[ action | OPEN ] we realize happy endings are not for everyone, they're not for us

[black_black_heart]

Who: Tannusen and/or whoever!
Where: Genessia City - Velvet Lust (Please read that link if you're gonna tag in!)
What: A general Velvet Lust catch-all post. Back-tagging in the future, and back-dating now or later are both fine.
Warnings: Will add as/if needed.

🌟 OTAs, and closed threads between people who aren't Tannusen are also welcome! (Please note it in your subject line, so I don't barge in!)
Fighting, sexual harassment, or trash-talking of the LGBT nature of the patrons are all things not ICly allowed in here. Characters (or NPCs!) who step out of line will be removed from the premises.

A. [OPEN - anyone who is ICly an adult, kids simply aren't allowed inside]

It was night-time, and Velvet Lust was open for business. Tannusen could be found either at the bar downstairs, sitting on one of the stools instead of helping pour drinks, or upstairs at that bar trading commentary with the snarky bartender on duty. Either way, he was drinking tea.

B. [OPEN - anyone ICly under-age, or who just wants to]

Day or night, if anyone lingered for long enough just outside of the bar, it was going to eventually draw someone's attention.

C. [LOCKED - Velvet Lust staffers]

Before the bar opened for the night, Tannusen could be found on either floor of the establishment. Stocking things, fixing something, or... even lounging around as a tiger. Staff were always allowed to come and go for several hours before opening time.

Comments

[black_black_heart]

"He's very charming, and easy on the eyes," in Tannusen's opinion, anyway. At least, when the guy wasn't a ten foot long spider-centaur-type monstrosity with a heavily-mutilated face. His human form was nice enough, though.

"Darling so far as I know, I'm the only one he's had cooperate with that particular... thing, in a very long time. Certainly the only one on this world. I think you're all plenty safe from that."

Szel usually didn't even want someone touching his arm. Even through his expensive italian suits.

"He and I are enemies," yes, even after the chat they'd had last night inside Tannusen's slumbering brain. Angels. Even fallen ones, they were such pricks. "We were both... effected, by that shitty carnivale. Had ourselves a bit of a cease-fire for a few minutes, there."

Tannusen lifted his head off his hand, and took a sip of his tea, as casual as could be.

"But we're still enemies. And in his shoes? I'd have kidnapped an unconscious me. It's the only thing that sticks, on this world. Death doesn't mean much but a delay and some inconvenience. If you really want to neutralize an enemy... keep them close, as they say. I'm not sure he knows how to keep me locked up, but I won't assume he can't figure it out."

It's been done before, if the shiny scars around Tannusen's wrists, just barely visible beneath the edges of his suit and shirt sleeves, aren't proof of that. Manacles, of some kind. Heated?

Maybe he's a criminal, himself.

Him with his plan on how he'd handle things if he was on Szel's side of the coin in their little conflict.

Trench raised him well, in some ways. It's not like the man wanted a useless heir to his small but successful criminal empire.

"I wouldn't be safe, drugged up in public, no matter who'd done it. I wasn't safe in that carnivale, either, once I realized it was messing with my brain. The only difference is I was still able to walk when I fled the grounds. I'm not a trusting guy, if that wasn't plain."

And another soft laugh.

"Nor a sane one. Ask anyone who knows me, I'm a lunatic. The rest of you are as safe from him as we're safe from anyone else."

[reachnotflexibility]

Garrus almost smiles there. He knows a little something about not always making the sanest of choices. Maybe not in the same way as Tannusen, but he's certainly made his fair share of reckless decisions.

He had a point, though; the sad truth is that anyone in the state he had been in was in danger - people were scum sometimes. He trusts the people he knows he can, and not many others. Garrus is glad that he was the one that found him.

"What I don't get is why you're not reporting him, especially if he's your enemy." That's gotta be tough, being stuck here with your adversary. "I don't care what caused it, he hurt you, and I'm fairly certain that anything you agreed to do under the effects of the carnival would make the courts rule anything that happened as non-consensual." He's not sure what went down between the two of them during their 'ceasefire,' but poisoning yourself has got to be covered by that.

And then there was the whole death thing. Garrus was only vaguely aware that resurrection was a thing here, but he knew it was possible. Which meant there was only one thing left to question.

"If you feel threatened by him, you need to come to someone. If you think he'd actually go so far as to kidnap you, there are resources for that. I can get you into protective custody and we can get a restraining order." At least, he thinks he can. Tannusen's not a resident of his city, but he'll find a way if it comes to it.

"At the very least, hire yourself a body guard, even if you think you can handle yourself. An extra pair of eyes never hurts."

[black_black_heart]

"Honestly, I don't see how any of you could do anything effective with him, and I can't risk any clumsy, ham-fisted attempts at Hero-ing mucking up the mission I'm on."

His goal? More important than anything else, to Tannusen. More important than Garrus' sense of justice; more important than his own safety.

"As for consent," oh boy, "I can debate the finer points of that in any courtroom on any world, I'm betting. I'm a bit of an... expert on the subject. If I was in no state to give consent in light of what the carnivale had done to my brain, then neither was Szelhamos. He'd just come out of there, too. By that logic, it's the carnivale itself you should be tilting at, and not at my personal business with Szel."

He toyed with his teacup, idly.

"I'm a big boy. No offense, as I'm sure you make a wonderful mother hen for the right citizen in distress. But I'm a bit too... busy, for that. And teleporting my honor guard into the nearest lake every time I need to get something done sounds exhausting."

[reachnotflexibility]

Garrus is just not going to comment on the 'mother hen' part of that since he's not sure if he's being mocked or not. It wouldn't be the first time someone's compared him to an Earth bird.

"If he was taking advantage of you - and it sounds like he was - then I think the courts would rule in your favor." Besides, he's fairly certain someone had to filing against the circus; thing was a nightmare all around, from what he'd heard. "But I'm not a lawyer, so you should find one and consult with them.

"I'm not doubting that you can take care of yourself." Well, maybe a little, but can you blame him after how he found the guy? "But you'll be a lot less busy if this guy takes you. All I'm saying is maybe if you actually told us what we were dealing with, we could help. I could help. I have a friend who watches out for people that will do things outside of the law that you seem so against getting involved." A pause. "So long as you don't teleport him into a lake." Seriously, what was even up with that?

[black_black_heart]

"Well, there's fields, the tops of buildings, the tops of trees... lakes are just one option among many, aren't they?"

He could also drop someone a few hundred feet up in the air and see if they bounced. That was a thing.

Or halfway through a wall.

Or into a sealed grave.

Or...

"He and I took advantage of each other. We've had a chat since then; come to something of an understanding. He knows his role in what's to come is too minor to bother with, now."

Now that Tannusen had stolen his shit, he didn't need Heaven's former archivist himself anymore.

Szel may still try to stop him, of course. But the demon also still underestimated Tannusen's resolve; he'd probably convinced himself, all over again by now, that the tiger wouldn't actually go through with breaking that curse, even 'if' he found out how.

"Filling you in on the details would jeopardize my mission. I refuse to do that, at any cost."

[reachnotflexibility]

"Yeah... I'm pretty sure most of those would kill someone." Tannusen might say he's crazy, but Garrus doesn't think he's homicidal. He scrutinizes him for a moment, taking a sip of his drink and considering what he's said before he responds.

"I respect you wanting to keep your mission intact," though he's pretty sure Tannusen isn't a Guardian or a Deputy in any city so he has no idea to what mission the man could possibly be referring, "but sometimes you have to break some rules to get things done. ...Don't tell Schnee I said that." He's certain she won't take kindly to his rule bending. "If you ever need help, and it sounds to me like you might - don't give me a face, you said yourself he might try to lock you up - let me know and I'll get you in touch with Archangel."

[black_black_heart]

Tannusen was taking a sip of his tea during Garrus' offer, and he nearly choked on it at that name. It went down the wrong way, and he spent a while just coughing and wheezing.

[reachnotflexibility]

Garrus was instantly alert, a hand clapped on his shoulder, the other taking the tea cup and spilling its contents on the ground, afraid it had poisoned him. Tannusen might be content to think he's in the clear, but Garrus is less convinced.

"Tannusen, can you hear me? Are you okay?" He's ready to call for an ambulance if he has to.

[black_black_heart]

Hey! That was perfectly good tea! Tannusen stared at the mess with mild horror, in between wheezing, coughing, and gasps for air. Funny thing about trying to breathe a liquid; it never worked, but everyone still tried it once in a while... on accident!

Holy god damn, did this guy have any settings other than earnest do-gooder?

"'M fine, 'm fine!" Tannu batted the hand off his shoulder, trying so damn hard to get his breath back but it was hard when Garrus' reaction was almost as funny to him as that dumb name had been.

[reachnotflexibility]

Garrus backs off when Tannusen shoos him away, but keeps an eye on him while he settles back in and bashfully takes another swig from his glass.

"Sorry. You were just poisoned and I thought maybe... Sorry."

Excuse him for watching out for your well-being Tannusen.

"...You, uh, aren't choking on poison, though, right?"

[black_black_heart]

A few more harsh coughs and Tannusen finally had his breathing mostly under control. God damnit.

"That was perfectly good tea!" There came a hoarse protest. "Damnit, hero -- no, no poison."

[reachnotflexibility]

Garrus rolls his eyes at the man's complaint. "Sorry, next time I'll just let you drink more of the thing that might be killing you."

He does glance a little guiltily at the cup. He'd make him a new cup, but he has zero idea how; he wasn't really a tea kind of guy.

"So... do you want to tell me why Szelhamos hates you now?" ...What? He's vulnerable, it's the perfect time to ask.

[black_black_heart]

"No one drinks anything while they're ejecting fluid out of their lungs," Tannusen pointed out, wiping his mouth clean of spewed tea with a cloth from inside his jacket. Goddamnit, man.

"Nope, but thanks for asking. You never know, I might just have myself a case of the stupid at any given second." BUSTED, GARRUS. "The simplest explanation I could give you, simple enough to not overtly jeopardize my mission at least, would just lead to more questions. So, why bother? He's got his reasons, just like anyone. They're not even bad reasons, really."

Tannusen did steal his shit, after all. Seduced his way right into the demon's territory, too, then ransacked his library while the guy was unconscious. Anyone would be a bit miffed at that.

Then, add in that one of the things he stole turns out to have been an AI, a copy of the man himself from before his fall from Heaven, and things really got understandable, to Tannusen. That and Tannusen was undoing four billion years of the demon's careful plans, just like plucking a knot apart.

But, on the other hand, his own reasons for doing these things were also pretty fucking solid. Cassian's very soul was on the line. Existence itself, really, but Tannusen didn't care about that so much as he cared about Cassian.

Just how it went, sometimes.

He wiped out his cup with the cloth in his hand, then shook the cloth out, refolded it, and put it back in his jacket. Bob wordlessly refilled the cup from a large, glass pot of tea from behind the counter, leaves swirling in the infusion basket as he poured.

"You're not going to start stalking me are you, hero? That would be unfortunate."

[reachnotflexibility]

Okay, so maybe dumping the tea wasn't necessary, but he panicked. Sue him. But look he got more okay so clearly it's not that big of a deal! Besides, he's much more interested in learning some background.

Or not.

Well, he got him there. He holds his hands up in front of him. "Fine, fine, no more questions. I know a man with a death wish when I see one. Sorry for trying to crush those dreams and make your life a little easier."

Wait did he just call him 'hero' again? He rolls his eyes, but doesn't deny it. He hadn't chosen the name Archangel, either. If people want to give him a nickname over here, who is he to stop them?

"I don't stalk people." It's true, he watches out for them is all. Archangel does the stalking.

"If you don't want help right now, fine. But do me a favor and call me if you think something major's about to go down between the two of you. No details required. I've picked up my fair share of bodies in the past and I'd rather not have to add yours to the list."

[black_black_heart]

"Don't worry, there's some weird... people-things, who come to collect the bodies of real people, here. Or so I've heard; I wasn't able to see them myself." Having been the dead body in question... the very dead, rotting, skin-slipped, half-eaten-by-frogs, body. "But, I trust my source."

[reachnotflexibility]

"That's... not very comforting. But I meant it more figuratively. Whether you like it or not I'm involved now, and I really don't want to wake up one day to find out you got yourself killed because you were too damn prideful to ask for some back up."

Wow, pot kettle, Garrus?

"I don't care that you'd just come back in a day or whatever. I'd take it personally."

[black_black_heart]

"You're in for a world of disappointment, then," Tannusen's smile... Garrus didn't know him well enough, yet, to know how little of it really reached his eyes. It was perfectly passable, if one had never seen the sheer glee and mischief that could light up the Faerie's too-blue-for-reality eyes.

Or... warmth, but most never saw that one.

"When you die, they make you strike a bargain to come back again. Once my work is done..."

Once Cassian was gone, allowed to finally rest, to be with his family again in his universe's heaven... Tannusen wouldn't be making any bargains, after that. He couldn't. He'd almost walked into the sea, after Isaac, and only the sheer weight of his grief had stopped him from doing so, sitting on that beach for days.

He wouldn't endure what was to come. And even he didn't hate himself enough to force himself to live in this world without his bright, shining light.

"Well, don't get too attached, hero."

And with that, Tannusen reached out to attempt to boop Garrus on the nose. Only fair, after he'd poured his tea on his nice floor.

WHAT DOES IT MEANNNNNNNNN

[reachnotflexibility]

[Garrus was planning on asking Tannusen if he was planning on dying sometime soon because nope not allowed. Looks like he was going to have to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn’t do anything dumb. But before he can vocalize his question, Tannusen’s finger taps the tip of his nose. He shoots back suddenly, startled, stool tipping over and leaving him on the ground.]

What the hell was that??

[He’s lived with humans for a long time and he’s never seen them do anything remotely similar to that.]

it means ur a cutie, loser

[black_black_heart]

[ A better guy would have helped Garrus up. Tannusen was not a better guy. Nope, he just laughed and left Garrus where he'd fallen, taking his tea with him to the kitchen -- and beyond -- well out of the sight of patrons. ]