𝓵 '𝓪𝓶𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓭𝓾

Verso's sitting backwards in this chair, arms crossed over the arched spine of the back of the chair, chin rested 'pon his wrist —— and he's just waiting here, thank you very much, and completely innocent to whatever accusation she sends his way.

Oh, how innocent he pretends to be. Julie has never seen someone so keenly aware of the effect they have, and at this point, it's blatantly unfair.

A subtle frown creases between her brows. This is precise work, and she absolutely cannot look over at him, no matter what he says, no matter how oblivious he claims to be-- And... yes. Too late.

Her eyes flicker for the briefest second to Verso's annoyingly captivating visage. Damn him and the way he drapes himself over that chair. Still smiling. There are many ways coming to mind of how she might deal with that, and she's certain he'll enjoy many of them far too much. The corner of her mouth twitches.

"Flatterer," she accuses coyly as her eyes remain resolutely locked on the paper beneath her. Fingers rest against the ruler, guiding her lines, before deftly picking it up and tapping it against his hand with a satisfying yet soft thwack. "Consider yourself chastised. You must have learned by now that'll get you nowhere."

Une élégie à 𝘭'𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘶. a fractured memory of lost love;

𓇢𓆸 of betrayal and trust forsaken; of resilience despite it all.

Independent and selective rp account for Julie from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 by Sandfall Interactive. Headcanon based and spoilers abound. Est. May 2025. Loved ferociously and repainted by Keeley. She/Her. 25+. GMT.

𓍼 About. 𓍼 Verses. 𓍼 Rules/Notes. 

@perduxamour sent: show me what you've been working on.

“What I’ve been working on…?” Lune repeats hesitantly, uncertainty flickering across her features as she wonders whether Julie would find any interest in her research. It was rather niche. Perhaps, even childish in the eyes of others.

However, she did seem interested.

"It's nothing important" Lune begins, pulling a notebook from her desk and opening it up. "Merely a side project of researching folklores. I've just encountered the 'Red Caps', which are either goblins or fairies, depending on who you ask, found in the Anglo-Scottish border region. The reason why they're called the red caps are due to their murderous nature, attacking whoever comes across their lands and soaking their caps in their blood. Thus, Red Caps."

There was a moment of silence after she finished, unsure if she shared too much information. It wasn't the most conventional topic to discuss. A little bit distrubing too.

"Anyways," Lune pushes forward, a bit louder than expected, grabbing a vanilla folder and passing it to her. "I was able to get you copies of the architecture you requested from the Archives. What's are you working on?"

Nothing important. Julie highly doubted that, knowing what she did of Lune's contributions to Lumiere and the expedition that had persevered it. More pertinently, she wondered whether Lune's definition of importance was different from hers.

Then again, much of Julie's understanding of herself and what exactly could be deemed important had undergone a drastic shift since the start of this new life.

Carefully, she peered around the dark haired womans shoulder. The notebook was full of... well, notes. Hungry for information, Julie's eyes began to scan the lines, listening to Lune's explanation as she did so.

"It sounds fascinating," she murmured, still half absorbed in the pages. "And a little macabre, but that's hardly anything new to history, is it?"

She smiled wryly as she took a step back. The Last thing she wished was for Lune to feel as if she were prying. That wasn't the case at all. But there was no use denying it; she was an outsider here. Another piece of history to Lune, a ghost now living. She could not be trusted. Not yet.

And still, despite this, she was offered the beginnings of trust anyway. Tentative, fragile threads, weaved in the form of exchanges of knowledge, or resources. Green eyes shined at the sight of the folder, alight with renewed curiosity.

"This-- This should contain the original blueprints for the building that became the expedition academy." Her fingers brushed the weathered card, almost reverent. All these years, everything lost... and this persisted. "It was requisitioned, of course, after the fracture. But I thought to refer to the plans to understand the structure, see if there is anything that can be done to transform it once again."

It felt like a shock had gone through his entire body. Verso looked down at his chest in shock, just to visually confirm that Julie was holding him. After a moment of hesitation, Verso put his arms around her in return, loose so that she could pull away if she wanted to. Very gently, he rested his chin on the crown of Julie's head. He could feel the threads of her hair weaving in with his beard.

Despite how tentative his hold was, Verso could feel his entire body slump. For just a moment, it didn't feel like all his years were weighing on him.

"I also... wanted," Verso made a face. "want- er. Merde, there isn't an easy way to say that I never imagined this outcome after I committed to kicking Maman out of the Canvas.

The familiarity was startling in its comfort. Perhaps the repulsion was but a self-defense mechanism; a lingering memory of the last night he'd touched her, held her. Despite her instinct begging her to listen to the distasteful feeling rather than the pleasant one, she pushed it aside. This was not for her.

Julie felt his voice reverberate through her as he spoke. Low, on a knife's edge. The fact that he even had this chance to speak was a blessing, in a very warped manner of thinking. She had reckoned with her own resurrection. Verso... he had moved past his reckoning years ago.