becomeanwarrior | [Private Event]

[ One would be forgiven for believing that the 6-foot-and-change chief of Sector Security was pacing around a room lit only by the dramatic lighting of thunderstorms. ]

Idiots! Morons! Airheads!

[ But the truth is stranger still. In one corner of the room is a full-length mirror that catches a sweeping beam of light that pours from Onni's eyes, and in reflecting it flash the room in bright light and start shadows both.]

How many times did I say it!? How many times did I warn those two specifically that we were on a collision course like this!? And how many times was the answer always the same!?

[ A stomping pace travels the length of the not-very-small room in moments. He swivels, and a flash of light illuminates the room for a second, caught in the mirror. ]

"It'll be fine." "It'll work out." "You're overreacting."

[ Stomp, stomp, STOMP. Swivel. FLASH. Light and shadow, with no room for midtones. ]

And now look! On top of every other mess, every other this coming apart at the seams, Kamala's learned the truth years ahead of the schedule! Exactly what I didn't want to happen! And she reacts just as you'd expect a teenager would!

[ He faces the mirror head-on, sweat pouring from his brow. His blue-green eyes shining golden with overpowering light, as they bathe the room in both luminous and furious incandescence. ]

Just once! Just once would people ACTUALLY LISTEN TO ME WHEN I SAY SOMETHING BAD IS GOING TO HAPPEN!? Is there anyone in this damn edge of all the worlds who can take a professional at his word!? Why do I even have the gift of reason is none of you are going to make use of it!?

AM I JUST A CLOWN TO YOU ALL!? [ He's just staring at the mirror, letting the light blind him and the room both, shadows reaching across the room from every point the light hits, as he rants. ]

Edited 2024-08-22 03:54 (UTC)

There's a small hum from one of the shadows that seems to twist a bit, letting out a breathless hiss. Then a huff, then a hrmph. And then Onni's reflection seems to shift, imperceptibly at first, but, no, the hair's a little longer, less kempt. Eyes a little narrower, then wider, as if the reflection is stretching its face out.

"If you're blue and you don't know where to go..." Comes a sing-song voice from the shadow that had hissed, the reflection trying to make the mouth match, but it's about a half-second off, adding an uncanny effect.

"Why don't you go to where fashion sits?" The shadow continues as bends through the light to make contact with the reflection, which is DECIDEDLY not Onni anymore, but wispier, wraith-like. Femininely androgynous, adjusting an ill-fitting suit as it leans up against the mirror.

"Clowns did once serve a purpose in medieval courts, but, that did require those in power to listen to them, which, alas, will never happen to you. I suggest getting that curse checked out." The reflection thing taps on the glass, a sickly smile appearing on its face. "Shall I fetch you your red nose and greasepaint? You'd look AWFUL in stripes and patterns and brights though."

Sullivan laughs now from every shadow, all having leering eyes and faces as the reflections smile and face twists with madness.

"Good to see you boss! Grab my hands and pull. I don't need to know anything besides that Da Eiza royally fucked up! Again! And good ol' reliable Onni was ignored. Again! Gods, it's the best drug a person can ask for. But if I count as a person anymore is a question for the philosophers..."

They take a step back in the mirror and reach out with their hands.

[ The shadows morphing and jeering at him is enough to almost make Onni lash out in further anger, before shock sets in and, finally, after a moment, recognition. A number of memories suddenly blinking back into existence and knotting themselves together as Onni's anger goes from the roiling fury to that almost tranquil state of understanding that your fury is altogether justified. ]

Sullivan! It's about time you found a way to pull yourself out of whatever hole you got dragged into this time! Here I was wondering why there wasn't a chorus of jeers as I put on a performance of a lifetime! I see you got bored of the old body while waiting for a way out, too.

[ Despite the barbs, there is a hint of sympathy. Yes, Sullivan, he did miss you. He's just having a considerable lapse of sanity at the moment.

Nevertheless, he stares at the world and the distortions in his vision. Nothing feels quite real, and he's not really thinking about it, but your hands are reached out by his, as if he could phase through the mirror and grab you. And he just well might.

He responds to the call, completely off-cadence but perfectly in tune.]

COME! Let us mix where Rockefellers walk with sticks or umbrellas in their mitts!

Edited 2024-08-22 04:47 (UTC)

There's a shrieking cackle as Onni responds to Sullivan's call as they reach out, hands that feel oddly boneless, grasping the warrior's hands as they feel more solid after a moment of touching Onni.

"That's the spirit! I've been listening to cosmic truths in the form of ancient shitposts for quite some time now, and I think it did juuuust a teensy bit of damage to what remained of my psyche."

A pause.

"My body? My body! I haven't HAD a body, have never had a body? And this is my first one, my last one? I think I technically don't exist by reality's standards right now, this is just something I scrounged together out of what was available, which is mostly the shadows you cast, abyssal sludge, and of course, your reflection. Your own madness reflected through a mirror darkly?

Ah, all the work on my precious homunculus forms and Layla's body, perfectly preserved to spite her one last time... All the attempts to be a good magician and behave and not give into the mania that should well and truly define me! All down the drain! I assume my basement is gone as well, but I think together we can fix that."

Edited 2024-08-22 05:12 (UTC)

I don't know. I always got a feeling your basement level was cursed beyond recognition and dared not open it up — I suspect there may be more left there than you thought.

[ He's steadily tugging you out into the real world as you discuss. ]

As you can see, a bit of mania might be what we need right now. I've been terribly busy between the yokai, the invasion from another dimension, the... Abyssals? Otherworlders? I've already forgotten what my cousin called them, damn this useless overstuffed brain of mine— the False Pretender To Illusions and her merry gaggle of incompetents, and nearly losing my job to a right-wing coup! Unconscionable.

And then my dear sweet cousin has the gall to hide my niece nearly died three weeks ago! And has been fooling everyone all this time in the hopes that this was "just a phase" and not a sign of the unbalancing of the carefully balanced supernatural forces that keep my niece in check from succumbing to one or all of them at once!

It's maddening, Sullivan! It's enough to make a man want to SHOVE HIS GODLY COUSIN IN A PUZZLE BOX FOR A THOUSAND YEARS!

[ ...You can clearly see a rubix cube just. Manifest on the end table behind Onni when he says this. Your boss might have well and truly lost it, this time. ]

Edited 2024-08-22 05:41 (UTC)

Sullivan tumbles out of the mirror, straightening themselves as they embrace Onni, adjusting their body to more how they're remembered at the moment, mania leaving their face, but their eyes (and there's lots of them in the shadows) still burn like malevolent rubies.

"Hopefully! If not, it's not hard to make another human body. Probably. I think I remember where the organs all go. And all of my precious toys..." They let out another hum as tendrils grasp the rubix cube and pull it to themselves as they begin to fiddle with it.

Somewhere, a painting loses one of the people it depicts as Sullivan fully reasserts themselves into reality. And the world is a worse place for it.

"Oh, did shoving at least three forms of cosmic energy, and that's just my last count, into a preteen not go as she wanted? Shock! Surprise! Another exclamation! If there's any mess from the Tengu, that's MY responsibility, I was supposed to deal with those, before, well, I can only guess that it's SOMEHOW the fault of the Illusion Pretenders. Maybe Kaz got blipped, but that wouldn't..." They snap a few times.

"Gilgamesh! Oh, that's clever for some brats to try and pull. There may have been a Sullivan Adams still living in America who never saw the truth of the world, with a youtube channel about occultism, struggling to get by... and they are gone now, with nary a whimper or a bang." They laugh again, handing the Rubix Cube to Onni. It now resembles the Lament Configuration.

"Try this box."

[ Oh that hug and Sullivan re-asserting into reality is. Vaguely disarming. Weirdly grounding. Can madness be grounding? The compulsion ebbs a little but the edge of the insanity is still razor sharp and his anger is still white hot but he no longer feels like he is careening off a cliff of his own fury. We've hit a stable altitude of fury and madness. ]

[ Onni holds the Lament Configuration and literally twists it around like it's still a rubix cube, despite that literally not being possible. It's mostly a tool to fidget as he rants and monologues. ]

I'm only catching every other word but I assume The Failed Illusionist successfully put your entire extended family in a paradox trap. I believe Suguru attempted to communicate as such to me but Helen I don't think knows how to speak like a normal person. With any luck Gina will be back with shortly and assuming the two do not quite literally fuck themselves into a hospital wing I will be glad for the extra muscle. It's been quite lonely, as you can no doubt tell!

And weirdly, shockingly, I think the growing instability was not necessarily my cousin's fault. In all theories the forces at play were sound! But unfortunately the wrong support snapped first and now we must make energy drinks out of fermented lemons and kerosene.

Which would have been something my cousin could account for if she had the foresight to plan for such eventualities but- [ A small gasp, as a fractured shard of Da Chief slots neatly into the wildly spinning, out of control gears of his mind. ]

Right! That is what I'm meant to do. Plan! Contingencies! Strategies. The Tengu I will accept your apologies but not your self-blame, for the record. The world is sideways and we need a stepladder to the door out of this dilemma. Self-flagellation after the mildly unethical heroics!

Edited 2024-08-22 23:58 (UTC)

Sullivan patiently listens as they watch Onni fiddle with their box, their shadowy tendrils moving from the sides of the room and into themselves, the sound of wet blinking and hushed, snapping jaws subsiding as Sullivan takes a mostly human form.

"It is what you're meant to do, both of us, I think. But who can plan in the face of utter chaos?" They give a sickly grin, sticking out their hand to count.

"So, we have Otherworlders from the great Immaterium, Tengu, now Da Eiza's pet child project blew up in her face, and Echo's lot. Doable. But, yes, I see why you're stressed, my dear."

They grin widely, like a snake that's discovered a mouse.

"Though, it remains to be seen if I'm going to help TOO much with that stress or create new ones, husband." They let out a laugh and then tap on their head.

"My introduction to a truth of the world was the real story of Gilgamesh, not what's taught or known. It's what tied me to that whole clan, I think. And you and Kazzy taking chances on me, which I DO appreciate." Another drumming.

"I'm going to assume due to their very nature and you saying that precious Helen isn't good at speaking, my god-daughters are out and about? Kaz said if anything happened to him and Gwen, they're my responsibility. I'll keep them in the basement. And if they're already working on Gina... Ah!" A finger snap. "With Suguru's bond, that's ALSO clever for brats, but not in a pejorative way!"

Oh I've taken many chances on many people. Some, like you, have panned out wonderfully. Some have blown up in my face, because I am the clown of the Gods themselves. But never will that deter me!

[ They break the embrace, mostly to start pacing through the room, glancing at Sullivan. An eyebrow raise at 'my dear' and 'husband' but the manic grin doesn't leave his face, almost bemused. ]

The threats, yes, the threats. Echo's lot. The Otherworlders. The alternatives from Queen Suzume's realm. Kamala's tantrum. The Tengu. Who am I missing? I believe that's everything right now, but something will yet surprise me still! A hydra of unquenchable forms and heads, much to my EVER-LOVING FRUSTRATION!

[ Tap tap tap. ]

Yes. They are free, and Suguru told me they are helping her find Gina. If it's bonds they work with, then I suppose it is no wonder you found your way to me. The shadow that clings to the light of reason!

[ He stops, laughing, as Sullivan recounts where they learned their truth. ]

For me, it was when I fought the Judgeman - the Knight Gaia, who conferred that secret onto me - the microcosm is the macrocosm. As above, so below! We are the bottom of the world, the very roots, and everything grows from us. The truth of the world, I have fought to safeguard it, knowing that I will rarely be believed, rarely be taken seriously, until we are on the precipice's edge!

[ Taps his chin as he taps his feet. ]

I need talk to my cousin - cousins, the Noriko from Another World and our Noriko both. Beyond that, I know not where my talents need most dispersed. A hammer looking for nails. Part of me desires quite highly to find who brought Kamala's tantrum to a boil and BRING THE MERCILESS HAND OF LAW DOWN ON THEM. But I am in no state to conduct investigations...

Ah, so many threats, so little time... [ He clutches at his face, grinning. ] Perhaps I must shed my chains like my cousins do for once. Live a little, as they say.

"Live a little," Sullivan hisses, sibilant, the voice coming from mouths beyond the one on their face. "It wouldn't hurt to indulge, would it?"

"My guess would be one of the four, but which one would require one finding witnesses... which I think I could do for you." They adjust their suit as they begin to contemplate.

"Yes, something to call them back from the void. The magic is sloppy, you can't fully erase something with mere Illusion Magic. I think. Always echoes and traces and paradoxes and knots..." A tap on on their chin. "Ah! Yes, bonds. Gina is the easiest, because between you and Suguru, that girl could be called back. The others may prove more difficult. Kaz eschewed and destroyed many bonds, and Kiko had nearly none..." A languid stretch out before they start moving with Onni, taking careful pacing steps to contrast with the manic stomps.

"The air has changed. Domino has changed. Earth itself, perhaps?" They tilt their head, stopping the pacing. "Another of Da Eiza's schemes come to fruition? It's no matter, I'll figure it out in a few hours time, no need for any lengthy explanation. You sound like you have family business you need to attend to, husband."

They gesture grandly to the room.

"And what would you have me do?"

Is "husband" a new term of endearment, or am I only noticing it now?

[ He stops his manic steps. Starts them. Then stops them again. The weird mirrored dance between him and Sullivan as the overclocked gears in his mind spin out of control. ]

Kiko had bonds, but Diana will be concerned with keeping her own wits about her with a Dark Signer looming large. The instinct to murder Dark Signers by the Dragons has been an ever-present problem even before Kamala's own seal of darkness broke.

But yes, I have no doubt you'll figure out the details of my cousin's latest escapade, her BRASH UNDERTAKING. See with your own eyes the world she has wrought. It might yet be kinder to you than the one you once knew.

As for what I would have you do...

[ Tosses the Lament Configuration up and down, thinking. Tosses it up. It vanishes, and a pile of keys drop into his hand. ]

I must cast off my chains and run free, as the Unceasing Warrior, the Warlord of the Dawn, the Champion of Crimson — all names for a bloodsoaked force that brings ruin upon enemies by sheer force. To leverage these strengths, the Captain of the ship must forsake his vessel and board those of others. He must bring his cousin to wisdom, subdue the fire of his niece, and many other things before he must rest and take the helm again.

[ He plucks the keys, one by one. ]

The main facility doors. The security override passkey. The keycard for Sublevels 1-5. My personal office key. The Twelve Peers Archive Master Access Key. And the key to the Kaibacorp SWAT Alarm Access Panel. Among others.

You will have free reign of the facility. Hayate and Katie should remain in their stated positions - Gina too, should she be brought out of the dark by the time you take your position in my office. Suguru I will give a backup of these keys — while I trust you, I would have backups in place should this bastion of our world's defenses falter.

You will conduct Sector Security as Security Chief pro tempore, as I recover my wits and blaze a trail of ruin across the myriad battlefields our world has become. My kagemusha in deed as well as by title, now.

"It's new. I suppose it's not having the intended effect on you since you're a little mad right now and just taking it in stride." They seem disappointed that Onni's not yelling about it. And make a note to try again when he's settled.

"Kinder? Maybe. Unfortunately as the world got stranger, so did I. A net neutral gain at least. And now... apotheosis." And then they stare at Onni. He's... trusting them? With OOPARTS? All of it?

"I... you have... you are quite mad now, but... Thank you. I won't let you down, Onni." They extend an arm, as their apparent flesh warps and twists, new, brighter clothes asserting themselves over their ill-fitting suit as the color seems to drain from their hair.

"A back-up plan is wise, considering my, well, everything. I think even in my current state, if I careened off course, Gina and Suguru could take me down. I'll inform them both when they come in to report that they are to incapacitate me at their discretion or at either of our direct orders. But if only one of us gets to be mad at a time, I'll be sane and steer the course."

Edited 2024-08-25 04:08 (UTC)

Sullivan - What Shadow Steeps In The Wake Of The Lighthouse Promethean

Re: Sullivan - What Shadow Steeps In The Wake Of The Lighthouse Promethean

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Suguru - A Missive Penned In A Mad Man's Hand

Noriko + Noriko Another + Others - May Gods Have Mercy, For Law Is Petty And Arbitrary

Re: Noriko + Noriko Another + Others - May Gods Have Mercy, For Law Is Petty And Arbitrary

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject