greatearth

[greatearth]

That nickname is still going to take some getting used to, and even though Ereshkigal frowns when Marcille says it, she's proud to have been given something so personal to denote their friendship. Hearing Marcille say that she's good at it leaves her feeling a little envious, however. "How fortunate for you then, to be blessed with so many useful skills." She sounds a little bitter but does her best to shake it off. It wouldn't do to scare off her first real friend because of an unwarranted change in mood.

"Relaxing, yes...but also stressful. I'm finding it difficult to make cohesive patterns. That, and I was hoping to be able to knit something comfortable for someone that I care about..."

✲ Marcille was surprised to find a familiar face at what was essentially a knitting event. It was a homelier ordeal compared to a lot of the other winter festival activities taking place. Honestly she hadn't exactly been sure if she'd been seeing things at first since Ereshkigal wasn't dressed the same way she had been when they'd first met, but the second she got a good look at her face it was clear.

The Servant was having a hard time, clearly. "Oh, hey Eresh!" Marcille wasn't going to drop that nickname in a million years.

"Tedious? I'm... pretty good at it, actually. When adventuring sometimes you need to make repairs or fashion something to keep warm." She sat down beside her friend and peeked at what they were knitting. "I think it's relaxing, but it probably isn't for everyone." Spoken like someone who's favourite hobby was reading.

[greatearth]

"Perhaps you should, actually. I have quite a creative mind, and I may be able to enhance the appeal of your film. My acting already brings much and more to the table, would you not agree?" Big words for a woman who has no idea what goes into planning a film in the first place, but she wasn't going to take it back. It should be child play for a Goddess, after all.

"No, you did not." It was rather abrupt, actually. But all would be well since they were making up for it now. "Very well then, Nian. Now, do you intend to take my words into consideration?"

"Shall we be creative partners?"

"Oho? Trying to hijack my script to make your own film? Maybe I should just make you the director as well." Like that was ever going to happen. Still to try and make her own story in front of the already existing script took some guts. Maybe she really did find a diamond amidst all the weirdos in the city.

"Just kidding~~. Still I don't think I did introduce myself after I dragged you out here did I?" It was a nasty habit that many wanted her to get rid of. But it was just so much more fun when they saw her with some mystery.

"Call me Nian. Or Director Nian. Whichever suits ya fancy."

[greatearth]

WINTERFES: SILVER-WHITE WINTERS.

Needlework had never been her specialty, and she found that her hands were a little too shakey to try her hand with the latte art, but that wasn't going to stop her. Not this year, at least. As Ereshkigal sat by her lonesome, with a pair of knitting needles and a half-finished scarf in her lap, she sighed to herself. Everyone around her seemed to be going along just fine and even chatting with each other, but as she looked around the room, she found it hard to join in.

Sighing, but not willing to give up just yet, she continues on with her knitting. She only looks up when she senses a looming presence behind her, watching. She turns to face them, only to be met with the familiar face of someone whom she has met recently but was welcome all the same. "--Marcille?" she's a little surprised at first but sighs soon afterward. "I see that you've also come to try your hand at knitting...what a tedious thing it is."

@elfcast

[greatearth]

Oh, well that's a little embarrassing. What's even more embarrassing though, is having him be called a potential lover. "I'll have you know that he is anything but potential!" Though she's certainly not doing Karna any favors by putting him in the line of fire of such an ill-put-together movie.

"...It's because I am! The one I happen to be describing is my actual lover." She says that proudly, maybe a little too proudly. Maybe that's why it came so easy to her when describing what she may or may not have wanted. "...Is that so? Then perhaps I may have a place in your work after all. Though only after some heavy revisions have been made." And there she goes being bossy.

"...Though if I am to act in your film, I think it best that we get to know each other if even a little bit." After all, personal relationships were of great importance these days!"

"I dunno. You mentioned relationships and went off on a little tangent on your own potential lover. Gotta say, maybe you are more suited for the big romance movies."

If anyone here actually was willing to make a movie like that. Surely there were at least some directors out in the wild who were wiling to make up a plot that dense and convoluted to ensure everyone feels some emotional tug throughout it.

" 'Sides even if it ain't my realm of expertise you feel like your speaking from the heart. Pretty hard to come by nowadays."

[greatearth]

"..E...Eresh?" Was this the sort of nicknames friends bestowed upon one another in a show of affection? Could it be that she had finally made what could be considered a meaningful relationship!? Ereshkigal calms herself before the thought can run wild in her mind. Though she still isn't entirely sure how she feels about her name being shortened in such a way...it wouldn't hurt to humor the elf. "...I will allow it," she says simply, perhaps a bit too stoic.

"That would be...most pleasant." She tries to manage a smile, although it's small and crooked but still one all the same. Ereshkigal pulls out her own phone and takes note of Marcille's own information. "There, now there will be no excuse for you to say that you've missed my messages nor received my calls!"

"When shall our next friend gathering take place? Shall we schedule a meeting now?"

✲ Marcille blinked a number of times at the woman's name. It was longer than most but there was nothing wrong with it. She was a little curious about why "Lancer" was her go-to alias. "Unworthy? Um, but that's your name, right? I know! How do you feel about being called Eresh?" It wasn't as much of a mouthful and didn't feel as cold to say as "Lancer".

Ereshkigal was kind of mysterious, wasn't she? Not that Marcille was necessarily an open book all the time.

"A cellphone? Oh! Wait a sec!" Remembering she was still wearing the dress she'd been trying on, she dipped back into the changing room and emerged in her regular tunic and pants a moment later, holding out her phone. "Yeah! Did you want to exchange numbers?"

[greatearth]

It seemed Nian was taking her idea into consideration. And why wouldn't she? Ereshkigal was a goddess and therefore always full of great ideas! At Nian's question of who the love interest should be, however, well...that's easy enough.

"...A stoic stranger who is of very few words but has a heart of gold. One who is noble, yet sometimes cold and distant but incredibly thoughtful..." She trails off again in her description, staring off into the distance. Ah, it seemed she was describing her own significant other, which probably wasn't helping much.

"...What were we speaking about again?"

"Romance?" When she thought about it the idea never did pass to add it into the script at all. A romantic plot tended to detract from the action and everyone else's story. Done wrong, it could potentially hamper the entire script and ruin everything that was being built up over the past hour and a half. Avoiding using cliches and other tired old concepts was also something to take into consideration if Nian wanted to hit it out of the park.

"Hmmmm romance..."

...But the more she did think about it the more did Ereshkigal's words did manage to strike a cord. A person falling in love with someone else while the kaijus battle. Or, if she really wanted to get spicy, a person finding some kinship with the kaiju itself. Although that seemed a bit cheesy once she really brought it down a notch.

"Well given your position in the script who would you fall in love with in a situation like this?"

[greatearth]

Ereshkigal, of course, has no idea whom she might be speaking of when she speaks of the greats. Though her knowledge of this era was plentiful, she found herself lacking in knowing film directors. But, of course, she'll play along. It would make her look foolish otherwise. "...Is that what happens? Hm, I suppose there may be worth in this approach, then."

With that in mind, Ereshkigal considers her next words carefully and becomes deep in thought for quite a while before finally speaking up again, "Your script has...potential. But it may be in need of more than a few changes." Not that she was any good with direction herself. She didn't watch kaiju movies at all, let alone give them a second glance. "..Should there not be a romance aspect of some sort?"

"Look if you are gonna complain after every line I give ya' then we are never gonna get done with the page." Not that her complaints were bad by any means but going through the script was much more important than stopping after three lines.

"Besides what's so wrong with it? I mean if you really think about it all the greats end with them realizing that the big monster was actually their partner all along. Sooooo if we get the crowd thinking they might be one as well that's just setting everyone up and hyping them a bit to see a sequel or two."

...If they could finish one movie to begin with.

"And what if I wanted to hear what you thought the script was. You think its the former or the later of what you said?"

[greatearth]

She's right in that it didn't need to be a competition, but Ereshkigal couldn't help but make comparisons. Mortals could never understand the divine and all that. "My name is..." she hesitates, was it really fine to share her name with someone? But then she chides herself, of course, it's fine. That's how one makes friends!

"...Ereshkigal." she finally says. "But you may also refer to me as Lancer if you find such a true name unworthy to speak." Every time she says something normal and relatively nice, she's quick to backtrack. Hopefully, she wasn't scaring Marcille away... "Our meeting was certainly not a coincidence, so indeed I will remember your name, Marcille."

"Do you possess a cellular device, by chance?"

✲ "I don't think it needs to be a competition..." It didn't matter if it was thousands of years or one month. Being alone could take a toll on anyone. Or at least that was how Marcille saw it. She'd been within a hair of becoming a deity herself, at least in the dungeon, but that wasn't why she wasn't impressed. This woman had feelings no different than an ordinary person even if she was telling the truth.

The stranger was a little rough around the edges but she didn't seem like a bad person. Marcille smiled and offered her hand. "We don't really need to focus on them, no. My name is Marcille! How about you?"

[greatearth]

[greatearth]

"That's right!" However, Ereshkigal noticed that she didn't seem all too impressed with that title, which only served to anger her further. Because how dare she not be impressed at her being a Goddess? Who would lie about something like that, to begin with anyway?

Though just as she's about to dismiss the girl's attempt to relate to her, she thinks better about it. "...I assure you that our situations greatly differ in both extremity and scale, but..." she trails off, but then speaks up again in a quieter voice, "...if relating to you opens the door to a potential friendship, then perhaps we need not focus on the details..."

✲ "A goddess? Um, okay..." Marcille understood that it was difficult to prove things like that here, but she also wasn't just going to accept the claim that the woman was a deity without some sort of evidence. She wasn't going to ask but just pushed that topic aside for the time being. It probably was just better not to pursue it.

"I-It's okay! I wasn't judging you. I just saw a little of myself when I was younger in you, I think. My conditions growing up were... unique, so I was basically alone for a lot of my life too." Life was hard when you aged at a very inconsistent rate compared to the pure-blooded races.

[greatearth]

"...Hey! I'm trying my best here, human--err--elf!" It's not her fault that she hasn't had many friends throughout her life and therefore found herself inept at comforting or being friendly overall! The nerve of some people to call her out so brazenly when she was only trying to be kind!

"N-Not at all! A Goddess only lives surrounded by people who worship and adore her!" Okay, she wasn't convincing anybody, not even herself. "...Yes, perhaps a bit sheltered. But it was not by choice! My sister is the one who was able to live freely while I was left by my lonesome!"

✲ "You're... not very good at being supportive, are you?" Marcille had heard enough to finally work up the courage to say as much. The stranger would say something nice and then immediately transition back to her blunter, vaguely rude commentary. The half-elf was more confused about it than she was agitated. It didn't feel intention. More like she wasn't used to it?

"Weird question, but have you led a sheltered life by chance?" She only thought to ask because she'd been in the position before. Locking herself away as a scholar had developed some poor social habits in the past. She had worked through most of them, but only because she had been able to recognize them.

[greatearth]

The hesitance in her voice offends the Goddess. Of course, anything she wore would be considered fashionable in her opinion! "Of course it is! And of course, it would be! Clearly, you need help establishing taste in fashion."

Despite her backhanded way of offering help, Ereshkigal can actually relate a lot to what she's saying. "It is possible, but highly unlikely. But..." she pauses as she thinks of what to say, something that could be considered...kind. "You can only try your best. So long as you try your best, certainly, you will find your way."

"...Though it is very clear you have not found your way in fashion." Almost had it.

✲ "Um... is it? I've done a little bit of research but I've never seen a dress like that in the examples... It would definitely be seen as fashionable in my world." This one? Considering how she'd just been raked over the coals for the dress she'd picked out, she wasn't so sure.

"Either way... A year later and I'm still not adjusted to living in this city entirely. Makes me wonder if I'll ever completely adjust..." A topic change was probably in order before she got yelled out for her clothes again.

[greatearth]

"Are you certain that it…suits me?" Ereshkigal still found herself a bit unsure of her supposed costume. She didn't want to go the traditional route this year but still wanted to wear something appropriate for the occasion. Thus after some searching around and a few hints in the right direction, she'd settled on gothic-style clothing. That was still a costume of sorts, wasn't it? She looked to Karna for reassurance, hand on his arm as they made their way to the ballroom. She was getting better at voicing her concerns, but she still had her worries even now.

"I do not want to ruin the occasion by overthinking, but…" She was close to doing it anyway.

@danaravi

[greatearth]

"And perhaps it would be cute depending on who you ask, but in my opinion, I do not like it nor would I wear it myself." It seemed much too...simple, a little too plain for her tastes. Clothing should always make a statement when it can.

"Then you had better put more research into what the fashion trends are! For example, my dress!" Ereshkigal gestures to herself proudly, doing a little twirl for Marcille before placing her hands on her hips proudly. "It is fashionable, is it not?"

✲ "U-Ugly!? I thought it was cute..." Looking at the girl she'd asked, she couldn't even help but think her clothes weren't all that fashionable either. At the very least Marcille thought they looked a little gaudy.

"Well... I come from a world that's much more... fantasy? I research magic and recently explored a dungeon, so I don't really dress up a lot." Which meant she didn't really know what was "in" even back home.

[greatearth]

That's...definitely not the advice of someone she would be following if that quote was anything to go by. Still, despite Ereshkigal still harboring some doubts, she'll go along with this for now. Even if this was going to be an amateur movie, seeing herself on a screen could be fun. What wasn't fun was thinking of the possible backlash she might get for it. But that didn't matter for now.

She sighs, deflated, but still willing to at least give this a try. "Fine..." After one more look at her lines, she takes a deep breath and begins reciting her lines. "Maybe there's a little kaiju in all of us, in the end. The kaiju really was the friend we made along the way!" She tries to sound cheerful and charismatic, but it's not working. There's no way she can take herself seriously with these types of lines.

"Are you serious!? What kind of role am I supposed to be playing anyway? How will anyone ever understand what I'm supposed to be portraying? Tell me that this is simply a mock-up in place of a real script."

"What you mean that little shindig that happened?" She did have a point, some people might take it almost as offensive to start planning a movie about big creatures after the city decided to get a little infestation of those things. Granted as far as she knew nobody got hurt but it was something to take into consideration once everything was done.

"Someone once told me that to really get people going you gotta strike when the iron is hot." Unless she was the one who said that. Either way it was a pretty good quote to explain her motivations. "Sure what happened was pretty bad even by my standards but think about it. If we don't do this then nobody is right? Who knows maybe it'll get everyone's blood pumping to help out more."

That part may have been a stretch. But if it worked to help rally others around then more power to her.

[greatearth]

It's one of the first and only times she's ever felt comfortable uttering the phrase. To love someone is to give away a part of yourself and Ereshkigal has never felt wholly comfortable doing so. Her life had been wracked with betrayal, distrust, and then servitude. Long had she resigned herself to being unworthy of such feelings, for those opportunities were only ever given to her sister. Everything she had ever held dear to her had been ripped away without warning. She had grown tired of fighting it a long time ago.

But with Karna, she wants to fight for him, wants to reach out and grasp his hand. Even if one day, inevitably, they were to disappear and be forgotten by everyone, she wanted the comfort of knowing that for once in her life she had fought for something. That she had fought to be happy with someone even if they were eventually going to forget everything. Fortunately, that seemed to be no time soon.

And though she feels as though she's wasted enough time as is in their relationship, she wants to start making up for it now. For too long, she'd been distant, afraid that if she came too close he'd get to know the real her and leave. As he holds her now, however, she's never felt so safe in her entire existence. That in itself is enough to push her ever so gently forward. "May I…" she starts, though pauses once again, still just a bit nervous to broach the question even though she knows what his answer will be.

"May I stay the night with you sometime soon?" She feels embarrassed finally asking it, as innocent as it is. "I've done enough brooding. I want to make up for lost time."

the weight of her body practically falling against his own does little to dissuade his stance; he stands firm, and welcomes her wholeheartedly into his embrace. his arms waste no time at all in wrapping around her, ushering her in as close to him as he can. lowering his head to rest upon hers, a warmth blooms in his chest, and he relishes in the feeling of her there. is this what a longing sated feels like? to reach out into that darkness and know someone would answer? there are no ghosts in the room in that moment, only a pair of beating hearts--- he had never felt so real, and so alive.

his eyes flutter open to the quiver of her frame against his, sobs wracking her. turning his head, he lifts a hand to cradle the back of hers, and presses his nose into her hair with a whispered breath, almost as a parting gift... before she pulls away. karna looks upon her as her palms encircle his face, a weight besetting his chest. murmurs of worry crossing his features. he lays a hand over hers, an unspoken reminder that her fears have not yet come to pass. there is reminiscence in his touch; the way she called to him when he had found himself in great peril so long ago, held his face in her hands with such care as she does now.

... perhaps he had fallen in love with her a long time ago.

i love you.

... they are only a mere few words, and yet, they disarm him, stealing away every ounce of strength he has left to give. notes of surprise ebb into his expression, widening his eyes--- it is not a phrase he is accustom to hearing, nor the feelings that accompany it. for a servant, their fleeting existence did not permit such things when summoned to a war. it has... taken time to accept a place in this world, and everything granted to him with it.

after every battle fought, he is grateful to have finally had this opportunity to love.

shifting his hand to her cheek, karna prefaces his answer with a smile, ❝ ... and i love you. ❞

[greatearth]

Someone asking for her advice? Well, she was by no means a fashion expert but she could certainly put an outfit together if given the chance. What enthusiasm she felt for the briefest of moments, however, fades upon seeing the dress in question. It's not hideous, but it's not something she'd ever wear herself nor did she think anyone else should.

"There are better designs for warmer clothes. That is one of the ugliest pieces of fabric I've seen. Really, what has come over humans in recent years? They seem to cobble anything together without rhyme or reason."

@greatearth

✲ "Sorry to bother you, but do you think this dress looks alright? I'm not exactly sure what's considered "fall fashion" in this world." She'd decided to buy some clothes since it had started to get cooler again and was trying things on in a department store. "I just wanted something warm looking, I think."