tarnishedxknight

[tarnishedxknight]

PSA: Stay out of RP tags for a while.

For the uniformed, over the previous week there have been sock accounts that have indeed been posting shock images of irl gore of a variety of subjects in the tags. Even if that doesn't make you personally squeamish, the clear intent is to expose people to it to potentially trigger / traumatize them. The tags they're spamming with these images range from 'oc rp' to outright '(fandom) rp'. While other blogs have been informing people of these accounts to block, and thankfully tumblr staff appears to be taking the blogs down within a 24 hour timespan, the fact that as of writing this person (or a copycat) is on their third blog and probably won't stop. And if they do, it might just be for a short period of time to get people's guards down. The best way to avoid this is, for the time being, stop browsing rp tags for a while and try to stick with the dashboard. On top of that, while I imagine it is tempting to commentate on these situations, outside of telling people the new URL to block, simply try to continue to use your blog as normal. Don't feed the troll, especially when this is a blatant case of using 'shock images' to elicit a reaction out of a niche community. The 'person' will get bored or realize that their blogs will continue to get banned eventually. PS. If you're concerned that you may get stuff sent directly to you, remind yourself of tumblr's safety features and how if a non-mutual tries to send you an image, it will be blurred out. You are safe as long as you stay out of the tags and avoid the 'for you' page (I'd recommend blacklisting popular rp tags if you feel exceptionally antsy about this situation).

[tarnishedxknight]

{out of dalmasca} Alright, I've reached my limit of pain tolerance for the night and have to try to get some sleep. At this point I'll probably just be back here on Thurs (7/24), but if I can make time before that, I will. Otherwise, goodnight for now! =)

[tarnishedxknight]

Oh, she was absolutely right about how tense he was. Gabranth was always wound up like a tight spring coil after any battle. He needed that tension, that aggression, to keep his focus on the battlefield and to help him be as brutal and cruel as he needed to be. Afterwards, though, it was very hard for him to let go of it. Hands balled into fists, jaw locked, teeth clenched, eyes narrowed, veins prominent in his neck, and the muscles of his shoulders and back strained and stiff... that was how he ended each and every battle. His subordinates knew better than to even so much as ask him a simple question afterward, choosing instead to wait until their commander had broken himself out of that savage, often Mist-fueled battle mode.

Gabranth nodded, because Wanda was right about his method of de-escalation too. That was exactly how he handled it, to just be alone with himself, angry and tense and on-edge, until he burned himself out. Then the exhaustion would set in. The eerily quiet and detrimental form of serenity that took hold after an adrenaline rush. He'd feel drugged, his muscles too relaxed now, his mind too calm. That's when he'd fall asleep in his hammock, still dirty with sweat and blood all over himself. Hygiene, cleanup, any necessary medical attention performed on himself would be tomorrow-Gabranth's problem. It was sad, really, how little he tended to his mind or his body after combat. It was indicative of how little he thought of himself, and sometimes of the shame he felt at what he'd done that day.

As she settled in behind him on the bed, he couldn't help but think how much he already trusted this woman. How many would have relished being in her exact position right now, able to reach around, put a blade to his throat, and cut it? Able to stab him through his back? Able to produce a rope or cord or some kind and strangle him from behind? Of course, it was debatable as to whether those attacks would actually result in his death, what with his quick reflexes and fairly fast healing, thanks to the Mist. But oh, there were so many in Ivalice who would wish him dead and plenty willing to be assassins.

Gabranth wondered if she knew... if Wanda truly understood just how much trust it took for him to allow her to get behind him like that, where she could do whatever she wanted to him...? For a moment, the thought crossed his mind... that she might be an elaborate spy... having bided her time until she could get him like this... But, no. No, he refused to believe it. I trust you, Wanda, as foolish as that might be, he thought as he faced forward, feeling her begin to run her hands over his back and shoulders.

His eyes closed as she started to work on his shoulders. It hurt as she kneaded his screaming muscles, but in the best of ways. That special kind of wonderful pain when sore muscles quite literally had the pain pressed, squeezed, and kneaded right out of them. She was so good with her hands, he thought. "It will not be too much," he said in a gruff yet somehow also soft voice. "Be as hard as you wish." Sensing that she was looking at him from the side, he glanced up at her, but his gaze quickly lowered. He felt so vulnerable, but it was something he was willing to be with her, even if it frightened him a little. Even so, his eyes blinked lethargically, the adrenaline slowly leaving him and the wonderful feeling of Wanda working on his muscles serving to provide him with deep comfort. "Thank you," he whispered after a time.

“Gabranth. I hope you do not mind me saying that you seem a little tense. Perhaps you would care to sit and allow me to help ease that?”

Gabranth had just returned from a deployment and hadn't planned on anyone seeing him as riled up as he was. The battle had been long, hard, and vicious. Nothing he was not thoroughly used to, but he'd gotten solidly into the mindset of a killer and now found it difficult to release all that tension.

Whenever His Excellency sent him to the front, it was because he needed someone to take control of the situation and get the job done. The job, of course, being to quell whatever rebellion, win whatever skirmish, or seize whatever important land Emperor Gramis wanted. Gabranth always came in like a brutal force to be reckoned with, making him both feared and a target. Some could not run from his fast enough while others targeted him specifically, eager to have the chance to take down one of the most hated and feared men in Ivalice. They'd failed. They always did.

But now here he was in his quarters, his armor freshly pulled off him and a crude job done of cleaning himself up. Wanda had come to see him, hearing that he'd returned from his deployment, only to find his jaw clenched, his fists balled tightly, and the muscles of his body tensed stiffly. This was always the part he hated, not being able to just let go of the violence and the animal rage he felt, especially around those he'd never harm... like Wanda.

All he could do was nod at her assessment, for she was right, of course. He was tense. Tense was perhaps not even the whole of it. He turned a little to look at her, though, when she offered to ease that tension for him. "How do you intend to accomplish that?" he asked, unable to help the way his voice came out rough and growl-like, truly curious. "Usually... it just takes time."

[tarnishedxknight]

How on the gods' green earth did someone like him ever manage to earn the love of someone like her? That was what went through Basch's mind as he held Wanda close and kissed her. There were so many times when he was with Wanda and felt like he could cry, all because he was that deeply happy. Basch had always been someone who not only craved love and affection, but needed it to survive. He hadn't realized that, or that he'd been slowly dying over the years in the absence of them both, until Wanda had offered them to him.

Smiling at her words, he gently swayed with her in his arms. "My love... I fear you will get far too much of my blood moving if you continue to speak to me in that manner," he said, his voice already getting a bit husky from their close proximity and her gentle affections.

And nothing else is quite the same as how I feel when I'm at your side. (For Basch)

"Do you mean that, my love?" Basch asked innocently with hope in his tone. Despite how smoothly and wonderfully their relationship had blossomed thus far, there were moments when Basch still could scarcely believe he had such an amazing woman in his life. Sometimes he worried that maybe Wanda was not as into him as he was into her. Hearing her say things like that, though, got his hopes way up. "I must admit that the way I feel at your side is very special as well. You make me feel as no other in my life has. I surrender to you, completely," he said with no small amount of deep, knightly love and devotion.

[tarnishedxknight]

Larsa fell silent again, and so Tony went back to his work, trying to clean or replace some parts of a suit that had become corroded. With a light one his head and magnifier over his eyes, he worked with a small blowtorch definitely not a safe distance away from Larsa. Of course, he trusted Larsa not to be an idiot and stick his hand right in front of him while he was working. He might be a kid, but he wasn't an idiot. Kids don't learn how to use their brains if you never let 'em, he thought.

"Hey, can you hand me that?" he said to Shadow as if he were talking to a person, making a grabby-hand at something on the table near the grooming feline.

Shadow paused in his paw-licking, looking over at Tony.

"That, right there, it's right next to you," he said, pointing to it again.

Shadow glanced at the object. What was the hume trying to tell him?

"Yes, that, c'mon, I know you can do it, I've seen you," Tony said, snapping his fingers and making more gestures to give it over to him.

Hmm... the hume seems to want this. But what if... it... were... on the floor!? Muahaha! Shadow suddenly and playfully began pushing the small metal piece with his paw with intention to push it off the desk entirely, his tail whipping swiftly about with mischievous delight, unwittingly pushing it right into Tony's hand.

"Thanks buddy," Tony said, grabbing the piece and continuing his work.

Shadow sat frozen for a moment, his tail falling almost completely still, his affronted expression seeming to say, it's no fun if you catch it, hume! He began to talk-meow out his discontent over the entire situation.

"Woah, easy there truck driver, don't let Cap catch you with that mouth. You'll never hear the end of it. I know from experience," Tony said, not skipping a beat with his work.

Shadow stood and stretched his back before sitting on his haunches, watching Tony. Another rather unique meow escaped him.

"I know, I know, but... he's had a rough life as a chronic goody two-shoes, just humor him," Tony said, as if he was having a real conversation with the cat.

Shadow rather liked this hume. He was very strange, and so was Shadow. Maybe that's why they got along so well.

When Larsa spoke again, Tony looked up from his work almost comically, his eyes magnified through the lens. "Nope, it's not," he said. He'd learned a little bit about magicite from Basch, though he still didn't know all the details, for Basch had asked much the same question of him months ago upon seeing him all suited up during a training session. "It's powered by... one of these," he said, holding up the guts of a spare reactor. "This... is called an arc reactor. It utilizes nuclear fusion to generate power for the suits. Here, you can hold it, it's not hooked up to anything so it['s safe," he said, handing it to the boy so he could look at it.

"I don't know what you were taught in your world, but uh... that little reactor fuses atoms together which provides an efficient energy source. So... atoms. Everything and everyone is made up of 'em. Think of 'em like tiny little building blocks of... everything. You can't see 'em with just your eyes, they're microscopic. There are many different types that make up all sorts of things, okay? So what that reactor does, is it forcibly fuse atoms together, taking smaller ones and mashing 'em together into larger ones. That creates a lot of stored energy because the atoms don't wanna be fused, they naturally wanna break apart, so you've gotta really force 'em. That stored energy from the fusion process can then be tapped... to power a suit," he said with a big grin, patting the suit he was working on.

He was pretty sure Larsa wouldn't understand a good portion of what he just said, but Tony really didn't subscribe to the idea of talking baby talk to children, speaking down to them, or talking to them like they were stupid. Maybe they wouldn't understand everything, but if you kept talking to them like adults, someday they'd understand a lot more and be ahead of the curve. That was his opinion, anyway. Controversial to some, but hey, his whole life was one big controversy thus far so why quit now.

Tony chuckled when Larsa asked to take apart the suit. "No, you can't mess around with this one because I need it. I'm trying to actually repair it, not take it apart. But... I have others you can tinker with, if you like. You into that kinda stuff? Technology and machinery? i heard your time had quite a lot of it, actually. Wanna tell me about it?" he prompted, giving the boy a chance to talk about such things if he wanted. If not, no biggie.

Larsa did not expect to be unfrozen at all, let alone in the future. When he had snuck upon Gabranth's ship set for Pharos he did it to ensure the peace would be possible. The last thing he remembered was running towards fallen Gabranth and then... Light. (Marvel AU) - tarnishedxjudgement

@tarnishedxjudgement

Noah didn't have the same abilities and resources in this time period with which to inform himself of anything and everything that was going on around him. He was in the dark, most of the time, unless directly informed of things, a condition he hated. Being at the mercy of others he neither knew nor trusted for information was not a position he usually found himself in.

It was the reason he hadn't known about Drace being found after him until she was brought one day to the training compound. Inexplicably, after executing her in his own timeline, here she was again, seemingly from another. The entire experience was wholly jarring, but not nearly as jarring as losing his only son.

So often had Noah thought of Larsa in the months following his revival in this strange time. Thoughts invaded his peace, his sleep, his ability to function, until he found himself so erratic and unhinged that he did not recognize himself anymore. Even Drace found it difficult to comfort him, and she had always been a master of that feat. There was no closure to be had, no second chances, no going back... and that knowledge was eating Noah alive from the inside out.

But once again, information had been kept from him, and yet another arrival from Ivalice to the Avengers compound was neither expected nor necessarily wanted. Would it be another Dalmascan? Gods forbid a Rozarrian. And the way the people of this time seemed to think that all Ivalicians got along and would be happy to see each other was beyond irritating to him. Nevertheless, when he was specifically summoned to greet this newcomer, Noah begrudgingly left his quarters to do so.

What he saw... stopped him dead in his tracks. Within seconds, his expression betrayed him, and within a few more, he was on his knees, his legs giving way in disbelief of the sight that lay before him. It was little Lord Larsa, looking just as he did when last Noah laid eyes on him, perfect as can be.

He knew he should say something, but words betrayed him as well as his own legs had. Instead, he merely stared, the absence of his helm serving to display to the boy all the shock, confusion, and relief at seeing him standing there. Finally, he forced out the only two words he felt he could say without falling apart.

"My lord..."

[tarnishedxknight]

His pretty face... Noah had never liked being seen as attractive before he came to this time period, but somehow Leah had made it a positive thing. It was rather amusing the way her co-workers fawned over him whenever he showed up, though there was only one woman he wanted that sort of attention from. While he remained polite and gracious with the other women who worked at the diner, he reserved his affections for Leah only. Perhaps many negative things could be said of Noah and his actions, especially in his past, but one thing no one could ever accuse him of... was being unfaithful to a lover or having a wandering eye.

"Surely you jest," Noah said, a small sliver of playfulness creeping into his tone, only for a moment. "Do they really say such things?" He found that hard to believe, because he thought himself an fairly intolerable person to be around. Then again, Leah certainly always tolerated hm well.

By the time they reached her apartment, Noah was in that special sort of negative mood in which he felt like punishing himself. Sitting there in cold, wet clothes seemed like the thing to do at that moment, for he didn't feel like he deserved to feel warm, dry, or loved. He just felt so badly for making such a scene at Leah's place of work, and he didn't understand why she wasn't angrier with him.

His eyes closed as she stroked his cheek. "I may need them, but do I deserve them?" he said of the warm clothes and hugs. Do I deserve you? was what he was really asking. Before he realized it, he was explaining to her the real reason why he'd been so eager to go to the diner and make sure she was okay. "I... I've lost everyone. Everything. Sometimes... a fear rises up in me... that I may lose you as well..."

Despite this dark sentiment, he proceeded to let Leah help him out of his wet clothes and tend to him as she wished. He knew that would make her feel better, even if he didn't deserve her care.

Have you been waiting long? (Leah to Noah)

@mxrvelouscreations

Sometimes it was difficult for Noah to sit in Leah's apartment and wait for her to return home from work. There wasn't much for him to do there, and going from having such a hectic military schedule to having nothing whatsoever to do all day long was taking its toll on him. At the same time, he didn't want to bother her or keep her tied up with him while she had work to do. At times like these, he often made his way back to the diner and simply waited outside it. That in itself helped him to feel better, knowing she was nearby.

On this particular day, however, Noah had stood outside for a very long time after Leah was kept late. To add insult to injury, it had begun to rain after a while, and Noah was drenched, left to pace slowly outside the diner, careful not to scare away any customers. By the time Leah emerged, he looked like a lost, soaked puppy, sad face and all.

He nodded at her question, the rainwater dripping from his hair and chin. "I missed you," he said by way of his only explanation for his behavior, hoping that his loneliness and desire to be with her wouldn't scare her away from him.

[tarnishedxknight]

Although Soryn had spent the whole of his life in Dalmasca, technically speaking, he had traveled a great deal to fight in the war. He'd seen how foreigners were sometimes treated cruelly in different lands, or how they struggled to adjust when they were forced to flee war torn areas. He knew how hard it was to be away from home and in a strange land. Wanda must have felt it even more, having some to a foreign kingdom with such expectations placed on her shoulders.

"Perhaps you were always special, but it is only now that people are beginning to take notice," Soryn said with a warm smile. "If you ever feel overwhelmed, I am sure His Majesty would permit you to take a leave of rest. Especially since you have only just arrived a short time ago, I am sure he would understand that you are still adjusting." Hearing that she was happier because of him, however, made his smile grow even more. "As I am for knowing you as well," he said reverently. "I wonder if you realize how much you have changed my life in so short a time. I am glad to have made you happier, Wanda. I shall endeavor always to do so."

And I don't even know who I used to be. (Soryn)

Soryn was sorry to hear Wanda speaking this way, for it sounded as if she was in a bit of crisis with herself, but he understood it. If he'd ever left Dalmasca to begin a new life elsewhere, he too would have had to reinvent himself considerably and would miss the person he'd been. Would he forget who he used to be? Maybe not, but it'd seem emotionally distant from who he'd become, most likely. Having transplanted herself to Dalmasca after living her life elsewhere, Wanda was no doubt going through that exact same thing.

"Do you like who you are now? Are you happy here?" he asked. "If so, then perhaps that is why you feel so detached from who you used to be. Maybe it need not be such a bad thing, but rather, it only means you are growing as a person," he suggested, trying to both reassure her and get her to see her metamorphosis in a different light.

[tarnishedxknight]

There it was again, her saying she wasn't afraid of him. He wondered why, and more importantly, he wondered why she'd say that when she knew she hadn't experienced... all of him. She didn't know what he was like as a lover, and he could be... unpredictable. Sometimes he could be a little rough, a little bit... alpha, and not even he knew why. Maybe it was because most of his experiences of a sexual nature up until a certain point in his life had been... horrible. Non-consensual or done out of necessity. So now when he engaged in that sort of thing willingly, he had a hard time regulating his emotions. He never learned how to be vulnerable without feeling like he was in danger.

Except with Drace, but she was gone now, and Noah had been so sure she was a fluke. He'd lost his one chance at someone who could handle him, someone who could understand why he was so erratic sometimes and not be put off by it. Never again would he ever be that understood by someone, he thought, and it made him just fold in on himself. And then... Wanda had come into his life, and like someone relighting a candle that had been extinguished so long ago it had dust upon it, he started to hope that maybe he could have a second chance.

But always there was that fear that, if they ever did get to the level of becoming lovers, Wanda would finally realize that she'd gotten in over her head. That Noah really was someone she didn't want to be with. So he'd kept that side of him locked up tight and tried to avoid how much he wanted her. Cold showers helped sometimes, but at others her very presence got him going. The way she smiled, her little touches, the sound of her voice. The way she looked at him. If he wasn't careful, he was going to end up really embarrassing himself.

And now she was close enough to kiss and caress him and he found himself hoping that this odd modern fabric called denim would be able to contain him well enough to spare his dignity. "The illusions that I am some knight in shining armor, and not a beast with blood stains that will never wash away," he said. "Have you ever thought that if you had known me in my native time, that I might very well have been someone you never would have thought or wanted to associate with?" he asked as his hands found her hips.

[ I want to be ] That bit of fuel to your fire, stoke your desire. (Noah)

"And you are not in the least bit afraid of what you might experience if you do? What you might... uncover... in me?" Noah asked. Wanda already did stoke his desire, but they'd only known each other for a few months. Surely when she got to know him better, when she saw who he really was at his core and what he was like when he let go, she would back away. Although, in just that short amount of time, Wanda already knew a lot about him. She'd somehow gotten him comfortable enough to discuss many sensitive topics with her and to show her his vulnerable side. But surely fire, desire, passion... those things would be too much for her. Wouldn't they?

[tarnishedxknight]

you are unworthy of the loved ones you have betrayed

[tarnishedxknight]

GERALT OF RIVIA and YENNEFER OF VENGERBERG Netflix’s The Witcher ‧ The Invitation

[tarnishedxknight]

“She struggled with her sadness, but tried to conceal it, to divide it into smaller and smaller parts and scatter these in places she thought no one would find them.”

— Nicole Krauss

[tarnishedxknight]

{out of dalmasca} Okay, I finished my replies I owed for my RE blogs a bit early tonight so I'm going to try to get some things done here. I'm actually in more pain with my teeth tonight than I was last night, but for some reason I'm just... pushing through it? I don't get how my brain works, honestly, haha. But yeah, so I'm motivated, and I'm gonna get a snack and some tea and then be here for the next hour or two before bed. =)

[tarnishedxknight]

{out of dalmasca} Ugh, sorry guys, I tried to get things done tonight, but it didn't happen. I'm frustrated because there are so many threads I want to write but I'm still dealing with tooth pain. My anxiety was so distracting earlier and now it's causing me to crash hard. I can't keep my eyes open, unfortunately. I'm not sure what to do, since I don't want to leave it this way, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to make up the time. I'd love to continue here tomorrow (7/19), since this is where most of my muse is, but I'll be on my RE blogs instead. They're only scheduled every two weeks, so I shouldn't skip them. I'm not sure I'll be able to be here Sun (7/20) either, especially if my teeth get worse. So... hmm. I guess... I'll see how the weekend goes and fit in some replies here whenever I can. Sorry I can't be more specific, but the plan was to do a lot tonight and I screwed that up, heh. Things just might be weird until I can get my tooth issue addressed. For now, I sleep. Goodnight!

[tarnishedxknight]

Tony wasn't about to push the kid to talk if he didn't want to. Larsa seemed like a really serious little guy, someone who had to grow up way too fast, and although that made Tony a bit sad, he wasn't about to get involved. He'd really done enough damage to this family already in the past twenty-four hours. But soon Larsa spoke up on his own, and Tony once again gave him his undivided attention.

"Well... you're welcome, but I wasn't trying to be kind. Your dad really was that messed up that you weren't here. Trust me, I'm not the kind of person to go around emphasizing emotional attachments that aren't there, it's not my style. I usually run the other way from attachments." A light joke, perhaps, but one in support of his point. "Which... is a bad thing to do, by the way, so don't get any ideas," he added, pointing his finger a bit in emphasis.

As Larsa continued on for a bit, Tony took it all in. It made a lot of sense that this kid would think he was the center of the universe, he was a prince of some kind, after all. I mean, look at that Ashelia girl. She's got an ego on her bigger than the entire Atlantic coastline... Royals were raised in a different world, no matter where in the world they actually were. They were detached from the struggles of most of society and consumed by the minutiae of their very privileged and nuanced existence. Privileged, yet also somehow limited and isolating. He thought about all this as he listened to Larsa, realizing that this poor kid had never considered before that he might not be the center of the universe. That wasn't his fault, as Tony saw it, but the fault of however raised him. Again, not something he was about to put into words right now.

Tony smiled, albeit pensively, when Larsa said he hadn't considered that Noah had been struggling. "Parents are people too. And people aren't perfect, not by a longshot. Once you stop expecting them to be, you start loving their imperfections even more." At least that's what had happened to him on a number of occasions. Too bad he'd never quite been able to apply that one bit of wisdom to his own father, though.

He realized now that that's what the thanks had been for earlier, as Larsa explained further. Helping him see things from a different perspective. It was then that Tony realized just what a sharp little guy Larsa was. He didn't want coddling and pleasantries, he wanted real talk. Honesty. Transparency. Good luck getting that from that grumpy, standoffish ol' dad of yours, he thought. And that made three things he wasn't going to actually say to the kid.

Larsa did not expect to be unfrozen at all, let alone in the future. When he had snuck upon Gabranth's ship set for Pharos he did it to ensure the peace would be possible. The last thing he remembered was running towards fallen Gabranth and then... Light. (Marvel AU) - tarnishedxjudgement

@tarnishedxjudgement

Noah didn't have the same abilities and resources in this time period with which to inform himself of anything and everything that was going on around him. He was in the dark, most of the time, unless directly informed of things, a condition he hated. Being at the mercy of others he neither knew nor trusted for information was not a position he usually found himself in.

It was the reason he hadn't known about Drace being found after him until she was brought one day to the training compound. Inexplicably, after executing her in his own timeline, here she was again, seemingly from another. The entire experience was wholly jarring, but not nearly as jarring as losing his only son.

So often had Noah thought of Larsa in the months following his revival in this strange time. Thoughts invaded his peace, his sleep, his ability to function, until he found himself so erratic and unhinged that he did not recognize himself anymore. Even Drace found it difficult to comfort him, and she had always been a master of that feat. There was no closure to be had, no second chances, no going back... and that knowledge was eating Noah alive from the inside out.

But once again, information had been kept from him, and yet another arrival from Ivalice to the Avengers compound was neither expected nor necessarily wanted. Would it be another Dalmascan? Gods forbid a Rozarrian. And the way the people of this time seemed to think that all Ivalicians got along and would be happy to see each other was beyond irritating to him. Nevertheless, when he was specifically summoned to greet this newcomer, Noah begrudgingly left his quarters to do so.

What he saw... stopped him dead in his tracks. Within seconds, his expression betrayed him, and within a few more, he was on his knees, his legs giving way in disbelief of the sight that lay before him. It was little Lord Larsa, looking just as he did when last Noah laid eyes on him, perfect as can be.

He knew he should say something, but words betrayed him as well as his own legs had. Instead, he merely stared, the absence of his helm serving to display to the boy all the shock, confusion, and relief at seeing him standing there. Finally, he forced out the only two words he felt he could say without falling apart.

"My lord..."

[tarnishedxknight]

When the girl said she talked like her dada, Ashelia straightened a bit with curiosity. "Is your father Dalmascan? That is where I am from, the Kingdom of Dalmasca," she offered. Myra had the look of a Dalmascan, in a way, though her skin was even a bit paler than that. Almost like... Ashe looked down at her arm and then at the girl's. As pale as someone of Dynast blood. Curious, that. Though, it made her a bit sad to think about the girl's parents, for what if they were never found? Hopefully they would be, but... that seemed like such a longshot.

Hearing that the little chocobo plushie's name was Kupo made Ashe giggle. "Kupo? Like that funny little word the moogles say? How precious," she said with a big smile. "You know... I can tell you love your little doll very much. And "kupo" is a word the moogles use for almost everything. It has so much meaning for them, in so many ways. I think it's fitting, then, that your doll be named that, because it means so very much to you," she said sweetly.

Her dada made the seat? Oh, the saddle. It did look like a very well-crafted item, especially simply to be place don a plushie. "Your dada is very talented. Does he work with leather a lot?" she asked, trying to get the girl to talk about things and people who might be a comfort to her. Sitting around and brooding over one's troubles was never good for anyone to do, Ashelia knew from experience.

"Really? That's so exciting!" Ashe said, eye wide with that sort of exaggerated excitement one adopted when they were trying to positively engage a child. "I rode chocobos myself when I was younger, but I've never raced them. That must be so much fun!" She'd started riding them again more recently too, on her quest to regain a throne that no longer existed, but she didn't want to delve into that topic at all. Not when the girl was missing her parents so.

Oh, it was so cute the way the girl announced that her little Kupo went with her everywhere. Did Ashelia remember what it was like to be so little, so sweet? She wasn't sure. It seemed like her childhood was so far away from her now, lost behind many sad and dark years. She knew she was too young to be so jaded and bitter, but she couldn't help the way she felt. Nevertheless, she smiled brightly for Myra. "Oh, I see. Well, you hug him close, and he will keep you safe. And do not worry... Your secret is safe with me," she said with a wink.

@tarnishedxknight - continued from here

It was strange, because while Myra was certain she'd never seen this woman before, she felt... familiar, somehow. Not just in the sense that she had seen her before, but in the sense that she knew her. But, maybe she had seen her before, and she just couldn't remember her. Was she a friend of her parents? Was this Drace? Her mother had talked about her before and told her that she was someone she could trust - she and Gabranth, if it ever came to it - though the people here didn't mention either of them. They only mentioned Ashelia, Basch, and Noah, and... she didn't know any of them.

But that familiarity kept Myra still as the woman crouched beside the chair she was sitting in, and she sniffled again as she blinked at her with teary eyes. So she was Ashelia, and for a moment, Myra perked up slightly at the mention of Ashe. That was her name! Well, her middle name, but still. Should she mention that? She wanted to, but she was quickly distracted by Ashelia's accent. Was that why she seemed so familiar?

"You talk like Dada," Myra whispered rather innocently, though the way she said it was rather vague. She didn't know how to phrase that they had the same accents, really, and it almost sounded like she meant her father spoke as kindly as Ashelia did, which was true. Yet, she didn't go into that, either, aside from her small comment, and wiped at her nose with another sniffle. Somehow, Ashelia was already a great comfort to her, despite having just met, but who was to argue when it meant the poor girl didn't feel scared anymore?

At the mention of her chocobo, her little gaze lit up, and she shyly held out her plush for Ashelia to see it better. On it was a little leather saddle, clearly an addition after the plush had already been made, but it fit well despite not being attached to its body. "Kupo!" she said, her voice a little stronger, now, as she sat a little straighter. Oh, how Myra was always happy to talk about her plush. "Mama got him! An' Dada made the seat!" The seat, the saddle - close enough. She sniffled again and rubbed at her eye with her free hand, the other still holding onto Kupo, but she was already more chipper than she had been a few moments ago. "He a racer like Mama!"

Because Gylfie had told Myra stories about the few times she had ridden and helped train racing chocobos, and those had always fascinated Myra. She'd never ridden one before, she was too small to ride alone and there weren't really any where she lived, but she wanted to. But... Gylfie hadn't ridden in years, and what she said of her mother painted a different picture than the life she actually led. Not that Myra understood that, because it made sense in her mind, and she was convinced that Ashelia knew her parents, so she'd know exactly what she was saying.

Myra pulled Kupo back into her lap, and fiddled with his saddle. "He go with me e'erywhere." She rather firmly, as if deciding that was final, but then hesitated, and covered his head with her hands. She leaned close to Ashelia, her expression serious, her tears beginning to dry, and whispered, "He not real, though, but don' tell."

[tarnishedxknight]

Xenos wasn't embarrassed by things like nudity, because his species didn't even have a concept of that. Without bodies, one was never self-conscious, and without any sort of societal shame drummed into him with regard to being unclothed, he didn't know that he should feel an obligation to remain so. It was more that he didn't like the reactions he got when he was nude. It would be so much more comfortable to be that way all the time, albeit a bit dangerous, given the vulnerability of the human body, but it wasn't worth it when humans reacted so adversely to it. "Alright," he agreed. Maybe Wanda would be different and wouldn't mind it so much?

"I am sorry that you do not feel welcomed by some," Drace said. "As prevalent as magic is in Ivalice, there are still many who do not trust it, perhaps with good reason in some cases. And unfortunately, the Archadian Empire has always been extremely xenophobic. Foreigners are trusted even less than magic users on average. Given time, though, I think everyone here will come to respect you." Hopefully, though she knew many would likely end up fearing her instead. She didn't mention that, though, since it was clear that it was worrying Wanda.

"I... actually doubt Gabranth and myself have other more important things to attend to at this moment," Drace said with a dire air. "If this involves Lord Vayne and Dr. Cid, then this is of the utmost importance." As she listened to the little that Wanda did know, she could discern from it Gabranth's line of reasoning, and now knew why he looked so gray when he'd come to her. "I see," she said. "It is not my place to divulge the nature of the relationship between His Excellency and his son, but... they differ, ideologically. By a great deal. Any... upset... in the balance of their dynamic could... tip the scales towards something... unlawful." It was the best she could do to explain without having the authority to simply come out and say it.

"All we can do now is wait for Gabranth to return and tell us what His Excellency expects from us now," Drace said, hating that she was included in those who must wait instead of those actually out working to solve the problem. She knew there was no one solution to this, though. This was going to require some political and legal gymnastics to work through.

Drace did notice the way Xenos rolled his shoulders, though, having the look of one who was uncomfortable at best, if not outright injured despite his response to the contrary. "Are you certiain...?" she asked, but soon Wanda was asking the same.

Xenos turned to Wanda. "No. No pain. But..." He rolled his shoulder again and winced. "Un-... uncom... fortable. Heals... too tight," he complained.

"Scars, you mean?" Drace asked.

Xenos looked to her. "Yes," he said with a nod.

"Who are you? I do not believe we have met." (for Xenos because reasons)

It had been Gabranth's duty to show the Emperor's new sage around the palace and the capital city, helping to familiarize her with important locations she may need to know during her stay. If she was to assist His Eminence with war strategies and grant him advice on what direction to take the Empire in the future, she would need to know what was going on there. Thus, one of the stops on their tour was the Draklor Laboratory.

The Laboratory was a massive seventy-floor building within which all sorts of research important to the Empire was conducted. Everything from airship design, to weapons development, and magical pursuits were studied there, and at some of the topmost floors were the offices and lab of Dr. Cidolfus Demen Bunansa, known by most as Dr. Cid. He was not only the head researcher of Draklor Laboratory, he was also the chief writer of science, technology, and magical policies for the Archadian Imperial Army, which funded the Laboratory. Dr. Cid was also one of Vayne Solidor's main go-tos for secret nethicite research serving the prince's agenda.

Gabranth took Wanda up to Dr. Cid's offices, but the man was not there. This was typical, for Cid was always something of a free spirit, and he often went out in search of materials for his experiments. He took Wanda on to see Cid's laboratory anyway, explaining to her that this was where the Empire was attempting to safely study the effects of nethicite. Even as he said it, though, he scarcely believed his own words. Cid was anything but safe. If rumors were true, and Gabranth had at least some evidence in support of them, then Cid's might was slowly beginning to slip. Regardless, Gabranth gave Wanda a superficial look at the lab, for she mostly just needed to know where it was, in case she needed to talk to Cid at some point, and not so much its intricate inner workings.

When she seemed to stop by a rather ornate looking set of double doors - doors with a strong magical ward for a locking system - Gabranth was soon tasked with explaining that, no, Cid did not experiment on living beings. His research was mostly chemical, magical, and technological. He wondered why Wanda would fixate on the doors and ask such a question, but none of his spies or his own reconnaissance had indicated that Cid was experimenting with live creatures. "It may be a storage room for nethicite or other highly dangerous magical components," he explained, feeling the Mist within him stirring, and not just because of the magical lock on the doors. In his mind, that was the only explanation that made sense.

Oh, but there was a living being inside the room, and he was quite tortured, frightened, and sad. His emotion was so thick and heavy, it came off him in waves to one who was even mildly empathetic like Wanda. Even through a magically locked door, the imprisoned and enslaved being Xenos gave off a heartbreaking and desperate amount of suffering that permeated the room and even beyond it. His magical power also branched out into his surrounding environment, even magically bound such as he was.

When Wanda returned later without Gabranth, that same energy and emotion was apparent the moment she got within the near vicinity of the doors. For someone with magic as unique and versatile as Wanda, the magical locking glyph placed on the door was certainly no match. Once the doors were unlocked and opened, a sorrowful sight met her eyes.

The room was bare, sterile, with no sign of warmth or kindness. A marble floor, two pillars made of a different type of stone, and a man kneeling between them, slumped where he sat, a mess of chains tethering him to the pillars. He was barefoot and shirtless, wearing only a pair of linen pants and a tattered cloak, the hood of which was draped over his head. His wrists were shackled, connected to chains that were rooted in the stone pillars on either side of him. Those shackles were then also chained to a third shackle around his neck. Small glowing glyphs of warding, suppression, and control glowed on each of the shackles.

When Wanda entered the room, Xenos slowly lifted his head, feeling her presence even if he hadn't heard her first. Her magic was significant, he could feel it, but he didn't know who she was. Was she here to hurt him? Probably. Everyone else here was. He shakily rose to his feet and backed away slowly, until the chains pulled taut and he couldn't go any further. Trembling and a bit folded in on himself, Xenos stood there, clearly afraid of Wanda.

He was very lean, probably too thin for a man of his height. And there was an unnatural blackness to his hands and feet, continuing up his arms and likely his legs too if they could've been seen under his pants, until it brightened into a bronze skin tone. Red glowing eyes could be seen peeking from underneath his hood.

Her question, though... was strange. Usually people just came in and started ordering him around, inflicting pain with magic if he did not comply. They didn't usually want to chat with him, or ask his identity. Did she not know who he was? Was she not told? If she didn't know, then why was she here? Maybe she wasn't here to hurt him after all.

Xenos slowly moved to one of the pillars, his left arm being harshly pulled in the direction of the other pillar by the short chain even as his right hand softly touched the pillar before him. He huddled against the stone, partially obscuring himself with it, feeling safer when he wasn't standing entirely out in the open. "Xenos..." he answered her, his voice a raspy whisper from lack of use. "I... am Xenos..."

[tarnishedxknight]

The light in the dark.