avalononline | text; didnot / forward dated to 1st July

On occasion I request monetary assistance from an acquaintance of mine. I am also currently employed in an establishment here known as a host club. It is satisfactory work.

( she has never met you, dude, but she's judging. )

the hell is a host club?

[ He is just living his honest life as a gold-digger and definitely not a ho. ]

To my understanding those employed within a host club are expected to give companionship to guests, in which the details of their desires are expressed upon request.

It is also not a brothel.

( being a ho is valid thank u )

... that sounds stupid.

( Kate just because you wish your heart was a frozen wasteland. )

I can understand the impracticality of the business. Humans are sociable and require companionship by nature, and so the exchange of physical currency for these basic necessities seems rather crass. However I am not in a position to dictate the morality of such a concept. After all, humans have made such a commodity of the exchange of sexual favors. If one finds a market for necessity, one is free to exploit it.

( this man talks like a thesaurus and it's a damn good job she has 21 years of Marc-to-English interpretation under her belt otherwise she'd be here for a long time trying to decode this.

but at least the argument makes sense, even if the concept doesn't make sense to her specifically. much like Ainsworth explaining why he wants a boyfriend but not a sexual relationship, the idea of spending her money on a "host" sounds fucking awful but whatever makes a person happy...? )

cheaper to just go to a bar and talk to people.
you're not wrong, though. people buy anything.

[ He can't help it, he's old. Very................. very old. ]

It is quite curious, the choices individuals make for their own self satisfaction. However in speaking to the owner of this host club he seemed to rather enjoy the occupation. It is simply a matter of opinion. Ultimately I only sought this employment as I do not mind providing company to others and engaging in conversation. As long as I receive my payment I have no concerns.

I've not much work experience and so I thought this decision would be easiest for me. My previous and only prior occupation was consultant to a funeral parlor.

( well currently she thinks he's just nerdy, so that's...??? better???

and funeral consultant? nah, she's not even gonna try to imagine herself in that position. )

sideways move. how do they compare?

( in other words: would he rather be consulting still, or...? )

Both require a degree of passion as well as sympathy. To share one's company with an individual can be very pleasing, among the highest of their experiences and their lowest.

They both also involve people. The difference being they are either alive or deceased.

[ Little bit of a joke there. ]

( that's... not what she expected to read as an answer. not that she's really sure what she expected to read at all. those two little sentences push a job she was rolling her eyes at into something a bit deeper. something this version of herself would never be able to do in a million years, but something which earns a small blossom of respect down deep in Kate's chest. )

sounds interesting if you're into that.

( don't let the edgy bullshit fool you, she's just trying to hold onto baked in bad habits as they chip away under the realisation that there really is no reason for her to keep doing things the way she always has. )

[ What a strange choice of words... Zhongli wonders if perhaps he's found himself one of those humans (at least he assumes she's human) that does not quite fit the solid standard he'd initially come to understand of what humanity tends to be like. ]

I've come to appreciate socialization with others in various aspects. It is difficult for me to come across new experiences of my own, and so I seek them from others who share with me their stories and memories.

Forgive my presumption if it is incorrect, but is it perhaps that you do not enjoy people?

( that's... an interesting way of putting it. )

difficult how?

( she kind of gets it. people are interesting, energising. she could have mulled over this problem by herself but asking others gives more insight, ideas, distracts from the places her mind naturally tries to go.

if she knew him better, she might answer this more honestly, but as it stands, the answer he gets is perfunctory. perhaps a bit cliché. )

depends on the person.

Mister Zhongli, you only consider me an acquaintance? That hurts.

Companion, then? Associate?

[ Is he teasing or is he being obtuse? Tune in at 10 to find out. ]

Those all seem awfully impersonal, don’t you think?

You wish for something more personalized then. I see.

I may call you grandson as well if you would prefer.

[Childe stares for a long, long moment. This is…

Hm.

Not necessarily unexpected thanks to all of the influences on Zhongli, but also. No. No thanks. That is not what he wanted at all. He at least has the decency to private his message so he doesn’t scar his assassination buddy.]

I’m not calling you grandpa, and I’m definitely not calling you daddy, either, so don’t even think about it.

Why not just friends? We’re on an equal playing field now, aren’t we?

[ Aside from the traveler, who has come to understand about as much as Zhongli is willing to share about himself, he hasn't quite given the designation of friend to anyone else. For an immortal being, he presumes this, friends, friendships, are not something he can normally possess. Even as a person pretending to be human, nothing changes the fact that his lifetime is infinite. Having the role of a guardian or a caretaker, a parental figure, seems far more tangible.

This, however, is... it's different. ]

You've an understanding that I have lost my immortality within this realm, yes? I am now as human as I have wanted to be, just as you are, Childe.

Should these circumstances allow me to say yes? I am unsure.

If you are content with your decision then we may try.

[And here he was, hoping that joking would make this whole thing easier. Friends is an easy term to throw around - it means nothing and something at the same time, doesn't it? It's only as serious as you want it to be, and for someone like Childe it's... Just an empty word. He doesn't have friends. He doesn't need friends. He has comrades, associates, underlings. There's people he's fond of, like that traveler, but most people are kept at a careful distance because he doesn't need them.

He looks over at Pelmeni and sighs, but all the slime does is blow a bubble. It feels a lot like being judged.

Trust Zhongli to make everything more complicated than it needs to be.]

Well you are, aren't you? You gave up being Morax to be Zhongli, and now you really do get to live as just a man.

You don't have to make it seem like such a big deal! It's nothing that deep, you know, but I guess a god of war doesn't really meet many people he cares about...

[He knows that Morax's role shifted before and after the Archon War, but. Still. Can't not get a jab in.]

[ —but I guess a god of war doesn't really meet many people he cares about ]

It would not be remiss of an individual to presume that perhaps an Archon would lack a heart, and were I to have one, it would be a heart of stone.

Yet it is still a heart.

[ Azhdaha reminded him of this fact, but he thinks it was Guizhong who taught him this, though unintentionally. During the time he was with her, and at the time he lost her. ]

That heart has held emotion. That heart has cared, and has ached, and has wished to not be a heart. I've learned to accept this reality. I am content.

I apologize for complicating this matter unnecessarily.

I may call you a friend, Childe, if you wish.

[ Not since the Archon War has anyone been at his side for this long. Even being a mischievous rascal of the Fatui, dangerous, unpredictable, and with a thirst for violence... he doesn't mind having Childe around. ]

[Well, it seems like his words struck true, at least. He can take solace in that much, even if he's not sure what to do with all of... This now. It's not unexpected for Zhongli to take his time to explain his thoughts and feelings, to outline everything he feels, and it's not like Childe isn't unaware that being immortal, being a god, is a very different life than being mortal.

Still. Is he supposed to be happy that someone as stony as Zhongli suffers the same aches someone mortal does?

Somehow, he isn't. Maybe he's gone soft - though, he supposes with a grimace, it's not like he was always as cruel as people imagine the 11th Harbinger to be.]

Well, maybe it's a good thing you've still got a heart. Can't exactly appreciate all the beauty of the world without them right?

[He is absolutely not going to apologize for calling him heartless, though.]

But sure. We're friends. I hope you realize the honor this is!

[And, hopefully, Zhongli will see that as the joke he wants it to be. There is absolutely no fondness here, none at all. Zhongli definitely doesn't deserve any space in Childe's heart - the only space there is for his family. That's all. No ex-Archons allowed.]

I would not have thought to befriend the one individual who has dared to attempt smiting an Archon and seizing their Gnosis. Keeping one's friend and enemy, a single individual, so close.

I am flattered.

[ ...this old man can't make up his mind on whether he wants to be friendly or threatening. But Childe probably likes that. ]

I'm one of a kind, and it's not like you can't admit it makes me memorable. You'll never forget someone like me!

[Of course he likes it. Anything potentially dangerous gets bonus points.]

You are not incorrect. I have a good memory. I shall always remember you, Childe.

[ He's getting sappy again please stop him. ]

[Zhongli please he can only handle so much sappiness.]

Haha, well, I hope you only remember the good times! Otherwise that won't be nearly as flattering.

[How does he handle this? He was never trained for how to deal with sappy, sincere gods.]

text; didnot / forward dated to 1st July

text | un: G★pa

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un: tartaglia SORRY BUT I HAD TO

slaps him with a rolled up newspaper

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i’m not fucking sorry but also private

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