victory_road | Open and Closed prompts

Entry tags:

Open and Closed prompts

Who: Hythlodaeus and YOU
When: July, on a Wednesday
Where: Around Goldenrod
Summary: Hythlodaeus is making friends and learning sign language :)
Rating: Mature. I don't trust Hythlodaeus' friends.

Painting Portraits

[His dear friend and house mate has tried to impart the value of a dollar on Hythlodaeus, and that they need way more of them. To his credit, he is trying now. Armed with several sheets of nice paper and a set of water colors, he's seated on the ground with a little sign advertising that he will paint a portrait of you and your pokemon.]

[There is no price listed, and while he's not painting a portrait, he will be doing little paintings of muscular, anthropomorphic horse men. They are very, very good]

Menacing the Radio Tower

[After his little lunch date, Hythlodaeus finds himself a little bit at a loss. He still has his art supplies, and he's still mad... So maybe he just needs to work off a little energy. If you're coming or going from the Radio tower, he will affix you with an intense stare for several seconds before looking down at his paper and drawing... a terrifyingly photo realistic portrait of you.]

Steven

[On the very worst Wednesday after a particularly terrible weekend, Hythlodaeus is at the right place at the right time, though not quite looking like himself. He seems to have left his mask and robe at home, instead wearing a simple short sleeve button down and a pair of khaki chinos.]

[He still stands out, a lot, since he's still eight feet tall with long white hair, but hey! At least everyone doesn't think he's a ghost now. He's just a werid guy standing there with a couple of cutieflies buzzing around him. He seems to be spacing the fuck out, staring at some far off point as he stands and waits.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Overcoming your fear is a proper and noble pursuit.

[He remembers, when he first arrived in Goldenrod, he had mentioned a sister in the past tense. He hadn't wanted to pry then.]

...He surely is ashamed. If not for his tempering, I doubt that he would have been able to stomach... [He trails off, his hands landing on the table. They hadn't spoken about this. He should technically not really know anything about it. But there were odd circumstances.]

Many others have told me that I would be disgusted with his thoughts and actions, and that may be true. But thoughts and actions are simply that, they are not the person himself. And I truly believe any person can change, given that his needs are met.

It is. And if I am going to be part of the Court of Fear, then I ought to understand my own.

[His hands pause for a few moments before he adds,]

That's... a very forgiving attitude to take. Is that why you decided to punish me by blackmailing me into meeting with you?

And-- what is tempering?

[ Court of Fear sounds like some straight bullshit that if he engages with he’s gonna be back at square one. He tucks that into the back of his mind to round back to. ]

This isn’t meant to be punishment. I meant what I said. I want to be friends. You may see it as punishment, but... I do truly believe that people all have more in common than not.

[ He shrugs. ]

Tempering is the natural product of raising a Primal. You saw Amaurot, did you not—

[ His hands slow as he recalls. ]

Wait, that’s right. You put my body after the First Doom. I did not die then. It was only after they dealt with the Third Doom— As you had seen, the laws of nature had become reversed.

To fix this, we decided to summon a primal. [Which he fingerspells, then signs as “manufactured god”] Half of us gave our souls, and those thirteen, Emet-Selch included, conducted the summoning.

The summoners became tempered to His will so that He could fulfill our people’s prayers. Emet-Selch, [H-spirit] does not have his own will anymore.

Edited 2020-07-08 02:10 (UTC)

What--?

[It's not signed. He's too startled to remember to sign.]

No... you have to be... oh god, you're not kidding, are you?

Fuck. Fuck.

[ Hythlodaeus almost begins to sign, but... this is important, isn’t it. His voice is soft and even.]

I speak only the truth and full seriousness... Are you alright?

That's horrific. I hate Emet and I still-- I mean, Jesus, it would be one thing for someone to screw with him and let him go. It's another thing to know that he has no will of his own.

I mean-- [He shivers.] God, if Melissa's right, my baby sister was tempered. And I don't. Even if it's someone I would be quite happy to see dead, I don't want-- Shit.

Even Emet doesn't des--

Shit.

Edited 2020-07-08 02:51 (UTC)

[Hythlodeaus' hands shake. He wants to bring them out to touch, to comfort, but he's already seen that that really doesn't work for everyone. He listens to Steven's words, they roll off of him. He's grown used to how others say these things in a panic.]

It is the conscious trade he made, though he really had no choice.

[He clasps his hands together and bows his head slightly.]

It gets... worse. If you would indulge me, if you would allow me to unburden myself this thought. I said it to Tyler, but it only made him angry... But you, I think you might understand.

[He closes his eyes for a moment to still his mind. He didn't want any of this to get away from him.]

Your sister was tempered?

More or less. She, uh, worked for a vampire. He. Well.

[Shit. He doesn't like that they're having this conversation in a public place.

He lowers his voice, leaning forward.]

Melissa says that vampires can more or less temper people by feeding them their blood. Which I know he did, because he-- I know he did it. I just don't know when. If it was more than just when he--

[Made her a vampire. God. He doesn't want to talk about that.]

He probably did though. For her to let him do what he did the time I know he fed her blood.

Fuck.

[His shoulders are shaking.]

How does it get worse?

Ah... A ritual such as that is not unknown to me. There is aether, magic, in the very blood. ...What was she made to do?

[He leans in also, since that's what they're doing. Not that anyone is probably listening to them. Maybe they are. They had been signing for the last several minutes and now they're speaking covertly. And they're quite the odd couple.]

It gets worse because I was supposed to be Emet-Selch. He was supposed to be free. I turned down the position on, on a whim, really... And he picked up the responsibility.

[He slowly unclasps his hands and reaches one out across the table for Steven to hold if he likes.]

I don't know all the details. I didn't press her. Let him turn her into one of him. That tempers you towards the one who turned you, Melissa says.

And then she got killed for good anyway six months later.

[Steven hesitates for a long moment before taking that hand.]

I understand. If I hadn't been— gone, I might have noticed her being tempered. I could have— I could have taken care of him. So he couldn't hurt her anymore.

There is so much we didn't know. And to forgive ourselves... It will take time.

[He encloses Steven's hand in his, firmly but gently, like he's holding a small, wriggling animal.]

I cannot chastise you for clinging to the past, as it is most of what I do these days...

[He frowns, genuinely, mournfully, for Steven.]

I'm the older one, so... I should have... I was careless.

[He slowly covers Steven's hand with his other one and looks at him through those droopy eyelids.]

She won't be forgotten, as long as you talk about her.

I will. I'll tell you about her, if you want. She was here, this last weekend.

[He makes a face.]

Emet flirted with her.

Hades—

[And then he covers his mouth. Oh no, oh no. His guard was down. He. Uh.]

You... Didn't hear that.

Ah, please... Proceed in talking about your sister.

I have no idea that his True Name is Greek Pluto.

[Said entirely deadpan.]

Charley... She's nine years younger than me. Mom named her for my Tio Carlos, who died the year before she was born. And she was... wonderful. Brilliant in all senses of the word. And such a good heart. She cares about everyone.

Edited 2020-07-08 04:57 (UTC)

[That is a lot of difficult concepts mashed in there, all at once, for Hythlodaeus' listening pleasure. But... It sounds like Steven won't rat him out, at least not right away.]

...Precisely.

[He slowly lowers his hands, his cheeks reddening as he extends his hansd again. Perhaps the moment has passed, or perhaps Steven will oblige him. This must be the first time he's actually been embarrassed here; it really is not easy to do. But Steven starts talking about Charley, and he's able to focus on something else.]

She sounds wonderful, I mean it... Anyone who can get along with Emet-Selch, well...

Has the patience of a saint?

...Is certainly a way of putting it that most would agree with.

[He sighs and folds his hands. Moment's passed.]

Being dead... Isn't all bad. I'm not sure if that is any consolation for you. But suffering is for the living. I've spent my life beholding the Underworld, after all.

I know it's not. My culture... has a very special relationship with the concept of death. But at the same time... I wanted to see her grow old, you know? And get married and have kids for me to be Tio Steven to. And now she'll never be any older than twenty-five.

... that's the same age my uncle was when we lost him. Which... is a rather hideous coincidence. I feel sorry for our parents.

That is... [His hands migrate to his lap as he ducks his head.] So, so young. My heart aches for you, for her, for your family.

[He peers up. He can't help his curiosity—]

And what is this relationship with death your culture has?

Mm. I suppose you'd say it's more... intimate than the other local culture where I come from? It's not that we don't fear dying, because we naturally do, but we don't believe in hiding from the concept of death. It's as much part of life as being born.

[He shrugs.]

But yeah. Charley... was really special in her way. Honestly, it should have been me who died. Not her.

...Of course it is... Wait, is there a place that isn't? For those of us with the Sight, Death is especially beautiful, the way a finished chapter of a book is. Even with your short lives, you pretend to hide from death?

[He's not trying to be mean, he's genuinely flummoxed. He looks down, then glances up, raising his hands from the table.]

How naughty of us. Friendship is not the only reason we're doing this, after all. Apologies, go on. Were you in a situation where only one of you could live?

We don't. But it's kind of an Anglo thing to hide from death. Uh, Anglos are descendants of the people who came from overseas to colonize my country after the original inhabitants died from disease. They're sort of the majority culture there.

But no. It wasn't a situation like that. I just feel like if one of us had to die it shouldn't have been her.

I realize that it must be irritating for me to be endlessly surprised and mortified by your circumstances, but that is quite where I am.

Ah, a useless sort of guilt. Derived from a thought that no one but you yourself think. Except, perhaps, one other person?

No. She wouldn't have wanted me to die in her place.

See! It is actually quite nice to be agreeable from time to time. Respect her wishes with at least that.

Edited 2020-07-09 07:21 (UTC)

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welp he's too upset to self-censor his language that's def a thing

its gonna be ok steven, somehow.

Re: its gonna be ok steven, somehow.

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