InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "hostile takeover in my brain"

Rainbow Bridge Mod (prismatic_mod) wrote in prismaticrpg,
@ 2024-01-04 10:27:00

Current mood:	productive
Entry tags:	! event, ! mistletoe, cirilla of cintra, eliot 'eli' ever, eliot waugh, frieren, geralt of rivia, goro akechi, himmel the hero, lestat de lioncourt, louis de pointe du lac, quentin coldwater, vanitas, victor vale

by the port || por el puerto
['Tis the season.

The season for arrivals.

Such as snow, for example. Well, it's technically not the season, given it's summer, but at the same time it's the holiday season, and so it's definitely the season for it. It doesn't matter if you try to argue against this perfect logic, because in any case the snow will arrive - a subtle frost first, then a solid white blanket covering it all. From the mountains in the Crimson Woods to the prairies near Sunset Village, but particularly around the south, at Tourmaline City and the port areas; roofs, pathways, parks, ponds and gardens will turn into a winter fantasyland, ideal for snow angels, sliding on sleighs, skating.... or simply staying home, cursing the weather from within a blanket coccoon. In fact, if you were lacking winter clothes in your closet, it's a great time to go stock up in stores, which will temporarily carry coats and scarves. Or you could just grab hot chocolate that will be sold around every corner. Or maybe join in on the holiday cheer and hang fairy lights or garlands, set up a colorful tree in your home, even buy some last-minute gifts.

But that's not all that will be arriving, although this other visit might not be as obvious. It will start sneakily creeping up some tree branches, hanging from unaware lintels, even showing up floating above the heads of careless victims, until it achieves its goal. This tenacious invader of green leaves and red fruits won't disappear until those underneath it do the traditional kiss, so you better watch your surroundings. It's mistletoe season too, afterall, and these are as magical as they are capricious.

Will that be all that arrives? Maybe. Christmas and New Year are coming up, so these days will have many different things approaching at high speed.

Perhaps somewhere out there, there's a boat, approaching slowly but surely across the sea, and some music that can be heard stronger and stronger at a distance... What is it?

Well, you'll know when it arrives. But most likely it's nothing short of all your dreams come true.]

[[Snow & Mistletoe log! Backdated to around xmas time. Feel free to be creative with mistletoe - maybe it's asking for a long hug, or hand-holding, or a slap to the face!

EN ESPAÑOL. Post de nieve y muérdagos! Backdatteado a alrededor de la navidad. Pueden ser creativos con los muérdagos, quizá les pidan un abrazo largo, o que se tomen la mano, ¡o un cachetazo!]

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juste
2024-02-28 10:02 am UTC (link)

Oh, I'm aware.

[He says in a light unbothered tone but hardly devoid of meaning even so - just the casual words of someone very much used to navigating with little to no grace from the world at large. That's life, and then some.

At the suggestion, though, he lifts his gaze to look back at you, then at the scarf again, letting out a slow hum. Funny. Sometimes the color red is so ironic to look at it used to make him feel sick. He picks up the scarf, holds it laid out between both his hands as if displaying it against himself.]

Well? Does it match my eyes? [Hah.]

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	a hundred years later... consumedinpain 2024-03-11 09:55 pm UTC (link)
	[Coming from a privileged background, one would expect he wouldn't be familiar with hardships... but negligent parents and then a trial for murder and ten years in jail can do wonders for that sense of self-sufficiency, really.] [He doesn't even pretend to smile at the comment, and just looks intently at you.] It makes you stand out. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

nooo time is an illusion ♥

juste
2024-03-12 08:23 am UTC (link)

[He takes few moments to meet your gaze back - his own expression a quiet neutral, looking back as if searching for something. Whether he sees something there or not, he eventually lowers his gaze again, folding the scarf back up neatly, breathing out what might have been a chuckle but isn't quite.]

An evocative color would do that. [Red, bright, eye-catching. Bloody. He shrugs, sets the scarf down again now. Hmmm.]

... I can't say it's all that appealing a prospect.

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	consumedinpain 2024-03-14 02:11 am UTC (link)
	[He can manage quite a good poker face, so that might be a stare down for a second. And that reaction is revealing to him in itself-- if his interpretation is right, he can't know for sure yet, though.] To stand out? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

juste
2024-03-14 09:18 am UTC (link)

[Whatever tension runs in the undercurrent of their stares, Akechi's demeanor still settles on casual and conversational - moving on to examine other items on display. As if not particularly invested one way or another but engaging in a discussion of a general concept rather than his personal feelings.]

You don't think so? It's not so hard to see the benefits of a less conspicuous color palette in public spaces. [Pointedly, he nods a little in your direction.] Although...

I suppose all black also attracts some level of attention in its own way. [Right?]

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	consumedinpain 2024-03-24 12:26 am UTC (link)
	[As for Victor, he seems unbothered by the conversation, even when you very clearly call him out.] It's practical. And it goes with everything, specially with more black. [He smiles again, briefly, a gesture that intends to be playful but that doesn't quite reach his eyes.] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

juste
2024-04-08 09:19 am UTC (link)

[Huffs a laugh, half shrugging and shaking his head in the same breath. You do you, buddy.]

More black it is.

[Seeing as he seemed satisfied with the scarf, Akechi's gaze sweeps the little shop again, already with the next target in mind - his specialty if anything here is. He walks over to a pair of fine leather gloves, takes the pair in his own gloved hands and extends them out to you for another appraisal.]

Here, these. — Ah, not to seem as though a gauntlet's been thrown down, of course. An old tradition to call for a duel by using gloves, wasn't it?

[A harmless little nerdy anecdote, purposely wrong details he definitely does remember, as if he somehow wouldn't know intimately well what it means to remove his own glove and throw it at his opponent in challenge. As opposed to the perfectly normal gesture of simply handing over a pair like he does to you now.

Truthfully what Akechi says isn't exactly a veiled threat outright anyway, he doesn't see himself using this for anyone not his specific chosen rival... but the amusement of allusion is there anyhow. This is just How He Is.]

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consumedinpain
2024-04-14 12:05 am UTC (link)

[He wonders why you seem so eager to help him with this. Are you searching for his approval, to "smooth edges" between them? Which would be funny, being that the only edges there are the ones not spoken about-- merely assumptions, from both sides, he thinks.

He raises is eyebrows at that comment. It seems to him a little out of place, like a far stretch just for the sake of making it. He wonders if it could mean something else, but of course he doesn't know about Akechi's shenanigans with gloves, so he simply reads it as another subtle provocation.]

Good thing old traditions do die. We wouldn't want unfortunate misunderstandings, would we? [He does take the gloves, and giving them a better look he realises they are in his tastes. How irritating.]

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juste
2024-04-23 11:11 am UTC (link)

[Akechi is truly the epitome of people-pleaser + people-hater in one messed up package. The confusion is inevitable for anyone who is unfortunate enough to notice this contradiction about him. Anyhow - he does find it relatively satisfying to notice he chose correctly again.]

... Of course. Rest assured, there won't be.

[:) Nothing to misunderstand. (His threats would be overtly direct, if it came to that.) Less obvious is also just the fact that Akechi genuinely does like to yap about weird "the more you know" facts in perhaps hamfisted or awkward ways. So maybe it's a bit of both. He shrugs.]

Call it just a thought of a custom that lost its practice. That's all.

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	consumedinpain 2024-05-02 10:24 pm UTC (link)
	[Yet again another thing you share with Eli, although nowadays Eli leans much more into the 'people-hater' side of the spectrum (thanks to Victor's influence, for the most part).] [Also... sure, Jan. That definitely was just a casual comment without ulterior intention, uh-huh.] You tend to have a lot of thoughts of that kind? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	juste 2024-05-05 12:28 pm UTC (link)
	[He shrugs, non-committal.] Why not? Can't be so unusual to consider the things people did centuries back, what their reasons might have been... I find it lends a fresh perspective to how one might choose to act in the here and now. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	consumedinpain 2024-05-16 04:26 pm UTC (link)
	[Right. He tries the gloves on, focusing on that as he speaks.] Just try to not get too caught up in the past. Next thing you know, you'll be challenging others to a duel yourself. [He flexes his fingers and notices they fit him well.] These will do. Thanks. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	juste 2024-05-24 05:39 pm UTC (link)
	[Smirks just the barest bit, very much the knowing face of someone who already been there done that.] Oh, I'll have to sort some pending affairs first before that happens. [Casual as ever. He observes your hand in the process, regardless, seeming satisfied enough with the fit as well.] Don't mention it. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

consumedinpain
2024-05-24 06:20 pm UTC (link)

[So it's a game for you, walking that fine line between exposing yourself truly and pretending all is just a silly joke. All the more, because he's certain you know he can tell that's what you are doing. Fine, he'll let you have your fun. As long as you keep being interesting and not a nuisance.

That means he doesn't have to acknowledge anything until he needs to. Like that smirk, for example.]

Do those pending affairs include getting warmer clothes? If so, you are in the right place. [He looks straight at you then.] And you haven't looked anything for yourself yet.

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juste
2024-05-28 09:33 am UTC (link)

[How much of it is deliberate and how much is just his nature to always toe the line is a question even Akechi himself may fail to answer. But it would be a lie to say he finds no interest in their back and forth at this point too.]

That was the intent, yes. For better or for worse, the clothes I first came here in were actually meant for January, and suit the weather today.

[Which is a whole other can of worms he won't get into, but anyway.] Figured a second coat wouldn't hurt.

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