un: sling shot | audio | after wedding no. 2 goes awry

[slippin]

Hey. [ The voice coming through your magical doohickey is low and maybe congested. Whatever this is doesn't sound like good news. Then the speaker clears his throat, continues in lighter tones, his cadence practiced: ] Are you somewhere private? Because that would be a good place to be right now.

[ There's a good twenty-second pause filled with ambient train noise. Time enough to close your communicator, make your excuses. ] Great. [ Again: it doesn't sound great! ] Um. So, uh, earlier this afternoon as I was leaving the movie theater, I bumped into the bride-to-be...or not-to-be...Like. [ A single solid clap. ] Bam. Well, her little attache case went flying and in the course of helping her, you know, recombobulate herself I may have glimpsed a thing or two relevant to our present circumstances.

[ A beat. Hastily: ] Not weapons. Nothing like that. [ Please don't commit unilateral or joint murder based on his intel! ] But, okay, before we go any further, I've got a few questions for you:

Do we know anyone onboard whose name starts with C? As in crazy, or camembert.

Have any of you talked to Prassenze? [ Rest assured: he mangles the pronunciation. Maybe he'll figure it out by the third wedding. ] Had a little heart-to-heart?

Uh, and last but definitely not least, what the hell?

Great. [ Great! ] Thanks. Over and out.



[ ooc: threadjack away! mod-provided deets on the suitcase's contents are here, since jimmy will share all that info but it'll be run through a jimmy-filter and he's allergic to being direct.

(also if your char would want to talk to him in person, lmk and I can do a starter for that!) ]

Comments

un: oil change | audio

[nachocheese]

[Jimmy...]

Spit it out, man.

[slippin]

[ What do you even care!! ]

Two of my questions are yes-or-no.

[nachocheese]

lol idk man, last time i checked "what the hell?" wasn't a yes or no question.

un: absterge

[downswing]

You may have glimpsed.

Not here.

[nachocheese]

[You tell 'im, Wangji.]

[slippin]

Depending on the level of interest. [ The defensiveness is really only there if you're listening for it. ]

[downswing]

You speak as Five does.

audio | un: wooden sword

[vdovy]

That is so many words for very little information.

[downswing]

Brevity was not glimpsed.

[vdovy]

We can't all have your gift of concision.

[slippin]

[ Seemingly taking this as a compliment: ] Yeah, well, time was I was paid by the hour.

[vdovy]

And now you are pro bono, so kindly volunteer the information.

un : dappled peals of the parted seas (voice)

[beitangmoran]

So what exactly is it that you've seen, if it is not weapons?

And unfortunately, I haven't gotten close enough to talk to her, although I've been around the rest of the wedding party.

[slippin]

[ A brief pause. ] Letters. Sheafs—sheaves?—of letters from her to Firo and vice versa, and...she was very particular [ You know, when he was helping her gather them up, an event that definitely occurred. ] about keeping them neat and organized.

Matter of fact, she didn't have much else. [ His voice sags a little—reflexively sympathetic but with a trace of suspicion.

Moving on! ] Yeah? Hope you didn't get caught in the crossfire tonight.

[beitangmoran]

That's interesting. It seems to confirm that she is... running away from something, but keeping the letters so neatly organized suggests a measure of genuine feeling. Or extremely cold and calculating planning, on the other extreme.

Why the letter C?

un: Black Prince; text

[blackscales]

There is a contessa. Presumably she is partnered to another countessa or count. C could, of course, be short for a nickname instead of name.

[slippin]

[ Jimmy pictures: a purple pointy-eyebrowed muppet counting endless iterations of the same wedding, laughing maniacally.

Jimmy says: ] Huh.

The sister, right? [ Is that a note of distaste in his voice? You can't prove anything. ] Has her other half graced us with their presence? I think it's gotta be someone on the train.

[blackscales]

Not that I'm aware. What leads you to believe it must be someone on the train?

[ What was it you saw, Jimmy? ]

un: wisdom

[mashiara]

What, you want a list of everyone with a C name? Or a title. Why? Where in her mysteriously flying case did this "C" appear? Embroidered on a pocket kerchief? On a letter? The way she signs her journal.

( she sounds so distinctly unimpressed. )

You want a list of all "C" passengers, talk to the conductor. Ask him about which tickets, which staff, belong to "C" and you might have an answer. Why do you think it matters on this train?

[slippin]

[ Jimmy didn't run through worst-case scenarios before addressing the group—mainly because these days “worst” has become a word with an ever-expanding definition—but listening to a voice he doesn't recognize, frosted over with contempt and berating him for specifics...well, it's up there.

He gets his internal groaning out of the way before summoning as much false cheer as he find on hand. ] Hey. [ A light laugh. ] I see why you're “wisdom” and not “patience.” [ Jokes!! ] Uh, it was a letter, actually. Good guess. You wouldn't happen to be a world-renowned private detective or anything, would you?

[ It's only partly out of spite that he continues on without further elaboration. To his surprise, he discovers he has a valid question. ] Do you think the conductor'd go for that? Because, uh, I talked to the guy and he gives a new meaning to “by the book.” He might even be part book.

un: wei wuxian

[weifinder]

Sure, we chatted while Prassenze was trying to growl her way through everyone in the wedding party today!

( sounding so chipper! but also, a narrowing of his eyes that are not, not, not visible in this audio exchange. and then. )

She's been shy, and it wasn't anything we had reason to want to do before now. Have you spent time talking with Firo? Any of the wedding party? I'm making the guess you're looking at inspiration for why Prassenze went missing last night when you... bumped into her today. Coincidentally.

[slippin]

[ Great, it's the guy Nacho tried to lean on.

At Jimmy's request. He proceeds with caution, which means—talking even more than usual and hoping he comes off as kind of an idiot. ] Look, I don't know what aggro bonding rituals are like. Maybe one of you was doing squats with her. Or throwing that big, heavy ball. [ He makes a two-handed tossing motion. While on audio.

But now that he's thinking about it: ] Should we be wondering what she's gonna be like tomorrow?

And, uh, no, to your question, the first time around I was—contributing to the celebratory atmosphere. [ A beat. ] Drinking heavily. I haven't said much to any of them.

[ But they seem...like dicks. ]

video; un: the bad guy

[yeahmagnets]

[ Jesse's just ignoring entirely this whole wedding mystery for the time being. ]

Sling shot? Seriously? That's what you're going by these days?

[ But nevermind the username--let's get to the fact that they're both here of all places. ]

This one of your 'tricks up your sleeve' you so eagerly tell us you've got?

The HELL is going on, Goodman? You owe me an explanation.

video | un: wooden sword

[vdovy]

[ Jumping in here because she is defensive of Jimmy and Kim. ]

Not everyone gets to choose their handle. [ The look on her face makes it clear that she thinks Jesse could have chosen better. ] And who is Goodman?

lmao still audio...

[slippin]

[ Video! Thoughtful! Jimmy squints at the guy on the pocket-sized face of his pocket watch. He looks familiar, but it's hard to tell if it's we've-met-and-I-inevitably-pissed-you-off familiarity or just general this-is-a-guy-who-knows-what-a-video-game-is familiarity. One thing's for sure: he absolutely does not look like he's on Lalo's payroll.

What the hell is right, but Jimmy's more than happy to set that aside in favor of a quick branding discussion. ] Thanks for your input, Mr. The Bad Guy. [ He literally can't resist adding, like this is the infomercial channel on the magic watch network: ] Sling shot. Handy to have in your back pocket.

Okay, let me get this straight. You think this is my fault? This?