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1 yr ago
Current There's a big old heat wave spreading out down here. If I'm slow with responses, it'll be because I'm melting.
2 yrs ago
Just finished Soma, and wow, what a bleak ending. Like, jesus.
1 like
2 yrs ago
Does anyone even read these?

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I can't triforce

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Talking with people in Tempum city had quickly made obvious a fact that Mougin had suspected long before he arrived there; his grasp of human language was lacking. Bombarded with terms he didn't understand, it was clear that even a child could talk circles around the poor beastman. He and his master had prepared for this, of course, and they had done what they could with what little time they had. But it had always been an upward struggle - they were, at the beginning, a human who did not speak the beastman's tongue very well, and a beastman who had no knowledge of the human tongue. It wasn't as if Mougin was a master of his native language either, though no one on the continent could really sat they were. While there was, technically, a central language that all of the beastmen on Numgam spoke, understanding was far from universal.

How could a stubborn and thickheaded Giantfoot clansman understand the bleating of the goat-like Mountainfoot cliff hoppers? What member of the fast and flighty galloping Longlegs would even have the patience to hear them out as they raced through the hilly plains? To say nothing of the angry and irreverant One-horn tribe, even more stubborn and belligerent than the minotaurs of the Mountain. A dozen different cultures created dozens of tiny differences, and time tangled the knot even further. It was all but impossible for one tribe to communicate with each other in speech and not have some strange misunderstanding or mistranslation occur. That was why, instead of words, the prideful tribes of Numgam put more value on actions. That was why, rather than offending Mougin, the gruff supervisor's response put the minotaur at ease. Finally, someone in this city he could understand.

The supervisor's tone was dismissive, practically annoyed. He didn't much care for his presence, but he had nonetheless given him permission to work. He didn't really care about his identity, he didn't care about his real skill, he didn't care much for where he went. There was work everywhere, and not enough hands to do it. The golden furred beastman nodded and sauntered off towards the ships. The supervisor had no idea about his strength, and had sent him to the closest ship. Machines unloaded crates onto the dock and workers delivered the crates to a warehouse. The larger crates were picked up by 2 men, or loaded onto wheeled machines that ferried them over. But there were too few machines for the increasing number of large crates. No time for words, then.

Mougin crouched down by one of the boxes. The crate was almost as large as he was, and no doubt just as heavy. The minotaur breated deep. He felt the strength of the solid stone underneath his feet and made it rise into his body. He sighed in satisfaction as it rushed into his limbs, granting him with immense power, before simply plucking the crate up off the floor. Originally a technique created to push errant trees and boulders away from their settlements, the Strength of the Earth was a versatile spell that magnified the Giantfoot tribe's prodgious strength to terrifying levels. But the true strength of the technique lay in endurance - as long as the sun shone in the sky and the beastman's feet were braced on natural ground, the earth would continue to bless its stubborn children. Or so the elders said. The young Minotaur, brought up in peaceful times, had never lived to see the truth of it.

It seemed that he would have to test that theory today.

After a few false starts of putting crates in the wrong places, Mougin worked continuously, moving crates one after another. It seemed like whenever he finished a pile, he would be directed to another. When he ran out of large crates, he stacked smaller crates together. The dock had been cleared at one point and the workers sat down where they were for a well deserved break, only to watch in horror as another ship arrived. The minotaur was taken in by the fervor, rushing to and fro, shutting out everything except for the hectic world of crates and warehouses.

With a start, Mougin was shaken out of his reverie. Fireworks exploded in the dark sky. Before he noticed, it had become night. He was sitting on the stone floor, panting heavily. There were no more ships in the harbor, no more crates on the dock. He was exhausted, but somehow in a good mood. He slowly stood up onto his feet, and his stomach rumbled. He was also hungry, apparently.
That hadn't really been the answer he'd hoped for.
"Thank you." He said, nonetheless.

Mougin quickly exited the bank. It may have been rude for him to think, but there was something off about the teller. His limited experience of humans aside, there was a stiffness to their actions that was just barely noticeable enough to bother. And that light in their eyes... If he asked the person in question he might get an answer, but he decided to leave it as another mystery. He would ask next time he came around.

The minotaur stared at the docks for a time. The dock was extremely busy, despite the festive mood in the rest of the city. People walked to and from warehouses, unloading crates from ships and dropping them down. Compared to what he had seen on the city streets the docks were under a far more hectic mood. He had heard that no one had to work on a holiday, but that didn't seem to be the case here.

Mougin sighed and rose to his feet. As his master said, it was better to strike while the iron was hot. This was what he wanted; to experience life in a city was to be a spoke on the wheel as it turned. As for the money in his pocket, he would have to take that risk. Surely he wouldn't be targetted again today. The minotaur carefully inched around the myriad moving humans as he walked towards one of the supervisors he had identified previously.
"Hello. I wish to obtain work." He said to the man.
Mougin was quickly disoriented as he was assaulted by unknown terms. Confused as he was, his brain performed an analysis regardless. Whatever this being meant by a 'disk' (perhaps the coins were also disks), the issue was that he could not open an account. Somewhat unfamiliar with the word, it took him a moment to recall what it meant.

An account was a record. It was supposed to be a record of his finances, then? That was indeed what he wanted. He needed an ID for this, whatever that was. Sensors... Related to senses perhaps, therefore what this man used to sense things. A strange way of speaking, not that he could throw stones in that department, but also, it wasn't very relevant to his current issue. Well then.
"What is this ID you speak of?" The minotaur asked.

That seemed to be the most petinent question at the moment. The rest would have to wait for later.
Mougin stared at the worker. There was something off about this... man. He found it hard to pin down. He was somewhat different to all the people he'd met up to this point. Though, he supposed he couldn't throw stones in that department. He was a stranger in a strange land, it wasn't exactly his right to pry into the affairs of others. It wasn't as if he wasn't curious, though.

Ultimately, he pushed his thoughts aside and decided to go about his business.
"I wish to deposit my currency." He said, still holding the coins in his hand. "I currently possess 15 golden coins."
Elio looked down. He did, in fact, have one foot on the grass.
"Sorry." He muttered quietly. He wasn't really sure if she heard it or not.
He wasn't sure if she'd really felt his foot either. Maybe she was just a weirdo - no shortage of those around here. At any rate, the people he was waiting for were here, presumeably.

The brown haired teen stayed right where he was, next to the car that wasn't his, which was hiding his back from people he didn't know. He was on his guard, as always, and for some reason he was getting somewhat nervous. A bead of sweat rolled down his back as he studied the group. Was it just him or was it getting warmer? Maybe the sunlight was getting to him.

Elio studied the people who came. He was pretty sure he'd seen the other guy on TV at some point, but the details eluded him. He watched a lot of TV (when he could watch one, anyway), but he mostly stuck to old action movies. He wasn't really sure where he came from, but it seemed to be right on the tip of his tongue, which bothered him immensely. In addition, his name was Leon, and that was close enough to his own name to make him annoyed. Elio quietly stared at him, as a grimace unknowingly formed on his face. The other 2 strangers made him wary, but this fashionable young man was even more dangerous.

"I'm Elio." He said quickly. "Just Lio is fine, though."
He couldn't let him get too far ahead.
It was a bright and early morning, and Mougin had a little problem on his hands. Or rather, in his hands. Golden coins clinked in his hand as he regarded his conundrum. His objective today was to begin finding employment. There were several reasons for this - to participate in human society, to see more of what the world had to offer, and more importantly, to earn money. Money was quite important in this city, considering that it was enticing enough for others to try and steal it from him. And surely something worth stealing was worth keeping. That being the case, how would he protect it?

The answer to his question was, apparently, standing right in front of him. A 'bank', as it was known - an institution that kept money on behalf of the city's citizens.
Ah, so that's where the word comes from.
It was early in the morning in Tempum city, but it seemed that the festivities from the previous day had yet to conclude, judging by the amount of drunken revellers that still prowled the streets. The bank was mercifully empty, so hopefully he would be able to finish his task quickly. The minotaur sauntered into the bank with sure steps.
Elio had been lucky, lately. Very lucky. And that made him suspicious. When he read the letter, he was fairly close to the location it asked him to go to. The bus didn't arrive late, and arrived early at his next stop. He had even found an uneaten hamburger on the bus seat. Truly a blessed day. But if there was anything this curly haired teen knew, it was that blessings and curses came together.

As the teen meandered through the woods, he considered the shining square in front of him. The card, then. It had come with the letter. Elio had checked it, of course, and found a frankly reckless amount of cash for an unsecured card. He hadn't touched any of it. He didn't really need it, close as he was, and he didn't want to use it either, afraid of some hidden strings attached. There was no such thing as a free lunch. Well, except for the burger he just ate.

Elio put the shining card into one of his hidden pockets. He didn't trust it much, but that didn't mean he wouldn't take it. Who knows, whoever gave it to him might let him keep it. As he trudged down the forest path, he thought about that - who had sent the letter? Somehow they knew where he was before he had arrived. It was probably magic, he thought to himself. If he could shoot fire out of hands, knowing where someone was seemed rather simple. It was easy enough for ad companies to do, if you were stupid enough to keep your phone's location on. Well, Elio's phone was usually off anyway, so that couldn't have been it. A part of him was still sceptical of magic's existence. The incredulous and imaginative part, that seemed to think that his parents had slipped him some kind of hallucigenic mushroom while he wasn't looking. If only things were that simple.

The blue eyed teen came to some kind of driveway, snaking through the forest. A portion of the surrounding bushland met the road at a certain point, but it seemed as if someone had ripped a hole through it. Elio shrugged and walked through. Perhaps someone had come ahead of him. Someone with a bull dozer. As he walked forward, however, he began to notice a subtle pull. The longer he walked down the path, the stronger it became. It wasn't a very pleasant feeling, but not particularly repulsive. He didn't really know how to explain it. Finally, he saw it - in the middle of a clearing was a manor, old and decrepit. The closer he got to the mansion the more he doubted his eyes. It was like a house made by giants, excessively large for a place that was meant to be lived in by human beings.

Maybe it wasn't meant for humans to live in.

He stopped in front of the manor. It was clear that it had been abandoned for some time. Elio was starting to believe that he was the victim of some kind of practical joke. Maybe he had been called to some kind of game show to go on an Alice in Wonderland-esque adventure. Yeah, maybe his parents had slipped in those mushrooms after all. Fortunately, if it was a prank, he wasn't the only one that got caught by it, judging by the black car in front of him. The driver was at the door - a woman, if the back of their head was any indication. Elio regarded the car. It was a rental car, high end. He was pretty familiar with these kinds of things. Perhaps whoever had arrived before him had paid for it using the card? If they could just casually give that kind of wealth to 2 complete strangers, they must be pretty confident in their financial power. But what if it was more than just 2?

Elio looked around. He disregarded the strange gravity of the mansion, the feeling that if he turned around he could spot eyes from the windows looking down on him. He had been invited because of his newly awakened magic, did that mean the woman was invited for the same reason? How many more of them were there? He turned to look at the woman crossing the threshold of the mansion.
And what happens when you go in? He thought to himself.
Hajime and Duke

@Letter Bee

Just as Hajime stepped foot in the dorms, his phone began ringing. On the screen was an unknown phone number.
Hajime called back, already realizing that he was in trouble. He would not play dumb, saying, "Let me guess; this is about what happened just a few hours ago?"

"Looks like you have some self awareness at least." Duke's voice said from the receiver. He sighed in exasperation. "It hasn't even been a day and you're already involved in something big. By the way, would you mind moving somewhere quieter?"

Hajime nodded and said, "I'll go to the latrines - bathrooms. I'll lock myself in the nearest stall just in case someone wants to stab me or is tempted to do so."

And with that, he went to the nearest men's bathrooms, locked himself in an empty stall, then said to Duke, "I'm in the stall furthest to the left. We can talk now."

Another quiet sigh sounded from the receiver. It carried a tone of acceptance, as if he was just meeting the standard. In the background of the call, Hajime could hear what sounded like running water.

"So here I was, tracking down that Ikari kid, when I see a mech suit drop out of the sky with your voice coming out of it. That was you, right? Care to explain what went down?"

The response was, "Well, my... Patrons, the ones who provided me the mech, made contact with Ken's parents; they said that Ken, my liege, found a laboratory ran by corrupt elements in the Rhean Government... For the purpose of experimenting on 'Gifted' to eventually exterminate those who have Gifts."

He then relayed what the Nitta Clan had told him, which in turn they relayed from Ken's parents, and who had been told by Ken about Alrune, Dr. Plagarazes, and how Ken had killed him to try and stop the latter's plans... And how Ken might be facing charges of murder at best if he were caught.

"...You've got a real problem with oversharing, you know that?" Duke said, after a few moments of silence. "At least tell me you didn't show your face at the crime scene."

Hajime responded with, "I'm not that stupid; I was in my mech, which yes, I can keep hidden; don't ask how."

More silence. A few contemplative moments later, Duke spoke again.
"You know Hajime, by telling me all this information, it seems like you're trying to drag me into this. I'm not exactly against that, I guess. But is that what you want to do? Get strangers involved in your succession crisis?"

The reply came after a few seconds, "Definitely not the succession crisis; that's up to my liege. However, this conspiracy to eliminate all 'Gifted', well... You're a Gifted too, right? Surely you see the danger."

"...Sure, but I don't see how that's my problem. What, exactly, is stopping you from forwarding the information to the relevant authorities? They can't all be that fucking stupid."

The answer was instant this time, "Elements of the Rhean Civil Defense Force - Officers - are with them. We don't know how high the conspiracy reaches, or who is in it."

"Hajime, you're missing the point. Money and influence - if they have the force on their side, they have one or both. When you have money and influence, you have politics. Politics means different parties, all looking to tear each other to pieces at a moment's notice. All you have to do is find out who they are affiliated with, and give the info to the other guy. That guy will do all the work for you. They'll even thank you for it.

"If, and I mean if, it's possible to remove all gifted from the face of the earth, those old farts up the top are the first ones who'd want to stop it. Gifts are powerful, and power wants more power. If they know it's a threat, they'll deal with it how they always do - scrub so hard that no one will remember it. Why do you have to do anything about it?"


A few seconds of non-response, before Hajime said, "Oh."

Duke sighed again. "Look, I've got a good idea of what you're thinking. We're students, but that doesn't mean we can't do anything. We can get in places we're not supposed to because no one cares about us. The big boys can play their games and we can slip in right under their noses. You want to help out Ken because you or your buddies want him on the throne, and he won't stop until he gets to the bottom of this. Maybe you actually like the guy, maybe you don't. If he solves this, it'll make him look good. It makes his odds at the throne a lot better. A win win.

"But I'm not you. I don't particular like the guy. I don't care who's on Izumo's throne. And the way I see it, this'll get solved without us. I can help. I can make it go faster, for sure. But why should I? What do I get out of it? What are you putting on the table to trade with me?"

In the background, a rock splashes into the water. Perhaps a frustrated throw from Duke.
"This is what a business relationship is, Hajime. No one works for free."

Hajime took a few more seconds before he said, in a slightly less firm tone which sounded like he was holding something back, "I have backers; not all of them impoverished idealists. That mech that caused chaos? We built it; stole others too. But more importantly, we are able to build mechs. That has implications, correct? After all, even if you're not interested in fancy toys, you're interested in the cash which was going to be used to build more..."
The chips were down on the table. Now all that was left was to call or fold.

"I'm not that interested in cash. I am interested in those backers of yours, but I know not to stick my nose in other people's business, so let's talk about it later." Duke said. "You've already met Mr. Ikari, but are you still interested in his information?"

The response was instant, "Yes, yes I am. And I know full well my liege has shortcomings; what would you ask in exchange for telling me how deep they are?"

"That kind of information will take time. With you directly meeting him, you're better of trying to figure that out for yourself." He said.

After a brief pause Hajime's phone lit up with a text. On it was Ken's current address, his phone number, and some small tidbits of information. Some were fairly easy to find, such as the bounty he had just completed, while others could have only been found out with insider information. None of it was very important, though. Information on his school subject, what time he enrolled, among other things.

"Let's do it this way. If you want me to get more dirt on Ken, trade me information on his friends - a long haired guy and some girl. They beat up Nightman together and went somewhere else later. Details are spotty. As for the conspiracy, ask your backers first. I doubt they'd have too much to spare for this."

No hesitation in this response too, "If I can get it, I can get it. I'll also try and meet with Ken myself; maybe he'll tell me about his friends too..."

He could almost imagine Duke nodding.
"It's a deal. If I find something worth talking about, you'll get a letter under the door. Don't call this number back."
With that, there was a woosh and the clear sound of water splashing. The sound crackled before going completely dead. He had thrown the phone into the river.

Hajime sighed as he checked his phone for malware and trojans; it was going to be a good, long, sojourn in Rhea...
@Spin The Wheel

I like this CS! The only change I would like to see is removing the mentions of the hunters! As it stands, the hunters stopped the hunts over a century ago and thus they would not be active again quite yet :) Once you fix that and add in a physical description of your character you will be good to move that over to the CS tab!


Done, and done. Here are the changed portions for convenience's sake:

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