☆ je pense à toi ♡

Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a joy for all seasons, a possession for all eternity. —Oscar Wilde | 7,200g

[lilyoftheabyss-blog]

Abyss 101 || Julius & Dia

[afacettes-blog]

@lilyoftheabyss​

The edges of her lips pulled into a mild smile as he confirmed his station and she nodded, “It would seem we will be in close proximity to one another. I work in the biology department and we are mere labs apart. If you need anything during your first few weeks my office isn’t too far from where you will be located.” 

The hall widened, opening office space filled with series of desks and artificers at work; observing and appraising artifacts of varying size, “The appraisal and selling of artifacts are unsurprisingly some of the highest paying jobs for those working with the adventurer’s guild. It’s the reason people come here after all. Between the call of the abyss and the opportunities it’s not hard to see why people are here.” 

She sighed heavily, “Unfortunately we’re also slightly understaffed on the research division. Everyone wants to get rich off found ancient goods, no one wants to study the composition of rock samples and translate texts of ancients from within the tribe.” Dia looked at Julius sideways, “Don’t show proficiency in one of the other jobs we need. They will drop so much more on you. Trust me.”

The phrase highest paying jobs snagged on Julius’s brain like a sharp corner catching on and ripping a run in one’s tights— his head snapping to obedient attention like a dog who’d just heard the word treat. He hung on her every word at that point, no need to push the details forcibly into his memory. It’s the reason people come here after all. 

Didn’t he know it. “What a shame. I can’t say that I’m surprised, however,” he replied gently, picking his words very carefully. “The call of the abyss, you said? What a poignant way of putting it. Very— poetic.♡”

He continued to nod as she continued, thanking his roommates mentally for having had the good sense to go into the adventurer division, after all. He, of course, had favored applying to the branch that didn’t necessarily mean he need physically go out and explore, something that he could provide help with without committing to the danger and exhaustion of adventure— but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be tempted with some part time, to hear his superior explain it as potentially as lucrative as they’d hoped it would be.

“I’ll remember that,” he added, grinning. It honestly wouldn’t be hard to not show proficiency in many areas other than the one he’d been hired to, however. Julius couldn’t quite call himself humble, but even he knew that his skill set was rather specific. And limited.

“How do you like working here, doctor?” he ventured, tearing his eyes away from the employees sorting through artifacts nearby. “Do you find it as fulfilling and exciting as the adventurers must?”

[che-belladonna]

Let Me Borrow That Top || Molly & Julius

[afacettes-blog]

che-belladonna‌:

“I mean, I’ll try, but that doesn’t mean he’ll listen, you know. He might think becoming a ghost is cool or something,” she said, wrinkling her nose at the thought. Julius had a point though, it would be nice to finally finish organizing and unpacking and settle in.

She gave him a shrug of her shoulders, closing his closet she had opened and seemingly forgetting why she had opened it to look in the first place.

“I don’t need beauty sleep,” she responded, and left it at that, her attention now occupied by a bottle of perfume of his sitting out as she picked it up and sniffed it.

“Huh?” She quired a brow, looking to him as she set the bottle down.

“Well, I’ll make breakfast but I’m not apologizing for you needing beauty sleep. What do you want?”

Julius gave a hurt gasp (without even truly processing why he was hurt, exactly), trying to decide if he ought to be offended by her quip. She didn’t need beauty sleep? What was that implying— that he did? After a second of not quite getting it, however, he put it quickly out of mind at the thought of how easy it was going to be to come by a home cooked breakfast. How serendipitous.☆

He even had the decency to ignore Molly sniffing at his best perfume. He was practically doing charity work this morning.

"Whatever, whatever. Breakfast will be apology enough.” He threw off the comforter to his bed, not giving it another thought after standing up even after tossing it so far that it nearly landed on the floor on the other side. Making the bed was the least of his priorities at the moment. Besides, he might want to crawl right back into it once he’d eaten. He wanted to keep his options open.

He reached for the fluffy pink robe he’d hung on the back of his closet door, fully accessible now that Molly had shut the closet door. He slung this over one arm at a time before drawing it closed over his nightgown, cozying into it and tying the belt at the waist. Once he was properly comfy, he shooed Molly toward his door with a wave of his hands.

“Alright, move. You can finish scavenging in here later. Breakfast first!”

[afacettes-blog]

Earnings

Passing Check [+1500G] First Job [+2000G] Second Job [+1000G]

Major Expenses

Journeymen’s Apartments [-800G]

Minor Expenses

Food [-1000G]

Total Balance:

7,200G → 9,900G

[che-belladonna]

Let Me Borrow That Top || Molly & Julius

[afacettes-blog]

che-belladonna‌:

“Mmhmm,” she nodded her head in agreement, “Though that means we’d have to move, because I’m not down with living with a ghost.” Molly turned her head from the mirror to look back to Julius, shooting him a very serious look. Cousin or not, ghosts were out of the question for her.

“Well, thank you! I promise I won’t hoarde it,” she turned from the mirror fully now, taking the hanger off from the top to return it to the closet and folding garnet over her arm.

“No, I don’t have work until the afternoon. I woke up like an hour ago and figured I’d try to reorganize my closet and some of the furniture in my room…I thought I had purged a lot at home but I guess not.”

“Ew,” Julius agreed, wrinkling his nose at the idea of a murdered and re-animated ghostly Kasey, squinting disapprovingly back at Molly in the dim light of his room from over the lip of his comforter. That boy was enough of a mess without slopping ectoplasm all over the place. At least when he was alive he could contain his mess on the inside of his skin. 

“Well then— tell him not to die. I don’t want to have to move again. I’d like to stay in one place for a while... and maybe finally finish unpacking, if I can help it.”

He sighed, exhausted (after a mere thirty seconds of consciousness) at the idea of someone waking up so early without a commitment to attend. “Whatever happened to beauty sleep?” he mumbled, sinking down under his comforter entirely, his voice continuing in a muffled purr as he now put on a brief show of refusing to come back out. “For you... for me... you know I’m not going to be able to go back to sleep, now.”

He sat up again with a start. “In fact, I think you ought to make me breakfast. To apologize.”

[afacettes-blog]

Peddler’s Game [8.18]

Played: Twice Lost: 500G [Bank: 7,700 → 7,200G] Won: 1x Blue Feather Ring

Julius had wandered into the festival alone, haunted (and a little discomforted) by the strange sound lilting out of the nearby abyss. Though he’d come alone, being surrounded by festival goers made him feel a bit less disquieted than he had at home - even though the festival as a whole was largely unfamiliar to him.

He didn’t have much spare G jingling around in his pocket tonight, especially after his weekly salary at his new job had gone to living expenses and settling in, but it was impossible to resist the allure of winning a stunning piece of jewelry. He’d taken the peddler up on his game with wanton abandon, unable to help himself even after having lost half of a week’s worth of food in G to the chuckling peddler’s wallet.

“Oh! Yay!” he exclaimed, surprised to pull a second fool’s card on his second try. He hadn’t really had an extra 500G to throw at the game if he’d lost twice, all things considered. His meals for the next week would need to be a little on the light side after the results of the first game, but how could he mind when he turned the ring over, admiring the way the blue tendrils of the rare feather inside the resin ring glinted in the lantern light? How romantic!

He slipped the ring onto his own finger, as pleased with himself as the cat that got the cream. Of course, he had no one to give the ring to— but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t treat himself, the true love of his life, to something beautiful until he met that special someone.♡

[che-belladonna]

Let Me Borrow That Top || Molly & Julius

[afacettes-blog]

che-belladonna‌:

“Well, I didn’t want to wake you, it is six in the morning, you know,” she informed him, “besides, you have Kasey to protect you from being murdered…er, well unless they got him first.” She took a moment to think about who may be the first victim in such a case, before shrugging her shoulders and stepping out of the closet completely.

Molly turned the top around to see the back of it, before locating a mirror and holding it up against herself again.

“Hmph- that’s always the case, things are either no longer being sold or completely sold out…and when they do come back in stock, you end up wanting to buy something else that may or may not be available still.”

She turned, looking back to him again, her brows raised “Really? You weren’t planning to wear it anytime soon, were you?”

“They would almost certainly get him first, being out on the couch,” Julius said lightly, nodding with some relief as he affixed his bedhead hair into a messy bun on top of his head. “Thank goodness for a first line of defense. At least he’s good for something."

Julius leaned back against the headboard behind him, pulling his comforter up around him to shield him from the last lingering chill in the room. From this new comfortable nest, he eyed Molly as she held the soon to be borrowed top to herself, quietly judging if he liked it on her or not. It’s cute, he decided— and withheld judgement as a result.

“No, no, go ahead. I doubt I’ll need it for a bit.” He held a hand in front of his mouth as he yawned, sliding down again until he rested his chin on the edge of the comforter. “What are you doing up this early, anyway? Work?”

[afacettes-blog]

Earnings

Passing Check [+1500G] First Job [+2000G] Second Job [+1000G]

Major Expenses

Journeymen’s Apartments [-800G]

Minor Expenses

Food [-1000G]

Total Balance:

5,000G → 7,700G

[albino-black-sheep]

Lazy Days ||  Henry & ??? (Open)

[afacettes-blog]

@albino-black-sheep​

A sigh of relief escaped Henry’s lips. “That’s good. I always get a li’l worried about buggin’ people.” He smiled and gripped the umbrella in both hands, holding it close to his slender body. “Ah, It’s for the sun actually, yeah. I burn up super easily, so this helps a lot. I don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell otherwise~” He gave a soft chuckle at his own saying.

“Anyway, I frequent this place often, and I haven’t seen you around here I don’t think. I hope It’s okay t’ ask for your name? I’m Henry.” He held his hand out to the- …dear lord now that Henry took a proper look at this beautiful being in front of him, the more Henry decided that he’d really like this person! “Oh my gosh I’m so sorry for gettin’ off track, but I just realized this and your outfit is amazing.”

Henry never really met anyone else who could blend the gender binary and wear such feminine clothes with a more masculine frame. Was this the best day of his life? Maybe! It sure seemed like it!

Julius giggled along with the saying, pressing his fingertips to his mouth as his eyes surveyed the person before him. This stranger was very fair— he was certain that the metaphorical quip wasn’t far from being literal. “Very smart of you. Also kind of a relief there’s no rain on the horizon.☆ Then I’d really be caught unprepared.”

He paused, delighted at the stranger’s question, before offering his own hand in return to shake— the gesture from him as light and elegant as his previous attempt to help him with his parasol had been. Julius did love to stand out, guilty as charged, and the fact that this stranger had taken the time to notice they hadn’t yet become acquainted made it difficult to tamp down the coy smile the attention elicited.

“My goodness, thank you. If half this city is as complimentary as you are, I think I’m going to quite enjoy living here.♡ I’m Julius. I’ve just moved to the island a few days ago, if that explains that. It’s a pleasure to meet you—?” He trailed off with a head tilt, begging the return introduction.

[che-belladonna]

Let Me Borrow That Top || Molly & Julius

[afacettes-blog]

@che-belladonna​:

She had not even been looking for a solid minute before she could hear the rustling and startle of her flatmate as he realized someone was in his bedroom. She clicked her tongue, still pushing through the clothes as Julius called her out. 

“One of my shirts has gone missing,” she said, pulling a top of his off the hanging rack to admire it for a moment before setting it back, “I wanted to see if it somehow got mixed in with your clothes.” 

Molly pulled another top out from the mix, this time holding it up against herself before poking her head out of the closet to look at Julius, the top’s hanger dangling from her finger.

“Where’d you get this one, by the way?”

Julius sat back, face falling blank— discarding the pout immediately at the mention of Molly’s missing top. Yes, it probably would be missing, wouldn’t it - and he had a hunch he knew exactly where he’d find it if he looked. Julius cleared his throat, doing his best not to cast a guilty look around at his own laundry hamper behind him.

“Yes, well,” he mumbled ineffectively, tossing his hair out of his face and fishing for a scrunchie to put it up with among his belongings strewn across the surface of his nightstand. “You could at least do me a favor and knock next time. How was I to know you weren’t a murderer or something? New city, new dangers—”

He paused, his hair halfway pulled up behind his head, squinting through the low light of his bedroom. “Um,” he said, unhelpfully - before leaning over to turn on the lamp beside his bed. “Oh, that one— that one I got online. I’m not sure it’s still available, but remind me later and I’ll see if I can find you the listing.” His own guilt nudged him not to stop there, and he carefully avoided glancing to his hamper again. 

“You can borrow it for now, though, I suppose.”

[albino-black-sheep]

Lazy Days ||  Henry & ??? (Open)

It was so hot… The height of summer and there was honestly very little Henry could do to cool off. He currently sat inside a little restaurant in the abyssal city, staring out towards the Abyss, wondering if it could provide for him the experiences of summer he so badly lacked and desired.

He sighed and sipped the sweetened coffee he had ordered. Maybe if his insides were hot, he’d be cooler from the outdoors? Either that or he just really needed the caffeine.

His left hand reached for the umbrella that was leaning against the table next to him. palming the end of the grip idly. He should probably get going. Maybe.

However, Henry apparently fiddled with the parasol a little too much and it slipped out of his hand, clattering to the floor and rolling away towards someone.

“Oh shoot! I’m so sorry-” he automatically apologized, despite having done nothing wrong. Henry got up out of his chair and jogged over to his discarded umbrella, picking it up. “I hope I didn’t bother you. It slipped out of my hand you see.”

The young teacher offered the stranger an apologetic smile.

[afacettes-blog]

Julius had been standing outside the little restaurant for a few minutes now, his cheek resting against his palm, trying to remember whether this had been the place that that kind stranger he’d spoken to earlier in the day had recommended he try. He’d yet to get truly acquainted with the city long enough to learn his way around, and had been a little too lazy to stock the fridge in his tiny, shared apartment - so finding his way to new restaurants had been his first step in making a home of his new locale.

After some time to ponder, he finally decided that if this wasn’t the place, he’d have to simply find out if he liked it well enough on its own, anyway. Besides, he was getting far too hot standing out in the heat like this; some serious shade was in order. Decisively (if one could call it that after the wishy washy fence-sitting he’d been doing until this moment), he pushed open the front door, stepping inside.

Before the hostess noticed him, however, an unexpected bit of rain-gear came rolling toward him across the floor. He blinked down at it, surprised, then carefully sank into a crouch— intending to pick it up while balancing delicately in high heels. Just as he’d nearly reached it, however, a second surprise popped up in the form of a man he hadn’t seen before. Julius wobbled for a moment, giggled with relief for having caught himself from falling over backwards, then gracefully drew himself back up to his full (heel-adjusted) height again.

“No bother at all.☆ I’m glad you caught it. I might have to get myself one of those— do you find it helps with the sun?” Julius grinned. “Or are we just expecting rain?”

[lilyoftheabyss-blog]

Abyss 101 || Julius & Dia

[afacettes-blog]

@lilyoftheabyss​

‘He is certainly interesting.’ Dia thought to herself as she looked up at him, unsurprised by how much taller he was than her. It would be impressive to meet a man as short as her. 

Dia simply gestured and took a step towards the direction they needed to go, passing the main desk and walking down a hall where the deep green tile flooring of the lobby faded into sterile white, “Though I’m sure you heard the spiel during the interview, I’m obligated to repeat this.” 

She cleared her throat and through the script she had recited so many times before, “The Abyss Research Guild was founded over two hundred years ago by Captain Liska of the S.S Ibis, needing a stronghold to study the findings from within the mysterious abyss we all live around. Since it’s inception we have grown to astonishing greatness and continue to unearth new discoveries about the abyss itself.” 

Dia sighed, “I’m… gonna skip the rest of that since it’s only the two of us. You’ve been hired to the geologist division, yes?” 

Julius fell pleasantly into step behind his new superior, folding his arms behind his back as he trailed along behind her— his posture open and curious. As they moved down the hallway, his eyes slid left to right - taking in the decor, the architecture, the signs on the doors, the general layout of the place. He’d never been especially good at committing things like spatial layout or official titles and names to memory, but it seemed in his best interest that he at least try to absorb as much of his surroundings as possible. 

If he was to report information back to his cohorts, he’d need to at least try to sound like he’d been paying attention— especially as each of them equally new to the guild, and equally quietly invested in the rumors of riches they’d been fed before they took the plunge to move here.

As Dr. Beaumont spoke, Julius made a point of nodding along thoughtfully. He had indeed heard this spiel in his interview, but it was never said that Julius was a man bright enough to memorize things said to him on first listen. Captain Liska, he thought to himself. That did sound familiar-ish, yes. The S.S. Ibis. Got it. He would try to remember that one. History was important and all that. New discoveries in the mysterious abyss— yes, that had been the bit he’d certainly remembered.

“How exciting,☆” he added, a curious smile in his voice. He perked up when she turned to a question, brightening considerably.

“That’s right— the geologist division. I’m very excited to find out what my work here will entail.”  

[afacettes-blog]

In the early hours of the morning, Molly goes into Julius' bedroom. She is quiet when she enters, careful to open the door slow enough so that it did not crack and stir him from his much needed beautyrest. Once inside, she heads straight for his closet, pushing around hangers upon hangers of clothes as though browsing the clearance section of a department store.

@che-belladonna

Julius has always been a fairly light sleeper. After how much wanderlust had been instilled in his flighty bohemian parents, he’d never occupied one place long enough to really get accustomed to the place, and as a result he now always seems to find himself hovering just uncomfortably above a particularly deep sleep— always a little too en guarde to really let himself relax.

Molly had been relatively quiet in tiptoeing into his bedroom, and Julius probably wouldn’t have stirred from the gentle opening his his bedroom door, or his roommate’s soft footsteps across his bedroom floor on their own. The reality of the situation, however, is that Julius dresses for attention— and part of what gets you attention is having clothing that rustles, flutters, and jangles in all the right ways. The moment Molly began to quietly paw through each of the outfits hanging in his closet was the moment that sealed her fate.

“Huh!” he exclaims with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed after going from zero to one hundred in only a second. “Who’s there?!”

Julius rips his sleep mask off in a quick, harried motion - replacing the cartoon sparkly eyes that had been embroidered on the front of it with his own eyes, squinting and dazed at being so violently reintroduced to the world. He settles into an unpleasant pout when he recognizes what’s going on here. 

“Oh, borrowing something, are we? Silly me, I must have forgotten that I said you could help yourself to my closet this morning.☆”

[lilyoftheabyss-blog]

Abyss 101 || Julius & Dia

[afacettes-blog]

@lilyoftheabyss​

“Leblanc, Julius…” Dia muttered to herself, reviewing the new employee’s information while briskly walking to the lobby from her office. She was tasked with giving him the tour of the facility, introducing him to his work stations, and generally answering questions. 

Syllabus day for the new hire as it were. 

She rounded the corner from her end of the building into the well decorated lobby, spotting a new face reclined in one of the plush couches. If this wasn’t him, then she had no idea who this was. 

Taking a chance, she approached the man, giving a smile and offering her hand, “Mister Leblanc I take it? I am Doctor Beaumont, I’ll be showing you around today.” 

Julius had long ago become accustomed to being in new places; the general sense of unfamiliarity had become a longer running theme for him than any sort of home had ever been. Living this way often meant that one had to make themselves at home wherever they were if they were to ever get any semblance of sanity— and Julius had become very good at making himself feel at home.

The soft, plush couches that lined the lobby had been calling his name the moment he’d walked in. When it had been suggested that he take a seat and wait for a Doctor Beaumont to come and fetch him, he’d snuggled right into one, lounging back to get the comfiest view of his surroundings possible. Besides, they really oughtn’t have made such a professional spot so comfortable if they hadn’t wanted to encourage a little lounging, anyway.

The call of his name pulled him out of the dazed staring he was doing at the opposite wall, snapping him out of his attempt to take note of each of the decorations to better situate himself by. He slid smoothly to his feet in one fluid motion, all smiles as he took her hand in a light handshake in greeting.

“Ah— yes, that’s me. ♡ It’s a pleasure to meet you, Doctor. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to work under you.”

[afacettes-blog]

Silk & Valentines!

Gifts were plentiful in the Leblanc home— given freely and with seldom need for an occasion to pair them with. When Julius first asked for dress, his mother had bought him one - happy to coo over how cute he looked in it as soon as he’d put it on. And when he’d first asked for jewelry, his father had let him pierce his ears - chuckling in carefree amusement when Julius put his hair up in just the same way his mother always did, sounding so much like an adult in the way he played at admiring the way the light caught his new earrings in the mirror.

He’d grown up so fondly snooping about in his mother’s dressing room, admiring the beautiful things she collected, trying on her make-up, slipping his too-small feet into her shoes to stumble around in. And while Julius had never hesitated to ask for something he wanted, he’d never imagined he could love anything so sincerely as the small, slouchy, stylish make-up bag that his mother surprised him with one afternoon as he came home from school.

He spent the rest of the night trying out tiny bits of product, his very own products— swatching small portions of their beautiful colors on the back of his hands, lovingly trying them out on his own face. He felt like the canvas and the artist combined, painting little strokes of beauty on his eyelids, on his lips, on his cheeks. He’d never felt more free to express himself than in being able to create his own brand new face.

His mother laughed when she found him sitting hunched over a mirror, too excited to go to sleep— wearing far, far too much make-up.

[afacettes-blog]

Galaxy, silk, sense

He stood in front of the mirror, wiggling his hips with a gentle sashay as he tugged the skirt up to his waistline. This one was definitely a better fit than the last skirt he’d tried on; the high-waisted band sat comfortably around his middle. This was exactly the piece he’d been hoping to find when he’d come downtown this afternoon.

He tugged the bottom of his turtleneck down over the skirt’s waist, admired the look, then gave his hips another little shake. The colorfully patterned pleats of the dress bounced cheerfully in the motion, and Julius beamed at his reflection in the dressing room mirror. There was something so infectious about an outfit that just seemed to advertise happiness without you having to say a word to anyone to explain yourself. He could almost even imagine the designer who’d worked on it, could picture the kind of person they must be. Their craft spoke volumes about their outlook on life— about the kind of joy they wanted to put out into the world on the people who chose to wear their creations.

Julius slipped back into his leggings, draping the skirt over an arm - along with all the other soon-to-be purchases he’d been baited into making. The fitting room attendant gave him a half-amused, half-wry smile as she caught him unlocking the door.