maskormenacelogs | dogs are always a good idea [closed]

dogs are always a good idea [closed]

WHO: red, archie and odin
WHERE: heropa dog shelter
WHEN: RIGHT NOWWWW
WHAT: archie decided odin needs a companion and red can talk to animals
WARNINGS: odin

[red said yes. of course he said yes, an animal was involved. there's no way this could go wrong which is possibly tempting fate, but literally all they are doing is going to get a dog for odin to pour all his love into and get a lot of love back. love that archie believes odin both deserves and needs in his life. he also hopes this will cheer red up after may's departure.

all he has to do is not get like twenty dogs himself. archie has mightyena's ball with him to release and remind himself of what he already has when his impulsive decisions start to kick up a fuss.

he's standing outside the shelter, in the middle of red and odin. time to do this.]

One dog, alright? Not each, we are leaving with one dog. Red, are you gonna be okay hearing their thoughts? Some of them might be depressing. Also, I doubt they'll let Pikachu in with you. [he punctuates this by reaching out to give the yellow mouse a little ruffle on the head.] Sorry, bro. Do you have a ball you can go into? Or maybe I could let out Crobat so you two can play?

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[ Up until they actually arrived at the shelter, Odin had been incredibly excited. He would not stop going on and on and on and on about what kind of bullshit, black-magic-based name he was going to give his dog, or what kind of bullshit, black-magic-based history he was going to assign to his dog, or... really, it's hard to cover just every angle of magical bullshit Odin managed to cover in the twenty minute trip down here. There was a lot.

Now, though? He's pale as hell, clutching the front of his clothes and nervously wringing the fabric in his hands. What if he can't do this? What if none of the dogs like him? What if he can't take care of any of them? What if they-- well. Sad stuff. Worst case scenario stuff. His paranoia and anxiety is pretty insurmountable when Archie starts talking to him and Red. ]

One dog. [ His voice cracks. He nods. If he can get through this, he's totally leaving with like nine, and that's written all over his god damn face, but he still just nods obediently and struggles not to vomit with nerves. ] O-One. One dog. One dog. Hhhaaah.

D-Does anyone have a paper bag or something? To breathe in? Or to vomit in. They're multi-function, I've found.

[Red's brow crinkles with concern at Odin's nervous muttering. He lays a hand on the man's shoulder just to show that he's there for him, then turns back to Archie with a reassuring nod. One dog! He can handle that!

[Not having Pikachu with him will make it a little more difficult and he does miss Mutt an awful lot, but. Well, he takes a moment to exchange a glance with the little rat on his shoulder who seems to deflate instantly at whatever thought Red is broadcasting into its head. It casts Archie a sullen look, then begrudgingly leaps to the ground and nudges the man's foot.]

No ball. [So, that means he'll be taking the Crobat option (Red is just translating).

[Speaking of translating, Red is 100% not prepared for all of the depressing puppy thoughts that he's about to hear no matter how much Archie tries to warn him so, yeah. Basically, they are leaving with at least nine dogs - no question about it.

[He gives Odin's shoulder another reassuring grip, casts him the smallest of smiles, and then waits for Archie to lead the way.]

Sorry, bro. [he says, releasing crobat. the giant bat looks a little confused and worried when it sees pikachu - a super effective electric type - but seems to soften up when it realises there won't be a battle. croba crawls towards pikachu and nudges it with its wing.] You two have fun, yeah? Don't faint him, Chu.

[archie LEADS THE WAY because this was his amazing idea let's go]

So, uh, Odin, what did you want? A big one? Small one?

Edited 2017-09-28 23:41 (UTC)

[ Despite the hand on his shoulders and Archie taking control of everything, Odin looks like he's on the verge of throooowing the fuck up until Crobat just appears and he quietly loses his mind. He hasn't seen Crobat before!! He's so cool!! Giant bat?? Ugh he wants to be a giant bat. He's looking over his shoulder back at the two pokemon as they head inside, and, well. Maybe seeing two cool animal pet bros together hanging out has eased Odin's nerves a bit, because when he's back to focusing on the task at hand he looks a little more okay with the world. ]

Um. I don't know. I guess I'll have one of each. [ oh, wait, one dog. right. wow, he fucked that up early. ]

M-Maybe a big dog? I think a big dog. Something cool and ferocious that'll protect me or whatever. [ ~~like his dad~~ ] I don't think people would be as willing to adopt big dogs, so it'd make sense to get one, right? To be, like. A Nice Man.

[Red gives Odin a supportive, encouraging friendship nod, patting his shoulder a bit as they enter the shelter. Thank Arceus they haven't seen any dogs yet, because once they do, Red will likely be entirely out of commission - he can hear a couple of them already, though. It's mostly just barking with a couple of words thrown into his head like "food" and "people". Perhaps the most surprising of all is the word "ImPorts" - can they really sniff out the difference?

[Okay, so maybe he doesn't need to actually see the dogs to start spacing out. He's already staring in the direction of the back room with his brow furrowed and focused, hand resting awkwardly on Odin's shoulder.]

[archie chats with the receptionists for a while and one of them steps out, gesturing for them to follow.

red gets a nudge in the back. c'mon fucker.]

I think you'd be better with a big dog... bigger than Mightyena.

[ odin gasps. there are dogs that are bigger than mightyena. he turns to red. there are dogs that are bigger than mightyea! he turns to archie. there are dogs that are bigger than mightyena!!!!! his eyes are only growing wider and wider in anticipation, and the colour is slowly draining back into his face, though the queasy feeling in his stomach isn't going anywhere any time soon.

he steps into the threshold after Archie and the receptionist, still totally chill with having red's hand on his shoulder, and he's immediately overwhelmed by all the dogs he sees. He inhales and gets tears in his eyes like he's about to scream and go on a big big tangent about how he loves all of them and he wants all of them and they're all his now, but then he remembers how sometimes he hurts pikachu's ears by yelling too loudly so he stifles it. good boy. ]

C-Can-- all of them. Can I take-- all of-- hhhhh. Hhhhh. Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Edited 2017-09-29 00:08 (UTC)

[I hope you like having a death grip on your shoulder, Odin, because once you three enter the Dog Room™, Red is just about as useless as Odin is, nearly falling over at how positively overwhelmed he is.

[They're both a total mess, to be honest, but remember: this was your idea, Archie.

[Nevermind the over-stimulation brought on by the sight of the dogs alone - pair that with an excited chorus of, "People!", "Home?", "Take me home!", "Play?", "Hi!", "Food?"--

[Red is a Furreting goner, is the point, here. He buries his head in the back of Odin's shoulder just to take a break from it all, but he can't stay there long before his teary eyes are back on the puppies.

[Why yes, you can take them all home and Red is ready to Help.]

[archie would eyeroll but honestly he wants to CRY TOO UAAGHH DOGS...

he pats red's shoulder like he isn't about to start fucking crying himself.]

Go back outside if ya need, yeah? Alright, Odin, you wanna start on this side? We can go down both.

...

Don't pass out. Either of you. Please.

[ Odin takes three steps, shooting Archie an affirmative glance and reaching back to pat Red when he buries in, and then

he wrenches himself out of Red's grip, writhes in place like a panicking worm or one of these things and falls on his hands and knees, wracked with sobs. THESE DOGS ARE SO PURE AND GOOD AND ONE OF THE THREE OF THEM WAS GOING TO CRY EVENTUALLY IT JUST HAPPENED TO BE ODIN FIRST. a big, black dog nervously stares at him before pawing at the kennel he's locked up in, and odin notices, wide eyed and sniveling, and he crawls on the floor over to it, just leaving a slimy trail of tears and snot in his wake. he puts his hand up to the cage, and the dog puts a paw up to meet it, and ODIN SOBS LOUDER THAN EVER. ]

A-HA-HAAAARCHIIIIIIIIE. I WANT THIS OOOOOONE.

[At least Red is able to keep himself somewhat composed, but he can't blame Odin for his reaction. It might look to be a little dramatic if Red didn't know that the other was being entirely genuine - but he does. It's not as if the situation doesn't call for it - this may as well be like a trainer getting their very first Pokémon. In fact, come to think of it, this situation is very important.

[Suddenly, Red snaps into Mission Mode, sniffling up the last of his snuffles and giving the brim of his hat a tell-tale hug. He has a job to do - and that job apparently involves dropping to the ground on all fours and crawling over to the dog's kennel. He sits there for a long moment, eyes locked with the dog, their exchange silent to any outside observer, but after a few seconds, he reaches over to lay a hand on Odin's knee.]

Too loud. [He whispers this for emphasis, holding a finger up to his lips and pointing at the dog's ears.] Talk to him. Quiet.

[Get to know each other!]

[archie watches this with interest - assuming this is a power thing and not just red being weird. it's fascinating in a way, he really envies the kid. what he wouldn't give to know what his team are actually thinking... the receptionist nudges archie and hands him a bag of treats (probably not wanting to verbally engage with import bullshit. he gets that) and nods at odin.]

Ey, try feedin' him some of these!

[he holds out the little baggie of brown bone shaped treats.]

[ Odin is so out of it, so focused as he is on the doggo and giving him the quietest little "hey, fella" and "are you okay in there, buddy" comments under Red's supervision, that he straight eats one of the dog treats because he thinks Archie is giving them to him. He doesn't, uh. React. Just eats it. It's nice, actually.

Oh, but they're for the dog. Right. So, okay. When the dog paws at Odin again, he very quietly hands one of the bone treats through the gap in the cage and tries very hard not to just sob and fall to pieces at how happy he is eating it. he also offers the packet to Red, just in case he wants to eat some treats or feed the dog as well. ]

C-Can I have it? Archie. Ask if I can have this one.

[ archie's the dad, apparently. ]

[Red has totally eaten Pokémon treats before - it's cool, he gets it. He isn't going to eat one of the dog bones though because, well, those are for the dogs. He does feed one to Odin's new buddy through the cage though, and then looks over to the Odin with a soft, reassuring smile.]

He likes you.

Odin, this is literally the first one. Don't you wanna check out the other ones further into the kennel before you make a final choice?

[HE IS DEFINITELY THE DAD.]

Edited 2017-10-03 11:50 (UTC)

HHHARCHIE ASK IF I CAN HAVE THIS ONE.

[ wow, okay. odin sniffles on the back of his hand and leans on red for support. better do what he says or he's just gonna get louder and louder. ]

[Red takes a second to give Odin another little pat, but then tugs on his sleeve a bit and points to another kennel where a similarly big and fluffy dog lies, moaning and whining with almost as much gusto as Odin himself.]

He wants one.

[Handing the bag of treats back to Odin, Red nudges him lightly with his elbow.]

[you know what? archie is gonna let these two do their thing. red can hear the thoughts, odin is screaming and archie's gonna go fuckin' check out a little chihauhau a couple of cages down.]

[ Fuck!! Odin wants that one too! He's beautiful. Odin puts his fingers in the kennel and gives him a little pat, and then a treat, and then there's another dog that's wagging her tail and asking for a treat, and he feeds her, and he goes through about three more dogs, feeding them and crying and sniffling and trying not to be too loud (but ultimately failing) and then he's on the floor, a mess. ]

I-I can't. I can't pick. I want all of them. I know I just promised one, but I want all of them. R-Red. Red. I need a hug.

[ he reaches limply through the air. ]

[Lucky for Odin, Red is always down for a good hug. He brings Odin into his arms with no trouble, giving him a healthy squeeze. When he pulls away, he places two firm hands on either one of Odin's shoulders, squeezing them gently and locking his gaze with the other - have you ever seen a smile so reassuring?]

You can do this.

[It's just like how he'd talk to one of his Pokémon during a big battle. For Odin, this experience is probably just as important.]

Calm down. Think.

[He takes in a deep breath for Odin to imitate, closes his eyes.]

Feel it...

[he watches this, suddenly unsure if he'll be able to stop odin getting more than one.

unsure if he even should.]

Try an' follow Red, Odin. He knows this stuff.

[ odin nods to archie, but it's kind of hard to see, given that after his INTENSE, EYE-LOCKING REASSURANCE with red he's just burying his face in his own arms and sniffling a lot. still, thanks to red being there and guiding him through his breathing, he finds his composure enough to wobble up to his feet - though it does take a little while. ]

O-Okay. Okay. Okay. [ Okay. OKAY. he starts wobbling a little ways down the aisle, saying nothing, going through about three full bags of dog treats because he just feeds way too much to every dog he sees and the attendant doesn't want to refuse an import supplies. he falls in love with another dog, a big, brown mastiff who is almost as overly excited to make friends as Odin himself is, but he keeps thinking of the black dog at the start and after seeing every dog at the shelter he isn't sure which one to pick. it's taking all his willpower not to adopt ALL of them, so two is... fine. ]

I-I want two. How do I-- how do I handle that? If I want two. Maybe-- that's okay? Two's okay. Right?

[Wellllllll...

[Red turns to Archie, blinking while his arms go up in an over-exaggerated shrug. Your call, big dude - you're the one that made the "just one" rule in the first place.]

[he pauses, clearly thinking this over.

eventually, he sighs.]

Fine. But if you get overwhelmed there's no returning it, you know? You gotta keep it and deal with it.

Iwon'tgetoverwhelmedI'mgonnalovethemsomuchthatIdon'teveneatorsleepbecauseI'mjustgonnagivethemallmyfoodandletthemsleeponmybedanddoanythingtheywanteverforevereverandever!

[ well, that's-- who knows what he just said. the gist seems to be that he's promising to take care of them and if archie and red are okay with it, he's okay with it. he points out the two dogs he wants - the big, fluffy brown lion-like mastiff and the newfoundland - and soon they're out of their kennels and jumping up at everyone they can reach.

odin is crying. he is so happy. ]

Wh-what about-- [ sniff. ] Wh-what about-- [ SNIFFLE. ]

Wh-what about you guys? Are you gonna adopt anyone?

[Red glances to Odin, then to Archie, almost like a child trying to ask for a toy in a toy store. They were really only supposed to be here to get Odin a dog, but...

[Daa-aaad?]

Wh-- you too!?

[archie doesn't mention how much he wants a dog too.]

Do you have time, Red?

Of course he has time! You don't need time to take care of a dog!

[ wow, that's promising talk for a new pet owner. odin buries his face in the mastiff's mane, straight up disappearing in all that fur. #bye ]

[Just picture an exaggerated anime sweat drop at Odin's response. Red turns to him, saying quietly:]

You do.

[And then he's turning back to Archie with a nod.]

I do.

[Have time for a dog. And a parrot. And two cats. And an ImPocreat. And four Pokémon.]

Edited 2017-10-07 19:48 (UTC)

[he pokes odin sharply in the arm.]

Take this seriously or you're gettin' none.

[to red:] You can do what you want, bro.

[ odin gasps like he's dying. again. probably done that a lot since coming here. he clings to his dogs like they're a lifeline. ]

... What're you gonna get?

[ totally putting the focus back on red to avoid any dog-stealin ]

[Red stops to think about it for a moment. It's not as if he hasn't been paying attention to each and every dog in the place - I mean, he can literally hear most of their thoughts, so. It's a bit hard to ignore. But, while Odin had been searching for his own companion, Red had gotten to chatting with one pup in particular...

[He inches towards its crate now, getting back down on his hands and knees to peer inside and exchange a couple more words with it. A few moments later, and he's opening the crate and reaching inside to retrieve a tiny, shaking little chihuahua pup from inside.

[He's cradling it like a baby. There's no going back now.

[It licked his nose.]

[archie reaches out to give it a little ruffle, then nudges red's shoulder, asking quietly:] This wasn't too much, was it?

Alright, fine. They seem good. You wanna take 'em to the receptionist?

[ WAIT, WHAT'S THE RECEPTIONIST GONNA DO TO THEM-- wait, wait, okay, this is just how they adopt the dogs, okay, okay. odin's heart that had suddenly started hammering against his chest a mile a minute slowly eases back to a manageable pulse.

he makes his way to the receptionist without telling archie or red it's time to go, and part of that is because he's straight up snuggling his dogs and trying to snuggle up to red's lil chihuahua buddy at the same time. god he loves dogs so much. he's all the way up to the desk when he pauses and turns back. ]

W-wait. Archie's not gonna get one...?

[A sloooooow turn toward Archie.

[Eh? Ehhhhhh?]

No!

[he looks alarmed at the idea; crosses his arms and huffs in defense of himself.]

I ain't got time or money for another dog!

Ugh, this coward.

[ ugh. ugh. disgusting. ]

I-I mean, we could adopt another one for Archie. Like, three more, between you and me, Red, 'cause then we'll have six total, which is basically two each, even though Archie's two are ours?

[ whatever logic he's trying to lay down here doesn't matter he just wants more dogs ]

[Red lays a hand on Odin's shoulder, then shakes his head - he's still smiling, though, trying to be reassuring.]

Two first.

[Then, if you want more, Red will totally adopt six more dogs with you.]

[archie shoots odin a glare, then herds them both towards the area away from the kennels.]

Red, I'm just sayin', if I come to yours one day and there's fifty fuckin' dogs running around I'm gonna be real disappointed.

[ archie can glare at him all he wants. odin feels empowered by red's shoulder-patting smile-assurance. he's ready to open up his mouth an argue about why fifty fuckin' dogs running around would be the best thing in the world before he remembers he's already been told off for that and does not want to risk losing the two doggos he's getting. ]

Forty nine. He'll get forty nine then. Then I'll have the other one so the fifty dogs we adopt will be split between us and you can't get mad.

[ nvm ]

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