waitingforplayer2

...what...?

[He's way too tired to make sense of this.

He's just...going to trust Beat, for now, and trust the game he's making out of this, and stick close to Nanami, to make sure she's okay. That's about all Atem has the capacity for.]

....I'm still wearing a mustache....

Edited 2022-08-16 14:53 (UTC)

Wait, we're-- we're going to what?

[ She-- presumes this is still part of the game, but that does sound dangerous! ]

Nobody's gonna... get hurt, are they?

[ And she reaches over behind Beat's back, and adjusts Atem's moustache-- sticking it more firmly on. She whispers loudly. ] You have to keep it on! You're still evil right now!

Blow up a buildin'!

[Beat's tail wags like that's a perfectly feasible thing to say without batting an eye, grinning to the loud whisper as she pushes Atems mustache back on.]

No one gonna get hurt, place is comin' down anyways, peeps been cleared out. But we got some stuff goin' on that gonna make it seem like it was brought down by evil villains! I 'unno if I shoulda toldchu that? But whatever.

[He shifts them both as they make it to the ground floor, the elevator opening as Beat hups them out of the building. At least he brought his truck and lets Nanami go so she can climb into the seat, eying Atem.]

You wanna sleep in the back, brotha? I can grab some blankts an' make a nest fer you back there. Will be a bit breezy but secure.

Edited 2022-08-20 01:04 (UTC)

You understand....

[He looks at them, very seriously, over his mustache.]

You understand that the last time monsters brought a building down, it caused a lot of trouble. Even though they were careful to empty it out, they were branded terrorists. There was a lot of pushback, from other monsters! Are you sure you want to do this...?

[Then, as a second thought occurs to him:]

Then again, if it's not connected to the gods, then there's a very high probability not a single other monster not directly involved will notice.

[he's not answering the sleeping question. one of you will have to decide for him. he has decided, instead, to attempt to give serious advice, while in a cartoonish mustache.]

[ Nanami hesitates, and glances at Beat. ]

If it was gonna come down anyway... it's kind of like helping, right? Like demolition.

[ Atem looks absolutely dead on his feet, and Nanami wishes so bad that she could help him, to fall asleep or something--

Her eyes get very wide suddenly. ]

Spengler's!! Atem-- Spengler's said-- some nymphs can-- [ What was it.

She holds up her claws. ] I might be able to put you to sleep!

[Beat can't help the absolutely not evil smile as Atem reminds him of the Cube, his tail wagging and swishing against the ridiculous cloak to the help. His poor tired sweet gremlin friend.]

Squiddles is right, yo. Promise it ain't a buildin' attached to any Gods or Monsters, an' the little hints we droppin' will point to 'human' evil villain. Jus' at the start to get W.E.B. interested, then it'll go back to bein' a planned demo in their minds, ya know?

[He looks startled when Squiddles suddenly Spenglers, tilting his head as she holds up her claws and offers to knock Atem out.]

Uh...? Whose Spenglers, yo, an' why he say Nymphs can help put peeps to sleep? I'm lost.

[Still... if she can do it, she should. Atem looks like he's about to fall over. He looks horrible, Beat keeping a hand on his shoulder to keep him up and steady.]

Unofficial demolition that's meant to inspire fear is terrorism.

[he's murmuring this almost to himself. Atem's pretty certain he won't be listened to, and on top of that, he's only so sure he's making sense at all, fiven his levels of exhaustion.]

And monster powers only work on monsters sometimes...it might not work on me.

[But, it might! The only way they'll know is to try!]

It's a Guide... I'll show you!

[ It's her favorite book and she has read it so many times that she has memorized big parts of it. But that's not important right now.

She carefully takes the tired merperson's webbed hands in her own, and looks Atem in the eye. ] I'll only try it on you... if you're okay with it. But I promise... Beat and me... we'll be okay.

[ Atem looked after her. It's time she returned the favor. ]

[Beat hears Atem, and will take his words to heart. There might be another way to go about it. He steps aside a little to make room for Chiaki, smiling a little to her words.]

She's right, it'll be aight yo. I'll make sure ain't no one think it's terrorism, or anythin' like that. We'll make sure ain't no one hurt or scared fer their lives. An' we'll make sure ain't no one think monsters did it. Let her try her sleep thing on you. You need it, man.

[He's quiet for a moment. The sleep deprivation...it's left Atem feeling mistrustful. There's an undercurrent of crankiness, even anger, that he's doing his level best not to let himself take out on Beat or Nanami. He's still unconvinced that this is a good idea, but...

...if his time in Ryslig has taught him anything, it's that he can't control other people's actions. He doesn't realize Beat is actually listening to him; he's starting to hallucinate wiggling things on the ground in the corners of his vision, so his ability to read faces and tones is truly suffering.]

Okay. It can't hurt to try...after all, if it goes terribly wrong, then you two are here, and the clinic is...

...

...

[He squints. Waves a hand in the direction he thinks Crowe Clinic is.]

...over there. Let's see if it works!

[And if it goes terribly wrong, it's not like he's alone in his apartment with no one to call for help. One way or another, it'll be fine.]

If you're not okay, we'll get you there right away.

[ She crawls up to Atem and gently takes his hand, looking for a good place to do this. She looks at his palm... winces at the thought, and turns his hand over. ]

Hopefully this won't hurt too long... [ She presses her claw into his skin until it pierces between his scales - a translucent liquid drips from her claw into the cut. ]

[Beat will step aside, keeping a bit of distance to let them do what they need, but keep an eye on things. Be there in case something goes wrong.

It's sort of fascinating to watch, as Chiaki cuts him. It's sort of what he was expecting but also huh.]

[The only indication of the pain is a slight wince, a twitching of the muscles in one eye -- but that's because he's among friends, and doesn't mind them knowing. He's not poker-facing, not trying to impress anyone with his pain tolerance.

He lets himself be drugged, lets the fluid slip into his bloodstream.]

...

...

[He sighs.]

I don't think it'll work after a--aaaaa--

[His eyelids droop closed, and he goes fully limp. He's out.]

zzz....zzz...zzzz....

[ She catches him gently against her, listening to his breathing. It's even; slow, but continuous. She hasn't killed him, thank goodness. ]

I think he's alright... [ She lifts her limp friend easily with her monster strength, and gently places him into the back of Beat's truck. ]

Heh...

[He watches Chiaki place the sleeping Atem into the back of the truck. He could easily take him back upstairs, but he's still leery about entering Atem's place uninvited... Instead he unhooks his cape and drapes it over the sleeping mer, tucking him in gently.]

Poor dude.. How heavy yer sleep stuff? Will the truck wake him up? I can take him back upstairs [And face wrath later] if you think it might...

I'm not really sure... [ She shrugs. ] I didn't know for sure I had it until just now.

[ She hesitates and looks back up at the apartment. At least he wouldn't be alone, if they left him there - Ryou's probably around now - but... ]

Let's take him with us, just in case... I want to make sure he's okay.

Aight yo.

[Moving around to the front, Beat opens the door to pull a small travelers pillow from behind the seat. That goes for under Atem's head, so it's not bumped too badly. Then he grins to Chiaki.]

You ready fer some burgers an' watchin' a buildin' come down?? It's already scheduled for demolition, promise yo. They was gonna tear it down cause it was a hazard. After it comes down, Josh gonna make it seem like "villains" [Beat even air quotes the word] did it. Jus' 'nuff to pass rumors to get WEB interested. Then it'll fall off after WEBS had their oh no bad guys time to investigate! fun.

[ She grins back, getting into the passenger's seat - a significant task, given how extensive her root system is. She casts another glance back at Atem - yep, he's still sleeping peacefully.

When she speaks again, it's in hushed tones, so they don't wake him. ]

As long as you're ready... to be taken down by the good guys! Your villainy won't overtake Ryslig, evildoer!

[That makes Beat snort softly, climbing into the drivers side beside her.]

You think you brats can stop us?

[He winces as he starts the truck up, glancing back to make sure Atem still sleeps, then pulls out to drive them to...... the soup kitchen. He makes no attempt to hide where they're at, but also makes no fuss about it.

He will leave the truck running as he pops in and when he comes back out? Hello, hamburgers. He will hand the bag to Chiaki, before hitting the road again.]

Hand me the one that says everythin', yo. I dunno whatchu like on yer burgers so I gotchu a few.

[The condiments will help cover the fact it's not a hamburger patty...]

[ She peers into the bag, finds the right one, and hands it to him. They smell REALLY good. You can't even really tell what's in the center of them.

She glances back into the back row, ready to hand one to Atem if he woke up - but nope, he's still asleep. ]

That venom really took him out... [ He's still breathing, though.

She rustles through the bag, checking all the labels. At this point, honestly any of them sound good. Her stomach is rumbling.

She unwraps the first one she finds and takes a huge bite. Immediately she breathes a huge sigh of relief - it hits the spot way better than burgers usually do. ]

Thank you, Beat-kun...

Edited 2022-09-22 22:34 (UTC)

[Beat takes the one handed to him with one hand, tail thumping lightly against the back of the truck seat as he slowly begins to unwrap it, never taking his eyes from the road as he does.]

Good, brotha needed it. That no-sleep shit from those pills really fucked a buncha peeps up.

[He only does sort of take his attention from the road to watch her from the corner of his eye as she bites into the burger. Good. It won't satiate her entirely, she will need a full meal for that if she hasn't eaten but... it'll do.]

Heh, you know, you can jus' call me Beat. Nonna that honorific stuff needed! Butchu welcome, squiddles. Focus on eatin', we'll be there shortly. An' eat as many as you want.

[He himself will ... well, you ever seen a dog inhale something and you're not sure if it actually tasted it? Yeah.]

... Beat. I'll try.

[ She will fail. It's kind of naturally ingrained in her to use the honorifics at all times, because it's The Thing You Do. But she'll give it her best shot.

Nanami practically inhales the burger also; they're turning down another road when she peers into the bag, considering taking another one.

They go over a bump in the road, and Nanami hiccups. Whoops. Ate too fast. ] What, um... what's the building? [ She's just gonna take one of those sodas to wash it down with. ]

[The hiccup makes Beat blink. That was the cutest sound ever?? Hello?

Her question makes him smile a little.]

Old office buildin'. Was gettin' too dangerous so they closed it up an' planned its destruction. Should be- ah! There it is, yo.

[Pulling over to the side, Beat kills the truck and nods to the three story building a bit away. There's a crowd gathered, eager to see the old building come down. It's obvious the poor thing needs to be demolished; it's already caving in here or there, and there's holes in the bricking. There might be some familiar graffiti scrawled on it too.

Crew are moving here or there, putting the final touches to the charges and making sure the crowd is well away. Beat opens his door with a grin.]

Come on, Squiddles. Time to be evil.

[Which will be followed by Beat exiting the car and...... moving to sit on the hood of it.]

Huh?

[ She's sitting in the car taking in the building for a good several seconds before she realizes Beat's out. Then she scrambles out of the car-- quickly enough that she would have fallen over, if not for her roots keeping her stable enough to keep her upright-- and crawls her way over to the hood where Beat is.

(Idly she tries to read the graffiti on the side of the building, but it's too stylized for her to make heads or tails of it.) ]

What-- mm-- huh? Just here? [ She toys with her fake moustache, trying to make sure the glue's still sticking to her wooden face.

(Beat she can't sit on the hood of a car that was just being driven it is HOT for a nymph made of wood.) ]

Yeah!

[He turns to smile at her, then realize she's not climbing onto the hood. He ohs a little... hm. The hood is pretty hot. He likes it but it might be too much for her. Looking around, he slides off the hood and wags his tail, moving over to her.]

How 'bout a better spot?

[He holds out his hands to her, with a grin.]

We can go up higher? Watch from a nearby buildin'?

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cw discussion of terrorism,

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cw hallucinations, paranoia, sleep deprivation

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