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

[conductingresistance]

Some.

[This is a little flat.]

[The Renegades do have some more human members than the Desians, but of necessity those humans are often kept within the base, since they cannot easily pass for Desian soldiers. Yuan likely takes more of the dispossessed and the wanted than he should.]

[He only has so much compassion, and he must spend it in careful measures. Still, those who have the worst end of the system they have created-- when he can, when it won't damage anything or bring them significant risk, Yuan accepts them.]

If Yggdrasill attacks, there will be little chance to defend.

[Acid stings that. He knows the sort of force that can be unleashed from Derris-Kharlan.]

...fine. Teach who you like.

[He washes his hands of it. Not of Kratos, though, and Yuan tucks the gauze into itself before moving to the other wrist.]

[simulsimul]

[Softly:]

But they will have a fraction more of a chance.

[After all they've wrought, if they can offer even a fraction more of a chance, for those whom they've so often condemned -- it's worth the effort. After having lived in Iselia, Kratos can't see the faces of his own people and see them faceless, anymore.]

I'll ask around to see who wants some training, then.

[Without resistance, Kratos pulls one wrist back and offers the other, keeping still otherwise to avoid his back flaring again. He does glance toward the first-aid kit, considering the tub out of the corner of his eyes. There's no point in bathing if he's only going to get the wounds wet; surely there's something in the kit they can use to protect the bandages while he bathes.]

[conductingresistance]

Yes. A fraction.

[Yuan's tone is ambiguous even for him. It might be wistful; it might be disapproving.]

[He falls more quiet as he finishes the second wrist, swifter and more efficient than the first. He isn't any less gentle as he finishes, and cradles Kratos's hand between his with almost absent care before letting go.]

Go ahead and do that. You'll have to keep your hands out of the water. Do you think you can manage that much?

[It doesn't quite approach friendly teasing. It isn't brusque, either. Yuan's at an odd balance between his approaches to Kratos, like he can't decide which way he's going to fall.]

[simulsimul]

[There's a peace in the quiet, as Kratos abandons his attempt to see inside the kit to watch Yuan wrap his wrist. Peace in the fact that they can still make it to a place like this; not the base, but a place between them where one can still tend the other, can still be gentle with the other. Where they can still read what the other isn't saying.

[But at that, Kratos huffs.]

You'd think a technologically advanced base would have waterproof wraps. I can manage -- but you'll need to do my hair.

[This is delivered with an impassive expression and the faintest of head-tips; the challenging sort, where Kratos defies Yuan to find a reason not to help, now that the situation is what it is. He doesn't wait for a response, though, but rises carefully to begin figuring out how he's going to get his shirt off.

[Well. No time like the present. The hem is not so difficult, but before Kratos can lift it past his shoulders, his arms and shoulders spring to complaint, and he lets out a pained hiss.]

[conductingresistance]

[The peace lasts not quite as long as Yuan might have liked; but it exists, and that is not nothing.]

[Kratos will heal. Yuan will politely ignore the crack about the base's technological level.]

I've braided your hair more than a few times now, and you think washing is where I'll draw the line?

[Kratos does have some interesting priorities.]

[Yuan tidies the first aid kit away; then, without having to be asked, he comes to help Kratos with the shirt, insistent but not ungentle as he works it off of Kratos.]

I may, however, draw that line at your pants.

[simulsimul]

Heh.

[It's half amused, half resigned, as Kratos lowers his arms a bit, loosening the fabric so Yuan and work it more easily without Kratos's elbows getting in the way.]

I draw the line at my pants. I just thought washing my hair might have been too undignified for you.

[It hurts, still, the tension in tight muscles as the shirt goes over his head; but at least it hurts less than having to do it himself, and once the collar is clear Kratos can pull it off his arms with relative, if slow, ease.]

Though I am starting to wonder whether I'll manage to get into the tub without falling.

[It's ... an admission. A humorous one, perhaps, but even still; his legs ache as badly as the rest of him, and he's honestly unsure whether one alone would hold him, at this point. The tub's walls are high. The shirt gets tossed to one of the low tiled benches which forms the wall, and as promised, he manages his pants by himself.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan helps peel the shirt off Kratos until Kratos can manage the rest himself. He cannot help but see that mass of crossed scars, even not quite directly behind Kratos, and it makes his mouth tighten with distaste. Not for the marks, not really, but for what should not have been done to Kratos.]

What do you think I do about my own hair? It's hardly that much different when it's you.

[Really, Kratos.]

[Yuan's careful with where he puts his eyes as Kratos continues disrobing. It's not as though either of them has anything the other hasn't seen before, and there wasn't always space and time for privacy when they traveled, but it's something Kratos should have just as much a right to.]

[He holds out an arm, where it should be in Kratos's field of vision, and considers the ceiling.]

Here.

[simulsimul]

[The places where Yuan chooses to draw the line of dignity and modesty are continuously fascinating. Thus disroped, Kratos nudges the pants away from the bath and turns to see the way Yuan is emphatically not looking, and huffs with fond exasperation.]

You haven't changed a bit.

[Yuan was always the most modest of the seraphim. Kratos used to wonder how he'd managed to retain that trait, during the war; but it wasn't the sort of question one asked. Martel took care of the aspects likely to be trouble, anyway.

[But that's all Kratos says before he accepts the help of Yuan's arm. He can't put too much weight on it, or he might open the wounds on his wrist just closing over; but the arm is enough to steady him into the tub, despite the sharp aches which strike up while he does so. Getting down is not quite so easy, when he has to be careful of weight on his wrists, but he manages that as well, and sinks back with a sigh, resting his hands on the sides of the tub.]

This is going to start becoming a trend, if we're not careful.

[Kratos needing a hot bath, let alone needing Yuan's help to do so, that is.]

[conductingresistance]

[The comment about change, or lack thereof, creases Yuan's face, setting his expression not entirely happily. No: he hasn't changed. Not in this respect, at least. And it's not like Kratos would have been in a position to see it, if he had.]

[But he has no reason to have changed, either.]

[When Kratos has managed to lower himself into the tub, Yuan lowers his arm in turn, and moves away, going to lean against the sink and that counter rather than the tub. Notably, he does not quite look at Kratos, despite the obstacle to perception rippling water will provide. It's the principle of the matter.]

Then we'll be more careful, since I doubt you want my attendance on every opportunity you take to clean yourself.

[Folded arms.]

Let me know when you're prepared for me to do something to your hair.

[simulsimul]

Mmh. That depends on how you plan to handle shaving me in the future.

[Which is an acknowledgement of his continued concession. Kratos has no objection to being cleanshaven; at this point knowing that the seal might be affecting his feelings on the matter is cause to let someone else make that judgment call.

[Carefully keeping his bandages out of the water, Kratos finds the end of his braid to pull off the tie and start unravelling it. It takes a little while, owing to the fact that his hair knots so easily; but he's careful and persistent, and manages to shake out the last of it without having to reach back.

[Then he slides into the water to dunk his head, floating there in blissful watery silence for a while before surfacing and shaking water off his face.]

Okay; ready.

[conductingresistance]

That depends on if I'm going to need to cuff you gain.

[Which would be awkward, and only result in this same problem. Yuan wonders if the seal can trust his hands, now. He still doesn't think he genuinely can kill Kratos, after all.]

[Apart from that Yuan ignores Kratos readily enough, waiting for his word, and trusting that the disappearance underwater is not, in fact, an attempt to drown himself. When Kratos re-emerges, Yuan straightens, and comes over, gathering soaps before settling to sit on the edge of the tub, behind Kratos. Who has thoughtfully soaked his hair.]

[Yuan rolls up his sleeves.]

Tilt your head back, or don't complain when it gets in your eyes.

[simulsimul]

I'd rather avoid that, personally.

[Which is true, and yet. Kratos moves to obey automatically by pulling back his elbows to lean on while he tilts his head back -- and instantly regrets that. Slow exhale, slow inhale, and after a moment that aching paralysis subsides enough for him to sit up more properly and tips his head back that way, closing his eyes just in case.]

But -- we should at least test to see whether the seal has learned anything.

[Which means Yuan attempting to shave him while awake, with or without handcuffs.]

[conductingresistance]

I don't think either of us genuinely wants to repeat this experience.

[The part where Yuan has to pin Kratos down to do it, mostly.]

[At least Kratos is now in a better position to be groomed. Yuan starts with shampoo, working it into Kratos's hair at the crown and progressing down. He has some little amusement at exactly how much auburn there is now, and it is simultaneously nostalgic and completely new.]

Yes. But perhaps-- later.

[simulsimul]

Significantly later.

[So he can heal before they have to take the risk of slicing open his wrists again. Otherwise, he sits quietly with his eyes shut, head tipped back. He can't remember the last time someone washed his hair for him; it must have been back before he was given the cruxis crystal. On the journey, none of them had required enough time to heal to make it necessary.

[It's soothing, in its own way, if a touch alien. So is the fact that he has so much hair in need of soaping. It takes much longer than his estimate before Yuan stops to consider rinsing -- although that is, most likely, a result of Yuan pointedly showing him how much attention long hair should receive.

[The thought makes Kratos smile without explanation.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan can perhaps tolerate some scruff on Kratos if it means not having to repeat this performance.]

[This doesn't get said aloud. Yuan focuses on the motion of hands and the texture of Kratos's hair -- and the tangles he has every intention of combing out, so help him -- and the odd not-nostalgia carries him through till he's gotten every bit.]

[It's there that he pauses, wondering. He didn't miss Kratos's difficulty with ducking his head back earlier. Yuan could pour water over his head, which is sincerely tempting, but he'll need something more than just his cupped hands for that. It depends on how petty he wants to be.]

[In the end Yuan gets up solely to find a basin so he can scoop up water and pour it without especial care over Kratos's head when he resumes his place.]

What are you smiling about?

[simulsimul]

[Kratos doesn't open his eyes when he hears Yuan rise, which is to his benefit a few moments later, when water cascades across his head. Kratos lets out something which is almost but not quite a yelp, and manages not to jump as he splutters under the water. Luckily most of the soap misses his face, but he still has to blink rapidly before squeezing his eyes shut against another cascade.]

I was thinking that you were taking a pointedly long time to soap my hair, and that I might even ask you your recommendations, but I've changed my mind.

[Ow. His eyes are stinging. His hair is at least properly rinsed, though.]

[conductingresistance]

I told you to keep your eyes shut.

[Nevertheless, Yuan's pulling Kratos's hair back, and in a moment has a dry washcloth dropped over Kratos's face.]

There. Next time you can rinse your own hair.

[He proceeds without asking, rubbing something else through Kratos's hair now. The scent has a hint of citrus in it, but accompanied by something floral enough to take the sharp edge from it.]

This, however, should help with that tangling.

[simulsimul]

I did!

[Ever so slightly miffed, in as far as Kratos can get miffed. He reaches up to wipe his face, carefully to avoid wetting anything which shouldn't be wet, and lays it over the edge of he tub away from the water. He huffs a little.]

You're the only one who cares.

[The scent isn't unpleasant -- though the floral makes Kratos's nose wrinkle. It's ruining the tones of the other.]

Hmh. What is that.

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan doesn't know why that strikes him so, that he should be the only one that cares. It stills his hands for a moment or two, makes him scowl at the top of Kratos's head.]

[He supposes they're well equipped both to shield each other and to prod each other's hearts. Eventually he starts again.]

Conditioner. I'm aware the scent won't be your preference, but it's a tradeoff for not having the sort of snarls you usually do.

[Which are only magnified by this volume of hair.]

[simulsimul]

[It speaks of the cracks in them, that Kratos can't be entirely sure why Yuan reacts that way -- though he can practically feel the glare. He huffs again.]

I meant the scent.

[But Yuan is clearly going to be obstinately vague about minor things, just enough to be a nuisance without actually obfuscating communication. Another day, and Kratos might have been petty about asking first. This is not another day, and his wrists are throbbing. So he concedes, closing his eyes again and leaning his head, just a touch, back into Yuan's massaging fingers.]

If I wind up with hair like yours ...

[He doesn't need luxurious hair, thank you.]

[conductingresistance]

The floral part is magnolia. The citrus is orange, I believe.

[He takes some small gratification from Kratos leaning into his touch. See, Kratos? Taking care of your hair isn't so terrible.]

Then you will be profoundly grateful for how manageable it's become, I assume.

[Yuan is entirely aware Kratos was going to finish that sentence differently. He's helping. He keeps at what he's doing, though, not done yet, being thorough and gentle.]

[simulsimul]

[Magnolia. If Kratos had had the desire to create an argument, that would have silenced him. It does now anyway, for a few moments. Magnolias were -- are -- special. Kratos doesn't often remember floral scents well, but he knows flower language. And he remembers magnolias.

[But after a moment, he does rouse a response, if slightly lazier than he meant. He'd forgotten how nice it was, to be tended like this; and gentleness is rare enough in Yuan that every instance is to be remembered.]

I don't need luxurious hair, Yuan. You're the one with luxurious hair. We don't need two of us concerned for the state of our hair.

[conductingresistance]

[There's very little the two of them can't do without stirring some memory, here or there. Yuan takes the silence for what it is: an offered peace.]

[Eventually snipping at each other returns.]

I despair of luxurious with you. I will settle for not looking like it's about to eat your head. You shouldn't resemble a mandragora, Kratos.

Can you lean far enough back for me to rinse your hair without hurting yourself again?

[It falls short of acerbic.]

[simulsimul]

I don't resemble a mandragora, Yuan.

[He doesn't have flowers growing out of his head, for one thing. But Kratos does attempt to fulfill that request. The problem is that, to avoid wetting the bandages, there's only so many ways he can lean back; and they all involve the use of his elbows, which stretches muscles even less inclined to be stretched than just his arms. He does try, but his shoulders complain before his elbows get very far back, and it makes his breath catch; it takes him a moment to lever himself back up.]

No.

[With a sigh Kratos tilts his head back further, eyes firmly shut.]

Let's get the drowning over with, then.

[conductingresistance]

Perhaps a chimera.

[Vast mane and serpent tail both. No wings, though.]

[Yuan gives Kratos the room to try, and eventually sighs in turn. There was a reason he did that first, after all, aside from just petty vengeance.]

[Still. Perhaps he can endeavor to be a little more careful. He reaches for the basin again, scooping up water and pouring more carefully over Kratos's hair. This happens a few times, Yuan being more mindful of Kratos's eyes than he was before, and stops only when he's satisfied.]

This is nowhere near drowning, Kratos.