2. Are they a “the socks stay on during sex” kind of person?
Not if it's feasible to take them off! The only thing Cio's always going to have on during sex is something to tie her hair back--and that also sometimes goes out the window post-Icebrood (aka when there's less of a safety risk involved due to temperature).
5. Do they have any really out-of-left-field kinks/fantasies? Maybe even something that they wouldn’t necessarily want to act on but have still thought about?
In terms of really out of left field, I don't think so--the closest I can think of is that she's not exhibitionist at all in practice but has absolutely fantasized about various scenarios like that (in the Priory library, in the Council chambers, in the middle of a battlefield in Drizzlewood, etc.).
14. If they send nudes, are they tasteful or just quick pics?
Question that I've just realized I don't know the answer to and am now curious about, is that feasible in Tyria? Would they just be mailed? Do they have advanced enough "tablet" technology to send pictures like that digitally?
Anyways, regardless, Cio would put possibly too much effort into sending nudes. She'd be very good at finding ways to artfully censor them when desired. (Ari, on the other hand, is absolutely sending quick pics.)
19. When they “dress-up” for sex, what’s their go-to outfit? Lingerie, suit, gown, etc.?
Hmm...a suit is definitely an option she'd choose, but my brain also immediately went "absolutely nothing but holding her rifle", so I guess that works, too. (Though I imagine she's not literally having sex while armed. I feel like that'd be difficult.)
Have a couple of pairs of mine, who are victims of my first attempt at editing couples together. (Cio and Ari are the two in the left-hand image, with Casca and Brook on the right!)
So Cio, how are things with Ari? How did that start?
Cio blinks for a second, then smiles. "Your broad question gets a broad answer--pretty damn good. I'm very happy, and so is she.
"As to your second question, we were both assigned to the same airship during the Pact's assault on Maguuma. That ship crashed like the rest of the fleet, unsurprisingly, and we were on our own for a while."
"To be clear," she adds, "we weren't officially together until about two years ago, but you asked how it started. And both of us, injured, making our way through the jungle is how it started. Or, I suppose, us arguing on the ship."
Her smile, which had faded somewhat, comes back brighter. "I called her 'furball' for a while after we met. She called me 'Sparks.' Still does, actually."
💌💌 give me one for a fellow catrat duo and one for Kerra/Nisha/Canach!
Gladly, tyty!! :D
💌 - Cio and Ari stick together pretty closely from the beginning of HoT through the beginning of PoF, at which point they're separated for a bit while Ari does some scouting for the Order of Whispers. One of Cio's acquaintances in the Priory notices that she's a bit down and teases her about missing Ari. Cio responds with "Of course I miss her. Fuck off and find something better to gossip about." (Notably, they are not romantically together at this point.)
💌 - For the trio--the three of them kinda-sorta try to keep their relationship under the radar during LWS3. The actual amount that it's kept secret is relatively minimal, though they do manage to avoid too many gossip magazine articles.
39, 41, 44 for your big brainscramble pairing! (@commanderhorncleaver)
Oh geez, at different times that's different folks alskjdfs--the two who have been on the brain the most recently are Ari and Cio. Going to grab this ask as a spot to talk about them! :D
39. If your OCs has/had a child, who would be the stricter parent?
Hmm, good question--Cio, if only because Ari would lean so far away from imitating the way she grew up in the fahrar that she'd struggle with how to discipline their kid at all.
41. What green flags do they have for one another?
My brain is putting this early on in their friendship long before they get together, so that's the context that these answers are in!
Cio re: Ari: she's willing to snark back and forth but is really not judgmental, she's dedicated to what she believes in, she'll listen and try to be open even if it's hard for her, she's kind
Ari re: Cio: she's flexible (I mean mentally flexible, not physically, shush), she believes in what she does and truly loves what she's working on, she cares a lot and will show it, she's easy to talk to
44. Who’s the better cook?
Oh geez, neither of them are the best at cooking xD Cio, maybe, if only because she does have practice roasting marshmallows without burning them. Ari knows how to throw snacks in a bag and go. They both do try to learn to cook together later on, but neither of them take to it particularly well.
4, 9, 20, 31, 34 for whatever TWO otps you want to talk about most! :3c
@mystery-salad
Double the OTPs!! :3 :D We'll do Casca/Brook and Cio/Ari, because I feel like talking about both of them and haven't gotten the chance recently!
4. How did they first meet?
Brook and Casca met in the Ash Legion fahrar, when they were very little (toddlers, more or less). They honestly don't remember not knowing each other, and can't remember the specifics of their first meeting, either.
Cio and Ari met for the first time when they were assigned to the same airship for the upcoming attack on Mordremoth. Ari was the pilot; Cio was the engineer more-or-less in charge of making sure the weaponry did what it was supposed to do. They were both stressed and on edge, and managed to get on each others' nerves very quickly--and then, very shortly afterward, had to rely on each other to survive in a jungle full of Mordrem after the fleet crashed.
(Putting a cut here because all of the other answers are Long!)
9. How are their personalities different?
Brook and Casca can both be abrasive, but it's slightly different forms of abrasiveness. If it's mission-related, both of them are more than capable of acting differently/playing a role, but in general, with no motive to act otherwise, Brook is just kinda...I think I described them once as "spiky", alsjdkf. They need a reason to be pleasant to someone (adults, at least; they're pretty good with children). Casca, on the other hand, can be...sort of aggressively pleasant, if that makes sense? Not in a cloying way or an insincere one. She's the kind of person who will tell you with 100% honestly that you're pissing her off and she's really exhausted and would rather not deal with your bullshit today so could you please fuck off while grinning. This still feels like it's not quite capturing what I mean, but I think it's close. (Side note, for whatever it's worth, Casca is very awkward with kids, though she does like them.)
Also worth noting for these two is that Brook has faith in the gods--more specifically, in Kormir--where Casca does not. Brook's faith is not in quite the same form as Kasmeer's, but it is pretty unshakable, even though (and partially because) they do believe in the gods' fallibility. Casca, on the other hand, has never had that kind of faith in any sort of higher power--not a god or gods, not the Legions, not the Pact. The closest she's ever gotten to that was the trust she put in Ari, but it's not really the same thing.
Cio and Ari both had walls up in very different ways when they first met. Cio was afraid of letting people get close because she was afraid of losing them, but she was still outwardly friendly/amicable to most people, just distant. Ari refused to confront all of the complex emotions she was dealing with as a result of past experiences, and therefore barely talked to others beyond what she had to for her job (or what slipped out as a result of being angry/irritated/pushed past her limits for the day). Their personalities without walls up have some semi-similar differences. Cio is entirely unafraid of calling out anyone who's being an asshole, but she's also quick to be friendly to a stranger, whereas Ari is not. Ari has a sort of gruff teasing thing she does with people who are (at minimum) on the cusp of progressing to the friend stage from the acquaintance one, but Cio really only teases the people she's closest to.
20. Who holds a grudge the longest?
For Brook and Casca? Casca, by a mile at least. She'll give a second chance, but very very rarely, if ever, gives anyone a third.
For Cio and Ari...hmmm. Cio, as far as who's actually held one the longest. Ari blamed herself more than anyone else for the losses she experienced, and she thought her primus was horrible (which he was) but didn't exactly hold a grudge against him. (To be fair, by the time she was in a space where that grudge would maybe have resurfaced over the various other feelings she was distracted by, the guy had already died, so.) I was going to say that I could maybe see her holding more of a grudge against Weylon (and Lifa, later on) if she thought more of herself, but...honestly, no, not really. She was in charge, and as far as she's concerned, on her head be all of it. Cio, on the other hand, does hold a very justified nugget of resentment with her towards a large part of Rata Sum and the Arcane Council, one that she would likely be holding even if they hadn't repeatedly proven over the years (often specifically to her face) that they're no better than they were when she was a child.
31. What’s the relationship like? Smooth? Rocky?
Brook and Casca were inseparable as cubs. They were a team before they really formed a warband with the others, and they remained a team afterwards. They got together romantically during their early teenage years, and their relationship was pretty much like their friendship. They had some arguments, some minor rockier times, as well as some things that were more or less related to growing pains--both of each other, as they were literally growing up at this point, and of the relationship. But they'd had a whole lot of practice with those things in the thirteen years before they got together and managed to navigate it pretty damn well in the following seven years. And then their warband was shattered, they were both captured by the Flame Legion, and they were separated for nearly ten years.
After reuniting, it's...both smoother and not as smooth. They have to relearn each other in some ways, but they're also not kids, and they have a sense of stability in a different way now. There's places they have to be cautious that weren't there before, triggers that are new, ten years worth of memories to go through together. But they've always known each other, and they still do after everything. And they love each other. And they're making it work. It gets easier every day.
Cio and Ari have a very smooth romantic relationship, but in terms of their relationship in general prior to that, it started off somewhat rocky. As kinda mentioned in question 4, they didn't like each other that much when they first met, but they worked well together when they were forced to, and their back-and-forth switched at some point during their trek through Maguuma from having a tone of "I'm irritated with your existence" to having one of "I care about you and would very much rather you didn't die"--not that neither of them would have admitted that at the time. They kept working together throughout the rest of HoT, and their friendship progressed from there, but it wasn't necessarily smooth or linear. They worked for different parts of the Pact (Whispers for Ari, and the Priory for Cio), and therefore were deployed to different locations at some points during LWS3 and early PoF. When they were together (or when they sent letters), there absolutely were miscommunications occasionally, and hurt feelings, and a decent amount of hey, I care about you, please eat/sleep more than you are currently. LWS4 was when they reached a point of making key decisions based on each other--which group they wanted to be deployed with, where they'd be stationed during the fight with Kralkatorrik, what they'd do afterwards. Whether or not they'd go to the All-Legion Rally.
These days, they're no longer part of the Pact, and they get to make their own decisions. They fight very rarely, though they disagree over smaller things on a semi-regular basis. They have somewhere they're comfortable and they're building a life together. Aside from that one time recently that the world almost ended thanks to the Dragonvoid, their lives and their relationship are both going pretty smoothly!
34. Do they give each other nicknames?
Brook and Casca will use shortened versions of each other's names when they're alone--just B and Cass, nothing super fancy--but that's pretty much it.
Cio and Ari have the nicknames that they originally gave each other as insults--Ari called Cio "Sparky", and Cio called her "furball". Both of those eventually became more affectionate terms. These days, the nicknames are used in more teasing circumstances. They use each other's names when they're trying to be sweet/romantic.
5, 45, and 60 from the otp ask for whichever ship you really want to talk about right now please~
Oooh, okay okay--we're going to talk about Cio and Ari for these because why not :D Tyty!!
5. Describe their cozy night in.
Plenty of blankets and hot cocoa and other various comfort snacks. They might be working on a new project related to their store, if it's something that feels more fun than like work. If there's wind or any sort of rough weather outside--or even just some people--they'll play I Spy for a bit. They'll continue their tradition of trying to teach each other various games they learned when they were younger, most of which don't work as well now that they're adults, and most likely end up laughing and cuddling by the end of that--and if not, they definitely will do so later.
45. Can they fall asleep without the other?
Nowadays, yes, though they'll not sleep as well without the other there. There were a good few years, though, where (though neither of them would have admitted it) neither of them could really get to sleep without being near the other unless they were literally too exhausted Not to fall asleep. This was immediately post-HoT, so they weren't in a romantic relationship, but they were close friends who'd bonded through a very rough experience, and they'd both lost people before and were afraid of losing each other. Luckily, they were both on active duty with the Pact at this point, so finding a way to finagle this sleeping situation wasn't a huge concern--they weren't cuddling yet, just sleeping in close proximity to each other. Did raise some eyebrows anyways, though.
60. Who pulls the other closer when they’re sleeping?
Cio, most of the time, but Ari will too on occasion.
❝ every time you walk away you take another piece of me with you. ❞
For whoever you like! @cousinslavellan
Thank you!! :D Have a Cio and Ari conversation (pre-relationship, somewhat surprisingly, considering how they talk to each other xD).
Warnings: allusions to low self-worth, but I think that's it
“I talked to Kerra today.”
Ari looks up as Cio enters her tent, the asura’s mouth in a tense line. “The commander? Why?”
“There’s a…party being held in Grothmar Valley. Hosted by the Blood Imperator.”
Ari snorts, leaning back. “Ruinbringer?”
“That’s the one.” Cio’s eyes dance, the odd fire-like irises wavering. “She wants backup, but subtle backup, and someone who will most likely enjoy the party if they’re not needed in that capacity.” She adds, more quietly, “I suppose she thought we could use a break.”
“We?” Ari feels her claws cut into the thin sheets on the cot. “You know I can’t leave, Sparks.”
“And why not, exactly?” Cio demands, crossing her arms across her chest. “I’ve been here for months; you’ve been here longer. I can see this wearing you down.”
“I’m a soldier,” Ari growls. “I’m working.”
“So am I, but this is something you can come back to, you know,” Cio says, and Ari can hear how hard she’s trying not to snap. “Any project requires pauses, and this is still a job.”
“Bodyguards for the commander?”
“For our commander. For my friend.”
Ari exhales audibly. “Burn me, she doesn’t need a bodyguard. You’ve seen that sylvari fight.”
“She’s also trying to give us a break, but I figured that would be the harder sell.” Cio sighs, coming to sit beside Ari on her cot. “It’ll at most be a few days. Maybe a week.”
“Sparks—”
“Every time you walk away,” Cio says, eyes down, fists clenched, “every time you leave here on a mission to take out more Branded, or track down lost Awakened, or…just or, you take another piece of me with you.” She takes a deep breath, the tightness in her shoulders decreasing by a minuscule amount.
“We both take risks,” Cio continues, looking up at Ari. “We both will always take risks. But this is killing you, and I need you to know that you hurting yourself is hurting me.”
Ari has no idea what face she’s making. She tries to speak, but nothing comes out.
“I’m…I care about you, furball,” Cio says finally, her hands loosening their grip on the sheets with deliberate slowness. “At least think about it, okay? Please.”
Cio slips off the cot and back to her feet, padding out quietly. Ari sits for a while, alone, trying to think, before eventually falling asleep.
