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[ sob ]

—Long as they've got the equipment here I can use.

[ He'll take a sterile needle. And luckily for Venti, being one of those ridiculous Good At All Things Physical people, he's going to get it on center and stuff. ]

...Just, what, in the middle of your earlobe?

Yup. This one.

[ Brushing his hand over his right ear. ]

You've got experience stabbing stuff, so I'm not worried.

Ominous.

[ But maybe he would've taken this route if he'd had the option.

He rifles around the shop, then comes back with a needle the right size for a dangly earring.

~~Our shenanigans are mod-approved!~~ ]

Tilt your head back and to the left.

Edited 2022-09-15 02:48 (UTC)

[ He does as he's asked, surprisingly calm all things considered.

Maybe needles just aren't a god phobia ]

[ ...........a pause, then a very amused look. ]

Not gonna numb your ear up first?

[ LISTEN, ]

That's cheating! Then I'm not having the experience.

I should really tease you about this.

[ But he gets a good grip on Venti's earlobe and in goes the needle. Nice and straight. Unlike anything else in this tattoo parlor or probably most of Imeeji. ]

[ He scrunches his face up a little at the stab, but takes it like a CHAMP.

Somehow he thought it would be way worse . . . ]

Is that it?

[ Tiniest snort. ]

Almost. Still need to get the actual earring in here. Heal up the hole so I can take the needle out?

Oh! Right.

[ Reaching up to heal the wound

BOOM

INSTA-PIERCING ]

[ ... ]

You know, I've gotta give you this: that was a lot easier.

[ For all his nerves about piercing you, it wasn't so bad on his end, either. ]

[ ...and now Venti will pick out a nice earring to match Zhongli, so that'll probably take a minute or two.

But that's — fine, obviously. He can wait. They'll make conversation.

And then, hey, experiments in bondage. That'll be nicely distracting.

No reason why any of this has to be anything but nicely distracting. ]

[ And yet, as he leans back against the nearest counter to get out of Venti's way, he still finds himself saying, ]

So. Lumine on ZRAEL doesn't — remember you, does she.

[ He does indeed go off to examine the available jewelry, but he pauses and glances over his shoulder in surprise. ]

Well, she's not an audition . . . so I guess that's true.

And that's not — weird? Awkward? I mean, maybe if you didn't know her all that well before, it wouldn't matter...

[ —Tail sure is flicking kind of a lot. Heaves himself up on the counter to sit on it! Problem solved. ]

Edited 2022-09-15 22:07 (UTC)

[ ??? Lupine?? ]

Not really. Should it be?

It's not even the first time she's forgotten, but either way, nothing can be done about it. So why not just start again?

[ if a tail is being sat on is it really giving away your emotional state to other people?? checkmate ]

...Right. Thousands of years old. You've had weirder.

[ His shoulders curve in a little more with every word. ]

[ Studying him for a long moment ]

But you haven't.

Is this about your friend from home?

[ Well, he does go pretty still. Head tipped back to look up at the ceiling. ]

That's half the question, isn't it.

[ Bingo ]

And the other half?

[ ...Leaning back on his hands. Even trapped, there's still an audible if muffled thumping from his tail. ]

—Oh, you know. Standard questions when you've got amnesia.

I've never had amnesia, so unfortunately, you'll have to lay it out for me.

[ Rude, frankly, but it does stop the thumps again, at least for the moment. Instead, his grip tightens on the countertop. ]

Well, it sucks. Even if I liked puzzles, I'd pass on Play Detective with Your Own Life: No Context Edition.

Edited 2022-09-16 00:51 (UTC)

I can imagine that part is extremely frustrating, yes.

As to your friend, though -- are you worried your relationship may not be as it seems in the memories you've taken? Or something else?

[ oh hey it's the immediate return of the thumps ] [ Lupine has never really felt like it was worth the trouble to get rid of one lousy corruption, the tail's kinda cute and prehensile enough to be useful (and useful), but in this moment he wishes he had. ]

...Only have a few memories of him. [ A very bitter lipquirk. ] Not for lack of trying.

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