sharktrash | IC inbox for Snowblind

Salve.

[This is weird. Really weird, actually, because Squalo isn't the kind of person Flynn would normally contact. But apparently given enough time they would have run into each other eventually which is – bizarre. Fake future memories are so confusing.

Will their memories even be the same? How does that even make sense if they never actually met, never actually had any conversation?

Well, he's probably about to find out.]

Are you alive?

[ Well, this is unexpected. ]

[ Squalo had spent two days being as much of a hermit as he could, completely unsettled by what had happened. He'd gone up and walked out into the snow -- why? So he had that dream about stuff back home not going exactly how he wanted or something, how the fuck could something so trivial be a reason for... that? ]

[ He forced himself not to think about it as much as possible and every now and then, it almost felt like he'd forgotten all about that strange time lapse. Well, now he sees this guy and it's all back. ]

[ Luckily, the focus is elsewhere right now. ]

Shockingly.

[ There's a slightly skew smirk on his face as he says it, but amusement's a bit lacking. He doesn't bother looking fine, even though he's never talked to this guy before. Or has he? It's strange, and for the hell of him he can't remember what they used to talk about all those times that didn't happen, but he's still aware of some kind of interest, almost fondness. And him contacting him right now means -- ]

...Swords, huh?

Yeah.

[Flynn smiles, briefly, a little awkward at the strange conversation. It's similar to his conversation with Wilson only there he had had a common ground already. This here is... strange, floating, almost like testing the waters.

How do you talk to a guy you never talked to before but have somehow... battled?]

Swords.

... This is really weird.

[ SUCCESS. The topic has been averted from Squalo's recent loin dance with death. ]

Tell me about it. [ Not that the alternative is any less unsettling. Here they are, sort of familiar with each other for no other reason than some higher force playing mind games. What else could it do to them? ] Can't say I remember much beyond that. How good do you think you are?

[ When in doubt, arrange a fight. ]

[FOR NOW.]

Yeah, everything's really fuzzy. I remember other things much more clearly. Maybe because we haven't actually talked before until now?

[He ponders the question.] I like to think I'm decent.

[ LALALA CAN'T HEAR THAT. ]

Maybe. Thought I've seen some weird shit but this takes the cake.

[ That would be about the only part of all this that made sense, honestly. ]

[ His smirk grows wider. ]

Decent, huh? Maybe we should put that to a test sometime.

[NOW LISTEN HERE]

Test?

[Flynn frowns, scratching his ear. He remembers fighting – he thinks he remembers fighting – but he has no recollection of winning or losing; or how these fights ended.

That, in combination with, well, Squalo and what he's seen of him so far gives him pause.]

And with test you mean sportive sparring where the loser will absolutely not end up dead because it's sportive, right?

[ That is wise, to be honest. While Squalo had been doing his best not to talk murder on the network, those couple of days had evidently been fucking with his sanity, not to mention that he may or may not have spilled more beans about himself to Flynn during their imaginary ten years of friendship or whatever. ]

[ Squalo's grin looks like it belongs on a shark. ]

Of course.

[ You're totally convinced, right? ]

[Totally.

Wow, Squalo, that is absolutely reassuring and doesn't make him picture himself bleeding out in a snow slope somewhere at all. Just... this look as Flynn's eyebrows slowly go up.]

Riiight.

So we should probably have a referee present. You know, in case of a tie.

There's no such thing as a tie, just a mutual agreement to give up.

[ That probably sounds extra reassuring. Nonetheless, this is them getting way ahead of themselves. ]

I'm more concerned about finding or making anything remotely similar to a sword. Haven't found so much as a walking cane so far.

[No, no, Squalo, see, you make sure there won't be any murdering going on before looking for swordalikes, so they're not getting ahead of themselves at all, as far as Flynn is concerned. It's a question of priorities.

Also, 100% not mentioning his crowbar.]

Yeah, I know, they're really not in fashion here... Sometimes there's rubble, maybe we could use some wood for substitute. They don't make for weapons of course, but since this is a sporting event only...

[ Who'd want to make sure of that before a fight? That's boring. That's so boring it could've come from, like, a librarian or something. ]

[ HOW CAN YOU HIDE A CROWBAR FROM HIM, FLYNN?? HE THOUGHT THEY WERE FRIENDS? ]

Hey, that's fine. Give me a sharp stick and I'll break through three hundred Spartans.

[ his middle name is probably Modesty ]

Wood's fine for practice, but it's still gotta have the flesh, so to speak.

[ He supposes he could whittle something from a piece of furniture, but he's found nothing with a blade so far, and random pieces of rubble are just too... wrong. Clumsy. A proper sword is all about the elegance. ]

[People, Squalo. People who don't throw themselves at anomalies want to make sure of that. Love your life a little, please, Flynn is extremely fond of his.

And TOUGH LUCK you will pry this crowbar from his cold dead hands.

Only no, please don't.]

That's oddly specific. Are you a Roman?

[ Look he loves his life a lot and definitely more than any other person's except one, that doesn't mean he's going to deny himself the thrill of a life or death duel!! ]

[ Er, a sporting event. ]

[ THAT COULD BE ARRANGED THOUGH. ]

[ There's a small pause. ]

Well, if we're delving into ancestry, kinda, yeah. [ Ancient Romans were still Italians, right? With a bit more taste for bloodsports and goat porn; Squalo is fond of one and not the other. He's also a bit of a gladiator fanboy. ] T'was a metaphor, though. You familiar with the legends?

[ Squalo's own familiarity may or may not be watching '300' in a private cinema because he's not exactly a book-studying type, but he probably owned a few authentic weapons from that era back home. ]

The Battle of Thermopylae, of course. [Flynn nods.] Fought between the alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes. Leonidas attempted to block the Persian advance at the pass of Thermopylae and initially succeeded but they were outflanked on the third day, suffering heavy casualties.

[... He has never seen the movie.]

I was wondering about the Salve. Very distinct.

[ Squalo nods in turn. ]

It's become something of a symbol in modern times. Bottom line, they were real good. Wish I could've fought some of them. Bet that'd be awesome.

[ WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE?! There's more than one, too. Also a bunch of others. What about Spartacus?? ]

Mm. This place... translates, but some words still slip through at times.

[Because he actually reads up on history, gosh.

He did see Spartacus, though, with his Mom. It was uncomfortable, as were her comments about Kirk Douglas' upper body.]

Boy, you really like fighting. [He is not surprised, really. If there's one thing about Squalo he clearly remembers from 20 years of messed up Norfinbury residency, it's that.]

So you're Italian? Where are you from?

[ WHO HAS THE PATIENCE FOR THAT? ]

[ But if you found something interesting and not particularly well known, do tell him. He'll gobble it up like a kid thirsty for bedtime stories. ]

[ ...you probably need to be Super Bi to enjoy some of those movies, that is true :|a ]

Of course. This place is killing me.

[ l...iterally, but at the moment he's only referring to not being able to FIGHT!! every day. he feels like he's decaying already. ]

I move a lot for work. [ which is totally legitimate and is definitely not managing a gang of murderers, gosh. ] Born in Sicilia, though.

[ It probably explains some of his accent. Lots of countries have a South, and all. ]

Edited 2017-11-15 20:52 (UTC)

There's a lot of downtime in the evening, that's for sure.

[But okay, we're coming to another highly interesting topic, one that's been bothering Flynn for a while. And one that he wants answered before he agrees to a fight with this guy.]

You know, maybe you told me in the future or whatever augmented version thereof we stumbled through in our heads but... what exactly is your job?

[Or, you know, was, but using the past tense is rude. And Flynn hasn't given up on getting out of this place at some point, so.]

[ Squalo just makes a frustrated noise of agreement. While trekking through arctic tundra definitely sucks, at least it gives him some clear goals and action. The evenings are a whole other kind of hell, especially since he's been alone for most of it. ]

[ The question amuses him a little. He supposes he's never been good at hiding his particular skillset, but he also has no wish to paint a target on his back earlier than necessary by freely informing the other residents that yes, I off people for money, that's it, that's the job. ]

[ It takes him less than a second to consider what options would make sense while still not looking too threatening. ]

I'm a bodyguard.

[ that's nice of you, Flynn, but he's going to go ahead and ruin your effort: ]

Was. Bet my record got totally ruined while I'm trapped here.

[ The bitterness is genuine, even if it's not quite the real depth of it. ]

Edited 2017-11-16 20:30 (UTC)

Well... maybe I can interest you in the e-library?

[It's an awkward interjection and Flynn would like to come up with some comforting words but somehow they fail him. What is he supposed to say that isn't I totally used present tense for a reason here, come on? Somehow the moment doesn't warrant it.

Flynn frowns slightly at the bitterness.

And some other detail.]

There's a record for bodyguarding?

[ Squalo is going to give him A Look, because how the fuck could books possibly help with his utter disaster of a situation? He'll probably reconsider a little later, though, because even questionable erotica was loads better than being bored for another minute. ]

Sure. If your charges got a tendency to die, you don't get hired much.

[Because they're books, Squalo. Because they're books.

Flynn frowns, thinking that response over.]

Alright, that makes sense. But how do you guys do that, do you have like a tally list or something?

[Look, it's a little hard to wrap his head around it.] Wouldn't all the bodyguards whose charges never died share first place?

[ But books suck. Well, most of them. ]

[ Squalo's own frown is deepening, because why the fuck is he stuck explaining something he's not even really a part of in the first place? ]

The fuck are you talking about? It's not a competition. More like -- a background check. [ maybe that would be a more familiar concept. ] Folks with higher success rate get more job offers, and better money. 'Nd those who repeatedly fail get a new fucking job.

[You shut your mouth.]

... That's actually a pretty good thing for the clients to have, I suppose.

[I mean. If you're hiring someone to protect your life and all.]

Right. Well... maybe some people here need protecting? You could offer your services I guess.

Edited 2017-11-18 20:23 (UTC)

	Salve, dickheads! You've reached Squalo! If you've got something useful, leave a message. If you just wanna chat, fuck right off.
	✆ ✉ ♬ Snowblind Navigation Code Credit

@librarian; video; Day 296

@superbia;

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject