Two sides to every mystery.

(( Alfendi Layton blog, Affiliated with Steci City. Currently in Gâteau Château Room #202))

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Distracted Stranger (Closed - Kuro)

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notquiteakiller;:

Kuro had straightened up immediately as the other man came by near him, dropping his moping. Well, he did look a bit upset over table top games. He coughed to clear his throat, and he looked a bit flustered. Even if he was trying to keep a passive look, it was obvious that the other man would see through his facade.

“It’s nothing personal or bad. I was happening to be a little annoyed over the lack of a variety of genres.” His shoulders dropped lower for a moment. “Also, I wouldn’t actually suggest buying these ones here. Most of them aren’t that fascinating in plot or story-wise.” The sheep manager gave a glare at him, but he gave a innocent yet rather cheeky look back.

A scratch at his neck, a low sigh escaped. He began to twirl his fish pendant, as he had a small smile. “I was thinking I could find a good table top game to bring back if I ever go back to where I came from.” But, what’s the possibilities of that? None, as he felt like he was stuck here for almost more than a few months. Without realizing, he continues. “I play tabletop games with my older sister. But I was planning to get something for her kids.”

“Although her oldest is still three, and I do believe she had newborn triplets, as well.” He shook his head. “Of course, it’d be a while until they actually get to learn to play, but I wanted well, I guess a tradition. Haha.” He had a thoughtful expression as he looked at the tabletop games again. “After all, it was sis that introduced tabletop games to me, so… I thought I’d do the same for her kids." 

It seemed the initial annoyance regarding the other was due to the bad quality and variety of games they had here: personally, this was why Alfendi preferred a good game of chess to other things. At very least, because it was a classic game, you could find people who enjoyed it everywhere, and each opponent was vastly different, offering the variety you would not get here...but that was a matter he kept to himself, he merely humming in mild response to the other’s blunt words.

(The sheep at the counter didn’t seem too appreciative, so the inspector felt it was wise to keep his mouth firmly shut there.) However...the frustration stemmed deeper, and the game was for...a family member, to pass on tradition? Father passed on his puzzles to Flora - who passed them to him, and he passed some (more like majority of them, because he really didn’t like puzzles as much, preferring the chase of a case to them) to Kat...so he could understand that wish.

“I’m sure that we’ll find some way to get back to the worlds and families that may miss us. Every case has a solution, after all.”

Placid could really understand the desire to head back for family’s sake - in a way, those of the Mystery Room were like other siblings to him in a way, and as much as he groaned over puzzles, he was as much worried over father as Kat was.

...At very least, the city of sheep was somewhat more tolerable with her being here.

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Distracted Stranger (Closed - Kuro)

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notquiteakiller;:

Here is the true face of man, Kuro at his finest moments. Indecisiveness eating away at him and it looks like his soul had left him! Well exaggerating aside, his face was very much downcast as he seemed to be twitching. A long sigh came out him, as he looked upon the games titles again. ’I suppose these few would be good enough, but… I’m unsure. I’ll take them right now.’ With that thought in mind, he took a few games into his arms. 

The games he had chosen were adventure role-playing games it seem. A constant genre he had chosen. He had liked other genres, but this one was a chosen favorite for him. The man looked around almost disgruntled for a moment until seeing the basket set near by. He walked towards them and placed the games into them, then grabbing the handles. “There’s should be a tabletop game area around here…. ”

He walked around, passing by the inspector who happened to be looking at murder mysteries. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised but at the same time is it okay to play games that weren’t correct? ’Well, it’s his own choice to do whatever he wants.’ He immediately found the area where tabletop games were and… welp there he goes. 

Groaning, again. Good man, get a grip of yourself. 

As tempting as the murder mysteries were, Alfendi didn’t want to become so engrossed in them that he lost sight of the other who he’d followed in here to begin with, so he moved on - seemed like he didn’t need to worry, though. The other was poring over the different isles, so it was evident he’d take a while: didn’t need to be a top investigator to notice that much.

It seemed the tabletop games were the source of some kind of feeling for him, though, for he was now groaning. “Dear, dear - you sound as if the very sight of these gives you an upset stomach. May I ask, why, exactly?” He was mildly curious - that, and conversation would pass time quicker than ‘window shopping’, in his opinion.

[ I bet you anything his answer’s gonna be nerdy as heck, hah. Dang, it sure seems funny that no matter if I’m in control or not, there’s going to be nerds at every corner. >

...Electing to ignore Potty’s backseat commentary again, there.

[jekyllhyding]

Distracted Stranger (Closed - Kuro)

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notquiteakiller;:

“I have a penchant for conspiracy theories. A … former prosecutor friend was the one who influenced me in that sort of stuff. He was… into that stuff and trying to figure out… well.” Kuro pauses as he air quotes, “The mysteries of the city. Mmm, you could send them a letter, although I’m not sure what chances they answer them. Well, I never did so myself, either.”

He seemed to be downcast at the thought of Ichiyanagi. But he supposes, that it some people can leave …. if willed too. He’s not quite sure of yet…. though.

The man blinks at the inspector’s annoyance of the given nickname, shrugging back. He seems very sheepish, “That’s all I could think of the moment.”

Back to shopping. There were all sorts of games and he soon began to mutter and mumble. “…. There’s too many choices to pick…. Every single of them look interesting….” A very long groan there lasting for at least five minutes. “I can’t decide. Why does it keep happening???”

Poor man. “I’ll take a few…. that seems good and move on to the table top section. I won’t …. need to make a … choice, if possible.”

Nah.

“Considering how awfully strange this entire situation of being kindnapped by talking animals is, nobody would blame one for sensing a conspiracy from all this? I quite agree with the mindset: for what reason do they have to not only kidnapp so many, but apparently seal any powers or weaponry they have away? Normal people would know not to use weapons in a peaceful city, that’s just common sense - to go to the lengths of taking any possible danger away, though?”

It smelled of a bigger mystery being covered up, and that just wasn’t his own penchant for believing wild tales such as ‘conspiracy theories’ too. “Personally, I don’t see why they’d let anything slip in a letter, so any clues may have to be gathered from old-fashioned ‘on the beat’ detective work.” At the very least, though - all those theories aside, the other was apologetic for the awful attempt of a nickname.

That was one positive - back to shopping they went, though.

Potty, meanwhile, cackled in the back of their shared mind.

( Wow, and here I thought you were the biggest indecisive nerd I knew, but this guy’s even more of a nerd than you are. Isn’t that great? You’re no longer the number-one nerd in my mind. >

...Wow.

Sadly, Placid can’t say he’s surprised by that commentary. Not that it’s entirely untrue, he takes his time with this. He busies himself with looking for any murder mystery things - it never does hurt to keep one’s skills sharp in other ways.

[jekyllhyding]

Distracted Stranger (Closed - Kuro)

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notquiteakiller;:

“Kidnapping, huh? Didn’t see it that way, really. Truly, it would be impossible to not notice someone’s disappearance. Unless, they had some other countermeasures at hand while taking anyone or someone from their homes.”

It kind of feels more like his other job as a killer for hire. Well, his job was really fake but the whole idea of transporting someone to someplace new– making them disappear completely.

“Mm right.” Kuro gave a smile at the man, realest as it ever could be, “I hope that things work out for you, Keibu-dono.” 

False sincerity at it’s finest.

With that, he left the conversation immediately walking towards the many aisles. This one happened to be a aisle for handheld games. His eyes were scanning across the titles, clearly focusing on shopping, probably.

“To each their own - each person has their own perspective of matters, but I feel as if the sheep constantly brushing it off and never giving a solid answer is suspicious. Your theory, too, however...is a solid one. Though I would be better able to discern what these countermeasures were if someone from the same place as you or I came: I could question them about how long we were gone better that way.”

It was a good idea, if not a bit verbally lengthy. Though Alfendi had to sigh at the nickname. Ah. “That’s really a bit on the nose as nicknames go, don’t you think? It’s really not funny.” It was a good thing Potty hadn’t taken control and gotten snippy at it, honestly.

Thankfully, he seemed more bemused in the back...but he spoke.

(‘Man, if the guy was any less sincere, it would have been me talking. He doesn’t want us finding out stuff. I wonder why?’

‘Potty, just because he didn’t mean it means that...’)

Inner thoughts aside, he scanned the titles himself while he waited.

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mokutouta;:

He blinks, wondering if he’s come to the wrong place, if it’s a ‘room’ with a name like that. Well, if he were to think about it, wool being involved probably meant it was at least partially official. Glancing around the room for a moment, as if to double check he hadn’t wandered into a dragon’s den, he looks back up at the man before typing again in earnest.『 aaa, thank you… uuu, i was just wondering if everything was really ok. i mean, did the sheep get rid of it??? it just disappeared, so…….. i’m happy it went away! but i was wondering if it was properly gone, or would come back at all…….. 』

Raising his phone to the stranger to see, he averts his eyes to the floor. Probably, this person couldn’t even answer this question. Even if he was worried about what would become of his systems if the virus came back, even if he was worried about how tired he still felt – he can’t help being conscious that the virus had only been life or death for him.

To keep bothering people about it… he was only being selfish, huh.

Fingers pressing a little tighter around his phone, he pulls it back, adding another line to the message –『 aaa, i’m really sorry. 』When it came down to it, Lui existed to serve humans, even if that future never came to fruit. To ask so much of them, so often, only reminds him that he never fulfilled even a fraction of his purpose.

Reading what the other had to ‘say’ next, Alfendi hummed. While he wished he could say everything was all peaches and cream: the reality was a lot different than that, and being an inspector, he didn’t want to lie. “While things seem to have ended peacefully enough and with everything being restored - the fact of the matter was that the sheep didn’t fix it themselves, seemingly. It was the hacker themselves: and it is clear from the fact the sheep-summoning app is still available on one’s phones that they left behind a warning. As if to say if they are wronged again, they will strike again.”

“However: no need to worry. I’m skilled with technology: thereby, I am creating a ‘fail-safe’ system similar to that I used to use back in my old workplace, given it was run entirely by virtual affects. If that scoundrel thinks to try that again- the fail-safe will instantly take affect for most of Stella’s systems. However, if there is a more personal system about that runs separate from Stella’s mainframe, I would have to install it manually.”

Hopefully, that would give the other the information he needed to know. 

“Ah, no....you really don’t have to keep apologizing. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Goodness, the other really seemed to apologize a bit too much. None of it was his fault.

[jekyllhyding]

Distracted Stranger (Closed - Kuro)

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notquiteakiller;:

“So, in theory or less, more conspiracy abound. I agree with that, there are more to what it seems. I hope that you discover whatever you find will help you out." 

Kuro kept a neutral look at all this but it sang ironic in his mind. For many parts, he’s quite multi-faceted, but the realest him was quivering.

"I’m sure asking around or asking the heads of the city do you some good.” He remarks. 

“Okay.” The man opens the shop door and a bell ring as he enters the shop. His eyes dart around the room looking around. It was a neat area with shelves and tables full of many assortments of games.

“More or less, you’ve hit the nail right on the head there. True, these sheep seem placid enough: but essentially kidnapping people from countless different areas doesn’t come off as entirely innocent to me. What of these people’s families at home, who may be worrying about them? Whenever anyone mentions worrying over folk at home, the sheep brush it off like it’s nothing, as if the people at home won’t even notice them being gone...but that’s impossible, wouldn’t you say?”

Tapping a hand to his chin in evident thought, he finished his theories by musing:

“There’s definitely something those sheep are hiding about all this. I certainly hope - for the sake of all those forced here - I can get to the bottom of it soon enough.” A firm nod given, the other entering the shop: and Alfendi not far behind. Potty seemed to be attentive again - quite amused by the other also sensing a conspiracy behind all this, Placid could tell.

(‘Heh, looks like not everyone in this place is as simple-minded to go along with this as I first thought.’)

That aside, Alfendi diverted his attention - seemed like there was a bit of variety here, huh.

[jekyllhyding]

Distracted Stranger (Closed - Kuro)

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notquiteakiller;:

“Yes, that’s indeed true.” Kuro says absentmindedly as he reaches the destination. The destination happened to be a Game Shop. “We’re here.”

“I don’t mean the sheep in general. I mean well, some of the minorities that aren’t sheep. Humans and well other beings. Sometimes there are some ruckus. I’m not sure what exactly goes on.”

“I know you don’t mean the sheep in general: it’s a saying. Basically, to explain the saying, for clarification's sake...you can’t judge things based on appearance alone. A gentle, kind city like this could be hiding especially dark secrets, as well as some of the folk who are here: they are the ‘wolves’ in sheep’s clothing. Predators pretending to be something amicable and innocent when they are not.”

Of course, Alfendi knew talking about such a saying was especially ironic all things considered: especially with Potty involved, but that part of things he kept to himself, merely choosing to smile in slight bemusement at knowing how ironic it was.

“Looks like I might have to look into it myself to get further information: still, knowing that it is out there is good prior warning. Thank you. After you, then?” Gesturing to the shop’s door, it seemed Alfendi was going to be a ‘gentleman’ and let the other walk in first.

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londonslady;:

 “Only thirty-three percent!? For such an interesting theory, you don’t sound too keen on it!” There went the changing hair again, but he seemed almost staggered by it this time. Internally, she made a note of that in the ongoing case of the Two-Sided Coin, as she liked to call it, while she steadied him. That was a shame - she’d wanted to continue teasing him about such a low probability.

 It was strange to see her brother speaking about himself in the third person, even after all this time. They were most assuredly two separate entities in one body; another note for her case. “Well, I’m glad to see he still appreciates my help! He’s not bothered to ask me for much since he got puzzles from our Father as a child!”

 She could go on, but mention of a strange event caught her attention. With such a small, rural town, a ‘event’ that you couldn’t talk about in public was guaranteed to be very interesting, especially if it caught Alfendi’s attention!

 “Ooh, how exciting! I wonder, is it something about an ancient tradition? Songs that lead to a forgotten city? … Ah, sorry! Lead the way, I’m all ears!” It was very rare, but Sherl didn’t have to tell her to stop for once. Even he seemed proud about it.

“Well, I don’t have any physical proof yet to substantiate the theory: what kind of investigator would I be, to be sure about a possibility without all the correct evidence? Not a very good one, I’d imagine.” ‘Placid’ managed to muse, after feeling a little better - he appreciated the thought of keeping him from falling over head-first. Good thing it’d been Potty switching to him and not the other way around, because the other likely wouldn’t have been as agreeable to that.

Ah, but best to keep on the topic at hand. “Indeed: and may I say, I am glad for the chance to get to meet you myself. Though... I do wish it were under better circumstances than sheep rudely throwing spanners into our preferred work plan.” A sigh, and a shake of the head, yet it could not be helped. He’d just let it slide for the time being, as his focus was on getting to somewhere private so he could tell Kat that important info.

Though, the fact she thought it might lead to a repeat of one of Father’s cases...oh dear, dear.

“Not something that dramatic, but still something important you should hear.” 

That said, he’d lead the way back into his office - best to have the chat there, seeing as he could more easily lock the door and not have any sheep listening in.

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Distracted Stranger (Closed - Kuro)

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notquiteakiller;:

If anything, Kuro was never really scared of police until he took up his work. A side effect maybe, or well, his paranoia was just absolutely full blown. The sad thing was that when he was a child, he wanted to become a police officer. ‘And look where I am now.’ Of course, he can still change things, but… he’s still in that process of doing so. He also need to get over a lot of things, but … it’s kind of hard when it was ingrained inside of him.

He at least had a goal to work on how he should change the way he lived. Probably from starting from home ( or rather his home for now. ) It’ll be hard to change things up, when doing it for so long after university. He was just too affected and naive, even with Haruna’s help, he was still affected by his first crime. To be honest, he was forced to do it, but he can’t blame the one who told him to do it. He’s dead, after all.

“Yes, certainly. That’s for sure. Although, you can never be sure.”

A small nod at Alfendi’s confirmation, he walked ahead of the man walking towards the destination he had in mind. “Mm, I see.” His eyebrow quirked at the idea peaceful, “Peaceful huh? Well I guess for some. But some of the citizens aren’t really peaceful sort.”

Given the stranger seemed quite lost in their own thoughts before actually making a response to even his first bit of musing: Alfendi’s logic assumed that it was likely the other had bad experiences with the police force or inspectors before: still, there was that tiny bit of uncertainty in the percentages that halted him from guessing as such.

That, and a hunch wasn’t physical evidence, obviously. One couldn’t obtain the truth from perceiving words alone. “I suppose that’s true: you can’t merely guess at a situation without experiencing it first-hand.”

Overhearing that this city wasn’t as peaceful as the sheep seemed insistent to make out, though...that was news, and even his other side perked up slightly in interest.

“Oh? So they’re ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’, so to speak...any information you could give on such folk would help with further investigations.”

[jekyllhyding]

Distracted Stranger (Closed - Kuro)

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notquiteakiller;:

If anything, he had checked out the other man for any signs that he should be supposedly be warned about. Kuro wasn’t quite a trusting person, and he isn’t really… going to trust the other man quickly as it seems any soon with the news of him being a inspector. It gave him alarm bells in his mind, but he didn’t want to say anything nor run. Who in hell would run from a police officer after introducing themselves to them? Who?! That is just bringing up immediate tell tale signs that there is something wrong.

He may have stiffened up a little bit there, but he just had to. His paranoia was kicking him inside up in the guts but he ignores it.

“Alright then, whatever you say then. It’s straight ahead, anyways.” He nods somewhat to the man’s rambling, although to quirk an eyebrow at the idea of being one-hundred percent lost. 100%, really? “Or you might be lucky, and you might find your way around. Don’t box yourself in like that.” Kuro was slightly was a bit amused anyway.

“Mm? Nah, actually I’ve been in this city for about six months or more. It’s summer, so school’s out for some. I am really on vacation.” A neutral face in return as they shook hands and soon let go. “Anyway, it’s that way, I assumed you must have just passed it, the place where I’m going.” He starts walking off, letting Alfendi to follow after him.

Curiously, the other’s observation of him seemed to continue after an introduction: not that this alone made Alfendi curious, but when added onto the fact he went a little tense: those two signs pointed to a sense of wariness and caution. Now, why would a normal person feel that way towards an inspector? If he was back home, he would have understood it, given Potty’s famed track record everywhere, but.

This city was a place nobody knew him. Either this person had a bad experience with inspectors before, or he had something to hide. It was too early to claim which of the two it was, yet Alfendi hadn’t turned a blind eye to it. However, he gave no indication via his reactions he’d spotted this, nodding amicably to the other’s explanation it wasn’t too far away. If the other had bad experiences with an inspector before, he didn’t want to make it worse.

“The odds certainly wouldn’t be in my favor in such a situation though, you surely can agree to that, right?”

Sounded like the other had been here quite a while, but Alfendi shook his head on being asked if he’d passed the place the other was going. “I only just started really exploring this place - I’m usually a indoors sort of person, but knowing one’s surroundings is crucial: just in case. Granted, it’s unlikely anything bad would happen in such a peaceful city, but...”

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londonslady;:

 If his appearance hadn’t tipped her off that she was right, that reaction certainly would have. Lucy had told her about Alfendi’s new side in her letters, but she’d yet to see it for long, even whenever they’d met up to chat. It was a shame - the other side sounded much more pleasant. Whenever it had happened, that strange but subtle change in hair colour always caught her eye, like a signal to say ‘Stop, he’s back to Potty Prof, keep back if you want to keep your limbs!’

 Thankfully, with all limbs intact, she had mastered the art of talking to Alfendi, no matter which side it was - quick, bouncy, and subtly countering every disturbing thing he says!

 “It is rather curious, isn’t it? I wouldn’t go as far as ‘simple-minded’, but I can’t help but wonder how they do anything with those hooves. It’s a mystery in and of itself, even without considering how they got us here!” Unfortunately, Kat had not quite mastered the subtlety aspect yet.

 “With that aside, I’m glad to have a face I can trust in here, even if it is surrounded by as much fluff as the rest of them. So…

 …I look forward to seeing what you both can do!” Evidently, she was getting better at it by the second, though.

“As loathe as I am to make any sort of point that the creatures here are capable of anything other than blindly following the stupidest ideas, as ‘sheep’ are want to do: such buildings and surroundings do give pause to think how they were built. Of course, they could simply have never been the original builders to begin with, and this town was once home to humans other than those of us dragged here.”

It would make sense as to how the buildings looked for the most part like any other normal human-made one, despite Potty’s insults, he held a valid point.

“ - I’m only 33 percent certain of that, though.”

The hair shifted yet again, the more polite tone of Placid flickering through on that ‘percentage’ comment that he often said - Potty let it slide for now, because he had to agree neither of them had enough evidence to prove this town might have been owned by other humans in past.

Yet it seemed Placid would stick around a little longer, for on the concept of ‘trust’, he was curiously absent. Not that it surprised Placid any, Potty was always a little loathe to outright admit emotional things. Though the quick shift had him feeling quite unwell, as always, and he reeled a good few minutes before being able to recompose himself.

“Ah...well, as curious as it all is: I know he’s as glad as I am to see someone he actually knows and trusts as well. Speaking of working together. I have overheard of an event that is apparently held here that has caught my attention. We can’t talk about it out in the open like this, it seems a little silly to carry on a long conversation outside. Shall we head in?”

Mainly, Alfendi was talking of how the sheep apparently held some sort of puzzle festivities each year: the mascot of that had caught his attention. How could it not? It had the exact same top hat that...that person wore, and he was 100 percent certain that was no coincidence, and that Kat should know about it too.

[ If you don’t tell her about it, I’ll come back out again and smack your stupid head silly, regardless of if we share a body or not. >

...Despite refusing to say emotional things due to seeing it as ‘sappy’, it was clear Potty agreed that Kat deserved to know as well, at least.

[jekyllhyding]

Lazy days (Closed - Osomatsu)

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pineiism;:

Osomatsu doesn’t take the warning at all. Why would he? This kind of stuff was–okay it was strange, but it was also the norm. Color changing hair? Yeah. Yeah! Osomatsu could do that too. Possibly. Maybe. If he could do F6 here. That was up for debate, because thus far he hadn’t tried. But still, the guy seemed like a completely different person. Less sick, more dick. Oh, that’s a good line, he’ll have to save that.

“You’re bugging me about sleeping outside now? Wow, you’re funny!” He laughs, face screwing into a wide grin from the previous neutral expression, “I’m only sleeping out here because you are! It’s kind of embarrassing to look like a homeless person sleeping on a bench, so I sat down beside you so you wouldn’t have to do it alone!” It’s supposed to sound nice, but it actually just sounds plain mean.

“Anyway, if you don’t want me to sit with you, I’ll just get up and go. I don’t need to look like a crazy person next to someone who just called me a dictionary.” You weren’t listening at all, Osomatsu! He picks his ear, pushing himself to his feet.

The annoying stranger thought it was funny to be insulted about what they did? Well now, Potty wasn’t about to complain about that: let’s see just how long the other’d be laughing in a minute or two once he said his piece on the topic. Clearly, this younger male wasn’t the most intelligent person, if he didn’t even pay attention to what that stupid other side of him said: why not have some fun with it.

[ Is there any enjoyment from trying to scare someone you think is stupid, really? >

Ignoring Placid as usual, Potty gave a rather mocking laugh. “So, if I went ahead and told you to jump off the nearest cliff, you’d do that too? You’re as much a mindless sheep as the actual sheep here are. Show some actual independent thought, or is that too much for such a simplistic mind? That aside, I’m not the one who chose to sleep on the bench.”

Well, that was actually true. ‘Potty’ had not picked sleeping there. Placid couldn’t argue against that, but there could have been a nicer way of telling people there were two of them in this body. (Not that he was surprised Potty refused to take that option.) 

“Oh, you’re leaving so soon? No, do stay, and play a little while. You’ll like this game, it’ll probably teach you to think for yourself for once in your dull life. It’s called ‘how far can you run away before I teach you a lesson in manners for waking me up so rudely’?” 

Potty’s grin only seemed to grow more unsettling as he stood to his feet, focusing on the hapless stranger with a eerie stare.

Well, that didn’t look reassuring at all. (Though, in reality - Potty really didn’t intend on actually harming the other, despite the threats: he wanted to see if he could chase the other like a scared little rabbit until he got bored with it. Hopefully that would teach him a lesson about waking people up like that, heh.)

[jekyllhyding]

Distracted Stranger (Closed - Kuro)

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notquiteakiller;:

The man he almost bumped into ( with a warning from them, thankfully ) had dark purple hair that could have been mistaken as red, probably. His mind seems to be elsewhere, so he decided to check him out for the time being ( since, he was being blocked by this man ). They look neat somewhat, despite wearing a white lab-coat of sorts, ( reminding him of a doctor friend of his ) although his pockets were full of newspapers.

( To be honest, the man in front of him looked really like a mad scientist that came out of a laboratory, or something. )

He was done looking the other man over, and his eyebrows furrowed slightly at what he said. An odd proposition, if anything really. Thinking it over, it’s not like he’s going anywhere bad or anything. Kuro shrugged slightly in response, “Well I suppose that’d be right. I don’t really want to have a concussion of some sort just because I had an accident. Also, I don’t really mind you following me and all, but please don’t expect much from where I’m going…”

Well, he just hoped slightly that this stranger wouldn’t judge him for going to where he was going to anyway. It’d be embarrassing since they did ask in the first place.

The red haired man didn’t react visibly, but one thing for sure, his thoughts were spinning wildly, at the mention of being ‘inspector’. Before actually going crazy, he mentally calmed down by trying to think up of math problems that were definitely hard to solve. After that, he looked upon the man who called himself Alfendi, with a passing thought, ‘First a prosecutor, and next a police inspector. What luck do I even have?’

He cleared his throat, “It’s nice to meet you. I’m well, Kuro. Kuro Misuto, a university math professor on his vacation.”

‘And formerly a fake contract based killer under the name of Keith Marksman. At your service? My ass.’

He smiled anyway, giving his hand out towards him to be polite.

Hm, seemed the other was the type to observe someone for cues of their personality himself: Alfendi wasn’t silly, he caught those quick glances. Not that he could blame the other for doing that, because he did the exact same thing - whether it was he or Potty in control - all the time. A strange habit, he supposed: but one that definitely came in handy. Come to think of it, this stranger sort of reminded him of someone else observant who kept to themselves.

That wasn’t to say that he was as enigmatic as that person could be - hadn’t observed the fellow enough for that yet - but still. 

“That’s quite alright - you needn’t feel as if you need to go anywhere different on my account. It’s more the case that following someone who does know this city better than I seems a better way to map out and remember landmarks and know the place better myself rather than potentially getting lost alone. I am...100% certain of that.” Alfendi had a very good point there, actually. 

Points aside, Alfendi had to admit - he wasn’t surprised when the other cleared his throat as if surprised by the fact he was an inspector. That tended to be the general response back home as well - he’d even surprised Lucy because of it when he first met her. Not that he minded: people not realizing what you were right off the bat meant they let their guards down when questioned a little bit, which could be handy.

“Kuro, hm? Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Kuro - my condolences that your vacation ended up, most likely, waking up in a strange city of sheep.” Alfendi took the offered hand and gave a gentle, polite handshake. As expected from Placid, really.

[ This is just going to be a really boring sight-seeing thing, at this rate: forget this. >

Ah - seems Potty didn’t want any part of the mapping the city thing, and he probably wouldn’t take control here. Probably for the best, really. 

[jekyllhyding]

londonslady;:

 As fun as it was to get reacquainted with the city, Kat knew that she would eventually have to work, just as she had last time. Rather, Sherl knew, and she tried to avoid it for as long as possible. After the humiliating fact of being coerced by her dog, however, she decided (entirely of her own volition) to go and investigate the Wool Over Eyes police squad that she was supposed to work with.

 “Oh, stop yapping about it,” Sherl insisted after the third time she had complained about working with others, “Need I remind you about Pinstripes? Or Hastings? You’d have gone to the dogs without them!”

 She hated to admit it, but he was right. “Hm… Well, at the least, I’d much rather have a small group of people I knew, rather than a larger task force.” She retorted, making the most sense she had in months as she turned the doorknob. “You know, someone like–”

 When the door opened, it seemed as if someone else had had the same idea, and nearly collided with her as they both tried to step through at once. One glance up, and she managed to find the one person who would make sense at the end of that sentence.

 “– Alfendi!?”

Surprisingly, for once - things were actually busy in the police squad: Alfendi thought he’d never see the day those balls of fluff moved so fast and jittery, but there you go. Apparently, a new worker was arriving today or something of that nature. Potty snickered at the back of their shared mind.

[ Who’d those sheep bribe and plead with to get actually doing serious work here other than us, I wonder? > ...To be honest, ‘Placid’ wondered that as well, given truly worrisome cases very rarely happened in this city to begin with - but when they did, they were big.

The least he could do was actually get out of the office for once and meet whoever this unlucky person was, he supposed. As much as he was loathe to actually leave the office, just like his times in the Mystery Room. He wasn’t an outdoors kind of guy.

The door swung back as he made to meet them out the front: but it seemed he’d timed it terribly, and very nearly collided with the person. Looking down, instant recognition flickered across his face. ...Oh.

Potty was in control faster than Placid could respond, grumbling as that hair changed crimson.

“...I can’t believe those sheep dragged both you and I into this suspiciously too-peaceful city, Kat. No, wait, I can, because they’re all simple-minded idiots.”

...Placid thought it was best to let Potty be the head of the conversation for now. (One of the rare moments he thought that actually.) After all - that side of him had been Kat’s brother longer than ‘he’ had as a side of Alfendi, so Potty had the right to talk first.

[jekyllhyding]

mokutouta;:

Honestly, the sheep virus incident had left its toll on Lui. Even if it was gone from his system, the sheer stress he’d gone through had him feeling exhausted, processing everything around him far slower than usual. Was something… still wrong? It wasn’t like he didn’t trust Gaster, and it seemed like the virus had disappeared from all the other city electronics besides him, yet… well, it was just like him to worry for nothing, after all.

It isn’t like he’d usually voice his concerns, but since it’d affected the whole city, he figured it was probably more dangerous not to speak up. Though, now he’s in the police station, he’s absolutely having second thoughts. Ah, you’re, you’re just wasting police time, now, with your useless overthinking! As if he wasn’t already on his way out, as if something that strenuous on his systems wouldn’t permanently alter a unit as worn out as him. But, even so…

Slowly, biting his lip, he types out a message for the officer (at least, he’s guessing that’s what this man is) to read, tentatively holding his phone out for him.『 excuse me……. sorry for, uu, intruding without appointment. i’ll leave right away if i have to make one, aaaa. i was just wondering if i could ask a question about the thing that happened with that virus….. if that’s okay. a, sorry… ..! 』

With - as expected - the threat of the sheep virus fading away on it’s own, things had returned to what passed for ‘normality’ in this strange sheep-filled place: things were calmer now. Though he’d kept a sharp eye on the papers and what the sheep passing through the office were saying, no cases had come up after, though he did hear sheep nervously bleating rumors about something that might have happened.

Hm - he wouldn’t be surprised if he was called to that later, but with the calmness, Alfendi’s ‘Placid’ side was back. There wasn’t much to do at the moment, so he could rest. At least, that was what he thought before a stranger came into the office. They seemed quite nervous from inital looks.

[ Geez...this kid looks even more scared than the sheep do half the time. >

Potty’s internal commentary inside...Ah? Why were they holding out a phone? He didn’t need to ponder this long, as the stranger typed out on it. Oh. It appeared they needed to type to talk to others, that was fine.

“No, no - it’s quite alright. The motto of the ‘Wool Over Eyes’ room is to take time to listen to everyone, so no appointment is needed.” It almost felt strange, reassuring a texted message. “There aren’t any current cases I’ve been called to, so I have time, also. What was it about that virus you needed to ask?”

[jekyllhyding]

Of Logic and ‘Fantasy’ ( Closed - Chtholly)

[jekyllhyding]

shallyousave;:

Sure, the sheep might look peculiar at first, but after a while of staying in this city, as well as working with them in library, she had grown accustomed with their existence. Sometimes, she would approach one of them and gave them a pet, encouraged them. She was well-aware that the sheep were working really hard, and they didn’t seem to be nervous at all for serving a lot of humans staying here.

In her workplace, the sheep would sometimes help her to bring the books and clean the area, though it’s still undeniably smelly. Chtholly had grown used to the smell of sheep along with their existence as time went by.

Thinking back to the time she first arrived in this city, she didn’t believe that she was so freaked out with them. She felt bad for ever feeling that way to them.

She took a small break from her job, and went outside the library for a walk. Later, she found a man who seemed lost. She couldn’t turn a blind eye, of course.

“Umm, do you need any help, sir?”

Ah - it seemed evident he probably should have timed approaching the young miss better, seeing as she’d just exited from the library and all. As a proper gentleman, he hardly wished to annoy someone on break. Goodness knows he worked hard on work as it was and enjoyed the breaks. Though Potty scoffed in the back of their mind at that.

[ Please, a ‘proper gentleman’? You and I both know Father never would use that term if I was the one in charge. > 

Well...he’d address Potty and his retorts later. Anyway. “Ah - my apologies, I didn’t mean to cut your break short if you were on one. Though I would indeed appreciate the assistance, given I only woke up here a few minutes ago.”

A pause, before ‘Placid’ continued. “My name is Alfendi Layton. Would you happen to know the location of any crime-solving offices around here? It would help quite a lot - if not that, perhaps a map of some kind?”

[jekyllhyding]

Lazy days (Closed - Osomatsu)

[jekyllhyding]

pineiism;:

Osomatsu lounges, manspreads even. May as well get comfortable if he’s going to humiliate himself alongside this stranger. He glances over as the man stirs from what he thought was sleep and sits up, slinging his arm over the back of the bench and raising his brows. The man looks uncomfortable. Sick, maybe? Yikes. Maybe Osomatsu ought to actually leave. He doesn’t want to catch anything. With no brothers to give it to, what would be the point?

“Are you homeless or what?” Holy fuck Osomatsu. “Because with how sick you sound maybe you should find somewhere more comfortable yourself. You could just get worse sleeping out here. I have a bed if you need one–I don’t even use it. Well, I have used it once, but I won’t use it again. You can use it if you want. But don’t expect me to take care of you or anything.” It just sort of spills out. He hadn’t said a word to anyone since Ichimatsu had left home, barring a few to his mom. He kind of missed being a blabber-mouth.

Unfortunately for Placid (and possibly the stranger as well, but that remained to be seen) - the stranger didn’t seem to get the hint or be warded off by how unwell he was feeling. Oh dear, dear. Maybe he hadn’t been obvious enough about it due to politeness? He couldn’t worry about that, not with his head beginning to ache so much he can barely keep a rational thought in his mind. He knows he can’t prevent this happening: but it would be nice if he didn’t have to feel so sickly every time it took place.

“No... I’m not, I was o-out and about...but please, you need to get away...”

The other’s endless chatter sadly only makes the headache worse quicker - purple hair shifts in shade to a crimson red, and Alfendi took a hand away from his face as the other personality took hold. There’s a smile, but it’s not a nice one. 

When ‘Potty Prof‘ smiled, you thought more of a hungry-looking crocodile, waiting to snap you up.

He speaks, but the tone is far softer and more dangerous-sounding than Placid’s one. Placid could only hope the other noticed the adrupt changes and tried to back out of the conversation, but running was the worst thing you could do around Potty.

“If I wanted any more needless, nonsensical babbling like a child about a subject, I’d read a dictionary. Your endless prattle is the pot calling the kettle black, as well - why are you so insistent on sleeping out in the open, when just about anything could go wrong?”