[Action/Anon text] Dead Man Walking and Talking

[youfool]

[Action - Honnoji Academy Gym, Closed]

[Swordplay with Star was one of the most enduring constants in Ted's life. Satsuki had remained in the world longer than him, and he couldn't help but love her and her indefatigable instruction. It showed in that he practiced and sparred with her with ease; an unusual thing, for he'd normally find any combat with women forever an offense against beauty. And yet, whether through affection or repetition, it had become a reliable, relaxing routine. Even if her severity pushed him to uncomfortable limits, every so often.

Their fencing finished, Ted's resting on a bench and wiping his face with a towel.]

Sterling as always, star. One day I'll get the better of you. Speaking of betterment, you said you had something special? What's the occasion? 

[Action - All over, morning, OTA]

[Ted's been feeling funny these past few weeks, like one in the eye of a storm. A presentiment of peril that crept nearer and nearer; a call for action loomed that was both as exciting as it was frightening. It was like death as the Trumps knew it: an end and a beginning. And if it is an end, he had better make the most of whatever time he has left. Perhaps he's just being silly and melodramatic, like usual.

Perhaps not. It's morning, and like most Sunday mornings, it starts with him walking out of church, thinking out loud on what the sermon contained. These and other discursive, verbal meditations overpower his mind and mouth as he airs them into the ether, wandering aimlessly.]

"'Made sin'. Made sin? For all the injunctions to imitation, that one's impossible; none could know such a sensation, if sensory it was. A man can be crucified, killed, hated and torn by men. But made sin--only the perfectly pure can do that. Or...goodness, so much is possible in Genessia. Certainly more than I dreamed. If one could become sin...should they?"

"Aheh, the world plucks so many saviors, no doubt hoping that their heroics might transfer. Well, the world's unsaved still. What's taking them so long, I wonder? Is Genessia very difficult? Has destiny removed her favor, leaving them lost? Or does the world...dampen, somehow. Cast a pall. Lessen? Heroes of myth and legend take nine-to-fives, here. Good for them; no doubt it's saner. Yet for others, men more mundane, it seems to be working the other way. Hah, maybe it wants to give the ordinary the opportunity to be extraordinary? God help them; how are the conventionally sane to handle insane adventure?

"To be loved is good, and feels so. But suppose one were loved by a villain; what then? Treated well themselves and yet knowing the one who treats them so well holds others in unholy contempt. Does not one become complicit in the wickedness directed towards others? An accessory to the crime? How could one stand it? How is it possible to bear a love so unjustly preferential? Does being cared for so well obliterate the utter spite shown towards the stranger? Should woe be warned for the apple of the eye of the evildoer?"

[Ted will never mind being interrupted in these musings; always more fun to talk to others rather than himself. Speaking of others, he has a few to call.]

[Audio Calls - Closed]

To Sync: Hello, Sync! Has work been going all right? How about Ott, eh? Been learning the lessons therein, well enough?

To Sonico: Good morning, Sonico. I've finished the book, per our exchange. How about yourself?

To Koishi: Hello, Moon. Suppose I can't expect to meet one so nocturnal in the day, eh? Still, we've not seen each other quite enough; rather inexcusable for one with so many eyes. Shall we rectify that?

[Anon Text]
Where could a nuclear weapon, say for testing purposes, be most safely deployed? And how might the radiation from such an explosion be mitigated, if it came to that?

[Y'know. Hypothetically]

Comments

[notquitedracula]

Nowhere. The radiation from a blast like that would kill everything in a ten mile radius within a matter of months, and everything else in under a year. You're talking about weapons made to destroy cities, and these are encased in nice little blast-focusing domes.

[Congratulations Ted, you've drawn out someone who actually knows what a nuke can do.]

[youfool]

[He probably could've just looked that up himself, but it's more fun to talk to others. Even if all they want to do is crush his hopes and dreams.]

Suppose the world is lacking in wide wastelands. And the gamma rays from such a thing would be unstoppable?

[notquitedracula]

Unless you plan to encase the blast zone in a thick lead shield, then yeah. Even then, you've still got the leftovers to deal with. And I'm pretty sure there would be a twenty mile long line waiting to throw you into that pit of radioactive waste.

I'd be right at the head of it. This place does NOT need a historical reenactment of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

[youfool]

[He never said he was gonna!]

Leftovers? Please, spare no detail. Are there any supernatural means available to contain or even restore such waste?

Text

[ubiquitously]

Is there going to be context to this charming question?

Re: Text

[youfool]

[He wonders why Uai would find it charming.]

Fortune favors the prepared. A glance at the newspaper tells we've criminals who are long on passion and short on sanity. Some of them have access to explosives, whereas bomb defusal is a rare discipline. In a desperate situation, it'd help to know where such a thing could do the least damage, and other defensive and/or restorative action to take.

nine years later

[ubiquitously]

Uh huh.

What about just defusing the bomb? Heck, I can do that. Setting off a nuclear weapon anymore is dumb as hell.

Wanna tell me what you're really up to?

[Anon]

[cursed_analysis]

Have to say, that while I could adapt to the radiation probably, maybe don't make this place unlivable?

Re: [Anon]

[youfool]

Would all thought so nobly. Should a villain wish the other way, as they're wont to do, it'd be nice to know countermeasures.

[Anon forever]

[cursed_analysis]

...There aren't. I've worked with Bio Weapons, and while that and Nuclear weapons might sound like they're cut from different cloth; it goes into how it affects living organisms. Even if you shield the blast, rain happens, ground water flows, and suddenly you've got irradiated material seeping out. Plus these cities aren't big enough to survive the initial blast, let alone fallout.

[Audio]

[rejected_trash]

[Thank Lorelei, if you believe in that sort of thing, that Ted knows how to speak Sync's language; no video unless he makes that decision himself.]

Hey. Work's been...It's been alright, if you like routine. I've been reading the book and...it looks like more of a two person process.

Re: [Audio]

[youfool]

[No heathenry allowed, Sync. You know the rules.]

Ahaha, I don't see how it's all right for you if I like routine. Do you?

[He kinda hopes so; he's pretty sure he read in a book about teenagers somewhere that they need it.]

Well, suppose the book is woefully short on illustrations. If you can suffer that routine to be broken, I wouldn't mind learning you a pin or two.

[Now that he thinks of it, few of the people in Jolly Eddy's would work. Namur has a strange and too heavy form. Django is probably too fragile, as a skeleton for it. K-2's a robot. Koishi has tentacles and is also very short. And 17 has super strength. Not a lot of options among coworkers.]

[Audio]

[rejected_trash]

[Ted, sometimes it's impossible to tell if it's sarcasm or genuine, and Sync hates it either way.]

You're right. It doesn't matter if you like routine at all. I'm used to it, but change is nice sometimes.

[Which segues nicely into Ted's offer, and accepting it without having to outright say as such. Though which Ted; it's best that Sync does clarify for the sake of keeping an argument down.]

Sure Ted, learn me a pin. When's good for you?

[Action]

[weavemyownfate]

[In the past it had always been about being a teacher, but as over the last several months it had come to the point where Satsuki rather enjoys sparring with Ted.

Before, his steady growth was a necessity to further her plans. Nowadays it's something she enjoys observing on its own, which does little to help her current personal struggles, but something is better than nothing. She sets her blade within it's scabbard]

As you are now, that is highly unlikely. And I do; it is under the bench.

[Under it he could find a box taped right under the seat, familiar in shape as it is similar to the one he had received his uniform. While it doesn't feel as if there is anything inside, he would find open it to find a sash with a three star pin with red several red lines struck through them.]

Despite your inability to make your blade an extension of yourself at a level I would like, you continue to grow at levels beyond what I expected. That is not something I have witnessed before, but it deserves recognition.

Then again it could be said that to expect the norm of you would be foolish in itself.

Re: [Action]

[youfool]

Haha. So long as it's possible, hope springs eternal.

[His manly honor will never truly be satisfied so long as there's any woman in the world who can best him in that. Still, he takes it lightly. He laughs again at the evaluation, for being both very complimentary as well as frank and humbling.]

So you're pleased, but not satisfied, eh? That's very well. I, haha, hope to continue to surprise you. You've certainly surprised me.

[The pin once retrieves, he turns it a few times in his fingers. He recognizes the triple-cross pattern, though the colors, which strike him very sinisterly, spark astonishment.]

What is it?

[Action]

[weavemyownfate]

Fair enough.

[Her expression remains neutral during his laughter, to no one's surprise. She's convinced she could easily guess in what ways she's surprised him, so doesn't ask about it.]

It is a symbol of your rise in rank; think of it as a belt in martial arts. You have proven mastery of your current level; so it is time for you to undergo the path toward your true potential.

[text]

[guitar_hero]

I may know someone with a void...

[it seems like it would be able to contain it safely. It had contained the fire well enough]

Re: [anon text]

[youfool]

[Hang it all, 12! How many times must you break confidence? How to play this cool...]

A particular person can't always be relied upon. How would a void help?

[anon text]

[guitar_hero]

Well if it's infinite space, far enough back it wouldn't destroy anything. Not sure about the resultant radiation but if you wanted to experiment without the risk of hurting anyone that would be a good way to do it.

[ Action ]

[childsized]

Would they be complicit just from being loved, or for loving them back?

[ Sudden Robert! Ted had been interesting enough in their first meeting that when Robert spots him talking to himself, he heads over, and when he overheards his rambling musings, he tilts his head and responds. ]

What if they love them and try to stop them? Or if they aren't treated well themselves?

Re: [ Action ]

[youfool]

[Very sudden! He nearly trips over the doll before catching his footing. He (doesn't) know it's your thing Robert but you have to stop scaring people like that.]

Oh! Ha, hello, Robert. Fancy seeing you here. Let's see...

[Just gonna go in order]

Well, no, one can't help being loved. Rather happens without one's consent. The latter is an explicit command from Heaven.

That's...a dangerous undertaking. Transformation, I mean. Trying to raise someone up--I'm speaking, of course, of a general trend, and not a single instance--runs the equal risk of being dragged down too. Moral gravity lends its moribund weight to the latter.

Mm, well, that could certainly make one more desperate and susceptible to such affection. It would not, I think, have any bearing on right action.

[Like with all generalities, Ted suspects specific instances in Robert's case. But he won't pry, at least not yet. He can always check Robert's network posts for that.]

[childsized]

[ Sure. He'll get right on that not scaring people anymore thing. Any day now. :) ]

Hello. [ Just going in order is fine, Robert listens patiently and with what might be interest. ]

That's true. [ He's not sure about the moral gravity part but: ] Trying to improve someone's nature is more dangerous than trying to corrupt, and it does seem less likely. But I mean if they attempt to stop them forcibly. If, for example, a police officer loves a criminal but is still determined to arrest them.

Not on the right action, I suppose. I think it would have bearing on the culpability. And if most of their wickedness is directed toward the one they love?

[ To be fair Robert's not being 100% specific. Some of this has ties to his history, some doesn't. But he really is curious about guilt and morality as well as how humans view these things. ]

I was not aware this existed until now >.>

[koishi_komeiji]

Koishi answered on the fourth ring, sounding a little distant but focused enough to have a conversation.

"Hello there Mister Spades. There's been gold dust everywhere! Frothing up and flying away on the backs of sparrows. The moon is so bright it's to be expected, right?"

I almost forgive you

[youfool]

[He's drawn into the manic talk.]

Interesting omen: precious particles carried by Providence, due to the apogee of Heaven's least sphere, where the inconstant dwell.

That's very fine! But we might be more earthly. Were you up to any business in particular?

[koishi_komeiji]

"Providence has nothing to do with it. Wind and rain and shifts. Funneling down and then bursting up. Pressed clear and hard." She was beaming so it must have been a good thing she was talking about.

"Round and round wandering here and there. Up and down. Side to side." So, no. She wasn't.