Unpopcorning of L

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

Pop!
There is nothing so disorienting as one moment, knowing where you are, and the next, not.

That’s not to say L has an idea where he just was. But wherever it was, he was content there. He may not have had all the answers to his questions, or perhaps he doesn’t just remember them, but it was a comfortable state to be in.

Whereas now, he doesn’t.

It’s not very often that L is completely confused. Whether or not he has all the answers to the problem, he can usually formulate some sort of guess. The universe tends to conform to certain rational standards; if an unseen figure sets tea down at his elbow, it is usually Watari. If a woman is missing and her husband is on the television pleading for her safe return, he is usually responsible. They are simple formulas that, while not always universal, get him comfortably through the day.

There is nothing comfortable, universal, or logical about this. He takes a step, slips, and finds himself sprawled on the floor and coated in what smells like butter. He discerns that he’s surrounded by popcorn.

Ahead of him is a door. In that list of rational standards, there’s another rule. Doors lead somewhere. So L makes his way towards it, gingerly. The slightly scrawny, extremely pale, twenty year old detective (who already has deep dark circles etched underneath his eyes) pokes his head out uncertainly.

“Excuse me?”

[ooc: this L is pre-canon, and will remember nothing of past interactions here. Under new management.]

Comments

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"It is 1999. I am younger than most people think."

Mello and Matt are dead. No doubt in his future, probably at about the age Matt appears to be now. Twenty? Far too young. Although, that's how old he is, so maybe 'far too young' has no meaning for people like them.

He gives Matt a wide eyed blink, and slips through the doorway completely, and adjusts himself into a comfortable slouch.

"I am sorry to hear that you are deceased."

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"1999... wow. So I'm nine." He laughs again, pulling out a cigarette and putting it between his lips, unlit. "It's not a big deal, considering I'm here now. Sucked at the time though. And... it's got to be a good conversation piece, or something."

Matt watches L, beginning to feel... what? Nervous? It makes sense that he would, though he had hoped he'd grown out of that by now.

Still. L.

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"You are, and a very promising student." He watches Matt's expression carefully. The goggles make it more difficult to read, but he is fiddling with the cigarette.

So he says, as gently as he can really manage, which is just 'mildly less apathetic,'

"What happens now, Matt?"

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

Matt tends to tilt his head downwards, hiding the lower half of his face behind the collar of his vest; but his head comes up at the unexpected question.

He watches L for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Then,

"Well... I'm currently looking for a room full of video games. Or I could show you where the bar is," he grins. Getting the world's greatest detective drunk would be pretty funny.

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"Either would be acceptable. I do have a few more questions, of course, but you are no doubt able to answer them while we walk."

L has never been one for alcohol, but at the moment he can very nearly see the appeal. He still doesn't really know what he's doing here, what happens now, who's in charge, how long he'll be staying, where he'll sleep if he does...

For now, though, the best course of action is to stay with Matt.

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

Huh. L really was pretty good at throwing people off-balance; Matt had been sure that he'd refuse the invitation to the bar. Of course, he hadn't said he was going to drink anything, but still...

He weighs up the options. It's a tricky choice; epic lulz or new games? But the bar isn't going to change location.

"Okay. The room I'm looking for was down this corridor, I think. The geography of this place gets a little confusing; some of the staircases move... Have you got any idea of where you'll sleep? The rest of us are living in Ravenclaw, but, uh..." He begins wandering down the corridor, fiddling once again with the unlit cigarette.

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"I do not know what Ravenclaw is, but if you think it would be suitable I will join you there."

The staircases move. Well, the place is magic, so why not? Also, people appear here at random, dead or alive, and of all different ages.

"Should we tell anyone that I am here? Is someone in charge of these sorts of things?"

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"Ravenclaw - it's like a proper old British boarding school here. They have four different houses... Ravenclaw's apparently for the brainy kids, so." He grins, a little lopsidedly.

He then recalls that Near and Mello are now living in Ravenclaw. Together. In the same room. Noisily. It was probably Matt's duty as a potential successor to warn L about this, but... how?

"Um," he says. "Uh. You know... Mello and Near? And I'm not sure... there's a talking Hat, that might want to know. Near's contacted Wammy's House and Watari and everything though, so you don't need to worry about that."

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"So we remain together."

He's trying to get his bearings in the building, but has not seen nearly enough of it to manage, yet. He hasn't asked about the huge amounts of popcorn, either, or the uncomfortable butter now drying (does butter even dry?) doing something on his shirt.

"What about Mello and Near?"

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. Pretty much."

Okay, he really is going to have to light the cigarette now. It'll help him recall the way, hopefully; he was smoking during his late-night wander.

"Well. They're sort of - together." Something in Matt's voice suggests he's not particularly pleased by this. "And, eh... you might want to get... I dunno. Earplugs or something."

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"Oh."

Matt doesn't sound happy about this. L... doesn't really care, either way, it's just rather surprising to hear. Nothing about their personalities suggested that they would be remotely compatible. Watari, though, would occasionally say that opposites attracted, and Watari's little bits of wisdom were usually worth listening to.

"Let me consider."

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

Matt nods. Hopefully that would be the end of that; he's done his part, warning L. Now he can go back to not-thinking about it.

"This place is so damned confusing. I'm sure I passed that suit of armour last night, but the portrait opposite was different - and it was too dark to tell if the frame was the same... Did you ever game? And hey, 1999..." Matt tries to recall what cases L solved that year. He probably knew at the time. "How goes the... L-ing?"

Yes, he is trying to change the subject in any way possible.

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"I am doing well, thank you, Matt." This is something to remember. Matt's conversation can be scattershot; normally he would have no trouble keeping up, but his reality has sort of been turned on it's head in the past few minutes.

"The cases largely represent little challenge. I played games once or twice. There is such a thing as magic?"

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"Good to hear it." Matt decides L probably isn't all that interested in how he might answer the first two statements, and goes for the question instead.

"Yeah, there is. I mean, even disregarding all this, you wind up getting involved in a case that involves magic notebooks and shinigami and shit. It looks like it's a different system of magic from what is taught here, but... yeah. Magic, quite a few mythological creatures... There's a pretty extensive library, you'll probably want to check that out."

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"I most certainly will. I confess, I feel quite floored by all this."

His composure hasn't precisely cracked, or anything, he is as stoic as ever. But this represents a rather drastic upheaval to his system of beliefs.

"Please, lead on."

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"You don't look it." Matt alters his path, heading down a long flight of stairs rather than going down a corridor to his right. "It was probably easier for me to digest since the last thing I remembered was being shot to fuck by a bunch of angry Japanese men, but you get used to it."

The staircase leads past paintings that move and speak, corridors hidden behind tapestries, and a couple of scurrying house-elves. Definitely Hogwarts, alright.

"I have to say," Matt began quietly. "It's... I'm not the biggest fan of the Wammy system, but it's good to get a chance to meet you. I know there are very few people who do."

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"I would prefer that you introduce me to other as Ryuzaki. For understandable reasons, I hope. And if you would let me introduce myself to Mello and Near I would greatly appreciate it as well."

He stares as the elves go by, eyes only really snapping back to Matt when he mentions Wammy's.

"It has it's pros and cons. Perhaps we can discuss it another time. I am very glad to finally meet you, too. I look forwards to knowing Mello and Near as well. The position, and as you say, the system, have not precisely afforded me the opportunity."

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"Ryuzaki." Matt nods. It's sort of interesting that L's using a Japanese name while they're in Britain; his English is perfect, with no trace of an accent, and Matt wonders briefly whether the name is deliberately misleading, to hide the fact that he actually grew up in Oklahoma or Cardif or St Petersburgh.

Then he shrugs. He doesn't really care.

"That's fine. They'd probably prefer running into you themselves than being introduced to you by me anyway. And the system was pretty fucked-up, so maybe it's a good thing we all ended up here. A break from all the..." he flaps a gloved hand, leading them down another corridor, "... detective-induced paranoia?"

Like Matt had even got involved until his last few months.

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"There are certain regrettable consequences, some of which you will no doubt be... happier," he says the word like a question, "without."

But he doesn't really sound apologetic. The casualties of the system were more than necessary, in his mind. He's a relatively amoral person, when it comes to certain things.

Justice should be blind, after all.

"Are you happy here?"

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

Matt laughs, catching the question in L's voice. "Hey, I enjoyed myself. I just feel bad for the kids who didn't, or who weren't up to scratch, or who took it too seriously... I was third, I could afford to slack off. Sucks to be the kid who wanted to be L but kept coming in 20th. The early mortality thing isn't great either but," he grins now, "turns out that wasn't such a big deal after all."

And wow, he's blabbing. Apparently it's difficult to kick that hero-worship thing after all.

"I'm alive. It's fucking awesome."

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"It is not an experience I ever had, but I imagine you are correct. It would be difficult." Privately, he's a little sorry Matt slacked off; the competition was really what brought out the best in all of them, but it hardly matters now.

He's dead. Or rather, not dead, but enjoying himself in a magical castle in Scotland.

"What did the door look like?" Because they aren't having much luck finding this videogame room, are they?

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. Especially when they seemed to pick the most neurotic newly-orphaned kids they could, heh..." Matt's tone is light, though; he's trying to recall his way to the coveted room of games. "I really hope I didn't just dream this place. That'd suck... It was a double-door, painted green. Each side had ornate handles, six symmetrical bolts... okay, I'm making it sound like just about any of the doors we're passing. I'd recognise it if I saw it."

Matt glances around. He'd definitely passed this map last night... maybe they should start opening random doors? That could old fast, but then again, so could wandering around an old castle covered in butter. "The library's down that way," he adds, nodding to his left.

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"I think I am aware enough of where I am to be able to find it again." Although it's been a disorienting few minutes.

"You are still as interested in electronics as ever, I take it?"

[gamerspy.livejournal.com]

"Awesome. And yeah... I'm actually hoping I might find a laptop or something in this room. I got a bit of work when I first arrived here, but I need a computer to actually do it, and so far I've not been able to find one... I'm going to have to go find the nearest town or something, I think."

Going outside. Yuck.

[ijk-mno.livejournal.com]

"I will join you when you do go on that venture, if you do not mind the company. I would be glad for access to a computer myself why I am here."

He cannot simply drop out of existence.

"And the surrounding area is unfamiliar to me."