[open]

[sharplydressed]

WHO: Kiyomitsu Kashuu (sharplydressed) and you!
WHERE: Various locations around town
WHEN: 3/10, or (nebulous handwaving motions) for wildcard!
WHAT: Newest member of the Anime Eyes Club™ has a hard day and takes everyone down with him
WARNINGS: n/a!

i - a good bean;
[It's a beautiful morning! The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, the weather is finally starting to toe out of crisp winter and into the start of chilly spring. Perhaps you came into the Good Bean today to get a pastry or a hot cup of coffee to give you a little jumpstart? Or maybe you're a coworker lamenting the fact that you have to be up this early to count out 500 packets of sugar for the condiment cart on the other side of the bar. Either way, one barista who greets you today will be wearing a big ol' pair of oversized sunglasses...

If you're stocking things or trying to get cream from carafes or fishing something out of the pastry case, you'll get a:]

Here, lemme get that for you.

[As he promptly proceeds to pick up and hand you the wrong item/drop it/spill it everywhere because it's surprisingly hard to see indoors in dim lighting with sunglasses on! Whoda thunk.

The same mix-ups and slips might happen as he delivers drinks to tables or hands them over the counter, too. Good luck living in the splash zone, customers...]

ii a - library;
[His fool ass thought red eyes were the only thing he had to worry about, but naturally it isn't that easy. He's had a long day today! It's been a very stressful few hours of making a mess out of everything and as soon as his shift's over, he is outta there. He grabs a cup of hot chocolate to-go, one of the new pastries they're testing, and ollies off to the library to unwind and read some mindless garbage.

Which is where he can be found a few hours later, seated in one of The Cozy Chairs, sipping his drink and snacking on the pastry that he successfully smuggled in. Maybe you're drawn over by the delicious scent of forbidden baked goods, the enormous shades he's still wearing or the ridiculous title in his hands - The Prince of Cats? But as you come closer, something starts fluttering in the air just slightly above his head.

Sparkling flower petals, to be precise.

It seems he hasn't noticed yet, and won't for a little while unless it's pointed out. If it isn't, a few petals eventually land in his lap and he turns a baffled stare upward first, over to the wall, and then to you.]

...Did you open a window?

[He asks, sitting nowhere near the latchable windows.]

ii b - park;
[Have you ever wanted to star in your own cheesy romance film? No? Too bad because that's exactly what you get today. Whether you're sitting on a bench, chilling out with the foliage or trying to walk your dog, suddenly the air around you is a shimmery soft pink just like in all your favorite shoujo anime. The petals seem to come from near that tree you're passing by - and here comes a mysterious stranger, walking from around the other side of it! You might even hear the gentle romantic notes of a piano in the distance...

At which point Kiyomitsu plugs the headphones back into his phone, giving up on trying to shut soundcloud off. He's been having some app struggles lately, let him live... That said, upon spotting anyone near enough:]

Hey, d'you think you could give me a hand real quick?

[Actually, the closer he gets, the sketchier he looks. What's up with those sunglasses? That big coat? The scarf pulled up to his nose? It's almost like he's trying to hide his identity for some reason. Maybe you should just skip out on starting this guy's route, lest you uncover some hidden mob ties or something.]

ii c - around town;
[People later in the day won't be so lucky, though. They don't get a soft and gentle shower of unobtrusive petals, OH NO. Kiyomitsu had just been pleasantly cozy before, after all, but now he's excited because:]

Oh—! They picked mine for the cover--

[He reaches out to pluck a magazine off the rack - maybe one at the check-out line of Freshens or just from a stand on the sidewalk - which sports a very pretty dress on the front.

...And at about the same time, poof! There goes a whole cloud of shimmering petals, bursting vigorously out of thin air around him and possibly smacking right into the faces of innocent bystanders. They smell nice, at least, even if they might temporarily blind anyone unfortunate enough to be walking into the dangerzone.

Kiyomitsu just squawks loudly, caught somewhere between embarrassment, surprise and disbelief.]

Again—?!

[He'll apologize for that mouthful of flowers in a second.]

wildcard
[You know the drill! If there's anything else you want to use this post to hit Kashuu up for, be my guest!]

Comments

ii c!

[doublesmall]

[why is it getting so much harder to avoid the weird shit in this city

Chuuya's just there to check out one of the magazines that publishes poetry, but he almost drops it when he's abruptly smacked in the face with a cloud of pink.]

The hell-?!

[He tries to bat them away, but he's not exactly being cautious about it-- in fact, he's probably smacking Kiyomitsu with the magazine.]

Watch where you're throwing those, some people are allergic, asshole--

[sharplydressed]

[HE HAS SO MANY REGRETS. Really, they need to stop meeting in situations that leave one or both of them Exhausted...

As things are, Kiyomitsu is batting the magazine he's being smacked with with the one he's holding... All of their magazine-waving is just causing the petals still in the air to swirl around rapidly, helpfully making it even more difficult to see.]

Cut it out—! I'm not throwing anything!!

[On the plus side, since he is distinctly no longer happy, the petal cloud stops generating more petals...]

iib

[catsudon]

( Honest, this is a rare moment of downtime as Yuri sets his phone on one raised knee and scrolls down through group texts, catching up on Dave and Anya's chatter while making notes to himself. He'll be honest. He doesn't usually remember much of any dream he has, but this one's been persistent, and he's settling down to write it out now just to get it out of his head.

Granted, it means he's tapping his pen on an open page with a frown tugging his lips down; this process is frustrating. He doesn't understand it. Doesn't like what he'd felt, because it's weird, and weird is not what he wants right now. There's enough of that in the day to day — )

...

( Having looked up recognising the voice speaking, and finding the lighting weird but not... as weird as it could be, Yuri blinks at Kiyomitsu. He lifts his pen, pointing the non-business end at Kiyomitsu. )

You know, when you said you liked having all eyes on you, I assumed it was for positive attention, Peacock, not this sketchy ass BS.

( ... does he really want help from this kid? At least Yuri looks sharply amused by this; he doesn't move from where he's sitting, notebook open over one leg. )

[sharplydressed]

[HE MADE A MISTAKE, he wants a redo button that he can mash so he can restart this over from the top and pick a different, more helpful person...!

Except no, he knows Yuri, and he's more inclined to talk to someone who knows him right now than a total and complete stranger. The first time some rando stared at his eyes and asked if he was wearing circle lenses was already one time too many, okay.

So he just HUFFS, waving his phone helpfully.]

Trust me, the last thing I want right now is attention. I'm kinda trying to help myself out there, y'know? [With the incognito winter get-up...] So if you could help out too, then I can just be on my way and get back to the apartments.

[Unless something else happens along the way, which it will, because that's just his luck.]

ii a!

[wiselys]

[ annabeth doesn't spend as much time at the library as she'd like. the internet holds all the research she needs, plus any non-school related materials, but sometimes she does like to pop in and wander among the books. particularly when trying to research a shitty app that she doesn't want spying on her internet activities.

she's walking by with her arms full of computer, shadow organizations, and spy code-related books, as well as a bookbag slung around her shoulders full of prime note-taking materials. she's not expecting to see sparkling flower petals floating around a guy, but man. she's not as surprised as she wishes she was.

she would just Keep Walking, but she vaguely (?) recognizes thalia and jason's cousin beneath the petals. dropping the books on a nearby table, she decides to approach just to see if this is Bullshit or just someone being Weird. if it's the former, it's something to add to her notes; if it's the latter it's something to text thalia or jason about because they need to know that their cousin is being weird, clearly,. ]

... Are you throwing sparkly flower petals around yourself?

[ maybe he has a personal flower petal thrower nearby, that would. make more sense. almost? ]

[sharplydressed]

[ALMOST. If only things were that easy... To be fair, hiring someone to throw petals around when he walks into a room would 100% be something Kiyomitsu would do. Gotta live it large with #aesthetic, okay!!

But judging by the baffled look on his face when he glances up and over - (also vaguely registering her as somewhat familiar) - that is not the case for now. Nor will it ever be the case, because he's become his own petal-thrower, apparently.]

Eh— No? Wait a second--

[He puts his trashy book down so he can... kneel in the chair and look over the back of it like he expects someone to be hiding back there, tossing around flowers. There are still a few hovering in the air around his head, like a giant invisible hand just upturned a bucket of them right over Kiyomitsu. BUT NO ONE IN SIGHT...]

...You're not messing with me, right?

ii a gomen

[fushichou]

[So while Kiyomitsu is off being a smuggler, Izumi is being a law-abiding library worker, trudging along with a cart of books that need to be reshelved. It's not hard work, but it's not terribly exciting, either, and that only makes his feet move all the slower. Oh, well. At least if he goes slowly, then his shift will be over faster...!

Logic.

But lo! There, in The Cozy Chairs! A savior for his boredom appears!

He's known Kiyomitsu long enough by now that he's still recognizable, even with the oversized sunglasses and the...flower petals...

(Yeah, look, he can justify a lot, but that little detail is out of reach, so he'll just get to it in a second.)

So he parks the cart somewhere out of the way and walks up to the chair, bending down to whisper - ]

Oh my God, are you hungover?

izumi why

[sharplydressed]

[Kiyomitsu OPENS HIS MOUTH TO ARGUE--

But honestly, that's... that's not a wildly inaccurate assumption to make... He can't even be like rude because while his wild party days are over, there has definitely been more than one occasion where he's shown up wearing shades in the daytime because of piercing headaches.

So instead of being snappy like he wants to be, he just SIGHS.]

Thanks for the concern, but I'm hangover-free today.

[And then he waves a free hand, which stirs up a few of those flower petals, finally bringing one into his view.]

—Eh?

i

[liberal_arts]

-Kasen had managed to avoid the splash so far, but this was the second order that had wound up on the floor/counter/nearly on him so far, and his patience was twisting in the wind, worn thin from the situation and it was really starting to show, especially in the terse patronizing tone he used. Honestly, he was a regular here, and this was astoundingly poor service by comparison to his usual experience.-

Far be it from me, sir, to tell you how to do your job, but given how dimly lit your store is, don't you think wearing sunglasses is hindering you? -Said nearly through his teeth.-

[sharplydressed]

[GOOD BYE, DRINK #2... Kiyomitsu is quick to start mopping the mess up (as well as one can when they're struggling to see) and even mutters an apology. Most of his frustration is self-directed, though.

And after a second's pause, he'll just. Try to explain his way out of this one.]

I just had an eye exam so I can't take 'em off for the next twelve hours or my eyes'll basically fall out. Even these lights are waaay too bright.

iia

[okitactless]

You can't open any of these ones.

[YAMATO YOU'RE AT WORK but here he is, slacking off like a punk. (Look, all the children are in school right now, there's nobody in his section. Which is good, because even if there had been, he wouldn't head back--who would, when there are sparkling flower petals spontaneously appearing in the air?]

Is this some new fashion thing you're doing with Mikoto-san?

[sharplydressed]

[YAMATO STOP TAKING PAGES OUT OF KASHUU'S WORK ETHICS BOOK says Kashuu literally never.

Especially now, since he's... leaning and looking around himself and finding more sparkling petals and?! Why. He reaches over the side of the chair to pick one up and then shoots Yamato a suspicious look.]

No? Are you trying to pull some kinda prank...

[At least between his general surprise and concern, he's no longer happy enough to be a fountain of petals.]

ii c

[arahoushi]

[You know what, he was just about to congratulate Kashuu for all the hard work (and the magazine success) when he got a faceful of shoujo manga props. When the floral dust settles, Toshi is left standing there, blinking in confusion. There are a couple petals on his head and scattered all over his shoulders.

That's.

Hm.

Okay, it's weird, but better than pulling someone off a ceiling.]

"Again"? Has this been happening a lot?

[sharplydressed]

[Toshi is living the hard knock life, trying to help these flailing punks out...

As for Kiyomitsu, he's just rapidly running his hands through his hair and shaking out his jacket, as if getting rid of the petals quickly might somehow make it less noticeable that he's the one at fault. Nice try, peanut...]

Ugh— Yes? Well, no - more than one time is "a lot", y'know? But it's just been today...

[Several times in one day, which is Exhausting. He wants out of this shoujo manga asap...

But in the meantime, he'll reach up (and up and up, probably) to help dust some of the petals off of Toshi's shoulders.]

ii c

[notbunaga]

[I GUESS THEY WERE HANGING OUT OKAY and she's even inwardly delighted for him getting the cover?? Good going buddy. She's even about to say something to that effect when-]

What do you mean agai-augh!

[AND SHE OPENED HER MOUTH AT THE WRONG TIME.

She is now trying to spit out a mouthful of petals. Damn you Kiyomitsu.]

[sharplydressed]

[NOBU IS A GOOD FRIEND, BLESS. And this is how she's repaid... A meal made out of someone's slice of life shoujo moment. If she's particularly lucky, a few might even poof into sparkly nonexistence in her mouth like they did with poor Yuri!

Kiyomitsu, in the meantime, looks completely embarrassed. Why does this keep happening. He thought he was safe if he stayed around other people?!]

Sorry, sorry—! Um, they're not poisonous...?

[REASSURING. While she's spitting those out, he'll helpfully reach over to bat the fluttering remnants away from her head.]

ii c

[5kotai]

[ That is definitely the fashion magazine Kashuu is so delighted about in Koukichi's hands, and he may have been trying to be discreet in his reading, because what boy reads a fashion magazine, even wearing a pastel hoodie to cover his distinctive fluff of hair... also why are these issues so expensive without a subscription (still expensive but a bit less), he might as well support a certain designer with a dozen cinnamuffin purchases-- ]

Eep!

[ Oh, there's the sakura fubuki. Where did it come from where did it go... An answer may not come immediately, but Koukichi is definitely flailing a bit to keep the petal away. Like how someone would shoo off confetti if wasn't meant for them in a celebration. He did see his neighbor though, unaware he's the cause. Congrats though, pal. ]

Kiyomits, I don't want a flower burial!

[ Or at least, one that's this pink and petal-y. If he's gonna be smothered to death, it would probably be something more fluffy, like chinchillas. ]

[sharplydressed]

[Death by chinchilla... Well, it'd sure be a headline to remember. So would death by flower, but that's not happening to Koukichi on his watch?!

Helpfully, he uses the magazine he'd been about to gush over to help fan the flower petals away from his poor neighbor. It kind of helps! It also kind of kicks them up even more, sending them swirling this way and that. It'd be quite pretty if it wasn't so dang annoying.]

Ugh, sorry - I don't know why this keeps happening...

[He thought he had the cause pinpointed, but apparently it's not going to be that easy to figure out. Thank you, sakura fubuki.]

i!

[antagonize]

[Stopping by to pick up some coffee was, as it turns out, a mistake. Jason's jacket is going to be the new victim of the splash zone, and then he's just. Kind of. Stepping back from the counter and giving Kashuu a weary look.]

... Uh, quick question. Are you hungover?

[LOOK. COUSIN. BUDDY. PAL. This is the only legit reason Jason can think of for wearing sunglasses inside?]

[sharplydressed]

[He'll get a handful of paper towels and wet wipes immediately and an apologetic look in return... Not that it can be seen, because Kashuu refuses to take these dang shades off like a fool!!]

Um— ...Actually, I think I'll use that one later.

[A smooth excuse... Anyone who knows his weekend habits would probably believe it, anyway.]

But for now? For now, it's just 'cause I had an eye exam and every light is way too bright for me.

[A ONE-DAY EXCUSE... He'll pause in the middle of mopping up the counter and picking the empty cup up to gesture back toward the bar, though.]

Refill's on the house, obviously.

ii c

[twelfthspark]

[Spotting a familiar figure ahead, Arlene waves and calls out to her coworker.]

Hey Kiyo, didn't expect to see you—

[She reaches him just as the air fills with flower petals. Startled by the sudden appearance, she leaps backwards, a hair's breadth from accidentally throwing herself into traffic. Immediately, her mind jumps to the memory-hallucination she had last month on her date. The unknown man surrounded by rose petals—could it be—?]

Holy crap it's you.

[sharplydressed]

[FIRST THINGS FIRST-- The petals are annoying (and embarrassing) but someone nearly leaping into traffic is definitely much more concerning. So what follows is basically a hodgepodge of concern, confusion, and general air of I Want Out Of These Situations, all while Kiyomitsu is busy batting fluttering petals out of the air between them.]

Yes—?! [Assuming that's just a normal question, though he doesn't stop to ask why she's apparently amazed that it's him... Unless she ran into the trail of petals he left behind or something. BUT, MORE IMPORTANTLY--]

Are you okay? That car came really close!

ii a

[surprising]

Well, no — but...

[ at this point, he could choose to confront kiyomitsu about the enormous shades, or the abrupt sprinkling of flower petals above his head (which he pauses to stare at for a moment, before glancing back at him). but he winds up making a circular motion with his thumbs and index fingers, holding them in front of his eyes.

maybe kiyomitsu's gotten into magic tricks lately, or something. ]

What's up with those?

[sharplydressed]

[It's hard, okay. Becoming street magician overnight is hard and Kiyomitsu wants a refund...

That said, since this punk is in the "knows horses were a thing" club, he'll just. Gently gesture him forward. No excuses about hangovers here! He'll... he'll get to the flowers soon, because for now his ass just figures someone opened a window and he's not too worried about it. Yet.

The eyes, on the other hand? Definitely a worry.]

Okay, this is gonna sound crazy, but have you heard that some people are waking up different? Like, with their hair turning different colors or even their eyes?

II a;

[openhanded]

[Kashuu isn't the only one with questionable taste. Sorey has the latest addition to The Stolen Lord series in his hands, which is definitely garbage. Garbage with gay princes in it, no less. He gets distracted by the voice, which he swears is familiar.]

Kashuu? Hey! [His lip curves into a grin as he's happy to see his friend but then he notices the petals suspended over his head. He blinks once, twice, and determines this is a very strange and permanent hallucination he's seeing.]

Um. Maybe I'm seeing things, but... it looks like those little storm clouds from the cartoons, except it's raining cherry blossoms on you.

[sharplydressed]

[Oh boy, he will flood Sorey with Questions about that novel soon enough. Glimpsing the title will surely set his garbage book radar off... Was the first book in that series part of their club reading, even? MAYBE.

But for now, he's distracted pretty thoroughly by that statement. He looks up--]

Uh— [--And immediately gets smacked in the face with a few falling petals.] —?! Huh? But that's not... [Physically possible, much like horses being written out of existence? Yeah, he's a lot more willing to believe wild things these days.

He's also popping out of his chair to look around, clearly alarmed.]

Where are these coming from, seriously?

i

[wordcarvings]

[ Koutarou has been up all night working, which is obvious from the rumpled clothing with so many paint stains, and the mess his hair is in from running his hand through it so many times (and there's some paint in there too, because he has yet to shower) and he needs coffee because he still needs to get some more work in.

Only his reflexes from 19 years of martial arts helps him catch the coffee cup before it hits the floor and spills all over. ]

You know, [ He straightens up and looks at the younger man. ] if you took those off it would be much easier to work, I think.

[sharplydressed]

[TRULY STELLAR REFLEXES. Kiyomitsu's busy making a strangled sound anyway, since he'd also tried to catch the cup but tragically there's a whole counter in the way.]

Ah— Thanks... [He's so tired of bringing the mop out?!

As for the advice, which is entirely good and true and should really be something he follows--]

I can't. Um... I just had an eye exam.

ii b

[chiseler]

[Somewhere in the background the theme from OHSHC starts to play...

In all seriousness though Luke's mostly walking through the park to get his head cleared and get out of his bar for a while. He'd been on his way to visit his mom and sister but now there are bigger problems? He's just…going to raise an eyebrow.]

I don't have any spare change if that's what you're asking. [It's hard to identify Kashuu so he's just straight-up going to assume he's a hobo, sorry about him.]

[sharplydressed]

[Name his drink kiss kiss fall in love.

BUT WOW?! What the heck, is this what Yato feels like all the time? Incredible. He's immediately huffing in irritation, temporarily distracted from his flower petal plight just because of how Seriously he takes perceived potshots at his choice of fashion. ...Even if it is very hobo-chic today.]

Are you saying I look like I need spare change?

[Consider the answer to this question carefully, Luke...]

iic - late bUT YOU KNOW I WON'T MISS SAKURA FUBUKI

[constellates]

Kiyo- ah?!

[GUESS WHO NEARLY GOT BOWLED OVER BY FLOWERS, it's Anya. It's definitely Anya as she exclaims in absolutely bewildered Russian:]

цветок вспышка?!

[For the record, that translates literally to: Flower Explosion.]

Surprise?!

JUST IN TIME FOR THE FLOWER EXPLOSION

[sharplydressed]

[i can't believe kashuu has an attack with a name just like a shonen hero

ANYWAY, he's immediately bumbling out a muffled apology (muffled because he's kind of tucked his chin down into his scarf to avoid getting petals into his mouth) and reaching forward to wave some away with the magazine in his hands.

It is not helping at all, but damn does he do his best.]

Sorry, sorry—! Are you okay? Try not to accidentally eat any—

[CONCERNING.]

ii a... here i am

[magcat]

[ what is it like to live the anime life now, Kashuu...

But seriously, why did you smuggle food and drink into a library?! Charlotte is a good girl, she would never do such a thing..... She's so baffled, right now. Sadly, she doesn't really recognize Kiyomitsu, good job on the disguise, dude.

Though, it does smell really good she can't help but investigate--

Flower petals...!

Coming from... No where? The sky? Wait, they're in a building so the ceiling!? What is this magic. There's only a small gasp that leaves Charlotte's lips as she just stares and watches.

Should she say something...? She doesn't want to bother the man who is APPARENTLY BREAKING LIBRARY RULES! Well, until he says something first- Charlotte covers her mouth. ]

Oh... A window?

[ Uncovers her mouth now. ] I mean, it is a nice day outside, but we're not close to any windows right now.

points at eyes points at you...

[sharplydressed]

[CHARLOTTE PLEASE SAY SOMETHING NEXT TIME!!

But ah, she has a point... Kiyomitsu glances toward the wall, where the nearest windows are all shut and far enough away that anything blown or thrown into them would probably not hit him anyway.]

...You didn't see anyone running around with flowers or anything, yeah?

[Charlotte herself is a pure angel who can do no wrong and doesn't even break library rules like this hooligan so CLEARLY SHE'S NOT AT FAULT.]

ii b

[parodeity]

...I dunno, do you promise not to stab me and hide my body somewhere?

[ LIKE. HE RECOGNIZES KASHUU? BUT? DUDE? maybe dial down the shady. dave's in shades as well but he is somehow less sketchy. possibly because he just looks like a teenager trying to be Cool, and not a mysterious mob hitman. ]

[sharplydressed]

[Ah, the gift of shades... Truly, they can turn a person's entire image around. SOMETIMES NOT IN THE BEST WAY but we can't always get what we want, huh.]

Hah? What kinda question is that? I'm just a good samaritan asking for some help from another good samaritan here!

[TOTALLY.]

ii c

[aegist]

[ OKAY? she was going to congratulate him and maybe offer to buy him a snack or something but. what the fuck? flowers? give thalia a moment to hack-cough since she swallowed one on accident?

another moment.

a longer moment.

ok. ]

Did you just throw flowers at me? [ this would be a DANGEROUS MOMENT for anyone else but kashuu just gets a mildly offended version of her ire ]

[sharplydressed]

[Moments when he's glad he's not on Thalia's potential list of people to get a beatdown...

THAT SAID, since this is Thalia, she'll also get a more straightforward answer than pretty much anyone else who's had to deal with this after he actually figured out what was going on.]

Uh— yes and no? [#straightforward] I didn't mean to, it just... kind of happens now. Sorry, um--

[GENTLY WHAPPING HER BACK as if that might help dislodge any remaining flowers.]