(open) hanging on in quiet desperation—

[coherer]

WHO: jonas and you
WHERE: all over stygia
WHEN: the duration of december
WHAT: event and notice board chaos
WARNINGS: smooches and anxiety, random possibility of shadow shenanigans

Comments

[appeale]

[ oh, this is the least anxiety-inducing of all the run-ins she's had. it's better to be stuck with a stranger than it is with any of her lifelines, but it's definitely better to be stuck with Jonas than any stranger. well—maybe she wouldn't call it "better" as such. easier, though. ]

No, I— [ she'd started to answer without actually registering what he said, and when it clicks, she yelps: ] Has that happened to you, Jonas?!

[ she understands wanting to avoid the curses, she's debased herself plenty for the sake of that, but HELLO??? ]

I've just been taking the curses when it's someone that isn't... you know, part of our group.

[coherer]

(ik girl, he's made some choices here he's not proud of, but:)

Um, the last time I got cursed, I had to become a hermit for half a month. (bad times were had by all, but he doesn't mind now that it's over. he simply rubs the back of his neck and tells her like it is.) I'm not messing with this grab-bag of random bullcrap.

Anyway, I'm not too pressed... this guy got "signals" from me or something and totally just went all in. I literally went and bought gum afterward. (and when you smoke heavily, it's better to seek some balance. with all this mistletoe hanging everywhere, jonas would rather smell and taste like spearmint when kissed than force others to deal with the hotly debated flavours of tobacco and nicotine.

a stick of it is offered out to her, leaning a little to give ruby a very curious once-over. she's still as effortlessly pretty as she was when she was elbow-deep in pumpkin guts. man, is everyone here a ten?)

... Wait, what kinds of curses have you been getting? Don't get me wrong, I'm super glad you've got standards, but that sounds crazy.

[appeale]

[ the offer of gum is turned down, Ruby holding up a hand with a smile—instead, she digs through a pouch at her hip and comes up with a hard mint candy. she winks, and there's a short giggle, sweet and melodic, before she pops it into her mouth. with the mint under her tongue, she speaks around it: ]

Um... I swapped voices with Hibiki for a day; there was a while where everything tasted like ash; I've had my things go missing, and my breath came out as black smoke instead of mist, and I got really, really, really cold...

[ sure, it's been bad enough for her to grind her dignity under heel and kiss just about everybody she knows by now. but at the same time, she's suffered much worse from far more mundane sources. she already knows she can endure. between a rock and a hard place, she'll still choose one or the other.

speaking of her dignity and lack thereof: she puts her hands to her cheeks, a rosy blush colouring her face already tinged pink by the cold. ]

B-But, I mean, it isn't easy for me to just... k-kiss people like that! I thought it would only ever be with my husband! I even had to give my first away...

[coherer]

(ruby still seems to be in good spirits despite being put through all of that. it takes a strong will to not get bogged down by it all, and jonas, who was feeling particularly morose until spotting her, straightens at the wink with a little smile.

the gum is slipped into his pocket, already forgotten.)

You've had it pretty rough, then... I should take a page out of your book and just do what makes me comfortable instead of trying to force it. It hasn't been that bad, but it hasn't been good either.

(kissing. intimacy. shying away from that has never been "jonas," and now he wonders if he's been acting like a yes-man recently. it's of some concern to him, however, that ruby's had to go against her beliefs to obey this place, and it takes most of his attention; her world is another he's unable to understand. that doesn't mean he wouldn't like to.

he gestures between them.)

I'm sorry things have been so backward. This place sucks, but—well, we can kiss real quick or take the curse option, especially if that's something you'd prefer. We can... get glitter dandruff or, like... have our arms turn into noodles together or something.

[appeale]

[ hah, why is this boy so nice... Rudbeckia is hardly the kind of person who can sincerely preach about prioritising your own comfort. what she could tell Jonas is that it's vital to be able to do the hard thing sometimes rather than take the easy way out, but she knows better than anyone that, coming from her, that advice would be like feeding him a poison just because she's learnt to swallow it. even if she's a liar, there's no reason to lie to him about that. she simply won't say anything.

she shakes her head as Jonas starts talking about taking the curse. ]

I don't want to get cursed, and I don't want you to get cursed because of me. [ she curls a lock of wavy golden hair around her finger and fidgets with it, feigning shyness. well—it is honestly embarrassing. feigning an appealing, demure shyness, in any case. ] And I trust you, so it's not like I'm against it...