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[3.8★] "Too much water" — Yelp Reviewer
It's like a fish tank, but bigger.
The sea is a vast expanse of water that covers 70% of our planet Earth. It is also home to various marine life that dwell within the very depths. Then one day, someone decided to bring the ocean to the surface for Reasons. So now everyone gets the chance to see all sorts of seafaring creatures — man-eating sharks, living fossils, and whatever horrors found deep in the ocean trenches all safely confined inside these oversized aquariums.
Somehow, your character got their hands on some tickets. So why not dive right in and spend some of that free time to hang out with the fishes? Learn something about the ocean, pet a cute penguin, or even plot to free a killer whale. It'll be an experience they won't forget.
This is just an open RP post with a sandbox-like setting. While there's some scenarios premade for your roleplaying needs, you can mess around with it as much or as little as you want. Feel free to use it for voicetesting, create cross-canon shenanigans, or develop a ship even further. You can carry the story over to your musebox if you'd like too. And you can re-use this post as many times as you'd like (until it hits the comment limit.) So bring your blorbos, your originals, your AUs, your friends and your friends' friends along for the fun!
- Comment with your character's name and series in the subject.
- Follow it up with a starter, and state your preferences too.
- Label any warnings when necessary.
- Reply to other characters!
- Most importantly, just don't worry and have fun!
Upon arrival, the attendant greets you as she collects your ticket. She hands over a brochure of the park containing a map, and descriptions of each featured exhibit that you can access. Afterwards she explains some guidelines for you to follow while within the park premises:
- No smoking.
- Don't leave your children unattended.
- Don't tap or slam against the glass.
- Please keep your valuables with you.
- Don't bring food or drinks inside any of the exhibit rooms.
- Use of flash photography is strictly prohibited.
- Ignore the noises coming from the backrooms.
- Keep a safe distance from the pools, otherwise you will get wet.
Once she's done, she slaps a wristband over your arm and gestures to make your way into the main lobby where all of the other visitors are gathered. From here you may begin exploring around the facility on your own, with your partner, or tag along with a tour guide as they show you the way. There's a lot of places to be, and plenty of fish to see!
The Sea-Through Tunnel is the main attraction of the Oceanarium, and the highlight in most advertisements you find about this place. And you now understand why after seeing it up-close.
It is a long glass tunnel that passes through the large indoor aquarium, giving you a glimpse of the wonders of the sea. And like an aquarium, the exhibit presents a near-perfect replication of the seabed and the various kinds of marine life found exclusively under the sea. Though it comes with a few bits and bobs you expect from any fish tank like a shipwrecked galleon or a treasure chest. If you peruse through the brochure, you take note of the description of the tunnel as follows:
Apparently this exhibit is also popular among families and young couples according to the guide that you overheard. They explained how with the vivid blue water, the colorful coral covering the surface, and an assortment of marine life swimming by, certainly all of these make for a perfect backdrop for any special occasion.
"First meetings, reunions, confessions, wedding proposals, you name it!" the tour guide enthused, "What could be more memorable than having a heartfelt moment or two take place underwater and being surrounded by thousands of fish?"
Another popular attraction in the Oceanarium is The Cold Spot, showcasing images and dioramas of wildlife that survive within polar habitats. And to really add to the experience, the temperature in the room is a bit lower than usual. So as the name implies, it does get a little chilly inside.
Though what draws people the most is the large penguin enclosure within the exhibit. It's where guests get to see these dapper-looking birds clumsily waddle around on the snow-covered surface or diving gracefully into the waters of the indoor pool. Many of them are seen idling by either at their nests, the fake rocks, or at the edge of the pool with little concern of their spectators standing behind the glass barrier with fascination and glee.
Then you notice some smaller text at the bottom of the Cold Spot's description.
Other than that, if you're not up to paying for meeting penguins, there are a couple of penguin statues and a photo stand-in of a penguin with its face cut-out so you can pretend to be one just for laughs.
But as it turns out, there was more to it than meets the eye.
Maybe it's something you caught word of before entering the facility, but you heard rumors that there were plans from the staff behind the scenes about getting rid of one of their poorest performers in the bunch. The Oceanarium has a bit of a seedy reputation regarding the welfare of these seafaring mammals, and have even called into question how they handled them in captivity. You don't know what they'll do to that poor creature, and wouldn't want to think the worst of it to happen. Frankly it's not your business to pry, yet you feel you have to do something if any of that is true.
Now driven to save the creature, you and your partner sneak into the backrooms and make an attempt to set it free.
You figured there's a good reason why this exhibit is called The Abyssal Zone, as it is almost pitch black inside upon entering. This makes it impossible to read the brochure in such darkness. And the only sources of light that you could find are the tiny LED lights embedded on the floor to illuminate your path, and the soft eerie blue glow coming from the fish tanks.
Apparently all of the specimens featured here are mostly found within the deepest trenches of the ocean and are highly sensitive to bright lights. That would explain why the attendant from earlier discouraged you to use flash photography. The tour guide mentions how a handful of them are species that have been around since the prehistoric era. They even proudly boast that the Oceanarium seems to be the only marine park that has the rare "Deep Sea Pucker-Faced Lanternfish" in captivity, thought to have been extinct during the Paleocene era. Seeing how these species of fish managed to survive for over millions of years makes you wonder what else could be lurking beneath the depths.
You then take notice of a few fish that seem to be glowing by themselves. One of them at a distance looked rather... humanoid in shape based on the silhouette. Though maybe you're just seeing things.
"...Oh and did you know?" you hear the guide continue, "Some of these fishes are able to produce their own light naturally – mostly to lure in their prey."
Somehow, you're getting the sense that you're being watched by whatever it is behind the glass.
Slight body horror.
Something's wrong.
Your body swiftly jumps and aches as your nerves begin to connect to your sudden awareness. It's like you are weighted down with lead for muscles, your limbs are uncooperative at every attempt. Not only that, but there's an odd sensation coming from your hands and feet like they felt stuck together. And for some reason, it's become a chore to breathe through your throat as you rasp loudly. And as you awake, bright lights glare before your eyes and you immediately shield them away with your hand. And that's the first oddity you've discovered – the skin between your digits are stitched together, webbed like fins of a fish. The second is finding yourself atop an operating table.
A sharp chill takes over you completely.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary before you got here. But whatever reason you have for visiting the Oceanarium, someone had their sights on you and knocked you unconscious when no one's watching. And now you've found yourself in a strange yet horrifying predicament. Everything about you has changed, and you dread how your life will be like from this point onwards. It's become certain that you've regretted ever coming to the park in the first place.
There's no time to think about this any further. There's only one goal in mind right now – You have to get out of here. And you can only hope and pray the people running this place don't catch you if you're spotted.
Had enough excitement for today? It sure seems like it.
Well, your time here in the Oceanarium is finally over. Maybe you got to learn a thing or two about the sea, that you found some appreciation towards our fishy friends. Or maybe you've just decided for yourself that you're going to stay far away from the ocean permanently. Either one of these is a valid response really. Just don't let the staff know about the latter part.
But before you leave, the tour guide encourages everyone to stop by at the gift shop and bring home a souvenir or two for you and your friends. There's Oceanarium-themed keychains, fridge magnets, bottle openers, t-shirts, baseball caps, and even plush toys of critters such as penguins, dolphins, octopi, a legally distinct clownfish, or the pucker-faced lanternfish that you can have as a new companion on your way back out.
Alternatively you can sit back, relax, and grab some bubble tea or try out some fish and chips at the indoor café. Of course there's more options you can choose from in the menu, with some food items specially catered towards those who are either vegan, vegetarian, have specific allergies, or just a really picky eater.
If you're not feeling any of these prompts, or have some other ideas in mind, then go wild!
You can mix and match scenarios or come up with your own. Swap roles where you play the villain and your partner would be the hero or the other way around. You can even expand the setting with new locations, or AU it up and rebuild it into your own version of the setting if you'd like. There's no limits to what your imagination can create. It's free real estate here, and the world is your oyster! (No pun intended.)
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Oh yeah, you mentioned her before. I'm, um, heh... not really good at school either, so I guess we'd have something in common. I think we'd get along, yeah. [Emil's also missing a lot of experiences others his age have, but he doesn't really think about that.]
I don't think you mentioned Van before, though. Who's he?
[That question has Emil blinking in surprise, then frowning in thought.]
I'm... not sure, actually? I've never asked... Maybe it's a hobby of theirs? Or maybe it's to help adventurers? Or... maybe they just like monsters. They sometimes have requests from friendly monsters so maybe that's it...
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He's a good friend of mine, and the owner of Arkride Solutions, which is the business he runs that we help him with - it's similar to the Guild, only not as limited. Sometimes we get requests from the citizens, or even the government or the Guild for help with monster exterminations, investigations and other types of requests. I was his client for several months, since I hired him to help me find all of the Geneses, but now I'm just helping out at his office.
[ Which she was very happy about because there was the quite real fear that once he found all the Geneses with her, she wouldn't have a reason to spend time with him and the others. ]
Truly I'm indebted to him for a lot of reasons, actually.. [ She couldn't even put it in words how much his help and advice had helped her find her own way. ]
It could be all of the above - although I can't help but wonder what kind of requests a monster would make. Let alone that they're capable of doing that, where you're from. I wonder, if monsters could communicate like that back home, if they would do the same..
[ Obviously they would have to make their request when no one was around, or find some way of getting it to Van without being seen by people, since they would immediately be drawing the attention of Bracers that wanted to exterminate them. ]
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[He thinks it might be big if it's similar to a Guild, and also because the only business owner friend he has owns a pretty big company...]
You like him a lot, huh. [Emil observes neutrally, seeing her face when she's talking about Van. The romantic sense of the word doesn't even cross his mind at the moment...]
Um, they send requests like "I've been cursed" or "my friends have gotten sick" or "a bigger monster is threatening me" and stuff like that... I don't know if the monsters in your world would have requests like that. Now that I think about it, all the requests I've gotten from monsters are about conflicts between monsters, never between people and monsters... I guess the Katz wouldn't want to give a human requests like that. But that makes me wonder if even monsters can take requests from them...
[That's an interesting mental image, now that he thinks about it... Maybe monsters have their own monster-only request board somewhere, where monsters ask for help regarding people trying to exterminate them... Emil has a feeling he shouldn't think about that too deeply, or he'll have some kind of a crisis of morality.]
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[ He doesn't get government funding like they do, and hey didn't have the luxury of multiple branches. She looked momentarily caught off guard at the observation, waving a hand hastily. ]
W-well I respect him a great deal, and we've all spent a lot of time together. I've spent a lot of that time watching him, so I've been lucky enough to see all of the effort he puts into his work helping other people, not just me. [ Even when he tried to wave it off with an excuse. ]
Really? Awww...! I feel a little bad for that now.. I guess even monsters aren't without their share of problems. [ Monsters do get pretty territorial with other monsters - maybe the guild where Emil's from handled that sort of thing. But..uh... yeah probably best not to think too hard on it. ]
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[Emil's a bit surprised at Agnès' reaction, before blushing slightly when he realized what he'd said.]
A-ah! Yeah, that's, um, that's what I meant! Wait, you watch him a lot? - I-I mean, nothing strange about that! I watch Richter a lot! I mean, not like that- I mean, it's not like I meant it like that in the first place! [Emil's pitch keeps increasing as he gets more flustered, waving his hands in front of him.]
Y-yeah... [Emil didn't mean to make her feel bad... It's not like he knows what monsters are like in her world. If there's no Lord of Monsters or Katz Guild in Agnès' world, is there anyone who looks after monsters? He hopes there is, but if there isn't...] Um, well... I'm sure the monsters in your world can deal with their business without help from people? I just help them sometimes since I'm the Knight of Ratatosk, so I've got a connection to them... [He did mention that to Agnès before, didn't he? He's pretty sure he did.]
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But for the most part he is a very clever and strong person. He wouldn't offer his services to people if he didn't agree with what they wanted help with. [ And.. Emil is getting REALLY worked up about nothing here! Agnès watched him curiously for a few minutes. ]
... Of course I do. You can learn a lot about people by watching them. ... are you alright? [ Calm down, breathe! ]
Hmmm... I wonder if that is the case. [ Some monsters seemed perfectly happy to keep to themselves, and others ..well, less so. All those attacks on adventurers could simply be because of territorial and habitat disputes. ]
You mentioned that before.. what exactly does that mean, being a Knight of Ratatosk?
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U-um... Sorry. I, uhm... Yeah. If somebody is that impressive, then watching them is the normal thing to do... right? There's somebody I... kind of admire and want to be like, and I want to try and not get in his way, or annoy him, either, so I watch him and pay attention to him a lot... I-it's not like I like him or anything. [
Nobody said you did, Emil...] B-but Van sounds like a great person to work for! I think I'd like to meet him. Maybe... I could learn things from him, too.O-oh, um... A Knight of Ratatosk is somebody who makes a pact with Ratatosk, the Lord of Monsters, to gain his powers. Since I'm a Knight of Ratatosk, I can make pacts with monsters, and, um, fight monsters, too... I'm, um, not really good at fighting, so when I have to fight, Ratatosk's power takes over my body and fights in my stead. My friends call it my "Ratatosk Mode"... And, um, if I ever start acting really unlike myself, then I'm probably in Ratatosk Mode.
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Um... you know that you can watch someone without it meaning anything more... for example, I didn't start watching Van because I liked him. [ That didn't come until much later. ]
I watched him to see how he worked and interacted with other people, to know how I can best support him in combat and during field assignments. It's only to be expected if you're trying to learn from someone, that you would need to observe them.
[ She listened intently to the description of the "Ratatosk mode" thoughtful. ]
How curious.. are you aware of what happens while you're in that mode, or does ..erm.. 'Ratatosk' have full control and you aren't aware of what happens? [ Sounded a little bit like when Mare took Yumé for a joyride, honestly.. ]
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Th-that makes sense... You're so mature, Agnès. [Did that come out of the left field?] U-um, I mean, you're so cool and smart a-and... you say things so confidently, and don't get flustered by things like, um, romance... O-or maybe I'm the one who's immature. [He definitely feels immature, right now...]
Oh, um... I do remember what happens when I'm in Ratatosk Mode, and I can take control back when I really need to... Or, that's how it used to be, but recently, I've had times when I find myself somewhere and don't remember how I got there. I guess it varies...?
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Ahah, I wouldn't go that far. I get flustered by some things too.. and there are still things I need to keep learning. Don't feel too bad about getting flustered, even people in their twenties and older have trouble with that.
[ They just don't admit it. But it's obvious. ]
.. isn't that a little scary, coming back to your senses with no idea how you got there? [ He seemed a little calm about that part, she'd be a lot more worried, herself. ]
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Really...? [Older people always seem so mature to Emil, but maybe he just doesn't know enough people. Then again, even the older people he's friends with have some strange quirks...] That's kind of comforting to hear... Thanks, Agnès. [He gives a little smile.]
Huh? I-I guess it would be? I never really thought that much about it... [Now that he thinks about it, it should probably be scarier than it is. Maybe he should be less calm about it? Emil frowns in thought.] That's strange. I don't really know why it's not scarier than it is. Maybe I'm used to the things I do while I'm in Ratatosk Mode...? But I sometimes get carried away and threaten people while I'm like that, so that shouldn't be comforting...
[The more he thinks about it, the more it starts to actually feel a little scary.]
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I don't think I really said anything that special, but if you feel more comforted, then I'm glad it helped!
[ Always a good thing to be able to comfort someone without even trying. She DOES look increasingly worried at mention of how he experienced this 'Ratatosk mode' though. ]
W-well... if you aren't afraid then that's.. probably okay, but what makes you come out of that mode in the first place? No - actually what makes you go into and out of 'Ratatosk' mode? Is it a feeling of danger or is it something that happens when you go to sleep?
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Unfortunately, he's starting to feel increasingly worried about Ratatosk Mode, too...]
Um, I guess it usually happens if we're in danger? When monsters appear, I go Ratatosk Mode right away, and then go back when the fight is over... But I often also go in Ratatosk Mode when I get really angry, or when somebody is blocking us from going somewhere we need to go, I guess. Those times are the most troublesome... But I usually go back to normal after I've calmed down. Marta often helps me with that.
U-um... Do you... think it might be dangerous to go Ratatosk Mode? Or that there's something bad about it... [Because Emil's starting to think something might be wrong with it, with how many questions Agnès is asking, and his own doubts...]
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Well.. I don't think it's anything bad, per se, especially if you're trying to protect your friends, but... how do they feel about it? Do they feel like they should be worried? [ They were around Emil far more than Agnes, and as concerning as what he was telling her sounded - they would know better, right? ]
Although it may be impolite of me to say, I would suggest finding a way of controlling your anger a little better, so that you wouldn't feel it necessary to go into 'Ratatosk mode', since those moments are troublesome for you. I'm sure your friends can help you with that. [ Particularly Marta, since she probably knew him the longest. ]
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Emil's friends do have concerns over Ratatosk Mode, but they don't bring them up to Emil himself, so he's unaware for now.]
Controlling my anger... I don't feel like I'm angry a lot, though. Maybe that's why I go Ratatosk Mode when I do get angry... Oh, um, it's a good idea! I'll bring it up with the others, maybe we'll figure something out!
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That may be so, but that doesn't mean an enemy may not have good advice, so disregarding everything they say is not terribly feasible. Just take it with a grain of salt. [ Heaven knows they were nudged in the right direction sometimes by Ouroboros - even if she wasn't sure how to feel about that. Either they were going to kill them or help them, PICK ON. Preferably the Help option. ]
Do you feel frustrated often? It may not necessarily be outright anger, but just little things that start to build up until they just burst out of you all at once. [ HRm. While he didn't seem the sort to get angry, his habit of apologizing all the time almost felt like he was bullied a lot, which could contribute to some resentment that he never managed to work through. ]
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Frustrated... [Emil frowns, thinking about it.] I guess sometimes, yeah. Not that much these days. [Back in the days when he was regularly bullied, things were definitely more frustrating. Now, he's got friends that listen to him even when they don't agree on something.] Most of the time, I feel like I get angry for good reasons, though. So it's not like I want to not end up in Ratatosk Mode at times like that... I wonder if there's a good balance.
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I think there would be a good balance .. I think everything has a balance to it, if you're careful. [ But that was definitely something on a more personal level that he and his friends would have to sort out. She couldn't really speak to the Ratatosk situation more than she already had, since that felt like she weas being presumptuous and overstepping. ]
Like any power or ability, I think it's important not to let yourself get overwhelmed and be used by it out of convenience.
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Yeah, I guess balance is important... Finding the right balance is probably hard.
[Being used by his ability... That does sound awful. "Like any power or ability, I think it's important not to let yourself get overwhelmed and be used by it out of convenience." Emil decides to try and remember that phrase, to remind himself of the importance of not overwhelming himself, of not overusing any powers. Maybe he can help other people if he borrows Agnès' words, too. He can already think of one other person who feels burdened by his own powers...
Oh, he's getting ahead of himself. He should be thinking of how to apply Agnès' words to his own powers, how to not let himself be used by them.]
Maybe... instead of trying to hold back on getting angry, I should try and figure out why I've started to forget what I've done in Ratatosk Mode? I don't know how I'd do that, but maybe Tenebrae could help... Oh, um, Tenebrae's a servant of Ratatosk who helped me make the pact with Ratatosk in the first place, since Ratatosk was asleep and all. He's taught me everything I know about using my powers.
[You could say Tenebrae is something like Emil's Mare, if Emil knew who Mare was (and if Mare popped up to make stupid jokes or tease people constantly).]
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[ She looked thoughtful for a moment, frowning a little. ]
I think that is definitely a good place to start. Personally I wouldn't be comfortable having such gaps in my memory, so I can't imagine how you must feel. [ Of course, if he never thought about that as she suspected - he seemed to be a 'go with the flow and worry about it later' type? Which admittedly worried her a bit. ]
Oh! In that case, Tenebrae must know something - or at least, he should be able to help you in terms to find out what might have happened. [ She'd be a little worried that Tenebrae just wasn't telling Emil something, and if that was the case, what was he hiding, and why. But she didn't want Emil to get paranoid and start doubting someone who was an ally. ]
[sorry for the late tag!]
I mean, it's not like I'm comfortable with it. I just never really thought about it before. But... maybe it's not really that big of a deal... Ratatosk Mode is a lot stronger than me, and a lot more confident than me... I don't mind leaving things to him sometimes. [Emil's definitely the type to worry a lot, he just
has a mental block preventing him from thinking about certain things too deeplydoesn't feel this is that dangerous.]Yeah, I think I'll ask Tenebrae about it when I see him! Though, he does sometimes like to get cryptic about things and not give straight answers... I think he thinks it's funny. I'm sure he'll answer honestly if I tell him it's important, though. [
He won't, Agnès is totally right to suspect him :D]No problem!
Um.. well if you feel that strongly about it, I suppose it isn't a problem. [ Until it is. ]
Ahah, I know the type of person who does that - never giving straight answers, I mean. [ Mare, half of Ouroboros.. ]
But you're right, I'm sure he'll be up front with you when you make it clear you aren't joking. [ Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuure he will. She at least hopes for Emil's sake, that is the case. ]
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Emil, that's counterproductive...] I-I mean... nevermind. It's no problem.Oh, you too? [Oh boy, can he commiserate with Agnès about this? Emil smiles.] Eheh... It can get a bit annoying, right? The kind of person that'll drop big information that changes everything out of nowhere like it's nothing, but when you're actually asking, it's like, [Emil goes for a deeper, smug voice:] "Fufufufu... I wonder."
I hope so... [He's got low expectations, but Tenebrae can be kind too, so maybe...?]
((ooc: Emil, please don't talk yourself into going "my memory loss and loss of control over my body is no problem because I don't want to annoy people by talking about it," what are you doinggg... *facepalm*))
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though nowhere NEAR as bad as Emil, but she had been able to grow out of a lot of that. Emil just needed the same support and opportunities to stand on his own feet the way she did. ]Ahah, that's actually a pretty good comparison. One of our friends likes to be that cryptic too, and I know we all would wish she just be up front with what she might now. It.. would make things much less difficult in the end. [
..as much as I like the chaos gremlin : Friggin Shizuka and her friggin OP crypticness lol]I think in part some enjoy watching people scramble to piece together information, and in part they're bound not to be completely up front, so all they can do is leave the equivalent of breadcrumbs to nudge people along the right path to an answer. [ She's probably closer than most on that one. STILL it was annoying. Although the 'fufu I wonder' was pretty unhelpful. ]
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[Oh, his Tenebrae impression got a laugh! Emil is very pleased at his success. (He kind of misses Marta and the way she'd join in on the complaints and Tenebrae impressions at times like this, but it's not like he'd expected Agnès to do that. The mental image he suddenly gets of Agnès doing so makes him hold in a laugh, though.)]
Bound to not be completely up front? You mean, sworn to secrecy or something? [Emil frowns, thoughtful.] Huh... I wonder if there's something binding Tenebrae. Since he's a servant of Ratatosk, maybe he's supposed to keep some things about his powers a secret or something...? You'd think he'd be more helpful since we're trying to revive Ratatosk, though...
Still, Tenebrae's not a bad person or anything, so I don't think he'd keep secrets if it was something important for me to know, unless he had to... Since he's smart, I think he'd leave breadcrumbs like those.
[
chaos gremlin is a good description for Shizuna XD So annoying yet so cool...](no subject)
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2/2 [ratatosk time]
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yay I'm back! I missed everything ;o;! XD
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