Field Mission 4, Etude in Blue, Part One

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You're not leaving until you've got this shanty memorized NAVIGATION Click here for the RNG thread! 1. ETUDE IN BLUE: WELCOME TO THE SEA OF FALLEN STARS A. A WATERY LANDING You'll be going down from the Moon Base via glass spheres, shot by the flight technician staff member Avi. As usual, each capsule can hold up to 4 people, although it does get increasingly uncomfortable the more people are crammed together. You're shot down to the planet in the most horrifying way possible, seeing the landscape violently change quickly and without remorse or guilt towards your possible motion sickness or uneasy feeling. The landing this time, is a canonball. All along the middle of the Sea of Fallen Stars, blips of orbs will be falling straight down into the water. From the Moon Base, Lucretia watches on as the majority of you land. It's quite a spectacle to see the splashes from this high up. And once you're there, you're... kind of up a creek without a paddle. Without a propulsion or engine system to move your orb forward, you don't have a lot of choices here. If you're lucky, you might find a mercantile ship out in between voyages. If you're extremely unlucky, you're going to have to swim... or maybe you can pop the sphere hatch open and find something to paddle with. Be careful of the sharks? Definitely be careful of the sharks. Your destination? Lyrabar. 2. THE LAP OF LUXURY, THE DANGERS OF LYRABAR B. THE CITY OF MERCHANTS' DREAMS Let's get something out of the way first: Lyrabar is a gorgeous city — and when you step off the S.S. Codfather and onto the docks about a hundred yards from the edge of the city proper, you'll be treated to a clear view of the entire skyline: Ornate, twisting towers of marble, stone buildings and finely crafted wooden structures form the city into a neat semicircle, with the marketplace at its epicenter. At the far end of the city stands a castle, a nearly glittering, extravagant structure, a maze of hallways and towers that seems to be stretching high toward the other planes of existence themselves. Lyrabar is on an entirely new level compared to Vista Virs, New Aspen, or even the comforts of the Moon Base itself. This is by far the most luxurious corner of Faerun that you've encountered yet — even the standard-level rooms you might find in an inn around Lyrabar are well maintained, the sheets are clean, and the food is delicious. The food, though! Pretty much anything you can think of is on the menu somewhere, and, no offense to an enduring and malfunctioning robot back on the base, but his cuisine chops can't even compare to what's on offer in Lyrabar. If only the people of Lyrabar were nicer. Weren't so suspicious of anyone new who passes through those gates. There is a lot of gold passing through the city gates, after all. And the pirates who are slowly overrunning the city are well aware of that. C. THE HOBBY HORSE A lot of you strong archetype Reclaimers, and even the ones who aren't, will probably eventually find your way to The Hobby Horse, a tavern that is absolutely just a tavern, if a bit more crude compared to the other watering holes nearby and around Lyrabar, and absolutely not a place where pirates higher up on the pecking order go for a bit of Jabba-the-Hut-lair entertainment. Of course it isn't. That would be silly! In any case, maybe you've signed the waiver, paid your 20 GP, and had a go at The Death Cave — essentially a long hallway, leading from one ring to the next, with waves of aggressive monsters brought in from the ocean and beyond for you to fight through. And for some of you, those of you who have played a hand in reclaiming three Grand Relics at this point ... honestly, The Death Cave might seem a little too easy. The man taking your payments and signed waivers, a man who goes only by Old Numbers, a gruff, bearded old fart who seems to be more battle scar than human, seems to have a solution for that. He leans forward over the counter, eyeing you near suspiciously. "Oi ... if it's an actual challenge yer lookin' for, Old Numbers can whip you up somethin' more ... randomized. Y'seen those Sea Quartz around town, right? Those rainbow lookin' stars that the fancier folk keep grindin' up into shampoo. Bring me three of those, and I'll give you a fight worth yer chops." True to his word, you pay Old Numbers three SQ, he'll have you sign another waiver (essentially, you're going to have to name a next of kin — someone who's fit and willing to drag your corpse out of The Death Cave, because Old Numbers here sure as hell isn't going to do it), then he'll draw a random placard from a stack of three and affix it next to the entrance of The Death Cave. The excited energy in the crowd is palpable. Now the real battling betting begins. Your goal here isn't to defeat all the enemies: It's simply to make it to the final exit. Here's what the placards mean (As a further warning, these are highly dangerous encounters! You signed a second waiver for a very good reason.): ○ Sword: In the final room of The Death Cave, you will be pitted against a swordsman who seems to have been taken in by some sort of Faerun equivalent of malevolent corruption — and boy, is he having the time of his life. He is extremely fast, his blade is freshly sharpened, and he will not hesitate to strike down anyone who was unfortunate enough to roll him, while laughing about it. He does have what you might consider an ultimate attack: Gathering up energy into his blade, he swings it, channeling said energy into one devastating plume of magic shot directly toward you. You're going to want to find a way to avoid it. ○ Bow and arrow: As you make your way through The Death Cave, you'll be pursued by the, uh. Boss of this round, a ranger whose accuracy with her bow and arrow is unrivaled. Assuming you make it to the final room without being arrow'd, you'll have to face her head-on, too. She is nimble, and now that you've reached the end, she is much less keen on missing. To make it past her, you will want to disarm her — which means closing the gap between the two of you as much as possible, to force a melee. Wand: Woe to the Reclaimer who manages to roll the magic user course. When you step inside, you'll find that the entire cave is flooded at about knee height, meaning unless you can figure out a way across it, you'll be fighting while wading. The Caster — sorry, I mean Wizard — at the end of the line specializes in ice and electric elemental spells. Have fun with that! D. IN WHICH LITERALLY EVERYONE WANTS YOUR COIN For those of you who have gold burning a hole in your pocket, the shopping available in Lyrabar is near endless. The marketplace, located at the center of the city, seems to sprawl on forever, with stalls, storefronts and eateries that seemingly cater to every fancy, whether it's fashion or weaponry. If it's souvenirs you're looking to take home, the most popular items are necklaces made out of those ever popular Sea Quartz, that are being used at The Hobby Horse and ground up into shampoo, and very sarcastic postcards: Think, "I visited Lyrabar and all I got was this crappily printed postcard" sort of sarcastic. Generally, though, as long as the item is not magical, and as long as the tech is not more advanced than what you'd find on the Moon Base, you can probably find it at the Marketplace. If you're not sure about an idea, feel free to ask right here! Some other things of note about what you'll find while shopping: ○ There are a lot of pickpockets. Maybe you shouldn't actually have a hole in your pockets. Even with the people of Lyrabar as distrusting of each other, and of you, as they are, those looking to pilfer a little extra cash off an unsuspecting visitor will find no shortage of targets. Perhaps you're one of them. Perhaps you're the sort willing to start a brawl in the middle of the Marketplace to get your most valued possessions back. Maybe, if you look close enough, you'll see that many have the same insignia branded on their arm. It seems, if you'd like to join in with, or infiltrate a pirate crew, this band of kleptos might be a good place to start off. ○ The Auction House is located on one of the far corners of the Marketplace. It's large, marble and a bit chilly inside, and the biddings start at around 6 p.m. each night, but it seems there's something ... a bit strange about the auctions themselves. That is to say, you'll have a seat one evening, and about halfway through selling off half of the evening's inventory, you'll watch them bring out the next item: like a pearl, or a particularly large and beautiful clamshell — nice enough trinkets, but nothing at all compared to the other goods that have hit the auction block so far. And why are they starting the bidding at 1,000 GP? And why are the people around you actually enthusiastically going with it? Man, they can't be that blatant, can they? E. JUSTICE Maybe by this point you've had something valuable snatched from you, or you can't quite figure out how nobody's put a stop to some very clear money laundering happening at the Auction House, and you feel the need to serve up some serious justice to the pirates out there who have done you wrong. Who runs the justice joint around here, anyway? That inquiry will lead you straight to the royal guard — the captain of which is going to groan in exhaustion/annoyance at you questions, or even your bid to help out. You think he hasn't heard that story before? The second a silver-tongued charlatan charms their way into the ranks of the royal guard, they're looking the other way while their visiting pirate friends rob the rest of us blind. He's got no time for this. If you want to truly help, you are going to have to prove it first. And so, with that, you will find yourself immediately thrown into an undercover operation, one the captain doesn't mind doling out, because at the end of the day he loses nothing from it except for a few disguises. That's right: you'll be given a disguise, whether it's a smelly pile of peasant rags or, if he's feeling less charitable with his budget, a pair of these (look, it's not like he actually cares about your safety here), and a piece of paper with one or two names on it. Your mission? Bring these suspects back to the captain without causing a scene. Or, well, go ahead and cause a scene. He has little shits to give, remember? Pull this off, though, and consider a private audience with the one member of the royal family who still keeps an audience nowadays, Princess Irene, secured. Back to top 3. OUT ON THE OPEN SEA F. CONGRATULATIONS, YOU'RE THE NEW OWNER OF A YACHT Whether you've had your fill of luxury, bar fights, enforcing the long arm of the law in town, or just gorging out on incredibly tasty food, eventually you'll recall that Lucretia had actually sent you down here with a purpose. She asked everyone to find a way to obtain a ship- one that isn't the S.S. Codfather (thank you very much, Sans!)- as the investigation into the Grand Relic can only get so far within the streets of Lyrabar. To that end, there are a number of options and opportunities for you to obtain such a vessel. ○ Steal it. This is how pirating works in a place like this. You find something, you take it, and you put a nice new flag on it to make it yours. Of course, there are some complications with that. Get caught, and you're going straight to nautical prison- don't pass the Hobby Horse, don't collect $200. But the docks district of this port town is known to be rather quiet at night, when the merchant fleets are out swindling cash at the bar, drinking themselves blind, or maybe just settling home with their family after an honest day's work. There are hired guards keeping watch, but it shouldn't be that difficult to incapacitate them. When they wake up in the morning, they'll assume what it always is around here. Someone forgot to pay the red tithe. ○ Buy it. There's always the option of offering something in exchange for a rowboat. Maybe you've come across a bountifully magical item that you want to dispose of at the auction house, or maybe there's a collector out there who's willing to make a fair trade. Renting them doesn't seem to be that much an issue either; transport around the region is always done by boat. Just know that you're going to have to put a down payment and collateral down. You also... run the risk of running into some unscrupulous merchants who are working with the pirates on the down low. Be careful not to get swindled out of everything you own, only to walk up to a tiny rowboat. ○ Mutineer it. You could find some work on boats, but it's mainly hard labor. You'll be loading the ship up for transport, and taking a trip across the Sea of Fallen stars to destinations at other major port cities. You might not need to know that some of these ships are exchanging some rather questionable goods to get the hint that there's a fair share misconduct going on around the sea. Time to throw the captain overboard and take command of your own dreamliner. ○ Other. Well, depending on how crafty you are, there are a number of ways to get a hold of a boat. These were just some guiding ideas, but we think you'll find a way. You always do. G. 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA There's some adventuring to do out in the open sea, and treasures both vast and mighty. It's not entirely uncommon to find islands dotted along the landscape, and those are particularly good for docking and getting a sense of what's gone down around here since Captain Ferryn's taken command of the high seas. You might've gotten the sense that loose lips really do sink ships- that evidence is coming up pretty bill in your search for actual piracy going on around here. The good captain is incredibly skillful at both deception and infiltration, and with the Soul Blade helping him, there's almost nothing stopping him from completely dominating the entire sea and crowning himself the new royal in town. Mum's the word around these parts, so you're going to have to do some exploration. Pop some of those shrimp chips and head down to explore the underwater depths of the seabed. There are an unbelievable amount of ships that have been wrecked and forgotten under the violent chops of the aquatic basin. With a few hours' search, you're incredibly likely to find one, waiting for you to go down and pluck whatever's down there. Be careful, however, since The Drowned are fiercely protective of their death locales. Fight through them and live to the tell the tale, and you'll come back graciously rewarded. Many of the ships seem to have crates still on them- all with the official royal seal of Lyrabar stamped plainly on their lid. When popped open, you'll notice there's an abundance of sea quartz- the gems that are used to constantly provide a source of energy to the town. Hard to tell why pirates wouldn't be interested in that, when the trade is absurdly lucrative. You'll also find areas where ships aren't present. Instead, you might come across entire fields of sea quartz. But in their current state, they're pretty useless and look like the trinkets you might have found on the streets of Lyrabar. Devoid of any magical energies, they lay deep on the ocean floor, a nuisance and an eyesore to nature. You'll also notice that natural enemies like sharks and Sahuagin steer clear of these areas, for better or for worse. Good luck down there, and make sure you have a buddy system set up. Getting a glass sphere down into the water is near impossible, but Dr. Tank is on board the S.S. Codfather for emergencies. H. NOBODY KNOWS THE TROUBLES I'VE SEEN Know that the sea is not calm in temperament or safety. There are things to be weary of at every step of the way, and it's best to ensure that you have a good, seasoned crew to man your boat in order to keep you passing through safe waters. While you're out there, though, danger truly does lurk around every corner. Pirates, for one, are particularly good at various ways of warfare. Many of them don't even look or appear to be like the ones you might have heard of in stories or experienced elsewhere. Some even fly under the banner of Lyrabar, cruising safely without notice by anyone that would be wise to what they're up to. Sail out for too long without a purpose or linger in an area too long, and a ship will approach, lining up side by side with you. They'll tell you that they're part of the Royal Navy, and hell, they might even be wearing the garb of the official uniformed ranks, and when they announce they're here for usual inspection, they'll request to board your ship. Protocol, you see, because of the rampant acts of piracy out in the open waters. Refusing might make you look more suspicious, but letting them on board as inspectors and tax adjudicators can be equally dangerous. Some of them are legit, and some of them will look to take command of your ship and leave you out in the ocean to drown. You're going to have to be cunning to figure out which one is which. Storms rage all over the Sea of Fallen Stars. With the encroachment of the warmer months ahead, the weather itself battles for its rightful claim to the area. The signs of a storm coming are easy enough to spot, and they're frequent. Some will last 2-3 days and make travel nearly impossible. Getting out of the water is an important step in keeping your crew safe; and spending a night on an island or in a grotto is always better than running the risk of joining the armies of The Drowned below. Maelstroms are an equal threat of immense dread. If you happen to see a swirling vortex of water, start heading in the opposite direction immediately. There's a certain magnetic pull that they have, and once you've been caught in the outer rings, it's going to take a lot of teamwork to get yourselves out. Good thing you've had a month to build upon that, or else you might be toast. For those of you who are highly less fortunate, you'll notice yourselves getting sucked in, closer, and closer. You can look over the epicenter and- good god, is that a tentacle!? What is that thing!? The Prespuran Triangle also poses a major issue while traveling across the sea. Legend has it that if you sail too close to its navigable coordinates, your ship will vanish and you'll never be heard from again. It might seem like a wives' tale, but it's absolutely true. Come too close to it and you'll notice your compass begin to spin out like there's no tomorrow. Continue inward, and, well. You'll see something, alright. It's a tower that stretches into the sky, tall and unwavering. And also, completely impregnable and without doors. You're going to have to get yourself out of there somehow, and for your sake, let's hope you know the exact coordinates you came in through or else... you mind wind up on a completely different side of the world. Last but not least, the pirates aren't the only ones looking to hop aboard your newly crowned baby. Don't forget about the Sahuagins, either. They seem to attack only during the dead of night, when the moon is ripe and full in the sky. They bring with them charming magics and are particularly good at getting people to willfully walk over the edge themselves, without even drawing a blade. Back to top 4. OOC This is your story to write, and your setting to play with! Anything on the OOC post is fair game, and if there's something you'd like to try, please don't hesitate to let us know on the RNG thread. But most importantly, Reclaimers, be amazing. Back to top blurb code by photosynthesis

Comments

Shinjiro

[alethiological]

[ Look, the narrative would wax poetic here, but honestly? Nothing matters. Not where Shinjiro is or how the last thread went or if his pirates are even with him or if the docks on still on fire or whatever else. It's not even interrupted by a hand on his shoulder or an insult like usual. It is only one second he turns around and Will is There.

Or. It might be? It's hard to say. It's more like a piece of furniture trying very very hard to be a person and failing miserably. That person may or may not have been something similar to Will, but it also might be a really well-designed body-snatcher. Shinjiro doesn't get more than a second to ruminate on this. ]

Can I borrow you for a bit.

[ Not a question. Questions need inflections. It's not even a monotone at this point. It's just... Nothing. It's eerie as all fuck. ]

[petsthedog]

[Something's off. Shinjiro doesn't have much of a chance to ponder what it is before he's spoken to, but there's a wrongness to Will's presence that puts him on edge. The question--request--makes things even weirder. He can't remember Will ever seeking him out to ask him for something (or even. seeking him out in general. that's always been Shinjiro, up to now), which means it's obviously important.]

...Sure. What's up?

[alethiological]

[ A follow-up question. Should have been expected. And yet, there's a moment where even such a simple question seems to throw him off. But why? It is a valid request. There is nothing to indicate it should be ignored. But. But the expression is. Wrong. Is he acting out of character already? Concerning. Possibly dangerous. Less dangerous, with a mortal- no, human- no, person nearby. Emergency stopgap measure. An acceptable risk. Even if he doesn't Know, this is acceptable. He is trusted enough for

for






this? This. ]

Fishing.

[ Wait. Sentences. He always gets yelled at for those. What was that thing humans do. Pronouns? He thinks it's pronouns- ] I. And you. No others.

[ There, pronouns. Good enough. He turns around and leaves just as easily. ]

[petsthedog]

[Yeah, no, this is Bad. Like, worse than the tomb of horrors bad. Shinji would've stared at him but then he just turns around and walks away, this absolute madman. There's about three seconds of stunned silence before he rushes to catch up, and he's wearing an expression that might be recognizable as I'm Really Fucking Worried, You Asshole, What The Fuck's Wrong, if Will is anywhere in the vicinity of capable of processing it. But based on that spectacular failure of sentence construction earlier he's pretty sure Will is several ballparks fragments universes away from being capable of telling him, so Shinjiro won't press. Instead he tries for something that's a distant fourth cousin of shitposting once removed from trash talk.]

Ain't you had enough of camping shit last month?

[alethiological]

[ This is an extra bit of horror here in that most of the time? Will's disturbingly on-point with reading people. It's the sort of thing where he's not really obvious about it, up until you look back on a conversation and stare into the void over ranting your entire life story at some tall asshole who's really good at asking pointed questions. There is an absolute certainty that he should've picked up on Shinjiro trying to play his usual role of starting fights for a distraction. Like how dogs try starting playfights with other dogs that are depressed.

Instead, he receives only a slow shift of eyes in his direction. There is no slowing down. There is no turning in his direction. There isn't even a response for a bit. What do you want from him Aragaki, an answer or some sh

Wait. No. That's probably what he wants. What was the question again? How is that even relevant? He didn't even participate in most of the camping shit??? ]

...Excuse me?

[petsthedog]

[Lord, he's out of it. Shinjiro already guessed that to some extent, but even stupid bullshit isn't getting his attention. Damn.]

...Fishing's a camp-type thing. S'just a joke.

[Asking what's wrong is right on the tip of his tongue, but Will probably doesn't want to talk about it. He just...wants to go fishing, for some reason??? It's not exactly the kind of stress relief activity he would've pictured for the guy, but whatever, right?]

[alethiological]

[ Jokes. Right. Humans care about those. He thinks he used to care about those? No, he remade himself to. Or still... Was? Is? Still is. Not was, not yet, not for now. But it's just enough of a reminder. Master Fey could stop him easier, but he chose Aragaki. He'd be harder. Hopefully. Hard enough. ]

Got a' weapon? [ Sentences. Sentences. Elaboration of the subject via prepositional phrases. It's not difficult. But it is. But dismissing him back to that level of non-answer is the worst idea. No, second worst to what they're about to do, but it Has To Be Done. Back to worst idea. ] On your person. Presently.

[petsthedog]

[It's sort of like Will gets lost in his head after each sentence fragment and has to drag himself forcibly back to reality. Shinji's.....well, it would be inaccurate to say he's never been there. That was probably how he responded to being talked to back when the Castor incident was still fresh. But it's sure as hell not ringing less alarm bells, and they're edging closer and closer toward Samedog Barks Anxiously And Loudly the further this goes on.]

...Didn't bring it into town, no. [And he's Not using Castor on a fucking boat where they could capsize and die, thanks,]

You uh, thinkin' 'bout the pirates or sea monsters here? How deep out in the sea're we goin'?

[alethiological]

[ Irresponsible. And dangerous. Especially considering... Considering. Even compared to Will's previous antics, the motion is too casual. A hand disappears into his coat, comes out a dagger that's more like a boot knife, flipping it over so the handle is facing Shinjiro. On the plus side, if he takes more than ten seconds to take it, he gets an answer for his question. ]

No.

[ On the down side, that's it. ]

[petsthedog]

[

The fuck?


tHE FUCK?


Shinjiro looks from the knife to Will back to the knife and u know what.

u kno. what.

no.

he gave u space, asshole, and u fucked it up and now its bark time.]

No what. The hell's goin' on, Will? It ain't just fishing, is it.

[alethiological]

[ And here we see one of the samedogs devolve into the proper samedog routine. Which is to say, barking at anything that doesn't make sense. This samedog will continue to bark until the thing in question makes sense. But unfortunately, Will just stands there with the same non-expectant expectancy. Stop barking. Take the knife. Stop barking and take the fucking knife before he uses you as a sheath for it-

No.
no no no no no

There's a minute twitch here, like someone mentally tasering themselves back to proper thought. What was going on? Right. Samedog. Great. ] S'for an emergency.

[petsthedog]

[What. The Fuck. Is Going. On. This is so far past normal he almost wishes for Will's standard version of infuriating stonewalling. He grits his teeth and all but growls:]

What. Kind. Of. Emergency.

[alethiological]

[ shut the fuck up and take the knife you waste of carbon no it's aragaki don't snap his head off- but he's wasting time- he's worried- he is a liability- he's also going to be the only thing keeping him from Fixing everything, should the fishing trip go sour. He needs to get on that. Before. Before when. The Oath observed and he remembers the last point, but time is lateral here. What if it was pirates and they left or if the boat moves too far off tide or if there's nothing there anymore and he's wasting time get rid of him- But a human has to be there- a person- shit, it's Shinjiro.

He's seen it once before, but it's like watching someone trying Very Hard to keep their shit together almost collapse into a full-on psychotic meltdown. Unlike the Tomb of Horrors, where there was the occasional veer into a panic attack before it got snapped back into a box, well... Shinjiro kind of smacked the lid somewhere with his barking. The narrative would also like to point out with some hilarity that it's good that the dominant hand is the metal one. Mostly because there's an ominous scraping to the grip that means, were it the other hand, Samedog Beanie Edition would start borking about injuring himself.

Ha. Hilarious. He needs to turn it off. Now. But he needs to answer. Right now. ]

That's for... Haha. I- I am. Not... Me, today. Trying. But it's- Time. No time- three to six hours and-

[ And that's even assuming nothing's happened to Move it- Them.

Ah, there it is. That was what to hit to make the right mask snap on. Except not, because even if it's the same voice and the same face, the eyes and the expression are wholly someone else. Even with the rationalization that it's still Will, the thought remains in Shinjiro's head. ]

If you insist on interrupting, then forget I asked.

[petsthedog]

[This is the part where the narration regrets not knowing enough Japanese to have an equivalent expression the brackets for jesus christ, because that's approximately the mood in Shinjiroville right now. He has no idea what the FUCK is going on but this is going past yellow and orange in the Something Is Extremely Wrong national alert system and right into red. Danger, Will Robinson, danger.

But the creepiest part is when the full sentences come back, like they'd never left in the first place. What's happening in three to six hours? What does he mean he's not himself today? Metaphorical, or somehow literal? It's terrifying.]

...Geez. Fine, let's go. This ain't over, though.

[> the samedog will remember this.]

[alethiological]

[ There's still a moment where Shinjiro gets stared with an expression that is blank, but somehow reads entirely like... not disdain. Disdain is too strong. No one really calls it 'disdain' when a bug lands on your screen in the middle of typing. You just feel a slight twinge of 'ugh, why me' and shoo it away. You move on with your life when the asshole lands again. This time, after shooing it away, you just Wait. It's gonna do the same shit again. You know it's gonna do the same shit again.

It doesn't.

Color him surprised. He turns and walks off after it's been long enough where there's no fourth fly bouncing off the LCD, and remains silent for the rest of the trip. And no, that's a literal statement, because it's even by the time they've gotten to Whatever Is So Special About This Area and toss over the fishing net, Shinjiro is still effectively a Non-entity. Only weirdos and roleplayers talk to every NPC multiple times, after all. ]

[petsthedog]

[Shinjiro waits. For someone whose relationship with Will has consisted almost entirely of impatient yelling, he's oddly quiet until they reach the destination and the fishing net is tossed out. It's only once they get to the Waiting part that he folds his arms and turns toward Will, an expectant expression on his face.]

Soooo. Ain't interruptin' now. Gonna tell me what the hell's goin' on yet?

[alethiological]

[ Oh.

It's talking.

The NPC doesn't get turned to, but two cat-slit pupils slide over to stare. It is probably creepier than last time. At least then it could be written off as 'oh his eyes do weird shit when he's not thinking'. But he's not mad, or trying to kill him, or trying to walk off dissolving into composite pages, or whatever else. Hell, the only reason it's weird is because This Thing is going off about it. Ugh, if it keeps bouncing off the damn screen he's gonna have to get a flyswatter. How obnoxious. ]

Why?

[petsthedog]

[You know how when you're a kid you do that thing where you respond to every answer to your questions with "why" in a never-ending teleological circle? That's about how Shinji feels at that question, though it's only been posed once.]

The hell do you mean why? It's obvious somethin's wrong. Don't jerk me around, asshole.

[alethiological]

[ The moment of silence here isn't considering the NPC's question. It's one spent pondering the net gain versus net loss of throwing him off the side of the boat. Gain: he doesn't have to deal with something bothering him. Loss: there is a chance the net would be damaged and he'll have to do the whole thing over again. Retrieval takes Priority, so is the annoyance worth more than the risk of failure. No. Not yet.

Ahhh, what a pain. ]

It was a liability.

[petsthedog]

[Shinjiro just hisses in agitation at Will giving him the runaround again.]

What was?

[Ugh. Why is this ass always so frustrating.]

I ain't tryin' to pry into your shit. But if I'm supposed to be helpin', ain't I got the right to know what I'm here for? What kinda emergency I might need a fuckin' dagger in?

[alethiological]

[ The only saving grace (ha) here is that Shinjiro's a human because it's just like that last time. An audible snap of patience and suddenly the voice drops an octave. ]

Shut. Up. You are to stand there, in silence, until I am finished. Should I try to leave for any reason, you are to dispose of me. If you can't even manage that, use it on yourself.

[ Damn.

Well hey, if Shinji ever remembers any jokes either Will or Lion has made about him being retired or about how he terrorized his coworkers? Now he's finally in the loop. ]

[petsthedog]

[That's it. That's fucking it. Shinjiro's temper boils over in that precise moment himself, and his arm swings back before slamming right into Will's face.]

Stop fucking with me, you enormous jackass!

[alethiological]

[ Here's where things get a little bit weird. Most people, when hit, immediately go with the direction of the punch to try and minimize the pain. Not here. It's definitely like punching someone, it's still strong enough to leave one hell of a bruise later, but at the same time, it's like punching a wall. The only thing he gets as a reward is the head turning slightly from the force and actually getting proper eye contact with those weird cat-slits. It means he gets to watch idle disdain immediately swap to Knives. This is possibly a victory - Shinjiro has earned his Attention.

This is also bad. Shinjiro's used to choreographed street urchin punches, or Akihiko The Punch King, these long drawn-out affairs that emphasize the fight itself. But there's a level of training he's up against that fits more in line with military, where fights are made to win.. That means quick and ruthless. In retrospect, it's one fluid motion split into so many smaller ones: grabbing the wrist right as it connects, yank forward to disrupt his balance, other arm raised close to chest and step inwards, and then the world whites out. This is entirely from an elbow meeting Shinjiro's eye. Hard.

And the fun thing about excessive force put on an object is, thanks to physics, you get this fun thing called Momentum. An object in motion stays in motion, unless stopped. So releasing his wrist (what would have stopped the object) allows the object (Shinjiro) to remain in motion.

Right off the side of the boat.



Ah, hell, he's gonna have to reset the net now. How obnoxious. ]

[petsthedog]

[Hey Will, why are you the way that you are? Asking for a friend. Shinjiro team-rocket blasts off the side of the boat and lands with a splash. Thanks!!! His coat is completely waterlogged now, appreciated. Shinji's just lucky it's not still soaked in blood or we'd have a repeat voring on our hands here.

Probably the only reason this doesn't escalate any further is the fact that Shinji's eye catches something shiny sticking up out of the water. A couple somethings, actually, and though he has to squint slightly with the eye that's not slowly swelling up, he realizes what it is almost immediately.

...Which is when he sees. The other something. Which instantly brings several emotions to war in his own heart, and he can't decide which one should be at the forefront. It's a little awkward trying to bring it back up on deck, and ultimately he settles on shoving it into his pocket (let's all pray nobody's watching this entire debacle) as he storms up the ladder and stares at Will for several intense, angry seconds, like he's considering pulling that arm out and smacking him with it. And then all that deflates into a sigh.]

You're such a goddamn idiot.

[Yes, he said it. He said the verboten word. Fight him some more. Or don't.]

......Want me to bring it to the Director?

[The right question here would be "are you okay?" But nobody really ever taught Shinjiro Aragaki how to cope properly with grief, or help anyone else to. After all, if they had, maybe October 4th would've gone differently.]

[alethiological]

[ By the time he climbs aboard, Shinjiro's been effectively been written off to non-person status. Then the non-person starts talking again - and with that swear on top of it - and he immediately goes for his sword to Fix the Problem. Even giving him one chance was too much. Should've gotten rid of it at the first chance. Why did he even bring it along--

Oh.

Oh, that was why.

And Shinjiro gets to watch as whatever Emotion comes from the question is strong enough to shut off Whatever The Hell That Was. Later, this whole escapade can be looked back on with the proper amount of guilt, regret, and self-hatred from that relapse. But not now. Now, more than anything, there is only relief.

Thank God, there was something left.

He just. Needs to sit down for a minute. Or five. It's more like a corpse that finally remembered it's dead. But there was something left, that means They can be revived. That's all that could've been asked for. Now what. Bring it back, but. He has their possessions. Clothes are. A lost cause. So the ring. Both hands move on auto-pilot to mess with something around his neck. ]

No. I can- ...Should. It's my job. Left hand, right?