WEEK 2

[akudamods]

Saturday passes uneventfully save a little rain. It's on Sunday that you get a little notification of probation for new areas: Neo-Nipponbashi and Chuo. It'd be possible to investigate, to check out some anime, or to worship the defunct Shinkansen. But maybe it's hard to get excited about any of that when Friday’s events suggest that you have simply been provided some additional photogenic places to commit murder. Are you going to bother either overseer after their participation in some mockery of justice? Troll the internet? Get a bat out of Hyper Zone and just take out your frustration on everything?

Those of you who entered the pods will experience fewer “painful bursts of color” as your body is unaffected below the knees, though the same amount of “slight teleportation” glitches. Those of you who abstained from the pods will continue to experience all of the above as well as electric shock sensations occasionally when touching metal objects.

INTERNET | SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

((Internet investigations of any kind go here, and for all IRL areas, please use "investigate" in the subject line of your top-level comment, or link the thread to a moderator!))

Comments

[pr159]

[ Well, okay, fair.

Flatly: ]

No.

[ Who is buying these things.

Attempting to steer back to the not-a-complete-nightmare section, he looks briefly over one of the racks and points out a different pair, though he's not sure why he's even bothering with any of this. ]

All right, how about these? The colors are fitting, I think.

[priori]

[ But Rideaux, what about these?? The nightmare section is a treasure trove of nonsensical shades!

Except, nah, Lucilius doesn't care enough and follows Rideaux's gaze. ]

Better. I agree the tint on the lens is suitable, it's the rim that needs altering. A dark color would be more fitting.

[priori]

[ A bold claim—and one that's unrepentantly incorrect. But he doesn't note it and simply moves on. ]

You attribute your affliction to me? [ After a moment of thought... Fair, he supposes. ] Hm. You're proposing it was a flaw in your biology, not a learned response. ... An anomaly in your sensory receptors, then? Something that could have thrown your perceptions into disarray.

[ He thought he tested all of this when Belial was created, but perhaps he missed something. Some minute defect that worsened over time. How annoying.

Lucilius deposits an elbow onto the table and holds his hand out toward Belial. The gesture is similar to the way one might ask a dog for its paw. ]

[intimations]

[A romantic, huh... There's no direct response to that outside of a slight widening of his smile, but there's a clear flicker of amusement in his eyes.]

I can't say you're wrong about that. But all the same... it's so hard to get my sword up when the mood isn't right. And if we're to dance to your heart's content, [he spreads his arms wide open in something of a mirror to Zenos' previous pose] I wanna give you my best performance.

[priori]

[ How polite! Lucilius glances over, though it's hard to tell if he's attempting to return the gesture or simply because someone's speaking near him. ]

No. Have you seen any plaques explaining these events? The most I've heard is a vague whisper, one which is more akin to an urban legend than fact.

[pr159]

[ Let's just burn this whole city down, it's what it deserves. ]

Oh?

[ Kind of matches those 70 white robes you're wearing, but ok. ]

This, then?

[ Pointing to these! Pretty boring but at least they aren't hideous, which is apparently not as low a bar to clear as one might think. ]

[priori]

[ excuse you his style is vastly superior to the other astrals. also love how rideaux is just picking pink now ]

A relatively plain design, but otherwise passable. Let's test their durability.

[ Plucking them from the display and examining the hinges. ]

[intimations]

[Serious indeed. Honestly though, it figures considering how Rideaux acted in the last trial. It's not a trait he dislikes, though!

In any case, Belial will follow to check out the one Rideaux's gravitating towards, although he'll throw quick glance back up at the other man's face once he sees it. Hmm, yeah. Have an approving nod thrown your way.]

Mmm, it does match your hair nicely. [He'll lean over and finger the edge of the throw. Incidentally, it has now been tainted forever.] And the way it feels over your skin... good taste. Not that I should be surprised, I suppose. You look like a man who keeps up with the latest trends.

[superstructure]

Standard things for that sort of environment, then. There's probably not much we can do about it, unless it starts affecting us directly, I suppose.

[intimations]

[Ah, when Lucilius starts musing to himself like that, Belial knows better than to interrupt. There's a certain glint of fondness in his stare as he listens to the other man, tilting his head slightly as the rhetorical questions come and go. And when the hand goes out, his eyes narrow in amusement as he languidly places his free one into Lucilius'.]

I see your lust for knowledge is as insatiable as ever. That look in your eyes, picking me apart piece by piece as you search for any signs of imperfection... I could watch it forever. But I'm afraid you'll find that physically, everything's in working order. You'll need to really get inside me if you want to find your answer.

[priori]

[ ... this creature.

He didn't need the reminder, but from this exchange alone it's easy to see why he never pressed the issue. Lucilius rolls his wrist, inadvertently allowing his palm to slide against Belial's skin. More importantly, it provides a better angle to smack the offending hand away.

Whatever plans he had for it have tragically been abandoned. ]

A vivisection isn't out of the question.

[intimations]

Oh, you check their shoes of course. If they're wearing some, they're a child. Simple, right?

[Whatever mocking tone there was quickly evaporates into something far more manic as he bursts out into laughter at the other admission.]

Is that right? I'd ask how you survived, but maybe you're just that lucky? [There's a small 'phew' here as he calms down.] But really, what a shame... I was almost looking forward to giving you a lesson you wouldn't forget.

[intimations]

[On one hand, he's a bit disappointed he won't find out what Lucilius had in store for him. On the other, that proposal... well, it's certainly an interesting one. In any case, Belial doesn't make any effort to resist getting slapped away as he just lets his hand hang there for a bit before retracting it and laying it back in front of him on the table.]

Ohhh, edgeplay, is it? If that's what you're into, then I'm all yours. Ah, but we might run into a bit of a problem when it comes to equipment though. Unless you don't mind getting really down and dirty.

[He says, but good thing week 3 has the cybernetics mall!!! Looks like that location can be useful for something?!]

[priori]

[ As always, no reaction. Reprimanding Belial truly is an exercise in futility. One he continues to engage in, for reasons unknown to even him. ]

Have I ever? Still, will does not equate interest—and the only play I desire demands a closing curtain.

[ Which is a sentiment he's uncertain Belial shares, no matter what his teasing suggests. Thankfully, allegiance is not the topic of this conversation. Nor does it particularly concern him given, well, everything going on here.

For the second time today, Lucilius reclines back in his chair. He even remembers to place the takoyaki he's been holding into his mouth and take a bite of it. ]

[pr159]

[ Look, he saw the pattern there in those other choices, and he ain't picking these for himself. ]

Just take care that your "durability test" doesn't end up with him [ gesture toward that weird vendor dude ] trying to make you pay for broken merchandise.

[ There are also these, which he picks up and takes a look at. ]

If those are too dull, here's something a little bolder, and probably sturdier. It's not going to match every shade of red, though, so how well it would work depends on how many different reds you have in your wardrobe.

[ It would clash with his own slightly more magenta-toned reds, for instance! ]

[inspiritus]

Truly a question all on its own, hm?

[ What is there to be found in a place that forces to engage in those farce of trials except for the explicit amusement for the masses? He clearly hasn't despite walking into a mere bookstore.

At best he expects to skim things without them holding his interest for long. ]

Do you believe some of those here might believe that there is?

[your_best_friend]

Flowey. Flowey the flower.

So do you know any other songs?

[hunterandhunted]

[Kinda fucked up they're talking about this right before Adam dies, but, you know,]

I suppose I cannot fault you for wanting a grander stage than this for your performance, [Zenos huffs a breath of laughter,] but surely if you are to keep me waiting then, you will no doubt satisfy these... cravings of mine.

[superstructure]

Beyond the name plaque saying it was made within the last six months, I haven't seen anything. [ glances back over at Lucilius ] So this actually happened, from what you've heard from the people in town?

[osssuary]

[Japan-adjacent culture strikes again....... later in the week they will finally find some common ground, but just now they can't even talk about bladework without getting tripped up. Then again, for people like them, perhaps it is not talk that is the most important part.

He spares a glance for the tiny bat graveyard (no mammals or Robins were harmed in the making of this, probably) to one side, but dismisses it almost immediately.

There's a faint raise of an eyebrow but then, this particular member of their cyberpunk dystopia-bound cabal of criminals tends to bounce between philosophical and weapons ramblings. He's not exactly opposed, even if it is a strange venue for it.]

I fight for my lord and his vision of the world. [...] Why is it you are so interested in the fight? For the sake of fighting itself?

[intimations]

[Rejected again, huh. It's not unexpected though, considering everything here. Belial's well aware that there's nothing to be gained from impairing him in a situation like this after all, and even if that wasn't the case, he's used to Lucilius' empty threats by now.

And then he brings that up. As the conversation shifts to the grand finale--their grand finale--a glint of something else flickers to life in Belial's eyes. Because in the end, for all the flirtations, insinuations and double entendres he makes, it's never been about anything physical when it comes to his creator. He's already experienced plenty of those dalliances with too many skydwellers to count, but no one else has ever aroused that same spark of interest in him--that fascination that threatens to sear him inside and out in all its self-destructive splendor.

Ahh, Lucilius really is the same as usual, even if he is different.

Belial folds his arms onto the table and leans forward, gaze intent as reverence drips forth from every one of his softly-spoken words.]

And that's why I'll be with you every step of the way. My body is yours to command, Cilius.

[osssuary]

They seem to be largely unfamiliar to most here, though many are familiar with... shinobi.

[There's a quiet bemusement there, all the same.

How does one divorce what one is from the world where one was born and raised? And then to run into a world parallel enough to know just enough -- not just one world, in fact, but a whole bevy of them. Strange. It's a constant background microwave hum of oddities.

And so, though he is sure in himself and his own existence, moving through the world is where the uncertainty lies. Perhaps it's easier to be a soldier.]

There are those who were brought from the same place. [Medic and Scion come to mind, on a guesstimate] But it seems to be the exception. To be able to bring me here without my noticing...

Perhaps it was my failing.

[He concedes this without any particular change in tone.]

[inspiritus]

Indeed, even I am familiar with the term.

[ The war with Wutai is not something he will become forgetful about; those experiences stay with you, no matter how rapid one's viewpoint changes.

The idea that he has been thrust into a situation where still his name is paraded with a title he's long since discarded is sincerely laughable. Such that part of him has been curious alone where that would lead him. However, those whimsical thoughts have taken leave of the swordsman soon enough.

Now all he desires is to watch this place burn. That aside, he considers Kimimaro's comment with a hint of amusement. ]

Your failing? Maybe so, but even if that was the case...could it have been avoided?

The power behind our relocation is not something so trite or weak that it can be feasibly easily countered by an attentive mind and skilled warrior, even if our captors are not worthy of being considered our equals. A spontaneous teleportation spell isn't easy to avoid as it is, even for those who are looking out for it. In my world, teleporting others from one place to another is difficult enough. To do so from one world to another is something that hardly anyone can fathom.

[ He is saying this not as a reassurance or comfort but because he believes it to be a fact. ]

[osssuary]

[Saucy and probably capable of making grown villains cry with the right knife...? That's clearly where this metaphor is going!!

(Quite unfortunately, while hospital gowns are versatile they have a tendency to be rather draftier and more flimsy than your average outfit... but hey. Maybe they have unlimited changes of clothes?? That might put it at an advantage, really.

That, or they'd have to cosplay somehow, and he can't even cosplay a ninja properly in Japan, it seems. Terrible. Awful.)

Kimimaro continues to watch in some kind of morbid fascination. There's a slow blink as the throw is... thrown... at him and a sort of deadeyed frown.]

You seem used to moving in such strange -- clothes. [does it deserve the name of clothing] I'm not looking for anything strange or decorative for tripping over.

[osssuary]

[And so it goes, as though he's a lost exhibit from the museum or something.

Being known without being particularly understood; being given a title after losing one altogether; all of these are true -- at the end of the day the entity still named Kimimaro, for better or for worse, has been quite forcibly entered into these murder sweepstakes.

There is no real frame of reference for where he is, who he's meant to be, what he's supposed to be doing. But there's also no real need for him to acknowledge that.]

Some things are inevitable.

[Quiet; he's paused his needle.]

... Teleportation is a feat. Other worlds are only legends or fairy tales, where I come from. There are even those here who claim to travel-- [and who have demonstrated a thing or two by now, what a mess all this is] --and yet... it serves no one to look only at what cannot be done.

[For if that's what's being focused on, they have enough restrictions and inadvisables and shouldn't-dos to last them until actual doomsday in all the worlds here. Ain't nobody got time for that.]