standingonmyneck | FOREST COVERED: IC CONTACT

Nothing gets passed you, does it?

[So here she was. Holding this rather pretty, sure, but extremely awkward bouquet. She was literally about to leave it at that, as he was. Feeling old feelings of dealing with the inane and ridiculous side of the siblings yet again.

Oh, how fate twisted itself and-

-Wait, what? Hold on. No, Larix, you were not allowed to leave yet. Not after that.]

Uh, I haven't been writing a script since I sent you that one.

Edited 2016-06-01 03:25 (UTC)

Eh?

[NO?!]

But... surely seeing your work brought to life on the stage ignited a passion in your heart! Surely you crave more.

[Surely she has to feel the same way he does. Like a recovering addict caught in a rapid backslide.

He knew he missed acting, but he never expected to feel a twinge of panic over something Riye's treating so casually.]

[She could feel it. Her senses were going off. This was heading into badlands territory. Riye noticed the curious twinge in his mood after her stating the fact she didn't work on another script.

This felt very, very wrong.]

Maybe it did. But after I did what was asked of me, now I feel like maybe I can work some more on my short stories. Some of my more personal projects.

[What the heck, he asked for tips on writing a best-selling autobiography, not a script to perform, but... he's not complaining about that, either.]

I see...

[No, he should be happy for her no matter what she's choosing to work on! ~Artist to artist.~ He's not going to selfishly beg for her to work on something he wants to do.

He flips his bangs to one side and flashes his best smile.]

I support your creative endeavours. Pursue your passions, and let your heart flourish as well...

[To which she would point out how he gave her NOTHING to begin to work with in the slightest, so she gave him an upstart into applying his dramatic prowess to soon be able to create something TO write about potentially. That would be, of course, if he ever disclosed any personal information. Ever. To work out ANY of those things.

That wasn't this fake, phony nonsense.

Like this, right now? She wasn't buying it. Just when she thought there was something, ANYTHING honest in him. She felt like she was practically lied to in her face. She hated that.]

Do you? I'm beginning to believe otherwise.

[Has she been hanging around Yotsuba a little too often? This kind of hostility to his heartfelt support is something he'd expect from his gloomy brother, but not from Riye. Larix takes an uneasy step back, completely thrown off his groove.]

What? But I mean it...

[Another mood shift. Riye crossed her arms and seemed to glare at him.]

Why the pause then?

[Maybe she was being unfair, but she just didn't want this to go by. It didn't feel right. That entire mood he had just seemed to rub her the wrong way. She hated dishonesty too much to let him off without an explanation. If she were to ever get one.]

You know, if there's something you actually want to say, it would be really great if you actually told me.

Edited 2016-06-01 21:57 (UTC)

[Why has everyone been so concerned with what he's ~really~ thinking and feeling since he's come here? What he really wants right now is for her not to seem so cross with him.]

...Heh.

[He shrugs and puts one hand in his pocket.]

Well, since you've twisted my arm, I suppose I have no choice... I would really like to see another play from you.

[....Okay, so. Her arms were still crossed but this was a start? Maybe? In retrospect, there were probably millions of ways to have this NOT happen, because she wasn't so sure as to why she even cared this much. Cared a little, maybe. Considering the success and the sensitivity he seemed to have with it.

But now that it was arising like this, she was really battling the thought of the whole thing being a mistake. Considering this attitude.

Also, she was fighting a whole barrage of negative things in regarding herself. Such as feeling downright manipulated as opposed to being lied to.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...]

I gathered that much by now. So, did it help you think of what you even want in your autobiography?

Edited 2016-06-02 02:56 (UTC)

[Oh, that perks him back up considerably.]

Heh... Your play was the start of a brand new chapter! My return from acting retirement!

[He holds his hand out and pans it slowly from left to right.]

Of course, our hero cannot outrun his destiny, no matter how much distance he thinks is put between them... No, it wasn't running... It was more like a separation! Like childhood sweethearts who must say goodbye when one's family moves, but reunite later when they enroll in the same university... Their hands brush over each others' as they reach for the same book, and as they recognize each other that old passion reignites in their hearts, stronger now than in their youthful inexperience!

[He clenches his fist and holds it close to his heart.]

But before even that, I suppose we must work out the beginning... I don't remember it that clearly, but I believe I emerged, second of six, from Mommy dearest's womb with an ear-piercing cry-- not for the warm comfort I could never return to, but with excitement for the bold new world that opened up for me! Yes... a good start, right?

Edited 2016-06-02 03:21 (UTC)

[Dear Mother of this Man,

You don't know me, you might never know me. But here I am, looking into the void through intergalactic space portals. The ones that separate this plane from another. The possibility of many others. I was from one, not yours, henceforth me not knowing.

I stand here today with an act I hardly give, especially to those I haven't met.

I stand here with a male, your second born. I don't know how much else I would even say. You may already know. You may know more than the five other fetuses you held for so long, a mother DOES know best. That's what mine says. I believe her.

So I say to you, with up most eloquence.

The bastard owes me a kidney. Also, I'm very, very, very sorry.

With hesitance of spouting inner monologue that no one would hear,
Riye]

That sure is a start alright. Such imagery from detail. Nice literal terminology for "the beginning" too.

[She had a headache. A big one, but she could really truly only blame herself.]

But anything else other than your birth into the world, beating another four siblings to the punch?

Heh.

[He brings a hand up to cover his face, give himself an air of mystique while he thinks.

...

And... thinks.

His cocky smirk falls a little.]

Being a part of the pack for most of my childhood, playing follow-the-leader after Kuzu...

[Hmm? Her brow seemed to raise a little. Where in the ever loving hell did that come from?

And should she get a notebook for this?

She wondered where this was heading now, though also if there was still a point to any of this. If she were to still come out of this with no regret. If there was anything even remotely telling about this change of atmosphere again.

Did she even want to hear more? She'd gotten the run down from both Yotsuba and Levant, maybe she should complete it and hear it from the man himself. Plus...it might help her understand Yotsuba a bit better. Yotsuba really mattered to her after all.

So...how she was able to tell them apart were their separate demeanor from one another. The shallow smiling fake jerkass, the sensible but damaged one, the loner who liked cats more than people, the hyper one who bends all reason, the not-yet-met eldest, and then there was Larix...so showing and attention seeking, and probably the most frustrating to her. Not disliked, that was reserved for Abby. But frustrating.

There were many different kinds of things she could say. Sigh...here went nothing.]

Can't claim I know what it's like to have five other identical siblings running around and probably getting mislabeled growing up.

It's exactly as you described it. Even our own mother couldn't keep track of us.

[He tilts his head back with a grin as though that's funny to him, but it... isn't.]

We were a unit. Inseparable. The Terrors of Tokyo! [Or at least of the Akatsuka ward. But hey, nothing wrong with a little embellishment for the sake of a good chapter.] Everyone knew us by name. ...That name was usually Kuzu's, but-! [He snaps his fingers.] We were proud to be Kuzu's brothers!

But that was before I realized that I could be known as somebody else, too. Shall I continue?

[...Okay, NOW she was actually intrigued. Listening. Good material for a written piece. IF she wrote something else for him anyway. If not her, then didn't he just explain what he could write about?

Maybe there was a way to convey that in a way HE would understand?

Because well, again, things started to make some more sense. She didn't have to directly answer the question.]

If you lived under someone else's shadow, there logically should be a point in which anyone should want to break off. It's called "independence". Seemed like you each found a niche eventually.

So what was yours?

[It's like he was waiting for that very question. He spreads his arms and throws his head back, basking in a spotlight only he can see.]

The stage, of course. Acting, music, presentations of passion!

Edited 2016-06-03 03:42 (UTC)

[Ooooh, she was going to regret this. Completely. But here it went, might as well at least let the sparks fly.]

So when did that start becoming what identifies you? Why did the stage appeal to you so much?

[It's nothing he's given extremely deep thought to, but does he ever think too deeply about anything? He rubs his chin, his eyes glossing over a bit as he gazes fondly into the distant past.]

Destiny...

Yes... The cosmic energies of the universe itself were out of balance. The people needed an inspiration, a powerful soul to connect with theirs, to restore harmony. Fate chose me and thrust me up onto that stage... and still I perform each day for a crowd of thousands, reaching out to the hearts of everyone I meet...!

[You've lost him, Riye.]

[About half way through that exchange, Riye actually reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

Mmmm, bitter regret.

Enough. Enough. E n o u g h.]

What about the people who don't believe in fate or destiny? What about the people who haven't found themselves? How would you connect with someone like that?

[She had to hammer in a point to get ANYWHERE with this one and she had use her magic ability of sheer and unrelenting bluntness.]

You obviously don't see the problem here. So let me elaborate. You can't connect with people with empty and fancy sparkle text. Inspiration comes from people being honest about themselves; showing your triumphs and your dents. Throwing romantic gestures just makes it seem hollow.

Heh... They would find their faith in me. Like a religious experience converting a non-believer!

[Still, though. The sound of a sharp crack fills the air, like just enough pressure being put on glass to hit the breaking point.

Larix ignores it, but his smile is a little less wide than usual.]

I don't know what you mean. Romantic gestures? Those are a part of who I am. The me I present to the world is everything I have to give. I am presenting my heart.

[The sheer delusion here...It was astounding. Not even the jokes she used to know back home would be fooled by this. She'd like to think. At least with Kevin and Brittany, it would all just fly over their heads probably.

Anyway, where was she?

She was sure her brain juice started leaking by this point.]

So who is that? Who is the Larix that you want to share to everyone? The Larix you want to present to the world so badly that you'd get up on stage and regurgitate sheer charm.

The... the naturally charming me...?

[Smaller sounds follow, like glass grinding together.

He's not liking this line of questioning, but he's not really sure how to deflect it, either. He begins fiddling with the fringe of his hair for the sake of giving his hands something to do.]

I'm me, that's all there is to it.

[Suddenly, it happened. The plate made from glass fell right onto the floor, into small pieces. All scattered across the floor were those shards, and each represented a piece of this conversation. Completely deconstructed.

But the shock of the plate breaking made the hall go silent.

Riye looked right at him with her brown, serious, stoic eyes. The light only reflecting slightly on her glasses. Those eyes would be trying to cut right through his soul.

A break. A crack.

He doesn't know.

She should relent, but there was something just happening here.]

If that's what you really think, then there's probably not a lot you could be able to put into the book you want to write before you hit a brick wall.

[Look at me. Notice me! Words he hadn't spoken aloud, but begged silently through every action he ever made, from pouring his heart out on the stage to dressing in eye-catching (and eye-gouging) outfits. But now that he's being so closely scrutinized, he shrinks away from Riye's piercing gaze.]

Hah... Well... My legend isn't over just yet...

[A break. A crack. A whole spider's web of fractures.

Larix's ego, the self he's so keen on presenting, is as ornamental as it is delicate. It's been straining under the pressure of all the challenges to his reality that Koriko has presented, and under the weight of Riye's gaze, it finally shatters. Transparent blue glass shards fall around his feet - not even metaphorically, but real glass - and break into even smaller pieces, scattering across the floor.]

Ah-

[He takes a step back, a few pieces crunching beneath the high heel of his shoe.]

FOREST COVERED: IC CONTACT

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I'm crying inside

good

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i'm so upset