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 Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2018 6:51 pm
Quote: Occurs some time following the Tournament to allow wound healing.
He remembered well what the youma did, how it lashed out whip-quick and dire at Aue, how its plaguey breath sputtered out into his face. How it bit and snapped. How General Tourmaline called so suddenly for the youma's softer strikes. That youma followed its orders very dutifully, never once pressing past the captain's boundary, even to n** at a hated senshi's misfortunes.
Never before had Faustite encountered a personal youma in action, not beyound Schörl's commands to Barbary for surveillance or protection, and the demonstration of it stuck in his mind. It proved a nominal distraction from his life's tempestuous turns, from the way it collapsed into itself like a too-bloated corpse on a humid summer's day. Far easier it was to dwell on their post human counterparts, their viability in battle, and their personal acquisition as an officer's tool and rite of passage. Captains had youma, not personal problems.
The Database confirmed that Uvarovite worked a lab in the lowest floors of the Citadel, not terribly far from Faustite's own lodgings. The walk was a simple matter — a full minute of trudging through underlit corridors and hallways bisected by crystalline cave networks until he reached a remarkably intact part of the ancient structure. There, the doors grew more stale and more distant, as if allergic to one another. As if there he stood among the gaol blocks of old, and he half-expected the doors to bar him from individualized cells. He never paused in his venture to look, however; he tunneled his wildly disparate thoughts to the goal of personal youma.
The door was found, the number confirmed — the sharp knots of the numbers blared out at him for their aged gnarl. He paused before it, knocked twice, then excused himself inside before there could be further complaint.
Dull groans of misbegotten humanity greeted him first. Thin muscle cords in his neck and jaw pulsed with work. "Captain Uvarovite?" He called to the vast space.
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 2:56 pm
Uvarovite had been feeding his few pet project youma when he heard the knock at the door but, in lue of getting his hand bitten, chose to let whoever it was come in on their own. If it had been one of his and Tourmaline's little flock they wouldn't have knocked. The few small youma he had caged were known for getting antsy if they weren't fed and he needed to keep them strong if they were going to be useful. Hearing the voice he smirked slightly, someone new then. Tossing a starseed into one of the cages he straightened up and walked out from in between the rows of cages he kept for the more untamed youma. "May I help you with something?" He took a moment to look at the young man, managed to keep the surprise off his face at seeing him. Half Youma. So few of those came knocking so hopefully this trip would be worth his time.
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Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2018 11:55 am
Faustite never articulated his preconceptions to himself before entering the youma lab, but its setup fit much of what he anticipated — cages acting as kennels for feral youma, and a captain lording starseeds over them before tossing one between the bars. Perhaps just as expected, the creatures devoured the soul hungrily and swallowed it down without a thought.
He let his mind wander to barbarism. An elementary school principal devouring a devout Catholic nun. A mother of four eating one of her adult children. One of his classmates, rich with future possibilities, consuming his best firend's girlfriend. They could be any of these, yet he wondered about congruousness.
He was closer to Elex Yorke than they were to their old selves, after all, and at times, that gap widened to worlds apart. Dozens of lifetimes passed between then and now so that attending Azure Valley became nothing but a dream.
The question roused him from his reverie, and he looked to the Captain instinctively. "My name is Faustite. I was watching you in the tournaments. You summoned a youma in your fight with Aue, and it helped you clinch that victory neatly." It left Aue needing stitches and a blood transfusion. More blood taxed from an ever-dwindling bank.
A heavy, throaty roar sounded beyond the wall. Hands found his back where he laced them tightly. "I want to know more about them — youma as servants. How did you find yours? Why that one? And what advice would you give to anyone looking for one?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 3:50 pm
Uvarovite smirked slightly at Faustite's words and the slight praise of his youma. The Pet was a useful asset that so many of the Officers didn't use as much as they should. It was nice to see someone recognize the tactic for what it was. "My Pet is a rather useful companion to have around and even with Aue's previous injuries I do have to admit I would not have won that battle without the Pet." He had faced Aue before and knew what the other man was capable of. The continuation of the question got a raised a brow as he leaned against one of the tables on the room. "How did I find it? Plenty of trips to the rift and learning how they work and how to get them to respect you. The Pet though ... it found me." The first time the creature had come to him he had been surprised and half expected to have to defend himself. The youma was not small and when the creature had slid up to him he'd expected it to attack. Instead The Pet had wrapped itself around Uvarvotie and hissed at any other youma who tried to come close. At first the Captain had thought ti was only because of the energy treats he had but once the youma had started coming to him as soon as he set foot in the rift he knew something was different. "If you are looking for on yourself then you will need to start with knowing you are worth of them. Youma are territorial creatures and tend to bow to those who are more powerful than them, but they will be happy to test how powerful you are first. I would suggest spending time in the Rift where they tend to congregate Make friends with them and one of them may decide they like you."
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2018 10:52 am
Either your youma vastly changes the odds or you expect it to carry you. Faustite listened quietly through the explanation given, though he found it sparse and wanting. Many trips to the Rift already gave him pause — he never savored the Hall of Shadows or its passage to the monster's den — and spending time on subjugation of the mindless intrigued him even less. But Schörl managed it once to receive her ubiquitous rug, and this captain demonstrated their usefulness in battle. There existed no detriment on which he could hang his reticence.
Faustite breathed a sigh from his nose. His gaze trailed from Uvarovite's marked ease of demeanor to the cages at his back, where youma chirped and churred and chuffed against bars too old and strong for their malformed bodies. 'Make friends' with them. Like youma have the capacity to befriend. Or maybe this captain never learned the meaning of the word… Again, his attention found the much older man's face. Or you expect that I'm more on par with them because I'm part youma.
I'll eat those words if it proves true.
"I see. Dominate them in their own territory like domesticated animals." The same came of people in Destiny City. Drained or starseeded or conscripted in their own homes, their own stomping grounds. Their fates were no different when rendered posthuman. It was no different for a captain like himself, either. That purview must change with generals and above. "Make friends by making myself the bigger enemy." Crude, but effective.
But could he argue against it when men already subjugated themselves? Most were cattle that chose their leader. Better him than another.
"And those in the back?" A hand slipped from its perch to gesture toward the caged youma. "Are you bonding with them too?" Are you building an army at your personal beck, Uvarovite? Where one succeeds, two would do well. Four would be better. Eight drives a hard bargain. On and on and on it goes.
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2018 2:49 pm
Uvarovite listened to Faustite talk and had to wonder who's group he followed with, if any. He had not gotten around much outside of Tourmaline's little 'pack' so did not know how others thought but he knew their group was, most likely, quite a bit different. Then again the young man was part youma and that was something to be said about how that bonding process could change someone. "Dominate them may be a strong word. A hunter with a dog is a formidable foe to the fox but a hunter with a canine partner is formidable to lions." Most officers seemed to treat the youma like dogs, base animals, rather than the companions they could be. "The youma are not as stupid as many thing. Base in their emotions perhaps but far from stupid." Youma were like any other animals and could be incredibly intelligent sometimes. His own was proof enough of that. "Feral youma ... those things in the back for the most part, are the caged cattle. Good for experiments or food but a proper youma? No, a proper youma at your side can be just as good as having an officer you trust. You are partialy one, do you consider yourself to be a base creature?" As for bonding. "We can only truly bond to one youma but with the right encouragement others can be enticed to do what you wish for a short time."
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Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 6:53 am
If only that applied to officers. Schörl treated officers as she treated youma, he observed — with cruel efficiency. She was Machiavellian with her subordinates, ever expectant that they fulfill their ends, just as she held the same demands for Barbary. But Schörl had long made her bed of chaos as a general for several years now; Faustite knew she would not change. This notion of respect for the creature or the man sounded foreign when spoken in Negaverse halls, especially with their treatment of civilians as cattle. As means. Was personhood only a notion for the privileged?
Faustite's mouth creased into a line. "They were human. Their wits never completely left them," he replied, his mouth awash in the bitter taste of defensiveness. "But we treat men as cattle. For recruitment, for energy, for starseeds. People are a means to an end. To treat youma any differently is —" Faustite halted himself into a wry, if almost morose, snort. It's hoping I can stand at odds with someone. Or above them. "Nevermind."
But you call them cattle yourself. You discriminate. You categorize. You classify. Science can't function without objectifying something.
His gaze lingered on the far cages, bristled as he was. His shoulders were the broken lines of cresting waves as he thought. "I've been told that in so many words. Excluded from personhood." His knuckles tightened against each other. "No one knows the pedigree of youma in me. I can't say if it belongs at an officer's side or in a cage like that," he finished with a nod toward the back. His displeasure at the practice led him to pace.
"Youma aren't base. They're just what comes after men.
"Flood a human with chaos and they become youma. Officers are no different. Maybe they're treated poorly because officers recognize that inevitability."grymoire sorry about the wait, company this week
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2018 4:03 pm
It was always interesting to see how someone's mind worked once they were merged with a youma. There were not enough of them in the Negaverse for Uvarovite to properly pick their brains and oh how he loathed that. They way a mind could be twisted was facinating. "Or perhaps they're treated poorly because some officers want to prove that they're better than what they are." He smirked slightly. "We are all just cattle of some sort, even officers. We are at the beck and call of our Kings and Queens are we not? Things for them to use?" They were meant to obey. Even if he didn't always. "Humans serve a purpose as you said. The strong ones can become like us, the weak like youma. Some youma though learn to claw their way back toward their humanity. They become stronger than they were as humans and we should respect that. There are even humans who are worth using for our ends." The last comment got a slight tilt of his head. "Have you been treated poorly because you are part youma?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 3:58 pm
Faustite quirked his brow at the sudden proclamation. Why tell me what I already know? The Negaverse never hid the way it spent and reaped lives from anyone. It isn't private knowledge. It isn't a secret known to the privileged few.
"Most youma don't care about humanity." They crossed the bridge from man into something otherworldly, something exceeding the bodily limitations of their weaker homo sapiens selves. Some must treasure such a life. Others, if they retained the intellect for it, likely understood that they could not return to the cultured norm. That they existed outside the compendium of what is man, even if they could mark it and remark upon it. He understood as much himself, even with the rare grace of three hours spent in a husk. The strength they garnered in these new forms were ever physical strengths; Metallia cleverly deprived them of the rancorous, divisive thought that pervaded human cultures. That pervaded her own officers.
Faustite reacted to the question with a slight roll of his head. "Of course I've been treated poorly. I've been called a monster, a beast, an abomination. Better left to serve under officers than with them. That I should obey you than stand at your equal. That I don't understand the stakes of this fight because there's no place in society for me anymore. Among other things," he admitted as he segued into a pace. Outside, the dull roars of unsated monsters continued. it grated him, enticed a foreign wildness.
"Don't tell me it surprises you. Officers are cattier than schoolboys." Cattier and more competitive. More prone to secrets. More interested in undercutting one another to achieve some arbitrary standard.
Here, in this lab alone, there presided that similar structure. Youma beyond the wall were wholly excluded from purview, abandoned to their own devices. The ones within the cage received more notoriety, more interest, more starseeds. They were trained into their higher role. But better yet from them stood Uvarovite's personal youma, and Uvarovite himself safely crowned the hierarchy. No one else remained in this room of comparable merit but Faustite, who was himself a guest. No one challenged Uvarovite here. He carved his own kingdom and ruled it with all the safety of his commands to impel their ilk under his sway.
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Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 4:50 pm
"You see, I disagree there. Some youma would like nothing more than to claw their way back to their humanity. That is why they feed, why they mask themselves as humans, why they try to pretend." There were few that could do so that he had seen himself or found record of but they existed. Those much like Faustite or the canine Aue worked with. Ones that still knew what humanity was. "Others are intelligent enough to know they are no longer human and would like to carve their own place in our world." One he doubted Metallia would allow when having others under your complete control was far more useful when you cared only for your own goals. He was not surprised that Faustite had been treated poorly though he would have liked to hear otherwise. "I am not surprised in the slightest, I am just disappointed that there are officers who do not understand how useful and powerful Youma can be. Knowing how to best use every resource we have can only make us stronger." Without his youma he would never be able to stand against the younger Senshi. He was old enough that his body couldn't do what it used to, even with the heightened strength Chaos offered. With his pet he could take them on and take them down. "You have a place with us Faustite and no one else can control what that place is other than yourself. If you take what others say to heart then you will always be under their command but if you refuse and carve your own path?" That seemed to be at least partially why Faustite was in his lab, he was curious and wanted to know more, something whoever his General was couldn't offer.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 5:22 pm
Faustite pursed his lips at Uvarovite. A response simmered on his tongue, aware but unkept by intelligence, and there it died while he tasted the information given. There were youma that wanted to regress back to humanity. Youma who rehearsed the dull, haunting motions of culture and social graces and even visage to reclaim the lives they had. To taste interconnectivity again. That they weren't each the mindless devourers met in his career startled him. Harrowed him.
For when the day came that Schörl thought him useless as an officer, then would he spend the rest of his days wandering the city with a hunger for his old life? When she strips him down to the black that caked him now, would he follow the notions that Uvarovite provided? The old man was canny in his knowledge of the creatures, and Faustite spared so little contact with them that he couldn't disagree on any basis. Was this the life he should expect to lead when cast out into the Rift? The thought curdled what surety he had.
"Don't mistake my annoyance for complacency," he returned, bristling adolescently. "They can call me what they want. But they're fractuous — they drive divides and competition where it doesn't belong." And they formed more barriers against his roles that ever stalled progress. That he faced unconquerables like a general's dismissal or refused respect from a lieutenant in lieu of punishment, however severe, still undermined him. And while he wanted to believe in his sole control over his own destiny, the very existence of the Negaverse disproved such a concept. He now faced a man who profited off the fallacy of this concept — that subjugated youma aplenty to create his own upward mobility. And it was working.
He profited off others' lack of utter control over themselves and it was working. Were he in charge of lieutenants, they would prove the rule further by stripping away an officer's compelling order. And beyond that, they each felt their tether to Metallia — the prime manipulator of their fates.
"I'll find my own place," he added at last, "but it's better done with help." Help from the likes of Uvarovite. Of Aue. Of Tourmaline. Even Schörl guaranteed better mobility than in solitude.
"Thank you, Captain."
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2018 9:58 am
" They are doing it wrong then as Tourmaline and I have come to find out." Uvarovite knew that they way they treated those under their command and those they trained were not common. Many Tourmaline had come across found it distasteful how much freedom they gave the Corrupt Senshi that worked with them. "If you would like to see things done another way ... if even for a time. You are more than welcome here Faustite." He smirked slightly before turning a bit to silence a message beeping on his open tablet. Nitratine on his way back with a fresh stock of energy orbs. "None of us here will based on what you are. Just who you are." Strickenized don't know if you want to call this one done?
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2018 4:50 pm
How quaint. Come watch the differences in depravities. Faustite gave a silent nod, wary, but tentatively open. It would be up to question if what Uvarovite preached and what he practiced reached the same wavelength. Youma imprisoned in cages, kept on diets, and Skinner boxed with routine behavioral tests spoke of the same non-empathy expected out of any scientific institution. And yet, superficially, Uvarovite spoke of treating youmafied officers as equals. As accepted allies in the race to appease Metallia.
"I'll be in touch." He passed a last glance over the place, built of the same animosity as the rest of the Citadel's broken halls. At last his starless sights found Uvarovite again, whom he lingered on for a moment longer.
There's always a promise to belong, isn't there. Always that covetous promise.
He left with a point of pride swelling in his breast. Quiet, but purposeful. The door shut quietly behind him, its latch signifying the end to their conversation. He would then face the long and winding walks to reach his own quarters once again.
I am I, his heart whispered. I am I.
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