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[daemonized]

ARDYN IZUNIA

Ardyn Izunia. Professor of law. Lord of law. Liege of law. The one grading your papers. Leave a message.

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Comments

[daemonized]

[He probably shouldn't be so open about his feelings on the matter, but they're already here, so--]

Detective Gabranth. He said something quite unkind to Prompto over the public network once. He apologized later, but this has admittedly tainted my perception of the man.

[Who's a bit protective over his not!son? This guy.]

[darkinferno]

[Gabranth? Hmm. He could definitely see that--Gabranth is a very... short man, in spite of his stature.]

no surprise there the guy's got a stick up his ass the size of a redwood in california

have you seen the way he gets bent out of shape if you dare call him "officer"

[And even though he knows better, he can't help but wonder again if his fight with Prompto has tainted Ardyn's perception of him. After all, punching him is much worse than saying something rude on the network...

But the moment passes quickly, and Dante rolls his eyes at himself for even considering it. It doesn't matter one way or the other if it did or didn't, right? If it didn't, great, if it did, well... it goes right back to what he's always known anyways. So no surprise there either.]

if these are the types the department touts as their best i'd hate to see how bad their worst are

[daemonized]

[That's different to Ardyn. Yes, the nose-breaking fiasco could have been handled differently, but Dante was a young man struggling with the revelations of an influx of memories. He was young, and a consequence of youthfulness was sometimes an unbridled impulse. Acting without thinking.

Gabranth is represents the RPD. He's a blasted detective. There's a different standard there, a responsibility to appear to care for the citizens of Recolle that he failed to shoulder.]

Let's hope we never find out, shall we?

I daresay even Fynn would have been more sensitive, despite his own temper.

[darkinferno]

hope all you want, i expect it

probably at the worst possible time too

[Are they talking about Fynn dealing with him or Prompto now? He's not entirely sure--but does it make a difference, either?]

your brother gets pissed and insults what's observable

i haven't seen him go for the cheap shots yet

[daemonized]

[Both, likely.]

Fynn is never unkind on purpose. But his temper, easy to manipulate as it is, is his failing.

[darkinferno]

no arguments here

though i don't think i've ever seen him when he wasn't already in a bad mood

[Dante kind of ruined his day off, after all.]

[daemonized]

Well. To be fair, it was certainly no thanks to you.

[darkinferno]

THAT time

the other time i'm pretty sure you were giving him crap first about the names the network gave all of us

anyways how was i supposed to know they'd call someone in off-duty?

[daemonized]

I'm an older sibling. I'm practically /required/ to annoy him just on principle.

And you should know that if you kick the hornet's nest, eventually all of them will swarm to you.

[darkinferno]

what do you mean if my folks had decided to have more kids i'd have an actual excuse to be an ass? obviously this past me had a bunch of younger siblings so i'm just taking my chances where i get them

making up for lost time

[Obviously this is much more important than admitting to his own fault.]

[daemonized]

You can't make up for lost time when you never had a younger sibling to begin with.

Sounds as if you're reaching.

[calling him out, as Ardyn is prone to do.]

[darkinferno]

[Oh, Ardyn chose the wrong thing to call him out on. Can you hear the smirk in his text?]

how quickly you forget

i DO have a sibling

[Yeah, yeah, he's still reaching. But if that's his reason why...!]

[daemonized]

[Ah, blast. What an easy thing for him and the player to forget.]

Ah, how it's slipped my mind.

Yet, my point still stands. You're looking for excuses to be difficult, when the truth is that it's simply you being stubborn half of the time.

[darkinferno]

[Honestly, Dante can't blame him for forgetting--it's not like he'd be able to pick his brother out of a crowd even if he wanted to. He knows so little about the other boy that he honestly couldn't tell Ardyn which one of them were born first. It's never been that important, never been pertinent information.]

no, i'm definitely an asshole and i egged people on long before we started discussing my apparent past family and need to make up for what i've been missing out on

joking about it now doesn't mean i wouldn't keep doing it anyways even if that isn't the case

once a douche always a douche

you know how it is

[daemonized]

So you're telling me that you don't believe people can change with time and experience?

[darkinferno]

[DON'T USE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PSYCHOANALYZE HIM????]

what come on that wasn't what i meant and you know it

i'm just saying i don't need an excuse to be an asshole, i'd do it with or without the excuse

what am i supposed to pretend like i don't know who i am and what people think about me

[This certainly took a turn he wasn't expecting? Let him make self-disparaging jokes, it's no big deal...]

[daemonized]

[Ardyn is the sort of man who believes that jokes, especially about oneself, often belie a modicum of truth buried within. Sorry, Dante.]

I'm just saying that what people think of you shouldn't always dictate how you act on the surface. Often times that leads to more trouble than it's worth, as you saw.

[darkinferno]

[Yeah well Dante believes he's an asshole, is he wrong? Being an asshole doesn't mean he's incapable of anything else.]

hang on, this had better not be about to go into another lecture on making better choices, i already heard that one

besides, people like me don't have the luxury of showing weakness like that. if your parents were like mine at all, you should know that better than anyone

[Hadn't Ardyn said he could relate? "Having parents that cared in all the wrong ways" or something like that... if that's the case, he should know how guarded you have to keep yourself in their world.

Besides. With how much of an ass he's been in the past, if he stopped now it'd just give everybody on the network free rein to give him shit.]

[daemonized]

I'll spare you from the lecture, though if you ever request another I'll always have it at the ready.

And who will judge you for your "weakness" now?

[Yes, Ardyn could relate. The pressure was heaped more upon himself than the rest of his siblings, which only crystallized the anxieties of having to be the immaculate "favorite son" even more. And yet, what excuse was that? He certainly wasn't in the company nor under the influence of his parents anymore; and while Dante might not find himself so detached thanks to the freedom of adulthood, he couldn't say he had none.

But-- well. Masks are difficult things to let slip completely. Even Ardyn keeps up appearances in public, to a further extent than most people realize. But that's no excuse to always exert the same, difficult personality at all times. That's his point.]

[darkinferno]

9/10ths of the network for one thing, i've got a reputation to keep up

the people i hang out with in everyday life, most people aren't like you or prompto or ari

me

what do you expect

[And here's the crux of the matter: while his parents had wanted for him to be a charming son, Dante's the one that selected his "asshole rebel without a cause" vibe and threw himself into it wholeheartedly. And he knows it's a way for him to protect himself, no matter how entertaining it can be, no matter how freeing it feels to not give a fuck about what other people think or say. Sure, there have been a couple rare moments where dropping his armor has led to forming connections he could never have anticipated, but... most people aren't like that. Most people would look at him and see an easy target if he didn't make sure to make it difficult for them.

In spite of how well things have turned out so far, those moments of weakness were still moments of weakness.]

[daemonized]

[And Ardyn suspects this is a highly ingrained armor that he wears. Not something that can be battered and beaten down with a handful of conversations. And so, he doesn't press the issue -- he only hopes to plant the seed of an idea, that someday letting the armor crack and slip off would not necessarily be a bad thing.]

You'll find as you grow a little older, Dante, the state of your reputation will matter less than the people you surround yourself with to provide support. The more, the better.

[darkinferno]

[It's a really good point. It's an important life lesson, and when Dante reads the words they hit him harder than they have any right to...

But at the same time, this conversation began because of a reminder that he, his father's son, was less important than the state of his father's reputation.]

so what's the statute of limitations on that

or do you have to meet certain criteria to be able to look at things that way

"must make less than $[x] per year to qualify"

[Oops.]

[daemonized]

[Not exactly what Ardyn had been aiming for, but it seems as if he's unearthed something of a sticking point for Dante. It's not something easily maneuvered around, either, so he instead answers it head-on.]

Ideally, there shouldn't be criteria at all. But sometimes it's difficult to see beyond money and reputation, when it's been the focus of someone's life for so long. Easier to learn it from the start, than try to unravel it from one's adult years.

[darkinferno]

[Dante's next text is delayed by a good ten minutes.]

it's not something that just happens on its own though, is it

it's something you have to choose to do

[daemonized]

[He had thought that maybe Dante had been finished with the conversation, and Ardyn didn't want to push any further than necessary. He had resigned to leaving him be, for now.

But he was wrong, apparently, and it's a minute or two before he responds.]

Sometimes. And sometimes someone else needs to make them aware of it. It's a realization that not everyone will come to on their own.