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OPEN POST 2025
1. Post here with the character you want to play with in the header or body
2. Put your prompt in the body of the comment (or leave it to me - i don't mind coming up with something!)
3. ????
4. Profit
My muselist is HERE!!!!!!!!!!!
YIPPEE!! sorry i had to summon the spirit of lupin back into my brain to write this (reread threads)
The problem is that he can't really do anything about it. Lupin's not one to sit on his laurels; he prides himself on always having a plan or an idea or some kind of solution when something needs fixing (or stealing). The only fix for this particular situation is time. And it's not like Cairngorm's in imminent danger or anything - a few months is a meager price to pay. He's patient. Usually. It's harder to be patient when he'd finally resolved to speak his heart only to find the recipient of his affections unresponsive the night he'd appeared to leave his calling card.
Swallowing all those feelings back up once he'd started letting himself feel them was difficult, but what choice did he have? Lupin had shelved his grand romantic plans (they hadn't failed, they were just postponed) and appointed himself to their bedside in the meantime - at least when he could. Phos had seemed confident that Cairngorm didn't need more than a dim light and an occasional check-in to make sure they hadn't rolled over and broken something, and they certainly knew more than he did - plus, they and Lottie are the ones who actually live with Cairngorm. Still, he's made sure to come see them at least once in a while. He'd sit and try to read by the candlelight for a little bit, just in case they wake up, and, over the months, let his emotions boil down into a low simmer.
The longer they spend apart, the more Lupin starts to believe that he'd been premature. Maybe this is good. Maybe he'd been selfish - running into this headlong, seeing in them what he wanted to see. They're delicate, after all - ten times his age with a tenth of the experience. If he'd gone through with his plans, he'd probably have overwhelmed them. When he'd intimated how he felt, they'd called him a fool. He's not such a rake he can't wait for them to understand what he meant.
Even if waiting is kind of painful. And stressful. The warmer it gets, the antsier he feels - not necessarily romantically, but just in general. They're supposed to wake up soon, right? It's these nerves that have him freezing up when, heading over to check on them one morning, he sees them up and on their feet again. Outside. And immediately walking away from him. ]
-- Cairngorm! You're awake!
[ and here he comes. sorry, gormy, your slinking was unsuccessful. ]
REAL
But, perhaps mercifully, not even having the choice to run away from things they didn't want to deal with for most of their life keeps them frozen in indecision for a little, their step awkwardly stalling when they look over at Lupin approaching. There's a few things they can tell just from those words alone; he must have been keeping at least some sort of close tabs on them over their hibernation. The same unnamable discomfort they've had around him for some time now stirs, even in the density of their crystalline body. Like ice melting.
He.... cared, right? Did he miss them? They're used to waking up from hibernation to not much more than a casual oh, and they couldn't blame the other gems for not waiting on baited breath for them to rejoin their band. They only ever saw each other for a season at a time: Fall and spring, with the bitter winters spent alone and their summers in slumber. Quietly, they can admit to themself that the weight of his apparent... relief? Excitement? Feels different from all the hundreds of offhand greetings previous. Like maybe their absence was more than just an inconvenience or a fact of life. Like he's been waiting for them, if they can delude themself into believing it.
Over their life, though, they've learned it's best not to hope or long for anything too much, whether that's ambition, companionship, or just attention. To Cairngorm, such things were always out of reach, even if they were right in front of them. Sometimes, it feels like Lupin's no different than that. Whether than chasing that small spark of hope, they should be grateful and satisfied he even noticed their absence to this extent at all. The reminder keeps their expression flat and neutral, chasing away the strange urge to meet his relief with their own.
They sigh audibly through their nose as he comes over, but they relent, no longer trying to get away. This is fine. They're still pretty tired, and running away would be a lot of physical effort, because they're certain Lupin would give chase. That's what this is: convenience. Truth be told, while the feelings are still fresh and abstract in their mind from everything leading up to their slumber, they can't remember every word spoken between them prior. They remember feeling nervous. They remember feeling worried. Over what Lupin had said, exactly, eludes them. ]
Were you watching my house all this time? It's barely been minutes.
[ Since they awoke, they mean. They complain, dryly, raising a gloved hand to rub at their eye, long eyelashes glittering while they try to blink themself awake. On the one hand, they want to jab at him for being so nosy that he found out immediately... but on the other, maybe telling him that they really haven't been conscious for long will make him feel lenient on the fact that they literally just tried to walk away. If they're lucky, maybe he'll just think they didn't see him... ]
OK IM LUPIN MODE FOR REAL THIS TIME
Oh well. Lupin loves his plans, but he can improvise. That strange nervousness doesn't go away, but there is perhaps no man better at overpowering his nerves and charging in than him. Besides, he finds there's something delightful about feeling tense over something as mundane as talking to Cairngorm. Time might have calmed his emotions, but it's clearer than ever to him that it hasn't dulled them when he meets their eyes. His heart leaps, his expression brightens, and he can't help the spring in his step when he jogs the short distance between them. There's a surprising amount of overlap between being a romantic and a thrill-seeker... ]
Just a little morning exercise. It's no easy feat maintaining these looks, you know - not all of us get a few months' worth of beauty sleep. [ Their apparent attempt to run doesn't seem to have fazed him at all, though there's no doubt he didn't notice. It's something he can contend with later. For now, he's just happy to see them - to talk to them again, complaints and all, and his playful grin softens. ] Good morning to you, too. Rest well?
no subject
Mm.... it was fine. [ a beat, and then they lower their hand, loosely folding their arms across their chest. ] I haven't slept that deeply for a long time. Maybe a century.
[ Which is much more information than they would normally pony up — their grogginess has lessened the capabilities of their filter, it seems. The fact that they kept being cucked from their hibernation is gem business that they haven't really explained to other residents in Chroma; they always assume it won't be of interest. Moreover, at home, their hibernations are generally fitful and they're constantly woken up by other gems. Only here were they really left to rest peacefully.
Belatedly, their eyes flick down and then up, giving him a quick once-over — no missing limbs, no signs that anything catastrophic happened while they were asleep. Those are the type of things gems look for, upon waking, especially because it might me the other person doesn't remember you, anymore. It's a force of habit, even if it doesn't apply to humans. Satisfied and relieved by what they've found, their shoulders relax a little more. ]
As for you, well.... you look the same as ever. [ ???? this is a good thing even though they say it in the dryest way possible ] The winter wasn't harsh to you then, I take it.
no subject
The century comment - and their mentioning that he hasn't changed - is a slim reminder of the enormous timescale they're used to living on. It doesn't hang over his head the way it could (and perhaps should); it does, again, remind him that patience is a virtue. ]
Other than not having you around? No, nothing too agonizing. [ a pause; he looks rather chagrined. ] Well, I did turn into a frog for a while, but we all managed to move past that.
[ how did he get out of that predicament?? don't worry about it. It's probably a good thing Cairngorm wasn't around to see him in that sorry state, come to think of it. Not that he's even sure Cairngorm knows what frogs are in the first place... ]
More folks came up out of the well, we did some traveling into one anothers' dreams... Your ability to sleep through all that ruckus is enviable, honestly.
no subject
It's nothing special...
[ They mumble, averting their eyes off to nowhere in particular, eyebrow creasing a little more, unsure of why they even said that. It's not like it was praise, he was just saying that he wishes he could sleep through such things. Absentmindedly, they scuff their heel in the colorless dirt, looking down at their shoe. ]
I don't think you'd like it much. Sleeping so long. [ He'd probably get FOMO from missing out on much of anything, even something completely asinine. That's their impression of him. ] Even being frozen for a few days was enough to set you out of sorts...
[ They say that half to reaffirm their own memories of the event, and half to convince him it's maybe not so enviable as he thinks. Back in the castle, he'd felt chagrined that he'd fallen victim to the ice at all, which made him incapable of going around saving other people. By kissing them, they won't mention or linger on for too long. Their memory of back then is foggy, but that part is clear — how quick he'd been to spring back up into action. How he'd asked them to tag along. Their mind is slow to pick up to the feeling that they should change the subject, or parry the focus back to him, so when they do so, it's belatedly, like they had to think of a good comeback. Eventually, they huff. ]
Besides. You would've missed out kissing frogs, otherwise.
[ Soon as he says that he turned into a frog, the fairytales in the library having to do with the frog prince come to mind... see, he got to make up for his lack of kissing in the ice castle. It's funny, and his reaction will serve as a little test of his feelings towards such a turn of events. Groggy as they are, Cairngorm is secretive and subtle as always — the only way they know how to go about getting information is the roundabout, plausibly deniable way. ]