Dec-Jan catch-all

[saltofthesea]

WHO: Skylark and various
WHAT: Quests, TDM prompts, etc.
WHEN: December to January
WHERE: Various
WARNINGS: Possibly some violence, specific warnings will be noted in top-levels

Comments

Mistletoe | Closed to Nico

[saltofthesea]

[ You know, Skylark is sort of used to strange and unusual happenings in Ellipsa, but getting stuck in the doorway of his own apartment is new. It's also terribly annoying because he's blocking the way in and out, so not only is he inconvenienced, but everyone else in the apartment is too.

He's looking around trying to figure out what could be the cause of this, when he looks up and sees the mistletoe. He's also never seen mistletoe before this, so: ]

What the hell is this?

[stygios]

[ Nico was kind of lounging in the window seat as he's liable to do, Pokemon near his feet. He looks up when Lark has an issue, ending up getting up from the seat to come closer to see what he's talking about. ]

What's wrong?

[saltofthesea]

I can't seem to get away from this, for starters.

[ He manages to take maybe two steps from the mistletoe hanging above him before he just...stops. ]

Shit.

[stygios]

Away from what...? [ Nico takes a few steps forward into the sphere of influence, whoops. ]

[saltofthesea]

[ Lark, none the wiser that it's how this weird magic works, just points up at the mistletoe as Nico approaches. ]

This weird plant.

[stygios]

Mistletoe. [ He's lived with teenagers for so long now. ]

[saltofthesea]

[ Good because he's probably going to have to explain it to the roommate. ]

Is...it being in our apartment supposed to mean something...?

[ In the tone of someone who's gradually realising that oh, this is going to be some bullshit again, isn't it. ]

[stygios]

It's...a Christmas thing, I guess? [ Not something they did in His Time, but in the modern day he's gotten used to: ]

You hang it up around then, and people are supposed to kiss underneath it. For some reason.

[saltofthesea]

[ He can guess from context that Christmas is supposed to be some kind of celebration at least, but as he's listening to Nico, something dawns on him: ]

Does this mean I have to kiss someone to be able to get away from it?

[ oh no ]

[stygios]

Uh, I actually don't have any experience with magical mistletoe. So...maybe? We can try to destroy it, too?

[ HE'S. GENUINELY NOT SURE ]

[saltofthesea]

[ Lark's own internal panic is slowly rising, even though he manages to mostly sound calm. ]

Okay but, if we mess up trying to destroy it and it doesn't work, won't that mess up our apartment too?

[stygios]

...What even happens if we mess up our apartment?

[ THIS IS JUST. AS AN ASIDE. will they go to fake jail or. ]

[saltofthesea]

I don't know, we might get in trouble? And we live here anyway, so it'd still be a pain in the ass for us.

[ Honestly Lark isn't sure either, it's just the thought that occurred to him. Speaking of which, another one crosses his mind: ]

...Can you get away from the mistletoe Nico.

[ Why does he have the sneaking suspicion they're both stuck here now, oh no. ]

[stygios]

Uh -

[ He didn't think of that. Nico does try to take a step away but, welp, guess what! ]

...I didn't plan that well.

[saltofthesea]

[ Lark slowly puts his face in hands wordlessly. Cool cool cool they're both stuck under a plant that has a tradition involving kissing. He can totally handle this, no problem.

Who is he kidding, he'd be lucky if things between them didn't turn weird after this. ]

This is not how I ever wanted to ask you this but... [ Deep breath. ] Have you ever kissed anyone?

[stygios]

Not - um. No.

[ LARGELY BECAUSE he has avoided that sort of thing here so far and, like, uh. ]

...It's all a bit - I mean.

[ ... ]

I have a hard enough time -

Memshare | OTA

[saltofthesea]

[ Hm. Skylark would like to know what the hell is it with him finding himself in strange places lately. He especially would like to know why his privacy can't be respected since a memory from the past is playing out when someone unfortunate person also here encounters him.

It's a memory of a conversation at another time and another place, and while it's not quite obvious, he was talking to a ghost. She explained to him about matters he barely understood at the time but which were still going to be his problem anyway, and if you didn't already know about him apparently being blessed by a sun god, now you do.

Also, it sounds like he almost got murdered by a sentient sword at some point right before that conversation? Funny how that works.

As the memory goes on, the Skylark of the present gradually starts to look more tired, like watching this experience play out again is as exhausting as it was the first time. ]

Right. Sorry about that.

[discrown]

( Nero's on cook duty today over at Kagami's Diner, a job he's picked up real recently after keeping to himself for a week or two. The sudden change of circumstance, his worries about home, his anxiety about here - it was getting too much, and he was mincing fruits and veggies into such fine slivers Bradley almost couldn't taste them in the stew, which was unusual for Nero.

So, he had to get out of his apartment and out of his head, but no way was he going to socialize. Diner it had to be. It's modest and cozy and while it's not in a style he's used to, it's humble enough for him to feel a little more at ease cooking here. At present, he's cooking up something just behind the front bar-counter (presumably for some NPC customer somewhere), and he's got a bit of a hum going on. It smells real good, the kind of thing that gets a person's mouth watering, and, at least, for the moment, he's a slight bit less stressed in Ellipsa than he is when he isn't cooking. )

[saltofthesea]

[ Lately, SKylark's been out and about looking for new places to eat. He's happy to cook himself, but sometimes he really feels the limitations of his recipe repertoire. And more seriously, it'd just be helpful to know some nice places to bring friends to. This time he's at Kagami's Diner since it's near where he lives, and he's taken a seat at the bar-counter.

Oh, this smells so good...! ]

What's that? [ He's really curious. ]

[discrown]

Hey. Welcome.

( As their new patron steps in, he greets him casually with a glance and a tip of his chin before he glances back at his work, the hum falling off now that he's got company at the bar, but he doesn't mind it. The counter's a good barrier - familiar and comfortable, but not all that isolating.

He glances back at him come the question. )

's eggs benedict and gravy. It's got, uh...

( He glances at the spices he was just using - man, it feels weird not being so sure of his ingredients' names. This must be how Akira felt coming in. )

Sorry, we call this stuff somethin' real different where I'm from. ( Well, they're not even the same ingredients, but... ) It's got tumeric and chives. It's the onions giving it that smell, though. You want to try a sample? Can make a little extra, on the house.

[saltofthesea]

[ Huh, so even things like these have different names in different worlds? It makes sense, he just hadn't really thought about it before. ]

If it's alright, then I'd like to try some. [ He's not about to say no to a bit of free food. ] I've never heard of eggs benedict.

[discrown]

Mini helpin', comin' right up.

( He doesn't look particularly peppy, but the air about him makes him seem pretty happy his patron wants to give it a shot. He gets to work on another half serving. Or maybe a little more than that... The kid could use a lil more meat on him. )

Not once, huh. What kinda food they got where you're from?

[saltofthesea]

[ Nero would not be the first or last person to think that, considering how Lark has had people try to pile food on his plate during celebrations back home. He is somehow still a skinny nerd. ]

Hm, stuff like meat buns, black pepper soup, noodles...

[ Things that he'd been making himself, especially if he felt a little homesick. ]

[discrown]

Those don't sound half bad.

( A faint shhh shhh shhh as the oil bubbles and slides along the pan with the meal, Nero splitting off the previous patron's serving and leaving his patron's portion in. )

Got taught about meatbuns by somebody I knew back home. Can't say they're my specialty, but I could give 'em a shot if the benedict ends up not your style.

[saltofthesea]

[ He perks up a little. ]

I'm not picky, but I'd still love to try them. [ He personally doesn't think a lot of things can beat Uncle Hu's meat buns back home, but he's open to trying other people's food still. ]