[X] (AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA) Ask the Paladin for how to handle this, she's had to have thought about something similar right?!?! RIGHT?!?!?! (Invoke: My Allies, Sigh)
[X] (REACT) Support Senaz a bit, and encourage her to just be honest. (Invoke: Human Paladin of Solaria)
The mental metaphors had all agreed - don't talk about the isekai part.
But then Jack, your roommate, less of an anime nerd than you but he has a few things, immediately okay not immediately but very quickly guessed the entire situation based on limited evidence.
… Like getting hit by a truck, the most stereotypical Isekai origin. And your stuff disappearing absurdly quickly, as if by magic. And fuck how are you going to keep this a secret from anyone ELSE?!?!
The papier maché flames burn in your mind, the projector is topped, your past self is running around…
… And you, in the real(ish) world, open the bathroom door, trying to get out and panic, to see the Paladin, sans her chainmail, gloves, and greaves, smiling as if she heard what you were saying "Wait what was I saying" - you don't realize you said that part aloud until she responds.
"Well, you were saying your clever plan of only sharing part of your situation fell entirely apart, and that 'he' - guessing one of your friends? - didn't guess the 'sane' answer. Though I do have to ask what the 'sane' answer is," she observes.
"... I don't know, but where I'm from, there's not multiple universes out there, so it's not the logical guess, right?! It's the realm of weird fiction that involves teenage girls who are good at firing off gigantic explosion magics!"
Helen pauses. "That's oddly specific, but first, BREATHE."
"Do I even breathe like you - yes, actually, I think I do, but - fuck how do I keep this a secret from my raid group if I can't keep it from my roommate, and-"
There's a hand on your shoulder. The energy from it is oddly soothing. You're pretty sure it's not any kind of manipulative anything, so…
You take a breath. "Wait, what was that?"
Helen's smile remains. "My divine powers aren't just for smiting, you know. You were panicking so much you were hurting your head, so I tried soothing the damage."
You pause. "... Wait, that works?"
"I don't know, honestly, but it got you to stop for a second. Were you this prone to anxiety in your past life?"
"Yes," you say, your tone slightly raised.
"Well, that's another sign that your past life is a bigger influence on you right now than your time as a Succubus. But, it also implies that maybe this isn't the lie you're going to be best at holding on to, and you probably shouldn't try it too much."
"... At least it's the roommate who clocked me for an egg who guessed and not Phil."
"... Can I see the texts?", Helen asks. "Maybe I can help you figure things out."
(Invoke: My Allies, Sigh - trying to count on her now might help if you need to count on her in a fight later.)
You quietly step back into the bathroom, then pass your phone out to her. Your heart is still racing… "Oh, um. The interface might be a bit different than-"
Helen scrolls up and down easily enough. "Yes, but if all I need to do is see the immediate texts, then - yeah, your stuff disappeared. Plus you said he's into 'isekai' fiction, right?"
"I mean, at least a little. It's hard to avoid it if you're into Anime these days - my Earth's time, I mean."
"... I don't think he knew until you were slow to respond to this text," Helen says with a chuckle. "But, I'd suggest just admitting it's true."
"... S-sure," you guess. "Doesn't that seem like it'll just make things worse, though?"
"Why?", Helen asks. "Serious question."
"... I." You pause. "... Well, it means I lied to Phil, and intended to keep lying to others."
"Yes, but if what you've said is true, I think Jack will understand. More than that… If you wanted to keep one foot back home, you shouldn't be afraid to do that, you know?"
"... I. I guess. Hopefully he won't ask to help," you respond. And then, you type the text: "Yeah, you got it, Jack. Isekai, and the first thing I wished for was communicating with home. And my stuff to do so."
The response starts to be typed immediately… And takes a moment or two, before: "I was joking, except also it's the most logical option I can think of given what I've seen, which is really weird but sure. Phil buys the witness protection thing, though, huh? I'll. Let him keep to that. He's probably moving soon anyhow, and I'd rather not deal with him going Baptist on me again."
You look to Helen, who is over your shoulder. She smiles. "Keep going," she says, and you begin to type again.
"Not wrong. But yeah… I guess it's not like, Permanent Goodbye unless I get killed here, but I doubt we are meeting face to face again."
Jack responds soon enough: "True enough. But, if you come up with a way a tireyard-worker weeb can help you out some, lemme know, all right? And I'd suggest you try to just tell your raid group. And maybe your job, if only to quit a bit more gently - sounds like you'll be busy."
Helen pauses, then speaks. "Mind, if you do have to pay bills and order stuff with local currency, keeping your job is…"
"A crap option," you reply, "but they'd be in trouble without me so at least it's one for now." You sigh a bit. "... Jack agrees with you on the 'just tell the truth' bit. Though… Wonder how he'll handle if I tell him the Succubus part."
Helen calmly puts two fingers around your phone. You tense… But let her have it. She quickly spins it around into her hand, makes a guess or two to get to the camera app, and simply instructs, "Go fully obvious. Horns, tail, wings, outfit."
You sputter. "N-no way, that's definitely too much, right?!"
"I think it's the less insane step, honestly," Helen replies. "Now, come on."
"R-right. Lemme type some text to go with it, though." You do decide on the Red Queen's uniform look, though. Except colored a dark purple along the non-sheer surfaces. Also, you pose with one hip out, and making a peace sign around one eye, tongue out and smiling like crazy.
The fake shutter noise is so validating. Helen does think to ask… "Is that some outfit of significance?"
"Eh. Kinda," you respond, moving back to standing more normally. "I was 'born' - reborn? - under the thumb of a Demon Lord, powerful Succubus who calls herself 'The Red Queen'. She liked her girls dressing almost identically, saluting her, and stuff like that. Kinda creepy, but I guess most ways a Succubus would rule would seem that way huh?"
"Militaristic, almost," Helen replies. "Or at least adjacent. But you seem to not like that? Then why wear the uniform?"
"Honestly, it's a really good look, it's got a tiny hint of taste to it while still being totally shameless, and… Well, I'm probably gonna be her enemy soon enough if I'm working with you, but for now, you know?"
Helen pauses. "Hmm. I guess. Certainly, it says 'hyperfeminine'." She passes the phone back. "But no chickening out."
You nod, and type, "So, yeah, my other wish was, um." And you attach the photo.
Jack's first response is "FUCKING HOT", in like two seconds. Then, he starts typing. "Sorry, is that insensitive? I only guessed you might be trans, but damn, you went all out and it's kinda awesome, seriously"
Helen can't help but smile. "Told you it'd be okay."
You pause a bit, looking back to the Paladin. "I mean, um."
… She was right, again. Freaking Paladins and their stronger moral centers. Even if they're motivated by different categorical imperatives.
Back to the text, you tell Jack, "I was kinda more thinking about it being useful at the time, but… Yeah, it's actually really validating to just own it and thanks for the vote of confidence honestly. Makes me think I might make this work."
Jack responds, "You've already seduced someone enough to run the camera for you, so good start!"
You don't even look at Helen before typing, "She's not charmed trust me". You pointedly ignore the giggle. Helen… Well, objectively, you guess this would be kinda funny, especially since she was near-instantly proven right. Fuck.
"Oh. Well, ally who you're willing to let handle your phone a bit at least, that's good right?"
"That's true, and I'll need it. But yeah. For now, please don't tell Phil, and I'll try to remember to keep in touch, okay?"
"Sounds good. Maybe if you, like, photolog your quest, you could put it online and sell it? Maybe that's a bad idea, though. Not sure. I mean - think about it maybe"
"I will," you respond. Then back to Helen. "... Can't say that's a good idea, if there's anyone else from my world here who is possibly an enemy. Also, I'm not great at photography."
"You could learn," Helen offers. "Maybe take the photos as you can, then decide if you're putting them up later."
"Right." You sigh. "Okay, that leaves two more big groups to worry about. My work, and my raid group. I should do the first one before tomorrow morning, if I want to keep working for them. The second should be before raid tomorrow evening, 6 PM - so like sundownish."
Helen thinks. "Well, doing the work bit before they're done today might be best, then. Maybe now's the time for that?"
[ ] (Work Timing) "You're probably right, lemme get on Teamramble and… Boss first, or the HR rep? Or both."
[ ] (Work Timing) "... Let's step outside a bit, first, I'm still kind of, how do I put it…"
[ ] (Work Timing) "No, I'm definitely saving that for the morning."
[ ] (But While We're Here) Now that you're in a more comfortable spot, possibly after dealing with the work thing, try to seduce the Paladin, magical charm and all, just to assert yourself a bit. The worst that could happen is much less severe now!
[ ] (But While We're Here) Now that you're in a more comfortable spot, possibly after dealing with the work thing, try to flirt with Helen, but nonmagically; good to treat her with respect, but getting closer to her might make you safer from her too right?
[ ] (But While We're Here) You're in a more comfortable spot, but not that comfortable - keep Helen at a bit of arm's length, but try to stay friendly.
[ ] (But While We're Here) Now that you're in a more comfortable spot, push back a bit on Helen. Being friendly with a Paladin still chafes your Succubus training rather hard.
***
Less complex of a choice pair this time. More importantly, by which I mean it's not very important, please note the introduction of a Discord channel mentioned in the previous tag and now linked alongside the character sheets - with Talia's permission and encouragement, I've piggybacked on the existing Isekai/Online server since there's plenty of fan overlap so far.
Voting concludes Noon PST Tuesday; write-ins accepted as well. (Under the current plan, I'm leaning three or four more posts before things start accelerating towards Chapter 1.)
