make it easy to be on top of the world (open)

[fairlyheroic]

⌛ Who: Arataki Itto (oneandoni), Asch the Bloody (charredflame), and Zack Fair (fairlyheroic)
⌛ What: permanent catch-all
⌛ When: various
⌛ Where: various
⌛ Warnings: nsfw, probably; threads will be tagged!

👹 itto
🔥 asch
🔪 zack

Comments

arataki itto

[oneandoni]

asch the bloody

[charredflame]

@crimsonflower

[charredflame]

[Asch doesn't mind the festivals too much, even if he doesn't like the crowds. There's always something new to see, and sometimes to experience . . . albeit most of his experiences haven't been all good. He's learned his lesson about going to these places without being suspicious of everything - and he's more than had his fill of surprise effects, thank you very much.

But other than that, he finds them enjoyable enough. And he's more than fine simply watching others take part in the different festival games. Which is how he finds himself wandering over to the goldfish scooping game, curious. Not that he has much to compare it with, but he's never seen a game like this before. He watches one person scoop up a little red fish after a few attempts, though from what he can hear it was a missed try at golden fish swimming around. It seems pretty harmless!

That is, until the person suddenly starts pulling open their kimono and undressing, all while trying to plaster themselves to the person next to them.

You would think Asch would be used to seeing things like that by now, but no dear reader, he isn't. And the face he makes says as much]

Of course it's something like that.

[crimsonflower]

[Edelgard was actually excited to do something fairly normal. A festival sounded like a grand way to explore parts of the area while also indulging in junk food unjudged. But this? Well, it's probably something she should have expected after hearing about the "Pollen Induced Heat" and suffering through those oni trials.]

How obscene. Do these game hosts know what—

[Oh. Oh no. That woman is even taking off the slip underneath her yukata. It all falls open, and the lady's breasts fall free. Now, Asch is about the age she was when she started her five year war, so while not a child he's still younger than her! She must take responsibility!

And so she's quick to stuff the last of her festival snack in her face and use its disposable plate to shield Asch from the indecent view.]

[charredflame]

[he gives a little sputter, part-surprised and part-offended, as suddenly there's a plate in his face. But not offended by the plate, oh no - the lack of properiety, as always, shouldn't be this bad and yet, seeing displays like this is normal. Or not seeing them at least; he would never be caught staring]

—a-ah. Thank you.

[he reaches up for the plate] Whatever it is you were going to say, I can only assume the answer is "no".

[crimsonflower]

I suppose it might also be possible for them to know and not particularly care. As long as they're making money such fall out is not their concern.

[There were plenty of people in power who were like that back home.

He may take hold of the plate, but she's so busy staring disapprovingly of the game host counting their coin that she doesn't take notice.]

[charredflame]

[he peers around the plate to see the host counting and huffs out a sigh. That sounds familiar enough to him, too]

I'm not surprised. Though, given how . . . acceptable such behavior can be in this place, I'm sure that contributes to it as well.

[crimsonflower]

[Well, if he's going to be peeking anyway might as well just toss the plate in the bin. She tried.]

With how the flora and fauna influence people here I think it would be quite ridiculous to have less acceptance. It would be difficult to charge people with indecency when they're practically poisoned by the environment to act that way.

@re_sonate

[charredflame]

[the only, only reason Asch agreed to try out this odd toy was because that's all it was supposed to be, a toy. But joke's on him, he shouldn't have let his guard down when it came to trusting literally nothing at these festivals. As angry as he is about suddenly being stuck, he's just as angry at himself. Damn Fabre genes at it again.

Since he isn't the only redhead trapped. Because of course it happened with Luke, of course]

Release us immediately! [at least his short temper isn't being turned on Luke yet, but rather the seller - who pretends not to hear him as he turns to help someone else. Asch fumes and grits out]

I should just find something to cut the damn thing off.

[re_sonate]

[there was something endearing about Asch wanting to play with a child's toy that Luke had to join in on it. it's nice to see his original start to relax a little bit and try to enjoy simple pleasures such as this. it makes it a lot easier to settle into his own newfound life in Nippon, now that he's more or less come to terms with what happened back home. after all, their lives had been cut short, so really, they shouldn't squander it.

however, as they both try the finger trap (he's blaming Asch for this), Luke catches the smirk on the salesperson's face as he turns away. augh...!! he tugs at the trap as Asch yells at him, trying to get their fingers free, before looking up at the other]

Yeah, right, what if you cut off my finger or something?

[charredflame]

[this isn't his fault (yes it is) and he won't be accepting any blame, thank you. It's the seller's fault for not being clearer about everything. But now they were stuck and . . . what had he said, find out what conditions would free them? Something foolish like that. Ridiculous]

—stop pulling so hard. [he gives one hard tug back, and the glare that had been boring a hole into the seller is turned onto Luke] I wouldn't cut off your finger, idiot. Not right away, at least.

[he's joking! . . . right? Anyway, he tugs again, leading them away from the crowd around the booth] It's either that or figure out what stupid thing we have to do to free ourselves.

[re_sonate]

[Luke makes a small sound at Asch tugging his finger back, before giving him an undignified look; his original really is going to rip his finger off if he keeps going like that. as they're tugged away from the booth, Luke stumbles behind Asch, grumbling behind him]

I'd rather figure out what we have to do rather than you cutting my finger off! Whatever it is, it can't be that bad, can it?

[it can't be something stupid like them not arguing for a period of time or something like that, right????]

[charredflame]

[don't be a baby, your finger will be fine! But he does stop tugging and turns to Luke with a withering look]

It's always something bad, you should know that. ["bad", anyway. Affection in public totally counts, shut up, he will not be accepting judgement. He glances past his replica at the booth, nose scrunching in annoyance] Or embarrassing.

[it couldn't be something dumb like them getting along, no way]

[re_sonate]

Okay, you don't have to sound that pessimistic.

[which, Luke realises, is a tall feat in and of itself. he isn't even sure he's ever seen Asch without that scowl on his face]

But whatever, Mr. Know-It-All. Do you have any idea what we're supposed to do here? I want my finger back!

[he punctuates this with a tug of his finger in the trap, grumbling softly to himself. what a disaster...!]

@re_sonate

[charredflame]

[Asch is pretty good at keeping a handle on himself, both because staying in control amidst Nippon's chaos is almost a necessity and because, thanks to Kizuna, it's much easier to accidentally slip and open his connection with Luke. It happened the other way around, Asch feeling what Luke is. But Asch is careful not to let it go the other way.

The festival makes it hard to keep that control over himself. The transformation isn't too bad, claws and fangs and two wolf ears that are mostly hidden in his hair. He makes sure to have a mask and stay inside - at least at first. And he's extra careful not to look at the sky, because he doesn't need nor want to find out what would happen if he got caught outside.

It doesn't last. The connection is slow to open at first, some of the restless emotions Asch feels slipping through to Luke. It eases briefly when he finally decides to go outside, mask firmly on. There's a low hum of excitement buried underneath but muted, like he's trying to ignore it.

But Luke will feel it, the moment the mask comes off. Like a damn overflowing from a flood, whatever resistance Asch had is quickly drowned out by a quickly growing hunger; maybe easy to ignore but why bother, when the need to satisfy it suddenly becomes that much more important?]

[re_sonate]

[at least Asch transformed into something relatively normal. or, as normal as this whole thing can be. wolf ears, sharp canines and claws? at least it's a normal animal that people can recognise. at least it isn't weird. at least, if Luke is imagining it correctly, Asch probably doesn't look too stupid (a bold thing to say, honestly).

Luke, however, seemed to be the butt of this dumb joke or whatever it is, as he finds that cheagle ears had sprouted from the top of his head, red to match his hair with white tufts of fur at the end. how embarrassing...! he can't let anyone see him like this. which is why he mostly stays out of view for most of the festival. it's fine.

however, when he starts to feel things trickle through their connection, Luke tries his best to ignore it. he's been in Nippon for most of the year for him to understand what this feeling is, but when it crashes into him, Luke's almost floored by how intense it is. sweat prickles against his skin, shivers run up and down his spine, leaving him gasping. maybe it has something to do with his and Asch's connection that he almost yearns for his original, and he makes that very apparent as his own feelings trickle through]

[charredflame]

[there's an answering confusion at first as he's caught off-guard. And normally after that, Asch wouldn't be shy about letting his anger or annoyance volley back, maybe a curse before he would have slammed their connection shut. Luke's need leaves him reeling, and he can't quite hold it back from slipping through.

But then it's all want and hunger again, only this time it's focused all on Luke. He's wanted Luke before but it's never been like this, and thanks to the effect he's under there's no attempt to ignore it or hold himself back. He doesn't close their connection but rather, lets it open completely

Where are you?

It's a demand, but in a very different tone than he usually uses, practically growling]

[re_sonate]

[a demand that leaves Luke shuddering in anticipation-- why that? actually, no, scratch that, he knows why. maybe he really should have warned Asch about that message he saw that night, or heeded the warnings of those around last October, but... whatever. it doesn't matter now, does it?

I'm at home.

a short answer; home is more or less with Asch most of the time, now. he trusts his original will know where he is, and he better not be looking through his eyes!

but the problem with their connection being so open is the fact that Asch's own need to see him leaves Luke floored, the pit of his stomach hot as the heat spreads throughout his body]

[charredflame]

[there's supposed to be a line, here, a snapped "you don't live there!" despite Luke having been there a while now. Because he refuses to give in and admit it, one of those few strings he stubbornly holds on to.

Asch even takes a breath as though he were, but it dies when he hears something in the replica's voice. Something that sends that heated need flowing through him even faster]

I want—I need—

[he can't put it into words, at least not ones strong enough to describe what he's experiencing, what is slipping through to Luke. After a few more failed attempts, he curses and -]

You feel it, don't you? Be ready for me.

zack fair

[fairlyheroic]

@necessarycruelties

[fairlyheroic]

[far be it from Zack to turn down an "experience" - and while it's not what he first thought of when he first entered the shop, he's still pretty intrigued. And why wouldn't he be? It looks like a fun little toy, innocent and harmless - especially compared to some of the other things he's run into and heard about. And because it seems harmless and fun, of course he's going to needle someone into trying it with him.

That someone just so happens to be a certain Turk! And hey, they work together pretty well - or they did, at least - so who says it won't translate over into something simple like this?]

Hey Tseng, check it out - think we can figure out how to get it off?

[necessarycruelties]

[ Several minutes ago, Tseng had gotten separated from Rufus and found himself standing in front of a stall in the night market, a shop owner trying to sell him an experience. He listens with no plans to take the man up on his offer, turning to leave when he notices Zack listening to the same spiel a few people over.

He was about to open his mouth, say something to Zack about how ridiculous this all is, when Zack turns to him, excited with a set of the fingercuffs in his hand. ]

Zack, I'm not interested in taking this man up on his--

[ And before Tseng can finish his sentence, Zack has grabbed his hand and shoved his index finger into the other end of the fingercuffs. Were this almost anybody else, Tseng would have been shocked, unbelievably angry... But, this is Zack, and he's one of very few people who can get away with doing something like this to the Turk.

He sighs, thankful that (at the very least) he's not stuck trying to get out of the fingercuffs with somebody like Cloud or, worse, Sephiroth. ]

I suppose we have no choice, now.

[fairlyheroic]

[listen, he was confident that they could figure it out! So what if he asked and then didn't actually give Tseng a choice - if it turns out it's harder than he thinks or something else happens, he'll make it up to the Turk, because he doesn't want Tseng to have a bad time. But if this turns out to be fun? He's not gonna feel bad at all.

The sigh does make him grin a little, though it's brief before he schools it back into a less amused expression.

(it doesn't work he's so amused right now)]

My treat. [what a troublemaker] It'll be fun! It won't kill you to do something silly now and then.

[necessarycruelties]

Zack, you know me well enough after the time we've spent together to know that something silly may actually kill me.

[ Try as he may, Tseng can't hide the small smile tugging at his lips. He knows Zack is right, but it's... difficult for Tseng to actually let go and relax. It's not something he was truly able to do in Midgar, especially once he started to rise through the ranks of the Turks.

He looks down at their fingers for a moment before looking back up at Zack. ]

It seems that you need to reevaluate what constitutes a treat.

[fairlyheroic]

Uh huh. I'm glad your sense of humor hasn't changed.

[but hah, Zack is already winning. Maybe not at figuring out how to get this thing off, but that's just a minor detail. A little fun won't hurt at all, and when it comes to things like this or, at least, things he puts his mind to, he has a surprising amount of patience]

I know exactly what "constitutes a treat", thank you. [he even does the air quotes with his free hand] And this counts. Or it will count eventually! Besides, we'll probably have this figured out before you realize you're having fun.