[closed]

[existentialcrisis]

Who: Hazel, Jae-Ha, and Ukoku
What: Jae-Ha drunkenly invited Ukoku over. Is it too late to rescind an invitation when someone's actually in your house?
When: 4/27, morning
Where: Aengus's silly temple
Warnings: I don't know why I'm allowed to rp


[ Ukoku is a shadow. A crow's shadow. A short-ish dark handsome (??) stranger, except in this case not a stranger, a vaguely repulsive silhouette of bad intentions in full regalia, with the smell of cigarette smoke and incense and malice clinging to his robe.

Jae-Ha doesn't deserve this. He's a good kid, tall and aesthetically appealing (which has nothing to do with how undeserving he is, but is interesting in that it says something about Hazel), with leggie for days and a talent for waxing poetic, a mildly surprising but undeniably loyal dead-man replacement for Gat.

(He's precious to you, he'd said to Filbert that day in the church: I'm jealous.)

It's not the first time Ukoku has wondered why people cling to other people the way they do, and it won't be the last.

Hazel doesn't deserve this either, probably, in spite of his prejudices and all the souls he's stolen and the wonderfully misguided vengeful justice he's applied. He hasn't had an easy life—but if fate is real, he was never meant to. And from what Ukoku knows of religion in the West, fate is a given and suffering is how saints are made. (Interesting: they run toward hardship, self-punishment and loathing and guilt.)

But he was invited, so Ukoku is standing at the door to Hazel's temple with a gift in his hands: a blue flower in a pot, because Jae-Ha crushed the other one (no he did not). He knocks lightly on the door. Surprise!! ]

Comments

[churchbelle]

[how the hell can one man talk so much and ignore so many social cues so bLATANTLY]

Mercy, you're not bored, are ya? Maybe gettin' a proper hobby's what ya need to do.

[Not gardening, or harassment. Hazel is just a concerned .....individual.]

Maybe needlepoint. Or knittin'.

[razzledazzles]

[Pfft— knitting. Jae-Ha has been trying really hard at this, but really it's not surprising that he breaks his silence to speak after just this short minute or two.]

You could knit yourself a nice hat.

[existentialcrisis]

[ Ukoku slaps his fist into his palm, deadly serious. ]

That's what I should do! Needlepoint.

[ THANKS, BOYS ]

[churchbelle]

[The sudden existential dread when you cannot tell if you just did something hilarious or really bad: Hazel is experiencing it. He glances at Jae-Ha, then over at Ukoku again.

Hmm.]

I reckon ya could needlepoint yourself a nice picture of a hat.

[razzledazzles]

If he has the vision for it...

[Well, who can stop him. Hm. He really can't tell, either. Look, at least he's not talking about his own googling hobby.]

[existentialcrisis]

[ Himself?? No, he's going to needlepoint a picture of a hat for Hazel's house! Maybe with some boots. Bless this mess. ]

They should have made me a god of hobbies! Maybe I can ask to switch departments.

[ From…death to hobbies ]

[churchbelle]

[He doesn't want to know... He doesn't want to know at all!!]

What's your department now, speakin' of? [fUCK]

[razzledazzles]

[At that question, Jae-Ha gives Hazel a look. Stop asking things, Mr. Be Quiet?? But, he'll look back at his own food, mumbling into his grits.]

Hedonism?

[existentialcrisis]

[ Ukoku laughs. ]

I thought that was your department, Jae-Ha!

[ It's not even catty; if he were ever innocent it'd be innocent. Listen, they talked about this. ]

I wish it were hedonism! My poor shinki's wiring his own lights. It's just time, though. The department of time. I think they're calling me old. [ Sigh!! ]

[churchbelle]

[Don't judge him, Mr. Breakfast Invitation. Hazel gives Jae-Ha a look right back, that slides smoothly back into his usual Harmless(tm) expression for talking to Ukoku when he looks away.

They're not obviously doing this in front of him, it's fine.]

Time! That sure is interestin'. Surely they're just tryin' to say ya got a lot of it on your hands. [Ergo: needlepoint. Hazel is always right.]

Did ya get a temple full of clocks for that one?

[razzledazzles]

I'm only a shinki, so I wouldn't say that I have a department.

[Just Hazel's... He hasn't really looked away from that look he's just gotten from Hazel. Subtle. They're so subtle. But alright, back to his grits which he's nearly done with but he'll keep pretending are very interesting.

He doesn't want to speak too much, still, so he won't comment on clocks. Jesus.]

[existentialcrisis]

[ Ukoku seems completely oblivious to these Looks. Great job, well done! Very subtle. ]

You know, I didn't! [ He pauses, thinking. ] There's a clock on the oven. That's one.

[ There you go. God of time.............. ]

Oh! Speaking of time— [ he has to get goiHAHA NO ] Based on what I've seen, the Heavens organize little gatherings every ten days, so the next one should be May fifth. I'm sure things don't go wrong every time, but this Amaterasu thing could escalate, so be careful if you decide to go.

[churchbelle]

[A clock on the oven... sigh.

Hazel pauses over the grits he sure just isn't eating anymore, raising an eyebrow at that conjecture about the - well, the time. He doesn't know why Ukoku decided to bring this up, but it's probably suspect, after everything else he's said... ever. In his life. Hazel's just assuming.]

Do ya think so? I'm afraid I didn't stay for the end of that incident. Are ya sayin' that they didn't catch anybody?

[in advance: shut the fuck up jae-ha]

[razzledazzles]

[Okay, really?? He wanted him to ask. He definitely wanted him to ask, right? So why was Hazel asking again and again after telling Jae-Ha to shut his mouth and say nothing more than hello? He spares Hazel his glances this time, simply staring into his grits before his eyes flick over to Ukoku.

He wishes he were easier to read, but he's just so weird. He doesn't know what feeling he gets from him at all.]

[existentialcrisis]

[ Still in no way noticing any glances!!, but he chuckles at the question. ]

I don't know if there was anyone to catch. The, um, culprit in question set a few trees on fire and dropped some papers that said 'down with Amaterasu' where everyone could find them. It's an interesting strategy, right?

[churchbelle]

[menaces, shut up jae-ha!!!]

Well, I dunno... [He wiggles his fork into his grits in lieu of actually shrugging, like, someone had to set the fires, right...?? That had to happen.]

It's somethin' to think about, sure. [buuut he doesn't want to, so please excuse him.]

[razzledazzles]

[This is a little like the stuff he's been talking about with Tsuzuki, but he doesn't feel like he should bring up any of it here. Still... All of this vague staring as Ukoku rambles... He's not patient enough for it right now.]

They seemed to catch fire like magic. I was beneath them when it happened. [And, like, drunk as hell, but still.] What are you trying to get at?

[existentialcrisis]

Like magic.

[ He gives Jae-Ha a pleased look, chin propped in his hand. (If Hazel wants to be a bad student and not use his brain, that's his prerogative!!) ]

Burning down a grove while everyone was having a good time isn't a very good way to gain sympathy for a cause, is it? And so many newcomers were around. Everyone who was still there during the fire became kind of a team, yeah? Against someone who named Amaterasu as a target. It's also worth noting that her advisers who've spoken up in public are a water god and a wind god. Who's missing?

[churchbelle]

[Get out of his house, uncle!! Hazel wasn't even there, why would he know that?? Jeez.]

A god of the earth, I'd reckon, among others. [This theory sucks, he rejects it.] How many people were gettin' buried that ya saw?

[pls.........]

[razzledazzles]

[Well, while Hazel rejects this theory, Jae-Ha will just go quiet to consider it. ...Again, it is lining up with his late night talks with Tsuzuki. Conspiracy theories are everywhere these days...]

[existentialcrisis]

Among others, yes.

[ But Hazel's getting obstinate, and by his silence Jae-Ha got it anyway, so it's time to go. Ukoku gets to his feet. ]

But that's not really important. I just wanted to tell you to be careful.

[churchbelle]

[Finally, sweet victory. Sort of. Hazel has the decency (if it can be called that) to look surprised, like he just had so much fun he lost track of the time.]

Oh— sure, sure. Are ya headin' out? I'll walk ya to the door.

[He's already getting up, but not in an eager way.]

[razzledazzles]

[Jae-Ha is still mostly silent. Partially to not piss Hazel off any more, and partially because he's busy thinking anyway. Not just about Ukoku's implications, but about how he's saying this in the first place. If everything Hazel has told him adds up, then there must be a reason... It would be nice if he could figure it out and stop Hazel from whatever worrying might come up over it down the line.

Well, for now, he'll just stand from the table silently. He could spend his time putting away the dishes, but he's going to accompany them to the door, too. It's a little overprotective, but he likes to think he's being subtle enough to just seem polite.]

I hope the food was alright. [Some stock input, for the polite road...]

[existentialcrisis]

Oh, it was! You did very well. Hazel must be a good teacher, too.

[ He stops at the door and turns back, smiling benevolently. ]

Don't be a stranger, both of you!

[churchbelle]

[Get out...........]

We'll be seein' ya around. [Not here! Not here ever again.] Have a good one, Mister Ukoku.