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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The collision knocks him off balance too, sends him stumbling into the adjacent shelf with a soft grunt. He manages to catch himself, but only just, and chuckles sheepishly under her gaze.]

It's fine, really.

[He kneels, a little unsteady, and starts to help her clean up the mess.]

this is quite a tall stack of books you're carrying. Planning on some light reading?

[Flushing when he kneels to help her she ducks her head and starts looking around to reassemble her pile.]

You could say that, yes. I've never seen such a collection before.

[Since so little of her world carries over to this place, and she'd still like to know about the other worlds to so she's got a bit of everything at this point.]

[Red smiles at this reaction--he wasn't normally one to instigate bashfulness, but she was so young! The books nearest to him are stacked in a short pile which he pushes toward her.]

It's an impressive collection, as I've recently discovered myself. I was wondering what I should pick up next. Maybe if I wander around, something will strike my interest, right?

Most likely you will, I'd bet there's a little something in here for everyone...what topics are you interested in?

[She gives him a small smile as she dips her head in thanks once her pile is reassembled.]

Thank you.

You're welcome. [He offers her a hand to help her up.]

I've been interested in history lately, I don't care the world. One of my neighbors helped me find a stash of history books from her world, and I was curious about what else I could find.

[Accepting his hand she pulls herself up off the floor, brushing out the dust from her trousers before stooping to pick up the pile of books...and after a moment, sets half of them on the shelf to leave behind. She'll have plenty of time to read them so long as she's here, right?]

I'm rather curious about that as well, there are so many worlds represented by the people here and almost all of them seem futuristic compared to my home.

Almost all of them seem futuristic? [It was mostly the reverse for him, and largely dependant on which planet he was thinking of. Compared to Coruscant, Luceti was very quaint and backwater. When compared to Yavin IV or Dantooine, however, Luceti was almost comparable.]

How so? [He was genuinely curious--his own book search could wait. Sometimes conversation garnered more detailed, more interesting information.]

I've heard some talk of worlds made up entirely of sky, others where space travel is common place and in my world we rarely get visitors from off the continent itself but I think we're on the brink of progression in the south.

[As for the north...well, she'd rather not talk about that.] What sort of world are you from...ah, forgive me, I'm Sabriel.

[Shifting her smaller pile of books into one hand she extends the other to him.]

...You'd say that I'm from one of the more futuristic ones, Sabriel. [His smile is apologetic as he says this--how else could he explain it to her? He shakes her hand.] Just call me Red. All of my friends do.

From what I can tell it's not hard to be. [She gives a soft chuckle. Besides, it's not like people can choose what time they come from. It just makes them all that more interesting.]

It's nice to meet you Red, sorry about running into you earlier.

The pleasure in meeting you is mine, Sabriel. [It was more than politeness talking, but it wasn't quite flirting. She seemed like an intelligent, studious young woman--someone who would be great to converse with. He leans back against the table comfortably, and smiles.]

What exactly is your world like then, if I may? It makes me curious, if many of the worlds represented here are futuristic when compared to it.

[If they're going to chat for a while she may as well get comfortable. Setting her stack of books off onto the table she tries to think how best to explain it.]

My continent is split by the Wall into countries; the Old Kingdom in the north and Ancelstierre in the south. In Ancelstierre the people are very science and technology oriented, more looking to the future you could say but compared to lands where space travel is possible we're still exploring the development of airplanes.

Now the Old Kingdom is a country very much dominated by the past. Anything machine made from Ancelstierre falls apart once it crosses the Wall to the north but in place of technology we have Charter magic and Free magic. Consider Luceti without any electricity or hot water and it'd be very close to a typical village in the Old Kingdom.

...for some, that wouldn't be a far stretch. I've heard that the electricity and hot water we enjoy is a relatively recent addition.

[Her words do make him curious about such stratification, though. The fact that, in her world, technology and magic cannot coexist is baffling to him. It was good that he wasn't destined for her world, or he would need more assistance with just walking than he was willing to ask for.]

That's a really curious division, though. Where I'm from, what you'd call magic is limited to specific practicioners, and those practicioners can live anywhere from the metropolitan Coruscant to the agrarial Dantooine. Do you have any idea why the divide exists?

Ah, not all people can use magic, only those who have been baptised with a Charter mark. [Although non-magic user wouldn't be able to see it...or maybe they simply didn't notice it.]

The Wall is to keep the Free magic monsters and the Dead in the north where we can properly deal with them.

...that's similar then--only those who are sensitive to it's energies can use the Force, not everyone. [He smiles sheepishly.] I can't. I just work with a lot of them.

But that makes more sense, with the Wall being a protective measure against threats. Do you know why technology doesn't work on the other side of it?

Edited 2012-04-08 03:48 (UTC)

The Force-Oh! So you're from Luke's world then. [Now she has a better understanding of what he meant before about his world being more futuristic.]

It might be another protective measure for the north I think. What with all the dangers to the Old Kingdom why not just destroy everything up there and rebuild? But guns, tanks, and heavy artillery fail when they near the wall which would make any such effort impossible. Most people deep in the south simply refuse to acknowledge there is anything odd in the land to the north at all.

[That earns a smile. It was less for him to explain now.] Yes. Luke is actually a good friend of mine, and he's a very good guy to talk to about...well, anything.

But the land to the north protects itself? If I'm understanding this correctly, that's a very unique scenario.

He's a good friend, he helped me out a lot when I first arrived here. [Not to mention he offered her some much needed support when she almost had her breakdown.]

Yes. And...well, time flows differently on the two sides of the wall. Ancelstierre is usually a season behind the Old Kingdom and a week can pass in the Old Kingdom while a month passes in Ancelstierre.

...It gets very complicated.

Well, he is a nice guy like that. You can rely on him for almost anything that isn't outright dangerous. [He learned this the easy and hard way over the years, largely thanks to Luke's persistance. If it weren't for the Jedi repeatedly asking for his presence on various missions, Red wasn't certain how well he could ever come to know the man and be friends.]

...that does sound complicated! Almost like the inverse of what can happen in Luceti, where years can be passed here but only seconds at home.

There's not a barrier other than the wall involved, is there?

The Wall was created when the Charter was formed when the land was dominated by the Dead and Free magic. It's infused with Charter magic which makes it stronger than any normal wall or barrier; that's what keeps the Dead and other creatures from crossing.

Hang on. [Red raises a hand, politely gesturing for a pause.] Why would the dead be anything but, well, dead?

Ah- in my world Death is a river with nine Precincts and nine Gates, only when the spirit passes through the Ninth Gate is it truly dead. It is possible if the spirit is particularly strong willed for it to fight against the river and return to Life as a monster that feeds off of the lives of others.

...the dead can return to life? That has to ruin some kind of balance somewhere in the universe. [He understood her words, but was bewildered by how such a thing could be possible.]

It does when they kill the living in order to stay out of Death. That's why the Charter was made by five of the Great Charters, to give people the means to protect themselves against the Dead and Free magic alike, and why my bloodline was created.

...that makes sense, actually. How is your bloodline different from the others, if you said before that anyone baptized with the Charter can use it's power?

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