revivalproject | 12 | Oh the shark babe, has such teeth dear

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12 | Oh the shark babe, has such teeth dear

WHO: the Soldier (

sinistral) and you
WHERE: it's a video post so you know, the Agrii interwebs. But realistically, the Soldier has returned to Temba from Sh'Ka
WHAT: so someone out there wants to play at being an assassin... time for a real assassin to weight in on the matter
WHEN: beginning of September-ish. idk you guys what is time anyway how is it September already what is this
WARNINGS: vague threatening of violence in the post, if any threads get really trigger-adjacent with the language I'll update this accordingly

Temba
→ Video;

The fact that this post comes as a video message is unusual enough; the Soldier typically sticks to texting on the network. But video it is, the background nondescript enough to not give away an exact location. The foreground is more important anyway, the Soldier in his usual tactical gear, a knife smoothly flipping over fingers and palm like it's second nature. Because it is.

"Sloppy," he scolds, looking at the camera. That knife flips into the air and he catches it by the hilt, going back a moment later to flipping it around in his hand. "The Agrii don't look kindly on assassinating others in this place. And I don't look kindly on people who make such a sloppy attempt at it. You're making us professionals look bad."

Did the Soldier just out himself as an assassin? Yes. Yes he did. Sorry, anyone who didn't know that already. Have fun with the knowledge that the guy who sometimes teaches self defense — and who does still have a few students actively training with him — is, you know, a killer.

"If you want a real challenge, come find a real assassin. I'll be waiting."

Did he really just call out the person who harmed Richie? Absolutely. Is this going to go well in any conceivable way? Probably not. Oops!

→ Other;

Your character is more than welcome to come find this guy in person if you want! Threaten him, roll your eyes at him, call him an overly dramatic bitch, try to get him to see a psych, it's all fair game. If you want to do any plotting, feel free to message me or hit me up on

sometimesamuse. And while I wrote this post in prose if your preference is brackets, please go right ahead and I'll happily match your formatting.

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Okay, so this guy is an assassin? Good to know, Leo guesses. Is there anyone here who isn’t dangerous in some way?

He’s in Donnie’s workshop when he sends this, sitting against a metal wall and cringing in a way that shows all his teeth.

“‘Assassination’ feels a little too sophisticated for what this guy tried to do.”

Leo, you're not wrong! The Agrii have assembled quite the collection, haven't they?

"I believe the dictionary would define assassination as a surprise murder attack, so by that it would qualify." The Soldier's expression says he's absolutely not impressed by the attempt on Richie's life. "It's almost insulting."

"Eugh, the dictionary? That's for nerds."

So much for the Soldier's hardcore image, which just died in Leo's eyes.

"Kinda just seems like your garden variety villain type to me. Beating up guys for the heck of it. We don't even have money here."

Badass people can still use the dictionary, Leo! Besides, isn't the bigger loser the one who committed the crime in the first place?

"Further insult, don't you think? No reason behind the attack. It's sloppy. And lazy."

There’s layers to this!

“I don’t know about lazy. They took the time to try and hide their tablet identity and wore a costume to hide their face. But I guess you have to put in at least that much effort with a town of thirty people.”

Especially because Leo has no idea what they’ll do to them once they figure it out. Maybe send this guy to assassinate them.

Don't you dare mention onions next, you're the wrong kind of green guy for that Leo!

"Lazy in the reason. What are they, bored? It's a poor excuse for trying to kill someone."

And, well, the frustrating part is that the Agrii will probably prevent any kind of eye-for-an-eye justice. Even so, knowing who did it is important.

Maybe turtles also have layers, did ya think of that?

“Oh. Yeah, you’re probably right about that. Not like there’s anything to gain from killing someone here.”

Or ever? Despite his nonchalant attitude, Leo is actually very anti-murder.

I dunno, did anyone check the copyright laws? Maybe turtles aren't allowed to have those kinds of layers.

"Especially given the Agrii penchant for intervention. Which everyone has now seen, some of us not for the first time. So I'd really like to know who thought up this whole pointless exercise."

Honestly, same. The Soldier may be playing up the assassin part of his past for the theatrics, but he really doesn't approve of the whole murder thing.

Well, IP theft would be a new one for him to get arrested for.

“No idea. Does anyone have any leads?”

Technically, Leo does. But for very reasons he feels like he can’t talk about it publicly.

First time for everything!

"Doesn't seem like it, does it?" Whether or not people do, probably best to pretend otherwise. Maybe it'll promote a false sense of security in whoever perpetrated this mess.

“Guess not… We don’t have any detectives here, huh?”

He is once again calling into question the Agrii’s methods of picking people for their planet restoration project. Or the methods of whatever it is truly doing the picking.

"Probably not."

Leo, don't try to apply logic to the Agrii's methodology. You'll give yourself a headache.

But he wants there to be logic to it! Otherwise he can't find the angle.

"They don't teach you how to figure this stuff out at assassin school?"

Good luck there Leo. All the support to you for trying to figure it out but good freaking luck.

"You don't really want to know what my training entailed." Though the frustrating part about this truly is the lack of evidence. The Soldier isn't really am investigator but he might have been able to figure out more had he been able to see the scene shortly after it happened. Too much time has passed, and too many people passed through.

“Oooh, ominous and spooky.” Leo folds his arms. “Well, I had ninja training! How much different can it be?”

It was surely very different. The Soldier’s trainers likely didn’t have him playing tag and copying martial arts movies.

Steve has his arms crossed over his chest as he looks into the camera. "Did you have to announce the threat to everyone?" he asks, giving the soldier a look. "Anyway, what's your plan?"

Yeah Steve, he knew you wouldn't approve. It's part of why he just went ahead and did the video, instead of giving any kind of heads up.

"Nothing else seems to have worked, has it?" Realistically he knows this might not either. "Leaning on the reputation and theatrics? Worth a try."

"You certainly leaned into dramatic. Fine." He uncrosses his arms. "Where are you, anyway?"

"You got a better idea that hasn't already been tried?" Ultimately they're at a standstill, or so it seems. Until and unless the perpetrator makes some kind of move, or some clues come to light, there's just not enough information to go on.

"Back in Temba. This is an abandoned building not far from the fountain, but it's not where I'm staying. Just needed the background."

"Was sitting someone's arm under a large weight and pressing them for questions not gonna do the trick?" He doesn't even know if Bucky remembers that or if he's experienced it yet.

But it'd worked for him. And he was always kind of dramatic.

He has not in fact experienced that. Lucky him. At this point he's spent more time in the Drift Fleet and here on the Agrii planet, than he had in possession of his own mind back on Earth. Wild.

"What are you even talking about?"

"Guess you forgot," he says. "It's alright. Don't make me do it again." It's not really a threat and to be fair, they don't have anything like that here.

York's out at the attack site, looking a little dirty from trying to find clues that'll lead him to some kind of answers. He's distracted by this mysterious guy in the video that pops up on his device.

"I hope this isn't you trying to shift eyes away from you. Your skills with the knife and your demeanor don't do you any favors."

"Maybe I did do it. Have you placed me at the scene of the crime yet?"

York, you're barking up the entirely wrong tree. But the Soldier doesn't mind being a suspect, if it'll draw the real perpetrator out.

"Not yet. There's still time to get clues. Might need to inspect your shoes."

He is barking up the wrong tree, but everyone could be a suspect in this if York doesn't know them.

"Already got an alibi ready?"

"Knock yourself out."

Honestly, the Soldier expected to be a suspect from the very start, at least from the people who already knew of his former assassin life. His only gamble is that drawing attention to it will maybe draw out the real culprit, or cause them to become careless. He's not fully convinced it will work. But he also doesn't really care if it doesn't.

"Does it matter if I do? Alibis can be falsely constructed."

"Not a fan of knocking myself out. Thankfully I don't have nasal sensitivity so your shoes can't do the job, either," he points out, leaving the video feed on and going back to inspecting the ground around the ampitheatre again.

The android doesn't seem to be paying too much attention to the video as he uses his HUD to examine the area.

"A person could state that they were at some place during some time, but unless you've got proof of it via some kind of surveillance or another person, no one investigating should take it as fact." He gives a skeptical look at the camera. "A real assassin would know how that shit works."

"Would you like me to tell you how it works?" The Soldier's voice has gone completely devoid of emotion, clinical and cold. "This is how it works: it doesn't matter what I say, or where I was, or what I was doing. People believe that my history speaks louder than any facts. It doesn't matter what the truth is. It doesn't matter where I was, or who saw me there. My past has always spoken louder than anything else I say or do."

It was true back on Earth, and the Soldier has reason to believe it's true here as well. Better to at least be up front about the assassin thing than be accused of hiding the fact. He doubts many would stand up for him anyway, so what does it matter?

"That's how it works, because that's how it's always worked. So spare me your little explanations. I've been down this road enough times to know how it goes."

"Well if you’re gonna let your past shout louder than you, of course that’s all people are gonna judge you by." It felt similar to his world in Detroit. So many had thought deviants to be dangerous and violent when those were the loud ones. Thankfully Markus had started to show the human civilians that they weren’t like that at all.

An amused snort. "And also, that’s not how alibis work. But go ahead, spout off that you’re an assassin and violent and let that be you. Don’t let the other parts you want to be louder stay silent. Your problem, not mine. Unless you try for Reeve or Richie. Then I’ll be your problem."

York almost adds that he’s not easy to kill, but decides not to give the guy who calls himself an assassin a challenge by accident.

"And one more thing - maybe that’s how it worked in your world but this isn’t that world, is it? Stupid fucker. This is Temba out in the middle of fucking nowhere in space."

Maybe York has a point. But maybe too looking like the prime suspect will draw the real culprit out into the open, cause a false sense of security. Of course the Soldier can't say that so openly; he knew he'd be accused by at least one person when he made the announcement. The only thing he gained was the freedom to reveal his past on his own terms; that has not always been his choice.

Maybe York doesn't know that the Soldier has the highest respect for Reeve. He'd go so far as to name the man a friend, inasmuch as he can; the Soldier knows he himself makes a poor one. He keeps to himself that York seems to be making the Soldier's coming out as an assassin his problem. If he truly didn't care, why bother to engage in the conversation?

York's little tirade provokes a laugh though. "That's exactly how it's happened here, several times, so you can spare me the community speech. But don't worry, I'll make sure to send everyone to you next time, so you can defend my honor."

"Be glad I'm defending a human's honor as it is," York announces, like it is a big thing. Which, to him, it is. He keeps hunting, scanning around while holding the conversation with the assassin on the other side of the device. He doesn't know anything about this guy, doesn't know how he's friends with Reeve.

Maybe this whole conversation happening on the network will help added to that false sense of security for the real culprit. If this guy isn't the one.

"Just trying to help you see the logical side of shit instead of letting yourself be only one thing. Like I'm an asshole, but I'm more than that. Architect, as an example. Pretty handy with an axe. Pretty good at being a decent android to people." When he wants to be. Which hasn't been recent given the circumstances as of late.

"As you like." Does not phase this man either way. York can posture all he wants about fairness and being more than how one is perceived, but the Soldier's own experiences tell him a different story.

Then again, York's suspicions might work in both of their favor, if it draws out the real perpetrator. The Soldier had questions he wants to ask the android, wants to know if he's been able to scan and detect anything missed by the naked eye. But he can't, not without throwing his own gamble away. It's frustrating.

"And honest and humble too, clearly." He shrugs, clearly not caring if the sarcasm lands or not. He's probably not making a friend here but it's not likely that either of them cares.

"Honest and humble. Get that from my maker." Yep, there's his own sarcasm in that, even though it's true. He glances at the camera of his device, sizing up Soldier and trying to determine if he's really the assassin that he says he is. It's not worth trying to ask now if he really is an assassin.

If he was, he could lie, but it could lure the actual killers out with the suspicion thrown on this guy rather than themselves. If he was though, it might fumble the entire play the guy was doing.

"Whatever. I might have to come back and get a better look when I've got a fresh sleep cycle done. Here's hoping whatever you're doing works how you want with this whole drama thing," and he flaps his hand dismissively at Soldier as he gets up and walks back over to gather up his comm device. "Despite everything I said, you're a terrible assassin, aren't you? Supposed to hide and stuff.

So much for not calling it out.

Edited (that made like an abrupt end and I didn't like it) 2024-09-15 23:44 (UTC)

Angel looks intrigued, grinning with those sharp teeth. He wasn't exactly an 'assassin' while he was alive, least that wasn't his job title or nothin', but he took care of a whole lotta problems for the Family.

"They let you keep your weapons or they got a secret knife stash somewhere round here they ain't advertisin'?" he asks, "Not that I was really a knife guy. So you really think whoever whoever smacked around that other guy's just gonna come runnin' to the first guy who announces he's a professional?"

"They're mine. Through various channels of acquisition." Sorry Angel, there's no combat knife dispenser hiding somewhere on the planet. Unless one counts the Soldier's own person; he certainly possesses enough in armaments in his own private arsenal. And he is not known for sharing.

"Maybe they will. Maybe they won't. I really don't care either way." A beat. "But if they don't stop making me look bad, I'm going to have a problem with it."

No drug vending machines, no combat knife dispensers, what is this place?

The demon snickers in amusement. "Eh, someone's always out there makin' the trade look bad, ain't they? Can people even be killed here? My view point might be skewed considerin' I just came here from hell, but there ain't been one death the whole time I've been here."

There's glitter. Lots of glitter.

"That's part of what makes it sloppy," the Soldier points out, adding a slightly put-upon expression to his demeanor. "Simple research would have shown that the Agrii — or something — always intervene."

So there's no sense in trying, unless the death is not the actual goal. The Soldier has his own suppositions about that.

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12 | Oh the shark babe, has such teeth dear

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