[IC] Tributary Continuations

[bitterblossoms]

[♥]

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[bitterblossoms]

[Just When You Thought You Couldn't Get More Obsessed]

I managed to hold my tongue, but it was an effort!

1/2

[dendarii]

[ yeah okay I need a second to look lovesick about this, wtf





Goddamn ]

[dendarii]

[ focus ]

I wish I could see, then. We have recordings of plays in my world, but it seems likely to be advanced tech for you.

[bitterblossoms]

[ears perking with curiosity]

Recordings? . . . I'm not sure what you're picturing when you say that.

[dendarii]

Well then, I’ll just have to show you. I have an excellent recording of Hamlet in my stash. You’ve not experienced Shakespeare until you’ve heard him in the original Russian.

[bitterblossoms]

Wh—what? Yes, of course, whatever you want to show me, I want to see!

[GENUINELY HAS NO IDEA WHAT YOU MEAN BY SHOWING HIM A RECORDING but like, down for literally whatever!!!]

You—like that sort of thing?

[dendarii]

[ he’s gonna blow this fairy’s mind

He grins widely. ]

You’ve met me as a child. You met me while was ambulatory, which is only half of my existence even at that age. Please picture for a moment that poor child confined to bed with nothing to do except read and also memorize a giant omnibus of famous plays.

[bitterblossoms]

. . .


Recite.

[dendarii]

[ LAUGHS, but gives Tig a little bow. ]

“Who’s there?”

[ turns, shifting between the two guards’ characters by way of posture and tone. ]

“Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself.”

[ and he quickly goes through a little one-man version of the first scene of Hamlet. Little bastard is quite a capable voice actor on top of every other stupid thing he can do, and he has a knack for using small things about his posture and carriage to really sell the character differences in even this little slice of the play. (24 on performance check) ]

[bitterblossoms]

[absolutely, predictably, world-endingly starstruck and utterly enthralled. he looks like he's barely remembering how to breathe. it's hard to say if he's remembering to blink. he looks like he could listen to this forever. he's looking at Miles like he genuinely thinks he hung the moon and the stars personally for him]

[dendarii]

[ fuck that’s a good look

Why can’t he kiss this fairy right the fuck now

He continues, lightly unhinged, until Azalea either stops him or he’s gone through the whole damn play, scarcely taking enough pauses to breathe. He gets hoarse somewhere in the middle and instinctively works his lines into a lil healing spell to top himself off. (Azalea can feel a little tug of magic, and a little ring of flowers blooms at Miles’s feet.) ]

[bitterblossoms]

[he can get to the O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt monologue, at which point, feeling the tug of magic and also watching Miles get really into that one, Azalea is just. crawling onto him, needy. he doesn't want to interrupt, but he doesn't want Miles to hurt himself, but also he wants to eat him?]

[♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥]

[dendarii]

[ the many phases of loving a Vorkosigan,

It IS a lot to do all in one go, despite how eager Miles is to please, so he winds down that second scene with Hamlet’s tones, low and pensive: ]

“Till then, sit still, my soul. ⟨Foul⟩ deeds will rise,
Though all the earth o’erwhelm them, to men’s eyes.”

[ another little bow to indicate he’s done for now. ]

[bitterblossoms]

. . .



[very softly, after a few moments]

. . . you're really . . . the most perfect . . .

[dendarii]

[ Miles actually blushes at that - thrilled and relieved both. Kind of a lot for him to break into Shakespeare at someone. ]

I have thirty-eight more plays and an excruciating number of sonnets also memorized, though perhaps not all so well choreographed~

[bitterblossoms]

Please, I need to hear every single one.

[DEADLY URGENT AND SERIOUS]

[dendarii]

One a day, then, and in a few months you’ll have had all of them.

[bitterblossoms]

And you can start again from the beginning.

[dendarii]

[ fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck

Another gleeful bow. ]

As you wish, then. Gladly.

[ and then - ]

I’ll show you more, but first you have one more memory I think?

1/2

[bitterblossoms]

Haaah. Who cares about memories? Who cares about them? I already have everything I want or need.

[bitterblossoms]

[NO BE NORMAL BE SO NORMAL]

—sorry, I'm. I'm, yes, memories. I need to do that, of course.

[deep breath! focus!]

[dendarii]

[ just stares for a moment, completely lovesick again. Why the fuck can’t he kiss this fairy right the fuck now. He needs this so badly it is PHYSICALLY paining him. God. He knows the basics of the enlarge/reduce spell. He’s got enough mana today, he could try it! Couldn’t he?

It takes every ounce of willpower he has to wrestle that instinct back down to the ground. ]

You could get skills after all. That WOULD be very nice.

[bitterblossoms]

[it's probably not helping that Azalea keeps lightly biting at his lower lip with his fangs, licking his lips, fidgeting and glancing up at Miles and fidgeting his hands. he even rubs at his lips with his fingers. fucking illegal.]

Oh—skills. Skills. Yes, I do need those . . .

[he takes another memory! . . . it isn't a skill. and it doesn't seem to be a super pleasant memory. his pretty expression turns a bit pale and sour, eyes hardening.]

[dendarii]

[ absolutely illegal, straight to jail,

Miles is, however, jolted out of idle thoughts of what those teeth could do to him at the proper scale by that look. ]

… Azalea? What did you see?

[bitterblossoms]

. . . it's. It's fine.

[swallowing, rubbing his face. letting out a short unhappy laugh after a moment.]

I was sort of expecting something like that, actually. I really—did not think that how people have been treating me here in Tributary aligned at all with how they treated me back home.