tabularasa_rp | Gardening and catch-call (Open!)

Entry tags:

Gardening and catch-call (Open!)

Who: Merlin + anyone!
What: Making a garden, being a bum, and general catch-all for shenanigans
Where: Various, see prompts
When: Throughout the month, any specific timeframes will be mentioned in prompts
Content Warnings: None in initial prompts, if threads venture into iffy territory warnings will be given in comment subject lines!

[General]

If anyone interacted with Merlin shortly after everyone first arrived and the world came to be, he nearly always presented an almost annoyingly cheerful attitude. If someone interacted with him several weeks later, that was more subdued, less with the over the top nonsense and occasionally absent entirely. Lately, though, Merlin's been acting, well, almost emotionless for the most part. There's the occasional display of something or another, and his focus and attention for anything that currently holds his interest hasn't waned in the slightest, but an increasing majority of the time he's just simply not emoting. Weird, huh?

[I. Gardening]

The appearance of the small flower patch in the church-slash-bakery had given Merlin an idea, and the later appearance of the flower fields (even if, admittedly, apparently on fire) within the peculiar doomed structure gave him even more reason to properly pursue it. And while many of the proper tools for such things are lacking, as finding gardening tools in a market that never sees sunlight is a longshot at best, that's far less of an inconvenience to him than having lost proper use of his powers in the first place.

All of which means he's taken the time to painstakingly clear a wide space near where the river flows out from the base of the mountain, even going so far as to retrieve soil from the nearby forest to fill and even out places. Once this is done, it calls for several trips back and forth to the flower fields in the dome to dig up a plant or two at a time, carry it to his dirt patch, and carefully replant it. All largely by hand, given that he's yet to find a proper trowel. At least he can make use of empty bottles and cups to haul water from the nearby river, which may or may not even be necessary for the plants at this point, but probably won't hurt, at least.

Oh, and while some of the flowers ceased 'burning' once removed from the field from long enough, and others Merlin deliberately extinguished the flames, there's still a few that remain stubbornly fiery. These eventually receive their own designated section of the sparse but growing garden, ringed by a low line of rocks.

Needless to say, this is all very labor intensive, and Merlin's spending quite a bit of time with it, so it's probably one of the easiest places to catch him if one happens to be looking for him!

[II. Familiar Companion]

For all his seeming affability, Merlin's never been one to really spend too much time in the company of others, and that's only increased as time's gone on. He certainly makes his presence known often enough when he deigns to, but more often than not he's likely off on his own, whether investigating whatever strange new features the world's developed, or simply avoiding dealing with all the people.

Except that, he's never actually truly alone. One of the small, winged and furred creatures has been ~~stalking~~ following him around since near the beginning as it makes a game of trying to chase and pounce on his long hair. For the most part, Merlin simply (seemingly) ignores it, only occasionally shooing it away, for all the good that ever does. At just this moment, it's running about pouncing on leaves near where Merlin's sitting with his back leaning against a tree, paying it no mind as usual.

Until, that is, the poor thing is struck by a sudden furious hunger, causing it to botch the landing of its latest jump and tumble on the ground, letting out a plaintive cry. Merlin glances over at the sound, gaze utterly expressionless as he takes in the scene.

"Oh, stop complaining, you," he mutters flatly, and looks away again. But even as he does so, his fingers slide briefly into a fold of his robes and, with a brief flick of a wrist, a small piece of giant mushroom is tossed at the critter, which naturally devours it ravenously before resuming its earlier play.

[III. Making Sense of Nonsense]

Of course, not everything Merlin does is full of melancholy and/or solitude. There's still the mystery of this place to solve, or at least figure out how on earth to get his powers to actually work on things here. In fact, while he's managed not to show it, certain aspects of that last bit actually have him just a little bit concerned, for various reasons he's naturally refusing to divulge.

But all this means he simply needs more information, and as he can't simply use Clairvoyance to observe whatever and whoever he wants, that means actually going up to people and asking them.

"Has anything new that you recognize shown up here, since you've arrived?"

There's something nagging at him that he can't quite shake but still can't put a finger on, either.

[Wildcard/Notes]

None of these scenarios work for you? Feel free to hit me up in PM or on Discord (AC#7235) if you want to plot out something else! Or just tag with whatever you have in mind, that works too. The stuff noted in the 'general' section at the top applies to all threads unless otherwise noted, I just didn't feel like repeating it over and over again.!

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With a small smile at the memory of Ty, Mel relates, "I helped an incubus once by summoning his mother. He was more affectionate with me than anything else, but I think that's because he adopted me as a mother-life figure.

"The point I'm circling around is that he fed off others during sex." And she leaves it at that for the moment, allowing Merlin to contribute whether or not he would normally do the same.

"I believe that's rather common knowledge, isn't it?"

That incubi and succubi feed off of sex.

"Human--their minds, emotions, and dreams--produce an energy on which incubi feed. Sex is one of the more direct methods. If you're trying to ask whether I'm holding myself back in the regard or something, I'm not."

He quite simply can't feed in his normal manner. The rules of this world don't allow for it.

The Goddess has paused her task to look at Merlin with a touch of concern, with empathy. Gently, she asks, "Is that the reason for your change in demeanor?"

Were it merely a lack of flirting, she wouldn't even be asking. Without knowing how long its been, she can't put an exact number on how long they've been having sex, but of course the depth and level of flirting would naturally conform itself. Yet, Merlin's brusqueness is beginning to make sense, and Melinoë feels slightly foolish, if not guilty, for failing to put the pieces together.

Merlin blinks at that, momentarily confused. A chance in demeanor? He hadn't thought he'd changed much in regards to their occasional encounters, as even if he derived no extra benefit from it, going through the motions was at least better than nothing. Probably.

It's only after a brief moment of thought that what she might possibly mean occurs to him.

"Incubi don't possess emotions of their own. Only a copy from the humans they feed on. If that spoils your experience, then you're free to call things off, of course."

She releases something between amused snort and doubtful sigh. "Merlin, if you were no longer satisfying me, and I would think that's been rather obvious, then I would have disengaged at said moment. I still enjoy your company, only I was indirectly asking if the same was felt by you? Because if it's a matter of needing your abilities to fully take pleasure in sex and that the act has become mundane, well then I think I could wait."

The latter is said teasingly, because it's an honest admission; no point fucking someone if they are no longer into it.

Merlin is silent for a long moment, considering. Ordinarily he dislikes telling people much of anything about himself. For a number of reasons, but the fact that humans typically reacted poorly or didn't truly understand definitely ranked up there. But then again, she is apparently a goddess, which doesn't make her exactly human, does it?

"I'd doubted from the start that it would make any difference, and that was proven rather immediately in any case. But it's not a bad way to pass the time, even so."

Much like how many people still took some solace in drinking or eating the food that appeared with some of the locations here, despite not actually needing to.

"When it's no longer fun, we'll stop." Mostly satiated with this response, Melinoë returns to tending to the task at hand. It wouldn't be painful to break things off with the mage, her being aware of the depth of their relationship. Not that the Goddess is incapable of developing feelings towards others, human, demi-, and so on, and if given enough of an in, if she put in the effort, Mel could come to care more deeply for Merlin. As it stood, she cared just enough about his well-being.

"I would offer to help experiment, but it's obvious that would prove fruitless." She looks at Merlin to offer a sympathetic shrug. "With no one worshiping me or making offerings here, I remain just as baseline as the day we all arrived."

She probably cared more than he himself did, really. It typically takes some doing for Merlin to form much attachment to individual people. The combination of being a halfbreed and being immortal tends to enforce that a bit.

"Do you think that would make a difference if people were? After all, so far it seems that the only things possible to do in this place so far all fall into a very limited range."

And if his incubus powers don't work, well, then he can't feed that way in the first place, so there's little point in trying.

"I would like to think so, but it's only wishful thinking. I already had someone present me with an offering on the first day." Mel's smile is cheeky, vain, but it doesn't last long before the frustration overtakes it.

Pointing in the direction she's meaning, she explains, "I found a temple or shrine of sorts that I've been visiting. I leave offerings in the hopes it'll do something, be it triggering divine abilities or introducing the possibility through worship."

"The one by the bridge?"

Merlin's familiar with it, he's wandered out that way and conversed with the shrine's no-longer-human caretaker.

"You'll have to tell me if you have any success." It'd be nice to find a reliable pattern to causing things to work again.

With a nod, Melinoë answers, "The very same.

"And I had already planned on sharing any findings with you, considering you're likely to benefit from such news to a degree. Because if it opens that door..." She doesn't feel that the sentence requires finishing.

"Have you come across any other beings like us? Divine or supernatural?" So on and so forth.

"Oh, the woman from whose world the bridge and shrine originate is, actually. Some sort of Japanese spirit or another, I believe."

Merlin knows many, many things, but there are a lot of oni and youkai, and he hasn't felt the need to be bothered figuring out exactly which one the individual in question is.

"Have you met her?"

She scrunches her face, the look somewhere between apologetic and indifference. "Non. I haven't interacted much with the others."

Mel can count on one hand just how many locals she's conversed with, and she honestly doesn't have much of a proper excuse as to why that is. But learning that there may very well be others like her has the Goddess wishing to seek them out.

"Is she approachable?"

Merlin actually pauses to consider the answer to that question. Ordinarily, he'd be perfectly content to send someone off to try to figure out how to deal with the bridge guardian on their own and enjoy the potential ensuing chaos, but it's probably not worth the risk of losing the assistance Melinoë is offering. And besides, this is a goddess he's speaking to, not just an ordinary human.

"So long as you respect her bridge and shrine, there should be no issue," he says. "And don't encourage her envy or resentment or such."

At least, he assumes it was that flaring up when she asked for an abrupt change in topic in a recent conversation. It wouldn't surprise him, given that such spirits usually owe their existence to concentrations of such emotions.

The information is digested and she's grateful towards Merlin, showing as much by gently tugging on a lock of his hair and saying 'thank you' in Italian.

At the warning, she cants her head with a glint of mischief in her gaze. "I shall try and refrain from those, though I should probably know if she's one of your lovers as well? So as to avoid mentioning our frequent trysts, of course."

Because Melinoë isn't in a position to claim him solely, nor does she much care about monogamy at present. The two of them have set no rules, after all. She doesn't need that to change now, either.

That actually gets a bit of a mischievous smirk out of Merlin. Not much, but probably noticeable compared to his usual bland demeanor of late.

"If she were, wouldn't it be improper of me to say so?" he says, clearly joking.

"But as it happens, no."

"Considering the status of our relationship, it would be, were I seeking the information borne out of jealousy. But as I was asking for my own safety, I think it's permissible." And she throws a clod of dirt in his direction, winking at Merlin.

More softly, Melinoë says, < "Thank you, still, my darling mage." >

"Is that all it was?"

He's just joking back, of course. The last thing he needs is a jealous or angry lover. That never ends well, especially for him.

"Hmm, but will you still thank me after you've spoken to her, I wonder?"

Parsee isn't too bad, as far as her kind goes, but Merlin's threshold his pretty low. Simply being both nonhuman and not actively trying to kill him is good enough if he just needs someone to talk to.

It's a relief, honestly, to see some of that impishness return to Merlin. She herself finds it easier to deal with the lack of abilities while being in his or Damien's presence.

At the cryptic statement, Melinoë tils her head and cautiously asks, "Whatever is that supposed to mean?" Though a huffed laugh follows, it's mostly void of humor.

He's never truly lost it, it's just that he stopped putting the effort into maintaining a facade when he realized he didn't know how long he could sustain it here. It's a lie when he claims to have no emotions of his own, but what he does have certainly isn't nearly as strong or frequent than an ordinary human.

"Are you very familiar with youkai and related spirits? Most are relatively harmless, but they can still be... tedious to deal with, for some."

In this case though Merlin happens to find Parsee quite entertaining, himself.

"'Bewitching spectres'," she recites. "I am familiar enough. We had at least one at the academy, and with my infatuation of Ryūō came a desire to read up on his culture." Melinoë files this away and makes a note to seek Parsee out.

"How did the two of you meet?"

"Oh, I ran into her when I was investigating the area early on. She was hanging out near the shrine, as she usually does."

Nothing particularly unusual or remarkable about it! Merlin just happens to consider Parsee both entertaining and a reasonably good source of information, is all.

"Very well, then."

After finishing with the area before her, Melinoë bites a knuckle before asking, "You want to keep going at this for another whatever or so and then break in the dirt another way?"

If her innuendo isn't easy to catch, or should Merlin not be in the mood, she'll still continue to help with his project.

"Hmm, I suppose that doesn't sound like a bad plan..."

He might not get the same things out of it as he usually does, but those kind of activities still make for a good distraction.

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Gardening and catch-call (Open!)

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Fade Out.