Arrival and Settling In | OPEN

[onethirdthesoul]

Characters: Ryou and OPEN
Date: August 25th~Early September
Location: Throughout Keeliai / Mu-Hao / Wood Sector
Situation: Ryou arrives and has a look around! For a job and for fun. Also he wastes like half his funds on a bike and food.
Warnings/Rating: None

[a; Mu-Hao]
[Talk about impressive. Finding himself suddenly kidnapped and being stuck on the back of a giant turtle was almost okay when he saw how cool his room looked. The soul lantern thing was kind of unnerving though, so he was just going to try and ignore that. Some of the other things he'd heard were less than pleasant too, but there wasn't much he could do about it right now.

Ryou was going to try and remain optimistic, so once he's put what few belongings he had away in his room, he starts to wander through the rest of the suite for the other residents.]

Hellooo? Is anybody else home?

[b; Around the Wood Sector]
[After squaring his things away and taking a couple days to let things sink in, Ryou takes the juulan he'd been given and heads out. He's pretty cautious of where he's going, afraid of getting lost in a city that looks the same at every turn for a newcomer. On his first few days in the Wood Sector he doesn't leave, but instead sets himself to a few tasks:

A) First things were first, and he purchases an inexpensive bike to ease travel time. Ryou can be found at one point trying to fix the jammed handlebar. You really get what you pay for...

B) Life without some sort of game was unfathomable, so he buys the first interesting board game he can find. Unfortunately he forgot to bring his backpack and ends up having to balance both the gameboard and walking the bike back to his suite.

C) Once he's spent some of his money on the above and food, Ryou's set out for a job hunt to help support himself. With all this war business going on he knows he can't be of much use there, but at least he won't feel like a total bum this way. He can be found frequently referring down to his pamphlet for information.]

[c; Choose Your Own Adventure / Around Keeliai]
[A week or so after situating himself in the Wood Sector to the best of his ability, Ryou decides to give the other areas of Keeliai a look. He can be found walking through the streets with a look of total awe at just how ornate everything is, as well as taste testing anything that looks interesting. Which is everything that doesn't involve oysters.

One might also spot him traveling between sectors on the carts, apologetically stuffing his bike in with him. At least he didn't forget his backpack this time.]

Comments

[peacefullywreathed]

He should have known better than to expect an objective answer from a teen. At least the boy obviously wasn't predisposed to being offended; that helped. It was hopelessly naive, but it helped. No wonder Bakura was able to manipulate him so easily.

The fact that the boy--Ryou would be easiest--spent so much time on construction implied they'd be at least good enough for basic tactical layouts. "Could you build one of Keeliai and the turtle's back?" Solomon asked. "To be finished in fairly short order?"

It wouldn't be much use if they couldn't use it for the war, after all.

[onethirdthesoul]

Somehow, Ryou hadn't predicted a request like that, although he did have a feeling something was coming. After he blinked off his shock, one question came to mind before he answered anything else.

"A diorama of the turtle's back? What for?" If he was to sink weeks or months into something like that, he'd at least like to know why, but before Solomon can answer he continued, "I'm sure I could do it, but I'm not very familiar with the area so I'd need a lot of help to make it accurate and to map it out before I build it. Plus without a bird's eye view I can only estimate the scale, so there might be some inaccuracies. Depending on how much detail you want it could take a few weeks to a few months or more. I'm not sure... I'd need a lot of supplies too."

Supplies that were a bit out of his budget right now, but more than that was the issue of how he could possibly come up with a map in the vaguely named "short order", let alone an entire diorama. Ryou would need help with the footwork at the very least.

[peacefullywreathed]

"Strategic purposes," Solomon said calmly. "We are at war, and all our maps are two-dimensional. Not that we need a diorama--but if you need something to do with your time, why not create a three-dimensional map for planning purposes?" He shrugged. "And if it turns out to be not quite as useful in that regard, I am sure I will find another use for it."

The turtle's back was far too filled with death and far too lacking in resources to make such a map useless at any given time. If it was possible, also, to go beneath the shell--well, why not have a map that covered the beneath? Why not have one that allowed for the examination of buildings? If nothing else, it could be interesting for the metaphysics.

"I have maps already," said Solomon. "But I'll need the diorama to be in useable condition within a decent time; maps you may have, but don't focus on the detail of the buildings except the palace and the police-station. Anything else, I can contribute for materials, or bring to you."

[onethirdthesoul]

"I see...," Ryou nodded thoughtfully at the explanation, both anxious and a little excited to know he'd be actually helping for the cause he was brought here for instead of just being a busybody. Of course he would rather be home more than anything, but out of the options he had now...this was certainly the better of the two.

"Ahh, that's great! If you have maps, that will make my job a whole lot easier! And if you could help with the material too, that would be great...," he bashfully scratched his cheek, a little unwilling to go on, "since I haven't exactly gotten a job yet. Usually my Dad pays for all my living expenses, since we weren't allowed to have part-time jobs while going to school."

[peacefullywreathed]

"Certainly." Most of his work involved investigation, particularly investigating what had happened to dead ancestors and giving kedan families a chance to reconcile with their fates; perhaps not noble work, but it did give Solomon something of a stipend. "You'll have to give me a list of what you'll need; over the console would suffice."

Solomon smiled a little, for no other reason than to make himself seem a little more friendly to a boy who appeared rather flighty. "Feeling more settled now?"

[onethirdthesoul]

As if that bright smile of his weren't enough to tell, Ryou nodded his head once more, "I am, thank you."

It wasn't that he'd forgotten the news of having a lookalike running around, but that he was more than content to temporarily shove it to the back of his mind. His opinion of Solomon might have started out dubiously at best, but now that he'd been given a chance to do some work he's warmed up to him.

"I'll send you a list of supplies, and replacement supplies if you can't find certain ones, as soon as I get home, okay?"

Normally Ryou wasn't the type to just accept things for free, but he was making this diorama for Solomon's uses. It seemed like a fair trade to him.

[peacefullywreathed]

Certainly the boy was easy to reassure ... manipulate. Not that Solomon intended to manipulate him--much. At least, not in a fashion that would harm him. "Of course," he said, "though I would request you do most of the shopping yourself, and I will arrange the financing."

Solomon had no idea what was involved in building a diorama, and he certainly wasn't going to do most of the shopping when he had other things to do and the boy had a lack. The list was to properly calculate the funds, rather than anything else.

[onethirdthesoul]

"Okay," Ryou cheerfully replied, already mapping plan out in his head. The supplies he would need, the paints and clays... He's really not sure how much it will cost in the long run, so he'll just have to take it in parts.

"I can do that! It'll probably be better that way anyway, since sometimes you don't even remember you need something until you see it! I'll try to come up with what I'll need for...," he counted silently on his fingers as he trailed off, "the basics, like the surface and all the stuff I'll need to make the models, and I'll just let you know about anything I need after that point. How's that sound?"

[peacefullywreathed]

"Very well," Solomon agreed. It meant they would have the bare basics, and anything else were things the boy would have to haggle for; Solomon, being the one paying for much of the equipment, could refuse anything he felt was too much a luxury.

He rose and bowed. "In that event, I believe I will take my leave, and allow you to return to your exploration."

[onethirdthesoul]

It really felt like Ryou was being properly commissioned, he couldn't deny the fact that he was excited. Part of him always wanted to be able to build dioramas for more things than just Monster World, and now he was finally getting his chance.

"Okay, have a nice day, Wreath-san! I'll send you the message over the console later today," and with that Ryou bowed his head in a polite goodbye and took his leave with a friendly wave.