Well... [ :thinking:.... ] I guess it already happened, so we're just dealing with the aftermath, but right before I came here, my bros and I won the first round of the Division Rap Battle, so we've got the finals to look forward to, but there was a big conflict in it.
It was kinda personal - it was personal last round, too, but this time really... [ ichiro trails off for a moment, here, and then holds his hand up. ok. rewind. ] Backstory, I guess. My dad - he's a real piece of shit. Just a constant liar, a total conman, and working with the Party of Words dictatorship in all the worst ways possible. My brothers and I were raised by him and my mom, but my mom passed away - the old man refused to tell me about it, and lied and said she was sick, but that wasn't what killed her. I found out he was full of it on my own, and that combined with the way he treated us, was just... well, it's a long story, but we ended up able to getting away from him, and I hadn't seen him for half a decade.
...Until he showed up again out of the blue a couple weeks ago. He decided to join up in the Division Battles with a crew - a fighting thing, sort of. He knew if my team - me and my bros - lost in a battle against another crew early, we'd look weak enough that he'd be able to shake us apart. So, instead of just taking us on like a man, he snuck around behind my back and manipulated the two of them into meeting with him in the shadiest way possible.
He started to straight - lie to them, man, just making up shit that was just close enough to believable that it could've been true. He basically was trying to turn them against me, and tried to get the two of them to come back and live with him. I'm their legal guardian, but I guess he thought he had the right. [ here, ichiro's mouth pulls into a deeper frown - he rubs his hand against frumpkin's head and looks away from caleb, now, recalling, expression pinched. ]
...I took my brothers away from him for a reason, you know? So for him to show up like that and threaten everything, just because - god, I don't even know why he did it. I can't even begin to understand him.
[ a pause, there, as he stands back up from frumpkin petting, keeping from diving too far into that. ] Anyway. The two of them came back to me, and we talked about it, so whatever plan he had didn't really work. He faced us in the battle a couple days later - went up against Saburo, who's barely fourteen - but when the second round came along, he chose to face me, instead.
Big mistake, though. I beat him. [ some of his usual cheer returns, after a moment. ] We did. As a team. So it worked out, I guess.
[He's just listening to all of this - he doesn't understand a lot of what he says, or what a rap battle is. But he still can sort of understand the gist of what he's saying. It isn't as though an abusive father or people working with a corrupt ruling party is hard to wrap his head around the concept of.]
. . . You're a good brother. I'm glad you were able to get them away from him.
[ sometimes dads and governments just suck no matter what universe you're in
ichiro ducks his head a little to that, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. ] ... I'm doing my best. 's the best I can do, right? I still have a long way to go, but... I'm really glad it didn't work, too. I told them - they could believe either of us, if they wanted to, but they had to decide on finding their own truth.
It was a little relieving, that they picked me. [ like a lot relieving. ] I mean - I wasn't lying, so, that especially, but it's just - it's good it worked out. And I'm never gonna forget the look on his face when he realized he lost. Priceless.
[I mean, not his dad personally, but that's a whole other can of worms. Anyway. Ichiro was just very honest with him, but. . . oof. It's a complicated thing to explain.]
My friends and I have been, uhm, dealing with a person who wants to bring a dangerous force into the world for frankly incomprehensible reasons. He is, uhm, rather hard to kill, and its complicated by the fact that a few of us in our group have a little bit of personal history related to this fellow. But - that isn't my story to talk about, exactly.
. . . On top of that, I, um. We have been being followed a little by someone from my past. An old teacher of mine, who I have a few disagreements with. I'd like to opportunity, I suppose, to expose his misdeeds the way you were able to with your father, but easier said than done.
[He knows this is all pretty vague compared to the personal story he just heard, but. It's still a lot for him.]
[ vague's okay! he's just a pretty open dude. ichiro listens thoughtfully, for a moment, folding his arms. ]
...That's a lot to deal with, man. I really hope you get the chance to show this dude up. You don't gotta tell me what he did, but I'm gonna trust your judgement that he's probably an ass. [ though... ] So - dangerous force guy. Does that mean you and your friends are world-saving types?
Well. Incidentally, I suppose. [He scratches at his jaw a little.] We keep stumbling upon it. Not that my friends aren't, uhm, good people, who will risk their lives this way. But we haven't ever sought it out.
Y'know what they say - destiny tends to find you. Or something like that.
[ he probably heard that in a video game somewhere, though, honestly, he believes it. ] I think I'd definitely rather have good people trying to save the world over... I guess bad people going along with the bad guys.
Hey, as long as you take it into your own hands and make it yours, destiny's whatever you want it to be.
[ something he also has a lot of conviction in!!! the bit about beau and the sellswords makes him laugh, though. ] Could be worse. Beau's cool. I didn't realize you guys knew each other till right now!
Noted. [ it's kind of a weird name, but. then again, purple guy. who is he to judge? caleb is also kind of a weird name. so is dice. it's a small world. ]
Three dragons, though. Do the other two do magic too? Beau said she punched it.
The first time, we didn't really fight her. We needed the help of a particular blacksmith, and he needed a metal that could only be obtained by treating it with the breath of a white dragon. They, uhm, breathe frost. So we went to her lair and tried to goad her into freezing the metal. And then a few of our brave ladies snuck into her lair to steal it back from her while the rest of us waited so we could teleport out in a hurry once they got it.
Uhm. . . you may ask Beauregard to tell this story, because I spent the entire time in a protective dome getting the teleport ready. Not so exciting. I am not usually in the thick of it, I am not so brave and brawny as our Miss Lionett. Anyway, it was a little later, when we happened to be back in the north, that she managed to track us down and she wasn't very happy with us for stealing from her. So we had to fight her off that time.
[ badass ladies... all of this is very cool, all intrigue and badassery. ]
Sick. You're like a long distance fighter, right? Sounds like a good party comp. [ ??? ] That's nuts she tracked you down, though. Can't imagine being stalked by a dragon.
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It was kinda personal - it was personal last round, too, but this time really... [ ichiro trails off for a moment, here, and then holds his hand up. ok. rewind. ] Backstory, I guess. My dad - he's a real piece of shit. Just a constant liar, a total conman, and working with the Party of Words dictatorship in all the worst ways possible. My brothers and I were raised by him and my mom, but my mom passed away - the old man refused to tell me about it, and lied and said she was sick, but that wasn't what killed her. I found out he was full of it on my own, and that combined with the way he treated us, was just... well, it's a long story, but we ended up able to getting away from him, and I hadn't seen him for half a decade.
...Until he showed up again out of the blue a couple weeks ago. He decided to join up in the Division Battles with a crew - a fighting thing, sort of. He knew if my team - me and my bros - lost in a battle against another crew early, we'd look weak enough that he'd be able to shake us apart. So, instead of just taking us on like a man, he snuck around behind my back and manipulated the two of them into meeting with him in the shadiest way possible.
He started to straight - lie to them, man, just making up shit that was just close enough to believable that it could've been true. He basically was trying to turn them against me, and tried to get the two of them to come back and live with him. I'm their legal guardian, but I guess he thought he had the right. [ here, ichiro's mouth pulls into a deeper frown - he rubs his hand against frumpkin's head and looks away from caleb, now, recalling, expression pinched. ]
...I took my brothers away from him for a reason, you know? So for him to show up like that and threaten everything, just because - god, I don't even know why he did it. I can't even begin to understand him.
[ a pause, there, as he stands back up from frumpkin petting, keeping from diving too far into that. ] Anyway. The two of them came back to me, and we talked about it, so whatever plan he had didn't really work. He faced us in the battle a couple days later - went up against Saburo, who's barely fourteen - but when the second round came along, he chose to face me, instead.
Big mistake, though. I beat him. [ some of his usual cheer returns, after a moment. ] We did. As a team. So it worked out, I guess.
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. . . You're a good brother. I'm glad you were able to get them away from him.
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ichiro ducks his head a little to that, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. ] ... I'm doing my best. 's the best I can do, right? I still have a long way to go, but... I'm really glad it didn't work, too. I told them - they could believe either of us, if they wanted to, but they had to decide on finding their own truth.
It was a little relieving, that they picked me. [ like a lot relieving. ] I mean - I wasn't lying, so, that especially, but it's just - it's good it worked out. And I'm never gonna forget the look on his face when he realized he lost. Priceless.
What about you?
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My friends and I have been, uhm, dealing with a person who wants to bring a dangerous force into the world for frankly incomprehensible reasons. He is, uhm, rather hard to kill, and its complicated by the fact that a few of us in our group have a little bit of personal history related to this fellow. But - that isn't my story to talk about, exactly.
. . . On top of that, I, um. We have been being followed a little by someone from my past. An old teacher of mine, who I have a few disagreements with. I'd like to opportunity, I suppose, to expose his misdeeds the way you were able to with your father, but easier said than done.
[He knows this is all pretty vague compared to the personal story he just heard, but. It's still a lot for him.]
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...That's a lot to deal with, man. I really hope you get the chance to show this dude up. You don't gotta tell me what he did, but I'm gonna trust your judgement that he's probably an ass. [ though... ] So - dangerous force guy. Does that mean you and your friends are world-saving types?
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[ he probably heard that in a video game somewhere, though, honestly, he believes it. ] I think I'd definitely rather have good people trying to save the world over... I guess bad people going along with the bad guys.
[ considering his whole issue with his dad. ]
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[So who knows. But he does seem to agree with that a little.]
I think we've managed to do a few good things, and not go along with bad guys. I think Beauregard is going around telling everyone we are sellswords.
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[ something he also has a lot of conviction in!!! the bit about beau and the sellswords makes him laugh, though. ] Could be worse. Beau's cool. I didn't realize you guys knew each other till right now!
Does that mean you fought a dragon with her, too?
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[He just. . . assumed Ichiro knew, even though there was no reason for him to.]
That's right. On three occasions.
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he nods along to the group bit - makes sense, though... ] ...Mollymauk's the purple guy, right?
[ That Is Not The Name He Was Given ]
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Three dragons, though. Do the other two do magic too? Beau said she punched it.
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Only two dragons, though. The same one, twice.
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[ he's so interested in this story. like a giant nerd. ]
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Uhm. . . you may ask Beauregard to tell this story, because I spent the entire time in a protective dome getting the teleport ready. Not so exciting. I am not usually in the thick of it, I am not so brave and brawny as our Miss Lionett. Anyway, it was a little later, when we happened to be back in the north, that she managed to track us down and she wasn't very happy with us for stealing from her. So we had to fight her off that time.
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[ badass ladies... all of this is very cool, all intrigue and badassery. ]
Sick. You're like a long distance fighter, right? Sounds like a good party comp. [ ??? ] That's nuts she tracked you down, though. Can't imagine being stalked by a dragon.
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They are intelligent. We were a little reckless.