𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕣𝕟.

but the arms of the ocean delivered me

[que-pesao]

[hiddenvaldis]

“No crueler than a pirate crew picking up a runt from a boarded ship,” she says with a pointed look and a lazy smirk. Valdís is no stranger to hard work, having worked her way up on Ryu’s father ship until she felt the roles left to climb were not enough. More, more, more. She has always wanted more, and she would always reach for more, no matter the toil. Eyes lazily flicker around the docks, ensuring everyone else is too far to hear before she opens her mouth. What leaves it is devoid of her usual bravado, with a touch of true sincerity shining through. Not many would recognize it, but she is sure Ryu would. “Here I am a big fish in a small pond, over there I am a big fish in an ocean filled with sharks. I have never been one to back down to a challenge,” she says with a shrug, then hesitates. “And I learned something recently. A question whose answer might be found in the Tower.”

[ryujinseaborn]

Ryu clicked his tongue, though he knew Valdis was imply toying with him, "He never had to leave you alive, Valdis," though pirates were honorable enough where children were concerned. "You earned your keep and earned your armada," Ryu waved a hand as though any chatter on such topic of her childhood was settled. Still, Valdis was always persuasive and Ryu leaned forward, greatly interested, "Well? Y'gonna spill on that or leave me high and dry?" Information was power, but often Valdis and he shared things that went beyond their own selfish pursuits as captains.

[scornfulcalypso]

Calypso knew that Ryu and Robin shared a friendship and yet he infuriated her every time they crossed paths, an ability to worm underneath her skin and pluck the strings of ire, a talent that was uniquely his. She couldn't find peace once she had lost the light of the Laurelin, a light that redeemed her and she couldn't rest until she stepped foot on her homeland once again and so everyone who found pleasure or leisure would suffer until her bitterness eased. "Laziness leads to incompetence, we stay hungry and we stay sharp." He held the fruit of temptation within his palm and she couldn't help but try to snatch for it. "How did you cross the Moongate?" Her chin lifts in a jutting motion as she knew the vulnerability she displayed and couldn't resist it all the same, so the lines of her body were held like a warning, aggressive and bladed.

[ryujinseaborn]

"If that's what you'd like to believe," Calypso often seemed so intent on proving herself, something that went beyond the brackish charm of a typical pirate. Ryu knew he infuriated the other and couldn't help as she continuously walked into any further rousing of said emotion. "Well, my elvhen mommy and my mortal daddy came together and had me - not much to go on beyond that," he smiled, batting his eyelashes in an exaggeratingly innocent regard. "Oh, but, if you're talking about the invitation to get in, my tour guide was the Prince." The smile turned cruel, as his arms crossed lazily.

[uegg]

He always knew Ryujin's potential would only be realized once his soul was tossed into the fiery trenches of Uegg's domain in the Abyss. A creature not born to lie taking to the concept so naturally just proved Uegg's eye for liars, fraudsters, and cheats was still sharp in this era. "Words without proof are empty," he counters while smiling, assuming Ryu was being dishonest about something but too invested in their game to want to spoil what details just yet. "Though in time you'll either bring me souls ready to turn to the Dark or not. You mustn't turn into dead weight for me now that we're together again." Just saying that out loud made Dantalion feel a little giddy. Regardless of the faiman's true intentions, Uegg would ensure any Light in his proximity was quickly snuffed out. "You should forget recruitment, though. I have more charm and cunning than you. Focus on your talents. Aren't pirates meant to be cruel and vicious? Use your fleet to make people suffer. I can help."

[ryujinseaborn]

"How does it work when their soul is already stained? Are you devils scared to cross one another?" Barked back easily; he no longer resided in his fear of Dantalion, but rather in the reckless abandon of just how far the devil would truly go. Ryu refrained from completely insulting Dantalion's idea, shrugging, "Didn't you see what the nobles revealed on Progress Day? Waters are practically barren, if not for the help of the Kossith."

[robinxofxstars]

He grinned a bit more as Ryujin defended himself. Of course Robin knew that hadn't been the case, but the faiman rose easily to the jab, and the cambion loved to poke and prod his friend. "Well respected? Isn't it more fun to be disrespected?" He laughed, picking up his drink and finishing it off before starting on another, "Okay, so they owe you. You finished the job. What was your reward? A favor?"

[ryujinseaborn]

"You always want me to tell you all my secrets," dramatically stated, he rolled his eyes as though Robin was being overly insistent. "Something of a favor, yes," but mostly something he could craft to call upon on his own merit and wanton. "I think it's good to have a noble in my debt, which reminds me of a certain someone you've been trailing around Caribella with. They're rather fancy to be dwelling around a pirate, no?" Ryu grinned, nudging Robin to spill.

[scornfulcalypso]

It was bullshit, he was a cockroach, a snake that survived by sinking their venomous teeth into others and he managed to piss her off every time he breathed air which is why she hated that he had been deemed worthy and the Moongate remained closed to her, a vexation that propelled herself towards him, a fury in her step. "Business so bad that you have all the time in the world to laze about?" Faux pity in her voice and the Transporter that the Lysaran's invented was a bitch. She can't resist news of Avalon, she misses her home and the branch she hailed from, being within Sylaise’s Shore and among her family granted peace that she hadn't found in the mortal realm. Calypso juts her chin out, ire clear at her face, an attempt at disinterest. "You've been there recently?" she's setting herself up and yet she'll take the shot if it means news from home.

[ryujinseaborn]

"Business is splendid, Calypso," snorted combatively, she always had something negative to say and he wondered why she thought the life of a pirate was meant to be the opposite of leisure at the sea counting your riches and treasures. "I guess Elokian really runs your crew ragged," there was a slight laugh as he said this, grinning ear to ear in a rather chesire way. Considering how close Robin and Ryu were within their friendship, Ryu often tuned this scorned elvhen out, but he couldn't resist annoying her when running into her. "Oh yes, I've been keeping good company with some of the noble families there."

[ryujinseaborn]

starter for @scornfulcalypso.

where: caribella

when: current timeline!

note: via #plot-calls, short n sweet

Ryu all but sighed as he saw Calypso storming up, his head lolling back dramatically before sitting up a bit straighter, "I'm going to have to find someplace new to spend my free time if you're to keep gnawing my ear off with your fantasies of returning to Avalon." A shit starter like any pirate, his arms crossed rather petulantly, "Clearly you're just not worthy in their eyes to gain that Light back, Cal' - you're gonna have to let it go." Ryu had just returned from his own visit there after returning the prized gladiator of Lysara to the moongate; it wasn't often the pirate captain awarded favors to other, but he'd done the act for Kesor and had grown rather curious of whatever trouble the eldest Thalasir seemed involved in.

[ryujinseaborn]

starter for @ikarosx.

where: avalon, pick a branch

when: current timeline!

note: via #plot-calls uwu

"Imagine how wounded I was to discover someone else was your savior," the two only shared a very rare area of common ground; that Ikaros was a rather... distracted tour guide and that often they didn't spend much time talking to one another. Ryu had never once vied to spend his time in Avalon, but if he could avoid an inevitable while also seeing the one parent he'd had left, well, the pirate could manage being away from the sea for some time. Avalon proved a mirror image of Taravell anyway, but the sea here proved more iridescent than the Azura Sea Ryu was so familiar with. "Did you not wish to be in the debt of a pirate?" He teased this with a mild grin towards Ikaros.

[hiddenvaldis]

“And that was your first mistake,” she sighs in mock disappointment as she settles next to him, stare focused out into the ocean. Despite the enjoyment she has felt at getting her hands on the sort of information she would never had had the chance to get close to before, the Tower isn’t her home. Valdís belongs amidst the waves, with the sea breeze hitting her face and the sound of her crew around her. There is no home for her but the open seas. 

“It’s a treasure trove of information,” she admits, gaze moving upwards towards the sky as she considers if she wants to tell Ryu why she visited the Tower. Behind her greed for knowledge, behind her desire for power… She was told by that spirit that she has a sibling, and she wants to find them. The Tower seems like the best option for now. “But once I have gotten what I want from them, I will leave and not look back. There is nothing tempting enough to stay.”

[ryujinseaborn]

Ryu raised a brow at Valdis' intentions, there was nothing more he preferred than sticking it to the man as one would say, but the Tower was an entirely different animal. "Heard they're crueler than the sea when someone's ticked her off," their methods were rumored to be grueling and tiresome, months of study saddled with excruciating tests to prove ones talents. "No mentor in Caribella worth their salt to you?" Ryu was practically challenging Valdis as he poised this question, considering they were on the docks for many to see, but it was meant in pure jest.

[robinxofxstars]

"Look at you. Becoming famous by association. No one really knew the captain of the Leviathan anyway. Not until you pulled the infamous gladiator out. Let me guess – Dior?" Robin knew his name. Who didn't? He always went to Eterna, often enough to get banged beneath the stands of the gladiator stadium, "Oh. So you were hired for a rescue mission? You went to Avalon and got yourself a job? I'm never, ever, letting you forget this."

[ryujinseaborn]

"My father was well respected in Caribella, that was enough for him," he knew Robin hadn't meant the implication of being unknown as a dig, but of course Ryu was prideful enough to garner some offense. "Elvhen drama isn't much of your business, but it's as fucked up there as Caribella can be on a rowdy Saturday night," he snickered at his own comment, but the favor had not been done out of the kindness of his own heart, Ryu had dirt on Kesor though it was stuff he couldn't wholly prove as of yet. "Well, they owe me for it all, so if there's something special you can think of I'll be sure to ask for it," a teasing offer.

[aneurins-barnard]

MANNY JACINTO as QIMIR/THE STRANGER THE ACOLYTE Episode 6 Teach/Corrupt

[hiddenvaldis]

As the Lysaran played the game of theirs, so did Ryu and Valdís played their roles as captains of their respective armadas. They were no longer the children that they once were, running on the deck of the ship and watching Ryu’s dad lead his crew. They were each formidable leaders, growing into their roles as they fought against the tides. Their paths, once side by side, had grown farther and farther away. Every once in a while, they intersected, and she was Unnr once more. Fondness tugs on her chest, even as she offers her friend a sly smirk.

“As you know, the wicked never die,” she snickers as she approaches Ryu, giving him enough time to notice her change of appearance, and running a hand over her hair to draw the eye to the dragon gold ring on her finger. “Looking this good takes effort, Ryu. If you want some advice on that area you only need to ask.”

[ryujinseaborn]

"I was unaware I needed help in that department," this whole pirate shtick had served him well, it was not only his blood, but his life; the brine of the sea would never leave him, no matter how far he strayed. That fact certainly hadn't allowed him to acclimate unseen in Avalon, but Ryu had always been at the cynosure of other's attention; where once he was the captain's child, now he was simply the Captain. If the elvhen of Avalon had trouble with him venturing forth, they'd have to get used to it.

"Dare I ask how the Tower is? Have they brain-washed you yet?" Ryu grinned wickedly at that, he knew many on Caribella had their opinions when it came to the authority of not only the crown, but the Tower.

[robinxofxstars]

"I haven't met many things that could kill me just yet, you know. Maybe it's a bit rougher out there for the half elvhen." Robin gave a small smile, though he was glad to see that the captain was safe, and finally back in Caribella where the Raiders belonged. He glanced back over his shoulder, not one to comment on Elokian's whereabouts and the demon he was finally getting unburdened with. Elo had told him that the ship was Robin's legacy, but the cambion felt like the past would never truly go away that easily. "Ah, no. It's definitely me. I'm the spoiled brat that was raised on the ship, so I get dibs. So where have you been? Pull anyone from the wreck?"

[ryujinseaborn]

Avalon was this false hope, a construction of some flimsy barrier to separate himself from his fate. Salvation, however, would not come for someone like him; even if he deserved the position from birth right alone or from his own talent; his wish had pushed the score and none could ever know the truth. The devil who granted this, however, was keen to flip the entire table; volatile and demanding, equipped with threats. Ryu had tried to separate himself from the Leviathan, the crew; but it was in his blood, and he could not simply abandon Caribella, no matter how true such threats became. "I did actually," Ryu grinned in an almost conspiratorial manner, "That infamous gladiator," did he really have to mention them by name for Robin to know? "-His sister all but demanded it and I don't really mind having a noble family in my debt."

[goodsirs]

Manny Jacinto as Qimir in The Acolyte — 1.06 "Teach/Corrupt"

[blademasterdior]

Dior knew the moment he cracked an eye open that the so-called medic had no business patching up anything beyond a torn sail. They’d spent more time feeling over his ribs than dressing them—though he supposed after weeks of blood and torment, there were worse ways to be handled.

When Ryu entered, Dior caught the pirate's subtle nod and grinned faintly. As the 'medic' withdrew with a pout, Dior winked after them. Then he turned his attention fully to Ryu, expression sharpening into that familiar cocky grin, even if it cost him a wince to sit straighter.

“Even in retirement, I’ve got enough coin to fund whatever this hobby of yours is," He let that hang in the air a beat, eyes glinting. “Assuming you’re a fan—and really, who isn’t—I’ll even throw in a gift. A sword forged from my personal metal, signature across the hilt and my face on the base.”

[ryujinseaborn]

"When you try to sell something do ensure that you're trying to upsell something of value," despite his biting words and normally sour face, Ryu laughed, hearty and emulative of a pirate who had his own fair share of gold hidden around Caribella. "Those on the sea don't give half a damn about the championing gladiator of Lysara's signature," Ryu studied Dior, bruised yet hardly shaken from his experience - at least on the outside - the noble elvhen still grinning madly at Ryu. "Though they'd much prefer your head. You keep grinning like a foolish madman I might have to tell your sister any deal to get you back to Avalon is off." She seemed rather insistent that her brother was to return to Avalon for noble duti-- blah, blah Ryu had stopped listening when it came to their noble responsibilities.

"This hobby is my father's lifework, so you should mind your tongue." Empty threats, for the time being, for Ryu found the Thalasir nobles more puzzling by the minute.

[ryujinseaborn]

starter for @faelortianyou.

where: wherever suits your finest fancy ; avalon , silverlands , you name it

when: current timeline

note: cousin!

"You're harder to track down than any pirate I've known," and that said something considering Tianyou was inseparable from Areina and she was a literal pegasus with a very prominently pink mane atop her head. Mostly, Ryu had alienated himself from nearly everyone he knew - his crew, his friends; he'd ventured to Avalon as though it was some final saving grace, but the pirate captain found great difficulty in leaving behind everything he'd known. The sea was his home, yet he tried to romanticize Avalon, what it could be; maybe talking to Tianyou would broaden his idea of Avalon, even if it pertained little to him currently. "Was just checking on you," clarified quietly, with a shrug; they were family even if they weren't close, it'd been good to know that, it seemed, he hadn't been captured by the Kossith.

[uegg]

who?: @ryujinseaborn where?: lysara when?: troupe 3

"You know I was just joking the last time we spoke, right? I'd never do anything to hurt you so there's no need avoid me," Uegg said with the same sickly sweetness that laced his serpentine tongue when their roads initially crossed. He hadn't spoken to Ryujin in such a manner in some time, typically expressing his entitlement to the captain's time and attention through a more forceful will. For the time being it seemed, Uegg was more interested in toying with Ryujin than controlling him. A possession was meant to entertain him after all. "You understand how frustrating you can be though, so can you blame me for exaggerating? It's not fair that I have to compete with inferiors for your company. Especially since all I've ever wanted is what's best for you. You need to be nicer to me and stop trying to make me jealous." Because obviously Ryujin's existence was all about Uegg.

[ryujinseaborn]

Ryu's ship had docked near the edge of Borderreach, one of the smaller ships in his fleet, specifically chosen to help Kesor find Dior and take them back to Lysara. He didn't owe the high elvhen's any true favors, but Ryu was operating on a hunch, one he'd never be able to confirm, even if the facts continued to be obvious. "I'm making friends for you," lies came so easy now, as though he'd never been beholden to the truth, and a brow raised as Dantalion insisted on violating any personal space. It seemed more reckless than ever and there was that frigid jolt of wonder which struck him, wondering if the mask on Dantalion had fully slipped away for the world to see him in his entirety. "I can't prove it, but I have my suspicions on a certain noble elf," he's certain that'd never be enough to satiate Dantalion, especially considering this other assumed Darkfriend was not his, but Ryu fit into the role of conspirator well.