#perhaps we can save our future (kida ❧ thread)

[crystalcalled]

@missallanea ❧ if you give back every stolen artifact from a museum, you'd be left with an empty building. / demona @ kida? │ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE (2001) PROMPTS

"Then let it be!" Kida flared, the blue of her eyes a tsunami. "Museums should be places where we learn about and honor those who came before us -- not exploit them!"

There was anger in the other's eyes, but she could sense a deep sadness as well which made her pause. Kida could never lose her own fiery spirit, but the long, winding years had taught her to be wiser with it and try to appeal to the good nature she believed was in (most) everyone. Her father had once called her soft for it, but she hoped that wherever he was, he could see it as a kind of strength in its own right and be proud of her. After all, her mother had been much the same way during her short reign.

"I understand you have been hurt by humans," the ancient queen began, steadying her voice like the calm after a storm. "There are such humans who would harm my people, too, but you mustn't punish them all for it. The wars, the destruction, it will never end, and soon there will be nothing left for any of us... My father learned this the hard way during the time of the Great Flood. "

[crystalcalled]

"Now, why should anyone call you 'father' when you look barely old, or how do I put this...potent enough to have a child?"

“ Friendly reminder, Kuzcoteers~

— you can call ME daddy all you’d like if it means bringing me presents. ”

Aaaaand with that, he’s going to bed. He expects to be woken up by his choir or royal singing birdies, coffee, an extravagant breakfast spread in bed (heh that rhymed) and the PRESENTS that were mentioned.

In return for all of this? You can call him daddy, as much as you’d like.

You’re welcome.

[crystalcalled]

@seafaring-gents

"Would I have married you if I did not?" A smile spread across the queen's face in turn, playful and a little seductive. "I never thought I would marry at all, but for you? I am happy to have made an exception."

Kida rested both her hands on Milo's shoulders, leaning in closer towards him and pressing her forehead lovingly against his.

[crystalcalled]

@boombambaby ❧ ❝ i'm more of a sunbather than a swimmer. ❞

"Why does that not surprise me?" Kida looks back daggers at the young emperor, but there's a hint of playfulness in their edge. "And I thought you considered strutting around half-dressed common! Regardless, I am glad to see you have humbled yourself to join the riff-raff, as you so kindly called us."

With a toss of her mist-colored hair, she turns her head towards the lagoon again and dives in with perfect precision. It takes a moment for her to resurface, but once she does, she can't resist grabbing Kuzco by the ankles and pulling him into the water.

[crystalcalled]

@dreamlightmagicgarden ❧ Running as fast as his little 6 legs can carry him, Obby just tackles Kida to the ground and licks her face affectionately. from Obby :3

Kida readies herself for the 'attack', opening her arms to embrace the creature as he runs to her. Still, she humors him by letting herself fall over and letting out a playful cry.

"Obby! I was wondering where you had run off to!" She gives him another gentle squeeze and kisses the top of his head, still carrying him in her arms as she stands up. "There is much to show you, little one." The queen gestures towards the beautiful, bustling city before them being rebuilt.

[crystalcalled]

Like many an Atlantean, Kida's connection to the water ran deep, and she sometimes felt as though saltwater coursed through her veins. It had been so long, however, since she'd swam in or even seen the open seas. It was hard to imagine her beloved homeland had once been an island, its waters stretching out seemingly endlessly rather than stopping at the crystal's barrier. There was many a strange and wondrous creature contained within, but certainly none like Gabriella or her eight-legged companion.

Kida grinned as she broke the surface, the mermaid's delight truly contagious. "Thank you," she said, signing along with her one hand, the other stretched out to keep herself afloat. "Tell me, what is it like to live below the waves?" It would have been wonderful to be able to stay underwater without having to come up for air, but she was also curious about the merpeople's way of life.

@crystalcalled asked: [ DIVE ] — sender shows off to receiver how they gracefully dive into the water (Kida for Gabriella) SWIMMING STARTERS !

The mermaid watched, with wide eyes, same with her octopus friend. They were amazed! She had no idea humans could be so good at diving. Then again, she didn't anything about them so how could she, really?

Still, she was happy to see this new friend getting into the water!

Gabriella clapped happily before signing (with Ollie translating)

[That was amazing!]

[crystalcalled]

@genrcsavvy from [x]

"You are welcome to choose something else, if you wish to." Kida gestures towards the array of untouched dishes on the banquet table, some still cooling before being plucked by the few dining Atlanteans who hadn't made their choice yet, or simply wanted more.

As her strange new visitors banter, the queen shares a knowing smile with her consort and a feeling of déjà vu. The young woman could have been Milo's long lost twin sister, all the way down to the spectacles and her aversion to certain foods. While her companions were fewer in number than the ones Milo had brought with him on his first journey (most of which they'd come to know as their dearest friends), they were no less interesting.

Milo cuts in as he passes along a plate of the least slimy thing he could find, always trying his best to be helpful. "The food here really isn't so bad once you get used to it. I mean, it's all just a matter of finding the right dish that works for yo--"

But no sooner did he finish his sentence than Colette took that first bite. Both Milo and Kida stop, their eyes fixed on her in anticipation of her reaction.

[crystalcalled]

Kida does not find the mansion as frightening as her teammates do, at least not in the same way. There's a kind of sadness that comes with being bound to the same place for an eternity, one that she understands all too well. She does not blame the spirits for being as restless as they are, especially when there are visitors roaming their endless hallways from worlds they'll never see. She just hopes they are all as ultimately harmless as the ones she's encountered so far.

Now, Kida finds herself lost and separated from the others, this corridor strangely quiet but for the sudden slamming of a door and a flash of blue light. At first, she wonders it might be one of the others' crystals glowing in the darkness (Milo, in particular, she's been worried about and eager to find), but it is a deeper blue. A sadder blue. Curiously, she follows the spirit up to the attic and slowly creaks open its door.

woe is she ! what tragedy ! her hand continues to be unheld ...

....

somewhere in the mansion a door shuts loudly in case you didn't HEAR her-

[crystalcalled]

"Yes, but you are not the only one, from what I have observed," Kida said bluntly, but not unkindly. It was certainly very shocking to the queen how downtrodden women were in many parts of the surface world, even the ones that (erroneously) prided themselves on being more advanced than others. When Milo told her that they could not even vote, she couldn't believe it!

Even their clothes, which were no doubt beautiful and fascinating, seemed so constrictive compared to the sarongs and flowing robe-dresses worn by Atlantean women. On the trip, Kida felt thankful to have found a few dresses up there that were decidedly less so with their more relaxed silhouette and other things that reminded her of home (the shades of blue and elaborate embroidery, an art she'd once thought lost to time and scarcity!), but this poor girl looked yoked in something she was sure was uncomfortable by their standards, too. Had she even chosen it for herself?

"I hope that one day, you are able to take them down, and see that there is so much more out there for us. You deserve better." She smiled at the lady, gentle and assuring.

KPOP DEMON HUNTERS (2025)

@crystalcalled said: you have a lot of walls up. (Kida for Victoria)

"O-oh, I do...?" The young woman blinked owlishly, seeming rather surprised by this statement. Though, now that she thought about it, she supposed that could be true...She supposed she just never truly thought about it.

"Is...Is it really that obvious?"

[crystalcalled]

Normally, Kida would have conducted herself with more diplomacy in another royal court, but this one is a complete and utter joke! A smirk almost crosses her face at his reaction, but as he goes on, she continues to stare him down daggers, oblivious to the guards. If they are anything like the pampered and pompous emperor they serve, she isn't afraid of them. She's faced down worse monsters in the caves of Atlantis, so she could certainly face these fools without so much as a scratch on her.

"Go ahead and try! My father will not allow you -- or your stooges, since His Majesty does not seem the type to get his delicate hands dirty -- to lay a finger on me, especially once he hears of how shamefully you have treated me!"

Sharp, sudden pain explodes in his face, and Kuzco goes down like a ton of bricks. An audible gasp fills the room, wide eyed servants staring as he hits the ground, and for a moment even his guards appear to be at a loss of words. In reality, for all of his bluster and insults, no one has ever dared to actually attempt to HIT the Emperor before. If being thrown from a window was the response to throwing off his groove, or touching him when he wasn't expecting it, there was no telling what the 'punishment' for being punched was.

Kuzco sits up on the floor of his own throne room with his hands cupping his nose, glaring heatedly up at the lanky female with furious brown eyes. " HOW DARE YOU! " He screeches, the words coming out thin and reedy with his fingers pinching his nose, and he turns his glare on the nearest guards, who to this point still haven't moved, and who now rush to help him to his feet. He snaps his finger and a servant runs from the room to find a healer, but his attention is already back on Kida, who still has the audacity to stand over him and tell HIM not to speak to her. " Are you INSANE? Do you know what you did just?! People are thrown out of windows for WAY less around here, Princess, and I'd hate to start off negotiations with 'your daughter is in my dungeon and staying there FOREVER', but I'll make an exception for you. " He sneers.

[crystalcalled]

For a long while, Kida says nothing, simply placing her hands on her hips and staring the younger royal down with the most unimpressed glare. Yes, she finds outsiders fascinating, even ones as foolish as the young man before her, but he has crossed the line into absolutely insufferable.

Blue blood bubbles under the surface of her icy demeanor. What 'negotiations' could this bratty little fop possibly have with her father, her people? He would see exactly what sort of 'riff-raff' they were when the time came for him to deal with them. As for herself...She throws a sucker punch directly at his perfectly pointed little nose, knocking him to the ground.

"Speak with my father or don't, but our 'negotiations' are over. Never speak to me again, lest you find my spear at your throat next time."

Sharp, barking peals of nasally laughter spills from his lips at the very idea that this half dressed, fashion-challenged mess could be an heir to anything. Kuzco has met a lot of supposed heirs and princesses in the bride line-ups he's been forced to endure in the past year-- but at least they actually looked liked the label on the box. Not that he isn't used to insulting conventionally attractive women, regardless.

" You? You're trying to convince me that you're heir to an Empire, the heir I'm supposed to have 'negotiations' with, or whatever about their fake-not-fake lost Empire thing. Really. " He drawls once he finally manages to calm down, wiping a fake tear away from the corner of his eye. " If 'practicality' means prancing around half naked, you do you, boo; NORMAL people, however, like the idea of showing off their wealth and power. Much easier to keep the riff-raff in line that way. " By riff raff he means peasants, of course.

[crystalcalled]

Kida returns the mischievous smirk, every word falling from his lips more of a confirmation to her that he was indeed a very small man. It was exasperating, of course, but also amusing to someone who didn't meet outsiders very often.

"Where I come from, we value comfort and practicality over ornamentation. It is considered vulgar to overdress and flaunt one's wealth, but as an heir to an empire myself, what would I know?"

Surprise momentarily flashes across tanned cheeks, brows darting nearly to his hairline in amusement before furrowing, a mischievous glint in his eye as he registers her snark. She's feisty. He likes it.

It's not every day that he gets to meet someone willing to go toe to toe with him, and usually those that do don't tend to stick around long. " Trust me sweetheart, there's nothing i've ever needed to overcompensate for, and even if there was? I'd save it for someone who doesn't look like they lost a fight with a lawnmower. "

He gives her a casual once over with a curious gaze as he says it, admiring some parts of the . . . barely there outfit, but mostly maintaining his unimpressed stare by the time he lifts his gaze to meet hers once more. " I'm guessing there wasn't enough left when it was done with you to piece an actual outfit together, huh? Not the classiest move, showing up to meet an EMPEROR in scraps, but a bold one; i'll give you that. "

[crystalcalled]

Kida slowly lowered her weapon, eyes still narrowed. This young man was no threat, but certainly a pain. "And you, overcompensating for something with all of that ridiculously large jewelry?"

@crystalcalled asked: "You won’t walk away unscathed." (Kida)

" Oh trust me, I know. . .

-- I'm already TRAUMATIZED by that sad attempt for hair. What'd you do, stick a mop on your head and call it good enough? "

[crystalcalled]

Try as she might to keep her composure and remain guarded, there is an unmistakable pang in her heart as the stone shatters and the words leave the fierce creature's lips. No doubt, they are intended to be cruel enough to get a rise out of her (one she stubbornly refuses to give her), have her rush headlong to a fight that even she couldn't win, but they sting all the same.

Regardless, she steadies herself and goes on just as she did, holding her head high and unbowed once more. "It is an even greater shame that you see strength as a mere show of physical force. Mark my words, it will destroy you before you can see it through. And if I must be the one to see that through for the sake of my people, then so it shall be."

She dares to make such a comparison? Prying into her humanity, accursed thing that it is — would that she could cut that piece from her soul, she would rend it so. Gargoyles had always felt the same emotions as humans, true, but there is something else to Demona's own. Originating with another, an infection she cannot rid herself of until one of them does so permanently.

What a pity that the young Queen thought that would be her winning point, the thing she could break through to her with.

❝ It will end. ❞ Spoken with all the ferocity of the fanatical, her own growling tone only increasing with each calmly spoken retort from Kida — as though having the girl not match her anger was only serving to anger her further. Fight, damn you! ❝ Even if it takes everything from me. If I must undo myself to see it through, then I shall. ❞

Claws flex, then, shattering the stone she held so tightly. As though it were so simple a thing, destroying that which could never be recovered. To hell with it. 

❝ To think, I heard tale of the Warrior Queen of the Atlantean... what a shame this is what I am met with. ❞

[crystalcalled]

Kida keeps her narrowed eyes levelled at Demona's, not flinching for a moment, even as she digs her long talons into the artifact. In her younger years, she might have leapt at her for the disrespect, but she knows now that it is a better show of strength to stand her ground.

"But you consider yourself above humans, do you not? And yet you experience the same emotions, the same lust for power and drive for revenge as they do. Perhaps we are not so different after all, for all of our strengths...and vulnerabilities.

"Believe me, it is more a fool's errand to think you can finish what will never end." Kida inches closer to the stone woman cautiously and keeps her voice soft and levelled, but strong. She's ready to fight should she need to, but she hopes it won't have to come to that. There is so much their kind has in common, despite the surface level differences, and perhaps she might have found herself in the other's position had she let her own hurt and righteous anger consume her.

The artefact of such interest is balanced carefully in one clawed hand, the grip she has on it loose — as though not caring for whether or not it would shatter into a thousand pieces, should she simply release it.

Still... she does not move, instead watching the woman as she speaks. There is a ferocity to her, something so familiar in it : she thinks it must be something that so many human rulers find, to be a storm bound in flesh. Unlike the wildfire she knows, this Queen is a maelstrom.

❝ You understand nothing. ❞ Claws dig razor-thin lines into the stone artefact, ancient basalt shrieking as her grip tightens. ❝ Speaking as though you are not within their numbers, while pleading for some humanity in me? It does not exist, and yours is a fool's errand. You may have years on me, Atlantean, but not wisdom. ❞

Preaching of ancient history, stories she knew in her youth : a great flood that swallowed the city, never to be seen again. It was a piece of their mythos, surely, the sort of thing that her kind had never doubted to believe in. Humans erased them from history, made them little more than stories. In that regard alone, she supposed they understood one another.

❝ Human wars have existed long before the Gargoyles involvement, and continue with or without it. I have fought in enough to know, the one true calling and heritage of humanity is bloodshed. I am simply seeking to... ❞ To what? Her tongue falters, the relic held pensively between both hands for a moment. ❝ ...to finish what all of you have begun. ❞

[crystalcalled]

Kida's smile widens at her beloved's soft laughter, no sweeter sound in the world to her. Her forehead still pressed against his, she hopes she could always be this close to him and linger in the little moments like this. She brushes her nose against his in a sort of 'kiss' before moving down to plant a real one his lips.

He smiled at her words and soon rested his head against her own. "True, that is true heh." He said with a small chuckle. He treasured every moment that they would share together. "I'm honestly so glad that I'm that exception." He truly was lucky to have someone like her.