#taetelli

(Thanks for the ask, @taetelli!)

Jaaster

“When they use their power to put people down.” He grips the cup tightly, eyes fixed on the table. “It’s not right. Not when those people didn’t do anything wrong. They’re just trying to live and do the best they can, and they don’t need knights riding in, just looking for somebody to throw off a cliff, and - “ Jaaster jumps as the cup shatters in his hand, the anger in his face gone and instantly replaced with chagrin. “Oh, no, I’m...I’m sorry, I’ll, uh, I’ll pay for that.”

Vander

It is very hard to say ‘No’ to Ambaghai, for he asks little and when he does, that is even more minute than the frequency of request. 

She really wants to just turn around and tell him to go fucking ask someone else.

But then she’d end up looking at that somber face and the waxen illness sweated across it.

This is one of the rare moments that she’d like Vander to walk through the door right now so that she can pass off responsibility. Kowa is probably awake too, but she is pretty sure Kowa would box her ears for bothering her - Xiaohu is the one that had the audacity to come to their home in the middle of the night, and now she had to lie in this grave.

Or improvise.

She remembers E’leyna telling her that these ‘sandwiches’ are very good for the sick. She fails to see how something crappy, and cold, can compare to a bowl of broth or congee, but E’leyna knows everything that there is know about the Universe.

And she sees one of these ‘sandwiches’ in their icebox with Jaaster’s name on the parchment paper.

He will miss it, but he will also blame himself.

...so she unwraps that right onto a plate.

Send me a number and I’ll write a micro story!

In silent rooms with big windows, they catch fire and die. Dust, little leavings, floating.

Etienne’s husband - the doctor - says they’re all dead cells. Detritus. Already dead, sloughed off living skin. Catching fire. Dying. 

If Etienne shouts, it isn’t loud enough to make them move. In silent rooms or loud ones, they catch fire and die. Dust, little leavings, from that which already lived, floating. Already dead.

It is the same in every room they’ve ever left: their mother’s room, the one she died in. Cold stone. High windows. No matter how cold it is outside, they’re on fire. And the dust, the little leavings, are floating, catching fire and dying. The apartment in Sultana’s breath, after their husband is gone. The clinic, the new office, the new house when it’s empty without the new soon-to-be-husband, the new house when it’s empty when Etienne realizes they shouldn’t have a husband, the Church, the Ossuary, the bedroom where Etienne was too young for that, too young, the sitting room, the secret apartment, that bedroom with the big windows and the fireplace and he’s a liar, don’t listen to him. Silence.

They’re nothing, you know. They’re nothing at all. They’re remnants of something else, they’re nothing on their own, they only look alive, they only look on fire, they cannot die, they were never alive.

So.

It doesn’t really matter much at all. Just a trick of the light.

Grant walked around the familiar building of the Enclave, glancing about the crowd that was gathered here for some form of celebration. He held what appeared to be a tray of moogle shaped muffins, fresh off from his bakery that he had brought for this occasion. Not one to simply freeload and let others provide for him in this potluck, he was determined to have each and every member of the enclave sample his new creation. The muffin was vanilla flavoured and covered in white chocolate to give off the impression of a moogle’s head while it was iced with a liberal strawberry icing to of course emulate a moogle’s pom. He went around handing the muffins out to various members of the enclave before spotting a certain Xaelan man standing by the wall. Determined not to miss a single person, Grant walked over to the taller Xaela, offering him one of the muffins.

“Greetings, Ser Ambaghai. Please help yourself to a muffin. The sweetness will surely assist you in your vigilant watch.” He remarked and greeting, giving a polite nod of his head.

Thanks for the ask @taetelli!

Acromantula: Has your muse saved a life?

Jaaster has saved people, largely during his time in Gyr Abania while training with the Fist of Rhalgr. Occasionally, he had to run off a hungry animal or put down a monster that began preying upon a nearby community, but most of the instances dealt with bandits that had eluded notice by the Resistance or the Eorzean Alliance. There was one notable instance back home in Coerthas that affected him and the course of his life deeply, but I’m keeping that one in the back pocket for RP purposes.

Vander’s done a fair bit of saving over the years. He grew up in a time of war, and when he was strong enough to hold a weapon, he was trained as a warrior. There were several people back home that went on to live years longer because he was around to watch their backs and pull them out of harm’s way, just as folks did for him.

Elf: Does your muse value appearance?

Jaaster’s not particularly concerned with his appearance. Vander does play at a measure of vanity that he doesn’t truly feel, but he is conscious of the face he presents to people, both physically and otherwise. He enjoys dressing up, but half the game is tailoring his appearance to either meet people’s expectations or turn them on their head in the most provocative fashion possible.

Vampire: Which of the Seven Deadly Sins relates to your muse?

Jaaster struggles with pride and wrath. He knows how strong he is, and when he’s faced with a problem he can’t overcome, he tends to beat himself up during attempts to get stronger rather than seek out help in solving it. Like I said elsewhere, too, once Jaaster gets fired up, he’s difficult to calm down.

Thanks for the ask, @taetelli!

9♥️ - Has your muse ever had unrequited feelings for someone?

Jaaster

Not serious, romantic feelings, no, but that’s more a lack of opportunity than anything. There’s been some raw physical attraction he’s felt toward certain people in recent years and months that he doesn’t know if those people felt about him - at the time, I don’t think he would have thought of himself as a possible subject - but I don’t think that quite fits the bill.

Vander

He has not. If someone wasn’t interested, he lost interest, and that was that. That says more about him than anyone else, certainly, but romance and relationships were far less of a priority for him for a long time than they are now.

3♠️ - Does your muse ever let anyone see them cry?

Jaaster

There have been a few occasions I can think of where Jaaster’s cried in front of people. Some of them don’t count here, I don’t think, because he was drunk at the time, but yeah, I think he’s willing to be that vulnerable around people he trusts.

Vander