#thread : to spice up a convo

[rivclry]

♤ ; to spice up a convo

@vonvestra

Of all the people she could have been paired up with, it had to be this man.

She took a peek up at the man sitting directly across from her. Pale visage, slightly sunken cheeks, dark, broody eyes and dark wavy locks to match. There was no doubt about it, the descriptions she had heard matched him to a tee.

Hubert Von Vestra. 

All that Leonie knew about the man was that he was loyal to Lady Edelgard and wouldn’t hesitate to put any who may cause her harm in their place. Leonie wasn’t one to spread or indulge in pointless rumours, but after seeing what he looked like in person, some of the things she had heard about him certainly seemed to be a viable possibility. 

Leonie was all up for the professors’ decision to pair up students of different houses with each other during the spice festival - but this was all prior to being paired with THE Hubert Von Vestra. The ginger mentally pinched herself for thinking this would be a good idea.

She took a glance around at the other tables. Everyone else seemed to have no problem chatting and having a pleasant conversation. She peeked again at Hubert who seemingly hadn’t moved from his position since he entered the hall. Was he frozen? After making brief eye contact with him she concluded he indeed was not frozen.

Seconds turned to minutes, the clock ticking by ever so slowly as they waited for their dish. Silence lay heavy upon her shoulders, her body fidgeting slightly under the pressure of her current situation.

The air seemed to get tighter under the pressure and the ginger could no longer find herself able to keep herself quiet. What was she waiting for? She could judge his character after finding out who he was for herself.

“Y’know, I don’t think we’ve ever met before! Nice to meet ya! I’m Leonie Pinelli!”

She extended a hand in greeting towards her fellow student, cursing herself should this interaction end up hurting her later.

[giantsnweretigersnbugbearsohmy]

Wild speculation post because I guess this is who I am now, dad

Y’all is no one talking about what Chetney overheard?! We got SO MUCH detail! (Please please please feel free to add on to this)

The transcription:

Matt: You hear voices. One that, as you pick up the conversation says…

Voice 1 (possibly Vali Dertrana) : Our patron is pushing for legislation in the coming weeks, so whatever you plot must be quickened.

Voice 2: Your dullard mind fails to grasp the beautiful pattern I’ve already constructed across the city…

Voice 1 (possibly Vali Dertrana): Ira, I’m serious. Let us get this over with, that I might never deal with your cruel arrogance ever again!

Voice 2 (Ira): Then bring me some riffraff from the steps — people no one would miss — and maybe a Mahaan child just to spice things up… this next wave will-

Voice 1 (possibly Vali Dertrana): -I will most certainly not bring you a child, you freak! And only a short time longer. Finish your work and be gone from my life!

Voice 2 (Ira): Of coooourse. Once my work is done, I shall leave…*sinister chuckle*

What does this all mean? There are so many insinuations and dangling threads and clues, and now I spend the rest of my Monday night trying to piece it all together for the Tumblr critters bc it’s taken over my brain!

Setting info lampshaded in this convo to keep in mind (all taken from the wiki):

the Steps are located at the base of Jrusar, filled with outcasts and people who wish to be free of the city’s business structure

this conversation was overheard in the Moon tower, located in the Mirror Towers guild district which seems to have a strict entrance policy (business or gtfo)

the Mahaan Houses are the noble houses of the Oderan wilds. They oversee and manage the region. Nine individuals from the Mahaan housss are part of the anonymous Chandei Quorum. There seems to be mixed feelings toward these houses, with some vying for power and others trying to do good (according to Eshteross). The Hubatt Corsairs are bent on exposing the identities of the Chandei Quorum, and thus, target the Mahaan houses in many of their actions.

the Chandei Quorum is the mainly anonymous ruling body of Jrusar, and there are questions of collusion between them and the Ivory Syndicate, a criminal organization that began the trade in Ivory (a big fuckin no-no when there are Pachydan that exist ffs)

What we know (plus my wild speculation):

Vali and Ira have a secret meeting place (likely some sort of workshop, arcane or otherwise) in the Moon tower, in the Mirror Towers Guild District, which seems to be very gated, with entry allowed only for those in business. It also seems to be heavily controlled by the Treshi house, who make even Lord Eshteross edgy.

Vali and Ira are working for someone capable of pushing legislation - Aka a member of one of the ruling bodies, perhaps a member of the Chandei Quorum? The suggestion of taking a Mahaan child for whatever purposes, however, hints at a few things — the patron is *not* a member of the Quorum, or else they would likely not be ok with that request, being one of the Mahaan themselves, or they are a member and there is animosity between houses/members of the Quorum, or the patron is a member of the quorum but not a Mahaan themselves. What I’ve seen in the wiki doesn’t seem to confirm or deny whether the open lord is a Mahaan or not, which could be a point in the favour of the patron being the open lord, so to speak. However, their location and business connections with the guilds aligns them even more closely with house Treshi, and if my spidey senses are right, possibly with the Ivory Syndicate.

there’s something fucked up in the House of Treshi. One, they have their hands in more than one guild, which feels very monopoly robberbaron to me — the mason’s guild and the gold guild (which was robbed and which earned Cyrus the bounty on his head), and they’ve been present/in the vicinity near two altercations - the road crew near the Dreamscape’s modded Mimic, and the Gold Cartel theft. I’m going to go out on a limb and say they’re the family tied up with the Ivory Syndicate, and that the cartel theft was more than an inside job, it was a fucking insurance scam on behalf of the Treshi themselves, probably in conjunction with the syndicate, and Cyrus was supposed to be the fall guy for EVERYONE. Even Eshteross seems concerned and on edge with talk of them, giving the party warnings not to accuse them/get involved if they aren’t sure. These guys are BFDs - big fuckin deals (and alternately, but I think just as accurately, bad fuckin dudes).

Vali Dertrana had a coded ledger that said ‘Pay made, order, dreamset’ and ‘requested by Nightmare King. Bring Alive.’ We know Dertrana has been bringing Ira people for what I assume are experiments of an arcano-scientific nature, and that strange corruptions have been occurring for the past few weeks (Dugger). What if Ira is the Nightmare King? I know that’s the code name i’d give to the terrifying freak show that made jellymorphous DUGGER. Just sayin’. As for the pay made, it could be the automaton that was stolen from the Treshi gold cartel. Of it could be short for Payload made…the ‘order, dreamset’ I’ve not got any theories on, though it’s not out of wilds of possibility that the dreamset could be a reference to the dreamscape mimic…

the general contracting work that was supposed to have been done near the Dreamscape Theatre was apparently done by the Treshi house Mason’s Guild, which was plagued with the Spitting Mimic. There were odd orbs implanted in it’s body, one that Imogen managed to steal. This is another connection between the guilds and the odd one-off body horror encounters they’ve been dealing with, and a clue as to some sort of body modification/outside intent. The mimic was planted, and there must be reasons for it, and my guess is that they’re related to whatever nefarious doin’s a-transpirin’ in the house of Treshi, at the hands of Ira. It’s part of his ‘pattern’. I think the mimic wasn’t just eating bodies, but collecting them to be harvested from.

things are going to heat up in the next few weeks both on a political front, and in terms of whatever shadowy business is transpiring in the moon tower. I’m suspecting they’re going to hit big and in a big way, with all the suggestion that things have already been put into place. With talk of detonations, weird body horror happening, and issues in the core spire, I’m guessing that some sort of mass-transformation body-horror were-creature attack on the Chandei Quorum will happen following whatever ‘legislation’ is being pushed, for good or ill. I think all of the previous weird, body-horror encounters are related to this:

The IKEA furniture attack

Dugger and the Shade Creepers

The mimic wall at the Dreamscape Theatre

Gurge the Wildman (and possible were-creature) going missing/getting captured by Vali Dertrana, business commissioner of the Mirror Towers

Dire Wolf attacks (probably a Gurge red herring, but maybe connected to whatever is happening with Ira and the Moon Tower), burglaries, a detonation in the core spire, spirits haunting the Prakash Pyre

Dugger’s fucked-upness started 6 months ago, and was *not* connected to the Hubatt Corsairs, who didn’t know he was smuggling a Brumestone (whether this is relevant or not, I’m not sure yet…)

Neither here nor there, but I’m feeling a big flippin’ the bird energy to capitalism with the start of this campaign and just *chefs kiss* thank you Matt.

This has been downplayed, but I feel like it’s super relevant — Oshad “The Anger” Breshio was working for the Lumas twins who were killed a few weeks ago. The attack was similar to what happened to Keyleth is Zephrah — which we know from EXU has some stake or trade relationship to Residuum. The twins interests were in geology and scientific pursuits — two things we’ve seen at play recently — Brumestone and whatever strange arcano-science has so altered and corrupted Dugger. It seems odd that for those not engaged in anything ‘nefarious’ they should be killed…

gurge becomes a beast ‘when assaulted’ and the dire Wolf attacks seem to have been more than one - someone must have been assaulting gurge to cause him to go into such a state and lose control - someone who wanted him that way for their own purposes… maybe to confirm a hypothesis, or steal parts of his body and mass manufacture whatever werewolf parts of him are there, in order to create some sort of mass-mutagen bomb they can detonate on the populace and cause an attack on their political rivals in the Chandei Quorum, taking out their opposition. I can see how residuum could come into effect with that, or any sort of body mutagenic magics, but the Brumestone I’m at a loss for what purpose the smuggling of Brumestone is serving, because I don’t yet see how levitation could come into play based on these leads so far, though it could be less about the levitation, and more about the smuggling, which would once again point in the direction of the Ivory syndicate

I am making a lot of suppositions and proposing a lot of theories and tbh I just need to know what other people are making out of this insane break in the plot that we just got! What the FUCK is happening and how is it going down?! Who in the good goddamn is the Nightmare King? Why is the Guild District and House Treshi shadier than a beach umbrella?

[vonvestra]

Housekeeping

// I’ll be dropping most threads from the beach intermission, as well as from the past year. I’d rather have a clean slate moving forward so that I have more space/energy to write new things.

Additionally in lieu of a real support page, I’ve written a list of memories/relationships Hubert will be carrying over with him into this new timeline. With Edelgard at the academy and not dead, Hubert will be treating everything from the past two months as a dream. As for the memories from the past year, they’ll be conflated with the dreams as well, so Hubert won’t know exactly why he feels the way he does toward certain characters. He’ll assume that they had met sometime before arriving at the academy.

Threads

Keeping:

Family Fiends w/ @prayerwitch (my turn)

Anamorphosis w/ @vermilique (partner’s turn - closing)

Dropping:

Midnight Sun w/ @irroche [+1 Reason]

Watch and Learn w/ @minorindech

Il Capitano & Colombina w/ @agneas

Where the Ocean Meets the Land w/ @minorindech & @macnaradhaigh

Dark Roast w/ @houseofreglay

Poison or Placebo w/ @cotharach

A Second Reunion w/ @seirsvelgr

It’s a Story About Freedom w/ @irroche, @wolfhednar, & @kingoftempests

Histoires Assombries w/ @godsmercie

Return to Thy Gothic Glory w/ @fenrena

To Spice Up a Convo w/ @rivclry

Relationships

“Friends” (or Hubert’s definition of such)

Bernadetta - no longer flees at the sight of him *approved by Vivi

Constance - bonded over past schemes and hatred of Ferdinand

Edelgard - his entire world

Petra - friends since pre-academy days *approved by Paddy

Celica - respects her as royalty/sees similarities to Edelgard

Sara - unspoken bond over dark magic and being overall eccentric

Nino - doesn’t know why he feels compelled to protect her

Pent - respects him as a mage

Ewan - interested in seeing how far he takes his dark magic studies

Cynthia - doesn’t know why he feels like she’s Trouble

Caeldori - respects her as a hard worker

Selkie - doesn’t know why he feels like he can shittalk the church with her

Rivals/Enemies (either canon or have already established in past interactions)

Dorothea - doesn’t trust her

Ferdinand - bitter rival

Hilda - expects her to be the head of any rumors about him lately

Linhardt - also doesn’t trust him/doesn’t respect his entire existence

Mercedes - doesn’t trust her and doesn’t know why she’s in the Eagles

Leif - what the fuck is wrong with this kid, really

Camilla - he’s watching her and she hates it

Acquaintances/reset to base relationship

everyone else

[icharchivist]

i know last post is a joke and it's bc chikage clearly has issues and like i say that all the time that i have 0 standarts but also I'm joking when i say that :( he has a lot of fascinating elements to him and he's much better than that...

(fucktons of spoilers for act 2 underneath) (also it got long)

yeah chikage has a terrible start in the story and he sure has flaws but he's also like a chara who canonically tends to repress his trauma and i could argue that a lot of his bad traits come from that in particular and i have so much sympathy for it (even more so since he begs for help about being saved from it in his character song)

to me it's someone who's been thrown into an awful situation and coped as he could, the fact he considers truth a weakness is indication that he could never feel safe being truthful, and the circumstances of his grief really put the fact he has unhealthy coping mechanism on fire to burn the only person he still cared about.

not to mention i think there's something just to be said about his dedication to stay in the organization to protect hisoka because it's the acknowledgement that his hands are so dirty anyway that he can keep dirtying them if it means he can protect the people he loves, but like again, in his song he begs to "be saved from this fate" so i doubt it's something he's doing because he truly doesn't mind - August wanted to free him too after all, and he knew Chikage better than anyone.

and imo there's a layer of self hatred that comes with being dedicated in staying the monster. just like also in citron's arc he accepts to be "the villain" again and be hated if that's what Citron needs of him, Chikage has no fun at all about it and he doesn't even bother to lie about it either which imo shows how much he's throwing his life away for others.

not to mention his lies are also a reflexion of that - by denying others of knowing about him he's sacrificing a part of his identity to keep everyone's safe and imo the fact he was truthful to Tsuzuru about that ways before he considered the spring troupe family (and that the lie he tells tsuzuru to get him to protect himself is still based on half truth) show that it's not something he's doing out of joy and that even at his worst he still considered ways to protect those people (even if it was for something as simple as he projected August on Tsuzuru that time)

also i do think a few of his deeper lies are based on half truth which i find fascinating. the story he tells Tsuzuru clearly is supposed to evoke August and Hisoka. The lie he tells Sakyo about where he was with Izumi is based on, if you boil it down, "making things right for your sibling" which is still exactly what happened then.

also to anyone who called his lies gaslighting, please actually research what gaslighting is because it's not what he's doing. it's not a synonym for lying. gaslighting implies wanting to make their victim doubt their reality by enforcing that their recolection of an event was made up by them and remplacing said recolection by a lie. it's a manipulation tool to make people think they cannot even trust themselves. and it is a paterns, not a one off thing, because it's a form of long term abuse. Chikage always says he's lying about himself, not about what people think they know, he made it clear that people shouldn't trust what he's saying, the only "lie" he keeps up is about his identity and it's to protect everyone, even in the end he tells Sakyo that he wishes he could tell the truth but he can't share it. "Rather than fooling others, i'm better at fooling myself" as he says in his character song. also another indication than his lies are a coping mechanisms to set distance with his own feelings and keeping people from getting too close, not to manipulate others. (note also that as far as i can tell he never lied to Hisoka, ie the only person who actually knows him).

when people love or relate to a character who sees themselves as the villain, as the monster, there's deeper truth that can be unveilled for that.

and if he's honest about it, considering his thoughts on his mother and step dad(s) i think there is a deep cut into his ability to trust others because of that situation and it is so deep that it's probably more arguments on why he closed himself to this point. also i know ppl are mad at the direction this took and yeah i get it but it's a him problem, he just doesn't want to be touched and I'm still mhmmm at the amount of trust you must have lost from your parents to get to such a level of repulsion.

but without even going that deep a lot of Chikage's fans I've met are Gekka fans and they're especially emotional over his dynamic with Hisoka and his attempts to now make things right toward him. and imo part of the reason Chikage doesn't apologize (which i saw people being angry about) is because he doesn't even forgive himself for the things he's done, he's doing the right thing now because he wants to protect what he loves but i don't think he deserves to be forgiven, which is why he also tried to run away that one time, before he could have this one convo with Hisoka when they talked about their shared trauma.

(tbh add the lyrics to Scarlet Game where Hisoka says "but only i was forgiven" because he's the only one who got out of the organization in the end and allowed to move on while it acknowledge that as long as Chikage remains in the organization he is stuck unable to move on from the horrible things he has done and will do for it. Chikage is like trapped and he picked that fate to make sure Hisoka was safe but it's so sad.)

I'd also argue that considering act 2 acts in pair, with the spring and winter chapter foiling each other and summer and autumn doing so as well, Chikage's family mistrust and how it impacted him can and should be set in parallelism with Guy's situation, because both seem to have been coping with their mother's poor decisions in men and the neglect that followed in letting their kids being hurt and repressing themselves because of that and joining organization where both could be tools with a distance toward their emotions. tho that does rely on Chikage telling the truth about that one thing but so far I'd tend to believe it.

Chikage's copings are a dumpfire and it doesn't help that his grief was so raw that he just fucked up everything, but the amount of trauma that hides underneath is so compelling to me.

also lbr but i also don't trust someone who keeps a potion used to comit suicide on him at all time is someone who is completely at peace with his life. the organization likely wired in all gekka that their lives didn't matter and that they should throw it out for the organization and imo it gave them a unhealthy rapport to death. even the fact Chikage did threatens Hisoka that he "should not come back alive if August dies" the aftermath showed that it's not something Chikage seriously thought. imo i believe Chikage believed that, but when he learnt of Hisoka's death he must have felt partially responsible and realized the weight of his words. while it's an horrible thing to say the fact Hisoka rolled his eyes at it means, imo, that they were both wired in not setting values into their lives anyway. and considering how quickly Hisoka tRIED TO KILL HIMSELF i would actually bet that it extends to Chikage. i believe both of them were wired with suicidal thoughts they could easily act on. again, the fact August tempered with the potions imo really show he expected both brothers one day to kill themselves and he tried to prevent that blaming himself for it. so yeah while what Chikage told Hisoka was awful, they were probably both raised with that mindset, Chikage realized too late the weight of this mindset and has now an opportunity to fix it, but i also think it shouldn't be brushed off that Hisoka acted on it and tried to kill himself and that by all account, Chikage would have a similar thought process.

(also feel like it reflects in their character song of suicidal idealization but in different ways: Hisoka of not wanting to wake up, to keep living in a dream because reality frightens him and he's scared of himself, while Chikage's would probably be more about how he feels like he cannot be saved from his fate. that's overreading though but i think about it a lot)

ALSO (this is the fourth time I'm editing this post with an addition) his spice addiction is something to consider bc I've read a thread about it once and, it seems that, spices unleash specific chemicals that sends a pain reaction to the brain that is answered with andorphine to ease the pain and it is what brings joy out of it. Chikage eats an ungodly amount of spice which is already alarming, he mentions it's the only food he can bear to eat but it took him a long while to appreciate it, so the guy just needed Homemade Chemicals to be stable and ironically those involve pain. it also can product an addiction and we know Chikage feels it that way bc of his "I'm in spice withdraw" line and that in his vampire backstage when he tries to stop eating spice it reflects on his mood a lot, Hisoka gets alarmed by how much of a bad mood Chikage is in. so like... it's not healthy for Chikage to do that and while now he probably eats spice just to eat it and the chemical reactions doesn't do as much effect (like coffeeaddiction) it still is that Chikage had to find ways to cope with his life and now he can't really let go and it's super sad to me?

and it's honestly incredible because i started this post wanting to share very personal reasons Chikage's arc echoed with me but instead with the preface alone it's a character meta that just stands on its own, so like, feel that i feel all of that for him while also having deeply personal reasons to connect with him. (not relate tho, not... really, but connect and feel sympathy)

so yeah i know I'm also one to joke about my low standarts when it comes to how i love Chikage because he has glaring flaws but all i see is a wounded man and i feel so much for him and imo there's a lot, lot of reasons to feel sympathy for him.

so yeah i love Chikage bye.

[drunklander]

Tag Game

Thanks for the tag, @elescritora! Slash I would def like to eavesdrop on your hypothetical convo with your great-great-grandmother! :)

Rules: Always post the rules, answer the questions given to you, add 10 questions of your own and tag 10 people.

1. What do you do when you can’t sleep at night? Usually watch something very vanilla on Netflix on my phone until my brain settles down and I can fall asleep.

2. If Claire’s theory of travel is correct and you’re anchored by a person on the other side of the stones, and thinking of them can guide and direct your travel, what’s your take on how she went through in the first place? I’ve never really put much thought into that, but it seems like @gotham-ruaidh‘s endless loop theory would fit. Like she is able to find Jamie because she’s already found him and fallen in love, etc.? Or maybe the stones are like the OG Jamie x Claire shippers? Or maybe it was a happy accident? I have no clue, but I’m ok with that since I’m not really that invested in how time travel in this universe works.

3. What’s your favorite herb or spice, and why? Whatever spice makes food spicy. Any kind of spicy really, arrabbiata sauce, spicy curry, chipotle sauce...whatever spice gives food a kick. (I am the Jon Snow of knowing how cooking works. Like I can barely manage the Blue Apron recipes and they’re like the most basic ever. Like I had to take down the smoke detector in the hall by my kitchen because it just kept going off and I DON’T NEED YOU JUDGING ME, SMOKE DETECTOR!)

4. Outlander: books or show? I mean, I want both. But if I had to pick, I’d definitely pick the books.

5. Assuming reincarnation is real, what/who would you be in your next life? Oh geez. I have no idea and it’s been like 10+ years since I took that one eastern religions class to fulfill a requirement that covered the various beliefs around reincarnation and how it works so like I’d feel weird guessing because I’d probs be accidentally offensive.

6. How DOES Claire keep her hair looking so good in the 18th century? Curls are no joke. I feel like book!Claire’s hair gets more realistically wild and frizzy when they’re out roughing it? At least in my head it does. Show!Claire apparently benefits from the same magic that keeps all the Highlanders’ teeth so white and straight, haha.

7. Who is the most forgettable, yet important to the plot (so must be included), Outlander character, and why? Ugh, this is hard because like most forgettable characters aren’t actually necessary to the plot? Or like, they’re there and stuff happens with them, but that plot line and/or their role in it is easily forgettable in the grand scheme of things? Maybe Neil/Gerald Forbes? I mean, he’s around for a while, but is so forgettable that Diana apparently couldn’t even remember what she named him so his name changed for no reason and had to be retconned later that one of them is a middle name or something. *eye roll* Although off the top of my head I can’t even remember what his point was except that the main crew hates him and Ian has his ear...

8. What is your favorite children’s book? I’d be a bad Masshole if I didn’t say Make Way for Ducklings. (Rapid fire listing the ducklings’ names is maybe my most useless special skill...)

9. If Dougal had been unmarried and offered his hand to Claire to escape Black Jack (instead of Jamie’s), what would have happened? I’m guessing Claire would have kept trying to get back to the stones until she eventually succeeded? Assuming Jamie didn’t like step in and be like nope, Dougal, not gonna happen. Which I’m guessing would happen. Because it’s Jamie. So I’m guessing he would have done something that would have resulted in Claire not marrying Dougal. (*pours one out for Dougal’s afterthought-to-make-a-plot-point-work wife*)

10. Is higher education worth the cost? Totally depends on the individual.

My questions for whoever wants to play are:

If you could be best friends with an Outlander character (besides Jamie or Claire), who would it be and why?

If you were in the 18th century, would you rather be part of a Ridge-type community or live in a city like Fergus and Marsali?

Is there a character or plot thread you’d like to see (or wish had been) expanded on?

What character from the show do you think has been most “improved” on from the book version and why is it Murtagh?

Have you ever noticed anything IRL because it was related to something from the books/show that you wouldn’t have otherwise? (Like, a statue I walk by every day is of a historical figure who pops up briefly in Echo and I definitely hadn’t given it a second glance before I realized that.)

Fiery Cross has the Gathering without end even though those Scots aren’t in Scotland anymore, what tradition would you bring with you (or have brought with you) if you moved to a new place?

Trying to convince people that germs exist aside, what silly thing/phrase/concept from the present would you introduce in the past just for kicks à la Claire singing the song about beans in Fiery Cross or Bree trying to figure out how she can make pizza in Drums?

If you could give any character one piece of advice, who would it be and what would you tell them?

If circumstances and resources weren’t an issue (and ignoring the reasons why each of these was the case), would you rather stay close to home like Jenny did for most of her life or travel around like Jamie?

And, most importantly... Would you rather fight 100 Adso-sized white sows or 1 white sow-sized Adso?

[vonvestra]

She was a bold one to hold eye contact for as long as she did. Hubert found himself almost startled by it, having expected instead a murmur of an apology and an embarrassed glance away when he made no move to take her extended hand. Even if there was still a hint of discomfort in those fire-colored eyes, she held her ground better than anyone else Hubert had met. The icy hardness in his own expression began to melt away.

“I try to familiarize myself with everyone at the academy,” he explained matter-of-factly. It went without saying that it was all for Edelgard’s benefit, but for now he didn’t see an especially important reason to make that explicit. If the conversation went easier because Leonie believed Hubert was simply interested in his classmates, then that was all the better. But if she knew the rumors, then she probably had already made the connection on her own. She forged ahead anyway, and Hubert watched with guarded interest as she sat up a little straighter and announced with some pride that she didn’t like to judge others by the rumors that followed them.

“No need to apologize.” The edge in his voice had nearly smoothed away entirely, but his arms remained crossed. “I’m used to it. Frankly, I have little interest in socializing like this.”

Or at all, really. But where awkward silence could have settled in for the rest of the evening, Leonie did her best to fill it with an attempt to talk. And her questions weren’t annoying. Yet. He’d play this game for a little while, then. His eyes flickered to one of the younger knights standing near the entrance at the far end of the dining hall.

“I was coerced into attending by a member of the faculty,” he answered. “But I will admit to having a fondness for the food to be served this evening. I only wish the kitchen would hurry along...”

♤ ; to spice up a convo

vonvestra​:

The wrong place at the wrong time. So many months slipping beneath the radar of so many of his professors at last caught up with him, and one plucky member of the faculty thought Hubert’s loner tendencies to be a concern. By her urgency, Hubert could have been fooled to believe that his involvement in a social event hosted by the monastery was crucial to his survival. And it was clear that she would not accept refusal, polite or otherwise.

Hubert had other ways to avoid his insistent professors, of course. His attendance at the academy was for Edelgard, rather than his own education, so he relied on a number of skills and excuses to ensure that he could continue his work unbothered. Sliding past faculty and the Spice Festival would have been no different than all the other festivals he had chosen to avoid, except this time the menu was indeed enticing. And with most of his work squared away - or at least in a period of waiting - he agreed with little resistance.

Even if it meant giving the faculty who had chided him so this rare victory. Best she enjoy it now, he thought as he watched her scribble his name down on an attendance sheet, as he would not allow her to convince him a second time.

On the day of the festival itself, the same woman was there to greet him - no doubt waiting for indication that he would not show so that she could send someone to hound him - and with her too-wide smile, showed him to where he would be sitting. Hubert’s compliance belied his mounting irritation, and as she left him to settle in, he compulsively checked the angle of the sun through the window. The sooner the event was over, the better.

The dining hall filled up quickly enough, although Hubert watched the empty chair across from him for some time, formulating strategies to handle whoever ended up in it. Would it be Linhardt? Sylvain? Claude?

No, someone else. Hubert’s eyes followed one of the professors as they led his dining companion to the spot on the other side of the table and then disappeared again. That shade of orange was familiar, but the name… Leonie finally came to mind after some time, and Hubert decided that she wasn’t important.

He felt her eyes darting toward him, then back again. He could sense her trepidation, and he wondered idly as he stared off at the wall on the other side of the room how long it would take for her to muster up the courage to speak. If at all. Impatiently, he crossed his arms and looked to the kitchen. He could have very well finished eating and returned to his work by now, had he been left to his own devices.

Then, finally, a voice from the other side of the table - far more sure of herself than Hubert had expected - and the curiosity was visible on his face for a split second when he turned his head. Then the usual bars of condescension fell and turned his greeting into a sneer.

“I know who you are: Captain Jeralt’s devoted apprentice,” he returned, his eyes dropping to her extended hand. “I would be surprised if you did not know my name already. By your earlier unease, you seem well-acquainted with the rumors, at any rate.”

Leonie slowly withdrew her extended hand, Hubert’s brief glance towards it speaking a thousand words alone. It’s alright - Leonie could take a hint. She sheepishly put her hand back in her lap trying desperately to hold eye contact with her conversational partner. Sure, this was an event the teachers had put together and if she didn’t want to she didn’t have to speak with him.

But she couldn’t handle the idea of sitting, for who knows how long, in silence. Besides, Leonie had signed up for this by her own conscious. She wasn’t going to back down now simply because her partner was an intimidating, skeptical, ill-rumored person. Taking this event as another challenge Leonie gave him a light smile.

“Haha, I’m surprised you know about me. I thought only people in the Golden Deer House would have known about my apprenticeship with Captain Jeralt.”

Leonie never hid the fact that she was an apprentice to Jeralt - in fact, it was quite the opposite. Given the opportunity she never failed to brag about how much Jeralt has taught her and how much he influenced her current path. 

But she was surprised that this information had extended to those outside of her own house. Yes, she bragged about being an apprentice, but the opportunity to brag didn’t come up often - never mind with those she was less familiar with.

“I mean, I had my thoughts on who you were but I’d never met you before so I couldn’t say for sure.” Without a break in her sentence Leonie continued. “But there’s no harm done now is there? Now we can both say for sure who we’re talking to.”

Leonie straightened up.

“Sure I’ve heard the rumors. Scary rumors too, I’m not gonna deny that. Sorry if it seemed like I let them get the best of me earlier on. I don’t like judging people based off of rumors alone, which is why I’m talking to you right now. After all, rumors are simply rumors, right?”

The ginger supposed that even if the rumors surrounding Hubert were true, they shouldn’t hurt her in the end. She had no relation to anything involving Edelgard or the Empire nor was she a person of noble status. Unless she was related to these things in one way or another Hubert wouldn’t make a move on her - or so she thought.

Regardless, the man before her seemed to be well aware of the rumors surrounding him and his name. She wondered if the rumors affected him personally. Gossip was a noble’s favorite pastime so it was no surprise rumors such as these floated around this school for the rich.

“So…” Leonie paused, thinking of a way to change the subject. “Why did you sign up for this? From what it looks like you don’t exactly seem like the friendly type.”