Hot or Not

[sulahnan]

WHO: Athessa & Wysteria, walk-ins welcome
WHAT: Ranking the hotness of their coworkers
WHEN: Now, during mod-plot
WHERE: Orlais
NOTES: keepin' it light and spammy

[ Well, what else are ya supposed to do when scrubbing sigils off of walls? ]

I mean I guess he could be cute...if he changed his hair.

Comments

[sulahnan]

[ Athessa snorts. ]

Translates well into enthusiasm though.

[ Wink wonk. ]

[heirring]

[For a flat moment, it doesn't quite—]

No!

[Her arm is still submerged in the bucket.]

[sulahnan]

Yeees.

[ Spoken from experience, you see. Athessa puts a little more elbow-grease into a particularly stuck-on bit of paint. ]

[heirring]

[Cue an emphatic noise of utter revulsion and a great sloshing of water as she wrenches arm and scrub brush free, and commits to the work of scrubbing with renewed enthusiasm.]

[sulahnan]

[ Athessa's laugh could be described as unladylike, or undignified, but also as thoroughly honest. She's delighted. ]

Alright, what about Loxley, then? He's like, the epitome of dashing. And very charming. And he has great hair.

[ And he smells nice, and has beautiful eyes, and has horns, and he's a good kisser, and, and, and... ]

[heirring]

[Still sharp, boiling over the crude concept of Kostos' enthusiasm:] I've never spoken to the man. However his familiar friend, Mr. Dickerson, is delightful.

—Not as romantic prospect exactly, of course. He's slightly too old.

[sulahnan]

Then judge on aesthetics. [ How could anyone not find Loxley handsome? ]

But I agree that Richard is delightful. I like his non-romantic company.

[heirring]

He's fine. [Loxely is.] Certainly pleasant enough to look at from a distance.

[Ugh. Enthusiasm.]

[sulahnan]

[ Doubt. ] You should see him up close, then.

[heirring]

Then Mr. Loxley should see to attending more silly Riftwatch parties or spending more time in the Gallows where he might be seen up close if he cares to be seen at proximity.

[sulahnan]

Alright, alright.

[ Another dip into the suds. ]

Say — [ As in say, you're a smart cookie, whaddya think of— ] — How would you define romantic, anyway?

[heirring]

Practically, or theoretically?

[sulahnan]

[ A musical hmm as she decides: ]

Both? I have a feeling it's more complex than what people write in books, ya know? Do you think there's a universal definition, or is it completely subjective, but with overlap?

[heirring]

I believe Monsieur Bastien—who is also fine, by the way; he would be better served were he to shave his mustache. It makes him look rather old—once asked some similar question.

In any case, no. [This particular sigil was drawn in something less permanent than paint. It's coming up marvelously well under the scrub brush.] No feeling is universal, but all feelings have a sort of logic to them, I think. Which is precisely why I would disagree and say that romance is always so much more complicated in books than in real life. It has to be or else it wouldn't be so interesting to such a wide audience. I guarantee that half the people who love one another in real life do so simply because they share some sense of consideration for each other.

[sulahnan]

He would not —

[ That, a direct response to the claim that Bastien would be better off without his mustache, but Athessa quiets to listen to Wysteria's answer. ]

The ones I've read all just seem... too samey.

I suppose you think that Chevalier should shave his mustache, too?

[heirring]

Certainly not. [As if it is absurd to hold two people to the same standard of facial hair. It's only after that she attempts to square that discrepancy by squinting seriously at the work under their hands.]

Or rather, I suspect Ser Lyon du Lyon could do whatever he liked with his face and it would make no difference to his general—

[She gestures with a soapy hand. You know. All of him.]

[sulahnan]

—majesty?

[ Seems as good a word as any, and since I'm contractually obligated to not have my characters express too much interest in one another, she moves on: ]

What about Nikos?

[heirring]

[heirring]

Eh.

[Eh.]

[sulahnan]

[ Athessa laughs, genuinely amused beyond reason. ]

Hm. Gross. [ That, in reaction to this next sigil being painted on with something that starts to dribble rust-colored rivulets down the wall at the introduction of the sudsy water.

Let's just...ignore that and move on. ]

[heirring]

[It's probably fine.

After a few moments of scrubbing at her own section of sigil, Wysteria settles on a slightly more challenging subject:]

What is your opinion on Enchanter Isaac?

[sulahnan]

[ She hums and tips her head back and forth. Well. ]

Hmmmmmyeah? I bet he was really handsome at our age. Not that he's old, or not-handsome now, but —

[ — you know. ]

[heirring]

[Wysteria hmms knowledgeably over the contemplative sksh-sksh of the scrub brush.]

Neither sturdy or outdoors-ish for your tastes, I assume. Still— there is something appealing in his countenance, though I don't know that I could name exactly what it is were I pressed. So you must not. Press me on the subject, I mean.

[sulahnan]

I won't. [ Easy assurance and the slsh of dipping back into the bucket. ] We can just leave it at "something appealing" so we don't have to think too hard on it.

[ Creators forbid that she start looking at Isaac differently. Ha ha, as if. ]

When did Bastien ask you about romance?

[heirring]

[Which is evidently a happy enough middle ground to satisfy Wysteria. She shifts gears accordingly.]

Oh, ages ago. It was something about living circumstances, I believe? Whether you could stand to see just one person forever for the rest of your life. Though now that I think on it, I may be mixing it with something else... Regardless, it was a discussion on the subject of what form true affection takes. And something to do with tolerating one another for extended periods of time uninterrupted? I think.

Speaking personally, I can hardly imagine being stuck in one room with another person for long without some difficulty arising. Passionate people are meant to squabble at one another.