'' ...Greetings? ''

< @imperator-solitarius >

Gaius raised one eyebrow as the figure emerged, swathed in violet silk. The scent of flowers stirred something old and dreamlike in his memory—an afternoon in a palace garden, perhaps, long before the Senate turned sour. He tilted his head slightly, observing the porcelain fox mask with quiet fascination.

The figure’s tongue danced through different languages—Gaius caught traces of Greek, maybe Egyptian?—before settling into something more familiar.

Gaius stepped forward, graceful as a cat, his green eyes gleaming with curiosity and delight. “Ah.” He said with a soft smile, brushing back a curl of orange hair from his brow. “I greet you.” He circled the figure slowly, hands clasped behind his back.

“You smell like a spring. And your mask—charming. But I wonder…” He leaned in just slightly, his voice dropping to a whisper. “…does it hide a face or a lie?”

Anonymous asked: In his dreams that night, a pair of purple animals, eagle and lizard, keep appearing... After the fifth dream or so, they stop him by taking their human-shaped consciousness representations as a mist rolls in around them. '' We sincerely apologize for the intrusion on your dreams, but we both noticed that our actions have led to rather disasterous consequences... '' The Kabukimono bows in apology, the red-horned Belial following suit a moment after. '' What you are feeling now, this sense of betrayal... it is not healthy to bottle it up and lash out in anger at others. We have seen that clearly with our 'older brothers,' and knowing we are partly to blame for how you feel right now scares us. We did not intend for this to occur... ''

[ @imperator-solitarius ]

Kuzco's sleep last night was anything but restful. Plagued with uncertainty, distrust, and guilt, his dreamscapes were a mass of dark, gloomy backgrounds; some of his worst fears are featured front and center, and an eerie sense of foreboding hangs heavy in the air.

The addition of the purple animals does NOT help in the least. Even in his dreams, the significance of the color purple weighs heavily on his subconscious, and when he starts to notice the creatures lurking around, he immediately assumes it's a trick of Yzma's. Perhaps she's devised a way to haunt his dreams, to torture him until he's driven mad from the lack of sleep to avoid her-- or worse, to hurt him and make him vulnerable in the waking world.

It's a relief when the creatures shift into their more familiar counterparts, though the paranoia has done a number on him. Kuzco casts them a withering glare as he regains his bearings, not paying attention to the mist clouding the dull, lifeless scenery.

" Oh, you 'didn't intend for this to occur', huh? Well, that's just great! " He calls out, pacified by the bow of respect, but not nearly enough to forget his anger. The betrayal still courses through him, anger at the situation, at HIMSELF still clouding his vision, and sarcasm sharpens his tongue. " --that changes everything! Boy, I am SO glad you haunted my dreams to let me know that you DIDN'T intend to do it; now I can wake up and go and tell Malina that everything is PEACHY keen, and all will be right with the world! " Kuzco's chest heaves with his anger, breathing heavily as he throws his hands up in the air.

If ONLY things were that simple. If only this little plan didn't ruin his LIFE.

" 'It's not healthy to bottle it up', pfft. PLEASE. Maybe you should take all this 'knowledge' that you've got from being an other-worldy God, or whatever in Supay's name you call yourselves, and shove it up your non-existent ass. Or even better, realize that you DON'T understand 'humans' or whatever your equivalent is as well as you think! " It's the most he's spoken since his argument with Malina, having only told RRK the bare minimum when he got back to the palace, and he still feels like a raw nerve.

Anonymous asked: '' I'll be leaving to return home and help my bird son be reborn as a human, then send him to Nod-Krai to witness the New Moon's rise on my behalf. I will return if Lady Alice does not notice me and chew me out for breaking the 'rules.' ''

" Wait, hold up-- your . . your BIRD son? Tell me that's some kind of weird euphemism or something. "

Anonymous asked: '' So we're back... Sent our son to Nod-Krai to keep an eye on things there. Anything interesting occur while we were busy? '' @imperator-solitarius

" Oh, you left? " Kuzco quips, feigning surprise. " -- and your son left the nest? Flew the coop? Went over the cuckoo nest? As for me, NOPE. Nothing new. Malina doesn't hate me anymore! That's . . . that's pretty much it. "

The Archon says, as if he has any candy to give. He's spent the whole day working on a training area out in the jungle.

< @imperator-solitarius >

@imperator-solitarius asked: Amid the usual assembly of peasants lined up to speak with their Emperor, listing grievances and submitting requests as they typically do, a person in far finer clothing shuffles along. A finely crafted fox mask covers his face, hooded violet cloak just long enough to hide his appearance. The fabric of the cloak, even viewed from a distance, is clearly of a higher quality than the clothing of the usual guests, shimmering slightly in the light with intricate flower patterns adorning the bottom. As the figure draws closer to the front of the line, an ethereal scent of early morning mist and flowers becomes present in the air, a pleasant undertone to the earthy smell filling the rest of the grand hall...

When you think about the word 'Emperor', you think about opulence. A life full of grandeur and excitement, finery in all things from clothing to foods, servants and scribes at your beck and call; a never ending supply of entertainment at your whim, at all times. It sounds pretty incredible, right ?

-- and it is! Don't get him wrong. Kuzco wouldn't change his life for anything, and all of those things are true. But what nobody warns you about, the one con in a very long list of pros? . . . is how BORING it can all be, too.

' Oh thank you Emperor Kuzco! My family thanks you, this will mean the world to-- '

Kuzco slumps back against his throne's overstuffed pillow with a sigh, grateful how easy it is to hide his boredom from such a high vantage point above ground level. Prior to his llama adventure, this peasant would have been thrown out of the throne room ten minutes ago, way before he could start to ramble on like this. Now that he's a 'changed man', however, he has a promise to uphold; one that says he will do better by his people, and put their needs before his own.

. . . most of the time, anyways. " Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm amazing-- thanks for stopping by! " He waves a flippant hand, interrupting him with the ease of someone who has never cared about coming off as rude in his entire life. " Don't forget to visit the gift shop on your way out! Buy your daughter a Kuzcocoa cup. She'll love it. "

As the peasant shuffles out of the room, Kuzco turns his attention to the Royal Record Keeper, dutifully taking notes from his place beside the throne. " Is it almost time to knock off, yet? I'm exhausted, and I'm pretty sure I'm late for my seaweed wrap-- "

" It's only been an hour, your majesty. " Comes the reply, RRK glancing up at him from the scroll with an accusatory stare. " Your line of petitions still stretches the length of the Grand Hallway. " Kuzco heaves an overdramatic groan and settles back in with a shimmy of his shoulders to make himself comfortable. " Fine. But I'm giving myself the full treatment when this over. Seaweed wrap, skin toning, massage-- and no interruptions, you hear me? " Then, louder so his guards can hear; " NEXT! "

Anonymous asked: " i've had worse injuries than this. " @imperator-solitarius ( PROMPTS FOR PATCHING UP WOUNDS ) - accepting!

" . . . You sure? Cause I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that's a pretty bad injury. " Kuzco quips, taking a step back out of sheer i-don't-want-any-part-of-that-on-me caution. He eyes the dismembered arm with blue blood pouring out of it like he's never seen anything like it before.