002 ★ video + action [backdated 4/30]

[scourgingstars]

[video]

You were all terribly overdramatic to warn me so much about that delightful little party. Why, I haven't been to such a lively event in ages, I can scarcely wait to do it again.

[That cheerful broadcast came from...somewhere in a tree, the Pokegear perched in such a way to show Ardyn presumably sitting on a branch, a bottle in his hand. One probably hopes it's actually grape juice, for his and everyone else's sake. One is probably wrong.]

But I'm no less convinced this is my own personal hell. [Said with a smile before taking a drink from the bottle in his hand.] This ridiculous state of affairs is enough to drive me mad twice over! How do any of you tolerate this absurd humanity?

[Asking a question both rhetorical and a little weird, Ardyn rolled his eyes.]

No matter, I suppose. It's occurred to me that I forgot myself when last I spoke, and utterly failed to give a proper introduction. [He lifted the half-empty bottle slightly in a casual affectation of a toast.]

You may call me Ardyn. Ardyn Lucis Caelum is my name, and take care not to forget it, if you would.

[action; violet city]

[April 30th fell on a Friday this year, unluckily enough.]

[Unluckily, because the tree Ardyn was in gave him a good view of the city's gym--and of the gym leader himself, a man in blue with short hair in the midst of performing his scheduled falconry exhibition. He'd been hoping to just get a look at the ostensible competition in this city, but...]

[Ardyn knew immediately what the problem was, and just as swiftly decided he didn't care. Through no fault of the leader's own he had decided on sight that he just despised Falkner. And there was only one thing to do about that now that he'd made that conclusion.]

...Rakshasa. [The Zorua curled up on the branch next to him perked up, tail wagging in excitement. Ardyn hopped down from the tree, his partner following to land on his shoulder.] Let's resume training. I think we've a leader to dethrone.

[There were worse ways to spend one's birthday after one had long since stopped counting.]

Comments

Video

[cyan_maid]

Ah, well, some people don't really consider that sort of thing fun, honestly...

[Jane only responds because he's mentioned Prom, and, well, she's always in need of witness testimony.]

Normally it's not something I get super fussed over, either! I mean, after the fact, at least. During the mayhem, there's a lot of pressure to make sure to keep your wits together and protect those who aren't strong enough to take a threat head-on. This time it's just...Rockets. Again.

[A pause.]

And the method of which everything culminated. It...from what I'm hearing, it wasn't...something that was okay in the least.

[Great way to swerve around explaining your newly-gained triggers, Jane.]

I'm assuming that since you commented on how lively it was, that you were in the ballroom? I hadn't gone in myself...would you mind sharing what you saw?

[scourgingstars]

Some people are frightfully boring.

[Ardyn, please.]

What I saw? Well, it's quite simple--once the contest drew to a close it was interrupted by several uninvited guests--some manner of possession, I suppose, as the handful of those they attached to were acting quite odd indeed. That was about when the doors locked and all that noise started up outside.

[cyan_maid]

...Definitely possession, then? It...mm.

[Give her a second to think.]

I know ghosts can do that here, but with how persistent they were that we all wear masks, I have to wonder...if that might have been either a catalyst or something that could be blamed as a catalyst.

[scourgingstars]

Possibly. I've little experience with such a thing, so I can't speak with confidence on it.

[cyan_maid]

That's still more than I knew before, and a possibility worth thinking about.

[Team Rocket's got a lot going on, it seems. Some powerful new toys? Or just people creative enough to think up different ways to use abilities already present?]

[scourgingstars]

Perhaps so, but possession as a distraction for what seems like petty theft? What an odd set of priorities.

[cyan_maid]

They're Team Rocket, they are nothing if not incredibly odd. And...well, I'd call stealing from one person a petty theft, and attempting to steal a whole lot of stuff from a rich couple during a big event definitely a planned heist. They usually steal Pokemon from people, too, so that's a big issue - I'm pretty sure to them, the rarer and more powerful a Pokemon, the higher a mark it is.

[video]

[paladinlost]

You would use that name openly in this world? How wonderful! Luckily for you, Noct has been gone for years now; few people still remember him enough to ask questions.

[Surprisingly, Cecil is 100% sincere when he says this! However, his expression quickly grows amused.]

That said, you'll have to get used to the humanity. It may be imposed upon you for a few more years still, and the local definition is particularly strict.

[scourgingstars]

It's my name, and was so long before Noct even existed. [He snapped that a little more coldly than the smile on his face indicated.]

And am I supposed to know you? Because you seem to know a great deal about me, my puppeteered friend.

[paladinlost]

Ah, I suppose not. Our little... conversation, while that Yamask did its best to take over my brain, made it very clear that you either have forgotten about that lovely business with Materia and Spiritus, or that you've not yet lived through it. Or possibly that you've forgotten their first little spat, but have not gone through their second.

[A beat, as Cecil quickly tries to mentally untangle that particular series of events and just as quickly gives up.]

Forgetting might be the healthiest option, mind you. Time and dimensional travel are confusing enough without divinely-mandated memory manipulation, truly.

[scourgingstars]

Forgotten-? I've forgotten nothing, dear child, I am very decidedly dead. Whatever mad events you believe you know me from, I know nothing of it.

[paladinlost]

Death meant nothing, in the gods' world. The crystals' power did not allow it. Dozens of warriors, young and old, were brought there to 'rest' even after they'd passed. One or two were even extremely angry about it, as I recall.

[Which is as much thought as he's willing to give Seymour at the moment. He shrugs.]

Forgetting is always a possibility, when a crystal needs memories to sustain itself. Noct did insist he still had to go home and die, and warriors from a single world were often summoned from the same time period.

[scourgingstars]

Likely because he did, but never mind that.

[Ardyn scowled and narrowed his eyes; he couldn't very well call Cecil a liar when he already clearly knew things he shouldn't have otherwise.]

So it's the same principle as this gods-awful place, in that regard.

[paladinlost]

So he did. I do hope it was relatively quick and painless for you both, in the end.

[That is all he can hope for, at this point.]

More or less. Taken from our homes without warning, at the whims of unfamiliar gods... but we were allowed to keep our weapons and magic, with the expectation that we'd regularly beat each other up. Or beat monsters up. Or beat the local eidolons up. If I ever see Ifrit or Bahamut again I may well scream.

[scourgingstars]

I wouldn't know, I went rather decidedly ahead of him. I've had worse, at least.

[He rolled his eyes, taking another drink from the bottle in his hands.]

Do not speak to me of the Draconian, for my sole regret is failing to wring his colossal neck with my bare hands. Ifrit was at least decent company. [A sigh.] Is there really no hope of returning our weapons to us, at least? I was rather attached to my sword.

[paladinlost]

That is not a particularly comforting thought, by most standards.

[He sighs in turn; the complete absence of his weapons has always been a sore point.]

No hope at all, I'm afraid. Well, you might be able to- [Here he makes a gesture that might, interpreted generously, represent the Armiger.] -during those strange weekends about twice a year, but they only last a few days at a time and no one can remember them entirely clearly.

[scourgingstars]

...I see. This realm certainly does delight in torturing me, and here I thought I'd had far more than I deserved of that already. Truly, the gods work in horribly malicious ways.

[paladinlost]

A god's carelessness and lack of understanding can be even more damaging than mere malice, I've found. What can a giant llama truly understand, when it comes to people?

[Not that he's particularly affected by Arceus' carelessness and lack of understanding.]

If you do not find the local conditions suitable, you could always try bribing Arceus, should it ever show itself before us again. It likes sandwiches.

[scourgingstars]

I shall do no such thing. Bowing and paying tribute to the divine, have you no self-respect? I’ve done more than enough for the will of the gods, and I will waste no such effort here.

[paladinlost]

I suggested offering it sandwiches, not your eternal devotion.

[Not that he can truly disagree with the sentiment, considering the few words Noct said about their world's gods.]

Mind you, if I absolutely had to pick one deity to worship I would easily choose Arceus over most of the other gods I've met. Thankfully, no one has yet demanded it.

[scourgingstars]

I see no difference, and I doubt the blessed Astrals of this world or my own would care. Better to err on the side of caution and reject them outright, lest one gets the bright idea I might care.

[paladinlost]

Indifference and rejection are no protection against divine whims, as our very presence here proves.

[He's not as upset as he could be about that, but.]

But if they've done nothing to earn your appreciation, I suppose they do deserve both. Certainly, blindly following gods who have not proven themselves is a terrible idea.

[scourgingstars]

And if either gives the same result, I would sooner make my displeasure known. Heavens forbid I should be mistaken as someone who cares for their desires. I'm certainly not about to turn into some devout follower--'fool me once', as the saying goes.