youfool | Ted's IC Inbox

These are necessary, I discovered! Any private message to Ted's communicator will go here, if you please, so I may treasure it forever.

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From:

om_nom_namur

Uhhhhh... probly not yer version a evil. Don't give a shit 'bout what anyone else says an' that means I don't really give a shit 'bout someone else's idea a what's good an' what ain't, either. Jus' hate seein' people unable t' make their own decisions or live their lives the way they want, an' I'll fight for that any day.

[Namur leans forward, eyes narrowed curiously.]

Know I'm a pirate, right? Mark I sent y's my brother's jolly roger.

From:

youfool

[If he didn't before, he does now. His face fell at the proud amorality on display. Ted felt utterly betrayed. When Namur leaned forward, Ted wondered if Namur wasn't being better than his philosophy, and offering up his own head as punishment for his treacherous talk.]

[Far be it from Ted to refuse him. His feelings grew cold, then hot, as he contended with the death of the fishman he thought he knew, and the betrayal of the one now. With life-fiber speed, he thrust out his legs and swung upwards, striking at the proffered chin, just where Ted was hit, and transitioning from his sitting position to a standing one, body bent forward with indignation.]

That almost makes us even! God help you if you're not a liar! What the hell was that just then, Namur? I so much as mentioned slavery and you were ready to Crusade with the best of them, denouncing with zealous fervor! Now you have the gall to sit here and say you don't care about right and wrong, except whatever milk-and-water pabulum you've made for yourself. You don't have the right to be angry; not half so much as I do! Where do you get off making me think you actually had a conscience? [So hurt, so disappointed. And in the heat of the moment, Ted wanted to hurt in kind. He wanted to see the fire that had made even a pirate, for one glorious moment, speak out with the light of the prophets who condemned the world.]

Slavery's too good for you!

Edited Date: 2016-08-27 01:38 am (UTC)

From:

om_nom_namur

[Namur surges forward, slamming his head into Ted's gut and driving him into the wall, then takes a few steps back. Guy's fast, he'll have to remember that. Namur turns his body slightly, facing Ted with his right hand raised, but otherwise he looks relaxed.]

Everbody's got a conscience, dumbass. Jus' cuz mine don't line up 'zactly with yers don't make me less of a person. The hell's yer deal, anyway? Could love y' like a brother, y' says, but the second y' hear somethin' y' don't like y' turn on me, eh? Some shitty brother y'd a made!

From:

youfool

[He sure does find himself against walls a lot. Something desperate and poetic about that. The nice thing about walls is the way they let one rebound and, say, deliver righteous jump kicks, which he'd do presently.]

" 'Doesn't line up exactly'? 'Something I don't like'? Must you water down everything! Now I see why God despises the lukewarm above all others!"

From:

om_nom_namur

[Namur lowers his head, then disappears.

Or seems to.

The fancy super suit might help Ted track his movement as he darts faster than vision, dropping into a crouch under the flying jump kick and forward, spinning with his elbow out to catch Ted from behind. That should hopefully break up Ted's momentum, and just to make sure he goes crashing to the ground, Namur rushes forward, having turned completely, and grapples the young man so they'll land in a heap, fishman on top. It all happens in a fraction of a second, so fast that a normal person would have seen Ted leap and then the two on the ground, and wonder if and when they had blinked.]

Thrive in water, so sure. But listen up, man. Yer fixin' t' make a big mistake. Ain't gettin' all heated up cuz I don't wanna kill y' over somethin' so dumb as havin' a differnt opinion. Don't mind a good scuffle now an' then but both sides gotta have cold water in their gills, aye? One a us starts suckin' in heat then shit gets deeper'n either a us means t' go an' that's how "unfortunate accidents" happen. Got me seein' red earlier but it was a misunderstandin', an' that's fine. Now's yer turn t' stop an' think, 'stead a actin' like some judgmental bastard an' pushin' 'way someone y' might wanna keep 'round as an ally, catch my drift?

From:

youfool

[That's humiliating. Both Ted's body and spirit were heavy-laden. He briefly gave a thought to simply pushing off and putting them both through the ceiling, but that would be rude to the other tenants. He wanted to talk? Ted's favorite past-time, or would be if he had happier things to say. He's surprisingly eloquent underneath however many pounds of fish.]

"There it is again; as if philosophy were frivolous. What on earth does being an 'ally' mean if it does not mean banding together for the same cause? As if viewing the entire universe differently meant nothing!"

From:

om_nom_namur

Cuz if y' got shit that overlaps then there ain't no reason y' can't work for it side by side. Duh! Ain't never gonna find someone thinks 'zactly the same as y' do, so yer better off makin' friends outta the overlaps 'stead a enemies outta everyone.

[Namur sits up a little, indeed surprised that Ted is able to say as much as he did without gasping. There's something weird going on. Namur discretely sniffs at him. Maybe Ted isn't as human as he claims to be.]

From:

youfool

[Depending on the sensitivty of Namur's sniffer, he might make out that Ted's clothes aren't the usual. Cotton, polyester, life fibers. Though just how alive they are is a matter of some debate; a symbiotic organism with a very slight hint of parasitim. But even this one came from an archway, whose denizens are completely soulless. Not that Ted's very clear on whether they had souls to begin with. Or maybe Ted's just used to talking a lot, even with a little air.]

[Ted waned. He hated it when people preached practicality. Even when they were right, they were enervating. Now Ted's too tired to be tactful, and so came to merely saying everything.]

"...I want more than that.

You helped my city simply because I asked. You gave me a nickname. You invited me into your home to eat and talk and divulge dreams. Best of all, you burned with enough righteous indignation to boil the sea. All rare and precious as buried treasure. Then you go and say a thing like that. You show me nothing but gold, then, like the worst pirate, you lock it up and throw it overboard to the bottom of the ocean. Who wouldn't be incensed after that bait-and-switch? Who's turned on who?" [Ted had no idea what to do with Namur. He came so close. And now he...what, should be content to make strategic alliances? Be satisfied with strange bedfellows? It wasn't good enough. So little was. And yet...]

"Why, then, do I still like you, Namur? Why, after being such an ass, do I still believe you're decent?"

From:

om_nom_namur

[Namur smirks, rolls over, and flops back against Ted's thorax, hands propped behind his head. It should at least be a little more comfortable, if for no other reason than it isn't an active, aggressive pin.]

Hell if I know what's in yer head, man. Taste emotions comin' off people so sometimes I know what they's feelin' better'n they do, but that don't tell me what's in their head. Ain't a mind reader.

From:

youfool

[Ted gave a small 'uhf' as the weight was re-applied. The allegory was very fine, at least. Namur had deflated and crushed his dreams just as surely as his flattened form now. The vest was keeping things bearable.

Actually, this wasn't so bad. He did say he could hug Namur once he'd discovered his good deeds. This felt similar. It just hurt, having his ideals doused like that. He could weep.

But he didn't weep. There was a kind of peace in surrender, as he closed his eyes, then laughed almost imperceptibly. He really could nap here. But need he surrender? Was Namur a lost cause? Could the treasure be unburied? Could the gold be dug out of the dross? It hurt to hope, but it hurt to extinguish it. Much like he is now. Down, but not out. Just...comfortable, and silently so.]