a man for flowers ✿ ( INIGO ) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
flatteries) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
voidtreckernet2021-09-01 10:09 am
flatteries) wrote in voidtreckernet2021-09-01 10:09 am
Entry tags:
nebula 1; video
[ Guess who isn't used to making announcements over this thing and is heavily trying to surpress some social anxiety right now? This guy.
To his credit, he manages to smile rather convincingly, no matter how much he's sweating on the inside. ]
Hello, everyone..! I'm not sure if a lot of people tried out the arcade back on Diagad, but there was this charming game that involved having to dance..? [ DDR. He means DDR.
He just doesn't know it. ]
Either way, it was a lot of fun, so I got one of those machines for it here on the train! Anyone can use it, just.. please be careful and don't break it? It cost a lot of points! [ He worked hard for those!! ] If anyone thinks that it looks or sounds like fun, but has no idea how to use it, feel free to ask me for help! I can teach people!
[ ...
There's a slight pause, and then he adds with a bit more awkwardness: ]
Ah, and if.. someone could help me move that big, heavy thing.. I would certainly appreciate it.
To his credit, he manages to smile rather convincingly, no matter how much he's sweating on the inside. ]
Hello, everyone..! I'm not sure if a lot of people tried out the arcade back on Diagad, but there was this charming game that involved having to dance..? [ DDR. He means DDR.
He just doesn't know it. ]
Either way, it was a lot of fun, so I got one of those machines for it here on the train! Anyone can use it, just.. please be careful and don't break it? It cost a lot of points! [ He worked hard for those!! ] If anyone thinks that it looks or sounds like fun, but has no idea how to use it, feel free to ask me for help! I can teach people!
[ ...
There's a slight pause, and then he adds with a bit more awkwardness: ]
Ah, and if.. someone could help me move that big, heavy thing.. I would certainly appreciate it.
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[ Well, okay, it is dancing. He has to maintain that stance at least somewhat, or he's giving into Tidus's dumb argument that it isn't that he discussed just a little while earlier!
But-- ]
It's mostly just.. moving your feet around to the rhythm. That isn't so embarrassing to do in front of other people, you know. It's got nothing to do with being brave!
[ Yes, he's arguing against being given a compliment. ]
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Isn't dancing partly about moving your feet around to a rhythm?
( If it's not really dancing, why sell it as... dancing... Inigo. He looks dubious but in a whole, "are you trying to pull something on me" way. )
You went on ICP, made an offer to teach people, and that means you're volunteering to dance with your feet in front of them, soooo... sounds pretty brave to me.
( He'll argue? Right back? This feels nice and silly, and at least he's offering a little smirksmile again. )
Inigo, are you really arguing it's not brave because it's not dancing enough?
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Not that Inigo doesn't think he doesn't have more friends who'd push back on this as well, he could name a few, but Jingyi would definitely be in that list. And that means that by the time Inigo is looking over at the other again, his cheeks are so starting to turn pink. ]
I-- am arguing [ there's even a pause after the word, as if for emphasis ] that this isn't dancing, because if I tell myself anything else, I will run away screaming the moment someone walks through that door to play!
[ Look at this big baby. ]
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... You said it was a dance game to the whole train, Inigo.
( WHAT GOES ON IN YOUR HEAD, SIR )
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Or, more accurately, he starts multiple sentences - but doesn't finish any of them, leaving him just sputtering over here for a moment, his face growing increasingly red. ]
A-Are you just here to heckle me?!
[ Not that he's really heckling.
Unless you count this as some sort of unwanted compliment-filled heckling. ]
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I don't know specifically what heckle means, but I came 'cause you asked, and 'cause you offered to teach people to do this. You know, the game. About dancing.
( He rests his hands on his hips, tail lashing lazily from side to side behind him. )
What, a friend can't be proud of another friend?
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[ Inigo stares at Jingyi before letting out a long, slow breath, pulling a hand nervously through his hair. ]
A friend can be produ of another friend. [ He says it in a defeated tone, just giving in. Perhaps also realising this is bound to not get very far otherwise. ]
I'm just touchy about this stuff. [ Read: really shy. ]
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I've been getting a better sense of that with you. Or trying to. I'm bad at pretending things aren't what they are, so...
( He makes a vague gesture: he's not good at not saying things, to the extent of being proud of what Inigo is doing, and not getting how the self-deception is needed to address the shy. )
If it's easier on you if I don't say anything, tell me. I'll figure something out.
( Then, leaving that behind, because it means translating "I'm glad you're doing this" to another format, means to be discovered, he turns his attention to the Dancing Machine Thing. )
One of these days after it's set up, wanna to show me what it does?
( because this is live time double rp jive where eventually Zewu-jun's gonna be strolling in. )
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But Inigo sucks in a breath. Look, he gets that he's.. Difficult. Especially for a type like Jingyi, who would rather just say everything as directly as possible. Even Inigo isn't 100% sure when he'd rather be told something directly and when he wouldn't, really.
At the very least he does acknowledge Jingyi's offer with a smile. He's grateful, really, just.. too dumb about his own feelings to even really give an indication at this very moment.
He'll get back to you on that one, man.
Instead Inigo glances at the machine. ]
Would you want to play it?
[ Once it's done, he means as well, but he's just not sure if this sort of thing would be Jingyi's jam or not. Neither of them are really people used to video games, after all. ]
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Sure, if you want me to. It's fun trying out something new, right?
( Fun for him at least, and right now that's about what he can go with. Being willing to try just about everything once. (Death, not so much, please and thank you.) )
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[ And while Inigo is aware that it might not be for everyone, it truly is the most fun he thinks these newfangled video games can be. So he does think it'd be nice for other people to get into it..
Though he knows he shouldn't get nervous about whether someone will like or something or not way in advance, so Inigo awkwardly shifts, trying to get rid of the feeling as he speaks up again. ]
But you can't cheat by using your tail! [ Would that even be possible?
Who knows. Inigo's just trying to be ahead of the curve here. ]
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You think I could?
( Backwards way of making sure he stays interested, and really, let him figure out the competitive side to go "okay tracks let's do this." He's slow on the VR because he's not really... keen... on the illusion style aspect, or how it fits with his horns, or the rest, but this?
Hahahahahahahaha oh Inigo, pattern repetition tied to physical movement? He's going to love it. )
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This is the exact opposite reaction of what he thought he'd get here, and it makes his jaw drop in disbelief as the initial first reaction. ]
W-What?! No! That's literally not what I was just saying!
[ He was trying to prevent this, not enable it! ]
It's unfair to use limbs that some of us don't have..!
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You said don't do it, so that means you think I could! Really, how does that work with dancing anyway?
( He turns his head, and his tail curls up all sassy cat like, so that he can reach out and flick his fingers through the thick fur tuft at the end. )
If you're playing with your feet, you what, think I'd smack the ground with this? I can, but at some point that's just personal abuse. Besides...
( He gives Inigo an oh so sage look as he says: )
Feel free to borrow my tail whenever you like.
( It's okay, Inigo. You can hug his tail, if you've got tail envy. (He does not. Jingyi knows this. He still thinks this is some percent funny to say.) )
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But even so.. it's still Inigo. Which means that the automatic bodily reaction he has at a statement like that is for his face to turn the brightest shade of red possible, and he shakes his head. ]
W-What does that have to mean?!
[ It's a good thing that it's only the two of them in this carriage right now, or someone else might burst their eardrums walking by this nonsense. ]
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He leans oooover, which is more for show than him really moving, and stage whispers: )
You can hug my tail if you want~
( SCANDALOUS )
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It's never a good thing when someone gets closer to you when they tease you. This is a lesson Inigo has learned very well, and so he stumbles backwards, only barely managing to regain his balance at the last possible moment.
He shakes his head - still as red as anything. ]
D-Don't make it sound so strange! It's j-just your tail! What's so strange about hugging it?!
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... Considering he'd barely moved and Inigo was already close to stumbling, probably. He has a very, very vague memory of something like this happening before? ... Weird. )
Nothing, it's an excellent tail, super fluffy, very nicely scaled! Seriously, my scales are smooth. Never slack off on scale care, Inigo, it'll catch up with you.
( He curves said tail around to his front, letting it drape over his hand, fingers threading through the thick fur of his tailtip and down some of the fur along his spine. His scales are nice, he decides, but he probably wants to figure out ordering specific scale care stuff soon... or complain about it to the train first, because that's what he does, then order it. He... figures not many people have scale care issues here, and he's not even shed yet. Egads... )
Fur care too, I guess, but that's really just like the rest of your hair.
( Only light blue compared to the fact his hair is dark, midnight black, so. )
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[ His voice is breaking up in the middle there, the last two words said in a much higher pitch than the first half. Please, Inigo can't continue to keep freaking out like this and not end up sounding like a squeaky toy, okay.
It's just not how it works. ]
W-- [ He shakes his head.
Still keeping a step distance from Jingyi, though. ]
W-What do you want me to say? That you're a handsome guy? I've said that before!
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Inigo, you're the one bringing up me doing weird things with my tail! What does that have to do with me being handsome or not, huh?
( He snorts, making a dismissive waving motion with his hand. )
But fine, fine, I promise not to think up some incredibly clever way to use my tail to somehow cheat at a dance game. If it's on this platform, it feels more like I'd be worried about it being in the way...
( He pauses, delayed realisation: )
I could just, you know, not have my tail out at the time?
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This just happens sometimes.
Which means that in the face of that being pointed out, his expression goes from flustered to pouty-puppy-on-the-verge-of-crying. He's an adult. A hardened warrior. Obviously.
It's why his voice sounds so tiny and whiny when he speaks up with: ]
Wait, that's a voluntary thing..? [ His tail being out or not, Inigo means.
Guess what fact he hadn't caught onto yet. ]
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It's a deliberate one if I make them go away, sure.
( He performs a one hand seal, his horns and tail silvering and then disappearing as if they'd never been. He turns just enough to show there's no telltale hump of muscle at his lower back over his rear to be seen, but not enough to let Inigo see that his pants aren't designed for people without tails, and in fact, there's a giant hole there now.
No, he's sober, and he does know Inigo is touchy about bodies in various contexts, so no, he won't let him see his bare rear. )
See? We have to pass as fully human, too.
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Which means that, rather than a freakout, Jingyi is just getting a mildly surprised version of Inigo's pouty expression now. ]
I didn't know that. I thought it was kind of.. permanent. [ Especially with how often Jingyi uses his tail, even in his half-human form! ] Where I come from, people who aren't entirely human always show some sign of it.
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Mm, it's suppressing part of myself to do this.
( He doesn't bring up this is what he was partly offering back during their spar that turned into Emotions Sharing, because meh. Instead he reaches up and covers one of his eyes with his hand. )
It's like if you'd put a patch over your eye. Your eye's still there, people can't see it, and you can't use it, but you didn't really lose it. You're functional, and impaired.
( He drops his hand away from his eye. )
Outside of the cities closest to the sects, showing up looking like I do naturally tends to get a range of reactions. Not all are helpful. Most aren't, really.
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[ There's a hint of childishness in the sentiment, but mostly in just how honest it is. It seems to be an emotion that comes directly from Inigo's heart, like he thought about people maybe negatively reacting to Jingyi, and immediately decided he really hates the thought of that - or the thought of Jingyi having to hide any part of what he is.
Especially when there's nothing wrong with what he is. ]
I don't like.. you having to hide anything. [ Especially when Jingyi uses the word 'suppressing' of all things. ] Just keep your tail out, even when you play. Even if you'd use it, I wouldn't mind.
[ There's a hint of redness on his cheek, as if he's ashamed of throwing a toddler fit about the idea of Jingyi cheating with it, when it gets this close to hitting a very real issue. ]
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