we say that we won't but you know that we will

[amadaman]

WHO: the residents of Nonah 5, and anybody else who thought they could simply walk into Mordor this house.
WHERE: Nonah #5
WHEN: Throughout April!
WHAT: Catch-all for interactions at Nonah #5. Top levels for residents, as well as any open top levels, will get linked in the post as they're added! Residents and guests, all welcome :)
WARNINGS: Mark threads accordingly!

TOP LEVELS
Kaneda & Capsule • Ken & Koromaru • Tetsuo • Phoenix • Bull

Comments

Tetsuo Catch-All

[iamtetsuo]

I'll stop using this icon when it stops being perfect. Anyway, starters available on request, hit me up at crobatman to plot.]

12AM

[rassera]

[The boys never really went to bed at a decent time. Without a proper circadian rhythm, it was bound to be late hours before they eventually hit the hay. So it's no surprise to see either of them up around this time, honestly.

But Kaneda's been acting strange, recently. He's...smiling. There's a spring in his step when he walks around, and something about his eyes...it's hard to place. It's like there's a light in them that wasn't there before. His shoulders too, they're holding up more than they used to. He's not weighed down by some invisible force.

Walking confidence, as always, but there's a breath of fresh air to it as well. He seems to have newfound energy, and the colour in his face radiates with it. It's the worst around Tetsuo, though, the smile even wider as he looks at him, like he's just happy for his brother's existence.

So with all this, he walks into Tetsuo's room, and for once, doesn't start to remove his jacket or shirt or anything to get ready for bed, instead walking over to that fish tank and scooping Dalish up from her spot in watching it longingly.]

Oi, get your shoes on. We're going out.

[That part was to Tetsuo. He's certainly not taking the cat out...]

[iamtetsuo]

Hunh?

[Tetsuo acknowledges the order with a wary defiance.

Something's been weird today. He can't quite place it. Like there's something he's not remembering... mostly like there's something wrong with Kaneda. Very wrong.

Now, Tetsuo's seen Kaneda in a good mood before, and at his most irritating. He's no stranger to the arrogant confidence the guy exudes. But this is a whole different level of Kaneda, with broad smiles and boundless energy that Tetsuo can't explain. By the time this hour rolls around, Tetsuo's been actively avoiding him, slinking along the house with increasingly weirded out looks and lost stares to others silently demanding an explanation.

No one has one.

It's like all that happy energy of Nonah coalesced into some alien in the shape of his brother. What the HELL? WHO IS THIS??

Meaning Tetsuo only looks up from the bed, not bothering to put his game down let alone get dressed for leaving the house.]

Why...?

[rassera]

[If defiance was what Tetsuo was trying to get across, it was not very effective on Kaneda, and it does nothing to dampen that smile. He's practically lighting up the dim room with his presence, slinging Dalish around his shoulders to free one of his hands to reach out for him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Hell, even his touches have a new feel to them, strong but...no commanding. He's not ordering Tetsuo to go out with him, and it's not exactly meekly asking permission, either.

He genuinely, truly, just wants to get Tetsuo out no matter what.]

Breakfast.

[iamtetsuo]

[Tetsuo twists around to look at the window, lit only by a street light. Then back to give a flat look at Kaneda.]

It's night.

[rassera]

[He's only met with a wide smile, and a comm held up to his face with the clock app nice and big.

12:07AM]


Morning.

[iamtetsuo]

By seven minutes. That doesn't count!

[rassera]

[Fingers ruffle through that white hair affectionately.]

It counts. C'mon!

[iamtetsuo]

[GROAN. But he's not putting down that gameboy as he pushes himself reluctantly off the bed, swinging his feet to the floor, grumbling.]

So doesn't count.

2AM this time

[rassera]

[It's late enough that they should be asleep. Hell, Kaneda should be at least. But it's dark and the spring air is still chilly, the streetlamps outside the only illumination the outside will see. But Kaneda's eyes are wide open, his gaze fixated on the ceiling as Tetsuo's grip on him remains strong. He could slowly untangle himself, replace his presence with a warm pillow...go down and drink tea alone to figure out just what had happened the day before...


But no.


This needed Tetsuo's presence, and as much as he hated to wake him up...his head dips low to whisper in his friend's ear, curiosity and confusion too much for him to bear.]

Tetsuo...

Meet me in the kitchen.

[iamtetsuo]

Nngh.

[Tetsuo shifts uncomfortably, half to try to shield from warm breath against his ear and half against the rasp of a whisper. His face buries itself into Kaneda in an attempt to stay asleep. It's warm here. He's comfortable. It's NICE to not be jolted wide awake by the smallest thing.

Life sucks, but it sucks a little less when he's too tired to dream.

Though now he's not as asleep as before, caught in the uncertain stage between awareness and obliviousness. In a minute, he'll slip back under with a sigh...]

[rassera]

[But Kaneda doesn't take Tetsuo's silent defiance as an answer. Because his body starts to move, the heat and comfort now pulling away from Tetsuo's arms. It's gently, and he does attempt to at least unclasp those hands with his own as he tries to sit up.

He knows Tetsuo, and knows that when you take his little piece of security away, he'll follow until he gets it again.]

Kitchen, [He repeats, hand running through that hair.]

I'll make tea.

[iamtetsuo]

[Tetsuo makes another sound of protest, hands grasping to get his living pillow back where it was, but sleep and his own lack of strength makes it a lost cause. His arm flops down to the warm mattress, pulling back to his body as he slowly sits up.]

Kane...?

[The last of his name's lost to a yawn. He rubs at his eyes blearily, staring around in the soft glow of the fishtank. At the foot of the bed, Grim blinks back at him.]

Whas' going on?

[Wait... kitchen. He said kitchen.]

[rassera]

[Kitchen is right, and if Tetsuo looks quick enough, he'll see the spotted tail of Dalish exiting the room in chase of her favourite human, breaking into a run as soon as she hits the steps, only to climb up on his shoulders. Of course she wouldn't let Kaneda stray far without her! She was his!

But it doesn't stop Kaneda in the slightest from entering the kitchen, knowing full well Tetsuo would be down in a minute or two. So he powers up the electric kettle, filling it with water and waiting.

Pulling out the red and pale blue mugs from the cabinet to rest on the counter.]

[iamtetsuo]

[Groggy and growing irritated as he wakes up further, Tetsuo drags himself out of bed, sharing a long-suffering tired stare with Grim before he pads out of the room, peering down the hall.

No Kaneda.

Down the stairs, then, taking them one thump at a time. What time is it? Why him? The tea'll be ready by the time he gets down there; he certainly took a while. Leaning on the wall by the stairs, he fixes the kitchen with a bleary glare.]

What's your problem?

[rassera]

[Kaneda's pouring the hot water now, dunking a teabag in each as he sets one at the table for him, the other slipped through his fingers and sliding into the area across from it.

He seems troubled by SOMETHING...shoulders heavy, but not with any of the tiredness or fatigue that one had come to expect from Kaneda.


This was different.]

I don't know...

[iamtetsuo]

You don't know.

[Tetsuo pushes himself off the wall, not quite awake enough to be steady on his feet as he approaches.]

You woke me up, got me out of bed and dragged me down here, and you don't know why?

[amadaman]

Have you ever thought about signing your stuff?

[The question cuts through the silence of Tetsuo's workplace. Today, they're in the arcade again, Ken working on some homework while Tetsuo tinkers with his game cabinet, and Ken looks up to look his way after writing a neat, carefully balanced 鉄雄 on one of his notebook pages.

He's never seen the guy write before, now that he thinks about it.]

[iamtetsuo]

Huh?

[Tetsuo's gotten better at working on wiring. He doesn't even pause in his efforts to GENTLY tug at a piece of wire, this time without pulling apart the entire piece of decoration underneath it. Hopefully. Teeth unclench for a moment to reply better-]

Not really. It's just something to do.

[amadaman]

[Ken sits up straighter and leans back against his bag-plus-jacket bundle (a makeshift cushion).]

But they're your projects. They're... works?

Does that make sense at all?

[Ken you barely explained anything]

[iamtetsuo]

[Snakelike, the wire twines around, wrapping itself around a light.]

Hnh. It's not like it's art or anything.

[Considering the junkyard style of his creation, there's probably people who'd disagree with that assessment. As far as Tetsuo knows, it's just repurposed junk made into something theoretically of moderate usefulness. You sign art, right? And homework? And that's about it?]

[amadaman]

[Ken looks up at him.

Then back down at his homework. Marks on the page, his name written neatly at the top of the binder paper.]

You still created it.

Ever since you came here, and I think before, you were only able to use your power to destroy things. But you're using it to make something. It's your creation.

[iamtetsuo]

[finished, the light slides down into place, nestling a little too firmly into the hole provided for it. He has to check quickly to see if it's working, angling for the switch it should all be wired to underneath the machine.

Hmm.

It gives him a little time to consider this.

Ken has a point. He DID make this. He worked hard on it, for months of labor and study and frustration.]

People'd know I made this if I did that...

[Can he really stand people in general looking and critiquing this eyesore? .. can he really stand someone else claiming credit for it?]

[amadaman]

What's wrong with that?

[There's a soft, muffled thump as Ken lets down his homework and lies down on the floor, using his jacket as a blanket and backpack as a pillow.]

It leaves a mark. It leaves something that says "I was here."

[iamtetsuo]

[He pauses, then pushes himself back up from beneath the machine, regarding it quietly. Ken phrased that in the perfect way to make sure he couldn't shrug it off, the phrase echoing tauntingly in his mind. Tetsuo didn't tend to mark stuff, but that didn't mean he didn't immediately know what Ken meant. It recontextualizes it away from questioning the quality of his work to making a statement in itself.

Decision made, he digs in his pocket, producing a pen he got (stole) from Maya back in January. He clicks it a few times.]

'I was here', huh...

[if Ken doesn't speak up to stop him, he'll reach down to quickly pen his name on a small corner of the machine. All the sense of showmanship and confidence went to Kaneda; for all of Tetsuo's dramatic flair, he's not all that great at this.]