When the weird shadow guy emerges from his tree house... [Open]

[subconmodo]

Who: Snatcher and you (will match format)
When: February 15th - 17th
Where: Out and about
What: Snatcher emerges from his Valentine's Day induced isolation




A: Normally I'd have my minions do this for me, but...

[Thought exercise! What kinds of things would you expect a ghostly, shadowy noodle guy to pick up on his errands?]

[Did you guess a "Cooking For Dummies" book, stationery, and sewing supplies? You did? I'm pretty sure you're lying, but whatever.]

[Either way, you're going to find Snatcher taking up a fair bit of space on a bench as he mutters to himself and goes through a coupon book. Errands are expensive.]



B: You're Blue Now

[Congratulations! You've just stumbled on a disaster waiting to happen!]

["Standing" between a confused young man dragging a bucket of water balloons behind him and the young woman who would have been the man's target is Snatcher, whose head, frill, and body are now dropping with brilliant neon blue paint.]

[He also appears to be shaking with barely concealed anger. And summoning a bunch of explosive flasks to return the favor. Might be a good idea to step in before this currently-unseen menace starts to do any damage.]



C: Just how many people here are platformers, anyway?!

[You might have been out on an evening/morning/daylight rooftop stroll, out on patrol, or trying to climb up onto some out of the way spot of the city on a dare. Whatever your reasoning, you've managed to stumble right into the center of a ring of thorns that snap to life, blocking you in until the whole world becomes a dark, purple vortex, the city but mere shadows in the distance]

AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA! FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooo... Really? Again?!

[How many times have you stumbled into Snatcher's traps? Are you doing it just to annoy him? Or did you just happen to be the Nth person to trigger one when he was trying to grab Hat Kid?]

Comments

Traps

[onedrinkwithme]

...it seems that this is not the first time you have tried this if your words mean anything.

[Instead of some kid, a tol elezen with a couple boxes in his arms somehow got into the trap. He also seems to be carrying a cloth animal carrier as well so don't mind the low growling from it.]

Do you acquire my assistance for any reason and decided not to ask?

[subconmodo]

[The shadowy realm falls away with little fanfare and a facepalm on Snatcher's part]

Ugh. No. I just didn't expect so many people to take this route.

[He'd rather have gone the more dramatic rite, but at this point it seems like practicality might be his best bet]

You wouldn't happen to have seen a kid in a top hat and yellow cape, would you?

[His glowing gaze occasionally (literally) flickers in the growling bag's direction. What kind of creature is he smuggling in there?]

[onedrinkwithme]

Recently? Nay, I have not.

[Kid, what did you do to piss this guy off? That has to be it because why else ask while trying to trap someone? But he does notice the creature's gaze on the cat carrier.]

Ah, forgive me. My cat always reacts as such.

[Cat growling more now.]

[subconmodo]

[Recently, eh? That means he's seen her before. Perfect.]

Well if you do see her, let her know her BFF is looking to present her with a few new job opportunities.

[He lowers himself to get a better look at the cat.]

...Huh. Weird. You actually going to tell me what your problem is or is growling just your "thing?"

[Why yes, he is talking to the cat as thigh he expects it to respond.]

[onedrinkwithme]

Oh, you know of some prayers?

[He's smarter than he looks but it can't hurt to pretend to be innocent.]

You can communicate with animals as well?

[If so, Mandragora is giving the cat Eorzean version of 'Fuck off'.]

C

[hattersgonnahat]

[Yeah she sees that circle. After stumbling into that last one it's apparent that she'll have to keep an eye out for them, even out here. On the bright side, they aren't nearly as sneaky when it was only on damp, rotting forest floor.]

...... [Sort of has an idea though.]

[Checks pockets and pulls out a bag of marbles, wondering. They don't have much weight to them, even the bigger ones. But why not try this out anyway? She can always get them back later.]

[Casually flicks some right over the thorns. Not too sure what she'll do if the trap does trigger. Haven't really thought that far ahead yet.]

[subconmodo]

[And by some miracle--or whatever the opposite of a miracle is--it works, and hey, turns out it looks like a swirling, distorted cyllinder of fog from the outside, too. You can even see Snatcher (or, rather, the blurry, indistinct black shape that can only be Snatcher) pop up, pause, and then dive back down to disappear]

[Looks like he reset the trap, too]

[hattersgonnahat]

[Interesting....]

[It didn't go away, so why not try it again?]

[subconmodo]

[This time, not only does Hat Kid get a show, but she ALSO gets to hear the sweet, dulcet, muffled tones of Snatcher grumbling from inside. He stops, apparently noticing the marble, and picks it up, stopping to look around before disappearing once more.]

[Then popping his head back up. And disappearing again. The trap is still up. WHAT DO YOU DO?]

[hattersgonnahat]

[Amazed it is still standing honestly. She does kind of want to play with it some more, but a third time? So soon? Eventually it's not going to work.]

...

[Alright, gets one last marble in and then quickly rushes away.]

C

[priforprince]

[ There is a small, mute, adorable stuffed goat plushy on a wheeled platform sitting right in the center of the trap. It turns in a circle, heedless of Snatcher's cries, making sure to get a good shot of its predicament.

For the sixteenth time today.


....If it's any consolation, Snatcher, the person watching this via the cameras installed in the spygoat's eyes is also slumped over on her couch, rapidly losing all ability to can.

This is absurd. Make it stop. ]

[subconmodo]

Excuse me? Hello! Ignoring someone when they're taking to you is pretty rude you know!

[he puts his hands on his hips, but not before leaning over to poke the spy goat's head with one claw]

Can you even hear me? Ugh. This is probably some stupid kid's remote controlled toy.

I should just steal it.

[priforprince]

[ The goat wobbles in place, but does not tip over. It is made to be sturdy, so that things like tea trays and anti-sentence-ender-riot-shields and anti-lava-stronger-riot-shields may be attached to it if necessary. (Lots of shield variety. Anyone wishing for REVOLUTION must be prepared, at all times, to erect a barricade.)

Then it wheels closer. Hello. Can it leave now? It has filming to do. Maybe it will wheel right towards the edge of the trap and see if it can get out that way.

Hibiki buries her head in a pillow. ]

[subconmodo]

Ohhhh no you don't. You've caused more than enough trouble for me today. You're coming with ME!

[he grabs the goat and tucks it under his arm, resets his trap, and teleports off to his temple with the goat in tow.]

[Of course, now that he's dragged it into his room and put it in the corner...]

Huh. Looks a little out of place.

[No kidding, Snatcher. Adorable goats aren't normally part of the spooky, creepy forest aesthetic. Or the mostly red and purple decor of his room]

[priforprince]

[ The goat sits in its corner, turning from side to side. Its own concerns preoccupy it more than Snatcher's musings. How strange. This place is new. What is there to do in the new place? Should it explore?

No, first it must set the scene. It will settle for a nice pan of the room, which of course continues to be streamed back to Apollo's temple.....

Hibiki lifts her head. One corner of her mouth twitches. Honestly. She takes her eyes off the screen for two seconds and the scenario has completely altered!

Adjusting her position on the couch, she lies flat on her back and prepares for the long haul. A different, but identical, goat brings her a cup of tea. Who knows how long she'll be forced to witness this farce. ]

A

[kolus]

[ Had someone asked him on arrival Stan would say he hated Subcon. It was too dark to see anything, everything was dead, and the only company he had was some soul-sucking freak. Every opportunity he had, Stan visited the Near Shore to escape the desolate village and loneliness it brought him. But as time passed the novelty began to wear thin and the Near Shore proved even more lonely than the forest. Despite his frequent trips, all the people he talked to and things he did, it was like he was never there. He had no place in their world and the longer he spent there the more apparent that was.

Subcon, however, was different. Someone recognized him there, provided him shelter and warm clothes. He didn't appreciate that much at first but he's starting to see differently. Despite what he thought of the God, Snatcher took care of him and it felt... nice. Really nice, if he was being honest. As of late, he's been spending more time in the forest, giving back in little ways like keeping the lanterns aglow and maintaining the vacant houses. He's starting to think he'd been wrong about the Snatcher, that he should give him a chance, and that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't as heartless as he seemed.

A large paper bag in each arm, Stan's on his way home after a grocery run when he crosses paths with the Snatcher. He's not sure where the God's interests lie in terms of literature but a coupon book is definitely not what expected to find his nose (or lack of) in. He stops to look over the spread across the bench. ]

Doing some light reading?

[subconmodo]

Huh? Oh.

[Normally he'd be more eager to hide what he was looking through, but in front of one of his minions? Nah. Besides, looking at the old man he'd already grabbed some extra groceries. He had to know how expensive things were]

Just trying to keep costs down. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there's anything worth my time in here.

[He was going to have to keep track of sales on fabric instead. Maybe look online]

This was easier when I could just take what was in people's pockets when I was done with them.

[kolus]

[ He knows how inexpensive it is to not pay for things. And it couldn't be easier when no one so much as noticed you walking into a store, never mind what you walked out of it with. No need to awkwardly stuff things in your shirt or worry about security. He was a literal ghost. ]

You know what's easier than pickin' pockets? [ he asks, dropping his bags down on the bench. ] Pickin' shelves. Taking stuff doesn't cost you anything.

[ Which is exactly how he acquired all this stuff: he took it. ]

[subconmodo]

[he puts a hand to his chest eyes wide]

Are you suggesting that I steal from these fine establishments?

[He drops the mock affront in an instant, grinning wife] And here he thought shinki were supposed to act as pillars of morality.]

I like the way you think.

1/2

[kolus]

[ He shrugs nonchalantly ] Just following the natural order, what with us bein' invisible and whatnot. [ But mostly exploiting it. ] Half these big box joints are owned by crooks anyway. What's one or twelve things missing? It's not like we're robbin' banks here.

[kolus]

Although... [ That would be pretty easy now that he thinks about it. ]

b

[creepface]

[ Rasu doesn't know what's going on, exactly, but he can figure some of it out, at least. And it's not looking good. Especially considering the expression on Snatcher's face.

Walking in between the person with the bucket and the angry... whatever Snatcher is, (Rasu has no idea) he puts up his hands in a sort of disarming manner. Well, he tries. ]

I'm s-s-sure they didn't m-mean to. B-blue is your colour...? P-please don't do anything b-bad...!

[subconmodo]

No. Blue is not my color.

Now, if you're offering to take that guy's place, I'm sure something can be arranged.

[His eyes narrow and the flasks slow their orbit as though he's getting ready to toss them. Snatcher may still think he's unable to kill anyone coming from the Far Shore, but damn if he isn't willing to try when he's in a bad mood]

[creepface]

I, I think you look g-good in it?

[ Please let it be possible to smooth this situation over. ]

I, I... [ He looks at all the flasks, one by one, eyes darting between them. ]

If, if we can handle this w-without k-killing anyone... I, I'm sure we can f-f-figure something out...!

[subconmodo]

[Really? Is no one here going to let him kill anyone? He thought he was automatically considered "just" by this system! Why did everyone have to be such a killjoy?!]

And what's that? You becoming my new punching bag?

[His glances over at the guy who threw the water balloon. He's still there. If he distracts this guy in front of him, maybe he'll get the chance to blow the guy's head off]