songerein | [Catch-All]

Entry tags:

[Catch-All]

Who: Old Man Nier and YOU
Which: Open Log + Interactive Dream
Where: Reverein fields, the town itself, Nier's home village
What: Catch-All for March 2022. Old Man tends fields and mends fences. Old Man picks up orange hate feathers. Old Man picks herbs for Jude and co clinic. Old Man dreams of his home town where no one there seems to know him at all.
Warnings: Probably nothing worth mentioning. Will update as necessary

01. 'Spring'ing into Action

[Just the thought of working in the fields makes him think of older, more simpler days. Although he supposes in retrospect, there was nothing simple about them. Yonah had once asked him to grow her watermelons and somehow, he'd managed to accomplish it. Never does he consider himself an accomplished man of gardens and growing, but when he thinks about the amount of time he spent trying to cultivate a Lunar Tear, then he supposes he might be underestimating himself.

It's provided him a great reason to busy himself. To busy his thoughts. To think less about what happens when he leaves. If he leaves. If the others leave. He wants none of this. Instead, he's focused on the situation at hand. Or at least, he pretends he is. Honestly, he's more caught up in his thoughts than he'd like to be.

Fences are where he's chosen to begin. A decent number of them were damaged and before any planting can begin, they'll need to be tended to. He's in the process of covering some breaks, knelt down, pensive and probably up until the next few moments, has likely been a little quiet. Whether it's approaching footsteps or those being led elsewhere, he's not shy about speaking up.]

Get me that hammer, would you? I left it back there somewhere.

[He jerks his right hand over his shoulder indicatively. Help an old man out?]

02. I'm Not Angry; You're Angry!

[There's no shortage of things to be done in Reverein and Nier is usually more than happy to keep himself occupied by taking on any number of requests from the locals, which seem to be growing in number as the days go by. Gathering feathers seems like a relatively monotonous and unexciting task, which means it ought to be something he can get done in short order.

He's wandering around the town and along its outskirts to gather them, looking high and low. By this point, he's already managed to collect a few, which he has tucked into his somewhat barbaric-looking garb. Nier's a man with a lot of heart, though more than once he's lost his cool in the face of the circumstance. Where he'd normally be a rather patient man, it seems said patience is in absent supply today.]

Hey. You just gonna stand there, or do you feel like moving?

[He's had days where he was nicer.]

03. Go Green or Go Home

[When Jude announced the opening of the clinic, Nier was very quick to jump onto the idea of being able to supply him regularly with useful herbs, plants, and other like things in the forest. It reminds him of the times he's done something of the same for Popola. The names might change, but the situation always seems to be the same. In that respect, it's kind of nice. Something familiar. Just the thought leaves him comforted.

Whatever reason you might have for being out there, it won't be hard to spot him. Nier doesn't blend in well with the surroundings. On the contrary, he kind of stands out. And if he finds you, there's a very good chance he'll be nosy and want to figure out what you're up to. Why not lend him a temporary travelling partner?

Don't mind him as he's huddled down close to the ground, trying to get up a plant without destroying it completely.]

04. Home is Where the Heart Is (Unless You're Nier) - Interactive Dream

[...What is this place? It's a seemingly quiet and laid-back village, many of the structures appearing rundown and touched by the elements of time. There are people by the fountain not far from a dilapidated house.

Up the hill, along a variety of wooden steps that are in slight disrepair, there's a library with no shortage of books and a room that doesn't seem to make much sense.

Gates exist in different cardinal directions that lead outside of the village, each guarded for the safety of the village inhabitants.

Down in the market plaza, there's no shortage of item shops, and a plethora of relatively friendly villagers, who are ever willing to ask for assistance with their daily errands. A tavern, where a pretty girl named Devola plays music and sings a song. And on the docks behind, a little boat willing to take you to places called Seafront and some other main settlements that exist outside of the village.

It's a nice place, if not a little bit sparse. But it's the place that he calls home. He can easily be found wandering through the town, into the library, but spends the most amount of his time at his house, perhaps with his face in a very particular diary. His daughter, Yonah, is also here, and she may seem a little perplexed about what you're doing in her house, but she'll be very polite.

It's no real big surprise to him personally, but it seems like no one in this town knows a Nier. Not even Yonah. Who could this mysterious man be?]

[OOC: Please feel free to wander around the village by yourself, with a friend, or visit Nier. Character thoughts and feelings may affect the surroundings and the things witnessed, or experienced in this place.
Please also forgive how small these images seemed to be. Evidently larger images from Gestalt are difficult to come by. I may update these at a later point.
There is no restricted access to the town and its inhabitants. Do note that given this is also Brother Nier's home village, he has the same influences that Old Man Nier has here.]

05. Wildcard

[If the above don't strike your fancy, please select this option for whatever something special we might be doing. You can plot with me via PMs, discord (available upon request), and by contacting me via ofthesky.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Definitely good company, Nier decides. 76 doesn't look like the sort to do any of that stuff—gardening, admiring art, anything of the related. But the rest... War, old battle tactics, joining the military...]

You look like a military man. [That being said.] But I've been wrong before and it's unlikely that you're just that one thing. [As he's seen fit to display already. 76 is the perfect example that an individual is a mass of sides. Many would look at him and see only his interest in his daughter. Or perhaps bloodlust, which perhaps he's had more than once. There's more to him, too. It's just that not everyone sees that. And Nier, by this point, has become so disenchanted with what most think of him that it seems he hardly cares much.]

Would you rather be taking out thugs? It sounds to me like you're enjoying all of this just fine. [He motions with a hand, wearing a subtle smile. A little lop-sided, but warm. Genuine.] Can't be fighting forever.

Some things stick, long after service. [Like how he carried himself. There was no getting around it, and out of a need to survive something he'd fallen heavily in to the mindset of just being a soldier. Taken up a number assigned to him so that a rare few of those he was going after knew exactly what was after them.

The others? Meant nothing to, really. Was fine with him.] You're right, but it is easy to slip in to the mindset of being just that at times. More so when it's the only thing to do.

[But the tone carried that the man wasn't wrong; sometimes paths just led a certain way when you decided to take them. One skill over the other was what got noticed the most out of them all, and sometimes what other people thought... didn't matter that much in the grand scheme of things.

People would always create an image, and that was on them, not the person having to live up to that.]

It's an end to a means, back where I'm from. Here? Well, it's more situational whenever trouble crops up. [A hum, but there was a faint smile carried in that tone as his head tipped.] Feel like it sometimes, though.

Being honest with myself? This sorta work is nice. [Getting back to his roots, helping out on a farm.] Hell, I have a job as a cook up at the Wild Harvest, if you've heard about the place. Pub that a good kid I know started up.

[76 reflects a lot of his inward feelings, the kinds that he never really considers sharing. Rather, the kinds that he isn't sure other people would understand. It's easy to tell another to just stop whatever they're doing. Not unlike present company, he's been caught up with the five plus years he's spent fighting for survival just about every waking moment. He can't remember a time when he wasn't fighting. At least, that's how it feels in the grand spectrum of things.

Of course he wasn't fighting all the time, but...

Once he got started, it was always hard to remove that part of him. Nowadays? He's certain it remains lingering in him, just condemned to ever remain.]

It's definitely... different.

[Does he like farming more than fighting? Maybe. Probably some sliver of his, really. His attention turns rather easily with the natural, organic shifting of the conversation. When was the last time he had such an easy-going one? When it's not Kainé and his younger counterpart, it's usually work of some kind. To have a conversation that isn't about that...?

At least this time, he's not as awkward as he tends to be in Madhuri's presence.]

I've heard of it. Passed it. Haven't gone in yet myself. Given it sounds like you've got a bit of a cooking background, that's probably helping out the pub. I might have to go take a look now.

[Even in down time there was preparation for the next fight, finding out where he needed to go; what part of the world he had to figure out how to get to. On the run, bounty on his head because of all the trouble he was causing the people he was determined to drag out in to the light and get the truth. The revenge he desired for having so much taken; so many lost.

It was odd, being at such a stand still when it came to that. No where to go but wait and- try and help out here. Fight this war- it was a war, so his mind made it out to be. Like he was stuck there, all he could be with it having been all he was for so many years just surviving on his own.

Always there on the edge, even now. Some part of him unable to fully relax.]

Good way to put it, honestly. [Different.

A low hum then.]

Using some old recipes from my Ma, and some I picked up from friends, a few during travels while cooped up for something to do. Learning a few from the other cooking in there with me, and teaching her in turn. [Made quite the pair, he felt. Susato was a good cook on her own, could only get better.] It's a good place for warm home-style meals, and tea if you don't want any alcohol.

[In other words he was encouraging it-] If you do drink, bartender is pretty good. Knows her way around a drink.

[That tone carried something, like he enjoyed watching the other people working there have tat for themselves, watching them as he kept more behind the scenes.]

Sounds like a real nice place to be. Makes me think a little of this tavern back home. Serves good food, which is great because cooking is not a strong suit of mine.

[Not that anyone would know it by looking at him. He can grill a piece of meet over fire, but that's about it. And sometimes that's not exactly the best. But it's not like he's ever claimed to be a gourmet chef or something.]

Good drinks, too. Not that I ever had much time to be doing that. Being here has probably been the first time I've not been off doing this and that for... a while. Over five years at least. I wouldn't mind a chance to sit down and take a load off. So if you're trying to convince me to give my business, I don't think you have to try very hard.

[He offers 76 another grin.] Who knows. Maybe I'll come out of it learning a little something more about cooking. Or drinking. Or it'll just be a nice reprieve from endless work.

Has an open air garden, too. Really, they did pretty good on making the place nice for folks to come and eat, or just sit for a moment.

[Of course there was a soft chuckle about the cooking. Had been rusty at first, but between this world and the one before it he'd gotten back in to practice. Could grill whatever kind of meat over a fire, and make more homey family style meals- even if they leaned mid-western American for the most part.

It was something to do with his hands, and other folks could do with solid meals.]

Was around 7 years for me. [Could understand not having the time for things. Longer if he wanted to count those last few years of Overwatch- but he'd rather not.

The grin was more in his voice, warmed it up pretty well despite the growl his voice just naturally carried these days-] You never know. Hell, we do requests if we've got the ingredients on hand or can get them.

I candy bacon around breakfast, when I'm in early.

Starting to sound almost a little too fancy for an old man like me hanging around.

[He can just picture himself in a trendy little place sticking out like a sore thumb. But maybe it's something that he would be able to sympathise with a bit. He looks like he sticks out a bit, too.

In a good way. One look at him and Nier feels like he's reliable. The kind of man he could trust at his back. It's a very important idea to him.]

And you guys take requests, too? Sounds like there's almost nothing you won't do. I didn't even know it was possible to candy bacon. Usually, I just poke a stick into meat and hold it above a fire. That's the extent of my cooking. I guess I can put stuff in a pot and make a stew, but I'm pretty sure it's not the greatest thing one's ever had.

[He chuckled, and that was much warmer of a sound.]

Think of it like a couple kids that wanted to mix a garden with a pub, to make it feel more homey and open. Means we can grow our own herbs at least. [And all of the connections he was building out here, amongst the farmers? Well, 76 was hoping to use that for the Wild Harvest; give Kazuma and Susato as many helpful connections to supply the place as he could.

He couldn't be here forever after all, Right? Give them their best chance at having things to use for cooking. Sources they could continue to have.]

Candied bacon is really good if you like sweet and salty- goes well with maple and caramel, after all. Sounds like I know something to whip up for you already. [If that mask of his wasn't on- well, the grin could be heard in that graveled voice on his.] Stew can be pretty great, even simple ones- opened up with meat stew on the menu. Warmed folks up, and filled 'em up just fine.

A garden with a pub. That's not something that I really ever expect in the same idea. [And now he's trying to picture what it'd be like to combine his very unimpressive garden with the village tavern. He can't.] I can see how having the garden within arm's reach would be convenient, though.

The candied bacon sounds great. But honestly, you could sell anything to me on the food part of things and I'd probably jump all over it. [One might say that Nier has been sorely lacking on the food adventures. Probably to be expected given what he's shared so far.] If you were trying to get my attention, you've got it.

[...How did they get from mending fences to talking about candied bacon? Nier doesn't even know, but he can definitely say he wouldn't hate for a repeat.]

Any other secrets you're hiding? Because right now, you're not sounding anything the way you look. And I should know. I mean, look at me. Dressed like a barbarian. Talking about crossbreeding flowers. [He's a self-proclaimed expert.]

Was Kazuma's idea- he's the one running it, and I know him from a different place. [Good kid, at least judging by the tone 76 had when speaking of him.] He and the others have done a pretty damn fine job pulling it together from his house.

[A low hum-] Food is pretty good, and it's a mix of cultures, and Susato has done a great job picking up on my recipes while teaching me ones she knows. [It was difficult not getting attached to the two- and Susato was young, had so much ahead of her.] and since I've got your attention- on top of requests? Menu changes up every month. Always try something different.

[Leave two old men to a task, and they managed to get to talking? Well, apparently it'd drift to the damnedest of subjects.

76 chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck-] I've got an attached room to the place where I've started growing flowers and herbs, if that counts as one. Outside of wearing a mask I don't have many secrets. [Good natured tone hanging in all the same-] Besides, I'm a guy in a mask most would probably pass off as a brute that knows how to bash in a few skulls.

[... He did, but that was not the point.]

You drop by and I could show you, where I go during down time for a bit of quiet but still on hand.

[Nier simply files the name away for later reference. It isn't anyone he knows just yet, but it's only... a matter of time. Susato's another one he doesn't know. Somehow, it's not terribly surprising. 76 seems like a charismatic guy. Nier's warmed up right to him almost immediately. There's little reason for him to think anyone else wouldn't.

As 76 continues, he looses a laugh easily. Really, he didn't have to sell it more, but the more he hears, the more interested he is. This guy's great for advertisement.]

Not sure that one counts. I kind of expected you to have a special little place for your plants. Well, maybe not expected, but sounds like something you'd do based on what you've told me so far.

[At his invitation, Nier leans his weight onto his part of the fence and he wears a grin.] Brute or not, maybe this seems like a natural thing to come out of me, but I know that's not the only thing about you. If you were trying to convince me to come by, you really didn't have to.

[It was a part of him that 76 certainly thought was long gone and buried right along with his name, but it had moments that it still shone through despite- well. Man never noticed it himself anymore, had always been a natural part of him. The reason he'd ben able to get so many people to work together and band under a cause.

To see more in themselves than they did. Now? Well, he was an old vigilante on a mission for revenge on a detour. May as well help make it easier on others as long as he was around.

His head tipped a bit, a low hum in his chest-]

Helps keep me busy. Though, maybe a better secret is I collect honey from wild bees to help keep them healthy, rather than let all of it rot away at their homes- ['Bee Keeping' in the vaguest of senses-] -and I use it to make pretty strong moonshine.

[All the same, a hand rested on his part of the fence, and that smile in his voice was impossible to miss. That sort of well natured amusement softening the gravel of his tone just a tiny amount.] Seems about right, all the same. Ain't that often I talk this easily these days. Good to hear, though.

That is one hell of a secret.

[Nier pictures himself attempting to do something as delicate as getting honey from wild bees and establishes that... it'd be a disaster. He'd piss them off and they'd all come after him. He'd come out with a bunch of stings and a tonne of pain. Bee keeping is definitely not something that he's putting on his to-do list.

This guy, 76, he's wild.]

You sure about that? [He asks, the turn in his mouth growing.] Seems to me like you're a natural. Definitely not just a brute. I say that as a professional brute. That said, while I'm interested in the food and I could be talked into the moonshine, I'm not helping you with the bees. That might be a little too much adventure for me.

Been pretty useful- and I cannot say I've ever seen blue honeybees until this place. [A chuckle as he said it-] Some of them are as big as puppies.

[By now? Those bees had accepted his presence, and some even flew over to greet him whenever he dropped by once that he'd made it clear he wasn't meaning them harm. Hell, apparently they knew there was enough to take and continued on about their business as he harvested the stuff.

... It was nice, strangely.]

Used to be a lot friendlier, when I was younger. Not that many anymore, but I appreciate that. [Golden Poster Boy indeed. A nod, weight shifting just a bit where he'd positioned himself just to keep anything from going to sleep on him or something-] Don't blame you for passing, bees can be a hell of a thing even normally, good as they are to have around. I'm also easy enough to spot at the Wild Harvest, only old man working there.

Food'll be well worth it for dropping in.

I'm sorry— [Nier has to rack his brain. Has... as he seen any of the bees? Maybe? Maybe he didn't realise they were bees? Was he somehow fortunate enough to avoid them? That's the only way he can figure it.] —Did I just hear you right? Did you just say we have bees here that are not only blue, but are as big as small dogs?

[He can't help it. A laugh flies out of him before he can loose it. It sounds ridiculous. He takes just a breath or two to casually hammer in a portion of the fence that he's been holding onto. No reason a man like him can't just multitask. Not that he'd consider himself real proficient with it or anything.]

Bees aside, I'm thinkin' just one look at you and you're unmistakable. I wouldn't miss you anywhere. You kind of stick out, which isn't a bad thing, really.

[A nod, and there was no hiding the implication of a grin in his voice at all.]

You did. It's wild, right? There are other bees around, but I had never seen anything like these until I stumbled across them. Friendly bunch, too. [They didn't react to his presence because he'd kept calm. Now? Now they just accepted him.] Some are normal sized, but others are that big- and they're as soft as you'd imagine a fluffy looking bee to feel.

Of course it means their stingers size up to match, and means you definitely don't want to end up on the wrong side of it. [He figured that he was fortunate to not be seen as hostile, but honey bees tended to usually be a bit calmer. Outside of the guard bees.]

Works out here, for the most part. [With the piece of fence no longer as loose as it ad been? Well, 76 moved one hand away to grip the front of his mask, and there was a bit of an almost mechanical hiss when it came loose; what had been holding faceguard and visor both in place undone.

Revealed a scarred face, blue eyes and a beard that had a bit of lightly glowing blue peppered in; matched his hair with that. Corner of his mouth twitched in half a grin.] Some other things make me hard to miss, more so when I'm not working fully geared up.

[The mask did occasionally come off, and other times he clung to having it on. Felt safer.]

'Wild' is definitely one way of putting it. I can honestly say I've never thought about what touching a bee would be like. I guess there's some fuzz, sure, but I have more growing concerns about the actual stinger.

[And he is firm on the idea that the only thing bees are going to do with him is sting him until he surrenders.

Anything else he might have had to say about bees comes to a rather quick end as 76 moves to remove the mask that covers so much of his face. What he finds underneath is... maybe not so much different from his own rough and tumble appearance. Scars. Age riddled in the lines of his expression. Wisdom, some would call that.

What was it he called 76 before? Ah, right. Good company.]

I don't know, I think I'd be able to pick you out in a crowd anywhere, mask or no mask. [Nier leans onto the fence with some thought.] But I'm gonna say that's because I'm pretty sure most of the other people here are young enough to be our kids.

Valid concerns- suffered enough stings when I was a dumb kid, and can only imagine what damage these could do if ever agitated. [He had imagined it- and seen some bear running past one day away from the direction he knew a hive was.

That spoke clearly enough that he was possibly lucky they liked him, if that could even be a word that could be used when it came to bees. Docile until pissed off? Seemed right.

A gloved hand smoothed down facial hair out of habit, letting the mask rest aside for a moment. Blue and even the Yetox would probably let him know if anyone was heading their way with enough time for him to set it back in place.

Easier to see that half grin, too.]

You're not wrong, capable as majority of these kids seem- [They did feel like kids to him.] -it doesn't make them any older than they are.

Mostly good kids, at least.

Probably just make skewers, honestly.

[Which, in retrospect, sounds laughable. He can just see it now. Politely asking a bee to stay put as he impales cubes of meat and vegetable slices on its stinger. Maybe 76 would be willing to entreat to the bees on his behalf. Just so he can say he's done it. Kainé will love this.]

Yeah. I try not to treat them like kids. Probably insulting if I did, but I can't help seeing them the way that I do. I at least have the good sense not to say anything. Of course, I'm bound to muck that all up at some point. Only a matter of time. But I'm gonna say it's nice to not be the only old man here.

That'd be a sight to see.

[Honestly? Could be convinced to do it, to. Might not do anything to change much but that was hardly the point. Who would not want to see if they could make skewers on a very large bee's stinger if they could?

Nodding right along, chuckling-]

Is probably a way to see if a little nudge here or there in better directions. Let them reach the end themselves, but a little subtle point never hurts. [Let them mess up, too. Part of learning and grow, even if they'd fought to save their worlds at a young age. Always still growing and learning.] It really is nice.

[At least he's got a great sense of humour. Nier would say his own is most likely a defence mechanism. He wouldn't be surprised if 76 subscribes to the same proverbial newsletter. There's too much suffering in the world to forget how to laugh. Or how to smile.

He really is going to do the bee skewer someday.]

That's true. Some might not want the guidance, no matter how carefully it's given. Sounds like you're pretty familiar with them. In general, I mean. Got any kids of your own?

[Dipped a bit morbid at times- but what didn't kill you gave you a warped sense of humor, or something like that. Softened by the old sense of humor wrapped in it, probably. Only ever shined once he was off the battlefield, or relaxed enough he could joke.

Spoke for how relaxed he'd got since they started here.]

Nah. Didn't have time to settle down. [His friends did, but he couldn't force someone to stress between work, death threats, and whatever rumor-mill started up with him. Vincent got to settle down and have a family at least.] I wanted to, but life didn't work out that way for me.

Saying that like it's too late for you.

[Not that Nier would know anything about that. He wasn't quite in his thirties when Yonah was born. Back then, things were different.]

Seems to me like you'd be a pretty great dad. At least a babysitter. [He cracks a grin, because the idea of applying a word like 'babysitter' to 76 is laughable.] But seriously, there are ways if it's something you really wanted.

[At the same time, if he's still something militaristic, that's a dangerous path to embark on. Nier supposes it'd be irresponsible to take on a kid at a time like that.]

Time long since passed, given what I'm up to back home.

[Vigilante life, on the run, with one hell of a bounty on his head because he had kicked the right wasp nests more or less. Said with a bit of a shrug, but it's something he's accepted, even if he still let himself have the rare moment of wistful weakness some late nights.

A low hum-] Think I do plenty of babysitting here at times. [That dry toned joke rolled out so very easily.]

Still, like I said- worst position back home. Running around the world, fighting thugs and even worse people.

[Putting it nicely, and even extremely vaguely.]

Heh.

[Something he can relate to. Sometimes looking at what others do in this place does make it sound like he's just watching a lot of youngsters make mistake. He just has the good sense not to say it. Last thing he wants is a bunch of younger people telling him to 'step off.'

All the same, a sad realisation for one who wanted to start a family and never got to. Well, maybe he has a family of a different nature. The type makes it no less, after all.]

Well. If my daughter ever shows up here, she can have two dads.

[76 is very likely to be a much better dad.]

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