012/002 ♐ sensitivity! sensitivity! ⚙ ᴏᴘᴇɴ

[grimgrimoire]

Characters: Equius AU (guest starring Eridan), Ienzo, and YOU.
Setting: Dormitory hallways, and then anywhere at all. (Bargain prices up against the wall!) Backdated to noontime on the fifteenth.
Format: Action. I'll change to match.
Summary: Derps with recorders. Equius (Pet, early stages) is mamaloguing the shit out of his poor matesprit (and being very loud as he does so), and Ienzo (Howl/Lovely Ladies) is being a creepy creeper who creeps. He wants to experiment on yooooooooou.
Warnings: Words. Also a Disgaea!Mao-level creeper warning for Ienzo; there is a good chance your character will die if you tag him.

Part One: Equius ♐

[Walking down the hallway today are two trolls… well, okay. Maybe “walking” is a strong word. One of them, a rather tall yellowblood, is walking. The other one, jadeblooded and supremely confused, is being dragged along after the first with a weirdly clingy variant of holding hands. There’s a little mechanical bug flying along behind them; close inspection reveals that it’s a little babby robotic Virgin Mother Grub. It seems to be batting at the yellowblood’s arms, but every time it does, he abruptly jerks his charge to a different position. Usually one that involves holding said charge very tight to his chest. And also intense glaring.]

[Yeah, Equius decided to tinker with the heart recorders. Unfortunately, through it he has discovered his inner Kankri, and is now monologuing the everloving daylights out of his poor matesprit. But hey – at least it’s just the early stages! Hope you weren’t planning to get anything done the day of the sixteenth, Eridan, because he will not let you. But in the meantime, it’s just an innocent nagging vaguely reminiscent of a certain Queen’s ramblings about her son the Prince and marriage. However, he’s still paying attention to the surroundings; if anyone gets too close, he will stop abruptly and move the two of them away in much the same way he does to the mechanical Mother Grub.

[The mamalogue: spoken as rapidly as is possible to do without sacrificing clarity.]

…You know you can’t keep staying in that room, Eridan, it’s really not good for anything if you do. Roommates are just terrible news as a general rule, and yours are just bad. They’re going to ruin your life, I can tell you right now, they’re going to ruin your life! I want you to be safe, I really do, that’s all I’m trying to do here – don’t give me that look, Eridan Ampora, I don’t know what else I can do to make it clear to you that I’m really not here for anything, anything, except to keep you out of harm’s way. You deserve to be! I’m just saying, there are a lot of monsters in this Tower, and not all of them are the kind that wander the floors at night. We really have to find somewhere else for you to stay. You can’t sleep down in one of the lower floors – oh, god, no, never again, I would hate for that to happen to you, you’d be miserable – but maybe another dormitory would get past the no-sleep law? I’m sure it would. Another dormitory. We can make some kind of arrangement for you in mine, I’m sure we can kick one of my roommates out for a while, or at least share, one of them sleeps at odd hours anyway I’m pretty sure. But the long and short of it is you have to get closer to me. We have to stick together. Because who else is going to take all of these precautions for you, hm, Eridan? Jade? No! All Jade’s going to do is shrug and slap you on the shoulder and say “You can do it, go get ‘em,” but that’s not good enough. That’s not even remotely close to good enough. There’s only one person who really cares about you and really worries about your health and your happiness and your future, and that’s what we’re talking about right now – get back here! – and I want to make myself absolutely clear: it’s for your own good, okay? This is all for your own good. Because obviously you can’t seem to take care of yourself any longer, just look at you! How much shorter are you than me? Half a foot? Half a foot! And you’re thinner. See, this is the kind of thing I’m concerned about, Eridan. I’m not sure you can think of all these things on your own, eating and sleeping and not dying and stuff like that, and that’s why I’m here. Now, come on – come on now – Eridan, that is not the way to the kitchens!

[Note: replies can come from chronomancer as well if he has something to say.]

Part Two: Ienzo ⚙

[Meanwhile, for a somewhat different flavor of maniacal Valentine’s shenanigans, particularly unfortunate individuals may find a short man in a lab coat creeping around the Tower. And we do mean creeping. He may walk as a shadow along the wall, or appear from nowhere, humming a happy tune; any monsters he should run across are promptly put down with an unusual amount of disregard for examining their corpses afterward. The monsters were all peanuts, as far as he was concerned. There were much more interesting things he could be cutting up and examining than monsters.]

[Such as, for example, other residents!]

[If someone is in bad enough relation to luck, they will find Ienzo walking up to them from within a wall, a shadow given form. He’s grinning, grinning in a way that he swore – quite a while ago – he would never grin again. And he’s holding out a little heart-shaped tape recorder. On the label, written in red Sharpie with little hearts drawn around the side, is the word ‘Howl’ .]

[Want to help him out in his experiments?]

Comments

You misspelled "wonderful" there

[grimgrimoire]

What, the monsters?

[He glances down at them and shrugs.]

Not tonight, particularly. I have more than enough notes on that species. I take it you were, though?

Fffft with my lateness my wonderful title must have been revoked

[notsogrimreaper]

Ah, just a little. I'm trying to get rid of a couple so that the Tower's a little safer...

Oh, you study them? Are you a scientist then?

LIES

[grimgrimoire]

That's very noble of you. Even though it seems that new monsters get morphed in regularly, you can at least lighten the load.

Yes, I am! I've taken to a bit of biology on the topic of these monsters because the rest of the Tower's magic is still far too mysterious to tamper with. I don't want to doom us all, after all! [Slightly untrustworthy smile.]

orz

[notsogrimreaper]

A-Ah, not really. I'm just doing my part, is all.

[Ryoji's used to slightly off smiles, he's always using them to hide his self-hatred, so he just assumes that the other is in a nad mood.]

That's a good idea. At least if we can figure some things out about the monsters, we could figure out how to get rid of them easier. Do you think there's any way I can help out?

[grimgrimoire]

Oh, certainly!

I have here a recording of a cry from one of the creatures. I heard it the other night and couldn't figure out which one it was. It's been... bothering me for a while now, so while I can certainly take your notes on the kinds of monsters you have seen, would you mind listening to this first?

[notsogrimreaper]

I don't mind hearing it! I don't think I know about all the monsters here yet, but I can give it a shot.

[He is hopeful that he does know which one it is, though. He doesn't want to let anyone down.]

[grimgrimoire]

Fantastic.

[Ienzo pulls out the heart-shaped tape recorder and, before Ryoji can respond, presses the Play button. No monster cry comes out of the speaker; instead it's Lovely Ladies from the horribly depressing Earth musical Les Misérables.]

[notsogrimreaper]

Huh? W-Wait-

[Ryoji backs off, trying to ignore the funny feeling he's getting in his head. Something's telling him to flirt with whoever he sees, and while normally, he doesn't have a problem with casual remarks, to want say those things to everyone is abnormal, even for him.]

That's not a monster... what's going on?

[grimgrimoire]

[Not a monster? Are you sure about that, Ryoji?]

It's all part of the... experiment. [Enjoy this sly grin. Ienzo himself is more or less asexual under normal circumstances, but he expected to get a little bit flirty messing around with this song. That doesn't distract him from his real mission, though. He casually switches the tapes, returning 'Lovely Ladies' to his pocket and pulling out another one instead; this tape says, simply, Howl.]

Second phase, friend. Do the same thing with this one.

[notsogrimreaper]

[Ryoji would have been terrified if he had properly heard Ienzo and knew that he was nothing more than a test subject. Unfortunately, by that point the tape's effects have gotten to him. He takes the tape from Ienzo's hands, letting his hand linger over the other man's a touch longer than necessary as he beams at him.]

Of course. I'll listen to whatever you want... as long as the only thing I hear tonight is you!

[Thanks to the tape, Ryoji's terrible pick-up lines are coming out, but Ienzo will have a lot more to worry about once Ryoji hears the Howl tape.]

[grimgrimoire]

[Well then they're both going to be in a massive race to see who can cut the other one up first, apparently. This will be special. In the meantime, he starts playing the Howl tape, moving closer to Ryoji as he does so.]

Oh, you certainly will...

[...hear him LAUGHING MANIACALLY.]

[notsogrimreaper]

[As Ryoji hears the next song, he shifts closer to Ienzo, playful smile widening a bit more as his eyes show the slightest hint of possessiveness.

When the song ends, he grabs Ienzo's hand, the one with the tape recorder in it, and places his other hand over top of it.]

Now come on, haven't we heard enough sappy songs for one day? I'd rather do something more entertaining.

[grimgrimoire]

You are absolutely right, my friend. [He doesn't even know Ryoji's name. Whoops! Somewhere off to the side, a massive dark portal opens up, and Ienzo begins to guide him closer to it by the hands.]

[notsogrimreaper]

[Ryoji doesn't know Ienzo's name either, but he doesn't really care. What matters is that this other boy is his now. He doesn't even question the portal as he follows his 'lover' through it.]

omg this is going to end so, so badly

[grimgrimoire]

[And once they go through, they will come out near the center of the Laboratory floor.]

[...Wow, Ienzo. Kinky.]

But badly for which one of them? XP

[notsogrimreaper]

[Ryoji gives the lab a brief glance, but isn't too concerned. It doesn't really matter where they are, so long as he has Ienzo all to himself. He actually takes his hands away from Ienzo's, placing them on his chest to push him back towards the table.]

Now, are you going to keep up your end of the bargain? You said I'd get to hear only you for the rest of the night.

Both, of course.

[grimgrimoire]

Oh yes.

[ òvó ]

[It seems Ienzo has other plans. He takes Ryoji's shoulders and stops him from pushing, instead trying to turn the tangle of limbs around so Ryoji is the one who ends up falling on the table.]

This is a terrible first impression for the both of them.

[notsogrimreaper]

[Ryoji may allow himself to be turned around, but he's not letting Ienzo get what he wants that easily. He pulls the other boy with him as he falls, and he won't be letting go without quite a bit of persuasion or a lot of force... and he may leave a few marks if Ienzo tries the latter.]

Sob.

[grimgrimoire]

[Oh, that's how you want to play, Ryoji? Ienzo can work with that. Marks, too, he can work with marks. One hand grips his shoulder, while the other goes into the air; he snaps his fingers once, and ropes immediately appear from nowhere, attempting to wrap around every limb of Ryoji's they can reach. Apparently he likes it that way... but no, he just has to tie down patients because otherwise they tend to get in the way of the operation.]

He'll forgive you? If you'll forgive his horrible come ons.

[notsogrimreaper]

[Ryoji gives a small whine of disapproval as his arms are forced off of Ienzo and onto the table. His legs are restrained as well, and though he struggles for a moment, eventually he just smirks.]

Well, if you like it like this, then I suppose I shouldn't complain... I just wanted to make you moan.

At least he HAS come-ons. Ienzo? Not so much.

[grimgrimoire]

Oh, I will.

[Too bad you'll be too dead to hear it!]

[Yeah he... doesn't actually want anything from you, Ryoji. This is all for the sake of his true love, SCIENCE.]

Poor Ienzo

[notsogrimreaper]

[Ryoji wants something from Ienzo, but the chances of him getting it in this position are slim. He shifts around a bit, testing his restraints. They seem pretty firm, though Thanatos could probably break through them in a second. Still, he's unsuspecting of Ienzo's true intentions, so he doesn't mind staying like this.]

Then let me hear you. I really love your voice...

He suffers so much from his lack of flirting skills.

[grimgrimoire]

Of course. [His voice is best voice, don'cha know. Ienzo squirms around a bit on the table; he seems to have changed objectives briefly. Instead of holding the other down so he can cut him to ribbons, the scientist instead seems concerned with making them both comfortable as he leans on his elbows over Ryoji's head.] You're no gravel-mouth yourself, you know.

Well, if it helps, Ryoji suffers from having flirting skills...

[notsogrimreaper]

[Ryoji grins up at him, staring at the mouth those lovely words are coming from. He wants to try to move, pull him closer so he can see every last detail, keep his face embedded in his memory, keep Ienzo himself forever.]

You're sweet...

[grimgrimoire]

[Ienzo makes a small noise in the back of his throat, one of endearment.] So are you. And I promise... you won't have to settle for the rest of the night, either. [He runs his finger along Ryoji's cheekbone, and then climbs off of the compromising position, standing on the lab floor again.] You'll be hearing my voice 'til the end of your life.