[ Riou hasn't been to this place before, so he looks it up to make sure it's reputable. He's only just met Doumeki and he is both a survivor and a soldier, so it's best to be prepared. Ultimately, he decides any concern he had was likely paranoia and he sets out.
When he shows up, he's wearing camo pants, a white tshirt, a black bomber jacket, and his usual boots and dog tags. At the entrance of the bar, he stands still as he scans the bar for Doumeki. ]
[ It's good -- it doesn't actually occur to Doumeki that most people avoid Level 3 for a reason. Well, he knows, in a way, but Level 3 feels more like home than the suburban feel of Level 2, so it just seems natural to spend more time there. It's not like anyone is going to pick a fight with a guy like him.
Doumeki meanwhile is dressed in his usual suit and tie, though he's slung his jacket over the back of his seat by the bar.
He waves a hand at Riou, a simple gesture as he simply locks eyes with him. Words? Who needs words? ]
[ Once Doumeki is located, he comes over and gives him a pat on the shoulder and a smile to say hello. He does say something, because while there are many things that can be communicated without words, there are some things that just can't. ]
What's best on tap?
[ It's a new bar to him, but he assumes Doumeki knows what their best beers are. ]
[ Doumeki nods in response to Riou's greeting, waving the bartender over to take his order. Unfortunately, well, Doumeki's not much of a connoisseur of beers. He gets whatever's darkest and most expensive because he's rolling in chroma. It helps that it tastes good, too. ]
I prefer the Amegaharan brand. Inari Black.
[ It has a dark, rich color, which Rious should be able to tell from Doumeki's own glass. Of course, Japanese beers are his favorite. He's a simple guy. ]
[ If he didn't have a recommendation, Riou would've just ordered a beer flight, but he nods and orders that. He probably would've ended up with something similar anyway, Riou also is a fan of Japanese beers. ]
[ That's a lot more thinking than Doumeki would have done. He really did ask for the darkest beer they had, then worked his way there. He takes a sip of his beer and nods, motioning to their surroundings with just that motion. ]
I discovered it recently. It reminds me of home.
[ It's kind of seedy, but only in that neon-sign and 80s karaoke machine kind of way. Of course, it's probably owned by some criminal enterprise, but that wouldn't bother him. ]
[ Riou nods. He can see why. It's not exactly the kind of place that Riou hangs around at, but it's not the kind of place he wouldn't visit with Samatoki and Jyuto. It could be fun. ]
Do you come here often?
[ It's a brief question, but Riou thinks it will tell him a lot. Does Doumeki like to drink a lot, does he miss home, and so on. ]
[ Perhaps it's the moons, or the way he and his boss have gotten more comfortable with each other, but Doumeki is doing more on his own lately. Even if he thinks maybe Yashiro would enjoy a place like this. He casts a quick look around, then takes a drink. ]
It is comfortable.
[ Predictably unpredictable. If a drunken fight broke out, Doumeki would stop it and sit right back down to his drink. ]
[ Riou wants to show Jyuto this place. Samatoki too, but with him absent, it's not possible. But for now, he's content to enjoy it with just Doumeki. His new, also relatively quiet acquaintance. His own drink is provided to him and he takes a brief taste, then a deeper drink. A positive hum of approval shows that he likes it. He holds his drink up for a cheers to Doumeki. ]
[ Doumeki nods with approval, glad to see Riou likes his beer. It was a lucky pick, thanks mostly in part to the fact that Doumeki doesn't have to worry about saving up money here, so it's nice to see it work out.
He raises his glass along with Riou, giving him the ol' kampai. ]
Cheers.
[ Ah, it's nice to just sit and enjoy a nice drink with a new friend. Sometimes you don't need words to appreciate someone's company. ]
[ With a clink of their glasses, Riou takes a more hearty drink than the taste he had before and asks for another one. He'll finish this one quickly, particularly if they're just enjoying each other's company and not chatting. ]
[ Yep, just sipping beers quietly is good with Doumeki. They could sit there for several minutes, just drinking and nodding. He finishes off what happens to be his third beer and quietly motions for a refill.
Doumeki is certainly happy to have this. Much as he likes being around loud, energetic people, it's nice to be around someone who appreciates actions over words. He sighs a bit, the tension that would otherwise be normal slips out as he relaxes his shoulders. His expression remains exactly the same, as usual, but something is clearly on his mind.
He's going to enjoy the quiet for a bit longer first, though. ]
[ Riou notices, but he doesn't bring it up. He doesn't know Doumeki well enough to feel comfortable pressing, so he'll wait patiently for him to say something. Riou does like to do things though, so after he finishes his first drink and orders a second, he gestures to a billiards table. Want to play? ]
[ It's nice to just hang and not have someone press into your business, honestly. Doumeki enjoys being around people who are loud, but loud people tend to also pry, which isn't always his preference. So it's nice to just chill, too.
And he doesn't mind joining him for a game of pool. He's actually getting a little better at this -- though it helps that it isn't Sanguis anymore, so there's less chance of him breaking the poles. He nods. ]
Are you good at pool?
[ It's not even small talk, he just wants to know how badly he's going to get smoked. ]
[ Unfortunately, if Riou feels a need to pry he is more likely to hack or bug someone's workplace. So it may or may not be better. Right now he doesn't feel it's a necessity though, so Doumeki's privacy is safe. ]
I only play casually.
[ He's no expert or anything. He just likes to play with friends from time to time. He takes his renewed drink and heads over to the table, setting it on the edge before going to set up the balls. ]
[ You know, honestly, good on him. Everyone needs a hobby! Yashiro too has spied on his friends for their own well being (no) ]
It's the same for me.
[ He's only so-so, but he's at least happy to hear that it might not be too boring for Riou if they play together. Doumeki grabs his glass and sets it aside, grabbing two of the sticks and offering one to Riou once he's done setting them up. ]
[ Jyuto bugged him with a fake cigarette pack once because he noticed Riou seemed distracted. Sometimes spying is just how people communicate?? ]
Sanguis super-strength is a challenging condition. Samatoki ripped my door off once.
[ Right off its hinges.. If there's any question about what Riou's blessing is, it's probably answered by how he responds to that too. Not personal experience, and it's Cordis right now, so there's only one blessing left. Riou accepts the stick and makes sure it's properly prepared and chalked. ]
[ Sometimes it be like that. Jyuto and Yashiro should meet, they'd have so much in common. Too much in common.
Samatoki... That's a name Doumeki doesn't recognize, but he nods all the same. It's somewhat surprising to think that someone as similar as him would be Iris, but Doumeki doesn't see Iris as a curse the way others seem to. It's a good blessing as far as Doumeki's concerned. He's not much of a fan of Sanguis, by comparison. ]
It is. I broke several sticks last time I played. And one cue ball.
[ His first break back then had gone well, so he put a little more oomph into the second one and... well, he won't make that mistake again. He's perfectly fine with breaking now though. He lines up his shot and starts them off, the clatter of them ringing out as they bounce along the edges. Alas, Doumeki does not manage to sink any on his first shot.
Eh, he's not exactly the competitive type, so he just steps out of the way. ]
[ Let's hope so, Jyuto gets all pissy when people are in his niche.
Riou doesn't necessarily think Iris doesn't fit him. Once Riou finds someone he decides to trust and accept as his authority, he's basically the most submissive a person can be. He'll follow any order, complete any task. With other people, however, he's extremely aggressive-- a man with no mercy, who accomplishes his goals and makes his enemies submit. For the time that Riou was Sanguis, it accentuated that part of himself even when he was with people he would normally yield to. This is better, he thinks. ]
That sounds like a dangerous game.
[ Riou thinks he would like to play it... Survival is fun. Riou nods and goes to take his turn. He doesn't make any the first turn either, but he's trying to set something up for next turn.. ]
[ At least Yashiro is more a masochist than a sadist, so there'd be some balance...
Doumeki can relate... besides being a top, he's basically the same, preferring to defer to others to tell him what they like to do. Certainly that's the case with his boss, if he told Doumeki to jump, Doumeki jumps. There's never a question. ]
I lost. Badly.
[ Maybe he should meet up with Doumeki during Sanguis or the triple moon, there's plenty of danger there. But for now, it's easy to simply keep things going. Doumeki aims another shot and manages to sink one this time. Guess he's on stripes, though his next shot only manages to bounce off the sides. Yeah, even without the whole dragon problem, he's still not very good. ]
I was taller as well. It was troublesome.
[ There's really only one reason he likes Sanguis and that reason is named Yashiro. ]
Breaking the pieces doesn't lend itself to winning, after all.
[ It's understandable he lost. But they're decidedly on better terms right now. ]
You were taller? [ He looks perplexed for a second, then recalls some of the things that Hijikata had told him, answering his own question a moment later. ] Your exalted form.
[ The balls aren't exactly where Riou wanted them. It's hard, he thinks, to get that to happen when you don't know where the cue ball will be. But he can see at least two balls he thinks he can shoot in one shot. So he moves to the other side of the table and shoots the white ball at the 4, which then knocks into the 6. The 6 goes in, the 4 doesn't quite have enough oomph to make it all the way, landing right in front of the middle hole. Riou makes this one, and misses the next one, not having anything else where he really wants it. ]
[ Doumeki nods. It had been hard enough leaning against the table... really, there isn't much he likes about Sanguis, besides how useful it is for getting together with his boss. But that alone makes it worth it, so for all his gripes, he'd never want to change. ]
I was a dragon.
[ What a world they live in, where sentences like that make perfect sense. But Doumeki has never minded shifting his way of thinking, or adjusting to new and outlandish things. He's used to his boss, after all. It's not a skill that translates into pool, though. He casts a look over the table and aims another shot at a few of the balls that have gotten grouped together, but succeeds only in splitting them further. Well, at least Riou should have an easy shot for the next one.
He's fine with that. He's more in this to keep himself busy than to win. ]
I had dog-like features for my first few months here. But that hasn't been the case for a while.
I had dog-like features when I was Sanguis as well.
[ Riou is starting to wonder if Doumeki is setting it up for him... Well, there's more than one set up, anyway. Riou just aims for the one that's closest to him. It hits the edge of the hole and bounces back, though. '_' Oops. Well, a pool cue and a sniper rifle are two very different things. ]
Do you like it? Aside from breaking pool cues. I understand that form creates significant chroma.
[ Doumeki really isn't very good at this, but Riou's blunder at least made it so that he can get a clear shot of another ball that he actually manages to sink. He doesn't even scratch, either! The problem for him is always knowing how much strength to put into each shot. He can do gentle or hard, but deciding when to do that is the problem.
He's much better at taking orders than choosing his own. He fails his follow up shot and steps back for Riou, considering his question. ]
It was very effective for chroma production. Being able to heal was convenient.
[ For lots of different reasons... most of them related to Yashiro. ]
[ Riou asks his question as he lines up the next shot. ]
Do you need to heal often?
[ He's just curious. He doesn't know what all Doumeki gets up to, he barely knows the guy.
Hm... Maybe he isn't thinking about this enough like a sniper. Riou lifts his leg up onto the edge of the table so he can get eye level with the pool table and see exactly where his ball is going. With this method, he sinks two in one shot. He's not sure if that's against the rules or not honestly, so he waits to see if Doumeki tells him no.. ]
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prismatica
> action
When he shows up, he's wearing camo pants, a white tshirt, a black bomber jacket, and his usual boots and dog tags. At the entrance of the bar, he stands still as he scans the bar for Doumeki. ]
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Doumeki meanwhile is dressed in his usual suit and tie, though he's slung his jacket over the back of his seat by the bar.
He waves a hand at Riou, a simple gesture as he simply locks eyes with him. Words? Who needs words? ]
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What's best on tap?
[ It's a new bar to him, but he assumes Doumeki knows what their best beers are. ]
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I prefer the Amegaharan brand. Inari Black.
[ It has a dark, rich color, which Rious should be able to tell from Doumeki's own glass. Of course, Japanese beers are his favorite. He's a simple guy. ]
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This place is nice.
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I discovered it recently. It reminds me of home.
[ It's kind of seedy, but only in that neon-sign and 80s karaoke machine kind of way. Of course, it's probably owned by some criminal enterprise, but that wouldn't bother him. ]
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Do you come here often?
[ It's a brief question, but Riou thinks it will tell him a lot. Does Doumeki like to drink a lot, does he miss home, and so on. ]
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[ Perhaps it's the moons, or the way he and his boss have gotten more comfortable with each other, but Doumeki is doing more on his own lately. Even if he thinks maybe Yashiro would enjoy a place like this. He casts a quick look around, then takes a drink. ]
It is comfortable.
[ Predictably unpredictable. If a drunken fight broke out, Doumeki would stop it and sit right back down to his drink. ]
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He raises his glass along with Riou, giving him the ol' kampai. ]
Cheers.
[ Ah, it's nice to just sit and enjoy a nice drink with a new friend. Sometimes you don't need words to appreciate someone's company. ]
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[ With a clink of their glasses, Riou takes a more hearty drink than the taste he had before and asks for another one. He'll finish this one quickly, particularly if they're just enjoying each other's company and not chatting. ]
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Doumeki is certainly happy to have this. Much as he likes being around loud, energetic people, it's nice to be around someone who appreciates actions over words. He sighs a bit, the tension that would otherwise be normal slips out as he relaxes his shoulders. His expression remains exactly the same, as usual, but something is clearly on his mind.
He's going to enjoy the quiet for a bit longer first, though. ]
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And he doesn't mind joining him for a game of pool. He's actually getting a little better at this -- though it helps that it isn't Sanguis anymore, so there's less chance of him breaking the poles. He nods. ]
Are you good at pool?
[ It's not even small talk, he just wants to know how badly he's going to get smoked. ]
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I only play casually.
[ He's no expert or anything. He just likes to play with friends from time to time. He takes his renewed drink and heads over to the table, setting it on the edge before going to set up the balls. ]
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It's the same for me.
[ He's only so-so, but he's at least happy to hear that it might not be too boring for Riou if they play together. Doumeki grabs his glass and sets it aside, grabbing two of the sticks and offering one to Riou once he's done setting them up. ]
It should be easier now that it is not Sanguis.
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Sanguis super-strength is a challenging condition. Samatoki ripped my door off once.
[ Right off its hinges.. If there's any question about what Riou's blessing is, it's probably answered by how he responds to that too. Not personal experience, and it's Cordis right now, so there's only one blessing left. Riou accepts the stick and makes sure it's properly prepared and chalked. ]
You can break.
[ If he wants to. If he doesn't, Riou will. ]
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Too much in common.Samatoki... That's a name Doumeki doesn't recognize, but he nods all the same. It's somewhat surprising to think that someone as similar as him would be Iris, but Doumeki doesn't see Iris as a curse the way others seem to. It's a good blessing as far as Doumeki's concerned. He's not much of a fan of Sanguis, by comparison. ]
It is. I broke several sticks last time I played. And one cue ball.
[ His first break back then had gone well, so he put a little more oomph into the second one and... well, he won't make that mistake again. He's perfectly fine with breaking now though. He lines up his shot and starts them off, the clatter of them ringing out as they bounce along the edges. Alas, Doumeki does not manage to sink any on his first shot.
Eh, he's not exactly the competitive type, so he just steps out of the way. ]
Your turn.
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Let's hope so, Jyuto gets all pissy when people are in his niche.Riou doesn't necessarily think Iris doesn't fit him. Once Riou finds someone he decides to trust and accept as his authority, he's basically the most submissive a person can be. He'll follow any order, complete any task. With other people, however, he's extremely aggressive-- a man with no mercy, who accomplishes his goals and makes his enemies submit. For the time that Riou was Sanguis, it accentuated that part of himself even when he was with people he would normally yield to. This is better, he thinks. ]
That sounds like a dangerous game.
[ Riou thinks he would like to play it... Survival is fun. Riou nods and goes to take his turn. He doesn't make any the first turn either, but he's trying to set something up for next turn.. ]
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At least Yashiro is more a masochist than a sadist, so there'd be some balance...Doumeki can relate... besides being a top, he's basically the same, preferring to defer to others to tell him what they like to do. Certainly that's the case with his boss, if he told Doumeki to jump, Doumeki jumps. There's never a question. ]
I lost. Badly.
[ Maybe he should meet up with Doumeki during Sanguis or the triple moon, there's plenty of danger there. But for now, it's easy to simply keep things going. Doumeki aims another shot and manages to sink one this time. Guess he's on stripes, though his next shot only manages to bounce off the sides. Yeah, even without the whole dragon problem, he's still not very good. ]
I was taller as well. It was troublesome.
[ There's really only one reason he likes Sanguis and that reason is named Yashiro. ]
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[ It's understandable he lost. But they're decidedly on better terms right now. ]
You were taller? [ He looks perplexed for a second, then recalls some of the things that Hijikata had told him, answering his own question a moment later. ] Your exalted form.
[ The balls aren't exactly where Riou wanted them. It's hard, he thinks, to get that to happen when you don't know where the cue ball will be. But he can see at least two balls he thinks he can shoot in one shot. So he moves to the other side of the table and shoots the white ball at the 4, which then knocks into the 6. The 6 goes in, the 4 doesn't quite have enough oomph to make it all the way, landing right in front of the middle hole. Riou makes this one, and misses the next one, not having anything else where he really wants it. ]
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I was a dragon.
[ What a world they live in, where sentences like that make perfect sense. But Doumeki has never minded shifting his way of thinking, or adjusting to new and outlandish things. He's used to his boss, after all. It's not a skill that translates into pool, though. He casts a look over the table and aims another shot at a few of the balls that have gotten grouped together, but succeeds only in splitting them further. Well, at least Riou should have an easy shot for the next one.
He's fine with that. He's more in this to keep himself busy than to win. ]
I had dog-like features for my first few months here. But that hasn't been the case for a while.
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[ Riou is starting to wonder if Doumeki is setting it up for him... Well, there's more than one set up, anyway. Riou just aims for the one that's closest to him. It hits the edge of the hole and bounces back, though. '_' Oops. Well, a pool cue and a sniper rifle are two very different things. ]
Do you like it? Aside from breaking pool cues. I understand that form creates significant chroma.
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He's much better at taking orders than choosing his own. He fails his follow up shot and steps back for Riou, considering his question. ]
It was very effective for chroma production. Being able to heal was convenient.
[ For lots of different reasons... most of them related to Yashiro. ]
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Do you need to heal often?
[ He's just curious. He doesn't know what all Doumeki gets up to, he barely knows the guy.
Hm... Maybe he isn't thinking about this enough like a sniper. Riou lifts his leg up onto the edge of the table so he can get eye level with the pool table and see exactly where his ball is going. With this method, he sinks two in one shot. He's not sure if that's against the rules or not honestly, so he waits to see if Doumeki tells him no.. ]
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