photo 004 □ [video + text; work, work and PHOTOS IN YOUR FACE]

[knifetomeetyou]

[Hello, Discedo. This is Hughes sitting at his desk, looking quite thoughtful. In fact, his pen and paper are at the ready, and he's tapping his chin with his pen before he starts talking. Beside him is a plate of half-eaten apple pie.]

Right. Any updates from the Watch? If there's anything I can do to help, just ask.

Also, I've been thinking. Does anyone around here teach self-defense skills of any kind? 'Cause I feel like opening my own class for those who are interested to learn a thing or two about knife fighting. I can also help you out if you don't know how to use a gun properly, but knives are my specialty.

There's still no definite schedule at this point, though. [Hughes laughs sheepishly.] I'll keep you guys posted, don't worry. And I'll let you in on what these classes will be about. Long-range fighting will be all about knife throwing and accuracy. Close-range classes will deal with hand-to-hand combat. You don't have to take both, but if you're game, go for it! [He grins.] But remember - this isn't child's play. This is serious fighting, so if you're under 13, I would like to see some permission from your guardian here in Discedo.

Still interested? Fill out this form. If you've got any other questions, now's the time to ask. Actually, I've got a question - when is the gym usually free? I could conduct my classes at the park, but...the gym's a lot safer. [The transmission changes to text briefly.]

<b>Name:</b><br /><b>Age:</b><br /><b>Fighting Experience:</b> (Can you handle other weapons? Are you a fresh beginner, or a veteran who just wants to learn new tricks? Do you have a certain...style?)<br /><b>Long-range, close-range or both:</b><br /><b>Reason for signing up:</b> (I'm just curious.)<br /><b>Free time:</b> (Are you taking other classes? This will help me decide on a class schedule.)<br /><b>Anything else:</b> (Really, anything else?)

[Back to video. Hughes looks a lot happier now.]

Stay tuned for more details! And in the meantime... [HAVE AN 8x10-INCH PORTRAIT OF HIS FAMILY. Yes, that's all you can see. That's him in casual wear and with a big smile on his face, with an arm around a woman with short brown hair. She's carrying a young pigtailed girl, about two or three.] Have a look at my beautiful wife and my beautiful daughter! Doesn't Elysia look divine? Oh, it's as if she and Gracia were sent down from heaven to brighten up my life! I bet this picture was sent down from heaven too, don't you think? I still can't decide where to hang this up...I could put it close to my bed so that it'll be the first thing I see every morning, or over my work desk for that burst of inspiration... [Back to Hughes, just hugging that picture to his chest and spazzing and being completely un-serious now.]

Comments

[towngoboom.livejournal.com]

[Oh. Oh no. You're getting her going on a history lesson.]

Well, it's not that it was restricted so much as physically unreachable. About a thousand years ago, around the time of the War of the Monster's Fall, a barrier went up around the part of my world I come from. The barrier only recently came down, finally making exploration beyond the barrier lands possible. There's a pretty big difference between there and home because of the cut-off.

[knifedaddy.livejournal.com]

[Hughes doesn't mind, he's a pretty bookish guy.]

Sounds like this is no ordinary barrier.

[towngoboom.livejournal.com]

It definitely wasn't! The Mazoku raised it around the time of the war to cut off the power of the Gods. It was impassable everyone except the Mazoku, though it looked like they didn't bother with the Outer World too much after that.

[knifedaddy.livejournal.com]

Mazoku...? Is that some kind of royal title? [Gods, huh?]

[towngoboom.livejournal.com]

Uh, definitely not. Though, some of them might argue otherwise... They're a race of...monsters or demons would be the most appropriate word. They're super-powerful, can't even be scratched by normal means, and feed on pain, fear, hate, all that nasty stuff. Last people you ever want to meet in a dark alley or broad daylight kind of thing.

[knifedaddy.livejournal.com]

Ohhh.

...

I've seen my share of monsters where I come from. They may look human but they're nothing of the sort.

[towngoboom.livejournal.com]

Yeah, some of the high-level Mazoku pull that stunt, too. Honestly, how's a girl supposed to tell how much trouble she's in when they cheat like that?

[knifedaddy.livejournal.com]

The Homunculi back home do leave some clues despite looking pretty human, but...well, I suppose it's a strategy. A good one.

1/2

[towngoboom.livejournal.com]

It really is - unless they turn on the blood lust, you'd never know most of them aren't human-

2/2

[towngoboom.livejournal.com]

... Homunculi? What, you mean like copy-people grown in a tube?

[knifedaddy.livejournal.com]

Copy-people, yes.

Grown in a tube...I'm not too sure about that.