Khona Moshr
Pink Flamingo Cabal Healer(they/them)
- Location
- Alabama
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Hang out with Connie and watch television with your grandma.
-
Going forward, links to content from Twitter (now X) will no longer be embedded. Pre-existing links should not be affected.
[DEAD] Stand Against The Darkness: A Magical Girl Quest
- Thread starter Kadmus
- Start date
- Original
- Location
- St. Petersburg
Despite the overall grimness of the situation, I can't keep a grin off my face because Jen's hopeless flailing with words is the most adorable thing I've seen in a while. She is channeling Connie-level eloquence here.
And that is all anyone needs to know about our character.
[x] Hang out with Connie and watch television with your grandma.
Hm. Maybe having someone else who doesn't mind the wings would prompt Shadows to have a talk with her family too? Eventually?
Ouch, it hurts even imagining Connie trying to explain that away.
I'd rather use Light's favor differently, but if the crystals aren't gone tomorrow, we may have to call her and magic the changes away. Hopefully with more success than the last time.
And we need to interrogate our Exousia before the next big fight.
Episode 3: The Offensive: Part 19
Kadmus
Dragon's teeth are surprisingly hard to sow
- Location
- Devon
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Vote results:
[X] Hang out with Connie and watch television with your grandma. - 5 votes.
[X] Hang out with Connie and watch television with your grandma. - 5 votes.
Part 19
Saturday, Week 2
You head upstairs from the kitchen to check on Connie. You find her sat on the floor next to your bed, out of sight from the door, trying to read one of your books. Well, one of Emily's books that has managed to migrate over to your house at some point, to be precise.
"I, uh, told grandma what the deal was," you say, sitting on the end of your bed. "She's- well, she isn't cool with it, but she gets it."
Connie's face goes from panicked to slack with relief as you speak, and she slumps sideways to lean against the side of the bed with her hand on her chest.
"Um, if you, um, if you could, like, warn me next time?" she says, looking at you over the top of her thick glasses with watery eyes.
"Sorry," you say, flopping back to lay on your bed. "Just seemed like the right time to do it, you know? Plus otherwise she'd have been super worried about me going out and getting in fights or something."
"It's, um, it's nice your grandma worries about you," she says.
"It's just us," you say, spreading your arms and yawning. "Has been for a while. Did you want to grab a shower or anything? I dunno if I've got any spares that'd fit you, but it'd get rid of some of the blood, at least."
"Are- are you sure that's, um, okay?"
You roll your eyes. "Yeah, it's fine. I'll grab you a towel and, uh, maybe some of my t-shirts might work? I got some big ones I sleep in, so they might be comfier with the wings."
"Okay," Connie says, looking a little more cheerful. "They, um, they're really itchy. Like the crystals."
"I bet," you say, sitting back up and heading off to grab some towels for Connie. "They actually looked pretty good when you were transformed, though. Matched your theme, you know?"
You look back over your shoulder to see Connie bright red and fidgeting awkwardly. Yeah, compliments might not be the best idea for someone who's got self-esteem issues who's going to be sleeping in the same house as you.
"So, yeah, take as long as you need," you say, placing the towels on your bed and going to rummage through your drawers. "And try on some of these if you want to." You toss a couple of oversized t-shirts onto the bed too, and follow them with a set of baggy sweatpants. "I'm gonna head downstairs and see what's on T.V. if you want to join us after."
Connie nods, still red, and offers you a faint smile. "I'll, um, I'll come down in a minute?"
You shrug. "You can stay up here and read if you want. Your choice." You give her a friendly grin of your own, and head downstairs again.
Your grandma has turned the television on, and is engrossed in watching some sort of game show. The host is that unnatural orange you get from cheap fake tans, and the contestants are awful at absolutely everything they try, but it's entertaining in a 'so bad it's good' way. You and your grandmother laugh at the appropriate moments, and your grandmother heckles the contestants every time they screw up something simple.
Connie takes a long time in the shower before she finally appears again, head ducked, shoulders hunched, dressed in the clothes you laid out for her and still swathed in bandages. The double layer of t-shirts doesn't do much to conceal the wings, and your grandmother eyes her as she scurries around to stand behind the sofa, next to you.
"I don't bite, girl," your grandmother says, arching an unimpressed eyebrow. "Sit next to Jen if you're going to be down here. What's your name?"
"C-c-connie," she says, shuffling around the sofa to ease herself into the seat next to you. Even with the three of you on the small sofa, there's enough space; you and your grandmother don't exactly take up a lot of real estate.
"Jen says you're suffering the downsides of... this thing you two do. You need anything?"
Connie blinks, looking sheepishly confused, but shakes her head quickly. "Um, no- no, thank you."
You carefully nudge her with your elbow. "We're gonna see if we need to do anything tomorrow, right?"
"Um, ye-yeah. But, like, um, thank you for offering."
Your grandmother snorts. "Don't worry yourself, girl. You're helping my granddaughter, and she seems to like you well enough. That's good enough for me."
Connie smiles, nervous and jittery, and looks down at her knees.
Your grandmother looks at you, and raises an eyebrow. You shrug one shoulder, and waggle the hand closest to her to and fro, and that seems to satisfy her. She's well enough acquainted with nervous young women to know how to act, after all.
"So how did you two meet?"
You turn to Connie and nudge her with your elbow again, tilting your head slightly. She looks at you, confused. You repeat the action, and she just stares at you with those wide, slightly panicky eyes.
"You want me to tell her about it?" you finally say, once it's obvious she's not understanding you. "It's kind of embarrassing, right?"
"Oh! Um, like, I don't- I don't mind? It was, um, kind of silly."
"You just wanted to make a good first impression," you say, grinning. "Not your fault I wasn't in the mood for flashy entrances."
"I- um, I practised that in the, um, in the mirror for, like, hours," she says, going red. "I, um, I wanted to really impress the, um, the next person I met."
"I take it that whatever you did didn't work on Jennifer," your grandma says, smiling at you with that teasing grin of hers. "She's always been very headstrong."
Oh no. Nonono, your grandma is not allowed to-
"Why, I remember when she was eight-"
You feel the flush start to creep up your neck, and slowly start to slide down in your seat.
"-absolutely covered in glitter-"
You cover your face with your hands as Connie's nervous chuckle joins your grandmother's cackle.
"-and she wouldn't bathe for a week."
"Just kill me now," you groan.
Connie bursts out into nervous, but full fledged giggles, and you can't stop the smile from crawling onto your face at the sounds.
The rest of the evening passes like that, your grandmother teasing you with embarrassing anecdotes from your youth to try and get Connie to relax a little, between long stretches of watching television and trying to get the answers on the quiz shows right. Your grandmother does the best of the three of you, but it's a close run thing, and by the end of the evening Connie's stopped cringing away from your grandmother and even her stuttering speech has smoothed out a little.
You insist Connie takes the bed – citing her wings, and how uncomfortable it's going to be if she can't sleep on her front – but she insists you at least stay in the same room, despite your offer to crash on the couch instead. You end up in the sleeping bag that you let Lala use the other day, lying alongside the bed and staring up at your ceiling while the pale moonlight filters in through the curtains to faintly illuminate the room.
You chuckle to yourself as you spot a faint arc of glitter still up there.
Sunday tomorrow. What's the plan?
[] Spend time with a friend.
- [] Who?
[] Hang out with one of the other Chosen.
- [] Angel.
- [] Shadows.
- [] Miz.
[] Interrogate Leliel.
- [] Ask what? Feel free to include a bunch of questions for this option.
[] Write in.
- Location
- Bloomington, IN
[X] Interrogate Leliel.
- [X] Why were we chosen?
- [X] Were did the sins come from?
- [X] Why did they come here?
- [X] What was up with the vision after Lust died?
- [X] Why were we chosen?
- [X] Were did the sins come from?
- [X] Why did they come here?
- [X] What was up with the vision after Lust died?
- Location
- St. Petersburg
[X] Interrogate Leliel.
- [X] Why were we chosen?
- [X] Where did the Sins come from?
- [X] Why did they come here?
- [X] What was up with the vision after Lust died?
They don't want to talk about it, but now that we know they had a hand in this it might make them more talkative?
I'd add one more.
- [X] What's the deal with magical feedback?
Jen already knows that the more they use it, the worse it gets. Well, how much worse can it get? What to expect? I think she'd ask that if only to try and avoid hurting Shadows again. Speaking of, how does one get rid of unwelcome changes?
I am also kind of interested in the circumstances in which a Chosen may die, but an Exousia would survive, as Light has mentioned is possible. They aren't linked? Did we have predecessors, before the two girls who were killed in the Wrath disaster?
Is there anything else we would like to know about our current situatiuon? Anything about Eikons, and whether they can be transferred between Exousia? It might become relevant when it comes to Envy...
- [X] Why were we chosen?
- [X] Where did the Sins come from?
- [X] Why did they come here?
- [X] What was up with the vision after Lust died?
They don't want to talk about it, but now that we know they had a hand in this it might make them more talkative?
I'd add one more.
- [X] What's the deal with magical feedback?
Jen already knows that the more they use it, the worse it gets. Well, how much worse can it get? What to expect? I think she'd ask that if only to try and avoid hurting Shadows again. Speaking of, how does one get rid of unwelcome changes?
I am also kind of interested in the circumstances in which a Chosen may die, but an Exousia would survive, as Light has mentioned is possible. They aren't linked? Did we have predecessors, before the two girls who were killed in the Wrath disaster?
Is there anything else we would like to know about our current situatiuon? Anything about Eikons, and whether they can be transferred between Exousia? It might become relevant when it comes to Envy...
Last edited:
Episode 3: The Offensive: Part 20
Kadmus
Dragon's teeth are surprisingly hard to sow
- Location
- Devon
- Pronouns
- He/Him
AN: Enjoy the bigger Friday update!
Part 20
Sunday, Week 2
You find out, much to your regret, that Connie snores. It doesn't stop you from sleeping – the nightmares do that perfectly well all on their own, thank you very much. Your sleep is sporadic and interrupted by dreams of suffocation in freezing darkness, of holding the axe as you cut through everyone you've ever loved, of losing yourself to something you don't understand. You're not afraid of what might happen to you – that's never been something that scares you.
You're afraid of happening to other people.
You've always though you were in fairly tight control of your anger, despite the shouting matches and furious arguments you sometimes get into, but yesterday showed that isn't necessarily the case any more. You turn on your side and wedge your head against your folded arms, trying to escape a discomfort that's purely emotional, and stare at the window.
You wake up what feels like seconds later, but the sunlight leaking in through your old, cheap floral-print curtains puts paid to that impression. You mutter curses under your breath as you turn onto your back, arms flopping out to either side, and blink the bleariness out of your vision. As you sit up, you notice Connie's absence, and the pile of bandages she's left on the bed; the shower is running, so you guess that's where she is.
Well, no point laying about now that the day's started, you suppose. You fumble your way out of the sleeping back and struggle to your feet, covering your yawn with one hand, and head downstairs, your bare feet padding across the worn carpet. You drag your hair back into a sloppy ponytail as you go, wincing at the feel of all the knots and snarls you're going to have to comb out later. This is why you usually braid your hair before bed.
Your grandma is already gone for the day – a quick glance at the clock confirms that it's well past when she starts her shift. You busy yourself in the kitchen, boiling the kettle so you can make some tea and – you're making an educated guess here – sweet, milky coffee for Connie. Peanut butter and toast will do for breakfast, and you make a mental note to try and pick up some more of the former when you get the chance and the money.
You lean against the counter and think while you eat breakfast, staring at the yellowed tiles behind your stove top without really looking. You want to talk to Leliel, today. It's well past time you had some answers about all of this, and you're starting to find the Exousia's absence a little conspicuous. It was bothering you every day, before you met with the other Chosen, and now it barely talks to you at all. Maybe that's normal; none of the others seem to talk to their Exousiai much, either.
You're jolted out of your musings by Connie's arrival in the kitchen. She's still not wearing the bandages, although she's changed back into her previous outfit; you can't see any sign of the crystals on her skin.
"Hey," you say, sliding her plate and mug over to her. "The crystal stuff gone?"
She nods, a small smile on her face, and starts eating. "Ye-yeah. Um, the- the wings are, um, still there, though."
"Ah, shit," you mutter. "Let me know if you want me to get in touch with Light or anything, then."
She shrugs, staring down into her mug of coffee. "I-it's fine. I'll, um, I'll be fine."
"If you're sure," you say. "I'm gonna talk to Leliel today, try and wring some answers out of it. You want in?"
Connie shakes her head. "No- no thank you. Um, I should- I should head home, and, um, like, try and figure some stuff out."
"Okay. Give me or Inoue a call if you need something, though. Pretty sure one of us could help."
Connie's smile breaks through into something genuine, something that shows teeth, even as she flushes a little at the attention. "U-um, if- if that's okay. Thank- thank you for, um, for, like, letting me sleep over. I had fun."
You snort into your tea, narrowing your eyes at her in mock menace. "I know the truth, Connie," you say. "You just enjoyed hearing all the embarrassing stories."
"N-no! I mean, um, I d-did like that- but, um, I just- I liked having fun?" she stammers, trying to defend herself.
"It was a joke, Connie," you say, smiling carefully. "Don't worry about it. Grandma loves to make me squirm, and it made you laugh, so it was all in good fun."
"O-oh! That- that's good," she says, looking relieved. "It, um, it just, like, seems really weird, you know?"
"Yeah, grandma can get pretty weird."
"I-I mean, like, you, um, you always seem pretty... like, um, focussed? And, like, it's weird to see you, um, acting like a normal person?"
She hunches her shoulders a little at that statement, like she's expecting some sort of retaliation.
"Huh. Never seen myself that way," you say, shrugging. "But I guess I can see where you're coming from. Doubt anyone's behaving the way they normally would, given the situation we're in."
Connie nods, and works on her breakfast with a speed and enthusiasm you'd never be able to match. She finishes quickly, drinks her coffee, and wipes her face.
"Just put the dishes in the sink, I'll sort 'em out," you say.
"Th-thanks," she stammers. "Um, I- I think I'm going to, like, head off now? If that's okay?"
You stare at her for a moment, confused as to why she's asking your permission, but finally give a mental shrug and chalk it up to 'weird Shadows things'.
"Sure," you say. "No problem. Like I said, drop me a line if you need anything."
She nods, once, more a ducking of her head than a sign of agreement, and scurries out of the kitchen. The wings are still obviously there – although not obviously wings, to look at – but she seems a little more confident and a little happier now that the crystals have disappeared from her skin.
You follow her out, wave goodbye as she heads off down the street, and then lock the door back up and wash up the dishes. You debate taking a shower, but decide not to bother until you've talked to Leliel. It's not like you have to impress it or anything; you're pretty sure it's always watching from wherever it happens to be. Which is exceptionally creepy, now that you think about it, but then what did you expect from a strange alien light-orb?
You head up to your bedroom and sit on the bed, legs folded, back resting against the wall, and sigh. No more putting this off.
"Leliel?" you say.
It appears in a wash of soft white light, hovering above the end of your bed, and chimes once.
"Chosen," it says. "You wished to discuss with me."
"Yeah, got a few questions. Stuff I probably should have asked ages ago, really," you say.
"Ask. I will answer the the best of my abilities and knowledge."
You scratch at you knee, thinking. "Okay, the first thing is – why me? Why us? Of all the people in the city, why a bunch of incompatible teenaged girls?"
"We selected the most appropriate individuals for our gifts," the Exousia says in its childish monotone. "My gift supports direct attack, and so I chose someone who would be ideal for it. As for why teenaged girls? You lack the understanding of the nature of reality to understand the true explanation."
You scowl.
"Put simply, the demographic category designated as 'teenaged girls' is the one with the greatest magical potential. This is a lie, but it is as close to the truth as I can communicate to you," Leliel continues.
"Try me," you say.
"Very well." Leliel pauses, and then you collapse sideways, blind. "You comprehend, now? Understanding is mentally, spiritually, and biologically beyond your entire species."
You hold in the panicked scream that's threatening to escape your throat and blink furiously, trying to clear your sight. You feel your breathing speed up as you're reminded of the cold and the dark and-
Your vision begins to fade back in, and you let out a long, shaky exhale, trying to ignore the tears that are threatening to form.
"That-" you say, voice cracking. "Okay. Okay, I'm- I'm fine. I'm fine."
"The damage was temporary and you will make a full recovery. I would not deliberately damage my Chosen in such a way as to impair their ability to carry out their duty. That would be counterproductive."
That damned monotone never changes, never alters, never wavers. Leliel could be describing atrocities or describing utopia, and there would be no difference.
You shudder a little as you push yourself back upright.
"Okay. So. Moving- moving on," you say, finally arranging your thoughts back into the proper order. "Where did the Sins come from? What are they? Why are they here?"
The Exousia bobs once, and chimes three times. "As one of your sayings goes, 'know your enemy', correct? There is wisdom in that idea. The Egregoroi were once the same species as the Exousiai, long ago. We took separate evolutionary paths, however, once we were able to travel through space."
You nod. That- sort of makes sense? There's definitely a connection between the two, you figured that much out on your own.
"We chose to name ourselves Exousiai in your languages after a group we considered we were analogous to, and likewise named the Egregoroi for their analogous group. As to why they are on your planet, it is what they do. They are magical parasitoids. Members of their species are sent out in all directions in search of sapient species. When they find a suitable species, they attach to the energy produced by certain magically active thoughts – what you call 'emotions' – and warp themselves to feed upon and encourage that set of magically active thoughts in the host species. Once they have taken as much energy from the planet as they can, they will have killed every member of their host species. The remaining Egregoroi will then combine together and use that energy to move to the next suitable planet."
"So they're like... space ticks?" you say, casting about for the right comparison. "Or, uh, space tapeworms or something?"
"A closer representative would be one of the many species of parasitoid fungus on this planet," it says. "But that is an accurate close estimate."
"Alright, so the Sins are a sort of, uh, space fungus parasite version of you. Why do you pick Chosen to fight them, then?"
"Because they are in competition for the resources we also value," Leliel says. "The Exsousiai feed on the energy released by magically active thoughts, but we do not encourage them, nor do we injure the species we feed upon. To use an analogy from this planet, if the Egregoroi are parasitoid fungi, the Exousiai are trees; we use the things you produce, which are of no further use to you."
"Waitwaitwait," you say, staring at the glowing orb. "You eat emotions? What? That- isn't that dangerous-"
"As I said," it interrupts. "We feed on the energy released by magically active thoughts. We do not feed on the magically active thoughts themselves. Another analogy would be that we collect the heat you emit, if that is easier for your mind to understand."
"...that- that... makes a little bit of sense?" you say, half to yourself. "So you're not doing this out of the goodness of your hearts?"
"We do not possess what you would consider conventional biology," it says. "We do not have hearts. Would you believe an alien species that wished to help you because its morality aligned with yours? We consider that such a thing would be unlikely at best. It is in our mutual best interests to see the Egregoroi destroyed, however, so it is simple to understand why we should co-operate with one another."
"I mean, I guess? It still seems kind of... weird," you say. "But, uh, I'm talking to a floating orb of light about alien parasitoids, so weird is relative. I might come back to that one. Next question is, we all had a vision when the Sin got destroyed. What happened there? It was... cold and dark and I was dying."
"It was likely a memory that the Egregore possessed. Whether it was from one of the many minds it consumed, or a memory from the Egregore itself, I could not say. I would not pay it too much attention; it was, I suspect, a final attempt to attack you upon the Egregore realising it was about to be defeated."
You can buy that. It makes sense – a final, last ditch attempt to take you down with it.
"The really big one I need to know about is all this... this magical feedback stuff that's been happening to us. Why is it happening? Is it gonna get worse?" you say, some of your frustration bleeding into your voice. "Are we all gonna look like a freakshow by the time this is done, if we don't die before then?"
You wince at your thoughtless words, thinking back to the way you treated Connie yesterday when you had that brief moment of insanity, the way you thought about her. It's a little too close to what you just said.
"The human species is not optimised for the use of magic," Leliel says, bobbing slightly in place. "As a consequence, there is a certain amount of leakage whenever you utilise magical abilities. This permeates your metaphysical structure and can induce a variety of unusual behaviours, atypical phenomena and physical aberrations. The degree of severity depends upon the amount of magical contamination built up in your metaphysical structure; your gift includes an extrasensory ability that allows you to estimate the level of contamination, which you will have likely already noticed."
"The, uh, the pressure and the not-quite-headaches? I thought, well, mostly I thought that was the adrenaline," you say. "You couldn't have, I dunno, given me a watch that shows the contamination or something?"
"If you wish to know the level of contamination to granular levels, you need only ask me to analyse you," Leliel says. "As you have not yet done so, I have not performed this analysis."
"Great," you say, flopping sideways again, this time of your own volition, and placing an arm over your eyes. "Great. You could have told us all about it, but we didn't ask? You don't have any sense of initiative or anything?"
"If I attempted to tell you everything that we know that you do not, we would be here until you died of old age, and you would not have been informed of a single percentage of that information," Leliel says. "If you require information, ask us about that information."
You growl and bare your teeth, frustrated with the strange, half-obstructionist half-helpful attitude your Exousia has. "Is there any way to get rid of the contamination? Or the stuff it does to us, like Shadows' wings?"
"The only way to remove the contamination from your metaphysical structure is for it to express itself. The temporary physical aberrations may be counteracted by a sufficiently complex or powerful sorcerous intervention. The Chosen designated Princess Midnight Shadows would be able to successfully perform such an intervention in a small majority of attempts, although I would recommend using the Chosen designated Blinding Midday Light for any such interventions."
"Temporary?" you murmur. "So there's permanent stuff, too."
"Sorcerous intervention to remove permanent physical aberrations is significantly more challenging."
"Well, that's just fucking perfect, isn't it?" you say.
You heave a sigh, and curl up on the bed.
"If that is all the questions you require answers to, I will depart," Leliel says.
"Yeah, sure," you say. "Ugh."
What do you do for thee rest of the day?
[] Spend time with a friend.
- [] Who?
[] Hang out with one of the other Chosen.
- [] Angel.
- [] Shadows.
- [] Miz.
[] Organise a 'sorcerous intervention' to help Shadows and Angel.
- [] Use your favour to get Light to help.
- [] Get Shadows to do it.
[] Attend the Mayor's address to the city.
- [] With who? (Pick two)
[] Write in.
Vote results:
[X] Interrogate Leliel
- [X] Why were we chosen?
- [X] Where did the Sins come from?
- [X] Why did they come here?
- [X] What was up with the vision after Lust died?
- [X] What's the deal with magical feedback?
[X] Interrogate Leliel
- [X] Why were we chosen?
- [X] Where did the Sins come from?
- [X] Why did they come here?
- [X] What was up with the vision after Lust died?
- [X] What's the deal with magical feedback?
Part 20
Sunday, Week 2
You find out, much to your regret, that Connie snores. It doesn't stop you from sleeping – the nightmares do that perfectly well all on their own, thank you very much. Your sleep is sporadic and interrupted by dreams of suffocation in freezing darkness, of holding the axe as you cut through everyone you've ever loved, of losing yourself to something you don't understand. You're not afraid of what might happen to you – that's never been something that scares you.
You're afraid of happening to other people.
You've always though you were in fairly tight control of your anger, despite the shouting matches and furious arguments you sometimes get into, but yesterday showed that isn't necessarily the case any more. You turn on your side and wedge your head against your folded arms, trying to escape a discomfort that's purely emotional, and stare at the window.
You wake up what feels like seconds later, but the sunlight leaking in through your old, cheap floral-print curtains puts paid to that impression. You mutter curses under your breath as you turn onto your back, arms flopping out to either side, and blink the bleariness out of your vision. As you sit up, you notice Connie's absence, and the pile of bandages she's left on the bed; the shower is running, so you guess that's where she is.
Well, no point laying about now that the day's started, you suppose. You fumble your way out of the sleeping back and struggle to your feet, covering your yawn with one hand, and head downstairs, your bare feet padding across the worn carpet. You drag your hair back into a sloppy ponytail as you go, wincing at the feel of all the knots and snarls you're going to have to comb out later. This is why you usually braid your hair before bed.
Your grandma is already gone for the day – a quick glance at the clock confirms that it's well past when she starts her shift. You busy yourself in the kitchen, boiling the kettle so you can make some tea and – you're making an educated guess here – sweet, milky coffee for Connie. Peanut butter and toast will do for breakfast, and you make a mental note to try and pick up some more of the former when you get the chance and the money.
You lean against the counter and think while you eat breakfast, staring at the yellowed tiles behind your stove top without really looking. You want to talk to Leliel, today. It's well past time you had some answers about all of this, and you're starting to find the Exousia's absence a little conspicuous. It was bothering you every day, before you met with the other Chosen, and now it barely talks to you at all. Maybe that's normal; none of the others seem to talk to their Exousiai much, either.
You're jolted out of your musings by Connie's arrival in the kitchen. She's still not wearing the bandages, although she's changed back into her previous outfit; you can't see any sign of the crystals on her skin.
"Hey," you say, sliding her plate and mug over to her. "The crystal stuff gone?"
She nods, a small smile on her face, and starts eating. "Ye-yeah. Um, the- the wings are, um, still there, though."
"Ah, shit," you mutter. "Let me know if you want me to get in touch with Light or anything, then."
She shrugs, staring down into her mug of coffee. "I-it's fine. I'll, um, I'll be fine."
"If you're sure," you say. "I'm gonna talk to Leliel today, try and wring some answers out of it. You want in?"
Connie shakes her head. "No- no thank you. Um, I should- I should head home, and, um, like, try and figure some stuff out."
"Okay. Give me or Inoue a call if you need something, though. Pretty sure one of us could help."
Connie's smile breaks through into something genuine, something that shows teeth, even as she flushes a little at the attention. "U-um, if- if that's okay. Thank- thank you for, um, for, like, letting me sleep over. I had fun."
You snort into your tea, narrowing your eyes at her in mock menace. "I know the truth, Connie," you say. "You just enjoyed hearing all the embarrassing stories."
"N-no! I mean, um, I d-did like that- but, um, I just- I liked having fun?" she stammers, trying to defend herself.
"It was a joke, Connie," you say, smiling carefully. "Don't worry about it. Grandma loves to make me squirm, and it made you laugh, so it was all in good fun."
"O-oh! That- that's good," she says, looking relieved. "It, um, it just, like, seems really weird, you know?"
"Yeah, grandma can get pretty weird."
"I-I mean, like, you, um, you always seem pretty... like, um, focussed? And, like, it's weird to see you, um, acting like a normal person?"
She hunches her shoulders a little at that statement, like she's expecting some sort of retaliation.
"Huh. Never seen myself that way," you say, shrugging. "But I guess I can see where you're coming from. Doubt anyone's behaving the way they normally would, given the situation we're in."
Connie nods, and works on her breakfast with a speed and enthusiasm you'd never be able to match. She finishes quickly, drinks her coffee, and wipes her face.
"Just put the dishes in the sink, I'll sort 'em out," you say.
"Th-thanks," she stammers. "Um, I- I think I'm going to, like, head off now? If that's okay?"
You stare at her for a moment, confused as to why she's asking your permission, but finally give a mental shrug and chalk it up to 'weird Shadows things'.
"Sure," you say. "No problem. Like I said, drop me a line if you need anything."
She nods, once, more a ducking of her head than a sign of agreement, and scurries out of the kitchen. The wings are still obviously there – although not obviously wings, to look at – but she seems a little more confident and a little happier now that the crystals have disappeared from her skin.
You follow her out, wave goodbye as she heads off down the street, and then lock the door back up and wash up the dishes. You debate taking a shower, but decide not to bother until you've talked to Leliel. It's not like you have to impress it or anything; you're pretty sure it's always watching from wherever it happens to be. Which is exceptionally creepy, now that you think about it, but then what did you expect from a strange alien light-orb?
You head up to your bedroom and sit on the bed, legs folded, back resting against the wall, and sigh. No more putting this off.
"Leliel?" you say.
It appears in a wash of soft white light, hovering above the end of your bed, and chimes once.
"Chosen," it says. "You wished to discuss with me."
"Yeah, got a few questions. Stuff I probably should have asked ages ago, really," you say.
"Ask. I will answer the the best of my abilities and knowledge."
You scratch at you knee, thinking. "Okay, the first thing is – why me? Why us? Of all the people in the city, why a bunch of incompatible teenaged girls?"
"We selected the most appropriate individuals for our gifts," the Exousia says in its childish monotone. "My gift supports direct attack, and so I chose someone who would be ideal for it. As for why teenaged girls? You lack the understanding of the nature of reality to understand the true explanation."
You scowl.
"Put simply, the demographic category designated as 'teenaged girls' is the one with the greatest magical potential. This is a lie, but it is as close to the truth as I can communicate to you," Leliel continues.
"Try me," you say.
"Very well." Leliel pauses, and then you collapse sideways, blind. "You comprehend, now? Understanding is mentally, spiritually, and biologically beyond your entire species."
You hold in the panicked scream that's threatening to escape your throat and blink furiously, trying to clear your sight. You feel your breathing speed up as you're reminded of the cold and the dark and-
Your vision begins to fade back in, and you let out a long, shaky exhale, trying to ignore the tears that are threatening to form.
"That-" you say, voice cracking. "Okay. Okay, I'm- I'm fine. I'm fine."
"The damage was temporary and you will make a full recovery. I would not deliberately damage my Chosen in such a way as to impair their ability to carry out their duty. That would be counterproductive."
That damned monotone never changes, never alters, never wavers. Leliel could be describing atrocities or describing utopia, and there would be no difference.
You shudder a little as you push yourself back upright.
"Okay. So. Moving- moving on," you say, finally arranging your thoughts back into the proper order. "Where did the Sins come from? What are they? Why are they here?"
The Exousia bobs once, and chimes three times. "As one of your sayings goes, 'know your enemy', correct? There is wisdom in that idea. The Egregoroi were once the same species as the Exousiai, long ago. We took separate evolutionary paths, however, once we were able to travel through space."
You nod. That- sort of makes sense? There's definitely a connection between the two, you figured that much out on your own.
"We chose to name ourselves Exousiai in your languages after a group we considered we were analogous to, and likewise named the Egregoroi for their analogous group. As to why they are on your planet, it is what they do. They are magical parasitoids. Members of their species are sent out in all directions in search of sapient species. When they find a suitable species, they attach to the energy produced by certain magically active thoughts – what you call 'emotions' – and warp themselves to feed upon and encourage that set of magically active thoughts in the host species. Once they have taken as much energy from the planet as they can, they will have killed every member of their host species. The remaining Egregoroi will then combine together and use that energy to move to the next suitable planet."
"So they're like... space ticks?" you say, casting about for the right comparison. "Or, uh, space tapeworms or something?"
"A closer representative would be one of the many species of parasitoid fungus on this planet," it says. "But that is an accurate close estimate."
"Alright, so the Sins are a sort of, uh, space fungus parasite version of you. Why do you pick Chosen to fight them, then?"
"Because they are in competition for the resources we also value," Leliel says. "The Exsousiai feed on the energy released by magically active thoughts, but we do not encourage them, nor do we injure the species we feed upon. To use an analogy from this planet, if the Egregoroi are parasitoid fungi, the Exousiai are trees; we use the things you produce, which are of no further use to you."
"Waitwaitwait," you say, staring at the glowing orb. "You eat emotions? What? That- isn't that dangerous-"
"As I said," it interrupts. "We feed on the energy released by magically active thoughts. We do not feed on the magically active thoughts themselves. Another analogy would be that we collect the heat you emit, if that is easier for your mind to understand."
"...that- that... makes a little bit of sense?" you say, half to yourself. "So you're not doing this out of the goodness of your hearts?"
"We do not possess what you would consider conventional biology," it says. "We do not have hearts. Would you believe an alien species that wished to help you because its morality aligned with yours? We consider that such a thing would be unlikely at best. It is in our mutual best interests to see the Egregoroi destroyed, however, so it is simple to understand why we should co-operate with one another."
"I mean, I guess? It still seems kind of... weird," you say. "But, uh, I'm talking to a floating orb of light about alien parasitoids, so weird is relative. I might come back to that one. Next question is, we all had a vision when the Sin got destroyed. What happened there? It was... cold and dark and I was dying."
"It was likely a memory that the Egregore possessed. Whether it was from one of the many minds it consumed, or a memory from the Egregore itself, I could not say. I would not pay it too much attention; it was, I suspect, a final attempt to attack you upon the Egregore realising it was about to be defeated."
You can buy that. It makes sense – a final, last ditch attempt to take you down with it.
"The really big one I need to know about is all this... this magical feedback stuff that's been happening to us. Why is it happening? Is it gonna get worse?" you say, some of your frustration bleeding into your voice. "Are we all gonna look like a freakshow by the time this is done, if we don't die before then?"
You wince at your thoughtless words, thinking back to the way you treated Connie yesterday when you had that brief moment of insanity, the way you thought about her. It's a little too close to what you just said.
"The human species is not optimised for the use of magic," Leliel says, bobbing slightly in place. "As a consequence, there is a certain amount of leakage whenever you utilise magical abilities. This permeates your metaphysical structure and can induce a variety of unusual behaviours, atypical phenomena and physical aberrations. The degree of severity depends upon the amount of magical contamination built up in your metaphysical structure; your gift includes an extrasensory ability that allows you to estimate the level of contamination, which you will have likely already noticed."
"The, uh, the pressure and the not-quite-headaches? I thought, well, mostly I thought that was the adrenaline," you say. "You couldn't have, I dunno, given me a watch that shows the contamination or something?"
"If you wish to know the level of contamination to granular levels, you need only ask me to analyse you," Leliel says. "As you have not yet done so, I have not performed this analysis."
"Great," you say, flopping sideways again, this time of your own volition, and placing an arm over your eyes. "Great. You could have told us all about it, but we didn't ask? You don't have any sense of initiative or anything?"
"If I attempted to tell you everything that we know that you do not, we would be here until you died of old age, and you would not have been informed of a single percentage of that information," Leliel says. "If you require information, ask us about that information."
You growl and bare your teeth, frustrated with the strange, half-obstructionist half-helpful attitude your Exousia has. "Is there any way to get rid of the contamination? Or the stuff it does to us, like Shadows' wings?"
"The only way to remove the contamination from your metaphysical structure is for it to express itself. The temporary physical aberrations may be counteracted by a sufficiently complex or powerful sorcerous intervention. The Chosen designated Princess Midnight Shadows would be able to successfully perform such an intervention in a small majority of attempts, although I would recommend using the Chosen designated Blinding Midday Light for any such interventions."
"Temporary?" you murmur. "So there's permanent stuff, too."
"Sorcerous intervention to remove permanent physical aberrations is significantly more challenging."
"Well, that's just fucking perfect, isn't it?" you say.
You heave a sigh, and curl up on the bed.
"If that is all the questions you require answers to, I will depart," Leliel says.
"Yeah, sure," you say. "Ugh."
What do you do for thee rest of the day?
[] Spend time with a friend.
- [] Who?
[] Hang out with one of the other Chosen.
- [] Angel.
- [] Shadows.
- [] Miz.
[] Organise a 'sorcerous intervention' to help Shadows and Angel.
- [] Use your favour to get Light to help.
- [] Get Shadows to do it.
[] Attend the Mayor's address to the city.
- [] With who? (Pick two)
[] Write in.
- Location
- Bloomington, IN
[X] Attend the Mayor's address to the city.
- [X] With who? (Pick two)
- [X] Angel
- [X] Shadows
Gives us a chance to share the information we just gained, as well as intervene in the likely event a riot breaks out.
- [X] With who? (Pick two)
- [X] Angel
- [X] Shadows
Gives us a chance to share the information we just gained, as well as intervene in the likely event a riot breaks out.
- Location
- Canada
[X] Attend the Mayor's address to the city.
- [X] With who? (Pick two)
- [X] Angel
- [X] Shadows
- [X] With who? (Pick two)
- [X] Angel
- [X] Shadows
- Location
- St. Petersburg
I don't know how Jen feels about Connie, but I find her absolutely huggable. 
Fun to tease, too.
Hm. With the city being the primary beneficiary of our wish, I think keeping half an eye on major happenings makes sense.
[X] Attend the Mayor's address to the city.
- [X] With who? (Pick two)
- [X] Angel
- [X] Shadows
Angel indicated earlier that they are not very talkative when it comes to the Sins...
Fun to tease, too.
Hm. With the city being the primary beneficiary of our wish, I think keeping half an eye on major happenings makes sense.
[X] Attend the Mayor's address to the city.
- [X] With who? (Pick two)
- [X] Angel
- [X] Shadows
Did anyone else got the impression that Leliel is not entirely truthful here? Don't know why he'd need to misinform us when he can pretty much switch us off on a whim. Pretty disheartening, that.
Angel indicated earlier that they are not very talkative when it comes to the Sins...
Episode 3: The Offensive Part 21
Kadmus
Dragon's teeth are surprisingly hard to sow
- Location
- Devon
- Pronouns
- He/Him
AN: Apologies for the lateness on this one, it was a bit of a fight to get written.
Part 21
Sunday, Week 2
You finally pry yourself from your room around midday, after managing to snatch a couple more hours of sleep. You still feel pretty tired, physically and emotionally, but it's bearable at this point. You get showered and dressed and check the news, to make sure nothing terrible has happened overnight.
Luckily, it seems like the death of the Sin has calmed things down a little. No riots overnight, crime rates back down to their previous 'low' – well, the low you had before the whole city started going insane, not the low you had before the Sins arrived, but you'll take victories where you can find them. The mayor's supposed to be giving an address to the city this afternoon, outside city hall.
Perhaps it's worth going along to see what he says? It's not like you have much else better to do; there's no housework left that needs doing, you haven't had homework all week due to the aforementioned 'city going insane', and the gym's been shut since the start of the week, so you couldn't pick up a shift at work even if you wanted to.
You heave a heavy sigh at that thought. If it doesn't open again soon, you're going to have to find a new job, and that's going to be a pain in the ass, especially in this situation. It's not like anywhere's going to be hiring right now, other than construction work, and you aren't old enough – or qualified enough – to do that. No point worrying about it right now, though.
You lock the house behind you as you leave, and walk through the streets of the city towards the nearest bus stop, fiddling with your phone. You could make a bit of an event out of it, invite Angel and Shadows to come with you. Maybe it would be worth being there in costume; it'd be a great target for the Sin Chosen to hit if they wanted to undo everything you've worked for.
You shoot off a text to both of them, asking if they'll come along, and board the bus. It's crowded enough that you have to stand the whole way into town, and you spend the trip leaning against the window and glowering at the adverts inside the bus. 'Buy advert space now!' is the least irritating of the posters, but the rest of them seem to have the same model in a variety of different poses, selling different things; you're not really sure what they're trying to sell, exactly, but it's probably perfume. It's always perfume, if you can't tell what the fuck the poster is supposed to be selling. At least he's easy to look at.
You're happily distracted from your slightly rambling thoughts by your phone buzzing. Shadows has texted you back, letting you know that she'll meet you near the city hall. A few minutes later, you get a similar text from Angel. You're beginning to regret bothering to take the bus, but it's good to remind yourself that yes, you are still human, and you still need to remember that all these other people are relying on your for their continued survival. They're people, not insects, and there's always that little part of you that sees yourself as above them all somehow, so you sometimes need that reminder.
The bus judders to a stop at the city centre, and you get off and head towards the nearest convenient alleyway. Sometimes you think that half the city is alleyways. It's handy for you, though, especially now that you find yourself needing somewhere to duck into to transform almost every day. You do so now, after taking a quick look around to make sure no-one is watching you, changing from your frail mortal form into your superhuman enhanced one.
It feels more and more like this is the real you, the one in the armour with the power and the fire, instead of the tiny girl with a pair of bony fists and an attitude. You feel a smile start to grow on your face as you launch off the ground, land for an instant on the wall, hands and feet touching it just long enough to give you the friction to launch yourself higher and higher, over and over until you've scaled to the top of the roof.
You're not all that high, not yet; the city centre is mostly skyscrapers, but the area around city hall is lower, wider buildings, all the older administrative and business offices from when the city was first born. You're on top of one of those buildings right now, and you've given the police officers in black body armour quite a shock by appearing over the edge of the roof.
You stare at them and they stare at you, before their guns all snap up to point your way. Five guys with what look like assault rifles are staring down their sights at you, and you don't even feel nervous.
"Sorry!" you say, trying to smile disarmingly. You raise your arms slowly, hands spread, to show you're unarmed. "Look, I just want to watch the address, make sure nothing goes wrong, okay?"
The leader – or you guess he's the leader, he's the first one to speak, at least – gestures at you with his gun. "Down on the ground! You're under arrest!"
"Yeah, no," you say, deeply unimpressed. "If you're gonna freak like this, I'll leave, but you can't arrest me."
"This is your last warning," he says. "If you do not surrender, we will use force!"
You roll your eyes and drop backwards off the roof, vanishing out of sight without warning. Your hands tap against the wall to change your direction, and you shoot off down the gap between buildings, vanishing off into the distance through rapid wall-hops before the police even reach the edge of the roof to try and spot where you went.
That's plan one down. You head towards a higher building, one further away from the whole event, so that you can get a look and see if there is anywhere you can safely watch the address from. The police, thankfully, can't get everywhere, and they don't really need to – some of the spots you can reach are only viable because you're a superhuman powered by alien magic, and as such aren't under consideration as places that need to be locked down.
You find one such spot, and promptly colonise the narrow, unreachable ledge as your own. It's tucked under an overhang so it's out of the sun, and there's a pretty decent view of the podium that's already set up outside city hall. The crowds look like some of them have been here since this morning, and there are plenty of placards in sight – 'Stop the crime wave!' is the general gist of most of them, although 'Rioters in jail!' is also there.
Angel shows up about half an hour later, hoists herself up next to you, and leans back against the wall with a sigh.
"You okay?" you say.
"Yeah, just... family stuff, you know?" she says, eyes closed. "Glad for the excuse to leave the fuckin' house, really. Still got the eyes thing, by the way. You tried wearin' full-length shit in this weather? It's fuckin' miserable."
"Shadows' crystals disappeared overnight, so that's probably the sort of time frame you're looking at," you say, watching with horrified fascination as an eye opens on Angel's shoulder and looks around. "I talked to Leliel, and it says we should be able to get rid of the changes with magic."
"Or make 'em worse when we fuck up."
"Yeah, or that."
Angel smiles, eyes still closed, and seems to relax a little. "I wish life was this simple all the fuckin' time," she murmurs. "Know who the bad guys are, go kick 'em in the dick, go home. 'Least this way I know who the bad guys are."
"I feel you," you say, kicking your feet as you stare out over the masses of people. "Not like I can march up to Poverty or Inequality and punch its teeth out. Wish it wasn't destroying our city, though."
Angel nods, and the two of you lapse into comfortable silence as you wait, interrupted occasionally by Angel's soft snores. It's a good quarter of an hour later by the time Shadows shows up, pulling herself up to sit next to Angel.
"Hi," she says. "Um, I'm- I'm not too late, am I?"
"Nah," you say, narrowing your eyes as you focus on the podium. Looks like something's happening. "Think you're just in time, actually. Angel, wake up."
"Mm. Yeah, I'm up," she mumbles, rubbing at her eyes with one hand. "Hey, Shadows. It startin'?"
"Think so," you say.
You focus harder, and the area around the podium comes into sharp clarity. Another benefit of your enhanced abilities, it seems. There are people filing onto the little stage, a bunch of older men and women in suits and a some uniformed police officers. You vaguely recognise the suits as local politicians of some sort, and you can see the mayor stood next to the stage, having a quiet discussion with an older man in a uniform of some sort.
"Who's the guy in fancy dress?" you say, squinting.
"Um, that- that's the sheriff," Shadows says, holding her hands up against her eyebrows and leaning forwards a little like she's trying to protect her eyes from the sun. "The, um, the guy talking to the mayor?"
"Yeah. Huh, never seen him before."
"He ain't exactly the kinda guy you put on the television," Angel says. "Only reason he keeps getting' elected is all the fuckin' mob guys he knows."
"So just like the mayor, then?" you say, half-laughing. "Pretty sure you can buy him for half a sandwich."
"I, um, I think it takes a full meal?"
You and Angel blink in surprise, look at each other, then look at Shadows, smiling.
"Might be right, there," Angel says.
"Shh, he's starting."
He is indeed starting. He's ascended onto the stage while you were blackening his reputation, and he's now stood at the podium, a hand on either side of it, looking out at the crowd. He raises one hand to wave every now and then, but rapidly seems to be losing his patience. He's not a slim man, and in his full suit, under the heavy Nevada sun, even the three hundred dollar cowboy hat he's got on isn't stopping him from sweating like he's just run a marathon. He mops his face with a handkerchief, and taps the microphone with one finger, sending pulses of feedback across the plaza.
"Afternoon, folks!" he says, smiling that painted-on false smile of his. His teeth are white enough that the reflection of the sun from them is uncomfortable. "Now, I know you all are concerned about the recent state of affairs in the city-"
"No shit!" someone yells, getting a ripple of laughter from the crowd. The mayor doesn't react.
"-and to tell you the truth, so am I. I think we're all concerned about the way things have been going lately. The curfew has been less successful than we hoped, and the brave men and women in our emergency services are suffering under this workload. Business isn't doing so great. The tourists are leaving. Honestly, folks, if this keeps going the way it's going, we aren't going to have a city left by the end of the year." He pauses for breath, and to let it sink in for the crowd.
"He's telling the truth for once," you say, slightly amazed. "I think this might go down in history."
Angel chuckles and Shadows smiles nervously, while the mayor starts talking again.
"Of course, it isn't all bad news. The riots stopped last night, thanks to the unceasing efforts of the fine folks in the police force and the sheriffs office, please give them a hand."
There's a smattering of applause, but obviously not the overwhelming support the mayor was hoping for. He clears his throat and mops his face again.
"Now, the good people in the police department and the sheriff's office are overworked, here, and we've lost a lot of good people in the past couple of weeks. The governor has offered to activate the National Guard for us, and, folks, I'm mighty tempted to take him up on that offer if things get any worse. Last night gave me hope, and I really do not want to have to see troops on the streets of this fine city of ours. If we can keep that up, if we can keep people safe and let this whole crime wave blow over, well, it'll be back to business as usual by the end of the month. But if it does get worse again, and I'm not gonna lie to you all, it just might, I'm not gonna have a choice. I know you are all good, upright Americans," he adds, smiling that false smile of his again. "And I know you all don't want to see this city get worse. We can do this, but it's gonna need all of your help. Thank you!"
He leans back from the microphone to a slightly larger swell of applause, mopping his face yet again. Nevada was not the best state for this man to live in, that much is obvious.
"That's all?" Angel says, looking disappointed. "Huh. I ain't saying I wanted a mob of Sin-Eaten to rush the stage, but it woulda been exciting."
"We don't want exciting, we want the city to stop tearing itself to shreds," you remind her. "I don't like the sound of the National Guard coming in though. That could get ugly."
"Yeah."
You chat for a few more minutes while the politicians depart, watching the crowd as it disperses, but there's still no sudden violence or unprovoked riot. The mayor's speech a couple of weeks ago was more violent than this, which is good. You get the feeling that people aren't happy, but they're no longer quite so driven to insane extremes as they were.
For now.
END EPISODE 3
Monday. School is open again, so you should probably show up for that. What do you do afterwards?
[] Spend time with a friend.
- [] Who?
[] Hang out with one of the other Chosen.
- [] Angel.
- [] Shadows.
- [] Miz.
[] Investigate a Sin.
- [] Which?
- [] With who?
[] Investigate a Sin Chosen.
- [] Which?
- [] With who?
[] Hunt Sin-Eaten.
- [] What kind (Any but Lust and Envy)
[] Write in.
Vote results:
[] Attend the Mayor's address to the city. - 4 votes.
- [] Angel. - 4 votes.
- [] Shadows. - 4 votes.
[] Attend the Mayor's address to the city. - 4 votes.
- [] Angel. - 4 votes.
- [] Shadows. - 4 votes.
Part 21
Sunday, Week 2
You finally pry yourself from your room around midday, after managing to snatch a couple more hours of sleep. You still feel pretty tired, physically and emotionally, but it's bearable at this point. You get showered and dressed and check the news, to make sure nothing terrible has happened overnight.
Luckily, it seems like the death of the Sin has calmed things down a little. No riots overnight, crime rates back down to their previous 'low' – well, the low you had before the whole city started going insane, not the low you had before the Sins arrived, but you'll take victories where you can find them. The mayor's supposed to be giving an address to the city this afternoon, outside city hall.
Perhaps it's worth going along to see what he says? It's not like you have much else better to do; there's no housework left that needs doing, you haven't had homework all week due to the aforementioned 'city going insane', and the gym's been shut since the start of the week, so you couldn't pick up a shift at work even if you wanted to.
You heave a heavy sigh at that thought. If it doesn't open again soon, you're going to have to find a new job, and that's going to be a pain in the ass, especially in this situation. It's not like anywhere's going to be hiring right now, other than construction work, and you aren't old enough – or qualified enough – to do that. No point worrying about it right now, though.
You lock the house behind you as you leave, and walk through the streets of the city towards the nearest bus stop, fiddling with your phone. You could make a bit of an event out of it, invite Angel and Shadows to come with you. Maybe it would be worth being there in costume; it'd be a great target for the Sin Chosen to hit if they wanted to undo everything you've worked for.
You shoot off a text to both of them, asking if they'll come along, and board the bus. It's crowded enough that you have to stand the whole way into town, and you spend the trip leaning against the window and glowering at the adverts inside the bus. 'Buy advert space now!' is the least irritating of the posters, but the rest of them seem to have the same model in a variety of different poses, selling different things; you're not really sure what they're trying to sell, exactly, but it's probably perfume. It's always perfume, if you can't tell what the fuck the poster is supposed to be selling. At least he's easy to look at.
You're happily distracted from your slightly rambling thoughts by your phone buzzing. Shadows has texted you back, letting you know that she'll meet you near the city hall. A few minutes later, you get a similar text from Angel. You're beginning to regret bothering to take the bus, but it's good to remind yourself that yes, you are still human, and you still need to remember that all these other people are relying on your for their continued survival. They're people, not insects, and there's always that little part of you that sees yourself as above them all somehow, so you sometimes need that reminder.
The bus judders to a stop at the city centre, and you get off and head towards the nearest convenient alleyway. Sometimes you think that half the city is alleyways. It's handy for you, though, especially now that you find yourself needing somewhere to duck into to transform almost every day. You do so now, after taking a quick look around to make sure no-one is watching you, changing from your frail mortal form into your superhuman enhanced one.
It feels more and more like this is the real you, the one in the armour with the power and the fire, instead of the tiny girl with a pair of bony fists and an attitude. You feel a smile start to grow on your face as you launch off the ground, land for an instant on the wall, hands and feet touching it just long enough to give you the friction to launch yourself higher and higher, over and over until you've scaled to the top of the roof.
You're not all that high, not yet; the city centre is mostly skyscrapers, but the area around city hall is lower, wider buildings, all the older administrative and business offices from when the city was first born. You're on top of one of those buildings right now, and you've given the police officers in black body armour quite a shock by appearing over the edge of the roof.
You stare at them and they stare at you, before their guns all snap up to point your way. Five guys with what look like assault rifles are staring down their sights at you, and you don't even feel nervous.
"Sorry!" you say, trying to smile disarmingly. You raise your arms slowly, hands spread, to show you're unarmed. "Look, I just want to watch the address, make sure nothing goes wrong, okay?"
The leader – or you guess he's the leader, he's the first one to speak, at least – gestures at you with his gun. "Down on the ground! You're under arrest!"
"Yeah, no," you say, deeply unimpressed. "If you're gonna freak like this, I'll leave, but you can't arrest me."
"This is your last warning," he says. "If you do not surrender, we will use force!"
You roll your eyes and drop backwards off the roof, vanishing out of sight without warning. Your hands tap against the wall to change your direction, and you shoot off down the gap between buildings, vanishing off into the distance through rapid wall-hops before the police even reach the edge of the roof to try and spot where you went.
That's plan one down. You head towards a higher building, one further away from the whole event, so that you can get a look and see if there is anywhere you can safely watch the address from. The police, thankfully, can't get everywhere, and they don't really need to – some of the spots you can reach are only viable because you're a superhuman powered by alien magic, and as such aren't under consideration as places that need to be locked down.
You find one such spot, and promptly colonise the narrow, unreachable ledge as your own. It's tucked under an overhang so it's out of the sun, and there's a pretty decent view of the podium that's already set up outside city hall. The crowds look like some of them have been here since this morning, and there are plenty of placards in sight – 'Stop the crime wave!' is the general gist of most of them, although 'Rioters in jail!' is also there.
Angel shows up about half an hour later, hoists herself up next to you, and leans back against the wall with a sigh.
"You okay?" you say.
"Yeah, just... family stuff, you know?" she says, eyes closed. "Glad for the excuse to leave the fuckin' house, really. Still got the eyes thing, by the way. You tried wearin' full-length shit in this weather? It's fuckin' miserable."
"Shadows' crystals disappeared overnight, so that's probably the sort of time frame you're looking at," you say, watching with horrified fascination as an eye opens on Angel's shoulder and looks around. "I talked to Leliel, and it says we should be able to get rid of the changes with magic."
"Or make 'em worse when we fuck up."
"Yeah, or that."
Angel smiles, eyes still closed, and seems to relax a little. "I wish life was this simple all the fuckin' time," she murmurs. "Know who the bad guys are, go kick 'em in the dick, go home. 'Least this way I know who the bad guys are."
"I feel you," you say, kicking your feet as you stare out over the masses of people. "Not like I can march up to Poverty or Inequality and punch its teeth out. Wish it wasn't destroying our city, though."
Angel nods, and the two of you lapse into comfortable silence as you wait, interrupted occasionally by Angel's soft snores. It's a good quarter of an hour later by the time Shadows shows up, pulling herself up to sit next to Angel.
"Hi," she says. "Um, I'm- I'm not too late, am I?"
"Nah," you say, narrowing your eyes as you focus on the podium. Looks like something's happening. "Think you're just in time, actually. Angel, wake up."
"Mm. Yeah, I'm up," she mumbles, rubbing at her eyes with one hand. "Hey, Shadows. It startin'?"
"Think so," you say.
You focus harder, and the area around the podium comes into sharp clarity. Another benefit of your enhanced abilities, it seems. There are people filing onto the little stage, a bunch of older men and women in suits and a some uniformed police officers. You vaguely recognise the suits as local politicians of some sort, and you can see the mayor stood next to the stage, having a quiet discussion with an older man in a uniform of some sort.
"Who's the guy in fancy dress?" you say, squinting.
"Um, that- that's the sheriff," Shadows says, holding her hands up against her eyebrows and leaning forwards a little like she's trying to protect her eyes from the sun. "The, um, the guy talking to the mayor?"
"Yeah. Huh, never seen him before."
"He ain't exactly the kinda guy you put on the television," Angel says. "Only reason he keeps getting' elected is all the fuckin' mob guys he knows."
"So just like the mayor, then?" you say, half-laughing. "Pretty sure you can buy him for half a sandwich."
"I, um, I think it takes a full meal?"
You and Angel blink in surprise, look at each other, then look at Shadows, smiling.
"Might be right, there," Angel says.
"Shh, he's starting."
He is indeed starting. He's ascended onto the stage while you were blackening his reputation, and he's now stood at the podium, a hand on either side of it, looking out at the crowd. He raises one hand to wave every now and then, but rapidly seems to be losing his patience. He's not a slim man, and in his full suit, under the heavy Nevada sun, even the three hundred dollar cowboy hat he's got on isn't stopping him from sweating like he's just run a marathon. He mops his face with a handkerchief, and taps the microphone with one finger, sending pulses of feedback across the plaza.
"Afternoon, folks!" he says, smiling that painted-on false smile of his. His teeth are white enough that the reflection of the sun from them is uncomfortable. "Now, I know you all are concerned about the recent state of affairs in the city-"
"No shit!" someone yells, getting a ripple of laughter from the crowd. The mayor doesn't react.
"-and to tell you the truth, so am I. I think we're all concerned about the way things have been going lately. The curfew has been less successful than we hoped, and the brave men and women in our emergency services are suffering under this workload. Business isn't doing so great. The tourists are leaving. Honestly, folks, if this keeps going the way it's going, we aren't going to have a city left by the end of the year." He pauses for breath, and to let it sink in for the crowd.
"He's telling the truth for once," you say, slightly amazed. "I think this might go down in history."
Angel chuckles and Shadows smiles nervously, while the mayor starts talking again.
"Of course, it isn't all bad news. The riots stopped last night, thanks to the unceasing efforts of the fine folks in the police force and the sheriffs office, please give them a hand."
There's a smattering of applause, but obviously not the overwhelming support the mayor was hoping for. He clears his throat and mops his face again.
"Now, the good people in the police department and the sheriff's office are overworked, here, and we've lost a lot of good people in the past couple of weeks. The governor has offered to activate the National Guard for us, and, folks, I'm mighty tempted to take him up on that offer if things get any worse. Last night gave me hope, and I really do not want to have to see troops on the streets of this fine city of ours. If we can keep that up, if we can keep people safe and let this whole crime wave blow over, well, it'll be back to business as usual by the end of the month. But if it does get worse again, and I'm not gonna lie to you all, it just might, I'm not gonna have a choice. I know you are all good, upright Americans," he adds, smiling that false smile of his again. "And I know you all don't want to see this city get worse. We can do this, but it's gonna need all of your help. Thank you!"
He leans back from the microphone to a slightly larger swell of applause, mopping his face yet again. Nevada was not the best state for this man to live in, that much is obvious.
"That's all?" Angel says, looking disappointed. "Huh. I ain't saying I wanted a mob of Sin-Eaten to rush the stage, but it woulda been exciting."
"We don't want exciting, we want the city to stop tearing itself to shreds," you remind her. "I don't like the sound of the National Guard coming in though. That could get ugly."
"Yeah."
You chat for a few more minutes while the politicians depart, watching the crowd as it disperses, but there's still no sudden violence or unprovoked riot. The mayor's speech a couple of weeks ago was more violent than this, which is good. You get the feeling that people aren't happy, but they're no longer quite so driven to insane extremes as they were.
For now.
END EPISODE 3
Monday. School is open again, so you should probably show up for that. What do you do afterwards?
[] Spend time with a friend.
- [] Who?
[] Hang out with one of the other Chosen.
- [] Angel.
- [] Shadows.
- [] Miz.
[] Investigate a Sin.
- [] Which?
- [] With who?
[] Investigate a Sin Chosen.
- [] Which?
- [] With who?
[] Hunt Sin-Eaten.
- [] What kind (Any but Lust and Envy)
[] Write in.
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Khona Moshr
Pink Flamingo Cabal Healer(they/them)
- Location
- Alabama
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Spend time with a friend.
-[X]with Emily and Ostin.
-[X]with Emily and Ostin.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
'shift'. Though, all things considering...
Does she have her axe in some sort of hammer-space, able to take it out at will?
I always wondered if these new additions don't have any functionality. Like, does she see out of those eyes? Can Shadows fly with those wings? Don't know what one would do with crystals, though.
Just wondering, what is so bad about it? Other than them being vulnerable to the Sins as well and being armed to boot.
Sooo... checking on friends (we should reassure Emily that we are ok, at least - she knew where we were going yesterday), then pickin up the next fight and handling Light? Probably looking for work somewhere in-between.
[X] Spend time with a friend.
-[X]with Emily and Ostin.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
Wrath is already thoroughly 'scouted'. It's the Sin that iced the previous team of no less than four Chosen (Miz wasn't there, but I forgot if Angel was). The vertdict from the survivors was 'don't even think about it'.
Wrath is the most noticeable troublemaker in our city, since it's instigating the violence on the streets. It also has all the trappings of the final boss, unless there's some kind of twist at the end. We should take several Resolve upgrades before stepping near the Stadium for any reason.
I don't think we should do Sloth before we develop some Jake counter-measures (he is one of the more dangerous Chosen). Envy I'd leave for much later, once we leveled up our relationships with the others so we don't kill each other over its Eikon.
That leaves Pride, Greed or Gluttony. I'd be up for the latter two.
Wrath is the most noticeable troublemaker in our city, since it's instigating the violence on the streets. It also has all the trappings of the final boss, unless there's some kind of twist at the end. We should take several Resolve upgrades before stepping near the Stadium for any reason.
I don't think we should do Sloth before we develop some Jake counter-measures (he is one of the more dangerous Chosen). Envy I'd leave for much later, once we leveled up our relationships with the others so we don't kill each other over its Eikon.
That leaves Pride, Greed or Gluttony. I'd be up for the latter two.
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I don't think Wrath is actually the final boss here. Thats typically Pride or Sloth.
But Wrath is the most disruptive and we want to shut their Sin Chosen down first. With Wrath down the city will stabilize a lot.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
Which is why I don't think it'll be easy. We already have confirmation that the confrontation killed Hannah and gave Shadows and Light a... strong aversion to facing it again.
Edit: another reason why I think it's the strongest Sin is because anger, resentment and accompanying emotions are currently dominating the city. Before the curfew, everyone's first instinct was to arm themselves. Since the Sins feed off the emotions...
Hell, Angel is the driving force behind the Sin hunt, and even our gung-ho friend warns us not to mess with it until we are ready.
I can take a hint about where it belongs on the difficulty scale. Or half a dozen hints, with corpses attached. We need to pick our battles very carefully - if we lose even one more of our number, we are basically done for. Every won battle, however, makes us just a little bit stronger. So the order in which we do our missions is important.
Edit: another reason why I think it's the strongest Sin is because anger, resentment and accompanying emotions are currently dominating the city. Before the curfew, everyone's first instinct was to arm themselves. Since the Sins feed off the emotions...
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- Location
- St. Petersburg
Ah. For a moment there I thought you wanted to investigate a Sin.
Olivia gave us a hard time, though, and she wasn't even a fighter. I wonder if the Cynthia the Living Blender Girl is actually a Wrath Chosen.
I can certainly see it happening, but it would be risky. Its Eaten are one of the strongest ones we saw, so its Chosen might be too.
Olivia gave us a hard time, though, and she wasn't even a fighter. I wonder if the Cynthia the Living Blender Girl is actually a Wrath Chosen.
I can certainly see it happening, but it would be risky. Its Eaten are one of the strongest ones we saw, so its Chosen might be too.
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Well, getting rid of the Chosen in general seems a good start.
The Sins are POWERFUL, but from what we've seen they're kind of dumb.
Episode 4: Revenge: Part 1
Kadmus
Dragon's teeth are surprisingly hard to sow
- Location
- Devon
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Vote results:
[X] Spend time with a friend. - 5 votes.
- [X] Emily and Ostin. - 5 votes.
[X] Spend time with a friend. - 5 votes.
- [X] Emily and Ostin. - 5 votes.
Episode 4: Revenge
Part 1
Monday, Week 3
The bus ride to school is much, much better than it has been. People are still carrying weapons openly, but it feels like they're doing it more out of habit, now, than because they necessarily feel like they'll need them.
The school is in one piece, too, which is good. There's no more damage to it than there was before it shut down due to the riots, although there are fewer students in attendance than you'd usually see. Kids are vulnerable, you guess, and probably end up suffering the worst when this sort of thing happens. It's a grim thought, and you feel your mouth pull down in a grumpy snarl, but it's a thought you needed to have. Every little reminder of what you're fighting for helps. Every little reminder of what is lost when you don't fight helps.
You're ambushed at your locker by Emily. She grabs hold of you and pulls you into a rib-creaking hug, burying her face in your neck as she sniffles and shakes. You return the hug and ignore the dampness soaking against your neck as she cries, stroking her back and reassuring her that you're there. You texted her to let her know everything was okay after the fight ended, of course, but this is the first time she's seen you since you told her you were going off to possibly die. The guilt bites into your heart, the realisation that you've been abandoning your friend, even if it was for good reasons.
"I'm fine, Ems," you say, ignoring the looks you're getting. You're hardly the only set of friends crying and hugging, though, so the looks are more of sympathy than of condemnation. "I'm right here. Seriously."
She sniffles again and pulls back, letting go of you just long enough to punch you in the shoulder. "I was still so worried about you," she says. "I'm just glad you're okay."
You shrug awkwardly. "It went as well as we could've hoped," you say. "Everyone's fine, we won."
Emily smiles and wipes at her eyes, pushing up her glasses to wipe away the tears. "Good. Ugh, but you're going to do this to me six more times, Jen."
Another awkward shrug is the only response you can give. Thankfully, Ostin ambles up to you before you can get stuck in an awkwardness loop, looking irritated. His arm is still in its cast, and he's got his backpack slung across the other shoulder.
"Hi guys," he says. "So, who's taking notes for me today?"
His irritated look morphs into a sarcastic smile while the two of you stare back at him with matching arched eyebrows. He shudders theatrically at your synchronisation, and raises his uninjured arm to fend off your unimpressed gazes.
"I was joking," he protests. "Come on, it's not even my writing arm that's busted. I do want you to sign the cast, though."
You roll your eyes and Emily giggles, and Ostin pulls a pair of permanent markers from his pocket for the two of you to sign his cast with. You and Emily share a look, and the mischievous smirk on her lips makes you start to giggle too. The two of you very quickly decorate Ostin's cast with a malformed unicorn, making sure he can't see what you're doing until you're finished, and then the two of you sign beneath the incredibly bad picture.
You lean against each other and burst into full-fledged laughter at the poleaxed expression on Ostin's face. He stares down at the awful unicorn, resigned, and sighs.
"You know, I wonder why we're friends, sometimes," he grumbles. "I hope you're aware that this means war?"
"War?" you say, between bursts of laughter. "Well, do your worst!"
He points two fingers at his eyes, then at you, and then repeats the gesture towards Emily. The smile on his face belies his words, though, and you can tell he's cheered up from his irritation, at least for now.
"We still on for that little party you promised?" he says suddenly. "You, me, Ems, video games?"
"I'm up for it," Emily says. "Come on, Jen, it's been weeks since we thrashed Oz at his games."
"On the one hand, I'd feel bad about destroying him," you say. "On the other hand, he is literally asking for it. It has been a long time, huh? I'm definitely up for it."
The three of you grin at each other at that, glad to have something normal and relatable to to in the middle of all this madness. The moment is broken by the first bell, and the three of you head off to class.
Your mood drops as you see more empty seats, and drops further at the mention of more dead classmates. The lessons are subdued, the students quiet and mourning. You have to take a moment between classes to duck into one of the bathrooms, lock yourself into one of the stalls, and cry messily for ten straight minutes before you can concentrate on the lessons. It's not a proper solution, it's never going to be enough for the people you knew who don't exist any more, but it's all you can do right now.
The grim mood lasts all the way to the end of school, making lunch a slow and miserable affair. The knowledge of the losses hangs over the entire school like a leaden cloud, pressing down on the students and staff alike. Frankly, lessons can't be over fast enough for you, because all you want to do is leave, get away from the source and reminder of all this disquiet.
Finally, blissfully, the school day ends, and the three of you head out of the building as fast as you can. You catch the bus back to Ostin's, chatting quietly about the day, and the low mood sticks with you as you walk the last block or so to Ostin's home.
You heave out a sigh as you step into the house, and slap yourself on the cheeks hard enough to sting. "That's enough of that," you murmur.
Emily smiles faintly at your antics, and slips past you to invade Ostin's kitchen. From the sounds of it – and from knowing her for years – you can tell she's making tea. You follow after her and lean against one of the counters while she fiddles with the mugs and the kettle.
"I think that the day Ems enters my house and doesn't immediately make tea," Ostin says, leaning against the doorframe. "Is the day the world ends."
"She does have a problem," you say, smiling. "Might need an intervention."
Emily huffs, pretending to look grumpy as she boils the water. "I don't have a problem. I can stop any time I like."
You raise an eyebrow, and look pointedly at the tea bags.
"I just don't want to stop," she says. "Besides, both of you are just as addicted."
"I only drink tea when you're around," Ostin says, raising his uninjured hand. "I really don't have a problem."
"Yeah, I drink tea all the time," you say. "You're a tea pusher, Ems. It's really criminal, you know? Forcing innocent young people to drink that wicked brew."
"Are you saying you don't want a sweet chai?"
"Now, let's not be hasty," you say, raising both hands with your palms out. "I never said that."
"I heard you say you didn't want tea," she says, smiling wickedly. "Did you hear that, Ostin?"
"I am not getting involved in a tea fight," he says. "I like being in one piece, here."
You put on your best pout and flutter your eyelashes at Emily. "Come on, Ems, don't deprive me," you whine. "I didn't mean it."
"If you say so," she says, still smiling. "I will be magnanimous in victory this once."
You wipe imaginary sweat from your brow.
The three of you move through to the living room with your drinks, Ostin loaded down with a bunch of snacks as well. You get settled on the sofa, you on one end, Emily in the middle, and Ostin on the far end. Ostin turns on the Xbox, and then looks at his cast with a grumpy frown.
"Guess it's you two playing," he says. "Unless you want to watch me try to play with my feet."
"Ugh, no thank you," Emily says. She looks suspiciously at the controller she's holding. "You didn't?"
Ostin smirks at her, and she holds the controller away from her between forefinger and thumb.
"You are gross, Ostin," she says. "Seriously?"
"Nah," he says, chuckling. "I'm just screwing with you."
There's a moment's pause, before he continues.
"I used the one Jen's holding."
You look down at the controller, then back up at Ostin. "Thought I smelled cheese," you say blandly. Ostin bursts out laughing.
Emily scowls. "Both of you are gross. Come on, what are we playing?"
"Diablo?" you say. "That was pretty fun."
"You spent the whole time laughing maniacally while you smashed things with axes," Ostin says, shuddering. "I don't think I got to kill a single guy."
"You got the necromancer DLC, right?" Emily says, scrolling through the games to select the right one. "I wanted to try one out."
"They aren't as good as the wizard," Ostin says. "But yeah."
"The wizard that didn't get a single kill?" you say, grinning.
"I liked the witch doctor, and necromancer's a pet class too," Emily says, ignoring both of you. "I read all about it. You have to play something that isn't barbarian, though, Jen."
"But dual-wielding axes!"
"Go crusader," Ostin says, leaning back and opening a bag of chips with his teeth. "She even looks like you."
"Blonde and smashy?"
"Pretty much."
"Fine," you grumble.
The rest of the evening passes in loud, frantic enjoyment. You and Emily play – badly in your case, with terrifying precision in Emily's – while Ostin keeps up a running commentary. Mostly, he narrates the game like it's a wrestling match, and at one point he even stands on the sofa and starts gesturing wildly, while all of you laugh uncontrollably. You spend three or four hours just hanging out, playing games, and enjoying yourselves. It's like a whole different world from the one you've been submerged in recently, and it lightens your heart to be able to relax for once. You leave Ostin's house with a smile still on your face, and take the extra half hour to make sure Emily gets home safe.
All good things come to an end, though. As you walk towards the bus stop, a loud explosion rips through the twilight air, followed by a chorus of distant, terrified screams. It's a fair way away, not visible from where you are, but it's close enough that you can hear it.
What do you do?
[] Investigate.
[] Ignore it.
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