2019-08-19: Are We Talking Hit List or Blast Radius?
- Log: 2019-08-19: Are We Talking Hit List or Blast Radius?
- Cast: Ivan, Kaguya Alathfar
- Where: Kilika - Town Center
- Date: August 19, 2019
- Summary: Ivan and Kaguya seriously consider the merits of just going on a rampage and killing everyone who deserves killing. If only that were more easily quantifiable.
===========================<* Kilika - Town Center *>=========================== Kilika is an island off the southern coast of the Spiran mainland, consisting of a small port and village, a large jungle and a Temple of Yevon. The island is renowned for being the hometown of High Summoner Ohalland, who was a star blitzballer before retiring from the game to complete his Pilgrimage and defeat Sin. As a result of this history, the Beasts are one of the most-loved teams in the entire league, and even rival blitz players will stop to pray at the Kilika Temple before a particularly critical game. The port of Kilika was recently ravaged following an attack by Sin, and the surviving residents are slowly rebuilding. They have received unexpected support in the form of the outlanders who serve the false goddess Althena. A few dozen soldiers and craftsmen are using their strange arts - as well as old-fashioned skill - to help with restoration. The Temple of Yevon has put out the word that this assistance will be tolerated so long as the Guardsmen refrain from proselytizing their false creed; an uneasy sort of feeling hangs over the entire village as a result. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXsmMuXLtuQ
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Ivan is looking pretty ragged after recent events, but he obediently reported for duty in Kilika regardless of a variety of things that should have caused him to reconsider his life, because he is nothing if not driven by habit. And having orders to follow is calming, even if the organization has been infiltrated by an unknown number of the very cultists he's currently obsessed with eradicating.
That doesn't mean he's doing his job well. He's patrolling while seemingly half-asleep, and to many matters worse, keeps looking into a messaging sphere and not where he's going.
To make a long story short, Kaguya is treated to the sight of Ivan veering absentmindedly to the edge of the docks, teetering past what seems absolutely to be the point of no return, flailing madly, and somehow managing to right himself. Then he looks around to see if anyone saw that. Alas.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
'When I get hurt, it's a tragedy. When you get hurt, it's hilarious!' So goes one of the classic schools of thought about comedy, and...
Kaguya gets a test in it as she peers out and happens to see Ivan, barely noticing the edge, it would seem, instead of falling over. She could appreciate habits, and all, and having something to do is good for processing things. Buuuuut...
"...Decided against a swim, huh?"
Super half-asleep, considering that Kaguya is actually sitting among some old crates that are more than large enough to coneal her.... kind of. Not really. Maybe if someone isn't really looking.
She's kinda just sitting around though. She doesn't even laugh! Not even at the suffering of her underlings. Proof that something's up.
"I don't blame you. The ocean's a jerk."
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
It's true. The ocean is a jerk. And Ivan is kind of relieved he didn't fall into it, on top of everything else. But he sighs at having the near-miss witnessed by Kaguya, who always struck him as a particularly unfortunate person to do something ridiculous in front of.
Her response is... ... not so bad, actually. He squints at her.
"Yeah, something like that," he says.
A beat passes, and his tone turns more serious. "Do you know anything about Shadow Dragon Cultists sneaking into the Guard?" Clearly the cultists know all his shit already at this point, so what is there to lose in asking people?
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
Of course, Lunar's ocean might not be as bad as Filgaia's ocean. Maybe.
Really, though--she doesn't even make fun of him for it. It's like it's not a big deal, or anything. "For the best. Spheres float away. Something special?"
She considers his serious tone, and then the actual question, in that order. "The Shadow Dragon," Kaguya repeats, and the good news is that she says the name like she's heard of it before. The bad news...
"No," she admits. "They're pretty sneaky, and I haven't had any reason to try to look into them in particular. I mean, they did attack Lyds once. That sucked. ...Probably more than once. But I haven't thought that much about them since the tournament back in Meribia."
"Death karate, assassins, trying to kill Lunn, all the works?" she confirms. "I guess it would make sense if they did, but I'd wonder why they haven't made another move on him if that's the case. Why, have you found some? You could probably get a promotion out of bringing a couple in."
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
It may be for the best that Kaguya was unaware of it, because if she had known all about them, he'd probably be pretty angry at himself for not asking earlier.
"There was... A whole thing," he says, with such gravity that it seems certain he must think he's conveyed some meaningful information with that comment.
But he does elaborate a little, at least.
"It included them attacking Lydia again. But there was a whole thing. Do you..." his brow knits. "I honestly have no idea if you've been pretending not to know what the deal with my family is or you really don't know."
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
That would be pretty terrible. She at least seems sincere on that front, though--for whatever it suggests about her that she considers a cult of assassins not her problem, it seems to be the case. Besides--
A whole thing...
"Hmmm," Kaguya answers. Some information did get across there. "Must be what got you so roughed up," she allows after a moment. At the elaboration, though...
"Hmm, I'm interested, but--" She pauses. She looks at him. And--
Despite her low mood she cracks a laugh after a few moments, not long, but genuine. "Aw, man. Okay, that's great. Perfect."
"That's pretty much where I want people when it comes to how much I know," Kaguya says, as if giving out a great secret. "But in your case..."
"...I mean if I don't know, then I don't know I don't know it, if you get my meaning. But I know a deal with your family, anyway."
"Your dad's an asshole who's tried to play more than one side against the other, and used your sister as an assassin. I say asshole because I mean, the guy sent her up against me, he can't care that much about her, right?" she says, as if this is just, self-explanatory.
"Given how uptight you are about all your sins and stained hands and whatever like she was, and how good you are in a fight, I'm going to assume he employs you, too. I don't know what he's actually after, in the end. Though I mean, if you wanna enlighten me, hey, cool. That about sum it up?"
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
"No... that's... about... it," Ivan says. His nerves started pulling tighter and tighter as her response edged toward her revealing she knows his deal, and he has trouble uncoiling again once it's done, scanning for some dramatic change in her demeanor towards him once he confirms it.
He doesn't think she objects morally to the concept of assassins, but that doesn't mean she hasn't got the freedom to screw him over with the information if she ever felt like it.
Kaguya asks him what Lubov is after, and he makes a face. "Just. Power? Importance? Nothing interesting. As far as I know he doesn't have any plans to doublecross anyone here and I'm just somehow on the weirdest and most extended mission I've ever been on just because he really wants to suck up to Lord Leo."
He shakes his head.
"But the point is that part of the whole Shadow Cult thing is they like wanted to recruit me by killing people I'm connected with and so I'm really pissed off and I've got to to kill them all before they try it again. So... if you ever get a hint about them, tell me."
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
Kaguya, for whatever reason, seems to like Ivan. ...Or maybe she has plans of her own for him; either way, she certainly is a little freer with information in his direction. Either way, when Ivan scans, when he looks--
No change at all. She retains the same kind of casual approach. Ah, no--there is one change. She seems more... interested. Probably because she's looking for the same thing--a change, since it's out in the open.
"Oh, well that's boring," Kaguya admits. "I mean, it's a good stepping stone for other stuff," she says, "Or else I wouldn't have gone after it. But some kind of grand plan would be cool." She shakes her head. "Hmmm. That makes sense, though. He wouldn't have anything to gain, doublecrossing people here, at least not any of the big names. Sucking up to Leo..."
"Man. I guess. Sucks to be you."
She considers, though--recruit him, and...
Here, there is a change--the Duchess looks strangely impressed at what he has to say. "That's straight where you go first, huh? Not hide, not make sure they're not seeing you, but kill them all? I heard magic around here often suits personalities but that's something."
"But you know, I respect that. Bold, clear plan. I'll keep an eye out. Besides, if it's connections on your part, then Lydia's on their list, and so am I, probably. So it's just good sense."
"Anyway I don't have any info but if you find a base or whatever hit me up, I'll build you a bomb. Assassins can't assass while they're in tiny chunks."
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Kaguya seems a bit dissappointed that Lubov doesn't have an exciting master plan.
"I... guess he might, but he doesn't tell me much. I'm just a weapon and all." Lubov did not even bother to tell him initially that the hit he ordered on Jacqueline Barber was meant to be openly done in service of the Guard, and wasn't THAT a trip when Ivan realized it.
Sucks to be you.
"...The mission hasn't been all bad," he says, awkwardly, after some hesitation.
But anyway. Cult problems.
"Hiding turned into them knowing one hundred percent of my business and grabbing people I'm connected to to murder them, so yeah, no hiding," Ivan grumps. He means the fact that the Festina Lente got compromised, and technically Katherine was the only one in it who was hiding, but it's probably for the best he hasn't yet wandered down the path of wondering if he led the cultists to Katherine and Talia by being unsubtle. Like. Even if he did, who has the time for that kind of crisis?
I'll build you a bomb.
"I am a bomb," Ivan protests, a little offended to have his fire magic assumed inferior to technology.
"...But I could always use more bombs, probably." Besides, Kaguya has a giant robot. He might be underestimating her idea of a bomb.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
"Oh. Yeah." Kaguya scowls a little, shaking her head. "Ugh. I'm kind of mad at him on principle, now."
She considers. "Hmmmm. Is that just because you met such nice, wonderful people? Or is it because now you're an ocean away? Hmmmm."
Cult problems--Kaguya notes the failure of the hiding plan. She doesn't seem to recognize the potential crisis at least. "Yeah I tend to have the same view, honestly. Besides, when you crush your enemies, you teach other people what happens if they cross you. It's just good business. You don't want to look aribtrary obviously, but." She gestures.
Then laughs. "Yeah, I know you can do a lot yourself. But the nice thing about bombs is that you put the energy to them in advance--and then you can hide them, if you want. Then, after you initiate the first strike, you've got plenty of your own energy left to finish things up."
"Also I mean, they're fun. But then, my magic isn't explosions, so hey, maybe it's got less novelty. Regardless--let me know."
"Anyway Lydia's fine, I assume, right? I figure you'd be more on the rage path than on the brooding path if something had happened..."
She shows her teeth. "But I wanna make sure I don't need to be on the rage path."
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Is that just because you met such nice, wonderful people? Or is it because now you're an ocean away? Hmmmm.
"It's a variety of things," Ivan deadpans regretfully.
Kaguya explains the merits of bombs, and he shrugs and acquiesces. He would appreciate the element of surprise after seeing the cult leader's teleportation (or was it just raw speed) so he certainly wouldn't MIND having a bomb, but will always see it as a competitor on some level...
His posture droops a little and he looks aside when Kaguya asks for confirmation that Lydia made it out all right. "Lydia's okay, but she was dead-ish for a minute or so and I don't really know how easy that stuff actually is to bounce back from. Like probably not very?"
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
"Haha, fair, fair. I know how it is to get out of the nest though, you know? Faar away. It's kinda nice. And my parents have their issues, but sending me to get killed is kind of the opposite of what their deal is." Even so.
Kaguya promptly gets the wrong idea, of course. It's just that Ivan wants to do the damage himself, obviously, and hey, she can respect that. There's something good about working with your hands.
She frowns thoughtfully, at the response though. "...Yeah. If nothing else, every time she has to, she leans a little more on those abilities, and I know she doesn't like it. She doesn't like fighting at all. So even if it's not bad physically, I bet it hurt, and I know it hurt her on like--an emotional level, y'know?"
"So I hope you hurt at least some of them back."
She pushes up from the ground and starts to finally stand though, dusting herself off, shaking her head. "Makes you wonder, though, stuff like that. In the end, is there really any point in the whole idea of long, complicated plans? Maybe we should just start killing people and not stop until we've made a dent in the number of people out to get the ones we like."
Shrug. "...Anyway I know she can bounce back, but..." She trails off, and sets hand on a solid, sturdy crate. ...It splinters under her grip a few moments later.
"...Dead-ish, for a minute. Yeah. No, it's fine. It's fine, as long as she's fine."
"Super fine. All fine."
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
"That's all I can do," Ivan says, solemnly, to the idea of murderous retribution on the cult. But then you can see him trying not to redden as he remembers that there are probably less violent things he could do for Lydia to cheer her up after she has experienced a harrowing circumstance. Though he's already gone so far as... A HUG. Surely that is the absolute extent of his limits?
Then Kaguya goes in a bit of an extreme direction even by the standards of this conversation, and Ivan does an uneasy little head tilt wondering how indiscriminate the kind of murder she's talking about is.
"Is this more of a hit list feeling or a blast radius feeling?" Whatever the feeling is, she smashes a box by accident with it. That's... fair.
"If it's the first one, I rarely get to kill people who deserve it, so..."
He doesn't want to be wielded by just any random asshole, but Kaguya is Lydia's family, so. Maybe?
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
"Heh," Kaguya answrs, though distantly. She isn't quite in the mood for the kind of teasing she could do there. ...Besides, probably neither is Lydia.
But let it be known, Kaguya doesn't think hugs are a terrible limit...!
Extreme, though--Kaguya glances his way, shrugs. "Little of column A, little of column B," Kaguya answers without a particular amount of feeling, which is perhaps more worrying rather than less. "There's a lot of problems out there. But..."
"Hmmm." People who deserve it. "That is a nice thought. Sticking to the ones who deserve it. We might just find some, one of these days."
A beat, "I mean, y'know, it's not like I know the locals well enough to know who really deserves to get squashed. That's kinda the problem--figuring out who actually deserves it. There's..." She thinks.
"Well, there's some who might that I don't know yet. But most of the ones I know of who could really use knocking off aren't on Lunar. Still, we can agree on the Shadow Dragons, anyway."
Kaguya is not unused to wielding people, not now. ...And for now, she even cares about how she does it, sees value beyond use.
"...Mostly I try to ignore the 'blast radius' kind of feeling. I've got too much on the line to indulge that one much these days. Hard to stay on the moral path, right?"
"Though come to think," she says, looking back at Ivan seriously. "You ever run into something called 'Solaris?' Stab it first, ask questions later. Trust me."
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Ivan's not really cut out to be a vigilante anyway, probably. When he's not twisted up with anger and fear over a seemingly ever-present threat to his inner circle (since when does his inner circle have more than one person in it..?) he tends to be a lot more cautious in his judgements of other people's morals -- who is he to look down on other people, after all?
Apparently today he feels judgy. But he shrugs uneasily. He's a little off balance about Kaguya's ambivalence regarding exploding everyone nearby, but maybe it's just a mood. He was in a similar mood earlier.
"Yeah, now that you say it like that, trying to pick out people who deserve it sounds creepier than just killing people who don't deserve it and knowing you're an asshole for it. Focusing on the Shadow Cultists is probably best." Considering that in itself will be damn near impossible, it ought to be plenty of murder to have on his plate for the time being.
"...I'll keep the Solaris thing in mind, though."
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
"You think?" Kaguya asks, glancing back to Ivan. ...She seems a little off, herself. A little distracted, maybe? "I mean, not worrying about it is normal. It's what nations and societies have done as long as we've had them--who cares about deserving, when you need land, or power, or resources?"
"But it does matter, because there's some people who the world is better off without. Heh. Some would say that's you and me, naturally. In the end it's all subjective; what really matters is power, and having the will to use it."
"Morality, judgement, any other concerns... they only matter if the people with power decide they do. So maybe it's not creepy to think about the impacts on the world, of how you use your power. Of the legacy you're making."
"But hey, what do I know? I'm just an alien supergenius who's already lived past the doctors' projections. You know, whatever."
A beat, "Cool! 'Cause they're jerks. I mean, we're jerks, too, obviously. But it's them or us, and they smell bad, so whatever."
Do they... actually smell bad?
"Anyway don't mind me I'm just in a bad mood. You know how it is. Besides, people get all whiny when you start blowing shit up indiscriminately. Obviously it's not like I give a shit or anything, but it's annoying."
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
"I've never wanted to make those kinds of decisions until like... all of this happened, I guess. Because it's all awful and complicated and I think you end up kind of shitty no matter what metric you choose for killing people, but I guess it's possible to improve the world with killing people. Or improve it for yourself. I don't know. I'm pretty comfortable with killing the people who are deadset on wrecking my life, though."
But as for grayer areas, he's used to making it his business not to know or care. At least for the past year or so. There was a good stretch there where he did think he'd go off into the world and try his hand at making his own decisions. The decisions still didn't involve choosing who to kill, though.
But throughout all this, there have been certain indications that Kaguya has also had to deal with A Whole Thing recently. It may have to do with the recent battle he missed, given the aside about blowing shit up.
"...Is there stuff you want to get off your chest?" Ivan is not good at this, but he can try.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
"Heh. That's not unfair, you know? It's easier not to think about it. And of course, you've got the real nice types who don't want to do it at all. But if power is what runs the world, and you have it..." Kaguya shakes her head. "Well, whatever. You can definitely improve it for yourself, and step one is stabbing anybody who plans to ruin your stuff."
"...Awww," Kaguya says after a moment, and laughs a little. "That's sweet! See? You're not all hard edges and dour murders. I wonder if I should tell Lydia..."
A beat, and she glances back; that's an improvement, in her expression anyway, though she gets a little more serious. "I'm not sure it'd make sense, to someone from Lunar. I guess I thought I'd made some peace with some stuff from back where I come from, but seeing that the Guardians--the Filgaian kind, not the ones who... whatever, words. It's a dumb name anyway. They don't actually guard anything. They don't do hardly anything."
"...Anyway I mean--I thought they'd made sense, that maybe it was just a thing, it wasn't personal. And then it turns out--you know who gets their favor? Who gets to summon their shit and be all 'oh, I'm part of the world, bluhhh'?"
"Someone who's at least as much of an asshole as I am. Just because he's human, he's fine. No matter what he and his people do--it doesn't actually matter as far as the Guardians are concerned, but us? Oh, we're the worst!"
She looks... angry. In a way that's very, very different from her usual casual violence.
"...I try to be reasonable. To give people the benefit of the doubt a little. To avoid stabbing folks if I can help it, try to do less random destruction, right?"
"Buuuut... Apparently that's just how it is! And it makes a little testy. That's all. It's like, who does a girl have to murder to get a little consistency out of the world, you know?"
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
"You don't have to tattle on me for asking about your day!" Ivan complains, at the initial teasing.
But she goes on to actually tell him about it. That she found out that some asshole gained favor with the god-like beings that cursed her.
He takes a breath, silently taking in her anger, knowing this is about her getting her life randomly torn away, and knowing that whatever he says is going to be more than a little inadequate.
"Sounds like the Guardians are also assholes," says Ivan.
In the face of a complex and arbitrarily cruel world he seems to be taking the approach of just giving up and deeming everybody an asshole today.
"It would be cool if the world wasn't a shitshow. I vote for that, too."
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
"Hahaha," Kaguya's answer ends up for a moment being just wordless amusement. ...Buuut only for the moment. She makes a point of not showing too much being affected by anything, and this is a little at odds with that. Still...
"Yep," Kaguya says. "They sure are." ...As approaches go, there are worse.
"Yeah," Kaguya agrees with a nod, "That would be nice. But hey, that's what I'm working on, right? ...But that'll be harder if we don't have decent people around by the time I'm done."
"Anyway, I should... go pretend I'm doing work or whatever. I was gonna be nosy about your sphere but but, eh, maybe later. I'll pretend it's something fun."
Pause. "Oh hey, also, there's a ship I'm still waiting on. If you see one of ours approaching while you're still watching here, tell me later. ...Try not to fall into the ocean."