♫ contractors

[falsehymn]

❝But I tell you, do not swear
an oath at all:
either by Heaven, for it is God’s throne;
or by the earth,
for it is His footstool;
or by Jerusalem, for it is the
city of the Great King.
And do not swear by your head,
for you cannot make even
one hair white
or black.
All you need to say is simply 'Yes' or 'No';
anything beyond this comes from
the evil one.
—Matthew 5:34-37

Comments

[trollophoroi]

[ So, they are all summoned to meet, is that it?

Fandaniel is already aware of Don, but the rest? He could likely give it a guess, but after yesterday, he simply cannot find it within himself to care. It doesn't matter. This doesn't matter. The tower, Father, any of them; this is meaningless.

He arrives a broken man, although perhaps that was what he deserved to be from the very start, assuming one had not considered him such before. Fandaniel is dressed in a simple outfit of a white shirt and black vest, tie, and slacks, sleeves rolled up to show a clean-ish bandage wrapped about his right forearm, but numerous band-aids populate both arms, as well as a few on the left side of his face.

He won't return any looks he gets from the rest. He just... goes up to the bar and takes a seat. If he must be here, he thinks he will spend the time drinking. Perhaps someone will stir him to care again, to interact; feel free to try.

But until then, he strikes a sullen figure, unhappy, without a smile — cruel or not — or laugh. There is nothing. ]

[impacter]

[hello guess who's here :)

Just sidling up the seat next to him, though his tone is hard to place.]

What a difference two days makes... What happened to you now?

[trollophoroi]

[ Fandaniel turns to stare at Solomon. Well, at least he knows he's still capable of hate, because wow, he hates seeing that face. ]

Why would it matter to you?

[impacter]

[Nice to see you too, jackass.]

Well, you're not jumping for my throat, for one thing. Given our circumstance, shouldn't I be concerned if you're not acting yourself?

[trollophoroi]

[ He's silent at that, silent... silent... then, a laugh, though it's a sorry one. There's nothing mad or wild or a mockery of good cheer about it. ]

He made me take it back.

[ And then he's getting up to lean across the bar and snag a bottle at random. Whatever it is, he does not care, although he'll find it to be whiskey once he opens it. ]

[impacter]

[...

Ah. He remembers pieces, from that wild and manic rant. Had Fandaniel been sent back into his emptiness once more, lost with his tether to something driven?]

Did he withdraw from your agreement as well, then?

[trollophoroi]

[ Hoo boy, is Fandaniel drinking straight from that bottle. ]

Yes, and why shouldn't he? Better to send me back to the aetherial sea to suffer than offer me even an ounce of peace.

[impacter]

You were rather out of your mind about the subject, if I recall. And it's not as though he's a patient sort of man.

[trollophoroi]

So I was. It felt rather like being in love, and it has been... how long since I last felt anything of the sort? Four thousand years? Five? I wonder.

[impacter]

[Mm.

He stays quiet for a moment. But he does fish over the top of the counter for a glass.]

It's a gutting sort of thing, isn't it? Moreso, when it's never returned.

The world becomes a very cold place.

[He'll hold out the empty glass for a second. Pour him some if you're gonna just sit here and be miserable over this particular topic.]

[trollophoroi]

Such fleeting feelings are not meant for the long-lived, I suppose.

[ Fandaniel will actually be polite enough to pour out a finger of whiskey for Solomon. Will his new depression era ever cease to amaze? ]

It was foolish of me to ever think differently.

[impacter]

[says a lot about how he's feeling right now when he flat declines a drink just outright from Sika but lets Fandaniel pour him one instead.]

They're beautiful when they arrive. Like something deep inside you that was barren soil suddenly thrives with life again, only for its nourishment to be drowned and leave nothing behind but bittersweet longings.

Men have hardened their hearts for much less.

[trollophoroi]

[ Better a drink from a bitter enemy than a drink from the devil, is it? ]

I could do without the longing. I left my heart in Allag, buried with the rest of the empire. That is where it should stay forevermore.

[impacter]

[idk man have you ever gone clubbing with asmodeus

He chuckles humorlessly, bringing the glass to his lips.]

Look at you, sounding like a hopeless romantic.

...

Before Dalamud, do you think? Or was it later, that you felt you missed it?

[legendofthelion]

[Honestly it's sort of disconcerting to see Fandaniel so... depressed. Like, he was already a nihilist but now it's like it's getting to him.]

You wanna talk about it?

hey dw why didn't you send me this tag huh

[trollophoroi]

[ Does he want to talk about it? Does he...?! Like he's some sad little man in a sad little bar, which is exactly what he is, actually. Disgusting.

He takes a big drink from the bottle of whiskey he got when dealing with Solomon (because who doesn't need one after that guy huh). ]

Is there anything left to discuss? I have doomed my own world. If I am suffering, then it is what I deserve.

dw...!!

[legendofthelion]

[Yeah dude that's exactly what you are.

Finding out he doomed his world is honestly not the most surprising thing to come from Fandaniel. That he's remorseful of it is.]

Maybe. [She doesn't think this place is really a place of judgement, but it sure is suffering.] Is it already gone?

[trollophoroi]

Not yet, no. My wish was to ensure it, but...

[ No longer, apparently. He shrugs, though. He should feel worse. He sort of does, but also doesn't; it's a complicated, disconnected feeling, and he'd very much like to drown it. ]

T'would seem the heroes get their chance after all, though how they will defend against such a foe, I do not know. All I did was remove the safeguard placed to keep it at bay.

[legendofthelion]

Then it sounds like there's still a world back there that can judge you instead. [And not some random other god in some random other galaxy. And Sika.] I'd be surprised if any of us get a wish at the end of this.

[trollophoroi]

Hmm, seeing as I am already dead and damned, they won't even get to judge me properly. What a pity...

[ Although he isn't so sure the one who ended him for good felt much like judging him one way or another. Curse those silent protagonists. ]

No wishes? Perhaps not you, but a contract is a contract. Sika Madu will have to grant a wish that at least meets the letter of the wish, if not the intent. Assuming they win in their little rebellion, anyhow.

[legendofthelion]

Yeah, assuming they do. [...] But I think with Sika Madu, the letter means more than the intent. What did you ask for?

[trollophoroi]

As I said before, my original wish was to ensure the end of my world's existence.

[ Fuuuun times, however, he said original, and he's definitely taking another swig off what whiskey bottle before continuing. ]

Only that is no longer it, and so I am set adrift in my own foolish sea.

[legendofthelion]

[Hmm, if Dehya were a shady contractor, how would she work this...]

Well, did the contract include when your world had to end? Maybe that's not for hundreds or thousands of years or more.

[trollophoroi]

[ Fandaniel looks at Dehya, then at his bottle of booze, then back at Dehya, then— no, he isn't this drunk yet. He can't just pretend not to hear her and put his head down yet. ]

Considering how they often suggested I reconsider, I imagine that could have happened, actually. So it would seem I was lacking in my wording... or would be, if I still intended for it.

But that is indeed a fair example of how Sika Madu could turn a wish on its ear.

[legendofthelion]

Or how you could. Maybe you can't revise your contract--[Can he? Honestly, maybe Sika is amenable.] But you can at least hold it off.