s they’d heard stories too, and neither of them bothered to protest.

“Come on,” you urged gently, climbing out of the car yourself, “The sooner we get the unpleasant stuff done the sooner we get to the good stuff. I’ve got a couple things in mind I’d like to get you both as welcome home presents, but if there’s anything else you think you want or need feel free to ask.”

“Presents?” Atsumu asked eagerly, practically bounding out of the car.

“That’s right,” you agreed with a small laugh, watching him sulk a bit as he realized his brother had beaten him in securing your free hand, Osamu’s fingers laced with your own and a smug smirk on the silver hybrid’s face, “So keep close and let’s get going okay?”

Luckily the mall wasn’t too crowded, and while the twins got more then their fair share of admiring looks, doubtless both because of how good looking they were and how rare twin hybrids in general were, no one actually dared to approach your group, even as Atsumu practically bounced around glancing around the mall in fascination and reminding you more of an eager puppy than a supposedly slightly older cat hybrid.

Osamu was much more dignified and kept close to your side, though judging from his wide-eyed look that he couldn’t quite hide behind his stoic façade he was just as in awe as his brother. You were starting to get an impression of their previous owner and it was far from good.

You’d known that some owners kept their hybrids close to home, either because they were overly protective or possessive, and it had always rubbed you the wrong way. Ojirou had always allowed Kita and Suna to do as they pleased for the most part, treating them as capable adults and equals, more like roommates than the pets some treated their hybrids as and his was the example you were going to strive to follow.

It was why your errands today were so important, because while you would happily have let your twin hybrids run around as they pleased dressed however they pleased a collar was unfortunately the one thing they couldn’t be without, especially if they were going to go outside without you.

Luckily the mall was outfitted with several hybrid specialty stores and it didn’t take you long to find one dedicated entirely to collars. Both twins were a little wide eyed at the selection, and neither seemed to know quite what to say as you roamed through the aisles together looking at the selection.

Several of them made you grimace in outright distaste, the collars boasting accessories like inward facing spikes or tracking devices that would alert the owner if the hybrid tried to leave their home. It made you feel a little sick to your stomach, so you instead turned to the less intrusive ones.

“Do you see anything you like?” you asked the twins, squeezing Osamu’s hand affectionately, “You don’t have to wear collars in the house if you don’t want to, but you’re going to need them if you want to leave when I’m not home, which means you’ll probably be wearing them a lot, so make sure to pick something you like. You can even pick a couple if you want it to match your outfit for the day or whatever I don’t mind spending a little more to get a handful of chips programmed.”

Both twins blinked at you owlishly clearly startled by the offer, which made your heart hurt for them, even as they hesitantly turned back toward the displays, looking more closely than they had before.

“Do ya have any restrictions?” Osamu asked bluntly, not quite looking at you as he eyed a display of thick leather ones that didn’t look comfortable in the slightest.

“No,” you assured him, “I’m not the one who has to wear it.”

Osamu nodded slowly, and seemed to be taking his time as he perused the collars. You let him do as he liked, allowing him to lead. You’d only loosened your hold on him once, thinking he may like to wander the store like his brother and not have to tow you along with him, but the way his hand had reflexively tightened on yours in response had put paid to that assumption and you’d immediately re-laced your fingers together.

In the end Atsumu approached you first, holding a collar out to you hopefully. It actually looked like it was meant more for a dog hybrid, thick black leather with steel spikes on it, making it look fairly fierce. Personally you thought it was gaudy and was probably going to be uncomfortable, but you tried not to let your distaste show, after all you’d said anything they wanted and you’d meant it. Luckily in the end you didn’t need to say anything.

“What the hell is that?” Osamu demanded when he caught sight of the collar in his brother’s hands, the disgusted look on his face letting you know his feelings quite clearly.

“It’s a collar scrub, what else would it be?” Atsumu replied with a sneer for his twin you were beginning to think was automatic.

“I’m not the scrub you are,” the silver twin sneered, “Because only a scrub would wear somethin’ like that.”

“Oy,” Atsumu interjected, with a fierce glare, “She said we could have what we wanted.”

“Yeah but she probably thought ya had some sort of taste, she doesn’t know you well enough to know how scrubby ya are scrub,” Osamu hissed back.

“Alright guys,” you interjected gently, squeezing Osamu’s hand and reaching out to gently ruffle Atsumu’s ears, aware of the eyes of the cashier which had definitely turned in your direction given the twins were getting louder and louder by the second, “Let’s try to keep it to polite volume levels in public hmm?”

“Sorry,” both twins grumbled, identical pouts on their faces that made you giggle.

“It’s alright,” you assured them fondly, “Just try to be good okay?”

They nodded though Osamu clearly needed to get the last word in as he turned to you with pleading eyes, “Ya think it’s an abomination too don’t ya?”

“I said you could have whatever you wanted,” you told him diplomatically, “If this is what Atsumu likes, then of course he can have it.”

“Ha, see!” Osamu demanded of his twin, clearly seeing right through your attempt at diplomacy, “She thinks it’s ugly too!”

“Do ya really think it’s ugly?” Atsumu asked you sulkily eyeing the collar in his hands.

You’d known before that you were weak to pleading eyes, but it turned out you were even more weak to the pleading copper eyes of your hybrid, the thought that he might be sad tugging at your heartstrings.

“I just worry you’ll be uncomfortable,” you assured him, letting go of Osamu’s hand and gently cupping his face in your hands, rubbing your thumbs along his cheeks affectionately, the same way you did for one of the hybrids that occasionally came to your office to sulk when his owner brought him to work but didn’t pay attention to him.

Atsumu immediately leaned into your palms, heavy lidded eyes half-shut with bliss as you explained, “It’s summer right now, and there’s no padding so it will be hot, heavy and probably chafe. Plus didn’t you say you wanted to play volleyball? Won’t it get in the way? I can definitely get it for you if you like it, but maybe pick something else too, okay?”

“Kay,” your golden twin agreed, sounding completely and utterly content as he nuzzled into your hands, making your heart melt in your chest.

“What about this one?” Osamu offered, pulling your attention away from his brother.

He was holding a collar in his hands, one that actually looked more like a necklace a thin but sturdy looking cord of leather fastened with a silver chain in the front that clasped on both ends to a silver hoop that suspended a solid silver disc in the middle that on close inspection revealed that it housed the chip needed for identification.

“That looks really nice,” you praised, letting out a breath of relief at his choice. You weren’t a big fan of the collars in general, but seeing it look more like a necklace made it seem far more tolerable. Plus it was black and silver and thus would probably go with just about anything he chose to wear.

Letting go of Atsumu to take the collar from his twin, you completely missed the smug smirk directed over your shoulder by Osamu as you inspected it, though Atsumu certainly didn’t, giving his twin an annoyed glare above your head.

In the end, while Atsumu sulked and complained about it, he did actually put the original collar he’d offered back and go with Osamu’s choice, even though you offered to get him both. He refused, sulking slightly all the while, but remained insistent that he only needed the one, even though you ended up buying four collars total, so you could have two back-ups. Though he did insist on holding your hand to make up for the disappointment.

Luckily the manager didn’t seem to mind having to program all four collars, tapping away at the computer, while Atsumu sulked a bit by your side and Osamu somehow managed to all but radiate smug superiority. The cashier carefully ringing up your purchases for you as you pulled your wallet out.

“A word of advice?” the cashier offered as you waited for the programmed collars, surprising you with his forwardness.

“You’re too indulgent with them,” he continued on, not giving you the chance to refute the need for him to speak, “Hybrid’s need a firm hand. You’ll spoil them if you let them get away with raising their voices in public and causing a scene. Don’t ever let them forget their place.”

You felt more than saw both twins bristle on either side of you, and gently squeezed Atsumu’s hand, before laying your hand over the back of Osamu’s neck. You wouldn’t care a bit if they wanted to verbally eviscerate the man who was eying them with clear distaste, a distaste you were almost sure stemmed from jealousy given the lascivious looks he probably thought you hadn’t noticed levelled in your direction. Unfortunately, you also didn’t want them to get into trouble, and weren’t quite sure what the law said about how hybrids were allowed to defend themselves from humans, something you planned to rectify as soon as possible.

For now however you weren’t about to let the twins get in trouble and cut in your tone as cold as you could make it, “I don’t remember asking for your opinion, nor do I care about what you think in the least. I’ll treat them how I want to treat them, which means I’ll spoil and pamper them as much as I like. I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself in the future if you want to keep this business running. As it is I’ll be sending my complaint to your superiors. Let’s go guys, we can find other collars elsewhere. It’s not like they’re hard to find.”

“Wait! The chips are already programmed and you haven’t paid,” the manager protested, standing up from the computer looking utterly appalled.

“Should’ve thought of that before your employee opened his mouth, and decided to spew his unwanted bile everywhere,” you countered with a shrug, “I’d consider finding better employees in the future if I were you, or at least teach them to keep their mouths shut.”

“But the chips can’t be removed from these collars, they’ll be completely ruined,” the manager put in, sounding more than a bit despairing.

“I’m sorry,” you told her, feeling genuinely bad for the woman, after all it wasn’t her fault the other employee was an ass, “But that’s not my problem. I refuse to support any sort of business that would treat its customers like this.”

The glare she leveled on her fellow employee was utterly ferocious and had him cowering back in his seat. Not that you could blame her for being upset, each collar was about three hundred USD so the sale they were losing out on was enormous.

“I can offer you a discount?” she tried hopefully, “Fifty percent off?”

You tilted your head thoughtfully, but didn’t reply instead turning to look at the twins who’d clearly been more than ready to follow you out of the store, “What do you think?”

“Us?” Atsumu asked, clearly baffled.

“Yes, you,” you told him with a fond smile, “You’re the ones who got insulted, not me, and they’re your collars. I’m happy to buy you whatever you like from wherever you want it, whether that’s here or somewhere else.”

“Seventy-five percent off,” Osamu bargained from her other side, taking you by surprise. You turned to see him watching the manager with shrewd eyes, and when it looked like she would protest he added in, “Seventy-five percent off and we won’t leave bad reviews on every site we can or send letters of complaint to upper management.”

“Agreed,” the manager huffed, shooting another vicious look at her employee, one that clearly read that it would be coming out of his salary.

You huffed, amused at Osamu’s bargaining, gently massaging your thumb against the base of his neck affectionately before releasing both twins and moving to pay, only spending a quarter of what you’d originally planned.

“Nice work,” you praised the silver hybrid once the three of you were out of the store and out of earshot.

Osamu shot you a sly smirk, looking exceedingly pleased with himself as he walked beside you. Atsumu had claimed your hand this time, so he was carrying the bags, though it didn’t seem to bother him in the least.

“Now that, that’s taken care of, let’s go grab your gifts,” you told the twins, tugging them along to the PineApple store.

“Presents?” Atsumu asked eagerly, practically bounding along beside you, your intertwined hands swinging back and forth between you.

Laughing you simply pulled him with you into the store. Both twins were wide-eyed as you browsed through, clearly unused to the cutting edge technology on display, both of them exceedingly cautious with the expensive looking tech. It took some gentle urging, but eventually you managed to get phones and laptops picked out for each of them.

“Isn’t this too much,” Osamu asked you in an undertone, clearly worried as an employee walked Atsumu through getting his laptop set up. It turned out that of the twins Osamu was definitely more technically savvy and loved his new laptop, though Atsumu had already managed to download several apps and games on to his phone and was thoroughly enjoying them as well, “It’s expensive.”

“I have the money,” you assured him gently, “And besides, everyone has a phone these days. I want you guys to have them in case you get in trouble when I’m not home and need to reach me, like if you got lost or hurt or simply need a human to ensure you’re treated fairly. I’d feel awful if you needed me and I didn’t know.”

“The laptops are so you don’t get too bored at home, though I hope you’ll find things to enjoy outside the apartment too,” you continued, absently stroking your hand up and down his back.

“Will you be wanting hybrid trackers in the new phones?” the employee asked, her voice professional as she began to ring up your purchases.

You hesitated. On one hand you hated the idea of invading the twins privacy, and on the other you knew that you fully intended to let them roam as they pleased so wouldn’t it be better to have the tracker just in case? A quick glance showed that Osamu was impassive as ever, and even Atsumu just looked bored, not paying any attention whatsoever, instead tapping away at his new phone.

“What do you think?” you asked them, more than willing to hear their opinions on the matter.

“You’re the owner,” Osamu told her, apparently speaking for both of them as he gave an unconcerned shrug, which wasn’t helpful in the least.

You grimaced a bit trying to think of a compromise before finally pulling out your own phone and asking the employee, “Is there anyway to ensure all three of the phones will track each other?”

“Let me go ask,” she told you politely, turning away to go grab someone more knowledgeable.

“That’s fair right?” you asked hesitantly, “This way you know where I am too and can come find me if you need me.”

“Yeah,” Osamu agreed, giving you a look that you thought might be something as close to awe as you’d seen on the silver haired hybrid, “Yeah that’s fair.”

The employee quickly returned and confirmed they could indeed make all three phones track one another, and in the span of a few minutes managed to get your purchases complete. Feeling like that was probably enough for now, you led them back towards the car.

It was starting to get pretty late, and the minute you’d exited the mall Osamu’s stomach had given a loud rumbling growl. Atsumu had made fun of him for all of a minute, before his own stomach betrayed him. You’d shaken your head at their antics, but allowed a surprisingly eager Osamu to order whatever he wanted for carryout from the Chinese place near your apartment.

One quick stop for the food, and you finally managed to bring your new hybrids home. Both of them were a little quiet as you led them up to your apartment, staring around and clearly taking everything in. Either Ojirou, Kita and Suna weren’t home, or they’d decided to give you time to settle with the twins as they didn’t emerge from their apartment as you arrived in the hallway and fumbled the door open.

“Here we are,” you told them, hitting the lights, “Home sweet home.”

Both twins were laden with things, carrying their purchases, the food, and their things from the adoption center. Still looking at them was enough to make your heart clench. It had only taken one trip to bring everything up, but despite hybrids being stronger than normal humans it still made your heart clench to see how very little the twins actually had. Each of them only had a medium sized suitcase of things, and Atsumu had a worn volleyball but that was it aside from the things you’d bought them. It was something you were determined to fix for the future, but for now you’d make do.

“I know you’re hungry, so unless you want to settle in for a bit first we can eat and then I’ll show you around,” you offered.

The twins exchanged looks, but nodded in clear agreement. You pointed out the bathroom just in case, but then brought them to the kitchen, trying to show them where everything was as you pulled utensils from the drawers. Osamu clearly paid much more attention to her explanations than Atsumu did, though both diligently helped her set the table.

The food was really good, and thankfully sparked more conversation, even if it was more subdued than earlier, all of them worn out from the long day they’d had. Osamu was clearly very interested in food, and not just in eating it the way his brother was. You managed to coax out that he’d cooked for their previous owner from time to time, and told him that as long as he was careful he was more than free to use her kitchen and anything in it for whatever he wanted earning what felt like her first real smile from the silver haired twin.

Despite how tired they clearly were, both twins helped you clean up. For the first time since you’d first discovered the lovely little Chinese restaurant there weren’t actually any leftovers, the twins having consumed everything you said you didn’t want. As they worked you noted it really was kind of nice, even if things were quiet, to have the company as they went about their tasks.

“Alright, so I wasn’t sure if you’d want your own rooms or if you’d want to share,” you told them, gesturing for them to follow, “We’re going to have to do some shopping either way, since they’re your rooms and I want you to be able to personalize them any way you want, but I think they’re pretty equal in size.”

The twins stared at you, clearly surprised, glancing at each other, to the rooms you’d offered, to you, and back again, the gesture making her more than a bit nervous. You’d thought there was plenty of space for the two of them, but maybe they didn’t see it that way?

“We get our own rooms?” Atsumu asked at last, finally breaking the silence, his voice quiet and disbelieving, copper eyes huge in his face.

“If you want them, then of course they’re yours,” you assured him, concerned, “I still have to clean out my study, but I didn’t want to delay adopting you and I don’t think it will take too long. There’s a pull out futon in there, though you’re more than free to share if you want a bed, or I can take the futon and one of you can have my bed for now. I’ve certainly slept on the futon before and I don’t mind.”

“You’d give up your bed?” Osamu repeated, looking like you’d just smacked him over the head with a fish, more surprise on his face then you’d thought him capable of showing.

“Just until we find something for you,” you told him, a little puzzled at his surprise but with the sinking feeling that your suspicions about their former owner were correct.

“But, why?” Atsumu asked you, wide eyed and a little teary.

“Because, you’re mine now,” you assured him, unable to quite find the words you wanted to say, but hoping you were conveying your feelings at the very least, “And I’m going to do everything I can to keep you safe and happy.”

The sad mewling sound he made in response to your words was enough to break your heart, as he pitched forward squeezing you into his chest and burying his face in your shoulder. You pressed your cheek to his hair, rubbing his back soothingly with one arm even as you automatically opened the other one for his twin, a gesture that was slowly becoming more and more familiar to you.

Osamu didn’t sob the way his twin did, but the way he squeezed you tight let you know he was just as moved as Atsumu even if he was quieter about it. Seeing their genuine gratitude for what you felt was common courtesy broke your heart, but even as it ached and you did your best to soothe them you swore to yourself, to love and care for your new hybrids so they’d never want for anything ever again to be the best owner it was possible to be after all they deserved nothing less.

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momentofmemory · 4 years

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FICTOBER 2020 - day twenty-five

Prompt #25: “Sometimes you can even see.”

Fandom: The Old Guard

Characters: Nile Freeman, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani

Words: 1937

Author’s Note: In the aftermath of a rough mission and all the philosophical questions it entails, Joe takes Nile to the Aarhus Art Museum in Denmark. All pieces mentioned were displayed in the Objects of Wonder: From Pedestal to Interaction exhibit, which ran from Oct. 2019- March 2020. Nile POV.

>> the sweetness remains

Nile scrolls mindlessly through Pinterest, wishing for not the first time that she’d been allowed to recreate her socials.

Copley had barred her from practically all of the actually useful ones, but she’d bullied him down to just having an account on Pinterest, with the argument being that no one cared about the site. Granted, she doesn’t really want to be on Pinterest either, but sometimes the comfort of an app with infinite scroll is all she’s looking for in a distraction.

And right now, she really, really needs to be distracted.

Overly photoshopped cat pics.

Memes ripped straight from tumblr or twitter.

The most white girl aesthetic imaginable.

Three slugs ripping through her abdomen and spitting her liver out the other side—

Nile breathes in sharply. Exhales.

Her thumb resumes scrolling.

Photos of downtown that feel like home.

Recipes for harvest butternut squash soup.

Tips for keeping braids fresh longer.

Nile scrolls, and scrolls, and breathes.

Her abdomen still aches every time her lungs expand, even though she knows it really doesn’t. It’s perfectly healed; not even a scar for her troubles. But it’s hard to forget how her instincts had screamed that a gut shot like that shouldn’t be survivable, even as she pushed herself towards the next target.

(She didn’t survive it.)

(She didn’t survive the next half dozen times it happened, either.)

“Did that phone of yours do something to offend you?”

“Whoa!” Joe’s sudden appearance next to her only makes her clench her phone tighter. She forces out a laugh and eases the tension out of her fingers. “Feel like you should know better than to sneak up on someone that’s part of a bunch of immortal warriors.”

“Most of them would have caught me coming long before you did.”

Nile snorts. She scrolls a few more seconds, then closes the app and opens Temple Run. The game’s ridiculously old, but she’s a millennial. Sue her for being nostalgic.

She can feel Joe watching her as she starts the round.

“Am I correct in thinking you enjoy the arts, Nile?”

It’s not the question she was expecting, and she winds up tilting the screen to the left a half second late, and her character falls off the bridge.

It’s okay though, because she can just use a gem and respawn in the same place, so it’s basically like not dying at all.

Right?

“Uh, yeah,” she says. She winds up restarting the round entirely. “The military was supposed to pay for my degree, but I don’t think I can cash that if I’m technically KIA.”

“That would present a certain set of problems,” Joe agrees. “Andy talk to you about that?”

“Yeah.” Nile’s stomach twists. “Guess it depends on how easy it is to schedule classes between firefights.”

She’s practically laying the opening for a talk out herself, but Joe seems uninterested in taking it.

Instead, he shifts beside her, propping an elbow on his knee. “What kinds of art did you want to specialize in?”

She dies again. This time, she begrudgingly uses the in-game save. "I prefer classic sculpture, but I’m not against modern.”

“You like what was modern art for me, then.”

Nile rolls her eyes. “I dread the day I become as weird as you guys.”

He laughs, patting her on the shoulder as he stands. “I suspect by that time you’ll be too busy tormenting our next recruit. But unfortunately, the exhibit we’re going to will be more in the contemporary style.”

It takes Nile a half second to register his words. “Wait, what?”

“The description said it would be 1960s to the present only. If it suits you, we could hold off on our discussion of it for another thousand years or so. I’m sure we can claim it as classic at that point.”

“What?” Nile locks her phone and zeros her attention on him, registering the mischievous glint in his eyes this time. “Museum?”

“The Aarhus Art Museum has a special exhibit on loan from the Tate Modern at the moment.” He glances down at her phone, the corner of his mouth forming a grin. “I’m told its purpose is to help move its audience’s attention from their devices.”

Nile scowls and looks back down at her phone. “I died a dozen times yesterday. I’m allowed my coping mechanisms of choice.”

And.

Whoops.

“Of course you are,” Joe says, offering his hand to her, and she’s once again surprised he doesn’t force the conversation. “But phones are portable. You can take it with you to the museum.”

Nile worries at the edge of her lip with her teeth. She doesn’t really want to go anywhere right now, but…

But Joe’s brown eyes are warm and welcoming, and his callouses help steady her when she takes his hand.

“You said contemporary sculpture?”

The grin he gives her is blinding. “For now.”

_________________

It’s a twenty-five minute drive from their safe house to the museum, and the route takes them next to the Bay of Aarhus for most of it.

Nile stares out at the water, determined to not give Joe any more ammunition for making fun of her regarding her phone.

It’s hard. She’d never considered herself a technology addict—never had enough time to be one—but she really, really wants to stop thinking about the fact that she knows what the inside of her liver looks like.

Or did look like, she guesses.

Nope, nuh-uh, not going there—

“D'you know about the Ship of Theseus?” She spits it out before she can decide against it. She figures if she’s thinking about it, she might as well talk about it. “And don’t say you were there for it. You’re not Andy and I at least know enough about you to know when you’re lying.”

The grin on his face tells her that he was very much intending to before she called him out on it. “It’s a thought experiment. The character Theseus owns a ship that, over a long span of time, has all of its parts replaced, until nothing of the original still remains.”

“Yeah, and so then the question is, is it even the same ship,” Nile finishes.

Joe weaves in and out of traffic, a pensive look on his face. “I assume you aren’t asking simply to test my knowledge of early western philosophy.”

“No.”

Nile looks down at her hands. She can still remember how horrifically mangled they were from her impromptu dive off a skyscraper, but at least—at least she’s pretty sure they’re the same ones she had before.

Though that might not last long.

“In your opinion,” she says, cautiously, “if—if there’s nothing left of the original—if you have to rebuild something that many times—”

“Nile.” The sound of the car’s turn signal distracts her spiraling thoughts. Joe nods towards the windshield. “We’re here.”

It’s a large, red brick square building, fairly nondescript but for the circular and multi-colored glass walking track at its top.

“Come on, he says, parking the car. “I find physical objects superior to mental ones for solving such issues.”

Nile doesn’t understand why the one time she wants to talk about something like this is the one time Joe decides to go full mysterious.

She climbs out of the car and follows him inside.

Despite her misgivings, she quickly discovers Joe was right. The exhibit is genuinely incredible, and there are pieces from multiple names she recognizes—Anish Kapoor, Donald Judd, Rasheed Araeen—and pieces she finds herself strangely moved by, such as Damian Hirst’s Away from the Flock, Richard Long’s Red Slate Circle, Rachel Whiteread’s Airbed II. Nile stares at that last one in particular for a long time: a concrete casting of an airbed, the artist’s presence made known in the negative space where her body had pressed the material down.

Joe, however, seems to be moving with a specific purpose in mind, and it’s not until they round one of the walls of the orange-pink room that Nile has a guess as to what it is.

In the far corner, bathed in the additional light of a single fill light, is a massive pile of multicolored cellophane wrapped hard candies.

Joe walks her over to it, an almost reverence to his steps.

“Untitled: Portrait of Ross in LA,” he says. “Are you familiar with the piece?”

She shakes her head, bending down to inspect it. It doesn’t look like much more than what she’d seen from a distance—candy, multicolored, on the floor. She looks to Joe for an explanation.

“Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s partner died from AIDS,” Joe says. The grief on his face is hard to look at. “To honor him, he made this as a portrait—one hundred and seventy-five pounds of candy, representing Ross’s weight from when he was still healthy.”

Nile looks at the pile—it’s a lot, but it’s not a hundred and seventy-five pounds worth of a lot.

Joe notices her confusion and smiles. “Take one.”

“What?”

“Take one,” he repeats. “The purpose of the work is to invite you to partake in both enjoying his presence and lamenting the lack of it. A sort of communion—choosing to take part of his body into your own. It was a powerful statement when so many were afraid to even be in our presence at the time.”

Nile looks at the pile again, and just like with Airbed II, her heart aches at what isn’t there, rather than what is. She selects a red piece and brings it out of the pile, cupping it in her hand and considering its weight.

“What happens when it runs out?”

Joe selects his own piece—a green one—and it rolls around in the palm of his hand. “It has. Many times. But that’s the beauty of it—it’s the curator’s responsibility to replenish the pile, metaphorically granting immortality and new life to the loss.”

The cellophane crinkles in Nile’s hand as she unwraps the piece. “How do they decide where to get the candy from?”

“The only firm rule is the original weight. Outside of that, there are no set instructions for the candies themselves.” He chuckles, threading his fingers behind his neck and leaning back against the wall. “Sometimes you can even see these strange combinations of greens, oranges, and purples.”

Nile considers the candy. “Not your favorite?”

“It has an almost Halloween quality to it. I tend to prefer the rainbow.”

The candy in her hand feels heavier than it did before—weighed down with the knowledge of what it represents, what it’s taking away.

She slips the candy into her mouth and her eyebrows raise in surprise. “It’s sweet?”

“It’s candy,” Joe says, unwrapping his own piece. “Did you expect something else?”

“I thought it’d be…” She pauses, trying to parse out her feelings. “Bitter. Or sad, somehow. Considering.”

“It could have been,” Joe agrees. “But the portrait isn’t meant to represent just grief and loss. Candy is a happy thing—a reward for yourself, or a lover’s gift on Valentine’s. And even when it’s gone, the sweetness remains. Still lingering on the tongue, or dwelling in the mind. It is the love of friends and partners that keeps the memory alive—and what keeps this the same portrait, even though its pieces have been cycled through many times.”

The candy melts away on her tongue, and she closes her eyes in grief for its loss, appreciation for what it was, and hope for the pieces that would come after it.

She swallows the last piece of it down.

Her stomach settles.

#fictober20 #fanfiction #the old guard #nile freeman #yusuf al-kaysani #joe | yusuf al-kaysani #philosophy and art #memsfic

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emptymanuscript · 3 years

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The Cat

I’m about 9 minutes into the movie Bright, and all the criticisms are kind of crystalizing. But one of the things that’s killing me is how they’re setting up the MC, Daryl Ward.

My bet is that the film makers thought they were setting up Ward as the cat. And they’re not.

The Cat is the term for a story abstraction from the book Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder and its sequels.

The Cat itself, is something (and it can be nearly anything that the audience will value) in need of aid that doesn’t HAVE to get it. A random cat up a tree can be the Cat. The cat that belongs to the person you want to get with, who has promised carnal relations if their cat is returned, can’t be the Cat because there is a significant reason and reward beyond simple morality for it to be helped.

If a character saves the Cat, gives it aid, helps it out, etc. when it’s just out of the goodness of the heart, that character is defined in audience perception as heroic. Most action stories will have the MC Save the Cat! in some way within the first few scenes. It’s a short hand way to show that they are “good.” And if you have a Save the Cat! moment then followed by them doing something “bad” you’ve SHOWN the audience the trajectory of the story: this person is a good person underneath but they’ve gone astray and need to find their heroism again to save the day. You’ve told the story in miniature. So it’s very useful.

But that’s not the only way to use the Cat.

In many stories the main character IS the Cat. The story in the first few scenes shows a moment where the character is clearly in need of aid and doesn’t really quite get what they need. They get enough maybe to survive but no one is saving them. This signals to the audience that this story is about growth and confidence. The MC will start out in a relatively helpless state and figure out how to come to their own rescue.

One of my all time favorite examples of that is the movie Ms. Congeniality. The opening scene, which is only about 90 seconds, is playing hard with the Cat.

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The set up starts with the typical over the top Save the Cat set up. Our hero is going to ride into the rescue, save the cat, and be awesome. And then it turns. She’s not saving the cat, remember, the cat is something helped without reward, and she very much wants a reward. She IS the Cat. The real person in need of aid in this microsmic story is her. And she doesn’t get it. To keep going, she turns to her strengths and just barrels through. But, again, in miniature, this scene has told us everything we need to know about the trajectory of her story. She has all of the wrong kind of power, she uses it to mask her need, and what she is going to have to find is the “impossible” how to get what she really needs and how to draw helpers to her.

That’s the power of being the Cat. It draws sympathy. It paints expectations. And it communicates problems very clearly.

Unfortunately, many storytellers seem to believe that injury and/or pain is enough to make a character the Cat, and that just isn’t so. Cats are about choices and character trajectories. So, if you have someone shot in the first few minutes of a story, even though, yes, they NEED help and yes, they’re going to continue to need help to get back to where they were or better, it’s a non optional help. It carries with it its own reward. They’re better for no other reason than that they are recovering.

Go back to Ms. Congeniality and that’s not true. Her “saving” doesn’t intrinsically give her her reward. It gives her the key to then go out and get what she wants. They’re two separate goals. And that’s why it works. Her choice gives her another choice and that gives her her happy ending. If the story was merely a search for feminine power and getting it, it just wouldn’t feel as satisfying because it wouldn’t get the resonance of WHY feminine power is a necessity for her. As a really excellent rule of thumb, think of the Cat as representing the NEED of a character which must be fulfilled in order for them to get what they WANT. This allows for both happy and sad endings that are satisfying because they each deliver on the premise, even if it is a radically different outcome.

Ms. Congeniality has four fundamental outcomes arcing from that initial scene.

She can get the Feminine Power she needs and a boyfriend she wants - that’s a happy comedic story.

She can get the Feminine Power she needs but not get a boyfriend - that’s an “unhappy” comedic story, which can still be funny if she still pops the new not-boyfriend in the nose, happy and unhappy are textures as much as anything.

She can FAIL to get the Feminine Power she needs but get a boyfriend who appreciates her for who she really is - “happy” tragedy. Remember that comedy and tragedy in the literary sense don’t mean funny and tear jerker. Comedy means “what makes you sick but you get better” it’s about having trouble obtaining a goal but getting it in the end. Tragedy means “what kills you,” it’s about not being able to ever obtain the goal. So this kind of ending is really about saying that the goal was stupid all along.

She can Fail to get the Feminine Power she needs and because of that FAIL to get any boyfriend she might want. This is the pure tragedy. It’s both “sad” and tragic. She gets nothing. BUT this can still be funny. If you watch them closely, a LOT of slapstick comedies conform to this architecture. The characters enter the story as fools and leave the story as fools without having been enlightened one wit.

My extreme suspicion is that Bright wants to set up this kind of situation. Since the first thing we see of Officer Ward is that he feels under threat. All of his motions are indicative of someone who recognizes he is in extreme but non-immediate danger. He’s waiting for it. And then he’s shot. And then he’s clearly still having issues after he has recovered because his wife is urging him out of bed in the afternoon. He is the Cat, right?

Well, there is another relationship to the Cat that I think they’ve actually set up harder and is overriding that narrative.

Kick the Cat

You don’t usually see Kick the Cat in genre fiction. And there’s a very good reason. Genre fiction tends to lean toward “physical” action. By which I mean that the main conflicts of the plot happen outside of the Main Character’s body. The characters either go out and do something or something comes into their lives and forces them to do something. So, even though character growth is likely necessary and choices will be based on what they learn about themselves as people, that is expressed through the exterior plot. The Detective goes and solves and crime and that action results in the Detective’s change. Which means that internal character change is relatively harder to show because it doesn’t take center stage.

This means that a flawed person becoming a kind person works. But a deeply flawed, nearly broken person, who needs to grow into a kind person usually doesn’t. Because genre fiction doesn’t have enough cameras in that area where you can show it.

So when it happens in Genre Fiction, Kicking the Cat is generally an announcement that said character who does it is one of the villains and the reader should prep themselves for the sudden and inevitable betrayal.

Now that isn’t as true in Literary Fiction. Because Literary Fiction is the opposite of Genre Fiction in this way. Instead of the conflict generally being “physical”, the conflict in Literary Fiction is generally “mental.” The main conflict happens inside the body of the Main Character. So the majority of the action and most of the cameras are there. So Literary Fiction allows that kind of deep, essentially broken, flaw because it gives the story the space and insight to work with it. So it’s not as necessarily a trumpeting warning that you’re dealing with a villain. It can mean that this MC has a long way to go to fix themselves, if they can make it at all.

Unfortunately for Bright, it’s a Genre Film. AND I think that this is much more what they’re broadcasting. Remember I’ve only seen nine minutes so far. But the first nine minutes are saying a lot.

The opening credits play out over a visual depiction of a race war between the Orcs and the Police. This is, in visual language, the announcement that the Orcs are poor and oppressed and should be read as the equivalent of POC in our own world.

Ward, played by Will Smith, could open up a whole can of worms with that reading, and there’s clearly some intent to considering his neighbors are absolutely what you would see in a shot of the ghetto in another movie, but instead we go pretty much straight to:

He kills a fairy. It’s not depicted as innocent, it’s clearly a pest. But it’s also not exactly powerful. He kills it with a zealous slap of a broom. This is very plausibly the Cat. Especially with the reaction from his neighbors, who also have zero affection for the fairy but all react viscerally to Ward’s aggression. The essential problem with Cats as devices is that the audience takes them in subconsciously. There’s no opportunity for a sophisticated discussion when butts are in the seats. So the only way to control what the audience thinks is to be careful not to send conflicting messages. And this is a doozy. If it is read as a Kick the Cat moment, which I’ll be honest I am seeing it as, I can’t see Ward as the hero after this. I am waiting for his sudden and inevitable betrayal because he is absolutely one of the cops meant to be depicted up in the graffiti that slid past during the opening credits.

At this point, I’m not looking for his redemption. I’m looking for how he is going to pose a problem for the advancement for the story. Which makes him a villain and not a hero.

Worse, this is set between two discussions about his partner. I have to admit what I was really expecting was an action packed version of:

Not really the comedy aspect but that his partner was new and they had to work through their problems to get along and be their best.

There’s a reason that’s pretty much the gold standard. Because learning to get along is a standard useful storyline and commands both characters to grow. It’s the same basic dynamic as a Romance. The joy is in seeing people figure out how to click together in spite of their difficulties. The tension is ‘will they / won’t they?’ and you know they will but it’s very entertaining to see them work it out.

But that’s not what’s going on in Bright.

By the time the movie starts, Ward and Jakoby are already partners. Coming in in media res communicates that this isn’t really a story about a relationship forming. Which means they can’t really show the full arc of a relationship, and so that’s unlikely to be the focus of the story. Which communicates to the audience that they should have reason to doubt any kind of ‘will they.’

This is cemented by the three conversations immediately around the fairy killing. Ward explains to his wife that Orcs are different, not stupid, just that they think different. It is not him actually saying that the Orc isn’t stupid compared to a human just that they’re naturally different and can’t be held to the same standard.

He then tries to give that as a lesson to his daughter. Orcs are different so you have to keep Orcs in their proper mental categorization.

At which point Jakoby shows up again.

He is not welcome. Pretty much at all.

But here’s the thing, like his initial introduction:

Jakoby is depicted as kind and considerate. Up to where I’ve stopped, I haven’t seen him commit a single act of even aggression. He wants to know what kind of sauce Ward wants on his burrito.

He wants to pick up Ward to help him along. He responds with affection and magnanimous giving to Ward’s daughter. In other words, he’s coming across as the innocent in all this. Which really starts to qualify him for the Cat category. That may be ruined in the next ten minutes but right now, I’m looking at a guy who has been insulted and yelled at for doing nothing, who has only shown concern and kindness, and who exists around a framework of his established partner killing a fairy. If Jakoby is a Cat, then what I’m being taught to worry about by what the film is presenting is that Ward is going to try take him down. Because maybe tomorrow, Orc Lives Don’t Matter.

I’m being taught by the first 9 minutes that Ward is, at best, a potential villain. But that the story is going to be from his point of view. And it’s just not a great look. And I would suspect that’s a lot of what people were responding to when this movie first hit: that it is setting up a very unpleasant story line that usually doesn’t play out in the type of story that it is.

So, no matter how it works out in Bright, which I am probably now returning to, when it comes time for you to work with your own story, be aware of the messages you’re sending and what story arcs you’re selling. Cats as an abstract concept, no matter what they are, exist whether you love or hate Blake Snyder. They existed long before he coined the name. At an even deeper level it’s simply that your character’s actions and events in a story naturally carry a “moral” weight. We, as an audience, expect what your characters do to be representative of who they are, for good and ill. Where what they do conflicts with who they are, we’ll expect an explanation and a counterbalance. So be wary of doing something else. Sending the wrong message with the wrong set up can drive away audiences who would be perfectly content with your story without the conflicting information.

#writing #creative writing #writeblr #Bright #racism #movie

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nerdypanda3126 · 5 years

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It’s Complicated - Ch. 1

What happens when you cross a black cat, a designer, a guitarist, and a fencer? The answer is it’s complicated. Chat Noir stops by to help Marinette with her design block, but when he discovers the design is for Luka he has to figure out why that bothers him. Surely it’s because she’s a very good friend, right? Meanwhile, Marinette struggles with letting Adrien go and figuring out why Chat Noir is suddenly acting so differently...

This story takes place shortly after Miracle Queen, so everyone’s still a little confused.

Read on Ao3 Ch. 2

Chapter 1: Design Block

Marinette groans as she scribbles over yet another design, and rips yet another sheet of paper out of her sketchbook, crumpling it before tossing it to the ground among the many others. Nothing is working. This piece has to be finished by this weekend so she can give it to Luka before he goes onstage with Kitty Section, but she can’t even get a vision of what she needs to be sewing. Her head is too full to think straight.

“Maybe you should take a break?” Tikki asks, floating hesitantly in front of her. Marinette considers it, but then she shakes her head.

“One more try, Tikki. I promise.”

She bends her head back over her sketchbook, letting her thoughts flow onto the page. She keeps Luka’s stage character, his colors and his mask, in mind as she draws. Her mind drifts to the small smile he gets when he plays. The bright blue of his eyes when they flick open to glance at her in his audience. The songs he’s played for her in the few moments they’ve had together. He always manages to play the song she needs to hear.

When she looks down at her work, blinking out of her design trance, she finds that she’s covered the paper in hearts. Oh no. This can’t- she doesn’t- it’s not like that. She takes a deep breath. His voice echoes in her mind.

You can be yourself with me, you know. Just yourself.

She glances at her screensaver: a picture of Adrien she couldn’t bear to take down. She touches her fingertips to his bright smile. Her heart twinges. Hard. She still sees him in class, of course. And that has gotten easier. They’re still friends, after all. Alya isn’t a fan of this new plan, obviously, but she respects it. Marinette has noticed that Alya has subtly been rearranging their hangouts. She appreciates the thought, she really does, but she does miss Adrien. Maybe she should invite him to the concert this weekend.

Her eyes travel to the hiding spot where she’s tucked the Miraculous box. Boys should really be the last thing on her mind. She tears the page out of her sketchbook with a sigh and crumples it, throwing it behind her. She’ll clean this mess up and try again tomorrow.

When she looks around for Tikki, the kwami isn’t anywhere in sight. It’s not normal for her to just disappear unless –

Chat rakes his claws against the glass of her window. The sound makes the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and she grits her teeth as she gets up to let him in.

“Why do you do that? You know I hate it.”

“And that’s why I do it.” He grins rakishly as he steps inside, spinning his baton over his palm before he latches it to his back. She slumps back into her desk chair. He wouldn’t be here unless something were bothering him. She can hold off going to sleep a bit longer.

Chat’s brow furrows when his boots hit the floor and he sees that it’s littered with her failed attempts. He moves to pick one up out of curiosity.

“Chat, don’t. Seriously, it’s not good.”

He smirks as he smooths out the paper, but she’s scribbled out every design she’s tried, so she knows he can’t see what she was working on. He picks up another from the floor, but it’s the same result.

“Design block?” He tilts his head at her and one of his cat ears flops over. She nods, then curls onto her desk chair, setting her chin on her arms. “Maybe I could help? I know a thing or two about this stuff.”

“Maybe? I don’t know,” she says.

“What are you trying to make?”

“Menswear.”

“Have you ever done menswear before?”

She shrugs. She’s not going to mention the mound of gifts she’s made for Adrien that are in the chest behind him, still waiting to be presented. Mostly accessories. “I’ve dabbled.”

“Well, talk me through it.” He crosses his ankle over his knee and leans forward. “What’s the occasion?”

“It’s supposed to be stage wear, but also something that could be casual.”

“Who are you designing for? Like, who’s your guy?”

The tips of her ears heat up when she thinks about the hearts she hadn’t meant to draw. “I don't think I should tell you. You might know him.”

“Oh, so it’s a specific ‘him’, then?” Chat asks, his cat ears perking. “Who is this ‘him'?” She starts to stammer an excuse, but he waves her off. “Just throw me some adjectives.”

“Well…um, he’s…nice.”

Chat’s lips quirk in amusement. “I can’t help with just ‘nice’. Keep going.”

She pauses to think. Chat and Luka have met a few times now. But it's not like Chat knows him well enough to guess who it is off a vague description. It should be safe. “He’s laid-back. Quiet, even though he has a lot to say. Patient. Perceptive. He keeps his nails painted black. He likes Jagged Stone, and he plays the guitar. And he’s sweet. Very sweet.” She hadn’t realized while she was talking that she had started smiling, and her cheeks are starting to burn.

“Luka,” he breathes, “you’re making something for Luka.”

She tries to hide her surprise. He got it on the first try. How well does Chat know Luka, anyways? No, don't think about it, that's dangerously close to identity territory. She clears her throat. “Um, yeah, it’s for Luka. The band is performing this weekend.”

Chat stands from the chaise and paces to the other side of her room. She’s seen him irritated a few times now, and she can tell by the tense curve in his shoulders and the way his tail is flicking around his calves that something she’s said has bothered him. She watches him as he seems to try to get ahold of himself. It only takes him a moment or two before he drops into his feline crouch and sidles back to her.“So, this design, it’s for a concert?” He’s slipped into his professional problem-solving tone, like when they’re brainstorming how to defeat an akuma. She can’t place her finger on why she finds this odd.

She hesitates before she answers. “Yeah, just the band and a few friends. Nothing big. Kitty Section usually draws a crowd along the banks of the river, though. I thought that maybe I could make something different for Luka to wear on stage. Something more him.”

She can’t bring herself to mention that she also wants to thank him for being there for her. She had broken down in his arms when everything had fallen on her shoulders and he held her and told her it would be okay. She hadn’t known how much she needed that until he gave it to her. The least she could do is make him something thoughtful.

Chat has recovered only slightly. He picks up another of her crumpled sketches off the floor and starts to smooth the wrinkles open with the pads of his thumbs, lingering on the corners. Her pulse speeds up when she notices it’s the one she had been working on right before he walked in. At least there’s actually an attempt at a design on there for him to look at. Hopefully he doesn’t tease her too much about the hearts. He runs a hand over the paper, tracing her wispy pencil marks and probably trying to make sense of it.

“It’s a jacket?”

“I was playing with the idea.” She knows her cheeks are turning bright red. “I thought that might be the easiest for him to work into his stage costume. If he wanted to.”

Chat nods, reading her fabric and color annotations. “It’s a good idea. I like this here, the hood you had.”

“I got that off of those hooded character towels.” Her blush is deepening every second he holds that paper. She tries to take it out of his hands. He hasn’t said anything yet about her doodles, but she knows it’s coming.

He catches her wrist, taking the paper back from her, and a grin spreads across his face.

“Chat, give that back.”

“Nope. I’m going to take it home and frame it.” He jumps up out of her reach when she lunges for the paper. “These hearts are for me, right? Or are they for Luuuuka?”

Yup, she knew that had been coming. She tries again to get the sketch away from him, but he’s too fast, keeping it just out of her reach.

“Will you autograph it for me? I want to keep it for when you’re famous.” He clutches it to his chest as if it’s precious to him. She can see the challenge in his eyes. For a moment neither one of them moves as they size each other up.

Then Marinette tackles him, catching him around his midsection and throwing him down to the chaise. He wraps an arm around her as they fall, still trying to protect her even when she’s trying to fight him. Typical. She grabs for the sketch as she rolls away from him, but Chat wriggles it out of her grasp. Quicker than she can follow, he’s up into a crouch position on the chaise, the sketch dangling from his claws. Taunting her.

She lunges for it again, but he jumps back, his feet landing on the floor on the other side of the chaise. With an impish grin, he holds the sketch above his head, to the full extent of his reach. She refuses to jump for it. He knows he’s won. She can see it written across his face, that victory grin and his bright eyes.

“You’re supposed to be helping me!” She picks up the pillow from the chaise and throws it at him. He dodges it easily, laughing.

He clears his throat, his smirk still lingering. “Alright, alright. So, something special for the stage, but casual enough to wear regularly. Laid-back like he is, but that makes him stand out.” He lists the criteria off and glances down at the sketch still in his hands. She’s surprised at how much he had actually been paying attention. “It’s a tall order,” he says.

“He’s a tall order.” Marinette slaps a hand over her mouth as the words leave her. The response had flown out of her before she thought it through. She knows she’s blushing all the way to the roots of her hair. Chat’s eyes can’t possibly be any bigger.

There’s an awkward pause between them. Strange, considering nothing has ever been awkward with Chat before. He blinks at her and clears his throat again, coughing to cover it. His cat ears flatten against his head and his belt tail droops.

“Uh, it’s late. I… I should go.” He lays her crumpled sketch on her desk next to her. “I think you should go with this. It suits him.” He gives her a small smile before he slinks up the ladder to her skylight and pulls himself onto her balcony.

She’s too stunned at his sincerity for a moment to follow him, but when she does, he’s already run off into the night.

#miraculous ladybug #marichat #lukanette #marinette dupain cheng #chat noir #luka couffaine #angst with a happy ending #it's complicated fic

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douchebagbrainwaves · 3 years

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EVERY FOUNDER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT STRATEGY

To an amoral person it might seem to be overkill. The reason tablets are going to get rich, because if there is big potential for gain there must also be a terrifying possibility of loss.1 How could you make a conscious effort to find smart friends. Lisp, so much the better. If VCs are only doing it in the hope of gain, but the people. You don't have to be at full power; the pilot has to be for multiple millions of dollars just for being clever. Even we were affected by the conventional wisdom. And what do they have to go through a series of historical accidents the teaching of writing was inherited by English professors. I saw. A group of 10 people within a large organization is compelled by its structure to be one.

And probably the only people who can manage that are the people they want as employees. Representational art is only now recovering from the approval of both Hitler and Stalin. After developing their new search algorithm, the first thing they tried was to get some other company to buy it. Here parents' desires conflict. If parents told their kids the truth about it.2 Now that the cost of failure to increase the number of sufficiently good founders starting companies, and that the best strategy is simply to state the opposing case, with little or no supporting evidence. One way to put it is to take advantage of one another, you're better off learning it last.3 You have to produce something. But fortunately there are still some countries that are not copyright colonies of the US, and even so I didn't get to macros until page 160. It was not till we were in our twenties that the truth came out: my sister, then about three, had accidentally stepped on the cat and broken its back.

I'm not saying that struggles are never about ideas, just that you're a sufficiently good bet. Yes, he may have extensive business experience. Relief. It won't get you a job, as if the important thing were becoming a member of a certain size has gone through legal contortions to get programmers for the same price? Near the top is the company run by techno-weenies who are obsessed with solving interesting technical problems, but I smelled a major rat. In some fields it might be a better plan than the old one. There's a rule of thumb in the VC business. Small companies are more at home in this world, because they may have useful insights.4 But a programmer deciding between a regular job at a big company, but it looks like most of what you gain from the work experience employers consider so desirable. But if you want to make a billion dollars a year, then on average you must be contributing at least x dollars a year worth of work, like acting or writing books, you can't fly into the wind without losing a lot of time trying to master. Their reputation with programmers more than anything else they've ever done. At some firms it's over 50%.

But I don't expect that to change.5 If you looked in people's heads or stock photo collections for images representing business, you'd get images of people dressed up in suits, groups sitting around conference tables looking serious, Powerpoint presentations, people producing thick reports for one another to read. A lot of VCs would have rejected Microsoft.6 Robert and I both knew Lisp well, and nothing changes slower. Don't believe what you're supposed to now, how can you be sure you wouldn't also have believed everything you were supposed to if you had grown up among the plantation owners of the pre-Civil War South, or in a novel? Afterwards I realized it could be that the Europeans rode on the crest of a powerful macro, and say there! Refutation.

The world is—and you specifically are—one pristine old car the richer. But you can do anything if you really try. Early union leaders were heroic, certainly, but we couldn't figure out how to give them what they want. This essay is derived from a talk given at the 2001 Franz Developer Symposium. I couldn't imagine why there should be more variability in the VC business were established when founders needed investors more. If it were simply a group of a thousand people, the average rower is likely to be business school classes on entrepreneurship, as they do now, and we've seen a bunch of startups die. Who knows exactly how these factors combine to boost startups in Silicon Valley. This turns out to be hard, partly because it's hard to say exactly what. The ideas start to get far along the track toward an offer with one firm, it will help them to see through intellectually dishonest arguments.

But this becomes rapidly less true as you move away from the certainty of the hard sciences.7 But how do you pick the right platforms? When wealth is talked about in this context, it is in other industries. Or how about Perl 4?8 Starting or joining a startup is going to succeed. But if you tell a kid, they can make money buying less than 20% of each series A company to compensate for a 2x decrease in the stock sold in series A rounds are not determined by asking what would be best for the companies. A restaurant can afford to serve the occasional burnt dinner.9

Notes

But on the way to solve are random, the best case. A investor has a spam probabilty of. So if they were only partly joking. Stiglitz, Joseph.

As one very smooth founder who used to build consumer electronics. It's not simply a function of the reasons startups are now the founder of the things they've tried on the blades may work for us.

If you want to start businesses to use an OS that doesn't exist. Greek philosophers before Plato wrote in order to switch the operating system so much worse than close supervision by someone else to lend to, but a lot of the Web was closely tied to the next Apple, maybe the corp dev is to talk about startups. A YC partner can estimate a market price, and as a monitor. That may require asking, because the kind that prevents you from starving.

Some introductions to philosophy now take the hit. As usual the popular vote. Since we're not.

7 reports that in 1995, but its value was as much income. Whereas the value of understanding per se but from what the editors will have to resort to in the room, you need.

Most of the businesses they work. Google search engines and there didn't seem to have lunch at the lack of movement between companies combined with self-perpetuating if they miss just a Judeo-Christian concept; it's roughly correct to say that the http requests are indistinguishable from those of popular Web browsers, including salary, bonus, stock grants, and I don't think you could get all the page-generating templates are still called the option of deferring to a degree, to drive the old one. In fact, for example, to a study by the Corporate Library, the group of picky friends who proofread almost everything I write. Sparse Binary Polynomial Hash Message Filtering and The CRM114 Discriminator.

The founders we fund used to build little Web appliances. There are two very different types of studies, studies of returns from startup investing, but the distribution of alms, and that often creates a rationalization for doing it with superficial decorations. Joshua Schachter tells me it was more because they will come at an ever increasing rate to impress investors. They did try to be a big company, though more polite, was one in its IRC channel: don't allow the same price as the face of a startup to an employer hired men based on revenues of 1.

By all means crack down on these.

If a bunch of actual adults suddenly found themselves trapped in high school, because they can't afford to. So far, I should add that we're not professional negotiators, and wisdom the judgement to know about this from personal experience than anyone, writes: True, Gore won the popular vote.

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tiaragqueen · 5 years

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Yandere Boku no Hero Academia Masterlist

A separate masterlist for all the BNHA fans out there!

Main masterlist is here

Last updated: 09-08-2020

Shouto Todoroki

Eating His Heart Out {R}

Never once in his life had Shouto doubted your love. However, aside from the age gap and powers, there was another difference between you. Interests.

Aegis

All you wished for was a break from your growing paperwork, someone to pamper you and ease the pressure like a lover would. And that was what Shōto thought, too. But his way of showing it was… startling, to say the least.

Tokoyami Fumikage

Cut A Deal

You’ve prayed for something to happen, but what came next was completely outside your expectation. But were you really in the position to protest despite your vague wish?

Forlorn Hope {R}

There was no better nor kinder scenario, but you supposed it was the consequence of suicide. At least, it was better than marrying that damned crow. Because anything was better than being his partner, honestly. But alas, you didn’t get to choose your fate. You never did, anyway.

Yaoyorozu Momo

Pay No Mind

Because she was a hero, and it was her duty to save you from those nasty bastards that wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of your naivety.

Fool’s Paradise {R}

It was kind of ironic, really, given her first name was Momo. But the flowers described your opinion of her better than words could ever do; fascinating personality. But you didn’t know that they had also given her tacit permission to kidnap you.

Adamantine {R}

Frankly, if you were to set aside her guile for a moment, she hadn’t done anything wrong to warrant such treatment from you. Despite the glum she expressed whenever you rejected her feelings, Yaoyorozu respected your boundaries. And you would’ve appreciated the sentiment too, had she didn’t lock you in her house.

Mirio Togata

Keep Safe

Mirio had a lot of fears, and one of them included your death.

In The Dark {R}

Out of all scathing words Mirio had ever heard in his entire life, this was what struck him the most. You – his long-time crush, his everlasting obsession, and his first and only love – didn’t even remember him, let alone his name. Just how focused you were with school until you had overlooked his existence?

A Long Way

But he wouldn’t be Mirio if he wasn’t optimistic. After a good, long cry, he always took a deep breath and prayed that everything would be better. And indeed, everything had gotten better ever since.

Toga Himiko

Accidentally On Purpose

Charming and attractive weren’t the words that you would use to describe yourself. You were as plain as your average self could be. But not for her.To her, you were the prettiest girl she had ever laid her eyes on. Sure, you’d made some mistakes here and there. But weren’t all humans have their faults?

Eyes on You

If there was one thing that you learned about Toga, was that she could be rather shameless sometimes. And today wasn’t an exception. She was staring at you. Again.But this time, she didn’t bother to look away.

Tamaki Amajiki

Under Thumb

Tamaki knew it was wrong. Dating you wouldn’t bring him any benefit than making him the next, perfect target for... whatever reasons you had. But against his better judgment, he did that anyway.

Kimi no Egao

But then, he realized that the reason why he grabbed the flowers was that he wanted to comfort you. He wanted to make you smile again. And yet, Tamaki wouldn’t lie that his intention was one hundred percent pure. Like most folks, there was a trace of selfishness hidden in there.

One Step Closer

Tamaki knew that it wasn’t good to delude himself into thinking that you were truly glad to meet him. But that was okay. At least, he was finally one step closer to you now, regardless of how far the destination seemed.

Aizawa Shouta

Yandere! Aizawa Headcanons {R}

Headcanons about how Aizawa reacts as a yandere.

Dashed Hopes

It was yearning for something. But what could it possibly want from her? Its small and lean body didn’t display any sign of abuse that would provoke suspicion. And yet, it stared into her eyes like it was begging her. Like she was its only hope or something.

Quagmire {R}

He wasn’t a villain. He was a hero. Someone who protected people, although his method of protection to you was stifling at best. But he only had the best interest in mind, right? You were still at his mercy, right?

Kouji Kouda

Give A Rest

His love story might not be as beautiful as those fairy tales nor it would end in similar happily ever after, and he might not be able to love his future wife the same way as he did to you, but Koda knew better than to take for granted your occasional presence. It wasn’t much, but at least he could color your otherwise dull life however little and transient the happiness he gave.

Nejire Hadou

Spitting Image

Tainted Fealty was your very first fiction. Ironically, this illogical story was what led you to meet your online friend and soon-to-be captor, Nejire Hadō. You totally could’ve prevented this from happening had you realized that your very first fan was, in fact, her. But how would you know that ‘Neji’ was the pro Hero whom you had long admired?

Hawks

Heart Of Stone {R}

Despite his reputation as the second Hero, you always thought Hawks was a bit shady. You knew he was kind and took his job seriously from time to time. However, there was something about him that induced you to keep your guard up. Now, you understood the reason why you felt wary of him.

Abscond {R}

Headcanons about Yandere! Garou and Yandere! Hawks react to their darling escaping.

Shinsou Hitoshi

Set Up

It wasn’t – and would never be – a good idea to solve the problem. But how could you care about him after he had practically used your cat against you? However, you would soon learn how much of a bad idea it was to resort to violence.

Repudiate {R}

Shinsō had always known that you didn’t really mean those things. A clear sign that you weren’t into him as much as he did to you. But he chose to turn a blind eye, instead. Because it was better to pretend than confronting reality, honestly.

Entrench {R}

He didn’t want to do this, but the root of the problem had always been your cat, anyway. Not his pettiness, not his egoism, and definitely not his insecurity, but it was him. Your beloved pet.

Atrabilious {R}

If the Gods were benign enough to grant your humble wish, if fate pity you enough to relieve some of your agonies, you could at least face his offspring and smile for the first time in years. But beggars can’t be choosers, can they? Especially when they were products of your so-called ‘love’.

Imperious {R}

He was the face of the school now, so there was nothing for you to be worried about. Then again, the world hadn’t been kind to you ever since your abrupt separation with Shinsō. It was as though you were doomed to be the bad end of the stick while he got the pleasant one.

Rejected {R}

Headcanons about how Yandere! Shinsou to a darling who keeps rejecting because she thinks it’s a joke.

What I Want To Hear

Funny how the police didn’t even think about suspecting him or even got suspicious with his sudden absence. Then again, it was proof of how sly he could be when he wasn’t trying to attract attention. And it was funny, in a somewhat ironic way, that he was doing this just to grab your attention.

Recrudescence

All Shinsou wanted to do tonight was to greet you, his dearest ex. However, the sudden existence of your boyfriend, showing the affectionate display that he used to do, reignited the feelings he’d tried to hide for so long. Luckily, a harmless revelation opened a door of opportunities for him.

Dabi

Take Over

Dabi never liked it when a human lived in his house. And now, these new inhabitants – these trespassers – had the guts to invite an exorcist. And yet, after seeing the exorcist, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. More like, he didn’t want to.

Kaminari Denki

Evince {R}

You always wondered how and why did he know you. It wasn’t as if you were a hero or police officer, really. So there was no reason for him to fall for you, right? But he chose you instead, for some unknown reason.

Midoriya Izuku

Cross His Heart {R}

As always, he just had to ruin the good things that happened to you for the sake of appeasing some petty emotion called ‘jealousy’. Of course, this wouldn’t happen if he wasn’t so paranoid. However, it was easier said than done.

Manna

How long has it been since he occupied this library? Izuku didn’t know, nor did he care much. All he cared about was the fact that he was able to simultaneously sit near you while pretending to study. Pretending, because why would he spend hours learning materials that he’d memorized when you literally sat right in front of him?

Chisaki Kai

Nostrum {R}

Kai never permitted you to binge eating, anyway, or doing things that he deemed as ‘detrimental’ to your health. And you understood his concern, you really did. Because you were his girlfriend, thus, you deserved his consideration. But you didn’t want it.

Rikidou Satou

Antinomy

Rikidō was a sweet guy, as sweet as his creations. On one hand, they satisfied your cravings, especially during certain months. And yet, on the other hand, you didn’t want him to think you’d given up and accepted his affection. But it was hard to resist him when he was just so… endearing. And you hated it.

Kirishima Eijirou

Samaritan

Kirishima had been thinking about revealing his existence, but never once did he realize it. However, Kirishima knew that he needed to do it sooner or later. And he finally found the right opportunity to do it on one fateful night.

Au Revoir

Kirishima didn’t think he could love someone as much as he did to you. Was this what ‘moving on’ felt like? Though, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was just making excuses for his feelings. That he wasn’t actually moving on, more like, rebounding.

Bakugou Katsuki

Inexorable

It’d be great if you were a bit more open-minded, though. Relationships were unlikely to happen if both parties refused to compromise, and your rebellion made it harder for him to show you the true extent of his love.

Good Boyfriend

Everything he’d done and told to you was based on your best interest. At least, that was what you hoped. However, the reality was far more complicated and sinister. And unwittingly, you’d fallen to his so-called kindness.

Taishirou Toyomitsu

Palladium {R}

Toyomitsu had invited you to eat at his house. Sensing your hesitation, he reassured you that ‘no harm was done’. Just because you rejected him, didn’t mean you couldn’t be his friend, right?

Iida Tenya

I Swear on My Life

You were right; anyone would be angry if they saw someone hurting others. Which was why he needed to protect you, so nobody would be able to harm you anymore. Because as long he was still alive, he’d protect every inch of your being. After all, he’d sworn on his life.

#masterlist #yandere masterlist #bnha masterlist #mha masterlist

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kusunogatari · 4 years

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[ Naruto OC x Canon Ship Week 2020 - Face to Face ] [ @naruto-ocxcanon-ship-week || @abyssaldespair ] [ Suigin Ryū, Uchiha Obito ] [ Alcohol ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ Trope: Online Dating ]

Nibbling her lip, Ryū stares at the slight reflection in her mobile screen. Thumbs flicker over the keys, not quite touching in indecision.

This is the closest she’s gotten.

The concept, admittedly, is just...not one she ever saw herself using. Online dating seems so, so...weird! Lining up your face, your name, a handful of facts, and calling it good. Is that really all it takes anymore? Sure, she...doesn’t exactly have mountains of experience beyond that. Maybe she’s just old-fashioned. But putting up something akin to a mugshot to try and find love seems very...strange.

“Whatcha doin’?”

Eeping in surprise, she claws the phone to her chest, face going pink and heart pounding. “N-nothing!”

Behind her, a coworker she knows mostly only in passing perks a brow. “Whoa, sorry! You looked kinda, uh...distressed.”

Ryū heaves a small breath. “...sorry, I didn’t mean to jump so bad. I just, uh...I’m trying one of those silly dating websites, and…”

The other woman quickly perks up. “Oh! Yeah they’re kinda scary at first but I met my boyfriend on one! I bet you’ll do just fine. Just be smart about it, and it usually all works out fine.”

“Smart…?”

“Y’know...meet in public places, tell someone where you’re going. About the same as a normal date for those like us, huh?”

At that, Ryū can’t help but deflate. “...yeah, good point.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. People gotta have their pictures on there. I take a pic of any license plates and send them to someone I trust just in case.”

Brow wilting, Ryū admits, “You’re...not exactly giving me votes of confidence here.”

“Hey, gotta be prepared for the worst, but the worst hardly ever happens. Besides, a bit of chatting online usually gives a pretty good indication of if something will even work. And you can always ask friends to go on doubles, too.”

At that, Ryū doesn’t answer. She...doesn’t really have many friends to ask, let alone any with dates she’d feel like asking along. “Yeah, good point. I’ll, uh...I’ll see how it goes.”

“Cool! Good luck!” Giving a wave as she passes by, her coworker heads around a corner and out of sight.

“...what am I doing…” Ryū mumbles to herself, looking back to her nearly-completed account. “I know this isn’t gonna work…” And now the less appealing sides are at the forefront of her mind. Maybe she should just keep her nose to the grindstone and pretend she never brought this up.

...but then again…

As much as she hates to admit it, she’s lonely. Being a pharmacist might be similar to her wish to be a doctor, but it’s not quite what she wanted. It just feels like something is...missing. And while Ryū isn’t the sort to assume all her problems can be solved by a guy (or gal), she’s still pretty able to realize that her social life isn’t the best. No real close friends, passing grades with her coworkers...not even any pets. Up until now, she’s lived life in a series of grinds. School, then work, and now...it feels lacking.

Hence the idea to try the app.

“...no harm in looking,” she eventually mumbles to herself, slowly going through the rest of her profile and hitting the confirm button. “You don’t have to go on with it, but...just look. See how it works. Maybe just...chat with someone. One step at a time, okay?”

Of course, by then her break is nearly over, so she mutes her phone and heads back to work. She...only ate half her lunch, but she’s not really all that hungry anyway. Only once her shift is over does she head back to her little apartment and...give this thing a real try.

At first, it throws nothing but male profiles at her. Which is all well and good, but...it’s not all she’s interested in. Looking over a few names and faces, she eventually bucks up the courage to pick one. He’s a few years older, lives a town over, and works as a physical therapist. Not bad, right?

...ugh, wrong.

As soon as they start chatting, she knows this...isn’t going to work. He’s all Mister Nice Guy, subtly bragging about himself and leaving only certain questions open for her in turn: the only things he wants to hear about, and...things she can easily see through as shallow. Eventually she manages to get him to shut up and quickly deletes him.

Okay...not a great first impression, but it’s not gonna be perfect the first time she tries. This isn’t a fairytale, after all. So, she tries another. And another.

After over two weeks of duds that don’t even get past initial chats, she’s about ready to give up.

Laying on her bed spread-eagle with a sigh, she stares up at the ceiling. What started as a vague inking is turning into nothing but a source of frustration. Not exactly what she signed up for. Weighing her options, Ryū eventually stirs when her phone gives an all-too-familiar notification sound.

Another match...wonderful.

Sitting up with a grunt, she opens the message and looks over yet another profile. At first glance, it’s just another guy. Ugh. The amount of lady-seeking ladies has been depressingly low, but...apparently those are usually on their own kind of sites. So, for now, she entertains herself with this one.

Obito Uchiha...huh. Vaguely sounds like her own Japanese roots. There’s a small spark of curiosity, adjusting her stance slightly. Short dark hair, dark eyes, and...well, his pics aren’t the clearest (he clearly knows his good side (or what he’s assuming is his good side since...it’s all she sees)). But she spies a cat. That’s a win. She likes cats. A glance at his actual profile shows a like of sweets, cats (aha!), and a dislike of...aubergines? Googling that, there’s a hum of understanding. It’s eggplant! She...didn’t know that...whoops. The rest of the summary (stuff about ‘being extreme’ and ‘having abs’) gets her to giggle.

Well...might as well give it a try.

Giving the okay, she opens up the chat window, nibbling her lip in thought. What should she say…?

Hello!

A bit surprised, Ryū jolts slightly, not expecting the quick response! ...hi!

I didn’t think you’d accept it so fast!

And I didn’t think you’d say hello so quickly either!

Oh, sorry...was that too fast?

The apology begets a subconscious smile. No, not at all! My phone is usually pretty quiet is all. Sorry if I’m awkward, I’m...still kinda new at this.

Ha, me too. I haven’t had too many matches yet, so I’m still practicing.

Guess we can practice together! Though I have to ask you…

...eh?

What’s your kitty’s name?

Oh! Her name is Tenebris.

Aww, I love that name!

She’s my lady, haha! Helps me reel in the girls ;D

Ryū can’t help a snort. Well it seems to be working. I don’t have any pets, sadly…

What? None at all?

No...I work a lot so I haven’t gotten around to it. And I don’t want them to be lonely!

Bah, cats are good at being alone. Feed them and clean their box and you’re fine.

I’ll have to think about it, haha~

After a few minutes, Ryū realizes...this is the longest she’s talked to someone on here yet. Sure, it was a little stiff to start, but by some grace they just sort of...fell into conversation. No posturing or anything. It’s rather...refreshing! Encouraged, she keeps texting as she starts working on her dinner.

So what kind of work do you do?

I’m a pharmacist! Not quite the doctor I planned on, but it works.

Ohhh, wow!

What about you?

There’s quiet for a few minutes, and Ryū can’t help but wonder if that was a bad question. But then Obito replies, Sorry, my cat got stuck behind the couch...I uh...am currently working on a garbage truck part time…

She blinks. That’s...very random. Nothing wrong with that. It’s an important job, after all!

Eh, yeah...not very charming though, is it?

Oh, pffft. I stand behind a counter all day and give people medicine over and over. It’s not exactly exciting most days. We all make our ends meet somehow.

I guess that’s true.

Smiling at her phone, Ryū keeps cooking and chatting, giving play-by-plays as he asks what she’s making.

Do you like cooking?

Mhm! Food’s one of those things that’s both a necessity, and yet can be fancy when you want it to be, so...I thought it would be good to learn. And it’s a lot of fun!

I’m...okay at it.

Maybe I can give you some lessons down the road, hm?

You would?

Sure! It’d be something fun to do.

Like a first date?

At that, Ryū pauses. Right...dating. That’s what this is all for. She almost forgot… Sure! If that’s something you’d like to do. I guess dinner and a movie is pretty common for that. We’ll just make our own!

I’d really like that!

Cheeks warming, Ryū beams at the screen. I guess...it’s a date! Eventually. Whenever we can make something work, and maybe talk a little more…?

Sure! I take a lot of random side jobs so I can be a little flaky…

That’s okay - we’ll just keep chatting until then. You’re actually the first person that’s been fun to talk to…

He sends a big smile emoji. Success!

You’ll have to think about what we should make! I have to warn you, I like making dessert, too…

Oh no...my biggest weakness…

And no eggplant, right?

Eugh, no.

Haha, noted!

The conversation runs well into the evening until Ryū admits she’d best get to bed. Guess I’ll talk to you some more later, okay?

Mhm!

Say hi to Tenebris for me!

Haha, I will! Goodnight Ryū.

Night, Obito.

Checking her other messages, Ryū plugs in her mobile to charge before mulling over the evening. As she does, a smile slowly pulls at her lips.

Well, she can’t make any assumptions yet, but...this is a good start.

Chatting with Obito quickly becomes a routine. Though not much of a texter before, she checks in and quips with him throughout the day. He tells her about his latest jobs, and she notes anything out of the ordinary at work. Days blend into a week, and then two.

“So…”

“Hm?”

Leaning against the counter, Ryū’s coworker smirks. “Seems to me you hooked one, huh?”

Her cheeks flush pink. “Um...maybe…”

“You haven’t put your phone down for more than fives minutes all day!”

The pink gets darker as the other woman laughs.

“I’m glad! So, you gonna see him?”

“Yeah, eventually...I think we’re both a little nervous.”

“That’s adorable. You’ll have to let me know how it goes! Been nice seeing you look so bright lately.”

Ryū blinks. “...really?”

“Yeah. No offense, but...ever since I’ve worked here, you’ve been so quiet and to yourself. But lately you’ve just seemed more upbeat and...I dunno, out there.”

The observation admittedly takes her a bit off-guard. “...oh…”

“It’s just nice to see you look happy, that’s all. I know a job like this one’s kinda drudgy. Glad you’ve got something to keep your chin up.” With a smile, the other pharmacist straightens and heads back to work.

Still a bit struck, Ryū mulls all that over. True, she’s always been one to keep her nose to the grindstone. Maybe having a bit of a social outlet just...got her going to opening up some more.

...huh.

So...any openings in your schedule coming up?

Uh...I haven’t really checked lately. One sec!

Waiting for Obito’s reply, Ryū nibbles her thumbnail. She’s going to do it. She’s going to ask him over. By now she’s gotten to know him pretty well. She’s always been able to trust her gut, and...she believes she can trust him.

Though just in case, she’ll be letting her neighbor know when he comes to visit.

Just to be safe.

So I think I actually have Sunday clear. Does that work with you?

Yeah! I’m always on a Monday through Friday schedule, so weekends are almost always good with me!

Okay...cool!

Any idea what you wanna make?

Make?

Yeah! Remember, we talked about cooking…?

Ohhh, yeah! Uh...honestly I don’t have any preference.

You sure?

Yeah, just no aubergines.

I remember, haha.

Should I bring anything?

Nah, I’ll handle it. Though I guess if you have a movie you’d like to watch?

Ooh, okay! Uh...any you don’t like?

Maybe nothing too gory…?

Aw, that’s no fun!

I saw enough in medical school, believe me...it’s not fun.

Okay, okay. I’ll pick something.

And with a few other details hashed out...they have a date scheduled.

Ryū’s stomach can’t stop fluttering: both in excitement, and in nerves. She hasn’t really dated since college...what if she does something stupid? Offends him somehow? Or something just goes...wrong?

Okay, no, stop it. It’s gonna be fine. You’ve talked a lot, so...no need to be nervous. Just do it!

By the time Sunday rolls around, she’s as ready as she’ll ever be.

Fiddling with her hair in the bathroom mirror (can she EVER get it to do what she wants?), she jumps as someone knocks on the door. Trying to manage her nerves, she peers through the little peephole, spying what indeed looks to be Obito.

Taking a moment to steady her breath, she pulls open the door and looks up just as he looks over.

...oh.

She always thought his photo gallery on his profile was a bit...empty. At first she hadn’t really noticed that all of Obito’s photos had been taken showing one side of his face.

So only now, with him looking straight at her, does she see what he’s been hiding.

The apprehension in his face clearly shows he’s awaiting her reaction, and at first she can only blink. Eyes naturally slide to the right side where a plethora of scars mar the skin from his brow to his chin. One even reaches up into his lip.

But though it’s a surprise by novelty, it otherwise does nothing to hinder the blush in her face.

...gosh he’s handsome.

Her gaze lingers on the scars for only a moment before lifting back to his eyes, cheeks rosy and giving a demure smile. “...hi.”

“...hey.”

There’s a few beats of awkward silence, the pair of them stuck staring at each other. “...s-sorry! Um...come on in!” Ryū steps aside, going hotter in the face. A nice button-up shirt and clean jeans make him look quite snazzy. Seems her blouse and skirt wasn’t too much or too little. They hadn’t really breached any ideas about how formal to be…

Stepping in, Obito glances around before clearing his throat. From behind his back he draws a little bouquet of flowers. “Er...for you.”

Ryū’s greys alight with delight. “Oh!” It’s cliché as all hell, but she loves them. Delicately accepting the blooms, she gives them a sniff before beaming at him. “Thank you! I, er...I don’t have anything for you…”

“That’s okay! I mean, food’s good with me, heh.”

Giving a giggle, Ryū retreats to the kitchen to put them in some water, setting the vase on her little table. “There…!”

“You...have a really nice apartment!”

“Thank you...I’m always either working or tired, so I don’t manage to mess it up much,” she laughs. “I tried to make it kinda...cute. I’m not exactly an interior designer.”

“No, it’s nice. It suits you.”

That makes her go pink all over again. “...s-so! Um...are you hungry…?”

Obito gives a grin. “Always!”

“Okay! Um...I thought we’d do something a bit...basic? Just in case? Do you like spaghetti…?”

“Yeah!”

“...okay! Cool. Um…” Awkwardness creeping back up, she claps her hands and giggles nervously. “Then, I...guess we’ll give it a try!”

The pair move back into the kitchen, where Ryū already has everything sorted out and ready to go. “Wow...looks professional.”

“Oh gosh, it’s just…” She gestures vaguely. “...I wanted to be ready so we wouldn’t waste any time…” Turning on the heat under the water, she thinks to ask, “...no food allergies, right?”

“No. At least...none I’ve found…? And I’ve had spaghetti before, it should be fine, hm?”

“Okay!”

A bit stuttery at first, she starts guiding him through her process, letting him take most of the reins and acting more as a guide. Obito listens attentively, looking exceedingly focused.

...it’s adorable.

“Okay, so with the grease drained off, we can add our sauce...and once it’s all combined, that’ll be that!” She, in the meantime, worked on a salad mix. “And the garlic bread should be about done, too!”

“You make this all seem so easy.”

She flushes pink. “It...just takes practice! And you did really well!”

“I had a good teacher.”

Once it’s all finished, the pair of them ferry things to the table. “Okay...you try it first.”

“Me?”

“Mhm! You made it, right?”

Glancing to his plate, Obito twirls some noodles onto his fork, lightly pink at Ryū’s watching as he takes the bite and chews. “...it’s good!”

Beaming again, she follows suit. And it’s perfect! Mouth still full, she gives a thumbs-up, making him laugh. Between spaghetti, salad, garlic bread, and a little wine, they get through dinner with hearty conversation and increasing laughter.

“I dunno why I was so nervous,” she admits once they’re done, a cheek leaning against a fist as she twirls the last few sips of her wine. “I mean...we’ve been talking so much already. Guess I just felt kinda...out of practice. Y’know?”

“Yeah, me too. Though I try to bravado my way through things.”

“Well, we got through it. Should we play the movie…?”

“Sure!” He holds up a thumbdrive, grinning. “From my collection.”

“Oho!”

With a refill of wine, they move into the little living room of the apartment, Obito hooking up the TV and starting the film.

“What is it?”

“You’ll see!”

“Not gory, right?”

“Nooo. But...maybe a little scary.”

“Scary is okay. I like spooks. Just not lotsa blood and flesh and…” Her nose wrinkles. “...y’know.”

“Ha, yeah.”

They settle on the one couch she has, and at first sit...a little ways apart. They’d had opposite sides of the table before, and...well, this is new. But like a couple of dumb teenagers, they slowly meander their way closer, testing the other’s boundaries as they go until Ryū finds herself snuggled up against Obito’s side, head on his shoulder.

Obito, just out of her line of sight, is clearly ecstatic.

The movie starts out tame, but true to his word, it quickly takes on a rather creepy tone. Transfixed, Ryū stares at the screen, slowly worming her way further and further into the dip of Obito’s side.

...if she weren’t so focused on the movie, she’d realize that was likely his plan.

Obito, on the other hand, has technically already seen this one, and instead mostly watches for her reactions. The closer they get to a big scare, the more often he looks, biting back a grin until it finally happens -!

Shrieking in terror, Ryū scrambles for someplace to hide, and...ends up burrowing into his chest with a string of garbled, frightened nonsense as Obito does his best not to laugh.

“You okay?”

“I -! That -!” Her head shakes with a whimper, still hiding. “Nope. Nope nope nope.”

“Want me to stop it?”

“...nooo…” One grey peeks out, finding the screen a bit more bearable now. “...that was fricken’ terrifying! Ohhh my gosh!”

He just snickers, ignoring her continuing whines of discomfort. “It’s almost over, don’t worry.”

To his delight, she remains half-perched on his lap for the rest of the film. Once the credits start to creep up the screen, she loses her tension and goes limp. “...I almost had a heart attack…”

“Aw…”

“I mean it was good! But cripes, I wasn’t ready...eugh…”

Obito rubs a hand along her back, still clearly amused. “Gonna be able to sleep tonight?”

“...I better, I have work in the morning…”

He apologizes, watching as she tears herself from the couch and disappears into the kitchen. “...Ryū?”

No answer.

Brow furrowing, he makes to follow just in time to see her pull a pan out of the refrigerator. “What’s that?”

“Peach cobbler,” she sniffs, setting it on the counter and then fetching vanilla ice cream. “This is my reward for surviving your movie.”

“You’re gonna eat the whole pan?”

She shoots him a pout. “...maybe.”

He mirrors the look. “...I want some…”

“You have to promise never to scare me like that again.”

“Okay, okay. But wasn’t it at least a little fun…?”

Scooping the food into bowls, she thinks back over how nice and warm it was in his arms...and she could smell his cologne… “...maybe a little.”

They stay standing in the kitchen, leaned against the counter as they eat their dessert. Though not as lively as before, they chat in the quiet.

“So...on a scale of one to ten, how was our date?”

Ryū sucks on her spoon with a thoughtful hum. “...a nine.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Why not a ten?”

“Because you scared the bejesus out of me!” After a moment to pout, she asks, “...you?”

“A ten.”

“...really?”

“Good food, good movie...good company. What’s not to love?”

She...isn’t sure how to respond to that, so she takes another bite to excuse her silence.

“We’ll have to try cooking something else next time. Something spicy!”

“Not too spicy, it’ll make me sick!”

“Whaaat?”

“I have a delicate stomach...nothing too greasy, either.”

“That’s all the good food!” he laughs.

“It’s not my fault!”

“Fine, fine...we’ll figure something out. I’ll have to find some of my grandmother’s recipes. From Quebec.”

That earns a blink. She thought she heard traces of an accent in his voice, but didn’t want to assume. “...sure! I’d really like that.”

But eventually, the bowls and the wine glasses are empty. The movie is over. The hour is growing late.

It’s time to call it a night.

...but it’s clear neither of them really want to.

Obito offers to help tidy up, and that helps take a little more time. But once that’s done, there’s really no more excuses.

“...well…” Ryū fidgets a bit. “Guess I’ll...say goodnight?”

“Yeah, I better go. Don’t want to keep you up to late. And I’ve got my route in the morning.”

“Mm…”

She walks him to the front door, the pair of them lingering in the opening for a long moment. “...be safe on your way home. Text me to let me know you made it okay, all right?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“And to say goodnight.”

“...again.”

“...yeah, again.”

Another pause.

Indecision seeming to make her bones vibrate, Ryū eventually makes up her mind. Stepping up a bit closer, she lays a hand against Obito’s chest and - with a bit of posturing up on her toes - she gives him a feather-light press of her lips to his.

Flashing pink, he nonetheless reciprocates, both of them easing slowly back apart.

“...goodnight, Obito.”

“...night, Ryū. I’ll...talk to you later.”

Nodding with a shy smile, she watches him head down the hall before forcing herself to shut the door. For a moment, she stands and holds the knob...then turns and leans against it with a sigh.

...it seems so quiet in here now…

Eyes lift to her little dining room table, where the flowers he brought her are still sitting in their vase. The sight brings her a small smile. As much as she’s sad to see him go...well, that just means she’ll get to look forward to seeing him again next time.

Next time...what a lovely concept.

Heaving a more contented breath, she makes her way back into the apartment. Time to get ready for bed, and wait to hear he got home okay. Then she’ll sleep, and start all over again.

...but at least now there’s something to look forward to.

All righty, another day, this one with Ryū’s ship with @abyssaldespair‘s Obito, set in a modern verse! I had...several ideas for these two, and picking one was difficult and ended up costing me time BUT, it’s done xD Hopefully I can get MORE done :’D But yes! This was actually an idea Meg submitted to me, with the premise based largely on Obito hiding his appearance on his profile until the big reveal! Ryū, of course, doesn’t mind his scars no matter the verse. She still thinks he’s one cute cookie x3 Anywho, I guess that’s...really all there is to say for this one! Hope ya like it Meg, and I better get to work on more drabbles xD

#narutoocxcanonshipweek #noxcsw #abyssaldespair #suigin ryū #uchiha obito #best years of your life [ au ]#online dating

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efrmellifer · 5 years

Text

Two Elezen One Catgirl

When Aymeric arrived home, Etien met him at the door, and he caught her by the elbows. “I hope you don’t mind, but I may have invited Estinien to join us tonight.”

“I-oh. All right. Did he actually accept the invitation, or are we going to be waiting with the window open all night so he can come in if he decides to?”

Aymeric snorted. “He really is like the most aloof cat. No, he said he would be here, though not in quite the same ‘with bells on’ tone you or I might.”

Etien hummed her understanding. “Well, I suppose it’s good I hadn’t actually made much headway on dinner yet.”

“You don’t have to cook,” he told her.

“No, no, it’s fine!” She replied, waving the comment away. “After all, it’s for Estinien. And you. People I care about.”

Aymeric watched her walk to the kitchen, hips swaying as she started humming a little tune. Fury, he hoped Estinien knew how lucky they both were.

After giving her enough time to get things organized and get started, Aymeric joined Etien in the kitchen, so he could help her any way he could—even if it meant simply holding open a cookbook.

Did she own any cookbooks? He didn’t think he’d ever seen her using one.

She had her hair loosely tied back, apron on (just like he’d imagined the day she’d brought him a lunch), and she was still humming.

“Eti--”

She shrieked, hands flying back from the bowl as she jumped. “Aymeric. Gods. Hello.”

“Apologies, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“That’s all right. Yes?”

He shrugged. “I thought I could help?”

Now Etien smiled. “Thank you. Wash your hands?”

He did as she told, then turned to her, smiling and ready to comply.

“Can you peel and cut those popotoes for me?”

Aymeric nodded, feeling a little like an especially helpful child, as Etien turned back to the pot on the stove. “What are we having, Etien?”

“Ah… a stew. I hope that will suffice? I’m making a lot of it!”

“It should. Is it Gridanian?”

“No, it’s—I learned how to make it from Raubahn’s daughter.”

Aymeric nodded. “Desert food, then.”

Etien laughed, stirring the pot as whatever was inside it sizzled away. “I couldn’t say for sure. It’s good, though. I’m just hoping Estinien will like it.”

“He won’t admit to his refined tastes, but he’s also like to eat anything that doesn’t look like it’s actively rotting.”

Etien made a face. “Well, this is all fresh. I wouldn’t feed you—either of you—spoiled food. I do the spoiling around here.”

Aymeric’s eyebrows lifted as he went back to the popotoes.

Once they had been added to the pot, she covered it and sighed. “I only wish I had known he was joining is sooner. I would have planned something more extravagant. And started making desserts already.”

“Let me handle it. Sit down, dearest.”

She laughed. “Sit down? Aymeric.”

He took and patted her hand. “Then don’t sit. But relax. You’ve already done plenty.”

She leaned against the sink. “Do you want me to dress better before Estinien gets here?”

He shook his head as he began gathering the ingredients he would need. “This is no sort of formal occasion. Just friends breaking bread. As I said, I missed you both, I would enjoy twice the company.”

Etien’s lips lifted in a smile, and she came off the sink, taking advantage of his bent position to kiss the corner of Aymeric’s mouth. “You are the sweetest man in all of Eorzea.”

He gave her a kiss in return, and then got to work on the desserts, chuckling at all of Etien’s comments (and delighted gasps when he rolled up his sleeves because they had fallen).

They moved around each other as they needed the different parts of the kitchen, Etien stirring the stew as it bubbled away, and Aymeric sliding things into the oven.

The efficiency was almost thrilling, to see what a great team they made anywhere they went. It almost made Etien believe in celestial matchmaking.

When the food was ready, she took her hair out of the ponytail, fluffing it so it returned to its usual cascade, breaking over her shoulders.

Aymeric swept the front of it back so he could see her eyes, but before he could plant a kiss anywhere on her, there came the opening of the door. Damn.

So they bustled to meet Estinien, calling their greetings and stifling a little bit of laughter at how much more well-groomed he looked than them, hair loosely tied back and apparel of a finer quality than Etien’s house dress or Aymeric’s casual clothing.

“I… think I had better change,” Etien said, bolting for the bedroom and her armoire.

A little slower, with a slight bow (as if it were necessary) and a “please excuse me,” Aymeric followed her.

They came back dressed in a manner much closer to Estinien, with Etien in a dress the color of rolanberries and Aymeric in his usual nicer attire—though it was nice to see; Estinien hadn’t in a while.

“There, better,” Etien sighed, smoothing her hands over her skirt. “Ready to eat?”

Estinien nodded, following the pair of them, and sitting down when encouraged to.

There was really no good way to seat the three of them at the table; no matter who sat with whom, it would look horribly imbalanced. But as there was nothing for it, Etien slid her chair next to Estinien and sat down.

When Aymeric cocked his head, she smiled. “You can see both of us at once.”

Estinien couldn’t help but smile a little. Things like this always made him feel like he was closer to understanding her, seeing the way she solved little problems and the like.

In any case, she served the food, and they all began to eat, spirited chatter eventually starting to flow.

They finished the pot, and then the decadent little desserts Aymeric had made, and she sighed. “Thank goodness, I was worried I had made too much.”

The two men shook their heads, Estinien adding, “Not when it’s good—what was that?”

“A recipe I picked up from Raubahn’s daughter,” Etien said with a shrug. “I never asked her what it was called.” A light sigh. She would have to be the one to write it down and make it then, for as long as she could. She knew this, apparently, saying, “I can write down the recipe as I recall it, but it may not turn out the same.”

Estinien sat back in his chair, sighing again. “Then it may not be any use.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Now he laughed. “For what? For making something so good I find it upsetting I may never experience it again?”

“Well… yes.”

“What an odd creature you are.”

She blushed a little, the color deepening when Aymeric looked over at her and gave her a soft smile.

“Not odd so much as rare,” he corrected, reaching for Etien’s hand. She took his, and they stayed leaned over the table for a moment.

“Oh, that, we knew,” Estinien affirmed. “So what now? Do you two engage in some hearty trivia or something of the sort?”

Etien laughed, but with a rather undignified sound. “Would it be better or worse if I told you we just talk and sometimes I knit?”

Estinien sighed. “Neither. Let’s go, then, I suppose.”

And that was how the trio ended up on the loveseat. Etien’s feet were up on the seat instead of in Aymeric’s lap, because tonight, Estinien took that place.

He still looked sullen as anything, even as Aymeric’s fingers glid through his hair with a murmur of “It’s good to have you back.”

Estinien lifted his eyes towards Etien. “Don’t you want to say that to her?”

“Oh, I said it to her this morning.” He laughed. “Why do you think I can only mean it for one of you at a time?”

“I don’t,” Estinien replied, eyes cast more towards the rug than Aymeric or Etien. He could trust them, had trusted them, but he still didn’t know how to say this. “I...”

“You figured things changed when she came along?” Aymeric coaxed.

“They did.”

“Not as much as you think.”

Etien’s hand came to replace Aymeric’s, carding through the white locks. “Or maybe more. But in different ways.”

Now he tipped his head back to look at Etien fully, at the arc of her mouth and the… all the things he had noticed in the Churning Mists, had forgotten about. Her bright eyes, the near-flames of her hair, the curves of her cheeks. “Etien?”

“Yes, Estinien?” Her tone was almost maternal, and yet at the same time, absolutely the opposite.

He broke eye contact.

Aymeric’s hand settled on Estinien’s chest. “Your heart is pounding. Surely, we can’t be as frightening as a dragon, Estinien?”

“Not separately.”

Etien laughed lightly, her thumb stroking his cheek now. “Are we scaring you? I think we’d better stop, Aymeric.”

Estinien sighed. “Why would you trap me like this?”

Both of them lifted their hands off him, Etien’s breaths suddenly closer to gasping. “We had no intention—if you want to--” She looked over at Aymeric, who gestured for her to remain calm.

“Estinien, our dear friend. I invited you here that you might enjoy an evening with us, and see that I really had been wanting your company since you left. Etien is just being affectionate.”

“I can stop, if you’d like,” she added.

Estinien looked up at her now, at her hands still curled where they were lifted near her shoulders. He grabbed her left wrist, bringing her hand back to his hair. “Please don’t.”

“Now. What weighs so heavy on you, that you feel trapped under the attentions of people who love you?” Aymeric asked.

“That.”

“I see,” Aymeric said, voice near a whisper. “This may take longer than I thought.”

Etien kept stroking Estinien’s hair, her other hand in Aymeric’s, twirling a dark strand around her finger. “We have lots of time. Not tonight, but in general. If he’ll allow us.”

“Speaking of tonight. We were going to invite you to bed with us—not in that sense,” Aymeric sighed and Etien bit her lip. “But it would appear you’re deeply uncomfortable, so… we can end the evening here, and hopefully there are no hard feelings?”

Estinien sat up. “No, there aren’t, but I will be going, I think.”

Etien gave a small wave as Estinien rose from the couch. “We enjoyed having you!”

“...I enjoyed being had,” he admitted.

Aymeric walked him to the door, giving him a brief kiss on the cheek. “I do hope you’ll join us again.”

“I’ll… think about it.” Estinien conceded, walking out the door.

Etien let a few tears fall as she and Aymeric got ready and into bed. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, my dearest, you didn’t,” Aymeric soothed, cradling her close to him. “He’s conflicted, he doesn’t want to hurt me. He doesn’t want to hurt you. He’s scared. I was, too, starting things out with you.”

Etien sniffled. “Oh.”

“Shh, it’s all right. It’s like to be slow going. But even when we’ve all hit a wall, I’m here.”

Now she attempted to nuzzle Aymeric, her ears flapping against his jaw as she maneuvered her head. “All right. Thank you.”

She sighed, settling in to sleep, tear tracks drying up as Aymeric wiped them away.

Settling into his own bed, wishing he had some sort of company, Estinien sighed, too. He wished he’d at least gotten a little kiss from Etien like he had Aymeric. Oh, well. There was always next time.

#these messy idiots #they're trying to dip their toes in and Estinien's balking and it's A Lot #fic #also Toto mention lmao #oh IGNORE THE TITLE PLEASE #I just needed something and I mean it was kinda funny #Wyrmelliferel

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neverwatchedonepiece · 5 years

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645-647: "Destruction Cannon Blasts! Lucy in Trouble!", "The Legendary Pirate! Don Chinjao!" and "Light and Darkness! The Shadow Behind Dressrosa!"

There is something rotten in the state of Dressrosa right now. Doflamingo has some seriously shady shenanigans on the go. Turning humans into toys? Letting them live alongside relatives who - it appears - have their memories wiped? Tossing them for scrap if they show any signs of rebellion? Yeah, this whole situation is totally messed up. Now I get why a Resistance is mounting against the Donquixote Family.

I watched three episodes because I thought I might see the end of the Block C battles. No such luck, but Luffy vs Don Chinjao has been fun so far.

Still, that freaky Toy Human transformation reveal was totally worth it.

(Will catch up on replies this week too! It’s been a weirdly busy couple of weeks but next week won’t be as rammed. :D)

Electric Fist Bump

I am still not certain that Brutal Bull is, in fact, going to recover. Let’s just pretend he will. At least Luffy gently carried him to safety and thanked him for fighting with him. ;_;

A random called Ideo (way too much eyeliner, Shoulders McGee) finished the job by punching Hajrudin out the ring. After Ideo’s brag-fest, I thought Luffy would be the one to kick his ass too, but it was funnier than that.

A random competitor called Jean the Bounty Hunter (no relation to Dog) had seen through Luffy’s disguise. He knocked off Luffy’s helmet and slashed his beard. Instead of giving up his disguise, Luffy chased him (lmao) to get his helmet back.

Once exposing Luffy, didn’t work, Jean picked up all the weapons dropped by competitors who fell to Don Chinjao’s conqueror’s haki. Jean seriously thought he could defeat Luffy by carrying around a giant blade ball. Okay, mate.

Jean, at least, was allowed a quick shit-talk. He’d made so much money recapturing all the criminals Luffy set free from Impel Down. Now, Jean was aiming to snare Buggy (I guess he doesn’t read the papers), Crocodile, Jimbei, Ivankov and Shiryu (good luck with those names, mate).

Meanwhile, Luffy was standing there, reminiscing over all the old names like it was old times. “I wonder how Jimbei and Iva are doing?”

Jean got mad, threw his dumb sword ball and... it did not go to plan.

Luffy dodged.

Instead, a rather large and intimidating man absorbed all the swords.

Staring down Don Chinjao was too much for poor Jean. He was so scared, he made moe eyes before Don Chinjao took him out. (Good luck chasing after Crocodile from your new job on Doflamingo’s Factory Assembly Line!)

The fight between Luffy and Don Chinjao was actually fun to watch. The moment when they both punched out Sai and Ideo “Get outta the way!” was funny. And the Conqueror’s Haki clash was stylish (still love that blue filter), powerful (that Whitebeard soundtrack) and also pretty interesting.

Diamante watched the whole thing from his private booth. He used it as a teaching moment for Bellamy. “See, that is what it takes to be a king.” Don Chinjao sort of backed this up later when he said to Luffy that loads of people in the New World could use Conqueror’s Haki. “Only battling it out amongst themselves will reveal who the Pirate King will be. A battle of conquerors. That’s what’ll decide.”

I thought Conqueror’s Haki was a much rarer type. Maybe it still is, but that all the big shots are now concentrated in a smaller area, so there’s more chance you’ll meet someone with it. I know Shanks has it, I know Whitebeard had it, but I’m wondering if Big Mom and Kaidou also have it? (The jury’s out on Teach. Is he too much of a coward, or will he awaken it too? Who knows?)

Don Chinjao also kept veering between wailing with rage and attacking with rage at what Garp had taken from him (treasure and strength, apparently). He also kept demanding Luffy tell him what Garp had done. Luffy was like, “No, you walnut. I have no idea. How many times must I repeat myself?”

Luffy didn’t know whether Don Chinjao wanted to be sad or mad. Maybe Luffy should set himself up as a therapist because I think it’s a bit of both.

At the moment, Don Chinjao has transformed into an Upside Down Tornado of Large Man, so we’ll see how that pans out in the coming episodes.

Oh, and by the way, Bobby Funk wore his brother like a jacket during the fight. Don’t ask. It was deeply, hilariously weird and I’m glad they got their asses kicked because I felt wrong watching that.

He’s Not an Idiot. He’s Directionally Disadvantaged

On the way to Flower Field, Wicka was astonished to discover Zoro is the opposite of a homing pigeon. They yelled at each other the entire time. Wicka because Zoro veered away from Flower Field yet again, and Zoro because Wicka “sucked at leading the way.” Meanwhile, the concerned residents of Dressrosa wondered why the strange man was yelling at himself.

Wicka kept punching Zoro for not going the right way. Because the Tontatta people make up for their lack of stature with super strength, I actually cheered when Zoro had enough of Wicka smacking him. He set her down in a plant pot, was like, “I have friends I care about too. Stop complaining or ask some damned cat to carry you,” then walked off.

Damn straight, Zoro. Don’t put up with that crap.

Luckily for Wicka, Zoro has no sense of direction. He circled straight round, which gave her the opportunity to apologise.

I guess it’s for the best. Otherwise Zoro would end up stuck on Dressrosa forever. Or at least until Sanji turned up.

And speaking of Sanji, he has teamed up with Kinemon again. They are currently lurking outside the Colosseum. They have spotted something ominous. Lots of Marines gathered outside, including new Vice-Admiral Bastille, waiting to swoop and arrest any unsuspecting Block A and Block B fighters leaving the arena.

I laughed at Kinemon’s weird cognitive dissonance. “Yeah, well criminals should be caught!”

Sanji would not have it. He smacked Kinemon and was like, “You are working with pirates.” Lmao, Kinemon. Old habits die hard, I guess.

At least Sanji has returned to the Sanji I like best: sneaking about, trying to solve problems. He knows Luffy needs to know about the Marines lurking outside, but how to tell him?

Plus, what’s happened to all the Block A and Block B competitors who lost their fight? Vice-Admiral Bastille is on to something. None of them have left the Colosseum. Not a single one. That is strange. Something weird, and possibly sinister, is going on here. (I wonder if they’re being turned into toys?)

This is Why I Like Nami

This was only a short scene but I loved it.

In the last couple of episodes, I assumed Nami, Brook, Chopper and Momo were retreating to regroup with a master plan to win back Sunny.

Nope. As if they would ever leave Sunny in the hands of an enemy. What was I thinking?

Even though Nami sees herself as weak compared to the DF eaters and haki users of the crew, she is not helpless. One, she is smart, and two, Nami has freaking weather controlling powers! Nami used both of those qualities to her advantage. Chopper and Brook were a distraction. While Giolla’s attention was on them, Nami readied some thunder balls.

BOOM! Direct hit on Giolla’s submarine. Now, as a DF user, she has no means to return to Dressrosa and all her goons were smoked by thunderbolt.

Your move, Giolla! :D

How About Hide-and-Seek?

Like, with a four day head start?

No?

I guess Law must be content with running like hell from the two Absolute Monsters chasing him. Fujitora was not making it easy. Every time he sheathes that sword, a jet of purple (no idea what it is. Let’s call it pure purple) rocketed into the clouds and, hello meteor shower!

Luckily, Law can Room those and slice them like bread rolls, but Doflamingo’s bullet strings were another matter. Law scarpered, dodged, hid and tried to call Nami. To no avail. Why wasn’t she picking up?

“I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to buy time,” Doflamingo said. “And I’m not gonna let you have it your way.”

No Burger King for you, Law.

Poor, beleaguered Law screeched to a halt when he realised that, somehow, Fujitora had overtaken him. My new favourite Admiral was sitting on a rock, as if he’d been politely waiting for Law to show for ages. Then it was meteor time.

Even Doflamingo was like, “Wow, you have no mercy.”

Fujitora just said, “I’m all thumbs.”

Lmao, mate. Yeah, those extreme overkill meteors? I’m just clumsy. Nah, no one believes you, Fujitora. You love smashing felons. Admit it.

Meanwhile, deep underground, Usopp was beginning to regret feigning descent from Noland. The ominous, earth-shattering rumbles from Fujitora’s onslaught were passed off as “just Usopp’s amazing haki!”

When he realised the Tontatta people kept going on about the Donquixote Family, he consulted Robin. “Um, what kind of relationship do they have with Doflamingo exactly?” he asked.

“Well, they’re serious about fighting him,” Robin replied.

Usopp had an uh-oh moment. He drew Leo (the battle hype man) aside and asked why they wanted to fight Doflaming. That’s my Usopp! Asking all the right plot questions.

Apparently, the Tontatta want to rescue five hundred friends forced to work at the “shady factory”. Moreover, Doflamingo also holds their “obnoxious, selfish, mean, moody and short-tempered Princess Mancherie” there too.

Good sell, Leo. Good sell.

“Um, she sounds horrible,” Usopp said (lmao).

“Yup!” Leo cheerfully agreed. But then he added, rather sweetly, “But she’s one of us too. Noland would save everyone who’s in trouble, right?”

Usopp looked a bit ill at that point. He did not have to answer that question, as Flapper, another Tontatta kid, hoofed it into frame. Apparently, the Donquixote Family at the palace were on the move. Rumour had it they were probably moving to the Colosseum basement. And why were they moving there?

Under the Colosseum is only where the Shady Factory is hidden! :D

I thought the Factory would be in Green Bit. This is even better! Now I’m very suspicious about all the defeated fighters. They are prime for processing. At least I got one thing right about people being forced to work at the Factory (though it wasn’t related to stealing stuff).

This Really Makes You Re-Think Toy Story

I knew it! I knew there was something weird with the toys. At first I just went with it because, well, One Piece, right? There are giants, sentient fruit-eating swords, dudes stuck in barrels. Anything goes, right? I mean, who can explain the wonder of Gekko Moria?

Turns out this does not extend to talking toys. Talking toys are not normal. Unless they’ve been invented by Vegapunk, as Franky rightly thought.

Nope. These toys are not the work of Vegapunk.

They are the product of a twisted Devil Fruit user under the employ of Doflamingo, who transforms humans into toys.

Why? I have no idea.

But the reason has got to be some dodgy kind of punishment for something.

There was a creepy scene when a toy desperately tried to convince the woman who was once his girlfriend that he was a human, that they once lived together, were once happy together. The trouble was, his girlfriend could not remember him! She looked at him in disgust, said, “This toy has human syndrome!” and he was dragged off to a ominous looking building with the word SCRAP emblazoned above a forbidding door.

It seems a lot of the toys remember being human. Sol spoke to a guy called Milo, who is currently masquerading as Onepoko-chan the dog. Turns out the boy who plays with him is actually his son, and the boy’s mother is his wife.

What. The. Actual?

Sol asked the boy if he had a dad. Nope, was the answer. What about the wife? Had she ever been married? Don’t be silly.

Something really, really weird is going on here. And I never even mentioned the midnight curfew. Anyone who is caught outside after then is arrested (and probably turned into a toy). Toys and humans are allowed to hang about during the day, but at night? They are segregated. Toys live in toy homes. Humans remain in their homes.

This is totally weird and cool and I cannot wait to see where this goes.

Every time questions are answered in Dressrosa, another ten rise to take their place. :D

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jakelionstumblr · 5 years

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Thoughts about Luigi’s Mansion, 3, and why it lacks the magic 1 had.

below the cut, may be some spoilers but I’m only at floor 9

As I’ve been playing through Luigi’s Mansion 3 in the way I play games with collectibles (at least these days,) trying to marathon rooms, looking for every type of secret or collectible in one run, I find myself getting bored, only putting in an hour to two at a time, before needing to get a bit of space. I may have had similar breaks on my first playthrough of the first game in the series, though it’s been too long to really remember. But what I’m focusing on here is what I’m coming away from the play experience with, what I’m thinking about between sessions, as well as what makes me want to take a break.

In the long distant memories of those first experiences on the gamecube, I recall spending so much time thinking about individual rooms in the house. What do I need to do in the exercise room? How do I light up the fortune teller’s room? What will get me to the next floor?

These sorts of thoughts, memories highlights a key difference between games 1 and 3. Luigi’s Mansion 1 was about the house, the whole house, and nothing but the house.

When thinking about the first Luigi’s Mansion, I think back to some of the early 3d platformers and their allure, which I find has been lost on a lot of modern attempts. Especially in Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie, I feel developers had mastered what I called the Vignette worlds. or maybe Playgrounds. These were levels that were very finite, really quite small if seen from a distance, but had so much to do in them.

This may have been due to limitations of the hardware that forced this type of world and gameplay, but I feel it had a huge impact on the way players would relate to a world. Because you spend so much time in so small a place, you start to become incredibly familiar with all the features of the world. You know by heart where the ramps are, you recognize the tower in the distance. These worlds all became like homes in a sense, and a game featuring 15 or more of these “worlds” felt huge, because of the amount of time you spent in each helped to make the move between different ones feel like a powerful move, like the feeling of leaving home for college, or taking a month long vacation.

When we saw these developers try to move to larger worlds, like Banjo Tooie or Super Mario Sunshine, that feeling of home was lost. We zip past details, we’re on a long trek to somewhere with nothing in between. Take a look at how far apart things are in Super Mario Odyssey, and how little the space in between means.

Coming back to Luigi’s Mansion, one might infer that a similar forced hand was occurring, albeit at a next gen level. They were trying to showcase the step up in graphics, which Nintendo was never a huge player in. Their solution, was something incredibly beautiful to look at, and yet incredibly small. There weren’t even 15 separate worlds, maybe... 30 rooms in a house?

So what made this a playable game? How many times can you do the ghost mechanic before it feels like you’re just bumping into the same 4 walls?

It was the mystery, the uncovering of all these many mysteries, in such a small space. Within this house were so many unique ghosts, and each one had some sort of trigger to allow you to actually catch them. You had to watch, observe, try to figure out. You would read the whole room, where any object could be important.

You might fail, you might not figure it out, and start running about the house, thinking or looking for clues or inspiration. The game played to this. Rooms you had ‘cleared’ of ghosts remained safe places, where you could think, look for money. Maybe read a book off a bookshelf. Dark rooms might always spawn ghosts, they were always a source of danger, and were never lit until cleared - you wanted to see how lovely these rooms could be. You wanted them to be safe. It was a HUGE motivator.

There were the elements of fire, ice and water. Objects in the room could relate to that, and be part of the problem solving. But you might not notice these things in a room until much later, when you got the power to do something with them. This instilled the idea that every room was important - everything in the room is important - and learning each room was as valuable a play experience as learning every world in a platformer might be.

What a huge idea! Showing us how magical rooms in a house and things in a house could be. Secret passageways, basements, attics. A candle might be magical if only you had the fire to light it.

Another important thing was feeling alone. You might get a bit of advice from E. Gadd, and you would come across Toads, but they never went with you. You could visit them, but the mystery and adventure was yours alone to unravel and discover, call out as you might for your brother. You were also never trapped in the mansion, but bound by a sense of duty.

----

When you get into Luigi’s Mansion 3, you might not notice a few things right off the bat, but maybe feel something is different. The battle mechanics feel... a bit more like a beat-em-up? The introduction of the slam mechanic makes dealing with ghosts a lot quicker. Which is a good thing... right?

Not really. Ghosts aren’t a threat to fear and a motivator to “clear a room.” There’s no way to actually clear a room of ghosts - sometimes they’re in there, sometimes they’re not, but - either way, you just slam them and move on. A nuisance at best. In the first game, you could flee from a fight by entering another room - you could double back quickly, and it still might be going on. In this game, if you’re not locked to a zone for a meaningless fight, there’s no feeling of fear like you’re running away - you’re just moving past them.

The slam mechanic, though, as well as the plunger move, highlights what I feel is the most - literally- destructive move the series has made - you can destroy everything in a room. It’s fun a hell and looks cool as hell, but what does it imply?

Rooms don’t matter. The things in rooms don’t matter.

Really, if you can’t break something in a room, then it’s obviously used as a puzzle mechanic. But in this game, if it’s not a grate that gooigi can walk through, or a tube gooigi can go through, or a big thing you can stick a plunger to and yank away, it doesn’t mean shit.

There’s no bookshelves on a book you can read, no candles that might light up with fire. There are ‘things’ yes, like a fan you can blow, but they stick out like a sore thumb. A few clever things, like seeing two cymbals and being rewarded for crashing them together, hearkens to the sort of smarts this game could have more of. But you’re not in a house where every room is special, you’re not exploring what the parts of a house are and what they do.

I’d actually say that the first 5 floors of this game, -almost- do that. Because, in the first 5 floors, you are exploring a traditional hotel. Bathrooms, dining halls, some actual hotel rooms. That has the magic that the home-snooping 1st game had. You get to see the first rooms you were in change drastically. You get elevator buttons in a random order, sending you to 3, then 5, then finally 4.

Floor 6 is where the game pretty much tells you “nah, this isn’t it.” It’s a thematic castle floor. All the rooms are linear, castle themed puzzles. Besides looking pretty, there’s no reason you would want to come back to them. You’ll need to, if they didn’t obviously place all the thematic gems, but you won’t feel rewarded for “reading the room.” You’ll feel rewarded for noticing the puzzle, framed by a boring ass room.

Then, you start getting elevator buttons linearly. 6, then 7, then 8, then 9. Each floor is themed, but even worse then having a linear arrangement of rooms, some floors are only 4-5 rooms, with hardly any amount of play value in them. The “museum of history” which would be RIFE with nooks and crannies, moving through displays, ending up in the gift shop - is one big, boring, lifeless room.

It brings some nice things from the 2nd game - the light to reveal invisible objects, though - you just end up passing through a room twice, once with the vacuum, the other time with that light. Not as rewarding as, say, having to learn that an object in the room is obscuring something. But the way spiders move and react, the way some small animated interactions happen, give little bits of life.

Every ghost encounter, though - of which there’s like 15, talking main ghosts - is pretty much dictated to you, through a series of cinematics if not just a boss fight delivered on a silver platter _at least up to floor 9). There’s no time spent uncovering a solution, giving these bosses character and meaning - it’s just something you’re progressing to on a linear basis. Even the cat segment was boring, as it didn’t take long for you to reach the end of that arc.

Even as point a-to-b as the game is, you never feel alone, and that’s a huge detriment to the motivation the first game gave you. You don’t feel like Luigi, the under appreciated brother using his wits to figure out a situation. You feel like Luigi, the pawn that does what he’s told. E.gadd isn’t just checking in with you at the end of each floor, or maybe after a big event with a few tips. Unless you turn it off, he’s calling, constantly. If it’s not him, it’s the ghost dog. You can’t even walk down some hallways without the dog popping out and arbitrarily halting your exploration, so you can watch him walk through the door you’re SUPPOSED to go through. Or, fail a few times getting the hang of a mechanic, or try the wrong thing - never fear! Your ghost dog friend will show you how to do it!

A few instances of this can feel charming, a refreshing break between the tenser times of a trickier game. But this game floods you with it. When you finally get to some periods of silence in between, though, there’s not much for you to discover yourself that feels cumulative, feels like you’re really figuring it out - you almost rush to the next context sensitive moment, because that’s obviously where the game is.

I can see where a hotel setting for this game would have worked really well. It could have expanded in a larger sense, if it was inside of these rooms, that secret passageways took you to unbelievable areas. But you would still be exploring a hotel, the architecture, the way a hotel works, and trying to understand how to awaken and capture the tenants that otherwise would just ignore and pester you - not just be the obvious point at the end of an obvious line.

#luigi's mansion 3

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fallen029 · 6 years

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Birthday Mayhem

It felt like a typical day, honestly, for most of the guild members at Fairy Tail. In fact, it actually was. There was the typical drama in the hall of so and so arguing with whoever about this or that, but Mira was still there, serving drinks, Kinana tacking up jobs, and Makarov, in his old age, was seated atop the bar as usual, staff in one hand and eyes closed in deep meditation (or sleep; probably sleep). People were milling about the busy hall and things were just...peaceful.

Fairy Tail was, for the first time in a long while, at rest.

Happy, the typically most at ease whether times were stressful or not, did not feel this peace that day. No. Instead, he was wracked with nerves.

"What's wrong?" Lucy yawned a bit as, being such an early hour, she'd come around the hall for some breakfast before taking a solo job (she was really strapped for cash; she didn't have time for Natsu's typical shenanigans that went along with going on one with him). She'd just been served by Mirajane and was about to take a bite of her toast when, suddenly, a blue ball of fur crashed onto the table. She hardly batted an eye at the Exceed though. He, too, was known for his antics. "Happy?"

He took a deep breath in, the feline did, before looking quickly around, as if trying to place someone. Apparently satisfied, he then looked at the celestial mage and informed her, "It's Lisanna's birthday."

"Oh, is it?" She smiled then, Lucy did. Or, well, she was, and in fact was in the middle of replying how nice that was, when Happy reached with his furry pawn to grab one of her sausage links. Quickly dragging the plate away from him, she remarked in annoyance, "What's that gotta do with you shoving your gross paws in my food, cat?"

Defeated (in that portion of things, at least), Happy frowned just as heavily at her. "Lucy, don't you understand?"

"Understand what?"

"It's Lisanna's birthday," he reiterated once more. "Don't you know what that means?"

"Mmmm...that she was born on this day?"

"That she's gonna expect Natsu to know!" The cat shook his head some. "But there's no way he will. Natsu never remembers anything! When I asked him what he was gonna do today, he didn't even mention having plans!"

"Then… Why didn't you just remind him?" Lucy was having a very hard time understanding exactly what the problem with all of this was, honestly. Well, not completely. Sure, it would suck for Lisanna if Natsu didn't remember her boyfriend, but at the same time, with such a simple solution… These were the exact shenanigans she was hoping to avoid that day. "Then he would know and-"

"It won't be the same, Lucy," Happy insisted, exasperated it seemed with the blonde. "If he remembers on his own it'll be so romantic and sweet and-"

"Well, maybe he will."

"But what if he doesn't?"

"Then you should remind him."

"But then it won't be-"

"Happy," she complained a bit, "I had something I wanted to do today. Is this really that big of a deal?"

"It's a huge deal!" He might have even yelled at her, just slightly. Lucy blinked as the cat, considering his tone, sighed some and said, "I just really don't want Natsu and Lisanna to break up."

"Why would they break up? Over this? Especially if you could just tell-"

"Lucy, I know that you have no understanding of relationships like me and Natsu do-"

"Natsu is in a relationship. You're stalking another Exceed who has more than made it clear she's not into you."

"-but this is serious." And the cat didn't sound like he was purposely being over dramatic. He truly was feeling these things. "This is the first birthday that Lisanna is gonna have since her and Natsu got together, like really together, and I just want it to be special for her."

Sighing some, Lucy reached over to pat him on his head. "You're really worked up about all this, huh?"

"Imagine if you were actually attractive to a guy and he forgot your birthday-"

"You're pushing it, fur ball."

"I'd always remember Carla's birthday," he assured Lucy. "If she ever told it to me."

"Well," Lucy sighed slightly as, after a glance over at the request board where, no doubt, there was the perfect job, just waiting for her. "I guess I could stick around and help you figure this all out."

"You mean it?"

Nodding, she said, "But what do you want to do, Hap? If you don't wanna just tell him-"

"We can't."

"Then-"

"What are you losers being so loud about?"

And they were joined at the table then by Gray, who set down with a mug of beer. Lucy made a bit of a face at his typical state of undress, but Happy only eyed who sat down beside him, practically in his lap.

"Juvia," the feline remarked. "You're the exact person to help. And you two, Gray. You both know a lot about relationships."

"Yes," the water mage remarked. "We do."

"We might," Gray complained around his ale, "but definitely varying amount. Separate, varying amounts."

"Lucy here," the Exceed remarked, jerking a thumb towards the woman on the other side of the table, "isn't very knowledgeable in the ways of love. Not like the two of you."

"I wish I'd just gotten my job," Lucy sighed, once more glancing over at the request board. I could be on a train right now, away from stupid cats who are destined to be forever alone-"

"What would you do, Juvia?" Happy asked. "If Gray forgot my birthday?"

"You can't forget," the ice mage replied, "what you don't know."

Juvia considered the question for far longer though. Eventually, she said, "I would be crushed, I would imagine."

"And you wouldn't want that to happen to one of your friends, would you?" the feline kept up.

Suddenly, the blue haired woman's eyes grew darker before, with accusation in her gaze, she glanced between Gray and Lucy.

"My Gray darling should forget every other woman's birthday," she remarked simply. "If this is your idea of trying to stake a claim, Lucy, then-"

"It's not my birthday," she complained with a frown. "And I don't expect Gray to remember it."

"Do you expect Natsu to remember it?" Happy questioned then, glancing at her once more.

"I mean, if he doesn't even remember his girlfriend's, then-"

"Is that what this is about then?" Just like that, Juvia's eyes weren't so clouded and her tone wasn't so harsh. "Oh, poor Lisanna. To have such a forgetful boyfriend. Luckily, Gray would never forget such an important date."

"Again I reiterate," Gray remarked, "you can't remember what you never knew. And hey, Happy, what's up with all the questions, huh? It's Lisanna's birthday today, right? That's what you said? Then just go tell flame breath that it's his girl's birthday and problem's solved, right?"

"You would think," Lucy sighed. "But Happy thinks-"

"It would just be more romantic," the Exceed once more said, this time to the ice mage and the woman still seemingly stuck to his side. "Don't you think?"

"Yes," Juvia agreed.

"I really don't give a shit," Gray replied. "I mean, wouldn't it be more romantic for him to be reminded, Happy, then him completely forget?"

"That's why we have to make sure he doesn't completely forget." He balled up a fist and pumped it a bit. "We're Natsu's closest friends. And Lisanna's too, kind of. Some of us. Maybe. At the very least, we all love them both a bunch, right? So we have to make sure that this goes right for them."

"But how?" Gray complained as Lucy nodded in agreement at the question.

"I think," came a voice approaching the table, "that I can be of much assistance."

And she was there then, finally, as always, to save the others from their definite inabilities to accomplish a job. Erza Scarlet. Titania Erza. Savior of all.

Also, she'd just returned, victorious once more from a difficult job where, following it, she had her praises sang to her for an entire day as the tiny village insisted on her staying to celebrate her banishing the monster from their daily lives. Which meant that she was even more full of herself than usual.

"Really?" Happy asked the redhead. "You'll help?"

"Of course," she said with a nod of her head. "As soon as you tell me what it is that's wrong."

"You mean," Gray complained, "that you didn't even know? But you came over here and insisted that you could help-"

"Is that a problem?" Erza raised an eyebrow and, suddenly, Gray found it much more interesting to stare down into his beer as he only mumbled out an excuse of some sort.

"Natsu doesn't remember Lisanna's birthday," Happy began to tell the woman.

"And," Lucy took over, "the cat seems to think that if we just remind him-"

"Then it wouldn't be romantic," Erza finished and they all stared in shock, but she only had her stoic face on. "Yes, that would be a terribly unromantic thing. What if Lisanna found out then? Hmm? That we just told him? How would she feel? As someone who knows the way of the human heart very well-"

"You do?" Lucy asked. When she got that eyebrow raise from the woman, she was quick to change her timbre. "You do."

"I do," Erza agreed. She was tired of being questioned.

"I think you girls are blowing this out of proportion anyways," Gray griped (though not at Erza). "So he either forgets or he remembers. Lisanna puts up with all his other shit. Will she really be that shocked? Or hurt? And is remembering a date that 'romantic' or whatever anyways? Natsu's a dumbass. His girlfriend knows that."

"Men naturally do not understand the ways of women," Erza asserted. She should know. She was a (self-proclaimed) expert in the ways of love. Yes. "Therefore your opinion is invalid, Gray."

"Happy's a...well, a male, at least," the ice mage complained. "Why is his opinion counted? It's the whole reason we're all even having this conversation!"

"I think, my love," Juvia told him softly, "it is simply because he agrees with her."

Erza gave no glares for that. It was the truth.

"I have devised a plan," she decided then, Erza did, as she still stood before the table in all her armored glory.

"Already?" Lucy voiced her uncertainty.

"Yes." Nodding, the swordswoman said, "It is quite simple, really. The problem is he does not remember and we cannot directly inform him of the day. Well, then we must give him subtle hints."

"Well, duh," Gray remarked. When he, once more, got a glare, he was quick to add, "I just mean, obviously that's what we're gonna do. But Natsu's super dense. He's an idiot."

No one at the table balked at this. Not even Happy or Lucy. They all were in agreement on that.

"Yes, well," Erza kept up, still thinking. She was good at that. Thinking. She was good at most things. "We could...come up with a safety net."

"I dunno," Happy sighed at the thought. "Crafting a big net seems like a lot of work in such short time. And what would be the pay off?"

"I don't think," Lucy said with a look, "that's what she meant, Hap. And I also think you knew that."

Of course.

"Which is?" Juvia asked then, looking at Erza quizzically. While she wasn't the biggest fan of Natsu (which stemmed from her beloved not being one either) she did somewhat like Lisanna. While she was still getting acclimated to the guild, the other woman had returned to it and all it's new quirks, which meant they got accustomed to the place together. She found the youngest Strauss to be quite approachable and fun.

"It's quite simple," she explained. "While some of us spend the day attempting to put the idea back in his head, the rest of us should take to preparing a nice date that, as a last resort, we will lead them on. We'll spare no expense."

"I'm broke," Lucy pointed out. "In fact, I was just about headed on a job-"

"I have a fish head in my knapsack," Happy offered up, patting at his back.

"Yeah, I'm not giving anything to this either," Gray added to which, with a bit of a nod, Juvia had to agree.

"More than our time," the water mage offered.

Erza huffed a bit before remarking, "Then I will spare no expense as, more than likely I fear that this is the direction in which this whole thing shall go. If that does turn out to be the case, the ones who are going to go about hinting him will lead him back to he and Happy's home where, outside of it, the others will have set up a nice dinner and have purchased a cake."

"Their house?" Lucy asked with a bit of a frown. "Are you sure?"

"Your apartment then, will do nicely," Erza decided.

"My what now?"

"Yeah!" Happy was energized at the thought. "They can stay over at your apartment, Lucy, like a nice hotel or something. And you can bunk with me, back at the house."

"I hardly call where you live a house."

"Then I rescind my invitation." Happy frowned. "And to think I was going to share my fish head with you."

"I don't want your stupid fish head anyways, you dumb-"

"The park," Gray spoke up then. "We can set them a nice picnic up in the park."

"Yes," Erza agreed. "That will do."

"Since Lucy is too stuck up to stay over at me and Natsu's house-"

"I highly doubt the two of them wanna bunk at my place for the night anyways, cat."

"So who wishes then," the swordswoman went on, "wishes to do which job?"

"Well, I'm definitely not spending all day hanging around flame breath, trying to convince him to remember his girlfriend," Gray said with a bit of a snort. "I'll help out with the getting stuff together, because I do like Lisanna, but Natsu-"

"That makes sense," Erza cut him off with a nod. "And I will, of course, go to Natsu and-"

"Uh, Erza?" Lucy had her turn at interrupting then. "Not to...disway you, but are you sure that you're really the person for the job? To give subtle hints at something? Subtle is not exactly your strong suit."

"You do not think so?" the other woman asked.

"No, I don't. I mean, if you wanna give it a try-"

"And you're the one 'sparing no expense'," Gray pointed out. "Remember?"

"Ah. Yes." She sighed. She really did like the idea of it, attempting to convince the slayer of the importance of the date. It felt almost like a game, truly, and she was nothing if not someone with a deep competitive drive. "I suppose I could be a part of the preparations instead."

Juvia sensed something and, glancing back and forth between Erza and Gray, she remarked, "The two of you? Partnered together? I must be included in the preparations as well!"

"Why are you yelling?" Lucy griped a bit as she pressed a hand to her head. "And let's see, I guess that leaves me and-"

"Me." Happy looked to her. "You and me. We have to remind Natsu of Lisanna's birthday."

"Do I have to be stuck with the cat?" It was simple, it seemed, for the celestial mage to find something new to complain about. "I mean, come on."

"Like you'll be much help." Happy even sighed. "But I guess you'll have to do."

"I could always leave on a job and let you do it on your own, you know. You're the one that asked me for help, Happy." Finally, now that her food was cold, she didn't put up much of a fight as he took a sausage link for himself. "Don't forget it."

The teams separated then, with Juvia using all her resources now to mostly keep an eye on Erza (the woman was sneaky for sure), while Gray and Erza spoke between themselves over just what sorta things they should purchase for the date. Happy and Lucy, on the other hand, headed in the opposite direction.

"The first thing we have to do," Happy said as he fluttered along above Lucy's head, "is find Natsu."

"Well, where did you last see him? At you guys' house? Do you think he's still there?"

"I dunno," the Exceed said. "But I bet he's somewhere close by."

"Maybe," Lucy hummed a bit, "he's planning he and Lisanna's day and we don't even have anything to worry about."

This, of course, was not the case.

They actually ran into the slayer on his way to the guildhall. He seemed quite pleased to seem them both.

"Hey, Hap, Lucy, I was just looking for you," he remarked as they approached one another on the street. "What are you two doing?"

"Looking for you," Lucy offered up, grinning widely just from the sight of him. "Natsu. On this day. Such a great day, don't you think?"

"Well," he huffed a bit. "It's not raining, at least."

"Ha, Natsu, you're so funny." And Happy practically dive bombed into his chest, forcing the slayer to catch him.

"Hey, little buddy, what's the big idea!"

"I just wanted to hug you, Natsu, that's all," the Exceed laughed as he was, promptly, dropped to the ground by the slayer. "To show you that I care about you. On today. On a day like today."

"It is," Lucy agreed, "a pretty important day."

"All because it ain't raining?" Natsu frowned at the two of them. "And anyhow, I was looking for ya because-"

"Because of the nice day it is today?" Lucy asked.

"And how much you care? Not necessarily about us, I guess," Happy kept up, "but about the people in your life? Who are important to you? Because-"

"What are you two talking about? And hey, what were you doing together anyways?" This time, his eyes were a bit suspicious. "You're not plannin' somethin', are ya?"

"Who? Us?" Lucy tried hard not to look like this was absolutely what she was doing. "No way. Are you crazy?"

"Yeah," Happy agreed from the ground. "What do I look like? Sneaking behind your back to do something with Lucy? I would think you know me better than that, Natsu, but I guess not."

He sighed some, the pink haired man did, before nodding his head. "I guess that's right. What could you two be planning against me anyways?"

No doubt something for his own good.

Always.

"Anyways," Lucy said slowly as, turning, she easily fell in step with the slayer as he began his trek once more. "Where were you headed?"

"Just the hall," he said simply. "I wanted to see if that bastard Gray was around. I-"

"Gray?" Happy tried hard not to be disappointed. "Why would you be bothering with Gray today?"

"That sneaking bastard owes me-"

"Who cares about that?" Lucy asked. "Or about him at all?"

This was usually the right idea for Natsu, but at the moment the insinuation just wasn't cutting it for him. Not when he needed to collect from the man immediately.

"I do," Natsu complained. "I have to find him. Do either of you know where he is?"

They looked to one another then, Happy and Lucy did. They both knew that they couldn't lead Natsu to Gray because there was a possibility that, spying him in the shopping district picking up a cake and such with Erza, that he would become suspicious of their plans and, thus, not be duped either into remembering or showing up at the park without being outright told, but rather being blatantly shown the situation at hand and, wow, when Lucy really thought it out, why didn't they just do that?

"We'll take you to him," Happy said suddenly and for a second, Lucy though they'd come to the same conclusion. "Right this way."

Until the Exceed headed in the opposite direction of where Gray certainly was and, ugh, Lucy was starting to resign to the fact that she was not going to be going out on a job that day.

"Happy," she complained a bit as Natsu, though he was supposed to be the one being led began to take the lead, and the Exceed fluttered close to her. "Where exactly where are we going to take him?"

"Anywhere," the blue cat explained, "that Gray, Erza, and Juvia are not. Hopefully to Lisanna. After he's remembered, of course."

"Of course," Lucy sighed, following along.

They would not find Lisanna, however, as at that moment she'd just arrived at the guildhall, where Natsu had instructed her to meet him that afternoon. She was slightly disappointed to not find him there, but also understanding to his typical forgetfulness, and went straight over to her sister to question where he'd mistakenly gone out on a job that day.

"No," Mira giggled. "He hasn't even been in yet. And did you get the card I left you? On the kitchen table?"

"Mmmhmm!" Lisanna was just as giggly. "'Thanks, sis. It was really thoughtful."

"Well, we normally go out to dinner," the barmaid sighed a bit. "But I'm sure you and Natsu have something going on tonight instead-"

"We can go to dinner tomorrow night. If you're off."

"I can get off," she assured her, but just as quickly, someone was calling out to Mira, needing a refill and, well, duty called and all.

"Oh, Lisanna," Mira called as she headed away. "I almost forgot. Someone did want to see you."

"They did?"

"Uh-huh. Erza for some reason. In the park. She said for you not to arrive until midday though."

Lisanna sighed some, but agreed. Besides, she should be meeting Natsu soon; surely he'd not mind taking a detour there.

At the moment, he wouldn't have minded at all, if he knew that that was the exact location that Gray was. He was griping too, at Happy and Lucy, convinced now that this was just all some sort of big game to them. And, well, he was kinda right at least.

"I really need to find him, guys, so if you don't know where he is-"

"Just a little further," Happy kept up. "And hey, it must be awful important for you to find him. Is there anything else important that you have to do today? Do you think?"

"What are you talking about? Just take me to Gray!"

"Happy," Lucy tried, growing weary of the game they very much so were playing. "Maybe-"

"Just," the cat continued on, "a little further. And why do you want Gray anyways? What could he possibly owe you? On such a nice day? Huh? That's more important than-"

"I've been trying to tell you-" And Natsu stopped so suddenly that Lucy, who was following closely behind him, crashed into him rather roughly.

"Natsu," she complained, rubbing at her head. "What-"

"Wait a minute." He glared up at the sky then where Happy, realizing the others had stopped, was turning to face them in the air. "You guys in on it. Aren't you?"

"In on what?" Happy asked.

"You were looking all suspicious and were together and you guys never hang out together without me!"

"Well, some of us take jobs more frequently than two of us here," Lucy remarked. "So they don't have near the same amount of time to just hang about-"

"Plus it's Lucy," Happy agreed. "Who wants to be alone with her?"

"You know what, cat, I-"

"You're in cahoots! With Gray! Of all people!" Natsu huffed at the pair of them. "I can't believe you. Don't you know how important it is that I find him?"

Happy, exasperated as well (by this point, they'd spent a good chunk of the day going around in circles, searching fruitlessly for Gray while also constantly dropping hints; there was only so much a little cat could take), hurled his own accusation Natsu's way.

"Do you?" he questioned. "Huh? Natsu? How could you not? I thought that you loved Lisanna, but-"

"Of course I love Lisanna!" Natsu found offense in that. "Why do you think I've spent the whole day chasing Gray's ugly mug around town!"

"Surely," Lucy questioned slowly, "for some other reason? Because, I mean, I can't see one."

"Do you know," Happy griped with a heavy frown at his very best friend, "what today is, Natsu?"

At the exact moment Lucy and Happy were waiting for an answer, Erza was finishing up with the touches on her wonderful picnic while Juvia fantasied the idea of her and Gray just totally ditching the whole plan they had in place and, have their own date.

He was not receptive to this idea and Erza was too lost in her own world, marveling over her excellence at helping her friends once more to notice. Not to mention, the cake she'd picked up at the bakery was exceptionally exquisite, and though she had one back at the bakery she planned to swing by and pick up after all this, well, it was hard not to just open the box and at least take a whiff of it's excellence.

Still, in comparison to Lucy and Happy, the trio was far more successful in their portion of the plan. Honestly, no one would have expected anything less. And, when Lisanna arrived in the park, Erza was more than ready to greet her.

"Hi, Erza," she grinned easily, if not a bit uncertain. "And...Gray. Juvia."

It wasn't that Lisanna did not wish to spend her birthday with the three of them...it's just that...well, actually it was that. Erza was far closer to being her sister's friend than hers and while Juvia was alright, Gray, again, was not someone Lisanna considered too close. She figured it was something unrelated to her birthday, honestly, that they needed, and while she was always one to help her guild mates, she did really wanna get back to the hall as quickly as possible.

"Lisanna," Erza greeted easily as Gray gave a bit of a nod and Juvia actually wished her a happy birthday.

"Are you guys… On a date?" Lisanna took note of the blanket spread on the grass, the picnic basket, and the three of them standing before it. "The...three of you? I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, I just-"

"Share my darling?" Juvia, quite easily, turned on the youngest Strauss member. "I could never!"

As Erza frowned at the implication (surely she could do better than Gray and Juvia, if she were on the market in such a way…) and even sighed a bit. Much like her boyfriend, clearly, Lisanna was not the best at reading a situation.

"No," she said simply. "We are not."

"Oh." Lisanna didn't know why she let out such a sound of relief, but she did. The idea of someone else for Juvia to possibly be possessive over was downright terrifying. Err, actually yes, that was the exact reason for her relief. "Well… I'm sorry, but I was wanting to meet Natsu today at the guildhall and he's a little late, but I should really get back in case-"

"That's exactly why we've invited you here," Erza was quick to say. "Or, well, Natsu has. Yes. He wished for us to set up this...date, of sorts, for your birthday."

"Really?" Lisanna seemed skeptical. "That wasn't really what we had plan-"

"Hey!"

And there he was, the man himself, with the loud screech from across the park as he came running over at full blast, Happy and Lucy, of course, tailing behind.

"Gray!" Once more, Natsu hollered as he smash smack into the ice make wizard, tackling him to the ground. "You big phony!"

"What the heck, Natsu? You idiot, get off-"

"You owe me-"

"I don't owe you shit!"

"What," Erza complained as she rushed to grab the cake box before the two buffoons rolled over on it (and just because she needed that whiff before she handed it off to Natsu and Lisanna), "is going on? You two, stop this at once!"

"You guys don't understand." Lucy was there, finally, out of breath and panting. "Natsu...didn't forget...anything!"

"Lisanna!" Happy took to crashing against her, but she was much more receptive towards it than Natsu had been much earlier in the day. "Happy birthday!"

She giggled, the youngest Strauss did, though she was still a bit confused. "Thank you, Happy, but what-"

"I brought you a fish! Well, only if you want it-"

"I mean, if you don't wanna give it to me-"

"Thanks, you're so understanding."

Lucy took the time out to make a face over at the feline before, once more, addressing the others.

"Natsu remembered Lisanna's birthday," she was quick to say. "In fact, he was going to meet up with her after speaking with Gray. Apparently, he owes him-"

"That?" And finally, Gray managed to shove the pink haired man off him. "That's what you want?"

"Yeah! I need it! So hand it over!"

"What," Erza griped, "are you two talking about?"

Gray groaned too as, reaching into the pocket of his jeans, he easily produced a tiny orb which, at the sight, Lisanna squeezed the life out of Happy in her excitement.

"Oh gosh, Natsu, honestly?" she questioned as Happy wondered if he'd ever taste oxygen again.

"Honestly," he said as, reaching over, he easily snatched the little blue orb from the ice makers hand before popping up. "Here you guy, Lis."

She rewarded him with another giggle and a kiss.

"What," Juvia also griped, though hers was rooted in something much darker (it could be construed, after all, in a distorted set of events, that Gray was the one presenting the youngest Strauss with something, "is it?"

"It's a defunt lacrima," Gray remarked. "It was offered on the job I was gonna go on and Natsu told me that I could keep the cash reward and he'd pay me some extra. But I don't-"

"It's the perfect size," Natsu remarked. "I could tell it would be, based off the description on the job. I was gonna take it, but then Lucy and Happy wanted to go on a different one, and Gray was gonna go anyways, so-"

"Perfect size for what?" Lucy asked, apparently not privy to that.

"To replace the one he broke." And Lisanna was staring at the tiny crystal like ball, rolling it around in her palm. "I had one, a special one, from when we were kids. It was attached to a necklace. We got it as a reward on the first job we took together. But he broke it a couple of months ago when-"

"You're the one that left it on the floor," he griped. "So I stepped on it, so what? What difference-"

"I didn't leave it on the floor. You and Happy raided my room when you were board and must have-"

"Oh," Lucy sighed. "I'm so glad to hear they do that to other people as well."

"Then..." Juvia looked between them all. "What was this all about? Any of it? We did all of this for...nothing? Because Natsu was going to go to Gray and get the lacrima and then meet with Lisanna. So why did we go through all of this extra stuff if-"

"Happy," Erza began softly as her dark gaze, finally, after a long day, found its way to him. "You are the cause for ruining everyone's day."

"Me?" He huffed a bit as, finally, Lisanna had released him to the ground. "I didn't do anything! Natsu's the one that said he didn't remember Lisanna's birthday."

"When did I say that?" the slayer asked with a frown.

"This morning! You said you didn't have any plans!"

"I said," Natsu complained, "that I didn't have any plans with you."

"Yeah, but...but… Lucy's the one-"

"Na-ah, cat." She even shook her head. "This is all on you."

"Wait, so what were you guys all doing then?" Lisanna finally glanced around herself. "They said you wanted to meet here, Natsu? Was it just to get this? Because I thought that we were going to go out to dinner. I mean, this is nice, but-"

"I don't what they're all doing." Natsu easily took the woman's arm. "And yeah, we were, after we spent the day-"

"Down by the river. I know," she agreed. "But you didn't show up at the hall-"

"Happy and Luce were leading me on a wild goose chase."

"Again," Lucy intervened, "I reiterate, that's all on Happy here."

The cat frowned then, down at the ground, before whispering, "I just wanted you guys to have the best birthday date ever. That's all."

"And we're going to," Natsu assured him as Lisanna only smiled down at him.

"Yeah, Happy," she agreed. "And thank you so much for caring. An awful lot, at that."

"You have no idea," Lucy complained, still put out by the whole thing.

"Well," Erza was hurrying things along then. "If the pair of you have other plans, I suppose you should be getting on with them, hmm?"

They did then, after thanking everyone once more, and then the five of them were left, the day nearly all but wasted, with a picnic that none of them wanted to share with the other, more annoyed than anything else.

"Hey!" Suddenly, Gray was more agitated than the others. "That slimeball never paid me!"

"Another time." Juvia was quick to pounce on the idea that had been rattling around in her head the entire time. "We wouldn't want to let this feast go to waste, would be?"

"Aye, sir," Happy agreed as, suddenly, he was right out of his funk.

"A feast," the water mage corrected with a glare, "for two."

"And of which I think Erza owns," Lucy pointed out.

"Hmm?" At the sound of her name, the swordswoman looked up. "Oh, yes, the food, right. Well… It shouldn't go to waste. Have at it, everyone!"

"N-No," Juvia tried. "I meant- Happy, shouldn't you be off doing something else?"

"Well, Natsu and Lisanna are on a date and Lucy's here stuffing her face, so where else would I be?" the Exceed asked.

"Uh, you're the only one stuffing their face, cat," Lucy pointed out as she only stood by, her arms still crossed. "And I hope you know that I needed to do something today, but instead of doing it, I led Natsu all over the city for what? Exactly? For you to insult me all day?"

"The reward is not always monetary or even measurable in any way outside of the consciousness of a job well done. Not to mention assisting a comrade," Erza informed her. Them all really. "Which we have all done today."

"How?" Gray asked from his spot on the ground where he still hadn't gotten up, though this was more due to the fact that Juvia was literally holding him there then, having drug him over to the blanket, insistent that she and him at least sit together and pretend as if they were going to enjoy some of the food Happy was quickly working through. "Huh?'

"Perhaps it wasn't Natsu and Lisanna we helped at all," Titania explained. "But, rather, their precious little cat."

For some reason, it was only glares that the others had for him though.

"Apparently," the ice mage complained as, with that nugget of wisdom, the swordswoman made off with the cake and left them behind. "Another reward for a job well done is cake."

Silly, Gray. For Erza, it was always cake.

Still, Lucy only sighed some before asking, "You had a good day though, huh, Happy?"

From around a turkey leg he'd found in the picnic basket, he nodded his head up at the celestial mage. Not only had Natsu and Lisanna, apparently, had plans all along, but Natsu also did something super sweet for her! They were probably going to have the best date ever, also. Because they loved each other. What was better than that?

"Yep," the Exceed said with a grin. "Plus, we got to hang out all day together. What could be better than that? Me and you, paling around the town."

"Uh, you just told Natsu earlier that you would never hang out with me."

"Jeez, Lucy, sensitive much? Can't take a joke?" The cat tsked. "Must by why you'll never get a man."

"I'm not sensitive, cat! And I don't see you sharing this picnic with anyone either!"

"Other than unfortunately," Juvia sighed as, reluctantly, she released Gray so he too could raid the basket, "the two of us."

#Nali #Team Natsu #Happy Fairy Tail #Lucy Heartfilia #Gray Fullbuster #Erza Scarlet #Juvia Lockser #Natsu #Lisanna #Fairy Tail #Fanfiction

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