hearthebell (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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middaeg2020-11-16 12:11 am
hearthebell) wrote in middaeg2020-11-16 12:11 am
Entry tags:
Many a Hand Has Scaled the Grand Old Face of the Plateau [CLOSED]
Who: L (Linden Tailor) and Near (Eli Dagwood)
When: Around November 10
Where: The Coven, maybe somewhere afterward depending on how long the thread goes on
What: Bonding! Near's finally getting one.
Warnings: Robots pretending to be human idk
[From the beginning, L hadn't exactly fought the notion of a Bond with his successor. His reluctance was based on multiple factors of varying complexity; of course they are two separate men, but there's an argument to be made that they're the same entity at different points in time. As the past version of that entity, it feels deeply wrong for L to be too close to its current incarnation, the one whose star only rose because his own plummeted. Near was a person before the letter, after all, but L would have had no other name to reclaim once the title passed to someone else. It's a peculiar thing to know that he is both gone and immortal, and the Naga's dark, unblinking eyes are a constant and uncomfortable reminder that there is a future where the man is all but forgotten, but the legacy is eternal.
In Aefenglom, he has another name by necessity. Near, as well. It's been an experiment over months to establish identities outside of what made them, while still always maintaining a distant but certain orbit where the other is concerned. Orbits have a way of tightening over time when dynamic personalities are involved instead of planets, however, and today, L is staring down the realized prospect of being a three-Bond man, once more.
On paper, it's a compatible one. They have history, and are unlikely to crash into the same obstacles that had plagued L and Mello. The harmony isn't perfect, as it is with L and Light and as it would have been with Near and Mello... but there's promise in a shared and stronger voice, the memory of an identity powerful enough to devour those who wore it for any length of time.
Any present danger is quieter and colder. It's more difficult to define at the outset than Mello's blazes and fury. Two men who are defined largely by placid stoicism, after all, are hiding many things, and fleeting moments of vulnerability and honesty are about to become many by nature of being Bonded. They'll share more than they likely ever wanted to, and though L's instinct to protect Near goes as bone-deep as a parent's, all that Light represents sits lodged in his chest, a spear that will kill him eventually, but so much faster, if it's removed. It seems that those things, combined, have tremendous potential to complicate each other. Then again, perhaps they'll become more sustainable by nature of the balance Near offers by neatly capping off L's Bond combination. If Light is a nostalgic but treacherous past, and Myr is a kind and fair present, then Near represents the future, reassuring and anxious in equal measure.
Back home, L wore white. In Aefenglom, he's traded his simple and plain garments for more of the same in a far more somber palette, favoring blacks and greys, and that's how he turns up at the Circle, a few minuets early, to meet with the naga. This is essentially how he dresses for all occasions, from his work at the orphanage to the his leisure time to more important events like this one. It's consistent, anyway, and his decision to keep to what Near would know as typical could be intended as visual shorthand. If there's one thing he wants to inspire in his new Bond, slow to trust and slow to connect with others, it's that Near can rely on him to be a source of support and strength, rather than pure destructive upheaval or fragile liability.
L might judge a Bond with him to be an unfortunate thing, but Near had placed it above other prospects. Trusting Near's judgment means reconciling the attitudes in some manner, and so he waits.]
When: Around November 10
Where: The Coven, maybe somewhere afterward depending on how long the thread goes on
What: Bonding! Near's finally getting one.
Warnings: Robots pretending to be human idk
[From the beginning, L hadn't exactly fought the notion of a Bond with his successor. His reluctance was based on multiple factors of varying complexity; of course they are two separate men, but there's an argument to be made that they're the same entity at different points in time. As the past version of that entity, it feels deeply wrong for L to be too close to its current incarnation, the one whose star only rose because his own plummeted. Near was a person before the letter, after all, but L would have had no other name to reclaim once the title passed to someone else. It's a peculiar thing to know that he is both gone and immortal, and the Naga's dark, unblinking eyes are a constant and uncomfortable reminder that there is a future where the man is all but forgotten, but the legacy is eternal.
In Aefenglom, he has another name by necessity. Near, as well. It's been an experiment over months to establish identities outside of what made them, while still always maintaining a distant but certain orbit where the other is concerned. Orbits have a way of tightening over time when dynamic personalities are involved instead of planets, however, and today, L is staring down the realized prospect of being a three-Bond man, once more.
On paper, it's a compatible one. They have history, and are unlikely to crash into the same obstacles that had plagued L and Mello. The harmony isn't perfect, as it is with L and Light and as it would have been with Near and Mello... but there's promise in a shared and stronger voice, the memory of an identity powerful enough to devour those who wore it for any length of time.
Any present danger is quieter and colder. It's more difficult to define at the outset than Mello's blazes and fury. Two men who are defined largely by placid stoicism, after all, are hiding many things, and fleeting moments of vulnerability and honesty are about to become many by nature of being Bonded. They'll share more than they likely ever wanted to, and though L's instinct to protect Near goes as bone-deep as a parent's, all that Light represents sits lodged in his chest, a spear that will kill him eventually, but so much faster, if it's removed. It seems that those things, combined, have tremendous potential to complicate each other. Then again, perhaps they'll become more sustainable by nature of the balance Near offers by neatly capping off L's Bond combination. If Light is a nostalgic but treacherous past, and Myr is a kind and fair present, then Near represents the future, reassuring and anxious in equal measure.
Back home, L wore white. In Aefenglom, he's traded his simple and plain garments for more of the same in a far more somber palette, favoring blacks and greys, and that's how he turns up at the Circle, a few minuets early, to meet with the naga. This is essentially how he dresses for all occasions, from his work at the orphanage to the his leisure time to more important events like this one. It's consistent, anyway, and his decision to keep to what Near would know as typical could be intended as visual shorthand. If there's one thing he wants to inspire in his new Bond, slow to trust and slow to connect with others, it's that Near can rely on him to be a source of support and strength, rather than pure destructive upheaval or fragile liability.
L might judge a Bond with him to be an unfortunate thing, but Near had placed it above other prospects. Trusting Near's judgment means reconciling the attitudes in some manner, and so he waits.]
no subject
Partially because, when it comes to himself, he doesn't have them all here. His reason for being is different in this world than it is in his own. Here he's still at a loss. He exists, and he exists in a different form. Why shouldn't he go from one moment to the next the same as so many others in life?]
I'm not a case. I'm one of your bonded.
[He doesn't mean to be harsh. His tone doesn't come across as such but L will read between the lines.]
You'll have plenty of time to learn what you need to about me.
[But not everything.]
no subject
Perhaps it's what he's accustomed to, after all. Is it better late than never, or better not to upset an expectation?]
Yes... of course. You are. And I truly hope so.
[Implying, at least, that he wants their Bond to last, however punishing a gauntlet it becomes.]
no subject
This whole thing is mentally exhausting. The naga doesn't do emotions, but that doesn't mean they don't drain him when they're involved - especially if he has to care about the individual they're connected to. He wants to go home, enjoy some of this meat, and curl up with his weird dog for the body warmth it provides.
Such boring, mundane desires. Even when given the fantastical nature of his current existence.
After a thoughtful pause, Near reaches into the pocket of his jacket and pulls out a keyring. Of the few keys on it, he removes one duplicate and holds it out to his bonded.]
Here. It's to my house, so I'd prefer you didn't let anyone else know you have it.
no subject
It's never an auspicious start to any relationship, professional, romantic or otherwise, to keep in wan perspective that it could be so much worse.
L doesn't pocket the key when it's offered, and that's actually a good sign, that he closes his hand around it instead of throwing it in his pocket along with the careless assortment of loose change and wadded cash. He'll figure out a better solution for it later; half the time he doesn't even leave home with his own key, and so clearly he needs a longer-term approach to organizing what is growing into a collection, now, officially.]
I won't.
[Is it an invitation, or on an emergency-only basis? L realizes, after a moment's reflection, that it's actually a very reasonable question to voice, and he should.]
In giving me this key... I realize that it is implicit permission to enter, but on a scale from "only in emergencies" to "treat the space as your own..."
[You must have a preference.]
no subject
Do not bring over strange guests. [Near pauses.] Any guests. But you may use my house if you need a place to go. If you just want to visit, contact me beforehand.
[He feels like there's more he should add, but if he keeps going he'll need to write a manual. L has a good memory, but there are so many better bits of knowledge that could be occupying the brainspace it would take for all of Near's house rules.]
no subject
It's not uncommon for Bonded partners to bounce between residences to satisfy the pull toward physical proximity. L and Light live together full time, but Myr customarily overnights a few times a week. It'll be interesting to see how that dynamic shifts and rebalances now that there is another Bond in the picture. L's been entertaining the notion that Near would perhaps prefer to be left alone now that the obligatory Bond has been forged, but the presentation of a key suggests that maybe, like L, he wants more out of it. He's just suggesting it the way Near would, and L thinks the signals are getting clearer.]
I appreciate the offer.
[He doesn't think this will happen, but he hadn't thought he'd need somewhere else to go when he was living with Mello. As long as a future exists in which Light murders him, the relationship is an inherently a volatile one. It makes sense for one who knows what happens in that future to put this on the table.]
Are visits something you think you'd enjoy?
[He wants to make it normal to stop by, at least weekly, but he also doesn't want to intrude or stress out his successor.]
Do you still like to solve jigsaw puzzles? Or do you see enough of them at work and want to do something else with your downtime, these days?
no subject
A jigsaw puzzle can only be so interesting. No matter how long it takes you, all you're getting is what's on the front of the box.
[That doesn't keep them from being some of his best selling items, of course. Metaphors aside.]
You don't need to bring me anything. You don't need to visit me at all unless you find the need. I'm not lonely.
[And if he is, he's used to it. He's not looking for company, merely a way to let L know he isn't being dismissive about their relationship. Even if he's dismissive about many things related to it.]
no subject
The picture on the front of the box. Flat, derivative, lifeless. Is that how Near feels?]
"Need" is a way to survive, but it's not a reason to live. I would hope that I'm just as welcome if I have no necessary reason, outside of just wanting to spend time with you.
[He holds the key the way he'd held Near's hand. Stiff and awkward, at first, because the cold metal doesn't belong, but slowly the small jagged shape has absorbed the heat of his palm.]
I usually have a project underway for work, or something to study from the Coven's library. I'll bring the materials along when I visit. If you're ever not in the mood to talk, I'm quite capable of entertaining myself, and if you are, it's nothing I wouldn't be glad to set aside. Count on visits, though.
[Like Near, L is not social, but like Mello, when he commits to something, it's fierce and focused. The detective's blessing and curse are both embodied by the purity of his devotion, even if the object of said devotion can be frustrating, unsafe, insane.]
no subject
[It's no less than he'd expected, and he'd handed over the key regardless.
L will make himself a presence in his house. As his bonded, there's nothing unusual about this - for most people. Near is a more private person and could have gone without this interaction. He does this for L's sake. At least that's the excuse he's using.
He's forcing himself out of his comfort zone because he has to. He won't make any more progress in this place if he doesn't.]
In any case, I don't have another copy. [He nods toward the hand L holds the key in.] So don't lose it.