kaisou | An Open Log!

An Open Log!

WHO: Lloyd and whomstever has the misfortune of joining me in here!
WHERE: Coffee shop. A NORMAL!!! Dog park. Just generally around???
WHEN: TIME IS A MEANINGLESS CONSTRUCT
WHAT: A cool app showed up on the phone, and that's cool and all, but also he's got places to be and things to do.
WARNINGS: idk man probably none

1. Your name is spelled SUPER wrong on the cup

[While Lloyd's been in Kaisou for a while, it's taken a bit to really get settled. Having little to no actual documentation of who the fuck you are kind of complicates things, after all. (That's just kind of what happens when a guy takes you in but doesn't trust anything about the government.) But he has finally! Managed to get a part-time job! At a place, even! It's not the nicest coffee shop. But it's local, and they make things, and they were willing to pay him in cash, and that's really all that matters, right?

Besides, Lloyd's willing to work, and do it with gusto.

Anyway, for now, he's calling out into the (pretty damn empty) standing-room only of the cafe, holding up a cup.]

Yo, I got a oat milk lavender latte?! [He didn't pay attention if you specified if you wanted it hot or iced. In fact this might not be what you ordered at all. But he looks so damn proud-- and there's latte art?? Come on, dude, come get your coffee.]

2. Someone's gotta walk the giant dogs

[What else does Lloyd do? Specialize in walking massive dogs, of course. He's a frequent flyer at the dog park, usually with someone's saint bernard or bernese mountain dog, or samoyed-- today it's a pair of great danes, pulling at their leads, thin tails whipping back and forth like maniacs in their excitement.]

C'mon, guys, chill out a bit. [At least he doesn't seem bothered by it at all, holding the leads easily. His chastising is more like general complaining, and he rolls the leashes to pull them in closer, opposite hand going to start scratching ears.] Fine, fine. Just don't go too far, okay?

[And those leads get unclasped, just for the pair of horse-like dogs to go bounding gracelessly-- possibly straight into someone, clipping you with their bulk as they continue on to go play in the fountains and with the other smaller dogs.]

--Oh, geez, sorry... you okay?!

3. An ~Item Regain~

[Everything has been a little... weird since the other night. The weird app that won't go away. The shining lights in the sky. The weird feelings.

Just like now, as he's coming to a stop on his bike, attention caught by some sort of container washed up on the side of a local pond. That he knows is his? Even though he's never seen it in his life. He kicks the kickstand down, dismounting the bike, and places a hand over the small fence between the path and the park to hop over it and approach.]

....This is so weird.. [Yeah, he's talking to himself, even as he feels compelled to pick it up, to open it--

and let forth a massive deluge of stagnant pondwater. Pondscum, algae, and who knows what else. Old, water-logged duck feathers, sticks, tadpoles, mosquitos-- the entire contents of a grody-ass pond just torrenting forth out of this stupid thing he picked up, swamping over himself and absolutely anyone nearby.]

4. WILDCARD

[either tag me with whatever and I'll roll with it, or contact me on plurk, discord, or PM to plot something out...!! Lloyd can be found all around the city, with the exception of somewhere boring like libraries. Come hang out and do some crafts at a public workspace- He'll be carving stuff, or making jewelry for his Etsy shop. Correct his math on something, help him fix his bike, literally whatever, I am good with!]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Okay, so he's fucked up a lot as a barista today, and got side-lined into local deliveries. Which is fine, because honestly? He kind of likes getting to run around and learn the area and meet people. Also? Tips. Always great.

Anyway, he's knocking on the door, coffee held in left hand (with that ridiculous blue compass tattoo across the back of it), and right returning to rest on his hip. His style is definitely something that could be hipster, if it was intentional at all- An open flannel shirt over a dark tank, suspenders, skinny jeans-- and a doofy-ass demeanor that doesn't match the look in the slightest. His hair is flopped one way, and he's got a dangling earring on the opposite side. So just.... Enjoy opening the door and seeing this, Zelos. Hope you planned on having a crisis today.]

[Zelos wasn't planning on having a crisis today, no! His roommates are out, so he was mostly just watching TV on the couch. He wasn't expecting anyone to come to his door, so it's weird to have the door knock. Buuut whatever, maybe one of his roommates locked themselves out. Adol probably, Ana would knock much more aggressively.

So he'll get up and head for the door. In a laisse-faire manner, he'll start talking as he opens the door]

What did you lock yourself out Ado-

[Except...that's not the red guy he's had as a roommate the past six months. Oh no. Zelos stops dead in his tracks when he sees who it is, his face losing what little color it had.

It's the other red guy. The guy who he really counted on not seeing again]

-- Lloyd?

[The name comes spilling out before he can stop himself]

[-- And then the rest of his panic catches up. Oh sweet Martel Lloyd is here why is he here, why is he at this door-

Excuse him as he immediately tries to slam the door closed. He is NOT dealing with this. No siree!!!]

Yeah- [He's looking at the sharpie-written name on the cup.] Fernando, right?

[----nvm, the door is being slammed right in his face.]

[Well that's annoying. Okay. He's just gonna slam his fist on the door in a bit louder knocking. And shouting at the door.]

Hey! It's $6.50, Fernny!!

[Zelos groans as he hears Lloyd through the door perfectly. Why is that voice there? And also, why is he calling him Fernny??? Is he trying to be an ass on purpose so he'll open the door again??

So he'll shout through the door]

You're hilarious! I'm not opening the door! So get lost!

Then why did you bother ordering?!

[Reasonable people with respect for boundaries would probably just call it a wash and leave. Instead, this is Lloyd. We're lucky he hasn't just grabbed the knob and shoved in since he didn't hear no lock.]

Look, I'm sorry we were out of splenda, but that stuff's nasty anyway, so you can just add whatever you want, okay?

What are you talking about?! I didn't order anything!

[he CERTAINLY didn't order a heap full of past issues at his door, no siree!]

Why are you pretending-?!

[Wait. He's gonna. Rummage that receipt out of his back pocket. Look at the address. Look at the house number. Welp. Sure did get those numbers mixed up.]

....Oh. So you're not Fernando?

[What the fuck? What is Lloyd talking about? Of course he should recognize him. It doesn't fully occur to Zelos that Lloyd might be another one from the one he knows- his own fight or flight instinct is too busy flaring. ]

How hard did you hit your head?! Of course my name's not Fernando! Quit messing around!

Hey, I haven't hit it in like a week!

[Okay, this is extra weird. He's just about ready to throw the cup at the guy's door and leave, but for once both his brain cells are firing, and they manage to notice a thing:]

Alright, fine. But if you're not, how did you know my name, then?

[He doesn't have a name tag. The shop he works at doesn't really require it or care. The guy who ordered would have gotten a message IDing him, sure, but if this guy wasn't that guy...??]

[ .... !

Well that question makes him stop short, and there's a pause of silence for a moment on Zelos's end. At first he wants to know what the hell kind of question is that, of course he knows Lloyd's name.

But then he remembers those conversations he's seen the other otherworlders talked about. How people from their world are in the city but with no memories. That they're other versions.

Fuck.

So that's what this is. ]

[Zelos takes a deep breath. He knows that he should probably come clean. Be honest, and explain the situation.

But. Did he really want to explain what actually went down between them? About the situation with other worlds? He doesn't know if Lloyd is on the app or even aware of all the freaky stuff that goes on. He might be as oblivious as most people here.

And besides...explaining all that, reliving is...

He goes with his first gut instinct: He lies]

We went to school together, asshole! Of course I remember your name. Not like you bothered it seems.

[That sure is a long pause. And the longer it goes on, the more suspicious Lloyd feels. Not that he knows what to do about it. Because-- what is this, anyway? Some guy who acts like he knows him and wants to avoid him? Knows his name?

--And has a lie that bad?

His nose scrunches up as he keep staring at this stupid closed door he's been yelling through, clearly unimpressed.]

...Oh, really. [That is the 'oh really' of a guy who does not buy your shit for a moment. But he might give Zelos a bit more rope to hang himself with. After all, he'd never attended school, let alone even grew up anywhere near here.]

Guess I must have a bad memory for voices. [Because, you know, he was staring at the cup reading the name when you opened the door and slammed it shut again.] Well you know mine-- Remind me who you are?

[Zelos recognizes that skeptical tone from Lloyd for what it is. How could he not? It was the tone he heard directed towards him a lot. Lloyd never trusted him, after all. He's real glad there's a door blocking Lloyd's view of him - because he can't help but wince slightly just hearing it again.

Who was he? Was there a point in giving him his name? If he gave his name, what if it jogged his memory? It wasn't like they had some great relationship before...there's no good memories to regain, far as Zelos could tell. ]

I'm no one worth remembering, trust me.

[He shakes his head at the last words out of his mouth that has slipped out. Of course Lloyd wouldn't trust him, who was he kidding?]

[........you know, Alphinaud was actually getting out of his room for once, going beyond the university campus to maybe! Finally! Explore and not worry so much about his dad figuring out he swapped majors. You know, actually learn to be a student and not a shut-in.

That's proving to be very different from what he's used to back home, what with the hired help around the house and constant studies keeping him busy. He can't exactly complain about it, though- it's completely unlike France, and he's finding he doesn't mind.

So he's settled into the coffee shop here, mostly for people watching and some light reading- of which is going to be interrupted with a bit of a startle at Lloyd's shout. Uh... Alphinaud takes a moment to look around and notice he's pretty much one of the very few in the place. He... doesn't remember ordering that, but if that's what the guy says, then, it's prooooobably his?

Alphinaud gets up, waving his hand in an effort to let Lloyd know he heard him. He places the backpack by his chair down, and if Lloyd takes a look, he may notice the bag is... rustling?? Just a little. At least it's not a long walk to get to the counter, and he smiles just a little. The latte art is cute, that much is true.]

Ah. That, I believe, is mine.

[This is how you do social stuff outside the phone, right? Right.]

[Amal is walking his own dog, which is definitely not a dog, but rather a giant red fluffy chicken with a little princess tiara on her head. Luckily she is unfazed by dogs, what with her dignified stare, but the moment the dogs get too close they get a gentle but firm shove from her wings towards the other dogs in the park.

Amal picks himself off the grass but he looks delighted.]

Dogs! And such big ones too!! I want to—

[Wait, there's a guy standing there.]

Are those your dogs? They're huge! Can I pet them? Are they friendly? What are their names? How old are they?

[Varian doesn't have a dog to walk in the dog park. He doesn't even have someone else's dog to walk. But he does have a raccoon. Albeit a chubby raccoon who definitely is sitting on his shoulders as opposed to walking himself, but Varian thinks that's good enough to be in here. He wants to check it out since he heard it was forbidden. That's just asking for a teenager to poke around in here.

He's busy on the lookout for the people in cloaks when he gets barrelled over by the dogs. He lands with a graceless thud in the dirt- Ruddiger clambering onto his prone body to chatter angrily at the dogs departing forms, sharing a little raccoon fist like a grumpy old man. Varian groans as he hears a voice talking to him. ]

It's okay, I've had worse- Ruddiger get off my head- just...gimmie a sec.

[To lie down face-down in the dirt. It's fine, he's fine.]

El Finode, right? Is that Portugeuse?

[lloyd stop.

He's handing over the drink, though-- and yeah, his attention is absolutely caught by a moving bag. It's... rummaging? And so, confused, he'll point to it.]

Uh... I think your bag's trying to escape.

[yeah how dare the guy you are actively lying to not trust you.

But even so, Zelos's response is weirdly... sincere feeling? It's a jump from their stupid yelling at one another, from the shitty lie about being schoolmates, to a statement so self-depreciating. Absently, he puts a hand on the door, brows coming together in thought.

Every stubborn refusal of Zelos's just makes him think there's more to know. It's that same bizarre deja vu sensation with nothing to attribute it to he'd been experiencing off and on the past day or so-- a sort of nostalgia for something that he can't place and just gnaws at his peripherals until he gets frustrated. After a moment, he shakes his head.

He can think about stuff later. Right now he's here, talking to this guy who refuses to see him. Still, his tone is a bit softer when he finally responds.]

...I think I get to decide that.

[--There's a lot to take in here. The two danes are galumphing about, sniffing at the giant chicken and giving the odd 'boof!' of confusion and curiosity and excitement. Also there's a giant chicken with a crown. Also there's this guy that he knocked over asking him a bunch of questions...???

yolo, he'll just roll with it, offering a hand to help the guy up.]

No, they're not mine. But they are friendly! She's Boon, and she's Doggle. [He points at the solid gray one, and then to the black and white one.] I th...ink they're about a year and a half?

[Question's answered, he snaps his fingers with a grin, pointing right back at Amal!]

Okay, your turn! Same questions for your emu!!

[There were probably signs. Signs such as 'Do Not Look At The Dog Park'. Or 'Dogs Are Forbidden At The Dog Park'. But that would require a willingness to read the signs, and that's something Lloyd just does not have. And so here he is, bringing in giant dogs that don't belong to him, in the Forbidden Dog Park, and having them completely barrel over a dude before running off to go piss on things.

But. Uh. This kid has a raccoon? Cool. Even if he's taking a dirt nap.]

--That your Raccoon's name? [Lloyd crouches down to lightly jostle Varian's shoulder, as if to make sure he's okay-- though he's careful to keep his fingers away from the chattering, angry raccoon. Rabies, man. He does not even wanna deal with that.]

We can probably find you a place to lay down that's less likely to have dog pee on it, if you want.

[Yeah let's be real, Zelos is the guy that pointed a firework at his own face when he launched it and is shocked when that in fact turned out to be a bad idea. You're fine Lloyd.

He hears that softer tone. Ugh. He should just not respond. Maybe if he's quiet for long enough, Lloyd will give up and go away.

Wait no, Lloyd is stubborn as hell. That'd definitely never work. Just dammit, why did this have to happen? ]

...Zelos. Zelos Wilder.

[It's against his better judgement, he already regrets saying anything at all. But hey, he's batting a thousand with bad decisions today so what's one more? ]

[....He's never known anyone named Zelos. It's not exactly a common name, so he knows he would remember if he'd ever met him before. And he hasn't.

He's so sure of that fact that it makes his head hurt at how wrong that fact feels. Not recognizing the name offered to him feels like a failure, somehow.]

...Zelos, then. [It feels familiar and foreign all at once as he says it. But there's no clear cut recognition, no immediate 'aha!' moment. More than anything, he's left feeling even more lost than before. It would be easier if he didn't have that nagging clutch at his heart, drawing out aimless sympathies for this voice he's never heard.]

Good to meet you. I'm... Lloyd. Like you said. [Another pause, and he'll add:]

So, uh... do you want Fernando's coffee? I don't think he's gonna get it anytime soon.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 1 of 4

An Open Log!

FOR ZELOS :']

1/3

2/3

3/3 DONE

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

2/2

no subject

no subject

1

2 EYYY I'M WALKIN HERE

2

no subject

no subject

i heard that as the crabs from finding nemo

THE FORBIDDEN PARK

no subject

no subject