a thing; w/ ruinsprofessor & conductingresistance

[simulsimul]

universe list
canon
breached
confessed
dadly
future
grigori
mercenary
MEover
origin
reversal
titans


scenario list
canon: Kratos needs to stop running off
confessed: wing reflex
confessed: actual wingpull
confessed: turning Renegade
confessed: son meets father
dadliness: confrontation
dadliness: awakening
dadliness: illness
dadliness: a fundamental lack of understanding on the word 'abducted'
dadliness: updating parameters
dadliness: assassination assignation
mercenary: hiding in the library
mercenary: aftermath of librarian saviour
reversal: oracle destroyed
titans: storming the tower
titans: safety in the canyon
titans: night horrors


canon
- combo of Kratos and Zelos ending
- Zelos does the stupid thing, but not so far as his death, and is still the eighth member of the party to Derris-Kharlan.

scenarios
scenario one: Yuan tracks Kratos down at Dirk's.


breached
- canon right up until after Botta’s death
- no one uses Yuan’s name around Mithos so Mithos walks right into the Triet base with them
- cue an epic OH SHIT in which Yuan gets a lil bit beat up while covering the evacuation of the rest of the base
- until Kratos appears to intervene and have the Chosen group get Yuan out of there
- Mithos gets Kratos tho and he’s a bit mad cos, yanno, traitor and all
- time to be locked up and punished and need to be rescued
- kind of puts a crimp in the creation of the Eternal Ring plans
- mostly cos Mithos turns Kratos lifeless, with some armour to regulate his mana so he remains a seraph. can't have the seal becoming less powerful, yo
- it does mean he can only obey orders tho
- the first rescue fails miserably but at least no one dies and they know they need to reforge his key-crest
- the second rescue attempt (circumstances of canon-point under percolation) goes a little better, though Yuan almost gets killed by Kratos trying to attach the key-crest
- luckily that and the first telepathy in a while gets through and Kratos manages to break out a la Colette, and heal Yuan enough for Raine to get there
- after which, angreh father-son beatdown on Mithos.

scenarios
None yet.


confessed
- almost successful assassination lands Kratos as an injured stranger in Iselia (1-2 years pre-canon)
- recuperation leads to accidental-on-purpose 'holiday' in Iselia
- doubts result in a request for Dirk to make a key-crest like Kratos' own
- oracle room undergoes some stealth sabotage
- regeneration journey is slightly delayed, prompted by Genis and Lloyd being discovered at the ranch
- Triet is awkward. so very awkward. for the Renegades -- whose side is Kratos even on these days and why was he vanished for two years?
- initial overall journey similar to canon, save that Kratos is a bit less circumspect about advising Colette on how to cope with angel transformations
- there are more overt Dun Wanna Feelings
- then Luin, wherein things happen and the group is in town during the Desian attack. the others naturally want to fight but tis a mite difficult against an army and building-destroying magitech. luckily, angel on their side. unluckily, wingpulls in order to muster the power to cover the townspeoples' retreat
- questions and confessions ensue
- Colette rejects the key crest (for the moment) so there's still hopefully maybe ambiguity about Kratos's position re the last seal
- it wouldn't fit anyway, it's modelled for the hand like Kratos's is because he was a derp and did not specify otherwise, so Lloyd needs to make a thing to make it fit
- slow protective retreat toward Asgard.

scenarios
scenario one: Kratos confesses before Salvation; Raine wants to follow up.
scenario two: Raine's examination of an angel; and also Kratos realises how far he's put his foot in it.
scenario three: Kratos goes to taunt Yuan a little, and also ask for his help.
scenario four: in which Raine makes Kratos tell the children all the things, and Yuan takes too much amusement from it.


dadliness
- Kratos retires in Iselia under the name Irving to raise Lloyd after the death of his wife
- no exsphere. ageing occurs! so does a beard and a braid
- teaches Lloyd swordplay, but on the sly, to avoid the other villagers noticing. his daytime job is weaving
- Lloyd finds the box of their exspheres and wants details. after some prodding by Dirk, Kratos explains how exspheres are made and that one is Anna's life. Lloyd is too young yet, but when Lloyd comes of age (~15) Kratos lets him make his own decision re wearing it
- Lloyd chooses not to wear the exsphere
- Genis befriends Marble and Lloyd meets her, as in canon; this happens before the journey begins, with the fallout
- difference being that Colette is still in the village so they can't be too horrible, so they just demand Lloyd be turned over for a flogging
- Kratos stands in his stead because natch. luckily, they're only mooks and don't recognise the bearded weaver as anyone important
- gives Lloyd his guilt complex early tho
- the oracle happens much the same way except Botta doesn't quite recognise the weirdly familiar bearded swordsman
- he does when he's reporting to Yuan tho
      'there was an exceptionally skilled human'
      /brief physical description/
      /did x other faintly recognizable thing/
      and both he and Yuan are aware that Kratos has been awol for a while, so there's a moment of pure silence and dawning 'no, it couldn't be'
- but then obviously one of them has to go make sure
- cue an interruption just out of Triet.

scenarios
scenario one: Yuan feels the need to investigate; this results in Kratos injured and abducted.
scenario two: Yuan realises he can't kill Kratos with his own two hands; Kratos gets mothered.
scenario three: Kratos gets sick on the heels of his recovery. Yuan mothers him some more. Botta disapproves.
scenario four: Kratos recovers and makes an escape attempt. Sort-of.
scenario five: Kratos recovers more and talks to Botta, when not needling Yuan about his lack of preparedness.
scenario six: Sheena's contract takes a slight shift into undercover instead of assassination work.


future
- Aselia is Earth ~10,000 years in the past
- all is peachy-keen except the tree is now underground and the elvens/half-elves/some humans are in hiding in the centre of the planet, hidden thanks to the summon spirits
- Colette is working with humanitarian aid in various impoverished nations
- Zelos is a diplomat in West Asia / Middle East trying to keep the peace
- Yuan is a crotchety lecturer at Cambridge who's also HUGE into environmentalism
- Lloyd and Kratos are having family time in space
- occasionally the trio on Earth meet reincarnations of people they used to know
- but rarely at the same time and almost never in a position where they meet
- but then they start meeting them
- lots of them
- all in the same span of years
- they're starting to think something's hinky
- until the space-elves attack
- and then they know something is hinky.


scenarios
None yet.


grigori
- at some point significantly before canon, Kratos actually calls it quits
- the Church's institution calls him a fallen angel of vengeance
- really he's just going around trying to help people and avoiding being taken back to Cruxis
- assigns himself to the Chosen parties whenever he can, up to Colette
- ????? idk some kind of profit somewhere

scenarios
None yet.


mercenary
- when Yuan visits Kratos at the beach when Lloyd is 3 months old, he does not manage to escape before Anna and Lloyd return
- accidental attachment to this kidlet who likes pulling his hair
- three years later, Yuan can't stand to hold back while Kratos fights Kvar, so he throws caution to the wind to help
- Anna is still killed but they rescue Lloyd and Noishe and both are branded as traitors
- Lloyd is raised as a Renegade with Dad, Uncle Yuan and the extremely reticent Uncle Botta (how dare)
- meanwhile in Tethe'alla Yuan infiltrates the castle as the library archivist
- stays out of sight, mostly, but has a good ear around the politics thanks to recruiting Princess Hilda
- also happens to stumble on Zelos hiding in the library right after his mother's death
- look he's got a 'nephew' he can't just do nothing (even if all he meant was to recommend a book)
- unwittingly accidentally 'adopts' the Tethe'allan Chosen by virtue of being the only one who doesn't treat him like the Chosen
- sometimes Kratos brings Lloyd to visit and basically they're all separate pairs of exasperated bros
- by canon Lloyd and Kratos are wandering mercenaries, helping people on the sly while gathering intel to send back to the Renegades
- Yuan and Zelos are actively building resistance to the Church using inside knowledge
- the ninja are all Renegades
- Colette is escorted by Raine and by the priests
- yes the 'chain up the Chosen and drag her to every seal if necessary' priests
- she meets Lloyd randomly in Triet but Lloyd doesn't know her as the Chosen. they're a bit out of touch on the Journey of Regen timeline
- stuff happens and they keep missing each other up until Palmacosta, which is a warzone between the Desians (and Dorr as their figurehead) and the Renegades (with Neil as their leader)
- Colette wants to help; priests say no
- out come the chains
- Raine objects, but she has no exsphere so what can she do
- btw Genis got caught in the Iselian ranch and tossed in as a traitor to be made a host
- he gets sent to the Palmacosta ranch
- right after Neil manages to take the city, after Colette and Raine leave it, Botta takes the Palmacosta ranch and rescues Genis, among others
- Genis becomes his little shadow and is much preferable to Lloyd, in Botta's opinion
- Lloyd and Kratos are still trying to catch up to Colette to rescue her when they drop by
- Genis hears what they're trying to do and insists on coming along.


scenarios
scenario one: in which Yuan accidentally adopts a Chosen instead of a book from a library.
scenario two: in which Yuan is accidentally-deliberately adopted by the Meltokio Castle Knights.


MEover
- Mass Effect crossover someplace in the realm of 15,000 years after TOS canon
- except started before then, cos elves are really from Feros, planet of the cranky telepathic plant
- got decimated by the protheans trying to assimilate them into their empire
- elves objected, got killed a lot, fled Feros and got stuck in Aselia's orbit
- kinda forgot a few things but planted a seed from the Ferosian mother plant on Aselia
- Origin hasn't forgotten tho, kinda has a grudge against grumblegrumbleprotheansgrumble
- the entirety of TOS happened, and then some
- Kratos, Yuan, Lloyd, Colette and Zelos are the only ones left, but tis okay, they have each other
- somethingsomething natural space disaster, Aselia is destroyed but they manage to move Yggdrasill onto Derris-Kharlan and do a quarian by becoming a roaming ship
- mana is a variant of eezo lbr
- Derris-Kharlan's too big to use the mass relays, but c'mon it generates its own mass effect field so they develop tech to do hops on their own
- they're in no hurry tho, i mean lbr primarily angelic, elf and half-elf population
- so they're just bumming around their local clusters doing thorough investigations on all the things
- so much eezo on their ship
- so much
- suddenly the Normandy running from a reapers comes along to hide behind them
- reapers start shooting
- everyone on Derris-Kharlan objects
- JUDGEMENT IN SPACE
- so much profit and judging of reapers.


scenarios
None yet.


origin
- Kratos tells Lloyd the dad thing in Triet
- dad and son feelings ensue
- they culminate at the Tower of Salvation in Kratos stabbing Yggdrasill in the back
- unfortunately he does not quite die but impales Kratos against a wall and goes berserk on the Chosen party to the point of Yuan stepping in to help
- that is, by threatening to stab Kratos in the back while he's vulnerable (with Kratos's permission)
- Yggdrasill calls his bluff and fails, and Yuan does the thing
- while Yggdrasill is distracted the Chosen's group nail him but good and he retreats
- luckily while heart-stabbing happened, Kratos's cruxis crystal is still intact, and between Raine's healing and Yuan's mana transfusion he survives long enough to be taken to the Triet base and a refresher
- stuff happens in some fashion or other up until opening Origin's seal
- as it turns out, the mana tranfusion has fused the lock, so to speak, and Kratos can't unlock the seal even voluntarily
- only way to get Origin out at this point is to let him fuse with Kratos, so Kratos becomes Origin
- stipulation of this: Kratos refuses to let go of his humanity
- luckily Yuan already has a literal bond with him thanks to the mana transfusion, so with him as his summoner Kratos can keep his humanity, and only use Origin's powers when Yuan summons them
- commitment like woah for a literal eternity
- but hey, they messed up but good and it's the only way they can reunite the worlds.

scenarios
none yet.


reversal
~ 2000 years in, Kratos and Yuan conspire to kill Mithos and succeed, sorta
- he's stuck inside his exsphere, possessing people
- but he manages to survive and while Kratos and Yuan claim Derris-Kharlan for their base, he takes most of the angels as 'fallen', as well as the Eternal Sword
- most of his bases are hidden behind dimensional slips created by the sword - Iselia included
- Origin refuses to trust either Kratos or Yuan with the job, anyhow, and they don't have a summoner
- instead they're forced to fight Cruxis, embroiling the worlds in an angelic war between Cruxis and the new organisation of Chayim
- the Chosen bloodlines are more important to Cruxis than Chayim, but Mithos seals the seals so only the Chosen bloodline can flip the mana switch. Kratos and Yuan need someone to do that until they can reunite them, so the Journey remains an institution, just without compulsory death at the end
- there is angelification tho, if only so Chayim gets more soldiers and so the Chosen can defend themselves against Cruxis
- Kratos sends Anna and Lloyd to Iselia, because even though enemy territory, it's the safest place there is for them
- Anna get word to Kratos that the Desians are using Iselia as a long-term cruxis crystal cultivation location, and that the sword is held there
- her spy succeeds but is intercepted, and Mithos locks down the dimensional slip to prevent exit and access by angels for ~15 years
- Lloyd grows up in a town with a heavy half-elf population and believing he's training to help the good guys
- he has his own cruxis crystal as a host, but doesn't tell his mother due to the faith-based propaganda encouraging hosts not to bring it up or risk the powers not taking
- he wants to help though, so he steals a key-crest to ensure he can fight
- Yuan and Kratos plan to assault the town and shrine but Mithos uses the sword to interrupt travel between worlds, keeping Yuan in Tethe'alla and forcing Kratos to attack Iselia alone.

scenarios
scenario one: Iselia is attacked by Chayim to claim the sword, with the sword already gone


titans
- Yggdrasill captures Kratos before Kvar finds Anna and Lloyd, but after Kratos makes an Eternal Ring
- Yuan figures hell no and raises the Renegades to try and take Derris-Kharlan, rescue Kratos and solve the split-world problem
- the attack fails. a lot.
- Renegades are wiped out, Kratos is still in Cruxis's hands, but Yuan manages to escape with the Eternal Ring
- Cruxis follows him to Triet base, which gets destroyed and the few remaining Renegades scatter
- Botta is still around tho, helping out how he can
- mostly Yuan just goes searching for Lloyd and Anna
- doesn't manage to find them before Kvar does tho, and Kratos hears from Yggdrasill that they're dead
- this is slightly inaccurate, cos Lloyd still winds up rescued by Dirk in Iselia
- where Yuan eventually finds him, not knowing that he's 'supposed' to be dead
- so Yuan settles in Iselia for a bit to watch Lloyd and the Chosen
- cuts and dyes his hair, the whole shebang
- learns how to carpentry, invents a new use of magic lightning and light can totally become a laserbeam amirite
- winds up being Genis's role model just because scholar and magic-user and half-elf who can pass but also takes no shit from people
- is one of Colette's companions on the Journey when it starts
- he's been challenging their understanding of the Church's institution this whole time lbr
- Sheena is still a thing because the ninja have taken over the Tethe'allan base, which has survived, somewhat
- a grilling ensues
- sometime just after the Asgard Ranch Yuan does have to drop the bombshell
- about how the Journey is just a front, he and his bestie are angels, btw his bestie is Lloyd's dad
- how they're out to topple the institution of religion
- forget sacrificing Colette for the Regeneration, when they get to the seal they can do that without anyone dying
- and then move straight on to rescuing Kratos in Derris-Kharlan
- then they get to the Tower and realise Yggdrasill has Kratos under a Prometheusesque punishment a la 'impaled on the Eternal Sword to suffer the Seed's pain and watch the Chosen get murdered'
- luckily this does not happen, as they manage to rescue him and escape Yggdrasill instead, barely
- retreat to Botta's hiding-place in Asgard so Kratos can recover
- and also find out that Lloyd is actually alive
- the Chosen group goes around to make as many pacts as they can while in Sylvarant
- they get up to Aska when Yggdrasill sends his angels to attack Asgard
- cue Yuan and Kratos being unstoppable battle gods together


scenarios
scenario one: in which Yuan leads the Chosen's party to the Tower of Salvation to dismantle all the traditions ever, and find Kratos waiting for them in serious need of a rescue.
scenario two: in which being in safety reveals that Kratos is not precisely unscathed, but he's doing his best.
scenario three: in which Kratos is emphatically not okay, but with Yuan's help, could be.

Comments

[simulsimul]

[Ah. It's getting to Yuan, to have to put in the effort. That fact makes Kratos smile, and there's a definite gleam of amusement in his eyes when he tilts his head to look properly at Yuan.]

Frankly, nothing is coming to mind, since you care more than I do.

[Although this only means Yuan is going to start getting creative in his punishments until it's not worth Kratos's time.]

[conductingresistance]

[It's sincerely tempting to walk away. Yuan opts to be the bigger person and not.]

I can still fix that problem for you. I just thought you might prefer to do it yourself.

[He really is going to have to start getting more creative. More creative than tomatoes, even, which may be a difficult call.]

[He's also, for the moment, blissfully unaware of the fact that his and Kratos's thoughts have taken almost precisely the same turn.]

[simulsimul]

After all this time, what makes you think I've any pressing desire to do so?

[He's not the one who has an irrational grudge against beards, Yuan. Kratos is fairly sure it's not just any beard, either, seeing as Botta has one himself. Maybe this will help Yuan accept the temporarily human issue.

[Or maybe not. Either way, the more creative Yuan gets, the more he'll grind the rustiness out of his head.]

[conductingresistance]

Wishful thinking, apparently.

[ :| ]

Or, since you've brought the kitchen into this, turnabout is fair play. We're not too far from Iselia. I can acquire enough tomatoes to make all your future meals just as irritating to you.

[And Kratos cannot, in fact, turn his sense of taste off. Yuan can, even if the indignity and the grudge lingers. And Botta won't intervene rapidly, if at all.]

[simulsimul]

[That does make Kratos pause, his eyes narrowing at Yuan thoughtfully. It's true that Yuan can be remarkably petty, but that's inside the base. Yuan is also capable of setting aside pettiness to consider the larger situation, and buying tomatoes just to inconvenience Kratos would surely put an unnecessary dent in the Renegades' funds and resources.]

I think you're bluffing.

[And he is still handcuffed to the bed. He rattles the chain, just a tad, and pointedly.]

[conductingresistance]

Am I? Tomato sauce preserves well. A little bit of the fresh product will go a long way.

[Economical. Yuan isn't going to be wholly irresponsible. But apparently this petty little hill is where he's choosing to make his stand. It's better than some, certainly.]

[Letting Kratos meditate on that, he finally relents and reaches down to unlock the cuffs. This, too, is not really a concession, but a tabling of the discussion for later.]

[simulsimul]

At that expense, and the risk of feeding your people the same thing for days in a row? You're bluffing.

[... Unless he's planning to have the cooks make meals just for Kratos, which is still an absurd waste of time. Even still, Kratos eyes Yuan warily as he's uncuffed, and then sits up to proceed with the day's plans.

[Two weeks later, he's regretting his challenge. The scene is not much different: Kratos had escaped the night before, in protest, so he's handcuffed this morning. He's awake again as Yuan enters, but has his eyes closed; and it's not until he hears Yuan's footsteps that he says:]

I admit, I underestimated the depths of your pettiness.

[conductingresistance]

[He's right to be wary. Yuan has plans.]

[Yuan is as responsible about his pettiness as it's possible to be, but there is, true, some extra effort about it. It's not practical.]

[Spite is not habitually practical.]

[All the same, Yuan controls his expression when he comes to Kratos's bedside this time. The time for lofty superiority is not now.]

Did you? I'm surprised.

[simulsimul]

Occasionally even I am wrong.

[Especially about which hills Yuan chooses to die upon.]

But that isn't a compliment. You are being extraordinarily petty.

[Kratos opens his eyes, and sighs.]

Uncuff me. I'll shave myself this morning.

[It is absolutely a concession.]

[conductingresistance]

[This is hardly a hill to die on.]

I find I need to take pleasure in the little things, at this stage in life.

[This is utterly deadpan, cliché combined with a nod to age which really doesn't matter.]

[But Yuan is definitely taking some pleasure in the concession.]

Very well.

[He uncuffs Kratos and stands back, the key tucked away and his arms folded.]

[simulsimul]

What I should do is write you some new dialogue.

[This is muttered and grudging as Kratos rises and stretches, moving toward the bathroom.]

I assume you're going to want to observe.

[If only to make sure Kratos follows through. If that's the case, he'd best shave first, and shower later. ... Hm. Maybe he should make it a training day. Some of the recruits need a bit of refining.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan looks actually amused as he follows Kratos; though for him it's still a bare expression.]

[He knows Kratos knows he heard that.]

One of you is enough, Kratos. I don't need your words in my mouth too.

[He is going to want to observe, as evidenced by his leaning in the doorframe and blocking much of it.]

[simulsimul]

I couldn't tell by the fact that you completely subverted my words when you translated that fairy-tale.

[Yes, he is still holding a grudge. Kratos does move Yuan's elbow a bit so he can close the door to take care of some more private issues, but a minute or so later he opens it again, dressed in the clothes he customarily wears while training. Or giving the recruits a chance to take a swing at him, as the case may be. This is the only set of clothes which isn't Yuan's, but the set he'd worn when Yuan kidnapped him -- hand-stitched mend across the chest and all.

[The shaving gear is already in his hand. Kratos eyes the complete lack of space to leave and goes to the sink to run the hot water and lather the soap.]

May I assume that I'll get different tastes for meals once I've proven I concede defeat?

[If he has to eat tomatoes for one more meal ...]

[conductingresistance]

[That was a while ago. Kratos is still holding a grudge, apparently. To be fair, Yuan isn't surprised by that, either, as getting up his nose was the entire point of the exercise.]

[Yuan submits to being moved for privacy matters, but resumes his position without much fanfare or deterrence.]

I'll arrange it, yes. I'm glad we could come to an agreement.

[That's definitely what this is. An agreement.]

[simulsimul]

Good. Otherwise I may have had to starve myself.

[An 'agreement'. Of course. Well, given how bad Kratos had been making Yuan look to his own subordinates, he supposes he can concede defeat somewhat graciously. Somewhat. The lather goes on his face and the tap is turned off at a good depth, and Kratos picks up the straight razor. And pauses. It's been quite a while since he's had to do this.

[... And if he lingers too long, Yuan will probably threaten to return tomatoes to the menu. Kratos lifts the razor. The seal takes him by surprise, rushing through him, paralysing; he goes rigid for an instant that makes his breath catch. Warning. Very carefully, he lowers the straight-razor, his fingers trembling.]

I can't.

[His voice is a touch raw. He's familiar with fighting the seal in a battle, reducing his skill level to avoid killing too many unduly; he's familiar with pushing the seal's constraints, dodging circumstances threatening his life by turning them into circumstances which only threaten his health.

[But never is the seal so solid as when he intends to take his own. Or it thinks he does.]

[conductingresistance]

[Please don't do that, Kratos. Yuan wonders if the seal would even let him do that.]

[He's settled in to watch Kratos shave -- and he very much hopes that's not going to have to become a part of his routine as well -- when something changes, and Yuan straightens with Kratos's denial, a more concerned rather than stern frown on his face now.]

[Can't, like it's an impossibility.]

Even that? Surely it should read your own intent?

[Damn the seal anyway. Yuan comes some few steps further into the bathroom. Careful. Wondering if it's safe for him even without a weapon in hand to be standing behind Kratos, now.]

[simulsimul]

[Yuan hadn't been holding a weapon when he'd laid his hand on Kratos's throat, with intent. A trickle of warning travels down Kratos's back, and his grip convulsively tightens around the straight-razor, and he shifts to put Yuan more to his side before the seal has him lashing out.]

You would think. But --

[But that had definitely been the seal, just then. Kratos tries again nevertheless, the straight-razor not even getting within six inches of his face before the seal kicks in. It's harder this time, a solid blow that makes Kratos grunt, his suddenly numb fingers dropping the straight-razor into the hot water. He leans on the sink to breathe it out, his hand still tingling from that warning.]

But I suppose I tried too many times while feeling empty.

[Now it knows what a lack of intent feels like. It knows not to trust it.]

[conductingresistance]

[Catching that movement, and the intent behind it, Yuan comes up beside Kratos, looking at their faces in the mirror for a moment.]

[He'd guessed. He hadn't known. One more weight to carry isn't much, in the grand scheme, but this is Kratos.]

Give me your hand.

[He offers his, the left, upturned and slow, hoping there is no way this can be misinterpreted by whatever combined force of Origin and mana itself is responsible for the preternatural preservation instinct.]

Is it selfish, to be pleased it didn't let you?

[Yuan isn't sure he honestly cares if it is or not. He looks away and considers structures to which Kratos can be safely handcuffed.]

[simulsimul]

This time, or the others? You do realise this means you're going to have to keep shouldering the responsibility of shaving me.

[The movement is slow enough that nothing triggers, and Kratos exhales a long, slow breath to round off the others, likewise glancing around.]

The towel rack.

[Like everything in a Renegade base, those are sure to be sturdy enough to handle a human's bound strength, and there's one close enough to the sink that Yuan can still use the water without having to move. Another moment, another breath, and Kratos puts his hand in Yuan's. He's not entirely sure this is a good idea; surely the seal will still respond to a perceived threat approaching.

[But Yuan is not a threat -- and Kratos has never tried to teach the seal how to calm from suspicion.]

[conductingresistance]

The others.

[Yuan's tone is flat only to conceal the hollowness that would otherwise be there. He pauses over Kratos's hand for a moment, though, before the handcuffing Kratos is expecting. It's only just long enough to tag Kratos with a little piece of his mana. Most people wouldn't even feel the difference. Kratos, human and more blind to mana than he was, may yet not.]

[The seal that is in him may.]

[And then Yuan draws Kratos aside, slow but with the strength underlying it that Kratos won't be able to surpass, and cuffs him to the towel rack. The second wrist may be the difficulty, but he reaches for Kratos's other hand nevertheless.]

It's gotten paranoid. And while I prefer you living, it's inhibiting some of your day-to-day.

[simulsimul]

[Kratos doesn't feel it, but he knows what that pause means, and it takes his breath away. He can't remember the last time one of them tagged the other. Not that he can, anymore -- but if the fact that Yuan hadn't been able to follow through on killing him weren't enough, this would be it.

[Something in him loosens, and he isn't sure whether it's the wary tension he's carried for years, or the seal itself. Either way, Kratos submits to his hand being cuffed, and then turns to allow the same to be done to the other. If just being cuffed were enough to activate the seal, they would have already had problems.]

You say that as though I'm the one who has a problem with being bearded.

[Although it does make Kratos wonder, now, how much of his dismissiveness toward the need to shave over the last twenty years had been a result of the seal.]

I don't think it's selfish.

[This is soft, very nearly a non sequitur of an afterthought, but it's true, nevertheless -- now that Kratos knows what's behind Yuan's objection to his being so human. Now cuffed, Kratos tests his reach. Limited, more so than the bed; and with his arms nearly behind him to curtail any attempts to attack. Still ... he eyes the distance between them, and shifts again, resting his hands on the bar.]

I'm going to wind up kicking you.

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan eyes Kratos in turn, weighing whether those merit answers when he's already been fairly plain about his feelings. By his standards, anyway, and in a way Kratos can decipher easily.]

[In the end his gaze tracks from the sink to the offensive stubble, judging the reach, and down to Kratos's legs. Hm.]

You'll have trouble kicking me if I'm sitting on your legs.

[It's not the strangest thing they've been caught doing.]

The beard isn't a good look for you. And this will be a good exercise. We'll see if the damned thing can be taught.

[He considers the position again. No, he'd hate to try to pin Kratos's legs from this angle.]

Sit, Kratos. The cuffs should give you that much leeway.

[simulsimul]

[--Hmh. Yes, that ought to work; the towel-rack isn't that high. It does take a minute for Kratos to twist the cuffs so they'd let him lower himself to the floor, but with a bit of wrangling he manages it. His back goes against the wall, his legs stretch out, and he grasps the towel-rack loosely, and exhales.

[Then he nods.]

Alright. I've never tried to teach a seal before, I admit.

[Except accidentally, with it learning what it shouldn't let him get away with. It doesn't seem to have any concept of context.]

[conductingresistance]

[There's a brief pause to consider sequences before Yuan kneels astride Kratos, planning to pin his legs that way. Despite his reach, Yuan still has to stretch up to retrieve the razor from the sink where Kratos dropped it; this way, though, if even laying hold of a blade elicits an involuntary reaction Yuan is in the perfect position to exert his weight downward.]

Never tried, no. But apparently it's learned something anyway.

[Inasmuch as it has a consciousness. Yuan isn't entirely sure how to qualify it.]

[Helpfully, Kratos has already lathered his face. Yuan gives it a moment to see if there will be a reaction before leaning in.]

[simulsimul]

[There's a reaction. The moment Yuan picks up the straight-razor, Kratos tenses, his gaze drawn to the blade in Yuan's hand. It nearly stops his breath, before the seal and his body remember that breathing is a requirement these days.

[It isn't until Yuan brings it down that the seal's objection triggers properly. One moment Kratos is warily still; the next he's an explosion of motion, bucking up against Yuan's weight, twisting and turning to try and throw him off; his hands bear down on the towel-rack to give him leverage, his shoulders braced against the wall.

[He doesn't make it easy for Yuan, to get near his face -- but the moment that blade is within a few inches the seal locks him in place instead, averting the risk of struggling leading to an accidentally lethal injury. Kratos is left tremblingly and involuntarily still, his breath coming quick and body still tense as a spring, waiting for opportunity; his gaze remains on that blade.]