I want to have the same last dream again (march catch-all)

[ghostfromthemachine]

WHO: Kaiko and... you, perhaps?
WHAT: assorted shenanigans
WHEN: throughout March
WHERE: Nightwake, Amberfall, probably wherever you least expect her—
WARNINGS: will update as necessary!

Prompts will be in toplevels! OTA unless otherwise stated.

Comments

for offerings - Blossomcrown's park

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ perhaps you were following the vague feeling of something present, or maybe you're completely oblivious to that sort of thing and were just wandering around— or maybe you came knowing exactly what you were looking for. either way, you've stumbled across a small beaten copper offering bowl sitting on a rock tucked out of the way in Blossomcrown's park. chances are there's some sort of trinket in there already: a few coins, or a candy bar. maybe a feather or a strawberry, or a cool-looking rock.

there's a bit of paper tucked under the bowl. "因果応報" has been carefully calligraphed onto it, with a translation in plainer (but still cute) writing underneath— "what goes around comes around."

will you leave something?

(...also accepted: gifts mailed to her apartment, if you want to be normal about it. sometimes you've got to work with modern methods!) ]

[roundandaround]

[Kaiko gets a fresh meat bun.

The next day, she gets a donut.

The next, 5 moon coins, a sticky note saying "sorry I forgot this time I'll get something later," and a few hours later, a fried-chicken rice ball.

The day after that, a tuna mayo rice ball.

This continues every day Rinku has to come to Blossomcrown for work.]

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ every time, that feeling of something there goes cheerfully warm and welcoming. (and the apology note is flipped over when she comes back, with "don't worry about it!" and a sparkling smiley face written on it in the same cute handwriting as the paper tucked under the bowl.)

Rinku gets a string of good luck for those days, too— nothing too spectacular, but she probably finds more than a few dropped moon coins and gets more tips at work.

after about five days of this, Kaiko is actually there at her next visit— she's got her guitar out and is noodling around on it while she hums to herself. ]

Oh— there you are. I've got to admit, it's kind of nice having a routine.

[roundandaround]

Oh, hi, Kaiko-chan!

[Rinku's got a melonpan in a bag this time, and she pauses in front of Kaiko and holds it out.]

Wait, do I put this in the bowl now or just give it to you?

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ letting the guitar hang from her shoulder strap in favor of making wiggly fingers at the melon pan ]

You can just hand it to me! It works either way.

[roundandaround]

Okay ♪

[Rinku hands the bread over and leans against a tree.]

I hope you've been getting lots of stuff in your bowl! It's a good place for it, everyone loves Blossomcrown Park.

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ she takes the bread formally with both hands, and then promptly ruins the moment by unwrapping it and shoving it in her face. homf.

something interesting happens as she takes the bite. it's difficult to describe—there's no visible change to how she looks, though her hair does fluff up—but it's like she brightens, or sharpens around the edges. becomes a little more present, or real. ]

Not too much, but I'm not looking or expecting to be that well known. I had maybe three or four people who regularly made offerings back in Quiet Mounds, and not that many more back home.

[roundandaround]

[Rinku sparkles a little when she sees Kaiko eat and feels something change.]

You just got here, though, so maybe you'll get more! There's a ton of people, after all.

[ghostfromthemachine]

The thought's admittedly a little intimidating. I don't want to spread myself too thin...

It'd be nice to be in a position to help more people, though.

[roundandaround]

Huh, that makes sense. Since you give back for whatever you get, right? I think that's how I understood it.

[ghostfromthemachine]

I give back what I get, but also...

[ she takes another bite while she thinks about how to word this ]

Sometimes someone will have a lot of karma built up that they haven't been repaid for. Like— someone who helps other people, but keeps having bad things happen to them.

[ or someone who hurts other people, and keeps getting away with it. ]

My job's to make sure they get what they deserve. ...So the same concept, but bigger.

[roundandaround]

Huh... that must be a really important job, when you put it that way. All right! I'm gonna keep helping you get everything you need! ...Wait, I was already gonna do that, huh.

books and bothering - Amberfall library

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ after several years worked in a more mundane (despite being god-managed) library, Amberfall's more obviously mystic systems are a delight. no more late books! more importantly, no more dealing with people unwilling to pay their library fines! but it still needs the occasional personal touch— for returning books to their rightful place, for guiding lost patrons or otherwise providing resources and assistance...

and most importantly, for upholding basic etiquette. the fairies might punish anyone rude to the books, but there's nothing stopping the occasional loud-voiced visitor from inconveniencing everyone else.

Kaiko can be found assisting with all of the above— and occasionally just shamelessly peering with interest at patron's choices in reading. taking a customer service job means she is there for the hassling! ]

[abnormalizes]

[Evangeline catches Kaiko checking out her pile of supernatural romance books and gives her a smile.]

Are you also into the supernatural romance genre? I've got lots of recommendations if so.

[ghostfromthemachine]

I'm more of a gothic horror girl, to be honest, but I'm always looking to stretch my horizons~.

[abnormalizes]

That's also a great choice, but I can't really help with that one, most fictional horror doesn't work on me.

[She's seen too much actual fucked-up stuff.]

[ghostfromthemachine]

The point's more the gothic than the horror, really! The human condition being inescapable, and all that. So if you know any supernatural romance that leans that way...?

[abnormalizes]

Oh, yeah, in that case I definitely recommend Thorned Blood, it's a vampire romance but it goes heavy on the consuming hunger aspect, it's good stuff.

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ excited wiggly fingers ]

Oooh, that sounds excellent. Good or bad ending—? Or, well, I suppose if it's romance it probably won't end in outright tragedy...

[abnormalizes]

Bittersweet, I want to say? An outright happy ending wouldn't fit tonally.

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ outright sticks her hands in the air ]

Oh, no, that's perfect. I just like to know what I'm in for in that sense beforehand— it's kind of rough getting into something good when you're in the mood for one thing only to get smacked with something entirely different, you know?

[abnormalizes]

I totally get you! Sometimes you feel like one, sometimes you feel like the other, they've both got their place in a balanced reading diet.

[ghostfromthemachine]

Exactly! Exactly. Sometimes you want cake, sometimes you want some really bitter greens or whatnot. Anyway— thank you for the recommendation! And for letting me peek.

let them eat cake - all over

[ghostfromthemachine]

a

[ one of the nice things about not necessarily needing to eat is her food budget can be small, and entirely devoted to snacks— and the nice thing about being in an absolutely enormous city is an entirely new rotation of cafes, pastry shops, and other restaurants to get to know the samplings of.

...all that newness does leave her with a bit of a dilemma, though. easily solved, however! if you look even remotely open to being bothered (and in some cases even if not,) Kaiko turns to you and pipes up: ]

Mm— pardon me, but would you have any recommendations?


b - specific to the Plot & Patisserie

[ —or she could stumble into something that's not just a cafe. ]

—oh! A book cafe? Goodness, that would explain the name.

music and magic - all over

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ it's still more than a little embarrassing singing in public most of the time, but— every now and again she'll get in the mood for it and go look for a good spot to go busking. she hasn't pegged anywhere in particular as a favorite yet, so she can be found singing all over in out of the way corners— mostly folk pop. apologies to anyone who hates Mumford and Sons.

if you're magically sensitive—or just observant!—you might notice feeling a little more energetic after listening, and a tendency to a better mood if you're willing to let yourself lighten up. there's no mind control here— it's more of a very polite suggestion, and her own good mood leaking out. ]