thefoundation | Week 1, Saturday Afterparty

[Leo's pretty speechless when he first arrives a minute or two after Akechi, gawking at the shrimp. He finally clears his throat.]

Um... should we chop them up for shrimp salad?

Better than letting them meet the same fate as Octopus-chan...

[ YES, STILL CALLING THE OCTOPUS THAT - it was cute that Silver named it, so fight him. ]

There's a ton of seafood here. We could probably toss some on the grill or in the oven, and I think we have a couple big pots for a crab boil? If we can find potatoes and corn, we could do a big clambake-style dinner, like they do in New England.

[And hell naw, he's not fighting Akechi. He likes the guy, plus Akechi could kick his ass.]

... hope we've got enough butter.

[Ozaki also followed Akechi, and chimes up from a couple paces away]

If it's going to keep giving us giant seafood, I imagine it would give enough condiments for what it provides.

[if it has any logic at all, anyway]

Good. I'm ready to stuff my face after the shitstorm of today. Didn't even have breakfast.

I could go for a smoke, myself. [There's a mutter that sounds suspiciously like "irritating idiots"] You should be sure to eat when you can. No need to tempt the house to become stricter.

[Personally, Ozaki would just live on cigarettes and coffee, if not for other people leaving food for him and only having so many cigarettes.]

Don't have to tell me twice, Doc. I'm starving.

[He might be calling dibs on that lobster, because when could he ever afford to eat it again? NEVER.]

[ He nods a tiny bit excitedly at the thought of lots of food, but then... hm. ]

Does... anyone else want to risk asking for more butter? The last three times I've asked for anything, it's turned into... well...

[ Considering the 500 pound octopus, the incredibly terrible ice cream flavors, and this...

... he's not really in the mood, right this very second. Also, he's just wanting to see disaster and/or insanity happen to someone else, for once. ]

Sure, I haven't tried asking for anything, so let's give it a shot.

[He calls out in a friendly tone.]

Excuse me, House? Can we get a commercial stock pot filled with melted butter and one of those big jars of mayonnaise they use in restaurants? Please?

[Ozaki had followed Akechi outside, partially to see what was going on now, and partially to smoke what would hopefully be his last cigarette of the day.

He's not particularly happy about having to conserve, honestly. In contrast to his general irritation at the former, he feels a weary resignation at the giant seafood taking up a portion of the yard.

Feel free to hit him up, he'll be hanging around the area as the afternoon winds down.]

[I guess he's obligated to tag in because slaying giant shrimp is a gbf tradition for end of month Fridays!? Not that he's here for this silliness at all, but it's hard to miss considering the noise.]

What the hell...? Who summoned such creatures here?!

[ He looks over....... ]

They are pretty huge... [ cough ] It was... an accident.

[Looks at shrimp, looks at Akechi. He may be judging a lil, but when isn't he in all honesty.]

...How did you manage to call these things here by accident? [he missed the start of giant crab and giant octopus adventures, so currently his running theory is that Akechi has the ability to summon giant crustaceans]

[ Just answering in a light tone-- ]

Seems I failed to mention that I'm able to summon any sea creature I want, at the cost of never knowing the size~

[ This is... a joke, kinda, since anyone can do this, here.....

... but he isn't making that clear yet. ]

[He's seen some weirdass abilities before so this is actually believable, how can this be, why are you doing this to him Akechi--

judges ability gently]

...What a fickle ability. And one I'm not sure has much practical use besides making food, at that.

[Nora's walked in late, so he's also just kind of blinking at all the seafood and the... really big shrimp... granted after a moment his expression shifts from completely blank to kind of intrigued and peckish -- his stomach is already rumbling after that whole round of games and then spending WAY too long as a frog and unable to really feed himself the usual course of meals needed to keep a teenage demon going throughout the day.

So first of all he manages to walk into Sandalphon while staring, and then sort of just goes around him to stare -- second of all he just kind of shrugs because what the fuck even after today's clusterfuck.]

Ha! Wasn't me. I ain't responsible for any of the giant food around here. Mostly.

[Mostly.]

[Wow Nora, watch where you're going because that could hurt...! Okay no, he's wearing armor so aside from getting pushed slightly, it doesn't do much but he does send along a sharp glare that pretty much implies something along the lines of 'watch your step'.

But the giant shrimp is apparently too mesmerizing, so he'll let it go without further comment this time. Besides, there's other things to comment on!!]

Hmph, I know it wasn't you. I've seen the extent of your-- [record scratch] Wait. What do you mean by 'mostly'?

[Honestly and conversely and ridiculously he probably would have yelled at Sandalphon for being in the way instead of acknowledging that he can't watch where he's going when there's oversized food on the horizon, because he really can't -- but good thing both of them are distracted by said oversized food at this point, so they've skipped that step.

Nora gives a perfunctory sharp glance back, but that's normal at this point with him and various people here, kind of like greeting a way-too-early morning with no food or rhyme or reason. Or coffee, because coffee is the worst.

Anyway there's a dismissive shrug.]

I mean mostly, obviously. I made a few suggestions about eatin' seafood and not seafood and the House did its own thing, how was I supposed to know we'd get this crazy shit?

[Seriously he didn't even aim for the damn octopus.]

[Blessed be the holy shrimp gods of yore for stopping these two from beginning yet another argument. Truly, miracles abound in this place (and giant sea life).

He responds to that glare with another glare-- okay fine maybe not. But no, why is this place and everyone in it just like this??]

...This is idiotic. So you're saying that if I asked for a giant squid, one would--

[...There's a splashing noise in the pool.]

.........

That's exactly what I'm sayin', 'cause the House is just like that--

[And so are all of them, they are at least partially to blame, but once again eldritch(??) seafood manages to head off the argument as Nora perks up at the sound of the splash nearby. There's a blink. Another blink and then he gives a crowing laugh and spins right around to go check out the pool. There's not especially far to go because the whole entire squid doesn't precisely fit in the pool, and there's just water everywhere...

A couple giant tentacles slap down nearby on the grass and Nora jumps back a little because the last time he ran facefirst into a tentacle it Did Not End Well?? Anyway.]

Hahaha, guess you were hungry?

[Yeah, he's just laughing at Sandy now.]

[As Nora revels at the sight of giant squid, Sandalphon feels a sudden urge to drag a hand down his face, although he manages to rein it in. This is too ludicrous for him to respond, he doesn't know what's going on, what the hell is this place--

Ugh.]

...I'm eliminating it. And we'll speak no more of this incident.

[There's a baleful glare at the giant squid before a large, purple sword manifests beside him, tip aimed in the direction of the pool.]

[In some ways this place truly is hell, in other ways it's just an excellent banquet for a hungry dog who's currently investigating a giant squid curiously even as it starts curling tentacles around the nearest lawn objects -- the trampoline looks like it might be in danger of sinking into the pool at this point. The umbrella got dragged halfway across the place, too... F.

It's basically like some sort of ocean monster movie come to life, but without the ship and with extra Nora snickering and then trying to play tug-of-lawn-ornament-war with a squid.]

Yeah, yeah, you can hurry up and make some skewers out of it all ya want-- [he sounds like he's kind of looking forward to this even as he scoots a little out of the way while still koalaed onto the trampoline] --but you know everybody in the backyard and the house windows and stuff saw it, right.

[Good luck with that one, Sandy.]

[Yeah, this is pretty problematic hm. While there's no rule against property damage or even giant squid induced property damage, it still seems like a bad idea to let it put its tentacles around everything. Who knows, it might be hostile and use them as projectiles!!

So the first order of business is probably freeing the trampoline (and Nora).]

S-silence. And don't let go of that contraption.

[Because here goes the sword, shooting over to cleave through that squid tentacle in one swift movement. On the plus side, the trampoline is free and there's probably enough squid tentacle for a couple days of calamari, but on the other... the squid may be flailing around now. Just a little.]

WHY!!!

What IS it with this house and giant seafood?!

Nothin' wrong with giant seafood? I could probably eat seafood the whole time I'm here if I had to.

[I mean, he's down for eating other stuff because they have enough cooks and general House shenanigans to account for it and he is a gourmet dog (no he actually isn't but he'd like to think), but there's something compelling about just munching down on oversized something every week. Even better if he gets to punch and/or stab it first. What can he say, he's a hunting dog.

Also he hasn't had anything to eat in a record amount of time due to being a literal frog. What do you want from him. Slides in late to this afterparty.]

You ain't hungry after Dazai put us all through our damn paces?

Edited 2019-06-30 03:51 (UTC)

I like seafood as much as the next guy, but the sheer size of this stuff....! It's crazy! And yeah, I could eat... but still.

Eh, at least it's different kinds off seafood, plus I'm pretty sure I've never seen some of these before? That one's a shrimp, and so is that one--

[Yeah, the seafood is multiplying. Cloning itself?? However the House is doing this. Not to mention that at some point a real big squid has spontaneously dropped into the pool, so now there's that one to contend with, too -- at the moment it appears to be trying to steal the lawn chairs, actually.

It's kind of a miracle they have anything left intact in the backyard at the rate they're going.]

Hey-- Hey!! Give that back!! [Nora's just going to take off running in the middle of the conversation to make a saving dive onto a lawn chair; the unexpected weight gets the squid to at least pause] I'm goin' to eat these guys right off, they're a pain in the ass to keep around even if they're delicious!

... An' don't you dare name this one!!

Well, we are in California, which is like. . . a bay state? Although I think we're more inland.

[ she's so used to parties after 'games' like this ]

Nah, it's on the West Coast. Pacific Ocean. Nothing between us and Japan except maybe Hawaii and some other tiny islands, I think?

I meant 'inland' as in comparative speaking to the state, I know it's West Coast-- it's a big state.

You've been here before, right? It's my first time, I'm East Coast, even before I went to Hellsalem's Lot.

Yeah, I have, months ago.

[Leo's volunteered to steam the normal-sized crabs and the lobster, so he's in the kitchen with a couple big lidded pots on the stove. He's pretty sure he can figure it out from what he's seen on TV. He opens one of the bags, yelping as a few crabs try to pinch his fingers.]

H-- hey, I need those!

[Maybe tongs would be smart? He ties the bag back up and starts digging through the drawers for tongs long enough to protect his hands.]

[Alright, now that everything's settled down (in relative terms, anyway), it's time to track down Leo. He does get momentarily distracted by GIANT SHRIMP in the yard but after those shenanigans, he'll eventually make his way into the kitchen. He's not particularly interested in any of the pots or the bag of crabs, making a beeline for Leo, the clacking of his heels a telltale sign of his presence.

Without even really waiting for Leo to respond to his presence:]

Let's continue our chat from before.

[Leo jumps, startled, almost dropping the tongs he finally fished out of a drawer. Wow, this guy doesn't beat around the bush, does he?]

Wh-- what part, exactly?

[He's not being deliberately obtuse, not really. Today was such an emotional roller coaster, his brain's a bit fried.]

[His expression doesn't change at all even in the face of Leo's surprise. Apologies and tact aren't exactly his strong point, so he just plows on from what he was thinking about earlier.]

I may not be the most well-acquainted with everyone here, but even I could notice something was odd. Why were you touching one of your eyes while we were talking?

Oh... that.

[Leo sighs.]

It's not like I try to hide it, a bunch of people already know about them. They're why I've been in Thaumiel training.

[Might as well just show Sandalphon exactly what he means. Leo opens the Eyes, the artifacts glowing with brilliant aqua lines and glyphs, but doesn't fully activate them.]

They're called the All-Seeing Eyes of the Gods.

[...welp

Sandalphon can't really help the flash of surprise that passes through his face at the sight, although it goes back to a frown quickly enough as he squints a little suspiciously at the Eyes. Thaumiel clues him into its potential, but aside from that...]

Gods, you say... What do they allow you to do?

Buncha stuff. I'm immune to visual illusions, distortions, mirages, that sort of thing, and fog doesn't block my sight. I can track supersonic movement or see really tiny details you'd normally need a magnifying glass or microscope to see. I can project what I'm seeing to other people, or shuffle what a group of people are seeing to confuse them. I can even see true names. That's just the stuff I know about. There's rumors of stuff other people have done with them, but none of them were human so their brains could probably handle it better than mine can.

[He closes the Eyes since he's not using their powers. Just having them open, even if they're not active, can be uncomfortable sometimes.]

I wasn't born with them, they're alterworld artifacts that were implanted. Other than the Eyes, I'm just a regular human.

[It's quite a list, although it's fitting considering the name.]

So this is your 'one use', then. At least it would explain why you aren't familiar with front line operations, but are agents working in similar capacities who are aware of the reality we face.

[He leaves the real question unsaid: 'So how did you stay ignorant?']

Yeah. I worked with a group called Libra back in my world, and they do something similar to the Foundation: protecting from alterworld threats the police can't handle, sealing dangerous Blood Breed... uh, they're like vampires? And investigating supernatural crimes.

[Leo's voice goes soft and sad, clearly filled with homesickness.]

They're good people. They don't pull shit like the Foundation does, they protect all their members, no matter how low they are in the organization. Everybody matters to them, human or alterworlder. It's why I was willing to give the Foundation a chance, because they didn't tell me everything. They figured I wouldn't cooperate if I found out how they ran things, and the Eyes are really useful to them, but... guess I found out the truth.

Edited 2019-06-30 23:18 (UTC)

[As Leo relays his story, Sandalphon listens quietly without much in the way of reactions. The background is easy enough to understand, even with some unfamiliar terms mixed in, and the connections that Leo made between the two organizations are clear, but it only really reinforces the notion of ignorance and naïvete in his mind.

Then again. Maybe he doesn't have room to talk.]

So you were sheltered until they decided you were of no use... humph. It's almost laughable how familiar that story is.

Or they really did want me to scan this place with the Eyes, monitor everything here. I don't like to use them without permission, unless it's life or death. People should be allowed to keep some things private. Maybe if somebody died on Friday, I would've used them, but I'm glad it didn't come to that.

[He remembers a conversation with Alcor back at the Foundation.]

I have to be careful not to look too long at anyone or anything that's really powerful, because I could burn out my brain. Alcor warned me not to use the Eyes on him.

[Still thinking that, huh... Although this brings another question to mind. It's one thing to avoid looking at something powerful for self-preservation, but...]

Would you jeopardize yourself and look at something like that if you were ordered to?

Maybe not if I was ordered to, unless I had to do it to protect someone. I mean, what good are these powers if I can't use them to help?

You're that sort of person, then.

[If there's a constant between every world, it's that it always has its share of good-natured idiots.]

So do you still see the Foundation as a place where you can help others?

[Leo understands what that kind of emphasis means. He gets that reaction a lot when people realize how earnest he can be. He just ignores it, the possible criticism from people who don't get how he thinks doesn't mean much anymore.]

It's got potential, but... a lot of things have to change. Libra's proof that you can deal with supernatural shit without tossing people you see as "disposable" into the grinder. The Foundation could learn a lot from them.

[After most of the meat has been carted away to be cooked, Ingway (post nap and talking with folks) can be seen gathering hunks of the shells. It's a little slower going than it should be, but the cuff only takes away his fine motor skills- his off arm can still cradle his finds just fine]

Tch, this is going to smell rancid in a day or so. Lovely.

Week 1, Saturday Afterparty

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