PC CATCHALL FOR VAN ZIEKS

[greatdeduction]

Comments

[greatdeduction]

But of course.

[And smirking.]

I'm giving you my time in return, aren't I?

[winebar]

["giving you my time" is the hottest new euphemism for being gay.]

That should put us on equal grounds, not make you grander.

[greatdeduction]

Ah, but I'm a great detective, and that adds to my grandeur.

[shut up]

And indeed, my heart may be caught in quite a conundrum, here. But I cannot deny the feelings. I am not one to lie to myself, you know.

[winebar]

[Also daemon update, Adelheid has gone back to a cat.]

... No. I suppose you aren't. You've always been unabashedly yourself.
[Reflectively.]

It's not something I've ever had the station or ability to do.
[Even if he had wanted to live like Sholmes, his noble background demands he behave a certain way.]

[greatdeduction]

[Irene is going to hop up to put her paws on Adelheid and snuffle at her neck.]

Why was that? Let me have a guess. Your noble standing? It's almost funny. One would think that money would allow you to live the way you want. But I see that isn't quite the case.

[He's drawing closer now as they twirl, nose brushing briefly against the man's cheek.]

[winebar]

[Irene may have more grooming for her trouble!! Little sandpapery kitty kisses. Happy for the furry lesbians.]

Of course not. Power comes with responsibility, and with station comes a certain expectation in how one should behave.

[But then they spin, and Sholmes is so close, and that renews the redness on his cheeks, which he tries to master.]

Th-that isn't to say I don't see the appeal in the freedom you have in your way of things.

[greatdeduction]

There is "I must know how to behave in my role", and then, well, there's just being a big stick in the mud.

[Guess which one Van Zieks is!]

You should loosen up, my dear fellow. I always think that, when I look at you. You're too wrapped up in notions and preconceptions to even allow yourself to live a little.

[winebar]

How can I? First with the tragedy of Klint's death, and now with the tragedy of the sort of man he truly was. I already sullied the van Zieks name enough by allowing the myth of the Reaper to persist as long as I did. It is all I can do to maintain what little decency we have left.

[greatdeduction]

Tell me.

[He actually stops them in the dance for a moment...and then, without warning, he just dips him, smiling wide.]

Are you a family name, sir? Or are you a human being?

[winebar]

[THIS IS BULLYING]

I-A man can be more than one thing!

[greatdeduction]

[Pulling him back up to move back into the dance as if nothing just happened.]

If that is so, then why put so much priority on a name instead of your own life, free to be who and what you are? You and those nobles...when you will realize that all you need to do is to simply focus on your own world instead of another's, then you'll truly understand what it is to be free. You need only open your eyes a little.

[winebar]

[Sir you are a villain and a cad. He sinks into silent contemplation for a long moment, before, softly;]

After everything that has happened, what right do I have?
[All the people he couldn't help, couldn't save. And at the end of the day, wasn't he nothing more than a pale imitation of Klint?]

[greatdeduction]

Oh, is this what you tell yourself?

[A huff, he's leaning in, voice low to be heard for Van Zieks, and Van Zieks alone.]

It would be wrong to say that you haven't done wrong. One must make amends, you know. But to become some gothic shade in the corners of a room is no way to fix a single thing, you must realize that. Wallowing is not a good look for you, Lord Van Zieks.

[winebar]

[Stop that you are entirely too close!!!]

That... I cannot say that you are wrong on this, however I fail to see how indulging in such base impulses as this is any way to make amends.

[greatdeduction]

"Base impulses"?

[He's lifting an eyebrow.]

Speaking like that and pretending you are merely some automaton who dispenses the law is part of the problem that made you become what you were in the first place. Don't be so rigid, hm?

[winebar]

[Me looking at that icon and just thinking of That One Post.]

... If you object to my rigidity so much then I invite you to do something about it.

[greatdeduction]

Oh?

[Ohhhhh?]

Is that a challenge I hear?

[winebar]

[Hmphs lightly.]

I suppose it is.

[greatdeduction]

Oh, very well. You leave me no choice.

[Leaning in...]





[To kiss him on the cheek! Haha! Tease.]

[winebar]

[You say tease but it still catches van Zieks entirely off guard. He's red again.]

I-I am not some blushing schoolgirl to be bested by something like that.
[Aren't you.]

[greatdeduction]

[He's grinning, the insufferable gremlin.]

Oh, but look at you! As bright red as a tomato. Clearly, I shouldn't do that again. I'm afraid you'll overheat.

[winebar]

[The obvious retaliation is to kiss him properly but that's also clearly what Sholmes wants and he Shall Not Win, so instead he uses his superior size to pull Sholmes off balance and push him to the ground, whereupon he plants his foot on the older man's chest.]

Do not underestimate my abilities.

[greatdeduction]

...

[Oh.]

[Well now.]

[That's. A way to end a dance.]

... [Sorry, he's flustered for the moment, and also his back is ALREADY sore even before being pushed to the ground so this is. A Combination.] I-I don't know. Can't exactly see much display of any such abilities here.

[...]

[pats his leg]

Good show, though.

[winebar]

[The leg does not move. You stay down there. He leans over to get a better view of Sholmes' face.]

What further demonstration would you ask of me?

[greatdeduction]

Perhaps you should let me go and let me stand, first?

[A beat.]

Unless you'd like to come down here. The ground is rather cozy.