riverview | ( VIDEO. 003 )

_{[ Perhaps you recognize this guy because he has two other identical brothers here. Perhaps you recognize him from watching some campy soap opera that he has acted in— you know his face, he's the guy that always dies in the background. If not, perhaps you're one of the unfortunate people who actually know him.. or are friends with him. Yikes. Either way, this feed features Karamatsu illuminated by candlelight, nothing more. He's wearing a closed bathrobe and.. nothing more, either. Well, just about. There's a red bow tied around his neck— if anyone cared to look further, they'll probably see it's also draped over his collarbone, implying he's wrapped up in a ribbon like a present underneath that robe.

Spoiler: he is.

But that's not it. A painful picture deserves some painful monologues, right? He parts his lips, expression appearing wistful. It's bad acting at it's finest. It's cringe worthy. ]}

Ah, December. It is probably... my second favorite time of the year. It is a time for generosity, a time for giving. A time to reflect on your former self as the year draws to an end.. a time for.. love. _{[ TAKES A DRAMATIC SIP OF WINE. ]}
Where I am from.. we celebrate Christmas. It is.. expected, ah no, it is mandatory that love blossoms within the snowy air, shrouding all feelings of loneliness with feelings of adoration— feelings of belong. If you are lonely this month, I can offer you the greatest gift you can ever receive! Ah, are you ready? _{[ He sucks in a breath and then exclaims with a flourish: ]}
IT IS LOVE!!!
It is all the love that I could ever give! Simply accept and be my date on the 25th! I will shower you with gifts! I will shower you with.. romance!
_{[ His voice is cracking slightly from sounding so desperate, tears pricking the corner of his eyes. It's really pitiful. ]}

I will give you a night you won't ever forget! _{[ PROBABLY FOR THE WRONG REASONS... ]}Say goodbye to lonely nights, hello to season delights!!

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The dates are marked on the calendar, last I looked. ( From her pov, and lacking context: this sounds odd. Innocent, childish—strange. ) Insofar as warming up, ser, I'll trust that by intended has no complaints.

( That was taken precisely the way it sounded, but she's unperturbed by it. )

Time. That is the gift, I think. He'd thought we were running out of it back in our country. I think it may be the same for many others here.

_{[ Woah, she's getting deep... and Karamatsu thought he was bad with this kind of stuff and making everything sound super serious. He just kind of gawks at her, mouth hanging open slightly. ]}

Eh? Well.. of course. We are always running out of time. Nothing can stop time! Ah, but I think moments.. and memories.. those fond and gentle.. they can burn into somebody's soul and be everlasting!

( Welcome to Westeros, Karamatsu! )

Not simply that—we have difficult battles ahead of us whenever we return. How best might you suggest we create such memories?

You know.. snuggling up with hot cocoa by a fire.. kissing under the mistletoe.. a lot of people like to propose marriage during this season or buy each other exclusive and expensive gifts. Those memories.. they are hard to forget.
_{[ Karamatsu is extra forward, but even he wouldn't go that far to propose to someone unless he had been dating the person for a very long time. ]}

Heh.. or if you really want something to remember, you can just make love to one another!
_{[ How crass. ]}

( It's not often that she experiences so much amusement that she must needs contain it; as her wont is to be serious, though stoic no matter how she feels. This—well, she looks at Karamatsu with the most calm, serene expression she can manage and decides to troll him: )

How kind of you to indulge my request. I will be most certain to partake of the lattermost more often than I have, in that case.

He also proposed marriage not long after our arrival here.

( And something like two or three times before that at various points while they were still in their own world. Oh, Jon. )

_{[ O-oh. He's thinking about her being intimate with somebody and he shouldn't linger on that thought too long! He quickly clears his throat, but he sounds a little nervous.
Anyway, there is something that Karamatsu is interested in other than himself, and that is when people get engaged or married. He's very in love with the whole idea. Please, tell him of your romance like you would with on of your girlfriends. ]}

A-ah, I see.. it is remarkable. I'm sure.. your heart was racing! Did you fall in love right away when you saw him or later? Did it take time?

( Oh, this is too good! It's a credit to her that she's nor outright smirking at the moment. )

Upon which occasion? He asked me more than once, ser; he's most skilled with metaphors.

( The skull and "sailing together" ones respectively. Her lips twitch just a little, and then she looks on blithely. )

On our first meeting, we fought like a pair of fishwives. It took time, but even longer than that to act on it. I'd thought there was no time for it, for a little while.

( More like the better part of a year. )

_{[ You know, she's speaking in a way where he's actually listening and learning. He blinks owlishly, replaying what she has said in his head and then smiling with a nod. ]}

I see... so icy hearts.. they take awhile to melt, but when they do, they feel so warm, do they not? Were your hearts both icy, then?

( And he has no idea how terribly tempted she's been to laugh for the past little while; not at him, but rather the absurdity of the topic at hand.

She continues to smile, looking both completely serene and serious as she says: )

Guarded would be a better term, though we felt very, very warm. If anything was icy, it melted quickly once we acted upon what we felt.

( It's not a particularly helpful reply, but it's not meant to be; her private business is precisely that. )

_{[ He fidgets. It sounds like such a dream come true! Something he could never really obtain. Karamatsu is in love with the idea of being in love. His lips finally curl into a slight frown. He hates showing his true feelings about things, but this is kind of a sensitive topic. ]}

You make it sound.. so simple.

( And here, she stops trolling him a little to be a bit more forthcoming: )

Falling for him was easy. The journey we undertook to get to that point wasn't.

We lost much, for all we've gained. You learn to cherish it dearly.

I do not have any issues with "falling" for people..
It's getting them to fall for me back.
_{[ He's lived in his entire life in unrequited love. It's really beginning to piss him off. ]}

I'm sure someone like you had no problem with that.
_{[ For him, it's a little different.. obviously. ]}

( Dany sets her features in an unreadable, neutral expression and replies with a deadpan: )

You don't get them to fall for you. Affection is a gift, freely given. They must choose you.

( There'd been no forcing Jon into anything. A wolf is no more a slave than a dragon. )

Did I? You know nothing of my life to say that for certain. Don't do so again.

( Read: what he thinks is actually false. )

_{[ oh...
Well, what she is saying is helpful advice. Nobody has ever seemed bothered to give him such words. Mostly, they just let him go out and act like an idiot when it comes to wooing people. ]}

I see.. a gift!
_{[ It actually sounds like she's getting through to him, but then he stammers: ]}
O-oh, my mistake! It isn't my place to say, ah.. I shouldn't have. Though, I do appreciate your words and hearing your love story.

( It does seem that way; and because of that, she'll add: )

Don't harbour any expectation that feelings will be reciprocated; it helps. And if they are, it renders it more pleasant.

( As opposed to trying to buy or cajole affection from people, she means. But she assumes he's starting to get it. )

Good. I didn't know or expect that he'd feel as he does for me, either. But I did demand something of him which he couldn't give.

I stopped asking, and things improved. That's how I know.

( VIDEO. 003 ) — un: 2cool

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