Arthur Kirkland (United Kingdom) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
english_dignity) wrote2016-05-06 06:49 pm
english_dignity) wrote2016-05-06 06:49 pm
Remnants of Midnight
Continuing Midnight Syndicate threads here, or starting new ones in the world/timeline of!
Open to current and former members of the game only please. General prompts may follow.
Open to current and former members of the game only please. General prompts may follow.
Potions and Passions
What [or Who ;)] We do: An embarrassing book signing [open]
When We Do It: April 23rd
Where We Do It: Mysterious bookstore in town and then various locations
How We Do It: I'll match
Why You Shouldn't Watch Us Do It: Grumpy Brits and possibly fluffy smut later? Who knows.
Signing
Well... it was an improvement over his last birthday here, but that wasn't saying much. Arthur had been supplementing his income rather neatly writing (ridiculously kinky) romance novels under the pseudonym of Alice Hyde since September. It was mostly due to embarrassment that he'd kept the little fact a secret and until now his publisher had indulged him (probably because he pushed out books so quickly). But when he'd skipped a few months... well, the man decided in his absence that a signing would be a good idea.
His idea for getting around the fact that Arthur certainly didn't look like a 'Miss Alice' was brilliant. And the nation hated him a little for it.
Correction, a lot.
Because one potent potion, a trip to the salon, a dress, and a pair of heels later, 'Alice Hyde' was seated at her bookstore table forcing herself to smile as she held a pen in perfectly manicured hands, accepting another copy of her newest book, Potions and Passions, to sign. "And who should I make this out to?" she ask before looking up.
Evening
The potion thankfully didn't wear off mid-event like they'd worried it might, thus the extra strong dose, but it hadn't worn off by the time evening fell either. Just how long was it going to last?
Stepping out the back door of the bookstore once everything was finished and the last of the lingerers gone, she pulled the clip from her hair with a groan. Putting it up was practical, yes, but damn did she have a headache.
"Mint Bunny is going to laugh his furry ass off," she muttered, turning towards home. "Spending my birthday as a bloody girl. The sales had better be worth it."
Ellis
He hadn't expected to see a woman arriving to Kirkland's home...
"Ah howdy, Ma'am! Lookin' fer someone?" he greeted while looking for any hints as to her purpose.
------
Oh bloody hell, how had she forgotten that Ellis would be seeing her like this? Arthur cursed under her breath, quickly stuffing the check from the signing into the purse they'd gotten her with the outfit.
"Preferably, a cup of tea and a rag to wipe off all this damn make-up," Arthur said with a huff, pouring on the accent and looking up at him. Those green eyes were rather hard to miss. "So be a dear and put the kettle on, Ellis?"
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Alice has effectively confused Ellis because he sure as hell doesn't remember meeting her and...
"Are you Arthur's sister by any chance? Y'all look like his twin! Except y'got," A glorious rack? "Well, y'got long hair."
Good boy, he mentally patted himself on the back, he was completely appropriate and not at all gawking. "OH TEA, right uh..." He's still learning the layout so he has to whistle for Mint Rabbit as he would a dog, "'Ey! Where the tea at!"
At least Kirkland will never have a silent home.
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"Sister? If I even had a sister, I sure as hell wouldn't allow her to come here. Eros is no place for a lady," Arthur snorted. The whistle caught her attention though, even as Mint Bunny flew over to show him, 'accidentally' giving the American a small thump on the head on the way. "Did you just whistle... for a fairy creature?"
Yu
Yu had been so completely embarrassed to come to the book signing, to the point that he slipped one of Loki's cloaks out of his closet so he could hide himself. He wasn't the only one in a cloak at least, but he was the only one in one that was clearly over sized and with his hood up. Still, he didn't take it off even though it made him stand out, if only because by the time he made it to Alice, his face was a burning shade of red.
"I-I... um... I'm a big fan."
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Arthur absolutely froze at the name, those distinctly green eyes locking on the familiar face under Yu's hood. Oh shit. Trying to recover before he figured out anything was up, the nation cleared her throat.
Don't mind if 'Alice's' face burns as red, her accent slipping back towards British from the careful local one. "Ah, thank you. I'm glad you like them." She ducked her head and quickly flipped to the title page to sign her pseudonym.
------
Yu peered over to her at that, confused for a moment. That was an... odd reaction, and he couldn't help but stare at her for a moment. She was really pretty, probably the kind of woman he would escort at some point. Why did she seem kind of familiar, though...?
"Have... we met?"
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"We could have, around town maybe," Arthur said, automatically glancing around to see if Yu was the only familiar face in the line. This had been a bad idea. "Just tell me that bloody Norse isn't here too." She hadn't meant to say the last part out loud of course. Whoops.
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Oh, of course Yu heard that, and his attention snapped on "her", eyeing "Alice" suspiciously. Green eyes, hunh... he knew two people with green eyes, and he was fairly sure Fayt was still passed out at home. Besides, he didn't refer to Loki as a "bloody Norse".
Somehow, Yu's face turned even redder when it all clicked into his head. Was it too late to sink into the ground and disappear from sight?
"...w-why... y-you..." he managed to get out, completely dumbstruck. "How...!?"
Okay, the how of the gender change he could guess. How the hell did a country come up with that much good smut?! What the hell was England even!?
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She was a sixteen hundred year old country who'd probably had more sex than anyone else in the world. And right now she was thinking of joining Yu in that pit.
"It's just- That is- what are you doing here?!"
When the staff member handling the line coughed meaningfully, she was abruptly reminded that they weren't alone. Arthur shoved the signed book back into her friend's hands with perhaps more haste than necessary.
"We'll talk later, alright?" she sputtered. How had someone she actually knew found those things?
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Well, gee; maybe when you publish a book, people will buy it! What a novel concept!
"...r-right..." Yu muttered, grabbing his book back and shuffling off. He was half tempted to just leave; this as too much for his brain to really process at the moment. Still, he found himself lingering, waiting for the book signing to end so they could talk.
--------------
Arthur was just glad not to see anyone else she specifically knew in the line. When it finally ran down and she could get away from the table, she really debated sneaking out the back anyway. But she'd been the one to ask him to stay. Dammit, sometimes she hated good manners.
Of course, that didn't help keep the blush from coming right back as she went to find him. "Yu. I can explain."
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For a moment, it looked like Yu was going to launch into a million questions. After a pause, however, he clicked his mouth closed instead, letting his shoulder fall slightly.
"...no, I don't think you need to," he replied softly, offering Arthur a small smile. "You shouldn't have to feel ashamed for doing what you want to do. I'm sorry I reacted the way I did."
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"Please, you have something to be sorry for. I'd have been rather shocked too," Arthur said, her face still pink. "I wrote a few back in Victoria's day, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Didn't realize they'd sell so well." She chewed her lip. "Don't tell anyone?"
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"Thought... smut fiction and this place seems to be kind of expected, really..."
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"You know, Loki's going to find out either way," he replied. "I'm surprised he doesn't already know."