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[simulamortem]

A surprisingly candid answer. Skinbag really seemed to have a THINK on it and answer as completely as he could. At the word 'ruin', Revenant produced an unamused hum, watching how the stranger regarded the area. The Outlands were COVERED in IMC ruins like these, long-abandoned military outposts and makeshift settlements that had been left to rot. No surprise that a ship that might crash into any given planet here would land next to some.

These ones, contrary to their neglected appearance, were actually somewhat maintained due to most of the island being an arena for the Games.

MASTER Jedi? And a general? "Big talk," Revenant mused, rising then to his full height, "for someone advertising themselves as something of a space hippie." Turning to pace the length of the wrecked ship SLOWLY while his gaze remained fixed on the Jedi. "Your war's over," he went on with a gesture of his hand, and without addressing Kenobi's question. "What's the Republic sticking its nose into the Outlands for now? Little late, isn't it?"

With a title like former High General, he assumed this meatbag was here on behalf of the Republic. And he assumed whatever 'better relations' the Republic would be all the way out here for probably had to do with the Outlands' military tech. With all the weapons produced for the Games and all the technology developed for the Frontier War, the region may as well have been one big ARMORY.

"It depends on who you ask?" The public's opinion on Jedi had become rather polarized in the last few years, made even worse by the rise of the war and near constant smear campaigns. It was no secret that where Jedi went, chaos tended to follow and Obi-Wan himself was one of the worst offenders (no amount of relief missions or lives saved ever holding a candle to the barrage of propaganda funded by their enemies). He should not have been surprised that none of it had ended with ceasefire. "Not typically, but I suppose I have a bit of a reputation for it."

He hoped the wound to his pride would earn him some good faith (he loathed to sound incompetent, especially upon first impressions). The Force was far too taut, meaning he had either stumbled somewhere he wasn't welcome or his presence posed a threat. And given their difference in stature, he doubted it was the latter.

"Much to my own dismay, of course. My work these days heavily involves rebuilding and agriculture, so I do try my best not to ruin any planets I land on." Cautiously, he let his gaze settle on the view beyond them, all murky waters and evidence of old settlements forgotten and overtaken by nature. It made him doubt he had landed somewhere of import.

"Ah—my apologies. Master Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Former High General for the Grand Army of the Republic." His smile was now all teeth. "To whom am I speaking?"

[simulamortem]

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Before he had even gotten a look at whatever slip of paper rested inside, it was snatched away from him. Steely grip snatched Silva's wrist in turn just as soon as the slip was turned around for him, and Revenant held the other Legend CAPTIVE while he regarded the note.

Of course, he immediately scoffed and let go. Brushed the note away when it was shoved back toward him. "So what was in the FIRST one?" He ventured to ask, idle curiosity, before pacing slowly over the rest of the room to search its cabinets and drawers. Eventually crouched to poke through some of the boxes of files. There were Silva Pharmaceuticals files here - and some Hammond, too, but older. Nothing to do with him, but he browsed some of the material anyway. Anything he'd pulled out to skim or read was tossed carelessly aside when he'd finished with it.

"Tell me something I don't know."

He couldn't roll his eyes harder. He packed away that pesky guilt and shame into a neat little container and promptly pretended it hadn't come creeping out of the woodwork of his brain like scuttling little termites.

Besides, the safe's seal was about to break and he wanted to know what was inside. He snaked his head around the edge to peer within and an overjoyed whoop of surprise escaped him; he snatched the contents, a measly scrap of paper, before Revenant could get his claws on it.

"No way. This is that safe?"

Sure enough, printed on the paper was only a gigantic smiley face accompanied by the word 'SIKE' in comic sans. He flipped the paper around to show Revenant.

"I forgot. I switched out one of the old man's safes for an identical one a few years back. Put this in it." He snorted and shoved the paper into the sim's metal chest before kicking off a triumphant spin in his chair with a derisive fit of laughter. Oh, the irony. "Psych!"

[simulamortem]

He watched her eyes begin to light up as she took in the images. "Studios do most of the work," he dismissed with a gesture of his hand. "I just come up with the idea and show up." Most of the concepts were his. Usually he got in contact with his choice of studio, asked for a time and place, and told them what to bring. Sometimes he gave the time and place and just told them to BE THERE.

Occasionally, a studio reached out with an idea, and even more rarely, Revenant accepted.

Scarlet glow watched Irmé most carefully as she came to the sets of the beast. "Your favorite," Revenant teased gently, WATCHING to gauge her response to the photos. In the shoot in the woods, there was no photo where his chassis was seen in whole, just parts of him. The metal of his skull and cruel teeth resting amidst grass and leaf litter, foliage and feathers stuck in his mane. The swell of his chest lying skyward, pierced with arrows and patterned in dappled sunlight. Crimson claws lying placid on the forest floor.

In the set in the cave, covered in treasure and jewelry, there were a couple full body shots, but neither of them in full sun. Instead some portion of the beast was always cast in SHADOW, with only select angles of his ivory plates and glittering adornments illuminated, giving him the air of some long-forgotten relic settled in the trove, awaiting discovery.

symphony warned her that he was a man of short words, so it didn't really surprise her that he didn't have much input to her words nor elaboration when it came to his thoughts and feelings regarding her husband. regardless, it wasn't any of her business and she will let sym and sunil deal with that on their own.

however she was pleasantly surprised when he decided to move onto the topic of his photoshoots, not really EXPECTING for him to remember to follow through.

❝ alright, let's see here, ❞ she forces him to wait as she put her reading glasses back on before taking the tablet from his hands. she begins scrolling and her reaction was no different from that of symphony's. ❝ oh, rev, these are wonderful. you're obviously quite gifted at your craft. ❞

she scrolls until she came across a familiar horned BEAST. ❝ o——oh, is this what i think it is? ❞ the mother squints and zooms into the picture.

[simulamortem]

Lingered for a beat. SCOFFED and drew upright again. "I've got nothing to do with your cutting back on company." The damage between Octane and Lifeline had gone on well before Torres Silva's demise. "And I'm sure as hell not here to replace it." He moved off for the computer to start on the next email account.

And with that set up to duplicate onto the hard drive, Revenant crossed back over to the safe, working some more at it with the laser cutter. FINALLY the seal popped open, and he drew the door the rest of the way open to observe what awaited inside, stowing the laser cutter again.

Octane knew the insidious hunger in the predatory stride that brought the sim closer to him. He’d swam with enough sharks to recognize it. He knew what Revenant was doing, but it didn’t stop him from reflexively putting his guard up anyway, shoulders terse, his face turned aside. Revenant had a way with words that weaponized them even when his intent was obvious. He could still make Octane bleed.

His heart hurt as he thought of Obi, who had been trying so hard to get through to him, who cared about him— and instead Octane was spilling his heart to someone who didn’t. But that was the idea, wasn’t it? If someone cared, it meant he was worth caring about, that his pain was real. The only kind of pain he couldn’t handle.

Whatever Revenant could possibly do to him would never compare.

“Actually,” he murmured quietly, turning further away, “I meant us.”

He didn’t know if Revenant’s continuous presence as of late qualified as proof he wasn’t quite alone; the sim merely came and went on his own time, much like a stray cat, doing as he pleased. But for the time being, that was all Octane had.

[simulamortem]

"Wouldn't surprise me," the sim responded. How hard she worked as queen now told him she was bound to get RESTLESS sooner or later if she had no work to do at all.

Every inch of him fought the urge to scoot away at Irmé's moving to sit next to him. Even most of the Legends were not so BRAVE; Revenant was comfortable with Symphony, obviously, but he was otherwise accustomed to quite a bit of personal space. "I'm not angry," he answered anyway. Gazed over for where the queen still lay in the sun.

Getting to see her skin in the sun again made him think of Vaicuret. "Yes," he agreed quietly. Reaching then into his robe to produce the tablet he had been working on the night before, and waking its display to navigate to the album he'd prepared before handing it over toward Irmé. "You were asking about my work," he reminded her.

❝ hm, ❞ she hums pretty neutrally in response. ❝ interesting choice for life partner considering politics is greatly engraved into our family, and our people. she may take a break, of course, as she rightfully deserves, but she's expressed interest in getting back into the political arena once she feels ready to. ❞ she glanced briefly over at her daughter fondly. ❝ this job kills her but she'll never be happy until she feels like she's done enough to improve the lives of people around the galaxy... ❞

eventually irmé stands up and moves to sit right beside rev so that she wasn't awkwardly turning in her seat to look at him.

❝ so i heard about your little conversation with my husband last night, ❞ irmé chuckles before exhaling heavily once she sat down, as if it took some effort make the move from her seat her new one. ❝ i hope you're not too angry at us , or at him for that matter. we didn't invite you on this trip to make you uncomfortable. we're all here because we love sym and want to see her happy. ❞

[simulamortem]

buddy of mine mentioned revhound today and i got reminded of them. so thats neat

[simulamortem]

It wasn't a response he was used to. Whenever he startled the Legends, they remained tense, uncomfortable, kept their guard up upon finding it was him in their midst. Irmé, on the other hand, relaxed.

Even on vacation, the woman was reading about POLITICS. He recalled Chandrila as being a peaceful planet... and its inhabitants rather SPOILED. "No," Revenant admitted. Adding as he gazed for Symphony, "Other than I'd prefer it to end." News in the Outlands kept up with the Senate and the war, but he followed more of the latter than the former. Political going-ons didn't interest him except whatever might pertain to Symphony. On a couple of occasions, he had watched the news speculate about her decisions.

It was strange sometimes, remembering the impact she could have in her part of the galaxy as a monarch.

the morning had been pleasantly quiet aside from the sea breeze and the soft sounds of birds calling out to them in the distance. serene, quiet enough that irmé SHOULD have been able to hear just about anyone descending down the steps towards them, and yet she still startles somewhat when rev's DEEP voice interrupts her reading. ❝ oh, heavens, ❞ she gasps softly and places a hand over her heart as she looked up to meet rev's glowing red eyes. despite his unorthodox look, she calms some in realizing that it was just him. ❝ oh, rev, good morning, how are you? ❞ she chuckles softly as she turned to face him when he sat with her.

symphony didn't move to sit up so it could safely be assumed that he could not hear him come in nor their conversation. she simply enjoyed tanning in the sun in her blue bikini, occupying herself by responding to some messages through her datapad.

❝ well, right now, i'm reading kierra march's autobiography. she was a former senator for chandrila, ❞ she says as she removes her reading glasses and shutting closed the book, likely more interested in the simulacrum before. ❝ nothing you would be interested in... unless you have any opinions about the galactic senate and the war, ❞ she adds with a cheeky smile.

[simulamortem]

Didn't surprise him at all to hear the elder Silva had turned Octane's OVERCONFIDENCE against him. Used his grandson's reckless enthusiasm to his advantage, no doubt.

Revenant moved closer like a shark drawn by BLOOD IN THE WATER. Circled slowly around the other Legend's back, stopping when Silva didn't finish. "You thought he was talking about you," the simulacrum finished for him, "when really he was talking about your dead dad."

He almost couldn't believe Silva had said as much he had aloud, it was so pathetic. Some little clip of his father figure spouting just the same bullshit that had been written for the meatbag's eulogy, and that was ALL IT HAD TAKEN for Octane to drop his best friend in the dirt like an old toy.

Nothing more than a scrap of false praise, exactly where he'd been most starved for it.

It was a wonder he mustered the introspection to see where he'd gone wrong now. Torres' DEATH had put things into perspective, Revenant imagined. "And by 'we'," he corrected, leaning down closer next to Silva's ear, "you mean you." ALONE, because it was clear the halfsuit had no interest in indulging his ex-friend's guilt.

"We were trying to figure out what he was up to. I thought I was playing him at his own game, at first. Thought I was helping." He uttered a noise of disgust. "I was stupid. Pendejo turned it around on me."

He leaned back in the chair and propped one metal leg underneath him, hands gripping tight around the shin as if he sought an anchor. Though the recollection clearly upset him, his tone remained deliberately flat; a conditioned barrier to prevent vulnerability, ward off further harm.

"There was this video I saw on his laptop. While we were breaking in. Some speech or something, I dunno. He said something about how much he loved his son, and I--"

He hung his head, dark brows furrowed. He didn't know why he was still talking. He felt pathetic, ashamed, and ultimately broken. Anyone he knew could have told him he was wrong-- they had. And he had ignored them in favor of a convenient lie, had put lives at risk for his delusion. Selfish didn't even begin to describe it. It was like the more he tried to separate himself from Torres, the more he ended up like him. An inescapable fate.

"He never did anything for me that wasn't to further his own plans. I just saw what I wanted to see, and I paid for it." He shrugged, apparently willing to accept he'd sabotaged not only himself but everyone around him. It wasn't like that was much different than what he'd done for most of his life. "So here we are."

[simulamortem]

He got up and dressed with the queen, but while she went to breakfast, he finally took the time to familiarize himself with the ship. Avoided the dining area and roamed the other levels, rooms, and decks, spending some time at one of the upper railings to observe the view. The weather was warm, BALMY. The morning sun glittered across the water.

He'd had the time to get quite good at predicting THE WEATHER on Kings Canyon by watching the sky, scenting the air, feeling the breeze. But that skill didn't apply to other planets, or even the rest of Solace.

When he started to overhear Sunil's work call, he took that to indicate breakfast was likely winding down. So after a few minutes of listening to see if he could glean the gist of the conversation, the sim retreated back into the ship to search for Symphony. Finding her and her mother on the lower deck, making the most of the weather.

Revenant didn't approach the patio, however. Too close to the water for his liking. He settled instead on the sofa nearest where Irmé had drawn her chair back to lounge in the shade.

He'd forgotten to make any NOISE to warn of his presence before asking, "What do you like to read?"

symphony knew that it would just be her and her parents that would be dining for breakfast the following morning, considering how apparent revenant had made it that he would be uncomfortable with any more. and so she used that opportunity to corner her father, so to speak, into getting HIS SIDE of the story of what went down between them the night before. irmé didn't seem at all surprised by their conversation so it was safe to assume that her husband had told her everything the moment they were alone.

and telling from the exasperated, but DEFEATED look on her face, it became pretty obvious that symphony was only repeating to him the same reprimands that his wife was giving him.

after breakfast, sunil went to take another work call in the privacy of the upper deck while the women went downstairs towards the lower decks. the queen decided to lounge beneath the sun, facing the beautiful crystal clear waters while irmé lounged on the soft cushions behind her, beneath the shade, fanning herself with one hand while the other held open a book.

@simulamortem || plotted.

[simulamortem]

Torres Silva? Not Octane's father but his GRANDFATHER, masquerading as Duardo. "Huh." A neutral sound as the simulacrum mulled that information over. "Your life a soap opera or somethin', halfsuit?" Revenant mused, scoffing - "And here I thought I had a streak going..." A little DISAPPOINTED to find he was back down to having only killed one of the Legends' fathers.

Or two, he supposed. If he included his own.

He regarded Silva again at his somewhat abrupt admission, studying the weird look on his face. Golden glow lit with growing INTRIGUE as a picture came together in Revenant's mind, a puzzle he had been missing pieces to. "Ahh," he said with dawning realization. "That's why the two of you turned sour." Octane had chosen his FAKE FATHER over his best friend.

"And why's that?" Turning fully toward the other Legend, crossing his arms with a curious gleam in his gaze and accompanying tilt of his head. "What did that scheming sack of shit ever do for you?"

"What we found in the safe, that was Duardo Silva’s death certificate," he reiterated. "At some point Torres took his name. I remember him being sick when I was young, but—"

It still haunted him to think of when exactly Torres had taken over. Had he ever really known his father? Had it all blurred together? Would his life have been the same if Duardo had lived?

“I burned it,” he admitted. He wasn’t sure how much Revenant cared to hear, exactly, but he let the details slip anyway. “Me and Che fought. She wanted to show the Outlands he was a fraud. And I— I couldn’t.”

Too desperate to avoid the truth. Too desperate for love, clamoring fruitlessly for it like squeezing blood from a stone. How much strife could have been avoided if he’d let her take that death certificate? It suddenly dawned on him that if he had refused Torres, maybe the old man would have never gained enough power to mess around with Revenant’s head to begin with. He looked up at the sim, stricken.

“I couldn’t.”

[simulamortem]

APEX LEGENDS : UPHEAVAL

[simulamortem]

"Mm... Guess I didn't think about it." They hadn't talked much about his photoshoots until she had started to express the curiosity about them that had led to his bringing her to one. He studied her some when her gaze appeared enraptured again by the image.

He remembered how Symphony had ENJOYED that model the first time she'd seen it, and how her gaze lingered over it when they had gone house hunting. "You can see it whenever you want," Revenant insisted, nonchalant. "Easier for me to wear it to the condo than sneak it into your suite, though..." The latter would likely necessitate a CLOAK or something.

Flowers. He thought of the festival again. For a moment he wondered if flowers had some funerary association in Naboo - but he recalled that Symphony had received them for her birthday and other occasions, too. Revenant worked through some more of the album with her input, arguing for only a couple of the photos she thought should be taken out, and discussing some of the shoots she asked about.

He didn't pay much mind to her scrolling past the set with Bloodhound. It was an older set, and a very POPULAR one that circulated online a lot. Of course it wasn't suitable to show to Irmé, and he figured Symphony might not care for it either on account of the violence, even if he was in a suit. He browsed through the album one more time, triple-checking that there was no evidence of Apex, the Outlands, or the magazines these pictures had come from, before setting the tablet aside. Unfolded his legs over the edge of the bed and stretched a little where he sat, then gazing for Symphony.

He reached to idly smooth some of her hair behind her ear, metal fingertips gentle and lingering.

❝ and you never thought to show me? ❞ she playfully scolds him and taps his chest with the back of the datapad like she was angry. ❝ gods, it's breathtaking. it makes me want to see it again one day. ❞

but this discussion wasn't about what SHE thought about it, it was about what she thought her mother might like. thankfully she was very confident that her mother would find it just as beautiful as she did. it wouldn't even surprise her if it moved her to TEARS. ❝ she'll love this one, rev. it's gothic, it's dark, but peaceful and comforting. it's eerily similar to how we honor our dead, but instead of gold we instead surround ourselves with flowers, ❞ she says fondly.

symphony scrolled through the rest, telling revenant which ones to add and which ones to take away, gushing over a few and asking for the BACKSTORY of others. it wasn't until she came across a photo she had seen before, but one she hadn't seen in a LONG time. it was one of bloodhound STRADDLING revenant in the midst of a staged scuffle, while revenant wore a dapper suit while looking quite... disheveled. she scrolls past it without commentary or input unlike the others, but the next one was just another still from the same shoot——of rev grabbing them by the——

she scrolls again with no commentary or input, and besides another one or two pictures that appeared to be all the pictures. she hands the datapad back to revenant. ❝ yeah, they all look great, ❞ she says with a sigh.

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An amused hum. "I'm curious what she'll think of these... She seemed to like my rambling at dinner." She would see exactly what he'd meant, looking at photos like these. He wondered if she might appreciate the beast in a different light.

He watched Symphony's browsing some of the bits of other sets he'd collected so far. He could tell which ones she hadn't seen before because of the way she LINGERED on them. Though, he wasn't sure what to make of her gasp until she spoke again.

"Mm..." Revenant thought it over, observing the couple of photos of him laid out amidst golden treasure again, this time in the gilded model of faux marble and blue satin. Ivory CANDLES had been melted over his metal, burning softly in the dark. It was the only shoot he'd ever done in that model. "Must've been a little over a year ago," he seemed to decide. It had been earlier in his Apex career, but still a few seasons in.

for the most part she didn't really expect him to seriously take her up on her offer, but was just curious to see if he would SURPRISE her tonight. but she shrugs when he declines and crawls onto the bed to sit beside him, cross legged just as he was.

she takes the datapad from his hand and rests it over her lap as she scrolls through the pictures he had selected. ❝ oooh, these are good ones... ❞ she nods as she sees some familiar stills, some new. ❝ but i don't know if it's a good idea to show my mother the beast again unless you're prepared to catch her again, ❞ she adds with a small giggle.

she stops at each picture, using her fingers to zoom in to some. ❝ you look so handsome in all of these, ❞ she smiles. it wasn't until they come across one particular picture, with a familiar nose and marble chin. symphony gasps and simply stares down at the tablet, lost for words.

❝ rev, this is... beautiful, ❞ she eventually mustered. ❝ when was this? ❞

[simulamortem]

Leaning closer to observe the cut he'd made with the laser, he thought about whether he might be able to CARVE the mechanism apart with some more work, but paused to regard the other Legend. This was probably a tougher safe than the one Octane and Lifeline had broken into, then.

He looked at its door again. Silva might actually have a point. But he was reluctant to leave this without knowing what was in it, since it didn't seem to have been opened by the legal team. For the moment, Revenant crossed the room toward the computer to check on his data transfer, but STOPPED at what Silva said, turning enough to gaze over his shoulder at him.

"What?"

Octane hummed thoughtfully and spun around again in the office chair while Revenant set to work. A year or so back he remembered DOC had used a similar laser to cut through the metal. He wasn't sure if this was made of the same material, but it stood to reason that Torres would have upgraded his security at some point-- perhaps even ditched his faith in safes entirely.

"Not sure if it's worth it, big guy. Last time me and Che broke into one of his safes was also probably the last time he bothered putting anything useful in one."

That had been a difficult time, and the start of his uneasy alliance with the old man. One of the stupidest things he'd ever done. Maggie and Che had been right.

"It was a death certificate," he said after awhile, slowing to a stop. What did it matter if anyone else besides he and Ajay knew? It didn't change anything. "He was my abuelo, you know - Torres. Duardo Silva died a long time ago."

[simulamortem]

Photos from the beast's photoshoots were collected into the album - versions without any text, so there would be no glimpses of interviews or the magazines which they came from. He looked up from the tablet for Symphony as she drew nearer after her shower, mulling over her suggestion a moment.

"... Not tonight," Revenant answered quietly. This model made him perhaps the most VULNERABLE to an ego relapse, and he couldn't exacerbate that risk here. He was already nervous about sleeping in it - though he had slept in it before, at Symphony's parents' home, without incident.

He offered the tablet over for her to see what he had gathered so far. "Have you seen these?" The set in the woods was from before they had met. The other, he wasn't sure he'd remembered to show her; he didn't think as much about the Outlands when he was on Naboo with her.

symphony was GENEROUS with her alone time. she meditated beneath the shower head's cold waters, reliving their day, recalling what she liked and what she didn't like about it. it made her realize that there was much more about the day that she had enjoyed than she hated. revenant's little confrontation with her father was just a hiccup in the road in the grand scheme of things but in the moment, RECIEVING the news, it sent her down a spiral and she couldn't help but wonder if they were wasting their time here.

the shower had cooled off her temper and eased her nerves so much that she was in a much better mood by the time she had stepped back out to their cabin.

she caught revenant sitting on their bed with the tablet in hand and symphony quietly patted over, using a towel to dry her damp hair. a bit of his blonde hair fell over his eyes as he stared down at the datapad and she could not help but find it endearing.

❝ do you want me to wash your hair? ❞ she offers quietly as she lingered by the bed side.