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 Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 9:04 am
 Anopticyte was still smarting from the verbal smackdown he'd received courtesy of the Shadow Queen. She'd given him a rash about how unproven he was, and, more importantly, how few connections he had. So apparently ambition was not the way you got to the top of the Shadow herd--nope, it was good ol' fashioned nepotism and cronyism. Keepin' it classy, Shadow. So it seemed that in order to rise to the top like a dead fish, Ani would have to forge some connections. If he could have his way, he'd just forge his connections with his siblings. He had a deep respect for Feral based on how unaffected by herd politics he seemed and he loved Tonestue very dearly. But they had gotten their positions by being...well, by being Feral in his older brother's case and by being one of Retinadeath's few favorites on Tony's case.
Point was, these would be secondary connections at best. And besides, Ani felt like he was being challenged. A challenge to forge connections, and if you were going to forge connections, why not start right up at the top? Not Blod, obviously, that was why he needed connections. So his other choice, then was to pick the second highest ranking stars in the whole herd (unofficially if not officially): Plamen van Hoelle and...urgh...Retinadeath the Death General. Greaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat. Ani was putting off having to talk to his mother for as long as physically possible, but talking to Plamen might be easier.
He sought out the orange Duke without much difficulty. With his red-on-black markings, Ani was one of the very few stars who stood a snowball's chance in an inferno of actually blending into the darkness. Plamen, with his pumpkin-ness? Not a freaking chance. "Duke Plamen!" he called out. "May I have a word with you?"
Ani wanted to be a messenger. It was his dearest wish. And to get a position as messenger, what better way to gain the Queen's trust than to actually work as a messenger?
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 1:47 pm
 Plamen watched Anopticyte approach. It had taken a lot of time and effort to find the best hiding place to listen in on his stepson's conversation with the Queen. He was, of course, aware of his son Feral's rise in society, as well as Retinadeath's favorite's rise. Two more of his rank, the Ice Duke in charge of diplomacy, a good job for Feral, and the Earthquake Duchess in charge of medicine, an excellent job for Tonestue. Plamen had had to avoid cackling when Anopticyte failed. Well, Feral was still under his influence, and Anopticyte would automatically be filed under Plamen's guidance and influence, too, maintaining the balance of power that he seemed to have developed with his darling, ragey Retinadeath.
If they continued like this, the matter of succession could be SCREAMINGLY funny, if bloodthirsty and chaotic. Plamen rather doubted he and Retinadeath would be around to see the succession, not at close range, at any rate, but that would leave a large and dangerous power vacuum.
From Plamen's warped standpoint, the more players the royal offspring had to gather on their sides, the more interesting the struggle could be.
He had to admit that he'd heard Anopticyte's opinions on the nature of the herd and power within it, and those notions amused Anopticyte. Generally correct, though Plamen would be among the first to admit that he, Retinadeath, and Blod were more or less a group of dark psychopaths who actually liked doing what they did. With extra orders of evil on all three parts. Well, maybe not for Retinadeath, but it didn't hurt, either.
Plamen grinned. "Hey, Stepson. So, what's the scheme for using me to support your rise to power?" he asked gleefully.
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Posted: Tue Nov 26, 2019 8:45 pm
Well, at least Plamen was honest? No, not honest. But straightforward and to the point, which Ani could accept quite readily.
Plamen had always been rather possessive of Ani's mother. For some reason, he seemed to think that Retinadeath was "his" in some way, and that that made him, Crain, and Hypo "his" as well. Because they were Ret's. And the only reason the Death General would ever have children is because of Plamen in some way? It was the continuing adventures of everyone in his home herd being totally, completely neurotic in every way. Joyous jubilations.
So yes, it did sort of make sense in a weird, twisted way, that Plamen would consider him to be a stepson. Not that that was in any way, shape, or form actually reflected in Plamen's actions. He'd never participated in raising the children (only Tonestue did, and he knew for a fact that Tonestue had nothing but contempt for Plamen, most likely courtesy of, yes, you guessed it, ding-ding-ding we have a winner, Plamen's precious Retinadeath), so it was more of a power play on Plamen's part, a way of claiming ownership over three children he barely knew as well as a mare who might just outclass him in almost every way.
Well, one for Plamen's side. Psychological manipulation and putting Ani off on the wrong foot straight from the start. How do you even respond to something like that?
Ani wasn't sure, but he thought he had a pretty good strategy in mind: tell the truth. No one would expect that in this herd! "Eh, I was going to ask you if there were any jobs I could do for you, your Grace. I'd like to be a messenger, and I'd like to get some practice. Work my way to the top kind of thing." He shrugged his wings. "If that's alright with you, sir." Sure, add asskissing, why not. It was expected. If he didn't, Plamen would know exactly what he was up to and no, that wouldn't do, not at all.
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