madduck: (mad duck)
mukkuru ([personal profile] madduck) wrote in [community profile] fourside2025-09-01 12:35 am
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[3.8★] "Too much water" — Yelp Reviewer

 
THE OCEANARIUM
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.

➤ What is this?

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!

➤ How to play:
  • 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!
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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!

A Watery Wonderland
Location: Sea-Through Tunnel
 

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:

...The Oceanarium™ has even transplanted seaweed, anemones, giant clams and all from the Pacific and Atlantic depths to really nail in the accuracy of their natural habitat. It's the best place to find sharks, stingrays and other fascinating seafaring creatures from behind the glass without having to dive deep into the ocean itself. So you don't have to worry about that pesky thalassophobia kicking in!

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?"

Close Encounters of the Penguin Kind
Location: The Cold Spot
 

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.

If you're hoping to get a close look of these birds, then lucky for you! For a phenomenally nominal fee, you can feed and pet them at your leisure within the exhibit.* Watch as these little guys will start swarming around you to observe and hope to get some fish out of your hands.

Then you notice some smaller text at the bottom of the Cold Spot's description.

* – The Oceanarium™ will not be held responsible for the animals' behavior, and any injuries or losses gained from them will not be compensated for as per agreement in the terms and conditions written in your waiver. Please take caution when interacting with these animals.

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.

Operation: Free Willy
Location: Aquatheater
 

Built for family-friendly entertainment, this area is an enriching experience for both you and our finned friends in captivity. The Aquatheater is made to hold more than a hundred guests to view over the stage – a large oval pool where our handlers hold the highly-anticipated marine show featuring our highly trained cetaceans and pinnipeds performing the most captivating acts of acrobatics in and over water.

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.

Submerged in Shadow
Location: The Abyssal Zone
 

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.

Deep Fear
Location: Basement-Level Research Laboratory
 

⚠️ Content Warning ⚠️
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.

Relaxed, Refreshed & Resurfaced
Location: Gift Shop & Café
 

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.

Wildcard!
Location: Anywhere
 

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.)

 
octogenesis: (Thinking)

[personal profile] octogenesis 2025-09-22 03:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Agnès would think Emil would have been fine too! ..er.. Eventually! Sure he might struggle at first - anyone with no wilderness skills would - but he'd learn how to survive and become stronger for it! Or fail miserably and become food for the next predator... it's the Circle of Life(tm)! ]

Right... Pon was a wild animal first, after all... although that rule should apply to any animal. I don't think there would be so many homeless animals on the street if people would simply keep that in mind.

[ Luckily the strays back home were well taken care of even if they weren't able to be taken in, but she still felt a little bad. ]

Actually...hmm. [ She had to think about that for a moment, temporarily forgetting about the shark. ]

I don't know. I don't think movies have to have a message all of the time. Their purpose is to entertain the people who go to them, or to share information in the case of historical documentaries. Messages about what's right or wrong should be left to the people raising the children in question. If you watch a movie where in the story, someone sets a house on fire or murders someone, it shouldn't be the movie's responsibility to tell you that it's wrong, right? That's something that a person should already know, if they're raised correctly.

In this particular case, I think they just wanted to tell a cute story about a boy and his friendship with a monster. Most people already know that monsters can be dangerous, and any interaction with them should be done with close supervision.

Although... [ She was a little worried though now that he mentioned it, actually. ]

Children though. they might want to go make a monster friend and end up getting hurt after seeing that movie. Not that it would be the movie's fault of course..! Ahah, still, I think that the local police and Bracers are probably keeping an eye out to be safe.

[ Most of the kids who saw that movie would know better at least. ]

onewithinratatosk: (e: huh?)

[personal profile] onewithinratatosk 2025-09-22 06:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[To be honest, Emil kind of finds it sad, the idea that he'd have been better off living in the wilderness than among other people... He'd rather believe he'd have died in the wilderness, eaten by monsters. (Realistically, he probably would've survived.)

Emil nods at Agnès' thoughts, she's making good points. Parents should be the ones teaching children right from wrong. Emil's parents... must've done that, right? Yes, he's sure they taught him well. (Meanwhile, the shark swims off. Emil doesn't notice.)]


Yeah, that's true. I guess stories should be for more than just a message, but a lot of stories for little kids do have messages... But if they just wanted to tell a cute story, wouldn't it have a happier ending? Maybe it's a mix of both a cute story and a warning... But since I haven't seen it, I guess you'd know better.

Yeah, you can't underestimate what kids can get up to... Actually, I once ended up saving a kid that got eaten by a monster. He was totally fine, but he said he'd come back and told me to come save him if he gets eaten again... [Emil sighs with a comedic sweatdrop.] I really didn't know what to even say to that... I hope his parents gave him a talk about going to dangerous places.

[Police and Bracers? Emil's pretty sure police are something like town guards, but...] Um... By the way, what are Bracers?
octogenesis: (pic#17771781)

[personal profile] octogenesis 2025-09-22 07:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She would have thought it was sadder to prefer thinking that one would end up as food, than survive. Which would in turn make the people left behind sad! ]

Maybe... but it didn't do a very good job of being a warning. Unless.. [ She thought for a few minutes again. ]

Unless the warning was to not judge someone or jump to conclusions. To think through the entire scenario before making a snap judgement .. I think that's the closest. If Nicolas had taken in his surroundings before reacting, he would have seen that Pon was plowing the field, and could have praised him and encouraged him to do good.

[ She stared at Emil for a second. ]

Eaten..? [ Not just bitten, but eaten...? H O W. ]

It's sweet that he felt he could count on you to rescue him, but aha.. I do hope there isn't going to be a second time. [ What if.. what if Emil wasn't around the second time? No, she didn't even want to think about that. Better to hope there isn't a second time. ]

Oh? Oh! Yes, well, are you familiar with police officers? [ Probably not, actually.. ]

Well, like police officers, they're an organization of individuals tasked to assist the citizenry with various requests within the law. They cooperate with the police and the government -- or at least they're supposed to. Where I'm from, there's a little hostility between the government, police and bracer factions at times. Only the police are required to remain in the city, and primarily take their orders from the government, while the Bracers are free to travel outside of their territory and prioritize protection of the citizens most of all.

[ To various degrees of competency - though she can't really blame their branch completely. They were stretched thing and fairly lacking in numerous areas, but they did their best with what they had! ]

The group I'm working for is like that as well, only...um. We're a little more flexible with what we're able to do. We have the right to refuse requests from anyone, but unlike the Bracer Guild and the police, we're not funded by anyone and we have to make our money by charging our clients fees.

[ Leaning heavily on the law without breaking it, for example, but she's not going to mention that part to Emil, ahah. ]
onewithinratatosk: (e: wince)

[personal profile] onewithinratatosk 2025-09-22 10:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[Unfortunately, at that point in his life, Emil had nobody around him who seemed like they'd be sad to see him die... If he could've survived in the wilderness, what was the point of spending all those months living in the town where everyone hated him? That's why he'd rather believe that the town was his only choice.]

Yeah, that makes sense. If Nicolas had given Pon the benefit of doubt, then things would've turned out much different. They were friends, after all... Pon broke his trust once, but whether you trust someone or not, you should look at the facts yourself before leaping into action. [...This story just keeps veering uncomfortably close to things from Emil's life. Maybe Emil should be watching movies and plays with a message to teach kids, because he might need to learn some of these things himself.]

Yeah, eaten whole. [Emil nods with a mildly pinched expression. He doesn't know either, and he doesn't want to know.] I really hope there won't be a second time, too... [Unfortunately, it's a repeatable sidequest.]

[Emil nods, even though he's only vaguely familiar with the police officer concept! Bracers do sound different, though. It seems a bit complicated, but he gets the idea.]

So they travel around the world to help people for a living...? That sounds really nice... I kind of wish we had something like that in our world, too.

[But when Agnès describes what her group does, Emil's face lights up with recognition, especially when she mentions the word "guild."]

Oh! That's... actually kind of similar to what we do sometimes! The Katz Guild have a questboard of requests from people who need help, with rewards like money and items. Saving the kid that got eaten was one of those requests, actually... B-but anyway, we make some money and help people on the side by doing that. But it's more of a side thing than our job, we're not part of a guild or anything...

So, um... maybe the Katz Guild is similar to the Bracer Guild, but instead of completing requests themselves, they only gather the requests and offer them to adventurers? And when we take a request, they transport us to where we're supposed to go. But they also do various other things, like taking care of monsters I leave with them and offering a kitchen we can use to cook and feed the monsters with... They're, um, they're mysterious people. [Which is putting it lightly...]
octogenesis: (Ehehe)

[personal profile] octogenesis 2025-09-23 04:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Well now he's got his girlfriend(???) Marta so he can put those silly ideas out of his head! ]

I suppose a lot of people have trouble trusting, once its broken, but I think people - even monsters and animals - should be given a second chance, depending on the circumstance, especially if they're really putting in that effort.

The Guilds are mostly based in their own countries - there's one in just about every major city, or large village, so for the most part they might handle only local requests, but when the guilds are short staffed, or if its a fairly major situation, they'll request assistance from the other branches. For the most part, there isn't much need for them to travel out of the country that often.

[ She's thoughtful a moment. ]

It seems like your Katz Guild does quite a bit more than the Bracer Guild - the Bracers don't tend to monsters, of course, but there is someone in the guild who collects requests, and pin them to the bulletin board - but the Bracers themselves are the ones to complete the requests. If anyone were to want to take on a mission, they would themselves have to be a Bracer registered to that Guild branch.. and as far as I'm aware, it's the Bracer's responsibility to arrange their own transportation, though if there are problems that they encounter along the course of the request, then they would have to speak with their guild representative. I think. I'm not a Bracer so I may be wrong, but I do know a few.
onewithinratatosk: (e: huh?)

[personal profile] onewithinratatosk 2025-09-23 06:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[Maybe one day, she'll reach girlfriend status! But yeah, Emil's in a better place now.]

Yeah... After someone betrays your trust... [Emil trails off, then winces with a sudden headache. It fades almost as fast as it appeared, leaving him blinking in confusion. Huh... It almost felt like he was remembering something big. What was he saying, again...? He looks a bit distracted, unfocused, as he keeps talking.] Uh... i-it's hard to trust after that, I guess? But, if it's someone you really care about, trusting is... natural. I guess I wouldn't really know about that... [Nobody's really betrayed him that badly, right...? Yeah, they haven't.]

[He listens carefully to the explanation, mentally comparing the different guilds in his head.]

I see... Not that much travelling, then. I guess they're more like local guards, but with a bigger... network? So they can get other towns' guards to help them if needed.

I guess... they're similar guilds in some ways, but it sounds like the Bracers are more organized? The Katz really only have one person in most of the places they work in. Every town and city I've been to has one, but I also find them in places like mountains and temples and so on... Places with a lot of monsters around. Now that I think about it, I wonder how they get around places like that without the monsters attacking them... I guess they can teleport, but still.

[ ooc: gotta dig in to some of my headcanons about the Katz ^^; ]
octogenesis: (Lookin dis way)

[personal profile] octogenesis 2025-09-24 01:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Until then, she'll root for you Marta! But right now, Agnès paused at the way Emil trailed off, tilting her head. ]

... I ... suppose. [ That was weird, right? Was she maybe imagining things? ] At least I hope it never does happen for you.

It happened once, for me, but the situation was ...complicated. [ And he DID make up for it in the end, so she wasn't going to hold it against him. ]

Mmm, yeah, I guess you can call them that. [ Kinda. Sorta. She wasn't going to get hung up on the details when she wasn't certain of the intricacies of the various guilds anyway. ..she might be a little biased given how poorly they treated her friend even if it was out of their own jealousy though. ]

Only one? You mean one building the way the Guild has one building per city, not just one person though, ... right? [ Imagine the insane amount of paper and leg work a poor Katz person would have to do if that were the case! Well if they can teleport that was probably less of a problem, but still..! ]

[ ooc: Heheee, digging into headcanon to fill out lore is fun though! :D ]
onewithinratatosk: (Default)

[personal profile] onewithinratatosk 2025-09-24 09:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[Emil definitely seems to be acting normal again, so it was probably nothing!]

Yeah, I hope so, too. [Emil frowns as he thinks about the subject a bit more.] I, um... I guess something like that happened to me too, but it was complicated... I mean, the person was our enemy, and even though I thought... still think of him as a friend, he's got his own goals that go against ours, and he warned me beforehand that we'd be enemies, so... I can't think of it as a betrayal. It... still hurt, though.

Um... what kind of a complicated situation was yours? If... you don't mind telling me, I mean...

[The Katz and paperwork are a strange combination, but realistically, they probably do have to fill some...?]

No, it's just one person. Um, sometimes they have a desk. [Emil says this straightforwardly like it's normal.] They've got a... sort of a space for their services elsewhere, something like a ranch with a kitchen and space for the monsters to live in, and they just teleport us there when we want to use it. [Katz are weird as hell.]

[ ooc: yep! Trying to figure out how some things would work in practice is pretty fun. Also! I just finished Daybreak 2 today! Definitely looking forward to the sequel :D ]
octogenesis: (memories)

[personal profile] octogenesis 2025-09-24 10:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Well... it definitely wasn't the same as what you went through.. [ So there's that at least? ]

But we have worked with people who were technically our enemy [ HUGE question mark there, Ouroboros was really neither good nor truly evil but operated on their own agenda - even if some of the things they did were mighty questionable LOOKING AT YOU OATHBREAKEReven if I love him so ;o; ]

But they sometimes helped us out if our goals aligned. [ Or if they thought it would be fun. ]

In this particular case one of our allies and friends stole my Geneses - all but one - and delivered them to our enemy because he believed it was his friend's brother. But the situation in that...was extremely complicated, and I don't have a right to discuss his personal situation.

We were able to get them back and him back, thankfully. [ SO not going into Dingo's situation, and she doesn't even know about Nina ohdearAidios that's probably going to be a problem of another level. ]

Really? Just one to cover so much ground? That's amazing! It must require so much work to handle so many requests in so many different areas.

[ ooc: WOO! Congratulations! Told you it was a wild ride :D Kai is going to be even more intense @.@ ]
onewithinratatosk: (e: huh?)

[personal profile] onewithinratatosk 2025-09-25 05:38 pm (UTC)(link)
I see... I guess when it comes to enemies and allies, things are never as simple as you'd think. [It's a bit of a relief to hear that he's not the only one who's allied with an enemy before. Though, Emil does feel bad going behind his friends' back to hang out with said enemy...]

Oh, wow... That does sound complicated. And kind of cruel, if they were pretending to be somebody important to them, just to get those... I'm glad you got him back. I hope he was okay. [Emil happens to look like someone important to one of his enemies, but the idea of using that to his advantage just makes him feel awful. He can't even imagine what it'd be like to be on the other side of that...]

Yeah, I don't know how they do it! They're really mysterious people. I, um... I kind of feel like they've got their own kind of logic that doesn't make sense to others...

[ ooc: The little bits I've heard about the next game do sound interesting! Though as long as there's lots of opportunities to walk around the city and see what my favorite NPCs are up to, I'll be happy XD ]
octogenesis: (pic#17771781)

[personal profile] octogenesis 2025-09-25 09:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Agnès couldn't say she's ever gone behind her friend's back(s) to associate with an enemy, but if the situation came up, she might not feel bad depending on the situation. After all it would mean she felt it was necessary, and she knew her friends trusted her. On the other hand, if she met with an enemy and a certain member of the Bracers found out, things would probably be less amicable on their side. ]

I know. We were all very worrid for him while he was gone, especially Nadia. [ No need to go into detail there. ]

Luckily he wasn't injured when we got him back, and even managed to get closure...somehow... at the end, so it all worked out.

[ She laughs a little at the last part. ]

You're probably right! They probably think our own way are pretty strange, actually.
onewithinratatosk: (e: shock)

[personal profile] onewithinratatosk 2025-09-27 05:04 pm (UTC)(link)
[It sure depends a lot on what kinds of people your allies are. In Emil's situation, he feels like Marta would be the person most hurt by him going behind her back, but also the person who'd forgive him the easiest... And that's exactly why he feels bad.]

That's good! I guess that means the person who tricked him wasn't that bad... [Emil instantly regrets saying that, since he has no idea what the situation was or what that person even was like. He flails a bit with his hands.] Or, um, I-I guess I wouldn't know! S-sorry if that was insensitive. [Since she's not going into details, he won't pry, either.]

Yeah... [Emil laughs a little, too.] They're pretty relaxed about things, so I bet all the worrying we do is strange. I'm sure they think we should all spend more time napping in the sunlight...
octogenesis: (Guilty)

[personal profile] octogenesis 2025-09-29 03:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Although she didn't say anything, Agnès did give Emil a quick glance when he suggested that the person who tricked Swin wasn't that bad. Sure she could fire back and say 'No, that man was a horrible monster and what he did was unforgiveable -' Except Emil didn't know about half of the things that he did or coordinated. All he knew was that he tricked Swin and even on that note she had been fairly vague. ]

I don't think I can agree with that. It is true that he didn't hurt Swin physically, but emotionally and mentally he did hurt him deeply... so I can't really forgive him for that, even putting aside some of his other actions. [ She gave Emil a reassuring smile shaking her head. ]

You don't have to apologize, though. After all, I didn't elaborate on the situation - and it's been resolved, so I didn't really feel a need to bring it up...plus I don't really have the right to speak on it since it involved a friend who isn't here right now.

[ On a more pleasant note, she giggled a little at his guess. ]

You're probably right. To be honest, that doesn't really sound all that bad - spending more time napping in the sun, I mean. [ Sure nothing would ever get DONE but it'd be cozy! ]
onewithinratatosk: (e: wince)

[personal profile] onewithinratatosk 2025-09-30 02:05 pm (UTC)(link)
R-right. Um, s-sorry. [Emil winces, he apologized even when told not to again...]

I-I still feel bad, saying something like that when I didn't know anything... And I don't need to know anything, either, since it's private, so... I-I should just stop talking about completely! U-um, y-you could tell me about some of your other friends instead, if you want!

[It's an awkward change in topic, but Emil feels like that's what the conversation needs now. Otherwise, he'll probably just keep apologizing, and Agnès will feel to need to talk more about it...

The Katz are a much nicer conversation topic, on the other hand.]


Yeah. I wonder how the Katz manage to do everything they do while also taking things so easy... Maybe they don't get a lot of business. I mean, not many people in my world make friends with monsters, so their monster ranch probably doesn't have that many other customers...
octogenesis: (Ehehe)

[personal profile] octogenesis 2025-10-01 09:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She smiled, even though he apologized when she told him not to - you gotta work on that Emil! ]

I wouldn't hold something like that against you though. [ Actually even if he did know all the truth and STILL came to the same conclusion, she wouldn't hold it against him.

Talking about her friends did bring a smile to her face again as she thought. ]


Well, I think you'd get along well with them for starters. Especially Feri, but Feri gets along well with pretty much everyone. She's the one I had hoped to bring to the Oceanarium most, since she's never had experiences like this before. [ Neither did Agnès, technically, but Feri even more so. ]

She grew up amongst a jaeger -- er, mercenary clan, so combat has been all she knew for years. Since coming to Edith, Van made sure to enroll her in school so that she could learn about more things. Although she struggles a bit with some topics.

What do your Katz friends do with a monster ranch anyway?
onewithinratatosk: (Default)

[personal profile] onewithinratatosk 2025-10-02 11:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Th-thank you. [Maybe that's better to say in this situation than sorry. He's relieved she's not too offended, though. Still, moving on from that conversation!]

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...
octogenesis: (just a little bit shy)

[personal profile] octogenesis 2025-10-03 12:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Van is... uh.. complicated. ]

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. ]
onewithinratatosk: (e: neutral)

[personal profile] onewithinratatosk 2025-10-04 03:42 pm (UTC)(link)
A business owner... He sounds really impressive, if he's getting all those kinds of requests. Is it a big business?

[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.]
octogenesis: (memories)

[personal profile] octogenesis 2025-10-05 12:24 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, not at all. For some time it was a one man office, and he only recently expanded to allow a few other people assist him. It's much smaller than the Guild is.

[ 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. ]

onewithinratatosk: (e: surprise)

[personal profile] onewithinratatosk 2025-10-05 07:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, okay... Doing that much himself is still impressive. Um, not that having people assist him isn't also impressive!

[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.]
octogenesis: (just a little bit shy)

[personal profile] octogenesis 2025-10-05 10:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, he is very capable at what he does, and he had the support of several other influential people that he could reach out to for information when he needed it. [ Also favors. lots and lots of favors were cashed in. ]

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?
onewithinratatosk: (e: dejected)

[personal profile] onewithinratatosk 2025-10-06 06:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[He... really is getting worked up, isn't he... That's embarrassing. Maybe it wasn't as big of a deal as he thought it was...]

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.
octogenesis: (Embarrassed)

[personal profile] octogenesis 2025-10-06 07:13 pm (UTC)(link)
I... I didn't say that you did. [ You're being real weird, Emil! Maybe he had friends who liked to tease him. She could relate to that. ]

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.. ]
onewithinratatosk: (e: huh?)

[personal profile] onewithinratatosk 2025-10-07 08:47 am (UTC)(link)
I-I know! I just... [He trails off with a sigh, having no excuse. Emil's worked himself into being "It's not like I like him!" defensive when just talking to himself before, he needs no prodding for that.]

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...?
octogenesis: (Embarrassed)

[personal profile] octogenesis 2025-10-07 10:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Emil was very strange, but certainly was nice enough. If a bit too apologetic. ]

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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