#toumaryu

[of-invisible-ties]

while she's realized, given the nature of askr, that running into the degenerated silent dragon is little but an inevitability at this point, araceli still finds herself surprised that it's happened quite this soon. she blinks once, twice, and stands a little straighter as she takes in what's left of the dragon who was once her father ( not that she'd remember, but the point still stands ) and takes a deep breath.

would he lash out, she wonders? perhaps it's better that she bears the brunt of his madness as opposed to anyone else.

"you've... been so very lonely, haven't you?" she asks, remaining red eye alight with sympathy, "i'm sorry. i know... it cannot make up for what the humans did to you, or what was lost, but... should you ever find yourself sad or lonely... please know i am here. this is not our valla, but... if nothing else, you don't have to be alone. i will bear the pain alongside you... lord anankos."

Why is she so ... familiar?

Anankos does not know her, yet he feels as though he should. He searches his crazed mind for her name, but it is beyond his memories (what remains of them, anyway). Whatever she is remains shrouded in fog, lost to the mists of time.

Pain and madness occupy his thoughts again, and he curses the world itself for taking yet another thing from him. Was she taken from him, too, just as his mind and his kingdom were? He does not know, and that fact makes him seethe with rage.

This world is wrong. It teems with life -- disgusting, disgraceful human life -- and he knows it must be purged before it can truly belong to him. That was the fate of all worlds he encountered, and this one would suffer it, too.

"This will be our Valla," he hisses.

Yes, that's right. He'll correct this world, just like all the others. And this strange girl, whoever she was, would help him.

That was why she was here, wasn't she? She was here to serve him.

"We needn't suffer the presence of humans! I will purge them, and this world will be made into Valla, as well."

"If you know of me, girl, then you know this is what must be done. Spare me your pity. It is better spent on the humans, whose lives I will end!"

[of-invisible-ties]

@toumaryu​

Seteth didn’t know the specifics of what had transpired in Rhea’s private chambers, but he knew the archbishop well enough to guess. Rhea tended to wear her heart on her sleeve, and she made no secret of thinking of Araceli as a second chance to regain what was lost. And when she’d viewed someone or something like that, Rhea tended to get emotional, which meant, inevitably, she’d err.

Well, he’d heard shouting earlier, and the slam of something being broken. That confirmed that, indeed, the proverbial bomb had gone off. He’d caught a glimpse of Araceli’s face when she’d hurriedly left; her expression was enough to deter him from speaking to her at that very moment. So, he’d waited a few days for the two of them to settle down, and he’d arranged to meet with Araceli in private.

“I’m sorry for what happened between you.”

“I called you here not to discuss it, but to check on you. I realize that the archbishop’s sense of tact is ... lacking, on occasion. How are you holding up? A foolish query, perhaps, but it must be asked. Please, be honest.”

[of-invisible-ties]

👀 hubie, xander, or one of the other fates sibs, go-

Meme II Accepting!

"When I watched her turn her back on us ... I wanted to hate her. I tried to, but that wasn't something I could do, Xander."

"She is our sister. We both swore to protect her, didn't we? I'm happy she didn't endure the horrors that we did, but ..."

They both knew how many siblings they'd lost. He didn't have to say it.

"I don't want to lose her. Try as you might to deny it, she has a point about Father. He's beyond salvaging. Can't you see --"

Xander's face told him to be silent. Leo had seen into the crystal ball that Azura had given him, and it had shown the truth that Xander would never believe.

"...Fine, then. March against her for all I care! I will not. I've seen enough, and I will not partake of this foolishness."

Leo stomped off. He had no idea that those would be his last words to Xander. When he inherited the throne in his deceased brother's place, these words would echo in his mind, over and over again.

[of-invisible-ties]

❝ If we allow hatred to rule our hearts, we become prisoners of our past. ❞ @ rhea <3

Meme II Accepting!

Rhea had invited her to tea yet again. Ever since she'd discovered another Nabatean, she'd wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. Some of the other knights and priests had taken note of this, and they'd all asked, either out of concern or simple curiosity, the same question: why that particular student?

They would never understand. Never. As such, she never offered the truth when that query was thrown her way. She'd give a painfully mundane answer ("I simply enjoy her company"), and then fell silent. People learned to stop asking, for they knew all too well that the archbishop was not to be defied. They knew their place.

And Rhea was happy for it. Whenever she'd invited Araceli to teatime, she allowed herself to indulge in her delusion of regaining what was lost. Thanks to Araceli, Rhea felt that her efforts had finally amounted to something ... and then she hears Araceli say that, and all fondness for her is forgotten in an instant. Her rage stoked, Rhea's hands slam the table and nearly shatter it. Her face contorts with the wrath of a bereaved heart.

"How dare you!"

"Do you have any idea what was lost to us both!? You ask the impossible of me. I may be prisoner to the past, but that is because I will NOT forget it. If that keeps my hatred burning, then so be it. I would rather know hate than forget their sins!"

[of-invisible-ties]

@toumaryu replied to your post: ok but consider: lightning katana cool as heck. (just kidding, ur so valid <3)

[ Thanks! Don’t get me wrong, I like Ryoma and we all have that moment in Birthright/Revelation where we realize he’s a paper shredder and the enemy’s the paper. And that’s fine - he’s meant to be OP in those games. He is NOT at all designed or balanced for Conquest, which is why Xander, who was definitely designed with CQ in mind, is strictly better than him there. I was disappointed because I realized that Ryoma just sucks in Conquest, when I expected him to shred everything like he does in BR/Rev. ]

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tactful-kind-daedra said: [[Bless you, you’re doing god’s work~ Also I always felt Ryoma’s whole gimmick was centered around him just getting Astra anyway.]]

[ Thank you ... and very, very true! Ryoma’s whole deal is using Astra to get like 2-3 crits so that the enemy dies and he has a full Guard gauge (because all five Astra hits guarantee that your Guard gauge fills). That way, he has a mulligan for when his Vantage + critting the enemy combo doesn’t work. However, it’s very unreliable and I prefer Xander’s raw bulk. ]

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@toumaryu said: vampires are cool!

@fieryties​ said: There’s nothing wrong with being a vampire.

Cue very pleased vampire ratman noises as he bares a set of fake fangs. 

[of-invisible-ties]

@toumaryu​ II Starter Call

“I’m pleased that you answered my summons, child.”

Rhea had asked Araceli to meet her in her private chambers after classes finished for the day. From the look on the girl’s face, she had likely thought it an order. The archbishop gestures to the tea set she’s laid out on the table, where two empty cups awaited them. 

“Be at ease. I simply wished to speak with you.”

“I realize that our previous conversation was rife with tension. I thought it would bring us both a measure of peace if we could speak like this.”

Rhea didn’t even wait for a response. She’s not used to being defied. She’s already pouring tea into the cups. 

“Please ... sit.”

[of-invisible-ties]

@toumaryu said:  LMAO YEAH I DONT DISAGREE, if he wasn't designed to be playable in cq of course he was gonna struggle there. but bad or not, lightning katana still cool as heck, he'll always have that going for him <3

[ Yeah, that’s why I find the mod that switches all of Conquest’s units for their Birthright counterparts so fun and fascinating! How would the Birthright units perform in a game that was not at all designed with them in mind? Surprisingly, some of Birthright’s lackluster units (Subaki, Saizo, and Hinata) perform really well in Conquest, whereas BR godslayers like Ryoma are taken down a peg. ]

[of-invisible-ties]

"goodness, hubert, i'm so sorry about my sister..." araceli bites her lower lip, apologetic, and casts her eyes to the ground. "that was... absolutely uncalled for on her part. i'd, um, i'd say that i'd speak with her, but we both know she probably wouldn't listen to me. so, um, if there's anything i can do to make her nonsense up to you..."

"It's quite alright, my lady."

"You are not at fault for the nonsense that she spews. I merely ask that you see to it that I do not have to contend with her uncouthness again. I do not wish to waste my time on the likes of those who have little other than filth to direct at me."