eastbound | un : dappled pearls of the parted seas (voice)

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un : dappled pearls of the parted seas (voice)

[Maybe Five thought Moran was joking when he said he would make an announcement. Turns out, he was not.]

Greetings, fellow travelers.

Now that we are once more on solid ground, I have no doubt our days will be very busy, but as it is, we still have matters to discuss pertaining to our previous trip.

The artefact that was used to call out the giant sea monster, a human tongue which has been ascertained to still be 'alive' in spite of being separated from the rest of its body, is presently under the guard of Master Five.

[See how he didn't say you stole it and tried to hide it, Five? That's his one concession to your pride.]

It is the second such artefact we are now carrying, following the heart that is in Master Kaneki's possession as well. And so far we cannot ascertain their origin, or if they might belong to the same individual or not. And given their power, the question comes to us of what to do with them.

There have been some in favor of destroying them, others wanting to study them. both are, at present, warded, but there is no telling that we might be able to keep containing them for any length of time, and we have all seen what happens when they are not contained.

Their relation to the mirrors, and the undead, is also still nebulous. I think we found out there was at least one mirror on one of the ships, but has someone found out if it was used and what for?

Lady Emilia also judiciously mentioned that they seem to have the ability to excite beasts, which was also a power the Beastmaster possessed, and the Beastmaster was the first we learned of the original and most powerful undead possible being made with mirrors.

I do not believe the fate of those objects should be decided by one alone, given that they can affect us all, and those around us. So what do you think we should do with them?

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( Wrath has finished reading over the entire post. Why are mortals like this? He doesn't know that he will really get involved in the discussion itself. Overall, this does not feel like the best place to begin studying either object given they are in one of two cities with a large population, which could suffer if anything went awry even with the best precautions taken. More than that, Minaras is under constant surveillance. )

Is there a particular reason why he is after you specifically?

[ Five doesn't really fault Wrath for not jumping in to defend him. It's better, not to let on that he's aware of where the tongue is by association. He can't even blame his curiosity; it's pretty obvious that Moran has another agenda here. ]

There's some history. He's been waiting for an excuse.

And he intends to blackmail you into submission? What exactly does he have on you?

( Wrath imagines it must be the mirror breaking incident. No one else knows about the mirror inside of Five at present as far as he knows. That would be a secret Five would keep. Granted, he didn't think anyone else knew about the breaking incident either but that would be more difficult to hide. )

You could tell him I helped with securing the tongue.

( Wrath is not altogether worried about people knowing he is helping. He hasn't decided if he will say anything at all, but this is Five's tongue. It's Five's chance to prove he has learned from the experience with the mirror, and he did because he made no effort at least to hide it from Wrath, but he finds this discussion open to the public as it is, altogether unhelpful. Mortals have been shown to be irrational. )

[ That's exactly what he intends. ]

...He knows what happened in Taravast. [ There was also that run-in with Moran in the woods, that he claimed not to take personally, but very clearly did.

This would have been so much easier to talk about in private. Moran is trying his damndest to shame him into doing something he really doesn't want to do. ]

I'd rather avoid naming anyone he might go after next. He's got a hell of a grudge and I don't think he's going to be dropping it any time soon.

Seems a strange and small grudge to hold given two of our own in Taravast took it upon themselves to interrupt a deal which had been keeping a city safe without considering the potential consequences.

( Yes, Five made an error too then out of frustration (and the effects of the curse within him). Wrath had been angry at the time when he had found out, but he finds the other error to be far more grievous due to the time and consideration it took to make the decision. Not one made in the heat of the moment but out of some self-righteous pride, believing they knew better.

Sometimes mortals worry too much about right versus wrong, good versus evil. The world itself exists so much more in grays. )

As for his grudge being turned in my direction, I don't care. ( Mortals have hated him since they were told a twisted story of his existence, and Envy has had a grudge on him for centuries which resulted in Wrath being disemboweled recently - a grudge is nothing, but Wrath can simply respond to Moran himself. )

[ Five agrees that he wasn't the only one at fault, but he recognizes what a big mistake that was and doesn't really want it getting out. Moran seems to take offense that he didn't announce something that wouldn't change what happened. He regrets it, but it's done and them knowing won't un-break the mirror. ]

That's not the only one he has, but I'm pretty sure that's what he's referring to.

[ Wrath says that now... although it's nice of him to offer. Even if Five should be able to handle it himself. ]

I think he's bluffing anyway. He knows as soon as he tells everyone that, he can't do it again. He wouldn't waste it that easily.

What other one does he have?

( Five doesn't have to tell him if he doesn't want to, but Wrath would like to know what exactly he is walking into when he does make this comment. )

Are you certain? He may find this important enough to use it on or may be angry enough to use it regardless. You may want to consider how you might tell the group first to take the power he has over you away from him. You can at least then control the narrative.

( Wrath had no control over his own, and he would hate for someone to have blackmail material to use on him- to try to get him to bend to their will. It was common in Hell, but his brothers all had material on one another which made it easier to navigate. )

[ He doesn't really want to get into it, but he's pretty sure he alluded to it with him before. It occurs to him that Wrath does know more of his mistakes than most and he's never tried to blackmail him. ]

Do you remember when I mentioned the Beastmaster's hunt, while you were studying the volcano?

[ As for the mirror situation... he's avoided saying anything for this long. Tempers probably won't run as hot now that there are fewer who were there for that, but he's fairly sure the incident ran into what happened to his memories. And with his curse getting bad again, he'd rather not explain what drove him to it. ]

They already don't trust me. You really think that would help?

I do. ( He had spoken of people being compelled in some way to attack. Wrath remembers that, remembers wondering if it would have had any effect on him but being grateful for not having had to experience it regardless. The Huntress is more than enough in terms of compulsion for him. )

The incident is already being used to sew distrust toward you in this post and likely to a greater degree than necessary given the vagueness of the comments. It is, also, being used to blackmail you into submission. Whenever he does choose to follow through, he can release the information and paint you and the incident in whatever light he chooses.

It is up to you. If you are right about his bluffing, you have time to decide. ( Granted the only thing he would not want to be public is the fact that he is the Devil, and no one but Emilia knows that so far, but it would simply complicate things for him unnecessarily given everyone's preconceived notions. )

I ran into Moran then. [ In case that wasn't clear. That sounds better than 'he tried to murder Moran in the woods', even if he was being compelled at the time. It's amazing that he's still alive.

So it's possible that he can see why he'd jump at the chance to turn others against him. It's an unfamiliar position to be in, because Five has never cared what anyone thinks about him, or given one thought on how to 'control the narrative'... not since he was a kid and they pseudo-celebrities with a public image to shape, and he barely cared then.

Now that he's forced to work with them, there's a chance this could be more of a headache. His family hasn't been roped into it yet, but there's always a chance they will be if there's a campaign against him. ]

My last announcement didn't go over well, and that was when I did something to help them. I'm not sure I could put a more positive spin on the mirror. [ He sees his point, but he's just... tired of being around so many people all the time. ] There's a reason he held back. Maybe he's trying to push me into admitting it and making his case for him.

Edited 2022-08-17 01:09 (UTC)

( Wrath grimaces. He hates compulsion, hates this world does so so frequently, hates that Five was subjected to it. ) You were compelled. ( Pause. ) There would be no reason to hold it against you.

( His hand slides into a fist and then relaxes again, shoving away memories he would prefer not to go over again. His eyebrow lifts after a moment. )

...do you refer to the announcement Wrathion made? I would hope you can see why that did not go over well given the method of delivery. ( It was set up in a way that made Five look bad, and it was effective. ) You would only need to be honest. There's no need for a positive spin, but if someone else tells the story, they may make it seem more negative than necessary.

If that's the case, I don't think you can be so easily pushed. Regardless, there's time. ( To decide. This isn't one of those easily right or wrong answers either. Wrath would simply hate to give someone else so much power over him. And he would take it back even if it meant people saw him differently. )

[ Moran claimed that he didn't, but his actions would say otherwise. It doesn't seem inconceivable that unintentional attempted murder might add to why he wants to make trouble for him. And... well, he's been here before, with people holding things against him that weren't personal.

What he says is enough to get him thinking about it more than he has been. He knows that he was set up, and Moran has been harping on the fact that Five wouldn't have mentioned the tongue if he had a choice. It's frustrating, and he doesn't suddenly believe that they need to know everything, but their methods worked better than he expected them to.

So Wrath might be right. Five still doesn't want to give Moran the satisfaction, but he mostly doesn't want to deal with it at all. He's too old to care about this popularity bullshit. ]

I've made a few mistakes. [ He can admit that to Wrath, because he knows most of them. He's seen them firsthand. ] Taking the artefact wasn't one of them. I'm not going to let them destroy it, if it comes to that.

Admitting and learning from one's mistakes is a valuable trait few mortals possess.

( It is Wrath's way of complimenting Five for being willing to make the admittance. Wrath is aware of those mistakes, but there are many who would continue to believe those mistakes are not mistakes at all, that they are still right regardless of what anyone else says or what the result is.

Wrath can already see the writing on the wall with what both this and the previous post have done. Five will become more paranoid, more certain the rest of the group is against him. Given the cursed mirror inside of him still, it's all a recipe for certain disaster. And he doesn't know how to stop it.

... a long pause. )

You do not protect the artefact alone.

[ In fairness, most mortals don't make mistakes as devastating as Five has over his long life. Despite what anyone might think, he's very aware of his shortcomings and how the smallest slip can result in devastating consequences. He embodies one of those mistakes and has to look at it every single day. He's exacting because he has to be, because when he's not absolutely perfect...

What he was trying to do with the artefact was make things right after he destroyed the mirror, so something like that wouldn't happen again. There's a chance he's wrong about that too, but he won't take that risk after what it cost him.

Wrath is giving him a lot more credit than anyone else is willing to, but he appreciates the backup. It's unexpected to have someone so willing to jump to his defense, knowing what he does. ]

Thank you. [ Really, it's nice that someone doesn't think the worst of him after he's given him every reason to. ] I'm probably going to need a hand if they ever get organized.

I won't let anyone come for you, Five.

Not for this. You came to me with it. ( from the start - it isn't the same as the mirror breaking accidentally in the midst of his anger. )

I would hope with all you know about me, you understand. ( how impossible it would be for any within their group to go against him.

wrath is more powerful than the group combined. )

[ Five has to give himself a moment to set his frustration aside and process what he means. He knows he's not great with people, and they seem convinced that he has bad intentions. It's unlikely, but there's a chance they could all decide to go after him to force the issue. And as capable as he is, he has some obvious vulnerabilities when it comes to magic. Wrath doesn't have those same limitations.

He understands the significance of offering to take Five's side over anyone who might hunt him down. He can't deny that Wrath has been steadfastly loyal to him, and his family, since they met. If there's one person's word he believes in... ]

They're watching us too closely. I'll need to find a more permanent place to store it.

( For Wrath, actions mean far more than words. Five's actions showed he was treating a magical artefact differently this time, which is what matters to him more than anything else.

He doesn't want that lost in the mess of it all. He doesn't want, especially with Five's curse so loud at the moment, for Five to behave recklessly again due to a combination of that and this mess making him more paranoid and angry than ever. )

Let me know when you've found it.

[ He didn't anticipate this would turn into his biggest priority, but they've all made it clear that there's too much interest in the artefact to put it off before he's secured it somewhere. He can't tell if the majority are just curious about it, or if their issue is with him personally, but in either case Wrath may be the only one he feels comfortable sharing that location with. If he'd wanted to take it from Five, he could have done that on the ship.

With all the scrutiny, he's barely had a chance to navigate the city, but Wrath usually doesn't have any trouble finding him. In that sense, it's a good thing he's on his side here. ]

I'll be seeing you.

Edited 2022-08-20 07:47 (UTC)

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