text | un: fantasma

[teaserving]

been sitting on this awhile

i know i told a handful of you but i also admit i don't know all of his friends
anyway
mohammed avdol isn't here anymore

i dont want your pity just so we're clear
that's it

Comments

[roseblooms]

Explain your reasoning for "Empty"?

[teaserving]

because im fresh out of ideas so my brain is running on empty

[roseblooms]

For what it's worth, if the riddle had been "five letters, take away three", you'd be correct. "Empty", with the "E", "P", and "Y" removed would give you "MT".

In this case, though, the line forms to the left — it's "Queue".

[teaserving]

great but that's not
what the riddle was at all so
whatever?

well there you go
i'll have to remember that one

[roseblooms]

A colleague of mine, back home, was extremely gifted in the field of linguistics and wordplay. He wasn't nearly as gracious as you are, when it came to being stumped.

Speaking of — we've yet to be introduced. May I have your name?

[teaserving]

there are better things for me to get pissed off about

leone abbacchio
i run a private investigation firm

[roseblooms]

That does explain the attachment to mysteries. You're a detective.

[teaserving]

unofficially i guess
im not with the moon knights on an official capacity
but i have a knack for figuring shit out

[roseblooms]

Your refusal to boast about your skills makes me all the more convinced of their existence.

...I wonder if you might indulge me one more, admittedly odd question.

[teaserving]

i'll try to not let it get to my head

nah
go for it
can't be that weird

[roseblooms]

Do you believe morality is strictly black and white, or does the world come in shades of gray?

[teaserving]

a black and white view is a destructive and dangerous way to think
there's obviously some shit you just shouldn't do
but sometimes there's circumstances that aren't so clear

so yeah
i'm a shades of gray kind of guy

[roseblooms]

Good. I'm glad to hear it.

I think it's an important quality for a detective, to understand that the world should not be taken in absolutes.

[teaserving]

it's very rarely ever clean cut
usually it's people backed into a corner who don't have much other choice
dont get me wrong i still think there are some awful bastards in the world and they deserve to rot
but most of the time it isn't that simple

but hey
glad we agree

what's your name

[roseblooms]

Kurama. There are some titles that usually go with that, but it would be insufferably pretentious of me to mention them.

At one point in my life, I was a thief. That's where my own interest in puzzles and mysteries originated. And I suppose you could say I have a soft spot for detectives, after one in particular showed me an extraordinary and entirely undeserved kindness.

[teaserving]

good because i'd also think it was insufferably pretentious and call you out on it

well you can forget it on the kindness part im not a very nice guy

[roseblooms]

And yet someone married you.

[teaserving]

never said he wasnt a little crazy to do that

[roseblooms]

Well, that was nice of you. Marrying a crazy person, and all.

[teaserving]

dont get me wrong
i loved him for his crazy
and other things but the crazy i accepted

[roseblooms]

May I ask what he was like? You speak so fondly of his crazy, I can't help but be curious.

[teaserving]

he was warm
friendly
way more patient than i deserved
serenaded me with 80s pop songs and had awful puns and jokes

[roseblooms]

He sounds remarkable. A rare find, indeed. And nice enough for the both of you, I assume?

[teaserving]

he'd be nice enough for at least 5 people
mohammed was a good man who deserved more than he ever got

[roseblooms]

Perhaps so. But regardless of what he might have deserved, I suspect he got at least one thing he wanted, and there's something to be said for that.