expiationlogs | August Catch-All

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August Catch-All - Glitching Event

Who: Silco + Open to All
Where: Around Aldrip
What: August Monthly Post – Includes glitching
Warnings: Violence, murder

i. Glitching Out
[The previous month and part of this month, Silco had been spared having alterations to his person. His businesses, his property and even the generalized environment had seemed to be on the fritz, and no one seemed to know if it was a result of the previous infection or if they had failed their ‘rehab’ enough that this place was destabilizing and required a reset.

Still, he had to continue business as usual while he investigated on his own. That was until he was stepping out from the Last Drop to head to another business for a daily check-in when he experienced a disturbing situation not unlike being struck by lightning. He dropped at the unexpectedness of it all, and it took him exactly one minute to realize the difference.

He could see normally from both eyes. The aches of his facial scarring and generalized age had disappeared. The air felt unbearably clean to his lungs. His hair fell forward into his face.

Silco pushed himself back to his feet slowly, and he looked down at this hands – youthful hands – and then reached up to feel his face. There was a puddle of water nearby which he stepped over to look into, sighting an appearance half of his previous age.

Yet, his mind remained intact. He was trapped in a 20 year old body, and he couldn’t deny how amazing it felt.]

ii. Around Town - Parkour
[He didn’t know how long he was going to be stuck like this, but it seemed prudent to take advantage of the spirit of youthfulness. While he didn’t have idle time per say in Aldrip, he certainly made time every time that he stepped out of one of his businesses to enjoy what age and reputation had slowly turned him from.

Fissurefolk were infamous for their abilities to scale buildings and get into places that few others would dare to. Silco had been the slimmest of their group, meaning he could slide into narrow alleys and scale buildings were Vander had trouble; getting down was Vander’s strength. So he was going to enjoy the freedom.

Silco could be seen around the residential and commercial spaces perform feats that were as easy as breathing for those of his people. Scaling buildings, run over rooftops and leap between buildings, flip over large open spaces, and even using random poles to perform. It was all about testing the limits of a body he had outgrown years ago, and he found he enjoyed himself.]

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Is that so? [Strays had a very different meaning where he was from, but he supposed he liked them too.] Why train dogs and not children? There are plenty of both around... or there were.

[The city had done a number on itself and did not seem to be able to keep people and places straight at the moment. Compared to when he arrived, there were concerns about the state of this place and if it even had the ability to correct itself.]

Silco. I'll keep my eyes and ears out for people that... tolerate the pet thing.

[He wondered if Jinx... no, never mind. He had enough to deal with when it came to her at the moment to not add a pet into the mix. Although...]

[kakashi makes a face, obvious even with the mask.]

Children around here are too soft. Plus I don't really have the materials for training soldiers. Not enough weapons.

[also, kakashi barely has patience for kids his own age, much less younger.]

Not to mention people around here tend to get up in arms about young people fighting. It's annoying.

You aren't wrong with that assessment. How does training children equate to them being soldiers?

[What a strange opinion to have to the mention of training children. Child soldiers were common enough, and they were ripe for manipulation and indoctrination but be still his heart, to say so without blinking an eye? Maybe there was hope for this place yet.]

That's because the people here are also soft. Children need to fight; it builds character and resilience.

What other use is there for anyone that's trained, than to work? I wouldn't know how to train someone to be anything but a soldier.

[sadly, kakashi merely comes from a fucked up time where child soldiers are the norm. he himself entered military service at the ripe age of five years old.]

Maybe that's why these ridiculous disasters keep happening. Not enough people trained to fight against....whoever it is that's responsible.

Survivalist, recreational purposes, security details, gangs to name a few. Though with a comment like that, it is safe to assume you are a soldier?

[He wouldn't say that the other person looked young because who knew with this place. He also grew up in a place where children were forced to step up at a young age, though gangs were more likely than soldiers. Zaun did not have a military of any kind, but large security details were known when it came to the ruling Chem-Baron class.]

There's also a distinct lack of organization among the Chosen. We are reactive instead of proactive.

I'm a ninja. It's...close enough.

[maybe better to say, soldiering is one job ninjas take on for the sake of the village.]

One problem is, there's no clear leader among us. Someone stronger than the rest to step up and say how things are gonna be.

Is it? You might be the first I've met.

[He definitely was interested to know more about it of course. This guy spoke his kind of language. It almost felt like finally had occurred to him, similar to when he had met Miller.]

And there will be no clear leader. We will have small grouped factions, but I have yet to see evidence of a single uniting personality.

That's what pretty much everybody says. I never thought I'd end up in a place where I'm the only nin around.

[he sighs, world weary. what a time.]

I guess that could be on purpose, too. Somebody's choosing who shows up here, right? So it wouldn't exactly help them to pick someone with the charisma to lead and the power to back it up.

I suppose that means you will educate the rest of us on what it is to be a ninja. Rooftops seems to be something we have in common for its ease of travel.

[This was practically a bonding moment. Or something. He expected there was more to being a 'nin', but he wouldn't infer without more conversation.]

Oh there are plenty of people that want power, but they haven't made an overt grab for it. Uniting factions will be difficult given the free-spirited lot we are.

Sure, they say rooftops are ninja roads and windows are ninja doors...

[was that...almost...a joke?? kakashi is more at ease around this guy than he realized. probably a dose of great minds thinking alike.]

Well, I know I wouldn't follow just anybody. They'd have to show they were worth it.

They say the same about Fissurefolk in my world. Of course, we're just as capable and willing to use roads and doors.

[He would chuckle, but that would require understanding the context and having a sense of humor. He might be stuck in a young body, but laughing had to be earned and only in rare circumstances.]

And how does a leader show they are worth your skills and loyalty?

[Asking for a friend....]

Fissurefolk...because you're good at getting in and out of tight spaces? [well, silco has already partially demonstrated that much.] A ninja always takes the most efficient path. Be it streets or rooftops, roads or trees.

[he shifts, putting one hand on his hip.]

They'd have to be strong, of course. Capable in battle and intelligent. And headstrong - in my home village we call it the Will of Fire. Of course, there's not exactly a village to be loyal to, here...there'd have to be a certain amount of trust between everybody trying to get out.

Because we live and work in fissures, but yes, the logic is sound. [There was a lot to say about Zaun, but it didn't seem relevant for this conversation.] Something we have in common, I suppose. Efficiency is the only way to go.

[He reached up to tug on the bun of his hair to tighten it then eased into a crouch. It seemed they would be talking a bit.]

Strength of character or body? Well, no doubt a few will try to convince you that they fit that bill, but I expect action is better than a speech in that respect. [He shrugged.] Oh, I don't want out, but I am more than happy to facilitate allowing others to leave.

[sensing the same, kakashi lowers his load to the rooftop and sits, legs dangling off the edge of the roof.]

That's a new one on me. Most people seem to want to get back to something. I'll admit I'm the same. I was in the middle of a very important mission when I ended up here.

[there's a very faint tinge of bitterness on the word mission - a mission, yes, that happened to have been going very badly at the time. but kakashi feels the need to go back, regardless.]

I have nothing to go back to, so I'll build my life here. It seems there are many people with the same issue as you, and I do commit to assisting with getting people home.

[He didn't need miserable people whining about going home all the time; let them go and see who was left. If he had to force people to fall in line for that purpose, he would. It would take time as he didn't have wild fantastical powers or much to speak of for combat skills.]

Would you engage me with details of this mission of yours? I always like to hear about other people.

I guess this place isn't the worst, when it comes down to it.

[other than all the bizarre glitches and traumatizing random events, that is. still, silco did mention living and working in fissures...that doesn't sound amazing to kakashi so maybe aldrip is better for him.

he trails off at silco's question, seemingly turning it over in his mind. he doesn't like to talk about it, really, but it's not like this guy is a rock nin in disguise or something.]

It was a sneaking mission, to destroy some critical infrastructure. But we were ambushed by enemy nin and things went south...

[that's putting it lightly. he's continually haunted by images of his perceived failure. but, he presses on.]

Some people seem to think time stops where you're from when you come here. I hope that's true.

[the only thing worse than appearing back in the middle of that stupid mission, would be appearing in enemy territory six months later with everyone thinking he was dead or worse.]

It is not. When you have nothing to return to, the opportunity to build a life is appealing.

[He, of course, decided to forego mentioning that he was dead in his timeline. It was generally a mood killer, and he was generally rather open to his reasons for staying. He also usually didn't look like... well, this.]

I see. So you are at a critical point of the mission and may lose friends and allies if you don't return. I can see why you need to return promptly. [If he could build loyalty between them on this premise, perhaps a ninja would be a valuable asset.] That is the going theory, yes. Unfortunately, we don't have information one way or another to confirm.

Well, I suppose we aim towards the same end even for different reasons.

[kakashi merely nods, understanding.]

Yeah, that's about it. [he huffs lightly, puffing his cheeks out for a second. an uncharacteristically childish gesture from him.] I guess you're probably not the only person that wants to stay, either. Maybe a good mutual goal would be stopping all the weird trials and other problems.

["glitch" is not in his vocabulary, unfortunately.]

[Desperation was a good motivator, especially if some of the Chosen were forced to be waylaid and make some kind of life. It had to be the worst kind of prison to endure, held in limbo.]

I couldn't say. There hasn't been an active survey about what motivates the Chosen. I assume most will want to leave.

[Yes, the malfunction was problematic, for some more than others. He had thankfully been relatively stable since being put back in this body.]

Perhaps. Time will tell if a leader of the necessary caliber will immerge. I highly doubt it while this is all going on.

It's possible somebody with the potential is here, and just needs a push to step up. My sensei is a great leader but he doesn't see himself that way.

[of course, how would you find this person amongst all the chosen? it's tough.]

Possibly. One might never know what type of person they are looking for to provide leadership. Everyone has their own needs on that front.

[Silco was not one to follow, and he didn't plan on it here. He had various tactics to keep control, and not all of them would work on others. He didn't care; people followed or their didn't.]

That just makes it harder to find one person...it's a real problem.

[kakashi might consider himself a contender, except that no one around here seems to respect his adult ness. not to mention his belief in his own leadership skills took a pretty big hit during the disastrous mission he's currently trying to get back to.]

I guess we'll just have to wait for the right person to appear.

So perhaps it shouldn't be one person but a coalition of a small handful of people.

[Silco would put himself in the running for that. He had run the Chem-Barons with an iron fist while still allowing them to benefit from their association with him. He expected that there would be several candidates that could do the same, but it was a matter of finding some that would be willing to work together for a set goal. That was the difficult part; he would be the first to admit that agendas could and would clash.]

I won't wait to be saved, and I doubt think you should either. We need to spearhead the change that we want to see in this city.

I don't mind working in a group. It's what I'm used to back home. Getting the group together would be the hard part, I think.

[still, when he thinks about it...]

There are already some groups formed up, they just don't seem to take things very seriously. The TWAT club and STEM clubs come to mind.

[no, he doesn't know what the word "twat" means.]

As am I. The group needs to work together cohesively and be able to debate while also making decisions for the good of the rest of the Chosen. That can be done, of course.

[If he had run across rooftops and slid between buildings, he would have been fine, and yet now he was engaged in the kind of conversation that so many had avoided. Perhaps it was time to make a public push for people to gather.]

Hobby groups with a set intention. They are basically committees to provide information, but I wouldn't consider them leaders for all.

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August Catch-All - Glitching Event

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