kenoslogs | I saw Mommy kissing Samba-Claus (KISS BINGO EDITION) 💋🌿

I saw Mommy kissing Samba-Claus (KISS BINGO EDITION) 💋🌿

QIASU (HIGHSTORM)

On December 15th, the marker of the latter half of Takiltu, Kenos comes together to celebrate unity and togetherness, to come together with friends and family, to be kind to others and share in one’s wealth - whether that comes in the form of knowledge, monetary gains, or the exchange of gifts and one’s time. This celebration is an amalgamation of many worlds’ winter festivals, and as such, is known in the two cities as the Year’s End Festival, or Qiasu as Highstorm calls it.

This part of Takiltu is when Highstorm truly starts to hit winter. Snow is a frequent occurrence, but it’s one that the city welcomes, since with the snow comes a few of the most beloved traditions of the city. By far the most popular is heading to Greenwood Yards. The gardens themselves may be either dormant or showing their simpler winter gardens, but you may have noticed an area by the bathhouses left in surprising amount of disrepair… This is because during the winter months, this area fills up with a natural outdoor hot spring! Take a swim under the moonlight, and even explore some of those ruined old manors, now with their first floors warmly flooded. It’s a tradition to bring in your favorite drinks and spend an evening sipping it in a parlor with friends, and to make new ones by sharing your drinks. Of course, do watch out for the ghosts. They’re mischievous more than malicious, but this is their favorite time of the year too!

You can also head to the Great Tree, which is decorated for the season with glittering glass orbs and is the current roost for the pale Moonbugs of Highstorm. Write a wish on a slip of paper and hold out your hands, and one of the Moonbugs will come sit within them. Whisper the wish to the Moonbug and it’ll take the paper and fly away to find someone to fulfill it. Of course, this also means that a Moonbug is likely to come find you! Besides it being good karma to fulfill the wish, you’ll be given a brief vision of the person whose wish you fulfilled and be blessed by the tree for the duration of the month depending upon your Aspect:

Advocate: People are more likely to buy you meals/rounds and every recipe you make turns out perfectly.
Exalt: Animals seem to think more kindly of you, and you'll find them much easier to befriend.
Harbinger: You're given a more silver tongue as your arguments seem to be better at persuading people.
Iconoclast: You won't be effected by cold weather in any way.
Savant: You heal much more rapidly from any injury and are generally the very picture of health.
Stargazer: Your indulgences (whatever they may be) are both easier to find and are of higher quality.

And of course, there’s one more well-known practice in Highstorm, though it’s more of a tradition of Kowloon’s… The Gävle family is a well-known family who has lived in Highstorm for a long time, and they brought a tradition of building a festive Yule goat made straw in the square outside of their businesses. However, it also happens to be outside of Yura Szczepanski’s home. He’ll never do it himself, of course, but if you manage to burn it down? He’ll reward you, obviously. It doesn’t make it any more legal, so those that try generally spend some time in a Highstorm jail, but it’s an enshrined enough practice at this point that not only has it burned down more often than it’s survived, but there’s even a betting pool in Kowloon for whether it survives or not.

Of course, if these traditions aren’t quite your vibe, you’ll also find the city just generally set up for a metropolitan winter. The Antiques & Baubles Market is rearranged to make room for a large ice-skating rink, Tasseography (the coffeeshop by the Tomes) has a seasonal special for a hot chocolate that will fortify you from the cold for a few hours (and make you fire resistant? Weird,), and the city also hosts a full-size gingerbread house that you can indeed take a bite from, to name a few things. Generally speaking, if it’s something you could do in a snowy city at home, you’ll probably find an equivalent somewhere in the city of moonlight.

Be warned, however, if you are visiting from out of town. Highstorm's reception seems just a touch bit chiller than the weather!

YEAR'S END FESTIVAL (SPRINGSTAR)

Springstar will never turn down a chance to celebrate, but eternally Highstorm’s opposite, this is the warmest time of year. With the sun always shining, some days can get near sweltering, but that just means you have a different set of traditions to have fun with it!

The ivy-like vines that decorated the city in the beginning of the month (November) are now in full bloom, and you’re now likely to learn why the Meri consider them sacred. Wherever the flowers bloom, they encourage feelings of warmth and slightly higher inclination for physical contact within those that encounter their magical pollen*. Holding hands with someone by the flowers will give you feelings of liveliness and happiness, and for a few hours, the positive traits of the person you’re holding hands with become more prominent in you and vice versa. These effects do linger a bit longer, since for a month, you’ll also find that being around this person also gives you both a little boost in energy. It’s very sweet! This also comes with a bit of a further game, if you’re at all a frequenter of Psychagogía...

Madame Dee’s hosts a very popular competition simply called Kiss Bingo. Approach the booth set-up outside the brothel and touch your Shard to a special card, and names will appear upon it. From there, the rules are simple. Just give that person a kiss! It can be on their hand, their lips, their [redacted], all of it counts, and once you do, a little kiss mark will mark their name out. Get a bingo, and you can pick from a variety of prizes such as a ticket for a week’s worth of visits at a local buffet, a shopping spree at a nearby store, or a box seat for a day at the Coliseum. Of course, if you’re really an overachiever, fill out the whole card to get multiple prizes. Madame Dee might just give you a job!

With the promise of home that the Meri deeply believe in, they have their own gifting tradition. The Shard-Bearers know best that it’s possible to receive gifts from the Timestream, and for Year’s End, it’s tradition for the Tribune to pull out all the stops. For a week of the Festival, the Tribune works just outside of Heliopolis, and with the help of priests from the Church of Helios, reaches into the Timestream to produce a gift for anyone that comes to ask. This year, however, he's asked Quetzalcoatl and Samba's elves to deliver gifts, but you might not get anything you asked for (or maybe you did!) but they're all gifts the timestream spit out!

On rainy days (or simply the unbearably hot ones), you can also go to Starlight Park, which offers a reprieve from the weather. Inside the dome, you’ll find a idyllic, snowy valley where you can partake in all the natural joys of winter. There’s (highly) competitive snowball fights, sledding, and skiing to partake in, though you might be cautioned away from one slope. Head down that course and about halfway down, you’ll be chased by… a yeti? Luckily it doesn’t seem to be able to harm you, but it’s still shockingly fast and will catch you no matter how quickly you ski. You can also spend a bit of money to rent a yurt along the river for a relaxing and exceptionally cozy glamping experience. Some Yurts are even adorned with the sacred vines. You know, for no reason.

You’ll also find the Meri heading away from the city of Springstar a bit to head down to some of the beaches that surround Springstar. Being an island within an Island (capital ‘I’ meaning the Kenos kind of island), Takiltu is the traditional start of Springstar’s summer season and all the fun that comes with that. The beaches are bustling, but the cool and crystal-clear waters of the ocean surrounding the city make it worthwhile. Surfing, diving, and sailing are popular activities, but just make sure to stay within sight of the shore. It doesn’t take too long to hit the end of the Island and sailing outside the magical barrier that keeps Springstar floating in Kenos’s starscape generally isn’t survivable.

Just be mindful, if you're trying to escape Highstorm's chill for some summer fun, as attitudes are shifting toward bearers in general, and it might not be as easy as it once was.

NOTES

Weather summary for the second 30 days of Takiltu (NOV & DEC):

Highstorm is out of fall and into winter. While there are some milder days, snow (and heavy snow at that!) is getting more common.
Springstar is hot and humid, and it's not uncommon for brief thunderstorms to roll through in the afternoon.

Notable city changes:

Both cities have experienced changing attitudes toward shard-bearers. You will need to be mindful if you want to travel to a city that doesn't house your faction, as things might not be as easy when it comes to getting around.
Springstar has had an increase in attacks toward it's citizens, and they are often fatal and destructive. Rumors travel among Springstar's seedier types that these are escaping from Ryad, and they aren't being reigned in. That always comes with a flicker of worry.

CODING

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ You can think you loved a mom you barely knew. Maybe. Amos isn't sure on that one, but there's a lot of things about love he isn't sure about.

What he is increasingly sure about is that D is a certified, certified Good Guy. He shoots him a soft little smile at the idea that little Timothy made his mug strong, tucking his hands in his pockets as they move onwards through the stalls' wintery air. Amos nods absently at D's description of Springstar's weather — yeah, he experienced the plants last year, but he thought it was kinda fun. Maybe if you're goth random PDA isn't your scene? — before shooting him another, much more engaged look at the concept of scrap mechanical parts. ]

There're some around. I go to a couple at the western edge of the markets, [ stated with the obligatory inclined tilt of his head in that particular direction. ] Bit higher quality than scrap, though. More like already-working constructs and proper metal sheets. I need those sometimes.

[ A beat, before he remembers he should maybe elaborate, ] I got my own shop up north where I fix people's stuff. Or make new stuff for them. I'm a mechanic by trade, so, figured I'd do that here in Highstorm too.

[ Another beat, his brain catching up. ]

Never dealt with anyone needing horse parts, though.

[ One more beat, head tilted curiously at D. ]

D'you mean like, its shoes?

[ He knows what horseshoes are. That'd make sense. ]

[D's eyes follow the direction of Amos's nod. Parts which aren't scrap are better than scrap parts for him, though he would take scrap pieces if absolutely necessary. D is a man who will not turn his nose up to anything no matter how scant.]

I was told the Cache in Kowloon is not a bad place to go, but we [the Meridians] aren't welcome anymore. [He isn't afraid of getting hurt, though. More...] I'd rather not give them ammunition to cause a scene.

[More he doesn't want them to get hurt. Anyhow, he glances somewhat curious at Amos from beneath the brim of the hat.]

No, not just its shoes. Cyborg horses were easier to maintain and last a lot longer on the Frontier for travel than cars. He is more than half machine. I'd just prefer to have a small supply of things available if something stops working.

[Amos learning the stupidity of D looking like a high fantasy character, but really it's a fellow sci-fi in disguise...]

Do you have equipment in your shop?

[ There is suddenly a lot of new information for him to process.

First: People aren't welcome in Kowloon? He hasn't noticed anything different from when he's gone down there — and if it doesn't affect Amos personally, then he has a habit of, well. Not noticing when it affects others.

Second: Cyborg horses??

????

?

It's probably the second part where Amos has momentarily stopped walking and is staring at D with what can only be described as beyond bafflement written across his face — at least before shaking his head and rushing to catch up. ]

We just, uh. Used ships. Or shuttles, I guess, if you were rich enough. Y'know, air travel. [ Don't have to worry about dangerous or pesky terrain if you just skip the whole terrain part altogether. ] 'cept I grew up in an inner city, so... yeah, cars. Or train lines.

[ This has nothing to do with anything. He's still mentally trying to catch up. ]

But, uh, yeah. I got equipment. Shit, we could just head up there if you want? Get out of the cold; you can take a look around. I might be able to help you out.

[ Because in Amos' mind, the kinship has now expanded beyond Guns. D is someone who wants to be prepared when it comes to his machine... horse. Amos is someone who has always valued preparedness and redundancies and respect for one's tools. He wonders if he should have guessed this about D, considering their initial bonding, then remembers there is no possible way he was going to guess cyborg horse.

Either way — maybe they should be heading north now instead... ]

[AMOS IS SO VALID!! Amos is so valid for that.

Once Amos slows to a stop, D also does the same to be polite. The bafflement is so funny, even if D does not look amused. If only Amos was an Advocate to get a sense of all the feelings D actually has inside while being a guy who hardly emotes.]

The Nobles had ships, too, but they were ships for space travel. They went where the sun couldn't reach them.

[And the ships looked like Gothic architecture, hate D's canon. Amos would be big ? about it maybe.]

I don't mind if that's alright with you. I understand if you wouldn't want a Meridian there right now.

[He could take advantage of Amos's altruism, but he just isn't that kind of guy. Even as a member of a rival faction.

Smashcut to Amos killing Cyrus.]

[ It's okay, one day Amos will figure out how to parse through D's lack of emoting. In the meantime, he's perfectly happy to consider him his chill friend whom he actually might have a fair bit in common with, even if he is Meridian.

Meanwhile, Amos is emoting — specifically, by perking up as soon as D mentions space travel. The Meridian thing is hilariously irrelevant to him right now; if D has been getting dirty looks as they've strolled through the market he genuinely hasn't noticed. ]

Yeah, let's go. I don't got a problem with you being Meridian. Not like I'm gonna let your horse break down when you just need it to get groceries or something.

[ He hasn't once seen a cyborg horse running around in an Oracle event?? So it's probably harmless (like Cyrus will soon be, pre-emptive RIP) — and with that, Amos swings his arm around D's shoulders to steer him in the direction towards his own shop/residence.

... A brief pause as he recognizes there is not a whole lot in that arm area anymore.

... Pause over. Brief adjustment, and then he's back to carrying on like nothing's amiss, leading D out of the markets and up towards his home. ]

I was a gunship mechanic, actually. Dunno about any Nobles, but I guess heading up to space would make sense for vampires, huh? Never thought about it before, but yeah. Plenty easy to avoid the sun up there.

[ Not like he ever would have had to think about vampires (and their potentially rich weirdo choice in architecture) before, but hey, he can find it kinda funny now. ]

[GET GROCERIES? Okay, well, that isn't necessarily wrong. He would ride to get some groceries for the Dokja household if they were out of something. Damn, Amos has really good instincts.

The arm around the shoulders doesn't bother him so much as surprises him. Natural reaction from centuries of having most people dislike and avoid you at whatever cost. Kenos is taking some getting used to.

Without reluctance, D allows Amos to lead him toward another part of Highstorm. He's going to have to show Amos the horse one day.]

The vampires found out only Earth's sun was the one that could kill them. Many of them traversed space later to escape that weakness.

[And, like, also to escape the aliens. Why are there aliens in a vampire canon? Not sure. Fucking science fiction is why. Gunship, though. Hmm. Amos does have this... gunship mechanic look to him, as funny as that sounds.]

Were you a part of a military?

[ You can carry many more groceries with a horse! Probably. Just slap on some saddlebags and you're good to go. He's definitely going to need to see that horse at some point though, yes.

Amos keeps his arm slung around D as they walk, perfectly content with casual PDA among friends. This is all totally normal to him right now, other than the part where vampires are a legitimate topic of conversation. He makes a humming noise at the idea of vampires settling another planet or something — well, if humans in his time were starting to colonize planets in other systems, why not... vampires...

He blinks at D's question, re-emerging from his thoughts to process it before barking out a laugh. ]

Me? Fuck no. [ But he isn't mocking — more just finding the idea of him in the military funny. ] Don't think I'd do well in that kind of command structure. Nah, I lucked out with an independent gunship. Cap was in the military, though, but he got kicked out pretty quick. Insubordination. Maybe says something that he was more my kind of guy.

[ There is maybe a hint of something wistful there, from an unrepentant Zenite who has never so much as asked for a loved one's shard. Amos has long since moved on but, hey, he liked Holden.

A beat, as he considers where that question might've come from. ]

Was there a network for hunting vampires or something, where you were from? Like some kind of organizational or command structure?

[ Since D on the Frontier with his cyborg horse doesn't strike him as very army-like, but who knows. Maybe the vibes were still there in some other way. ]

You like freedom with structure.

[Okay, this still tracks, maybe even more than Amos having surprised him by saying the military had been a thing.

Amos as a Zenite with a history of a captain kicked out of the military for insubordination? Yeah, that also tracks, too. He wonders what had been lacking for Amos for the man to not have any concern with that world coming back.]

No. [Surprisingly, Amos and he might not differ too much in that regard.] Many humans became hunters because they didn't realize they had a choice to live their lives in another way. Some hunters were family professions, but many of them took up hunting after their families were killed by vampires.

Dhampirs are different. There was nothing else for them except to live in solitude, or to become a hunter.

[Regardless of whether this relates to him, he offers this very... clinically. Matter-of-factly. Like he is telling Amos facts from a history book rather than a personal anecdote.]

[ At that first sentiment, Amos brightens. ]

Freedom with structure. Yeah. I like that. [ His hold on D has loosened by now; he could easily slip out from under him if he wanted to as they walk onwards, out of the markets and northward. ] Figure I'm liable to get into trouble without some kind of structure, but yeah, I like not being pinned down at some asshole's mercy, too. That's a good way of putting it.

[ Points for D, who has more of a way with words than Amos ever will.

The rest of the conversation is far more sobering, though, and at that his brightness at the assessment D has laid out for him fades. He's quiet for a moment, looking down at his boots as they walk. ]

Dhampirs. [ It's an unfamiliar word to him; Amos looks up, back at D proper. ] So... Did you lose your family? Or did you just not want to live in solitude?

[ He doesn't know which applies to D, but he can appreciate the delivery. There's something awful in your past you have to relay to someone else to make a point, you state it like it's got nothing to do with you. Just a fact to pass on for context. Never anything more (except when it is). ]

Actually, you don't gotta tell me if you don't want to. 's none of my business. [ And there are things about him he doesn't like people prying into, either. Fair's fair.

Although a part of him is that much more glad D has that portrait of his family now. If he lost them back in his original universe, one way or another, at least he's got that much. It feels like the kind of thing that's important for people (who aren't like him) to have. ]

[Amos likes guidelines as long as those guidelines don't infringe on personal freedoms. Very American of him!! Space American.

Maybe not so great for later when Cyrus eats it.]

...

[Leave it to D to say something morose, yeah. Fortunately for Amos and conversation, Amos already has some insider information D cannot ignore. Amos is nice in offering him a chance to drop the discussion, though, and that actually means more to D than anything else.

Sadly, the conversation won't get much better in the feels department. D does not look at Amos, but also does not try twisting away to put space between them.]

The portrait you won was something which never existed.

The woman in the portrait was my mother. She was human, so her time was never guaranteed. The man was a vampire, the one who ruled vampire society at its prime. [He does not call this man his father. The distance feels very personal.] Vampires experience emotion just as humans do. They can love, but I can't say whether or not those two loved each other. Before I arrived here, that man had still been alive as far as I know.

I had been searching for him for a long time.

[ You'll never guess where the character with the journal username baltimores is from...

It's okay. He'd probably be way worse without any guidelines at all, even with the impending Cyrus-murder.

Amos has been comfortable with strolling along, arm loosely draped around D now — but when he brings up the portrait, it's all he can do but turn to look at him, blinking owlishly.

Never existed... He almost has to wonder if he fucked up, winning the portrait for D. Guess that explains how it ended up in the attic, then. Although the way D refuses to identify his father; they can love, like it's a question; that he'd been searching for him, and in Amos' mind, there's probably only one reason you search for someone like that: to kill them, before they can hurt anyone else.

He stays with the thought for a moment, turning back to look at the path ahead of him with a furrowed brow, his boots crunching in the snow that hasn't quite been fully cleared from the sidewalks.

D's mom, though. Amos turns back to him. ]

Was your mom okay?

[ Whatever D wanted with his dad is irrelevant; his entire world is dead, and that would include him with it. It'd include his mom too, but knowing that she had a good life — or at least something decent — before oblivion took over seems like the most important element here, actually.

Just a mama's boy hoping for the best. ]

[Sometimes, you are just one of those dumb protagonists who are searching for their dad or mom because you have parental issues. And identity issues, too.

It's true, D's dad matters little now, though this fact is partially why D is such a steadfast Meridian. He wants answers? Killing the man is another can worms, but more than that... D wants answers. D wants to confront this man with the burning red eyes, and he can't do that when the worlds supposedly don't exist anymore.]

I don't know. [Honest.] I did not know her very well. We had been taken from her when we were young. I'm not sure I even remember her voice.

[He's not sure if he ever knew her face, but the portrait is there? Is that evidence of the face he thinks he remembers looking at him fondly?]

I have heard she was a kind woman, and that's what matters.

[To him, at least, he means.]

[ At long last, Amos lets his arm slip from around D's shoulder. It falls back to his side before he places both hands in his coat pockets and looks ahead as they walk into a familiar neighbourhood (for him), silently considering.

Finally: ] That's what matters.

[ His voice is quiet but firm in its agreement. He takes another second to study D's face, though he doubts he's going to find anything there. No aspect cheat code for him either, but even though Advocates do nothing for him discord-wise, he's found he tends to like them. Likes their values.

Once again he has decided there is kinship here, and after a pause debating whether to continue or not, Amos speaks up again. ]

I don't really remember my mom either. She died when I was young. Her best friend raised me, so I figure she was a kind woman, too. Otherwise she wouldn't have had a friend like her.

[ Simple, almost childish logic: his mom's friend was a nice woman, ergo his mom must have been one, too. It's delivered with a light sort of detachment, like when a person isn't emotionally connected to what they're saying — reading off a list of facts, them being from one's own life completely irrelevant. ]

[D's beautiful face is unfortunately the picture perfect rendention of stoicism. However. His rust-colored eyes are where the emotions he keeps tucked away. And feels, surprisingly, exactly like everyone else.

They are too old for a guy who physically doesn't seem to be much more than eighteen. His body put him young than Amos, and yet, his eyes put him unnaturally older. And softer. A reserved, quiet kindess is there beside the way he watchfully surveys the place they move through.

He turns the same compassionate eyes to Amos when the man offers him something personal.

The detachment D gets. A very D tactic as well.] I'm sorry about your mother. [Simple, earnest.]

I think it's alright if they hadn't been kind. Children shouldn't have to bear the burden of their parents' sins. We are free to be more kind in their place.

[ He can't parse through everything that might be in there, but D has nice eyes, Amos decides. Which makes sense — they match with the rest of him.

It really does suck that he's Meridian. Amos would really prefer to not have to hurt or kill him one day, but oh well. Such is life.

He shrugs at D's apology; accepted, but it's not like he was the one or thing that killed her, so ultimately unnecessary. One of those nice thoughts normal people express that's just beyond him, he figures — but D is kind, so everything keeps lining up here. He wouldn't have said anything otherwise. ]

Children shouldn't have to, [ he agrees, easily enough, ] but parents should be looking out for them to begin with. If they can't, then that's one thing, but kids still need someone to be there for them, no matter what.

[ His delivery is matter of fact, like he's spoken the One Truth of the universe and nothing can convince him of anything otherwise. Amos looks up ahead; he can't quite see his house ahead of them just yet, but soon. Maybe a couple of blocks away now.

He keeps his eyes fixed ahead. ]

I don't know how to be more kind in their place. I need help for that part. [ This is easier than the previous subject, actually. It's actionable, not reflective. Actionable is good because then he can, well, do shit. ] I just know if a kid needs help I'll help 'em. That's something I know how to do.

[Sweet Amos..... The day they clash and Amos has to kill him will be a fun day. When compassionate righteousness and pragmatic nihilism(?) become friends.]

You're right.

[Doris and Dan did not have their parents, but they did have each other, and D was satisfied with that because it meant they weren't alone.]

I think you do. [He's looking sidelong at Amos with no real intentional expression. Just glancing.] I think you do know how to be kind.

[Pointedly.

Only because he's seen it. He's seen the kindness Amos didn't have to really think a whole lot about, and even now, with what Amos says, he can see the kindness there, too. Not that he doesn't think Amos can't also be unkind; D saw that as well in the handling of the guns. Amos knows violence.]

[ Kill???? ... He would, but,

But this is such a nice little friendship for now; a pragmatic nihilist drawn to compassionate righteousness because he wants to be better. Doesn't think he'll ever have the capacity to get there, but wants to.

The look Amos shoots D is almost comical considering how fast his head snaps towards him, eyes wide and startled and looking at him as though he's grown another head. Spawned another twin on a portrait. D's confidence in his assessment only serves to throw him further, in part because this is the second time in a matter of weeks someone has said this of him. Fane had, earlier, when Amos was only doing what he thought was right.

And now D.

Amos stares at him as they walk, silent. The snow crunching under his boots is suddenly very loud. He doesn't know what to do with this.

Finally, ] I'm trying.

[ And, ] You seem the type it comes natural to.

[ Trying to impress a point: it's a nice sentiment, and one he'll sit with that night and try to make sense of in himself and what it means for him, but D is still better than him. Amos will, inevitably, fuck up. (Hence: all the potential murdering.) D... probably won't, and that's a lofty, impossible goal for him.

Amos nods up ahead of them. ]

My place is on the next block.

[ Is he trying to get out of this conversation, switch to something he actually can talk about (machines)? Does he want to, or is he just informing D they're just about at their destination? He has no clue. ]

[Eyyyy. Him and Fane get along. See! They are on the same wavelength about Amos. He has the power to be kind!! He is kind in certain ways. D appreciates the kindness to children, as D is fond of children himself.

No one has to know that, though.]

On the contrary, it was very difficult.

[Amos wants to steer the conversation away, but D doesn't want to let it end there with Amos thinking someone like him could be born a kind person. He does, however, follow Amos's direction to what's ahead of them, so he isn't boring Amos through with a staring hole.]

There were times when even I wasn't kind. I put my goals in front of my compassion like many do. But I've been trying as well for a long time.

[ D is the best guy. His new best friend, if only he were a Zenite. Or maybe at this rate if only Amos were a Meri...

He's quiet again, digesting his words. Much to think about. ]

The woman who raised me taught me that there were ways to live a good life even if you weren't a good person. So I try to follow those who are. Do what they'd do. [ Yima... ] I don't think I really got goals otherwise. I mean, you know. Outside of Zenith. But every now and then I forget to try to be good. Doesn't feel like enough when all you got is trying though, does it?

[ He's sincerely asking, glancing sidelong at D as they come up on his house. Tilts his head as he makes the turn; follow him. Wipes his boots on the mat, unlocks the door, steps inside and waits for D to follow. A lobby will greet them; the shop itself beyond the next wall. ]

[Yima..............

Amos asking someone else who is essentially a hired sword the answers to life's conundrum of being good.]

Trying is better than not trying at all. Don't take credit from yourself for trying.

[Like in other things: gunmanship, swordsmanship, building, cooking, trying is better than doing nothing.

D stands near Amos and patiently waits until Amos has unlocked and entered. If he had any supernatural need for invitation, it is apparent with how easily he wipes his feet and breeches the threshold. Inside, he removes his hat from his head politely.

Again, he stands there just beyond and waits, curiously looking around, to be familiar with etiquette. (This is because Dokja house is no shoes house, among other things.) Without thr hat, he weirdly resembles the teenager body he inhabits.]

[ Amos does that. Just figures that most people are better than him, then tries to adopt their entire moral stance so he doesn't fuck up. It's a perfectly normal way to live, but also it's gotten him this far so, must be working?

Because D is obviously a better person than he is.

Amos turns around as said better person takes his hat off, then blinks as he realizes that he's never seen D without it on before. Huh. Is he that young??

... Oh well. He shrugs his coat off, hangs it up on a set of hooks nearby the door. Tilts his head a little like, hey, your hat can go there too if you want. ]

You're right. [ He feels a little better now, maybe? More sure of himself. So, matter of factly: ] It's people who don't try who need to be put down.

[ Just kill bad people. Easy.

And then he steps fully in, boots still on. Both because he doesn't care — his actual living space is upstairs — and because a repair shop means closed-toe shoes are good to have. ]

Anyway, shop's just back here. You can look around at whatever you want; if it's out, it's safe to handle.

[ And he'll head into the back, which opens into a much wider room — complete with multiple workstations, tools of all sorts properly hung up or stowed away, a couple of forges. Very well-used, and very well looked after.

Chipper, because he enjoys being back here: ] Been at this for about a year now. It's lower tech than I'm used to, and there's more magic than I ever used before, but I figure I get by alright.

[Obligingly, D settles the hat on one of the empty hooks by the door. He doesn't remove anything else he's wearing, though, so he looks a little unbalanced in how big the cape and pauldrons cause his figure to look in comparison to the baby face.

Since Amos doesn't Asian household him about the shoes, he simply follows quietly after Amos as they move through to the shop.

He's getting the glimpse of a darker, more resolute side of Amos. It isn't he disagrees--he's surprisingly not a full Batman type--but it's interesting to hear Amos settle for a clear line of violence. Just kill bad people. Easy.]

Thank you.

[He really doesn't correct Amos about that kind of thinking.

In the wider room of the shop, he stops so he can survey what's all here. Amos has amassed a pretty impressive building? Standing in the space has the exact same feeling as being in Amos's company strangely enough. A place not meant for idle hands, but working hands to keep the mind busy. A sturdy guideline of labor with an outside and edges of cool steel--and danger, too, if precautions aren't taken.]

You have a nice shop.

[D slowly moves along to glance at the spaces and the tools, even if he doesn't touch anything really.]

Have you made something here you enjoyed?

[ D's presentation without the hat really is quite different. He's not sure what to make of the lack of hat not completing the ensemble, though; just that D looks younger than he'd initially thought, but nowhere near as young as that kid in the picture. And there's a maturity and wisdom to him when they've conversed, so...

So it's plenty easy to carry on like nothing's the matter; just that he hopes that cape doesn't get caught on anything, but figures D won't let it. And considering how carefully he moves while Amos hangs back, he's pretty sure he's got nothing to worry about. Hell, he even beams a little at the compliment about his shop; if he was the type, he'd preen a little.

But he is not, and so a slight smile — at least until D's question, when it fades to confusion instead. ]

Enjoyed? [ Blink. ] I mean, I been trying to figure out how to build a 24th-century standard gun, but...

[ He trails off, thoughtful, looking around. ]

... I dunno. I like fixing things up for people who need 'em. It's a little different from working on a ship, since there if something went wrong, everyone might end up dead. Things here're lower stakes, like fixing someone's wagon or building something custom for 'em, like a nice box to keep their heirlooms in or something. I guess I enjoy doing that. Does that count?

[ Queries the Exalt who thinks he's a bad person but likes doing things for other people, completely oblivious to any stereotypes he may be living up to. ]

[AMOS, YOUR ENRICHMENT!! Find joy. FIND JOY!

Momentarily, D pauses to glance up at Amos. Even the vampires on the Frontier felt the driving emotions of love and excitement. Creating things was one of their highest M.O.s; obtaining the enjoyment and recognition from that was coveted. So it's strange to hear Amos so unsure, to have uncertainty about his own desires not attached to... D isn't sure.

Guidance? The structure they had talked about before on their walk. He doesn't pity Amos, but he does feel a little bad. As if autonomy had been withheld from Amos somehow.]

Yes, it counts.

[D will take "I like fixing or building things for people" over "I love crafting a high-powered laser that could take out a whole residential district." Not naming names here. Amos has it in himself to be kind. D can see that.]

Do you get along with animals, by any chance?

[ Who needs joy when you have [ static noises ]?

D's pause goes over his head; any feelings he has regarding Amos' answer blissfully unknown as Wii music plays in his head. He's enjoying this moment, the good company in a place he likes. Why push things beyond that?

He does get a little warm fuzzy feeling when D says his answer counts, though. Doesn't really know why, but hey, it feels nice. Guess he'll just keep doing that.

(He should totally share that laser tidbit though. Amos would love to know about that. Alas,)

A blink at the new question, not really sure where it came from, but... Amos does the same thing to other people sometimes, so he's just gonna roll with it. ]

I dunno. Sometimes, I guess. I don't really spend a lot of time with them... Not like I mistreat them when I do, so I figure I get along with them okay. [ Pause; lightbulb. ] You want me to take a look at your horse sometime? Help out with its parts?

I saw Mommy kissing Samba-Claus (KISS BINGO EDITION) 💋🌿

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