Ryslig IC Contact

[terribibble]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, FIDDLEFORD HADRON MCGUCKET. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 011.23.581.321 *** teslacoils has joined 011.23.581.321 >> teslacoils has posted an AUDIO MESSAGE. If you wish to listen, type LISTEN01. <teslacoils> Lab hours are 10 AM to 6 PM Mon-Wed, 7 PM to 3 AM Thur-Fri, special appointments available. <teslacoils> I am no longer associated with the Fourth God. <teslacoils> But I will answer any questions you might have about him with the honest truth.

<teslacoils> - main username
<novus> <ordo> <seclorum> <fulcrum> - anonymous usernames
<hadron> <thamnophis> <4eyes> - retired usernames
pixel image by CJ Pythonmelon
voice work by Penny knittinggiantbeanies

Comments

<deadbabyjoke>

[thefuckingbeam]

nice

lets do it

smoke up and meet me in the arcade?

[terribibble]

['In a dark room, with lots of sharp objects' is not the kind of thing Fiddleford McGucket ever wants to read. That sounds incredibly sinister... or maybe his brain's just doing that thing it does and raising red flags even where they aren't warranted? He knows it can do that sometimes. Maybe he's just reading too far into things.

But who talks like that?

He resolves to just... gently gloss over it.]

thank you. i've had the same one my whole life and all. it's done me well enough.

[ufufufufu]

most welcome!
most welcome!
forever welcome, even!
it has done you very well.

[terribibble]

I wouldn't mind that. There's an awful lot of nice places out on the far side of the lake, at the edge of the woods. We could pack up a nice lunch or somethin'. Or dinner. Can he go outside durin' the day? I know some folks can't.

[That's always a concern for him now, making sure he can accomodate everyone. It's not a problem for him when he's awake 24/7.]

[terribibble]

sure.

[About twenty minutes later he slithers through the door to the Arcade, tucking his personalized keycard back into the pocket of his tweed jacket. His tongue flicks from his mouth, searching for Eddie's particular scent. All he gets is the overpowering smell of marijuana, which is just as good a marker if he's being honest. It leads him to Eddie just as well as anything else would have.]

Hey there.

[thefuckingbeam]

[Eddie's sort of surprised that he managed to beat Fiddleford here; then again, Eddie was already buzzing when they agreed to this, so it's not like he had much prep work to do. What's actually surprising, however, is that Fiddleford is no longer a troll, which is what Eddie's grown used to. He blinks several times, turning away from where he'd been leaning against one of the arcade cabinets.]

Oh hey, man. Didn't realize you were, uh. [He gestures at Fiddleford's tail.] Long, again.

[terribibble]

Oh --

[He turns to look back at his own tail as though he's just remembered it's there now that Eddie's reminded him. The tip of his tail lifts and flicks thoughtfully, though he's careful not to rattle. Being high and hypnotized would probably not be fun for Eddie, he thinks, though he isn't sure exactly what it would do.]

Right, right. Guess I'm so used to it I forgot a whole bunch of folks know me better with legs.

[Eddie's seen him as a naga, of course, but they only really started spending any real time together once he swapped monsters. Of course Eddie's used to it.]

It's been a couple weeks now. Since my birthday.

[thefuckingbeam]

[That earns a snort of laughter from Eddie, and he shakes his head as he pushes himself upright by the elbow.]

I guess that shows how much I pay attention.

[His hair is messy as usual, and his eyes are a little bloodshot, but otherwise Eddie seems pretty functional. He may have smoked a little extra in preparation for this.]

You ready for some high-stakes puzzle adventuring?

[idunnosurfing]

[Sasuke actually lives on the far side of the lake at the edge of the woods, but he's so intensely private that Percy wouldn't dare disclose that information without explicit permission first, so he goes in a different direction with a small twinge of guilt for the misleading.]

He and I actually spar around there. And yeah, it'd have to be dinner. I'm usually at work during the day anyway.

[terribibble]

it'll be on the door to the shop too. makes it pretty hard to miss. you can't confuse one mcgucket labs for another when i'm fairly sure anyone with the name mcgucket's got to be related to me.

[ufufufufu]

You must have been busy.

[terribibble]

[Hahha. High-stakes.]

Sure am. Though I ought to warn you, I've played this game before and as far as I can tell I'm awful good at it.

[Sure enough, FHM is top of the leaderboard.]

[terribibble]

well its not a very common name is all. i honestly doubt you'd find any other mcguckets here at all

i sure hope not.

[Oh yikes. Oh, yikes, he really hopes he hasn't just given the Fog God an idea.]

[ufufufufu]

I hope not, too.
Our loved ones should be where they are happiest, is that not right?

The message.
The Fourth God.
I hear he is a kind soul.
He took in the soul of one of my friends.
I am grateful to him even though I remain neutral.
Neutral for almost a year.
None of them turn my head even if I feel gratitude.

Tell me, why did your god make you breathe with joy so that you would swear loyalty to him?

[terribibble]

Spar? Like, uh...

[He's never been one for sports of any kind. He used to wrestle with his siblings, of course, but that's just normal sibling tussling. Very different from what he imagines when he thinks of sparring.]

Swords? It's swords that you spar with, right?

[idunnosurfing]

[Percy groans, clapping a hand over his face. He hasn't seen Riptide in a year, but it feels like longer.]

Crap. I don't even want to think about how rusty my swordsmanship is. But, um, usually we do hand-to-hand. We're trained in different styles, but I think we fight on the same wavelength. It shouldn't work, but it does.

[Which, actually, is an accurate description of their entire relationship, if he thinks about it--but it makes him blush, so he tries not to.]

[thefuckingbeam]

[Eddie scoffs, turning to the cabinet and fiddling with the left-hand joysticks.]

Whatever you say, man. You can't possibly be better than, ah—

[He gestures at the screen.] FHM, there. [Leave him alone he's stoned.]

[terribibble]

i wouldn't say joy's precisely the right word. not that i'm not happy for His help mind you

[The truth is he needed a security blanket. He needed something to cling to since he didn't have anything familiar and he couldn't have his memory gun. He's not going to say that.]

i just like knowin i'm doin somethin concrete to fix this mess we're all in. it wouldn't sit right with me if i weren't

[ufufufufu]

I greatly apologize for saying so.
But what is your selfish wish?
Fixing things and feeling you are fixing things is nice.
But don't you have a much, much more selfish wish?

[terribibble]

that's an awful unflattering thing to assume about a near-stranger yknow

its not selfish to want to stay sane.

[ufufufufu]

Is it?

I'm saying that to go with a god you must have a selfish wish.
You need a selfish wish.
Sanity is found in being selfish.
I was never selfish in anything.
I wanted to do everything for someone I loved.
So, I'm telling you to make a much, much more selfish wish.
Sanity is found in the little things.
Sanity is lost in the bigger things.

To a near-stranger, I am telling you this for your own good.

[terribibble]

i have plenty of little things. thats not an issue
you oughtnt make judgements about folks you don't know.

[Is he being so defensive because Mitsuhide is right? Absolutely. There is a lot about his personal motivation that is selfish, and he knows it, but it would be hard to admit it even to a loved one let alone a stranger.]

[ufufufufu]

I humbly apologize!
I shouldn't judge anyone~
I am only worried.
Only worried.
I am very sorry for speaking out of turn.

[terribibble]

I had no idea you even knew how to use a sword. I suppose it makes sense. Child of a god and all. That's... that's probably the sort of thing you'd learn.

[He doesn't think about that much, truth be told. Every time he remembers his brain starts gearing up for a headache. Best to just accept it and not think about it. Or its implications in terms of the divine and what exactly is out there above and beyond humanity.]

It's good you two have somethin' you connect on, at any rate. A good relationship has to have a couple of things like that. Things you're on the same wavelength about.

[terribibble]

[Ahaha oh my god. That probably shouldn't be as funny as it is, but the weed is certainly making it seem hilarious. Fiddleford has a pretty distinctive laugh -- a donkey laugh, some folks'd call it -- and it comes on twice as enthusiastic when he's high.]

Y'know, I'm not gonna tell you why that's funny. You'll see.

[He slithers up beside Eddie. The moment his hand touches the joystick the 'Credits' marker becomes 'Free Play' instead. There are some perks to being higher up in the ranks.]