Cole looked up at Arcade at the mention that it was rude to tell people you wanted to kill them, tilting his head a bit. "Hmm. So...I shouldn't tell people that, okay. I'll...try to remember that."
He looked back to Lewis, offering a slight smily. "Also, thank you, Arthur, I like my hat very much too. It is the first thing that was ever mine. How is Vivi? Did you and Lewis work out that he thought you were trying to steal her?"
Ben nodded up at Hercules, and turned towards the outskirts of the City.
"All right, c'mon then. We should get there quick then before the party starts without us. Let's go!" he insisted, moving away from the library towards the outermost parts of the City.
As he walked he thought for a moment and then turned again towards Hercules. "Hey, uh, Hercules? I'm... I'm thinking about disbanding the City Knights," he told the Greek hero. "I've been a really bad leader to you guys."
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither."I'm not even mad, I was leaning there." I waved at Arcade to signal that no, really, it's not that big a deal, even though probably someone or another would beg to differ. "He knows everything, yeah..."
"Why is the three year old threatening to kill anyone?" Arthur whined. "That's not exactly something you teach kids, areyouokshouldIbeconcerneddoyouneedhelp?"
...Given the nature of that place, it may be fair to avoid assuming all things are as they seem, Mystery interjected, putting a paw on Arthur's shoulder, though he also seemed to be giving Cole an odd look.
"I guess...still though, it's kind of, uh..."
i guess you can watch me shitpost i guessInside Club Escape
"Well...I guess you have to keep the pictures for the both of us," Makoto said. She wasn't sure why the robot was so annoyed about her ordering fruit and water, or what it thought she was going to do with a whole watermelon either. At least Doug could have the bananas and orange. "Er, thank you..." she said, sliding the water over to Doug. He chirped and then copied the whirring sound of the robot's blades with a surprising level of accuracy, clapping his hands. Makoto finished the rest or her own drink not long after Rex did.
"I'd let him have some, but I'm not sure if the immunity we have today will stop him from getting sick off it tomorrow," Makoto said, before turning back to the robot. "I'll take another one too, please."
"Alright, good," Arcade said, surprised at how easy that was, "glad we've got this open communication going." Would he come to regret it later? Probably, but at least in the moment he could pretend things weren't going to go crazy.
He glanced apologetically over at Arthur on the screen, saying, "it's... a long story. He looked a lot older than this not too long ago, and is only now actually... becoming a child? It's just very complicated."
I say that aloud too sometimes, just: "man, no life."Library
Honestly, no one really cared about the pink armor anymore. No one among the reds and blues, anyways. The part that they couldn't let go of was the denial. "No, if it was whitish red, it would be pink," Church corrected Two, sounding about as frustrated as he had the entire conversation. "Because pink is fucking whitish red!"
"And I keep telling you that they are very distinct colors!" Donut protested. "It's like the difference between gray and bone gray! Trust me, interior decoration is a passion of mine."
Sarge let out a derisive snort. "Along with scented candles, baking, fine dining, and talking about the color pink," he remarked gruffly.
Seemed like they settled down on the matter, though. Not much new ground to cover on a topic that had been discussed for years at this point. "Well, let's forget about that silly old argument!" the flamboyant soldier proclaimed. "Anywaayys," he continued, stretching the word out, "I used beef for the pie, even if I like lamb more. There wasn't any, and I'm not very picky. As long as it fills me up, I can make do!"
At the mention of a recipe, he started running his hands over his armor, seemingly searching for pockets. It only took him a few seconds to realize he didn't have any. "Oh, I know where I left it! I'll be right back, I finish things fast." He ran out, presumably trying to retrieve it.
Church, despite being a hologram who didn't breathe, had a small coughing fit when Two didn't react as expected to Tucker's... harassing words. It was a mixture of surprise and a way to hide his laughter. The aqua armored soldier also seemed slightly taken aback, at least going by how he didn't react for a bit. "Oh, you're Two," he said, recognizing the voice.
"Bit young for you," Sarge remarked quietly, poking fun at Tucker.
Tucker merely shot him a glance, probably an annoyed one, before pulling himself together enough to continue. While he wouldn't exactly mind following through with the less literal meaning of his prior words, that would be in a more private situation. So the completely serious response threw him off even more than realizing he had been talking to a hot chick five days ago and didn't know. "Well most people in the future don't have a badass laser sword!" he boasted. "Mine's long and good at penetrating things, if you catch my drift." Tucker wasn't expecting her to understand after Two already failed to catch the euphemism. His hand grabbed something by his waist. It was a small metal... thing.
Only a moment later, two prongs of blue energy emanated from the metal grip. "Yeah, I know it's awesome."
"It is a key that unlocks temples. It is also a key that unlocks people's death when he stabs them," Caboose helpfully added. "Santa explained a lot about it."
Donut ran back into the room, nearly ramming right into the energy sword, holding a piece of paper. "Found... It..." he said, huffing a bit. Seemed like he was out of breath from running. He then pressed the paper against the screen for Two to see. It was a perfectly ordinary recipe for a pie that one could just imagine, one that made sense and would most definitely make a proper pie of the sort he claimed.
Why is a yam attacking me?"Yeah they are good proof of... us. But maybe I should think of what to tell you so I don't come across as a creep. I need to remember that show"
As saddening as that thought was, Rex couldn't really feel bad. For some reason his reaction was lessened by an odd feeling of satisfaction. They had agreed to something that, while far from the best of outcomes, still meant they had one another and Rex in particular could look forward to making Makoto fall in love with him again. That didn't sound so bad all things considered, and now he was smiling just thinking about it. Things would turn out well, he was sure of it.
"Here, let me handle that for you" he finished another drink and moved the watermelon over to his side.
He wasted no time building his sword, looking smug as usual. The robot didn't seem to care one bit—maybe it considered its own weapons much more efficient and not worth even acknowledging or he simply wasn't programmed to react to that—and finished serving Makoto another glass.
He laughed at Makoto's comment, not quite picking up on what she meant by Doug possibly getting sick "Hehe, his first flu! They grow uo so fast"
Of course after a drinking his second glass (or third? He wasn't counting), Rex's aim and most of his motor functions weren't at the top of their game so his sword basically slammed itself gainst the countertop. The fruit was indeed sliced in half, as well as part of the furniture.
"...just add it to my bill" he took the sword embedded on the wood after a few tries and sat down again like nothing had happened "And give me more of that juice"
Club Escape—-This Will Be Less Funny Tomorrow
"That's a good idea. Maybe I should...come up with something that only I could tell you. I was thinking about codewords in case those weird shapeshifting aliens came back again." That had really bothered Rex when they replaced her and he didn't realize it, so maybe she could prevent a repeat of that. Her next drink distracted her as Rex took the watermelon. She finished it pretty fast and had to take a moment to remind herself of what she was doing. It was getting sort of warm in here, and she wasn't sure why.
"N-no, I mean more like...like throwing up and having headaches. That's what happens to people that drink too much in movies," Makoto said, before she finally noticed the sword Rex made. "What's that for"- he slammed it into the counter breaking both the watermelon and smashing part of the bar itself. She flinched back at first, and then started giggling as he sat back down.
"You're supposed to use a stick or a knife to break it!" she said, pulling on his jacket sleeve a little. "Or a...a smaller sword. Can you even make a smaller sword?" Doug was currently eating bits of scattered watermelon off the counter like a normal toddler, ignoring the structural damage that Rex had done to the bar. "I bet...I could have punched it in half too." What had she been thinking about before this again?
"Doesn't exactly help that death is basically meaningless in the city, everyone just kinda pops back or something? However that works." Curly shrugged. Cole was a weird one, that's for sure, but there wasn't much point in dwelling on it. "How is Vivi anyway? Kind of expected her to want to be in on the call"
Cole didn't seem to have a lot more to add to the conversation, just frowning a bit as he seemed to lean a little closer to Lewis, looking, before waving slightly. "Is that a dog? Hello, dog! You would be very popular back in Thedas, people like dogs. I've never seen a dog your color before. Are dogs in your world often that color? Our's are mostly brown and red, and black...I've never seen a white one!"
He seemed content to just babble either to or at least at Mystery, looking downright fascinated.
Arthur stared at Arcade like he'd just been told he'd grown a fifth head. "That's...I'm even more confused now."
"Uh...I think he said he was some kind of immortal emotiony spirit or something, once? Kinda like Teddie but edgier, actually. But then ended up in a flesh suit somehow and then turned into a normal human like a week ago. Least I...think that's how it went." I shrugged. I had the feeling it wasn't going to be explained further in the immediate future since Cole himself immediately got distracted from the subject of his age-inappropriate behavior by Mystery's existence.
I have the power to shapeshift, child. This is not my true form; if I were to show it now, it might draw unwanted attention, though it is that of a fox with seven tails. Actual white dogs aren't so unusual here, though, albeit they are mostly bred as such by humans. They seem to have refined their breeding ability with a power they call 'genetics', the not-dog explained at length to the once magical toddler, briefly looking confused and intrigued by the spirit conversation but seeming to accept it quickly enough. ...Interestingly, despite your collective lack of interest in seeking it, your party seems to found the festivities anyway.
"Huh?" I looked up. "Oh yeah, you're right. Go figure."
I cringed at Curly prying into my love life. "Uh, people don't...tend to keep up with people they deleted from their brain to weasel out of grieving...also it's the middle of the night there, she's probably asleep."
"Um, actually..."
i guess you can watch me shitpost i guessCode words were not something Rex had considered. And sadly Makoto would probably forget them after leaving the city. Whatever helped against any other potential shapeshifters was always good, though.
"Maybe if I... built it from my finger" he wiggled said finger trying to picture it. It would be impractical and rather hard to pull off, but it was worth keeping in mind for later. Maybe Makoto would like it. "But the problem is the watermelon was too small"
Her concern about what Doug would go through if he was allowed to drink was cute, like if she were a real mom. Of course, in Rex's mind the "orange juice" wouldn't be that different to the watermelon Doug was already eating.
"You know those movies always exaggerate" but then again they did say pretty girls didn't get asked out... so maybe she was onto something.
What could definitely not be true was her claims of strength. She was strong, sure—Rex could still remember getting punched in the stomach quite clearly—but he couldn't believe her being better at cutting the watermelon than him.
"I don't buy it. Let's make a bet" he turned and after taking another drink, faced the bartender "Give me another one of those" the robot complied and dropped another watermelon on the counter. "Whoever loses has to share something no one else knows about them with the other"
"Trust me, the more details you know, the less you understand," Arcade replied with a sigh, "let's just go with: he's wise beyond his years in several ways and leave it at that."
Cole's interest in Mystery was a little strange, but nothing too shocking. Kids liked friendly animals, right? He was certainly cared more about that than the drama that was Lewis's love life. He had too much on his plate to worry about stuff that wasn't any of his business, especially in areas he had no idea about, like romance.
He was less than enthused when they spotted the aforementioned party. "Big groups of people, not my favorite, I'll admit," he muttered.
I say that aloud too sometimes, just: "man, no life."Club Escape
"Hm, maybe like...a medium sword is a better idea then." Then Rex could duel people with his arm, though...what were the odds that he'd be in a one on one match with a swordsman? It was a cool thought, anyway. "A bet..." Makoto was about to really consider if this was a good idea or not, but then the watermelon was ij front of her and her pride was on the line. "Alright, I'll show you how strong I am!" She stood up and took a few moments to concentrate. Her clothes flickered, and then she switched into her Phantom Thief outfit. She summoned her iron knuckles and sized up the fruit. Her head was still a little fuzzy, but using her Persona focused her more.
"Fist of Justice!" She punched the watermelon hard enough for it to come apart, roughly in two pieces. Her hand was a little messy, but she grinned and shook it off until it was clean enough. "All those martial arts lessons paid off, huh?" Makoto pushed half of the watermelon towards Doug.
"Kyuu!" he said, grabbing at it eagerly.
"Okay, so what's your secret?" Makoto asked Rex, sitting down again.
Aside from proving her own strength, Makoto mostly shocked Rex by repeating that line of hers she had used a few days ago. Maybe Queen being more tied to drama really had something to do with it.
"You said it! Just like in the cave!"
Once the excitement died down, though, he realized it was his time to keep his end of the bargain and reveal something about himself no one else knew about.
"I-I don't have any secrets. I'm practically an open book" he crossed his arms, attempting to look unbothered by it all. It had been as if a strange force had taken over his body and made him come up with such and obviously dumb bait just to make Makoto play with him. And now he didn't know what to say. "Y-you already know a lot of things about me anyway" he really should have come up with something boring to tell her but he was coming up with nothing. "Fine, the first thing I thought when I saw you was that... you had a nice butt"
Two, O-oh, Library
Oh. That kind of sword. In hindsight, Two should have seen that coming, and yet she still felt disappointed. In a pleasing subversion of expectations, he actually did pull out a sword. Well, something similar to it. She knew, she knew - blades made of energy were probably more dangerous than solid ones, but its shape was just so weird. "It looks kind of like a starship. Like the ones that flew about on Day 19." She clued other City-goers in before deciding that this innuendo-laced conversation might have been a bit much for her. "It did catch me... um, with my p-pants down, if you will." After an extremely embarrassed attempt at innuendoing back at Tucker, and a blush of great magnitude, Two decided to just avert eyes away form him altogether. "I'm sorry, everyone..."
Quick, new topic. Thus, Donut's pie recipe - helpfully displayed by him on actual paper! "Oh! I didn't expect you to pull up a recipe, actually..." She didn't have much to write on in the first place. "Ah, um... does any of you have a a feather and some parchment?" Two asked the others sheepishly.
Inside Club Escape
"I said it again...?" It took a few seconds for Makoto to recognize what he meant by that. "Oh! Yeah, Phantom Thieves need to have a cool one-liner to say when we win a fight," she said to Rex, as if it were obvious. "It makes me feel stronger." Makoto was eager to hear something about Rex that she didn't know before, but this was...not what she was expecting. It cut through some of the alcohol in her system enough for her to get a little more shy.
"U-um...really? Well..." Makoto pushed her mask away from her eyes as she thought. "I'll admit something too. On that day when we we're dressed like gladiators, I asked for that shirt for you because it was really hard to concentrate when you didn't have one on."
Up ahead of the traveling group was the balcony in question of the party; there was already a good-sized gathering of people, maybe a quarter or third of which were Fanboys. Food, drinks, and some radios playing the random music on the news station were already set up, but it looked like some things were still in the process of being arranged. Some people were trying to put up a large projector screen, while others were deciding the positions of some kind of portable, raised platform stages which they were putting seating and speakers onto; seemed like the idea was that people watching the movie would be able to look out over the rest of the crowd.
There were some familiar faces among the party: Those four cat girls who ran the diner, Bergree the drider, Sir Redring the octopode adventurer, Tuudol the wood elf, Dave the troll doctor, Larry from the militia, Calvin the Fanboy, (but no Melanie) Little Spiderbee the fairy reporter, then Blue the Terrarian and Hartwig the Jaegermonster from Home Sweet Home. Most were just hanging about and enjoying food or drinks, though Blue was standing up on one of the portable stages holding what looked like one of those blue graph papers used by construction crews for building blueprints.
You are reading this."Wait, she... Really??" Curly just stopped at the idea that Vivi would prefer totally forgetting someone over grieving. Maybe it was just easier for her than a human since she'd been built for combat, and that meant accepting that sooner or later friends would fall victim to tragedy, but still... "That's not right"
The robot sighed, as much as the concept bothered her this was far too public of a place to get into a personal subject like that. "...Guess they're still setting up" She offered as a half-hearted change in subject.
Rex didn't completely get why Makoto had a catchphrase ready for the end of her fights—he preferred to improvise—but he didn't feel like questioning her about it or accidentally make her feel bad about it, that enthusiasm of hers was exactly why he liked her. Although maybe he could come up with a better line for her.
"As long as it makes you happy"
Her surprise was to be expected and Rex already regretted even telling her his thoughts about their first encounter, but to his surprise, she shared in return that she had felt something similar a couple of days ago. The physical attraction was hard to deny at this point in the game, but a little ego stroking always helped. And knowing how Makoto's brain reacted would come in handy in the future.
"I guess... I should mention that when we meet again" he thought really hard about it. Or maybe he just felt like squinting a lot while looking at nothing in particular. Then he proceeded to take off his jacket, with some difficulty—for some reason that simple action had gotten a lot more complicated. By the end of it, he was tired of dealing with so many sleeves and simply dropped it on the floor. "...is it getting hot in here or is just me?"
Cole looked around when the others made mention of something, and turned his head to look at the nearby crowd. "Oh, look at all the people! Look, there's Dave, and Bergree, and Sir Redring, annnnd I think I know some of them from the militia...there's a lot of nice people here!"
He looked to be contemplating for a moment, before tilting his head back to look up at Arcade. "You know, Dave came from a world that didn't seem very nice either, and he's a doctor like you are..."
Inside Club Escape
"I'm pretty sure if you approached me shirtless when I can't remember you, I'm just going to get very confused," Makoto said, laughing at the thought. "...Unless it was on a beach, maybe." And then he started taking his jacket off. She watched him dump it on the floor, not quite getting what he was trying to do. It wasn't hot in here. Maybe a little warm, but she was pretty sure that might be the drinks messing with her. "Oh wait, are you...?" If this was his attempt at seduction, it wasn't working out very well. "I'm not taking my pants off in a bar, if that's what you're going for," she warned him, a little exasperated.
"He should take the shirt off too. Tell him to go upstairs and"- Anat started to say to her, before Makoto cut her off.
"Anat, no..." she whined, looking away from Rex in a not so great attempt to hide her embarrassment. "That's not- We shouldn't do that."
"He's not interested in the party outside anyway. This is more fun, we should stay in here."
Edited by ScorpioRat on Feb 23rd 2019 at 12:27:08 PM
Despite sounding like a joke, and pretty much being one, Rex seriously considered Makoto's idea and once again looked deep in thought. Everything was a lot more thought-provoking now. Meeting her at the beach wasn't a bad idea. It offered a comfortable and relaxing scenario where Rex could make his move. There was no way she would turn him down. The topic of her lost memories could be brought up more organically once she tried to present him to her friends. He would have to brush up on his geography—maybe Makoto's world was slightly different in that regard—but it could work.
"That's where I met Circe. And where I built my nunchuks with Lune..." he thought aloud. He seemed more and more excited about the idea the more he thought about it.
But Makoto still wasn't in the mood to straight up in the middle of a bar, no matter if other people were busy far away from most buildings. Rex wasn't exactly disappointed, but more saddened that he had misinterpreted the situation. However, Makoto still for some reason tried to make Anat shut up in her head. The cryptic conversation was enough for him to figure out Makoto wasn't quite being true to her feelings.
"Oh is she trying to say something? You know, I remember you saying we should be completely honest with each other"
Mystery just rolled his eyes at Cole immediately getting distracted after being the one to initiate conversation with him in the first place. I question if that is sufficient for a connection of the sort you're looking to engineer.
"It's not like it's a...conscious thing...actually I think there might be a magical element on top of the mental." I looked down. " 'sides, what's the harm in her not knowing anyway."
"Hey, don't be like that..." Arthur interjected softly. "If it didn't bother her she wouldn't want it out of mind so much. And besides..."
"It's not that..." I shook my head, looking at the incomplete setup. (Cascabel was already moving some food items into the wrong trays.) "Let me get lunch. Dinner? I have no clue what time it is here."
"...Isn't it night?"
"I think it's just eternal night today."
i guess you can watch me shitpost i guess

"Cole, I'm, just going to assume your point was Lewis doesn't need killing..." Curly muttered with a shake of her head. "Anyway! Yeah, turns out that was all a big misunderstanding, so... Yeah. Just gotta wait out this city experiment thing now."
Edited by BlitzTrain on Feb 21st 2019 at 11:16:33 AM