masanari | [Futurelandia] An Eventful Valentines and beyond (happy new year)

I was an ugly baby.

[Fat and scaly with eczema that no one bothered to do anything about other than spread fanny cream on. Emily had been an awful, unpleasant-to-look-at baby, okay, but she's hot now so it's fine.]

Wow, no, really? Not to make you relieve trauma, but I'm still doubting the ugly baby thing.

[ He's not met an ugly baby ]

Spoken like someone who has never seen a kid post-birth.

[Ada is a naturally quiet woman but she was apparently stealthy enough to just sort of appear this time, and it's enough to even throw Emily, making the redhead jolt and clutch Ariel protectively until she realizes who it is. To be fair, they were both focused on the kid and Ada didn't have anything heavy or noisy on her, so -]

I mean, to be fair I really was unlucky all around, I wasn't a very cute kid either. [Emily didn't really hit her stride until seventeen, maybe that's why she's so lenient with Yamato at times. Ada, meanwhile, tears her eyes from Veronica to focus on Nathan and her packmate(s). It's difficult.]

It doesn't really matter, no matter what you end up looking like your parents always love you, that's what counts.

[ . . . your parents always love you.

He's pretty sure that Nariko might want to claw this woman's eyes out for that. And she's family with her? Nathan feels a sick, burning weight in his gut which isn't borne out of anything he's felt in the last month, and he leans forward, putting a smile on his face and taking his hand off of Ariel, mostly because he jumped a little from Ada too. ]

Yeah, that's pretty much the dream, right? This girl's got that going for her.

[ Or at least, he assumes so. Hopes so. That lumberjack looked legit enough. Still, Nathan shakes his head and ]

As long as we're sharing childhood trauma though, [ ones which aren't actual abuse you bitch ] scrawny kid here - I had asthma and was way shorter than Nariko until I was like nineteen.

That's not even your fault, though, I could totally see Nariko wearing six inch heels at fifteen. [Emily says it in such a way that it isn't an insult or an insinuation of anything negative her Alpha Bitch may have (and actually did, a few times) do.] Besides, boys always keep growing, and girls tap out around their mid-twenties, right? You're just coming into your stride.

[Ada nods vaguely, leaning against the island and checking something on her phone.]

You know, I have to ask what it was like, having her as an older sister.

[While Emily is mildly surprised to find Nathan in the state he is Ada ... Is not. At all. But that alone shows how ignorant she is, which is unfortunate.]

[ . . . Wow this bitch though.

Nathan tries hard not to give her the side eye, and manages it by way of making the side eye look natural because he's focusing on Emily and Ariel. He takes his time looking at the baby and shrugs a little, admitting ] Eh, a few times.

[ Six inch heels, that is. He looks over at Ada proper though once he's sure only the jungle of the pills on his pocket give anything away and replies, ]

Never had any older sisters other than her! So to me, she's pretty much the best person in the world, always looked out for me and the closest family I have.

Aw. [Emily is a little touched to hear that!] Man, now I wish I had an older sister.

[This earns a vaguely amused stare from Ada, who says,] Don't you have two?

[Emily:] No, you're basically weird Team Mom or whatever.

Ah. [What an odd description, but Ada won't fault that.] I'm glad to hear it, though. To be honest, Nathan, I was a little worried. Nariko doesn't usually talk about her family.

[So his sudden appearance was justifiably alarming at the edges.]

[ Weird Team Mom. ]

What, Nariko isn't Team Mom?

[ Color him surprised! And alarmed! But more to the point, Nathan feels a pang of something else inside of him, and he resists the urge to either grab his chest for the pain he feels it in it or grab the pill bottle in his pocket and throw it across the room so as to banish his own weakness. Because that was at the core of all this, right? At the funeral, she admitted she accepted it, she made her choice, but it's still one he pushed on her? It's still a gross, dark feeling he's had. And one which makes him so, so, so, so...

He wants to be with her family. His family. He... ] Well... [ It hurts, she doesn't talk about him (of course she doesn't) ] I'm here now, so you'll have a lot to talk about. Might not swear under that Alpha of yours, but I can be part of the family. Sort of.

[The only sign that Ada isn't particularly receptive of that fact is the concentrated way in which she looks at the younger man, while Emily only shrugs. While there are big plot holes concerning their Alpha's Bitches history and all that, it's been relatively clear that at some point or another she grew up in a monogamous home. Therefore, it feels unrealistic to expect a member of that resulting home to conform to pack nature just because his sister has.

Ultimately Ada must be thinking along the same lines because she doesn't actually say anything, and anyone who didn't know her might not realize what the expression really was.]

Of course you can be. [That's her concession, one Ada is making for Nariko as much as Masaomi. It's important to keep the peace, after all.] There's no one here who won't be concerned for you, in fact they'll all grow on you soon enough. Or forcibly.

[The kids, especially, were sort of like unrestrained barnacles but that was alright - that was how kids were supposed to be, in the end.]

[ They'll all, huh... He shrugs, and tries (fails) hard to relax a little. He at least knows he can fake it though, not really sure what to make of her expression but focused on Ada entirely now, even if there was a hot redhead and a baby next to him. It just seems rude not to, even if she had been on the phone when this began.

He... ]

Well, that was the hope. Or well, why I moved even! [ He grins ] Call it a little romantic, but I was hoping I could get to know my nieces and nephews. Nariko and I were real close as kids [ He should die ] but we kind of drifted apart as adults. [ He wanted to be with her always ] Sad it took mom passing, but... I asked, and she answered. Then your Alpha up and said he could find me a house on the cheap and... here we are.

So really, I'm grateful.

It's incredibly romantic, but I suppose it's a family trait.

[Ada wouldn't claim that Nariko was any better. Honestly, considering that woman's need for gestures left and right, Nariko might be the definition of romantic.] You get older and everything changes, it's an awful thing to bring you together but at least it wasn't either of you. [Survival of the fittest, that, and it sounds like the siblings were much closer to each other than either was to their mother, so the words are a bit tailored.

Emily .... Has a strange look on her face, kind of like she wants to say something but doesn't feel quite comfortable. Since she's technically sitting in front of Ada the elder woman can't see her expression.]

She mentioned you worked with music.

[That's a sort of 'so what the fuck are you going to do about work, bro' question.]

[ Nathan can see the look though, and he wonders if she can see through him. He hopes not. And he hopes the baby can't either but babies can always see through everything he's pretty sure, even if they can't talk.

Either of them...

He nods, solemnly. For his part, he really was sad. And he really did plan the whole thing. How fucked up was that? Still... ]

Conductor, yeah. The city here's big enough it has its own symphony so my manager [ . . . ] Has been trying to get me into talks there, but obviously I can't just swoop in. Worst comes to worst, [ He airquotes both worsts ] I'll your Europe again once or twice a year. Oooor... find some other gig. Music's ben my life or a while.

Man, that sounds complicated. [Then again Emily is not a person who can handle a lack of job security very well.]

I'm sure you'll be able to manage it, though, it seems like you're rather renowned, I think we'd be lucky to have someone with such experience.

[See, Ada can be nice!] Is there anything you're looking forward to, now that you're back in the states?

[ In all honesty, Nathan isn't fond of it either. But his whole life is in flux right now and it's generally going to make him sick to his stomach. In that respect, job security might have been nice but... it's also sort of the last thing he cares about. Because even if music had been his life, was his life, was his passion... well.

Family.

He wanted it. He needed it. He was terrified of it. (and of losing it) and Nariko was right here finally and- And he needed to get out of his own head ]

No matter how renowned I may or may not be it's not a big deal as long as I'm just here in a little family house. Still, if everything goes well I might be able to show everyone a thing or two too. That'll be the hope anyway. [ He hums a little. ] Man though... short term, I guess the first thing is going to some restaurant and getting totally sick from the portions? [ That might be a little sarcastic, but. ] Nariko's always been the one with the appetite of the two of us, but hey, I really am sort of looking forward to some grease.

There's an awesome burger place in town, anyone of us would be happy to take you. The onion rings are incredibly epic.

[Considering her lifestyle it's very, very rare of Ada to eat that kind of food but, well, she's not above going and just spending time with people. And since Nathan doesn't seem as awful as she had been somewhat predicting ... She could take an afternoon off, perhaps.]

Do they not have grease in Europe? [It's a stupid question from Emily but she can't help but ask it.]

There are some guilty pleasure exceptions but the food is generally much healthier, that's all. No one does awful, artery clogging food like Americans.

[ Oh good, He can bond with Ada on something... maybe. If he wants to. But for right now, they are compatriots in this moment, and he crosses his arms, turning to look at Emily with a pleasant, conversation expression. He actually managed to rally!

That's good. ]

Portions are a little different too - you hear about Italians eating a lot and having a lot of courses and they really do, but like if you showed any random Roman what America calls a pizza they'd probably be aghast at the size of the whole thing.

[ Plus some other details, but.. ]

Seriously? [That Emily is completely amazed by all of this shows how much more she needs to see in the world, which leads her to her next statement.] Hey, obviously we can't do it now or anything, but what if we went on a big family trip overseas? It'd be great to see all of that stuff.

[It's an innocent enough suggestion, but Ada shakes her head.]

I have no desire to go anywhere near Italy, thank you, but it would be a shame for those who haven't seen it to skip it.

[That trip might just go on without her, which would be just fine.]

[ No desire to go anywhere near Italy... huh. Nathan looks curiously over at Ada for a moment, but then focused back on Emily. He's pretty sure it's a little presumptive to have him included in a family trip like that or anything, but hey? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And besides, he had...

Wanted to join a family.

And apparently, they're family. ]

Doesn't have to be Italy. I mean, I'm with Ada that no one should skip seeing things there, but it could be the Maldives or New Zealand.

[He either joins the family and does stuff with them or he doesn't get the family and does nothing. There's no way to have both! Especially not with the colorful bunch that they make up.] He's right, and that's before you get to more obvious places like Germany or France. It's all relatively close together, you could probably visit dozens of times and still come back for more.

[Emily is completely starstruck by this description, they're both doing a very good job of making it sound romantic! Maybe that's why she isn't expecting Junko.]

Hey, Joshua wants his daughter back for a bit!

[Maybe they're taking a break or something but: Wow Nathan gets to be surrounded by half the ladies. Lucky dude, huh.]

[ Speaking of ladies, Junko is... interesting. And his eyes are totally arrested by her the moment she comes into the room. In a lot of ways, she looks a little bit like her mother at her age, and those visual quirks, little bits of how she walks, her nose, her shape in general even if it's all on a smaller frame - those are all so Nariko that he locks onto her and can't look away. But at the same time she's also quintessentially alien. It's impossible to deny that, at least visually, she takes the most after her father. She looks incredibly Japanese and by far has the lightest skin tone of the three children, with Yamato having the darkest. In many ways, she's her father's daughter, and some part of his soul can't help but resent her for that the moment he saw her in pictures and all over again in the airport.

But he also knows she's her mother's daughter, knows how insane that sounds, and fights whatever dry mouth he just got by grinning at Emily and at Ariel, sounding very sheepish. ]

Oh, we're losing the baby? She's been so well behaved too, but can't let a man lose his daughter.

[Another thing she's inevitably gained from both parents: She's not at all ignorant to the fact that he's looking at her pretty intensely, though even Junko can't decide if it's a normal enough look or one she should find concerning. Ultimately she lets it go, because Ada reaches for the baby.]

Exactly. I'll go ahead and take her, I actually have to head back to the studio for a little while. [She looks at Nathan and her expression is far more gentle this time around, when she speaks the sentiment is genuine.] It was nice to meet you, Nathan, have Emily give you my number in case you need anything.

[She's not flirting by any means, but she might be taking the baby in order to somewhat-maybe-consider flirting with someone else. And soon enough Audrey can be heard calling Emily's name.]

Well, shit. [... Emily didn't actually want to go, but it's not like Nathan's going anywhere, right?] I'll see you later, be nice, Junko.

[Said girl casts a glowering look.] I'm always nice! Don't listen to them.

[ Nathan, for his part, hastens to stand up as Ada take the baby, so he might offer her a handshake she can't make, only to retract the hand when he notices it. He looks vaguely apologetic for the faux pas and so just grins and waves her off. ] Thank you for all of your help [ Because she has, after all, been helping him move ] it's nice to meet you as well.

[ ... Her number, huh? Well, if she was team mom it probably makes sense she would be the one who would be the one to call, huh. He barely has time to process that though before Emily is called off, he waves her off, and he thus is left just with Junko and...

He's standing there looking like an idiot and hoping not one noticed the pill jangle in this pocket. Whatever. ]

Hey, no doubts here! [ She is, after all, Nariko's daughter. ]

Thank you.

[She is certainly Nariko's daughter because that was a response that would have fit said woman at Junko's age, full of righteous indignation and a little bit of self-consciousness.] Do you mind if I eat some of this? I know it's early but I'm starving.

[You'd think that since she's never met her uncle Junko might be uncomfortable, but for her this is a benefit of pack life: She might not know him personally but he's designated as family so they'll figure it out.] How are you doing? All of this is kind of intense.

[Despite asking she's already spooning pasta salad into the one cup she can find because Junko is goddamn hungry.]

[ He's not sure if he should sit again or not... Oh well, the man sort of shifts from one foot to the other (jangle) and he frowns a little, looking down at his hands and then back at her. She's already eating stuff? He doesn't even think to stop her, instead looking a little bit amused as he takes a half-step back and shrugs ]

I'm dealing - like you said, it's intense. [ A beat ] Don't worry about it though, I won't tell you ate it.

[ If anyone cares.

Fuck him both of those answers were a little vague ]

Doesn't that actually mean you're not doing well at all?

[He does get an approving smile for not ratting her out. Audrey really would kind of throw a fit if she found out Junko ate before everyone else, though no one is trying to make anyone starve around here. Junko's just being a little lazy, ultimately.]

If you need space or whatever you have to say something. Everyone's really nice but we can be a suffocating lot. [Well, maybe that's just more Junko and Nariko??? Well, maybe Octavio, too ...]

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Goes for it here

I'm basking in the delicious

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I'm kind of amused Ada makes bad impressions on so many people

she's doing it on purpose here a little but yeah she's a spiky thing with soft insides basically

I love her a lot it's fuzzy and warm to me

lmao I'm glad especially since she's such a complex weirdo

I do look forward to giving her more screentime but I think the complexity is good

Poor Joshua unpacking her issues he's got some work to do

not like he doesn't have shit to unpack too tbh

A very fair point

Mutual healing through bondage I guess

Best title for a bdsm positive self help book

Seems about right tbh

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