[Valentine's Day Event] - Somebody To Love

[heretic_hamlet]

[When the feed first turns on, the screen comes to life and wipes over with a glimmer; when Ramza finally comes into view, he's obviously just come from his shower, wearing a collared shirt unbuttoned, with beads of moisture trickling down his bare chest. The very air around him glitters even as he furiously towels off his head.]

How can-- Does anyone know how to make this stop? I attempted to wash its presence away, but that only made it worse...

[With a last tug, the towel whips free from his head, and his damp hair cascades into place across his scalp as droplets of water send glistening twinkles soaring slowly through the air to join the shower of rose petals.

Oh-so-romantically, he flicks one off of his shoulder.]

Can someone take this rose from me? Simply setting it down does nothing; mayhap I must freely offer it so. I will return the favor.

Comments

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[dragoncrest]

[Freya isn't quite sure of how to respond to this emotionally. Concern? Exasperation? Confusion?]

... has some sort of spell been cast upon you?

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[heretic_hamlet]

Ah, Freya--

[The bathroom door blows open and steam billows into the frame, some of it coalescing into glistering bubbles that shimmer behind him.

He hastily bats them away or to bursting.]

I know not for certain. It began when I had taken a rose from a park bench, and has yet to leave me since.

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[dragoncrest]

I... see.

[She's rendered speechless for a moment. His new aura is... a little hard to take seriously.]

A rose seems an odd object to have caused such an effect... [Aren't magical objects usually crystals and things like that?]

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[heretic_hamlet]

[It's every bit as bad for him, Freya. But perhaps it's for the best that Ramza himself isn't able to see see exactly how glamorous he's made to look... especially as the mist rolls through in another wave, and lends a particular almost-blurry softness to the image on the screen.]

I would not have imagined it myself, but I took the rose in hand and the petals began falling... [And the sparkles began soon after, but he'd rather not draw attention to that now.]

You've seen nothing of the sort in your travels?

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[dragoncrest]

I can't say I've seen something quite so... eye-catching. Some protective spells give a minor glow to the recipient, but this is beyond that. [To say the least. Good lord.] I suppose that you haven't, either?

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[uncouthhatcher]

[Now, Gold's had his moments of possible gay thoughts within the recent months. Like how he doesn't mind holding Silver's hand and actually really enjoys it like the way he does holding Crys's hand. Some of the guys here are pretty good looking. But of course that's like, factual, not opinionated at all nope.




But is it just Gold or is it kinda hot in here. Chobo, who has been growing fast and is nearly half way now, tries to take a peek at the terminal screen - they'd been taking a walk alright - but Gold simply shoves her away. Nope. No kids allowed.]

Uh.

[Brilliant. He shakes his head and focuses on the actual shower of petals and not where they land. Yup. Please don't say anything but his eyes keep straying to those glistening beads of water on Ramza's chest and it's hella awkward for him already.]

You uh. You tried gettin' some fire to burn them or somethin' like that. Cause I can help with that. Exbo and all. [Smooth as butter.]

[heretic_hamlet]

Destroy the rose?

[Ramza looks off the frame in thought. Perhaps not with fire, but if the rose truly was to blame for all of this...

His thoughts are interrupted by a window blowing open behind him, his hair and opened shirt both billowing in a chilling breeze that sends a shiver down his spine and sends droplets of water twinkling through the air alongside the petals.

With an irritated groan, he hastily slams the window shut as he struggles to re-gather his thoughts.

Right, the rose thing.]

...What if the curse yet remains after the Rose is destroyed?

[uncouthhatcher]

[Gold keeps Chobo from looking by half-laying on her head, just enough to push her down, and tries his very, very best not to hope that the window busts open again.]

Then you're stuck, I guess. Frozen in good lookin' limbo. I mean, you know, with glitter and stuff. And havin' random things happen to you like that window. Seems like it's pretty annoying.

[Please blow open again please blow open again please blow open again--]

[heretic_hamlet]

It is. [By the Gods does it get old.] I pray I can even find sleep tonight in the midst of all this twinkling--

[But another little creak from off-camera sends in a humid gust that quickly cools to a skin-wetting mist in the cold air. Ramza groans as he gazes aside, and hurries off to shut his bathroom door.

By the time he returns, his shirt's damp and clinging skintight to his chest. He once more brushes the hair from before his eyes.]

Mayhap I would have fortune enough to see it fade in time if all else fails.

[uncouthhatcher]

Well, I know I'm lucky...

[... And... maybe coming to terms with the fact that he might be somewhat attracted to guys with long hair. Longish. Sort of. But, realizing that he sounds hella gay and it doesn't make much sense, Gold is very quick to continue, eyes completely averted.]

I mean, nothin' like that's happened to me! It's been totally normal! At least it ain't killer snowmen all over again, or like little naked babies shootin' us with arrows.

[Yeah. That'd be worse. So worse. Much worse than being able to admire the rather handsome and totally not into him Ramza.]

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[ofwesternwinds]

Where did you find that and also why is it glittering all around you and that's a lot of petals isn't that leaving a mess you should definitely do something about that--

[Hi Ramza, how are you? Rudy is fine. Beyond the fact he's talking faster than a bullet train, but other than that? Totally fine.]

[voice]

[heretic_hamlet]

[Well, this was very much unlike the more modest and shy Rudy he knew. Apparently he wasn't the only one a little bit... off-model today.

And, in his concern, his eyes shimmered, yet grew narrow, his face seeming all the more stoic and chiseled in spite of his outspoken compassion. He tucked back the collar on his shirt, flipping his hair back with a fingertip.]

I'd taken a rose left behind on a park bench, and I've been at a loss to stop it since. Now I know why its previous owner had left it... [Hopefully they were spared indignity of this sort...]

What of you, Rudy?

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[shadowsgambit]

So don't take a shower. Got it.

[Fortuna's feed shows she has much the same problem - the air conditioning vent seems to be...misaligned, since her hair can't seem to lay still, and rose petals drift by on this mysterious indoor breeze.]

We look like we're on the covers of drekky, cheap Japanese romance novels or something. [If people wrote trolls into romance novels as the sort of character who would be showered in beautiful things...]

[heretic_hamlet]

[Not that he'd ever heard of Japan, but Ramza at least was familiar enough with the notion of the ravishing, romantic cliche.

But at the sight of Fortuna, Ramza was caught between sadness at someone else suffering the same fate, amusement at ridiculousness of seeing the cliche with his own eyes, and astonishment that Fortuna kind of, sort of, almost pulled it off.

But for all the world- if only for the rose's trickery- it seemed to manifest as a starry, wide-eyed, almost fawning gaze.]

You had taken a rose as well, I presume? I see you've found no better luck in ridding yourself of its air.

[shadowsgambit]

Yeah. Hadn't seen one like it in a long time. I picked it up for a closer look and this happened.

[She gestures with her hand at the aura as she says this, and the movement creates, implausibly, a perfectly artistic swirly disturbance in the petals drifting by.]

Well I guess that was kind of neat...

[heretic_hamlet]

[Ramza tries something similar, but the sparkles' glisten doesn't so much resemble a Van Gogh painting as it resembles an overly-pretty man flailing his arm like an idiot.

Well, he tried. And learned he probably looked dumber when he tried to take advantage of it. A single, shimmering tear trailed down his cheek in frustration.

No, wait, that was probably just more moisture from the shower.]

I have to wonder if it's a fluke of magic or simply someone making a nuisance of themselves...

[shadowsgambit]

[There's a pause as she tries to figure out if he's actually crying there. Damn effect.] ...Honestly, I don't care. I just want it to stop. It's a nuisance either way.

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[dontthesunlookgoodtoday]

Return it for… what, another rose?

[help he can't stop staring. the effects are just that good.]

Man, if only we could figure out some way to bottle this. Maybe we'd even have it under control.

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[heretic_hamlet]

[And Ramza's staring right back, his hair billowing in a sudden draft and his eyes nearly glimmering at the sight of a golden, winged figure looking back at him. What sort of floral curse was he stuck with...?

But sooner or later he snaps back to speaking.]

No; I would find some way to repay the kindness. I would sooner not merely trade one curse for another.

Should I presume that you, too, were struck thus?

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[dontthesunlookgoodtoday]

[…no seriously that is the best effect how does he bottle this]

Sure, sounds fairer. Never know what kind of curse you might be handing over without activating it, after all.

Me? [he shifts a little, wings lifting] Hadn't picked anything up before this. Thanks for the warning.

[…he should probably check Mutie though, bets on chances of a kitten picking up anything it finds interesting being taken now. and no he hasn't quite made that connection just yet.]

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[heretic_hamlet]

Then--

[Well, he was at a loss for words in how to ask without seeming rude... but it wasn't as though he didn't look fool enough already. And though he casually pointed at the screen, an unseen force added a sparkling flourish to the gesture.]

--you were always thus? Gilded and feathered?

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[blazeoflife]

[Junpei's really trying to keep a straight face. He really, REALLY is. But by the time he's about 3 seconds into his video, he can't hold it back, and he bursts out laughing.]

AHahahahaa! H-holy shit, dude! You look like you've stepped out right out of a shoujo anime!

[Please excuse Junpei as he finds himself still caught up in a laughing fit.]

[Video]

[heretic_hamlet]

...A what?

[Thankfully, Ramza's not the sort to get upset over a little laughter; after all, he understood his situation must have looked ridiculous... Especially when he smooths back his hair and it almost seems to fall back into place in slow motion.]

You've seen this sort of thing before?

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[blazeoflife]

[Okay. Okay, it took about a minute for Junpei to calm down, laughing so hard he's wheezing a little. And everytime he looks back at Ramza, he starts giggling again. Finally, he decided the best way to do this was... To close his eyes. ]

Ahhaa... o-okay, so, l-lemme explain...

[Deep breath, deep breath!]

Okay, so, in my world, we've got like... cartoons, right? Moving pictures. You've seen those things on Saeng Seong tv here? In my world, there's a type of cartoon that's for girls, called 'Shojou'.

[His eye crack opened a second... and he's trying to hold back a chuckle, quickly closing his eye again.]

And when 'pretty boys' show up in these shows, they look all sparkly and romantic and shit. Kinda like you do right now. It's like you've stepped right out of one of those cartoons!

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[heretic_hamlet]

[So he was being made to play the part of a stock character, was he...? Well, in light of that and Fortuna's comment these strange happenings made a bit more sense. Perhaps not the why, but the what of these glimmers and glamers was beginning to fall into place.]

A 'pretty boy,' eh...

[Not as though he thought a soldier and kinslayer much fit the part, but then again he'd seen far more beautiful be far more treacherous in their deeds. Still, one thing didn't quite seem to fit in with Junpei's laughter.]

You watch these shows, then?