Walkabout investigators, late week 3

[leftbehindagain]

We have a slight problem, guys. You know that dragon-hunt meeting at the beginning of the week?

The dragon organised it. I've bumped into the kid who knows that actual person a couple times, and she said she spotted the difference right away. It's probably too late to do much with that information, but I'm almost certain it tried to focus people on the Magicians' Quarter on purpose.

I'd bet it's anywhere but there, and I bet it won't be there much in the next few weeks.

Comments

[leftbehindagain]

Good.

Now that you mention it... she was kind of weird this last time I talked to her. 'You can call me' instead of 'my name is,' for one thing, and she had some really strange observations about what green magic covers. Incidentally, it seems talking to the dead falls under that umbrella. [Congratulations, bro, you stumbled into something tied to skulls after all.]

What kind of 'something' were you thinking?

[creativefool]

She gave me the 'you can call me' thing, too. Didn't really think a lot of it at the time, but... Huh.

Could be some other powerful mages wanderin' around here or something. I dunno how powerful we're talkin' - [He's hesitant to outright think the word 'Illuminant', with his lack of understanding of the situation...] - but if that sorta magic can get into the hands of a kid, something's gotta be up.

Or ... eh, kinda a long shot, but ...Can anyone tell me if she's an Infiltrator? I kinda think I've seen her before, but I ... wanna be sure. 'Cause there's somethin' else that a nice friendly lady with a lion can mean.

[leftbehindagain]

...I didn't even think of the Trump angle, but I think that one's less likely. ROSE is the only one I can think of that went to this much trouble to blend into the setting.

And I think Maria-chan was at the Day of the Dead party.

[Maybe it's just wishful thinking on Naoki's part, considering how many times he's talked to Maria and how much she seems to like him... but still.]

[creativefool]

You got it. Strength card symbolism.

She looks familiar to me, too, which is why I ain't panickin' about the idea. But ... just check for marks if ya get a chance. In case we have got more ROSE type shit goin' down.

[leftbehindagain]

I will. Thanks.

[Private]

I mean, I guess it wouldn't be terrible? But I also don't know if it'd be the right one, either. This whole thing gets a lot more complicated when you don't have one idea fixed in your head anymore.

Private:

[creativefool]

Yeah, I get ya. It's kinda hard to say what the 'right one' really is, huh...

Private:

[leftbehindagain]

No kidding. But I don't regret not trying to argue the point.

Re: Private:

[creativefool]

Yeah. If they don't want ya, it probably means it ain't gonna work no matter what. I mean... I tried the same thing with SAGE back on the Grid, y'know? And he said 'no' too.

Not that I know if this Chariot shit's gonna work, but... got as good a chance as any, I guess.

Private:

[leftbehindagain]

[It's not really a surprise that Kanji tried on the Grid. Crypto fanboy etc.] Pretty much. I'm still glad I at least had a chance to talk to him. It might not have sunk in otherwise.

Oh, I think you'll be all right. You were already halfway there before Nova Venezia. I mean, look at your magic project. You got yourself this far by yourself and you've been going at it for months. Sure, it might've been nice of them to stick around for a chat, but is that really going to be Chariot's style?

Re: Private:

[creativefool]

I guess not, but ... still. Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, y'know? We're supposed to mean all this to 'em, at least, if you ask some of 'em, and all I get's a handwave an' a tattoo.

Ugh.

And I know that it all fits, but that doesn't always help.

Private:

[leftbehindagain]

Never said it wouldn't sting. Maybe you'll get a chance for a slightly longer conversation some other time. [Though he wouldn't be surprised if that conversation's entirely with Kanji's fist.]

It may not always help, but it can't hurt either. And hey, look on the bright side - it wasn't Devil.

Re: Private:

[creativefool]

...Maybe.

Heh. Yeah, considerin' the alternatives, I got off alright there.

Private:

[leftbehindagain]

And like I said last time we talked about it, you're not stuck with what everyone else's Kanji would've expected. It's something you can make yours.

[creativefool]

Yeah. I'm me. I ain't them.

But - it's still weird thinkin' about the... other guys sometimes, you know? What the one over where Souji-san 'n Naoto come from's like, or from anywhere else that's out there. The idea that there's a me who's never had to step up and do what I've done... never got things sorted out like that?

I dunno if I envy him or feel bad for him.

[fridgeninja]

I'm pretty sure she was in Liminal Space.

But from what I remember, ROSE was, too, so that might not mean anything.

[leftbehindagain]

They can't possibly make this easy to figure out, can they.

[fridgeninja]

That isn't their style any more than it was Izanami-sama's.

[leftbehindagain]

You have a point there.

[fridgeninja]

We used to think walkabouts were the way Trumps got rid of people they didn't want around, but that we before we got sent in groups that came back on time and remembered what they'd been doing clearly.

... I was on a walkabout on my own for about a year, before I came back.

[leftbehindagain]

They're shaking things up.

And the pattern so far is some degree of failure. Purgatory was a failure, and we didn't fail Nova Venezia but we sure made a damn mess of working together. [There's a subtle yet important distinction between the two that Souji will probably catch; Naoki knows exactly who failed Purgatory, and won't blame the group as a whole for it.]

I don't know if that'll hold going forward, but that's what we've got now. Do you remember much of your solo one, or not?

[fridgeninja]

Nothing that makes sense. A door, up somewhere very high. A maze with a dirt floor and a girl with red eyes. Television antennas.

[leftbehindagain]

Well, given the circumstances, I can't say the antennas are completely out of place.

Still, though, they're clearly up to something different now. If it's not as a result of failing in some capacity, I wonder why they're changing things.

[fridgeninja]

They have talked about this like a game, from what I've heard. Maybe we're on a different part of the board, now?

Like the shortcuts in Candyland.

[leftbehindagain]

Could be. I wish we could figure out what the objective of the game is - my best theory so far is that they want us to fix things in these places.

Granted, they're not human, and their definition of 'fix' is... not always any of ours, but it tallies with what we've got to work with.

[fridgeninja]

I'm still not sure how crashing a spaceship fixed anything... but more often than not, you're probably right.