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.
[Gonou offers a tiny shrug, and picks up the mug for another drink. He doesn't bother with polite little sips; the gulp he takes this time is enough that it goes down like fire.]
I've been interested in martial arts all my life. I'm mostly self-taught, but...
I was... very upset. And if you arrange it so that most of the fights are one on one, it's not impossible.
Most martial arts I've seen are Bruce Lee movies.. And one or two guys over the years says he's got a black belt in somethin' or other. I've seen a few shitty kicks sent my direction. They never expect you to grab the leg.
.. Not impossible one on one, no... Got a choice of weapon or did you go through 'em all with pencils and broken mop handles?
[It was offered with a tonal lift of levity - if he was horrified by every death he saw or heard about, he'd never get around to functioning in his life at all. Dark Humor was an easier way to deal with it, in his opinion.]
I had a knife. And, of course, many of them had swords, which meant I had my choice of swords.
I used improvised weapons when I had to.
[The memory is still raw enough that Gonou can't quite manage to lighten his own tone in return. The best he can do is toneless and factual. After a moment, though, he deliberately forces his voice to something lighter for a change of subject.]
... I practice in the gym sometimes, if you're curious to see my style. Mostly late at night.
Hmm. [He was impressed, really. No matter whether he should have been or not.]
I would. Maybe I'll catch you there one day... Only fightin' I know how to do outside shootin' is bar brawling. And I'm less good at it than I'd like to think.. Improvisin' weapons though, that I'm familiar with. Plenty of damage to be done with what falls to hand.
What, you mean doin' it drunk isn't trainin' those reflexes to work under duress? [He says it with a break of a passing grin that simmered down quickly. He didn't have the heart to carry it.]
It takes no trainin' to fire it, and all sorts of practice to fire it well and use it with the appropriate respect and intent. I imagine it's the same with swords. Actually.. since the Flotilla, I know it is. Not that I imagine I'm gonna use Istak's sword fighting skills anytime soon and they're not compatible with the styles I'm sure you use. Or maybe I've watched too many Jackie Chan movies, I don't know.
[However correct Gonou was, Raylan wasn't going to much budge on his habits there - he'd heard all the reasons before that never managed to touch the reason why he opted to fight that way.]
I think it's onna those 'You've got a style even if it's not refined' things. You gotta hold it and move it somehow, right? [He shrugs lightly - It's all semantics.]
Jackie Chan? One of the best and well known martial artists of the 1970's along with Bruce Lee. Being overly aware of other cultures isn't the biggest American pastime, so what a lotta people got was what came off their TV. Best part about both Jackie and Bruce is that their skills weren't TV bullshit. They were legit and frankly, it was impressive for us to see folk move like that. Anyway, it overlays as an assumption on Eastern Cultures when it comes to fighting.
I promise, I mean no offense by it. Most everyone acknowledges their skill and capability.
'Improvised Weapon' oughta be it's own style, to be honest.
Eh-[He shrugs with a bob of his head.] More the other way around, as far as we're made to understand. Maybe I'll see what we've got left in the Library. See if Maggie will host a movie night.
Only thing you need to know about America is that we aim to be the beacons of Democracy and Freedom in the world with our fair share of hypocrisy.
Trust me - That's how we want everyone else to see us too. All flags and eagles and guns.
[But his lips curled at the comparison and at the enthusiasm at the suggestion.]
Wish we could get a projector or a theater.. That'd be better than the casino..
America is just as flawed as any other place. And in some spots, more flawed. We're too big to succinctly explain. Too different. Some 3,500 miles of land. It ain't even the same cultures all over.
I'm also not familiar with a foot. Unless you mean [he gestures in the direction of his ankle] feet.
But forty-five minutes at a walking pace -- hmm.
I've never seen a car but I've heard of them.... [He trails off, doing mental math. Thirty-five hundred divided by five days divided by twenty-four hours to the day if you travel without resting, for a minimum necessary speed--]
Are they really that much faster than a galloping horse? [His eyebrows are soaring. Taking any of the roads he knows at a horse's gallop is already a serious risk to life and limb. And it would require weeks for anyone to travel from one end of Shangri-la to the other....]
A foot is 12 inches. An inch is about.. this- [He held up about an inch between his fingertips.
The innocent question prompted a little astonished laugh, head bobbing into a nod.]
Yes. Without a doubt. There's other offsets for cars, gas emissions, environmental things, but.. A regular car can get up to at least a sustained 90 miles per hour. A higher end one can hit 120. And yes, that's a measure of how many miles an hour one travels.
People ride horses for pleasure now. For competition too.
You'd die if you tried to reach those speeds on any road I've ever seen.
[A cart hitting a rock when pulled by an ox gets stuck. A cart hitting a rock pulled by a trotting horse breaks a wheel. A cart hitting a rock at... he has to stop to do math again, the unfamiliar units giving him pause. A cart hitting a rock four or five times as fast as a horse's gallop?]
But if I'm doing the math right, I think Shangri-la is a bit larger than your country, from the coastline to the provinces.
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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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I've been interested in martial arts all my life. I'm mostly self-taught, but...
I was... very upset. And if you arrange it so that most of the fights are one on one, it's not impossible.
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.. Not impossible one on one, no... Got a choice of weapon or did you go through 'em all with pencils and broken mop handles?
[It was offered with a tonal lift of levity - if he was horrified by every death he saw or heard about, he'd never get around to functioning in his life at all. Dark Humor was an easier way to deal with it, in his opinion.]
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I used improvised weapons when I had to.
[The memory is still raw enough that Gonou can't quite manage to lighten his own tone in return. The best he can do is toneless and factual. After a moment, though, he deliberately forces his voice to something lighter for a change of subject.]
... I practice in the gym sometimes, if you're curious to see my style. Mostly late at night.
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I would. Maybe I'll catch you there one day... Only fightin' I know how to do outside shootin' is bar brawling. And I'm less good at it than I'd like to think.. Improvisin' weapons though, that I'm familiar with. Plenty of damage to be done with what falls to hand.
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[It's possible he's teasing, but he keeps his tone brightly helpful; it's hard to be sure.]
I've never used a gun. It's not easy to find them where I'm from, though I have seen one.
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It takes no trainin' to fire it, and all sorts of practice to fire it well and use it with the appropriate respect and intent. I imagine it's the same with swords. Actually.. since the Flotilla, I know it is. Not that I imagine I'm gonna use Istak's sword fighting skills anytime soon and they're not compatible with the styles I'm sure you use. Or maybe I've watched too many Jackie Chan movies, I don't know.
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[Neither is really good for your reflexes, or your health, in the long run.]
And... yes, you're right about swords. Although I haven't trained or practiced with them enough to have any kind of 'style.'
[Really, a sword in his hands is just another type of improvised weapon. Sharper than most, but otherwise....]
Who is Jackie Chan? [He lets his tone lighten, just a little.] You've mentioned him a few times now....
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I think it's onna those 'You've got a style even if it's not refined' things. You gotta hold it and move it somehow, right? [He shrugs lightly - It's all semantics.]
Jackie Chan? One of the best and well known martial artists of the 1970's along with Bruce Lee. Being overly aware of other cultures isn't the biggest American pastime, so what a lotta people got was what came off their TV. Best part about both Jackie and Bruce is that their skills weren't TV bullshit. They were legit and frankly, it was impressive for us to see folk move like that. Anyway, it overlays as an assumption on Eastern Cultures when it comes to fighting.
I promise, I mean no offense by it. Most everyone acknowledges their skill and capability.
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[He offers Raylan a wry little shrug.] So they're... TV stars who know martial arts, then?
[He does at least have some references for that mental image, and he'll raise his eyebrows curiously at the thought.]
I don't know anything about your country, so I don't see why I'd be offended. But I'd be curious to see one of their shows someday.
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Eh-[He shrugs with a bob of his head.] More the other way around, as far as we're made to understand. Maybe I'll see what we've got left in the Library. See if Maggie will host a movie night.
Only thing you need to know about America is that we aim to be the beacons of Democracy and Freedom in the world with our fair share of hypocrisy.
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[His tone is gently teasing.]
It's a little bit like me telling you, Shangri-la is the only place in the world where humans and youkai can live side by side in peace....
I wouldn't mind a movie night!
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[But his lips curled at the comparison and at the enthusiasm at the suggestion.]
Wish we could get a projector or a theater.. That'd be better than the casino..
America is just as flawed as any other place. And in some spots, more flawed. We're too big to succinctly explain. Too different. Some 3,500 miles of land. It ain't even the same cultures all over.
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[He's assuming it's some sort of measure of area, given the context.]
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I hate to ask this, you know what cars are?
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But forty-five minutes at a walking pace -- hmm.
I've never seen a car but I've heard of them.... [He trails off, doing mental math. Thirty-five hundred divided by five days divided by twenty-four hours to the day if you travel without resting, for a minimum necessary speed--]
Are they really that much faster than a galloping horse? [His eyebrows are soaring. Taking any of the roads he knows at a horse's gallop is already a serious risk to life and limb. And it would require weeks for anyone to travel from one end of Shangri-la to the other....]
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The innocent question prompted a little astonished laugh, head bobbing into a nod.]
Yes. Without a doubt. There's other offsets for cars, gas emissions, environmental things, but.. A regular car can get up to at least a sustained 90 miles per hour. A higher end one can hit 120. And yes, that's a measure of how many miles an hour one travels.
People ride horses for pleasure now. For competition too.
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[A cart hitting a rock when pulled by an ox gets stuck. A cart hitting a rock pulled by a trotting horse breaks a wheel. A cart hitting a rock at... he has to stop to do math again, the unfamiliar units giving him pause. A cart hitting a rock four or five times as fast as a horse's gallop?]
But if I'm doing the math right, I think Shangri-la is a bit larger than your country, from the coastline to the provinces.
holy hell, im so sorry this got lost
No worries! <3
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