i put him in the courtyard just so i could say he's lounging on the statues. it'd be funny if it was cloud's, but no, it's just one of the random other npcs.]
Then you'd expect the lot of them wouldn't have been so surprised.
[ he means the school guys. and jason says that and cloud raises an eyebrow ]
If you're looking for a babysitter, you've got about ten people wanting to line up for that job. [ no thank you. ] I never talked to the guy before. No point trying to get answers now.
No thanks. I don't need lecturing much less babysitting. [Kill him. People really act shocked when you pull a gun after they get touchy.] A bit of the reason why I haven't went yet. Don't know if it's worth it. It's so early, too.
Figured I'd try to shake down one or two of the staff instead sometime. They probably won't tell me much more.
You're gonna get both later whether you want them or not.
[ not from him tho. again he is not paid to care. but he nods at the rest of it, leaning against a different statue nearby ]
Their hands are pretty tied on how much they can say, looks like, but they're definitely the "trying to work around it" type. Even if those hints were...
We couldn't give hints ourselves, so I can't say it's the worst thing.
[ he hums at that ]
The camp was something like this. Everyone there had already gone through it before. That included the guys running it. Might be a similar scenario here. Aquarius dodged when I asked how long they'd been working here, too.
Wonder if they're... like you guys. People from somewhere else who are here. They dodged the question rather than acted like they didn't know, so... I wonder if they have hostages, too. Because who would do this for shits and giggles to other people?
[He crosses his arms.]
Thinking about asking them to show me proof the hostages are real.
[Yeah. The one thing he's worried about. Like an ear will show up. Or a tongue.]
Maybe not, but they should be able to at least try if we put in some kind of request. The most they can tell us is no. I don't know. If all else fails, maybe we can steal their badge or they key.
I don't think stealing or threatening them for their badge or key is a real option. [ he says it like he has at least thought about it, though ] They're a lot more aware than it looks, if that guy managed to move Sieghart and Mikazuki before he got stabbed.
[ it's pretty good reflexes! also cloud forgot which one it was. they all look the fucking same. ]
[You come in HERE with this LOGIC? You give Jason the logic like that Batman?! Jail for Cloud for a thousand years!]
What are they going to do, torture me? I'll just shoot my own self and get it over with.
[The DRAMATICS.]
The worse they can say is no. But it wouldn't hurt to see what they'd say in private. But my line of work is more intimidation, so I guess people with more charm would get better results.
[ that tomorrow is a better time to ask questions, he means. but he listens to jason say that and he nods after a while ]
How long's it been since the mansion for you? Clementine's from the Realm, but it was weeks for her before today and it'd been maybe a few days for me. [ and to. like. make things equal; ] ...They took someone who was with me at home. Guess that's why it's easier for me to think nabbing us both at once wouldn't be that weird.
A long time. More than a year. [me: so much has happened in comics it would have been longer but this is just how comics timelines work] They took someone who... was supposed to do the hunts again over and over. Like our Zaroff.
But I made a deal to do it instead. But we won, and Ivan said things were fine. The deal was off. So I don't know if that's why I'm here or not. I think it might just be a coincidence.
... Probably a coincidence, considering how the rest of us ended up. [ he looks away still pensive ] Maybe they took her so you'd think it wasn't, though. Just to plant that seed of doubt in you.
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i put him in the courtyard just so i could say he's lounging on the statues. it'd be funny if it was cloud's, but no, it's just one of the random other npcs.]
Only very slightly better.
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[ good job mikazuki? ]
Guy was from the school. No clue if that was his regular behavior or what. [ he looks at jason lounging on the statue ] You gonna try talking to him?
[ detective, ]
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He said it was a part of him. [He glances down.] Thought about it. Why? Want me to go with you and hold your hand?
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[ he means the school guys. and jason says that and cloud raises an eyebrow ]
If you're looking for a babysitter, you've got about ten people wanting to line up for that job. [ no thank you. ] I never talked to the guy before. No point trying to get answers now.
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No thanks. I don't need lecturing much less babysitting. [Kill him. People really act shocked when you pull a gun after they get touchy.] A bit of the reason why I haven't went yet. Don't know if it's worth it. It's so early, too.
Figured I'd try to shake down one or two of the staff instead sometime. They probably won't tell me much more.
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[ not from him tho. again he is not paid to care. but he nods at the rest of it, leaning against a different statue nearby ]
Their hands are pretty tied on how much they can say, looks like, but they're definitely the "trying to work around it" type. Even if those hints were...
[ eating a french toast ]
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[He does, in fact, get at least one of them later.]
Don't remind me. [The hints...] At least we got hints. We didn't get shit before, so I'll take it. Even the bad ones.
When I asked Gemini if this was their first rodeo, they kept being evasive. So I don't think it is. But they did say this "guest list" was "unique."
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[ he hums at that ]
The camp was something like this. Everyone there had already gone through it before. That included the guys running it. Might be a similar scenario here. Aquarius dodged when I asked how long they'd been working here, too.
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[He crosses his arms.]
Thinking about asking them to show me proof the hostages are real.
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[ and woah okay. have another eyebrow raise todd ]
Like what? Pretty sure the only thing you'd take as one hundred percent proof is seeing them in person.
[ a call out post ]
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[Tch. What's wrong with wanting to see your damn hostage in person to know they're real?]
I can think of a few things that'd convince me. And then some of them that'd just piss me off.
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[ you want them in person and they gave you a piece for show! cloud spent too much time around hojo. ]
You think the staff has easy access to them, though? I don't think they've got that kind of pull around here.
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Maybe not, but they should be able to at least try if we put in some kind of request. The most they can tell us is no. I don't know. If all else fails, maybe we can steal their badge or they key.
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[ it's pretty good reflexes! also cloud forgot which one it was. they all look the fucking same. ]
But yeah. I guess asking isn't the worst.
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What are they going to do, torture me? I'll just shoot my own self and get it over with.
[The DRAMATICS.]
The worse they can say is no. But it wouldn't hurt to see what they'd say in private. But my line of work is more intimidation, so I guess people with more charm would get better results.
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[ cloud isn't paid to deal with your drama, jason. ]
Maybe. They're still individuals. Maybe your routine would work on one of them better than anyone's sucking up would.
[ jason said someone with charm so cloud does not have to volunteer to ask thanks he has 2(0?) charm ]
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[DAMN, can't he make a joke about dying without people telling him good luck?]
I doubt it. I guess I'll just have to figure out which one will have the information I'm looking for.
[No. Cloud should do it. Cloud has the balance between apathy and charm.]
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[ there there. he's helping. ]
... Is yours from that mansion, or home? Not asking for details. Just... wondering how they picked.
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[He glances down.]
Who they took? ...The mansion.
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[ that tomorrow is a better time to ask questions, he means. but he listens to jason say that and he nods after a while ]
How long's it been since the mansion for you? Clementine's from the Realm, but it was weeks for her before today and it'd been maybe a few days for me. [ and to. like. make things equal; ] ...They took someone who was with me at home. Guess that's why it's easier for me to think nabbing us both at once wouldn't be that weird.
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A long time. More than a year. [me: so much has happened in comics it would have been longer but this is just how comics timelines work] They took someone who... was supposed to do the hunts again over and over. Like our Zaroff.
But I made a deal to do it instead. But we won, and Ivan said things were fine. The deal was off. So I don't know if that's why I'm here or not. I think it might just be a coincidence.
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What makes you think it's a girl? Oh. You think it's Ivan?
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You seem like the kind of sucker who'd take the place of a girl or a kid, mostly.
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You've got a lot of room to talk, pal. [But he doesn't seem mad.] It wasn't a kid or a girl, so joke's on you. It was a man.
And he would have validated me for pulling out a gun.
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