overflow (september intro).

[polkabrows]

1. travel light

[ so this was it. off to go find a place in their new home, or whatever. while izumo definitely wouldn't miss the cold and barren walls of the space station (looking too much like the lab of gedouin's for her liking), she cannot say she's looking all that forward to being displaced again. with little more than the empty promises of their so-called saviors, and the reassuring smiles of people she's never even met before.

needless to say, she doesn't look all too happy as she steps into the common room (but then again, when does she ever?). as is her nature, she decides to take control of the situation as best she can, and rather than wait for someone to flag her down, she approaches someone who looks like they seem to know what they're doing, and holds her hand out between them, palm up. ]

Just don't get the wrong idea, okay?

2. home sweet home

[ in the market district, izumo weaves through the throng of people like a woman on a mission. though she isn't particularly short, she isn't all that tall either, so it's a bit of a sight to see someone so petite cut through the crowds like she's 6'7" and can benchpress 250 pounds. on her chest, right above her left breast flashes an immovable patch reading: ]

Secretly, I have demon blood, made a deal with a devil, and collect scrunchies.
[ but anyway, who cares about that, she has a mission, didn't you know. and if you didn't, you soon will, because all of her searching is currently getting her nowhere and so she decides she's finally had enough running around and stops you, yes you, in the middle of the market district to ask, ]

Where do they sell the locks?

3. flona cove

[ izumo isn't much of a party person. if given the choice, she'd much rather stay at home, listen to her music, maybe read a book or study. but she doesn't have her music here, or any good books, and anything she'd have to study for got literally swallowed up by a storm, so she's kind of left with nothing else to do. and while the prospect of holing herself up in her room all day sounded nice... she could technically do that any other day. and maybe she's a little curious to see what other kind of... people... her fellow refugees are.

though you won't catch her actively participating in any of the festivities. sure, she's dressed up for it, wearing a fairly standard striped bikini and a long-sleeve white button-up that she's left unbuttoned as a sort of cover, but she's primarily sticking to her little spot beneath a large beach umbrella, staying out of the sun with her knees drawn up and staring out into the beach with a most impassive expression.

in fact, it isn't really until someone wanders by, accidentally (or perhaps purposefully?) kicking some sand her way that she actually reacts, flinching back with a sharp scowl. ]

Watch it, you oaf.

[ welp. every party needs a pooper, right? ]

4. wildcard

[ feel free to catch izumo doing any number of other things! perusing the food at the beach party, fawning over the cute cakes and desserts that are on display, actively (and possibly viciously) turning down whatever poor soul got roped into that Shady Man's Pervy Request, etc... this brave new world is our oyster! ]

etc

this happened once, let's let it happen again y/y?
this too

Comments

⍟ mephisto

[polkabrows]

( from here )

[ it isn't his usual airs, and while a part of her is thankful to not have to sift through them just to decipher his true meaning, she cannot help but find it all a little unsettling, just for how unusual it is.

unconsciously, she shifts in her seat, the little beach towel she'd been perched on wrinkling over the sand. ]

Wouldn't it be easier to do so as a dog?

[meinwaifu]

No. The sand is too hot to walk on... and I've spent more than enough time as a dog this past day or so.

[GOD... he's having flashbacks. He can still hear the echoes of Rin laughing at him after trapping him in a dumpster. That might have just traumatized him tbh.]

[polkabrows]

[ the corner of her lips twitch, and there is certainly a question there on her tongue...

but in the end she merely lets out a sigh, one of just mild frustration. she never thought a downside to their little arrangement would be the sudden consciousness of anything she asks him. knowing that he cannot lie or refuse to answer, she has to consider how whether she really wants to hear the answers or not. ]

So turn into something else. [ she watches the sand for a moment. ] A hermit crab.

⍟ athena

[polkabrows]

( from here )

[ oh, ribbons are also nice... maybe she can find some nice pink ones and—

wait!? ]

D-Don't get so familiar?! We don't even know each other's names!

[cykedelic]

Eep! [ The sound slips out as Izumo's mood seems to switch like lightning. ]

Well, if that's what you need... I'm Athena Cykes, defense attorney at your service! Nice to meet you... Um?

[polkabrows]

[ that... wasn't at all her point, but when athena says it like that, she can hardly refute it, can she?

so instead of trying to go back on her words, she just hastily latches onto something else. ]

Aren't you a little young to be an attorney already?

⍟ archer

[polkabrows]

( from here )

[ one of her roommates is probably a psychopathic killer and the other one's an annoying teenage boy. also a crazy demon is her neighbor. this is definitely an emergency.

but anyway she's not really going to go airing out her personal business to some stranger (or anyone, really), so all she does is just arch a brow at him. ]

Just because you happened to luck out with your set doesn't mean everyone else did.

[fakers]

Lucked out?

[ he gets what she must means, so he takes a second to think of it. he's pretty sure both of his roommates are psychopathic killers, but... he sort of is too... so?? ]

I guess that's not entirely incorrect.

[polkabrows]

[ omg she's a magnet for them abort abort abort ]

I'm happy for you.

[ narrator voice: she wasn't. ]

Do you know where I could get locks or not?

⍟ shima

[polkabrows]

( from here )

[ it's a bit of a double-edged sword, except in this case the blade it pointed at them both. it's definitely not a lie to say that there isn't a part of izumo — a deep, dark part that she is ashamed to have — that aches to know why. why he did what he did, why he thinks trying to talk to her now, still, would do any of them any good. she knows, of course, that everyone has their reasons... and that it is true as he'd said, and the two of them were not all that unalike after all...

and yet her anger persists, because her anger for herself persists. but now that she's actually hearing it, or hearing close to it, she cannot help how that anger flares again, because she doesn't want to hear his excuses...

partly because she fears they may sound all too much like her own. ]

So you could have refused, but you didn't. Good to know.

[worldlyafflictions]

[He shrugs, possibly to hide a wince, but that wasn't really an unexpected reaction, and that careful smile of his is still firmly in place. Not that she's looking.]

Haha, I guess that's true. Probably even powerful organizations like the Illuminati and the True Cross Order would have a harder time using me as an effective spy if I wasn't cooperative. Might've moved on ta someone else rather than risk stirring up my family...

[He can't help if she's right, but he's trying to give her some answers anyway, whether or not she's interested in hearing it.]

[polkabrows]

[ she doesn't know. and she hates that she doesn't know, almost as much as she hates the faint flare of sympathy at the tone of his voice. she can still hear his smile (she doesn't even have to look) and she decides she hates that too. will he smile through anything? probably. ]

I thought you hated them.

I thought you hated everything.

⍟ sansa

[polkabrows]

( from here )

[ izumo's eyes narrow faintly, trying to decipher that smile. it could be easy enough to hear a note of condescension in the other girl's words, or even something patronizing, and certainly izumo's defenses flare instinctively at the slightest hint of it. ]

How hard can it be? [ she responds with a small scoff, certainly sounding rhetorical... and yet there is a quick look that she gives the other — a furtive side-glance that seems to be an earnest question in and of itself. ]

[unprays]

[ it isn't often that her sweet, polite smile doesn't work, when she meets an armor impressive enough to not crumble, not even a little.

slowly, it turns into something more genuine, her eyes softening a touch. ]

Forgive me... you remind me of my little sister. I accompanied her down to Olympia only some hours ago. She refused to go with a stranger. [ a pause, and then, ] I believe she will be able to take better care of herself than I could, when I first arrived in Olympia.

[ not said outright, but if Izumo reads between the lines... she is basically saying that she believes adjusting to life on the planet to be easier for Izumo than it was for her. ]

[polkabrows]

[ at the mention of a little sister, izumo cannot help but glance over. less discreet now, more unbidden; a wide-eyed sort of knee-jerk response that is a strange mix of hope and dread.

if her sister is around, then could it be that tsukumo—?

hastily, she struggles to collect herself. thankfully, she has enough of her wits about her to recognize the hidden meaning behind sansa's words. ]

...Little sisters can be pretty tenacious, [ she says around a murmur, glancing down at her feet. ]

⍟ rin

[polkabrows]

( from here )

[ she immediately scowls at the bright smile he directs towards her, as instinctive as shielding your eyes from the sun. she is still reluctant to admit how much she actually... wouldn't mind... sharing that cake, and so she scrambles for any other piece of thread to pick up on, eventually settling on: ]

Your roommate is giving you money?

[ rin... are you a moocher... ]

[demonly]

[ Rin is unaware that taking money from his roommate and not working might come off as being a moocher, so he just nods. ]

Uh, yeah? She gives me money sometimes for errands 'n stuff...

[ And it's not as though Juvia will smite him for spending money on a cake. So he'll just iiiinch closer to the door since Izumo doesn't seem to be protesting the idea, digging through his pocket for his small wallet. ] Ya got roommates and everything already, right? If not, you could always live with us.

[ It doesn't even seem like he thinks before offering, just blindly open to offering what he has to his friends. ]

new tag in - 3

[shikomizue]

[The cascade of sand was entirely unintentional, just as much lodging itself underfoot and between his toes to erode comfort.

His sandal strap broke.

Takasugi looks down at his own dilemma rather than regard the juvenile chastising that snapped the moment his wardrobe so annoyingly malfunctioned.

He'd need a new pair.

And now he looks to the girl, though not her face but her feet - the sandals she wears are modern, but something that style would work as a stand-in.] Where did you get those? [Because he assumes she didn't just wake up wearing a beach get-up.]

[polkabrows]

[ izumo's sour expression doesn't shift away when he addresses her so rudely... not that she hadn't been ruder herself. unconsciously, her toes curl in a little, burying themselves into the sand and obscuring the upper part of her flip flops. ]

They're not really your color, [ she responds reflexively. but her eyes fall down to his own a second later, and only then does she realize what had happened.

a second passes, and she shifts a little, glancing aside. humbled. ]

There are a couple of vendors selling swimwear by the food stands. Easy to spot if you bother to look.

Travel light

[ghettobatman]

[Unfortunately -- or fortunately -- she's flagged down a man who make look confident, but that's about all the looking he's capable of doing. He feels her hand nearly brush against his arm, so he'll fumble around before finally finding her hand]

Of course not. I've yet to find my way everywhere, but I've got a pretty good idea. Why don't we help each other out?

[polkabrows]

[ she notes the way he fumbles for her hand, prompting her to peer a little more curiously at the shades he wears. she hadn't been about to assume, of course, when she'd first spotted him... but that, coupled with his behavior now. well. it's enough to go on, isn't it?

not that it changes much, save for a conscious reminder to be more vocal during this (hopefully) brief interaction. ]

You've done this before, haven't you? What do you need help with?

⍟ rocket

[polkabrows]

( from here )

Myself, [ so... no. not shiny at all.

anyway, she answers plainly, because now she's getting a hold of herself. it helps that his demeanor is the exact opposite of cute, and she doesn't necessarily mean that in a bad way... ]

I've been put into a housing situation that's pretty undesirable. So, yes, it's that bad.

[beatupgrass]

Ohhh. [He drags the word out in understanding.] Those frickin' dorms are a nightmare, huh? No privacy, whatsoever.

[Understanding or not, he still seems to find this terribly funny.] Unless you're plannin' on lockin' down the entire house, I dunno if that's gonna help you get any.

3

[tsunpo]

[Her sharp words bring the passing man to a halt. He carefully pivots, glancing down at the young woman through his shades. It would seem that even with his headphones on, he caught her scolding... but there is no tension in his jaw or brow. Instead he simply stares for a moment, allowing silence to fall between them. He's wearing a sharp navy set of swim trunks which seems as if they were tailored specifically for his body.

Because, in fact, they were. He'd been given the instruction to show himself off or "flirt" in order to make money by ways of being a "model," which spoke for why the man even had acquired a swimsuit already.

As the pause between them settles straight into awkward territory, Bansai finally speaks.]

You want me to play for you?

[He's referencing to the instrument on his back... and acting as if he misheard what she had said completely.]

[polkabrows]

( ooc; apologies for the wait! rl got away from me for a few days )


—huh?

[ it takes her a moment to even realize what he's saying. the words themselves come out from left field, jarring in its randomness and then in its absurdity, because how on earth was that anywhere near what she'd actually said!

she eyes the headphones around his ears, ready to blame it for the misunderstanding, and yet he doesn't even bother to take them off as he pursues (seemingly) a conversation with her, so now she's just going to blame him completely. ]

No. [ the word is cold, harsh. ] Pay attention to where you're walking.