(Kenoma.) after the 6th of Firaseri. (cw: beheadings)

[vapour]

[ in the communion space, the Kenoma will feel Childe's presence along with a really obnoxious slurping sound, the exact kind you get when sipping out of a straw and the drink has reached near empty. A momentary flash of Hayame-chan's Beautiful Achamite Head Trio display is flashed as a memory along with a heavy sense of puzzlement over the effort keeping these heads clean and tidy. ]

Wow. Can any of you tell me more about this Pleroma called 'Hayame?' [ he sounds curious more than anything. In fact he finds this all amusing because it's just so... pointlessly grotesque and yet... there's some strange sense of dedication and care to the display.

He laughs now, deciding he finds it actually really funny and entertaining as the wide scope of their enemies starts to show itself.

He wonders if the other Pleroma tried to persuade Hayame not to do this but weren't successful? Or did they not care ... the latter doesn't sound quite right for a good chunk of the Pleroma at least, especially of the first wave arrivals.

It's be interesting to look into. ]

I'm very interested to hear from you if you can.

Comments

[galdorleod]

[ There is almost an immediate extreme reaction to Childe's message from Howl. The Communion equivalent of an angry scowl. ]

...What does that disgusting image have to do with it?

[ and this is both an earnest question and a cranky expression of his displeasure at being DMed gore pics out of nowhere. ]

[vapour]

Hmmm? [ hello to you, too, sunshine. ]

What do you mean? Isn't it fascinating a Pleroma did something like this to you? Not showing you it would have made this pretty uninteresting. It's not all that different from what we were trying to do to Vaeka that we were condemned for, right? The only difference is no one apparently cares about the lives of these people.

[galdorleod]

Oh, well, if if it's fascinating and interesting, then by all means. Pardon me.

[ can you hear the eyeroll in this voice, Childe? please hear it it's there ]

I assume that you are saying this "Hayame" did... that. Those are Achamite citizens, aren't they?

[sterngaze]

[Very little comes through Liem's communion aside from the words he chooses to send, and a subtle, unobtrusive undertone of tension maintained until it becomes exhaustion. Neither the slurping nor the severed heads seems to move him.]

I have spoken with her. Though I didn't know she had made a display like this one.

[vapour]

... [ ah, this is ... Liem, right? Childe makes no waves in the communion space suggesting what he's thinking or feeling suddenly, but thoughts and feelings do indeed exist.

Childe is very friendly despite Liem's lack of ...well, lack of almost everything, really. ]

You did? Can you tell me about her? What she looks like, what kind of person she is?

[sterngaze]

[Normally Liem is better about actually introducing himself to new people he speaks with, but he seems to have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to interactions that take place over communion, or in dreams. The connection just seems to smooth past the need for introductions, at least while he's in the moment.]

I met her during my dreaming, before I first emerged in the Champion's shrine, and then again in Venera, both times I was there.

[He accompanies the words with his own mental image of Hayame: stern-faced, long-haired, looming almost two feet taller than himself, with a longbow as tall as a man in one hand. Notably, her lower body is very clearly that of a lean, long-legged dun horse.]

She is a skilled warrior, and places great importance on her honour. In our second meeting, she said that she felt she owed me a debt, and I believe she intends to repay it despite us being in opposing sects.

[affal]

( what is initially a sense of irritated displeasure at childe loudly slurping into his metaphorical ear is soon bolstered by a more focused sense of disdain. no, he hadn't seen the centaur's little display when he was in venera, but he can't necessarily say he's surprised to see such a thing. )

She's perhaps the most stubborn creature I've ever met.

( and that's something, coming from a demon whose only inherent "power" is being bullheadedly stubborn. )

I greeted her in the Firebrand Shrine when she first arrived in Horos several months ago. So thoroughly displeased with what I and the Pleroma Aion that arrived on the scene had to say to her, she threw herself into the Brand rather than go with either of us. If that gives you any indication of her character.

Based on this little tableau, it seems that her concept of "pride" is not her only antiquated mindset.

( it's clearly meant to be a warning, intended to cut out the supports that the Kenoma Aions have already begun to rely on from under them — shaking the faith of the common Achamite foot-soldier and thinning their numbers will not fail to have an impact. he doesn't find it particularly amusing. )

She's to be handled with due caution.

[vapour]

[ hey, there pretty boy, he's very happy you were willing to give him a little of your time.

he listens to makoto with interest. for what it's worth, Childe is even quite polite and is absolutely silent for the commentary on Hayame. Of course, he takes mental notes. Firebrand, didn't want to be with either sect— actively disliked what both sides had to say, but has ended up with the Pleroma. The possibilities just keep adding up, as far as the Harbinger sees. ]

Any thoughts on her mindset beyond stubborn? Dealing with her is good and all, but do you think she's corruptible? This sort of thing is very against what the Pleroma desires, as far as I know, considering it's a display of aggression and destruction of life rather than death from self defense or rescue.

[affal]

( he's the one who asked, so makoto would hope he kept quiet while he was explaining... )

Is it?

Not all of them are bleeding-heart pacifists. ( he's been violently perforated by at least two or three of them. ) It doesn't surprise me at all that some might go to such lengths. We are ostensibly at war, especially after what was said in the Regent's summons, and an example was made of occupying soldiers by those who would benefit greatly to having them removed from Venera entirely.

As for the centaur... ( he's only directly interacted with her twice. he's trying to remember everything he heard her say, finding what inferences he'd made. ) She has a martial spirit. She's willing to throw her life away if her options do not suit her. I don't believe manipulating her is an impossibility, but it... might be presently beyond or ability.

( she had used a name. "matsukaze." so long as he, and whoever the "others" were that she had mentioned, were lost, he's uncertain they would be able to shackle her with despair. his gut instinct is that she would be more likely to throw herself off a cliff (which he had, admittedly, already seen her do once). )

[devilmancrybaby]

Ah, the horse-woman.

[ A note of resentful displeasure, although it's not really aimed at the mental image of the heads. The way he feels about the heads is mostly... like... read the room, Hayame? It's like watching a demon trying to court a human by breaking their arm. There's a time and a place for decapitated heads, and some people just don't respond well to that kind of thing! ]

That's one way to send a message... She must have wanted people to be able to recognise who the heads belonged to, I suppose? Not really surprising. She seemed rather savage and aggressive when I fought her.

[vapour]

Yeah, it's actually pretty gross and primitive. Even I don't do this sort of thing during a war.

When did you fight with her, Bingy~?

[devilmancrybaby]

[ There's a hint of something between indignation and humiliation from Binghe's end, although he tamps it down quickly. He has displayed people's decapitated heads before, when he was conquering territory in the demon realm, but he prides himself on doing that kind of thing in contexts where it's necessary, and keeping it off the table with what he considers a more civilised, human audience.

More importantly, though... Bingy? ]

Don't call me that.

text

[hundredpower]

She is vengeful, and she despises the Regent more than she cares for living, or for the lives of others.

Despite that, it was possible to reason with her before. I do not think it will be possible now.

[vapour]

Hm? Why's that? Something happen?

[hundredpower]

I made a deal with her, but I wasn't able to hold up my end of the bargain. With that in mind, I doubt she'll ever trust a Kenoma again, and it would be wiser to simply deal with her by force.

[tohell]

[ Time to be the odd man out, since the demon's response is a poorly restrained bit of snickering. It's rather amusing how prudish everyone is being over the Jinba woman's dedication to presenting her trophies. What a shame no one else in this little mental zoom call appreciates Hayame's creative endeavors, simply because her arrangements aren't flowers or gift baskets, but something that leans slightly towards the eclectic. To think she'd get such a cold reception after being thoughtful enough to share her masterpiece with the populace and their Kenoma-kind to enjoy.

Well, this demon does. And it's not only because they just so happen to share certain hobbies concerning turning bodies and heads into star-crossed lovers; separated and never to meet again. ]

She's delightfully entertaining to play with, if you ask me. [ He might not swing that way, but there's always a special place in his heart for a miserable, spiteful little creature that enthusiastically tries their damnedest to sink their teeth into him. ]

And while I'm not the sort to kiss and tell about the finer points of our encounters- [ Makoto doesn't need to know about J's revenge plot, and how he demanded a pound of flesh (only her heart, in the most metaphorical sense) from Hayame in return for the Jinba's attempt at taking his ward's life. ]

Should you two meet, you'll find our artistic friend has plenty of other surprising talents at her disposal, besides giving head. [ Get it? Come on, he had to. ]

[affal]

( there is the mental inflection of a groan.

he makes a solemn and personal oath to kill J twice for the crime of such a joke. or, at least, kill him twice as horribly. )

[tohell]

[ Surprise, surprise. Looks like J wasn't wrong about Makoto pinging to his quip in this open line of chatter. The only good fortune here is that his ward isn't currently trying to dissect the strange implications of their meeting with a scalpel's precision. If a crude joke is where his attention is aimed, J couldn't have planned it better. In response, what seeps in through communion like a faint coil of smoke is a clear sense of his master's satisfaction, which he's free to interpret however he likes.

Oh, and by the way — Come and get him, you absolute tease. ]

[vapour]

[ It's appreciated. That snickering is promising.

and oh, does childe ever get it. ]

Oh ho... what's someone giving head worth to you, anyway? Into anything else? Everyone has a price for their words.

[ don't start things you won't continue, j. childe's hoping you aren't that type of individual at all. ]

[subsist]

[ while kaeya doesn't speak up, he will make his presence known via an alert and curious sensation that can be felt if one pays close enough attention. he's here and he's paying close attention.

after all, it's always good to know more about one's enemies. ]

[vapour]

[ gather all the Intel you can, Kaeya ♥ ]

[zauneyete]

I hadn't expected any of them to go to that kind of length.

[ It's...brutal enough, anyway. A little cruel. Silco seems appreciative. ]

It certainly sends... a message, doesn't it?

[vapour]

Heh. It really does, doesn't it? I feel like it would be rude of us to not respond in kind. I'm tired of giving them all a pass.

If only we already knew where they all hide... but it's no matter, plenty of them slither around in the Regent's territories.

text

[oomfies]

why are u laughing??

[vapour]

Lottie, sorry you had to see this.

Why? Because it's nasty irony. This is stuff they would expect and accuse us of doing.