OPEN POST 2020.

[legalized]

【my ❝CALL ME OUT❞ post】
get my ass in gear.

♛ here is my muselist. ♛ post "calling" one of them out — you can do so by putting their name in the subject line! ♛ can be informal/formal/comment spam/crosscanon/explicit/whatever tickles your fancy! ♛ feel free to make up a scenario at the start, or wait to see where things go. meme code.

Comments

[ketterdamn]

[ She laughs and he's torn between sighing at her lack of explanation and smiling—because he always does like that sound. In the end, he settles for a fondly exasperated sound, mouth curling up at the corners. ]

Alright, I'll get the details later. [ For now, he's watching the girl swing herself into a hoop that seems dangerously far. Though he doesn't feel quite the same suspense as everyone else. After all, he's seen Inej clear rooftops he'd thought impossible to leap across. Not as confused by how she's managed it, he picks up the stuffed pepper and fork from the tray, cutting off a small portion to try.

By now the next group has come onto the stage, the remnants of the box swept away. The performers are wearing matching bright red costumes and he's not exactly sure what they'll be doing. ]

Acrobats? [ One has a medium sized piece of wood in hand, akin to a stick. Something for a trick? ]

[wraithes]

You'll see.

[ she responds, adjusting her weight slightly so he has free range of motion of his arm. it means no longer properly hugging it to her, but kaz should probably eat his dinner.

kaz is mostly right. the stick has a bit of a flat edge on one side, just narrow enough to maybe put a few fingers on. one acrobat holds the stick in his hand, and the other boosts the third acrobat onto the shoulders of the first. the second acrobat then climbs up the first and third to carefully begin to balance herself on the wooden stick, as the the third acrobat removes himself from the equation, leaving just a single acrobat balancing another on a slim pole.

but the magician returns to the stage, calling out: ]

He says that he's going to make one of them disappear.

[ inej translates, glancing toward kaz and his stuffed pepper, arching her eyebrows. ]

Do you like it?

[ketterdamn]

[ Honestly, he'd been...managing to eat his pepper with limited use of one arm. But he supposes the extra range of motion is helpful. As with most things in this country it's a flavorful thing, even though it's supposed to serve as a snack. It's not bad, though he thinks he liked the curry better. ]

Not bad. Which is your favorite one? [ Obviously she has to like everything she'd brought back, but he's curious. He finishes his pepper as the last acrobat balances on the pole and he sets the wrapper on the tray, folded over. ]

Did you ever do that?

[wraithes]

The fried dough is good.

[ she says with a soft hum, resuming her position as looping her arms back around his arm, resting her cheek on his shoulder. ]

I think that's what reminds me most of home . . . my mother would make it for us after every show. With sugar sprinkled on top. We normally only had the peppers on special occasions.

[ it's better to turn on a profit on them than eat them for yourself. and she, too, turns her attention toward the acrobats. the magician is working up the crowd, waving his hands in broad swipes toward the acrobats. ]

Mhm.

[ but inej's eyes flicker upward, because the girl from the first act swings along the top of the tent from her hoop . . . and she hang upside down, dropping a velvet sheet over the two balancing acrobats . . . and once the girl swings away with the sheet in hand, the top acrobat is gone, leaving nothing behind but a stick. ]

I can balance on top of the pole; not carry it.

[ she continues, as if a whole ass human being didn't just disappear, amidst the audience clapping. ]

Once I was old enough to do the high wire, I mostly stayed there.

[ketterdamn]

[ Mentally, he makes a note to see where else they could find the fried dough in the city. Just so she has a chance to have it more before they go—he's not sure when else she'll get a break like this to enjoy herself in somewhat familiar surroundings.

At least he knows he'd like to come back to do this again sometime, when she can spare the days. And maybe next time he'll be further along in Ravkan than simply being able to say "hello" or "fuck off".

His attention goes back to the acrobats as the girl from the hoop hangs down, draping the cloth over them. There's a pause and it seems like the same nature audience is waiting with bated breath to see the results. When the sheet is tugged away, the top acrobat has disappeared. ]

It would be a lot of upper body strength. [ Pim could maybe do it. Maybe. ] Just wanted to fly when you got your wings?

[ At this point, he's going to ask about all the tricks so he'll save it for later. The leftover acrobats bow to the audience and out come two women, carrying several props with them. From the shape of the props, he guesses some kind of balancing or even juggling. ]

[wraithes]

Something like that.

[ wryly, as she watches the balancing act begin. there doesn't appear to be any magic in this act; just standard fare. or, at least, standard fare to them, with inej being capable of doing it, and kaz watching her defy gravity for so many years.

she shifts slightly to pick up the popcorn, though she still hasn't unlooped her arms from kaz's own. comfortable to hold it while leaning against him, popping a piece into her mouth. ]

I used to be more social, I think. [ after a moment, watching the acrobats balance on top of one another easily. it's hard to remember what she was like before the slavers took her, but she remembers being a relatively normal little girl. ] So I never really minded being part of the show, but I was more comfortable higher up. It felt like less pressure.

[ despite being so high up, and a mistake could kill you. but she couldn't see the faces of the people, from being so high up. and so she couldn't see whether they were interested, or not. ]

[ketterdamn]

[ Inej goes for the popcorn and he picks up the pumpkin juice, curiosity finally getting to him. The cup is chilled on the edges and the juice itself smells faintly like a spice. Cinnamon? It's not too sweet when he takes a cautious sip, so he takes another right after while he watches the next act set up. ]

I'd wager plenty of people in the Barrel used to be more social. [ Himself included. But perhaps not the ones who'd been born into it and grown up there. Just the ones who'd been plucked or stolen. Outsiders who had to find their own way. ]

I used to climb trees, for the quiet. Our house was noisy. [ Jordie had always been a chatty one. And while his father hadn't been the most talkative, he could be found making some kind of noise—chopping wood, banging around in the kitchen to put things away, calling the chickens to feed. Their small amount of animals made their sounds and never truly went silent until night fell. ]

[wraithes]

[ the image of kaz climbing a tree causes a slight upward twitch of her mouth, into a smile, as she watches the acrobats. kaz has never really struck her as shy -- the opposite, really. he carries himself with such a confidence and purposeful arrogance that inej can't really envision him being unable to talk his way out of anything.

she guesses it's a learned skilled. ]

You still climb trees for the quiet.

[ after a moment, tilting her head up to look at him, with a knowing expression, and a genuine smile.

he has his completely unnecessary and stupid third floor office for a reason. ]

[ketterdamn]

The closest Ketterdam has to one, anyway. [ He mirrors the quirks of her smile, seeing where she'd been going with this. It's not like she's wrong—the third floor is a good spot to get away from the distractions and noise of the downstairs.

Also: ] It proves a point.

[ A stubborn one. But he wasn't about to let people think he couldn't do it just because he had a bad leg. He was just as capable, if not moreso in some ways.

The act has fully set up and they're balancing on a beam as well as juggling, doing some interesting passes back and forth. They make it look so easy as they walk past each other, perfectly in step. ]