When the night is come [Open]

[founderinglight]

Who: Izunia and you! And possibly also Ardyn aor Verity, depending on prompt.
When: Late July, various.
Where: See prompts!
What: Catchall, featuring tattoos, escape artist cats, and uh. Everything else.
Warnings: This Post Contains Airlocked, so standard murdergame warnings apply.

Lounge (outside greenhouse and hottub), any afternoon from 7/20-8/8 featuring burninglight

[A miracle is taking place behind the set-up paper screens that have suddenly appeared in the glass-walled lounge.

That miracle is "the Lucis Caelum twins, largely getting along."

There's also a tattoo gun involved.

Anyone who peeks around the screens Izunia set up for privacy at some point will find the younger twin stretched out on a tattoo chair, while Ardyn works on his arms or back. There's a light grey outline of the parts of the tattoo that haven't yet been finished - a greatsword that might look familiar down the left arm, a weird mechanical looking sword on the right, and six loops of chain hung between them, the lowest reaching almost all the way down Izunia's back to the waist. A handful of weapons hang in the loops, and there's a few notable gaps... Discounting the gaps of the broken links, there's precisely a hundred and fifteen links in all.

While Ardyn works, Izunia seems, mostly, to zone out, either with music playing for the both of them or something on a tablet in front of him, headphones in. For a guy getting stabbed repeatedly, he largely seems pretty relaxed, fiddling with his set of floating crystals idly.

Occasionally, however, one might happen by and hear the twins bickering, as they do...]

Rise, anywhere

[What's this?

Well, long-term residents of the Station will probably recognize the giant, fluffy silver tabby who butts against their ankles. Verity's on the prowl, looking for attention and/or snacks.

But... Where's Izunia? He doesn't normally let her out like this...

And that's assuming that she hasn't just suddenly appeared in your room. You closed that door for sure, right?]

July 30th, late evening, closed to Junpei

[Investigation episodes are always rough. And Ardyn did warn him that this one, in particular, had the black blood that comes with the Scourge.

Izunia's prepared for that.

He's not prepared to see Junpei, apparently dead, lying in a pool of it, and in the safety of his room, he very nearly throws the tablet across the room.

Actually, he does throw it - just into the Armiger in a moment of not completely losing his head, rather than letting it impact anything.

Time to hyperventilate.]

Anything else

[Nap grandpa is somewhat more absent for the next two weeks than usual, even given that he's spending half or more his afternoons spread out getting inked. If you're in his most prominent haunts, however - Fight Club, the kitchen on the doubles floor of the Rise, or the observation deck at dawn or dusk (especially dawn, lately, oddly enough for a Lucis Caelum) - he's hard to miss.

Also, if you're one of the handful of people he keeps a special eye out for - chiefly Prompto, Maddie, and Elize - you might find him turning up at your door after a tattooing session with a hot meal or two.]

Comments

[burninglight]

[Ardyn was, perhaps, uncharacteristically reticent throughout the process. He was quiet as he worked, ignoring the tablet and focusing in perhaps mostly disconnected silence.]

[founderinglight]

[For the most part, that's fine. Occasionally, however... Occasionally Ardyn will notice the skin under his hands growing unusually tense.

This isn't one of those times, however. This time, it's an incredulous repeated - ]

Bowling?

observation deck

[nojohnyouare]

[Mai isn't often out here this early herself. Even Bear-san isn't with her, probably in sleep mode in the room. When she hears Izunia, though, she turns around immediately and drops the flower she was holding.]

! ...?

[Translation: what the heck are you doing up.]

[founderinglight]

...Is something the matter, Mai?

[He doesn't speak lineface that fluently, unfortunately.]

Teleporting cat!

[moarlazersplz]

[Ruto sprawls out on her new bed, boots and gloves set aside, and studies the layout of the room. There's so much that she wants to do to change it up and make it properly hers, but a lot of what she'd love to do involves materials that, quite frankly, she doesn't have access to here.

Ruby Carbuncle is out and about, and the sudden squeal of surprise from it makes her sit up on the bed as an absolutely beautiful silver-furred cat is somehow in her room. Her door was closed, right? The Carbuncle sniffs at the cat curiously, red light glittering around it, and Ruto hops off her bed to offer a hand courteously.]

Well hello there, pretty! There are so many cats around the Station here, and you're certainly a lovely one!

kitty is here to MAKE FRIENDS I should get her an icon

[founderinglight]

[Sniff! Sniff sniff bonp, goes the frankly oversized cat. She rubs her head up against Ruto's hand with some enthusiasm.]

KITTY!!!

[thecompletionofthings]

Harriet is in her room in Keystone Rise, on the singles floor. The door is closed. She's lying on her bed, The Soul and Its Shadow closed and bookmarked next to her, pen and scrawled pages of notes lying atop it. Her eyes are closed; she's drowsing—not entirely asleep, but definitely not awake.

A disturbance in the shinma catches her attention. She opens dry and crusty eyes, blinks a few times, and raises her head to look around the room.

"How'd you get in here?" she asks the big silver cat. "Marco send you? You're not a shapechanged Marco, are you? 'Cause that would be pretty low-down. I could've been in the altogether, you know. I could totally kick your ass."

Even as she says it, she's climbing out of bed and kneeling in front of the cat, closed hand presented, knuckles first, for kitty to sniff and approve or deny.

cattin

[founderinglight]

[The cat seems to largely ignore what she's saying, giant tail held high and friendly with an occasional flick. There are feather dusters less fluffy.

When Harriet holds out a hand, she sniffs briefly before bonking her head into it. Pets!]

lounge

[motherfucking_ghost]

[Day: vague handwave. It's a day Church is here to either hang out or use the hot tub or por que no los dos, but the screens? are new? and this isn't where people would change normally?

And there's the faintly familiar buzz of--of--what is that, a fucking nest of bees, no, that's stupid, he knows what that is, what is it. Tattoo gun?

Here? Really?

So naturally gonna take a peek and oh hey Ardyn and oh hey--] Oh.

Uh. Sorry. This a tat party or what?

[burninglight]

Don't apologize, it's fine. I'm just doing someone a favor. Because I'm a nice person.

[can you see this eyeroll behind zuzu's back]

The prompt for Junpei, Junpei's prompt

[misanthropicprinciple]

[When Yuuri cooks, Junpei cleans--even if she cooks enough for the whole station and their brother, it seems like. That's the deal, and so the impact that didn't happen in Izunia's room crashes into reality on the floor of the rise's kitchen, shattering on the tile as a plate drops out of Junpei's suddenly nerveless hands. He reels back, clutching his shirtfront as the image bursts behind his eyelids: himself, his body, lifeless in a congealing pool of plague. It hits other deaths in his memory, his back torn open by gunfire, drowning, poison, like the harmonics off a sustained musical note, and it feels like his chest is on fire--except last time he saw this from this angle, behind a screen, his reaction had been, Jesus, I looked like microwaved dog shit.

These aren't his feelings.]

Aghh, what the shit?! [He remembers the last time he felt like this, the only time he felt like this, locked in a sweltering room ninety seconds from incineration. Akane. Akane's utter, terrible fear. Junpei staggers further back, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyelids, and recognizes the mind touching his.] ...Izunia?!

[For the second they're connected, he manages to fire off a sort of ping of alarm and disbelief. Then the call drops and Junpei's dashing off to pound on the door. Izunia may be having a moment, but now it's Junpei's moment, too.]

Izunia!

[What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck]

[founderinglight]

[Well that's not alarming or confusing at all. It's a good thing that ping goes off, though, since Junpei forgot that the rooms are soundproof (they're always soundproof) in his haste to bang on the door.

But there's a minute and then hopefully he's not raising to pound his fists again when the door slides open, because otherwise he'll find them banging onto Izunia's chest instead. And he doesn't... look good, though he's clearly trying to pull himself together as fast as possible.]

Is something the matter?

[PLAY IT... COOL...]

Rise

[ax_iom]

[Lily likes to wander in her free time. So it's not unusual for her to be, basically anywhere. Cats, though? Cats seem unusual.

She is also, though, a cat lover. Like, incredibly so. As soon as she feels butting against her ankles and sees the cat that is responsible, she's kneeling on the ground with it, holding her hand out.]

Oh, hello there!

[founderinglight]

[Is there anything Lily doesn't love, particular old men aside?

Verity gives her hand a thorough sniffing before bonking into it. Hello, new friend!]

Rise

[thinkingwithmahous]

[Marco looked up from playing video games when he heard a cat.

He liked cats fine but...the door was closed. The window was open but he hadn't noticed anything entering or exiting from there other than a mosquito or two.

Marco instinctively reached over to try and scratch Verity behind the ears but he face was confused.]

How the heck did you get in here?

[founderinglight]

[Marco, is your lap open?

Because video games or no, Verity is going to sniff your hand and then clearly make like she's going to jump into it.]

Lounge

[riderofcharlemagne]

[If they didn’t want anyone peeking in with curiosity, putting up screens has the opposite effect for Astolfo.]

Yo-!

[He speaks before he’s really taken in the scene. Izunia and Ardyn...with a tattoo gun...and relative calm between them?]

Uh, am I interrupting something?

[burninglight]

Hesitant ceasefire, maybe.

[ARDYN.]

KITTY!

[hurt_comforting]

[...well isn't she cute. Merry looks down at the cat from her place in her bed, smiles, and gestures the cat over.]

How did you get in, hmn? I'm sure I locked that door...

[founderinglight]

[Kitty!

Kitty freely hops onto the bed, little encouragement needed. Hello new friend, you get Sniffs.]

Super special prompt

[blackestwitch]

[ The door to Maddie/Jailbreak's shared room is open, the latter occupant out somewhere, and the former is splayed out on the floor, a book open in front of her.

Like, an actual book, with letters. It's not a very complex one, either - something along the lines of a children's book. Her cat Zel is lying next to her, seemingly reading the book. Maddie is following along, using a strange eReader that's... running through braille on its screen?

Both occupants stop once they can sense somebody approaching the boundary of the room, however. ]

Jail? [ No, no, she recognizes those steps. ] Mr. Izunia? [ ....Please don't be the other twin. ]

[founderinglight]

[Why would ardyn even be here.]

Just so. I've brought dinner, if you're interested.

Cat???

[joyinastrangeplace]

[Watson is a dog person, and as the cat, which he does not recognize, passes him by he steps backwards, confused. She's standing in the doorway to his apartment.]

H-hello?

cat!!!

[founderinglight]

[Hello!

She is going to immediately walk up to Watson and sniff his feet.]

TATTOO TIME

[serrata]

[ It should be a surprise to all of no one that Yuuri's passing through the lounge to make her way to the greenhouse. It's practically her second home, at this point. So she's more than a little puzzled when she's on her way up and sees... whatever this setup is.

She's not quite fool enough to peek around something very clearly set up for privacy, lest she see something she'd really rather not, but curiosity makes her speak up from the other side of the screen. ]

... I'm not interrupting anything, am I?

[burninglight]

Just my personal hell, the usual. You're fine.

[ardyn...]

rise

[shipoutofluck]

[There's a cat in his room. Why is there a cat in his room? Eizen... is not sure what to do with this.]

Did you take a wrong turn? [He glances at his closed door.] ...A really wrong turn?

[founderinglight]

[Verity gives a small meow, before sniffing and then headbutting at Eizen's ankles.

Friend, pet her.]

sup grandpa

[darkcure]

[Elize isn't expecting anyone at her door, which is why she blinks a little when she opens the door and sees Izunia there.]

Oh! Hello.

Heya, gramps! You didn't get lost, did you?

[founderinglight]

Not at all. I just wanted to see if perhaps you might like something to eat.

[The party cook is present and accounted for. All is well.]

paging ardynii

[founderinglight]

[The fifth day of their tattooing session, Izunia shows up and - once beyond the barrier of the screens - immediately drops his usual relaxed smile for an expression more somber. His shoulders slump as he slides off his shirt, only wincing a little as it passes over the raw sections of completed ink.

He sits in the chair, but doesn't immediately call up the illusion for Ardyn to work on.]

... I got through the first trial this afternoon.

[burninglight]

...

[Ardyn didn't say much of anything at first, pulling a chair of his own out of the Armiger along with the equipment he started to set up to keep his hands busy.]

What of it.

suddenly, arianna

[daughterofthemark]

[Since they're both in the Rise, Arianna and Izunia probably would have run into each other in the kitchen before long anyway. This time, though, it's no coincidence. They have chocolates to make!

And Arianna will try her best to pretend she isn't concerned about how either Ardyn or Yuuri feels about this and also what Izunia thinks of her in Airlocked! so far. She will accomplish this through her usual method of trying not to think of anything remotely related.]

Good evening, Sir Izunia. Have you prepared?

[At least chocolates are something that can hold her interest well enough to make not thinking about other things easy.]

THE BEST NIECE

[founderinglight]

[He has no reason to be suspicious! After all, why would Ardyn swear him to secrecy and then go telling everyone?]

I have. More double boilers and fruit than feathers on a chocobo.

[And the specified blue containers with their array of marker stars on the counter, too.]

and yet another brosession

[founderinglight]

[It's two days after the day Izunia finished Lee's trial - he'd had to stop there, for a break, a chance to work out his anger in exploding lights and thrown blades.

Right now, he's finally settled in with the tablet again, as Ardyn puts in a bit more ink, until -

Whoops.

Izunia jerks back from the screen of the tablet with a small yelp that's in no way related to the needles in his back.]

[burninglight]

Fuck-

[Scare the hell out of him, why don't you.]

What, did I hit a nerve?