[Raylan takes a moment to study Gonou's profile. He wasn't going to get weird and incredulous, no 'how could you do that?'. Not with what he already knew of the young man's story.]
A hellva sacrifice. I won't ask if it was worth it - any man give up his eye, it must be worth it.
Not too many issues with depth perception? I've seen folk with glass eyes before but honestly, the patch is the better way to go. Much more.. badass.
Easier to start with somethin' simple. [ The wide world was, well, Wide and vast compared to the unchanging blueprints of the Barge.]
The Admiral, like or not. Your warden. Might be worth considerin'. All this weird tech, space magic, I bet they could get you one that looks real. Or hell, might even work. Everything else the Admiral can do, why not ask for the moon?
Oh, they probably could. But I don't like asking for favors like that.
It's just vanity, anyway, isn't it?
[A little quirk of a smile, and he shrugs at Raylan.]
Unless I ask for a false eye that can really see, and I think that's -- that's going a little too far. It's not as if it was an accident.
[And, in a strange way, he feels as if he doesn't deserve to undo it. It had been an attempt at atonement, in its own way, even if ineffective and unappreciated. He'd been trying to pay for what he'd done.
Something like that can't just be undone with a little favor.]
[Raylan's brow pinches, head bobbing back and forth a little.]
I don't think its vanity. No more than someone who's lost any other limb to have a prosthetic.
[He could have elaborated. Gone on about feeling whole or something, but the truth of it was that he had no idea, beyond 'likely extremely complicated'.]
No. It wasn't. I can- [No Raylan, not 'see', bad taste.] understand why replacing it might be.. a betrayal of the sacrifice of it.
Maybe someday you'll consider it. And there's nothin' lost if you don't. [The last thing Raylan wanted to do was push something unwanted, especially when it was all so sensitive.]
[He ducked his head with his smile, shrugging a little. If you insist. A laugh was good though. He liked hearing it, from anyone.
He let a few beats of silence pass and pointedly doesn't refill Gonou's cup. Not because he was encouraging anyone to leave, but Gonou was young. And he had already been hitting it pretty hard.]
I got paired with Roman before the breech. Who'd you get set up with?
[Gonou's not necessarily expecting a refill; he's also sober as a judge, despite the rather large amount of whiskey he's downed. He's occasionally achieved a minor, transitory tipsiness, in his experimentation with alcohol so far, and it takes enough liquor to make it happen that he's not going to expect anyone to serve him that much of their good stuff.
He's fairly sure he can't get drunk for the same reason that he'd been able to heal from a belly wound that should have been a death sentence, and he's not planning to dwell on those or any other effects becoming youkai might have had on him. He simply curls his hands around the empty cup, instead, running his thumb absently over the edge of the handle.]
Connor. I believe he only recently graduated? He seems nice enough. If -- very literal.
Ah. The detective AI. I've met him but only the once. [He nods.] Sense I got of him was a good one.
An' I got plenty'a fiction to support him bein' otherwise, but I got enough sense to know better than to trust the stories. Each man to his own story.. No matter where he comes from. I hope y'all get on well.
Fiction about robots. Many many different stories. Some good, some bad.
But yeah, AI, Artificial intelligence. Very controversial, even in my time and smartest robots we got are our phones. Nothin' as.. developed or advanced as anything close to what Connor's ancestors were based off of.
Though I feel like it's impolite to say such a thing to him, no matter how factual it might be.
I don't think we have any kind of robots where I'm from, advanced or simple. In fact, I hadn't realized that's what Connor was. We have some stories about them, but nothing much...
[He shrugs, eyebrows flicking up.]
But then, we have all kinds of creatures here, beyond just the human.
Here, we've got the whole gamut, aside from the religious extremes but I also haven't meet everyone. Plent'a opportunity to be wrong.
Robots got nothin' on Vampires or mermaids or werewolves. Fairies, hell. But there's more humans than just you and I, so I don't feel any particular kind of way about it.
S'all mythos and legend to me and I figure all them stories have a base somewhere. Maybe we're just getting to see those bases.
Not that I've seen, although she may save those for special occasions.
There are really surprisingly few devils in the Bible, to be fair. In my world, the youkai fill that gap.
[He toys absently with the mug, rolling it between his hands. He doesn't mind talking about youkai, but there's an edge to it, with someone who believes he's still human.]
Youkai? Anythin' like whomever you're talkin about? Who are you talkin' about, by the way? I'd like to be able to be aware before I start takin' up conversations. Least we can thank the collage stint for that - catches me up a little bit on rules and general regulations.
No, very different. I'm talking about Makima when I mention the demon. Youkai are... perhaps the best way to put it is, a different species, although they can be more different from one another than any of them are from us. They have certain powers and slightly different appearances.
[His words are picked with care, and his enunciation precise; he's uncomfortable with the topic. He's also, clearly, very sober despite rapidly killing a mug full of whiskey.]
[Raylan was starting to come around to noticing that sobrity - there wasn't a lax smile, no slurring of words and while he himself might be well on his way towards drunk, that didn't stop his mind from working .]
Oh? I'd be interested if you're willin' to elaborate.
I'm afraid I still haven't found an amount of alcohol that affects me. [He shoots Raylan a wry smile.] I shouldn't waste your good whiskey.
Youkai are... they live side by side with humans. Some of them look almost human, except for pointed ears, claws, marks on their skin that look like tattoos, and fangs. Most of them have slit eyes that look like an animal's. Many of them have command of magic and qi that humans can't match.
Many of them live in clan groups, up in the mountains.
[He hesitates, briefly.]
The clan that took Kanan....
[-- and he'll let that sentence go right there, or he is going to need another drink for this conversation, whether it's going to have enough effect on him or no.]
[Raylan stayed quiet until Gonou trailed off, sharp eyes staying on his face as he reopens the bottle and pours out into G's mug, filling it near to brim.]
They were Youkai?
Never mind about my good whiskey. [He jiggles the completely full bottle that he'd just poured from, filling his own again before screwing on the cap and setting it aside, as full as though he'd done neither. ] A Christmas gift from Tim.
[Lord had he. But Raylan was a grown man and had been drinking since he was 15 - he knew how to not kill himself on it. He'd had very clear examples in where a lack of vigilance could lead.]
What did they want to do with her? [ If he weren't a trained investigator, he'd ask more questions, but leading questions sometimes muddled up the process.]
[Raylan 'ah'd softly and sat back in his chair with a faint nod.]
I wish that story weren't as familiar as it is.
How'd-
You don't have to answer this question, but I gotta ask it. How's a kid outta Uni, a kindergarten teacher able to move through as many bodies as you did? I've avoidin' asking so far because it seemed.. Rude. Assumptive. But here I am tellin' you about my sad gay broken relationship, figure we can cross a few more lines.
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A hellva sacrifice. I won't ask if it was worth it - any man give up his eye, it must be worth it.
Not too many issues with depth perception? I've seen folk with glass eyes before but honestly, the patch is the better way to go. Much more.. badass.
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So I haven't had to navigate at any distance further than one edge of the deck to the other....
[He ducks his head.]
I've thought about glass eyes, in fact. I'm not sure where I'd get one on the Barge.
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The Admiral, like or not. Your warden. Might be worth considerin'. All this weird tech, space magic, I bet they could get you one that looks real. Or hell, might even work. Everything else the Admiral can do, why not ask for the moon?
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It's just vanity, anyway, isn't it?
[A little quirk of a smile, and he shrugs at Raylan.]
Unless I ask for a false eye that can really see, and I think that's -- that's going a little too far. It's not as if it was an accident.
[And, in a strange way, he feels as if he doesn't deserve to undo it. It had been an attempt at atonement, in its own way, even if ineffective and unappreciated. He'd been trying to pay for what he'd done.
Something like that can't just be undone with a little favor.]
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I don't think its vanity. No more than someone who's lost any other limb to have a prosthetic.
[He could have elaborated. Gone on about feeling whole or something, but the truth of it was that he had no idea, beyond 'likely extremely complicated'.]
No. It wasn't. I can- [No Raylan, not 'see', bad taste.] understand why replacing it might be.. a betrayal of the sacrifice of it.
Maybe someday you'll consider it. And there's nothin' lost if you don't. [The last thing Raylan wanted to do was push something unwanted, especially when it was all so sensitive.]
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[And he doubts he'd object to figures of speech other than to be difficult, even if he'd given up both eyes.]
Maybe I'll consider a glass eye, at least. Someday.
[He shrugs and finishes off the whiskey in his mug in a single swig.]
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He let a few beats of silence pass and pointedly doesn't refill Gonou's cup. Not because he was encouraging anyone to leave, but Gonou was young. And he had already been hitting it pretty hard.]
I got paired with Roman before the breech. Who'd you get set up with?
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He's fairly sure he can't get drunk for the same reason that he'd been able to heal from a belly wound that should have been a death sentence, and he's not planning to dwell on those or any other effects becoming youkai might have had on him. He simply curls his hands around the empty cup, instead, running his thumb absently over the edge of the handle.]
Connor. I believe he only recently graduated? He seems nice enough. If -- very literal.
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An' I got plenty'a fiction to support him bein' otherwise, but I got enough sense to know better than to trust the stories. Each man to his own story.. No matter where he comes from. I hope y'all get on well.
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[Or other than nice? Gonou blinks, briefly curious.]
'AI.' Artificial intelligence? [He's heard the term from Jacobi, but hadn't connected it to Connor, who'd seemed human enough in their conversation.]
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Fiction about robots. Many many different stories. Some good, some bad.
But yeah, AI, Artificial intelligence. Very controversial, even in my time and smartest robots we got are our phones. Nothin' as.. developed or advanced as anything close to what Connor's ancestors were based off of.
Though I feel like it's impolite to say such a thing to him, no matter how factual it might be.
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[He shrugs, eyebrows flicking up.]
But then, we have all kinds of creatures here, beyond just the human.
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Robots got nothin' on Vampires or mermaids or werewolves. Fairies, hell. But there's more humans than just you and I, so I don't feel any particular kind of way about it.
S'all mythos and legend to me and I figure all them stories have a base somewhere. Maybe we're just getting to see those bases.
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[He inclines his head, just a little.]
Religious extremes... ah, if you mean angels and demons, I do know we at least have demons on board.
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Do we now. Well. I really shouldn't be surprised. I'm guessin' there's no horns and brimstone fire?
It's almost a shame I've read the bible, there's a lotta ideas around 'em. Them and Angels both. Though Elias and his Fear Entities might count.
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There are really surprisingly few devils in the Bible, to be fair. In my world, the youkai fill that gap.
[He toys absently with the mug, rolling it between his hands. He doesn't mind talking about youkai, but there's an edge to it, with someone who believes he's still human.]
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Youkai? Anythin' like whomever you're talkin about? Who are you talkin' about, by the way? I'd like to be able to be aware before I start takin' up conversations. Least we can thank the collage stint for that - catches me up a little bit on rules and general regulations.
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[His words are picked with care, and his enunciation precise; he's uncomfortable with the topic. He's also, clearly, very sober despite rapidly killing a mug full of whiskey.]
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Oh? I'd be interested if you're willin' to elaborate.
You want another drink?
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Youkai are... they live side by side with humans. Some of them look almost human, except for pointed ears, claws, marks on their skin that look like tattoos, and fangs. Most of them have slit eyes that look like an animal's. Many of them have command of magic and qi that humans can't match.
Many of them live in clan groups, up in the mountains.
[He hesitates, briefly.]
The clan that took Kanan....
[-- and he'll let that sentence go right there, or he is going to need another drink for this conversation, whether it's going to have enough effect on him or no.]
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They were Youkai?
Never mind about my good whiskey. [He jiggles the completely full bottle that he'd just poured from, filling his own again before screwing on the cap and setting it aside, as full as though he'd done neither. ] A Christmas gift from Tim.
S'what I'll remember him by, I suppose.
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[He raises his eyebrows, smiling wryly. As a gift from a departed lover, the ability to get roaring drunk indefinitely is certainly on the nose.]
Then I won't worry about it. Thank you.
... and yes. They were youkai.
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[Lord had he. But Raylan was a grown man and had been drinking since he was 15 - he knew how to not kill himself on it. He'd had very clear examples in where a lack of vigilance could lead.]
What did they want to do with her? [ If he weren't a trained investigator, he'd ask more questions, but leading questions sometimes muddled up the process.]
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[His hands tighten slightly on the mug.] The lord of that clan liked pretty human girls.
[And let that be enough for Raylan to get the full picture, without having to be explicit about it. He's fairly sure it will be.]
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I wish that story weren't as familiar as it is.
How'd-
You don't have to answer this question, but I gotta ask it. How's a kid outta Uni, a kindergarten teacher able to move through as many bodies as you did? I've avoidin' asking so far because it seemed.. Rude. Assumptive. But here I am tellin' you about my sad gay broken relationship, figure we can cross a few more lines.
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holy hell, im so sorry this got lost
No worries! <3
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