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]

[Of all the things Kratos is preparing himself to hear, this isn't one that had occurred to him. He doesn't respond at first, because he's busy letting the news sink in, and then figuring out what it means. Let alone why Yuan would find it cause to be happy.]

I ... see.

[Kratos stands there for a few moments longer, brow slightly furrowed; then he tips his head.]

Are you -- offering to let me apply for citizenship?

[Just. To be clear, here. The words are carefully chosen; surely they wouldn't just grant citizenship to any Tethe'allan who asks, and surely it would need to be done with the approval of the owners.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan wasn't expecting jubilation from Kratos, there, but this is a little more blank even than he was expecting.]

[It doesn't make sense. Unless Kratos has some significant sentimental attachment which outweighs the value of not being property?]

That's my intent, yes.

[Kratos is about to turn his expectations completely upside down, isn't he.]

[simulsimul]

[Yes. Yes he is. Very deliberately Kratos turns his back, reaching for the cucumber to begin slicing it, and his voice is even when he answers.]

I refuse.

[conductingresistance]

[How did Yuan guess. He folds his arms, trying to divine some meaning out of the set of Kratos's back. There is little to be found.]

You'd rather remain a slave.

[...not that it means, in Yuan's house, what it would elsewhere; but still, he can't fathom it.]

[simulsimul]

Yes.

[It's a simple response, laid over the even click of the knife on the cutting board. He doesn't immediately consider whether an explanation is even necessary; it's obvious to him, why he might want to remain a slave.

[As a slave, he is still Tethe'allan. To become naturalised, to become a citizen of Sylvarant -- it would be turning his back on everything about his country. No one who's moved from one or the other would ever be accepted still clinging to the cultures of their original nation; the hatred ran too deep.

[And far aside from rejecting all that he fought for, it would be breaking his oath as an imperial knight. He won't do that. He'd rather remain a slave, than have everyone know he considered Tethe'alla so worthless as to be tradeable for some freedoms and a bit of social standing.]

[conductingresistance]

[There was a time when Yuan would have done anything, not to be.]

Tch. I suppose it saves me some paperwork.

[This sounds dismissive and irritated, but Yuan doesn't entirely leave it, instead choosing to frown at Kratos's back.]

[There is no meaning there.]

Every time I think I'm beginning to understand you, you prove me wrong.

[simulsimul]

[That makes it sound like Yuan doesn't understand Kratos's reasoning, and that's odd enough to make Kratos glance over his shoulder with a frown.]

What made you think I would appreciate the offer?

[Surely a soldier of Yuan's rank would understand. Even 'commander' had to be more than a thirst to prove himself. It's important enough that Kratos lays down the knife and turns properly, resting against the side of the counter.]

All this time you've never once asked me for anything which might further the Sylvaranti war effort; no request for information, no details on military processes. Yet now you expect me to betray Tethe'alla more truly than any answer I could have given?

[The frown remains, but becomes a head-tip as well.]

You must truly think poorly of me.

[It -- stings, a little, that Yuan thought he would sink so low.]

[conductingresistance]

I-- what?

[Stung and bemused in equal measures, Yuan closes his eyes, pinches the bridge of his nose. He needs to not snap at Kratos about this. Not when some vague progress is finally being made.]

[And this is far more words than Kratos usually strings together at once.]

I assumed you wouldn't give them, so there was little point. Unless I wanted to make all our interactions more terse than they already are.

[Kratos had already been interrogated. Either he'd given useful information, or he hadn't, and in any case if it had taken some measure of torture to make him speak, then Yuan would not be well-suited to get any more from him.]

I don't expect you to betray Tethe'alla. I'd assumed you'd want to make the best of a bad situation, that's all.

[And for Yuan those truly are two different things, at least in this case. He frowns, focusing better again as the answer occurs to him.]

You're-- a true patriot, then.

[simulsimul]

['The best of a bad situation' -- how could becoming Sylvaranti be anything but a burden on his heart and soul? Kratos has to shake his head, drawing himself up so he stands free of the counter, and proud; more like the soldier of rank than he'd been since arriving in Nidavellir.]

I'm an imperial knight of the empire. That doesn't change because I've lost my arms and armour.

[He doesn't know what Yuan's tone means, when he says 'true patriot'; but it doesn't seem to be a tone which means anything good.]

I swore an oath to Tethe'alla. I won't break it now -- just for a faint hope that people look at me a bit differently.

[He regrets the last words nearly as soon as they leave his mouth, and it shows as a flicker across his face.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan might have had something to say in return, something reasonable, until that last.]

[And he'd thought, oh how he'd thought his skin was thick enough to ignore comments on his race by now-- but Kratos, as is well his fashion, strikes right under it. That does hurt, less for the explicit words and more for what it implies Kratos believes of Yuan--]

[His entire bearing stiffens to hide the flinch, which is as good as showing it in the first place. Damnable.]

[The only thing that keeps his feet in the same place is that flicker in Kratos's expression, the minuscule realization come too late, which Yuan wouldn't even have spotted a week or two ago, if he wasn't paying such close attention in his quest to understand this in the first place.]

[All the same he feels defensive, though Yuan surely doesn't owe Kratos any explanations for why he is the way he is.]

And what the hell is an imperial knight doing here, then?

[What oath leaves room for keeping a half-elf's house and pushing himself to toppling over chores, for spirits' sakes? Kratos said something, back when he had first arrived, about being committed to Yuan now. It makes even less sense now than it did then.]

[simulsimul]

[This is going -- extremely badly. Kratos shouldn't have let it escalate in the first place; hadn't his sisters always taught him that it's part of his responsibility to avoid things like this escalating before they become a problem?

[He exhales deliberately, and inhales again, more slowly.]

Forgive me. That was -- unworthy.

[But Kratos isn't sure what else he can say while having to look Yuan in the face, and know that this time he, Kratos, had been the cause of that hard expression and those fire-spitting eyes. So he turns, picking up the knife again so at least his hands are busy chopping while he finds an answer. When he does, it's low and even.]

To be a knight -- is as much about will and mentality as it is about the trappings of rank and armour. It's a way of life, not an occupation. The knight's creed is built to be applicable in all situations, no matter what. It's built to bind us to the ideals of Tethe'alla which we strive to meet even in war. I've told you a line from it before.

[Right before Yuan had walked out in a miff.]

I don't serve Sylvarant. I will never serve Sylvarant. But to serve Yuan Ka-Fai in bondage is not outside the bounds of my oath. I can live with that. I cannot live with betraying my creed to forget my country, even if it would make me better off. I couldn't bear that burden.

[conductingresistance]

[That's unexpectedly mollifying, the serious way Kratos asks forgiveness. Also, something of a novelty. Yuan finds himself easing, letting go a little more rapidly than he has before.]

It's nothing that hasn't been said before.

[...Though on reflection, that lacks something as an acceptance of apology. Yuan shakes his head.]

...it's fine.

[And he turns his consideration to the rest of what Kratos has said, quiet and thoughtful for long moments.]

I suppose it's fortunate I'm not more of a patriot, hm?

[Dry; almost ironic.]

Are all knights so stubborn as you?

[simulsimul]

[Kratos appreciates not having to look at Yuan, during those moments of silence, and it means the salad progresses nicely. The house contains so many mirrors for the light that Kratos can see Yuan's face anyway, and Yuan's reaction to the apology has to make Kratos wonder if it's the first time he's been given one.

[Maybe it is.

[But Kratos's shoulders relax a fraction when Yuan makes something which sounds almost like a joke, and Kratos's huff is a bit resigned.]

Only the Aurions. The oath -- has a bit less meaning for most, these days.

[conductingresistance]

[It isn't the first time, that Yuan's heard someone apologize to him; but it isn't common, and never has been. He could probably count the occasions without going past two hands. He sighs very quietly.]

A devolution that's difficult to avoid, when the war's lasted this long.

[Not one he really likes-- but unavoidable. And one which makes something more impressive of Kratos. As though he needed to be more so.]

...I can... respect your determination, at least. On this matter.

[They'll revisit Kratos collapsing if and when it happens.]

I won't ask again.

[There's a breath, considering. Wondering about asking. Yuan goes ahead and does anyway.]

What is it, about your family?

[simulsimul]

Thank you.

[An ironic turnabout, that would have been; the master ordering the slave to accept freedom. Yuan's assent makes the rest of the tension in Kratos's back ease away, perceptibly so. The question is a surprise, however; enough to make Kratos glance at Yuan properly in the mirror with a vaguely puzzled air.]

What about them?

[conductingresistance]

[Apparently Kratos is content, to be Yuan's slave. ...In fairness, it really is only in name and in the eyes of Sylvaranti society; but even so, that isn't something Yuan had been expecting.]

[Kratos does seem to take a special pleasure in surprising Yuan, whether he means to or not.]

[He does think Kratos needs more practice at conversing reasonably, though; they were just speaking of what he's asking.]

You implied only your family has the same sense of dedication.

[simulsimul]

Ah.

[Yes. That. Kratos is a bit surprised Yuan's asking, but in retrospect there's no reason why he shouldn't. Sylvarant's culture, as Kratos has already seen, works in extremely different ways. This conversation proves that.

[So Kratos's silence is thoughtful while he considers how best to respond, tossing the salad and covering it. That done, he turns around again, leaning against the counter and crossing his arms.]

That -- requires some explanation, I think. I assume Sylvarant has social policies in place to maintain a necessary population, given war-time casualties?

[conductingresistance]

[It's both amusing and surreal, how comfortable Kratos has become in his kitchen. It is something of Kratos's domain, after all.]

[Yuan lets Kratos have that silence to think; it seems like it's necessary, sometimes, for his thoughts to be put in as succinct a phrasing as he can manage.]

Something of the sort, yes.

[It makes fidelity an odd thing, both prized and impractical for soldiering on.]

How is that related?

[simulsimul]

Because of the ones we use in Tethe'alla. Only nobility can become officers, including the knights -- for various financial and educational reasons too difficult to change.

[For all that Sylvarant was a union of kingdoms, Kratos knows enough to know that Tethe'alla was the nation more inclined toward upholding the status of nobility.]

Tethe'alla offers a rebate to every family who produces a certain number of children beyond what's needed to maintain their future and livelihood. Naturally, the nobility wanted to enjoy the benefits of that; equally naturally, they wished to avoid the risk of some distant sibling returning from war and securing the family's inheritance over the favourite heirs. The compromise they came up with was consensual infidelity. It's written into the law that children produced from such unions can make no claims to bloodline inheritances, nor have children themselves, nor perform any duty other than the one for which they were bred.

[All this he says with some degree of matter-of-factness, but it's only when he reaches this point that he realises how alien this must sound. Even a couple of months in Nidavellir is long enough to see how highly clan-ties are prized; what would be the point of declaring it as often, in dress and colours, as the people do? On the surface it had felt almost familiar, but as Kratos settled in, he'd begun to realise how different it was. Tethe'alla cares about bloodlines. Sylvarant cares about family.

[Kratos looks away, feeling suddenly unsure about whether he should have explained this much at all. It would have been equally simple to just say what he says next, surely.]

The Aurions are the alternate bloodline for the Chetheses. We're bred for the knighthood, and nothing else. Of course we take it seriously.

[It isn't just a career, for the Aurions, the way it might be for any incidental recruit. It's the reason for their existence. When one has only one recourse, at least it should be done well.]

[conductingresistance]

[...It does sound alien, and this is coming from the half-elf ex-slave. That, somehow, isn't what he expects from nobility.]

[...except, perhaps, for the utter disregard for how those beneath them might feel about their lots in life. That sounds all too familiar, and Yuan is beginning to wonder if they were in such different positions after all.]

Then you never had any choice in the matter?

[His voice is dry and remote, as though he's trying not to show sympathy. He doubts that Kratos would want anything resembling pity, after all. Certainly Yuan wouldn't.]

[And it's downright peculiar, to see Kratos looking -- visibly -- unsure.]

Did you -- any of you -- never want something else?

[simulsimul]

No.

[Kratos glances over, and something in Yuan's bearing, like he's trying not to show pity, makes Kratos need to move, to distract himself. He goes to the sink instead, to pump it full of water and start on the dishes.]

When I was a youth, I --

[He hasn't talked about this. Ever. He never even talked about it with his older sisters, though he suspects they had known. He does not look at Yuan.]

I wanted to be an actor.

[conductingresistance]

[... Yuan would never have imagined that. He has to take a moment to add that to his mental image of Kratos.]

[An actor. It's difficult to imagine, with Kratos's gift for impassivity; but he supposes, after a little thought, that controlling reactions takes just as much effort as faking them, only in a different direction.]

Why an actor?

[It's very much a question he doesn't expect an answer to, given how personal he's getting, but there's more than a little curiosity there. It doesn't seem to fit. Maybe some little piece more of explanation will make it do so.]

[simulsimul]

[It's always easier to continue, once begun. Kratos has learned that about himself, previously; it's one of the reasons he so rarely starts. Aurions can't afford to run off their mouths -- so he says very little. It's in keeping, with his mask. But he's begun now, and with his hands and focus on the dishes, it seems even easier to keep going, even though he hasn't thought about this in years. It's a door in his heart he hasn't dared open for a very long time.]

When I was a youth, I was responsible for tutoring my siblings. They always responded best to stories and plays. Things they could laugh at, engage in. I enjoyed helping them see the world in new ways. I thought that if I could apply that same principle to the world, what could I change? We still speak of legends from centuries ago. Being able to tell even just one story in a way that will change the hearts of others -- surely, that's a worthy way to spend a life.

[His voice begins matter-of-fact; by the end, it's wistful.]

[conductingresistance]

[Consciously, Yuan's learned more about Kratos in ten minutes than in the preceding weeks.]

Worthier than spending it in war, I'd think.

[And yet: here they are.]

[...Yuan wonders if perhaps he has just answered one of his own questions about Kratos, without realizing it.]

It always seems to be about others, with you.

[Not judging, just... noticing.]

[simulsimul]

Does it?

[This is a genuinely surprising observation, enough to make Kratos pause and turn his head toward Yuan without actually looking at him, because he was busy considering Yuan's words. He isn't sure what he expected Yuan to say, but that isn't it.]

I -- suppose it is. I've never really thought about it.

[Too much self-examination had, in many fashions, equalled examining the pain of what he couldn't have. Bitterness was a heavier burden than Kratos wanted to carry.]