IC Inbox - Ryslig

[blap_blap]

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[justbeingknife]

I'm pretty sure it's just slimy.

[ Although who knew, people were always coming up with new and exciting ways to kill themselves, maybe it was possible to bumblelord one's way into strangulation at the hands of rogue seaweed. ]

Look, I'll buy up the rest of these, and then I'll come over with a nice coffee and croissant or something.

You're not gonna actually pass out, right?

[blap_blap]

i dunno its kind of up in the air right now

its fine i'm just having a panic attack or something ill just lay here until the feeling of impending doom passes or i die whichever comes first

[justbeingknife]

Uh huh. You stay put.

[ It wasn't long before Majima found his way to the house; he'd never actually been there, but with a general idea of where it was and his werewolf nose, it wasn't too hard to track things down.

There was a knock on the door. Also, the smell of a couple of cafe purchases. ]

Hey.

[ His voice was a warm lick in the cool autumn air temperatures. There were the ends of some poster rolls sticking out of one side of the paper bag he was carrying. ]

[blap_blap]

[By the time Majima showed up, Tim was like, 80% done with his panic attack? Probably. He was done with it enough to be able to actually be upright and make it to the door and open it without hyperventilating or something. It's fine. This is fine.]

[He still definitely looked like a guy who'd spent the last fifteen or twenty minutes in the middle of a panic attack. His hair was a mess, face kind of pale, he was technically dressed but not in anything nice and there was cat hair on his pants. Definitely not how he'd want to look when his boyfriend was coming over. And, to a keen werewolf nose, he probably reeked a little like he'd been marinading in whatever anxiety mixed lightly with cat smelled like. Eau de Panic Attack, the latest fragrance by Timothy Lawrence.]

...Hi.

[Tim wanted to look literally anywhere else but at those poster rolls. Of all things, why did that have to show up here? Did the Fog God do this because he said he'd sue her?]

Oh, uh. Come in?

[He moved out of the doorway so that Majima could, like, actually walk through it. The house itself was done up in what was considered modern for this time period, a lot of metal and plastic and clean lines. The closest that Jack could get to doing the house up in Hyperion fashion when they were stuck in fantasy 1950 or whatever.]

Sorry, I'm. I'm kind of a mess.

[justbeingknife]

[ Majima stepped into the doorway, put down the bag, but he didn't walk past Tim. Instead, he swept one arm over the man's shoulders and the other around his back, pulling Tim into a hug that probably pressed some of that fluffy werewolf fur into his cheek. ]

You okay?

[ Sure, he'd figured Tim might be embarrassed, but he hadn't actually sent that first message expecting a full-out anxiety attack.

His boyfriend smelled like cat. There was cat hair on him. It wasn't Majima's cat hair, though, and in fact he was picking up an animal odor -- no wait bad time to get distracted. ]

[blap_blap]

[Tim leaned into the hug, settling some of his weight on Majima and pressing his face into that dense werewolf fluff. Nothing like smothering yourself in some fur when you felt like yeeting yourself into the abyss.]

I mean, I haven't walked into the ocean yet, so.

[It was a low bar, but Tim's setting small goals right now. He would have been perfectly content to pretend that Handsome Jack Tames Pandora had never happened and he'd never have to deal with anyone he personally knew finding out about how he'd starred in a Jack-themed porno. Because there was so much to unpack there, just the whole concept of him having to do a porno while pretending to be his asshole boss, and it was probably better to just throw away the whole suitcase.]

I just. I kind of thought that would never show up here? Because why would it.

[justbeingknife]

[ Majima made a low, rumbling sort of 'hmm' noise, but there really was no one answer. Because fate? Because Fog God? Because nothing said "welcome to your new monster life" like a haunted museum dredgin' up things you'd rather forget? ]

[ Tim's weight felt comforting -- kind of like having a warm weighted blanket draped on top of him. ]

Sorry. Guess I should've just gotten rid of 'em without sayin' anything. I thought you'd want to know.

[ Of course, this plan would probably involve sending someone by on a routine basis to make sure more posters didn't show up in stock, but that was what the Nishidas of the world were for. ]

[blap_blap]

No, it's, it's fine, if you hadn't told me, someone else probably would've found it.

[Better to hear it from his boyfriend than from some rando? God. Why was this his life.]

God, Jack would've found it and then I'd probably have come home one day to find the stupid thing framed and hung up in the living room.

[Because Jack would want a framed poster of his porno, even if he wasn't the person actually starring in said porno because he was too lazy, too busy, or had too much of a dad bod to want to. Or maybe because he would've had to take too many dick rocks to be able to actually film the porn part.]

And it would just give him ideas, I really don't want to have to deal with that.

[justbeingknife]

That does sound shitty.

[ He'd really have to introduce his new assistant to Tim sometime. Maybe later. For now, he'd brush the back of his hand against Tim's neck. That dark brown hair was a mess, but Majima was a little more concerned with his memory of the last time Tim had a bout of panic; Tim had pulled at his hair hard enough that Majima had been worried the man would tear it out. ]

I did bring that coffee, but I got some tea, too. Want some? [ You know. Because coffee seemed like maybe a bad idea after an attack. ]

You can hold it, and I'll just hang out for a while.

[blap_blap]

[It was fine, Tim was used to going from a panic attack to chugging coffee, he'd been a poor college student. That was basically midterms and finals in a nutshell, going from panicking to downing coffee to stay awake for more studying, then more panicking.]

[And if he'd been pulling at his hair-- hard to tell, there were some bits that were sticking up, but his hair sometimes just did that on its own, too-- he wasn't doing it anymore, at least.]

Yeah, I think I'd like that? If you aren't busy or anything. [Tim wouldn't have blamed him if he had better things to do than sit around and wait for him to get his shit together.] And, uh. You did say that you had, y'know. Questions.

[Before Majima had showed up, though, Tim had been upstairs, laying face down on his bed with a cat on his back, because Jay Catsby gravitated towards the warmest location in the house. Since that was usually Tim and Tim was clearly not going back upstairs anytime soon, there was a protesting meow from the top of the stairs and the sound of a large cat making his way down. Neither panic attacks nor werewolf boyfriends were going to prevent him from having a warm lap to sit on.]

[justbeingknife]

I'm never too busy for you.

[ It was both stupidly sappy and wholly true, and in his embarrassment Majima fished a lidded, steaming cup of tea out from his things and pressed it into Tim's hands. Maybe that would distract him enough so Tim didn't notice how sheepish he was acting.

The smell of chamomile wafted up from the vent, which was apparently what you got when you asked a barista for something for someone who was upset.

Meanwhile, Majima glanced up at the meow. Ah ha. ]

So this's the cat in question. He's... wow, what've you been feedin' him?

[blap_blap]

[That was a really sweet thing to say? Majima was really sweet, and he'd even brought some tea, and Tim didn't know a whole lot about hot leaf water but he was pretty sure that the chamomile stuff was for when you were upset. Gosh, what a good boyfriend.]

Thanks. [He wrapped his hands around the warm cup and probably looked like a freaking doofus because he was smiling at some chamomile tea.] I'm really glad you're here, y'know?

[In the meanwhile, Jay Catsby wandered his way over, ostensibly to check out this new weird person who was standing in his house. He bunted up against Tim's legs, a usual habit for him, then went over to Majima, stood on one of his feet, and gave his leg a sniff.]

Would you believe it if I said he was like this when I found him?

[As the kids would say, an absolute unit. A real chonker.]

[Said chonker decided that Majima was good enough, but unacceptably smelled like wolfman and therefore needed to have a cat face rubbed all over his shins.]

[justbeingknife]

Me, too.

[ While Tim grinned at his tea, Majima could smile stupidly back at his boyfriend, the usual sharp set of his features softening. He'd always been something of a sentimental type, but it was a quality he reined in -- couldn't have a soft heart and a career as a gangster, not working under someone like Shimano. Out here, though, there were no such concerns, and Tim was just so goddamn sweet.

It made him want to give Tim those things that apparently no one had bothered to. Treat him right. ]

Do you, uh, have anywhere to sit down?

[ That was it -- something to do that wasn't standing here leaking feelings all over the foyer. He didn't even resist while Jay Catsby covered him in cat hair. ]

[blap_blap]

Yeah, of course, sorry, you don't have to stand out here while Jay gets cat hair all over you. C'mon, Jay, shoo.

[He sort of waved a hand at the chonk of a cat, who, in return, blinked his bi-colored eyes at Tim and wandered off into the other room, as cats do. Which was fine, Jay had left plenty of cat hair behind on Majima's pants to satisfy his scenting needs. Hopefully his werewolf nose wouldn't be too offended by the smell of cat.]

[Tim led him into the living room, where there was his choice of places to sit-- some chairs and a comfortable couch that was also sturdy enough to withstand the weight of a minotaur and a sim on it at the same time. Which hadn't been an easy find, both he and Jack were pretty hefty in their own ways.]

Sit wherever you want. And, sorry in advance if Jay tries to sit on you, he likes warm spots.

[justbeingknife]

[ Bi-colored cat, bi-colored bullman. He'd have to see if he could pet Jay later, but for now, Majima was content to take a seat on the couch and pat the spot next to him. Inviting his favorite slab of beef, in other words, to sit beside. ]

Thanks. And it's no problem, I kinda get how cats work now.

[ In... more ways than one, really. When he'd been a cat all he'd wanted to do was curl up on top of his warm boyfriend and get cat hair all over him. He'd probably undone all of Jay Catsby's hard work. ]

And you're right, I do have questions. But in a way, I guess I kinda already have answers.

[ After all, Tim hadn't exactly reacted to the poster by coolly acknowledging that yep, that was totally him

scoring those porn roles ]

[blap_blap]

[Majima probably continually undid Jay Catsby's hard work; every time he came back from his boyfriend's apartment, he probably smelled like wolf instead of cat. Which definitely explained why Jay was always so cuddly whenever Tim came back home, even if Tim would've preferred to think that it was because Jay loved him. Maybe it was a little of that, but also dog smell.]

[Tim took a seat next to Majima, tucking his legs up next to him so that he could sit a little more comfortably; most furniture wasn't designed with cow legs in mind.]

Oh. [He fiddled with his tea a little. Good old embarrassment! He hadn't missed that feeling, not that it tended to leave him long enough for him to forget it.] Right. Um. I guess you kind of already know what it was about.

[Tim wasn't really the kind of person who wanted to go scoring those porn roles, but he also didn't super have a choice. Whatever Jack put on his schedule had been what he was doing that day, whether it was clearing out bandit camps or getting naked in front of cameras.]

[justbeingknife]

Part of your work, I imagine.

[ Tim's incredibly, incredibly shitty job.

Maybe people had a whole other view of the porn industry in the space future. In Majima's experience, though, there was always that oily sheen of illegitimacy and shame to it -- that specter of coercion or worse. There were people who chose to work as AV actors, of course, but it didn't exactly sound like it had been at the top of Tim's dream job pantheon. ]

You don't have to tell me about the job if ya don't want to, y'know. It doesn't change how I feel about you.

[ He was kind of all in on messy minotaurs at this point. Majima turned his hand palm up and held it out to Tim, rested half up against his knee. ]

But I'm here if you do need someone. To talk to, or anythin' else.

[blap_blap]

[His job really was so shitty.]

[Even if attitudes in the super space future were, in general, less awful than they were in the past, people still used pseudonyms when they were in porn for a reason. But Majima, at least, seemed to be taking the news well; a lot of people wouldn't be okay with their significant other having a work history that included adult entertainment. Hell, Tim hadn't been thrilled that his own work history included it, but he'd kind of had to get used to it. It had been easier when he'd been anonymous, when there was no one who would connect the name Timothy Doppelman to Timothy Lawrence other than a handful of vault hunters.]

[Majima's hand was open and facing him, an invitation. Tim took it.]

There's not really a lot to tell? [Not without getting into some details that he was pretty sure that Majima didn't want to know.] Jack was either too busy or too lazy to do it himself, and if something showed up on my calendar, well... I just had to do it. If Jack tells me to jump, I'm supposed to ask how high and how many people should I shoot on the way down, y'know?

[Tim definitely would not recommend selling your identity to a CEO space dictator, it was a bad time.]

And, I mean, it wasn't the worst job, I guess. I wasn't getting shot at, and the pay wasn't bad. He even remembered to actually pay me? You'd be amazed at how bad Jack's memory would get when it came to my paycheck.

[That last part was said too dryly to be anything but sarcasm. Nothing worse than coming back from a tough job to find out that your boss didn't even plan on paying you for it.]

[justbeingknife]

[ Majima curled his fingers warmly around Tim's. His expression tightened as he listened, showed a little fang when Tim told him that tidbit about how high -- even if he'd more or less known already how things were. But he smoothed it over by the time the subject of paychecks rolled around, instead using the fingerpad under his thumb to rub, gently, at the palm of his boyfriend's hand.

He'd promised Tim he wouldn't seek Jack out, and he did mean to keep that promise. But it was also true that he wouldn't piss on Handsome Jack if the man was on fire. In fact, he'd probably deadass add some petrol without so much as a change in expression. ]

Funny how payroll works when you're a dirtbag.

[ He seriously couldn't believe the guy couldn't be assed to film his own pornos.

Majima raised Tim's hand, then pressed his lips to it. The contact was brief, impulsive, and he straightened afterward, looking like he really actually wanted to lean over and smush his Tim's face into his fur again. That would be rude, though? Especially since the guy was still ostensibly nursing his tea. ]

I'm glad you're here, and not there. Even if it wasn't as bad. I thought...

[ He shook his head. ]

Nah, never mind about that. Want me to help set those things on fire?

[blap_blap]

[One of the few things that kept Tim going was the possibility that, one day, he'd be able to piss right on Jack's shallow grave. That would be a happy day, he'd take a picture to commemorate it or something.]

[If Jack was on fire and Tim could get away with it, he'd hand Majima the gas to dump on him. Not a whole lot of love to lose between Tim and his employer.]

You thought?

[That kiss to his hand was sweet and Tim couldn't help but smile at it and give his a gentle squeeze in return. Even something as shitty as having these posters of his awful Jack-themed porno plastered around seemed a little better with his boyfriend here.]

God, yeah, I really do? Too bad more of them are just going to show up. I just don't get why this was even important enough for the Fog God to bother putting it in the museum. [He leaned against the back of the couch with a huff.] Maybe it was because I posted that thing on the network about suing her.

[justbeingknife]

Maybe. Then again, seems like that whole museum's out to screw with people's heads.

[ He reached out with one hand and just barely had the reach to snag the bag. Majima pulled out one of the poster rolls and

...actually he wasn't even going to get out a lighter. Just going to let it go up in those black-and-violet flames of his. Who let this werewolf out in public. Private. Whatever. ]

They weren't even the only new thing there; there were a bunch of exhibits I never saw before. One for me, too; it was some weird shit.

[ Look, that huff was adorable, Tim. If he was going to lie back like that, he was practically inviting trouble. ]

[blap_blap]

[Tim had kind of expected that they'd relocate outside to set the posters on fire, but apparently Majima was just going to grab one and light it the fuck up in his living room. He had weird fire powers so it was contained and everything, just. Also in his house.]

You're gonna set off my smoke alarms.

[Or, well, Jack's smoke alarms, and Tim was having a really hard time mustering up all that many fucks to give. He'd panic attacked most of his energy, he didn't have much left for worrying about whether he'd have to air the house out in half an hour.]

Here, hand me one. I've got a lighter somewhere, if my house is going to smell like smoke, I should at least, like, contribute to it.

[He dug around in the endtable drawer for a lighter; time to destroy some Hyperion propaganda.]

[justbeingknife]

[ Majima handed Tim one of the posters, then made his way to a window. ]

It's probably fine as long as we let in some air.

[ It was sort of chilly outside, so it was kind of refreshing, but also would probably run up the heating bill. Passive-aggressive rebellion: the best kind of rebellion.

He'd make his way back over to Tim after he was satisfied with the breeze wafting in. ]

[blap_blap]

[While Majima went over to run up the heating bill-- and fuck it, Tim didn't care, he didn't pay it-- Tim clicked the lighter a few times until it started, then held it to the end of the poster until it caught. Then he just had essentially a porn poster torch in his hand. Watching it burn was kind of nice, seeing the image of Jack's face blacken and sear, but he also reached into the drawer again to grab a pack of cigarettes and light one up with the burning poster.]

[The breeze was kind of nice, too. Crisp and autumnal. Tim liked this time of year, when the weather cooled off and he got to start wearing sweaters again.]

Y'know, making these things was probably the, like, one of the least sexy experiences of my life. I feel like there's some expectation that making porn is going to be sexy or something, but it's honestly super not.

[justbeingknife]

That makes sense.

I mean, it's mostly filmed to look sexy, right? Not about what actually feels good. I imagine it doesn't help if ya have to think about actin' with a bunch of strangers at the same time.

[ Was it wrong that he thought Tim was kind of hot, though? Engaging in acts of minor property damage? Proooobably. He made his way over by the drawer, leaning against the counter as he watched Tim work. ]