kaisou | i'm right here

i'm right here

WHO: Luke and YOU!
WHERE: Network & Meropide
WHEN: Late March
WHAT: Luke fon Fabre Fucks Around and also Finds Out
WARNINGS: None ATM

[Network]

[Asch said that the network was the place to ask, so here he is.]

Hey, I got this cool looking rock at that weird shop the other day. Does anybody know what it does?

[Attached is a picture of a pyro vision.]

[That's it, that's the post.]

[Around the Fortress]

[Luke is nobody if not the person who thinks his brother is the coolest in the world (tm), even subconsciously. So whatever Asch does he also has to do, even if it's as simple as going to Meropide. Plus it's an underground fortress, that's pretty cool, right?]

[So here's this college kid, absolutely in awe at being underwater. He's staring, he's gaping. He's coming up to you.]

How does this place even work?

[And asking so many questions.]

[Canteen]

[A college student's favorite food group is free, and Luke is no exception. Even if his parents are loaded.]

[Unfortunately (or fortunately) for Luke, he rolls the most typical meal you can think of. Pizza. As someone who went to public school, he is so very whelmed.]

Y'know, I expected something more exciting than Cafeteria food.

[It's just like being back in High school.]

[The crust is burnt and everything.]

[Find Out Alley]

[He has to know.]

[He has to know.]

[Luke has found himself at the entrance to the alley. Ahead of him is a sign that says 'beware of Tiger.' He is curious. He is concerned. He is Luke Waldorf, so make of that what you will.]

There's no way they're serious, right?

[Misc]

[Or meet him anywhere else! If your character was one of the ones who ambushed him (affectionate), he's probably looking for them specifically and will pull them aside.]

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[ well
luke has at least found the Right person. Wriothesley looks at the other sort of... amusedly as he approaches and questions him, his arms crossing comfortably over his chest. ]

That's too broad a question. That's like walking into a grocery store and asking what kind of food it sells.

If you want to ask about the fortress, let's narrow that line of questioning a little. What do you want to know?

[Sorry, Wrio, you have a curious teenager on your hands. He has so many questions and you are a person of authority.]

I mean, like, how come it doesn't flood? I thought supervillain hideouts were only in comics and stuff.

[Ragna really ought to be on bed rest, but he spent the past three fucking weeks in a hospital bed if he doesn't do something he'll lose his goddamned mind. So fuck it, he'll swing by the Fortress just to see how things are over there.

So as Luke is in awe about how the place works, he might just bump into a now one-armed man sporting a Cool Rock(tm) not too different from his. You know what else he's sporting, though?]

Watch where you're going.

[yep, bitchiness.]

Hey, it wasn't on purpose!

[Luke wants to get very tiny kitten aggro right now, but something stops him. He notices that vision.]

[This will end well. This can only end well.]

Oh, hey, you have one too!

Well, pay more fucking attention then. You're lucky no one here's gonna fuck with you, you look up that much in a big city and you get fucking robbed.

[Says the man who has probably robbed people in European Tourist Attractions to pay for Hostels.

Ragna looked around a bit to see what "one" he also had, then realized and pulled forward the vision he had hanging behind his waist.]

Have what, this? I've had it for a while.

[If Luke was smarter, he’d listen to what Ragna said and connect the dots. But he isn’t (2), he’s just good at dropping his wallet.]

Hey, I’m not that distracted!

[He is.]

Do you know what it is? I asked my brother, but he had no idea.

I have one arm and I could have robbed you blind if I really wanted. That's how much you were gawking at everything but your surroundings, idiot.

[Unfortunately losing that arm didn't make Ragna less of an arse. Well, maybe a little since he is in essence telling Luke to be more careful but he's being an Arse About It.

And at least being useful with information.]

It's called a Vision. With enough practice it'll let you use magic drawn from whatever element it shows. The one I've got is Electro.

[It's also a manifestation of his dreams and ambition but something tells him this kid won't pick up on what that means if told.]

[Well.

This is awkward.

Ash takes about two minutes to debate if it's really a good idea to continue on his semi-frequent trip down to his cryptid siblings' underwater cul de sac with lunch before deciding it's gotta happen at some point so it might as well happen now.]

C'mon, Lil Boo.

[The little Bangboo in a leather jacket bounces a little, mindful of the drink carrier before following Ash.

To Luke:]

Hey. Didn't expect to see you down here.

[Luke is, technically, still a teenage boy.]

[And unfortunately, that means he is prone to say the first thing that comes to mind. Even if he it is rude. Even if every person around him will look at him like "there's no way you just said that?"]

Oh hey, you're the blonde asshole!

[THAT IS NOT A THING YOU SAY]

[He looks at the Bangboo. Friend shaped!]

Oh, hey, one of these things! My sister has one. 'Ts cute.

[Ash just sort of gives Luke a Look. Lil Boo waves.]

Okay, just because I'm blond and an asshole doesn't mean you get to call me that, dude. The hell?

Well, you didn’t tell me your name. [Luke you had a headache.]

What am I supposed to call you?

You kinda started getting a migraine before I could actually introduce myself. Ashley, tend to go by Ash, though.

[He does not normally start with his actual first name, but...eh.]

The Bangboo is Lil Boo.

[You know what's really boring? Hanging around the alley all the time because of the Fae making people sing is really boring. As such, when Luke comes down to the Alley, he'll happen to find Jun's newest attempt at entertaining himself.

Naming, seeing what happens if he dangles cat toys in front of the very real tiger that's in the alley way.

True little sibling behavior. And fortunately, he seems engrossed enough in this activity that he doesn't notice Luke coming in- probably for the best, since it'll keep him from teleporting. ]

[As it happens, Tigermasa seems largely unimpressed by the toys. He even yawns at some point. However, the second Jun gets the brilliant idea to try hiding the feather toy part of the cat wand under a spare blanket?

Oh, suddenly the tiger is concerningly interested.

His yellow eyes go wide and he suddenly shifts his body as he stares intently at the Thing that is Hiding From Him in the ~~bush~~ blanket. Harumasa tenses up as his head moves with the back and forth motion of the toy.

And then he pounces on it. All nearly 700 pounds of pure cat lands on top of the hidden feather toy and he bites clean through the blanket. To say nothing of how his claws go through it like tissue paper. Hopefully... nobody likes this blanket....]

[Sorry, Jun, Luke has no chill. Absolutely no chill. None.]

[He is so, so stupid.]

Holy shit, that's an actual tiger!

[Nothing else matters, there is a tiger.]

[That sure is in fact, an actual tiger.

Not that Jun seems to be particularly scared himself. When Haru pounces, Jun will move out of the way with his fast reflexes, giggling in delight that he finally got his brother to react. He then reaches over to playfully pet the tiger's head, like this is a dog or cat and not a giantass tiger]

[-- And then, he hears Luke's voice from behind him.

He wasn't expecting anyone to come this way, and he definitely wasn't expecting Luke if anyone did. So it's enough to make him make a startled sound, his wolf ears popping up, as he turns his head to see Luke standing there.

Oh. This is not good. He doesn't even have his phone on him right now to do text-to-speech and he does not want to do telepathy on this guy in case it triggers another headache.

So instead he's going to look like a deer in the headlights for a moment. Yeah. That seems like the best plan. ]

[Harumasa makes grumbling tiger noises as Jun pets him, but he'll still lean into the affection. The dogs are right. Getting pet is amazing.

Hearing Luke exclaim about the tiger, he turns to look behind him and yes that tiger is bleping. He doesn't seem surprised or startled, at least. Noticing that Jun is now a deer in headlights, Harumasa decides to save his little brother.]

Yep, I'm a tiger!

[A tiger that can talk.]

[Luke recognizes Jun. From Varian’s pictures, of course, and absolutely nowhere else. Where else would they have met before? Don’t be silly.]

[He’s this close to saying something when Tigermasa speaks. No way. No freaking way.]

It talks? You have a talking tiger?

[Officially the coolest thing he’s ever seen.]

[... Dear lord Luke.

You know what, okay, deer in the highlights is done. He's going to go reach over to grab his phone and type out words for the text-to-speech AI to read out]

I don't HAVE a tiger. He's my brother.

[This is the funniest thing Harumasa has ever encountered as a tiger. He needs to know how far they can take this since it seems like Luke doesn't know it's Harumasa right now.]

I'm his tiger brother! Soul-bound companions after being bestowed upon him from the "Goodwill."

[Honestly, it's amazing how quick he can come up with these things.]

[...Oh. Well. This is awkward. The tall man with his own plate full of sauteed vegetables looks a little sheepish as he glances over to Luke's meal.]

I admit it's not my best recipe. The crust is trickier than it seems.

[Luke is only 19, and that means that he has no idea how the world actually works.]

[He’d always assumed the school cafeteria just spontaneously produced meals. There were lunch ladies, sure, but they existed to serve the meals and make sure the cafeteria was running. He never considered somebody had to actually make the food.]

Whoa! You made this?

[He feels kind of bad, but also impressed.]

[Maxima smiles at Luke's surprise, and nods, gesturing to his own plate as well.]

All of the food from Meropide's cafeteria is prepared by the residents. Most of us take a turn in the kitchen at some point, and nothing goes to waste - although some of us are certainly more skilled at cooking than others.

[Varian is leaving his and Jun's room as he clocks Luke staring at their sign. Well. He supposes it was only a matter of time before he showed up here. Especially after Asch's little display. He hopes this isn't going to go immediately South.]

Oh, the sign is serious. We have a tiger.

[He says it in a dry way it's hard to tell if he's joking or not. He raises a hand in greeting. ]

Hey, Luke. How're you feeling?

[Listen, this won't go south!!!]

[At least, not for the same reason that Asch's meeting did, anyway.]

[Luke meant to apologize, but suddenly he is very distracted. Very, very distracted.]

Wait, you have a tiger!? How come you never told me?

[Yeah, he's fine.]

[ Look, their last talk went pretty south! And it brought an Order member to their door! It was concerning!!

Varian makes a soft, amused sound. ]

Well, I didn't think it was pertinent to you learning trigonometry. He's not always a tiger, if it helps.

Tigers are always relevant!

[He looks at Tigermasa again. Not always being a tiger would make it worse if Luke had the slightest impulse to understand what that actually meant.]

Hey, can I, uh, pet him?

Not more relevant than math!

[Varian glanced down at the sleeping tiger-in-law, then at Luke. ]

...I don't know, man. Don't ask me, ask him. I'm not his keeper.

It's called a vision, or 'The eyes of god'. Given yours is red, I'll assume it's fire aligned.

Does that answer your question?

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i'm right here

[ Around the Fortress ]

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Find Out Alley

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The Alley (+ Harumasa)

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1/2

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Canteen

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The Alley

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[Network]