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Hello to you, Gustave. It would seem that we are.
[ it would also seem he does not pull punches with his questions, though she is at least very good at pretending it doesn't make her want to die a little. ] I am indeed married, but it's a complicated thing. [ he doesn't want to be married to her anymore. ): or well, she'd assume. she had to flee in the dark of night. she blames his meddling family. ]
I hear you understand that, though. [ complicated things. ]
[ it would also seem he does not pull punches with his questions, though she is at least very good at pretending it doesn't make her want to die a little. ] I am indeed married, but it's a complicated thing. [ he doesn't want to be married to her anymore. ): or well, she'd assume. she had to flee in the dark of night. she blames his meddling family. ]
I hear you understand that, though. [ complicated things. ]
I didn't realize it was so complicated- ah, painful, I mean. I apologize for broaching the subject. I was operating on minimal information, and I- I wanted to ask a good, personal question, which could really help you to be- Well. ( it's difficult to not broach the subject he's attempting to avoid if only because of how much it relates to the universe he's from, to the world and story that he comes from.
he gestures vaguely with the mechanical arm in front of him. )
I'd say I'm familiar with complicated things, yes. So perhaps you might forgive me, and we go with something simpler to ease into it?
What's your favorite color?
he gestures vaguely with the mechanical arm in front of him. )
I'd say I'm familiar with complicated things, yes. So perhaps you might forgive me, and we go with something simpler to ease into it?
What's your favorite color?
I'll forgive you, but only because you've asked so nicely! [ and because she does, in this strange realm space, understand what he's trying to evade. it's not something she wants to think too much about, either.
it's sort of funny he began this conversation asking about makysm, because she thinks he would like maksym a bit more than her. they could discuss inventions and other esoteric things, things she found boring and off putting because she was silly. ]
Though asking me to choose is also a little mean, when I'd like to claim most of them. But I like most shades of green. And pale buttery yellows. And burnt orange.
[ she's not good at this, is she? ]
What about you, monsieur? [ a favorite color? ]
it's sort of funny he began this conversation asking about makysm, because she thinks he would like maksym a bit more than her. they could discuss inventions and other esoteric things, things she found boring and off putting because she was silly. ]
Though asking me to choose is also a little mean, when I'd like to claim most of them. But I like most shades of green. And pale buttery yellows. And burnt orange.
[ she's not good at this, is she? ]
What about you, monsieur? [ a favorite color? ]
And here I was trying to avoid mean questions, but I won't ask for forgiveness this time as it seems you've come up with acceptable answers.
( that don't delve into too much detail about herself to be fair, but he didn't ask for details about herself - simply color preferences )
Ah, favorite color - ( he goes through a few of the options, but red has connotations he'd rather not think of, and- ) Copper, I think.
It was quite relieving when I placed this on for the first time, and it actually worked with help from my apprentices, of course. ( he pats the mechanical arm which flexes the hand on the other end. )
( that don't delve into too much detail about herself to be fair, but he didn't ask for details about herself - simply color preferences )
Ah, favorite color - ( he goes through a few of the options, but red has connotations he'd rather not think of, and- ) Copper, I think.
It was quite relieving when I placed this on for the first time, and it actually worked with help from my apprentices, of course. ( he pats the mechanical arm which flexes the hand on the other end. )
And you've been so kind to accept all three!
[ technically, he did ask for just the one, but her nature is such that she'll always want a little bit more. her eyes trail over to his mechanical hand, feeling less rude about doing so since he's the one who's drawing attention to it. ]
Copper and burnt orange are rather similar, aren't they? I salute your taste.
You designed this yourself, then?
[ that's quite impressive. ]
[ technically, he did ask for just the one, but her nature is such that she'll always want a little bit more. her eyes trail over to his mechanical hand, feeling less rude about doing so since he's the one who's drawing attention to it. ]
Copper and burnt orange are rather similar, aren't they? I salute your taste.
You designed this yourself, then?
[ that's quite impressive. ]
They are. I hadn't considered that actually, but they're within the same realm of color, so you're right. We've both exceptional taste.
( gustave looks down at his arm, which he lifts up in her direction, flexing each of the fingers on the end of it. )
My apprentices designed it actually. They're young- well. ( getting older as the years pass and the oldest person in lumiere becomes younger and younger. ) But they aren't to be underestimated. Obviously, they had oversight and guidance from myself, but the actual look of it was all them working together.
Asking about talents isn't too personal a question either, is it? Where would you say your own talents lie?
( gustave looks down at his arm, which he lifts up in her direction, flexing each of the fingers on the end of it. )
My apprentices designed it actually. They're young- well. ( getting older as the years pass and the oldest person in lumiere becomes younger and younger. ) But they aren't to be underestimated. Obviously, they had oversight and guidance from myself, but the actual look of it was all them working together.
Asking about talents isn't too personal a question either, is it? Where would you say your own talents lie?
[ she continues to study the mechanical hand, eyes rounding a bit as she sees the flex of its fingers. she's never seen anything quite so sophisticated, and looks equal parts amused and impressed that a young cohort of apprentices are responsible for it. ]
I believe the question skirts the line just so, but I've no marvelous invention to show in return. [ unless she herself counts, but that's a secret she reveals to nobody. engineers like gustave, scientists, scholars, mages — they would and have done great and terrible things to study what lies in her very essence. she'd much rather be the creator than the canvas herself. ]
But I am not not a chemist. I like working with scents and minerals. I've a very good eye for spotting a gem in the rough, and I like making perfumes for myself and loved ones.
[ getting the composition just right is a genuine treat for her, though more often than not she lacked resources to test all that many interactions. ]
I believe the question skirts the line just so, but I've no marvelous invention to show in return. [ unless she herself counts, but that's a secret she reveals to nobody. engineers like gustave, scientists, scholars, mages — they would and have done great and terrible things to study what lies in her very essence. she'd much rather be the creator than the canvas herself. ]
But I am not not a chemist. I like working with scents and minerals. I've a very good eye for spotting a gem in the rough, and I like making perfumes for myself and loved ones.
[ getting the composition just right is a genuine treat for her, though more often than not she lacked resources to test all that many interactions. ]
Oh, that's perfectly alright - there are more ventures to explore beyond invention. ( some part of him wonders what he might have been interested in, what he might have delved into if not for the pressing need to invent a great deal of things. would he always have been drawn to the mechanical, to the creation of new and innovative ideas to make life in lumiere better? to attempt to save it? it feels impossible that he would ever be anything else, but it also feels impossible to live in a world that wasn't actively dying one year at a time. )
That is an important skill to be able to spot gems, and making perfumes? That absolutely is the sign of a chemist - a scientist in a way, but also an artist. Correct?
You've got to have a good sense of a person and of how smells meld together to do something like that. What's the process? You start to think of the person and of the scents they most might like?
That is an important skill to be able to spot gems, and making perfumes? That absolutely is the sign of a chemist - a scientist in a way, but also an artist. Correct?
You've got to have a good sense of a person and of how smells meld together to do something like that. What's the process? You start to think of the person and of the scents they most might like?
here is what i had so far but it is all subject to change tbh:
• she is born to a sweet family who is nonetheless accepting of their fates/station, a mentality that she grows to find intolerable. part of their acceptance is they like the quiet/peace of where they live, particularly because it is important to protect their daughter's secret(s), both the fact she is a runechild and she inadvertently murdered someone with her powers.
• they work for alira's family, who vacations in the countryside for several months out of the year. they tend to that countryside home. alira is a strange~ child who doesn't make friends easily, so they have elizaveta be her friend. the two genuinely get along but the dynamic is by nature uneven.
• alira is genuinely a nice person (think a melly or a jane bennett or e33's sophie), but sort of blinded to her privilege and oblivious to how elizaveta resents it. she does not have elizaveta's hunger.
• alira's parents want to make a match with maksym's family, but elizaveta swoops in to marry him instead. this is sort of scandalous as elizaveta is not from a "well to do" family, and also alira's childhood friend.
• idk how but he does find out that she first married him exclusively for his money, which leads to bitterness/friction between them. also someone in his family had her investigated maybe and found out about the murder?? which leads to another murder, thus she had to flee to keep from being caught.
• she is born to a sweet family who is nonetheless accepting of their fates/station, a mentality that she grows to find intolerable. part of their acceptance is they like the quiet/peace of where they live, particularly because it is important to protect their daughter's secret(s), both the fact she is a runechild and she inadvertently murdered someone with her powers.
• they work for alira's family, who vacations in the countryside for several months out of the year. they tend to that countryside home. alira is a strange~ child who doesn't make friends easily, so they have elizaveta be her friend. the two genuinely get along but the dynamic is by nature uneven.
• alira is genuinely a nice person (think a melly or a jane bennett or e33's sophie), but sort of blinded to her privilege and oblivious to how elizaveta resents it. she does not have elizaveta's hunger.
• alira's parents want to make a match with maksym's family, but elizaveta swoops in to marry him instead. this is sort of scandalous as elizaveta is not from a "well to do" family, and also alira's childhood friend.
• idk how but he does find out that she first married him exclusively for his money, which leads to bitterness/friction between them. also someone in his family had her investigated maybe and found out about the murder?? which leads to another murder, thus she had to flee to keep from being caught.
I wonder if like he was present for da immediate aftermath of the murder/stumbled on it, but then like lets her run
cause he lurves her
despite also being like angry at her, etc.
just a thought >> also leads to the question of how they will run into each other again after dat which obvs they must :eyes:
cause he lurves her
despite also being like angry at her, etc.
just a thought >> also leads to the question of how they will run into each other again after dat which obvs they must :eyes:
WAAAAH yes that would make things a lot angstier
i think for the campaign the idea i had is that both he and alira would be trying to hunt her down/find her for different reasons, and he'd have divorce papers at the ready as a way of kind of fooling himself that's why lmao
but for a verse where everyone's around i can also see like ... idk if you remember the show with lucas where his wife had amnesia but i can see something like that. where the scuffle with the person she murdered ended up with her also being injured/having a sort of amnesia and navigating a world where everyone doesn't like her and she doesn't know why asldkj
i think for the campaign the idea i had is that both he and alira would be trying to hunt her down/find her for different reasons, and he'd have divorce papers at the ready as a way of kind of fooling himself that's why lmao
but for a verse where everyone's around i can also see like ... idk if you remember the show with lucas where his wife had amnesia but i can see something like that. where the scuffle with the person she murdered ended up with her also being injured/having a sort of amnesia and navigating a world where everyone doesn't like her and she doesn't know why asldkj
AND we know me - i do love the angstiness
and ooooh okay that makes a lot of sense lmao >> here's some divorce papers weeee
and oooooh i DO remember the show, yes. THAT would be a lot of fun to play with potentially, and he'd be like torn like hurt and angry but she doesn't remember why, so it's like what do w/ that
and still having feelings for her beneath it all, of course ahem :oh:
and ooooh okay that makes a lot of sense lmao >> here's some divorce papers weeee
and oooooh i DO remember the show, yes. THAT would be a lot of fun to play with potentially, and he'd be like torn like hurt and angry but she doesn't remember why, so it's like what do w/ that
and still having feelings for her beneath it all, of course ahem :oh:
YAH
and also feel free to come up with your own character for him/what you'd like to play with, i didn't have too much in mind yet beyond like a science-y/cerebral type who had a secret of his own wrt his health, be it mental or physical and it maybe causing some mild agoraphobia which doesn't make for the best first impressions
so the person she met when he was in completely new territory aka alira's parents home is different to who he ended up being when they went back to his own etc
and also feel free to come up with your own character for him/what you'd like to play with, i didn't have too much in mind yet beyond like a science-y/cerebral type who had a secret of his own wrt his health, be it mental or physical and it maybe causing some mild agoraphobia which doesn't make for the best first impressions
so the person she met when he was in completely new territory aka alira's parents home is different to who he ended up being when they went back to his own etc
YESSSS i really love the idea of him having some kind of mental or physical health thing, and i could see it causing some mild agoraphobia too. maybe that is part of where his intelligence like pokes in too, researching, trying to find a way to help himself with what ails him in that sense.
if eh did have mild agoraphobia, it would be even that more surprising for her when he like shows up jklre;a lmao
otherwise it may be fun to play on some bridgerton themes like how antony always had that like weight upon him due to his father's death - maybe his father died of whatever is afflicting him so there's a lot of pressure wrt all that
if eh did have mild agoraphobia, it would be even that more surprising for her when he like shows up jklre;a lmao
otherwise it may be fun to play on some bridgerton themes like how antony always had that like weight upon him due to his father's death - maybe his father died of whatever is afflicting him so there's a lot of pressure wrt all that
guh yes i do really like the idea of it potentially being hereditary so that he has to contend with legacy on several different levels, and also trying to avoid his parent's fate - something elizaveta also wants to do albeit on a different level
AND YES lmao she would not be expecting it and also maybe if he DOES have a sickness he might also die ?? which is. upsetting. she didn't want to be a widow after all ig
AND YES lmao she would not be expecting it and also maybe if he DOES have a sickness he might also die ?? which is. upsetting. she didn't want to be a widow after all ig
yessss exactly it would be a fun thing to play with as well of like how to navigate that complicated situation --
jrekl;areaw JUST a possibility to die type of deal, but i like the arc for him being like well i've been afraid all my life and i won't be anymore, i choose love over fear~~~ and well, anger/passion/emotion >>" etc.
i can be vague with the sickness like i was with noah, but maybe it's like a curse on his family or just legit hereditary. i'll have to play around and think about it but there's options there.
i wonder too if the murder to save herself was rune related?? does that mean it's the first time he saw her runes or would he have seen them before dat?
jrekl;areaw JUST a possibility to die type of deal, but i like the arc for him being like well i've been afraid all my life and i won't be anymore, i choose love over fear~~~ and well, anger/passion/emotion >>" etc.
i can be vague with the sickness like i was with noah, but maybe it's like a curse on his family or just legit hereditary. i'll have to play around and think about it but there's options there.
i wonder too if the murder to save herself was rune related?? does that mean it's the first time he saw her runes or would he have seen them before dat?
OOOOOH good questions ... i like the idea of him not having seen them before, at both of them being kind of good with keeping their secrets and that being an obstacle at first to them truly gaining intimacy
the murder would've def been rune related, and i can def see that being the first time he's ever seen one and being like ??? tho i leave it up to you if he'd immediately know what that was
AND ALSO FOR ALIRA in case she might be something new/interesting for you - i'd genuinely be thrilled with either one - the loose inspiration for the alira/elizaveta dynamic is the last tale of the flower bride, the whole indigo/azure thing bc it was riveting to me >> and partly why i haven't completely decided if i want alira to be the nice one or if both should be a lil more complicated than that but yes.
either way it's juicy af ahem
the murder would've def been rune related, and i can def see that being the first time he's ever seen one and being like ??? tho i leave it up to you if he'd immediately know what that was
AND ALSO FOR ALIRA in case she might be something new/interesting for you - i'd genuinely be thrilled with either one - the loose inspiration for the alira/elizaveta dynamic is the last tale of the flower bride, the whole indigo/azure thing bc it was riveting to me >> and partly why i haven't completely decided if i want alira to be the nice one or if both should be a lil more complicated than that but yes.
either way it's juicy af ahem
YESSSSSS then they slowly start to learn one another's secrets and become more really intimate, and then surprise there's like more secrets beneath it all D:
and ooooh maybe i'll make up a sheet for him and actually see if he would have >> with like a roll or something heh or maybe he sees it and then immediately rushes to research what it means/is and then is worried for her and angry at the very same time
and OOOOH okay i will keep that in mind too, but yes i was immediately drawn to jonathan bailey type smarty pants character who is reserved and all dat, it right up my ally ahemmmmmmmmm
BUT YES I love the juiciness of this background
and ooooh maybe i'll make up a sheet for him and actually see if he would have >> with like a roll or something heh or maybe he sees it and then immediately rushes to research what it means/is and then is worried for her and angry at the very same time
and OOOOH okay i will keep that in mind too, but yes i was immediately drawn to jonathan bailey type smarty pants character who is reserved and all dat, it right up my ally ahemmmmmmmmm
BUT YES I love the juiciness of this background
OOOH man yes ... would he be like an artificer-y type do you think? I know wizard is the go-to for science/brainy types but for some reason that's not what I immediately thought of for him though it would still make sense.
I can def see him pouring over books and then pikachu face-ing when he finally put it all together lmao >> just pls keep her secret bro
AND YOU KNOW ME i like juicy and fucked up all around lmaooooo
i do still need to decide the alira/maksym angle of the trio but we can always decide that together
I can def see him pouring over books and then pikachu face-ing when he finally put it all together lmao >> just pls keep her secret bro
AND YOU KNOW ME i like juicy and fucked up all around lmaooooo
i do still need to decide the alira/maksym angle of the trio but we can always decide that together
YESSS i was leaning toward/thinking about artificer ngl esp after seeing my brother start to dip into it a bit, it would be fun :eyes: but i gotta look at the subclasses to see which i think would be most fitting
...and YES exactly lmao that would be his reaction and don't worry when he simultaneously realizes how dangerous it is for her. he'll be too worried to share with a soul.
I LOVE juicy and fucked up too so this is perfect heh
...and YES exactly lmao that would be his reaction and don't worry when he simultaneously realizes how dangerous it is for her. he'll be too worried to share with a soul.
I LOVE juicy and fucked up too so this is perfect heh
The two fields are not exclusive in my mind, correct. A lot of creativity and vision is required for both. [ in that sense, gustave is something of an artist himself.
but elisaveta does love beautiful things and she always has. her mother would warn her of the dangers of vanity, materialism. yet she has loved them all the same, with a passion only those who know true hunger may understand. ]
Sometimes. It's not that I don't take into consideration what they like. Once I really know someone, though, an idea starts to take shape. Different scents evoke different emotions, and everyone has a unique chemistry. [ it's strangely intimate and personal. ]
but elisaveta does love beautiful things and she always has. her mother would warn her of the dangers of vanity, materialism. yet she has loved them all the same, with a passion only those who know true hunger may understand. ]
Sometimes. It's not that I don't take into consideration what they like. Once I really know someone, though, an idea starts to take shape. Different scents evoke different emotions, and everyone has a unique chemistry. [ it's strangely intimate and personal. ]
...oh.
( gustave is perhaps realizing how intimate it all appears to be at least based on the way she's describing it now. that is absolutely becoming clear, and he gestures vaguely but no word actually leaves him.
he clears his throat a little and then shakes his head as if only just now realizing - )
I hadn't considered the way scents bring out various emotions in that sense. I mean, certain scents can certainly draw up memories, which are attached to certain emotions.
But there really are scents that can more universally evoke certain emotions?
( gustave is perhaps realizing how intimate it all appears to be at least based on the way she's describing it now. that is absolutely becoming clear, and he gestures vaguely but no word actually leaves him.
he clears his throat a little and then shakes his head as if only just now realizing - )
I hadn't considered the way scents bring out various emotions in that sense. I mean, certain scents can certainly draw up memories, which are attached to certain emotions.
But there really are scents that can more universally evoke certain emotions?
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