@jtodd, text

[mind_blown]

long shot but
anyone find a key recently?

Comments

[evulsed]

Too late.

[mind_blown]

remember these three words:
location, location, location

[evulsed]

Maybe you should be more worried about what you might be letting out.

[mind_blown]

bold of you to assume i care either way

[evulsed]

[ now this is a tune Vanitas likes to hear ]

You're almost interesting sometimes.

[mind_blown]

aw.
that's practically fawning, coming from you.
i'm touched.

[evulsed]

Don't get used to it.

[mind_blown]

already over it.
stop being picky.

[evulsed]

No.

:)

[equinoctials]

He's coming with me.

[mind_blown]

that's fine
if i couldn't handle a little maniacal asshole by now
what am i even doing?

[equinoctials]

If you actually want my help, watch your mouth.

[mind_blown]

meet me at the docks.

also, is that a request to keep the conversation pg? or you trying to stand up for your friend?

[evulsed]

The docks? You can't think of a better place?

[mind_blown]

... where do you want to meet, vanitas

[equinoctials]

Knock it off.
The church. We can walk some distance and talk in private.

[mind_blown]

works.
i'll see you there.

[evulsed]

:)

THE CHURCH... ok so outside it w/e

[equinoctials]

[ Depending on who gets there first, Jay either hears an electric bike approach, or just finds one parked near the church, and the two Keyblade wielders disembarking or hanging around. Riku is dressed in jeans that look like he might have slept in them, as well as a gray hoodie and dark boots. Over the hoodie he's wearing a black bomber jacket.

His scarf, a deep blue with bright highlighter yellow embroidery on one end, is the only splash of color. Something about Riku's eyes seems tired, but who isn't. The long dark does a number on your sleep sometimes. ]

He helped him. [ Riku says to Vanitas, as if the continuation of a conversation: ] I owe him this much.

[mind_blown]

[ he's a little slower, operating on foot. but he catches the tail end of that, and. well. sighs. it isn't much of a stretch to guess who the "he" is, in this case.

so, he should probably assume Bruce will know as soon as they finish this conversation. Which, fine. He put it out there for everyone to see. He definitely would have noticed. So, he'll just set that aside, pretend he didn't hear it. it wasn't his conversation to hear in the first place. ]

Looks like everyone's here now.

So, I'll cut straight to the chase: Peter and I found an entrance into the sewers, and a gate that won't open inside of them. I'm not exactly new at getting past mystery gates in sewers, but this one couldn't be lockpicked for some reason.

[evulsed]

[ Vanitas seems, as ever, at odds with the world around him. He always seems to juxtapose the people around him. There are still fireworks going off the the distance, the spirits creating mild havoc in their wake. Riku, at his side, looks in some ways diminished— fatigued, or something else.

If Vanitas is aware, he certainly isn't telling; but there's a sharpness about him. As though Riku's elevated negativity has fed right into Vanitas himself. Like he's a spring loaded trap ready to snap closed at any moment. ]

Who do you think was with him before?

[ Vanitas drawls, but there's no venom to it, not the way there may have been before. He turns, angles himself toward Jason when he appears. Under his black beanie his hair is pressed down, making his yellow eyes even brighter. The venom that wasn't aimed at Riku seems, instead, to be redirected toward Jason. ]

Why were you dumping around in the sewers?

Maybe the spirits don't want you to go sticking your nose into what isn't your business.

[equinoctials]

[ Riku knows about Vanitas and his involvement in Bruce's rescue and protection during the recent siege. In proper, perhaps universe-specific, fashion, he had to expositionalize a little about his motivations.

As Vanitas seems amped up and keen, Riku is subdued - which isn't all that unusual these last few months in particular - he's focused and grounded. ]

That changes things.

Someone probably locked that for a reason. I'm not afraid to check it out, but I don't think this is something we should do without preparing for the worst.

[ He means a proper exploration team, with bonfire torches, and ideally-- ] I'd feel a lot better if we had a backup plan to seal the sewers if whatever ends up on the other side of that gate turns out to be a big problem.

[mind_blown]

I can take care of that. [ because it was his idea in the first place. ] Just need a month to get the parts from Rastus. [ his first actual request ]

Unless someone's got a bomb laying around. The tunnel's not unstable, but it won't take much to knock it down either.

[ he gives Vanitas a cursory look, raising his eyebrows. He sees you buddy. He sees what you are trying to do, and he's long past the point in his life where he feels the need to engage with that. the magic of learning coping skills means sometimes he can actually focus on what he set out to do. he looks back towards Riku.

he doesn't necessarily agree with the idea that this requires a full exploration team, but he doesn't think this is the hill he wants to die on. if this goes bad, more chances to fix.. or more people dead. It's a balance, and not one he really cares to make a strong decision on. ]

However you wanna handle it, I'm fine with that. But given that the spirits watch the network, it's going to need to be kept off of the public spaces, at least.

[evulsed]

You're too cautious.

[ He says it like he's disregarding Riku's opinion, flippant almost— but unlike the rest of his social circle, he's never been the planner. Vanitas is the rabid dog pointed in the direction destruction is required.

He needles Jason about his nosiness, that this could be dangerous, but even if it released some dark horror Vanitas still doesn't really care about the well being of Beacon at large. He has less than a handful of people he's become invested in, but he can leave or take the rest. ]

Would you rather wait for all your friends to know and turn up and get caught in the cross fire?

[ He says this to Riku, who between the three of them, certainly has more friends than he or Jason. His attention comes back around. ]

Show me. Bringing down the tunnel will be child's play.

[equinoctials]

...

[ Riku doesn't like the idea of putting his friends in danger, likes even less the idea of one of them trapping themselves in the sewers with whatever might be down there. But the people he trusts most to have his back and effectively deal with challenges also tend to be in his more intimate circle of associations. ]

I've already got one here.

[ He presses his elbow and forearm against the back of Vanitas's shoulder, shoving at him. ]

I agree we can't rely on the network. Let's stop by the bonfire and ask for some torches first.