2023.03.04 Juniper and Lamplight
| 03.04.23 Juniper and Lamplight | |
|---|---|
| Sebastian sings along with his Walkman… and truth emerges. | |
| IC Date | 03.04.23 |
| Players | Janneke, Sebastian |
| Location | Detonation Boulevard |
| Spheres | Changeling |
Detonation Boulevard -- Main Room(#13005RAM)
A riot of music, memorabilia, books, magazines, and instruments greet the gaze of customers. Through the speakers, you can hear a selection from the owner's own music collection. You can expect anything from grunge to blues, from hard rock to death metal, from 90s alternative to 70s punk, from new wave to post-punk. A U-shaped checkout area stands by the door, and the worn but well-kept wooden floor spreads invitingly.
The left side of the shop's broad space is set aside for music: vintage vinyl and bootleg discs and tapes alike, sorted by artist name only with no genre distinction. The aisles lead to a pair of plexiglassed listening booths that seat two and boast headphones and a sound setup so you can listen before purchasing. The brick wall behind the music section is whitewashed and covered in a selection of posters and concert waybills from all rock eras and styles, most framed, each with a discreet pricetag Post-Ited onto a corner.
On the shop's right side, part of the wall is covered in a pair of hanging racks for tees, tour jackets, and other garb. Most of it is vintage concert tees from all manner of bands and festivals. The racks are accompanied by a series of book-and-magazine shelves that hold reading material, along with displays that hold everything from Funko Pop rock star toys to band shotglasses, with promotional items of all descriptions offered for sale. Bet you didn't know how many bands offered panties with a logo printed on them, but now you do!
At the back of the right side is a pair of diner-style booths flanking a glassed-in repair bench. A sign above the workbench shows a price list for repairs of all kinds for musical instruments, along with the legend "Don't see what you need? Ask!" An oblong table in front of the glass holds a Bunn 3-burner coffee maker and a covered tray of baked goodies, with a label reading 'Customers only, please.'
On the walls, posters of a chimerical nature have been added to the mix. There are trinkets found around the shop, and many of them glow with historical Glamour from being well-loved and prized. Given the number of random Chimera that make an appearance here (and the few that seem to have made the place into their residence), it's likely that this shop has a fair amount of Kithain traffic.
Janneke is shelving some vinyl records at the moment, getting them all neat and properly placed to show them off to advantage. They range from old Black Flag disks to new collector's editions on premium vinyl of Dark Side of the Moon. Over the PA, the sound system is playing vintage Zeppelin, but at a not-horrid volume.
Sebastian is... singing? as he wanders in. No, that can't be right. But it is. He's got a battered pair of earbuds hooked up to an ancient Walkman, coming off like a karaoke act with the good bits muted. "And in the naked light I saw / Ten thousand people, maybe more..."
<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Sebastian rolls Charisma + Performance vs 6 for 0 successes.
3 3 4 5
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->
Janneke turns and spots Sebastian with a smile, putting down the rest of the discs to approach. She doesn't wince at the off-key note, but there it is, painful for a half-second. She wiggles her fingers toward him, but waits for him to take off the headphones.
Sebastian looks, then hits the stop button and slips the earbuds out, pleasantly oblivious to his own tonal misstep. More than that, he actually foregoes the Walkman and jumps to another track, a cappella this time. "April come she will / When streams are ripe and swelled with rain..."
<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======--->
Janneke rolls Charisma(4) + Performance(1) (5 dice) vs 6 for 3 successes.
2 4 +7 +8 +10
<-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->
Janneke grins and picks up along with him, "May, she will stay... Resting in my arms again..." She may not know every song out there, but she does know rather a lot of them.
At a time like this, there's only one right thing to do. And so Sebastian holds out his hands to Janneke, inviting her closer as he continues. "June, she'll change her tune / In restless walks she'll prowl the night..."
Janneke takes his long-fingered hands and joins back into the song, "July, she will fly... And give no warning to her flight..." People turn to look, some amused, some charmed, some kind of 'wtf' about the whole thing. She doesn't care.
What, you've never seen people spontaneously dance before? Then you haven't been in the right music stores. Sebastian pauses, though, peering into her eyes. "...Well, it gets outright depressing from there. Do you know For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her?" He doesn't hesitate, much, but she might notice that his pulse is racing as he dares field that question.
"I do!" JJ beams, and bring it in at the start: "What I dream I had, pressed in organdy..." She's crinkle-eyed, warm, the grey of her eyes amused and pleased, and not missing that reaction at all. The dancing... well, it's charmed her, on some level.
Sebastian slips an arm around JJ's waist, drawing her closer as he picks up the next verse. "Clothed in crinoline of smoky burgundy / Softer than the rain..." T minus six, Sebastian. What are you about to do?
Janneke leans into the arm, still smiling as she croons, "I wandered empty streets... past the shop displays down..." She then leans back a little, leg bracing her to support the lean. The taller young man will find she's moving with him quite well.
"I heard cathedral bells tripping down the alleyways as I walked on..." It helps that Sebastian isn't moving all that much, more just swaying in place. Around this point, he draws his head back enough to peer into her eyes.
Janneke meets his gaze head-on -- she's still smiling as she sings back, "And when you ran to me, your cheeks flushed with the night..."
That free hand moves up to brush her hair to one side, as if it needed any help in that regard. "We walked on frosted fields of juniper and lamplight, I held your hand--" Yeah, there's a reason he picked /this/ song out of all the others by those two.
Janneke seems to be realizing that maybe he's not kidding?! For once?! Still, she continues, not deterred, "And when I awoke and felt you warm and near... I kissed your honey hair with my grateful tears..." Does he have the gumption to go for it? Well?
Well, you don't do something this momentous and then /not/ go through with it. "...Oh, I love you girl," he answers. "Oh, I love you." And this was /absolutely not the plan/ when he dropped by this evening, but she called him her 'favorite' the other day, and sometimes ideas just /happen/, and then sometimes /other/ ideas just happen. And so he leans in closer--
Janneke is grinning back at him, now -- not mockingly but fondly, and no, she was not expecting this, or planning for anything, but hey, life hands you something, sometimes, you just... lean in. And so, she does, and lets the distance close between them. A hush falls over the people around them.
A few seconds pass. Then a few more. And finally he remembers to draw back, meeting her gaze again. "So, uh. That happened..."
Janneke giggles and says, "So, yeah." And there's a few whistles behind them, at least one 'Get a room!' and other chattering voices. She ums, and actually looks a touch sheepish, but not regretful. "Was... not expecting that..."
"Neither was I," Sebastian admits. "But, y'know, what you said the other day, and I mentioned 'a few', and you said 'I'll never tell'? Well, it got me thinking, what if you /didn't/ mean a few? And once that thought popped in there... I couldn't let go of it. Not without finding out, at least."
Janneke smiles and says, "Well, a lady never tells, but." She chuckles again softly, and says, "I don't know, I mean... when we speak them, words have truth. I'm a Seer, you know. I try not to say things like those lightly because... words have power when we speak them. I... yeah, babbling." A sheepish little grin follows. She continues to ignore the people around them. "I just... I mean, you *are*."
Sebastian bites his lip. "I... won't risk jinxing it by asking why. And you, well, I liked you right off the bat, but I could say that of a few people. Mostly Kee, believe it or not. But none of it really crystallized into anything next-level... until, well, suddenly it /did/."
Janneke says, quietly, "I don't ever ask those questions even of myself. I just... follow it, you know?" She takes the hand she's still holding and tugs him to one side, near the repair area, so they're not quite as 'on stage' for this conversation. "Sometimes, things just... happen. And I mean, it's weird, because... well. I think you're a *lot* younger than me..."
When that's pointed out, Sebastian just buries his face in her shoulder. "Oh no, you're right, aren't you? I mean, you're /at least/ twenty... something." Nice save there, Sebby. "Still, I mean, this is /our/ people we're talking about. When is it not weird, somehow?"
Janneke mmms at that. "True, very true. I just... figured you should consider it. Not... like it bothers me, you're an adult so it's fine." She straightens up a bit to make it less hard for him to bend over, and her fingers are gentle as she finds his hair and strokes softly.
Sebastian shakes his head. "Doesn't bother me, either. Not like you're in your fifties or something." She isn't, is she? He's heard stories about how some of them start aging a lot more slowly once they hit a certain point... "Anyway. I guess we should actually go out somewhere, huh? Just have to think of where." Especially considering his /not/ being a rich idiot with no day job.
Janneke Ahems. "Well. Um... I... don't age," she says softly, looking awkward. "I was... uh... born the day of the Resurgence," she admits, quietly, too quietly to be overhead by anyone else.
Blink blink. Carry the one-- "Oh. Oh /no/. Oh, that was rude of me, I'm so sorry." Sebastian leans back, pressing his hands into his face. "Forgive me? And, wow, no wonder this resonated like it did--" Another sentence probably better left unfinished.
Janneke ssshes him with a smile and touches his shoulder lightly. "You couldn't possibly know, and besides, I wear it pretty well, I'm told. Just please don't call me a cougar, okay?" She giggles with that, not at all offended. "Nothing to forgive. You said nothing meant to hurt, so it doesn't."
Sebastian sits up again and shakes his head. "Of course not. Besides, that's a whole different--" Kith, he doesn't say out loud. "Is 'flower child' a better term?"
Janneke bursts out laughing, quietly but definitely amused. "I promise I don't get hairballs or anything." She hrms and shifts a bit, looking thoughtful, and says, "Well, I could be, sure, born during the Age of Aquarius and all that..." She looks thoughtful and says, "Well, if you do want to go out, we could do that, but I don't really see you doing the bar thing."
Sebastian shakes his head. "Nah, stereotypical places are right out. I'm thinking more urban exploring. Maybe not the sewers, but there are a number of rooftops that are just /right there/ if you happen to have a ladder handy."
Janneke smiles, "I have a *roof* to climb up to, and a nice view. But hey, exploring sounds like fun... I think I'd like that. I can always make food for us to bring." A pause. "So do you have the usual... preferences in food and such or do you like ordinary things too?" Meaning, does he have the Sluagh predilection for decay.
Sebastian squints. "I like ordinary /food/. I mean, I like some weird food too, but weird usually costs more. And if it's actually gonna make me sick-- yeah, I never understood taking it /that/ far. Personally, I suspect it was an old bar bet that got blown /way/ out of proportion. You ever hear the story about the five monkeys and the fire hose?"
Janneke holds up a hand to hold off protest. "Just checking. Some do, some don't. I'm just as glad because I'm not eating that stuff myself, either. But I know you like my baking so far." She considers this and tilts her head to one side thoughtfully. "A lot of tales are. And the five monkeys and the firehose -- no?"
"Okay, so say you have five monkeys in a lab," Sebastian explains, gesturing with his hands, "and food sitting in two corners. Only if they go to the one on the right, you spray them with a fire hose. Eventually they get the idea. Now you take out one monkey, and bring in another monkey. Soon as he does for the food on the right, what happens? The other four grab him and pull him back. After a while, he gets the idea too. Now you swap out /another/ monkey... you see where this is headed?"
Janneke nods. "Makes perfect sense. Everyone believed it, so everyone after them believed it because it was enforced. Or suggested, or taught." She chuckles and says, still quiet, "I've had many occasions when I've wondered just how much of what we are is our choice, and how much is our fate, and how much of that fate we can choose to shape. I didn't trust myself with that level of power for a long time. Being able to shape fate. Speaking it was terrifying enough."
"And the insidious thing about that example is, it /was/ true. At first. But the monkeys probably don't think to double-check." Sebastian draws his knees up to his chest as he considers. "And fate? I've only got a basic feel for it myself, I can imagine it would be, yeah."
“And why would they check? Why would they go against the common belief...?" JJ chuckles at that. "It becomes a greater weight as you learn it, but... if you wish to learn further, I can help you navigate the weight." She leans in, head against his shoulder. "Honestly, right now I just feel like a nice starlit sky sounds like as much excitement as I want."”
Sebastian inclines his head. "I could go for both of those. But yes, starlit sky first. Want to show me that rooftop you mentioned?"
