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@ofstarsandskies
Bad/Julius End Ludger Will Kresnik
Rules || About & Bio || Main Verses Ludger’s AU List || Julius’ AU List || Victor's Verse List Lulu, Elle, & Atsuro Verse List
Canon/Alternate Universe/Crossover/OC/Duplicate Friendly
Featuring Julius Will Kresnik, Victor, Elle Mel Marta, Lulu, & Atsuro Kihara
Zany ship sailed by Kika since June 2014
Blog icon by belfire
Status: Active, but slow due to health issues.
Current Magic Anon: Julius is a cat
"...Why must I be made to convene with humans are the Trial's end?"
"Just be thankful your first appearance wasn't being thrown around by Julius' newest overzealous fangirl. I don't know if I should consider myself fortunate or cursed she didn't destroy any of my Spyrix organs...."
++ E N D ++
←
"....Thinking about it, I'm beginning to see an alarming amount of worlds where Elle becomes my enemy instead of my ally. I hope this isn't indicative of anything..."
First it was the fae's world. Then it was the evil Elle clone. At his going rate, the world will complete its love for threes and grant him another one in due time...
"Ha," laughed gently the warrior, wondering how it was that someone who had proven so fearsome seemed not only so humble, but outright unaware of his own achievement in comparison to the conflict surrounding him.
"Have you thought, Master Kihara, that perhaps 'getting the job done' is on its own, already of immense respect? I have only heard little of your battles yet from you and Lord Minegishi, but it seems that you are facing an enemy that defies belief."
-Crossing his arms, he hummed, tilting his head whilst thinking of what to say next.
"Could you say that many others from your realm could do what you can? Or that they would've endured the battles you've fought?"
"Wh-What...? What'd I say?"
Was his rambling that amusing? Did he make a stupid face? Why is Yukimura laughing...? Normally Atsuro's used to being the butt of jokes, but this one is throwing him for a loop...
The answer comes swiftly: it's his uncanny ability to dismiss his own achievements. And by the time Atsuro realizes he's initiated a battle, turns out he's already lost.
"I-I can't say I have before now, but I admit you've made a real compelling case to change that..." As much as he'd like to keep deflecting, he's not in Tokyo with Yoohoo anymore. He has to operate with some dignity lest it reflects on Kaz.
In other words? It's over. He has to raise the flag.
"Alright... I'll try to be less dismissive about my contributions going forward..." Atsuro's eyes retreat under his hat, yet his tone is no less sincere. "Still, I'm surprised you wanted to boost me up in the first place. I'm... kinda not used to that, as you can probably tell..."
"Wow... I knew Elle was a confident person, but she's making the kind of bold moves I'd never be able to choke out without at least five hours to mentally prep myself. And I'd probably still fumble it..."
He'll root for her success! And also make sure Victor doesn't find out before he finds some flaw in Elle's new friend to enact a holy purging that leaves no traces.
With how insistent she is, Shuichi was almost at a lost of words with each moment that ticked by. Sure, he wasn't an official detective yet, although it didn't stop him from trying to help out when he can. Which leads him to circumstances like this one, where it looks like no matter how genuine and reassuring he was with being fine without any sort of reward- this one here was certain to give him one no matter what.
Plus, if she was so willing to reward him and go out of her way for something precious he found for her... it was worth hearing out! Getting to know someone through gift-giving and exchanges was one of his favorite bonding moments, after all.
"This is awfully nice of you, so... if you insist, it would be rude of me to decline after that kind of reasoning... Oh, what's this? You also have a card?"
He began, but then his eyes widened at the sight of something unique being pushed into his hands. It's bright pink, painfully obvious and bold in his hands. Is this... a business card-?! It looks so tacky, but in a cute non-official way. Was that even possible?
"Elle Mel Marta… Spirius Agent…"
He utters thoughtfully to himself. Turning the card, clearly intrigued on what his new acquaintance, Elle Mel Marta, is about.
"O-Oh, yeah, I'm very glad that I found it for you, especially if it was that valuable...! Well, since it was limited and the rarest of your collection, then I'll let you decide. What would be worth the reward for something so precious to you?"
He's genuinely curious- but at the same time the detective is a modest guy. He felt embarrassed already for accepting a reward, but being humble and wanting to appease her.. he's willing to hear her out on what she felt was fair.
"Yeah, I keep a couple on-hand since Spirius Agents are protectors of the public and all that. Plus they're pretty handy for when I'm at conventions and meet a potential gal pal."
So yes, they're real cards-- just not for the intended use case. Her job is pretty much secured for life unless her sorta-uncle sinks a multi-billion gald company sinks overnight. But Ludger's a good guy; he should keep out of trouble.
The back of Elle's "business" card is a lot tamer than the front, though it still doesn't compromise on the pink. Her personal mantra's stands proudly in the middle and... that's it. Simple yet effective, in her humble opinion.
"That's me," Elle offers a cheeky smirk before she focuses on pinning her precious Bunnykins pin back on her tie's knot. Ah, back where it belongs. "But please call me Elle! I hear 'Ms. Marta' enough already at stuffy board meetings."
Her not-so-subtle tactics of trying to fish for more time are a critical success: Shuichi's happy to receive a reward of her choosing. She pretends to deliberate on it for a couple seconds, but her mind's been made up from the word go.
"I thiiink... I should treat you to dinner somewhere you've always wanted to try!" Yep, she's going all-in. Now to swat down the likely nice guy protests. "Don't worry about hurting my wallet or if I won't like it; this is your reward, so your enjoyment is the top priority! Name anything, be it 100k king crabs or a burger place on a budget!"
...If he's merciful to count Aemeath, this marked the second time he's become a step-father to a young lady. Yes, it's not that many times, but it's a marvel it even happened once, let alone twice.
"Is this the Great Spirits' way of blessing or cursing me...?" There's worse fates regardless of which it is. But he'd sure like to know.
-Camera noise. "Caught you in 4k."
This is what he gets for breaking Ludger's ban on treats for Lulu out in public... But as they say in Elympios: everything has a price. Surely this boy has one too.
"What can I do to convince you to quietly delete that evidence from your phone? Name your price, be it money or a task."
These people are so high tech compared to my world.
The fact is a big on the scary side for Emil. While Ratatosk would normally just brush it off and take things at face value, Emil was carefully listening to the taller male explain. So his home was quite far from here? It begs to question how they even managed to travel so far... Yet he knows answers aren't plentiful at the moment.
All he could learn was that he was in a particularly bad spot... A VERY bad spot.
"Chronos...?"
What an awkward time to not be human... Something a powerful Spirit could likely pick up quick on. Perhaps he could use that to his advantage to get the other's help but- Ratatosk wasn't known for playing very nice with other Spirits. It meant he'd have to do a lot of the socializing...
Speaking to normal people was one thing but another Great Spirit? His nerves were already on the edge from imagining it! But it sounded like the safest option. He couldn't risk Ludger's life when the other has shown him such kindness.
"What would it take to get an audience with Mr. Chronos?"
Thus, his answer was decided.
Ah, right, if Emil's not from this world, he likely wouldn't know who Chronos is. Spirits forbid if duplicates of him existed-- humanity across the multiverse might not be there the next morning.
"He's our Great Spirit of Time. Even his fellow Great Spirits call Chornos too much of a die-hard spirit lover, although he rarely got along with his fellow spirits, either," Ludger's bitterness drips out as he rambles on the old gossip that Fractured Aska told him once "Honestly I don't know how Origin puts up with him; he's worse to deal with than Rideaux, and that's an achievement no living being should ever strive for--"
The ranting stops as Ludger has a realization he's drifted into a long-winded rant about someone (unpleasant as they were) who hasn't even introduced himself yet.
"Ahaha... S-Sorry, I-I'll get back on topic..." Ludger clears his throat and takes it back from the top, "I believe the specific circle to summon him should be in Spirius' files somewhere. We'll have to draw it and then 'present proof of what's deep in our hearts', or so the legend goes. We can draw the circle in my office-- it's got adequate space and nobody wanders in there without express permission of my secretary first."
Ludger motions for Emil to follow him for a brief walk to the elevator. Tapping the button to open the door, it happily chimes back and opens without any wait on their end. As Emil might be a bit intimidated, he'll block the doors from closing to allow him to walk in without fear of being smooshed or something.
"I said you can," Kazuya reminded, mischief flashing across his lips. "I didn't say you have to, right now."
Of course Kazuya wanted him to stay. Of course he did. It was just! The longer Atsuro stayed, inside his soul, the more likely it was to get another visit from Mr. Spills-The-Beans. And maybe the second time Abel rolled around, he'd start spilling deeper secrets? Not exactly ideal.
Which was not to mention how dizzy Atsuro might get when Kazuya's real body got up and doubled back to a different location. But he could put that motion on hold for a moment longer.
"It's fine if you want to be selfish." It was selfish for Atsuro to try and stay. Sure. But it was even more selfish for Kazuya to want him to stay. Here. In the very same soul that had already unsettled him. "If I can be a little selfish, too, then..."
His eyes closed in the real world. The hellscape returned in its full glory.
"I... wanna hang out a little longer."
Seems his pitiful attempt to stall for extra time amounted to something as Kaz clarifies the 'can' is to be taken literally. And in the spirit of being selfish but honest, Kaz wanted him to stick around too.
"I'd say we're in agreement then. And hey, if Naoya's that impatient, he can always decide there's a bad connection between the chair and the keyboard, heheh~"
Although the creepy imagery is back in full swing, Atsuro's comfortable enough to crack a programmer joke again. He'll think of this place like the Diet Building: sure looked scary, but it ended up being one of the safest places in the Lockdown (with Naoya's help but eh, details).
"Sooo..." Gotta keep things positive, Atsuro reminds himself. "I guess to start, I wanna make sure: when you circle back, did you want me to accompany you the whole way? I know I said I'd be with you--which don't get me wrong, I'm happy to do so!--but I know that's not my call to make."
He'll totally understand if he gets a no; Naoya is the sharper mind between them. And he has waaay more experience guiding a war front than the mostly regular high school kid.
"--Oh, but if you want some news on my life, Keisuke and I are hanging out again! I was worried he'd cut me off for good after our big split, but we're patching things up!" This little apparition'll slide his ghost arm over Kaz's shoulder for a sec. "When you come back, he agreed to a dude's night for us three! Lil' something to look forward to, eh? Eh~?"
‘Things he’s good for don’t help with chores’? She’s not even going to venture further, knowing that he is quite the enigma.
❝ I’ve never such courteous service towards hellions before, ❞ she flatly remarks, still unimpressed. As if the hellions would actually care, but she’s pretty sure he knows that too. ❝ Why would he get touchy over that? ❞ That person sounds like another weirdo. In fact, the entire Kresnik Clan seems eccentric, to put it lightly. Not really in a bad way; she acknowledges the sense of humor, even if some of them are a little slow on the uptake.
Case in point: ❝ Mhm. Yes, you should repent for it. Failure to distinguish jokes is a transgression upon the laws of comedy. ❞
Ordinarily, the role of the funny person is her while the tsukkomi role belongs to Meebo, and Dezel on occasions back when he was still around——but when she’s with Lailah, the roles reverse and Edna is forced to maintain balance in the comedy realm by being the reluctant tsukkomi. She is unsure of which role to perform with Julippy, honestly. The manservant bit just now proves that he makes a terrible tsukkomi to her boke, and a successful comedy routine cannot function with two boke people. Tsk.
When he asks how to regain his points, she squints at him and ponders. Given his attitude thus far, he could very easily spin some sort of joke out of this to try saving face, but it seems that he’s playing safe this time. At least the concept of bad manners is not lost on him. ❝ You can start by working on your comedy skills. Try coming up with a routine that will impress me with your comedic timing. Feel free to partner up with Lurin if you want. ❞
She was originally going to get him to make another dessert, but decidedly changes it. If his crime has broken the laws of comedy, then he ought to mend it. How he was able to easily keep up the complex Big Brother Code gag but fail with the simple manservant bit is beyond her.
Since Julius is busy floundering in his regrets, Ludger deems to answer the Victor question, 'It's because "Only those I deem worth my time should ever call my name" as he'd say. And as an integral member of the family? He's allowed to be as prissy as he wants so long as he does his work well.'
Meanwhile in the opposite corner, a troubled big brother who's content to silently absorb the criticism laid out before him. Does he agree with his charges? Yes-- assuming Lady Edine seriously wanted to rip them from their homes was rather out of character for his love of absurdist humor. And he can agree it's best he pay for his crimes in comedy with an act that shows he's only good for an ironic punchline.
But what to do, what to do... Lady Edine permitted him to ask help from Ludger, but his brother sometimes struggles when he doesn't have a healthy dose of practice in his system. Especially if that activity requires a lot of talking. If only there was a way he could rely on just Ludger's physical acting while he did all the talking--
--Hold on. What if... He had Ludger pretend to be his puppet master? Meanwhile he'd consistently act as two characters: himself, and his brother speaking through him? It's crazy and unorthodox, but that's the beauty of comedy, right?
"I think I have an idea. Ludger, I'll need your help for this," Julius' confidence in his future scheme is at an all-time high. When his brother joins his side, he swipes his pen and jots down his part so there's no spoken spoilers. Though he will give one, "I won't spoil the whole act yet, but let me ask as a preface Lady Edine: how would you feel if you could make someone say whatever you wanted?"
@ofstarsandskies // The Final Exam
Naoya didn't have insight into Atsuro's mind in any supernatural sense, but something still told him his former student was going to attribute some altruistic motivation to this gesture of his. As if having a student for this long didn't fill him with a sense of security, or a feeling of control. The longer he had his hands on someone who so looked up to him, the less he wanted to discard that person.
That kind of bond could only make him weaker. He no longer had any use for a student, so to do anything but end this was to wrap himself up in a security blanket he shouldn't have needed.
There were, of course, procedures to ending the teacher-student bond. The final exam being one of them. And to indulge in procedure... If he paid attention to how unlike him that was, he would have been tempted to punch a mirror in the face. But he had plans this Tuesday, and 'Why is your hand bandaged up' was a terrible question to have to answer when everyone got there.
So he wouldn't go that far in his quest to avoid mulling over hard questions, even when he was alone in the server access room.
The email had been empty, but not for lack of trying. He couldn't figure out what he wanted to say. He didn't know the words that would make him understandable. If such a series of syllables even existed, he couldn't type them out, no matter how much he wanted to.
He'd sent out a message here and there. Not to Yuzu (frankly, he felt like that flavor of noise was going to ruin the moment), but to Keisuke and Mari. The former didn't respond at all, presumably still upset about the slight influx of demons in the human world, while the latter was going to be busy. Alas. (He didn't exactly have Ludger's contact information, either, but if he had, he would have asked.)
His final message, of course, was to Kazuya. A call to support his friend, saying that it would take so long for the enemy to begin recovering that he could (and should) take this one break.
Maybe... there was something altruistic to all this, he supposed, looking over the answers Atsuro sent. One by one, not a single response looked out of place. As expected of his number one student, the 50th answer was even appended to question 49.
The smile that grew across his lips wasn't crooked. For just a moment, he felt a kind of pride he thought he wouldn't get to see since his children grew up. For just that one moment, he understood why he had to do it like this. If he didn't make sure that both passing and failing meant ending this mentorship, he would have failed Atsuro on purpose to keep him dependent.
That was the last thing he wanted any of those rowdy kids to be.
So. With that uncomfortable truth out of the way, he finally sent another email.
[Subject: That it is.]
I'll meet you at the Hills building, where I'll set up hot pot for you and anyone who responds to my invitation. Whether or not you'd pass... There was no question. I knew you'd get everything right. Still, congratulations are in order. Not all of my students have graduated with flying colors. I don't know what else to say.
"Big Party.
Big Party.
Big Party!
BIG FUCKING PARTY!!!!!!"
His hype thrusters are gonna explode!!!!!
{//I could've waited to send this but fuck it we ball. Get one month later'd.}
[To: AT-LOW] [From: NAOYA] [Subject: Final Exam]
The body of the email was empty, but attached was a single executable file. If opened, it would display an interactive quiz, 49 questions long, each one answered by text input. If completed in this way, the answers would be sent to Naoya's email at the end of the test.
However, a second test was found within the program's code itself. When the code was decrypted, strange strings of useless nonsense would be found in various sections. Finally, when those were run against one of Naoya's preferred ciphers, Atsuro would be faced with a short message.
[Send the phrase "Celebration's on Tuesday" for your final point.]
Or his first. Naoya supposed it could go either way.
@gravity-wall || The Test Saga (Nearly) Concludes!
...This is it. The big day. Either he graduates from Naoya's tutelage, or he flunks out for life. If you were to quiz Atsuro on his feelings a month ago, he'd say he was paralyzed. His actions proved as much-- Atsuro withdrew from basically everything and everyone for the first week just to study.
But then... after the first week? Something clicked. Naoya wouldn't give him this test as an excuse to throw him out. If that was his goal, he'd just do it; no need for an extra step. No, if Naoya's giving him a test where both results involve him moving on, it's for one reason.
Naoya wants him to seek out his own path, and this test is his esoteric way of showing Atsuro he's more competent than he thinks himself.
After that realization, Atsuro took a more relaxed approach to his studying. He still studied every night just to be thorough, but his mornings? Back to normal: hanging out with friends, looking at memes, the works. Yuzu chided him about disappearing for a week, but when doesn't she get on his case? She did ask why, but he lied and said it was for personal reasons.
And so the days ticked by much faster until the day itself arrived. Unlike the Atsuro of a month ago who would've panicked, his head couldn't be clearer than it was right now. He could do this. He would do this.
"--Your burger's done," His go-to person for peak brain fuel sets down a plate on the coffee table. Atsuro called him kinda spur-of-the-moment, but Good Guy Ludger didn't question it. "Um... Did you want anything else?"
"Could I also get some milk? Think I read that has a lot of vitamin B12 at some point," He'd think harder where from, but he doesn't wanna have a single wasted thought before the big moment! "But still, thanks again for--"
Ping!
It's time. As expected, Naoya doesn't mince a single word: his email has his test and literally nothing else. Alright, time to tackle the beast, "I'll still take that milk, but I'm gonna have to ask we save the talk till I'm done. Feel free to play with Niao if you want."
Ludger nods and heads for the fridge for the milk. Now for the grand finale of his days as Naoya's student!
-----
Alright, that's 48/49 of the questions. Now to submit the last answer--
--is what he'd say if he didn't know the usual Naoyafaire. If there's anything he's learned from being Naoya's student, it's that there's always a hidden layer behind his programs. If he wants to pass, he has to crack this egg open just like he did the DSP what seems like ages ago.
Before he sends the final answer, he'll dress down this seemingly innocent executable for any hidden goodies using his old decryption keys he'd compiled over the years. It takes a couple failures, but eventually he finds the right key and the crack spits out a secret message:
Send the phrase "Celebration's on Tuesday" for your final point.
Yep, as he thought!.... WAIT. Naoya? Planned a party? For him? Really?? Where? Whe--wait, he knows that, duh. How big? Who's coming?
Hm... I wonder... "Hey Luds, do you have plans Tuesday?"
"Hm?" Ludger jitters to life at the sound of Atsuro's voice. "Uh... I've got a party to go to Tuesday night, but I've got some wiggle room in the morning if you need something. Why do you ask?"
As he thought. For the sake of not spoiling the whole surprise, he won't probe further. Instead, he'll simply submit the final question's answer with a little addendum attached:
"Also, Celebration's On Tuesday. See you soon, my former teacher."
"Ehhhh, I was just a little curious is all~"
Tuesday cannot come soon enough.
"It wasn't your mistake though, it was mine. I wasn't able to carry out your instructions and that's what caused this mess...but if that ghost could help us then I don't mind showing you where he is."
*As much as Kieran wanted to not go back any time soon the fact was the longer they put this off the less likely their victory was so despite his anxiety and fear wanted to go with them. Though there was one small issue, they would be walking to nearly where they previously were. Meaning there was a high chance Elle or someone else would be looking out for them.*
"If the comes back I can be a decoy...you should make finding the ghost the main mission."
"Don't be so eager to throw your life away," Julius' tone freezes over, his brows creasing from a tapped raw nerve. "Your mistakes won't disappear with your death. Take it from someone who once attempted to do the same; it brought nothing but tragedy. If you truly seek redemption, see this journey through to the end."
Allowing his emotions to slip like that is becoming an ugly habit. But in this case, he'll justify it as the best way to smother an awful idea. Although he can already see Ludger itching his arm to alleviate the tension. He'll steer this conversation back on track.
"If we need to rely on a decoy, it's best they know as little information on our movements as possible. I was avoiding playing this card early, but Victor, could you--"
"I already contacted her," Victor'll save them a step and the pointless questions of whether or not he approves. "She'll meet up with us on the field. This ghost hunt better amount to something."
That went... remarkably smoother than expected. With that everything should be in place; the rest will depend on what the field brings them.
"Whenever you're ready, Mr. Kieran." Julius made extra sure to keep his voice light this time.
