Jade Curtiss (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fonomena) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
come_sailaway2022-05-22 10:07 pm
fonomena) wrote in come_sailaway2022-05-22 10:07 pm
[open] at least the month couldn't get any worse, right?
Who: Jade Curtiss and YOU!!
When: Several days after That Party but before the start of next month
Where: Various places! Mainly the Promenade / some random hall with a supply closet / in front of the menacingly new Tommy Bahama...
What: Mostly some processing of a few Neat and Fun gifts from sundries! .....But also like, what is up with that Tommy Bahama place though--
Warnings: Nothing too pressing! Some talk of earlier events in the month and all the murder/party stabbing therein may arise, though, considering...well. Gestures at the last few weeks.....
Notes: (I've started out with brackets, but feel free to use prose! I'll match whichever style you prefer)
A; hawaiian shirt hell persists...with a twist??
[It's a bit of a belated sort of takeaway, from the one part of Friday's last announcement before the party that had seemed entirely innocuous in the grand scheme of...everything else. A new shop being opened in the Promenade, apparently--because that's just, a thing that can happen on a ship like this, apparently. Granted, the evening following that announcement had been quite the mess in and of itself--and such small things were promptly forgotten for a few days afterwards.
But eventually, Jade finds the new storefront standing out in a passing sweep of the Promenade one day, its wide display windows now taking up a space that had most certainly not existed between Sand Dollars and John's a few weeks prior. --From that point it's only natural to investigate, isn't it? i.) Perhaps you're investigating it too, and might find Jade rather further inside, staring hard at an assorted setup of polo shirts in various distinctly...tropical color gradients with a thoroughly exasperated sort of frown on his face. One would think it's at the expense of the casual gaudiness of it all--which, to be fair, it sort of is. But........he also feels like he's walked by this display a couple times already. He's been moving in a straight line this entire time. Yet the back wall sure hasn't...actually gotten any closer, for a good few minutes now--??)
...Or maybe ii.) you find Jade outside the Tommy Bahama, after the fact, hovering in front of the entrance once more with a moderately-filled matching shopping bag now on his elbow but...a frown still on his face, too, this one a great deal more perplexed.
If you're passing by, or happen to be looking even vaguely interested in checking it out:] You know, I think you might want to exercise some caution, if you're headed in there...
(closed to Natsuno) Room 109; awkward unboxing session
[Early one morning there's a card slipped under the door; familiar to Natsuno, perhaps, but actually addressed to Jade for once. Several packages waiting for him in the sundries shop, apparently--and so Jade had set out to pick them up promptly enough, probably making some airily sarcastic remark about the impressiveness of the nonexistent postal system apparently afoot here on his way out. It's a half hour or so before he returns...
Though it's not immediately obvious, because it's not like he actually comes back into the room off the bat. No, instead, Natsuno might find Jade's return instead heralded by...well, it's not quite a knock, is it? More of a weirdly muffled thump--and then another one, for emphasis--like somebody's mildly kicking the foot of the door or something?
That's exactly what it is, actually; Natsuno would open the door to find Jade on the other side, sure enough, arms full between a couple boxes stacked in the crook of an elbow and, propped in another hand...something longer than he's tall? Very narrow, shaped vaguely like a pole, with some sort of horizontal piece attached to the top of it...? Not much else to go off but the shape, though, considering it's wrapped in matching nautical wrapping paper as well. --Jade shrugs, insomuch as he's able.] Ah, thank you. Might want to step aside a moment, yes? Let's see--
[--Well, alright, initially trying to move through the door has the pole-thing promptly rapping against the top of the doorframe. Hm, time to attempt awkwardly angling it through instead...]
B; that feel when you get the useful item drop only after the nasty boss fight...
[It's an hour or so after he's processed the "gifts" in his room; at length, Jade opts to take one of the boxes in question someplace else for a closer look, if only mostly out of a discretion for Natsuno's reactions to well over half the contents. Jade can thus once again be found seated at one of the many Promenade tables--this one near a window, in the full light of the sunshine streaming through--considering the contents in said box as it now sits open on the tabletop. Slowly, one at a time, he's pulling a series of pocket-sized glass bottles from it; each one is critically examined, before evidently being considered cleared to be set upright in a growing line on the table proper. A couple of the bottles are an eggshell white, with a very vague but distinct sort of luster; a few other bottles are black, and seem to reflect rather less daylight than glass ought to; and two of them are a deep brown, oddly-shaped in a more rounded sort of way.
Jade's attention lingers rather longer on the odd-shaped ones than the others. In fact, he even opens one of them, and seems to try peering inside before testing the scent of the contents as well. Whether he's actually happy about whatever he finds is difficult to say, though, a rather inscrutable sort of expression on his face as he recaps the bottle and sits back in his chair...though a deep sigh follows the movement, too, and his tone is very dry as he speaks--more to himself than anyone in particular, but perhaps audible all the same if you happen to be nearby.]
Well, this certainly would have been rather useful about a week ago. Seems practical jokes take many forms, around here...
C; obligatory deck-cleaning happens only after burning away to ghostly nothing ok
[The question, though, the real question...is what to do with the most exasperating gift of the bunch.
Should you happen to be passing through one of the smaller and quieter halls connecting one part of a deck level to another, you might end up bumping into Jade lingering in one of them. In front of one of the more basic janitorial supply closets found throughout the ship, specifically? The closet doors are opened, anyway, and there sure are some very boring cleaning supplies in there...though Jade's still hovering and staring inside in a weirdly intent sort of way, for some reason.
Then again, difficult to miss is the fact that he's also got a deck brush with green bristles propped over one shoulder. Did he...just take it out of the closet? Or--?]
Hm, what do you think? [Oh, he's looking over to address you now, noticing your presence and acknowledging it with a cheery sort of smile, as if this is now a totally normal conversation in totally normal surroundings happening here.] If I put this inside, do you suppose it would stay put? I'd almost bet it doesn't, if I were a betting sort of man... [...Jade this doesn't actually offer anything in the way of any context here, though--]
D; wildcard!
[This log can also serve as a catch-all for any other interactions that might arise before the end of this month! Jade can generally be found in most any of the more-trafficked areas of the ship, as he does like to check around all the more common facilities at least once every few days. Feel free to have your character bump into him for whatever reason! As always, if you have something more specific in mind you'd like to thread here and want to hash it out beforehand, feel free to hit me up by message or on plurk at![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
rainbell!]
When: Several days after That Party but before the start of next month
Where: Various places! Mainly the Promenade / some random hall with a supply closet / in front of the menacingly new Tommy Bahama...
What: Mostly some processing of a few Neat and Fun gifts from sundries! .....But also like, what is up with that Tommy Bahama place though--
Warnings: Nothing too pressing! Some talk of earlier events in the month and all the murder/party stabbing therein may arise, though, considering...well. Gestures at the last few weeks.....
Notes: (I've started out with brackets, but feel free to use prose! I'll match whichever style you prefer)
A; hawaiian shirt hell persists...with a twist??
[It's a bit of a belated sort of takeaway, from the one part of Friday's last announcement before the party that had seemed entirely innocuous in the grand scheme of...everything else. A new shop being opened in the Promenade, apparently--because that's just, a thing that can happen on a ship like this, apparently. Granted, the evening following that announcement had been quite the mess in and of itself--and such small things were promptly forgotten for a few days afterwards.
But eventually, Jade finds the new storefront standing out in a passing sweep of the Promenade one day, its wide display windows now taking up a space that had most certainly not existed between Sand Dollars and John's a few weeks prior. --From that point it's only natural to investigate, isn't it? i.) Perhaps you're investigating it too, and might find Jade rather further inside, staring hard at an assorted setup of polo shirts in various distinctly...tropical color gradients with a thoroughly exasperated sort of frown on his face. One would think it's at the expense of the casual gaudiness of it all--which, to be fair, it sort of is. But........he also feels like he's walked by this display a couple times already. He's been moving in a straight line this entire time. Yet the back wall sure hasn't...actually gotten any closer, for a good few minutes now--??)
...Or maybe ii.) you find Jade outside the Tommy Bahama, after the fact, hovering in front of the entrance once more with a moderately-filled matching shopping bag now on his elbow but...a frown still on his face, too, this one a great deal more perplexed.
If you're passing by, or happen to be looking even vaguely interested in checking it out:] You know, I think you might want to exercise some caution, if you're headed in there...
(closed to Natsuno) Room 109; awkward unboxing session
[Early one morning there's a card slipped under the door; familiar to Natsuno, perhaps, but actually addressed to Jade for once. Several packages waiting for him in the sundries shop, apparently--and so Jade had set out to pick them up promptly enough, probably making some airily sarcastic remark about the impressiveness of the nonexistent postal system apparently afoot here on his way out. It's a half hour or so before he returns...
Though it's not immediately obvious, because it's not like he actually comes back into the room off the bat. No, instead, Natsuno might find Jade's return instead heralded by...well, it's not quite a knock, is it? More of a weirdly muffled thump--and then another one, for emphasis--like somebody's mildly kicking the foot of the door or something?
That's exactly what it is, actually; Natsuno would open the door to find Jade on the other side, sure enough, arms full between a couple boxes stacked in the crook of an elbow and, propped in another hand...something longer than he's tall? Very narrow, shaped vaguely like a pole, with some sort of horizontal piece attached to the top of it...? Not much else to go off but the shape, though, considering it's wrapped in matching nautical wrapping paper as well. --Jade shrugs, insomuch as he's able.] Ah, thank you. Might want to step aside a moment, yes? Let's see--
[--Well, alright, initially trying to move through the door has the pole-thing promptly rapping against the top of the doorframe. Hm, time to attempt awkwardly angling it through instead...]
B; that feel when you get the useful item drop only after the nasty boss fight...
[It's an hour or so after he's processed the "gifts" in his room; at length, Jade opts to take one of the boxes in question someplace else for a closer look, if only mostly out of a discretion for Natsuno's reactions to well over half the contents. Jade can thus once again be found seated at one of the many Promenade tables--this one near a window, in the full light of the sunshine streaming through--considering the contents in said box as it now sits open on the tabletop. Slowly, one at a time, he's pulling a series of pocket-sized glass bottles from it; each one is critically examined, before evidently being considered cleared to be set upright in a growing line on the table proper. A couple of the bottles are an eggshell white, with a very vague but distinct sort of luster; a few other bottles are black, and seem to reflect rather less daylight than glass ought to; and two of them are a deep brown, oddly-shaped in a more rounded sort of way.
Jade's attention lingers rather longer on the odd-shaped ones than the others. In fact, he even opens one of them, and seems to try peering inside before testing the scent of the contents as well. Whether he's actually happy about whatever he finds is difficult to say, though, a rather inscrutable sort of expression on his face as he recaps the bottle and sits back in his chair...though a deep sigh follows the movement, too, and his tone is very dry as he speaks--more to himself than anyone in particular, but perhaps audible all the same if you happen to be nearby.]
Well, this certainly would have been rather useful about a week ago. Seems practical jokes take many forms, around here...
C; obligatory deck-cleaning happens only after burning away to ghostly nothing ok
[The question, though, the real question...is what to do with the most exasperating gift of the bunch.
Should you happen to be passing through one of the smaller and quieter halls connecting one part of a deck level to another, you might end up bumping into Jade lingering in one of them. In front of one of the more basic janitorial supply closets found throughout the ship, specifically? The closet doors are opened, anyway, and there sure are some very boring cleaning supplies in there...though Jade's still hovering and staring inside in a weirdly intent sort of way, for some reason.
Then again, difficult to miss is the fact that he's also got a deck brush with green bristles propped over one shoulder. Did he...just take it out of the closet? Or--?]
Hm, what do you think? [Oh, he's looking over to address you now, noticing your presence and acknowledging it with a cheery sort of smile, as if this is now a totally normal conversation in totally normal surroundings happening here.] If I put this inside, do you suppose it would stay put? I'd almost bet it doesn't, if I were a betting sort of man... [...Jade this doesn't actually offer anything in the way of any context here, though--]
D; wildcard!
[This log can also serve as a catch-all for any other interactions that might arise before the end of this month! Jade can generally be found in most any of the more-trafficked areas of the ship, as he does like to check around all the more common facilities at least once every few days. Feel free to have your character bump into him for whatever reason! As always, if you have something more specific in mind you'd like to thread here and want to hash it out beforehand, feel free to hit me up by message or on plurk at
B
because hey, let's just continue the luke comparisons with bad fashion too) and has a waffle cone piled with strawberry ice cream, and is vaguely annoyed at how normal the ship's trying to pretend to be even as she devours the frustratingly-tasty treat.So when she spots Jade, she figures now's as good a time as any to try picking his brain some more, now that there's no weird hospital situations or awkward feelings or anything happening. Probably. The clacking of her sandals probably gives her away as she comes over and peers at whatever has his attention--huh, they look familiar...]
Are those panacea bottles?
no subject
--Well, good heavens. It's not actually possible to be blinded by clothes, of course, but Jade does feel rather as if he's going to damage some part of his eyesight just by looking too long over there?? Wow...]
I see you've been doing some shopping at the new facility of late. [Slipping out in all its dubious and mildly sardonic glory, before he can quite stop himself. (Not that he's trying particularly hard, admittedly, becasue really...) Fortunately, at least, Rita's question does sink in a moment afterwards...and it's just startling enough to cut any more thorough mocking rather short, in favor of a vague surprise that crosses Jade's features right after in turn.] --Yes, though, they actually--you do know what these are?
[Granted, panacea bottles are fairly common back home in general, but with the passage of time Jade's started to get rather more used to aspects of home not being very familiar at all to anybody else around here. Seeing as he seems to remain the only ambassador of Auldrant aboard this ship... (Which is a good thing, all told.) So, to hear some recognition in such an offhand way now...it's unexpected, to say the least?]
no subject
Of course I know what panacea bottles are; do you think I've been living under a rock?
[She's going to go ahead and invade his personal space to peek inside the box to see if there's anything else of interest, but--holy and dark bottles?]
Hmph, those are pretty useless here, aren't they? I haven't even seen a single monster since getting on this stupid ship.
no subject
But not now! No, the topic for now is travel bottles, and more surprising parallels found therein...though honestly, finding this one's almost a bit of a relief? Enough so that Jade doesn't really begrudge Rita the personal space invasion she's performing about now, coming right up to his side of the table for a better look as she now does. ......Or maybe that's more a developed tolerance for her presence after Recent Events, even--but that's way sappier for reasoning, so we're not looking at that!! Anyway--]
Well, not so much under a rock necessarily, but you are from a different world...and I've run into several people who have no idea what these are whatsoever. Seems our homes in particular do share a similar level of common sense, at the very least! [As if common sense is even a factor at all, here, and it isn't just...some series of coincidences that either align or don't. (The similarities between their worlds in particular do just keep piling up in the most peculiar sort of way, though...) Jade idly props his elbows on the table and rolls his shoulders in a vague shrug, when Rita makes the same sort of observation that had crossed his own mind.] The fauna around us in general really is quite limited, isn't it? At this point I'm starting to wonder if there are even any fish in this sea, let alone monsters in general. There wasn't anything else living on the island but plants, either...
[Although. Jade's thoughts may be wandering back to some very subtle reactions Natsuno had, to those particular bottles, and now he's sirt of wondering.....how many other passengers on this ship these bottles might actually have an impact on? --Not enough data to say that aloud just yet, though. Especially since--]
I'm almost certain this bottle distribution must be intentional. It'd be far too useful to receive a box full of panacea bottles, surely--but a smaller number of something useful, alongside a larger number of something rather less so? I daresay there's practically a message here. [If not an outright veiled attempt to expose 'monsters' of other kinds on this ship...but, again, not enough grounds for that thought just yet. Speaking dryly in this fashion, though, Jade's pointing at the row of three dark bottles about now (in contrast to there being only two of everything else--)] You and I both know these are the least valuable of the bunch--perhaps outright slightly more dangerous, in certain circumstances. It certainly drops hints as to just who might be responsible for the contents of these packages, now doesn't it?
no subject
Anyway, when he puts it like that, his reaction makes a bit more sense.]
They're pretty ubiquitous in my world...and yours too, from the sounds of it. Maybe it's that "Earth" place so many people are from that's just weird.
[She goes back to her ice cream cone, nodding in agreement on the monster situation--or lack thereof. She'd thought for sure the island would be crawling with them, yet there weren't even any plant-type monsters.
While dark bottles could theoretically be useful for gathering materials...it's not like Rita ever thought there were any shortages of monsters back home without the help of dark bottles, so she sighs along with him.]
It would have to be the captain, wouldn't it? Of course he'd mostly give you useless junk. Oh, but I did get some decent weapons last month... I'd say maybe he just doesn't like you, but I don't think I'd want to be liked by that jerk, either.
[Just thinking about the captain makes her mad!! Ugh, she's just going to take it out on the ice cream cone.]
no subject
You may very well be right, on that front. "Earth" does seem to have a far greater quantity of representation than any other world does, around here...
[Are we jrpg folk the odd ones out? No, it's the Earth guys who are weird!!! Obviously...
Jade watches absently as Rita tears into that ice cream cone perhaps rather more aggressively than normal ice cream etiquette would indicate--try not to lick it so hard the scoop falls off the cone and onto the ground, there!!--thoughts admittedly wandering elsewhere a bit as he turns her words over in thought.] It assuredly must be the captain. With the amount of control he seems to possess over this space, I can't imagine he'd let foreign items simply materialize without his own personal approval. Which certainly adds some sort of context, to the selection of what ends up arriving. I wonder...
[Jade's thinking about the deck brush, and also...the doll. Two other items he'd received today, incidentally, though he'd only brought the bottles out to examine here. He's still trying to decide what to do with the deck brush, and...the doll is stowed away in its box in a drawer, for now, questions settled heavily atop it in turn. Indeed, under the context lens of the captain being behind the deliveries...what it all means is a question for a fact, and--
--Well, wait a minute though. It's only about a second's mental sidetracking in reality, before one of the other things Rita mentions actually sinks in properly, and Jade blinks.]
Hold on...you got weapons, you say? --Were you familiar with them? Something sourced from your own world?
no subject
It's definitely the Earth folks that are the weird ones! Including the captain, weird Earth fanboy that he is. Anyway, she'd like to know if this is all that Jade's received, but before she can around a mouthful of ice cream to ask, he seems...oddly surprised by her own "gifts".]
Oh, yeah. I mean, I hadn't seen them before, but they're definitely from my world; I could tell just from the high level of aer conductance. This is one of them-
[Why, yes, she did affix her leather book-holster thing to that scarf, and she nonchalantly reaches behind her and pulls out...a very normal and powerful weapon.]
1/2
Hearing about Rita receiving weapons had certainly been somewhat surprising, though--moreso when she goes on to confirm that they're indeed items almost certainly from her own world. He's aware of Natsuno having been given a gun a some point a few months earlier--despite not being very versed in guns at all--so it's not so astonishing to hear that the random sundries packages aren't always completely ridiculous
(or mildly disturbing), but. Seems there isn't actually just another Earth bias happening here or something after all?Color him exceptionally curious about what a weapon of high aer conductance would even look like! They did discuss the matter of various kinds of casting focus awhile back, though they'd never quite gotten around to addressing what it is that Rita actually uses. --Jade hadn't noticed the book-holster she had tied to that scarf (which sure is, a choice), until Rita's reaching back for it now, and pulling out a distinctly book-looking thing in turn. Which, there you go--not so surprising, this, considering her mage abilities seem about equivalent with a fonist, and using books as a focus is assuredly not unheard of--
And then the cover's actually revealed.]
2/2
My my, you really did almost fool me for a second, there! I wasn't aware you were so inclined to jokes off the cuff like this, Rita. [...The words are more sardonic than not, of course, because he already has a feeling. That she isn't actually joking at all, huh........]
no subject
While the books don't have nearly the refined aer conductance of her sash, which is her primary casting focus, they're still pretty useful as a secondary enhancer. This one's quite good, in fact! And not just for the cat pictures (which are...a pretty good bonus, too...). Really, Jade should be grateful she's showing it to him!
...
Why doesn't he look grateful?! Or impressed?! What's with this reaction???]
What, is there something wrong with it? I could easily demonstrate its capabilities, you know.
[Although she's glowering at him, she is actually exercising a little newfound restraint in not immediately casting a spell or launching into a strike arte. She hasn't forgotten that it was her spell that caught Pluma's attention, and got them both killed.]
no subject
Oh god, imagine??? Casually adding this to my mental list of regains to celebrate this occasion ever occuring now t b q h........Hey, maybe he totally is grateful and impressed! On the inside!! .....Okay so that's perhaps not even a little bit true, but look. How else is he supposed to react off the cuff, to something like this??]
Oh, no, nothing wrong. Just...hm, how to put it! The design's rather unexpected, is all. ...Or are cats actually a fairly important component of your artes after all, somehow? You never mentioned anything of the sort before, so I'm afraid you'll have to forgive me my ignorance in these matters.
[Hard to tell he's being sincere with words like those when amusement can't help but lilt them a little too, though--the open glowering she's doing only kind of encourages it, sorry! (Though at least she hasn't actually irritably thrown some minor spell at him yet, that's true; perhaps there's something in the back of thought that does notice this new discretion, and appreciates it.) "Demonstration" might still qualify as a bit of a mild threat in that direction, perhaps, but...]
I'd actually be quite interested in seeing how it's used--I've only seen you exercising your artes a few times before, admittedly...in suboptimal occasions. [Between her test runs back in the infirmary, and....the spell that had ended up snaring La Pluma's attention, yes. Prudently not counting the attempt at a Thunder Blade that had ultimately fallen apart in the worst sort of way. (--Goodness, it sure is a bit difficult to entirely skirt around thinking of the events of that battle royale, even now...) There's also the very relevant fact that Rita's possessed of both hands again now, in the wake of her own revival. Jade hasn't pointed it out, but he's been well aware of this all the same, and this indication here might well be his first small brush with verbally noting it. ....But anyway. He's also holding out a hand, now, in an unspoken sort of request for a closer look at the book?? Admittedly Rita may not be so willing to hand it over now--whoops--but, may as well try his chances?! Look, he is still pretty curious about it...!] Maybe not in the middle of the promenade, though. There'd be rather less chance of a mess outdoors, wouldn't you agree?
no subject
AN ENTIRE GIFT SET like mug, hat, t-shirt, everything to celebrate the occasion if it should ever happen-!Obviously he was supposed to impressed to begin with-! Even if he had nothing but its appearance to judge its capabilities......her glower is still remaining, though...
For a moment, at least. "Suboptimal", huh...unfortunately, she can't disagree with him there. She really has had a rather poor magic showing lately. Her--Rita Mordio!]
Hmph...well, I'm back to optimal now.
[There is a little bitterness there, of course. Sure, she has her arm back...but she can't entirely say she's happy about the circumstances. What's done is done, though, and she takes another bite of ice cream while handing the book over to Jade. If she was a little surprised he still wanted to see it after all that, well...he should just be grateful that she isn't giving him as much grief over it after how hard it was to pry any information about fonons out of him! (also, ice cream just takes priority! that's just a fact!)]
Outside, then. I'd like to see what you can do with those fonic artes of yours.
[There's a vague memory of him casting something on the island, but she wasn't exactly capable of focusing on it at the time...]
no subject
HORRIBLE TBH...it doesn't even come in all at once, but new pieces to the awful Dad set just. Trickle in every couple months. Slowly assembling like the cards of Exodia or smth smh--Jade hadn't actually intended to throw Rita off her (moderately justified) glowering game at the expense of her cat-themed focus book by tapping into rather more somber past occasions in this way...so, well, Rita's certainly well within her rights to have a bit of bitterness in that response there. Jade simply nods in turn--no, no need to delve into the exact circumstances of her arm being back for a fact--and rather more graciously takes the book off her hands when she does hand it over without too much difficulty. Totally so she can resume eating her ice cream, yes, of course...]
Indeed, it could be a mutual sort of demonstration. I've been thinking about the mechanics backing our respective artes somewhat, actually...
[After turning it idly between his hands to properly examine both the front and back covers of the book--the prints there still utterly ridiculously saccharine even up close, it must be said--Jade sets the book on the tabletop to open it up and thumb through a page or two, head tilting slightly at the thoroughly cat-related contents within. Ah, it really is...literally a cat dictionary.....he's not sure what he expected. --Admittedly, at least, he might occasionally pinch the corner of a page between thumb and forefinger here and there, low-key testing if he might pick up any trace of some sort of energy here? He's still not entirely sure how "aer conductance" might compare to the kinds of fonic enhancements a focus would have back home, but...]
That spell you tried to cast on the island...it was a Thunder Blade, was it not?
[A question of the same neutrally curious bent as his consideration of the book's pages, about now. ...Jade is aware of the rather raw sort of backdrop, to bringing up the island events more directly in this sort of way. But the question has been nagging at him for a little while--now that their mutual deaths hang just a bit less heavily over their heads. The implications, behind what he's almost positive to be the most surprising parallel of all between their systems of artes here...]
no subject
Natsuno getting increasingly more suspicious about him saying he doesn't have kids...Jade will find that it is indeed just a book with adorable cat pictures and facts! And maybe he'd find as well that it does feel like a moderate enhancement...
Meanwhile, the prospect of a mutual demonstration is far more interesting than continuing to fume over their deaths--even if she is a little surprised to hear it from Jade. Her mood quickly turns somber again with that question, which sort of explains why he's brought up a mutual demonstration, but inevitably sparks that nagging sense of guilt all over again. No matter how much he said he couldn't blame her...
Rita tenses, taking a little longer to swallow that bite of ice cream that she would otherwise as she briefly averts her eyes, before meeting his gaze again.]
...Yeah. It was...supposed to be, anyway. You recognized it?
no subject
The horrible truth (and awkward parent semantics) of Luke's existence is finally revealed one day and Natsuno's just in the bg like I FUCKIN KNEW IT--There is a slight sense of enhancement here, huh? A different sort of charge from the fonic kind--which is quite fascinating all by itself, actually--but unmistakable all the same, even as it so thoroughly clashes against the cute cat pictures emblazoned on the pages. The real question here is why somebody thought it necessary to enhance a cat dictionary, of all things.....though, could Jade truly claim this is the strangest viable weapon he's ever seen? Probably...not, actually....
The brief tension that visibly passes over Rita's frame and delays her response somewhat is noted, but Jade makes no indication of it, quite content enough to keep the outward image of his attention idly focused on the cat book until Rita can compose herself. --And finish swallowing that bit of ice cream, which was clearly the only real problem here, of course.
(...By all means, she really doesn't have to engage in this tangent at all. Jade would not object, if she ended up abruptly changing the topic in the end. But the fact that she doesn't is all the more appreciated, with all things considered--)]
Yes, I did. I myself have an arte in my arsenal that goes by the same name, actually--which has struck me as a very unusual coincidence. [Conventional artes go by widely accepted naming schematics, after all, unless you've designed them from scratch yourself. Placed alongside all the other parallels they've found between their worlds--this one is shaping up to be the strangest of them all...] Although, I'm now curious if the structure baseline between our respective Thunder Blades might be slightly different all the same. [Because, even if Rita's spell hadn't properly resolved at that time--] I believe the element components in the Thunder Blade you tried to cast there were...wind and fire, is that correct?
[Yes, even in the process of being quite literally blown up--Jade had still noticed. Aer parses oddly on his fon slots, but elemental parallels remain...and he does have something of a knack, for divining these sorts of things--]
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He's been mentally murderboarding except it's parentboarding?? And then SOLID PROOFAt a time like this, she's heavily reminded of Jade's little confessions--whether he meant to let them slip or not--that he'd apparently done something not so dissimilar when he tried to use the Seventh Fonon. She's tempted to ask him to elaborate more, if he'd be willing... Rita isn't going to run away from her mistake, but it's not like she'd press Jade into spilling the details either, not now that she has a sense of just how devastating an error it must have been. But...]
...Huh? You do?
[...Hmm, it's way more interesting to talk about this aspect of their artes though, isn't it? (Rita will always be easily distracted with these sorts of topics...) And he really did manage to tell that much at the time...]
Yeah, that's right. Wind is the major element, with fire as the secondary component. I'm surprised you could tell... But you make it sound like your Thunder Blade is different.
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For the moment, though...considering the mild weight that sits on the topic even when it's being addressed at this sort of angle, Jade doesn't actually take the opportunity to preen overly-much at Rita's remark of surprise at his feat of analysis where that particular arte was concerned. Nothing to be terribly proud of, honestly, considering how it was of utterly no help at that particular time--but at the very least it has some application in this particular talk now, if nothing else.]
Indeed it is--the components of a Thunder Blade as I know it consist only of third fonons. ...Or, the element of wind, as you would say. [But here, a note of something somewhere between curiosity and approval enters his tone, as he considers Rita and her ice cream across the table. After all, being well aware of how she was operating under very trying circumstances at the time, and taking half a guess that on a more typical basis this sort of thing would actually be well within her ability--] A compound-element arte is a very impressive feat. Even I have none that utilize dual elements at once, in quite such a way...the closest equivalent would be a conversion from one element to another mid-casting, which can occasionally be achieved if an especially strong field of a given type of fonon is present to build upon.
Yet even despite such a difference, we each have at least one arte sharing the same name. ...Now I can't help but wonder if we might be potentially sharing other artes, somehow--and how those might be different in themselves. There's some very interesting implications if it turns out we have multiple parallels on this front, don't you think?
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It's no big deal to incorporate different elements when beginning a spell. Mid-cast would be way more complicated...
[And yet Jade claims he can do just that, under the right circumstances. She isn't even annoyed this time that he has the skill; she's just fascinated.]
Our worlds are surprisingly similar compared to all the others I've heard about. Even if there are a some fundamental differences... I wonder if there are ways to apply some of the principles of your fonic artes to mine, or if the opposite would work, too...
[Nerd time nerd time-! Right before she finishes chomping down that ice cream cone, she adds-]
The Thunder Blade I use actually originates from a different arte that's non-elemental in nature, by adjusting the formula and adding the fire and wind elements.
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Yet artes with dual element attributes would still be considered an exceptionally difficult feat where I'm from in turn. [An amused lilt in Jade's tone now, less at Rita's expense and more at the continued improbabilities in all this here. Just to consider the chances of all this...] It'd certainly be something else, I think, if we could actually succeed in--essentially teaching each other a new trick or two, in this way? I'd certainly be interested, I think...
Would you consider yourself an experienced teacher in these matters yourself, Rita? [Well, alright. So there's a little humor happening at her expense too, about now--]
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So many common elements, and then there are these little differences...]
Hmm... An experiment with our magic, then?
[She does look intrigued, even if she makes a slight face at his question.]
You're the one who's all Mister Professor all the time. But something tells me you'd be no average student, either.
[Yes, Jade is clearly a teacher of some sort. Even if he said he was in the military. They have to teach other soldiers stuff, don't they?]
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Anyway, though, Rita makes a face at his question and...then it's Jade's turn to make a face too, when she fires back with an answer along that sort of line.]
I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about, there--I don't teach, much less in anything like a professor's sort of capacity. [He says, with some vague but actually detectable exasperation at the idea...as if he literally doesn't go on to happily teach Rita about FoF changes only a few weeks later. Rather the same way he'd taught Luke, too, that time back. But that's--you know, different--] ...Regardless, some experimentation indeed wouldn't be remiss. In potential future situations where we may need to combine our abilities again, doing so with more efficiency may prove to be something of a tipping point in more dire circumstances--especially if the capability's actually there somehow, between our respective systems. I'd like to observe more of this 'aer' of yours in action, at the very least...
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...Really.
[Yeah, her reply is completely flat, since wow, Rita's never really tried teaching anyone due to being too busy with her own research, but in Jade's case...he sure seems awfully quick to deny it, even though it's something he clearly does often enough, in her opinion!
Well, even if he does have a weird hangup about teaching, that's his business (not that there's any guarantee she won't make it her business too, but shhh). Experimentation of this sort isn't something she's going to turn down.]
And I'd like to see some more of your fonons- [-totally not a weird thing to say, right-] -so let's compare our magic. We'll just need an open space so no idiots can get in the way.
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Yes, an open space would certainly be ideal. [Not going to comment on how "I'd like to see more of your fonons" sure is definitely a weird thing to say, and almost certainly near equivalent to some kind of adult euphemism somewhere in Auldrant. No, the vaguely amused smile that settles anew on Jade's features--managing to offset his earlier discomfited reaction to teaching--has nothing at all to do with that, and far more to do with the new topic at hand! ....For the most part, anyway.] A rather tall order, actually, considering the sheer quantity of things found on most every part of this ship...but we ought to be able to work out a spot, perhaps. Hm, getting a feel for the average blast radius between our artes might actually be the first order of business, in order to determine what counts as sufficient space to begin with...
[At least the camping field will turn out to be the perfect place to test out just such a thing, as they'll go on to discover a couple weeks from now...!]
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And she'll remain blissfully ignorant about Weird Auldrant Euphemisms, since she can far more easily see his amusement being directed towards those aforementioned hypothetical idiots getting in the way of exploding spells.]
Blast radius, huh... I think most of mine would be usable on the sports deck...or the pool, once we kick everyone else out.
[Kicking people out just sounds so much easier than, say, booking a space like a civilized person.]