Kadoc Zemlupus (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
impostorsyndrome) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
isleofavalon2022-01-09 08:53 pm
impostorsyndrome) wrote in isleofavalon2022-01-09 08:53 pm
January catchall with some oak barrel aged December
🧙 WHO: Kadoc and others, including perhaps you(r character)?! CR should definitely poke in for holiday gift fun!
⚔️️ WHAT: Catch-all for January and even some backdated into late December, because That's Life Babey! Event, holidays, TDM!
🕒 WHEN: Late December through mid-January
🗺️ WHERE: Nicnevin to begin with, then the Forest Camp and Camelot after the event
⚠️ WARNINGS: oops I forgot to do this part. None right now, will add as needed!
1. December 22nd: I Say Thee Neigh; for Klaudia
[Remember last month in Nicnevin, on the 21st-22nd, when that wacky dead horse rap battle thing happened? Boy, Kadoc will. For a long time to come. Let's flash back to that day and set the scene:
What's the only thing sadder than losing a rap battle? Not even putting up a fight. Kadoc, despite knowing what Mari Lwyd is and knowing damn well he's staying in Magical Trickster Country where everything should probably be treated as potentially real and dangerous, had just shut the door in the horse's face when it had come knocking, totally unwilling to bend and play along—and now he's paying the price. He should have realized! He'd had a comparable wealth of safe food just yesterday afternoon, and now he's lost everything, and it kinda serves him right for being a killjoy. Kill not your cringe, but the part of you that cringes!
It's been a day. He's getting hungry. So finally, he's subjecting himself to a different kind of cringe: here he is sitting on a bench in the residential area holding a sign that says]
LOST ALL MY FOOD TO A SKELETON HORSE BECAUSE I CAN'T RAP
can't believe this is my life now
[just in case some kind soul with extra to spare happens to take pity on him.
At least he can't possibly be the only one this happened to, can he?!]
2. January 1st: New Year, New Awww You Shouldn't Have; for all CR
[Kadoc hadn't managed to get anything out for anyone for Christmas; he'd had grand plans, and then run into a stupid snag, procrastinated on them, and half given up on the idea entirely when it had become too late to do anything in time. But on the holiday itself, when he'd been showered in thoughtful gifts, way beyond what he'd expected . . . there's nothing like other people's kindness and care to shame him, I mean inspire him, to get over himself and go hire an alchemist already at his personal expense to do the thing he'd wanted to do in the first place.
So people are getting New Year's gifts instead. On New Year's Day, people who know Kadoc well (and definitely anyone who gave him a gift themselves) will be receiving packages in the mail; each one contains a rectangle of fabric, the size of a postcard, framed under glass. Each piece of fabric is enchanted via the spell from this event with an intricate moving pattern. The patterns are all different, individually tailored to the person receiving them.
They come with a note:]
New Year's gifts aren't a thing, so you can probably tell this is a week late. Sorry about that. I won't waste this letter explaining or apologizing, except for the one I just did. And honestly, I'm not great at being sentimental, so I'm not sure what else to say. Happy new year. We're both here ringing it in together. I just wanted you to know I appreciate that.
Kadoc
[You're free to choose what pattern your character got, ask me for details via PM or Discord @ Hen#6953, or comment to this post if you want your character to respond somehow to the gift and I'll make sure to describe it in my reply. I'm easy!]
3. Early January: It's Another Farming Quest!; for Ritsuka
[Kadoc doesn't bake, generally speaking; he cooks, and decently at that, but he leaves the baking to Gareth, and even if this were a cooking competition he wouldn't join it or anything. No competitive confidence in those skills.
So he doesn't really need to go out fetching ingredients. And neither, as far as he can tell, does Fujimaru . . . does she bake? She doesn't bake, does she? So why is she even out here going out of her way to head into the forest to gather things? Why did she insist he come along as her friendly(?) Wilderness Expert?
Why the hell did he say yes?
All this and more on today's Chaldea Farming Mission!
Here he is shaking snow off a small bush to confirm that it is, in fact, rosemary, when he has to pause and squint up at her—the snow is bright, and he wishes he had a spell to dim his vision for this—]
. . . Give it to me straight. Are you just obsessed with resource management stuff or something?
[Like he can talk.]
4. Early January: Sprung a Little Leek; OTA
[Though Kadoc's spending most of his ingredient hunting time being bullied into helping out Ritsuka, once he gets a good idea of what's out there, some of it is worth going back for on his own, for his own purposes. Herbs! Juniper berries! He wants those for stew once he gets back to Camelot!
Of course it's when he's by himself that he makes a stupid rookie mistake and tries one of the leeks, even after engaging its little stupid frowny face in a staring contest for a good few minutes. How bad can it possibly be, he thinks! He should know better by now! How many times do we need to teach you this lesson, old man?!
And that's why just anyone might come across him five minutes later, curled up in the snow some distance from the camp, sobbing his eyes out. He tries to keep his tears wiped off on his sleeve, but to no avail; there are too many of them, crystallizing in his eyelashes in the cold. These . . . are the sad boy hours.
Of course, if he senses anyone approaching, his hiccuping, watery response is,]
'm fine! It's . . . just . . . fine . . .
[Uh-huh.]
5. It's The Wildcard
[I've had a rough go of it this month and last so I don't have a plotting comment up for the month, but please, by all means! Surprise me, or PM me, or hit me up on Discord or Plurk (![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
benthic)! I would definitely be interested in egg babies if anyone's into that, just hmu. Or poke me about a quest or another prompt. Let's 2022!]
⚔️️ WHAT: Catch-all for January and even some backdated into late December, because That's Life Babey! Event, holidays, TDM!
🕒 WHEN: Late December through mid-January
🗺️ WHERE: Nicnevin to begin with, then the Forest Camp and Camelot after the event
⚠️ WARNINGS: oops I forgot to do this part. None right now, will add as needed!
1. December 22nd: I Say Thee Neigh; for Klaudia
[Remember last month in Nicnevin, on the 21st-22nd, when that wacky dead horse rap battle thing happened? Boy, Kadoc will. For a long time to come. Let's flash back to that day and set the scene:
What's the only thing sadder than losing a rap battle? Not even putting up a fight. Kadoc, despite knowing what Mari Lwyd is and knowing damn well he's staying in Magical Trickster Country where everything should probably be treated as potentially real and dangerous, had just shut the door in the horse's face when it had come knocking, totally unwilling to bend and play along—and now he's paying the price. He should have realized! He'd had a comparable wealth of safe food just yesterday afternoon, and now he's lost everything, and it kinda serves him right for being a killjoy. Kill not your cringe, but the part of you that cringes!
It's been a day. He's getting hungry. So finally, he's subjecting himself to a different kind of cringe: here he is sitting on a bench in the residential area holding a sign that says]
can't believe this is my life now
[just in case some kind soul with extra to spare happens to take pity on him.
At least he can't possibly be the only one this happened to, can he?!]
2. January 1st: New Year, New Awww You Shouldn't Have; for all CR
[Kadoc hadn't managed to get anything out for anyone for Christmas; he'd had grand plans, and then run into a stupid snag, procrastinated on them, and half given up on the idea entirely when it had become too late to do anything in time. But on the holiday itself, when he'd been showered in thoughtful gifts, way beyond what he'd expected . . . there's nothing like other people's kindness and care to shame him, I mean inspire him, to get over himself and go hire an alchemist already at his personal expense to do the thing he'd wanted to do in the first place.
So people are getting New Year's gifts instead. On New Year's Day, people who know Kadoc well (and definitely anyone who gave him a gift themselves) will be receiving packages in the mail; each one contains a rectangle of fabric, the size of a postcard, framed under glass. Each piece of fabric is enchanted via the spell from this event with an intricate moving pattern. The patterns are all different, individually tailored to the person receiving them.
They come with a note:]
New Year's gifts aren't a thing, so you can probably tell this is a week late. Sorry about that. I won't waste this letter explaining or apologizing, except for the one I just did. And honestly, I'm not great at being sentimental, so I'm not sure what else to say. Happy new year. We're both here ringing it in together. I just wanted you to know I appreciate that.
Kadoc
[You're free to choose what pattern your character got, ask me for details via PM or Discord @ Hen#6953, or comment to this post if you want your character to respond somehow to the gift and I'll make sure to describe it in my reply. I'm easy!]
3. Early January: It's Another Farming Quest!; for Ritsuka
[Kadoc doesn't bake, generally speaking; he cooks, and decently at that, but he leaves the baking to Gareth, and even if this were a cooking competition he wouldn't join it or anything. No competitive confidence in those skills.
So he doesn't really need to go out fetching ingredients. And neither, as far as he can tell, does Fujimaru . . . does she bake? She doesn't bake, does she? So why is she even out here going out of her way to head into the forest to gather things? Why did she insist he come along as her friendly(?) Wilderness Expert?
Why the hell did he say yes?
All this and more on today's Chaldea Farming Mission!
Here he is shaking snow off a small bush to confirm that it is, in fact, rosemary, when he has to pause and squint up at her—the snow is bright, and he wishes he had a spell to dim his vision for this—]
. . . Give it to me straight. Are you just obsessed with resource management stuff or something?
[Like he can talk.]
4. Early January: Sprung a Little Leek; OTA
[Though Kadoc's spending most of his ingredient hunting time being bullied into helping out Ritsuka, once he gets a good idea of what's out there, some of it is worth going back for on his own, for his own purposes. Herbs! Juniper berries! He wants those for stew once he gets back to Camelot!
Of course it's when he's by himself that he makes a stupid rookie mistake and tries one of the leeks, even after engaging its little stupid frowny face in a staring contest for a good few minutes. How bad can it possibly be, he thinks! He should know better by now! How many times do we need to teach you this lesson, old man?!
And that's why just anyone might come across him five minutes later, curled up in the snow some distance from the camp, sobbing his eyes out. He tries to keep his tears wiped off on his sleeve, but to no avail; there are too many of them, crystallizing in his eyelashes in the cold. These . . . are the sad boy hours.
Of course, if he senses anyone approaching, his hiccuping, watery response is,]
'm fine! It's . . . just . . . fine . . .
[Uh-huh.]
5. It's The Wildcard
[I've had a rough go of it this month and last so I don't have a plotting comment up for the month, but please, by all means! Surprise me, or PM me, or hit me up on Discord or Plurk (
no subject
[HE'S JUST . . . SOME . . . THING. Something. A colleague? Of sorts? Look, don't ask him. Relationships are complicated! And Kadoc's been involved in too many that can't be boiled down to friendship. What did he have with Anastasia? With Wodime? With Pepe? Even with Fujimaru herself? It's not as simple as friendship. Is it? He gets hold of himself, taking a breath to soothe his own fluster.]
We work together sometimes, that's it. Anyway, it'd be different if girichoco were part of my culture, but it's not. It'd be weird as hell for me to start now.
no subject
[ It's not really blaming her, but you know what? She's willing to be the scapegoat in this particular instance. ]
C'mon, is it that weird to think you could be friends with him? He's a pretty nice guy, honestly.
no subject
[He gives her a quick, contemplative look. This is Fujimaru. She has, how many Servants now? He's not even sure of the number, and he's not sure she is, either—that's how many it is. So it stands to reason her perspective on this would be completely unique. Is he jealous of it? . . . He's not sure of that, either.]
Is there a single person you can think of that you'd be totally intimidated if you summoned them as a Servant? I'm curious.
no subject
[ Her brows furrow as she considers the question, sitting back on her heels. Huh. Intimidated, huh... she has to assume he picked that word deliberately, and what it implies. ]
...I don't know. I can't think of anyone, really, but maybe it's just that I haven't thought very hard about something like that. But at this point, I feel like I'm kind of over it.
There are people I know I should be careful with, but I don't know if that's really being scared of them or anything.
no subject
[And if not, that might just be her personality, or it might have more to do with her relationship to history and mythology as compared to Kadoc's. Kadoc is a guy who grew up obsessing over those old stories. The name Beowulf has been on his lips for longer than he can remember. Fujimaru isn't the type, is she?]
no subject
[ She frowns a little, thoughtfully, looking down at her phone without really seeing it. There are hundreds of photos in her gallery, of people that may or may not have truly existed, heroes and historical figures that have been changed and shaped by the expectations and opinions of humanity, and most of them are... pretty candid. Some of them are cool or dramatic shots, but the most are just--people being people.
After a minute, she shakes her head. ]
I don't know. I'm already not really qualified, right? You've said so yourself. So at that point--I guess, not really? I'm just doing my best. I trust anyone who wants to work for me at least realizes that.
no subject
[Damn. He doesn't even get the benefits of being a talentless nobody! He's just barely talented and known enough not to qualify for that! It's a strange thing, to be a little envious of her for that when he's hated it all his life.]
no subject
[ She says that without any rancor, finally turning her attention back to the leeks in the snow. ]
...The real difference is that I really, really wanted to live. I didn't care about impressing anyone or anything like that. I just wanted to live, and the Servants who listened to me asking for help wanted the world to continue on.
That's all, I think.
no subject
[He says again, watching her there, distracted from his own harvesting. He'd known this about her, of course. She'd managed to push through the reality of what she was doing in Russia, and it had been because she wanted to live. Just that. It feels dumb that, for the first time, he's understanding that similarity between them; shouldn't it have been obvious? But there it is, though their exact motivations had been different at the core.]
. . . Me too. I couldn't accept what had happened to me. I should've, but I couldn't. I think that's natural. So if you don't wanna end up in my position, where you've gotta make your peace with the worst when it happens to you . . . you'd better not lose, Fujimaru.
no subject
[ She looks up at him again when she says that, a smile on her face. Nothing about what happens next is going to be easy, and she knows it. She's already so tired from three Lostbelts, and they're not even halfway done. And there's no guarantee that what she's doing even is the right choice. There are doubts that are weighing on her, and she knows that even he must be able to tell.
But also--she's still not alone in this effort. Not all of the Servants that were once in Chaldea have been resummoned, but their numbers were growing by the week when she'd been snatched away here. If anyone is going to succeed, it'll be them. ]
I'm going to win. And if I don't, I'll go down trying.
no subject
[But even as he scolds her, he has to look away from that smile. It's too much. What does he want, huh? For her to win or lose? He doesn't even know anymore. It doesn't even feel relevant, sometimes, but he's pretty sure that's just avoidance in action. Don't have to think about taking sides, or which one you'd throw your life behind, if they both feel like they'd reject you for whatever reason anyway. Don't have to decide what to do with the future if it feels like it's doomed either way.]
no subject
[ He might not be looking at her, but she's still watching him, a lopsided little smile on her face. Maybe in another situation, with a different conversation, she might be stung by the way he's acting. Right now, though, she's just gently amused. For a guy who likes throwing the worst of himself out there for observation, he can be pretty shy with just about everything else. ]
Maybe I really will lose. But if I do, I'll also do everything I can to make it the worst victory for the alien god possible.