🔪 i'm a fish inside a birdcage; open with some closed prompts

[forfeited]

🔪 WHO: Akechi and anyone who chooses to tolerate him (I'm sorry).
🔪 WHAT: December Shenanigans
🔪 WHEN: Nebulously December, possibly into January, time is fake.
🔪 WHERE: Wherever, whenever, we're meant to... No, actually.
🔪 WARNINGS: Strong language, emotional constipation, Childe, Twister. Any NSFW will be tagged within the thread but it may happen. Also Kaeya and Akechi are making out, so that's a thing.



🔪 b-b-b-bingo!

[Frequently, Akechi can be found just about anywhere within Crescentview perched neatly on something chair-shaped. He has one leg folded over the other like a prick, one arm folded against his ribs and the elbow of the other resting on his wrist, allowing him to set his chin in his hand. It's a pretentious way to sit, but it's stable, and comfortable despite how it looks. He's poring over his Bingo card for the umpteenth time, and should anyone come within a five-foot radius of him, he snaps his head up.] For our mutual benefit, would you mind cross-referencing cards?

[He's made figurative copies of his card-- on the backs of old casework from his briefcase, he's hand-written out a few lists of squares, content to always ignore the smut squares when interacting with anyone. His penmanship is neat and concise, and there are occasional footnotes alongside them.]

🔪 mountainside farming

[He has no idea how to be a farmer. He has no idea how to be self-sufficient without the internet and a paycheck garnered from murder, he's realizing, but he does have a vague know-how of a variety of things included in farming. Planting seeds, for instance, he has some degree of understanding of. His farm is set away from others, blissfully allowing him solitude, but by no means unreachable or even remotely difficult to find. He's found some old shitty tools and an old shitty sun hat, and his slacks are rolled up to his knees. He's given up on his shirt entirely, given it's white, and his shoes and socks are somewhere out of eyesight, leaving him barefoot and shirtless attempting to tear up the earth for planting things with a rusted old backhoe. There is only so much his shitty little twink arms can handle, someone want to teach him proper technique?]

pt. 2; paddle boats. [Childe]

[At some point he's given up on tearing up his land, and is standing at the bank of a small lake near his farm. More specifically, he's staring at a paddle boat just chilling, rope-tied to a questionable dock. It's pretty gnarly, covered in grime and algae, but if there's one thing Goro is relatively decent at in household tasks, it's cleaning.]

[Tartaglia will find him scooping water in and out of the thing, the legs of his slacks still rolled up to his knees-- not that it really matters anymore, given he's basically swimming fully clothed. His hair is tied back with some kind of twine into a dinky-ass little ponytail, and he pauses with some manner of bucket half-poured into the second bucket seat of the boat to look up at the ginger.] Does your staring serve a purpose, or should I pretend you're less conspicuous? I don't believe we've met.

pt. 3; twister. [Lucia]

[He's yet to figure out how to solve the issue of proper lighting, so he's moved his bizarre find while dusting out to the front yard of his plot of land. Said bizarre find, as it happens, is a classic old game known as Twister, in a banged-up old square cardboard box. It's simple enough, the spin-board in tact and the mat suffering only a few questionable stains, and Goro is seated cross-legged beside the mat reading the instructions for what has to be the fourth time. It's a very straightforward game, but he keeps waiting for something to leap out at him from between the lines to make it more complicated.]

[Movement in his peripheral vision catches his attention and he angles his head toward it, but his eyes remain on the paper until he finishes the sentence he was in the middle of reading. His eyes then meet Lucia's, and after a beat of silence, she can likely see the gears in his little rat brain turning. A slow grin pulls his mouth crooked.] Care to test something with me?

🔪 wildcard

[Akechi spends most of his time at his farm to avoid others, trying to figure out how to make this whole farming thing work without being sociable or accepting, much less asking for, help. His plotting post can be found here, but I'm open for literally anything. I can make additional prompts or you can toss me whatever you like! Please harass my shitlord. :>b]

Comments

[edamamepon]

What? No, I didn't mean you.

[ Makoto takes it all in, the flush and the words. It isn't hard to piece together from there. He takes a deep breath, turning to face Akechi fully. ]

You did all this by yourself with no farming experience, right? That's pretty impressive.

[ And then he crosses his arms. ]

Besides, it's totally unfair that everyone else gets a partner.

[forfeited]

[DON'T COMPLIMENT HIM HE'LL RETURN LIKE A STRAY ANIMAL.]

[He clears his throat, squaring his shoulders.] I think I'd prefer to not have one, if I'm honest. [Which is-- true, and he's not usually honest, but that's something he's okay with being honest about. At least if he's by himself he can only blame himself for his fuck ups. It's not like he's unused to doing everything by himself, anyway.]

[edamamepon]

Oh, really?

[ Makoto would relax his shoulders but then he'd be even shorter. So his arms stay crossed too. The friendliness is genuine this time. ]

Is it nice having the whole place to yourself? Besides the extra work, I guess.

[forfeited]

[He's so used to finding the ulterior motive in every person he interacts with, it's bizarre to have so many genuine interactions wherein people just... want to talk. Want to know him as a person, for some ungodly reason. He stares blankly at Makoto for a long moment and then nods, fiddling with his gloves.]

I'm a relatively solitary person, so it's nice to have a space to retreat to.

I did not get this fbfbf

[edamamepon]

[ Makoto stares back, comfortably now with a smile. That had been a skill, though he'd learned how to keep eye contact in far less friendly situations first. ]

Really? Then lucky you. [ This is genuine too, even the laugh at the end. Then, he sounds tired all over again-- ] But seriously, if you ever need help, it's actually nice to get a break from my own roommate sometimes.

notifs do be wildin'

[forfeited]

[The earnestness of Makoto's smile and overall demeanor is familiar in a way that sours slightly in Akechi's gut, but he returns the expression. It's with significantly less genuine, but he is nothing if not a good actor-- or at least, good enough to fool the general public.]

I'm not opposed, given I clearly need all the help I can get. [And he does mean that, at least. He knows better than to turn down learned help when it's offered without an immediate catch.]

[edamamepon]

[ Makoto thinks himself good at reading people, with an optimistic bias he's still never been able to shake after all of these years and lies. In truth, he's still better than most at both. But then, Akechi seems the same. So, Makoto takes it as oddness and world differences, drawing him in to fill some social niche here almost by instinct. Even though it is exactly the familiarities that initially make it easy for Makoto to file away the little things beneath them.

He looks back to the farm. ]

Well, like I said, you'll get the hang of it eventually too. Come on, might as well finish a row or two before we go find some animals, right?

[forfeited]

[Akechi is unfortunately just a fuckin' rat, and not the cute kind you want to carry around in a hoodie pocket or on your shoulder.]

[He'll still never understand people being genuinely friendly when they know nothing about a person, but he won't look a gift horse in the mouth while he's got it. So with a wordless sound, he meticulously does a passable job at properly prepping about a row and a half of spaces to plant-- something, he'll have to look over his spoils from the Goddess again. A little sweaty and a lot covered in dirt, he stands up and smudges some of the dirt from his hands across his eyebrow, not at all minding the satisfaction of having done something with his own hands, even if it's far from perfect.]

I've never been out to the mountains where I lived, so I'm not sure if the animals out here would be similar to what I could expect at home.

[edamamepon]

[ Makoto can relate, or he could at one point in his life. City boy out in a smaller town. And then the middle of nowhere. Then again, he'd traveled so much it still sort of feels like he is still on one temporary stop. He already knows that feeling won't last, which is perhaps why he is here as tired as he is. He'll help expedite things where he can, if Akechi wants help with his own or for him to get a new row of his own finished-- that is up to Akechi.

But by the end, he sighs and pulls his gloves off to push his hair back when he straightens up. He looks over to Akechi, stretching his arms up before dropping them with a smile. Speaking from experience with a reach for his back pocket that he hides as intentional when it rests on his hip instead. ]

Well, then if you're from the type of place I think you are, then they might be a little different. [ He sounds serious when he asks-- ] You ever visited the zoo before?

[forfeited]

There are parks in Tokyo, but it's a bit different than true wildlife, I imagine.

[The question catches him off guard and his eyebrows crash together in a frown, his shoulders pulling up near his ears.] ...ah, not since I was young. [Akechi you're still young.]

[edamamepon]

[ Makoto smiles, equal parts friendly and satisfied at having guessed something correctly. Maybe it's something he would've held closer to his chest at a certain point in his life. But here, with a single uptick in energy, Makoto purposefully switches to Japanese if they've been speaking their new common language this whole time.

Enjoy this casual speech, young man. Not that Makoto looks his age at all. ]

Yeah, they'll be pretty different. Not zebra different, probably. But some of the same, too. Just depends on what we run into. I guess that's supposed to be part of the fun.

[ Does he sound convinced? Questionable. ]

Got anything to feed them?

[forfeited]

[It's a strange sort of thing, to not realize you were speaking a different language until someone makes the conscious effort to speak your native tongue and you catch a looser vernacular. Goro, for his part, uses relatively archaic keigo most of the time because he's a pretentious prick. He doesn't comment on the shift regardless, because it seems such a strange thing to notice, but it does make him offer his left hand for Makoto to shake.]

...Goro Akechi, by the way. And I've a plethora of mushrooms and cucumbers, which I presume means they're the two easiest things in the world to grow.

[edamamepon]

[ Makoto catches the choice of keigo with a blink, but doesn't adjust from speaking to Akechi like a younger friend. Funny, that most of his subordinates had actually been older than him. He's undecided on whether he likes being reminded of that now. Either way, he still wishes he had a cigarette suddenly too.

Not that any of that shows on Makoto's friendly expression or in his good natured laugh at Akechi's last sentence. ]

Makoto Edamura. Nice to meet you. And you know, even if they are the easiest, you still accomplished something. That's more than some people. Give yourself some credit.

[ He means it, though he still can't help but feel like a boss again somehow. ]

But maybe we should try to find something on the way instead. After all, nature is full of food if you know where to look.

[ Does he know where to look? Theoretically.... ]

[forfeited]

[A gentle shrug, and Akechi resists the urge to fold his arms over his chest at the idea of giving himself some credit for growing things literally anyone could grow. It's not impressive, and for so long he's survived on doing only what was to get the favor of those around him. The lack of need to impress people leaves him a little bereft, but at least it's easier given he's been thrown into something he is absolutely abysmal at.]

I... don't, especially know where to look, but I suppose if we seek food perhaps we will also find animals.

[edamamepon]

Sounds like a good idea to me.

[ Makoto lets his hands hit together like a job well done before they settle on his hips. He looks over their handiwork on the field before looking back to Akechi. ]

Ready?

[forfeited]

[The sound startles him slightly, but he only jolts his attention to it briefly before forcing himself to relax.]

...yes. Do you have experience feeding animals, like you do with fieldwork?

[edamamepon]

Well, not really. But our chicken doesn't seem to mind. I've been learning most of that stuff here.

[ He only sounds a little sheepish on that first sentence. ]

But I'm guessing you haven't had time to explore everywhere, right? We can check it out together.

[forfeited]

["Our chicken" implies he has a pet chicken, which-- that's certainly a choice. Akechi's expression belies absolutely none of the judgment he is passing upon Makoto.]

[The suggestion to explore together is..., strangely pleasant. He catches himself smiling faintly.] I haven't overmuch, no. The company is appreciated.

[edamamepon]

[ It's a farm chicken! But Makoto absolutely thinks of her partly as a pet, so the judgment is probably valid. Wait until he visits on his horse in the future. ]

Oh, of course. Yours is appreciated too, you know.

[ And with that, he finishes putting anything away that needs it before waving him towards the trees and turning towards them himself. ]

Let's try to make it back before it's dark at least.

[forfeited]

[Akechi can only figure a farm-pet chicken positive on the pretense of her providing eggs, but they would need a rooster for that? So he's not entirely sure what the gain is. It's called companionship and learning how to take care of another living thing, Akechi, you should try it sometime. He keeps his expression from pinching, but only just barely, managing a slight smile instead. He doesn't think his company is something to appreciate, but-- that's a separate matter entirely.]

That's smart-- danger likely increases after dark.

[edamamepon]

[ Jokes on him, chickens lay them with or without a rooster. Not that Makoto knew that before learning it here but, look-- he's been all over rural areas but he's never lived on a farm.

But also yes, companionship. ]

Yeah. No telling what's out there, and it's easier to get lost at night too.

[ Somewhere between farm and treeline, he glances to see if Akechi is joining him. ]

[forfeited]

[Magic immaculate conception eggs. Akechi would be terrified of eating them.]

[He is-- ambling briskly along behind him, watching their surroundings more than Makoto himself, so when he looks he turns, raising a hand to wave and then feeling immensely stupid for it.]

[edamamepon]

[ Wouldn't he be surprised to learn most eggs are Like That.

Makoto almost laughs, but figures Akechi might take it the wrong way. So he returns the wave with one of his own and slows to keep pace beside him instead. His hands find his pockets casually, gaze wandering their surroundings. ]

It's pretty nice out though, isn't it?

[forfeited]

[He doesn't want to think about Egg Conception, thanks.]

[His posture stiffens as Makoto slows to keep pace with him, clearly trying to figure out how he's meant to react and finding no clear cues. Sorry, Makoto, he's awkward.]

[The question, as a result, is welcome, and he hums, nodding.] Startlingly so.

[edamamepon]

[ Makoto gets it, as someone who's experienced more than his own fair share of awkwardness. Pointing it out never helps. But 'startlingly' certainly is a word choice.

After a beat-- ]

I'm guessing you don't go on spring walks like this a lot either, huh? What about flower viewing?