[video] Hundred years, hundred more

[four_quarts]

So.

[He pauses, thinking on how to word this. Well, no sense in beating around the bush, is there?]

Thanks to the events of the previous two months, it has come to my attention that many, if not the majority of you have some likely rather deep rooted issues that the Queen is prone to picking at, and that she is unlikely to stop until we destroy her or she breaks our will to fight.

In light of this, I am offering my services as... shall we say a councilor? I know that it's difficult to trust someone whom most of you hardly know, but this is in fact something I have trained for. I can't and won't promise a complete lack of judgement, but I can assure you that you will be treated fairly if you seek me out for help.

Rest assured, anything you say that doesn't pose a direct threat to the other members of this little army will be held in confidence.

Feel free to speak to me at any time about anything that ails you, from minor complaints to feelings of loss to - [Subconsiously, he rubs at the edge of where the purple scales meet the rest of his face.] - traumatic events you may or may not have survived.

[He stops again, realizing something, and then breaks into a smile.]

Oh, but where are my manners? I am Ghaleon.

Comments

[four_quarts]

I would certainly expect there to be side effects you wouldn't want to speak of, even as quickly and as largely intact as you were. Especially with a god involved.

[A breath is taken, held for a moment, and exhaled as a sigh. In spite of the smell of the sea that permeates this place, the underlying smell of (not home; Vane hadn't smelled like old stone and moss for decades before he'd even died) ruins remains strongly enough that he feels nostalgic for a moment.]

...I'd almost say you were luckier than I was in that regard, if I didn't know how much it can hurt to be called terrible things when you're unused to it.

[Narrowing his eyes at the sea, he darkly mutters:] Even when you are used to it.

cw: mention of (attempted) sexual assault

[helborn]

... I was always used to being called weird by... people at school. I was teased a lot because even though I was born and raised in a place that puts an extremely strong emphasis on one of the official languages of the country, I'm still terrible at that language.

[Not that... anyone seems to be able to tell here.]

I still... have dreams about dying again, and my mother telling me how disappointed she was in me... but I climbed the world tree back up so I have to be strong... somehow.

[Maybe. He's not sure.]

... Anyway... I traveled with some of the others for a while longer, and... at one point we ended up under the sea. There was a powerful sea spirit there, and he offered us a... night with some of his children. I guess he was being hospitable or... something. But I got stuck with Prince Crab, and he was...

[He goes quiet, and he sits down on the stone, staring at a crack on the floor. He gathers his strength, trying to put it into words.]

... He was really eager. Or... something. He tried to get me into bed, but I didn't want to. I... maybe I just should have let him, but it was really the only time I ever... didn't do what the people around me wanted. I climbed up the wall and escaped his room. But the others in my... in my group... they laughed at me for... wanting to escape.

[Casper sniffles, rubbing at his face, but it's not helping much. His voice is somewhat strangled when he speaks again.]

And I feel awful even thinking that maybe they weren't... good people, if they laughed at something like that.

[four_quarts]

[The more Ghaleon listens, the more difficult it becomes to stay composed. It wouldn't be good to do something rash, like punching the nearest wall. It would break, he knows, even if the magic of the place would likely prevent would probably prevent him from doing too much damage. He won't though. Casper is here for a calm, compassionate ear, not for someone to get angry on his behalf.

But, oh, is it difficult not to with the way these so-called "friends" and mother of the boy are only reminding him of the things he hated most about the gods and humanity. As it is, Ghaleon's certain that he must look rather severe under the mask of calm.]

At best, they were idiots with too little imagination for empathy. If you felt so strongly against it that you felt you had to scale a wall to escape, you should neither be blamed nor treated as a joke for it.

[helborn]

... They're... they're my companions. My... I know Aiden's my friend, even if she... laughed at me, too.

[Isn't she? She has to be, right? If she's not...]

I don't know what to do. I can't... if they're not good people... we all have to work together to stop the titans. So it doesn't matter about the people... as long as we save the world.

[Right?]

[That has to be, right? Then why does his chest hurt so much? And why is he starting to sob? He tries to get himself to stop crying, but he can't. The tears running down his face make him feel... dumb. When was the last time he cried? Did he even cry when he died? Probably not... his mother would have yelled at him.]

[four_quarts]

[For a thousand years, people had told the story of Magic Emperor Ghaleon, fallen hero and greatest villain since time out of mind. Enemy of humanity. As cold and cruel as the winters on the Frontier were said to be. Some days, Ghaleon himself can believe that there's some truth to those stories.

Some days, it's all he can do to keep his heart from breaking at the sight of some poor soul in pain like this.]

The people do matter. Even if the people you must work with don't truly care for your well-being... Even if they would stab you in the back if they thought it would give them more of an advantage... Even if it's necessary for the good of the world, your feelings still matter.

[...Oh, hell with it.

He steps forward and very gently pulls Casper into a hug. Dimly, Ghaleon wonders what all those people who knew him from that old legend would think, seeing him show genuine empathy toward someone else?

It doesn't matter anyway. Not when he's the only one left who can share the tale.]

It's alright to cry.

[helborn]

[He jerks slightly, surprised by the sudden touch that... isn't someone trying to kill him. But he leans into Ghaleon, bowing his head and just letting himself shake and sob. He's not sure what to do. To question the people he cares about... it hurts. But do they feel the same way? He's not sure. He doesn't know what to do.]

S... sorry. I know you offered for this but... it's kind of a lot... you don't even really know me. A... and... it feels like my feelings don't matter. My parents don't care about my feelings. They're... they probably think of me as just a kind of failed experiment. B... but... I have to... I have to fight. I have to... even if I can't do much... better to at least... try...

[four_quarts]

[It's different, he knows. Casper is hardly the same person as she had been. And yet...

...And yet there is just enough of an echo of her the times Mia had sought his arms for comfort in her times of insecurity that make him miss the girl he had considered his niece terribly. Enough of an echo of Nash that it aches fiercely.

Enough of a reminder of the other children he'd seen take up the mantle of hero that...]

...If you're still fighting through all the pain inflicted on you, then they're fools to think of you as a failure. It's that sort of tenacity that can see even the gods fall at the hands of children barely younger than you.

[helborn]

... Becoming a god's part of the goal, at least. Not killing them.

[It's a joke, but not a very good one. He tries to smile but it... doesn't stick.]

Th... the whole pantheon's doomed, but the last time someone tried to stop them there was a world war. Millions of people got killed. ... And maybe our doom will destroy the whole world and maybe it won't, but we have to stop the titans first or the world's going to be destroyed for sure. I don't...

[He leans against Ghaleon, trying to draw strength from the other. He needs to pull himself together, but... can he? He sniffles, not even bothering to wipe tears this time.]

I'll fight. As long as I can. I might not be a hero, but I refuse to... to let things get in my way. Even if I have to fight alone... if I can make a difference... even the smallest bit...

[four_quarts]

Killing a god, becoming one, fighting through hoards of foes in hopes of saving one that you have romantic feeling for, some combination of the three... It all requires a similar level of determination.

[Nevermind that the last two are probably oddly specific and he wouldn't personally recommend becoming a god, but whatever. He'll just gently rub the kid's back and refrain from commenting on this sort of life choice until he knows Casper better.]

In that regard, I'm sure you'll pull through. And who knows? Maybe after everything is done with here, you can recruit help from the other castle residents.

[helborn]

Y... yeah. Maybe. I just...

[He lets out a long breath, trying to pull himself together.]

I'm so different from how I used to be in... some ways. I fight and win and I never did before. I'm strong, but I'd never cared about strength before. I have so many ways I can hurt people... but I don't want to. I just want to help them. I just wish people could be straightforward.

I don't... I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want everyone to be able to live in peace... but I guess wishing isn't... going to make it true. And our enemies... aren't just going to sit there and not hurt us. If the only way is to kill them...

[It's... still unsettling for him.]

I don't know what to do. I guess... keep moving forward here...