[walkabout]

[loyalrebel]

[Malik's voice may be a surprise coming across the network.]

I am going to be needing a very good cover story if anyone expects me to leave liminal space anytime soon. I am... fairly certain that claiming to be my own brother will end poorly, even if I can physically pull it off.

If anyone needs somewhere to sleep, there is a trapdoor in liminal and you are more than welcome to it.

Comments

[shiroganeheir]

What happened, Malik-san?

Thorne woke me me up about half an hour ago.

[And it shows. She sounds tired.]

[loyalrebel]

I died. Again.

Be careful dealing with them, Leonardo's overlay is... this was personal and he is not a terribly kind man to those who cross him.

[shiroganeheir]

Understood.

I have worked dangerous cases before, including some in which others did not wish it solved. I am used to it, and I will be careful.

Is there anything you remember that might help?

I... have not been able to interview a corpse before.

[She sounds almost... excited.]

[loyalrebel]

Congratulations, for most of you I am a dusty skeleton somewhere in Masyaf anyway so this is not terribly new.

It was too quick to hurt much, though... I knew the man enough to not be wary in an alley at seeing him.

At least I do not think I was beheaded this time.

[shiroganeheir]

... a recently-murdered corpse, I mean. My apologies.

[She seems unconcerned, but her attention turns back quickly.]

I will go work it out. If the killer was known to you, then it should not be too difficult to unmask him.

[loyalrebel]

...I knew a great number of people.

[Having an information network tends to do that after all.]

Try to make sure Tazim does not do something stupid, even if he is not truly my son... he is.

[shiroganeheir]

Is he one of ours? I do not believe I have met him.

[She sighs.]

Alright. If you think of anything, please let me know.

[loyalrebel]

Does it really matter whether he is or is not?

[professorwolf]

Oh dear. Welcome back to... er. Yourself. I hope you're doing all right.

Well. There may be a few things we can do to alter your appearance-- hair dye, insets in your shoes to make you taller, glasses like mine to hide the shape of your face. It might even be possible to get you something to put in your mouth to literally change the shape of your face. If you avoid getting too close to anyone you knew well, it might work.

[There's a pause, then Lyall adds,]

Randolph Lyall. I'm not sure we've spoken before. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to stop your death... ironically, of all the random visions I've been getting, yours wasn't one of them.

[loyalrebel]

Well, I have never been 'all left' so I suppose I am as fine as can be... at least I was not beheaded this time as far as I know.

[Terrible jokes after dying are go.]

I should be fine enough if I stay away from the family I had. I just... well all of my clothing is from either 1195 or Nova Venezia.

[professorwolf]

Beheading isn't really a very gangster sort of killing. Especially if it was as fast as you say.

As for clothing-- that's easy enough to rectify. I can meet you in liminal space and create you any sort of clothing you like, to help you fit in. I made several people's costumes for the masquerade, a few months back, as well as my own wardrobe, seeing as I tend to ruin it on regular occasions.

[loyalrebel]

Swords are rather uncommon it seems.

That would work, I am likely going to hang about here for a while. Just come drop by whenever.

[professorwolf]

I'll pop in come sunrise. I've been spending some of my days there rather than wasting money on a hotel room. Not that I can't just create more money in liminal space, but it seems a bit unfair to inject that much new money into the economy, for a decent hotel space.

[loyalrebel]

I can have a bed set up for you and whomever else has been staying here. It is not a difficulty, though it is not as large as Leonardo can make.

[professorwolf]

I've been making my own, but I'm not very good at it-- I can't do rooms, only objects, so it's been more of a pile of blankets for a wolf to curl up in. So I may in fact take you up on that, thank you.

[senpaidol]

I didn't really get to meet your Infiltrator self, but I have been talking to Thorne's and...I'm so sorry. Even if you're ok here, him and his family having to go through that...

[loyalrebel]

They... I do not know if any of them will truly recover. Family is... incredibly important to them.

[senpaidol]

Well, they've got the best detective in the world helping them now. They'll be able to figure out what happened, at least.

[loyalrebel]

Forgive me for not thinking any of you are the best in the world at anything.

Most of you are barely half my age.

[senpaidol]

Well, I might be biased, but she really is one of the top consulting detectives in Japan. I guess that'd be more weird if I hadn't been a professional musician since I was like ten.

[loyalrebel]

...I was not aware that Japan was the entire world.

Regardless, whatever happens will happen. So long as the boy who was my son is safe I care little for what else happens.

[senpaidol]

Like I said, I might be biased. All I mean is, don't judge someone based on her age.

And I'm on it. Nothing bad's going to happen to Tazim as long as I'm here.

[loyalrebel]

I judge people based on the actions and inactions that I bear witness to, not what others profess them to be.

From what I have seen of the vast majority of you from the future... I am unimpressed and there is much to be made up for.

[senpaidol]

Well gee, got any advice for us slacker modern girls?

[She knows he just died and all, but there's no need to be rude.]

[loyalrebel]

[She just kind of came a bit close to one of his bigger peeves in other people... okay, and the whole dying thing after being incredibly happy. Again.]

The same I would give anyone.

Just because someone tells you when you do something wrong does not mean that they think you are a failure, only that they see you as having room to improve and expecting you to rise to that.

[He's found that people seem awful sensitive about that.]

If someone asks and you know an answer, give it. If you do not know something, ask. We succeed or fail as a group, and if we do not share what we know or willingly put aside our personal feelings to work alongside one another then there is an increasing odds of failure.

[senpaidol]

Uh...yeah? That's what we've been doing. At least back in my world. I guess everyone's a little more quiet here, but if there's anything I'm good at, it's running my mouth and shamelessly asking dumb questions.

[loyalrebel]

The only dumb question is the one you do not learn from.

I had to ask what pizza is, and who Newton was.

[senpaidol]

See, and I didn't know they had pizza in the 1920's.

...

and uh, Newton was a scientist, right?

[Somewhere, Naoto enjoys her larger, masculine hands engaging in a more emphatic facepalm.]

[loyalrebel]

...I am from 1195, specifically the Levant.

[there's so much he doesn't know. At all. In the slightest.]

I believe there is a pizza shop somewhere in the city, if you want some.

Newton is the reason those clacky ball desk toys exist. Something about demonstrating the conservation of energy. I am a cartographer and a warrior not a mathematician.

[senpaidol]

I'll check that out, but...yeah, I don't know anything about history except a little bit of Japanese and more than you'd think about Egypt. What's 1195 like, anyway?

[loyalrebel]

Now that the crusaders are leaving again? Peace is returning, relatively speaking.

People speak more languages in my time I find, and there is... We help our neighbors more, there is a sense of community.

There is also fairly more dirt and mud, and unless it is a fortress or tower the buildings are shorter.

[senpaidol]

Hm. Don't take this the wrong way, but I bet you'd get along with my grandmother. She's always complaining about people not working together as a town, too, and she was born right around when the occupation of Japan ended.

[loyalrebel]

I may be a bit old fashioned even for her.

[It's a joke.]

Forgive me, but I was not even aware that Japan existed until meeting all of you. Or America for that matter.

[senpaidol]

That doesn't surprise me a whole lot. I don't think Japan really talked to any country but China and Korea until like the 1800's?

[1500's, but you tried.]

And America's far away from everywhere.