redjacketthief | 6th Turn [Voice/Action]

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6th Turn [Voice/Action]

[It's mid-afternoon when the journal post is made by a familiar voice in an unfamiliar mood. A quick look at the image reveals a face that is both familiar and unfamiliar--but that smile, with it's odd curl and suppressed mirth, can mean it is only one person.]

[Failed Filter to Mine Fujiko: Completely Readable]

Hey...Fujiko? Remember that game you gave me at the end of the last month before you went on your mission? It was very clever, and the prize has been a joy. How did you know I liked history books? I'm wondering, though...why are you having me read about your ex-boyfriend's grandfather, after you made it clear that you don't want to think about it?

[There's a pause as the man notices the feed.] Oh... blast it! I messed, Fujiko. Want to meet in my place?

...Everyone, disregard that.

[Later that day the man wanders the town, his hair in a mussed disarray and red jacket noticeably missing. Instead he wears dark colors, fitted but more casual clothes, and his wings are for once in the open. He's headed to the library to return some books, gather others and other supplies. Early that evening, another journal post is made. This time, it's intended for anyone.]

Evening, Luceti, this is Red. I was just wondering...is anyone else around here missing about twenty-one hours of their weekend? Does anybody who isn't know what happened? It's just a question for inquiring minds.

Also--has anybody actually given the Battle Dome a good once over after last week?

[He's serious in his words, even if the smile is light. Ladies and Gentleman, meet the man who's going to be adamant about calling himself Red...someone you're more likely to know as Arsene Lupin III. He's not going to stand down from that either.]

[OOC: Details about how Lupin has been shifted, for the curious, are here. He has a number of physical details in terms of style that are changing beyond what's available to me in normal fanart and screencaps, so I've had to choose a PB, ~~Emiya Kiritsugu~~ a man from another anime that I've yet to actually see. Replies will have appropriate icons, thanks.]

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I did make him fall face first into it just before that. [She snickers, too amused at the memory to mind the poking. Though she does sober a bit at the talk of Luke. He seemed tense in his earlier broadcast.]

Keep it light with him. I think losing twenty one hours bothers him more than he's letting on- he was frustrated enough when we lost the weekend in January.

I was living above him back in January, remember? And, I've known him for almost ten years. I know how to handle him, no worries.

[He caught the tension too, and planned to ask about it. He would do anything it took to help keep Luke on the high road, anything to prevent a repeat of the episode two years ago.]

I've watched one Skywalker fail. [Soft. Somber. Tense. They'd managed to help Anakin here, as awkward as the meeting had been. Adele has only ever been tangentially involved with his life, her one large contribution being to urge him into a relationship with Padme. Which. Ended poorly.]

I'll trust you on this Red. Keep an eye on yourself too, mm? There are strange things wandering the woods lately.

...I've heard the broadcasts over the journals, Goldie, and I know I'll be safe so long as I have my blaster and can fun.

[He kept his voice level and coolly controlled, even as he remembered that the one he'd need to guard himself against should everything go awry was Luke himself. The brighter light caused a darker shadow. It was true anywhere, especially where the Force was involved.]

Don't worry about it. Really.

I am not worried- much. I am not worried much. He is in control, and he has you. And Ben, even if the times are different. And Ami.

[Luke would be fine. She hopes. She'd been negligent once, and here? she cannot afford to do so again. Taking a deep breath she centers herself and lets go of all her threads of anxiety. It helped no one in the end.]

So...what was it that Fujiko led you to?

Having friends around does make it easier...

[He couldn't deny that, even with his own problems. His problems with the Hutts only occured because he tried to do everything on his own--it was only after joining the Rebel Alliance and serving under General Madine that he came more fully into his potential as a person. All this, because of friends.]

It was actually a stash of books about her world's history, written by Maurice Leblanc. I resemble her ex-boyfriend, and they were about his grandfather.

...I'm almost worried that she's planning something.

Hmm....some sort of grand seduction, you think? It would have to be elaborate. Possibly violent. Definitely interesting. It could be fun, though. I would be terribly jealous if she stole you away from me.

[Even if she's laughing through her doe eyes and half pout.]

[He laughs along too.]

Fujiko? Seduce me and steal me away from you? Please~ I look too much like her asshole of an ex for her to bother unless she was feeling masochistic!

Good, because she can't have you. You're mine.

[The pout gives way to happy giggling and she gives him a squeeze, tipping her chin up to kiss his cheek.]

[Ever clever, he tilts his head as she leans up so that their kiss meets on the lips. He can't help but chuckle.]

[She can't be too terribly miffed. It's a trick she's pulled on others often enough.

Sneaky Red.

That thought, a small swell of amusement before she pulls back, brow quirked.]

[He chuckles at her coy reaction.]

You know you liked it, Goldie. That help you a little with your boredom?

It always does Red. [She tips her head back down to snuggle against his side.]

Mmm. This is why I like you.

[The simple physical contact, the banter--it was enough for him most of the time. Still would have to be, if he ever planned to get out of Luceti to return home. He had work that needed to be done.

It would probably never end, but it was worth it.]

I like you too, Goldie. If you ever need boredom relief again, you know who to call.

The best slicer the galaxy has ever seen?

[She chuckles, letting her mind drift a little. What Red meant, by being here. What he went back to. What he would know. A question she's had but never, ever asked. All she has on it is conjecture.]

...There's no record whatsoever of my death? I just...vanish around the time Luke turns ten?

[He laughs a little at the compliment--there was a reason he ducked promotions and awards. Excess attention was always dangerous...but he'd be a liar if he didn't admit to liking it. Even if only in disguises, he still found little ways to shine.

Even in moments of seriousness, he tried to keep the mood light. Balancing the gravitas carried by Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and even Admiral Ackbar was no mean feat, but he liked to think that he tried.]

Even if I am the best slicer the galaxy has ever seen, I can't do anything if the hardware itself is wrecked. If there are records, I can't access them. It's likely that they were destroyed when Darth Vader and the Emperor made their rounds. They wiped all records clean.

[It was the indiscriminant destruction of information that left him on edge, and the sheer brutality of their methods that made him wary of Anakin Skywalker's presence. The fact that Luke and the others had their meeting, vouched for him, helped.

He still preferred to be on alert, just in case.]

I shall have to continue with the assumption that I did something stupid, got caught, and paid for if then. I cannot imagine going out in any other way.

[Ten years. It'd be enough. Especially if she spent them with Ben, with Luke. She'd never done right by his father, but for her Little Skywalker? She would not allow herself to fail. Not when she's seen how great a man he can be. Without any idea how much she hurt or helped, or how much he remembers her beyond calling her 'auntie' she knows whatever it is she does must be made worthwhile. Somehow.]

[He hugs her, with no flirtations and no teasing. It was just an embrace from a friend who wanted to offer comfort to another in a small way.]

You tried your hardest. From what I understand, many great Jedi fell for less at the end of the Clone Wars. The fact that you didn't, that you tried for as long as you could, is what counts.

I wasn't there for the purge. I was at a funeral. [It makes her huff a soft, sad laugh, remembering that. Jeddack's funeral had been the thing to save her. She leans into Red, accepting that comfort without question.]

I just wish I knew it mattered. That I didn't die doing something selfish. That's all.

Well, if you're dropped back home tomorrow and you remember your time here, that's for you to decide isn't it? Maybe there are records that I just haven't found--I'm no historian, I just like data mining from time to time as a diversion.

We don't know what comes tomorrow, but maybe you can alter your fate a little bit.

I would not have left Ben to watch Luke on his own. I would not have left Luke if I could have helped it. There are precious few instances where I give my word, Red, but I gave it to his mother. I swore I would do whatever I could to keep him safe.

[Not that it would save him. Not that it would save Ben. The lingering threat of inevitability was starting to make her itch again, and it was terribly difficult to shake it off.]

The past is past. We cannot predict the future, unless it's already been written. However I go? I can only know I go down swinging.

So long as you know that, you should have no shame over something you haven't even met yet. If you think you'll go down in a fight, you probably will--but you see how Luke is now. Obviously, he didn't come out terrible.

...We probably would still be under Imperial control if he wasn't around.

Maybe you should count that as a success?

I suspect that is more due to his training with Ben and Master Yoda, knowing his sister, and the friends he has made along the way. [The smile she offers Red is grateful.]

When we leave? We'll never have met. And I do not know if you will remember- but thank you. For knowing him and being there for him, since I cannot. He'll need someone like you far more than he would someone like me.

Me? I'm just a man who likes the shadows too much, Goldie. There's not much I can do for him that I haven't already tried at some point.

...I do best where the light doesn't reach me. He shines. [It was something he hadn't expected to see ever as he worked his way around the underworld of Nar Shaddaa, didn't even expect to see when he jumped at the opportunity to join the Rebel Alliance.]

I'm really just a nobody. I like it that way. But, even nobodies like me are probably someone he'd take some kind of lesson from. He's probably learned something from everyone he's encountered.

It never gets too cold in the dark, does it? There's always company enough there.

[Luke did shine. That much was certain. He burned as bright and brilliant as his father...and that could terrify her in no small way. The brightest stars burn out too fast. Destroyed by their own brilliance. She can only hope it is not the case for Luke.]

You can keep him grounded. Nobodies are excellent anchors. A different point of view, a voice of reason amongst the chaos...

[This became far too somber too quickly. She manages a half grin.] Besides. You're not a nobody to me red.

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