"I have really up up days and down down days..."

"and i don't know which its been usually until its over..." Gregg RP Blog | Semi-selective | Multiverse/Multimuse friendly | OC Friendly | Okay with cross-blog interactions

[down-down-days]

dances while walking down the sidewalk

get a load of that eye-candy~

[down-down-days]

gonnachasethestars​:

“Sounds like a plan to me!”

He was above the clouds, and beyond the moon. Anywhere he could take fantastic photographs was a place he wanted to be. They had some rare grasshoppers around here, which was pretty cool in itself. But the real star of the show was Gregg. He was so welcome and friendly, and his smile was nothing short of spectacular. The tanuki felt a warmth inside of himself every time he looked into those eyes.

So he climbs down the watchtower, looking one last time at the orange sky before following the fox as he began to walk again.

“I think people will really want to come here with the shots I’ve taken so far.”

The life of a town, though this one was small. Waterfront was small too, and that didn’t stop people from enjoying their lives there. He loved walking in the heart of small towns like this, and seeing all the people that lived there. Not just back home, it applied to any small town, and Possum Springs was no exception to this feeling.

As they walk, he mulls over the idea a bit. Before he takes Gregg’s hand another time.

Friends could hold hands, couldn’t they?

“Awrite, mine time.”

Heading back down the tower’s steps, he could just feel the glee radiating from the photographer. He really did love his job, it was so clearly visible in how he took pride in every snapshot and how he was helping this fox see the colours in what was, before a few hours ago, a very bleak world. If he didn’t know better, he’d think Kounosuke was some sort of supernatural, or at least, superpowered being of positivity.

The vulpine watched his companion take another look at the setting sun, no doubt seeing something only he could in the colours, then turning back in his direction. They were headed to the nearby mine entrance now so he could take a few pictures of it. A decrepit old, condemned mineshaft might be intriguing for people to visit and theorize about. History of an old mining town.

“I’d be surprised if they do, not like im tryna downplay your skill or anything, but uh. If I see many new faces i’d be sure to let you know.” He meant it in a genuine way, he was just unsure that the town had a lot going for it and, if they could keep in contact while he was still here, he would absolutely let the other know how successful the venture ended up.

It’s not too long into their walk that Gregg hears the tanuki’s heavier footsteps catching up to him, then an even shorter time after that, he feels his hand being taken once more. He didn’t feel the instinct to jerk away or anything though, he just let it happen. Held it a little tighter, even. The touch of another was too good to pass up, and holding the man’s hand made him feel empowered, in a way. Such so that he let out a soft, but positive sigh.

Just a few minutes of walking, followed by circling a hill and they’d be at the boarded up mouth of a cave, framed open with wood and warning of the mine’s condemned status. Commonplace for such a thing, it was a large, manmade cave system now. Who knows what was making its home in there now.

[down-down-days]

atimelesslullaby​:

“Are your kind uncommon where you are from?”

She was curious. It was her first experience with a beastman in clothing. Even the Keaton didn’t wear clothes over its pristine fur. But that didn’t really matter right now, all that mattered was a matter of safety. Lizalfos attacks had been on the rise for months now, if he didn’t know how to deal with them, they would surely be a means to his demise. The woman walks, keeping a close eye on her surroundings as well, though not as obviously so.

Zelda knew these fields. She knew what to expect, and what to listen for.

“I think we need to properly train you in combat before you go into the fields by yourself. It is not uncommon for travelers to know self defense, and while your crossbow is quite lovely in design, it seems as though you do not know where to aim if you could not even stop a Chuchu.”

It would be a simple training course, given by none other than the princess herself. There was no better teacher in all the kingdom when it came to archery.

“Do you see that large wall in the distance?” Zelda points a little towards the northwest. “That is the entrance to Castle Town.”

‘Your kind’ was an odd way to put it. Rather old fashioned in the negative sense, but this felt like an entirely separate world so maybe it wasn’t as stigmatised a term as he would be used to. So much to become accustomed to here...

“By ‘your kind’ I’m guessing you mean people like me? Which I guess i’d say, no. We’re like, the most advanced things I guess, but not everyone is a fox like me I suppose?” It seemed her confusion mostly came from him being furry, which she was lacking. Her skin looked smooth, like a naked mole rat or something, but otherwise she didn’t seem all too different. It was uncanny, really.

He wasn’t the type to refuse to learn how to fight, for sure. He’d spent a lot of his childhood getting into scrapes and having to learn how to fight back against homophobic bullies who attacked him and other kids just for who they were, so the idea of learning new ways to fight definitely appealed to the scrappy canid.

“Sounds good to me! Could always use some more tactics in a fight, especially here if I literally almost died to what you consider weak monsters.” Still feeling kinda sore over that.

He gazes over to the direction she points and notices the massive stone walls in the distance. A guarded castle town, eh? Guess she wasn’t pulling his leg. Good, it’d be nice to be able to let his guard down a little bit.

“Yeah I see it, a safe haven from those weird chew-chew thingies and anything else that wants to get me.” Gregg was looking forward to being able to take a breather and calm down somewhat, as well as try to get his bearings on just where in the world he was compared to his home. He didn’t really remember the last time he felt this alone, this endangered. Hopefully the residents of the town wouldn’t be too unwelcoming to a strange face entering their walls. But if Zelda was the princess, she could vouch for him, right?

[down-down-days]

gonnachasethestars​:

“Nah, I’m not afraid of heights. I used to be nervous about flying, but I’ve done it so much over the past ten years that I’ve completely gotten over the fear.”

So he climbs the tower, quite pleased with the idea of a better look at the town. High spots were great for vista shots, nothing beat the look of a city against the backdrop of the sky. But he wasn’t sure how good this town would look, it wanted to be a city, but it wasn’t big enough. And now he’d heard that there weren’t many of the younger generation around here, it made him worry for the state of a town like this.

“This looks great!”

Words spoken as he reaches the top. He was impressed with the way it looked, against the orange soaked sky. Kounosuke grabs a shot of the view, and when Gregg joins him, he absent mindedly takes his hand again. This was something special. So he holds his camera out, and grins for it.

“Say cheese!”

S N A P !

He got a photo of himself and Gregg against that sky, almost up in the clouds, it felt like.

He grins at Kounosuke’s confidence and rushes up the tower after him, making sure he was indeed not afraid of heights and also re-checking the stability of the watch tower. It had been around for quite some time now, but still stood as sturdy as ever. It had a good few years in it still, at least. And that was a comfort, somehow.

At the top of the building, he smiles with Kounosuke’s words and watches him gaze out over the town. He seemed so excited to be there and take pictures, so much so that Gregg wondered if he’d noticed him approaching to look by his side. He had to admit, having Kounosuke around, he was seeing things in a different light now. Like, he could see the beauty in the world again. It was strange, but not unwelcome.

Then all of a sudden he feels his hand taken by the other once more and turns to look down at it for just a moment, his grin widening. And in that moment, another surprise as there’s suddenly a camera staring at him. Say cheese? Wait!-- were his thoughts, before the shutter snapped. In a hair-trigger moment, Gregg expressed his true feelings at that moment, a wide, toothy smile to match Kounosuke’s. Pure, unbridled joy.

After that picture, he felt just a little awkward about having done that, but he was still smiling. It was one of those smiles that were hard to get rid of. Their next destination would be the mine entrance, just for a quick shot, then they’d probably head back into town for the main street.

“I hope uh, you got some good shots of the town, heh... we uh, can head on to the mine if you like now, dude.”

[down-down-days]

atimelesslullaby​:

“How curious.”

Waking up in a completely different world? It may have been possible, given his attire, manner of speaking, and total fear of something as simple and easy to deal with as a Chuchu. He was a strange one, but it sparked her curiosity, that he seemed to just appear here, with no knowledge of the grand country of Hyrule. Even overseas, people tended to recognize the country’s name.

“Well. There is no sense waiting around here for more monsters to show up uninvited. What if you came with me to the castle?”

She invited any without a home to her castle, but Gregg was a special case. They had to study, to figure out where he came from, and how to get him back there. Being thrown from your place of residence into something you didn’t recognize must have been incredibly alarming. She felt sort of bad for him, and a concern for him.

“I was just going back myself, so it would be safer if you were with me. Chuchus are not difficult to deal with, but Lizalfos are known to attack travelers in the field. And they will not be as easy to deal with for someone who is not used to fighting.”

So she walks, her movement like a butterfly flittering through a sunny field. Grace was practically her middle name.

“I will not let anything bad happen to you. But I will admit, you look very foreign to this country. Not only are you a beastman in clothes, but those clothes are so different from any Hylian style. Try not to be surprised if people stare at you.”

“Go with you?” He pauses for a moment, thinking he had nothing else to lose and only safety to gain. He could’ve died to those things, maybe. So he only had reason to trust her, really. Maybe she could help him figure something out, at least.

“Uh, yeah. That might be for the best, ahah...” Chuchus were easy to deal with and there were even worse threats out here to put up with? Geez, Hyrule sounded crazy! The fox wondered what on earth a ‘Lizz-al-fows’ was, but at the same time he wasn’t quite prepared to find out.

Seeing her begin to walk, he dusts himself off some more and hops to her side, a respectable distance away, of course. It was a little embarrassing to have someone need to protect him, but in a strange territory it felt almost necessary. Zelda seemed to know what she was doing, so best to trust her word.

“Oh, i’m no stranger to getting weird looks from people. I can deal, no biggie.” He shrugs off her concerns somewhat and observes their surroundings as they make their way to wherever Zelda intended on guiding him. He was wary and on alert now, hands in his pockets and shifting his gaze uneasily around the field. If anything else showed up to try to attack them, he’d want to alert Zelda to them as she seemed to have the whole monster combat thing covered. Probably something the people of Hyrule needed to learn early if they were as plentiful as he was thinking.

[down-down-days]

cosmicursidae​:

“I’m sure the Martians would love that.”

It was amusing, to think of aliens learning about knives. It was such a primitive form of defense, compared to what an intergalactic being would have been able to do. They probably had sci fi stuff, like laser guns, and big scary death beams. But there was no reason to believe they’d be hostile. Lord knew if they wanted to attack the Earth, they could have easily done it by now.

They were probably curious. Gregg’s explanation on knives would probably be interesting to them.

“We shouldn’t stay out here too long. It’s getting colder.”

An unfortunate truth about autumn, and soon, winter. It got really cold in this part of the states. But that just meant there was an excuse to eat lots of warm meals, and drink lots of hot chocolate. He wasn’t done juuuuust yet, as he raises an arm. And he outlines a heart in the stars.

“That’s my favorite one.”

“Then we could show ‘em how much we can love each other~” He laughs softly, joking of course. Showing off love to strange aliens might seem weird. They could view it some other strange way in their own culture or something, but he could still show them a thing or two with his knife work.

“Yeahhhh, its gettin real chilly. But I got you to keep me warm until we head home~” The fox chirps up and snuggles up real close to his partner, sighing softly and watches the bear raise his hand again to point to the night sky. Gregg follows his pointing and watches the movement, blushing a little at how adorable Angus was, clearly lining a heart shape up in the sky.

“Aww, Cap’n~ You big soft cutie!” Smooch smooch smooch to his lovers soft squishy face! Then the chill of the air bites him, telling him they should be going back home to the comfort of their slightly warmer apartment, and Angus’ amazing hot chocolate~ Ooh boy he couldn’t wait to enjoy some of that, snuggled up tight under their favourite blankets and just being together.

He hops up to his feet and lightly tugs on Angus’ arm, trying to pull him up so they can get going as soon as possible to avoid the cold. “W-We should hurry home, its gettin’ colder by the second!”

[down-down-days]

gonnachasethestars​:

That did well to make him feel a little better.

Gregg was a nice person. Anyone else would have taken the opportunity to use him, and he’d have let it happen. Because he was so alone all the time, even bad attention was attention. It had been like that in younger years, too, to the point where he sought bad attention just to be remembered. But it had blown up in his face when people wouldn’t put up with his constant late arrivals anymore. With his selfishness. That was what sparked him to change in the first place, but now, it was too late.

He couldn’t get those friends back.

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

Once they get to the spot Gregg was talking about, the camera comes up. Now this was a spot. There were fields, there were crickets, there was long grass. This place must have really been out in nature, compared to the rest of the town. These were going to be his best shots, while he was no amateur at city shots, nature shots were his strongest category.

Kounosuke is sneaking around, getting shots of all the best insects. This was what he loved, and for someone so big, he was pretty good at being sneaky. Maybe it was that tanuki blood in him, maybe it was because he knew insects would run at the slightest noise. Either way, he was having a blast. Good thing his camera could hold a lot of pictures.

Once he’s finally had his fill of photography, he grins over at Gregg. 

“This is the best spot I’ve seen since I got here! Nothing will bring people into town like knowing a place like this is here!”

There was that smile. Only now could he see how cute he was when he smiled. An expression that made him feel like it had to be protected. He liked Kounosuke enough to want to do so. He was a good guy, clearly. Desperate for companionship, possibly due to things in his past. Gregg could totally be the friend he wanted, if he still wanted him by the end of the day.

Now that they were at the park, he laughs a bit as Kounosuke literally jumps into action. The fox watches his new friend go about his work, snapping pictures here and there of the vista, then going into the grass for bug pictures. He wasn’t the biggest fan of bugs, they could be cool but most of the time they were pests. Learned behaviour of being in America. Japanese folk had a more positive view of them, with kids going bug catching often.

He stands by the stairs to the watchtower while Kounosuke finishes up and smiles at him. Precious. He was having so much fun being here, and Gregg was having fun with Kounosuke. His joy was infectious.

“Y’think so? Just the forest might attract folks?” He seemed genuinely curious about just how much this place could benefit from Kounosuke’s work, potentially. “You could get a better view of the town up on top of the tower, if you’re not afraid of heights or anything? It’s still pretty sturdy, I think.” It had been forever since he’d been up there. Since he’d looked out over the city, searching for familiar faces.

[down-down-days]

atimelesslullaby​:

“Is that so? My, Hyrule is a well known country on this continent.“

Very curious. Maybe he was from a different timeline, it wouldn’t be the first time she met one from a blip in the timestream. But with no real knowledge of his timeline, there was no way to send him back. Zelda’s power over time only transported people to a point she knew. His name was Gregg, once again, a bizarre styled name for the people of this time. They were clearly from different places.

“No, I am afraid I am not familiar with any place called Possum Springs. Is it far from here?”

Zelda knew every country on this continent, it was an important part of trade with other kingdoms, and not one of them was called Possum Springs. She’d never even heard of a town with that name, though she knew it was possible. The woman wasn’t aware of every single town that existed, that would be an impossibility. There was something strange about this guy.

“Are you related at all to the Keaton? I have never seen a beast in clothing before. The Keaton is a nine tailed fox, a being of legend, but you look quite similar to him.”

She shakes her head.

“The most important question is, how did you get here?”

If ‘Hyrule’ was a well known place, then he definitely wasn’t where he should be, which was rather unnerving. It was feeling more and more like he’d been abducted or something. Nothing at all was making sense and he didn’t really remember how he could’ve suddenly travelled to a new place he didn’t know anything about.

It was a blessing that he’d been found by someone nice. Maybe he’d figure things out eventually. Her lack of knowing his own home brought a heavy sigh out of the fox. He was in a country he’d never heard of, and she’d never heard of his town, then asked if it was far. How would he know how far it was if he had no idea where he was?

“I... have no idea how far it is. I don’t even know where it might be in reference to this ‘Hyrule’ place...” Another uncomfortable sigh, which conveys his unease with the growing void of information. He slowly stands and stows his weapons, then gets a good stretch in. He’d been out for who knows how long and was suddenly awoken to big gross jelly monsters he’d never seen before, forced to fight right from waking up. Quite the rude awakening, it left his muscles feeling weirdly strained.

Then another peculiar question, apparently he looked similar to some legendary fox guy called Keaton? He didn’t know anyone by that name... wait, she called him a ‘beast’ in clothing? That just raised even more questions! Beasts were the feral animals to his knowledge, was this some strange country that didn’t have normal humans like himself?

“Beast in clothing...?” He mutters, still confused by that before he processed the next question. “Huh... how did I get here? This isn’t my hometown of Possum Springs, and i’ve never heard of a Hyrule... I don’t remember anything either, I literally just, woke up here in this field a few minutes ago to the weird noise those Chuchu things were making, then you showed up and saved me. ...Oh, thanks for that, by the way. Heh... wait, did I already thank you? Ah, doesn’t matter.”

Still confused as ever, but he seemed to have learned a little for now, at least. That he was in ‘Hyrule’, there were slime monsters that were common around Hyrule, there was some guy that looked a bit like him known as a Keaton and that he apparently was an anomaly in this country. Which told him that maybe the other people he’d meet here would look more like this ‘Princess Zelda’.

It was like he’d woken up in a completely separate world or something. But that was ridiculous... right?

[down-down-days]

cosmicursidae​:

Thank goodness for that.

It wasn’t uncommon for them to get into spats over the whole fact that Angus still visited his mother on occasion. It was true, she had been a horrible person to him. But he couldn’t abandon the only family he had. Gregg wasn’t technically family yet. In a sense, he didn’t even feel like family. He felt like more than family. A lifetime soulmate, who Angus never wanted to spend a day without. Did that still count as family?

Or was it something more? He would shout to the heavens that he didn’t believe in.

I LOVE GREGGORY LEE.

“I see.”

There’s some laughter, as he gives the fox a quick one armed hug to go with their snuggle.

“It just goes to show. You can make anything out of the stars. There are about three billion of them. And to think, we won’t be alive to see the day when astronauts visit them. That’s still way off into the future.”

Not that it would stop him from daydreaming about exploring an ocean of stars.

“It’s okay, though.” He soon says. “I can be happy being on Earth. As long as you’re with me. I don’t really want to live on a planet where you aren’t alive, so if space travel does become a thing, you have to go along with me to Mars. When we meet the Martians, you can show them your knife collection.”

They fought about that issue nearly every other year, but each year Gregg got more and more used to it. Even if he would never fully warm up to the idea, he could still be less aggravated by the situation. He wouldn’t miss Angus any less when he did go though, then he could be suitably sad. Best to enjoy the time they still had before their brief separation.

The time away would make the day he returns to him that much more impactful when he walks back through that door, and then they could snuggle together and he could help Angus mentally unpack the visit in his mind too to make sure anything she might have insulted him about didn’t linger.

Gregg purrs lovingly at Angus’ soft little laugh, the universe couldn’t possibly make a sweeter noise. Then he huddles up against him with the embrace, feeling the bite of winter coming for them. They’d have to return home soon enough, before it got too much colder.

“Three billion... damn. And yeah that kinda sucks.” He agrees, cuddling into Angus’ side for warmth as he continues, smiling warmly at his bear’s lovely words.

“Heheh, me too Cap’n! So long as I have you, I don’t need anything else.” He meant that too. Though his eyes did twinkle a little at the idea of showing off his knives to aliens. “Ohhh that’d be so coooool~ I could show ‘em how to stab things and teach them about knife fights, and survivalist things!”

[down-down-days]

cosmicursidae​:

“I have to. I’m not going to abandon the person who gave birth to me.”

He knew she wasn’t a good person, and he knew she belittled him at every turn, but she was family. If you couldn’t rely on family, who could you rely on? He was an adult now with his own place to live. But he wasn’t going to abandon the person that had brought him up. Without her, he wouldn’t exist. And Gregg would be alone, then.

“Let’s not focus on that, it’ll ruin the night. We don’t get good nights like this in autumn all that often, so we have to make the most of it.”

And soon enough, it’d be snowing instead of being overcast. Angus wasn’t particularly fond of the snow. It was too cold, and too slippery. But it also gave him an excuse to get winter clothes, he knew last year’s wouldn’t fit quite as loosely as they had the previous year.

“Look at that one.”

The bear points up to the sky, and creates invisible lights across the stars. He created the vision of a fox. Maybe not a real constellation, but it was like seeing Gregg in the sky.

“It’s you.”

He grumbles a little at that, but he understood how Angus felt at the same time. He was a better son than Gregg, but his parents lived in Possum Springs still so he didn’t necessarily have to travel far if he did want to see them. Jen would be another story, as she was all the way in Bright Harbour. Spending the holidays with her when they move would be much nicer.

And while he wasn’t looking forward to Angus’ annual departure, he was looking forward to going clothes shopping with him for new stuff. It wasn’t all too surprising for the bear to go up a size over the year, and Gregg was all too happy to be his pillar of emotional support to keep him feeling good and loved.

“Yeah, you’re right... you’re good, hun~” He perks up a little for his bear’s sake and snuggles up some more, turning to the sky as he holds his hand out and tries to follow his direction to a cluster of stars. He squinted as Angus moved his hand, trying to draw the pattern he saw in the stars.

It looked vaguely like a canid, wasn’t easy to freehand your own constellations, and showing someone else them made it harder because they had to be looking at the exact right spot, but Gregg managed to see something that seemed to be what he was pointing out and it was fun nonetheless.

“Heheh, aww Cap’n~ It is me!” He smiles widely at Angus and gazes through the starscape to try to find a cluster that worked for him, pointing out a bunch that made a rather generic ‘round face’ shape with two stars acting as little ears.

“And that’s your sweet face, see! With your cute little wiggly ears~” He traces the pattern he found and looks to his bear for validation, hoping he could see what he did, even if it wasn’t too clear. You had to be liberal with the stars, after all.

[down-down-days]

atimelesslullaby​:

“A crossbow? My, you are on the cutting edge of technology, aren’t you?”

His clothes were just bizarre, but his taste in weapons was top notch. Zelda stuck with her regular bow of light, but she had a crossbow specifically designed for her to help train the knights. She was rather cheerful, though a little surprised by his fear. They were just Chuchus, they couldn’t cause much harm to anyone, really. Even the most inexperienced of travelers could fight them off if they knew how.

“You do not know?”

Now her smile fades into a curious frown.

“Even the most basic traveler knows to be on the lookout for Chuchus. They are one of the most common things to see in the fields during the day.”

Quite curious indeed, that he didn’t know where he was. How did he travel to the fields without knowing they were the fields? It was such a large, expansive area. He couldn’t have gotten here blindly, could he? He clearly wasn’t blind, or he wouldn’t have seen the monsters trying to get a quick meal out of him.

“You are in the fields, of course. Are they not beautiful?”

A wave of her hand, at the golden grass swaying in the breeze.

“You must be a traveler. But oh, I have never seen a being such as yourself in ordinary clothing.” A pause. “…Not so ordinary. In fact, I have never seen anyone who wears your style of attire. But what makes you feel stylish is really all that matters.”

Zelda smiles again, resting her hands in front of herself.

“Welcome to Hyrule. I am Zelda. Princess of Hyrule. What may I call you, traveler?”

“Huh? This old thing? I’ve had it for years, think it used to be my cousins...” He stares at his crossbow for a moment, wondering why she’d called it ‘cutting-edge’ before shaking his head. There was more important stuff to figure out.

 “Chew-Chews...? That sounds more like a candy than... whatever the hell those were.” Those gel creatures being allegedly common here only confused him further. He’d never heard of anything like them anywhere in the world. And he went on a lot of random online tangents.

Her explanation of his location being just ‘fields’ wasn’t much help either. He only knew of one field near his home, and it definitely didn’t have any Chuchus infesting it. Nor did it look like this really, everything was strange. Though it was a nice looking place, that at least he could admit.

“A traveller... Well, I don’t know about that. I guess I am, but...” He sighs and holds his head in his hand, groaning into his pads. This was so bizarre. Had he been kidnapped or something and dumped somewhere strange? Was someone trying to play some extremely elaborate prank on him?

He raises his head at her greeting and raises a brow, curious. Hyrule? Princess? Was she for real? He’d never heard of such a place, and he was sure he wasn’t that bad at Geography.

“Uh... Name’s Gregg. But... Hyrule? I’ve never heard of such a place. ...but I guess that might mean you’ve never heard of Possum Springs. And i’ve never seen anyone like you either.” She was smiling again, looking polite to a fault. Really leaning into this ‘princess’ character. 

[down-down-days]

cosmicursidae​:

“You’re close. It’s caused by air currents. When the stars are twinkling, it’s because there’s a current currently above you.”

Gregg may not have been the most academic person, but that had never mattered to this bear. The fox didn’t lack any intelligence, he just found it in different ways. He had nearly been spot on with the air currents thing. That was proof that he cared enough about the bear’s interests to try sharing them, just as Angus tried to share in some of Gregg’s interests.

It was a healthy medium. He’d never once gotten bored learning more about Gregg, even when it wasn’t a particularly shared interest. As long as he stayed out of trouble with the law.

The stars were bright, and that was something he was going to miss when they moved to the city. You didn’t get a view like this somewhere there was a lot of light pollution. Most of the people in this town went to bed at a reasonable hour, and that meant most of the light pollution vanished after a certain hour. Imagine, being surrounded in an ocean of stars.

“It’s getting to be that season again. When all the best constellations come out. Another year’s going to pass.”

The fact he almost got it right was good enough for him, his tail wagging lightly while stowed away. He’d do his best to remember that factoid because his smart bear taught him the specifics behind it.

He nestles up into Angus’ side and gazes up at the sky, eyes drifting to his face every so often. One good thing about Possum Springs being so small a town was that the night sky looked so nice and clear, little light pollution and general pollution to impact how their sky looked. 

“Yeah, it’s hard to believe its already gone so quickly. Another year of saving up for Bright Harbour, another year of loving my handsome, hot gentlebear~” He leans up to give Angus a light peck on the cheek and grins, brushing his head up against the bears arm and then...

“But. The end of the year means... you’ll be going to see her again.” Her, the monster that somehow created such a wonderful bear despite being terrible herself, Angus’ mother. He knew Angus wasn’t super fond of seeing her either, but it was one of the only times he could get to see his brother too, and Angus was such a gentleman that he put up with her.

But Gregg would be alone for a few days while he went. He hated those lonely days without him and was already beginning to dread it.

[down-down-days]

atimelesslullaby​:

@down-down-days​ wanted a plotted starter <3

The first thing she does, is summon her bow. It seemed the monsters that roamed the field were accosting some innocent creature. She had merely been enjoying the golden fields. She heard the shout, along with the words that soon followed. Fear was clear in his voice, even with the threats. Whether or not he could defend himself, she didn’t know.

It was upon her to defend any in her kingdom, citizen or not.

An arrow is shot. They were Chuchus, as simple as they were, they could be dangerous. He who had been shouting was unlike any she had seen. The real telling part of that was his attire, more so than his species. His face looked like a being of legend. But he lacked the correct number of tails.

The arrow was all it took to drive them away, as she soon walks up to what was clearly a fox.

“You should be safe now. Are you injured?”

Fast asleep for who knows how long, a strange sound rouses the fox from his sleep. Strangely enough, he opens his eyes to see sky. He didn’t remember napping outside, or going to Jenny’s field. But it felt like he was laying in grass with a light breeze brushing at the grass. It was so strange, then another weird noise sounds and he jolts up to see what it was. He wasn’t prepared for what he saw.

A weird, gelatinous being with a disturbing expression, bouncing and splatting towards him all gooey-like. Ew? What in the hell was this thing? Gregg rolls away from it and hops up to his feet, seeing this creatures gaze follow him and continue approaching, then another couple wet slaps come from behind. Seemed there was more of them, whatever the hell they were.

“What in the hell?! Get away from me, you gross freaks! I’ll slash ya!” He exclaims in alarm, reaching for one of his trusty knives and swiping at the closest monster. It seemed hurt by it, but the slash didn’t appear to deter it much as they all encroach again. He now reached back to check for his crossbow, which he happened to have with him, and shot a bolt into the eye of another. It wobbled and made some odd noise, but still was on the offensive.

Inexperienced in how to deal with these things, a sudden arrow shooting by with some kinda aura to it seems to make them disappear in fear, giving him time to calm down and try to figure out what on earth was happening. It was quite a terrifying way to wake up, assaulted by strange slime monsters in a strange field when you don’t remember even leaving home.

Gregg turns to the voice that apparently saved him, another strange being, like a person but somehow different and less furry. She helped him though, so he couldn’t afford to be judgemental in any sense right now. A light, thankful sigh.

“I... I don’t think so? What the hell were those things?” He questions, looking around the field. Nothing here seemed at all familiar to him, this wasn’t Jenny’s field, it didn’t seem like Possum Springs even... “This isn’t Possum Springs. Where-- Where am I?”

[down-down-days]

gonnachasethestars​:

“Money is nice to have. I didn’t have much of it when I was younger, I had to really evaluate my priorities when I started making a lot of it.”

He could look back on those times. With embarrassment. He would spend money like water back then, and it got him into trouble, so now, he saved up for his bills. Because of this, he had a lot of extra to work with, after all these years. It certainly took some self control at first, but Kounosuke felt as though he was pretty good with money now. Most of his trips were funded by his employers. Paying for someone to stay in Japan for a week or two? That would be nothing to him. So he shrugs.

“I’m pretty well off nowadays. I can’t tell you exactly how much I have, I’m not all that versed in the monetary conversion. But I must have at least ten or twenty thousand in American dollars. I’ve been doing this since I was twenty years old, and I’m thirty two now. I didn’t save up much in the beginning but since I was around twenty five, twenty six or so, I’ve been saving.”

Of course, he still splurged sometimes. That was just in Kounosuke’s nature. But photography was not a low paying business. Especially when you were as good at it as Kounosuke. He loved photography with a passion. Was it really work, when you did what you loved?

“We have a great forest back in Waterfront. That was the start of my photography career. I found a golden beetle once!”

The tanuki’s smile fades as they walk along, and Gregg brings up his next point.

“I guess I’m trying a little too hard to be friendly, aren’t I?”

Sometimes it was hard for him to believe that anyone would like him for his personality, due to how selfish he was when he was younger. He’d lost friends to that, which had sparked a change in him. But that didn’t change his poor opinion on himself. He was working on it, definitely. But sometimes he still felt like he had to buy peoples’ affections.

“I just think you’re really cool. And I wanted to be friends with you. I still think it’d be fun to spend a week or two in my home village, but… I understand if you don’t want to go with a stranger.”

Making actual friends was hard for him. People who would care about more than his money. He’d been hurt in the past by people like that, but he still felt into old habits. He sighs, looking up at the sky. Gregg probably didn’t ever want to see him again after a thing like that.

“I’m sorry for being so forward.”

It was reassuring to learn that Kounosuke had built his fortune on smart business decisions and a good job, as well as figuring out how to budget properly to save up a fair amount. 20k was a decent safety cushion, and it was more money than Gregg had even thought about ever rationally possessing in recent years.

Then to learn that was from six years of working and saving some on the side, he’d been working alone for about eight now and barely had any savings. Damn. Unintentionally feeling bad about his own situation again, wishing he’d had his life figured out too, but everything kinda fell apart after high school for him. He listens to Kounosuke’s concerns and can’t help but smile a bit at the compliment. It definitely sounded genuine, and Gregg now picked up on the sentiment behind it. It wasn’t pity he was expressing, it was a kind of kindred loneliness. Like, they had similar issues with the idea of being alone and Kounosuke seeing something he liked in the fox, desperately trying to make him like the tanuki so they could keep some semblance of a friendship. It was endearing, honestly. To be viewed so positively that someone would want him to like them that badly. Reminded him of, well. Him, back as a young teenager with a certain ursine...

“I uh... gotta be honest, you are comin’ off a little strong. Or maybe even, naïve. With the wrong people that could be a recipe for disaster...” A quiet pause while Kounosuke stares into the orange sky. Gregg matches the sigh and gently rests his free hand on the other’s arm, offering him a smile. “Lucky I’m not the type to take advantage of guys like you, heh. You don’t have to like, impress me or something. I like you fine so far, and I wouldn’t say no to having another friend, especially another gay dude!”

Being the only openly queer person in the whole town was immensely rough on Gregg now that he was older and the few others had moved on, and he couldn’t really go back to the closet now. Having Mae to talk to when the internet wasn’t a struggle helped, sure. But a support net can’t be one person.

“I think... give us some time to really figure out how we stand with each other, yeah? Then uh, we can tell how things might go over there.” Worst case? They don’t mesh as well and part ways as online friends. They’d be friends at least then, as long as Gregg had internet and didn’t bore him.

He finishes off his confession of being okay with the tanuki with a slight wink, showing that he wanted to steer the conversation back into being light-hearted, or at least, let him know things were okay and to ease up a little as they got closer to the Possum Jump watchtower.

[down-down-days]

does a handstand. falls flat on face

"Whoa there, big guy! You alright? You crashed kinda hard there."

Likely resulted in a bruised snout, and sense of pride. But Kounosuke came off as strong so he was probably fine, the silly dork. Seeing his shirt fall... up? was cute though.

[down-down-days]

Did you stuff your bear for Thanksgiving

"A gentleman doesn't tell people that kinda thing!" The fox starts, a smirk on his face.

"But we had a nice big thanksgiving meal for sure~ Cap'n went a little overboard so we spent most of the night snuggling and helping him feel better, then we passed out in each others arms. So technically yeah! He was still feeling it when he woke up too, but that was nothin' a few lovin' smooches couldn't fix!~"

[down-down-days]

gonnachasethestars​:

It was an interesting problem.

He didn’t know Gregg all that well, but he had a strong feeling about him. A feeling that deep down, he was a good person, even if he was sort of jaded to the world. When someone didn’t grow up in a supportive environment, it was expected. Another factor was the loneliness. Having a friend around that had time for him would really light up his life. His other friends were busy, just as he was, it was hard to make a time that everyone could get together.

But in Waterfront, Gregg wouldn’t have any responsibilities.

“Is that all? You’re worried about money? Man, I have plenty for both of us! Would you expect any less from a famous photographer?” There was that grin again. Kounosuke followed his heart a little too often, he didn’t listen much to his brain.

A brain that was saying how many ways this person could abuse his kindness.

When they reach the church, he does let go of Gregg’s hand to put full focus on his work. Churches made for great shots, they were always so regal, even if Kounosuke didn’t have the strongest understanding of religions. The tanuki walks around, taking snapshots here and there. The lighting of the afternoon was brilliant.

Then he snatches that fox hand right back up, with a grin.

“This place may not be the nicest in terms of people,” He shrugs. “But it’s got some great scenery. I guess it’s the charm of a small town. I’m looking forward to seeing more.”

Kounosuke made acquaintances everywhere he went. But he felt a spark between himself and Gregg. Like they just naturally meshed well.

“I can help you financially if you really want to see my village. You could stay with me while you’re there, and I could cover your apartment costs while you’re away. If you want to go with me, that is.”

"That all...? Well, yeah. Money is real important.” He muses quietly, listening to the tanuki continue. He didn’t really know the extent of Kounosuke’s professionalism, nor how well known he would be within his line of work because he didn’t pay attention to a lot of the stuff he read on his breaks. It was mostly just a time killer and he sometimes remembered something, but the exclamation was intriguing.

“Are you really that well off?” He was clearly surprised, in part that he was announcing that to someone he barely knew, in a small town where anything could go wrong. Gregg wasn’t the type, but he had a knife and could absolutely mug the tanuki right there, probably. He now had that intrusive thought lingering in his mind, unwelcome. He was being so sweet and kind to him, Gregg wouldn’t dare ruin this feeling just for a quick buck and blood on his hands.

With Kounosuke releasing his hand to do his work, the canid leans against a railing and quietly watches him in action. He was so happy, and so passionate with his work. Must be nice to have something that you loved that much. He was still thinking about how he’d flexed his fortune on him, in a way. Thinking about just how much Kounosuke had in the way of a safety net and he sighed softly, worrying that that was going to be on his mind throughout the rest of their little hang out. He didn’t want to be thinking about money the whole time, but in his financial struggles it came up so often it was hard not to.

He’s jarred from his thoughts a little at the sudden grasp of his hand and meets that smile with his own, though it was a little forced.

Gregg nods silently at Kounosuke’s words, gently pulling him towards the forest path into Possum Jump and the old Sawmill Park for his next photoshoot and feels something inside shift just a little. “Yeah, there’s some nice places to see around here now that I’m actively looking at them again, heh... The forest has some nice scenery too, if I’m being honest. Could argue it’s my happy place.”

Those next words hit him hard though. The offer for some help with his finances, plus having somewhere to stay, as well as going to a foreign country with the tanuki handling everything despite them having known each other for little more than an hour or so now. It felt too good to be true, which usually meant it was.

“Are- Are you thinking straight, dude? You’re offering so, so much to me and... I’m just some stranger you met in a store. Did someone put you up to this...? Or are Japanese village guys just, really raised this friendly?” In hindsight, it would make sense for Gregg to be incredibly skeptical of the situation at hand. Like a reality TV show where someone offers to change someone’s life, but its entirely fabricated and just for ratings and clout. He’d hate to be on the short end of that stick, but also if this offer was real, he’d be afraid of being dead weight and a poor investment.

He wanted desperately to know why Kounosuke was so invested in him, but maybe that question could be saved for later, like when they were sharing pizza together. The end of their day would help downplay the awkwardness that might arise.