December Open Post/Catch All/Overflow

[winebar]

Who: Van Zieks and whoever
What: General catch all for bingos and other effects
When: December
Where: Various
Warnings: TBA

Something has gone terribly wrong? (December 9th)
[You are just minding your own business, walking on the beach, or through the wood, when you hear what is certainly an unfamiliar laugh. If you look around, you'll soon attach it to... van Zieks? No, this can't be him. He's smiling. He's barefoot and covered in dirt. His hair isn't immaculately combed back and he's simply wearing a loose cotton shirt with his tight lawyer pants, though he does have a sword now hanging at his waist, which is new. This cannot be van Zieks. Even the cadence of his voice is lacking his normal ominous grit, but the voice is certainly his otherwise.]

Oh, come here! I have something to show you.
[Seriously who the hell is this and what did he do with the real van Zieks???]

Nevermind, Uncle has the Depression Again (December 10th)
[The following day, van Zieks is back in his austere best, looking more glowery and somber than ever before, like he's making up for the time he lost yesterday. You may find him at his usual haunt in the darkest corner of the winery, OR if you're wandering around in the woods, you might find him surveying the plot of land on his farm, or rather, the chaos that the him of the day before wreaked, which is to say, something was done to the plots, but it's hard to tell if it was anything constructive because they're upturned earth everywhere. Van Zieks is leaning heavily on the shovel he's holding, looking tired.]

Let me know if you have something specific in mind for bingo
[Hit me up on discord or on plurk agentmaine]

Comments

[winebar]

[Hm. He could apologize, but he shant.]

I don't specifically prosecute homicides. Just more high profile cases in general. Like my brother before me, I focused on trying to bring to justice those that thought themselves above the law.

[Which... doesn't describe this case.]

There were... other extenuating factors that led me to take that case. But that's irrelevant. It's your turn to ask a question, detective.

[unsync]

[ Teleportation machines feel like something that'd land above the jurisdiction of law in a weird way. However, the idea of it seems to revive a vague thought in the back of Ryuki's head. ]

Do you believe it's real? Time travel, and Teleportation...

[winebar]

No. I only argued that the machine worked because I knew it was what Albert wanted. Certainly, if it had, I would have been happy for him, and it's not that I doubt his skill as a scientist, but... Such a thing strikes me as beyond our current capabilities.
[Van Zieks talking about this guy like he knows him personally.]

Then again, I'm not a scientist. Perhaps it's more feasible than I can conceive of.

Question number 11... Are those odd eyes of yours a family trait? I've never seen someone display such localized albinism.
[Since that's... his explanation for a red eye.]

[unsync]

[ Whyd my phone capitalise teleportation... I guess that's fine.

That being said, he looks at van Zieks a little weirdly -- it's an expression of uncertainty he fixes the other with, in regards to time travel and the like not being real. At least until the next question rolls around, and he blinks. His red eye actually seems to flicker a bit, the pupil tightening marginally, looking almost right through Ziekies... but barely enough, that you could potentially question if it's just a trick of the light.

Fortunately, Ryuki's answer may provide some insight. ]

Oh, uhm, no. Heterochromia is rare as it is, less so in Japan.

It's a... [ Hm. The fact that the AI-Balls are technically a government secret aside, literally nobody in the series ever questions the heterochromia anyway so this is a first. And also, he's learned that if he just says that, it would fly over van Zieks's head. ] ...prosthetic. But an advanced, working one, meaning I can see you through it. Better than my normal eye, even.

Twelve... Is Mr. Albert an acquaintance?

[ He'd maybe say friend, but he isn't sure about that. But seems like a wild thing for Mr. Uptight Lawyer to actively lean into conspiracies he doesn't believe in, acting prosecutor or not. ]

[winebar]

[I didn't even notice it eas capitalized tbh. Ryuki's eye explanation is thankfully dumbed down enough for van Zieks to not question it, though he Will Remember This.

Anyway, van Zieks shakes his head.]

No, he is my friend. We met during university. That said, he has in recent years been abroad in Germany so I had not seen him in quite some time.
[And then he apparently tried to convict him of murder? Normal friend things.]

Thirteen, you mentioned drinking whiskey previously. I am curious to know which distillery you favor.

[unsync]

[ Friend...

Ryuki is totally imagining some wacky Jekyll and Hyde type scenario, because van Zieks is so cartoonish, he can only assume Albert is as well. He's just wrong on what type of cartoonish.

Also ftr they go out of the way to show you a bottle of what Ryuki likes and tell you he favours whiskey but like, the bottle just says WHISKEY and has no distillery label and I can't physically drink and therefore have no Advanced Whiskey Knowledge myself but here we go. ]

Startory [ Suntory but Game-fied ] is Japan's biggest distributor, so that one. There's a distillery in Saitama I like.

This is a pretty base one, but I just want to know anyway. Which type of wine person are you?

[ Inside his head, he's betting with Tama on red, obviously. But surprise him with the sparkling rosé. ]

[winebar]

Type? Red, if that's what you mean. If you mean what particular variety I favor, a dry Pinot Noir, Burgundy in particular.

[Van Zieks would probably be a Cabernet guy but I'm in charge so it's Pinot bc no one can stop me.]

Fifteen, assuming we're stuck here for a while, what do you intend to do with your talents, given there is no crime for you to observe as far as we are aware?

[unsync]

[ You said my wine knowledge trumps van Zieks. ]

I... don't really know, actually. [ He has actually been struggling pretty badly with that. ] Since the whole theme, is... well, farming, I figured I should at least try it. Got some books from the library and everything, but it's pretty difficult.

[ Please give him crime, it's so much easier for him. ]

But, I mean -- I could say the same for you, right? There's nothing to prosecute either, so what about you?

[winebar]

I suppose farming as well... though frankly, I've mostly been thinking, first of how to find another way out, and then... other concerns.

[All his Recent Revelations from Canon]

It feels terrible to say, but it almost makes me wish someone would commit a crime so I have something to occupy myself with. Do you know what I mean?

[unsync]

...

[ Well, he would never outright say so, and really, there's no part of him that does actually want to say the same -- but van Zieks seems like a man dedicated, so Ryuki thinks he can understand.

Sometimes, only certain things can take your mind off of... well, other certain things. ]

I think I do. That being said, it doesn't really look like there's a real legal system in this place anyway. The closest thing is the Harvest Goddess, and what she says seems pretty absolute... er. [ Right, questions... ] It's... eighteen, now? What's the first thing you'd like to do when you get to leave?

[winebar]

........
[It's clear his pause is not out of searching for an answer, but out of reluctance to speak it aloud.]

Have tea with my niece.

[ANYWAY. Divert!!! Last question!!!]

Who are you sharing your residence with?

[unsync]

[ Oh...

What a nice answer. His expression kind of shifts and it's probably the most normal he's ever looked here by far -- distracted by the cute domesticity of the response, forgetting about the stress and havoc that comes with his whole baggage on top of the farming thing. ]

Huh? Oh -- uhm, it's Adelis.

[ He wonders if he should say more, but he figures maybe van Zieks has met him already. He won't insult the man's intelligence by suggesting he doesn't know who that is before he's asked. ]

...I'm the last question, huh? Uhm, let's see...

What do you like to do for fun? Like... real fun.

[winebar]

.......



If my previously stated hobby does not count, then nothing.
[Yikes.]

[unsync]

[ Well what a bummer way to end 20 questions. He's frowning. ]

...Would you like to find another hobby?

[winebar]

Are you suggesting you have an idea?

[YOU DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER HOBBIES EITHER?]

[unsync]

[ HE SURE DOESN'T BUT THAT'S WHAT THE FARM'S FOR. ]

Maybe...! If anything else, maybe we can find something that suits you. Do you like nature?

[winebar]

So you don't have any ideas.



I don't loathe the out of doors, but I certainly don't enjoy traipsing around in the dirt.

[unsync]

I might have an idea, that's why I asked if you liked nature... it's not like I can read your mind.

[ It is a power best saved for nobody. ]

Maybe you'd like meditating in the park, too. Is what I wanted to suggest.

[winebar]

Meditating?

[His tone is somewhere between skeptical and genuinely not really knowing what that means.]

[unsync]

Yeah. Sometimes, when everything gets a bit too much and overwhelming... I like going to Ikume Shrine. Or Yoyagi Park.

The air is different, and it's just calming, you know?

It's like a reset.

[winebar]

[He think about this for a long moment. Being alone with his thoughts... not his favorite activity if he's honest. That said.]

I spend most of my time in a townhouse. But the family estate has a large garden, and I did spend a lot of time out there growing up. So I can at least understand the appeal of the outdoors.

But I do far too much time alone thinking as is, I think.

[unsync]

Yeah... don't I know it.

[ Far, far too much time spent alone with his thoughts, sometimes, and sometimes it gets so bad. It's only his own guilt that keeps him from doing anything horrible. That, and of course, Tama. She keeps him off the slippery slope... most of the time. ]

But that's not what meditating is for, it's the opposite. It's getting to step away a bit from everything into something different, and take your mind off everything bad.

[winebar]

[Frowning, clearly confused.]

You're saying meditation is to try to stop thinking.... by doing nothing?

[IF YOU'RE JUST SITTING THERE HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO ANYTHING BESIDES THINK?]

[unsync]

Stop thinking about the things that bother you. Think about something nice! Like... cats.

[ Ryuki isn't an animal guy, but who can deny an animal is quite cute? In the English version he asks Tama for the news, but in Japanese, he asks her for wholesome images. ]

Try it. No distractions. Just cute animals, sound of the woods, or whatever else it is you like.

[winebar]

[The news feels like a bad thing to ask for if you're trying to not think about bad things.]

... I feel like this may make me seem foolish, but personally what you're describing sounds outrageously difficult.
[YOU WANT HIM TO REFRAIN FROM THINKING ABOUT BAD THINGS???]