epidemiology | EVENT ★ GONE FISHIN'

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EVENT ★ GONE FISHIN'

Thanks to your help, repairs to the flood wall are complete. The Nalawi are still largely without their Gifts, so they are thankful -- without the aid of ALASTAIR recruits, they would have surely drowned or been eaten by sea monsters.

Despite the barely averted disaster, the residents of Komo have decided to go along with their lives as planned, perhaps to bolster morale instead of giving into despair. By chance, their annual fishing contest is scheduled for today! As honored guests, recruits are invited to participate.

FISHING CONTEST

Dugout canoes are provided for all participants, patterns that suggest fish scales burned into the wooden sides. Curiously, no fishing rods are offered; if a recruit requests one, they will be given a strange look, but the harbormaster will acquiesce.

Due to the rough seas, the passage between Komo and the other islands is still inaccessible. Contestants are reminded to stay behind the reefs or venture east toward open ocean for their quarry. It’s only when the contest begins that the quarry in question is actually announced . . .

Sharks.

You are fishing sharks. And, judging by the lack of equipment (or the puny fishing rod you requested), you’re expected to do this by hand.

The tiny deer people don’t seem bothered by this predicament at all: the goal is to catch the biggest shark, by length and poundage. Better not embarrass yourself in front of the locals.

GET PUMPED

Mettaton has announced over the jewelry that he will be hosting a celebration in tandem with the fishing contest, in order to help the native Nalawi and the ALASTAIR recruits get to know each other better. This includes singing, dancing, and all sorts of different performances -- and, of course, reporting on the actual fishing.

If you aren’t the fishing type or maybe you just need a break from chasing sharks around, this is a good chance to bust a move and show your teammates how you can get down -- or just sit back and watch! It’s bound to be entertaining one way or another.

Plot for the stage here!

Olivia will be the final performer in the showcase. Anyone who witnesses her dancing may feel themselves super-charged by the spectacle . . . with possibly unexpected results! Characters may feel even more determined to win the fishing contest, or perhaps they’ll take this surge of optimism to help rebuild some of Komo’s destroyed buildings before the day winds down into night.

THE FEAST

After the fishing contest, the sharks will be collected and prepared. Grilled shark, fried shark, shark caviar, and shark jerky from the results of last year’s contest. There are fruits and vegetables and breads available as well, but if you want some protein, you’d better go native.

During the feast, some of the Nalawi perform dances and song. The subjects range from their goddess Nalanni to love songs. Want to show off your talents again? Now’s the time! Or, if you’d prefer to step away from the excitement, the beach is quiet and empty, and the baths are unoccupied since the whole of Komo is at the gathering.

As the feast winds down, the Nalawi will pass around their very potent alcohol for a toast to Komo’s health. Someone shouts, interrupting, wondering what good that will do if Nalanni has abandoned them. Concerned murmuring fills the gathering, spoiling the mood. ALASTAIR recruits may attempt to put them at ease -- otherwise, the feast will disperse on a sour note.

OOC INFO

If you would like your character to win the fishing contest, please sign up below. You must thread out fishing in order to participate in the drawing. There will be only one winner, decided by RNG. The winner will be contacted on April 1st. The prize is a necklace of shark’s teeth, which has a one-use spell that will make all sharks in a one mile radius sleep for 30 seconds.

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If only that were true, good sir.

[ He finds another glass to set down before their circle. Interesting that it is to watch them fight over the drink. What is the significance? To celebrate? What? Sharks were killed and that is hardly exciting news. That would not fix their current situation with their god, will it? To forget?

While Matsunaga constantly forgets people who are boring or too similar to everyone else he meets, he finds it annoying when people attempt to forget to survive. That is hardly survival in the world. Or another option... is it an addiction? My, my... ]

Are you asking me truly if I believe they need us? Or making jokes?

[ The battling Nalawi lose out to the distraction of Good Sir's indignation — it's... endearing, in a Luciola sort of way, to exchange diluted pleasantries with someone absent of a sense of humour. Familiar. Like home — the rusty and creaky parts you make a point of never revealing to polite company.

Settling on his elbows, Dio lets his head drop back, until he's sufficiently contorted to catch sight of Good Sir upside down, rather than turning to look his way. ]

What... do... you... think? [ A pause, a hint of humming. Then softer: ] You should get them the next round. I'm... very tired...

[ ...or very lazy. ]

I think the answer is not one you would care to hear. And it is not out of kindness that I do not tell you but a tiredness of my own.

[ Time, he supposes, to find a tray yo give to these beasts. Let them drink and drink. He has lost count and finds he cares little for the guessing game when the creatures that he plays with act the way they do. Inudging their constant thirst, it loses worth against his cruel thoughts. Because the beasts become nothing more than beasts. When they leave, they may save these people's lives but not their souls or customs. Disappointing. He thought he would see something new.

And upon coming to that conclusion, are they even worth tormenting by drowning them in drink? He fetches himself a tray to place a few drinks upon before heading back toward the circle, ignoring those that crawl after him like wanting dogs.

The tray set for them to fight amongst themselves with as he takes a seat next to his upside-down companion. ]

Dull-minded sort of creatures, aren't they, good sir? I wonder if you have come to care for them or came to feel the same as I do. These people will be forgotten as soon as we return... most likelyrics by everyone. Nothing they do will have any meaning or lasting impression even if their appearance may be odd.

Does that not disappoint, good sir?

[ They're up to four now — and it seems, even to Dio's untrained eye (now drawn back to the revelry) that Good Sir's eight might have been overly generous, and Dio's dozen outright absurd. His favourite native with the paler belly is barely holding his back in something resembling a straight line as he goes in for round five. ]

That's fiiiiiine. [ Fonder, somehow:] They're not here to entertain me.

[ A younger revelation, not two years in age. Of all the kings, queens and empires he's arbitrated, the Nalawi might be the furriest, fuzziest and out of place yet. ]

They're just here to be alive. Aren't they cute? [ 'Yes'. 'No'. 'Maybe'. It doesn't matter. Dio's decided they are adorable. In the same breath — ] What's your name? I think I used to have it. But it wasn't important, so I forgot.

[ Guild honesty, now served. ]

A pity, for then their lives may have some worth.

[ For what else can they offer to Matsunaga? Those that cherish their homes and consider land to be treasure -- did he not say once before that such people are are overly common? It is no different than the little girl and her glass treasure. He breathes out a small laugh. ]

I fear, good sir, that the dying are not cute to me. [ For that is how he sees them. A custom and a people that are dying. Nothing of worth among them and so they are heading toward their grave having changed nothing in their lives, having done nothing in their lives. Having not even been entertaining to travelers. To live and just exist, what a disappointment. ]

If you did not think to remember it then, have I done something to make you wish to know it now?

[ The dying. Yes, there's always the — potential for the extermination of a species. Nature's still giving on the island, but the 'goddess' seems to have removed her nurture. The fate of these little creatures could go each way —

And settles, for now, for down. This is it: the moment when Dio's favourite Nalawi stares at his cup, then at his fellows, then at the world in all its glory... and promptly keels over to a lazy snore. ]

Five.

[ But absently spoken, a foregone conclusion. Five, and the game's ended. ]

I should know the name of the person who just lost a bet!

[ ...says the other person who just lost the same wager. ]

Are you certain?

[ both on the number and the loss. ]

It is only a guessing game. Nothing is wagered and nothing is lost. So whose name are you seeking? [ he can play this irritating ask forever for a name and never get it, too, just to prove a point. and the point is, answer a question first and he'll be more willing to answer a question to him later in the future. bam. eat it. ]

[ Two can play that ga —

...ah. It's Dio who began it. Well, then. He's won in sheer virtue of having irritated Good Sir into a matched response. This is Dio's judgement, and by everything, he'll — roll on his stomach, all the better to cross his arms over the ground and set his chin upon them — stick with it. ]

It doesn't matter. I'll forget again anyway.

[ It's in the way of things. What doesn't kill you earns your indifference. Or something along those vaguely blurred lines. ]

You're not very good at playing games.

[ This may be the sort of desolation with which most people announce the passing of a loved one or an inexorable personal defeat. Dio's nigh overwhelmed by Good Sir's failure. ]

You haven't laughed at all.

A wise decision, good sir. It is a wasted effort to attempt to remember the name of the unimportant.

[ hence why he does not ask the name of the natives. and as he told one young soul before, he is no one important to anyone. if someone makes them so, it is not by his will that it is done. ]

I am only good at games that have a prize. All other things are as unimportant as names of the forgotten.

[ hm. ]

Because I have no reason to laugh, good sir. Unless you think that something has occurred that is funny to my senses?

Edited 2016-03-29 20:48 (UTC)

[ Too fast. The frown's honest now, sharp draw of thin brows, then the tension released. He can't answer that question, can't draw a conclusion in the absence of a parameters. It'd be — unscientific. ]

What is funny to your sen —

[ No. That's also unkind, this time on his part. Too many things stir humour. Asking for something so diffused would only rouse Good Sir's frustration.

Dio's head rises lazily, the bent hand that props his cheek quick to follow. ]

Tell me a joke.

[ He can study an example. ]

[ he tips his chin up to actually think of an answer. he finally comes up with one: ]

Kuroda Kanbei.

No?

[ that man may be objectively funny to him. but one must meet him to see the humor. even he knows that much. ]

A treasure passes through a family. It is cared for and protected by each descendant. One day, the treasure shatters in the hands of the one caring for it.

[ a laugh is breathed out. ]

There is a good joke there.

[ He waits.

And he waits.

And he keeps on waiting.

And then the "joke" has ended, the silence's dragged, and Dio — eyes deeply lidded, mouth agape in expectation — still hasn't quite grasped the nuances of Good Sir's particular humour.

...well, then. Under the... circumstances... there's only thing to do: gently, he sloths his way through turning over, until he's lying on his back, hands clasped officiously on his stomach. Then, there's a shrill, off-key and entirely wrong sound — he is laughing. Forcibly. Fake beyond compare. But he is pretend-laughing and laughing and laughing, and when he chokes, because you're not meant to fake such extensive abuse on your poor lungs, he has the foresight to recover and laugh some more after. At some point, minor rolling is involved. ]

That's hiiiiiiilarious!

[ ...no reason to embarrass the man and point out his terrible joke, after all. He's doing Good Sir a kindness. ]

Could you stop that annoying sound? If you are to die by my words, I rather it be your fire over your noise.

[ The shit. Seriously. ]

Our humor is different. Is there fault in that, good sir? [ He does have the desire to step on the other. Not as he stepped on Hideyoshi, of course. But perhaps, the sand would be soft enough to let the young man's head sink beneath it with his boot on his face. No? What stops him? Disinterest. And drunken natives that are too close to him -- doing no more than wandering as those with too much drink do, but annoying all the same. ]

In any case, the joke is shared with me and that is all I need.

[ He does stop, if at the far more pressing urging of a bared back begging a scratch, as a native takes his seat within hand's reach. Dio's fingers trail down the little creature's spine, the fur parting after a pattern that seems to fascinate him. Soft, soft, soft and soft. Yes. Gooooood.

Good Sir gains precisely one look over Dio's shoulder, when he brings himself up to sit beside the native. He straightens in place, filling up space - look here, he has to look at his most imposing as this here furry friend's accidental champion. ]

Are you upset?

[ Because Dio, you see, he isn't quite certain. ]

I can tell you a joke too. In a week or so. I'll learn one.

[ His eyes roll up toward the sky. A lot of ways to take the question. ]

Yes, you have me a disservice by being dishonest, good sir. But am I upset that you do not find me funny? No.

[ He stares down at him. Hm. ] And if you cannot tell a joke that is pleasing to us both, what then? For if you only tell me one that is amusing to me and not you, you do yourself a disservice by playing the idiot. If you tell me one that only you enjoy, you show yourself inept to please.

So I may give you a week but there is only one scenario where you win. There are two where I win. So, with that handicap, perhaps, I should not ask for anything. I am in a generous mood to a dishonest man.

[ Solid reasoning, down to the condescending conclusion. Dio's hand stays at the tail end of the little local's back, then starts back up, meticulously doting.

No, he can't fault this logic. ]

I have not been dishonest.

[ An empty correction, but as casual observations go. There has not been a single instance of lying involved tonight. Therefore.

He hums a little, seemingly entertaining either some strange new notion or the burning need to revisit one of the creatures' songs. Off-key again. Well, that can't be helped. ]

Those sounds like woooonderful... wager odds! Two to one, two to one. I'll take them. A joke we both like, in a week's time. Done!

As you say, good sir.

[ That is the voice of someone who doesn't believe another but going to maintain his own lane for now. ]

Then, have you also thought what you will forfeit if you lose? Or take my offering where you need not give me anything?

[ Best check on that and have it spoken for certain.

His eyes narrow for a moment on the doting on the creatures. Matsunaga chooses to side step and give them what space they want because it is not space he wants. Ah well. The beasts will be forgotten as soon as he returns to headquarters. Is that not what he already said? ]

[ The local's good counsel is sought in a stare that spans precisely twenty silent seconds.

Not unexpectedly, enlightenment shies. A light breeze catches. One of the other creatures collapsed close by starts to snore.

Then, having apparently gained the kind of wisdom he'd meant to have all along, he's at liberty to nod solemnly Good Sir's way. ]

When you lose... I want a ribbon.

[ Because of course he does. And of course there's no mention of what he'd be willing to part with in return. Details. No need to mind them. ]

[ Matsunaga turns his head toward his companion.

He leans in as he holds out his hand.

No?

The young man will not say what he is going to be willing to part with, then? So it is up to Matsunaga, then? Very well. He will come up with what is to be given to him on his own. Don't worry about it. He'll choose something worth this small bet. ]

Very well, good sir. I shall locate a ribbon of adequate worth for this wager. [ Because why not? ]

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EVENT ★ GONE FISHIN'

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