sticksandbones | Mizuki's October Catch-All

Well, sure, but it's a sign of respect. [ And better than just outright saying "Elsword-san". He hasn't lived in Higashi for a long time now, but the mannerisms are still sort of there. ] Of course you're my friend, but you're also a hero. Leaving out the "mister" just feels like I'm downplaying your heroism.

[ He snorts a little when he gets splattered, and without even turning to look at Elsword, he sneaks a tentacle around to dip into some paint. It'll snake around quietly before pressing a big ol' blob of blue right against Elsword's cheek. ]

If we're gonna be formal with each other, you'd be hyung 'cause you're older than me. Mizuki-hyung.

[...and then he gets blobbed. Elsword makes a little "heyyy" noise at this before he swats at his cheek, smearing it over his skin. His hand comes away blue...

...

He grabs a bucket of yellow, dunks his hands in it, and runs at Mizuki to Get him.]

[ Elsword shoves his hands in the yellow paint and the second he does, he'll catch the sound of static in the air, and when he stands, he'll find Mizuki's in his camouflage. Unfortunately, the bring room is meant to be well lit without much in the way of shadows, so Mizuki's shadow is still very present, but he attempts to at least make that be disorienting with his tentacles always freely waving around.

He scoots over to the pink paint, dipping a few tentacles in it, and skirting around the mess on the floor so his footprints aren't too apparent… and then he jumps onto Elsword's back splattering him with flecks of pink. ]

Hehe~! Gotcha!!

[He tries to track that shadow, but it's too late. The pink is On Him. And it's Elsword, which means he's got that open backed shirt on, so Mizuki probably just covered his ~~slutty little~~ back tattoo in pink too. Elsword thinks he feels some flecks in his hair...

He's gonna reach his paint-soaked hands behind himself and try to yoink Mizuki off his back, and if that fails, at least he's gonna slap the little guy with his yellow hands.]

[ Fortunately for Elsword, Mizuki weighs maybe as much as a sack of potatoes. It's not hard to move him anywhere. Unfortunately, however, him being so light means it's also easy to overestimate just how much strength is needed to move the jellyfish. He is flung away from Elsword's back and he frantically tries to grab hold of him to keep his balance, briefly forgetting this is what he has 30 extra limbs for. Realistically, he just figured that grabbing Elsword would be enough to keep him from falling to the ground, but didn't take into account they might both go toppling instead. ]

[Yeah, he uh. Grossly overestimated how much strength it would take to remove the Mizuki. Not only does Elsword do that overestimating thing in general, but there's the added bonus of Mizuki has no bones, and so—]

Uwahh—!

[Yeah, they go toppling, because Elsword had intended to throw both of their weights forward, except there's no Mizuki-weight to counterbalance him. They tumble to the ground in a heap of limbs and paint, landing squarely in a puddle of cyan and pink with a wet splat.

Elsword only narrowly avoids faceplanting into Mizuki, bracing his weight on either side of the smaller boy with his hands.

Blink, blink...

...slowly smears paint on Mizuki's cheek.]

[ ……………………………………………………

Everyday Mizuki is more and more convinced he truly has just gotten isekai'd into one of his shoujo mangas, because if this isn't one of the most cliche thing ever. Two love interests tumble with one pinning the other to the ground??? It's, like, a classic. It's a good thing they're not into each other, though, otherwise this might be real awkward.

Mizuki doesn't hit the ground that hard, and he at least attempts to make sure Elsword doesn't, either, grabbing him with a few stingers with nothing but worry on his face to make sure Elsword's alright. There's no pain shared between them, though, so that's good. He sighs…

…And then he's painted. ]

Uh- Wh— hey! That's cheating!!! [ As if you didn't just go invisible?? He reaches up to plap the remaining blue paint on his hands against Elsword's cheeks. ]

[No Aegir or weird Sankta were harmed in the making of this thread

Elsword manages something of a snort laugh at Mizuki's offense, though. He doesn't often laugh, and it's clearly not all there — a tiny smirk and a "snrrrk" and nothing else — but it's a laugh dammit, that's what matters.]

You climbed onto my back first.

[Elsword squints one eye shut at the cold plap of paint on his face, then sits back on his heels, still sort of hovering over Mizuki... dips his fingers into the puddle of paint nearby.

Presses his thumb into Mizuki's forehead and sticks his tongue out, haha gottem]

[ Mizuki's wants in life are generally on a pretty short list, but "making people happy" is definitely his number one on it, regardless. When Elsword had told him about his emotions and how he has trouble feeling them, he wanted to do as much as he could to return that happiness to him, somehow. It's why he was so insistent with Add that he talk to Elsword, and why he even gave those gifts to Elsword to begin with as an apology, and why he doesn't want these pain marks anymore, even if it does feed into some feeling of "oneness".

So, uh… basically, just give him a moment because he's definitely "???" about that little laugh. …Ah. One of Mizuki's thumbs even brush Elsword's cheek, a silent "I'm so proud of you" before his hands pull away completely. He's just… happy that he's able to show his hero some feeling of happiness. All his friends deserve it—

Aaaaaaaand his forehead is getting booped. He sort of wiggles under Elsword, and with no warning he is pulled by a dozen tentacles to get off of him so he can start patting Elsword down with an assorted, swirled mix of paint. Against his chest and hair and arms — no mercy in war, Elsword. ]

[Consider the boy Yote™ or at the very least, Moved With Mizuki's Noodles™. Elsword struggles playfully against the hold, a glint in his eye... Mizuki bonks him with paint and Elsword makes a "disgruntled" noise in response, trying so hard to get back to his vantage point he was at before. Like come on, having thirty limbs is unfair!

There's a veritable swimming pool of paint on the ground, though, so he grabs a handful and yeets it right at Mizuki's face. It splatters out from his fingertips in an spray of colour, and yes, he is gonna drag his palm right through Mizuki's hair afterwards. Get wrecked nerd—]

[ Dramatically: ] Noooo! My one weakness! How could yoooouuuuu!!!!

[ And then, still completely coated in paint from his earlier spinning around, Mizuki flops against Elsword so he can just share the paint smears between them. They're a walking rorschach test together now, and somehow more paint than person. ]

Ehehe, I think we missed the point of this room a little bit, huh?

[I see a butterfly hbu

While Elsword isn't tired per se, he does flop onto the ground and put a hand on Mizuki's back, both to make sure he doesn't miss a spot but also to just pat him like "okay, think we're good now". Man. This wasn't even real wrestling and he's still just a bit physically drained, just a smidge. At the very least, it kept his mind off of everyone else's pains for a while.

Pat pat.]

What do you mean? We got the paint where it's supposed to go, [cheekily,] it's not my fault you were in the way of my first attack.

[buddy calling it an Attack gives you away you were totally intending to Get Him]

Hmm, perhaps you're right!!! In that case, maybe I'm not sorry you got messy, then~.

[ He is… a little sorry, especially since Elsword's clothes are white, but he thinks maybe it's alright. That can still probably be cleaned out. Mizuki adjusts himself a moment after, sliding himself off of Elsword to lie on his back next to him, leaving them both to stare at the spotless, white ceiling.

His voice gets just a little softer. ]

… I'm glad that despite everything, you can still be happy through all this.

[All he owns are white shirts. He'll wear black one time and all of you are gonna freak out on him.]

...I don't know if I stopped being happy. [He murmurs, rolling onto his side to look at Mizuki.] Maybe I've been overwhelmed this month, and it's always hard for me to feel things. I realised I'd never be normal ever again, and that sucked, but...

The Illuminous Phenomenon can't stop me from being happy. Not here. Not with you.

[ Mizuki wouldn't. Shirts are just shirts, man. Unless you're wearing neon colors that don't match. Mizuki won't say anything, still, but he might get punched in the face by me specifically-

Anyway, Mizuki listens to Elsword, and there's a sort of wistfulness to him as he does. Mizuki couldn't fathom what it's like to have his feelings taken away from him. Cicero had once described emotions as the thing that makes them most human. It wasn't entirely true - it's not like Seaborn don't feel. But everything is very instinctive in their feelings. Hunger. Survival. Reproduce. Primal in all the Seaborn gods… All but the Arbor, anyway.

Growth. A want for its kin to coexist with humans. A want for them to evolve into better versions of themselves. To be the very best self they can be, even if their individuality is questionable at best, nonexistent at worst. It's through Cicero's teachings that he'd learned the Caerula Arbor's will. 'Experience the beauty of the world. Absorb the good from all around you. Give unto others the same.'

In a way, this is exactly what he wanted to give Elsword. Maybe not "goodness," in the sense of morality, but "goodness" in the sense of feeling. Of being happy. It's what Mizuki wants for everyone, truly, but for the boy who has trouble feeling, perhaps he gets this part of Mizuki even more. ]

[ Or maybe it's a bias, something Mizuki realizes when his heart ends up in his throat at those last three words. Mizuki doesn't even try to hide the blue that heats his face, the bioluminescent freckles shining brighter than ever, even through the various paint that covers his face. His mouth opens slightly, and part of him tries to convince himself that he should just laugh it off. There's no way Elsword meant that in any way that isn't platonic. And, like, even if he did, it didn't matter. Mizuki didn't feel that way about Elsword. Mizuki likes seeing him and Add together, why would he ever?

…But now he's thinking about it more, and the thought of Add telling him the same thing makes him feel so light and airy, but also like his stomach is tightening into a black hole?????? Ah??? Aaaaaaaahhhh???

??

?????????????¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿??¿¿?????¿????????????¿¿¿¿¿¿¿??????????????????¿?

Wait hold on, what the fuck is going on? ]

[ But everything is perfect right now, isn't it? The atmosphere, the slight breathlessness of running around like fools for some silly activity, lying together in a cacophony of color, Mizuki could practically hear his heartbeat from here. Or, wait, no, that's Mizuki's own heartbeat pounding in his ears. He reaches forward, though, gently putting his hands on both of Elsword's cheeks and pulls him gently towards him.

This is almost exactly a scene out of one of his otomes. All it's missing is the sweet sound of a slow, soft soundtrack, maybe with a piano. Or, no, Elsword seems like he'd be more of an acoustic guitar. Something sweet and light that reminds people of sunlight. He wonders if he would like music like that? He wonders what the options here would be if this were an otome?

The only one Mizuki can think of is to kiss him.

So he closes the rest of the distance and gently presses their lips together. ]

[So Elsword is noticing a pattern here and that is, apparently, that people really want to kiss him. And in fact, people will just do that. The thing is, this isn't as out of left field as it felt with BB — this feels like a natural progression of things, and it's clear Mizuki isn't doing it to fuck with him or to, God forbid, slurp the mana out of him via his mouth or whatever BB's deal was.

This is also just a lot sweeter. More saccharine. Far more innocent than BB's kiss or even, hell, the one he shared with Add where they made out pretty much immediately. It's nice... and... he cannot be doing this, sorry Mizuki.

Elsword gently puts a hand on Mizuki's shoulder, gives it a second, and pulls back. He's not offended or even mad, just respectfully moving the jellyfish off of him.]

...we should probably ask Add first, right?

[You know. "Are you okay with us making out on the floor" or something.]

[ There's a moment where Mizuki almost looks a little dazed. The same expression he might have after pulling him out of one of his video game comas, but it quickly shifts into fluster and shock. If he were in a Ghibli film, he would be fluffing up immensely. ]

W-why did I do that? Is that not what you wanted? No! Maybe?? No!!! …I don't know!!!

[ Mizuki slaps his hands in front of his face. ]

Then why did you do that?

[ He doesn't mean to keep saying his thoughts out loud. Or, rather, Our thoughts. He's just actually dying from embarrassment and just sort of taking all the filters off — filters that really really need to stay in place but right now he's going through his metamorphosis to turn into a blueberry. He's Violet Beauregarde now, about to be hoisted off by the Oompa Loompas to be squeezed. ]

I don't know…?????

[ Life is hard for a sea jelly. ]

P-please disregard that. That was a mistake. Okay? Okay???

Mizuki—

[Oh no, our Mizuki... he's broken!!

Elsword really doesn't know what to make of the talking to himself thing, but that's okay, half of his friends talk to themselves too. He figures it's the same thing and doesn't think much more on it, instead reaching out with a paint-covered hand to pat Mizuki on the shoulder again. There, there.]

Hey, it's okay. That stuff happens. [DOES IT????] But consider it disregarded. Water under the... uh. Path. [No.] No worries.

[haha he's gonna have to tell add about this]

[ Huff. No, no, no, this isn't right. Mizuki sits up. ]

Y-you shouldn't be so forgiving! [ Mizuki feels incredibly guilty, and just being forgiven feels… wrong. ] That was super not okay, especially because I really respect you and Add and I-I don't want there to be anything—

I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry, that wasn't supposed to happen. I won't ever do that again. Ah- w-we should leave this room and go get cleaned up and just call it for the day, I think, I-I kind of feel like that's for the best…

[ He's not even going to wait for Elsword to respond. He's just getting up to go to the door. ]

[Elsword registers that guilt and opens his mouth to say "no no it's really fine", but Mizuki's already gunned it to the door by the time he can find words, so... uh. Oops. He lays there in the paint for a half-minute longer, stunned, rolling to look at Mizuki over the top of his head as he books it.

...

Okay. He's dragging himself to his feet and following after. Somehow paint got into his shoes. Squish squish squish as he jogs after the little guy.]

Wanna go to the bathhouse? [Elsword do you not think that will make Mizuki's situation WORSE?] I don't wanna get paint out of the bathtub at home. I think the bathhouse resets all the grime that gets into it, like the paint room does.

[ Mizuki starts to calm himself down a bit, and succeeds in doing so for the most part. He waves away some of the blueness of his cheeks. It's okay. It was just a mistake, and he apologized, and Elsword isn't mad. This doesn't need to be anything more than that. Mizuki can just swallow that down and never ever ever ever think about this ever again. Except he knows he's going to, so he'll have to find a different solution. Stop talking to Elsword? He doesn't want to do that, either. That would be worse than being obsessively attached to him and making both Elsword and Add end up hating him, actually.

And he thinks he's doing a good job of this, until Elsword catches up and asks for the bathhouse. They just shared a kiss and he's-- no. He's just offering something that makes sense. Mizuki had just said they needed to clean up, and they do HAVE a bathhouse, but… everything aches? He doesn't like this, actually. Elsword isn't teasing him, but it feels like he is. Elsword is being thoughtful, but somehow also completely thoughtless at the same time. So what do you intend to do?

Feelings are hard, aren't they? It's no wonder We Many is confused by them so constantly. Maybe being a purely instinctually being has it's perks, too.

Mizuki stares at Elsword for a moment, trying to contemplate what to say. He wants to. Both to get clean, and because he does want to keep spending time with him. It's not a good idea, though, and he's aware of this. Then again, it's not like he'd be seeing much of Elsword he hasn't already seen - the boy hardly wears clothes as is. (Mizuki's the same way, really.) He can see the scars and his skin, and most of the definition of his muscles, and… that bite mark on his shoulder. It's not his. Add seemed against it when they talked, too, so he doubts it's his.

Someone else isn't allowed to claim our things. Elsword isn't his, though. Neither is that doctor, yet you still bit him.

…

Sorry, Elsword. Between Mizuki's overwhelm and that, he doesn't answer. He simply stops in front of Elsword and sinks his teeth right into that bite mark to leave his own there instead.

Should've just taken the gifts and left him alone, buddy- ]

[Mizuki may or may not have seen Ain hanging off of him earlier in the month... like literally hanging off of him, arms around his neck and just dangling. Maybe he'll be able to pinpoint just who that old bite came from. (He has no idea where the angel wandered off to; probably draped around Ezell still? He's been a little weird about that guy.) Elsword doesn't think much of it; all of his friends bite him. Eve bites him and gaslights him about biting him, Ciel and Raven have bitten him before, Noah and Laby commonly bite the nearest thing they can find, Ain is usually constantly trying to chew a hole into him. To Elsword, this is all normal shit. It... says a lot about his patience that his reaction to biting is "oh yeah that happens" (it most certainly does fucking not, just like random kisses simply do not "just happen").

So. Mizuki stops him, and Elsword glances down at him like "?" as if he's expecting Mizuki to say no, he's good actually, he's gonna go fill the river with paint and piss off the River Guardian who is just Doing Its Best...

...

And then Mizuki clamps down over that old bite, and there's a renewed sting there, flesh being pierced. Mizuki's teeth are a lot sharper than Ain's (don't tell him he'll get jealous), and whereas Ain has to actually physically bruise his skin to actually get his canines buried in there... Mizuki does not. Mizuki has carnivore teeth, and it's so easy to flawlessly puncture through an old wound and make a new one right over it.

For what it's worth, Elsword doesn't have much of a reaction other than—]

Ow.

[—and he slightly flinches, patting Mizuki's shoulder with his paint hand again.]

...is that a no? [dude.]

[ Well, at least Mizuki pulls away soon after the initial bite. He even spits out what little liquid had made it into his mouth because most of it ended up being paint. Uuuugh. ]

Okay, don't... eat the paint in there. It's not good. [ Yeah, no one intended to eat the paint, Mizuki. ] ...Ah. That... That's going to... [ Sigh. ] Sorry, I- We have to clean that before it gets infected.

[ How does he explain himself here? He doesn't want to. He doesn't care if Elsword gets mad, Mizuki thinks he kind of deserves it at this point. And yet, he's still grabbing Elsword's hand to quickly drag him over to the bathhouse.

Assuming there's no resistance, he's going to look around the bathhouse when they get there for something to use to pour water over Elsword, gesturing to one of the baths. ]

I'll fetch you bandages after we get it clean.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/3

no subject

3/3 Rolled a Nat 20 so uh--

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

cw: biting, yan bs - *Do you ever just roll two nat20s* I'm so sorry Elsword

no subject

no subject

cw: biting, yan bs - Do you ever just roll two nat20s I'm so sorry Elsword