halians | allstars | pc catchall

[ for once i care about locations again. anyway you already know his tits are sadly covered by a hoodie but find him at the beach of middle summer island in scawwy, his boots abandoned in the middle of it as he stands with his feet firmly in the ocean

You Cannot Swim, Ace.

despite the kind of homesick expression he has on before he spots strohl he grins pretty brightly upon seeing him ]

Hey, Strohl. Nice weather, right?

[ OUTSIDE is the mood here he's so happy. there's air. ]

[ i remember reading this and being like this is such a cute starter and it was like four seconds before i completely lost track of everything in my inbox ever again

anyway!!! strohl's in the midst of shedding his jacket because he is a white man from the mountains, but... admittedly, it is nice, and it's good to see ace look that happy too, so: ]

Hot as the Virga Isles out here. You're right, though. Nice to get some fresh air.

[ strohl jr is here too, frolicking happily through the sand! he runs a circle around ace's legs in the water, making excited squeaky noises. ]

Can't imagine anyone much happier than a sailor on the sea.

[ honestly what even is an inbox. everything is a mess. last night wasn't real.

he crouches a little to acknowledge the little guy, laughing as he splashes around his feet ]

It's not that hot. [ no, it is, but the hoodie stays on. for reasons. ] Well, it's not quite on... but I'm just glad it didn't take weeks for me to see the ocean again this time.

[ yes he is a happy sailor thank you ]

[ prithee ]

Sounds like they kept a lot from you, over there.

[ said with a little nod... if there was one thing key nueve had in spades, it was the ocean, or. at least the dead side, anyway. he puts his hands on his hips, coat draped over his arm, peering out at the horizon. strohl jr happily headbutts up into ace's hands, then nearly gets bowled over by a wave because he's small and stupid.

...once he gets up, strohl himself talks again, making sure his idiot furball is fine.... ]

Last time I visited a place like this... started with us getting arrested, ended with a party. [ with a snort. ] Strange experience, but a good one.

[ verily...aideth... ]

If you liked shops, it wasn't so bad.

[ it was a city it's just that he hates cities. thank you. he's laughing immediately at the description strohl gives ]

You know, that sounds like the kind of trouble and adventure I'd have. Though for pirates, everything ends in a party.

[ until you die ]

[ snrk ]

For all you know, I've been a scoundrel my entire life. [ no one would believe this.

strohl jr flops over on ace's feet and lets the water wash over him, kicking his little feet in the air in glee and then running off down the beach at mach fuck like he's got the zoomies. ]

Sounds about right, yeah. Seems sort of akin to these places, if you think about it. Trouble, adventure. People throwing parties, apparently...

I don't know much about pirates, if I'm honest - short of the basics. Used to be some out there on the seas, apparently, but the humans keep most people off of sailing, nowadays.

No one would believe that.

[ says the meta out there. ace is having fun watching strohl jr and playing along with the little guy but

the what? ]

The humans?

[ lol. ] I'm aware.

[ but - oh. he looks a little surprised, at first, glancing over. ]

...Have I not shared that with you yet. Right. You all call yourselves humans. For us, "humans" are monsters.

[ sort of making a face ]

Well, that's not so surprising... [ humans in one piece are also racist monsters to someone like strohl who could be part mink maybe? but that's probably not the same thing. ] But do you mean--literally?

Yep.

[ hands on his hips, looking out at the ocean... ]

Monsters made of magla. Usually a couple of stories tall, grotesque features, and hellbent on destroying anything and everything. You can't imagine how odd it was to hear people casually refer to themselves that way, in the last place.

They're a bit hard to describe. [ frowning... ] Suppose I could show you one in that room of simulations, if you wanted, though only if you're not faint of heart.

They sound a bit like Sea Kings, when you put it like that.

[ also the "only if you're not faint of heart" immediately makes him laugh ]

I think you know the answer to that one! Sure, we can go see what a human looks like in your world.

I'll show you my horror, if you show me yours ...?

[ deadpan

but yes off we go to the sim room!!! strohl gets briefly motionsick once again but he does not yartz so we're winning

anyway! to the simulation room. he sits there fiddling with it for a minute, and then leans back, as the simulation starts to build...

this horrible fucking thing. it is huge, filling up the entire room, towering over them both. strohl looks uneasy staring up at it, frankly, mouth set in a grim line, but it does not move besides its tongue slobbering out of its mouth, and its huge heart on the platter beating in the simulation room. th-thmp. ]

[ ace pats his back comfortingly while he is motion sick

when the human fills up the sim room ace doesn't look intimidated or scared in any way but he is going

????????????????????????? in shock ]

What the hell am I looking at? Why's it carrying its own heart??????

[ welcome to hell ]

Told you. Human. They're forms of abject melancholia. Mutated, I think, from your alls 'humans', or something close to it.

[ this answers no questions actually? the thing just sits there being horrible, its eggshell butt pointed this direction, its stupid heart thumping hard. the little figures dance around the heart in a circle. frolic, even. strohl stares at it for a moment longer... ]

Not even the worst of it. Watch.

[ strohl reaches for his sword on his back, takes it in both hands, and then closes the distance between himself and the human, cracking the back of the egg with a mighty swing of his blade. the shell of the egg cracks, and inside of the egg are so many little guys? these are all about the same size as strohl, who steps right back. the little guys stand in their egg ass tavern. ]

[ this answers no question so he decides to not ask anymore and just watch the weird freaky monsters do things

sorry the egg cracking does him in he starts to laugh ]

What? Why are there guys in the egg? Is that a house?! This is the weirdest thing I've ever seen!

[ he thinks this is hilarious because he doesn't have to fight it as a boss battle but also he would think fighting it as a boss battle would be soooo fun so idk ]

God, I wish I knew.

[ all the little guys just stare at them... ]

It's a lot stupider looking when it's standing still, isn't it? It's not trying to murder me or destroy and kill everything within in a league's radius, so it loses some of its lustre.

Let's go hang out with them.

[ can we go in the egg tavern please he has forgotten what this lesson on humans was about and now he just wants to see what's in there ]