this memory is - intense. that's maybe putting it lightly. rondo is used to the sight of monsters, of people overcome by the rings, by the scarlet elixir, and he's used to violence, so while that could phase him, it's the latter part that grips his attention. it's daan's sacrifice, the way he barely even hesitates, performing an act of magic with a massive cost. the conversations they had near the beginning of their time here resonate in the back of his mind.
he doesn't realize he wasn't breathing until it ends, and exhales, in a whoosh of air, expression stunned. ]
While Daan isn't so tetchy or repressed when it comes to the matters of these things being laid public, they're still a grim reminder of unpleasant things he's experienced and isn't too happy to be reminded again. He absently rubs at his upper right arm. ]
What is it... did we make it out of the museum? Sure. We got that much done.
[ You wanna take a guess at how many of my icons are actually one-armed Daan just cropped out. It's very funny. ]
[ Listen I think it'd be funny. However I was like well since I am actually a doctor I will be nice to myself and others and ask if I can get an arm back if I were to say lose it and then go from there. ]
...
It's true in most cases. The typical thing most people think of when it comes to bringing the dead back is necromancy, when you bind the soul back to the body. But I don't do that -- I'm not really interested in adding another old god's skills to my repertoire...
And necromancy isn't exactly bringing back the dead anyway. They might move again, sure, but they're more just like ghouls.
[ Which -- even then, he was referring to something else when he said that to Rondo, but that's an entirely different can of worms that Daan isn't even all that certain of himself. ]
[ WHY IS YOUR CANON LIKE THIS also why are YOU like this. if you're on cyoa this week :guncat:
rondo nods, slowly... that sounds like a hellfiend - it's familiar. he's seen the awful impacts of the accursed flame on the souls of the dead, and the thought makes him shiver, a little. ]
...That you saved her with such a high cost with no hesitation is... [ ... ] I don't think you'll want me to say it, but... I think it was admirable.
[ Wouldn't that be amazing. You guys got a healing swamp! You don't need me anymore. :relaxed: ]
...
Thanks for thinking that way, but it's no different from any other desperate act I could've taken. It wasn't out of chivalry -- either I could run for my life and probably die, or I could take my chances with a two-versus-one where one of us has a pistol.
You use whatever tools you have in your inventory, right. And I'm not really all that much of a fighter.
Still, I... I don't think there are many people who would do what you did. Whether it was self-serving or not, it still... you made such a massive sacrifice.
[ he reaches up with one hand and touches his own arm. ]
[ hm. well. that's a scary thought. considering what daan's already said about gods and... hmm. bad! he's about to ask what the tower is, when the void starts to ripple. and daan might notice it starts to feel hot. a sticky, awful humidity, like standing in the fires of hell themselves.
[ He witnesses this all play out. To be honest, although Daan's world has fantastical elements, it's not actually fantasy -- so a lot of the concepts in some of your worlds seriously goes over his head sometimes. Still, in the end... ]
...Yeesh. In the end, looks like gods in any world really like to go out of their way to get all overcomplicated...
[ All that to test Rondo's 'resolve'. Personally for Daan, he can only find it distasteful. Surely there's other ways to go about that sort of thing without nearly breaking your protagonist and make him cry or something. ]
[ yeesh - this reaction makes him laugh, a little. it's quiet, sort of helpless, but he rubs his chest as he finishes, staring off into the distance of his own memories. something about this memory feels achingly bittersweet. the room feels cold. ]
... Yes, maybe so.
[ aelfric said you WILL suffer ] The gods are not uncaring, but... they are not kind, either.
[ It's how he starts off conversation if you kill someone and he has to come babysit your murdering ass. It is incredibly stupid and I love him so much for it. ]
At least you have one up on there. I'd consider the gods very uncaring where I'm from -- or if they do, it's definitely not how mortals see it.
Even the kindest god put humanity through a thousand years of suffering for the sake of growth, so they say.
...yes. [ suffering for the sake of growth, indeed. his hand comes to rest on his heart. ] At the time, I don't... I don't think I really understood that that was what it was about. But I needed - I always relied on others to be strong. It took until then for me to understand that I had the capability to be strong on my own.
Though, I'm - I still have a long way to go. [ as always, he downplays his own strengths - even after becoming god's babygirl, rondo's still not so sure that he's got what it takes to be the flameguard. ] But I do not have doubts that Aelfric's Flame is what I have pledged myself to, and what I will continue to uphold. No matter what.
Is it so bad to be reliant? I never really understood it all, but I guess I never really got the memo on trying to be strong for others, or things like that.
[ He always just kind of does his own thing, in his little bubble. ]
But sounds like you know what you're committed to and who you want to be.
[ it's not bad to rely on others in times when you need them. but... to rely on their praise and attention to be strong - now that's something rondo had to work on. he had to come to understand what strength meant to him. it couldn't just be attached to sazantos, and it's not. not anymore.
the last comment gets a laugh - he ducks his head, cheeks a little pink, and nods. ]
I do. I think, at least, I've always known that. Once I - once I left my House behind, there was no going back. [ no one can say he's not stubborn. nearly a decade of chasing after sazantos' back is dedication. ] Sir Sazantos told me once to follow my heart. And that's what I want to do.
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flameguard) wrote2024-06-10 03:26 pm
no subject
this memory is - intense. that's maybe putting it lightly. rondo is used to the sight of monsters, of people overcome by the rings, by the scarlet elixir, and he's used to violence, so while that could phase him, it's the latter part that grips his attention. it's daan's sacrifice, the way he barely even hesitates, performing an act of magic with a massive cost. the conversations they had near the beginning of their time here resonate in the back of his mind.
he doesn't realize he wasn't breathing until it ends, and exhales, in a whoosh of air, expression stunned. ]
...Mr. Daan... [ ... ] Did - did you...?
[ did you both make it? did you survive? ]
no subject
While Daan isn't so tetchy or repressed when it comes to the matters of these things being laid public, they're still a grim reminder of unpleasant things he's experienced and isn't too happy to be reminded again. He absently rubs at his upper right arm. ]
What is it... did we make it out of the museum? Sure. We got that much done.
[ You wanna take a guess at how many of my icons are actually one-armed Daan just cropped out. It's very funny. ]
no subject
... he's quiet, for a moment, looking at. well. daan's arm. that he clearly has. if you tell me he's baiken and he only has one hand i'll kill you. ]
... You said... when we talked before - that bringing the dead back doesn't... that they don't come back right.
no subject
...
It's true in most cases. The typical thing most people think of when it comes to bringing the dead back is necromancy, when you bind the soul back to the body. But I don't do that -- I'm not really interested in adding another old god's skills to my repertoire...
And necromancy isn't exactly bringing back the dead anyway. They might move again, sure, but they're more just like ghouls.
[ Which -- even then, he was referring to something else when he said that to Rondo, but that's an entirely different can of worms that Daan isn't even all that certain of himself. ]
no subject
rondo nods, slowly... that sounds like a hellfiend - it's familiar. he's seen the awful impacts of the accursed flame on the souls of the dead, and the thought makes him shiver, a little. ]
...That you saved her with such a high cost with no hesitation is... [ ... ] I don't think you'll want me to say it, but... I think it was admirable.
no subject
...
Thanks for thinking that way, but it's no different from any other desperate act I could've taken. It wasn't out of chivalry -- either I could run for my life and probably die, or I could take my chances with a two-versus-one where one of us has a pistol.
You use whatever tools you have in your inventory, right. And I'm not really all that much of a fighter.
no subject
Still, I... I don't think there are many people who would do what you did. Whether it was self-serving or not, it still... you made such a massive sacrifice.
[ he reaches up with one hand and touches his own arm. ]
How did...
no subject
Instead, I woke up here with both arms. So, beats me.
Maybe this cult knows a thing or two about that kind of magic, too.
no subject
and well, it's a funny comparison to make...
... as the memory ends, rondo is silent, his hand on his heart. ]
no subject
[ He witnesses this all play out. To be honest, although Daan's world has fantastical elements, it's not actually fantasy -- so a lot of the concepts in some of your worlds seriously goes over his head sometimes. Still, in the end... ]
...Yeesh. In the end, looks like gods in any world really like to go out of their way to get all overcomplicated...
[ All that to test Rondo's 'resolve'. Personally for Daan, he can only find it distasteful. Surely there's other ways to go about that sort of thing without nearly breaking your protagonist and make him cry or something. ]
no subject
... Yes, maybe so.
[ aelfric said you WILL suffer ] The gods are not uncaring, but... they are not kind, either.
no subject
At least you have one up on there. I'd consider the gods very uncaring where I'm from -- or if they do, it's definitely not how mortals see it.
Even the kindest god put humanity through a thousand years of suffering for the sake of growth, so they say.
[ Rondo getting boss-rushed for his growth. ]
no subject
...yes. [ suffering for the sake of growth, indeed. his hand comes to rest on his heart. ] At the time, I don't... I don't think I really understood that that was what it was about. But I needed - I always relied on others to be strong. It took until then for me to understand that I had the capability to be strong on my own.
Though, I'm - I still have a long way to go. [ as always, he downplays his own strengths - even after becoming god's babygirl, rondo's still not so sure that he's got what it takes to be the flameguard. ] But I do not have doubts that Aelfric's Flame is what I have pledged myself to, and what I will continue to uphold. No matter what.
no subject
[ He always just kind of does his own thing, in his little bubble. ]
But sounds like you know what you're committed to and who you want to be.
no subject
[ it's not bad to rely on others in times when you need them. but... to rely on their praise and attention to be strong - now that's something rondo had to work on. he had to come to understand what strength meant to him. it couldn't just be attached to sazantos, and it's not. not anymore.
the last comment gets a laugh - he ducks his head, cheeks a little pink, and nods. ]
I do. I think, at least, I've always known that. Once I - once I left my House behind, there was no going back. [ no one can say he's not stubborn. nearly a decade of chasing after sazantos' back is dedication. ] Sir Sazantos told me once to follow my heart. And that's what I want to do.
no subject
Tread that path if you'd like. Might be tough but at least you know which way you want to head in the end.