video | un: gokuu

[glutton_monkey]

[Having only just learned how to use video on the omni, Goku's feed is a bit shaken and choppy. He's really only half visible for most of it, kind of stepping out of frame every so often because he's clearly walking. You might see some of the rolls of bread he's carrying.]

Hi ev'rybody! My name's Goku, an' my friends said that I should talk to th' network if I need help with stuff, soooo... Do we have any healers around here?? 'Cause my friend's ankle is broken but he can't heal himself 'cause it don't work like that or somethin', so I was hopin' somebody else could help him??

Oh yeah, m'also goin' around deliverin' bread for him! So if Hakkai toldja that bread's on th' way over, that's me! Goku!

Comments

[fogsong]

Help is help. [ Sometimes it is that simple.

Still, did he just say...? ] Save the world? Really, from what?

[glutton_monkey]

[The question makes Goku perk right back up, eyes bright as a grin crosses his features. It doesn't really occur to him that this might be any kind of secret, or that maybe Hakkai had chosen not to share this with people for a reason. So he just goes right ahead and-]

Yeah! Back home some mean youkai lady's been doin' some stuff that made all the youkai go kinda nuts! So we've been on our way to find her an' kick her ass so everythin' goes back to normal!

[fogsong]

She must be hard to find if you've been traveling as long as you have together. [ If she's capable of riling up youkai, it implies a certain amount of power, too. And now 3/4 of the team is here in Trench. ] I guess this place really got in the way of saving the world, huh?

[glutton_monkey]

I dunno, actually! I think she's just suuuuuuuper far away or somethin', an' it's hard for us ta get to. We've gotten lost a couple o' times, I think. Plus she keeps sendin' guys after us ta kill us or whatever.

[He says it so casually. He even shrugs and smiles. No big deal. This is normal.]

Mmmmm, I guess it did? But I kinda get th' feelin' that it's okay. Like th' world's just back there waitin' for us, y'know? So m'not worried!

[fogsong]

[ Don't just shrug and smile over that revelation, mister!! Sharon opens and closes her mouth, stunned a minute, and then quickly blinks and shakes her head. ] She sounds like a bitch then.

[ A beat and then: ] You've got that feeling too, huh? I guess we all do now. It's kind of a relief.

[glutton_monkey]

[EVERYTHING'S FINE. THEY'RE TOUGH, SEE? :D]

[That makes Goku laugh.] Guess so! Gojyo an' Sanzo think so too. She's gotta be pretty nasty to do what she's doin' anyway, so s'probably true.

Uweh? Did people not always feel like that here??

[fogsong]

No, we didn't. I didn't feel one way or the other about home or this place but now it feels like... Being here isn't going to affect whatever future I had back home. It's fucking weird if I"m being honest. [ She's suspicious about it but, at the same time, there's a comfort to the feeling. ]

[glutton_monkey]

Mmm, I guess it is kinda weird. [He scratches at his head for a second, making a face. Honestly Goku doesn't like to think about this kind of thing too much, so he just shakes his head after a moment.]

But it's not bad, right? An' I kinda don't mind bein' here too much. I know some crazy stuff just happened, but it prob'ly coulda been worse!

[fogsong]

[ It's definitely not a comforting line of thought but Sharon's always been the kind of person who wants to push the envelope in that regard a bit. ]

I don't know if it's bad yet but I'm kind of paranoid whenever it feels like someone is trying to guide my feelings towards something. It's hard for me to trust. [ a thoughtful pause ] Things aren't always hard here but it really can be. You'll find that 'worse' happens more than you'd like.

[glutton_monkey]

[Goku's head just tilts slightly at that suggestion. It never would've occurred to him to think that someone is manipulating his thoughts or feelings. It's one thing to be able to cause hallucinations, but he's never heard of someone being able to directly affect his emotions.]

Can people here do that?? 'Cause that sounds way too crazy powerful to be real... Wouldn't lotsa people be dyin' all th' time if things were always that bad??

[fogsong]

Crazier than being pulled into another world and turned into a shape-shifting squid with the ability to do blood magic? [ There's a flicker of a smile on her lips. ] The Pthumerians are crazy powerful and their ability to affect us is even crazier. And people die all the time here, Goku. Hell, I died less than two months ago.

[glutton_monkey]

[That seems to sober him up pretty quick. He may be used to getting severely injured more often than not, but dying? He doesn't really want to die just yet. And he certainly doesn't want any of his friends to die.]

You... But you came back..?? I mean, you're not a ghost or somethin' right now, right??

[fogsong]

[ Oh. He hasn't been told yet. ]

In this world, because of what we are, Sleepers, we're reborn after every death. Some people return to the sea to wash back up like when we first awaken here but other people's squids crawl out of their own crystallizing body. [ She sighs deeply. She has flashes of memory but they're distant and hazy and sometimes she wonders if it's just what she imagines it to be like. ] It only takes a day or two before our squid-self remembers the right form and we return to our normal bodies.

[glutton_monkey]

[Goku... makes a grossed out face at that. These are not fun mental images, Sharon!! He's seen a lot of gross things in his day and you're just reminding him of some of them!]

Eeewwwwww... That sounds like it sucks a lot.

[Does it make him at least feel a little better about dying here? Sort of. Not a whole lot, and he'll still fight like hell to not die, but... At least it's not for forever.]

But everyone comes back if they die?

[fogsong]

It does suck. A lot. [ Absolutely. 0/10, would not recommend it to anyone but people she hates. ]

No, only us Sleepers. The people born here, the Trenchies, when they die, they die for good.

[glutton_monkey]

[He shudders one last time for good measure.]

So I guess we've gotta work extra hard to stay alive, huh? Since lotsa stuff tries to kill us here?

[fogsong]

It's not as hard as it sounds but, yeah. I'd been here over a year before I bit the bullet and plenty of people I've known have never died. Don't be careless and you shouldn't have to worry too much.

[glutton_monkey]

Well, that's good, then! Me an' my friends are pretty hard t'kill. We'll just keep lookin' out for each other like always!

[fogsong]

That sounds like a plan to me. Good luck, Goku.

[glutton_monkey]

Thanks, Sharon!

An' hey, you lemme know if somethin' tries ta hurt ya, okay?? I'll come beat 'em up for ya!

[fogsong]

[ That makes her bust out laughing. ] Yeah, sure thing, Goku. [ Hnngh her heart. He's too precious. ]

[glutton_monkey]

[His cheeks puff up a little, like a petulant child. But he's still kind of smiling at the same time.]

I'm serious! Just call me on this thingy an' I'll come runnin'. I'm real fast, too!

[fogsong]

[ That just makes her laugh harder. ]

You do know I am a bit of a badass, right? I would even go so far as to say I'm pretty fucking powerful. But if I ever need help, I will give you a call. I promise.

[glutton_monkey]

[Goku laughs too, just light-hearted and happy.]

You do seem pretty cool! I just wanted t'tell ya just in case!

But also if you're a real good fighter I wanna come see ya fight sometime! Issat okay??

[fogsong]

I, uh... Yeah, sure. I don't do a lot of, like. official fighting but I do a lot of training. I'll invite you some time. Or I could take you on a patrol with me. There's always some kind of beastie or monster that needs taken care of.