synflux | [closed] assorted march threads

Ah, hello Makima-san.

[This is accompanied by a polite bow of the head in greeting before he approaches.]

Things are going better... especially now that I'm not randomly sprouting octopus legs anymore.

[The whale fight ended up doing a number on Manjoume unfortunately, including having some side effects from the gem that everyone had been given to assist in the battle. Makima may have very likely seen him struggling to drag himself from his room and back from places once or twice due to constantly tripping over those tentacles that had lingered for a few days after the fight.]

What about you? Have you been doing well?

I had jellyfish ones.

[A little bit of a smile there. It was strange, that’s for sure. And not the easiest thing in the world to manage either, not that she’d say she had it worse. Kind of amusing for her to look back on though.]

And I’ve been well, thanks for asking in return. I’ve been enjoying having some time to myself.

[There’s things to do, of course. The hybrids and all of that, but it’s just not as much as having to do a raid battle while at sea.]

[Manjoume winces a little in sympathy at that.]

Oh, yikes. Did you have to worry about accidentally stinging yourself or others due to dealing with jellyfish ones by comparison?

[At least Manjoume by comparison mostly just had to deal with the octopus tentacles flailing or slipping over water and occasional ink...]

Luckily I didn't find out.

[Her and Ish had joked a little about stinging someone but she never actually did it.]

It could've been worse though, at least it wasn't like the Fly. Have you seen that one?

"The Fly"?

[Manjoume tilts his head a bit, frowning.]

I think... that's a movie, right? Or at least it sounds like one I've heard of once, but I'm not familiar with it, unfortunately.

It is. It's a horror film where a scientist becomes half-man, half-fly. The remake is particularly gruesome. I'd much rather the literal sea legs than that.

[Though she imagines no one would disagree there.]

[Huh. After hearing that, he can't help but be curious.]

That bad of a transformation, huh... did you like this remake, or do you prefer the original because of that?

That's a good question.

[She'll think about it for a moment.]

I prefer the remake actually, but the ending of the original tends to stick with the viewer.

The ending is more memorable, but you still prefer the remake? Huh... typically I tend to hear people complain about remakes whenever they talk about movies like that. Were the effects or acting just better somehow in the remake?

There's about thirty years between the two, so yes the effects are much better in the remake.

[Thankfully? It'd be concerning if that wasn't the case.]

And I understand the criticism of remaking something, but I do feel the West had a couple of good ones around that time period. We've talked about the Fly, but there was also the Thing, which I thought was well made.

Not that the only movies I watch are horror, please don't get the wrong idea, I enjoy all genres.

[Manjoume doesn't know much about the Thing either, but he will absolutely take Makima's word on it being good as well for now.]

I didn't realize you were such a movie buff, Makima-san.

[Or at the very least, she's definitely more well-versed on the subject than Manjoume is here.]

Oh yes, I can't even tell you how many I've seen.

[A lot. The answer is a lot.]

I'm very much the type to even go to film festivals and marathons when I have the opportunity.

[Which can be tough back home at times depending on her schedule.]

I see... I know before that you said you were a busy person back home, but that's good if you were able to make time for your movies still. Don't know if the same can be said here by comparison, though...

[A pause, before he wonders.]

Wait, does this place even have movies worth watching?

They're very hit and miss. I haven't seen one here yet that I'd say was great.

[She's not saying they're all bad, but no standouts from what she's seen. And some of them sure have been terrible.]

Really? That sucks... I'd have thought that there would be at least one that would be worth watching to recommend or pass the time with.

[But at the same time... can he really say he's that surprised to hear this? Given that there's a kaiju problem and all, this place probably doesn't have time or enthusiasm to work on making great movies...]

Are there any movies you're at least able to access here that exist back home for you as well?

I wouldn't write them off entirely. You might like some of them? It's just that I haven't seen any that I'm particularly fond of yet.

[And at this point she doesn't really expect to.]

And I have seen some titles I'm familiar with but I've been focusing more on watching new ones.

Fair enough. At least that sounds like it's still worth trying to watch or two here to see if they're any good.

[There's a pause, before he shrugs.]

Not that I would know where to even start. I don't think I've actually sat around and watched a movie since I was thirteen or fourteen, maybe?

[Normally all of his time before now is consumed by studying and a children's card game... and sometimes saving the world with said card game.]

Too busy with Duel Monsters?

[She says a little jokingly. She's still not sure what that is, but it did seem to be the focus in his life from what they've talked about before.]

Yeah, pretty much. It was kind of hard to have time for anything other than Duel Monsters, since it was part of my studies and my future plans for a professional career...

[There's a pause, before he realizes something--]

Oh wait, I never really explained or showed you what Duel Monsters even was when I mentioned it before, did I? [And so, for a moment, he is searching his pockets before he pulls out a deck of cards] It's a popular game from back home that I played and studied. You and another player build decks with cards of your own choosing, and then use them to battle once another.

[He flips over a couple of cards face up from the top of the deck to let Makima take a look. A dragon, a green card talking about fusion, and whatever the hell this is are a few examples here that Makima will be able to see.]

Oh, so that's what it is. I was wondering about it.

[Though now she's a little confused about the importance of it. It seems like a lot for what sounds to her like a hobby.]

...is that one some sort of Devil?

[The other cards don't get much reaction from her, but the Ojama just looks so bizarre. She can't help but think it looks like a low level Devil one of her subordinates would run into somewhere.]

No... or actually, maybe it is? It certainly looks like a really ugly one. Acts like it too, sometimes.

[He removes the card from the deck, now looking at it closely too. He can't feel the presence of the duel spirit that had resided in this card--it just feels like normal card stock now. Still...]

They're called Ojamas: they're low-leveled monsters, and thus pretty weak on their own. But that exact sort of thing can be used to deceive the opponent: more often than not, a careless opponent will end up overlooking any traps lying in wait by being too focused on the Ojamas and their antics when they're summoned.

So they're a distraction.

[She understands, or at least she thinks she understands.]

And a rather effective one would be my guess, I don't know how to play, but I'm sure seeing something like that must be confusing at best. And even if they assume it's a trick, they'd have to figure out what trap is being set, right?

Yeah, exactly. There are quite a few different strategies one can come up with for them, along with the other monsters in my deck.

[He returns Ojama Yellow to his deck, before he continues speaking.]

I've actually been using my cards as a reference in order to test these ocular implants, specifically when it comes to projecting holograms. They even came in handy during that last incident with the kaiju, as I was making a few projections of Armed Dragon to distract the enemy with during the fight.

[So if Makima recalls ever having seen any odd hologram dragons flying around, now she knows why.]

That's an interesting use of the technology we've been given.

[A smile there, that's creative. She might've remembered seeing a wing or a tail or something along those lines that seemed out of place before ending up in the water. But she wouldn't have looked too much into it figuring it was something someone on their side did.]

It's a good technique too. I imagine another monster showing up would at least momentarily confuse the real one. I wonder how often that happens...so far the simulations all seemed like they've focused on one type, the same with our first real fight.

[Manjoume nods in agreement.]

It seemed to work for the most part, but... if I could get my hands on a Duel Disk, or something similar, I would be able to create a hard light projection of the monsters as opposed to just a hologram. Then they would potentially be more convincing as a threat against the Kaiju, or at least any that might turn out to be smart enough to detect holograms? But I haven't found one yet.

[~~Not yet, anyway.~~]

[closed] assorted march threads

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