datadiving | fun with bomberman lore(tm)

You're getting that... [ he makes a hand gesture, remembers Shiro isn't in the room and can't see it, drops his hand ] crackle in your voice again. Thought it was just the communications array reacting poorly to...demonic energy, but when you looked in here too long, it made your voice sound strange, as it did before.

So, maybe it was exposure. Or just hearing a demon's words. Either way...looks like it stayed with you a little.

[Bomberman frowns (not that Sirius can see it).]

I didn't hear anything like that...

[He thinks back to his conversation with Dantalefor. Certainly the demon had some...oddities to his speech, even outside of his strange syntax, but for his own part, nothing that he could remember.]

Is it gone now?

[ He listens carefully. ]

It's gone. Maybe it's just when you're talking to supernatural entities. [ His tone is a bit dry. ] I'd offer you some advice, but it looks like I don't have any for this situation.

[Also dry, although it's a little strained with him grunting as he wrestles with a stubborn piece of casing:]

Wasn't expecting you to.

[Second try. He swings his feet up and plants them against the wall for additional leverage.]

If it's just when talking to demons or whatever, then you shouldn't have heard anything just now. Unless there's another one of those in there, but...I don't think there is.

[Despite its origins, the abomination in the R&D is cosmically inert as far as Bomberman can tell. All he can sense is Sirius' renewed Light.]

I don't think so either, but I did hear your voice sound...odd. Maybe it's demonic radiation. [ Sirius, you can't chalk everything down to Insert Element radiation. ]

Try hitting it on the side first. It's probably jammed.

[Oh, good, demonic radiation poisoning, because regular ol' radiation just isn't fiendish enough. Just what Bomberman's always wanted.

One kick to the computer case, two kicks, and then a third just because it feels good. This time Bomberman can get it to swing open on its hinges. He peers inside with his light.]

...Huh. This one's got umbriolite soldered to the motherboard.

[The computer didn't look like anything special from the outside...]

That's a first. Umbriolite has a high melting point.

[ He floats over to inspect it. He holds off on just going on mind-autopilot and dismantling it, though they'll have to do so eventually. ]

Just the motherboard? Or is there more inside?

[~~clearly it was all soldered with hellfire~~]

Looks like there's bits all inside this thing, actually.

[Bomberman pulls himself aside to let The Master™ work. The umbriolite dotting the computer's innards are definitely the smallest bits they've seen so far, although still sporting legible etched sigils. The largest pieces seem to be attached to the hard drive, power supply, and fans. It's not a very elegant-looking set of upgrades.]

[ His reflexive response upon seeing that: ] Oh, terrible. What did this hardware ever do to them?

[ He handles the parts delicately, easing them out of the casing one by one. There are small...flickers? Distortions in the shadows? Moments where the umbriolite seems to want to react to something, but it's quelled as soon as Sirius touches it. He doesn't seem to be aware of it at all. ]

Your base should have better equipment to analyse these. Unless you've got other plans. [ He doesn't sound at all unhappy with that idea. Or maybe he just wants to get one over on Jun, which is honestly the most understandable expression of spite he's ever had. ]

[A small tone echoes in Bomberman's head again as he watches Sirius work; if he were a musician he'd say the notes dropped a few octaves compared to when he'd run across the disaster in R&D. Though the overall effect is much weaker this time, he once again sees moments of this computer's making, the way it was meant to transcend its mortal purpose and become a celestial artifact (if admittedly a crude and minor one in the entire scheme of things) able to tap into the workings of the Metamorphosis.

But at present Bomberman can't quite retain or even fully understand the details of what he witnessed. The only thing he's pretty sure about is why the umbriolite within the computer's innards seem to wither away at Sirius' touch.

Well, he's also pretty sure that Sirius might be up to something.

But, like.

In a good way.

(He doesn't think then about why his stance on Sirius has suddenly shifted to assuming the best case scenario of the other man.)]

Do you have other plans? [There's a hint of a cheeky grin, a knowing wink when Bomberman asks this. He isn't sure what Sirius has in mind, but Sirius is the expert here, right?]

I might, I might. I could get these looked over by someone with a little more hands-on experience, do some legwork. It might give you more work, but it also might give you peace of mind knowing what to expect. [ He says the words and is surprised to find they're sincere. He genuinely does care about Shiro's peace of mind, or at least having something to work with instead of simply floundering around in the dark, waiting for the next impact to strike. All reaction, no planning, because how could you plan against something you couldn't even predict? ]

Who knows. It might even convince your superiors to stop assigning you a messy job if we can turn it into a neat one.

The day I stop getting assigned messy jobs is the day I die. [The reward for working hard is, after all, more hard work. Another man might ask why he does this to himself, but Bomberman knows why.] So who's this "someone" of yours?

Isn't that always how it is? [ Better holes, bigger shovels, etc. ] She's a deserter from some organization or other - well, that's how she puts it, anyway. It's been a while since we've been in contact...she might be going by another name now. Her and her pet robot were fixing up some old junker, last I heard - planning to run a garage out of it.

But that's beside the point. She's good with machines, and her robot is too curious for his own good. Between the two of them, they should be able to dig up a better lead than your superiors would.

fun with bomberman lore(tm)

no subject

no subject

no subject

I forgot I had this secondary account until just now

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

ten million years later as i figure out whether i want to make this another bomberman character