tvk | Third lecture -- video

Entry tags:

el-melloi ii

Third lecture -- video

[When the feed turned on, it showed Lord El-Melloi sitting on what appeared to be the edge of a tub in his bathroom. His shirt was also off, and along his torso there was quite a display of fresh bruises mottling his skin purple and blue. A first-aid kit was open next to him, and he was winding a bandage around a gash on his arm with an air of businesslike practicality.]

Is there anyone else in this place who's had more success than I have at capturing a Shadow?

[Clearly he was in no mood to do anything but get straight to the point.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Why do you seek to capture one?

...I'm sorry, capture one?

To study it, of course.

Yes.

[Nope, he doesn't see anything weird about this, what are you talking about.]

...This doesn't strike me as a good idea.

No bleeding cut, but more bruises. A success in terms of my blood staying in my body, I guess.

I kinda scrapped the plan, after that.

It doesn't strike me as a good idea to fight against an enemy that you know practically nothing about, either. A more complete understanding of the Shadows is worth risking a little personal injury.

While that much is true, can they even be captured at all?

With the proper equipment and approach, I hardly see why not.

While things didn't go quite as planned for me, I'm hardly going to stop because of a few scrapes and bruises. And now, at least, I know what definitely won't work.

Well for what it's worth, make sure you don't kill it during the process of catching it.

I had the idea to follow one of the more, err, fight-happy folks around one night. See if Shadows left anything behind after defeat.

Long story short, didn't get much outta that other than pleasant conversation.

Maybe if you isolate it.

[Kiritsugu doesn't feel comfortable talking to a magus carrying the El-Melloi name, but he agrees with his motivation.]

What's to say it won't disappear when midnight's over?

If you manage to capture it, do notify me. I would like the opportunity to learn more about them myself.

Depending on your skills, it might be easier to lay a trap than to attempt to capture it normally.

Capture? I hadn't even thought of that.

... You think there's a way one can be tricked? Or lured?

I've noticed. It makes things a little more difficult, but it's an interesting characteristic, at the very least. Should I manage to capture one, I intend to keep it alive for as long as possible.

That would probably be the best approach. I was considering using a tranquilizer, though I really have no way of knowing what dose to use or even if drugs will affect them.

[This El-Melloi is slightly less of a douche than the last one, at least.]

It very well might, which really just stresses the need for a quick and efficient capture method. If I only have an hour to study it in, I'd prefer to minimize how much time I have to waste in catching it.

Introducing tranquilizers into its body may mess with its biology, but considering how dangerous they are, it's still the best choice.

Can you use a dart gun?

I could probably build something to trap them pretty easily... You know, if the dark hour didn't make most electronics useless. Finding a way around that would help, but where would we even start to look?

Very well.

Traps are a little less reliable when most electronic equipment doesn't work during the Dark Hour. Someone better versed in engineering than I might be able to come up with something functional.

Lured, possibly. Though I would prefer the more direct method of tranquilizing it and possibly shoving it into a bag.

I shouldn't have much trouble in using one.

[Surprising. Kiritsugu quietly contemplates how anyone but a fully traditional magus could have attained such a rank. Just who is this man?]

I'll find one, then.

[He stops for a moment. How to create an insurance plan? Putting explosives near the Shadow's path would work, but that would cause collateral damage. Time to find out just what kind of magus El-Melloi II is.]

We can go with either a cage or more lethal means of subduing it, if things go wrong.

Might be hard to tranquillize it when we really don't even know what they are.

If you're successful, mind telling me anything you find out about them?

It's impossible to know for certain unless I try. And, quite frankly, it's the option that will probably leave me the least bruised.

If the normal patterns of their activity help me guess right, I'd give you about an hour's worth of time, tops. Unless it comes back where it was stored during the next night, anyway.

... Brilliant. I shall assist you when you head out for your next attempt.

I shall certainly find out. But if an hour is all I have, then I'll work with that. It's not the first time that I've had to operate under a strict time frame.

Of course. Any discoveries that I make about the Shadows will be public knowledge.

I would be honored to have your support.

[And less likely to get severely bruised.]

Maybe we can... drop something on it. A box. I mean, I know it sounds like something out of a cartoon, but I don't think they're particularly smart anyway.

Thanks, since I'd like to input the results into the database.

If you're going to plan a second try out, give me the heads-up when it goes down, will ya? I admit I'm not the strongest or smartest here, but there's a few things I'd like to test out on Shadows, given the chance to.

Mm. Just please let me know.

Hahaha! You took quite the beating there! I'm impressed, Waver.

It's only a few bruises and a scratch. I've had worse.

Have you now? I expected you to have the skin of a newborn babe, Waver. I am certainly impressed.

Certainly. I'll let you know the next time I plan on heading out.

I'm not as fragile as I was.

[He even has a few scars to prove it.]

An unintentional side-effect of all the assassination attempts, I suppose.

[When people are trying to kill you, you tend to toughen up or get killed. Waver had been very determined to not do the latter.]

Do they not vanish once the Dark Hour's over? That did seem to be the case, at least.

It would still have to be of a durable enough material to contain the Shadow, and there would still be an issue of transporting it to a location suitable for study.

So you found your situation improved I assume?

Like a iron box or somethin'. Yeah, okay, so maybe that's not practical. I wanna say dig a pit, but now it really IS sounding like a cartoon. I dunno, I'll think on it.

Much appreciated, Lord El-Melloi II.

[A beat.]

Don't suppose I could shorten the title and call you "Mel"?

If you happen to think of something, let me know.

Most traps don't require electricity.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Third lecture -- video

video;

[video]

video;

[video]

[video]

no subject

[video]

[video]

[video]

no subject

no subject

Video

Voice

video

no subject

Video

Video

[video]

Voice

video

video

no subject

no subject

[Video]

no subject

no subject

video;

no subject

[Video]

video;

no subject

[Video]

no subject

video;

Video

Video

Video

no subject

Video

[video]

no subject

Video

no subject

no subject

no subject

Voice - woooow I am so late, sorry