Locarda's Links
He just won't let go of the ghost. They ain't family anymore, but he hasn't got the memo yet if his drop-by's are any indication - and it's stretching V's nerves thin. Some days he wants to wreck the fucking world and he's starting to think the only way to properly convey that to Jia is to show him...
"It's good to see you. Won't you come with me...?"
He can remain polite even if VIII gets angry with him. A talent in and of itself. His other talents involve ending bar fights that VIII may or may not have started. Jia doesn't have much to say on that, rather, he is just trying to make sure his family is fine.
And rectifying if there is anything threatening. This has lead to a few warrants. Whatever it takes to see VIII now and then.
Little creep appeared out of nowhere and unlike Endral's arrival, it wasn't just Caspian that was struck by his presence. No one knows where he's come from or why, but his thirst for chaos and blood provides a bit of solace for the captain - he hasn't killed them all in his sleep yet (likely due to the frequent graveyard shifts Caspian himself does to look over his crew). Same for his childish thieving antics and general trouble.
Caspian is still considering if his horns would make for nice enough teacups.
I kinda just popped up on his ship and tagged long for the journey. Of course im loyal to the cap' but you never know~
I do love messing around on board and its HILARIOUS when 'cap gets mad at me. I swear one of these days i will ACTUALLY get turned into a tea set- but thats an adventure for a different time!
Caspian is someone i personally look up to, though hes pretty cool calm and collected im quite the opposite, thats why i think we make a great team! I also believe that we should go on another voyage- pleaaase pleaase! ill go nab some beer and then we can skedaddle!
He doesn't pass up an opportunity to blow a kiss her way while escaping yet another one of her ingenious capture plans. He has to say, she's awfully cute when she's mad. Or when she's embarassed.
Has offered the stubborn woman multiple chances for parlay on one of the Lost Isles and is patiently waiting for her to tire from her pursuit and accept.
Her fists automatically curl when she thinks of this man, and her brain begins to work in fervor over all her failed plans to bring him in.
You can tell when she's thinking of him as her face will blush extremely so and will often go into rants about his unfathomable luck in escaping her.
If they weren't in the position they were in life they may have been very good friends, maybe more, but alas she's relentless in her pursuit of justice.
As of now she refuses the mans offer for parlay, she wants to win this her way and she just doesn't want to give him the satisfaction.
She's had run ins with both Zozo and the awful man behind his charismatic smile. She suspects no connection between the lovely painter and whoever had the sinister, awful sense of humour to send her a painting of herself drawn in her own goo.
At first Caspian thought the man was Geefe navy and tried his usual approach towards the aforementioned - if not plunder then at least hefty annoyance. Even after discovering that to be untrue he still harnesses Varis' general dislike of other seafarers as fuel.
Their relations are understandably and wearily chilled. But then Caspian trades fairgame with anyone so it might be a WIP.
Victorianna doesn't know what to do with Udelra. She's not really a categorizable person - brash, bold, brutal and frankly too loud. The pakkeli is shy and oft tongue-tied around her as she is around Taahj but with the stark difference of it being all the time. She trusts her rage and is thankful for it but doesn't trust her beyond that.
They've had morning coffee as per Udelra's odd request to take her out somewhere (tango?) and then... even odder disappointment. It was a very strange ordeal altogether. There was beer at 9 am and lots of talk about bloody kills. Anna's stomach frankly protested a lot. But she left that interaction invigorated and with a few unusually harsh fantasies involving the valkumous (who knew there were so many ways to kill someone), as well as a thank-you kiss to Udelra's cheek.
She trusts her rage alright. Yet it partially disconcerts her how similarly she yearns for a revenge following the examples Udelra gave her.
"Haha! Well babe, if you're paying like this, I can butcher them like animals."
Udelra is very much like a bull in a china shop when it comes to visiting Victorianna. Granted, she only shows up in the dark of night to talk business.
Well, mostly business. She does try to make the moves on Anna.
When she came into contact wih the sisters she didn't know she was going to be dealing with a cannibal. The notion disturbs her, but paired with the surprising politeness of an otherwise terrifying offer, she was able to keep her cool and not run for the hills at the time.
(She looked into the eyes of what she was sure was insanity... and felt oddly comforted amidst the terror coursing through her as well. The unnerving calm around the woman was somehow infectious. "I- I would believe I taste awful. Of sadness." And it was a sad smile she wore.)
Surprisingly the sister she gets along better with, she's even let Taajh witness dead pakkeli outside of her illegal dealings and allowed her into her morgue where she crafts her statues in the likeness of her deceased customers. Taajh's fascination with death is something Anna would rather not admit to relating to. But she does.
Still has yet to let her snack on her customers though. Even if she trusts her a bit more than Udelra.
"If you let me have a taste, you'd be part of me and closer to your targets."
Taajh has, frankly asked to eat Anna- or at least nibble some goo. She's much less into the revenge thing, and treats the job with professionalism unlike her sister.
Well... Outside of the photos of dead Pakkeli and vile tastes.
FRIEND: She is such a classy woman, which Hattara envies. Part of them wishes they could live such a fine life as she. Regardless, Hattara loves chatting with Anna and learning more about her.
There's always caution to be had with assassins but Hattara's genteel nature makes Anna forget about their occupation at times, especially when business derails into casual chatter. It makes her wonder how a seemingly well-adjusted, pleasant Pakkeli ended up on that side of the tough road.
She'd offer them a monetary 'out' if she didn't want the job done first. But that doesn't mean she can't be curious.
The godmother to Lilija's cinderella, Anna came in all her diamond and white chiffon glory and insisted she doll the beautiful girl up. A stunning dress, a fitting ride and a mask to hide from her stepmother. Only thing missing was a prince and Anna was elated to learn Lilija had met one.
Anna first met the girl through hers and Lilija's stepmother's family knowing each other. She became aware of the 'servant girl' soon but didn't know about her past until it was personally relayed to her. And then Anna became a woman on a mission. Mission 'Get Lilija to the ball' had commenced.
A second mother to me. She's the one who told me about the party where I could check on my stepmom and meet my one true love. She's gracious and kind not to mention absolutely beautiful!
It started with admiring Breya's clothing lines from afar with an insecure wistfullness and now Anna is paying a pretty penny for tailor pastel goth/grunge clothes by the talented fashion designer. Turns out even she can be convinced to show some knees! Not without some good blushing of course
See, when Anna walked into an informal meeting with the co-organizer for the charity ball, she didn't expect leather and metal. Lakshmi took her by storm... and by motorcycle. The white-lace princess clashed with the biker businesswoman and they became great friends. Victorianna has tried to make sure her fondness doesn't rely on Lakshmi's resemblance to a certain woman... More than anything, she's someone that gives Anna the same feeling of safety she's been missing for a long while. For that, she's endlessly thankful.
That and how Lakshmi doesn't make fun of her for not knowing certain obvious normal-people things. What, she's never been on a subway! She's had a personal driver for as long as she remembers!
He stuck a cigarette between his slightly grinning lips and eyed the steady stream of yellow trickling out of Yuren's nose.
"You've /got/ to be more aggressive." Producing an ornate lighter from his pocket, he lit the nicotine and then reached up to wipe his own forehead clear of whatever had stained it when he'd smashed it into Yuren's face. That had drained his anger so quickly. Now he almost felt... pity. Pretty face. What a shame.
"You don't goad the dude that's robbing you for one. Next one'll have a knife." He raised one semi-white eyebrow. "Tell you what. I'm gunna buy you a drink with your own money an' then I'm gonna teach you shit you can't learn in a fancy self-defense class"
"Hey!"
How they met was an interesting tale- He went to adjust his jacket at the right moment and tapped VIII. Yuusha had stared blankly for a moment, realizing that he'd just been pick pocketed. But what did he do?
"If... you're that desperate I can buy you lunch."
Little did he know what hellish gate he had opened.
He told Weiss he broke his nose when someone opened a door to fast on him by accident. In a way, he's kind of correct.
The social butterfly to her shy and easily embarassed hermitude, he was the one to introduce her to new friends and various circles that she was slow to flourish within. As a coveted and sheltered woman, she can't help but caution him about spreading himself too thin and allowing for little free time, as well as getting involved with questionable people. He knows her true colors and handles them well - the slight joykill and overly careful prude despite her flawless formal manner. And she knows his yearning for love despite a steady string of lovers. On the lookout for whoever starts getting serious with him, Anna is ready to exhibit her surprisingly critical eye and unforgivable scrutiny. /Someone/ has to be there to tell him some people don't deserve him and she suspects he's not very careful with his heart.
"Anna! It's good to see you!"
Their meeting was inevitable, old money, and friendly, good people. Yuusha appreciates Victorianna's... well... everything! She's sweet, she's sensible, she's strong. Of course the other part of her glassware work, the funeral jars, that's a subject he can't handle well, but he'll smile a nervous smile if she wants to talk about it.
He did, at one point, ask her to a night of fun only to be gently rejected. He took it with a laugh and a smile,
"Of course. I'm happy just knowing you're happy."
"Hey princess, think fast!"
Gana enjoyed sparring with Regina most. A thousand cutting remarks doesn't do more then slightly ruffle her feathers. Distractions, jeers, and insults do not pierce her armor enough to hurt or leave an opening.
For him, self proclaimed king of snark and underhanded tactic, practice with her helps him crack the shells of tougher clams.
Outside of practice, he'd always ask her if she has any cool scars- and she was the first to know when he got the scar across his chest. Well, that and whoever was in the area- he put one foot on a chair, pulled his robe open and proclaimed,
"Hey it's healed up now! Sexy right?"
Now though, she's headed out to the sea, and left him behind. He doesn't mind that but- did she have to be so serious about it? It's not like they'd never see eachother again, right?
"Of course- I'll also yell insults at you until I anger you into coming back. Even if I'm dead."
He'd run a hand through his hair and sigh, the serious atmosphere making him force a smile. "Hey now death isn't just a scar- it's an amputation- you die you're gonna take a part of me with you. So don't waste it and fall flat in a ditch a week from now."
A laugh echoed in the battlefield. A chuckle followed.
Squaring off face always stole away her attention in ways she wouldn't admit (in worry of errors in battle and fear of those outside of it.) The scar over his face that hers matched - the only one she'd had to learn to love with some help of an impressed boy that took more pride in scars than anyone had allowed her to have. ("Trophies of survival, not of mistakes" she'd remind herself, a little lesson she'd taken from him and hid away in the back of her mind for safekeeping).
It reminded her of first meetings: "Well we /have/ to be friends now." she'd announced with authority, closing her right eye, above and below which two lines had just begun crusting over. "Either best friends or worst enemies. We have time to decide."
It only fit they were both bleeding that time and managed to laugh and gloat about it, exasperate a healer together (that same healer gleaned enough attention from her later to teach first aid - to make sure at least one of them knew what a lethal wound looked like, she'd said, necessary after Gana being brought with a half-gaping chest) and part with a pride bubbling in Regina that overpowered the sting of pain. This, she had thought to herself - barking blades, muddy feet, sky-high voices tossing jabs and teases in the air without quite aiming at each other, and the expressions of playful lions etched onto their faces - this is what she'd think of every time she looked at those scars.
Gana snapped her out of it.
"Hey princess, think fast!"
(Before she had to leave, she visited him. "When I'm out at sea, I expect your awful cackle to bounce off the waves and reach me still. And the day it doesn't, I'll think you dead." Her eyes turned solemn then. "I suppose that would be the last and final scar you give me. And the biggest." They downcast to the fabric across his chest beneath which his biggest wound had once lain. "And i hope that when i die i will give you one to be proud of.")
She remembers being barely 30, uncomfortably sitting amidst a gossip circle that occasionally glanced at the target of their whispers, and thinking there's no such thing as monsters. She was the brave one that day, the one to get dared and the one they crowded around when she came back externally triumphant.
"Well he doesn't growl like a beast when he speaks. His mouth isn't lined with fangs nor his spear stained with the blood of a thousand enemies. And I suppose I did escape with my life... For someone parents use to scare their children into behaving with, he's actually rather boring. So stop ogling him from afar like some abomination and maybe he'll stop glaring at you." She'd been coy and teasing (but in her defense... fangs? Really?) and yet was loathe to follow her own advice after being shooed off like a stray pup. She teemed with a desire for rematch.
Life like that, must be lonely. It was awful to watch people get sidestepped as frequently as him.
At least he'd know soon that she was on his side now... (She'd approach him one day: "You know people keep saying you were born soulless... Well, you probably do know, yes, gossip is shameless. But then when i ask them, nobody can tell me what a soul is, so how can they decide what a soul isn't? I think you have one. It's just difficult to get to and maybe that's smarter. Maybe it's more precious, like a pearl in a clam. Of course the clam prefers to be ignored rather than pried open. So there, I've decided. A soul is a pearl, and you're the dull clam protecting it. Duller than most... And i... I've got a pearl bracelet at home." She'd smiled like a warning and let him talk and kick her out once more like countless times before. The threat had been made and she suspected hers weighed heavier than any he could make.)
While they've had the occasional stiff intellectual conversation, there's always the rigid feeling of nervous respect Caspian hasn't managed to shake. Kept him from loosening up around Angelus and he suspects that's for the best. He wonders when that loyalty to violence and Juuou would ever get him anywhere. Nowadays just feels like wasted potential. A mean-lookin gargoyle Caspian used to itch to awaken.
Would rather die than admit to any attraction. Hopes he didn't sing like a songbird during any outings with booze.
Pretty. Like Raphim mining soil, peppered with gold. Reminds Gina of a time they used to sneak off and snatch a few pieces. Sell them for sweets. And now they took it off of cornered sailors. A bit of reminiscing is nice - Aveil has been a deja vu from home in both appearance and helping hand. A buffer for Caspian's gloom that frankly anyone would need a break for - when they're on board Regina gravitates to the woman. She believes they're friends but who knows Ave's view on things.
"I never asked why you ever decided to start this - the constant wandering, always moving. Are you running towards or away from something?"
Staring into the open, untamed skies, where they meet the seas, she contemplates the question. With eyes closed and the wind blowing the gold gasses, she replies "The seas called to me from the monotonous shores and I fell in love with the wind's caress." Her eyes open and she turns to her friend with a somber look... before bursting into laughter, "I got bored and it seemed fun."
He regrets ever looking upon her with hatred and jealousy and ever living to see it returned. What he took as a smug brushing off was her acceptance and unwillingness to fight. But he supposes that's how it went - she was tired of him, he hated her and Philomena took advantage. Shattered things irreparably between them. He stills wonders though, about what she would have done. If it hadn't been Philomena they'd had to prove themselves before - if it were Imre, or Livien. But he can imagine the conversation:
"Would you have? If it were your fathers standing there telling you to kill me, would you have?"
"They love you. If they've ever hated someone, it was deserved. And if they ever were to want someone killed, I'd do it myself..."
The younger brother that she doted upon the moment he was dropped off at their foster father's feet. The smart, closed off one to her dumb strength, she would say. There's always danger in inheriting anything of Philomena's and with Cas it was more than her color... They were like her and Imre reborn and the dynamics applied there too - he (Philomena) was always the quiet and conniving snake and she (Imre) the one to taunt it and almost get bitten. And yet. He's her snake. Perhaps you can't fault a cornered animal for striking. But was he cornered at all?
"Turn around. Close your eyes." He somehow managed to seem like he was a single frayed nerve away from bouncing with excitement even while wearing a pursed, focused frown. His forehead was creased. Picture perfect nervous schoolboy.
Odd for a man that'd just raided a Geefe transport boat and robbed 10 sailors down to their belt buckles.
"It's the first i touched so it's the first treasure I took. The very first."
Gold fit her, he concluded while resting the heavy necklace around her throat. It was thick workmanship of many delicately laced details, laden with fire agate stones. The biggest one reflected the light and glowed orange like a flame had been lit within it. Yes. Fitting.
Caspian closed the clasp and stepped away. His chest was puffed out almost formally. Behind his back he rung his hands together.
"It's a thank you. A small one, but it's what i could afford." A small stiff smile finally graced his face. "Unless you're interested in some gold belt buckles."
I would call him a pest for the way he just keeps turning up in my life, but there's such a charm to him there, and I can't bring myself to leave him stranded when he gets his ass left behind. He wears my sass well, and I certainly wouldn't mind the occasional fling or treasure in return for all the pick ups~
To Victorianna,
I love you. I may have not told you as often as I've felt those words resonate within me, but believe me, if I had you would have gotten tired of it. Continue to love the world as deeply as you always have. Don't shut your heart to those that need you and those that can take care of you.
I don't know what to do without you to this day, El. I keep your final letter in my bedside and your pictures around the house, as if I'm trying to make sure I wake up every morning and the first thing i see is how empty everything feels without you. I can't be in the spaces you used to fill anymore. And you... I had you stood in the interior garden, amongst a heavenly flower arrangement. The flowers are all dead now. I couldn't bear to water them. So now I've left you all alone. I've made so sure to honor your memory that your memory never leaves. And now... now i need it to. I don't know what to do, El. I need to move away from you.. or else one day I might try to move towards you.
They are.. unusual to say the least. But ive grown quite fond of brynne. They are fun to tell stories to... because they seem to listen- or its just they are in their own little world. They seem to calm down when im around, its nice, im happy that i can be of help. Either way, i make sure to look after brynne. I always wonder whats going on in that brain of theirs.
I... like them. One of... my only... friends. I don't know what to say... They... make me happy with their stories... I forget to be... on edge.. when they speak. I like that... The only one to... bother with someone as clueless and slow as me...
Victorianna met her backstage before a fashion show and had to pile jewellery on her. They talked for so little and yet that interaction has struck Anna every time she read a tabloid article of the woman. The words 'diva', 'stuck up' and 'egotistical' don't fit the real Amara and Anna is determined to get to the bottom of things.
The demon-looking boy is an odd soft spot for Tamsyn. When she needs a break, she shows up without warning (usually through the window) and takes up residence in his house. He doesn't ask questions. She likes that.
Bleary-eyed and in his boxers, he wandered into the kitchen to get a morning beer, sidestepping chalk-drawn sygils. "Mornin'... Summon baphomet today?" The chanting just continued. "No? Oh, alright." Good talk.
He left a beer beside the outline of the symbol and clinked it with his own.
"Cheers, Baph."
He'd left before she'd come into his brother's possession but one mention of Claus and he understood why Cion couldn't leave her. He's done his due diligence to help her and atone for whatever sin he'd committed by not strangling Claus in the crib. He didn't bother her nor talk to her much during their short trip, but can never shake off feeling dirty under her gaze. Feeling more Lutierre than he had ever wanted to feel...
I hope I don't look too antagonistic to him, but when I see him all I can see is his brother. Is he as cruel and harsh? Is he going to wait till our guard is completely down and then turn on us last minute? I can't shake the paranoia, but I know he is different, and he must be kinder elsewise Cio wouldn't trust him... surely...