capeandcowllogs | been trying hard not to get into trouble

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been trying hard not to get into trouble

WHO: jenny quantum & larsa solidor.
WHERE: city hall, larsa's office.
WHEN: sometime before the weekend.
WARNINGS: jenny's potty mouth tbh.
SUMMARY: the tyrant talks to the emperor.
FORMAT: quicklog.

[ it's a risky move-- and a risky place to be-- but she's feeling powerful and a little rebellious, and it's the one place she knows she can find him. she won't stay long-- not with the security and not with other city hall employees nearby-- but it's a talk she's been meaning to have for a while now, and there's no better time than the present. before she hits the warpath again.

she teleports in via door, all golden shimmering light until the portal closes behind her and she's standing there like she owns the place, already smoking a cigarette. larsa probably won't appreciate her filling his office up with smoke, but she rarely does anything larsa appreciates.

it's her way of greeting him when she pushes some papers aside to sit on his desk, exhaling smoke and saying, as casual as you please: ]

Hey, loser.

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(he had been working on that- but it's really the smell of her cigarette that gets his attention. larsa looks right at her, shocked that she'd even be here of all places.

he practically bolts to the door to check if anyone's there before closing the door to the intern's office.)

What are you doing here?

I came to see you. D'uh.

[ at least she has the courtesy to tilt her head away when she exhales smoke, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. ]

I wanted to talk. Unless you're too fucking busy paper-pushing.

Thank you?

(He has so many questions to ask, so much to tell her that he can't even begin to know where to start.)

I am sure you have much to say.

[ the corner of her mouth vaguely quirks upward around her cigarette. ]

First of all. Question. Don't you get fucking bored doing this shit? You were a fucking ruler, Larsa. What the fuck are you doing in this dump anyway?

Please, have a seat.

(He can't be casual about a conversation like this, the way he moves is almost as if he's still in the Empire.)

I never told you how I became Emperor. Few people actually know, which is why you need to sit.

I am sitting.

[ she says it to be contrary, and her tone is openly mocking. but after a moment, with pointed movements-- so that he knows she's humoring him-- she removes herself from his desk and puts herself into a chair, only to put her feet up where she was sitting before.

that might be as good as it gets. ]

So?

Several years ago, Ivalice was caught in a cold war. With Archadia to the north, and Rozzaria to the south, every land in between was victim of mobilization between these two countries. My brother, Vayne, was the master tactician. He toppled governments, took over countries, build Archadia on the backs of countries he toppled.

(it isn't easy for him to say these things; it makes him more serious than he usually is.)

He wished to eliminate the resistance in a country the Empire- (it's hard to find a good word for it) expanded into. So, he brought the entire navy, brought the world to the brink of world war and eliminated anyone who would dare hinder his plans. I am Emperor because his plan failed.

[ she watches him with an impassive face, just inhaling and exhaling smoke with half-lidded eyes as she listens. it's the kind of story she'd figured he'd tell her-- and part of the reason she'd come, in all honesty, for that perspective, but at length all she says is: ]

I'm not your fucking brother.

He reached for power, and in consumed him. I would not have you suffer the same fate.

(He grabs her cigarette, lips pursed. Larsa doesn't know why she's here, or what she does with the information, but what if it gets through to her?)

[ she makes a bit of a face when he takes her cigarette from her, breathing out one last mouthful of cancerous smoke before she lets her feet drop from his desk-- but not before pointedly dragging her boots across it first.

reaching into her jacket pocket, she retrieves another smoke, pressing it to her lips and snapping her fingers. a blue quantum spark lights the tip of her cigarette. ]

Your brother was just a fucking man, Larsa. I'm Jenny Quantum.

(Larsa just grabs that one too before trying to impress the idea harder. He can't hide his expression anymore, mixed with worry and concern and it's to the point that he has to reach out to her. )

Powers or no, people do not buckle under tyranny. You may use them to keep them in your iron fist, but you will lose some and they will be your undoing. He brought the Gods themselves to Ivalice, joined one with them for all of their power, and it took a band of seven to be his undoing.

[ she lets him take the second one-- lets him fuss. because it's larsa, and maybe they're not close like she is with terry and julian-- those two and her, they share a special dark something, the potential to go bad-- but she thinks maybe they're friends. that's why he worries, isn't it? because she and him are friends. she's never really sure. ]

If there was a better way? I'd take it. But there fucking isn't, because humans can't be trusted with themselves. And I'm not here to make sure everybody's fucking happy and comfortable-- I'm here to make sure they survive.

(of course they're friends. even though they have their differences, larsa would not think of her in any other way. he squeezes her hand, trying to just convince her to do the right thing.)

Some might, but I believe that they would do what's right if only given the right guidance.

[ it catches her attention when he squeezes her hand-- but she lets him do that too, without fighting it. ]

People don't fucking listen to guidance, Larsa. Sometimes they have to be fucking afraid first before they'll change. Sometimes, you have to push.

Push too hard, and it will crack in front of your very eyes.

(he gives her a small smile, thankful that she's allowing him even that display of affection.)

I worry.

Edited 2013-05-14 07:24 (UTC)

I know you fucking worry.

[ her voice isn't harsh when she answers. ]

But you're wrong this time, Larsa.

We have both seen what they are capable of, even though we stand on opposite sides. But, I beg of you, try peace.

(he withdraws quickly, realizing how forward he'd been with his emotions.)

[ she lets him pull away from her without moving. it's as hard to read her face as it always is, but there's a subtle softness around the shape of her eyes. ]

Don't fucking beg me, Larsa. You're an emperor, you shouldn't be fucking begging anybody.

(he gives her a small sigh, hating that he finds a grain of truth in her words. no one should have to beg for the greater good of people.)

But, I am not Emperor here. If I have to beg for these people- for you - then I shall.

Don't.

[ she insists, making a half-frustrated, half-dismissive gesture with her hand as she goes on: ]

I don't fucking like my friends to beg for anything. And besides, you can't change my mind. You have to know that.

And if I refuse to acknowledge it? You cannot force me to either way.

(he's just as stubborn as her, should he want to be. larsa's helpless in this situation- what does he do? nothing? tell the authorities that she's there?

no, he can't. tattling on her, or turning her in wouldn't do any good. if he did, she'd just get out and do it again. if he doesn't, then he's just letting her go.)

If I cannot convince you, why did you come here?

What, I can't come and see my own fucking friend?

[ she rolls her eyes a little, but it's mostly for show. affection isn't something she does well a majority of the time. or respect. but she does respect larsa, enough to want to hear him out, even if her mind is set. ]

I'm not staying long, anyway. I can't.

If I might be forward, I found myself missing you as well.

(He offers her a bright smile, savoring the moment for a bit before realizing where they were.)

Do you wish to go somewhere more .... private?

[ at that, she makes a half-scoff of a noise that would've been amused under different circumstances. with a mildly mocking sort of dryness, she answers: ]

Are you really inviting me to go somewhere private, Larsa?

Is it your wish for City Hall to arrest you?

(He needs more time to convince her to stop. She might be more stubborn that he is, but Larsa has to convince himself that there can be a good end for everyone.)

The implication is not lost on me, I assure you.

They can fucking try.

[ she doesn't seem too phased by it. but honestly, she doesn't mean to hang around long for a reason-- it's not the time for a confrontation, not right now. ]

Besides, I'm not staying. I came to see you, and I fucking saw you. So.

Please, I implore you to take my words to heart.

(He looks at her, then at the door, hoping she realizes that he's staking his political career meeting with her like this.)

Thank you for coming to see me.

I heard you out, didn't I. That's practically a favor from me already.

[ her dry words don't sound particularly yeilding. she's strong spirited and stubborn to a fault, this girl. but she isn't cruel all the way through-- only part way, and her cruelty isn't for larsa. her friends get her affection, when she can afford it, rough-edged though that affection sometimes is.

at length, she gets up from her seat. maybe she's outstayed her welcome. pausing, she pauses a second, idly holding her cigarette out to the side for a beat before, without warning, she leans and presses a red lipstick kiss to larsa's cheek. ]

You're fucking welcome, anyway.

(Whatever he has to say in response is caught in surprise when she kisses him on the cheek. Larsa tries his hardest not to blush, instead opting to close his eyes and almost savor the moment.)

Tell me that I will see you again.

(even if it's in jail, he wants to know that she'll live. Even criminals have that right.)

[ she pats him on the cheek where she kissed him for good measure before pulling away, responding with a vague, wry sort of curve at the corners of her mouth: ]

No fucking promises. Sorry, Larsa.

[ it'd be cruel to promise anyway. with the way things turned out last time. ]

This is good-bye for now, yeah?

(Maybe he should have asked her to stay, but what use was there? He doesn't even feel himself giving her a small nod before swallowing hard. )

Bradbury will be here soon. (Should she need an escape (he can't believe that he's helping her escape), but she has to do the right thing.)

Best make your leave swiftly.

[ she steps away, brushing a little something off her jeans before giving larsa a lazy salute. that's as much a farewell as she gives before there's a brilliant flash of blue light--

and she's gone. ]

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been trying hard not to get into trouble

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