[ wow. it worked. now she just needs to make sure she doesn't put her foot in her mouth somehow! that should be easy! they just avoid the topics of (looks at book) ocean and work.
... oh, boy.
it'll be fine. malkuth'll get dressed in that bare minimum LILITH offers them for casual city wear, though she's at least long-sleeved, and go to the common room for her. friendly outing with ishmael. they will be friends. or at least friendlier. she is so fucking determined. ]
[ so right for it queen the art has been eating. malkuth clenches her fist in sheer determination of Having A Good Time With No Issues and follows after. making friends is so easy. right? like, her and roland were fairly friendly. but roland was also just the kind of guy who let things roll off him for the most part. they snag on ishmael like hooks instead...
... well, she's had luck getting to know others here, so it'll be fine! surely her years of dedicating herself to only work and being around the same group of people for that amount of time won't work against her! ]
So, um, what's your civilian life like? When we're out here and all.
[ how malkuth is overthinking what's supposed to be a nice dinner(?) out. she won't have to worry about being friends with ishmael once ish finds out that she told wrio about their poledancing plans, just saying :)
but anyway - ]
You mean their fake role they foisted on me? [ she tilts her head like uhhhh ] I was supposed to be a sailor like back home, but the beaches around here are too dangerous. So I've been working here and there at some restaurants? But I don't jive with that one either, so I haven't really settled down on anything yet.
[ it's just like her to be indecisive on what to do in life... one day she'll get there. ]
[ she doesn't know they're doomed yuri friendship from the start......... ]
That's good, though! It just means you still have time to find something that's fun for you. I'm a college student with a part-time job at a... karaoke bar, which sounds pretty exciting from what I heard from another person here, so I'm kinda stoked to see what that's like. But I think you're pretty lucky to have the world still open to you as far as that goes.
[ like, maybe malkuth won't jive with the karaoke bar thing and find something new too! but she does want to try it for now. ]
[ in the past, ishmael wouldn't have thought that way. but malkuth's right - the world is her oyster now, ready for the picking. all she has to do now is chart her course. ]
Architecture. If I ever left the Library, I decided I'd want to do that -- buildings shape the people that live in them, you know? So I'd like to build ones that would change how the City is someday. Even if it took a long time for it to happen.
[ even if it might never happen, her buildings among the rest of them. but it's nice to have a dream. ]
I'd take this as practice if things weren't still moving along back there, according to LILITH.
[ oh, so she has sketched herself a dream too. does this librarian know that things like that is futile in the city they lived in? that their hopes and dreams will inevitably be dashed by whatever force that happen to chance upon them.
ishmael had thought that the library is full of conniving feathers of a wing that preyed upon the weak, but malkuth... she was only an employee at the end of the day, wasn't she?
she walks in silence, the street they're in filled with neon lights. the restaurants are opening up for the night, and right now what she's in the mood for is --]
...Udon. [ mmm, noodles. ] Let's go for udon tonight.
[ more than anyone, she knows that. one was stolen from her -- from all of them. but it's nothing she can talk about, nothing she would with someone uninvolved, and remains ever in the back of her mind. ]
Sounds good to me! [ not that she knows what that is, ] Can we make it spicy? I've found out I'm a real fan of it!
[ she shrugs, canting her head towards a lowkey noodle place. just going to input her order of curry udon for herself and a spicy pork udon for malkuth here before sliding into the nearest empty booth. ]
Still can't believe you have to go to university, though. Don't really miss it myself.
[ exciting... malkuth plops down opposite of her, perking up. her three step plan is already working. ]
I'm sure I don't have to, but I want to. It's better than just sitting around all day.
[ ... and it's nostalgic to be in a classroom in its own way, even if the information isn't taught the way elijah had been. it eases the curious yearning in her chest well enough. ]
You got tired of it, huh? Day in, day out, the same thing over and over again -- so you went to the sea for a change.
[ yeah. she knows it. malkuth plays with her hands under the table, hesitating a moment before continuing. it might feel more like a story she's read a dozen times over, but it's still her history, isn't it? ]
Me too. I got tired of seeing the faces around me always looking down at black and white, when I wanted to see the colors they didn't think were important. So I ended up joining something else entirely. [ research team, wing, rising threat of the city... ] I just didn't expect it to turn out the way it did in the end.
[ there's no way elijah could have ever imagined it would. her life ended on the ground, after all, begging to be helped, to be acknowledged just once. poor girl. ]
[ she's tempted to lie, but... she's never been that type of gal. not anymore. so she shakes her head, plopping her chin on her hand. ]
Well, I hopped from one Office after another. Just trying to make ends meet.
[ and also clinging onto the hope that the pequod was still alive. and they were! just... not in the place she'd expected. ]
This is really the first time in a long while that I was able to have some time for myself without the City's faults looming over me. And I imagine it's the same thing for you.
In a way. The Library... sort of feels like its own world sometimes, since it locks everyone out. If it wasn't for the guests that came by, you'd think it was.
[ her workplace is a touchy subject by nature, so she takes it slowly. ]
Everyone's found their own hobbies in what downtime we have, and we even made a schedule for cleaning the corridors! It's weirdly normal sounding, huh? [ ... something she misses, new as this parting is. ] But this place really is different. I feel like a regular person.
[ that's... oddly domestic. the more she hears about the Library, it's looking more like malkuth and the others were just doing their jobs, and that they were possibly forced to by their mysterious boss. in other words, they're just another wing who did what they had to do for the betterment of the City.
wish it's not always that way, though. but there's nothing a civil servant like ishmael can do about it. ]
A regular person?
[ her lips are a thin line as she considers this. someone arrives to serve their respective udon bowls, and promptly leaves. ]
I don't think we'll ever be regular. At least compared to everyone here. The City... it shaped us to be like this. And it's going to be hard to untangle ourselves out of it.
[ malkuth has her own thoughts about that, but she's curious about ishmael's. the possibility to change... to untangle themselves from the City, to unlearn the lessons that were impressed to their minds since they were young. whether it be here, or there, can they? ]
malkuth smiles at that, carefully pushing her own hair back to keep it from getting into the broth as she picks up her set. time to put her lessons from kaito into practice...! ]
I think so, too. But I think anyone, anywhere can, even in that City of ours -- it's just more difficult.
[ way more difficult, without someone to lead them to the right path. she'll have to be that for netzach and yesod here.
okay let her. she's still clumsy with chopsticks but she can get it in, okay. it's not great but she can manage. ]
-- It's so good! [ and spicy!!!!! she's got no problems with it... ] I don't think I'll ever get over how flavorful stuff can be... I guess that foodie was right to be so into it. How's yours?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
i am doing my fucking damnest not to look, for your sake
Well, I'm still new and you're not! So I thought I'd ask.
look at my porn, boy
I'm not too picky, honestly. I ate nothing but shitty canned food on the ship, so I'll take anything at this point.
AUHFKESJGDR good lird
So you don't have a favorite place to go or anything, huh...
[ this is harder than she thought. dammit wrio. wait, she can spin this just fine! ]
If you're free today, do you wanna find one together?
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[ with how energetic she is, ishmael would've thought she'd have her own group of friends by now. hmm. ]
Fine. Come meet me at the common room, I'm just gonna go get dressed.
-> action
[ wow. it worked. now she just needs to make sure she doesn't put her foot in her mouth somehow! that should be easy! they just avoid the topics of (looks at book) ocean and work.
... oh, boy.
it'll be fine. malkuth'll get dressed in that bare minimum LILITH offers them for casual city wear, though she's at least long-sleeved, and go to the common room for her. friendly outing with ishmael. they will be friends. or at least friendlier. she is so fucking determined. ]
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Ready? Like I said, I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for, so let's just walk around and see what's out there.
[ without further ado, she leads the way out, hands stashed in her pockets. ]
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... well, she's had luck getting to know others here, so it'll be fine! surely her years of dedicating herself to only work and being around the same group of people for that amount of time won't work against her! ]
So, um, what's your civilian life like? When we're out here and all.
[ n...nailing it. ]
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but anyway - ]
You mean their fake role they foisted on me? [ she tilts her head like uhhhh ] I was supposed to be a sailor like back home, but the beaches around here are too dangerous. So I've been working here and there at some restaurants? But I don't jive with that one either, so I haven't really settled down on anything yet.
[ it's just like her to be indecisive on what to do in life... one day she'll get there. ]
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yurifriendship from the start......... ]That's good, though! It just means you still have time to find something that's fun for you. I'm a college student with a part-time job at a... karaoke bar, which sounds pretty exciting from what I heard from another person here, so I'm kinda stoked to see what that's like. But I think you're pretty lucky to have the world still open to you as far as that goes.
[ like, maybe malkuth won't jive with the karaoke bar thing and find something new too! but she does want to try it for now. ]
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A... college student?
[ hm. takes her back to her uni days. ]
What course did you take?
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[ even if it might never happen, her buildings among the rest of them. but it's nice to have a dream. ]
I'd take this as practice if things weren't still moving along back there, according to LILITH.
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ishmael had thought that the library is full of conniving feathers of a wing that preyed upon the weak, but malkuth... she was only an employee at the end of the day, wasn't she?
she walks in silence, the street they're in filled with neon lights. the restaurants are opening up for the night, and right now what she's in the mood for is --]
...Udon. [ mmm, noodles. ] Let's go for udon tonight.
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Sounds good to me! [ not that she knows what that is, ] Can we make it spicy? I've found out I'm a real fan of it!
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[ she shrugs, canting her head towards a lowkey noodle place. just going to input her order of curry udon for herself and a spicy pork udon for malkuth here before sliding into the nearest empty booth. ]
Still can't believe you have to go to university, though. Don't really miss it myself.
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I'm sure I don't have to, but I want to. It's better than just sitting around all day.
[ ... and it's nostalgic to be in a classroom in its own way, even if the information isn't taught the way elijah had been. it eases the curious yearning in her chest well enough. ]
What did you go for?
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[ she wrinkles her nose just thinking about it. ]
Or rather, it didn't really matter what I took. Once I graduated I immediately became a feather for a Wing. I'm sure you know the rest.
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You got tired of it, huh? Day in, day out, the same thing over and over again -- so you went to the sea for a change.
[ yeah. she knows it. malkuth plays with her hands under the table, hesitating a moment before continuing. it might feel more like a story she's read a dozen times over, but it's still her history, isn't it? ]
Me too. I got tired of seeing the faces around me always looking down at black and white, when I wanted to see the colors they didn't think were important. So I ended up joining something else entirely. [ research team, wing, rising threat of the city... ] I just didn't expect it to turn out the way it did in the end.
[ there's no way elijah could have ever imagined it would. her life ended on the ground, after all, begging to be helped, to be acknowledged just once. poor girl. ]
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huh.
is this some universal experience that every feather has? tf. ]
Yeah. That's why I quit and stumbled into becoming a sailor. But... that didn't go well either.
[ aaaaaa ]
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Nothing in the City ever goes like we think it will, huh? For a predictable cycle, it sure does have its surprises.
[ both good and bad, always brought on by desire. ]
Did you end up with anything worth your time? During it, or even just because it happened.
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Well, I hopped from one Office after another. Just trying to make ends meet.
[ and also clinging onto the hope that the pequod was still alive. and they were! just... not in the place she'd expected. ]
This is really the first time in a long while that I was able to have some time for myself without the City's faults looming over me. And I imagine it's the same thing for you.
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[ her workplace is a touchy subject by nature, so she takes it slowly. ]
Everyone's found their own hobbies in what downtime we have, and we even made a schedule for cleaning the corridors! It's weirdly normal sounding, huh? [ ... something she misses, new as this parting is. ] But this place really is different. I feel like a regular person.
[ and not. well, ishmael knows. a city citizen. ]
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wish it's not always that way, though. but there's nothing a civil servant like ishmael can do about it. ]
A regular person?
[ her lips are a thin line as she considers this. someone arrives to serve their respective udon bowls, and promptly leaves. ]
I don't think we'll ever be regular. At least compared to everyone here. The City... it shaped us to be like this. And it's going to be hard to untangle ourselves out of it.
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[ malkuth has her own thoughts about that, but she's curious about ishmael's. the possibility to change... to untangle themselves from the City, to unlearn the lessons that were impressed to their minds since they were young. whether it be here, or there, can they? ]
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I think we can. So long as we've got someone to lead us to the right path.
[ and they aren't gonna find that in their City, that's for sure. ishmael lucked out with dante, but for malkuth... well...... that's her problem now.
ishmael raises her hands up to tie her hair back into a ponytail, before picking up her chopsticks. ]
Come on, let's eat.
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malkuth smiles at that, carefully pushing her own hair back to keep it from getting into the broth as she picks up her set. time to put her lessons from kaito into practice...! ]
I think so, too. But I think anyone, anywhere can, even in that City of ours -- it's just more difficult.
[ way more difficult, without someone to lead them to the right path. she'll have to be that for netzach and yesod here.
okay let her. she's still clumsy with chopsticks but she can get it in, okay. it's not great but she can manage. ]
-- It's so good! [ and spicy!!!!! she's got no problems with it... ] I don't think I'll ever get over how flavorful stuff can be... I guess that foodie was right to be so into it. How's yours?
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