( open ) if i wanna stay alive

[breweries]

Who 🍷 shylock and you!
What 🍷 april catchall! mostly festival prompts inside for now.
When 🍷 entire month of april
Where 🍷 hell, baby
Content Warnings 🍷 alcohol and maybe some nsfw things, since he's a tamamo. the rest is tba.




prompts and whatnot will be in the comments! feel free to hit me up via plotting post or PM if you want something more specialized.
also shylock looks something like this, but obv without the fox ears. he'd still be wearing the earrings though, and the bun is a lot more elaborate than his usual.

Comments

[paperpusher]

[He puts one hand against his chest and leans in like he's going to tell Shylock a secret. Cue the background music.]

Shylock-san. [His voice gets a little deeper and a lot more sensual. You can really hear the ✨✨✨.] That's precisely why I'm hiding my face. I'm just serving as a humble delivery boy today. The star of the show is all of you, working so hard to make the festival a success. Like stagehands at a Kabuki theater, I'm meant to fade into the background.

[Read: he's tired and wants the anonymity.]

[breweries]

[ now, where was this during their mingle meeting a while back? color shylock impressed. ]

If you say so, Mr. Natori. But even a humble delivery boy should take breaks every now and then, hm? Looks like they've been working you to the bone today.

[ he rings up two cocktails, along with uhh. some dick-shaped mochi? he's not embarrassed in handing them out but they sure are a thing....... ]

Although, if that is how you preserve your dashing good looks, then I shouldn't complain. It must have something to do with your original profession.

[paperpusher]

Haha, both of them, actually, [he says casually, his voice returning to normal as he angles his paper bag head down to look at the mochi. Shylock can't see it, but he sure is raising his eyebrows under the bag.] You know my true job is that of an exorcist, but my day job is as an actor. There are times when I need to hide my face from both ayakashi and my legions of fans.

[Though granted hiding his face from ayakashi has a lot more to do with preventing physical violence than risking being spotted by the paparazzi.]

But thank you for your concern. Maybe after I complete this order, I'll come back to relax for a bit... Though as you can tell, I didn't come out with my game face on, so you'll have to excuse the dull edge to my luster.

[breweries]

An actor... Yes, I do see it now.

[ the pretty modelface? the sparkles that accompany said modelface? maybe both. shylock didn't initially have thoughts on whether natori truly belongs to the clan but now... tenkohime really knows how to pick 'em, huh.

and look, don't the dick mochi. can't people appreciate how lovingly intricate they're made, right up to the.... vein........ ]

And I truly understand how taxing this can be to someone of your caliber. Please don't overexert yourself on the way -- but of course, actors like you would already know how to take care of themselves on their off days, hm?

[paperpusher]

If we were back home, I'd ask you to support my latest film, Fiance of the Funeral Procession, [he agrees cheerfully, before he remembers that as an ayakashi, Shylock might need a little more context than that.] A film is like a play that's recorded so you can view it without having to be at the theater.

[He's had to explain this to a few people, so he doesn't even hesitate... neither does he hesitate when carefully packing up the lovingly rendered dick mochi.]

Hahaha, it's kind of you to think so, but the truth is that my familiars are always nagging me about sleeping properly. No rest for the wicked, right?

[breweries]

I appreciate the explanation, Mr. Natori. [ really, he does. and without further prompting either! he must be used to giving exposition to nonhumans... ] I have heard of "films" and "movies" before, but I have yet to sit down and watch them for myself. I assume that it is different from watching snippets of memories from past objects, correct?

[ like some sort of magic recall -- murr's specialty magic in other words. ]

No rest for the wicked, indeed. Still, this is the perfect time as any to take a breather, even if it is just a short break -- your feet must be tired from running around the place.

[paperpusher]

Haha, yes, it's different. If my movie ever arrives here, I'll bring you so you can see what it's like. [And he means it! He generally dislikes watching his own films-- there's something about watching the lizard create continuity errors in the shots that feels exceptionally isolating, like it's really underscoring that he's the only one who can see the problem-- but it's different when it's someone who can see the same movie that he does.]

Mm, well. How about I finish off the last delivery and then take you up on it? [He nods at the drinks and dicks that Shylock's been assembling.] It's close by, so one more round couldn't hurt. And maybe I'll even get some tip money to share.

[breweries]

[ oh boy, his first movie premiere! never mind the fact that there are moviehouses under sutoku ownership, but future events will have made things more complicated to just sit down and watch something, won't it?

anyway, the last of the dicks is now squared away, ready for delivery. ]

All right. I shall wait for you outside the premises. Not to say that you don't look bad on this fine day, but allow me to spruce you up a little as a treat.

[ isn't he nice? ]

[paperpusher]

Haha, is that your way of telling me to ditch the bag, Shylock-san? [he asks cheerfully as he gets his delivery in order.] I suppose I'd hate for my appearance to reflect poorly on you and the rest of the clan, so I'll take it off for you once I'm back.

[Spoken like a true dumb boy who has never worried about hat-hair... the static electricity inside that bag must be insane.

In any case, it doesn't take him long to complete the delivery, though shockingly Natori gets fewer tips when he's incognito than he does when he bats his eyelashes at his customer. Who could've expected it. Despite what he said before, he... still shows up with the gd bag on his head when he comes back, though he pushes it up again once he sees Shylock.]

Is it really alright for you to duck out as well?

[breweries]

[ the static electricity combined with that sparkling demeanor of his will set of fireworks, at this rate. it's too early for those, you know?

shylock just shakes his head when he sees natori and his baggy splendor. ]

My next shift won't start until much later. Till then, I am all yours.

[ yabe ]

Why, are you still too shy to show your face? Why don't we duck somewhere more private?

[ with that playful smile of his, he's probably kidding. or not...? ]

[paperpusher]

Shylock-san, [he says, his voice dropping as he goes into full kirakira mode,] I've simply wanted to save my face for someone special.

[With that absolutely idiotic comment out of the way, he tugs the bag off all the way and idly smooths down his awful static hair.]

But really. How much do you know about the legends behind the night parade?

[breweries]

[ oya, oya. shylock covers his smile with his hands in mock bashfulness. how adorable. ]

My, my. I'll be sure to be on my best behavior, then.

[ fufu. as for that question: ]

A certain sword spirit had given me the gist last month. Something about humans locking themselves in their houses while the demons come out and play in the streets, correct?

[paperpusher]

Correct! [A certain sword spirit, huh... Well, Natori has some suspicions about who that's referring to, but that's not relevant right now.] Some legends go so far as to say that any human who sees-- or is seen by-- the parade will die. It's exaggerating the risk, since there's nothing unique about the night parade that makes it any more dangerous than any other time hundreds or thousands of ayakashi come together to celebrate, but...

[He peels open the paper bag and demonstrates the inner surface for Shylock. While the outside of the bag is relatively simple, there's a complex spell circle drawn on the interior; while Shylock's newfound understanding of Japanese means he might recognize some of the kanji incorporated into the design, as a whole it's illegible, with several characters that simply don't exist in standard (human) Japanese.]

Exorcists tend to take legends seriously. My warding charms haven't been working properly since I arrived here, but it's hard to give up on the habit.

[breweries]

It sounds to me the complete opposite of our version of Walpurgisnacht. [ now it's his turn to do exposition for a human! ] It is a festival for wizards, essentially. Each country celebrate it differently, and in the West, humans are highly encouraged to participate, drink, and be merry with the wizards in order to appease us and the living dead who will come and party with us.

[ come to think of it, this festival is more in line with eastern country's version of walpurgisnacht, isn't it...

in any case, shylock takes a closer peek at the runes on natori's paper bag, nodding as if he could understand whatever was written inside of it (he cannot). ]

Most of our natural abilities have not been working well for us since our arrival. Perhaps if we've satisfied our great leader enough... [ he doesn't really like the idea, but it's not like he has a choice. haha, how troublesome. ] Well, anyway. Allow me to make you look more presentable underneath your paper bag as a surprise for anyone who wishes to take a peek.

[paperpusher]

Walpurgisnacht... [He does his best to repeat it (his best is shit). In any case, this comparison isn't counteracting the idea that wizards are basically ayakashi.] We have a few festivals that could work like that in theory, but nowadays humans have their own festivals, and ayakashi host theirs separately.

[Unless they invite the humans there in order to eat them, which is a possibility.]

Seems like it, huh? [Privately, Natori's not sure if he'll be getting access to his exorcist abilities anytime soon; he's equally unsure if it's conceited to think so highly of his own abilities to think he could pose that sort of threat.] ...Well, since you've offered, I'll take you up on that. Let me know how I can return the favor.