video | un : perfume

[eaudevamp]

[ The feed opened up to a smiling, fangy, vampire, who certainly looked much too pleased with himself. ]

Greetings everyone! My name is Reign Fear, and I've an announcement to make. As some of you may have already know, I'm setting up a perfume business. That's going to happen this coming Monday, and you're all invited to the official opening.

My Qu— [ Whoops, nearly a slip of tongue there with the word "queen". ] I mean, my friend, Diva, is attending as a special guest as well, so make sure to come so you can hear her beautiful singing.

Oh, I'll also be giving some lessons during the weekends at the Temples of Thesa on scent, if you're interested. Can't wait to see you all there!

[ With that, Reign ended the video. ]

[[OOC : For anyone interested, please check out this post. Additional information can be found here. ]]

Comments

text; un: spanglethesestars

[ukase]

With a name like that, your parents even liked you very much or hated you. Sounds like an old barbarian name, and yet... selling perfume.

[Maybe the universe is just laughing.]

[eaudevamp]

[ Will he ever escape the life of having a "cursed" name? Probably not. ]

i can't help it if it's the name my parents chose for me.
i don't think they like me very much now anyway.

is it so odd to be selling perfume even with a name like mine?

[ukase]

You sure they like you from the beginning? Seems like they hoped you'd become some kind of blood-letting warrior type.

I figure your name has equal chance of being a men's colone.

[eaudevamp]

their marriage isn't one out of love, so i doubt they even like me from the beginning.

[ Heck, he got exiled from the clan when he came out as an "abnormal", for his submissive preference. ]

really? like "reigning fear" or something to that effect?

[ Putting that to his list of potential perfume names. ]


[[ OOC : Gonna assume you meant cologne? XD ]]

[ukase]

Yeah well, many aren't. Was it of convenience, arranged, or for power?

[Interesting they had that little detail in common.]

Sounds very masculine. Go with it.

[OOC: Gah yes... sorry about that. I shouldn't be tagging this tired :/]

[eaudevamp]

all of the above, mostly the latter two. it's always been this way.

[ Love, or even basic affection, was practically nonexistent. At least he had Shell as his best friend. ]

you think so? then this inspiration should be named in your honour! perhaps a combination of your name and mine. oh, what's your name?

[ His mind was already whirring for scent ideas. ]

[ukase]

Well, at least our parental stories don't line up completely. That's a relief. Where you come from, do people have affairs with people they actually care for?

[This wasn't the worst conversation that he had had since arriving. There was some weird shit in people's lives.]

That's a hard no, kiddo. My name isn't nearly as epic as Reign Fear and doesn't deserve its own scent unless it's something like sweat five miles into a ten mile run.

[eaudevamp]

affairs with those whom they care about? i doubt it, if there are any at all. everything is about power and status, even amongst the lower-ranks.

[ Everything was a farce. Nothing was ever permanent. Marriage was just in name, a front, merely to produce an heir.

That had Reign laughing on his end, snickering and having to take a moment to catch his breath before replying. ]

i doubt a scent like sweat five miles into whatever is going to smell pleasant. i'm certain you don't want to smell like sweat.

[ukase]

Wow, you may actually come from a more shitty family than mine, and I wasn't certain that was even possible. But hey, you managed to walk away with an epic name, so take the wins where you can.

[A bunch of Catholic traditionalist Italians was bad enough. At least some of them had seemed to care about each other.]

Tends to be a little sour by that point. It's the build up of lactate. Considering I've done those runs before, I have smelled like that.

[eaudevamp]

it took me a while to realise just how messed up our world is. [ Though he wouldn't go into too much detail. He was pretty sure that other worlds had it worst, and it wasn't something to compare about. ] i'll have you know that some of us have even more brow-raising names. i could certainly name a few.

[ There were a few... rare vampires who were nice. Like Shell, and One's mother. Other than that, Reign didn't know many. ]

any scent that smells sour probably means something has gone bad with it. not at all pleasant.

hey, you can always drop by my shop to see if there's any fragrance that may be up your alley. either that, or you can commission one.

[ukase]

So I'm going to take that as what you've told me so far being just the tip of the messed up iceberg you happened to have lived in. [He wasn't entirely looking for more detail, though he was honest enough to admit he was curious.] You're not allowed to tease that without actual details.

[Well, yeah, in a run like that with a full pack of gear on, something was starting to turn. However, they still completed it because not doing so wasn't an option for anyone involved.]

Not really a fragrance kind of guy. I like mostly natural scent, but I'll stop by anyway, if only to see how the new cologne is coming along. I bet it will be all the rage.

[eaudevamp]

you can say that. at least the politics in nysa isn't as bad. i think? it's hard to tell.

[ Well now... ] then let me tell you some of the names of our blood lords. there's pain overlord, and then there's brutal bones. [ Yes, weird titles and names. Don't ask. ]

that would be most wonderful! "diva" is the current flagship perfume of the shop, though i believe it doesn't really suit you. perhaps you might find one in the selection of masculine scents.

[ukase]

Politics everywhere tends to be slow unless it's a change of power with a coup.

Blood lords? That's the most pretentious patriarchal term I've heard in a long time. Considering my nickname is Crossbones, I suppose I already have an affinity to Brutal Bones. It has a nice ring to it.

I try to keep myself as far away from being "diva" as possible. If I show you, I'll let you upsell me on something and see how you do. Sound like a deal?

[eaudevamp]

isn't it so?

we've female blood lords too, so it isn't merely a patriarchal line. [ Though that depended on the choice of heir, so... ] should i call you crossbones instead from now on? [ Since he didn't have the privilege of knowing the other's true name, which was fine with Reign. ]

oh? i'm hearing a challenge in it there. why not? in fact, in celebration of the olympia-wyver peace talk, all products are at a 10% discount, so do snag yourself a deal.

[ukase]

Do females have just as interesting names? You can call me that, though most just shorten it to 'Bones. Most of the people I know are kind of lazy and want to call someone something that rolls off the tongue.

[There was a true businessman right there, taking every opportunity to sell him on some fragrance or another.]

Offering deals now too? You're just dragging people into the store now, aren't you? I'll come down there if only to see the guy with a name like yours.

[eaudevamp]

some do, and have prettier names. brutal bones' daughter went by white bones. [ Who was also consequentially his best friend's sorta-boyfriend's mother. Their world relations were messed up. Shhh. ] there's the fear clan in the east, which i belong to. then there's agony to the west, and gavial to the south. [ To make the connections even more complicated, the female Blood Lord Gavial was his best friend's mother. Maybe one day they could sit down and Reign will tell him all about it. ]

i'll just stick to crossbones. calling you bones is just like referring to the north's blood lord. he's not someone to be messed with. brutal, just like his namesake. [ Pot. Kettle. Reign, surprisingly, didn't strike fear in anyone. ]

the keyword is celebration of the peace talk. it's a sound marketing strategy. and i won't deny that's what i'm planning with you now. sounds like you're more curious about me than the fragrances, not that i mind. shop opens from 8 to 5, so come by anytime you're free.

[ukase]

Sounds like you have a lot of boners hanging around in one clan in particular. [He had no idea how any of that was set up or the political dramas that came with it, but he suspected if he prodded a bit more that even more of a mess would be made of the explanation and his lack of real insight.] So Fear is your surname? Sounds super pretentious now.

Fine, I don't care. Bones isn't around, is he? I'd hate to have to investigate him a bit more deeply to find out about his namesake and habits. [So far, he wasn't at all intimidated by this guy. It more like playing with a puppy really.]

Celebration would mean something worthwhile came out of it aside from a photo-op opportunity. As in you're going to turn me into a marketing strategy or you're just plain marketing to me to see what sticks? Like I said, I prefer natural scent, but you are awful curious.

[eaudevamp]

[ Give Reign a moment here because he'd to make sure "boners" didn't mean what he thought it was implied. Now he couldn't get that connection out of his mind. Ugh, he didn't want to think of the Bones in this manner. Bones. Boners. Crossbones, why?!?!?! ]

i don't know about boners, but we had a few bones. people tend to be surprised when i tell them my name, because they say i'm not scary. does it sound very pretentious? [ It practically a norm in his world, which was probably why it didn't seem odd for vampires to have such names. ]

you do have a point. the right term should be "in conjunction" instead. the peace talk has yet to happen. as for you, good sir, i like to think that i'm able to find the right scent for you, or at least convince you to consider buying my products.

you too have become quite a curious study for me. drop by soon, and we'll see about my marketing skills.

[ukase]

[He completely meant it in that way for the specific reason that people would start to think of it just like that. Don't ask him why because any such answer will be because it amused him and allowed him to stir the pot.]

Some might say those two things can go hand-in-hand. [Stop leaving that open, Reign. He will take it and run until the joke was beaten to death in a ditch.] You don't seem so intimidating from the conversation that we've had, I will admit. Maybe face-to-face meetings will change my opinion.

Peace is also an abstract notion that can never actually be fulfilled. Someone, somewhere will always be at war with something or someone. That definitely does sound like a challenge to me, and I'd be more than happy to take you up on it.

I will. Don't miss me too much until then.

[eaudevamp]

[ Haha. Very funny, Crossbones. Maybe he'll just call him Cross. Easier. ]

would you rather bones, or boners? [ Reign, stop giving the guy ammunition. You're going to get yourself shot instead. ] perhaps so, and i do look forward to our meet. [ Careful there, Cross. Now to see if the man had managed to catch hints of Reign's fangs when he did his video message.

Oh, Reign knew full well what it was like about peace, or the lack of it. But that was a story for another time. ]

you've a point. and don't worry, i won't miss you too much. ;) [ Look, he managed to learn some emotes. Hopefully Cross knew what it meant. ]

[ukase]

Depends on the situation. You?

[At least the kid was easy to rib, so yeah, he was definitely be showing up to see what was up with the smelly water business pitch. Careful Reign, if he knew vampires were involved, he might offer himself as a light snack a some point just to say he had the experience.]

Just a little bit is fine. I am very miss-able after all. I'm sure you life feels way more fulfilled after just this conversation. :3 [Wow emoting too? There was hope for this kid yet.]

[eaudevamp]

[ Reign's answer was pretty quick and easy on that one: ] boners.



wait. never mind. ignore that last message.

[ He may not mind a bit of flirting, but he wanted to know Cross a bit more first, prospective customer-in-the-making aside. As for Cross offering himself as a blood-bag snack, that would actually be rather welcoming, though Reign didn't have the penchant to bite anyone. He much preferred to drink from a glass, like a proper gentleman. ]

we'll have to see about that. all right, i best head back to my other customers. business is calling~ if you don't see me inside the shop, i'm probably in my office. it's the room on the left, near the cashier.

[ukase]

Sorry, pal, your response is now immortalized in text. I will never forget.

[He was laughing on the other side of his phone, of course. Some people were just too much, and it amused him greatly. Didn't help that Reign had an amazing name and seemed a little sheltered in some regards. Who knew, it could be all an act.]

Yeah, yeah, go and sell your smelly toilet water to people. I'll drop by. Trust me, you'll know when I show up.

[eaudevamp]

[ Flailing on his end here, because he knew Cross was right. There was no way he could delete the text he just sent out.

Ah, if only Cross knew what kind of person Reign truly was. A pervert vampire. ]

i'll pretend i didn't read that. either way, you know where the shop is. [ A bit of Reign wondered just how would Cross make his appearance known. Either way, Cross can drop by whenever he wanted to. ]