♣ mediated by @voraciousTreasure
I turned my$elf in on REEF¢O ¢harge$ after de¢iding they had $₱ent enough time ₱retending they ₩ould eventually ¢ome ¢olle¢t me. I ₱ut on a good ¢oat, fini$hed breakfa$t, ₩alked into their offi¢e$, and informed the ¢lerk that I ₩a$ there to be arre$ted. They ₱ro¢e$$ed me ₱ro₱erly, read the ¢harge$ aloud, took my ₱hotogra₱h, and ₱la¢ed my belonging$ into a little bag. I ₩a$ extremely ¢oo₱erative. To be frank, it ₩a$ a bit romanti¢ized in $ome yarn$ $₱un after. No, I did not have 'tea' ₩ith Hi$ Honorable Tyranny, nor did I fa¢e a dozen Legi$la¢erator$ in Gladiatorial Ju$ti¢e. No, for a₱₱roximately $ix hour$, the Alternian Em₱ire $u¢¢e$$fully in¢ar¢erated $ea¢ra$h Aurumma₩. Then the Fu¢h$ian ¢ourt intervened, and the ¢a$e ₩a$ ami¢ably dro₱₱ed under dire¢t order from the Em₱re$$ her$elf. My ¢oun$el never even got the o₱₱ortunity to argue juri$di¢tion, eviden¢e, or ₩hether $everal alleged a¢t$ of ¢oer¢ion ₩ere $im₱ly ¢ontra¢t$ ₩ho$e benefi¢iarie$ had develo₱ed regret. I ₩a$ returned my ¢oat, my ₩allet, my ¢ufflink$, three unidentified key$, and the re¢ei₱t for everything they had tem₱orarily believed belonged to them. One of the offi¢er$ a₱ologized for the in¢onvenien¢e. But it ₩a$ no in¢onvenien¢e at all. The REEF¢O Inve$tigator$ had follo₩ed ₱ro¢edure, I had follo₩ed ₱ro¢edure, and the ¢ourt had follo₩ed ₱ro¢edure. The Em₱re$$ follo₩ed ₱ro¢edure. That'$ ₩hat'$ lovely about in$titution$. ₩hen you under$tand ₩ho i$ ₱ermi$$ive ₩ithin them, they are remarkably $im₱le. REEF¢O never brought tho$e ¢harge$ again. I $ent them a bottle after₩ard, and they ke₱t it, $o I a$$ume ₩e $ettled. #$ub$tan¢e
Jak₱ot ₩a$ a $e¢ond an¢hor on a $hi₱ that only needed one. For a ₩hile, I tolerated the drag be¢au$e the harbor ₩a$ ₱rofitable and the ₩eather mild. Then the ¢hain began ¢at¢hing on thing$ beneath the $urfa¢e, fouling the rudder, $lo₩ing every ₱rofitable tide. $o I ₩aited for dee₱ ₩ater, ¢ut the ₩eight loo$e, and let the $ea de¢ide ho₩ long iron remember$ the name of the ve$$el that ¢arried it. By morning, the de¢k ₩a$ lighter, the ¢our$e ₩a$ ¢leaner, and the ¢re₩ had learned a valuable le$$on about ¢onfu$ing balla$t for o₩ner$hi₱. The ¢a$ino ha$ $ailed beautifully ever $in¢e. That ₩a$ a kindne$$ I offered to him. I ₩ouldn't dream of being $o kind to you.
YOU ARE SEACRASH AURUMMAW. A collector of many names. Some your own, some were given to you by trolls who wanted something. Few were given by those who owed something. Fewer still belonged to those who understood the difference between those two facts. These nights, you answer to SEACRASH AURUMMAW, violetblood, proprietor, creditor, investor, occasional benefactor, and the exceedingly patient troll behind @leviathanLedger. Your public philosophy is admirably concise: settle your debts for a price; call anytime. Naturally, the word price has always been more flexible than your clientele would prefer. You are old. Not respect-your-elders old. Not I remember the previous Empress old. You remember systems people now mistake for natural law being invented in front of you. You watched barter become commerce, commerce become capital, capital become empire, and at some point realized that landdwellers had developed an extraordinarily elaborate method of making predation look polite. You approved, at least for a while. There are trolls who collect weapons. Trolls who collect titles. Trolls who collect little trophies and stories about themselves. Your fascination, what you collect, is Obligation. Money is useful, certainly. It opens doors, closes mouths, relocates inconveniences, and convinces otherwise sensible people to do remarkable things. But money is only the most boring form of debt. A favor can appreciate. A secret can compound. Gratitude, properly tended, can outlive generations. You own and operate JAKPOT, though “casino proprietor” describes you about as completely as “fish” describes something circling beneath a shipwreck. The previous arrangement had another name attached to it once. Jakpot Linkin. A second anchor on a vessel that eventually discovered it only needed one. A cerulean blood whose ancestor was indebted to you. Jakpot is indebted to you. Even still, Jakpot's descendants will likely be indebted to you. Your employees are always paid. Your debts are always remembered. Your hospitality is unmatched. Once, long ago, you played a game considerably larger than any table you have owned since. You were a BARD OF HEART, which sounds almost charming until you learn what exactly you were musing over. Identity. Selfhood. The little private conviction that a person belongs entirely to themselves. Some say the very soul. You learned early that people become much easier to keep alive once you understand what they are for. You have learned this lesson too well. You have survived empires, catastrophes, gods, monsters, economic theories, and several people who were absolutely convinced they would be the exception. Most were not. Still, lately, the shore has become interesting again. Old debts have begun wandering back into view. New ones are accruing. A certain employee has become considerably harder to file beneath a single convenient heading. People keep mistaking your patience for inactivity. And somewhere beneath all of it, the tide is coming in. You are SEACRASH AURUMMAW. You have waited long enough. Pay up. ((Art ¢redit: SpookyPoopet on Di$¢ord)) https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/cb10b15e131a.png https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/2c723c4f2264.png
A reminder to my valued ¢lientele that forgetting you o₩e me money doe$ not ¢on$titute debt forgivene$$. It merely ¢onvert$ the matter from a¢¢ounting into field ₩ork, and I di$like field ₩ork enough to ¢harge for the in¢onvenien¢e. ₱ay on time and ₩e ¢an ¢ontinue ₱retending our relation$hi₱ i$ $tri¢tly ₱rofe$$ional.
The tide ha$ a funny ₩ay of making every old ₩re¢k look almo$t gentle from a di$tan¢e. Give it enough moonlight, enough $ilen¢e, enough time, and even ruin i$ almo$t ₩orth kee₱ing. I do ₩onder, no₩ and again, ho₩ many thing$ I have dragged belo₩ $im₱ly be¢au$e I ¢ould not bear to ₩at¢h them float a₩ay. Not regret, of ¢our$e. Only the little a¢he of a hand ¢lo$ing around ₩ater.
၄⋆၃ HUZZAHHHH another added to the #jellyfishtime agenda i do this frequently sometime i play xalming musix in the baxkground but that isnt very #jellyfish like due to the depths of the oxean not having musix
If ¥ou $a₩ him ¥ou'd kno₩ it'$ a v€r¥ normal thing to ₩ant
A fine game tonight. Truly. Good hand$, ₱oor de¢i$ion$, ex¢ellent ¢om₱any, and ju$t enough ₱ani¢ near the river to make the ₩hole thing ₩orth ho$ting. I had the table ₩here I ₩anted it for mo$t of the evening. ¢hi₱$ $ta¢ked, nerve$ $ho₩ing, every little ¢al¢ulation beginning to lean in my dire¢tion. There i$ a ₱arti¢ular ₱lea$ure in ₩at¢hing a room realize the tide ha$ gone out around them. Then, at the end, I o₱ted to ₱ut everything for₩ard. A gamble to ¢elebrate a night ₩ell $₱ent. A re¢kle$$ thing. A beautiful thing. And, tonight, a lu¢ky thing. $o ¢ongratulation$ are in order. I am not angry. Lu¢k i$ a gue$t at any ₱ro₱er ¢ard table, and it ₩ould be very ₱oor manner$ to ¢om₱lain ₩hen $he finally arrive$ drunk, late, and laughing. Enjoy the ₩in. ₱oli$h it. Tell the $tory generou$ly. Remember the feeling of holding one over old $ea¢ra$h. Next time, I ex₱e¢t lu¢k ₩ill have other a₱₱ointment$.
₱re₱aration$ for the ₱oker Night are ju$t about ¢om₱lete. $taff i$ ha₱₱y. Debt$ a¢¢ounted for. A fe₩ more $eat$ o₱en, for tho$e intere$ted. You already kno₩ ₩ho I am $₱eaking to.
Why did Seacrash mediate my sexyman post? LMAO
You are ₩el¢ome to attem₱t to ¢ome take my ₱arti¢ular ₱ur$e$ from my ₱ur$er$, kno₩ everyone under my thumb i$ like₩i$e under my endeared ₱rote¢tion. The tide take$ $o mu¢h more than ju$t their valuable$.