citylogs | ( semi-open ) though it may hurt today

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( semi-open ) though it may hurt today

WHO: Roland (

gradenine) & some of you guys
WHAT: July catchall + event
WHERE: Vaults, then some formalwear shop (get in losers we're going shopping)
WHEN: The rest of July
WARNINGS: Major Ruina and Leviathan spoilers in the first prompt. Death, murder, the usual Project Moon warnings apply, probably. Please refer to his opt-out for more info.

art credit | plotting comment | event log
hmu if you want a starter!

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[ kaveh looks. it isn't the first time he's been asked this question, though the last time there had been a man with a bug arm and some kind of joint neurosis involved - this time, kaveh has an armful of what looks to be jackets of various cuts and shades, colours brimming forth from the already bright-yellow of the jacket he's chosen to don today. the blue of the thin, ruffled cotton shirt beneath trails in a way that complements the float of the teal feather tucked behind his ear. across from him, in contrast, is a man wearing the sagacity of the deep night, dark against white on a canvas of sharp lines and narrowed eyes. he is also holding an array of ties. they all happen to be black.

well, kaveh thinks, they're congruent. and then, because he's been asked to, kaveh really takes a look, ]

Well, first is that the blacks have to match. Do you plan on wearing what you've got on already? And where do you plan to go? [ that shouldn't be a question, though, kaveh realises, because this is the city where there really isn't anywhere to go. but it could be a date of some kind, or someone might want to dress up nicely for a fight. kaveh's seen enough these past few days that he's too tired to rule out any shenanigans.

he shifts his bundle of clothing in his arms carefully, then considers the man up and down. down, then with a slow elevator crawl back up in a series of mental measurements. ] And with your height, you'd want a tie that's a little bit shorter, unless you plan to tuck it beneath your lapel. Come here, stand in the light where I can see you a little better. Is your suit cotton? Did you have it tailored?

[ ...eh?

now, here's a guy who looks and acts like a nest kid from the get-go. roland doesn't always know how to act around fancy-looking guys that aren't chesed, but at least this one knows what he's talking about? maybe?? who even knows. it's not like most fixers give a shit about fashion in their world, unless their office uniforms are already that fancy like the ones from liu association.

but roland... he's Just A Guy, a fixer from a one-man office. nothing special, in other words. he steps into the light as kaveh instructed watches the blond man give him the most judgmental once-over, mentally sweating at the questions the guy's firing at him. ]

Uhh, nowhere. Don't really have anywhere else to go from here. [ obviously. ] As for the material, I don't really recall. This suit's custom-made for my job, and it has to be durable as possible to endure all the blows I take, y'know?

[ he does not know, roland. the guy has probably never had the need to pick up a sword to fight in his life. ]

[ the nest kid: currently being his nest-iest carefully examining the set of roland's suit. fascinating, kaveh thinks. custom-made material that is durable, and can withstand blows. and yet the suit itself still contains a neat and classic line all the way from lapel to hem.

kaveh side-steps to examine the side profile, and then, with a dip of his head, examines the hem of the cuff with a thoughtful hum - and it's thin, too. perhaps not breathable, but suits like those typically aren't. it doesn't make them any less effective, but it also means that they're likely terrible to try and wash. ]

What sort of blows? Edged force, blunt force, or elemental force? [ wait, teyvatian elemental laws don't apply - oh, but that doesn't meant there aren't comparable ones. kaveh considers this, and lets the question stand for itself. in any case: ] Well, in any case, your suit is matte. You see here? [ kaveh's head tilts in askance, before he gently taps roland's sleeve. ] It doesn't quite catch the light in any kind of noticeable sheen. The ties you've picked out seem to be pure silk; they're catching the light just fine. Any one of those that you pick will draw the eyes to your chest in a way that's incongruous with the way you look. It's also dangerous, isn't it? Assailants will aim for whatever they see first.

[ hm. kaveh straightens. ] Come with me. I thought I saw a few more ties in the back. There has to be one that matches; and have you thought about tie pins? Or cufflinks?

[ oh, wow. look at him firing all sorts of questions like a gunner from Full Stop Office... ]

Oh, all three of them. I don't always encounter ones that use the elements, but I did fight off the Liu Association guys a while back and those guys can really pack a lot of fire in their punches.

[ like, literally. still, it's always fascinating to listen to someone who seems to know their stuff quite well, and it's actually refreshing to meet a tailor who isn't a weirdo this time around. kaveh's just passionate, and as someone who doesn't really have a lot of passion outside of cooking, roland can only nod along to whatever he has to say. ]

But yeah, exactly. I'm not the type to stick out at all, so the plainer I look the better. Still, I want a tie for normal days - well, as normal as it can be in this City.

[ haha, a normal city. what a joke. in any case, roland follows kaveh to another display with better looking swatches, looking even more and more perplex. ]

Uh, no, I haven't really thought about pins or cufflinks either. Just 'cause we're in a formalwear shop doesn't mean I'm planning to get married. [ never mind the fact that he was married, once upon a time. ] You a tailor or something?

I'm Kaveh, actually, first and foremost. I'm also an architect. [ it's said with a self-deprecating little smile, the kind that speaks to a not very funny in-joke. but kaveh continues as he navigates them past rows upon rows of blacks and silks and cotton composites: ] I just happen to have had a very good tailor. He never stopped complaining about how my torso was just a little too short, and my arms a little too long. The man was a miraclemaker, which made up for how often he threatened to never tailor for me again. But because of that, I learned a thing or two about textiles and how it ought to fit on a man's body.

[ fire, though. something about the emphasis suggests to kaveh that it isn't just a mere figure of speech. protection against pyro energy has always been a priority in sumeru, given the abundance of greenery and the textiles that they have reliable access to. it's just lucky that the rainforest is too humid to allow for unattended fires to catch on too quickly. it suddenly has kaveh wondering what the fire prevention systems are like in a city like this. he hadn't looked into it. it could be relevant.

still: the swatches before them are the kind of lightless monochrome that speaks to technical design. kaveh stops at a display with a thoughtful hum. unloading his own armful of textiles on the case, he reaches over it so that he can take out another set of ties. ]

Ah, for you, I'm thinking something like this. [ his fingers skirt over the material, and then, holding it up, gives roland a critical look-see. ] A bit of subtle elegance, but it doesn't take up the entire show. It's also a little easier to clean if it gets dirty. Try it on; there's also a skinnier version, and I can't tell if it'll look better on you or not if it's not modeled.

An architect... [ roland sounds awed for a moment there. he's talked to plenty of people in all walks of life in his City, but-- ] Never really met an architect who knows his way around fashion, honestly. Or in general, for that matter. I've always thought buildings and such just cropped up overnight like plants.

[ whether it's the ramshackle buildings in the backstreets where they keep piling on more floors as the population grew, or the normal-looking ones in the nests and the pristine skyscrapers backed up with billions of ahn from the wings. the stark difference in architecture is just something that roland has found himself idly thinking every now and then, especially now that he's face to face with someone who must know his stuff.

oh wait, before he forgets: ]

And I'm Roland, by the way.

[ whew!

still, this guy sure is a total nestie if he had his own tailor and stuff. people with money really can be anything they wanna be so long as they can afford it, huh. but no, he can't hold his resentment on this guy just because kaveh's dressed a lot fancier than him! especially when kaveh's going out of his way to present to roland a tie that actually suits his monochrome aesthetic. give roland a moment to take it off kaveh's hands to tie it around his neck like so... ]

Hm. [ he faces the nearby mirror, straightens up the tie a bit more. ] Oh, not bad. Really like the floral texture going on here, too. [ he turns to kaveh with a goofy grin. ] See, see? I'm still the same old guy with a fresh coat of the same color of pain. Or something.

[ overnight like plants, the man introducing himself as roland says. kaveh lets out a noise that's halfway between a laugh and a weary sigh. ]

Indeed, and you look spry for it. Let me have a look, here - [ kaveh looks. up, and down, with the critical eye of a man who once spent three days comparing fabric swatches for the upholstery for a new divan because he needed the exact flower pattern that would best accentuate the angular lines of the rug he'd just purchased, and nobody was willing to measure if the flower vines were exactly .03 milimetres in diametre for him. couldn't possibly understand why.

roland looks fresh, kaveh thinks. it may be bias, but he rather likes the way the little extra bit of curve along the floral pattern gives the eye something digest that isn't entirely straight lines. kaveh hums, pleased, and pulls out the skinnier version of it to compare. ] Ah, there we go. I'd thought so. The thicker one fits the cut of your suit better. It's because of the angle of your lapel, you see. But the skinnier one should be fine as an off-tie if you need to get the other one washed.

[ kaveh straightens. ] And as for the buildings - I'm certain they didn't pop up overnight, and that some architect in your city would be happy for the acknowledgement! But I must admit that I'm not certain about the buildings in this city. Everything is a bit too uniform. They even broke ground the same way. You don't get that with human labour.

[ ... and, of course, in the end, because he is still kaveh - that lilt of hope seeds in like a stowaway long the edge of his voice: ] Now... um, can I convince you on the matter of earrings, perhaps?

[ is looking spry a good thing? roland doesn't ask. he also doesn't inquire further about the other commentary kaveh has on the adjustment of his overall look either. does it matter if the tie is thick or thin? does the angle of the lapel matter if his life is on the line? even if he isn't from the titular City anymore, the fact that people can kill or be killed here with relatively little consequence continues to loom in his mind. artsy guys like kaveh possibly can't understand.

so he just nods and hums in agreement to help fill the lack of further commentary on his part. sorry kaveh, he wishes he got something worthwhile to say except: ]

You mean the architecture around this place wasn't built with human hands? [ huh. ] Well, the party they held for us in our first month here felt like an imitation of one, if that makes sense. Like they just put out fun-looking things that they thought humans would enjoy.

It's eerie, if you ask me.

[ very eerie, and one of the people he can safely call his closest peers isn't even human. it's that fucked up. ]

[ anyway he freezes at the prospect of earrings because uhhhh -- ]

E-Earrings? I mean, nothing wrong with that, of course. [ he'd probably worn them in more feminine-looking EGO when he was breaking down BUT ] It's just... Are they necessary?

[ aren't they going to make him look prettier. ]

[ an imitation of one, kaveh thinks, as he considers the premise. it doesn't surprise him, though he wishes that perhaps he had been around to see it for himself. something that stilted and in mimicry of human enjoyment offers insight into the viewpoint of whoever made this place into a reality. that they bothered with a party at all, actually, is a surprise to kaveh that he supposes he can ask more about later.

but more importantly, clearly: ]

Well, no. Not necessary. But if we're not going to go with link cuffs or a tie pin, then a little bit of extra accessorising couldn't hurt. [ kaveh's eyes gleam. in case roland has time to protest, he launches rapidly into his pitch. you have to be quick about this sort of thing, just in case: ] They won't get in the way, if that's your concern. Not all earrings have to dangle, or even be fancy. A pair of simple, silver studs can go a long way to accessorise and compliment the rest of your outfit without detracting from it. Not to mention that it really will give you a 'new coat of paint', so to speak, and opens up the options for other coats of paint in the future.

[ a beat. ] And piercings don't really hurt.

[ that gleam in his eyes... jeez, that passion when it comes to the arts and aesthetics is completely unfamiliar with roland. it's unlike the way netzach usually is despite being the patron librarian of the floor of art -- but it's also kind of like how don is when it comes to fixers?

but anyway, roland can't help it if he gets whisked up in someone's interests, and kaveh's certainly no exemption. ]

Eh, I've been shot at plenty of times and lived. A little piercing on the ear is nothing if we're only talking about studs.

[ he shrugs. ngl, he is starting to get the appeal the more he thinks about it... hmmm. ]

Any idea on the kind of earrings I should wear, then?

[ cavalier, kaveh thinks, with his personal safety. or perhaps someone who uses humour to make the best of things? something in him tells him the likelihood skews towards both at once, and they both speak to a pattern of living that likely puts roland in some danger. it's congruent with the need for a suit that can protect from injuries.

kaveh's smile softens. he gives roland another critical eye. black and whites, a bit of floral pattern to his tie. ]

I'm inclined to agree on studs. They're easy to maintain, they don't get in the way, and there's just enough of an accent to bring you to a polished shine. [ now then... colours. ] Silver, I think. You're that sort of man. You can also get away with black studs, but that might be a bit much all by itself considering your usual monochrome. What are your thoughts about a silver backing or frame, with a dark jewel in the middle? It'll still go with your colour coordination, but it adds a little extra to it.

[ roland still can't get over that impeccable eye kaveh has. it's not like vergilius the red gaze's, though it helps that kaveh has red eyes as well though they don't glow in a threatening way like the former. no, he's more like chesed but with fashion and aesthetics instead of coffee, isn't he? ]

Sounds good. And that depends on the color of the jewel itself...

[ more thoughtful humming. maybe red? blue? purple? the possibilities are endless. ]

I might wanna wear it on special occasions, like festivals or things like that. Dunno if they have something like that in this City, though. And speaking of jewelry, I don't think I see any shops around that sell them -- they're probably at that mall that hasn't been opened yet.

Well, given how this city is, someone enterprising will throw a festival at some point or another. And if they do, given the circumstances, I think we ought to all pitch in to make it happen. You'll then have a place to dress up for.

[ kaveh considers this. then, of course, because he is kaveh, he brightens. ] And while it's true that I have yet to see a jewellery store, I suspect I can do a bit of improvisation. I'm no jeweler, but fine glass and metal are things that I've experience with. Let me get back to you, see what I can do.

[ this is, totally, a very reassuring pat on your shoulder, roland. the lack of jewelry stores may not have got you, but kaveh's got you (?). ]

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( semi-open ) though it may hurt today

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sorry for the delay! work busy's over, so i'm back. cracks those knuckles

otsukare...... ive been busy myself too so. we out here 💪

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