epidemiology | 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It wouldn't be the first time he was impaled with various weapons -- and likely not the last, either, given the fact that Servants don't actually die.

His hands clench in his lap, and a flash of irritation and resentment courses through him at Gilgamesh's reaction. Certainly, he can see why the other might be repulsed, but really, this arrangement was never for his own benefit. Even though he did enjoy some of the things they did, the simple fact is he never considered it his choice so much as a means to keep the peace.

His expression tightens, and it should be clear enough that he dislikes that he's being judged for this. Nevertheless, his voice is steady. ]

What would you have me say, Gilgamesh? That I agreed to this for my own sake and my own pleasure? That I would not clash with you, given everything I am and have been for millenia?

[ They both know that's not the case. ]

I would do and have done far worse for the light you spoke of.

[ For the sole link to his humanity, for the one person who calls the storm of self-loathing, hatred, and despair raging incessantly at his core -- he would debase himself, walk through Hell, and even die for her. He betrayed her once, and he'll be damned if he ever does it again. ]

Edited 2016-03-30 04:44 (UTC)

I would...

[Gilgamesh hesitates. Archer has made a fair point; he cannot rightly contest it, or else risk looking like a brat. And Gilgamesh has no desire to, for once. In reality, he's more confused than he is angry, more baffled than upset. It doesn't really add up, save for that one factor which seemed to overrule all others—Rin. Assuring Rin's safety meant he was willing to shame himself, even before the man he'd once killed.

Gilgamesh hesitates, and looks away, and displays a very rare form of submission; Archer will even sense it in the subdued flow of his prana, which had snapped just moments ago. He's being scolded and he sees the reason in it. He didn't come for an argument, so he draws back before it even starts.]

I would've thought you more insulting to me. Than you have been. And I would've thought she might hate me.

[But she doesn't. That's not something either of them can answer for.]

[ Knowing his name, as well as his history, would probably do a great deal to enlighten Gilgamesh regarding his fierce, unequivocal attachment to Rin. It transcends the bond of Master and Servant as it is, indeed, more than that. She is someone from his past, he is someone from her future, and it is unique as much as it is paradoxical.

His words seem to have struck a chord with Gilgamesh somehow, and while Archer was almost expecting a fight to break out, the other's prana settles. Just as well, considering it would make everything up to this point a complete and utter waste. ]

I cannot speak for her.

[ He hasn't talked to Rin about Gilgamesh in some time, and truthfully, he's avoided it. He doesn't want to answer potentially awkward questions. ]

What transpired between us in the Holy Grail War was not personal. [ Or at least, not on his end. ] I have no reason to insult you.

[This could've been a breaking point. Gilgamesh could've lost his temper, yelled and hollered and screamed and rained such fury upon Archer that not even the endless wasteland of Unlimited Blade Works might hide him from the King's wrath. It could've been, but for a variety of reasons—the image of Archer, curled up, naked, and pleased in his grasp being chief among them—it isn't. Gilgamesh backs down. The storm passes before a single rumble of thunder.

And surprisingly, he breaks into a faint smile.]

It would be easier, were I so wicked again.

[Good, evil, clear sides. But it could never come to pass, simply because Gilgamesh could never accept responsibility for what he's done, or will do.]

It would be easy. But that is not what our lives were meant to be.

[It is a quiet form of suggesting that, in their own way, they had finally become used to one another.]

[ It would be easier for Gilgamesh to be wicked, and it would be easier for him to simply be the cleaner he's been for so long. As much as he despises and wishes he could be free of it, it's also simpler, in some ways, than trying to be human.

The smile isn't returned, but that shouldn't be a surprise. Archer rarely feels anything like happiness, and he stance on most issues has and always will be neutral.

He could not say with certainty what lies ahead for any of them, and while he had questioned whether this peace, of sorts, between them could truly last, perhaps it will.

His voice is quiet when he answers. ]

Living is more difficult than dying.

Aye. I'd toast to it, but you stole my drink.

[Not really. And he doesn't need Archer to smile; he's seen better, as close as he'll come to it, in those quiet spaces. Those smiles, he now understands, were reserved for someone very special, and he respects that. Archer was a broken man. Perhaps it was only fitting he threw his lot in with a broken King, as well.

Gilgamesh gives him a tug on the arm, the kind he always employed when he wanted attention. Childish, a little needy.]

You will come tonight?

[ If only freedom could be so easily obtained.

Gilgamesh plucks at his arm, and in a way, it does remind him of a child. His fellow Servant, he has come to learn, can be needy and even clingy, at times. It perplexes him, and he doesn't feel anymore enlightened on the man's behavior around him than he did before.

He looks down at his hands and suppresses a quiet sigh. ]

Yes.

EVENT ★ GONE FISHIN'

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