Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
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it was me who wrote onto the wooden door your name
If? Remi replies with a laugh and a roll of his eyes before he stops to think about it. You know, we haven't ever really fought that much together, have we? Or at least, most of it is apart. Thoughtlessly Remi reaches up to ruffle through his curls, but they've all but stretched themselves into flowing waves, so it isn't nearly as satisfying as normal. But the call of the deep isn't as strong as Ronin's voice is, and it's with a crooked smile that the alchemist finally does remember himself.
Ooh, I must be a very good dragoon, to get to lead then. Stretching out a wing to brush it against Ronin's shoulder, Remi swan-dives down toward the wreckage. Swimming right by a coiled-up rope, the alchemist instead heads toward the large wheel used to steer the ship.
Hey, can we bring this back? He calls toward Ronin, anchoring himself with both hands on the wheel and looking toward the Star.
it'll last there longer than in this body i can stay
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Most of it is apart, yeah. I don't even think we have trained all that often together. Not recently, anyway. The last time was just before LongNight, over a year ago... And Ronin wrinkles his nose and promptly tries to forget that, instead grinning to see Remi try to tame his curls, before nudging into the wing that brushes his shoulder and following his husband down towards the wreck. They can talk about training later - for now Ronin has paused by the coil of rope he knows they're here for, smirking and grabbing it to shrug it over his shoulder - at least now they can just enjoy themselves.
Which Remi is absolutely doing, down by the ship's wheel. Uh, yes he says. Do you want to use it as a decoration, or make another table like you did with that wagon wheel? He swims down after the Lullaby, inspecting the thing for water damage and nodding; it looks like it's in good shape. There might be other treasures, too. Shall we take a closer look? I got your rope, by the way.
right now everything you want is wrong & right now all your dreams are waking up
Remi, too, is eager to shy away from the memory; though he's underwater, his mouth is suddenly quite dry. It's a scene that's covered in tears and red dust, and it's with abrupt eagerness that Remi shrinks from it.
With a look that is somehow roguish despite the soft curls floating around his face, Remi grins, apparently having no intention of actually answering Ronin's question. You'll see. He chuckles with a bob of his brows.
Treasures, you say? Interested in expensive things Remi is not, but he has no doubt that isn't what Ronin has in mind anyhow. Giving the wheel a pat as if it say, you're coming home with me, the alchemist flaps his wings and glides toward the Star who shines bright as any beacon.
Which, as they'll soon find out, might not be as advantageous as initially thought.
The Lullaby
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Oh, I know I will see, Remi. It will likely be greeting me from somewhere in your shop whenever I walk down the stairs in the morning. I just wonder what it is I'll be seeing. Ronin raises his eyebrows, though he knows better than to expect the other man to give him further clues. He'll just have to grin and bear it until the ship wheel becomes whatever his husband intends for it.
Expensive treasures are not what the Star has in mind, it's true, and as Remi glides up towards him, he nods towards the bottom of the ship, which has all but buckled against the sea floor. It gives plenty of routes into the ship, and who knows what other interesting bits and pieces they might find? Let's go look? Ronin is already leading the way, either oblivious or uncaring that his light might be giving away their position to goodness knows what out in the open water.
03-27-2021, 06:42 PM (This post was last modified: 03-27-2021, 06:42 PM by Remi.)
it was me who wrote onto the wooden door your name
Lead the way. Ronin will feel a pulse of something decidedly wicked coming from Remi's thoughts as he so chivalrously allows his husband to go first. Is it because he wants to watch Ronin's ass scuttle through the narrow openings in the hull of the ship? Oh you know it is.
Into the depths they go, Ronin's light making the ship suddenly appear warmer and more alive for the light he casts. Small fish flit away in various schools as the men enter. It's impossible to know where this ship was headed or from where it came (unless the pair spend time trying to shift through thoroughly drenched logs), but given the number of doors kept shut with thick padlocks, it's safe to say that whatever the ship was carrying was either valuable or dangerous.
Perhaps both.
Dark shapes descend around the ship, not that the duo inside will be able to see, though.
I think I could see you as a pirate, actually. Sun chapped lips, open shirts, barking orders and beating the men at cards every night...though I'm not sure that sounds different to what you're doing as a dragoon.
it'll last there longer than in this body i can stay
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Ronin does lead the way, and he makes sure to shimmy his ass a bit extra, just for Remi, as he squeezes himself into the depths of the sunken ship. With the manta stone pulsing warm against his throat and his starlight casting warm illumination around the wreck, it isn't as spooky or as dangerous as it probably is in reality, and the Star swims to investigate a locked chest. I reckon I could open this thing up with enough persuasion. Do you think this was headed for Stormbreak, but hit the rocks?
He's hunting for a stone or something else that's heavy to try and bash at the lock on the chest, only to send a mental snort in Remi's direction to hear him compare him to a pirate of all things. Pulling a face and raising an eyebrow at his husband, Ronin straightens up haughtily. That is exactly what I do now, but with less kohl under my eyes, he informs Remi. Why, is this your way of saying you'd like to see me in makeup more often?
it was me who wrote onto the wooden door your name
Or coming from. The alchemist counters, thoroughly adoring the way Ronin's face is literally aglow as his fingers reach out toward a locked chest. He has the strength to open it with his little finger in all likelihood, and so it's with that type of boyish approval that Remi nods.
Unable to help himself, the alchemist swims nearer with a roguish grin. Well, I am trying to be more open-minded these days thanks to you. He remarks slyly. So I think I am obligated to say that I'd like to see you in makeup before making a decision about it. Pausing, Remi narrows his eyes as his mind reaches for a memory not thought of in years. I think the last time I saw you in makeup was with Bastien when we were doing that absurd magic act.
And yes, covered in glitter with dark eyeliner was absolutely a look Ronin could sport more often.
Outside a swarm has descended. Typically they do not hunt in groups, but for such easy-looking prey, they have decided to make an exception. Slithering through the cold waters, the group of giant moray eels begin to silently shake their heads, an indication to the rest of them that an attack is imminent.
it'll last there longer than in this body i can stay
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
What a shame that, for all of their combined strength and Attuned shifts, neither man is equipped to sense things beneath the water. So it is that Ronin, oblivious to the descending swarm, continues to amuse himself finding a rock to bust open a chest that absolutely must have treasures in it. If it doesn't, the Star is going to complain to whatever authority there is on shipwrecks. That seems like a lifetime ago, he remarks to his husband, grinning and straightening up with a hefty stone in hand, having drifted close enough to Remi to slip an arm around his waist.
Perhaps we ought to set up a date to do something similar? I have no doubt there must be seedy little art studios in the Silk Houses, or theatres or whatnot. Honestly, Ronin quite fancies seeing his husband wearing little more than glitter and eyeliner as well. You can be the model. I'll paint you.
it was me who wrote onto the wooden door your name
It does, yes. I don't even think we were together then, were we? It might have been before you died. He can't remember, honestly. Certainly there would have been more shenanigans had the men been a couple; there was simply no way that they could both have been nearly-naked being painted by Bastien with only a few foggy memories to show for it, if they had.
Oh there's a thought. I've heard that there are ones where you cover yourself in paint and roll around on a canvas. Wrapping his arms around Ronin's neck, once again both thankful and not for the chill of the water that keeps the effects of certain thoughts regulated. Ah well. Your idea would be the much less messy of the two.
Soundless the eels slip into the ship. Masters of camouflage as they are, the blow across the floorboards like ribbons but already their jaws have parted. Did you know that eels of this sort, if eaten, can cause a coma or even death? Who does that sound like, Remi?
Like the tentacles the alchemist used to have, one eel slips around Ronin's calf, circling and curling upward not unlike Sugar might.
it'll last there longer than in this body i can stay
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
It was before I died. I think maybe even Vanya was there that evening, Ronin says, nostalgia in his tone, though he only has eyes for his husband as Remi's arms come slipping around his neck. Even more reason for us to try it again, I think. I have a feeling you and I would make quite a beautiful painting. Quite what they'll be doing in said painting is another matter indeed, and now Ronin is also relieved for the chill of the water. With his husband draped up against him like this, it wouldn't take much at all for his body to start showing its interest.
I haven't heard of that one. We will just have to do both, I think. Then we can compare my not messy idea with your much more creative one, he suggests, wiggling his eyebrows at his husband. And so he's just about to swim down and bash the fuck out of the chest to see what's inside when he swears he feels something familiar. Remi, if you've learned how to shift into an octopus again without telling me, I swear... So saying, Ronin glances down, only to see something with a lot of teeth headed right towards his crotch.
He reacts accordingly, and might he add, logically.
it was me who wrote onto the wooden door your name
Remi would not darken Vanya's memory for anything at all, which is why Remi is forced to pull away from the Star slightly, lest his emotions give away that gravest of secrets he is forced to carry around.
As if there will be any comparison. Remi mutters, trying to tug his thoughts away from stars that shouldn't exist to focus on the one before him. Perhaps it's sludging away from Safrin's treachery that has Remi reacting far too slowly, his head tilting with adorable confusion. Much as I'd like to— Which is as far as he gets before the world goes white.
When colour blurs back into the world and the ringing in his ears stops, things are not as they had been just moments before. The ship has been all but vaporized, and there aren't even enough remnants of the eels for the men to make lunch out of. Having not seen what tickled Ronin's leg, Remi can only tilt his head to the side with an adoring look of Ronin, what the actual fuck.
First time feeling seaweed? Remi mutters smugly, before realizing that with the destruction of the ship, his wheel is now gone as well.
it'll last there longer than in this body i can stay
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Never again will Ronin have a leg to stand on when anyone, least of all his husband, calls him dramatic. The alchemist will be able to feel his heart still racing from the ring on his finger - as well as thundering in his chest where he's grasped the other man close again. Indeed, it's only the fact that the rope the Star has collected up has been draped around him that saved it from vaporisation as well. Glancing around and seeing... well, sweet fuck all, after that performance, Ronin can only wince apologetically.
There were eels, he says lamely. And I... well. I guess there's no more treasure now. Luckily... I've already found mine? He tries on a cheeky grin for Remi, hoping it's enough to lift his spirits, before of course Ronin also realises that the ship wheel has become nothing at all. Oh, fuck. I'm sorry... come on, we'll keep adventuring for something you can take back home.
it was me who wrote onto the wooden door your name
Were there, Ronin? Remi wants to know, absolutely eager to lay on his disappointment just as thickly and lavishly as this watery moment will allow. Ronin's theatrics have vanished Vanya from his mind as thoroughly as it has the ship from the seabed, and so it's with welcoming fingers that he draws the Star close to him again.
Oh you think flattery is going to get you out of this, do you? The answer to which is a resounding yes, for anyone wondering. Shaking his head as he rolls his eyes adoringly at the man in his arms, Remi just affects a lengthy mental sigh between them. No, no. It was one of a kind...I was going to use it to make the most fabulous chandelier...ahhh well.
Leaning forward, Remi's lips brush against the Star's, his smile boyish and crooked. You did heal the papercut I had earlier, so I suppose I should thank you for that. He thinks, his accent melding his words together.
it'll last there longer than in this body i can stay
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
There were, Ronin insists, feeling thoroughly silly now, especially given that he absolutely can't prove anything now that he's completely detonated anything that might have been on the sea bed. Maybe, he says of the flattery, slanting a much more crooked smile towards Remi this time and melting into the soft kiss that's delivered against his lips. Handsome, patient and creative? I am spoiled. He nudges his husband, as if to ask whether that's enough flattery yet.
Still, the grumble of disappointment is genuine to hear what the ship wheel would have made, Ronin gently kicking off the sea floor now so they can drift slowly back up towards the surface. Well, I owe you something just as good, he says - goodness knows what he will end up bringing home, but it will be magnificent even if not in particularly useful ways. That he can guarantee.
I did? I'm a hero among men, he says cheerfully, lifting Remi's fingers to kiss them, not even knowing if that's the hand where the papercut was. And at least I still have the rope for your Ludo thingy.
