Shadow Noodles

Shadow Noodles
Date of Scene:	04 August 2013
Location:	Traverse Town - Wildcat Cafe
Synopsis:	Periodic catchup session go! Now with noodles.
Cast of Characters:	Will Sherman, Riku, Will Cutout

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Riku has posed:
Shadow Noodles.

Riku sits at one of the booths near the back with his head in one hand. He looks intently at the purple/black strands of noodles as they fall through the chopsticks and back into the bowl with the remnants of a slice of dark beef and an egg on top of it all. He stirs the concoction around in the bowl and then lifts more noodles.

He pauses, as if trying to decide whether to actually eat them and then just lets the noodles slide back into the bowl for a second time.

Plop.

Riku pushes himself up out of the seat, moving over to the Jukebox and looking over the music. He pushes the button and scans the titles, not really looking at them. After awhile he goes back to his seat and stares at the noodles some more, as if irritated they were still there and that he was still here and just generally irritated in general.

Will Sherman has posed:
When Riku turns back around to the noodles, he see's a familar hat on a head, that is also familar and probably punchable. Going into said head is a bowl of noodles at a high velocity. Will Sherman, is on your seat eating your shadow noodles.

"Could stand to be more cheery." he says, with a grin and looks back at Riku, trying to get a firm grip on the situation Alma told him about...again, the look is slightly unsettling...

But you get used to him looking at you like that. Really, if it wasn't something he told you he could do, you'd just think it was just an intentful stare.

And then Lean on me plays.

Yeah. Someone is abusing luck magic.

Riku has posed:
Riku looks.. tired, but he smiles just the same. It's not self-depreciating. It is a little /irritated/ because 'Hey Man. Where are my noodles?' but it's genuine just the same.

Anybody looking intently would see nothing. Well, not nothing.. but considerably less than other intent looks of before. Riku's darkness has so diminished as to be barely noticeable above the background that most people carry with them all their lives. It's still that amalagation of white threads and wispy black, but so low-profile as to be almost difficult to pick out.

The smile turns into a lopsided smirk, raising his eyebrows as he stares to /glare/ at Will. "Will. You are scamming my noodles off me." a pause, then a snort. "I guess I better get some more." he then turns away and orders another bowl before sitting down in the booth across from Will.

"I assume you are well?" He blatantly ignores the jukebox. So ignore.

Will Sherman has posed:
"I'm fine." Will says, "Are you?" He asks.

"I mean, you don't look fine..." he pauses, "I was freekin' scared <GOOSEHONK>less when you didn't come out...but I guess all well that ends well.." he shrugs, "Yeah...it's been a thing. Ugh..." he rubs his face, "The dreams stopped, I guess...the filth...or I guess, Blot is gone for the moment...though I know it wants me...or a part of me." he shudders. "But that's not why I am here." he says, "Alma said something about a problem."

"...And I just can't stop myself from sticking my hands where they don't belong apparently." he says with a slight smirk. "But...you know, your darkness is...really diminished. Like, really low."

Riku has posed:
Riku raises an eyebrow.

"The.. blot?" he then shakes his head. "Lemme guess. Big spooky eldrich horror." he nods. "I think I should start a naming system for them just like I've got one for the various forms of Scary Armor." he frowns slightly at that but then shakes his head, looking into the distance for a few moments before looking back at Will.

"Yeah. I was..really occupied right then. I didn't even really notice time going by. And, well, I can't do anything with what's left so.. maybe that's for the best." he looks pained for a moment and then shakes it off, smirking.

"So.." he sighs. "I'm mildly curious. How much did she tell you and how much am I going to have left to use in Darkness Charades, the home game?"

Will Cutout has posed:
Will looks a bit haunted, but he smiles it off, "Well, I think the Blot IS a nickname of a sort. I mean...it litterally looks like Ink. Like, black Ink." he shrugs, "And yeah...super corruptive...bad <GOOSEHONK>."

"...Well...she told me something about that jerkface from the end of the boat trip...and that he didn't die, and that he somehow lived IN your darkness...and also somehow is now also trying to get into HER...and she wants ME to try and wrestle him out. First...if I am going to do that, we need a lava lake or a fire near by." Will says, "...Secondly, I have no idea what will happen if I do this..."

Riku has posed:
"Wait.. WHAT?~!" Riku thumps hard into the table as he tries to sit up far too quickly, the pain sharp and immediate as he thumps right back down in the seat. This is the most awkward of times for noodles to be delivered, so of cousr, there is now noodles.

Riku stares at them blankly. "no.. No..no.. that's.. not. /possible./" but there is a faint hint of doubt there, the color draining from his face. "I.. Excuse me, Will."

He then walks a short distance away and lowers his voice into a subvocal range as he lingers near the jukebox.

Will Cutout has posed:
Will blinks.

Will shrugs...okay that's normal.

Will sits there for a moment, and eats some more noodles.

And suddenly drinks a rootbee-

Where did you get tha-MY ROOTBEER! WILL THAT IS M-

"That's enough third wall out of us." He mutters.

Riku has posed:
Riku walks back to the table, still looking about as white as printer paper as he sits down and toys with the noodles with an absolute lack of appetite. "Yeah. This is where I hold up the screwball sign, Will. Now. Either Alma is lying to me or you totally missed the mark there." he pauses for a long time. "But no. The.. " he snorts.

"The jerkface in residence isn't anywhere anymore. Alma killed them. I think.. she's trying to sever her own magic." he sighs in exasperation. "I'm sure that won't go /horrible/ for her or anyone else."

Riku rubs his head. "Let me guess. She said the /absolute/ minimum and in the process, got all the details wrong? As opposed to her other mode where she drops a detailed summary on your feet like a ten ton brick."

he facepalms and just stays there, shaking his head from side to side. "Sigh. How's Mercade and the TDA doing? Do you know? Yes. I'm stalling from actually having to explain this mess. Humor me."

Will Cutout has posed:
Will nods once...

"Okay see, now I know how I can respond to this."

"/Hell no/." Will says, "YOU remember what happened when that bird bit me. The last thing we need is me touching a string connected to mortal magic in anyway." He says, "...I have no idea what it'd do, besides explode catastrophically." he shrugs. Oy...

"They are good, Mercade got back from a thing...he got something but I can't say what until he reveals it. I am just going to say I am very proud of him." Will litterally beams.

"What about you...besides this thing...and the shadow thing..."

Riku has posed:
Riku looks at Will wryly. "Come on." he laughs, although it is very shaky. "Mercade got back from a thing. That you won't /say/.. what kind of thing are we talking about here? Usually you aren't this way about the usual grand adventure." he chuckles.

He seems to just shake his head and push the /entire/ deal with Alma off to one side with just a nod. He looks momentarily sad at mention of the bird and then shakes it off.

"Why is it such a secret?"

Will Cutout has posed:
Will shakes his head.. "Sorry, but I can't say. Not here...listening ears, dark things love listening into both of us right? He'll reveal it when he's ready, but I don't want it out...not because I don't trust you, but because..." he looks around, and then back.. "If something were to happen to Mercade before he is ready...I'd never forgive myself." He says, "...Nor would the worlds, I think." He says, with a frown.

"...Oh the bird...man, sorry. I know that had to bring back a bad memory...you liked that bird, right?"

Riku has posed:
Riku looks at Will intently and then leans back against the booth. He looks defeated, closing his eyes hard for a few moments before opening them again and smiling. Shove to the side.

"..alright. I get it." he takes a small breath and shrugs a shoulder.

"Yeah. I guess so. But he's beholden to bosslady, and I'm not exactly toeing the evil line these days." he chuckles sadly. "Not exactly getting it together with my cadet training either. I guess.. to answer your question, I'm just peachy."

Will Cutout has posed:
Will sighs.. "Yeah, I know...I pick a helluva time to learn the meaning of the word discreet...trust me when I say this though...it's worth the wait. Just believe in Mercade, okay?"

Will smiles, he is really trying to be positive. "Oh no, what's going on with the Cadet training? Or are you just not grocking the training?" he says, and also frowns, "...Oh that thing is her's huh? I met her recently...tried to get close but she wasn't having that stuff." he shakes his head... "...That woman...I have seen many things in my life...but never a heart so twisted."

Riku has posed:
"She brought me warm milk and took the nightmares away for awhile." Riku says frankly to Will. "But yeah. Nobody knows that more than me. She is an evil woman. And she has one of my best friends in her grasp. And there is nothing I can do about it."

Riku rubs his head and like Will, really tries to veer into something positive. "No No. It's been going well. I mean, the accelerated program was kicking my ass but I got used to it. I just.. see everyone else being promoted and graduated and well.. not me." he shrugs a shoulder. "Not ready yet, I guess."

Riku eats noodles for a bit. "You know. I took your advice. Took Alma somewhere nice." he smiles a little. "Thanks, by the way."

Will Cutout has posed:
Will smiles, it is genuine, "That's good...that's really good. You should take some time to actually act your age once in a while." Will says with a grin.

"Though I was afraid the two of you would mix and explode....but it seems you're both good for each other..." Opposites attract.

"Well, you are early...and.." he says, "You are still trying to find yourself. Your center, your reason to do what you do? Something other than survival." he says, "But...if you want, maybe I can help with the training? I need to work on my KUNG FU grip myself."

Riku has posed:
"That.. sounds refreshingly like something normal."

Riku nods to Will. "I'd like that Will. I've been running from eldritch horror to eldritch horror and horrific war for the past two months." There is a long pause.

"Any good movies playing in Manhattan?" Completely flat delivery. "I think I need a break from the rest of my life."

Will Cutout has posed:
Will laughs, "Yeah...they are playing reruns...some people are talking about actually making more movies, sense...well we don't have a hollywood anymore! Then again...blessing in disguise or not is yet to be seen..." he laughs, "Ugh...tell me about it...these Horrors are starting to get to be too much...even for the guy who houses a sleeping one." he says, with a exhasperaited sigh, "Though...I am glad you're getting to be somewhat normal. I was afraid the strain was going to kill you.."

Riku has posed:
Riku rubs the side of his head. "Yeah."

Noodles. So much noodles.

"I guess so. Everything was gone in one direction. And now it's not, so I'm sort of.. left at loose ends." he shakes his head. "Long story short, okay? I've been watched most of my life. The pet project of some guy named the seeker. The guy on the boat, right? There are shards of them. They eventually go crazy and die. Except this one. This one didn't because well.." he smirks.

"Because I'm a special snowflake."

Noodles. "This shard got betrayed by his boss and was sort of torqued about it. So he and I.. had a deal. I absorb darkness from the other shadow lords, like Lord Ombra. And he helps me take down Malificent and save Kairi." he shakes his head. "That was the plan anyways. He broke the deal. And.. then Alma got involved and.." he sighs.

"Yeah. Most terrifying thing I have ever seen in my life. A light spellcaster so zealous that it makes Faruja look heretical."

Will Cutout has posed:
Will stares at Riku for a moment, "Man...you had this going on and you didn't ask for my help? Come on." Will says, with a frown, shaking his head, "God, just like you going off and doing things all by yourself! Ugh.." He says, in a not actually angry but FRUSTRAITED by this guy voice.

Riku has posed:
"I dunno Will." Riku says with extreme dryness. "Accepting the help of an evil shadow entity that's screwed over my life because I have literally no other recourse that won't get people I like killed or worse." a long pause.

"It doesn't matter, does it?" he shrugs. "It's over... it's done." Riku rests his head against the back of the booth staring up at the ceiling. "I wanted nobody to get hurt. I just.. wanted to fight back. To do.. /something/.. and that's gone now. For my own /good/ no less, from the person I'm supposed to like." Riku just throws up a hand.

"I just don't even know, Will. Yeah. It was a dumb idea. I KNOW that. I just.." he sighs and falls silent.

Will Cutout has posed:
"...Kinda like ignoring a glaring problem for centuries until it exploded in the death of your world?" Will says, "Yeah...no I get it. No, I am not mad...or even blaming you." he says, rubbing the back of his head. "How about this...in the future, if we got problems? How about we do the NORMAL thing and talk to each other? Like, normal people? I like this idea. Like, we both know what happens when we team up, lets do the unbeatable team thing."

Riku has posed:
Riku nods ruefully. "Yeah... does normal blow up in your face? I'm not aware of this thing anymore. It might be poisonous." he chuckles faintly.

"As long as it doesn't do that. I've been picking out shards of exploded life out of my hair for awhile."

Will Cutout has posed:
"Normal can sometimes...but it is also easier to pick yourself up when you got an extra pair of hands to help." Will says. "Ugh. Yeah me too. Freekin' life gets messy."

Riku has posed:
Riku nods. "So, which eldritch horror would make the best zombie movie?" he chuckles.

"They should make a movie about the TDA. Except everything is set up like a heist movie. Which would make sense since Max is a guy with a super death kitchen. This is why Alma is so good at cooking. Death kitchen. Literal. Death kitchen."

Will Cutout has posed:
"Heh heh heh..." Will says, "I am totally responsible for that." Will grins, "She wanted to cook, so I introduced her to Max."