You, Abzu, Belial, Jun-ho and Issachar shuffle together into a somewhat closer line to observe the duel. Jun-ho offers Abzu one of his lumpy cookies. Abzu leans close and 'nibbles' away at it, absorbing the crumbling confectionery 'bite' by 'bite' until Jun-ho lets go and the rest falls into the glossy black surface of the gooey wizard's face. Their eyes arc up into white crescents as they 'smile' appreciatively. Jun-ho smiles back and offers one to Belial in turn. He tries to turn it down, muttering something about his figure, but Jun-ho makes one of those faces and no one could possibly say no to that. Belial takes the cookie and Jun-ho beams.

The power of lumpy cookies consumes is consumed by all!

The pale elf squirms and bucks, trying to dislodge Datu with every scrap of strength he has.

-wait, was Lyrros always an elf?

Because his intro made me initially think he was part of the Douglas family I'd been assuming he was (ex-)human this entire time. T-That's embarrassing.

It's honestly starting to feel a bit... lewd, in that subtle way that only watching a half-naked and mostly-naked man grunt and grind and writhe against each other can be.

I was going to make a joke about 'subtle' here and then I remembered wrestling exists. Huh.

Jun-ho's asking how people like Datu can casually be so fucking lewd all the time and Belial's trying to work out how to explain the complexities of relationships to someone as sweet and earnest as Jun-ho

oh no we're corrupting the innocent

[X] Approach the door and knock. Announce yourself to Issachar and his mystery-guest, and hope you're not being incredibly rude by interrupting.

I mean, we did arrange this and the light is on etc. Presumably either whoever they are is involved with the explanation or it's a coincidence. It's just... simpler to ask?
 
[X] Creep closer and eavesdrop. Issachar's been keeping too many secrets from you already. If you were supposed to expect company then he'd have mentioned it sooner, right? Maybe this way you'll finally get some answers.

I'm picking up what Lupine is putting down.
 
[X] Approach the door and knock. Announce yourself to Issachar and his mystery-guest, and hope you're not being incredibly rude by interrupting.
 
[X] Approach the door and knock. Announce yourself to Issachar and his mystery-guest, and hope you're not being incredibly rude by interrupting.
 
[X] Creep closer and eavesdrop. Issachar's been keeping too many secrets from you already. If you were supposed to expect company then he'd have mentioned it sooner, right? Maybe this way you'll finally get some answers.
 
Listen, Issachar is clearly either an Angel, or an Assassin's Creed protagonist, and possibly is actually both... Do we really think that eavesdropping on him is gonna end well for us? Because I'm pretty sure it won't.
 
[X] Wander off for a while and try to give him time to finish up with the woman visiting him. If it's important then he'll tell you about it without you having to force his hand somehow. Right?
 
[X] Approach the door and knock. Announce yourself to Issachar and his mystery-guest, and hope you're not being incredibly rude by interrupting.

I wanna know more, but let's do it ethically.
 
[X] Approach the door and knock. Announce yourself to Issachar and his mystery-guest, and hope you're not being incredibly rude by interrupting.
 
[X] Approach the door and knock. Announce yourself to Issachar and his mystery-guest, and hope you're not being incredibly rude by interrupting.

The hivemind that is this thread grows ever more synchronized.
 
I'm still burning you for your heretical fiat currency allegiance, blasphemer :mad:
Oh Currency which art in heaven, stable be thy name;
Thy economy come;
Thy exchange be done
In practice as it is in theory.
Give us this day our daily value;
And forgive us our inflation, as we forgive those that goldbug against us;
And lead us not into misconduct; but deliver us from recession.
Amen.
 
[X] Approach the door and knock. Announce yourself to Issachar and his mystery-guest, and hope you're not being incredibly rude by interrupting.
 
[X] Approach the door and knock. Announce yourself to Issachar and his mystery-guest, and hope you're not being incredibly rude by interrupting.
 
[X] Approach the door and knock. Announce yourself to Issachar and his mystery-guest, and hope you're not being incredibly rude by interrupting.
 
Hrm it's- I mean ultimately it's just pointless likebait to try to analyze their fighting styles but still. :V Lyrros definitely defaults to zipping around and disengaging, leveraging his superior agility and, like, two flavors of flash-stepping. But he's super vulnerable -eyyy- if pinned in place. Also he's strong but fundamentally he doesn't have a lot of mass (perils of being an elvish vampire twink), so, like, Eldingar's pretty bulky but if he knew how to fight/was less of a grape I imagine he'd be able to just pick up Lyrros and bodyslam him without too much trouble. But beyond that (and yeah, let's psychoanalyze characters like the trash we are) I think...Lyrros kinda does default to legging it a fair bit I think. To withdrawing and retreating if shit doesn't go the way he planned. In the crypt he was halfway up the steps when the tide started turning before he had to almost visibly remind himself "wait, I promised myself I was fine losing" and similarly a dude who stays in a haunted mansion kinda bundled beneath the covers, waiting for visitors is probably not...like

Super great at tackling problems head on.

Man Datu though, he's probably like indisputably the beatstick of the bunch. Because if this is him being sluggish and shit out of the water guy's probably like lightning within it. Honestly the only one I could really see tripping him up is Abzu. Datu uses his magical abilities less as complex, large scale workings and more like one-off boosts or temporary abilities. Simple, straightforward, and repeatable in the heat of combat. But that also means that he's liable to get outclassed by an actual master of the Arts I think.

Beyond that like @Imrix said, Datu does seem pretty straightforward. Guy really likes fightfucking, is just here to have a good time and make friends. Eldingar can probably get to know him superwell by brawling it out once or twice. Although it does sort of raise the question of how invested in this he all is compared to people, like, Belial or Makram or Eldingar himself who have pretty deep scars and lingering Stuff and are clinging onto the "there's a group of people who are really into each other" as a lifeline in what hasn't exactly been a happy life.

There could definitely be some tension there.

Jun-ho and Belial seem to be slowly gravitating to each other - from what snatches of conversation you overhear, Jun-ho's asking how people like Datu can casually be so fucking lewd all the time and Belial's trying to work out how to explain the complexities of relationships to someone as sweet and earnest as Jun-ho. You can already imagine where this might go. You just wish you could enjoy it.

Yee

Man Belial and Jun-ho are just absolutely top tier. Belial's kinda gruff and self-conscious and Jun-ho is...man I feel like Jun-ho is going to be one of those people who finally gets into a permissive, supportive, social environment and it unlocks their inner pervert. No way that noodle is completely innocent through and through. Considering the affinity-thing on the map and how thirsty pretty much everyone else in the big poly sprawl is.

You're not going to overthink this. You want to overthink this, oh can you ever feel the urge butting its head against the inside of your skull like an alley cat screaming for scraps, but you're not going to. Overthinking leads to bad things. You'll work yourself up all into a lather and be a complete wreck by the time you get there. After all what's the worst Issachar could really have to say? That he's already married? That he's a serial killer? That he's straight? The map's been pretty consistent with your boyfriends actually being into you, you don't see why it would throw you that drastic of a curveball with him. You just... have to take whatever it is as it comes!

aaahhh, the feeling of telling yourself to be calm and stop stressing with clenched teeth and a pit in your stomach

: ok_hand :

[X] Creep closer and eavesdrop. Issachar's been keeping too many secrets from you already. If you were supposed to expect company then he'd have mentioned it sooner, right? Maybe this way you'll finally get some answers.

Mostly just a token gesture and it is straight up super heartwarming to see how many votes are legitimately just on "I want the character to not backslide socially". But I think @LupineVolt does make a solid point on the fact that Issachar is likable and seemingly benign but also intensely private and man, dude's got some Walls. Literally everything we know about him is stuff he's wanted us to know. Any of the few times we've pushed on anything he's either dodged it expertly or just fucked around with us a bit. In good humor sure but...mnm.

I wonder if he isn't getting chewed out by his boss. To go with the angel idea, if he's an agent of a Celestial power he's probably here to ensure that whatever destiny is in place comes to pass ('cause destiny is a bitch and sometimes you have to help it along). Part of that is not being involved in the destiny yourself. It'd made sense honestly if he leaned more heterosexual in most respects, or even asexual, and would think "obviously I'm not going to be a part of the sloppy adventurers sex party". So him being on the map would elicit that no-shit surprise that filtered through his facade.

... and I am immediately put in mind of of a dom smacking a crop against their palm.
>implying lyrros isn't a bratty bottom
 
That's going to make things super awkward when he goes to bed with Eldingar, The Platonic Sub.
Nothing 'happens' in bed they just end up sleeping ass to ass like some weird anti-spoon.

Oh right, votes....
[X] Creep closer and eavesdrop. Issachar's been keeping too many secrets from you already. If you were supposed to expect company then he'd have mentioned it sooner, right? Maybe this way you'll finally get some answers.
Mmmmmneh
 
So we should poison our relationship with him by eavesdropping? We know he values his privacy and his secrecy, listening in will get us both caught and destroy any trust he did have in us.

That's a bit melodramatic tbh, and it's something I'm not especially fond of even in (honestly mostly decided :V) votes. Where, like, the opposing option will lead to Catastrophe and Disaster and Poison Our Wells and Salt Our Fields. Yeah the big blue dumbass being nosy is going to irreversibly tank his relationship with Issachar, gg no re. : ok_hand :

Nah, I mean if we're really being honest what trust does he have in us? What has he been honest about? He's been personable, sure, even friendly but that's not the same thing as actual vulnerability or a more sincere connection. He's told us a bit of his backstory, sure, but we know OOC and can speculate pretty well IC that most of it was either a twisting of the facts or lies of omission, and that's a bit fucked up. He's offered to play the part of mentor and guide but even that's, like...a way of imposing distance and some conscious constraints on the relationship. Not that that's bad exactly, people are more than entitled to emotional distance or not wanting to be in a relationship just 'cause a magic map said so. But there's still elements of "I want to have this friendship/mentorship/whatever purely on my own terms" in how he handles Eldingar. Which is...

*scales motions*

Especially considering someone like Eldingar who's been lead around by the nose for most of his life and treated like a particularly troublesome game piece and it hasn't, y'know, exactly left a good imprint on him.

It's a natural reaction for Eldignar to want to know more and to take a more oblique avenue when a more upfront one isn't just not provided but actively avoided. It's a human thing to do, not necessarily malevolent or majorly self-sabotaging. Flawed sure but I really doubt that it'll ruin everything forever.
 
Tenfold... Honestly makes a pretty cogent point. I'm not in favour of eavesdropping - as a point of principle, I still think it's shitty. But yeah, putting a pin in "find out what the hells is going on with Issachar" is not a bad idea. Just... I'd prefer to do it in a more forthright manner.
 
Tenfold... Honestly makes a pretty cogent point. I'm not in favour of eavesdropping - as a point of principle, I still think it's shitty. But yeah, putting a pin in "find out what the hells is going on with Issachar" is not a bad idea. Just... I'd prefer to do it in a more forthright manner.

It's worth noting that Eldingar has actually kinda confronted Issachar in a pretty forthright matter, not necessarily getting in his face and going "WHAT IS YOUR DEAAAAAAAAAAAAAL" but he's been genuinely interested and has floated a few questions that Issachar's- well. Ducked or dodged. Which is kinda what I meant by "it's pretty natural for Eldingar to get a bit nosy when there's someone who's trying to be a somewhat significant part of his life but is, metaphorically, treating him like a mushroom."
 
It's worth noting that Eldingar has actually kinda confronted Issachar in a pretty forthright matter, not necessarily getting in his face and going "WHAT IS YOUR DEAAAAAAAAAAAAAL" but he's been genuinely interested and has floated a few questions that Issachar's- well. Ducked or dodged. Which is kinda what I meant by "it's pretty natural for Eldingar to get a bit nosy when there's someone who's trying to be a somewhat significant part of his life but is, metaphorically, treating him like a mushroom."
That's fair, yes. But while I don't agree with HolyInquisition that eavesdropping would "destroy any trust he did have in us" I do agree that it's a dick move, so I'd simply rather not.
 
That's fair, yes. But while I don't agree with HolyInquisition that eavesdropping would "destroy any trust he did have in us" I do agree that it's a dick move, so I'd simply rather not.
I reiterate that the proper course of action is to go full "Roight roight, what's all this then?!"
 
It's worth noting that Eldingar has actually kinda confronted Issachar in a pretty forthright matter, not necessarily getting in his face and going "WHAT IS YOUR DEAAAAAAAAAAAAAL" but he's been genuinely interested and has floated a few questions that Issachar's- well. Ducked or dodged. Which is kinda what I meant by "it's pretty natural for Eldingar to get a bit nosy when there's someone who's trying to be a somewhat significant part of his life but is, metaphorically, treating him like a mushroom."

While this is true, Eldingar has been promised something of an explanation tonight, so I'd rather not resort to indirect/underhanded (not eeeeeeeevil but still definitely kinda shady) tactics until we've given Issachar a chance to follow through on that.
 
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