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product's lullaby

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"H-hey Sua!" Till tries to match Sua's nonchalance, but his voice comes out nervous and several octaves higher than normal. He clears his throat, rubbing the scars on his neck awkwardly. "You look… good t-too. It's this place it… heals you all up, I guess. I'm happy you're here, though… It's nice. It's a nice place."

He really is happy that Sua is here. Till always regretted not getting to know her better, but as always, when confronted with all 5'2" of the terrifying woman, he isn't sure what to say.

"Have you seen M-mizi yet?" Till rambles on after a pause. "She's been, um… sad… ever since she got here- well, actually, I haven't seen her this time, but she was sad the last time she was here… But- now that you're here, s-she'll be happy again in no time!" Mizi always smiled her brightest at Sua. Now that the person Mizi likes most is here, Till can hope to one day see her smiling like that again. Even if he only catches a glimpse of them in passing from far away, it would be enough.

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𝄞 "...Till?" After meeting Mizi, Sua wasn't as surprised to see another familiar face. A peer from Anakt Garden. She didn't necessarily dislike him, but he had always been buzzing around Mizi and that had often brought out her childish jealousy. As an adult now, she could recognize why that had been wrong of her.

...But she didn't really regret it, either.

She'd never really opened up to him before. She wouldn't now, either. Things were different, but old behaviours couldn't be unlearned overnight. Still, she offered him honest words. "You look okay. I'm glad."

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"If you say so. I think it's annoyin'." Till says and immediately regrets it. He's no good at this type of conversation, always expressing his opinions too harshly or too bluntly. He kicks at the ground with a barefoot, thinking of a way to soften his approach. Till can't prove it, but he has a feeling that Mizi and Ivan would have spent more time together if it weren't for him, so the least he can do is try to avoid scaring off another one of Ivan's friends.

"Uh, I mean… I have kinda have a hard time understanding people, so when they have multiple sides to 'em, that makes it harder for me, y'know? But I… I guess there's this… theory of art that says nothing is an original idea, it's all just different interpretations of our lives and shared experiences. I dunno if I agree with it completely, but it's interestin' to think that different opinions are at the root of what makes us special. O-or… s-something like that… A-anyways, we really should be movin' faster than this…" Till's voice fades out as heat crawls up his neck to his ears. He's not sure why he's turning red, it could be he's embarrassed to have gone off on a small rant about art theory, it could be the prickly familiar feeling of red eyes on him, or it could be the way this guy is rocking earrings and longer hair in a way that Till could never hope to.

"I dunno, really. Usually, I get beaten senseless or sedated before I get to this point." Till says blandly with the slightly dour tone of someone remarking on sub-optimal weather. "I'm Till. Just Till." He hopes the prompt answers will get Rei to move faster because they really will get caught at this pace…

"…Wait. Why am I the antagonist?! If anything, he's antagonizin' me!" Till spins around to face Rei (and maybe to see what the hell is taking him so long) and his expression quickly morphs from irritation to concern.

"H-hey… Are you okay? You're… not lookin' so good."

WHEN TILL GOES OFF, HE LISTENS. he might as well, given it's some instance of learning more of ivan and, in turn, those he seems acquainted with. only stealing till's stuff 一 he can at least believe that, too, given none of his own belongings have managed to find their way into the hands of ivan returning it to him, at least not that he's aware. he is an old soul, after all... perhaps he had simply let it fade from his mind. ❝ Oho? My, my... that's a new side of Ivan. But anything is believable with humans, is it not? They're fascinating to have multiple facets of one's self, ❞ he speaks, seeming almost highly amused at what dynamic these two pose to one another, as if such an intrigue draws him in ever so slightly.

and then the realization sets in for till, the airhorn blaring loudly until the air within chokes itself into a squeaking silence. the dogs, too, howl as a siren in the distance sets off, the only prompting rei needs to soon follow after his not-so-chalant company casually.

❝ Kukuku... are you familiar with this type of thing? �� crimson eyes keep watch of the other, gleaning over him curiously, soon falling upon his marking (similar to ivan's own, he notes internally, though never betrays that notice once) ever so slightly as he allows his pace to remain brisk, though not urgent despite the situation. well, that was mostly due to the sun glaring down on him, making him feel more sluggish than usual, almost as if he were about to collapse within a moment to ruin their great escape. ❝ 'Not sticking around the scene,' that is, ❞ he adds, almost as if curious on the matter. his gaze casts behind them, noticing the commotion they had left behind dwindling to some degree, but...

❝ Rei. Sakuma, Rei. And might this one know who it is that has made such a fearsome antagonist to Ivan? ❞

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"Y-yeah…" Till says absentmindedly. The temperature is rarely a concern for him, but especially not now while he's busy being relieved he found wherever Saetbyeol had disappeared to. He wished people in his life would stop doing disappearing, it must be bad for his heart.

"Have you been here this whole time? I… called, like you asked me to… You weren't answering any of my messages…" He doesn't say it, but his worry is evident on his face.

"Uh… Where is 'here' anyway?" He looks around, taking his environment for the first time, and he doesn't recognize… anything really.

@inablinkgone (Setting before Wolfwood's meet-up)

There's worry just briefly. Just as fast as it came, it's gone when she realizes that if anyone is clueless about Hanabi, it's Til. Her shoulders shift from tense to relaxed, and Hanabi runs her fingers through her hair and exhales, "Uwaaa! It's so hot today, isn't it?" Laughing, she shakes her head, "I don't even know how you got here, Till Oppa!"

She just has to get rid of him and that in itself will be very easy to do.

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Welcome back king 🫶🫶

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: )

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YYYEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE

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the light source is stored in my balls. go, my warm up of yesterday.

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Happy Birthday Till 🥳🎂

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"Yeah, she's pretty cool." Till quietly agrees with the little owl before following after Ismael.

"I don't wanna… bring up any bad memories for you or anything… but it's hard for me to imagine anything scarin' you. Ta me ya've always seemed so… unflappable."

Till raises and lowers his hands repeatedly, as if constantly on the verge of reaching out to help Ismael but hesitating at the last moment. The tips of his ears turn pink at the smallest suggestion of praise directed his way.

"I mean, ya say that, but I ain't done nothin' special…" His hands settle on the hem of his shirt and he wrings it nervously. "Speaking of- uh… w-what can I do to help?" He's clearly at a loss. Ismael even has cooking tools he's never even seen before.

Lonely, huh? Ismael's slowed in her steps and picking some things up at the thought. She won't deny it. Even with her friends and even with the owls here, she is lonely. She misses Sal and she misses Kyrie. She misses them dearly and the house isn't really the same without them. Yairie gets a few stroking pets from Ismael though and the musician smiles, "nah. You're not wrong." Laughing, Ismael opens the fridge door. Yairie is happy to get acknowledgement for keeping company.

"I looooove Issy! She's the best!" The small owl says before taking off into the back door and through the giant tree in the backyard.

"You know, I think thatd be cool! Let's cook something real good, yeah? When you get hungry, we can eat together." It works out, doesn't it? She can prepare for lunch or dinner and Till can join her!

"I got the owls about a year or two ago. Something scary happened and I needed home security in a sense. Most people would get a dog or something, but I thought an owl or two would be better." Ismawl places the pot out and she's pulling items out of the fridge.

"It gets lonely, but that's why i have them and I have you guys to remind me I'm not alone."

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"So, yeah, I guess I'm 22 today…" Till can feel his face warm in the way it usually does when he feels like people are paying him attention and he's not on stage.

"I mean- if that's if I'm even aging here. Do people usually age? I definitely feel older…" In a rare moment of tactfulness, he doesn't say that probably has more to do with the fact that he was shot a few months ago than anything else.

The band playing tonight takes the stage across the crowded room from the bar they're sitting at. Till's expression doesn't change, but he starts bopping his head energetically to the music, happy that Kikuri chose somewhere with live music.

"They're pretty good! Especially their lead singer, she could be a pro."

@sickhackbassist

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There's a neatly wrapped package! What on EARTH can it be?

A note is resting on top it and it reads: Heard it's your birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TILL OPPA!

PS: be very careful when bringing this inside

Surprise! It's your birthday gift, Till. There are some neatly folded shirts as well of different bands!

As the note suggests, Till carries the package inside and unwraps it with the utmost care.

"It's… cute…" He places it on his shelf, one of the only decorations in his sparsely decorated room, and turns it to and fro to find the perfect angle to display it. Leaving for a moment, he returns with a small sign that demands: 'DON'T TOUCH! FRAGILE!! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!'

Till gives a low, impressed whistle as he opens up the rest of the package. He likes all of these bands.

"Good job, Saetbyeol! …I should take her out for lunch sometime…" Unfortunately, he has to revise his plans when he opens his bank account and sees the pitiful amount of Dust it contains.

"…Well, hopefully, she likes ice cream…"

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HOLDING THE GIFT IN HAND, she has to wonder if she even has the right to do something as this given the last things she recalls back at their home. it's... awkward, really, the way she stands outside his residence for so long with such a dismal look on her face, fingers taut upon the sketchpad and art supplies that would go with it. one hand lifts as if to knock on the door, only to freeze in place, hesitation taking hold as her nerve gets the better of her. no... this wasn't fair to do, not when she had let him down, when he could be alive if she had just acted sooner.

she's swift as she sets the items down on the ground, placed where he might bump into them gently to alert him of their presence, before giving a sharp knock. and just like that, she bolts from the door, intent on getting out unseen before anyone can open that door.

happy birthday, till.

There are a lot of times Till doesn't understand Mizi, but unlike those times, he very much understands why she wouldn't want to see them. He didn't want to even be near Ivan for months when he first got here, so he takes a moment to appreciate the fact that she went out of her way to get him anything at all. Mizi is too sweet. Always nicer to him than he deserves. And just like all of the other times he's let her down, he can't help but feel like if he'd just tried a little harder, found a way to convey his emotions a little more honestly, he could have protected her from the unhappiness he always seems to cause his friends.

He wonders what she's most disappointed by: the fact that Till is the reason she was in danger again or the fact that he's responsible for the death of her closest friend. Maybe she simply expected him to win, and he let her down. He let a few people down that way, so really, he gets it.

"Thanks, Mizi."

He says it aloud as if she's able to hear him somehow. Till wonders if it would be crossing a boundary if he sends her a thank you note through Ivan, decorated with vibrant purple clematis, courtesy of his new colored pencils.

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"Mnm… I… van…?" Till rubs his eyes blearily. He's answered the door in his oversized sleeping clothes, hair sticking straight up in the back from where he fell asleep leaning against his mattress a mere two hours earlier. He's quiet through something being placed on his head, attempting to process what's going on for at least 30 seconds. It does not work. "Is… is this my house…?"

Till is too busy trying to bring Ivan's blurry face into focus to realize that Ivan is talking until he stops. Till's eyes are already half closed, and he blinks slugishly. Apparently, the Christmas hats really affected Ivan. Till wonders if Ivan is going to show up in a stupid hat for every holiday. It's actually... pretty endearing. Even Ivan, with his terrible personality, can be cute sometimes… Wait… Why is his overworked brain thinking about this? Focus.

"Birth… day…?" Oh, that's right, it is his birthday. That would explain why Ivan is here. "'S too early… Don't even have any presents… f'r you ta take yet…" The massive yawn he gives seems to take the last of his energy out of him, and he leans heavily against the doorframe, sliding precariously toward the floor. His eyes close, the afternoon sun on his face and Ivan's presence lulling him into a warm sense of security.

"…'Kay… Jus' gimme five more minutes…"

He didn't consider much about his own birthday, but given Till had celebrated it, he figured it would be nice to do something in return. He still wasn't entirely sure where they stood, but that hardly mattered today.

He'd behave, and he made sure that he was wearing a shirt that covered his fatal scars, and he had a party hat. Two party hats, actually! One on his head, and the other prepared the moment Till opened the door to be slapped on his head.

"Happy birthday!"

"Get dressed. We're going out!" He would be normal, and it would be a nice day. He even had a present picked out. And he didn't bring Orthus with him, either. That could be for another time.

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Happy Birthday!!

he just want to be loved TwT

(translation by whatafruit)

HE'S SUCH AN UGLY BABY I'M GOING TO SCREAM

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"…This isn't mine?" Till looks at the jacket, perplexed. He stiffens as the guy sits next to him, but he'll die he moves away and risk seeming even more pathetic than the guy surely already thinks he is.

"I don't know nothin'!" Till snaps tiredly before he realizes how that sounds and turns red with embarrassment and frustration.

"Wait- I mean…" He rubs his head irritably where he can feel an aggressive migraine forming. "…This sorta thing never used to happen to me…"

He's glad the other guy hasn't traveled too far! He's caught up to him soon after and watches as Till kicks about. Shrugging off his jacket, he plops it on top Till. It's freezing out and Till might catch a cold. "I know what it's like to stand your ground and not back out, even if you know you should."

It was his way of apologizing. Should he had known the guy had stage fright of some sort, he probably wouldn't have pushed him the way he did. Juliyah takes a seat beside him with a huff.

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"…Fine." Till acquiesces only because Ivan seems so unruffled by the whole thing, but he turns and gives a cutting glare to the crowd, showing them how 'okay' he thinks this whole thing was before heading towards the door. Ivan leans away from him (-which is somewhat hurtful, actually. Till knows they've been here for a few days, but he can't smell that bad already.) but Till wants a better look, so his head ends up bumping against Ivan's collar bone anyway as he leans in and practically sticks his head out the door.

"Okay, I can see five of those… those… things. 'N we know they're slower than us, so that seems… doable." Till agrees with uncharacteristic readiness. This side of Ivan reminds him of the kid who figured out how to unlock their collars and would always free Till from his restraints. His friend who could always track him and spring Till from solitary confinement days earlier than he was supposed to get out. It makes him feel slightly more confident about their chances of survival. "We both run for it? You go first and I can keep 'em off ya while you get the ladder?" He asks it like he's submitting the plan for Ivan's approval, happy to go along with Ivan's strategy… At least, now that he's finally saying stuff that makes sense.

"Then you can help me up 'cause you're… taller." He grumbles the last word reluctantly, but Ivan saying he thinks Till is stronger than him gives Till a confidence boost he'll have to unpack later (maybe with some new lyrics) and carries him through the sore spot.

Till listens to Ivan with rapt attention, carefully not looking at him and watching the human-like things shuffle around lest Ivan suddenly get cold feet. He can count on one hand the number of times Ivan has talked about his life before he met Till. He's interested, to say the least, but talking about it always seems to upset Ivan, and Till isn't so good at comforting… well, anyone really. Like always, Till isn't sure what to say. The last thing he wants is to come across as pitying and make Ivan feel somehow lesser than him, so he settles on- "…That sounds tough. You did it, though. You survived it."

Tiny, maybe vulnerable moment over, Till rounds on Ivan, apprehension and doubt in his eyes. Till growls and points a finger in Ivan's face in a gesture too aggressive to be called chiding, his concern manifesting itself as anger.

"Somethin' must be wrong with my hearing 'cause I coulda sworn you just told me you weren't gonna look for a weapon at all. You'd better not be plannin' some dumb shit again! You've already pissed me off today, if ya do it again I'll… I'll…" ('Cry, probably.' Some traitorous part of his brain mocks.) "…You'd just better not!"

"It's alright." Not that he was going to stop Till from coming with him - based on his reaction to everything else, it was probably going to be a losing battle anyway and he didn't have a guitar to swing - but there was no need to fight them. They were just scared. He remembered meeting people like them, who were waiting to get picked up, or had been discarded.

Better to have someone who understood how cities work. Who could climb up fire escapees. He wished Till wouldn't come with him, but he wouldn't stop him.

"I'm not as strong as you are, so I don't know if a weapon would be best. But," he opens the door slightly, gesturing for Till to come closer, leaning back for his comfort (even if he didn't want to) and pointing at a nearby building.

"We need to get there. I can climb on the dumpster and pull down the ladder. Once we get onto the fire escape, we pull it up behind us." He pauses, before adding,

"Where I grew up, before I was 'adopted'," the word is said with enough disdain that he hardly needs to make a gesture for quotes, "It was similar enough to this ward. We should be able to get to higher ground. Ideally to the roof, and then we can make a plan."

He was resourceful, he knew he was, but showing this part of himself felt like cracking his ribs open. He's supposed to be some kind of idol, not some grungy little kid running around eating out of the garbage and starting fires.

Speaking of, he should find something to make a torch. Maybe they're afraid of fire. Something to keep in mind.

"Is that alright? Are you ready?"

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