SHENANIGANS

[dawnsprincess]

Step the First: Pick one of your characters.
Step the Next: Pick a universe
(your canon, some kind of jamjar, a totally random AU setting,
another canon altogether ... go wild!)
Step the Optional: Generate a random scenario.
Step the Mandatory: Post the thread start!

Comments

Yona - modern college AU

[dawnsprincess]

[Is this college or a prison camp? Yona stares at the bunk beds, fighting a sense of nausea that she knows is over-reacting but — but —

She misses her bedroom in the palace, the one that was all hers and she didn't have to share with anybody. She misses her cast-iron bed frame, which didn't look like it would snap the moment anyone sat down on it.

They're gone. There's no use thinking about them. She slaps her cheeks to drive away the unwanted thoughts. Time to focus on what's really important: getting the bottom bunk.]

college AU

[shiro_megane_kun]

Korra! I'm back!

[That's odd. Normally by now Korra would have turned on the air conditioning. Especially since it's supposed to be the hottest day on record. But even with the open windows and all the fans going full tilt, it's sweltering in here.]

[He's just back from morning errands - he'd kissed Korra goodbye before he left, but he would be anything but surprised if she'd gone back to sleep. But it's been hours now since then, and usually she's up by now.]

[He sets the pizza on the table - she's been craving her favorite for a week now, and he finally caved, despite thinking about how hot it would get with the oven on.]

Korra?

despite the icon, she is indeed fully clothed

[anatural]

In here!

[Here being the bathroom, where Korra (fully-clothed) and Naga sat in the bathtub, which she had filled with cold water. (Though at this point, the temperature could best be described as "lukewarm".)

This was the problem with moving in with your boyfriend. Two months ago, if her AC broke, she could crash at his place, but now there's no backup apartment to flee to. Nor can she escape to Starbucks or the school library, since Naga wouldn't be allowed inside either place.

Hence the tub.]

[shiro_megane_kun]

... I assume you aren't just giving Naga a bath. [Standing at the doorway, arching an eyebrow at you, Korra. You and Naga leaving the tub is going to make such a mess.]

[anatural]

[Ermagerd don't judge her with your judgey face!!!!!]

I don't know if you've noticed, but it is freaking hot in here.

[shiro_megane_kun]

That detail had not escaped my notice, no. [So very dryly.]

Normally by now you turn on the air conditioning.

[anatural]

I tried that, smartass. It's broken.

[shiro_megane_kun]

[Flatly, so flatly.] You broke the air conditioning.

[Siiiiiigh.]

I'll call the landlord. [You know, unless Korra's already done that.]

[anatural]

I didn't break it. It broke.

[shiro_megane_kun]

It broke. [He repeats it, at least, instead of continuing to insist she broke it.]

[He steps out into the hall for a minute or two to make the call before coming back. She could hear that he was talking, but shouldn't it have taken him longer than that-] I left a message. [Of course the landlord isn't picking up at the very worst time.]

Of all the days... [Leaning against the door frame, he watches Korra and Naga for a minute, quiet. Then-] Just one question.

[anatural]

I already called him! [Except of course, he's already stepped out into the hall. Korra leans back in the tub and huffs. If he'd just given her a second...]

No, I didn't do anything to break it. Yes, I already called the landlord. [She tries to think what else his "one question" could be so she can head it off at the pass.]

[shiro_megane_kun]

[Unfortunately, Korra, neither of those is the question he's going to ask.]

Why didn't you put on a swimsuit instead before you climbed in?

[anatural]

[Damn it.]

I thought it would help me keep cooler. [Look, she's not exactly an expert in cooling down — where she's from, the main concern is staying warm.]

[shiro_megane_kun]

[That's - well, it's ridiculous.]

[... but also cute.]

[He doesn't say as much aloud, but he does have to struggle to keep his expression neutral.]

... I got that pizza you've been craving all week, but unless the air conditioning gets fixed, using the oven will turn the apartment into an oven.

[anatural]

[PIIIIIIIZZAAAAAAAAAAA. Korra's stomach grumbles — wait, no, that's just the sound of Naga making faint growly noises, probably at the word "oven". But Korra wouldn't have been surprised if it had been her stomach. Calling it a "craving" is an understatement on Ishida's part; her desire for this particular pizza (accept no substitutes!) is so strong, Korra took a pregnancy test to make sure it wasn't being fueled by an uninvited embryo. (She took this test on campus, between classes — no way was she going to risk Ishida finding it and having a panic attack.)

She (and she alone, no embryos, thank goodness) needs this pizza. But the issue of temperature is not one that can be discarded.]

Do you have any friends? [It doesn't occur to her how random the question might seem outside of her head.]

[shiro_megane_kun]

[The random question is, in a way, nostalgic. Over the course of his friendship with Inoue, he's become very, very used to random unrelated questions.]

Yes. Of course. [Not many, no, but - shocking revelation - he even has a girlfriend!]

Are you going somewhere with this?

[anatural]

[LET HER FINISH A THOUGHT, PLEASE.]

Let's go visit one of them! Do their apartments let dogs in? [The perfect solution, so long as Naga can join them.]

[shiro_megane_kun]

I'd have to call to check.

[As he pulls out his phone, though, he pauses just before calling.]

... Korra. Had it occurred to you that you have friends? Specifically, a friend in the engineering program? [The kind of friend who would, say, probably know how to fix a broken air conditioner.]

[Or who might, just for instance, happen to have a mansion with a private pool Korra and Naga could enjoy instead of a bathtub.]

[Not that he doesn't want to introduce you to his friends, Korra. But. Your friend seems more ideal for the situation at hand than one of his.]

[anatural]

[....... seriously, how dumb does her boyfriend think she is? She glares at him.]

Asami's studying in France this semester. [She doesn't even bother mentioning Mako & Bolin — they don't even have a window unit. Mako is a demon fanatic about the electric bill.]

[shiro_megane_kun]

[Does Ishida look ever so slightly disappointed?]

[No. No, of course not, that's ridiculous.]

My friends it is, then. [He thumbs through his contacts, hesitating over Inoue's number. On one hand, she is his closest friend.]

[On the other, there's still the cultural aversion to imposing on others.]

[Well, there is one friend Ishida has zero qualms about imposing on. So he scrolls to Kurosaki's number and dials it as he steps back out into the hall.]

[He doesn't stop to consider how much of a headache dealing with not only Kurosaki, but Kurosaki meeting Korra will be.]

[... Of course Kurosaki doesn't pick up, though. How like him to be inconvenient.]

[Which leads him back to Inoue. And more hesitation, more internal back-and-forth until finally he dials the number.]

[She, of course, picks up.]

[... You may have to wait a while, Korra, because he's totally asking how she and Arisawa have been and otherwise dancing around the subject like a good Japanese boy does.]

[anatural]

[First he looks disappointed that Asami is in France ... then he goes and calls his gorgeous sweet Japanese friend. Korra is not, as a rule, jealous of his friendship with the other girl. But there are some boiling hot days when Korra resents the special treatment the other girl gets, the gentleness he doesn't show anyone else.

Sighing, Korra tops off the tub with more cold water and wraps her arms around Naga. Grump grump grump.]

[shiro_megane_kun]

[Five minutes...]

[Ten minutes...]

[Fifteen minutes...]

[Twenty minutes...]

[Still talking on the phone (which is to say she's telling him about this upcoming movie she's excited for).]

[anatural]

[.................................................................... Korra is going to kill him. After twenty minutes of listening to him hem and haw in a language she doesn't speak, she flies out of the tub — spilling water everywhere and making Naga yelp in the process — and stomps out into the hallway. She yanks the phone out of Ishida's hand.]

Hi, Orihime! Our AC is broken. Can I bring Naga over for awhile? [A few moments for the other girl to respond —] Great, thanks. [— and Korra hangs up then hands the phone back to Ishida.] She's going out with Tatsuki, but she says she'll leave the key under the mat.

[Then she stomps into the bedroom to get dry clothing.]

[shiro_megane_kun]

[... Well that was... abrupt.]

[... Korra is stomping. That's... not a good sign. But it's probably just the heat getting to her. Right?]

[He can't say he feels entirely comfortable going over to Inoue's place when she isn't home - but he's not so dense he doesn't know Korra will just steamroller over him in the mood she's in. If she's going to take Naga and go no matter what he says, he'd rather be with her, at least.]

[So, while Korra is getting changed, he gets ready, too.]

[After he taking the time to towel up the water Korra splashed everywhere hauling herself out of the tub, he starts toweling off Naga, too - she, of course, sprays him with water, shaking it all off in the process.]

[And once that's taken care of -] Korra, where's Naga's dog carrier? [They'll need to take the train a stop or two - unless Korra feels like walking in this heat.]

[anatural]

[The heat and your social stupidity, Ishida. You are such an idiot.

Korra comes out of the bedroom, just in time to give him a look that's a quarter dark and all disbelieving.]

I'm not about to carrying a 100 pound dog in a crate. [She heads to the front door and grabs Naga's leash.] C'mon, girl.

[shiro_megane_kun]

Korra, wait! If we take the train, they'll expect her to be in a carrier, won't they?

[anatural]

You can't take dogs on the train unless they're service animals. [Her voice drips with all the condescension she's felt — rightly or wrongly — from him.] I'm getting an Uber.

[shiro_megane_kun]

Ah. Uber. Of course. [He forgets that's a thing sometimes.]

I was thinking of getting Inoue-san and Arisawa-san a gift on the way. If you'd rather go ahead with Naga, I can meet you there, though I'd welcome any input on the gift.

[anatural]

Yeah sure see you there. [She's snappish not out of jealousy, but out of annoyance -- she's reached that state of resentment where she's perfectly aware that she's disproportionately upset but she can't make herself calm down. Knowing how unreasonable she's being honestly only makes it worse. She just wants him to go away so she can recover her chill (figuratively and literally both).]

[shiro_megane_kun]

[Somewhere between ten and fifteen minutes after the Uber picks her and Naga up, though, Korra gets a text.]

Would you like anything?

[anatural]

[Korra and Naga are just getting through the door when her phone buzzes. She reads the text and scowls. Now he asks.]

No

[And then she throws herself onto the floor. Air conditioning feels so good....]

[shiro_megane_kun]

[It's another 40 minutes of radio silence before Korra finally hears a knock on the door. Ishida could just let himself in, but, perhaps because it's Inoue and Arisawa's apartment, he instead waits - in the heat - for Korra to answer the door.]

[In his hands are two bags, one clearly with a box inside, though it's hard to guess what may be in the other one.]

[He'd considered getting Inoue and Arisawa ice cream, considering the heat - but for that exact reason, and the fact that he was visiting by train station instead of driving made him decide it wasn't feasible - the ice cream would be a little melted by the time he got to the apartment, so he'd settled on something else.]

[anatural]

[What's the protocol for answering the door when you're staying at a near-stranger's apartment? Korra looks over at Naga, as though the dog might have an answer, but the canine just rolls around on her back and huffs quietly. Super helpful.

After a few minutes, she decides to get up (moving very quietly) and peek through the peephole. If it's a Jehova's Witness, she'll just pretend nobody's home.

When she sees it's Ishida, she's tempted to still pretend no one's home. But since it's not actually in her nature to play petty little games like that, she opens the door.]

Did you take the scenic route?

[shiro_megane_kun]

[He offers a small smile.] I made an extra stop. [He'd hoped she'd be in a better mood once she was out of the heat, but he can still detect a touch of sourness. If it wasn't just the heat, then... it was probably something he'd done or said.]

[And now he's wondering if that extra stop he made will only dig him deeper.]

[He lifts one of the bags, and Korra can probably glimpse the logo of a pet store on the plastic bag.] The heat seemed to make Naga miserable, so I stopped at the pet shop and bought her treats.

[anatural]

[...well, at least he's not complete slime & dog's breath. Though Korra's still a little too cranky for her usual "love me, love my dog" attitude.]

Thanks. [Naga is clearly more enthusiastically grateful than Korra, who immediately turns around and throws herself on the couch right next to the air conditioner. Making sure to leave no room for him.]