Diabolik Lovers, and canon plot based panfandom RP.
Raven
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Eri
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Ogo
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STAFFER NAME
POSITION
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Karl Heinz and his wives, and Richter are not available for application by the gen public. They will be written by admins or admin upon request. Any and all outside of the boys will be up for interaction for personal plot advancement upon request.
Azusa stared at the tanks as the fish swam around with a small yet thick book on the species in his hands. The serene music that played in the aquarium brought peace to him. He felt his worries wash away and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. He didn't always come to these sort of places. But, when he needed a moment to get lost in his thoughts and relax, the effortless motions of the shark always held his gaze.
He turned to see someone stand besides him, his guard kicking in for a second. It was only when he realized the person was from his school was when he relaxed slightly. He wasn't really good at starting conversations, but he was willing to try.
"The sharks... they're relaxing to watch..." He spoke softly, "Did you come... to see them, too?"
Five small watercolor paintings didn’t seem like that big of a deal when they were assigned in Jen’s advanced art class. At the time, she shrugged it off, thinking that knocking them out would be a breeze. Boy, was she wrong; no matter what she did, she seemed to have a horrible case of artist’s block. Cityscapes didn’t always lend themselves well to a free and loose sort of medium like watercolor, and she didn’t have a Japanese driver’s license to go out into the countryside.
Think, Jen, think…
With a bit of poking around on the internet, she discovered that the city had an aquarium, just a half hour or so bus ride away in downtown Kamina. She packed up her watercolor pad (about the size of a large notebook), some soft lead pencils, her watercolor supplies, and some extra snacks in her bag - plus some extra cash for if she wanted an actual lunch - and headed out. The bus was a tad crowded for her liking, but it was made bearable with her earbuds and iPod.
The aquarium, by contrast, was rather depopulated. There were just enough people milling about that it didn’t feel deserted, but not so many that it seemed stifling. Jen took a map to the building, and looked down the list: coral reefs, rays, sharks, jellyfish, squid and octopi, even an exhibit on prehistoric fish. Surely one of those would provide her with inspiration? Seeing as it was the closest, the dhampir decided to follow the map that led to the shark exhibit.
The room itself was dimly lit, with most of the light coming down from within the tanks and casting a faint bluish hue throughout the space. AMbient music played from unseen speakers - it would have been excellent to meditate to, for how relaxing it was. Jen began to drift along to watch one of the nurse sharks, when she heard a soft, slow voice address her:
“The sharks… they’re relaxing to watch. Did you come… to see them too?”
She turned her head, and came face to face with a boy of her height - she could look him in the eyes without her focus having to turn up or down at all - with wispy black hair and a dewy gaze that seemed right at home in this watery environment. Jen could faintly make out linear scars on his face: one on the bridge of his nose, and one on either side of his jaw. His frame was willowy, and she noticed that his neck was wrapped in gauze bandages.
Nevertheless, she managed a response, “Oh, well I mean to see other fish as well, but… I figured I’d stop here since it’s one of the first rooms you can enter when you arrive. I agree though,” the tomboy watched the same nurse shark circle back, then finished, “they have a sort of elegant beauty about them that’s almost hypnotic to see in action.”
Now that she thought about it, something did seem vaguely familiar about this boy - perhaps a fellow Ryoutei student? However, just to play it safe, Jen continued, “I feel like I’ve seen you around somewhere… my name is Jen. What’s yours, sweetheart?”
Jen? He felt that should be familiar, but he never really payed much mind to his classmates unless they were to be partnered up.
"Azusa Mukami." He replied back, his bitten lips forming a small smile at the nickname. It was an odd thing to be called that by such a stranger. But, he didn't oppose the nickname one bit since it rolled off her tongue so naturally that he assumed it was something she calls everyone.
Lavender eyes gazed down to see her hands holding a watercolor pad. Was she here to paint the fish? He looked back up at her, his curiosity peaked just slightly.
"What did you come to paint?" He asked her. He wasn't much of a painter himself, liking photography better. But, he definitely did respect those with a talent or pursued such talents. It was something that took people many years of practicing and studying in order to learn and perfect.
“Azusa…” Jen repeated, as if getting used to the feel of his name on her lips, then flashed him her signature feline smile, “Well, it’s nice to meet you, doll. I like the name, by the way.”
She followed his wayward gaze downward - definitely further down than most men ventured upon first meeting her - to her watercolor pad. Instinctively, she pulled it up and held it in front of her, lightly rested against her chest, then shifted slightly askew so that he could see her work if she wished. Jen flipped through a few pages of sketches and unfinished paintings until she reached a blank, “I kind of figured some of the coral reef fish would be fun to paint, since they’re so colorful… not to mention their environment, of course.”
The dhampir glanced back up at him to see if she still had his attention, then continued, “Honestly, it’s for an assignment that I probably should have been working on way earlier, but you know how it is - no matter how much you love doing something, pressure to create kinda shuts ya down.”
Jen looked around again, wondering where to go first, though for a moment, her eyes found Azusa again. She scanned him for a second, perhaps lingering a tad longer than before as a thought crossed her mind. However, she put it aside, not knowing how comfortable he’d be with the idea, and straightened her posture, “Say, Azusa… I said that correctly, right? Do you visit here often?” She shifted her weight to the other foot, “Maybe if you’re not busy, you could show me around… or just hang with me for a while?”
A momentary pause, her tongue tip quickly wetting her lips, then a chuckle, “Sorry, am I talking too much? I do that sometimes, just, you know, stop me if I’m getting too chatty, okay hon?”
Azusa watched while she flipped those the pages of her work, a patient smile as he looked at them. They were very nice and he had to admit, he could never get down how to do water color properly. He looked back up at her face when she asked to hang out.
He paused for a beat, pensive for a moment. He had no reason to say no. She wasn't asking him anything outrageous either. In fact, it would be nice to have some company with another while he watched the fish. Ruki was always busy, and so was Kou. Yuma questioned why he found watching fish just swim around entertaining.
"I'd love to... Miss Jen..." He decided. He motioned for her to follow him while he gave her a look around, heading to the tunnel that had glass with fish and water behind it.
"You're not talking too much... I'm just not very fast at it..."
Miss Jen. It wasn’t often that she found herself being called that, and almost reflexively, she smiled. She followed Azusa’s lead, into the aquarium’s tunnel tank (that’s what she liked to call them, anyway), and although she caught glimpses of the exhibits along the way, she also noted the way he walked - he seemed to move like one would expect an undine to; that is to say, there was a soft fluidity about his movements, but moreso than that, Azusa himself seemed a bit spectral in the dancing blue light.
She kept a couple of paces’ distance behind the boy, not to avoid him, but rather to solidify an idea. Luckily for them, it didn’t appear that there were many people in the tunnel. She remained close enough to him so as not to seem like she was trying to get away, and scanned the tank, looking for a visually interesting spot (preferably, one where fish congregated often).
One section, at least, was populated by all sorts of vibrantly colored coral, anemones, and of course, fish. Jen closed in on it, peering through the glass to get a feel for the layout, and what composition would be ideal. Finally, when she nailed it - where she wanted to stand, what she wanted in the frame, everything - she called out to her new companion.
“Hey, Azusa?” She tapped her lip with the dull end of her pencil, and glanced his way, “Would you like to model for me?”
Azusa got lost in the moment as he watched the fish, sauntering to and fro for a moment. It was truly a peaceful feeling and he couldn't be anymore happier. He rested one hand delicately against the window as he watched with a smile. The fish were playful as always.
Azusa almost didn't hear Jen call out to him as he got lost in his own thoughts. He didn't realize he was a bit further away from her and quickly rushed over to the other in haste. He hadn't meant to get ahead of her like that. It was an honest mistake. He was relieved that she didn't look upset and quirked both eyebrows at the question.
Model? Him? Azusa wasn't sure he would be good for it unlike is brother who would be perfect for this, look and all. He was rigid and trembled too much when standing still. He also had no idea how to naturally smile on cue. It was awkward to say the least. But, he also didn't want to reject her out right. It seemed she really needed this to finish her assignment.
"I don't think... I would be very good..." He said, his voice almost dipping into self-depreciation. "I'm... not all that good... at modeling. ...And, I'm not really... that good looking either."
*eternally apologizing for how short this response is*
It wasn’t the first time Jen had gotten a response like this when asking someone to model for her on a stroke of inspiration; people who thought they had to be “good” at modeling, or had to have perfect features, but if she was being honest? Some of those same people were often the best models because they were inexperienced, or had scars or tattoos or piercings.
She smiled a bit and shook her head, “I don’t care about all of that. You don’t really have to do much, sweetheart - just relax and do your thing. There’s probably only one thing I’ll ask you specifically to do, but I need more practice drawing from life, so I’d rather you look natural.”
Jen met his eyes, and shifted her weight, though her expression fell a bit, “Why do you think you’re not good looking though? You have really nice features, like honestly, I love your eyes, especially in this lighting - they practically sparkle with the rippling blue reflections.”
Just in case that wasn’t enough to convince him, she put one more thing on the table: “Would it sweeten the deal if I offered to buy you lunch afterward? Of course, if you really don’t want to do it, just say so and I’ll respect that.”
He wanted to decline her and say another time but, it seemed like there wouldn't be another time for her. He bit the edge of his thumb nail. Maybe he could compromise. Azusa looked back at Jen and nodded.
"As long as I can... sit down. ...I'm not too found of standing.... for a very long time." Azusa agreed, giving the one condition. there were plenty of large ledges for people to sit along with ottomans. So, he hoped his condition wasn't too unreasonable for her.
I'm... still not sure why... you want to paint me..." He sat himself down in front of the glass container, his silhouette illuminating with the blue hues surrounding him ethereally. At least he'll get to see someone of actual talent at work. Azusa knew how to draw, but it was never as good as others.
"As long as I can... sit down. ...I'm not too found of standing.... for a very long time."
Jen maintained a gentle expression, one that she hoped would come off as reassuring, and let out a soft sigh, "Honestly, just do what feels most natural for you. The more relaxed you are, the better it'll turn out. If you want to sit or lie down, I can work with it; just pick a position you can stick to for a while. All I'll ask is maybe minor adjustments on your part."
She was rather surprised he didn't react to the offer of food as compensation for the modeling. The dhampir would feel rather bad if she didn't give him something in return for, honestly, doing her a huge favor. Maybe she'd bring it up again closer to the end of their session.
"Anyway, if you want, I'll let you figure out how you wanna sit, or lie down, or whatever," she dug through her bag for a cheap ceramic mug, that she'd gotten from a secondhand store, "I'll be right back, I'm gonna find a bathroom or a water fountain or something."
Jen dashed out to the hallway, and searched until she found the ladies' restroom. She only needed to pop in to fill the mug with water, and returned to the walk-through aquarium to finish setting up.
"Ready, Azusa?"
@lamb it only took me a fuckin century jfc also new template bc fuck that hover shit. Ain't nobody got time for that.
