izunia lucis callout

[founderinglight]

you will pry twinzunia from my cold dead hands let's do this

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[founderinglight]

Most blamed it on the grief, or that actually taking the throne changed the power somehow. I planted a few rumors to encourage the latter and avoided ever answering the question directly.

[Politics! He's a liar with good hair, what did you expect?]

...He left me. Me, specifically. He was the only person I trusted to help with 'Ardyn' and he never approved of the idea - just didn't know what to do about you and the Scourge any more than I did. Once I could pull the deception off without help, he told me exactly where I could stuff the entire thing and left.

[scourgingstars]

...

[Ardyn didn't say anything, though some small amount of tension left him at that. He wasn't sure if that was comforting or not; it didn't help the initial abandonment, but perhaps it would have been worse if the real Ardyn was the only twin deserted.]

[motherfucking_ghost]

Why not let someone else be king? Fuck it, and fuck prophecy. Your gods already had a bitchfit of a war that, y'know, fucked everything up. It ever occur to you maybe they were wrong?

[founderinglight]

Not until it was far too late to change anything.

[And, before either of them asks - ]

Ignis, at Altissa.

[This will mean things to Ardyn, anyway.]

[scourgingstars]

So the adviser knew more than I thought, did he? I should have realized you had as much of a hand in that as the others.

[Sighing, he gestured to Church with his right hand to indicate the ring he was wearing.]

In summary, there have been two not of Lucian blood to wear this and control its power. To do so, one must be judged by the souls of past kings. Including him. And the last person to do so may or may not have used its power to fight me and live.

[motherfucking_ghost]

The ring you won't let me wear because you're still afraid it's gonna light me the hell on fire.

[founderinglight]

Of those who were unworthy to wear it, the lightest any of them got off was Ravus, and we still took his arm. Of the worthy, Ignis is the only one to have lived. It's not something to be done lightly - even if the fact that I exist bodily indicates that its power is probably spent.

[He shrugs and fixes Ardyn with something of an 'are you kidding me look.]

Ardyn, dear brother - you warped into his face. Surely you didn't think that went unnoticed.

[scourgingstars]

I was planning on killing him but that certainly went south in a godsdamned hurry--and tell him why he doesn't get to wear it!

[POINTING AT CHURCH like the 2000 year old child he is]

[motherfucking_ghost]

We're like five hundred billion lightyears and actual years from your stupid doomed crystal anyway, and if it was still connected, you'd have lit up like a Christmas tree, so it's not gonna do anything to me!

[founderinglight]

...Technically, he's very much still of the blood, and if there are no kings in the ring to judge, it'll let any Lucis Caelum wear it by default. The Crystal rejected him for the Scourge, not for any of his other, numerous, unquestionably-Ardyn questionable traits.

By the same token, it'll burn anyone who isn't of the line, because there's no dead kings to tell it no.

...Probably.

[This is his best guess, here.]

[scourgingstars]

In other words, I have marginally less chance of getting set on fire, while you have a one-hundred-percent-absolute-certainty of blowing the fuck up if this damn thing ever works again.

Idiot.

[beat]

What the hell do you mean 'unquestionably-Ardyn questionable traits'?!

[motherfucking_ghost]

He was all scourge-ified when he first put the damn thing on, and given how most shit out of that dumbwaiter was a fake plastic version, I'm still convinced it's fake as hell anyway. You and Noctis can't both have it!

[founderinglight]

...I mean, if you're willing to pass it here, I can tell you for sure. I was in the damn thing for two thousand years, I'm the closest thing you're going to get to an expert.

[Also his business is literally looking for counterfeits these days, that also helps.]

[scourgingstars]

I was here first, I'm wearing the damn ring, and I don't care if it's fake or not you're not wearing it, Leonard!

[actual child.]

[motherfucking_ghost]

I pulled your ass out of the dark thanks to that ring, the least you could do is let me try it the hell on to convince you it's okay!

[founderinglight]

[Izunia throws up his hands in a universal "I am not getting in the middle of this lover's spat" gesture and says nothing.]

[scourgingstars]

Yes, and I don't want someone I love to accidentally SET HIMSELF ON FUCKING FIRE, dumbass!

[izunia please be the adult here]

[motherfucking_ghost]

I'M NOT GONNA GET SET ON FIRE THAT'S LITERALLY THE POINT I'M MAKING! [fandom likes to paint wash as the only screechy yeller, but no, church came first]

[founderinglight]

[Why is he gonna be the adult you were both ready to kill him an hour ago!

He just sighs.]

Ridiculously perfectly matched... Unless you're literally going to fight the ring off him, which I don't advise, it's clearly not going anywhere.

[scourgingstars]

[JUST CROSSES HIS ARMS AND LOOKS QUITE ANNOYED]

[someone stop these two]

[motherfucking_ghost]

I've been training with him I could fight him. [church no] You know I was gonna try and take it off him to figure out his stupid ring size and be all sneaky about it? Didn't fucking take!

[founderinglight]

If he's been training you, I doubt he's shown you anything like his full strength there.

[Beat.]

He always did like playing with his food.

[scourgingstars]

He can't beat me in a fight.

[smiiiiiiiiiiiiile]

Leonard, darling, if Xander can't beat me, you don't stand a chance.

[motherfucking_ghost]

Didn't say it had to be a fair fight...

[founderinglight]

A fair fight is the only one you stand any kind of chance in, and that's not likely to happen. The only person in our family who actually believes in those is Noctis.

[Completely casual, but also like. Dude the Lucis Caelums are a bunch of underhanded cheaters, they're in politics.