autumn catch-all (open)

[unchainer]

WHO: Vanitas and you!
WHAT: Catch-all with open prompts
WHEN: Throughout autumn
WHERE: Various
WARNINGS: There will be eventual NSFW!

cruise ship - general.

[ Vanitas' designated date from the auction is Amber, and while he can't say he's having a bad time, there are moments in which he can be caught without her around the ship.

Sampling the wine is something he's not opposed to, and he may or may not be tipsy when someone approaches. He can also be found at the buffet, squinting at a dessert dish...that looks like Tarte Tatin?? Wow, he's going to scrutinize the hell out of it. It'd better be good. ]

chocolates.

[ He's not a fan of chocolate, especially if it's too sweet. He's got zero idea about the bonus effects, too, but while he's out in town square, he idly pops a piece into his mouth.

He grimaces a bit. Too sweet, too sweet – but he starts to realize something was terribly wrong with it when he sees the next person and instinctively approaches. And then, without warning, he will pick them up bridal style. (Effort will vary depending on the individual.)

He blinks down at whoever he's just scooped up. ]

...Huh?

[ And then he'll promptly drop them. Oops. ]

wildcard.

[ I am down for anything! Tasks, Bingo, etc.! ]

Comments

closed - noe.

[unchainer]

[ A letter will show up at Noé's household on Autumn 1. The note is unsigned, but he'll probably be able to recognize the handwriting. ]

Noé,

I have something to discuss with you. Meet me at the restaurant at noon today.

[archivists]

[ Noé sure does recognize the handwriting and leaves his house in a hurry to get to the restaurant in time. As soon as he arrives, he keeps his eyes peeled for his companion. If Vanitas is already here, he's going to walk closer to the table... if not, he's just going to stand here so they can meet close to the entrance.

Perhaps he shouldn't be concerned, but who knows, maybe Vanitas is going insane after being stuck in this place. ]

[unchainer]

[ Vanitas is already inside, at a table near the restaurant's entrance. Remember when he was complaining about love, Noé? Yeah, he's got that same mortified expression on his face. It's one he probably hasn't seen in a while, but Vanitas is sitting at his table with his elbow propped up on it, and his forehead is resting against the palm of his hand.

His eyes move to meet Noé's, and then he promptly looks away. ]

Sit down.

[archivists]

Good afternoon to you, too.

[ It's clear that Vanitas might not want to waste time for greetings and pleasantries, so he sits down right away, his eyes focused on the man sitting on the other side of the table. ]

I'm all ears.

[unchainer]

[ Bless you, Noé.

His hand is lightly trembling next to his glass of water. His cheeks start turning pink. ]

...This place isn't normal... I've done the unthinkable.

[ Aaaand here comes the roommate situation. ]

I kissed – someone. And he kissed me back. How...how am I supposed to stand this?! This feeling... It's repulsive!

closed - aether.

[unchainer]

[ Date night with Aether was a confusing but pleasant experience. That is, however, precisely why Vanitas is trying to avoid encountering Aether inside their house. He makes it a point to wake up early – earlier than Aether, at least – to check their mailbox. There's something for both of them in there, and it's... ]

...Chocolate?

[ Huh. He walks back inside so he can set Aether's box on the kitchen counter, hoping that his roommate isn't awake. ]

[startraveler]

[The date night gives the traveler a lot to think about, but he pushes it aside for the time being, believing that he has other things that require his attention. Like when he awakes, his first thought is to head to the kitchen to make breakfast. Act normal.

The moment he shared with Vanitas remains fresh in his mind. It's a warm memory and yet he tries to push it away. He'll think about it later.]

...Ah.

[He spots his roommate in the kitchen and suddenly colour shows on his face.]

Good morning.

[He spots the package and it's almost like he's saved. It's something they can both focus on.]

...What's that?

[unchainer]

[ He looks at the color spread across Aether's face, and his cheeks start to match. He doesn't acknowledge this, though, and instead gestures at the box of chocolates on the kitchen counter. ]

They're yours. I have a box of my own, too.

[ He holds up the one addressed to him. ]

You're up early.

[startraveler]

I didn't feel like sleeping longer. There's so many things to do anyway.

[Curious, Aether walks up closer to investigate the box. He tries not to get too much into Vanitas' personal space though. There's no need to make things more awkward between them.]

Let's see...

[And he opens the box to find... chocolates inside.]

🍷 date time!! ( cruise ship )

[outride]

( for their date, Amber has gone the extra mile with the way she's dressed. after all, she wants to ensure that she looks the part as the person who won his auction!

so far, the ship ride has been pretty fun! she's not all that experienced with dating herself, but if she can give Vanitas a great time, then that's enough for her. part of the reason she wanted to bid on him was because the mention that he doesn't want to be alone stood out to her quite a lot, since she knows exactly how that feels. when she notices him giving a Questionable Gaze™️ to the tarte tartin, the woman can't help but flutter out a fond giggle. after all, it makes her remember something about his bidding profile. )

I remember your auction listing mentioning you're good at making tarte tartin. What's your thoughts on this one? Does it live up to your expectations?

ROLLS IN

[unchainer]

[ Vanitas is, surprisingly, on par with Amber's manner of dress. He's in a modern day suit with coattails and a blue bowtie; he figured that he should at least put in the effort for someone who genuinely wanted to give him the time of day, after Noé's sorry excuse of an application. He's looking dapper next to her, though, and the fact that she remembers that he can make tarte tatin is a little (just a little) touching.

The dessert itself, however, isn't. He wrinkles his nose when the taste hits. ]

It's too sweet.

[ He sets his plate down, then reaches over for something wrapped in some red cloth. He passes it over to Amber. ]

Try this instead.

[ And should she open it, she'll find...another serving of that same dessert! ]

[outride]

( she blinks. did he ... sneak this in himself!? )

Whoa! Is this your own? ( Amber looks left and right. they may be exchanging desserts, but, you know! suspicious activity! she lowers her voice into a little bit of a whisper, which only adds to the fun. )

You know, I was wondering if I'd get to taste your dessert tonight...! ( something something euphemism ... one that she is oblivious to, of course. )

Let's go sit so I can eat this properly. ( she takes her Suspicious Dessert over to their table, reuniting her with her glass of wine. she's not drunk by any measure, but she feels pleasant buzzed. carefully, she unfolds the tarte from the red handkerchief containing it, handling the slice delicately so that it doesn't break. )

I guess you didn't trust the quality they'd serve here, huh?

[unchainer]

...Yes, I made it.

[ Noé made it public knowledge, and Amber and the other bidder seemed to really want to try it, so. Here it is. He thinks nothing of her dessert comment, but he follows her over to their table and sits down next to her. He watches as she unwraps it, noting that she's treating it carefully – her comment makes him a bit huffy, though. ]

You and your friend seemed like you wanted to try it, since it was listed as one of my skills on my application. That's all.

cruise ship/wildcard

[associative]

[ At some point, Gaku has managed to get Vanitas roped into some spa activities as a means to unwind—and mostly because he couldn't convince Ellis to do some of these things with him.

Right now, said activity is a mud bath, with Gaku and Vanitas in their own separate baths right next to each other. He's got his head laid back against the backrest, turning his head to look at Vanitas. ]

So, how's your date so far?

[unchainer]

[ Ellis...buddy... Vanitas was extremely reluctant to partake in all of the spa activities, but the staff (?? assuming there is one) hardly gave him a choice when Gaku brought him over, so here he is...sitting in a mud bath. Of course it's relaxing, and he does mean to talk to Gaku about something, but he'd much rather do it at the bar or the buffet. Whatever. ]

It's fine. [ Eh, he's enjoying it, but Vanitas isn't quite in the mood to get too loud about it. Matters of the heart are complicated. ] Amber is a lot more energetic than I realized she'd be.

[ ... ] Does your lover not like partaking in these kinds of activities?

[associative]

[ Lover, huh? Gaku tries not to blush at the term, closing his eyes and facing forward instead. ]

No, he doesn't really like it. Besides, he already did a few things in the spa with me earlier, so I figured I'd let him explore on his own while I did everything else.

[ And this way, Ellis can misbehave as much as he pleases without Gaku getting on his case. ]

Amber does have a lot of energy. I like that about her.

[unchainer]

So you dragged me here instead...

[ RIP. He lets out a quiet sigh and grumbles a little before he starts mulling over Amber. She may be energetic, but Vanitas can also be loud, brazen and full of it – and Gaku's seen some of that in the mines. He's mellowed out somewhat since arriving here, though. Crescentview doesn't have much to offer for his goals, so there's nothing to get all that excited about...

...is what he tells himself. Never mind that he'd perked up when she tried some of his Tarte Tatin!! ]

She's interesting, but a handful. [ He says that like he isn't one, too – ] I'll have to keep on finding ways to keep her entertained.

cruise!

[hearthwarming]

[ Guess who is scrutinizing the exact same Tarte Tatin??? This tiefling. Not because she knows how to tell a good Tarte Tatin from a subpar one, really, but because she just really likes it...

She casts a brief, sidelong glance to the other person eyeing the dessert, and - it's Amber's date... The one that she had bid on, too, probably? She's honestly lost track of who was going with who... ]

Oh! Pardon me. You can take this piece, if you'd like...

[unchainer]

[ He glances over at the woman next to him, and he's about to pass on the dessert – but she looks way too familiar for him to not recognize her. He saw her, bidding with Amber, while he was having a meltdown about his application in front of Ellis. ]

You're...

[ Ah. ]

You're the one that wanted the dessert, aren't you?

[ His hand moves to something placed on the countertop, wrapped in cloth. (He'd given one that looks similar to Amber, earlier!) He slides it over towards her without any explanation. It looks like it's a small box of some sort. ]

[hearthwarming]

Yes, that's me! I'm Ori, and...

[ Her voice trails off just as she notices him slipping a box in her direction. ]

Oh...?

[unchainer]

Tarte Tatin.

[ He says it hurriedly, immediately, like he just wants to get it out of the way and avoid any embarrassment – ]

You wanted it, so here it is.

closed - noe.

[unchainer]

[ On a fine Autumn morning, Vanitas can be seen exiting the flower shop with a bouquet of white flowers in his hands. They're packed neatly, and he's carrying them in both hands, keeping it close to his body. He has a sunhat that he's using to try and shield his face, and he's not in his attire from home. But his ponytail and bright blue eyes might make it easy for Noé to recognize him.

Even as he's trying to slip away from the shop without fanfare. ]

[archivists]

Vanitas?

[ These clothes can't fool Noé, not after they've been traveling for quite a while. He would recognize the ponytail and the bright blue eyes everywhere. Not to mention that not wanting to be seen with a bouquet of flowers does seem like something Vanitas would try to achieve.

Noé rests his hand on Vanitas' shoulder without hesitation and leans in to peek from behind to check if Vanitas truly is carrying a bouquet. ]

Do you have to apologize to someone?

[ He can't imagine Vanitas going that far just for anyone, though... ]

[unchainer]

[ He was hoping he wouldn't run into Noé, of all people, today. Seeing Ori was bad enough, but the immediate recognition from Noé as well as the assumption he makes are enough to get Vanitas to jump away. He peers at Noé from underneath his hat. ]

I-I'm just going to decorate my house!

[ Which is still very uncharacteristic of him, especially with the way he's blushing. ]

[archivists]

The house you're living in with Aether...?

[ How nice of him! It's a bit unexpected of Vanitas, but... ]

You're blushing.