2022-06-20: Ghostwriting
- Log: 2022-06-20- Ghostwriting
- Cast: Alexis Kerib, Riku Asakura
- Where: Tsutsujidai - Kamesan Park Outskirts
- OOC - IC Date: 0096-06-20
- Summary: Alexis presents Ultraman Geed with a familiar series of prompts.
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
Alexis spies on his charges.
Alexis spies on his charges a *lot.*
He knows that Anti and Ultraman Geed have an agreement to fight; he knows that Geed is singularly dangerous to the position Anti engages the world from; he knows they've fought *together* against another of Akane's kaiju. He decides that he wants to relate to Ultraman Geed as a familiar, yet unfamiliar, shape.
Sometimes from within the narrative and sometimes from outside it: Alexis has watched a lot of Ultraman. He's like Akane, in that way.
In turn, the appeal of 'doing the bit' becomes quite high!
Which is why Alexis settles in, comfortably, about 200 feet ahead of Geed's current position, on a bench outside Kamesan Park, near but not at its bus stop. He decides he has some light reading to catch up on.
"Hmmm... Dark DNA. Not the strongest work in the oeuvre, but so *promising* -- and with such an interesting sequel hook," he muses aloud. It's rare to see Alexis with a hand out -- yet here he is, sitting comfortably on a bench with a book propped open.
"I'll have to ghostwrite something," he muses, luxuriating in it.
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
Earlier...
Riku has decided that today would be the day he focuses on getting supplies for his college course. Top among those is, apparently a new computer. He's already gotten the books, the supplies, and everything mundane, but one of his courses involves 'computers' and Riku wasn't very knowledgable in that field. He's never actually owned a PC, never really saw the need for one because he's a consul peasant and has a smartphone.
Then he got to the store, and the salesman made such a great pitch. Riku had sucker all over his face. Hook, like, and sinker as Riku was hyped up on the beast of a machine that would make a streamer slash gamer die of excitement. Of course, it bit into the budget, but it'd be alright...right?
Slightly later...
Riku was carrying the computer back to the store because it was too extravagant. His roommate and several friends know these things better than he informed him. He was slightly disappointed because the more 'economical' PC wouldn't be able to play the new Robot Fighter ZZZ in super ultra high graphics. Which apparently was a big deal! Also, never mind that no reasonable PC could do that right now!
Now, Riku is walking back home. He didn't have to carry the box this time, because he got free shipping as an 'appology' for the previous salesman. Obviously, another 'friend' called in and leaned on them a little...because gosh if Riku wouldn't have been swindled a second time. Riku sort of remembers this happening to him before, but with bikes and a PS4...
He looks up at the sky of the city, the Kaiju on the horizon standing over him. It still felt hot, and he wondered why it was still summer? Was this place on the equator or something..? No, because it always felt like August here.
It was about at that time he heard the familiar voice, and his casual walk turned into a very tense feeling. The feeling of Dejavu washes over him as he hears the term 'Dark DNA', see's the book cover, and then who's holding it. The memory of Fukuide flashes across his mind, as he locks his gaze with Alexis.
"I have so many questions, but let's start with the obvious one..." he says, pointing to the book. "How do you even have that?" Alexis showed up to help stop Renais, both revealing a hint of how strong he was, but also how brutal he could be. Sayla indicated he was potentially behind more...perhaps even behind Akane.
Is this because of Anti? This is earlier than expected, if it is...he expected him to act when he was distracted. So was it overconfidence, or was he that assured? Or perhaps this isn't that kind of visit? Though that book..? What message was he trying to send?
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
"Hmm? Oh, you know -- I've been wandering longer than you have!" Alexis replies, the teal panels of his mask blinking on and off as he speaks in the faint imitation of teeth and tongue and lips. "I've watched this and that unfold."
Evidently, he's also quite the reader. He sneaks a thumb into the book, holding his page. "Sometimes I take souvenirs," he adds, tone still calm and pleasant. "Now, of course, I've been a tourist for quite a long time. I actually snuck a much longer wait in than you have, I think, in getting to this point! It's actually quite difficult to stay synchronized with one version of one person forever."
Alexis is feeling chatty. Maybe it's part of getting Riku off balance; maybe it's just boredom. "Hmm -- so! Have you found this world to your liking? I'm quite fond of this particular neighborhood, you know." He's still sitting, still friendly. It remains a singularly familiar experience.
"Certainly you've been developing interesting relationships with its residents!" comes his next continuation. "They do pose interesting questions, of course, and you're young enough that no doubt the *answers* remain interesting besides. Do you have any thoughts to share? About your roommate? Maybe his ex-class representative...? The girl around whom their hearts orbit, aflutter?" A beat. "Though I think the closest relationship you have might not be any of those!"
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
Riku wonders just how long Alexis Kerib actually has been a tourist. Using the term that he coined, though Riku would call it something much different. Watching his...face move is a bit weird, something in the uncanny valley range, but on the wrong side of it. Vastly on the wrong side of it.
Getting to this point? That implies something and something that he doesn't like. Still, he'll pocket that for now, without proof of it being true, it might just be boasting. Though as long as they stay chatting, violence isn't likely to immediately unfold.
"Interesting, huh? I dunno about that. I have a few friends here. Those people you mentioned and others that live here," he says, calmly. "Though I hear you work with the girl, is that right?" he asks. He knows Anti and she is connected. Riku shifts his weight and tries to take a relaxed pose.
"If you mean the Kaiju, then I guess you could call that interesting. Though I don't think so...he wouldn't be the first Kaiju I've made friends with in my travels," So this might be about that. Again, concern in his mind about just what this is about.
"Very odd that you picked up that book specifically. Almost as if you knew I'd be walking here. You also clearly know more about me, than the reverse. That's a bit unfair, don't you think?" Riku turns the conversation towards being about Alexis instead.
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
"Hm? I can't deny that I've bailed her out of a poor decision or two, but by that metric I also work with Guy Shishioh. For that matter, by that metric I work with you! Those were the same poor decision!" All the teal panels on Alexis's face light up, and the flames at the back of his head flick a bit. "If you have something more substantial than that, I'd certainly love to hear about it."
He knows that might be a pain point, too -- so he doubles down on it. "Everyone who fought on behalf of that woman she manipulated came up short; surely you can't be bothered that I'd clean up such a mess." Granted, the way in which he cleaned it up might... leave something to be desired... but he's certainly not lying. All of those things really did happen.
He slowly lowers his book the rest of the way. "I move differently from the way you do," Alexis explains, pleasantly. He always has fun with this. "You put one foot in front of the other; I simply choose how I wish to relate to someone, and operate from there!" It's not *completely* true, but it's true enough. "I chose to be on your path, so I am."
Again: a half-truth.
Alexis chose to be *in* Riku's path, not on it.
"So," he says, diverting back away from that. "With all that in mind: what is it you'd like to do? About me, about Anti...?"
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
It felt like he was frustratingly dancing around the question in just a way to not completely flat out not answer it but to also put enough words in the way to obfuscate what he was saying meaningfully. He could have a great career in politics, which would be something Riku would think if he were less kind. Fortunately (or perhaps, unfortunately) for Alexis, that isn't the kind of person he is.
He is right though, he doesn't have anything substantial, other than the words of others. It just happened to be that those words were ones he'd believe in.
"Believe it or not, I'm not bothered by that. Not as much as others were, I suppose. It did come out better than expected. The only complaints I have were the methods and the...joy you seemed to get out of it. You did, however, still managed to not kill her. Though I wonder if that was on purpose or not."
Riku's pretty calm at this because he's not terribly insulted when he indicates that it was their fault and that they came up short in the fight. These things aren't wrong, and if they were going to free more people from the orange, they'd have to get better at dealing with it.
Though his choosing to 'reveal' how he interacts with others causes his brow to rise. He thinks on that for a moment, then wonders about those words. If he 'chose' to be in Renias's path, then he could have decided to use any means to free her...but he chose a very brutal way. So either it was required, or he chose that way. Either prospect isn't great to think about...unless he's not telling the truth.
It does mean, however, that Alexis chooses to be here...and this is about Anti. "You're here because Anti told you about this," It isn't an accusation, but rather a fact. "I wanted him to let you know because it proves something. So what I want.."
"Is for you to leave Anti and Akane alone. Leave whatever game you're on about right now, and let them both heal and chose how they go from here. What I'm going to do about Anti? I'm going to help him realize that he's more than just a Kaiju, but a person with a soul. To do that he needs time to grow, and people he can rely on."
"I have a feeling you don't want that."
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
Alexis considers letting Riku in on the element of how he moves that he'd obscured -- but he decides to let it pass him by, instead. Riku doesn't need that information, and the story will be that much more dramatic if he doesn't get it.
Instead, he says, "Anti says very little. I often have to do my own legwork -- this is a place full of people who can't communicate." Whether he's saying that about this *particular* meeting or as a broad statement of how Anti relates to others is an open question, and one he moves on from rather than lingering on.
Alexis finally rises from his seat; the book returns to somewhere within his cloak. For that matter, so does his arm; he looks like nothing quite so much as an ambulatory cape, now -- a children's story about a monster that asks you a question. "Anti can't change, you know. As long as Gridman lives and Akane doesn't change -- and Gridman is quite durable, and Akane quite stagnant -- he will simply be who he is. No entreaty from you will do anything to change that."
At this point in the conversation, it seems like Alexis is going to deescalate -- simply float past Riku, translating away across the sidewalk, and let him be.
It's a moment past that when it becomes obvious that Alexis gives nothing -- least of all the shape of the situation, the limbs and sinew beneath the airy nothing -- for free. With a whirl, he pulls forth a blade -- a long scimitar, black shading into crimson. He doesn't hesitate; he lashes out at the spot he believes (no, the spot he *knows* -- he's had plenty of chances to observe Ultraman Geed, even in this universe!) Geed's Riser to be, on his belt.
There's one choice he's made that his predecessor didn't, after all:
He interrupted a solitary Riku, not one with a friend.
Alexis does excel at capitalizing on isolation.
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
'Anti says very little,' Riku can't help but chuckle at that. It's true, Anti doesn't say much, but he doesn't mind so much. He communicates in other ways, and it's why Riku's confident in what will happen. Even when Alexis says that nothing will change, because Akane is unchanging, and Yuka won't die easily.
He goes to speak, letting the man pass by him. "Anti will.." and then the blade comes at him, lightning-fast. He barely has time to move, the black and crimson blade slicing through the air. He's forced to move first, instead of grabbing at the Z-Raiser.
It was seconds too late, Riku not realizing what he was going for. The blade dug into the Z-Raiser on his hip, the weapon impossibly deep into the Raiser, something used as a weapon itself...and cut through so casually. The device, smoking falls off of his hip and onto the ground. Riku responds, not to grab it, but to try and force Alexis back.
A fist aims for the side of his head, trying to either drive him back or hit him hard enough to buy him time. Riku frowns, he knows suddenly the situation is dramatically changed. Without the Raiser he can't become Geed.
Though this act is not without a revelation on its own. Riku feels pain where the Raiser was. The Raiser wasn't the only thing hit, but he levels his gaze at Alexis. "You know, I think you were lying to me more than I thought. You don't think that about Anti, because if you were sure about that you wouldn't have done that."
"That's the difference between you and Fukuide. Fukuide was so confident in his position, so confident in Belial that he didn't care that he was being used. You don't have that same faith."
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
Riku goes fist to fist with Alexis -- and surprisingly, it works. Alexis remains immortal and unchanging -- and yet, when that fist streaks for him, he backpedals a little bit, giving Riku the chance to gain separation.
Besides -- Alexis has already achieved the bare minimum, and his motivation to do more than that remains razor-thin even at the best of times.
It's when Riku calls him out on lacking the confidence of his fellow seijin, though, that he really does start to get bothered. "... Hm? That's quite the hunch for such little information," he offers Riku, curiously. "I decided to play to your script! Let you believe for a moment your struggles were observed -- that they mattered! You really have no sense of *nostalgia*, Ultraman Geed. Here I thought you'd begun to become an adult."
He has to chew on the thought, though, as much as he loathes it. "Isn't it that that opened him to being so used, though...? In the end, I am here and he is not, you know. A bond is a shackle; certainly neither giving nor receiving filial piety did much for either of your opposite numbers, save destroying them."
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
So he could be moved, he could be punched. Distance is purchased, but more than that his words seemed to strike more true than his fist. He moves to pick up the Z-raiser...or rather its pieces. Destroyed. It certainly wasn't the first time he's lost a device or been denied the ability to transform. It was Fukuide who first stole his capsules.
The injury was going to have to wait, Riku thought. "You really don't know Fukuide that well. It's to be expected...you only were a tourist in that. I lived that life. Fukuide wasn't much about scripts, but rather the stages. It didn't matter to him too much how things were set up, but the stage itself."
"You're worried about the unimportant part of the story. You're missing the forest for the trees, to borrow a phrase. He set the stage, and lead people to it...you're making sure everyone follows a script. When you try and clamp down that hard, you get people who rebel against their stage directions."
"So you're trying to correct this, by removing disruptions, instead of letting it flow organically," he winces but keeps his focus. "It was, but it also gave him the power to move forward. To keep going when he should have died. It gave him the strength to be his best at every stage he set up, instead of stressing over the small things."
"He knew how powerful a bond could be, even if the person he worked for did not. Preventing me from fighting Anti isn't going to stop him, he's already there. He's almost ready to step out, so if it can't be me, then someone else will. Heck," he says, with a grin, "You just might have done what was needed to push him over."
Riku doesn't elaborate.
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
Riku... does he have Alexis's number? Or is this one of the Computer World's off-by-one errors?
Alexis certainly isn't forthcoming about it -- but maybe the space he gave Riku was more about gaining a different type of distance entirely. "Hm. At this point...?" It's true, at least, that this is a more tenuous point in the narrative than Alexis might care to concede; the appetite for violence in this world is at an all time low. Why, Akane's had difficulties that she didn't even want to push on with kaiju, this month -- and the Nadesico has been a flurry of observed activity between some of his other projects.
... There's still plenty of value, here, now, though. It's just a question of finding the way to... *extract* that value.
Still -- Alexis can't afford to look weak in the least. He calmly says, "There are contingencies in place, in any event, Vessel of Light. If you believe these events to be on rails, don't be surprised when one of those rails is electrified, hm?"
Alexis keeps his gaze on Geed -- but continues to give him his space. "I hope Anti isn't too disappointed with your broken promises," he says, incapable of quite stopping himself from indulging in gloating.
<Pose Tracker> Riku Asakura has posed.
Riku steadies his breath, keeping his eyes on Alexis. He struck once, but it's no doubt that Alexis knows that he won't get a second sneak attack...though with how things are, that was likely the intent. He confirms it with the comment about Anti himself. Riku shakes his head though.
"Don't worry about that, Alexis. Just because there are rails, doesn't mean you can't respect what the story is driving to, or the forces keeping it there..." he looks at his Z-Raiser. "The problem though is that you've made something known. You're also forcing others' hands."
"As far as Anti goes...I wonder how he'll react to you interfering with this. Who knows where this will head now, eh? As I see it, you tried to control the narritive, tried to put things back on the rails...and touched your own electric rail without realizing it."
"And he will find out. He will know you did it. He will know you specifically aimed for the thing that allowed him to fight Ultraman Geed."
<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.
"... I'm sure you believe that!" Alexis replies, though it's hard for him to find as clear a threat at this point. Then again -- he's made his point, at this point, achingly clear; Geed is powerless now, and even if he thinks he's stumbled on some truth, well -- good luck enacting it, as far as Alexis is concerned.
Alexis turns, at this point, leaving Riku to his wounds. Anti has already been so suspicious of Alexis for so long -- surely if he was going to raise a finger to disrupt the world he inhabits, the world would be on the verge of shattering like glass.