you couldn't afford me (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
for8000amonth) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
crescentview2022-12-10 01:58 am
for8000amonth) wrote in crescentview2022-12-10 01:58 am
| you put a fever inside me
▶ WHO: Adelis and you!
▶ WHAT: December open/Catch-all
▶ WHEN: Until January
▶ WHERE: All over
▶ WARNINGS: TBA
≫ The Hands-on Approach
[ he was hoping he'd be able to put off dealing with it for longer, but life is never kind, as he's come to learn the hard way. he's put a decent effort into the fields thus far, but as the days went on, it became harder to stand outside for long periods of time...especially under the blasted sun, which still made his eyes throb in pain. even it's warmth can't chase off the ice cold beneath his skin, which drains the color from adelis' features and leaving him pale as a ghost.
finally, he can't take it anymore. his pride be damned, he can't stand being nearly utterly useless. so he shoves that stupid card in his pocket, laces up his heels and attempts to make himself look presentable, and locks the door behind him on the way out.
maybe you're a neighbour, who's farm happens to be not too far. maybe you're passing by on errands, to and from town. or maybe you run into him in town itself, gaze latching onto the first tolerable(?) person to pass his vision. ]
...Pardon me.
[ he looks, well...not good. he's abnormally pale, circles dark under his eyes. while adelis holds himself up high, back straight and gaze sharp, there's an exhaustion clinging to his limbs that's easy to note. ]
I require your...assistance with something, if you've a moment to spare.
[ he's trying really hard to make it look like this isn't paining him to ask. ]
≫ Overdue
[ while not the sort you'd think to frequent the library, should you enter one day, you'll happen to see him with a rather tidy stack right next to him. the titles vary, all from various genres and tip sections, but judging by the scowl on his face, he's not having a particularly swell time.
there's an exasperated noise as he drops the one he was currently holding beside him, closed, with a soft thunk. ]
Useless. [ he isn't shouting it, but he isn't particularly keeping quiet, either, as he grumbles to himself. ] This would be far easier if I could parse half the bloody words they were using. 'Simple' my arse.
[ maybe he needs a dictionary. ]
≫ Wildcard
> want something in particular? want to fill out some bingo? shoot me a pm or dm and i'll write something asap.
▶ WHAT: December open/Catch-all
▶ WHEN: Until January
▶ WHERE: All over
▶ WARNINGS: TBA
≫ The Hands-on Approach
[ he was hoping he'd be able to put off dealing with it for longer, but life is never kind, as he's come to learn the hard way. he's put a decent effort into the fields thus far, but as the days went on, it became harder to stand outside for long periods of time...especially under the blasted sun, which still made his eyes throb in pain. even it's warmth can't chase off the ice cold beneath his skin, which drains the color from adelis' features and leaving him pale as a ghost.
finally, he can't take it anymore. his pride be damned, he can't stand being nearly utterly useless. so he shoves that stupid card in his pocket, laces up his heels and attempts to make himself look presentable, and locks the door behind him on the way out.
maybe you're a neighbour, who's farm happens to be not too far. maybe you're passing by on errands, to and from town. or maybe you run into him in town itself, gaze latching onto the first tolerable(?) person to pass his vision. ]
...Pardon me.
[ he looks, well...not good. he's abnormally pale, circles dark under his eyes. while adelis holds himself up high, back straight and gaze sharp, there's an exhaustion clinging to his limbs that's easy to note. ]
I require your...assistance with something, if you've a moment to spare.
[ he's trying really hard to make it look like this isn't paining him to ask. ]
≫ Overdue
[ while not the sort you'd think to frequent the library, should you enter one day, you'll happen to see him with a rather tidy stack right next to him. the titles vary, all from various genres and tip sections, but judging by the scowl on his face, he's not having a particularly swell time.
there's an exasperated noise as he drops the one he was currently holding beside him, closed, with a soft thunk. ]
Useless. [ he isn't shouting it, but he isn't particularly keeping quiet, either, as he grumbles to himself. ] This would be far easier if I could parse half the bloody words they were using. 'Simple' my arse.
[ maybe he needs a dictionary. ]
≫ Wildcard
> want something in particular? want to fill out some bingo? shoot me a pm or dm and i'll write something asap.
no subject
And so could you, but I'm hardly commenting on that, now am I?
[ He scoffs anyway, if only because he doesn't feel like bringing up the obvious. He didn't used to be a lightweight- all that poison training had an effect on his alcohol limit. Unfortunately, the cold settling beneath his skin has seen fit to rob him of whatever resistances he might have built up. Karma is a bitch.
The question earns a momentary pause, before he leans back in his chair, glass in hand. ]
Oh, I'm hardly pleased at being yanked about and being told what to do. [ Like most reasonable people... ] But I've little intention of going home. I spent half my life scraping together enough to finally leave, and if I'm able to do so without spending a single coin? I'll till the bloody land.
no subject
You mean like you just did?
[ What a smooth way to call him out without actually starting it? M-21 takes another drink pointedly, this time much longer. Has he actually tested how fast he metabolizes alcohol as a werewolf? Does he know if he was a lightweight as a human? No, but he's going to find out now. Argumentative people bring out the best in him. ]
Sounds pretty convenient when you put it like that. [ Except, isn't Adelis going to melt while farming? Hm. ] She probably could've gotten the people she needed just by asking. ...Or not. If a strange woman with a sickle showed up and promised to take you to another world and give you a house, I don't know anyone who'd jump at that.
[ ...It's not actually that much weirder than his own rescue, when he says it aloud. But he's going to ignore that, too. ]
no subject
I'd sooner believe it was a Kindred at my door trying to nab herself a new plaything or two. [ Unimpressed. And probably the truth- good things don't tend to happen on cursed land, and most would sooner assume the worst than try and take the best. ] Although, I'd expect more mind slaving out of that one.
[ After all, vampires were very persuasive, as opposed to the Goddess who is...not. In his humble opinion. Persuasive, maybe, only in the sense he has no desire to end up on the receiving end of humiliation like some people in this town. ]
But levels of convenience aside, seeing as how I've been rudely yanked from everything I've ever labored and scraped to own, I may as well make use of what I've been given. Especially since most of it is a considerable improvement, in more ways than one.
[ All my coin...gone... ]
no subject
He gives a little grunt of acknowledgment for that assessment, frowning into his glass. Is it weird that vampires have the same traits between worlds? Probably no weirder than humans being the same between both, if he really thinks about it. ]
At least the goddess doesn't do that. Probably wouldn't bother, when she's as strong as she is.
[ He hopes?? Soothing thoughts to get drunk to. Lulled by the fuzzy-warm whiskey feeling settling in to his stomach, he thinks with some sympathy of his own hard-won paycheck. ]
Yeah. That part's still annoying. ...And playing games with us with these stupid bingo cards. And the crappy leaky houses. [ Actually, he could go on listing his grievances for a while if he gets started. Instead he redirects his thoughts to something else Adelis said. ] So what'd you do in your world anyway?
[ What kind of jobs does a sunless vampire dystopia have? Maybe the same as anywhere else, for all he knows. You still need taverns, apparently. So there's probably still grocery stores and ordinary things. ]
no subject
It's a bit surprising, having somebody somewhat familiar with the idea of Kindred, even if they differ in some way. At the very least, it means not everybody lives in some weird form of relative sunlit peace. ]
No. I feel as if we're more simply beyond her notice, except when someone seeks her out or she desires to prove a point.
[ Which, really, suits him just fine...he could just do less with the curses and ridiculous bingo slots. ]
...All things considering, that 'leaky house' is still times better than what I'd pay for back home. [ Like, it actually has multiple rooms. And lights. And considerably less holes and cracks in the windows, which really says enough.
But we're not here to talk about Ostoya's class system right now. ]
...I dealt in information, mostly. [ Suspiciously vague, as always, but one doesn't simply up and declare themselves a member of a criminal syndicate. ] I always had little interest in scraping wood and mining rocks till my fingers bled.
[ So, murder! And some blackmail, some extortion...fun stuff. ]
no subject
He's not looking to get a cow dropped on him as they sit here drinking, so he lets it slide again. ]
Those your only options? Information broker or manual labor?
[ It sounds pretty crime syndicate to him anyway, but he's just biased due to knowing mostly shady organizations and hackers. Probably someone, somewhere deals in information for non-sinister reasons. Someone who would also say they're good at "siphoning information," thanks for the sinister points there, buddy. ]
Hah. That's a change, to farming. She really did pick at random. [ Well, ] Maybe she was looking for people who knew how to adapt.
[ This guy (who, M-21, a cad, still has not gotten the name of) definitely seems like the type to land on his feet. ]
no subject
Flavors of manual labor. Mining, logging, fishing. Depends on the territory you're born in, seeing as some are far more...survivable than others. [ A vague gesture as he leans further into the table. ] You can also become an adventurer, if you fancy death nipping at your heels more than it already does.
[ Ironic, considering his line of work. The Syndicate's symbol is a Hawkmoth for a reason- swift flight, and a short lifespan. Time is short among rogues, either due to the jobs or each other. Not that he ever intended on following through with that, of course... ]
At the very least, I'm not a stranger to physical labor. [ Another sharp sip of his drink, before he shrugs. ] If you don't adapt, you die or suffer. May as well make it easier on oneself. That being said, nobody having to look over their shoulder nigh constantly feels far too hopeful to believe.
[ It feels odd, to see the sun crawl across the floor from behind the curtains, or to sleep without the ever-present backdrop of howling or other numerous noises. People walk down the street and greet each other with smiles, which is not something he's used to seeing, that's for sure. ]
no subject
Risks and rewards. If everything is that dangerous, I'd pick something where I could at least fight, too.
[ But the way Adelis talks about it still paints about as bleak a picture as possible. With reason, obviously enough; darkness and monsters and scraping to survive. M-21 takes a long drink, expression flat for a moment. "Adapt or die" hits too much of a nerve with him. ]
This is how normal people live in a world like this. Nothing's hunting them. They might be worried about their rent, or their job making them work too much, their friends not answering their messages. Not whether they're going to live one day to the next.
[ His tone is thoughtful, the same sort of offhand delivery he'd used earlier to explain the technology. Maybe he idealizes "normal" life a little too much. But from everything he's seen here since arriving, he doesn't think he's misjudged it. ]