August investigations (open)

[detectiveofthewest]

Battleshots fired

Evening in the Black Bear Tavern, and someone had set up what looked like an oversized game of Battleship on one of the tables, with one major exception: all the ships had gleaming shot glasses carefully set into them at even intervals.

The bar was dark. The board was illuminated. There were cheesy underwater sonar noises involved. And Heiji stood on the other side of the board. "So. You ready?"

Handy Battleshots board here. Gameplay video here.


Battleshots works like Battleship. You and your opponent each have your own ocean grid, which is hidden from your opponent. You secretly place your ships on your ocean grid horizontally or vertically.

You and your opponent then alternate calling shots on the grid (for example, A1 or D5). If you pick a spot that your opponent has a ship in, it's a hit. Your opponent must then announce the hit and drink the appropriate shot off their ship. The middle shot on each ship is tequila served in a black cup.

Gameplay continues until you annihilate your opponent's ships, force a surrender, or someone passes out.

Groundwork (throughout August)

Heiji could be found throughout August in regular libraries throughout the city -- and libraries-underneath-libraries as well, looking through records and old archived newspapers. Or, occasionally, falling asleep with his face in a book or pressed against a handy keyboard. His topic of investigation? The East End Pack, and in particular one Derek Hale. It was all a matter of public record, which meant this was A-OK and totally aboveboard, right?

Right.

Reconnoitering (mid-August)

Lewisham was not a particularly safe place for the faint of heart -- in fact, it was a no man's land, a veritable hive of scum and villainy. But during a few evenings in mid-August, there was one extra supernatural beastie about: a black fox the size of a full-grown tiger, lurking about the rooftops and getting the size of the activity there. Heiji was doing a little reconnaissance work, though he could also be found scoping out the neighborhood in Havering.

[Or lemme know if you want anything in particular o7]

Comments

[detectiveofthewest]

"Only if you know where to look. But I can go whenever I want in London... 'cept for some places." Heiji moved over to the door, shut it, then slowly pulled it back open.

Snake couldn't see the abrupt change in the appearance of the space beyond the door, of course, but from it came the fragrance of unfamiliar flora and the calls of rare birds. The building, in the Other Realm, was currently a rickety old ruin half-reclaimed by the elements.

[blind_badass]

Snake certainly felt the change in the air, from the climate controlled library to...wherever they just went to. "That was...rather abrupt." He kept his messenger bag with all its very helpful electronics close to him. "I can hear birds and smell flowers."

[detectiveofthewest]

"It's great, isn't it?" asked Heiji, who clearly thought so. "I opened a door there. In Faery, this building hasn't been used for a while. That's why the trees took it back."

But maybe Snake didn't like the outdoors all that much?

"C'mon, it'll be okay." He slipped by Snake, brushing ever so slightly against his shoulder as he did so. He didn't have to, of course, but his arm seemed to slip closer anyway of its own accord, as if savoring the opportunity for touch -- however brief.