They're Coming to Get You, Guybrush!

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

Who: Guybrush, and Others.
Where: Prompt A: In his apartment. Prompt B: Any given place around town, but especially Sagittarius and Virgo
Summary: Guybrush Threepwood, Jumpy Pirate.
Warnings: Connected to the Scorpio event.
A: [PUBLIC; Apartment Libra |5-04]

The sound of things being shifted around can be heard in Guybrush's apartment. It's hard to imagine what he could be doing in there, but he's not coming out either way. Is he redecorating or something? The door's locked, so if anybody wants to ask about it, knocking is a requirement. What IS he doing in there?

B: [PUBLIC; Around town]

Anybody who's gotten to know Guybrush at all knows the guy tends to prefer using extremely convoluted solutions to things before he dares dream of using something like a weapon. Yet here he is, hitting up all the weapon stores in town, trying to haggle folks down and interest them in trades for "something that's real good against intruders." And failing, generally, because mostly what he's got is an assortment of useless junk. Well, and a sword, which you'd think is good against intruders, but apparently isn't good ENOUGH. Every so often, too, he's peeking around corners as if expecting something to jump out.

VERY weird.

Comments

[gforceinmyfaaaace]

Something like an angel with a bag of sweets?

He's finished work for the day and is headed to the library for a few reading lessons. Thankfully for Guybrush, Pit's not wearing his Greco-Roman attire (though he is still wearing his golden laurel head wreath), but his wings are sticking out the back of his hoodie and are raised curiously.

Why's this guy carrying around a bunch of (really shabby) weapons?

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

He yelps, falling backwards, and dropping all of said shabby weapons. If you can call them weapons. They look more like rejects the various weaponsmiths wanted to get rid of and just dumped them on the crazy poor guy who thinks he's a pirate. Why he didn't just put them into his inventory is anybody's guess; maybe he just wanted them on hand.

He realizes that it's just an angel. Angel's aren't terrible harbingers of doom. ...Surely. "Dangit." He begins gathering them up again. Then looking at them closely. Then chucking most of them in a garbage can with the exception of a slightly bent baseball bat.

Yeah, they're that terrible.

[gforceinmyfaaaace]

"...are you okay?"

Dude looks like he could use several cups of chamomile.

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

"Who me? Fine! Just fine! No worries about evil zombie pirates possibly out for revenge or the demon apocalypse happening any day now here!" he replies too quickly. Because that's just silly, right? Ah ha ha... ah ha.

[gforceinmyfaaaace]

...

"I'd buy you a drink but they'd kick me out of the bar."

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

"Eh, that's okay. I think drinking right now would only dull the senses in case something really terrible happens. Like a fire drill, or the mass annihilation of mankind." Boy, what a pessimist.

[gforceinmyfaaaace]

Pit blinks. "I really don't think that's gonna happen."

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

"Don't be too sure! I have a gut feeling something really, really bad is gonna happen. And a pirate's gut is absolute, unless it's been eroded away by years of unhealthy drinking habits." He seems awfully confident about his doomsaying.

[gforceinmyfaaaace]

"...are you sure you're okay? 'cause you're sounding awfully paranoid."

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

"Why? What's it to you?" He eyes him suspiciously. "You don't know anything, do you?" Way to prove his point, Guybrush.

[gforceinmyfaaaace]

Pit gives him a very flat, annoyed expression.

Then sticks out the bag of candy.

"I think there's some chocolate in here."

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

"Ooh, chocolate." Paranoia forgotten. FOR NOW, ANYWAY.

[themortalhalf]

You know who lurks in Sagittarius? This guy.

When it isn't being overrun by punks, it's a quieter place than most. Crowds are starting to make him edgier, and he can't quite pinpoint a reason why—like he's expecting something to happen that never does. Hell, it's starting to feel like he's stuck in Tartarus, body always on high alert with senses sharper than they have to be, straining at their metaphorical seams.

It's making him anxious, and while he's doing better at keeping that anxiousness below the surface, hidden, he's quickly discovering walking around Hinoto-ri is only making it worse—not better. It's doing little to relieve the paranoid stress that's building a sizable knot in his gut.

Don't mind Shinjiro though as he emerges suddenly out of an uninhabited alleyway.

Or do.

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

Cue a strangled scream, followed by the emergence of a very, very large... chicken. Gee, I wonder who that could be.

"Oh, geez, it's you! Don't scare me like that!"

[themortalhalf]

Guybrush isn't the only one that nearly jumps out of his skin. Shinjiro reflexively steps back nearer to the wall, his posture both equally defensive and aggressive. The appearance of Guybrush's Persona does little to help with the reaction, and there's a minute when Shinjiro's shoulders tense, and he feels Castor's presence surface sharply, like a dog jolted from slumber by an intruder, now lunging forward, only to be pulled back by a short chain until it's choked back into complacency. It's only when Shinjiro realizes just who he's facing that some of the tenseness fades. If this keeps happening, he's going to return to his apartment with one hell of the migraine.

Shinjiro grimaces then, voice coming out as a rough, sullen growl. "What the hell are you even doing out here?" he says, something in his rigid posture still wary, especially when his eyes drift again over to the Persona. "Shit, put that thing away before you scare somebody."

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

"Oh, me? Not much. Checking the place out. Exploring. Preparing for the oncoming demonic armageddon I'm pretty sure is waiting in the wings as we speak." He pouts. "Or trying to, anyway. Why are weapons always so darned expensive, anyway?"

El Pollo Diablo, much to everybody's relief, goes back into the head where it belongs.

[themortalhalf]

The thought of armageddon makes his eyes narrow, but he says nothing, writing it off as the pirate being his usual "humorous" self. "Since when do weapons come cheap?" Though then again, the idiot probably steals his. "What're you looking for?"

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

"Generally, anything better built than a pirate sword to fend off the oncoming doom hoards that are clearly coming for us all," he replies, completely matter of factly.

"Oh, and don't write off the cheap ones too much. I got mine from the bottom of a harbor. Still works!"

[themortalhalf]

He grimaces.

Stop feeding into his paranoia, bro. He's a leo just like you.

"Then use that if you can't afford another." Though looking around here for a weapon isn't a bad idea. The rough crowd around here likes to make weapons stashes thicker than a rat's nest, but you have to be confident enough to risk getting jumped. "But try the stalls in Virgo. They like to sell shit the tide dragged in from hell knows where."

Or maybe he could whine Q's ear off until he got something. He had been handing out weapons before.

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

Knowing Guybrush, he probably doesn't even notice there's a problem. "Hmm. Couldn't hurt. I do have a pot of oil if worse comes to worse. Though it's kinda pointless with fire and/or a convenient place to send terrible monsters slipping off into a deep pit or something." He scratches his head. "Either way, gotta be prepared! Something big and BAD's coming up, and I'm gonna be ready for it!"

[themortalhalf]

And he will never know there is a problem. He just continues to grimace like a natural. Moves a little further out of the alleyway.

"And? What makes you so sure?"

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

"Pure pirate intuition," he replies, tapping his forehead. "I've got a sixth sense for these sorts of things, and right now it's running around in circles screaming death and mayhem. CLEARLY something big's gonna happen."

[themortalhalf]

As much as he'd like to call the other man out on his paranoia, he can't. Hell, it wasn't even a bad leap in logic considering the circumstances. Demons roaming the streets, and that city in Gemini that was far too much like Tartarus.

"Maybe." Better to be cautious, anyway. Tch. "You want a different weapon that badly?"

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

"Well, at least something with a little less stabbity and a bit more 'kaboom,' or sweep, or something. Besides, what if the sword breaks? Then I'm really doomed!" He nods sagely. "Yep! In times like these, it's best to be prepared."

[themortalhalf]

"Maybe you should just stick with a sword." If Guybrush refers to bombs and other weapons like that, should he really be allowed to use one? Might just hurt himself. And if he's so paranoid about his sword breaking (must be a really shitty sword), he probably shouldn't be fighting at all.

Didn't he have a sensing Persona anyway?

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

More like a "Cut and run" Persona. "Well, if you think so. I AM an expert at the art of insult sword-fighting. Do you think demons can be insulted?" he wonders, scratching his head.

[themortalhalf]

He just pauses and stares at him for two very long seconds. "You saying you want to try?"

His answer being yes, he's sure they can. Insulted by something Guybrush says, however, is another matter entirely.

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

"If it comes down to it. A good insult can throw anybody off their guard, you know."

Surprisingly, when actually put to the test, Guybrush can be a really GOOD insulter. An expert these days, really.

[plunderbunny]

Elaine was going to waste no time in figuring out what he was up to, since chances are he was already knee-deep in some kind of trouble. It was just a matter of finding out what kind of trouble.

"Husband." She called out as she knocked on the door of his apartment. "What are you up to in there?"

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

The sound of locks can be heard, followed by the cracking open of a door and a single eye peeking out.

"Elaine! Perfect! Get in here before it's too late!" he yelps. He closes the door, fiddles for far longer than necessary with the chain lock, then opens wide and gestures for her to come in.

(He'd pull her in, but the bruises that came with those sorts of attempts had long since persuaded him that it's best if she comes along on her own terms.)

What awaits inside is... a fort. No, seriously. It's as if Guybrush has gathered every piece of furniture in the apartment and set up a little bunker, with only a view port in front.

"Don't worry, plunderbunny, I'll protect you. Whatever happens, even if the world ends, I, your loving husband, swear to stand my ground!"

[plunderbunny]

Smart move. She wasn't sure what she was going to find in there, but she braced herself for the worst. She was not expecting a furniture fort. At least it wasn't a pillow fort? What on earth. She is never letting him out of her sight again.

Elaine didn't think her eyebrow could arch any more than it already was, but then Guybrush started babbling as if a war was coming. "Oh, now the world is ending, is it? And when was anyone going to tell me?"

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

"Well, I figured you'd have noticed it by now. You know, that overall sense of terrible, impending doom? That's GOTTA mean something big and terrible is coming down!" His eyes dart around. "Man, I know they wanted us to help out with this stuff, but I didn't think the endgame was gonna be THIS early!"

[plunderbunny]

"Noticed what? I haven't felt any different or noticed anything odd until, well, now. Are you sure you're not just overreacting, dear? Are you feeling well?" She reached to put the back of her hand on his forehead to feel for a fever. She was actually starting to get a little worried for his mental state.

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

No fever, it seems, aside from his vaguely feverish state of paranoid. "Who, me? Never better! I see everything clearly now! We're doomed." Yeah, that's clear.

He pats the fort. "But don't worry! I got enough defenses here to help us weather the storm! I've even got a bunch of this amazing food these modern guys have. It's noodles, except they're all dried up. But if you boil them, it's like they're brand new again! Nifty, isn't it?"

[plunderbunny]

Elaine never imagined that she would miss her husband's insufferable grandstanding, but she found the intense paranoia much more worrying. He wasn't going to listen to reason, that much was clear.

"So this is your plan? Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate(tm), the man who defeated LeChuck six times and can hold his breath for ten minutes, is going to run and hide with his tail between his legs at the first sign of danger?"

She would just appeal to his ego instead.

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

"Well yeah, but that was just SLIGHTLY apocalyptic danger. This is MASSIVELY apocalyptic danger. It's different, you know?" he explains weakly. But darned if that doesn't stab a bit past the paranoia. "I mean, it's not like I COULDN'T handle it if I wanted to, what with being a great pirate hero and all. But sometimes you have to play the defensive!"

He smiles weakly at her. ...yeah, that's not going to fly and both of them know it.

[plunderbunny]

That didn't work?

She was sure that would've worked. There was no doubt in her mind now that there was something terribly wrong with Guybrush and she needed to get to the bottom of it.

"Well, er, dear." She tried not to sound overly worried. "You seem to have done a wonderful job with your preparations. I'm sure you have a good place to lie down and plenty of blankets, and a cold compress or two?"

[a_pirate_meant_to_be]

"Oh sugarplum, I'm not SICK. I just realized we're all doomed to die horrible horrible deaths, is all!" He grins, as if he's made the discovery of the century or something. "But I do have plenty of blankets in here!"

He digs around. It sounds like he has a LOT of stuff in that bunker. One can only presume he uses the same amount of efficiency of space he does whereever the heck it is he hides everything he takes with him on adventures.

"Weird, where'd I get the one with all the little snowmen guys from?"