cicran

[cicran]

Barry Keoghan

[cicran]

La Musa (Ciaran's Quarters)

Not pictured, Kaito lounging. As far as Ciaran is concerned, the entire first floor is his and by extension, Kaito's. Most of the spirits stay away from here, there's an agreement that they only get personal space by allowing the couple their own.

[cicran]

"The wraith in 103 found out about Grindr." Ciaran figured that was the only explanation he needed as he doesn't bother stopping in his tracks until he can rest his forehead to the demon's shoulder. "He kept posting he could host. I have been shooing twinks in various forms of undress all morning." And maybe telling them that said wraith had the clap because he was just that petty. But none of that mattered in the moment because they had an outing to attend. "But now that's been dealt with, you have my full attention until one of those lycans go to far."

closed starter for @cicran location: la musa note: kisskiss

Lupercalia wasn't something he was even remotely interested in, but he was certainly interested in whatever Ciaran wanted. Kaito had a mind of his own, of course, but he also felt like it had been quite some time since he had been involved in this world. And this was really the only world he knew. His life before becoming a demon was gone, the only piece of him left being the fact that he had been thrown into the violence circle. Perhaps that was all he needed though. Now his life revolved around that of Yurena's. His job was to protect her when she couldn't protect herself. And he hadn't been able to be there when she needed him most. He'd make sure that never happened again. Nevertheless, he looked up at the architectural design of the ceiling as if he knew anything about architectural design. Once he heard Ciaran's footsteps, he let out a sigh. "Thank goodness. I was going to start counting the little popcorn dots on the ceiling if you took any longer."

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"It was bound to happen." Ciaran didn't quite pay as much attention to the senate in a positive sense. It was there, he was certain it was always going to be a bit of a mess. Mostly he just pays attention to see how their decisions are going to wind up pertaining to himself and other reapers, how hard they're going to make their jobs. That's probably not the most polite kind of thing to say out loud. He doesn't work for the senate, he doesn't work for the community, he works for Thanatos. And technically he works for the woman before him, Ariston too. "Anyone know who did it?" Did anyone care? "Don't s'pose it matters much, deader is still dead."

"Yeah, that certainly proves to be an obstacle," Iphigenia snorts, not surprised at Ciaran's reply. If she could take anything for granted is Ciaran's unchanging nature regarding anything but those he cared about. It was a comfort most of the time, but when it got on the way of giving him more time off it turned rather bothersome. "Well, I hope you two have a charming time," she says diplomatically, even as she winks at him and approaches closer, offering him a quick nod and a roll of her eyes. "The fool has gone and bitten it, so I am here to clean as much of his mess that I can. Unsurprising."

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"I did." And he missed Marisol but wasn't surprised in the slightest that she'd been the one to do what she did. Loving, selfless, a bit of a lovable goofball. There'd been a time where he'd thought that she wasn't going to take the job seriously but then he'd heard her talk about her son. Whatever spirits that had been ferried by her were lucky. "She loves you." Not past tense, it's said fondly, almost wistful because he has his own wife and child buried back in Ireland and it didn't matter how much time passed, he still cared for them. Giving a slight shake of his head, he looks from the statue to Marisol's son and he can't imagine how painful all of this has been for him. "Lucas, right? I'm Ciaran. I worked with her for a time." Just as he worked with all of the reapers, but he and Marisol had been parents, they'd bonded over that.

It was nearly Lupercalia and Lucas was finally learning how to take on his day-to-day life without feeling far too heavy over his mother's re-death. It was a slow process, and it certainly wasn't linear, but he felt the excitement of the upcoming event was giving him enough reason to be distracted and eager for something. He came to the statues for the first time in days to tell Marisol as much - even if he said the words just in his head.

"You knew her?" Lucas' brows furrowed as he turned to the stranger. It was than that the lycan took the time to pay attention, his senses honing in on the similarities between what his mother had been and this man.

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Actually he took it all back, he was going to put this guy in a room with the ghost who kept playing golf indoors. If he had to hear that one call out and then hear the sound of a window breaking one more time, he was going to actually hand it over to Iphigenia and Ariston personally. It was all fun and games until some forty year old man was using your nose as a golf tee. Taking a second to compose himself, Ciaran took a deep breath and then spoke slowly and clearly as his accent would allow. "Lad, I need your magic. You can handle a simple spell or two, yeah?"

A place to stay the night was all that Vidal was looking for, he was pretty sure he had enough money so he wasn't sure what the big deal was. Cheapest, most inexpensive room in what had to be the worst hotel in Rome. Still, the man on the other side of the desk didn't seem particularly impressed. Was this guy? Clearly Ciaran had the wrong idea about what Vidal was willing to do to put a roof over his head. Then again, his mom had always warned him about what kind of weirdos live in the big city. "Um... You seem nice and everything, but I'm not really into that kind of thing. I'd really rather just pay. "

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"You're telling me." Sometimes he regretted getting wifi put into the place, he couldn't believe some of those memes that they seemed to latch onto. Ciaran tried not to blame them too much and for all of his exasperation over feeling like he was constantly being run ragged, he didn't think he could have it any other way now. "Now there's the matter of the job." Legs crossed at the ankle, he's curious as to if Samrath knows what he's getting into in Rome. "I can't say it hasn't been harder here, if you'd believe it." They saw all sorts of tragedies but the last couple of years, Rome is a special kind of open wound that seems hellbent on bleeding.

"Some ghosts have unfinished business," Samrath sighed as he reclined further into his seat and sank his hands into his pockets. "Some of them are just cunts." Menaces that liked to hang around because they'd been little shits in life, so they liked to be little shits in death. The prick with the tuba was a great example of that. What kind of an asshole did something like that? Definitely wasn't funny at all. "I'll start with that one then.''

[cicran]

Valentine's Day Scrapbook: Ciaran & Kaito

"My heart is yours It's you that I hold on to Yeah, that's what I do" - "Sparks", Coldplay @demonkaito

[cicran]

Ciaran looks down at the money on the counter, he looks to the witch's face and his own is still visibly unimpressed. Broke witch, just a kid, magical suitcase, seemed to be the 'glass half full' kind of lad. He's reminded of Yurena all those years ago, striding into the place all bold and not taking no for an answer. He'd thought her clever, this lad though, he felt bad for him. "Alright, fine." The exasperation is more at himself than at the fact that he has to deal with a customer when the toilet in 105 kept spontaneously overflowing. Back to the witch, his fingers skim the middle row of brass keys. Room 99 would do just fine, he grabs the key and turns back around to lean against the front desk. "You can keep your money on the condition you do me a favor."

"Yeah um... cheap is cheap, and it's this or I get comfortable on a park bench somewhere. It's just for the night anyways, so whatever-" Vidal fished some loose, crumpled bills out of his pocket and dropped them with all the change he had on the counter. This was all the money the witch had in the world right now. "-this will get me." That probably answered the clerk's question about Vidal's current financial situation, "I'm going to turn it around though." His suitcase bumped into the back of his knee again; now he was just doing it intentionally.

[cicran]

Ciaran, Lupercalia

“I don’t have an anger problem, I have an idiot problem!” – Hank Hill

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"It's not like I haven't tried." That's the thing, there's been a few spirits here and there that had simply been hanging around. But there were so many that had been here so long, were comfortable within the walls of the hotel or worse, seemingly tied to it. It's a ball of string he's long since stopped trying to unravel, it's just how it was. "You're free to try to get someone to leave, but it's an uphill battle." Ciaran explains as he pulls a key out of his shirt pocket and hands it to his fellow reaper. "I recommend trying to get rid of the one that follows everyone around with a tuba. Lad used to be a jazz ensemble of sorts and now it's all of our problem."

"Well you're more than welcome to hang around. The spirits bother just about anyone but they like us more than they like the mortals." They were all united on that front at least, couldn't stand those who just ignorantly wandered in. Or they were just incredibly bored, Ciaran tried really hard not to blame them despite how annoying the whole lot was. "I put you on the other end of my floor, most of them stay away. Worst you'll get is someone sitting on the end of your bed. You get used to it." It's more sad than anything, but it's better than any of the spirits that had gotten their hand on modern technology.

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"And you did not think there was a reason for that?" Sometimes he thinks about placing signs leading to the place telling everyone to keep out and then he's reminded that people rarely read those. There were so many horror movies built on the premise of people just avoiding red flags. "I have many, do you have a preference?" Ciaran doesn't quite know what to make of this one with his little sentient suitcase so when he turns to look at all the keys behind the desk, he doesn't quite know where to place him. "The reason you chose here was because it was cheap? Are you hard up for cash, lad?" He could be a good person, he could get the Bee movie script wraith. Though he thinks that one has moved on to being really into Ryan Murphy and nobody deserved to be subjected to that.

"Trip advisor said you have the lowest rate in the city." La Musa scored the lowest rating, lower than a public restroom down the street on places to visit in Rome. It didn't instill Vidal with hope, but it would only be for a few nights. "Do you have any available?" Vidal had stopped and his suitcase bumped into his ankles behind him. It kept bumping into him repeatedly as Vidal's brow furrowed and then relaxed. Ow, Vidal said as the modified object kept hitting him repeatedly. These things were all so temperamental.

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Person: @howlinglucas Location: Near the statues of the 6

He knows exactly who it is before he gets a good look at his face. It’s all said in the way his head is bowed, shoulders slumped as he stands before Marisol’s statue. He’s there for the same reason, to see her. “You don’t ever really expect it to happen.” Ciaran says almost absently to the wolf as they stand there, his hands clasped behind his back. The likeness on the statue to Marisol Velasco is perfect and there’s this pang in his chest upon seeing it every time. “It happens to everyone and yet we’re never really ready.” They never had enough time, he figured the son of the reaper he’d held in high esteem agreed with the sentiment.

[cicran]

BARRY KEOGHAN + 'Saltburn' jokes ⋮ 07 Jan 2024 🎭 ⋮ 81st Golden Globe Awards

[cicran]

"It looks like you want me to kiss you." Ciaran repeats in complete disbelief and turns on his heel. He takes a couple of steps and it's more for the audience of spirits he can see peeking from the stairwell, from behind lobby curtains. The smirk does do it for him, it always had, and he does actually need a second to not just buckle right there in the lobby. "Course I want to kiss you." It's said as he turns and grabs for the collar of the demon's shirt to pull him to connect their lips together. It has been such a long time and it's not lost on him that for a while there, he hadn't thought he was ever going to get this again. Their lips meeting is a shock, it takes him a second to process it's even happening before he's sinking into it, fingers clambering to hold either side of Kaito's face.

"I don't know. Maybe it's the end of the rainbow that seems more appealing." A shoulder lifted into a shrug as if being nonchalant about the matter. Kaito knew they had quite a bit of time to make up for, but there was also that party. Then again, what did he need to go to a party for? It wasn't like he ever truly enjoyed them. He was pretty sure the only time he ever actually went to one was when someone else dragged him there. That was besides the point right now though. The point at this very moment was that the party could be wherever they wanted to have it at. Whether it was in his bedroom at the Alstroemeria house or in Ciaran's bedroom at this hotel didn't much matter to the demon. "Could very well be," he stated again as the corner of his mouth lifted slightly into a smirk. Then he leaned in slightly. "It looks like you want me to kiss you."

[cicran]

"Fine." It's petulant which is something he has reserved for only close friends. Ciaran is a professional, he spends most of his time sounding somewhat bored if he's at the hotel or just sounding considerably softer to those he's ferrying. There's few people he breaks out of that box for, that he's not just 'all business'. Yurena is kind of/sort of family to him at this point, a tether to the man he loves. "I take it you'll call if you need me." He's not happy about it, but there isn't much he can do in the matter. All he can do is just continue waiting.

“Theoretically, yes,” she agrees with an incline of her head. “In practice, seeds of Asphodel’s touch remain in Rome and I would much prefer not to consult anyone on this. Gossip spreads fast, especially when the sole Alstroemeria witch requests for help, and I would prefer for Kaito’s summoning to be kept quiet.” Avery, Efigenia, Bastien, Nash. They remain free and hidden from the Senate, and she cannot reveal their presence, not bound as she is. Speaking to anyone about her plans is too risky, what with how much of blabbermouths most witches are.  “Alstroemeria House should be sufficient, but I need a few more ingredients to finish the wards I have created.”

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"I take it you need a room?" Coming around the corner and sliding behind the familiarity of the front desk, Ciaran is rarely amused. Yurena all those years ago had been an exception to his rule of 'mortals are annoying' but he couldn't deny that it was because of her that he thought witches weren't all that bad. This one looks like a kid, still has the remnants of not shaving right on his face and Ciaran can't just shove him anywhere and go back to his own tasks. Not in good conscience at least. "Here of all places?" Brow raising, he wonders if this is another one of those people there because the place is so obviously crawling with something.

@cicran location: La Musa notes: timeline wise I'm going to say this is when he first got to town and hadn't joined the Alstroemeria just yet.

This place was cheap, which was good, according to Google, Vidal wasn't going to get much better but it was just so... Creepy? As soon as the witch walked in he felt something lift the hair on the back of his neck. He'd worked with spirits before but the bones of this hotel just felt completely haunted; Vidal rang the bell at the front desk as his trunk walked on the four legs he'd pulled off of an old coffee table. Sometimes it chased cars, which since it held all his worldly possessions that wasn't ideal, but for the most part it was a good boy. Much more behaved than his razor, that thing was a menace.

With a piece of tissue paper still stuck to his face from where Vidal had been nicked, he called out. "Um, is anyone there?"