highly new, slightly improved open post

[appliances]

assorted morons

☆ @ the muselist

optional prompts/ideas

☆ caught in the rain meme ☆ little steps meme ☆ affectionate physical contact meme ☆ picture prompt also acceptable but link them so it's tidy ☆ AU ideas: soulmates AU, reincarnation AU, Bad End AU, canon divergent/roleswap AU, dorky college AU, crossover AU, super indulgent high fantasy AU ☆ melodrama is ultimate tier ★ SHIPPING AND FUCC: ☆ non-fluffy relationship types I'm down for: codependent, master/servant power imbalance type ships, "we're bad for each other but worse for anyone else," other things I am failing to think of tbh ☆ things I am not into: noncon (includes "dubcon"), incest, tsundere shit if your tsundere is just verbally abusive, gratuitous torture porn, you'll probably have to ask me about harder kinks and they will vary by character ☆ I don't have a kink list so pitch me an idea if u thirsty ☆ if you would prefer a locked post I can also make that happen

Comments

[trivialpursuit]

[hah.....]

You did say you were going to buy me a drink. But not here.

[There are Quests everywhere, but they're harder to avoid when he's technically supposed to participate.]

[silvercrusader]

So let's go somewhere else.

[It's easy to walk out, hands moving idly at his sides (because he keeps wanting to shove them deep into his pockets, but can't). A little harder to hit the street and be so aware of Kakyoin beside him, really seeing this world for the first time. It's not so obvious, not really, but there's little details. Little oddities, loops of dialogue and actions that just repeat, over and over.

There's a bar he likes a few blocks down, small and shabby but serviceable. It's got a sheet in front as a door, and he holds it up for Kakyoin, smiling a little as he does.]

So what can I get you, huh?

[trivialpursuit]

[There's novelty in leaving just this building. Yes, Kakyoin has been outside before, but it was always because of the narrative, never just because he wanted a drink. There's a special kind of delight he feels when one of the girls by the door gives him a quizzical look and he walks right past, following Polnareff out into the daylight. She doesn't get it, anyway.

But, ah, there's also something to be said for the... detail of the narratives, because more than one of the few people in this shabby little bar tense uncertainly when Kakyoin ducks past the sheet and blinks a few times in the dimmer light. Oops.]

A better reputation...? [ha ha, jokes] For something like alcohol, I think I can leave that choice up to someone else.

[silvercrusader]

[Whatever. Whatever! It's fine. People are fucking terrible all day long, and more than once he's nearly gotten kicked out for actively trying to stop other guests from being fucking assholes. So what if what Polnareff wants is for Kakyoin to accompany him? That's his wish. No limits, right?]

So we'll start with whiskey and go from there.

[Did they have whiskey in Edo Japan? They do here, and he glances up, meeting the barman's eyes, holding up two fingers.]

Anything else?

[trivialpursuit]

No, that will do.

[Whiskey and Whiskey+, it sounds promising enough. He watches Polnareff order the drinks, just sort of studying him; there must be a crack somewhere in how he and all the other hosts behave that clues the guests in on who's who, right? Surely there's a seam somewhere, and since he'll certainly never find it by looking at himself in a mirror now, he'll just have to compare Polnareff to as many hosts as possible.

But he is, essentially, just leaning on his elbow and staring. Hey.]

[silvercrusader]

. . . hey.

[Look. It's not that he minds Kakyoin's attention. Quite the opposite, point in fact, and any other day he'd be quite pleased by it. But there's something incredibly off-putting about the way he stares-- not lustfully, not even curiously, but intensely.]

Do you . . . wanna drink your drink now . . . ?

[trivialpursuit]

Hm? Oh— oh.

[He blinks and looks down at his drink. Yes, this, he'll drink it. But the never-ending cascade of memories and questions and feelings pouring into his head is distracting. Having something- someone- to focus on... helps.

He sips the whiskey and wonders, briefly, if he can simply not get drunk by thinking hard enough about it. That seems too far-fetched even for everything else, though.]

I wonder if you liked me better before I could remember you.

[silvercrusader]

[That's a fair question. He wrinkles his nose, thinking the question over, because ti seems best to not lie to his companion only a few days after he's realized what he is. He stares contemplatively at Kakyoin, his blue eyes sincere, as he sips at his whiskey.]

No.

[That's his eventual answer. His tongue stings, his mouth curling in pleasant pain. And he'd elaborate, he would, but then he realizes that-- you know, they're not alone? And it's not like the hosts are aware, but at the same time, what if they are?]

--but maybe we oughta talk about this later. When we're alone.

[Alone, he stresses, and maybe the hosts think he means something else, and if they do, good.]

[trivialpursuit]

[It's a fair question, but Kakyoin doesn't much mean it to be. Everything in him wants to lash out as much as possible and he can't tell how much of that is his role and how much of that is him, but the feeling is there. So to get an answer, and a sincere one at that, is... nice.

Gross. He lifts his cup to smirk into it as he sips again. Alright, alright.]

Okay. [3... 2...] You're the boss.

[Day 1 of real human interaction: Kakyoin learns dramatic irony.]

[silvercrusader]

[Damn it--]

Don't--

[trivialpursuit]

[Boy, talk about too easy!! He chuckles.]

Okay, okay. Drink.

[silvercrusader]

You're just as bossy as ever.

[Muttered into his glass, because he's clearly doing what he's told. Another mouthful and he drains the glass, pulling a face at him.]

Finish your own damn whiskey, why don't you? I bought you that as a treat.

[trivialpursuit]

Yes, and your generosity has been noted.

[Which he says with the exact same teasing tone as the boss comment, but he takes another sip and adds, more softly:] I do mean that.

[But whatever! Never mind! Whiskey.]

[silvercrusader]

[--ah, and he glances over at him, gratified surprise clear on his face. But whiskey time! Whiskey time it is, even if he's grinning as he gestures at the bartender for another round.]

Hey. After this, I wanna go show you something.

[trivialpursuit]

[No, don't look at him like that, he genuinely has no idea how to process that expression. He opens his mouth like he might say something, like actually tell him to quit looking at him, then looks down at his cup instead. He drains it as the next round comes.

Feelings. Brrr.]

If you're not too drunk before then...

[silvercrusader]

Bet you anything I can hold my liquor better than you.

[trivialpursuit]

[Do you know his alcohol tolerance stat??? Neither does he.]

Pass. Maybe another time.

[silvercrusader]

Boo! All talk and no action, I see how it is.

[There goes his second glass.]

Didn't take you for a coward.

[trivialpursuit]

[Ah, and his easily provoked stat is off the charts, dang.]

I can still hit you, you know. Maybe if you made it worth my while, I'd take your bet.

[silvercrusader]

Anything, I said, doesn't that cover something that'd make it worth your while? Christ, Kakyoin . . .

[Hm. Hm hm hm, as he drums his fingers on the table, feeling delightfully flushed and warm in only the way whiskey can make him.]

How about . . . huh. You win, and I'll--

[His grin widens.]

I'll treat you for the day. New clothes, new shoes, new . . . I don't know, knife? Whatever. You get my point. We can go see some performance tonight. Not at the Lotus Petal.

[trivialpursuit]

[Hmm, spoiling him? It doesn't appeal to him for the reason it's supposed to - material things, seeing a performance - but for the other part, being treated. Like he's a real person, or something.

Ah, but first he has to actually win. Is he written to get drunk after some arbitrary limit? Number of drinks, length of time...? Who knows!]

Hmm. What if you win?

[silvercrusader]

Mm . . .

[Hm. That . . . he hadn't actually thought that far. It's not that he doesn't want to win, but he doesn't really care about getting something from Kakyoin. Especially here, especially when there's nothing to stop him from just taking it.]

You promise to be nice for at least one story.

[trivialpursuit]

[That's so... soft, and completely what he expected from Polnareff. He thinks about it.]

I'm being nice to you right now.

[Is he, though. But okay--]

Alright, let's start.

[silvercrusader]

Don't cheat.

[He drawls it out as he reaches for his third shot. He's definitely ahead of Kakyoin, but you know what, that's fine. It's fine that soon the world is spinning, that it's going all pleasantly soft and warm; it's fine that after a few more shots he waves the bartender away, because he's pretty sure he'll puke otherwise, and nobody wants that. It's fine that Kakyoin wins, because honestly, that'd mostly been Polnareff's goal from the start.

He can't take him out of this prison right this second. But he can at least give him a halfway decent day, right?

Shopping is easy, even when drunk. Shopping may just be easier while drunk, and honestly, it's not like anyone is going to judge them. New clothes, and maybe some of the hosts give them looks (this is not what role Kakyoin is meant to play), but it doesn't matter. Polnareff's got immunity, right? This is what he wants, and the whole purpose of this place is to give him what he wants. And right now? Right now, right now he wants Kakyoin to buy a new yukata, even if it's in the same stupid shade of green as his old one.

Dinner's next, ordered and then put in a box. Not in keeping with Edo Japan, but again: Polnareff gets what he wants. And then he's grabbing Kakyoin's wrist, tugging him along; he's heading for out of town, because there's a spot just on the outskirts he loves.]

C'mon!

[It's this rooftop, see. Three stories up, the roof missing some tiles and the smell from the restaurant below rising up. But you can catch the sun setting really nicely on the horizon, and that's worth a lot sometimes.

It's a trial getting up there, but it's worth it. Even if Kakyoin slips once on the ladder, even if he's gotta sort of haul him up, it's worth it. Dinner and a show, he promised, and here's the show: the sun setting in the west, lighting up all the buildings in this town, leaving the people below looking so petty as they wander the streets.]

[trivialpursuit]

[Kakyoin has an odd time shopping - having to really put on his "this is prewritten dialogue" voice while the other hosts give them looks? That's annoying. But getting a new yukata, even if it's actually the same as his old yukata? That's nice. That has a symbolism to it he's not going to talk about, because host or not, winner of the great drinking contest or not, it feels too vulnerable for him to handle.

But it's a good feeling. Warm, even. And then Polnareff is sweeping them off to get dinner, and then to who knows where, and Kakyoin looks back over his shoulder as they pass the Lotus Petal only once.

So, the roof, with minimal difficulty, and the sunset. Kakyoin leans back on his hands and sways a bit, shoulder bumping against Polnareff's. He's relaxed, which is more than can be said for the rest of this day. On any other day, with any other guest, who knows what might have happened to him by now-- it feels like he's reached a point he wasn't meant to, but in a good way. For a few minutes he's content to watch the sky in silence, then,]

...Thank you. This is-- well, thanks.

[He wasn't built for charisma!!]