sweetdevil | 69th ♫

BUBBLE
Eve

I'm still afraid so don't let go of me, forever
Reaching my hand out together with you, forever
Waiting for the moment, towards what's calling us
Go forth, with the gravity that pulls us together

[ As complex as they are, human hearts as so much easier to understand as data. Messy, tangled up feelings smoothed out into binary 1s and 0s and laid out for her to peruse through as easily as a human would page through a book. She's gotten good at it too, even if she doesn't feel all those feelings the same way a human would – in fact, the distance makes it even easier for her to pin them down and comb through them. At least in her opinion.

That's why it's so confusing to be drifting her way through the waves of data and processes that make up the Metaverse-Es and to come across something she doesn't understand. It's a process wrapped in another process, a heart beating with another heart at its core – or... no. It's a smaller, weaker heart with the skin of a brighter, more vibrant one wrapped around it like a disguise, projecting bigger, more colorful feelings. Neither is fake – both are as real as the other and yet they don't quite click together, like a mask loosely held onto someone's face by friction alone.

Lambda's fascinated. She's seen oddities like this before but never quite on this scale. And with her fascination comes the curious impulse to go and see for herself just who the owner of this heart might be.

So she goes peeling back layers of data and encryption, picking her way through hyperlinks and codes to try and find the girl behind this two-faced little heart. Who knows? Maybe she'll be someone Lambda can pass the time with. If she's lucky. ]

[As Lambda sifts through code, traveling from link to link, from server to server, from heart to heart, she finally emerges into the light...

Into sunlight?

It's bizarre. It shouldn't be possible, should it? But Lambda has emerged into what is unmistakably reality- A small street of Shibuya, not too far from the scramble crossing, in fact. And it's far too perfect to just be a simulation- The noise of the crowds, of ten thousand conversations. The air against your skin, the light summer breeze. The smell of a nearby restaurant.

Staring up at Lambda in surprise and awe is a girl- Small, with messy black hair, pale and thin, wearing a school uniform. And Lambda can sense easily- This is the same heart, the two hearts that are still one. Yet it's only one- The other heart is wrapped around the girl Lambda can see, yet seemingly invisible to her.

So much of the world, in fact, is wrapped in invisible hearts. The heart of the world itself seems to be changing, merging, with something else- and this second heart, the heart of the whole world... Someone like Lambda can sense it, but why can she not see it?

But the girl looking up at Lambda will distract from those questions pretty quickly.

From her point of view, after all, she was walking to school. Nervous and afraid, but still managing to go, even on her own. And then... Somehow, this girl appeared. Who is she? Where did she come from?]

... Did you just come out of my phone?

[nailed it.]

[ Lambda doesn't bother to respond right away. The girl should be her first priority as a human, of course, but how can she shift gears and give her full attention in a situation like this? The reek and din and motion of this half-and-half world is like nothing she'd ever known before and she's aware even as the information floods her senses that she shouldn't be aware of any of it. Something is strange here – she can't bring herself to call it wrong but it certainly isn't what she expected.

At last, she turns to the girl she'd followed here but she still doesn't explain herself just yet. She flits around her like a little fairy, plucking at her clothes, strands of her hair, examining her like she's some fascinating specimen that Lambda's stumbled across in the wilds. And when she does at last speak, her voice is lively, even a little sing-song. ]

Oh, this shouldn't be possible at all! [ She even giggles. ] Just what exactly are you?

Um... A human?

[The confusion seems palpable, and she flinches back a bit from the contact... But she's trying to be brave here. Trying to not run away. Don't be afraid....]

My name is Saitou... Who are you?

[ And at that, Lambda leans in close to inspect the girl's face. A little... too close, maybe. Her hair billows like a cloud all around them, seemingly as untethered as Lambda herself, as she pushes in close. ]

Saitou... Saitou, Saitou...

[ She rolls the name on her tongue like a piece of candy for a moment – then grins. ]

A a a h. That's not true, is it? Maybe it is somewhere else... but that's not the name that called me here. ❤️

... Called you?

[She takes a step back. She's scared. Nervous. Who is this person... She's pretty, but- Many deadly things are.

Who is she? Where did she come from?

Mana steps back again, and- her back hits a wall.]

... My name is Saitou Mana. I- It- If you're... asking for someone's name, then- Then you should introduce yourself first...

[She's terrified, but trying to put on a brave front...]

[ Oh, how cute. Even though she's so scared, she's doing her best to be brave, like a timid little rabbit puffing up its fur so it looks bigger and more imposing. It doesn't work to intimidate Lambda, of course, but the fear is enough to make her back up just a little.

The last thing she'd want is to make this girl cry, after all. ]

Oh, I guess you're right. The last thing I want is to make a bad first impression. ❤️

[ She smiles.

Somehow, despite everything... it's a very pretty smile. ]

You can just call me Lambda. It's better to start off on a friendly note, isn't it?

I... Yes.

[The thoughts going through Mana's head are varied.

Did this woman come out of her phone? Is this an AO thing? Is this more to do with the merging of the worlds?

She's pretty. Mana can't help but notice this. She's pretty, and she can't help but want to know more.... but some part of her, some part a bit more wise than the rest, points out: Snakes are pretty too, and then they bite.]

It's... nice to meet you, Lambda-san. Can I ask where you came from...?

Out of your phone, by the sounds of things!

[ She gives a very pretty, melodic sort of laugh and straightens up a bit, getting even further out of poor Mana's bubble. Or, well, getting her face up out of Mana's, at least. Her hair floats eerily around them both, like it's trying to keep Mana trapped even as Lambda puts on a show of letting her go. ]

As for where I really came from... I don't know that I could make you understand even if I explained it. [ But she grins. ] Hm, how smart of a girl would you say you are, Mana? ❤️

Shut Up and Dance
Natalie Joly

She took my arm
I don't know how it happened

We took the floor and she said
Oh don't you dare look back
Just keep your eyes on me
I said you're holding back
She said shut up and dance with me

[ Just so we're all on the same page: Erina doesn't dance. To be clear, she totally could if she wanted to and she would kill it, but that's beside the point. She busted her ass at Estrella learning how to fight, not how to dance and there's not much opportunity for crossover in that skillset. But still. She's here at this... prom, or whatever, for some godforsaken reason. Parker had been the one to put it together and Erina had every intention of flaking before Shion had insisted everyone attend and, well, Erina's seen the look that girl gets in her fucking eye sometimes and she's not stupid, so. Here she is. She's even managed to look semi-presentable too, mostly because she knows she'd never live it down otherwise. ]

Is this really what prom is like? [ That's muttered as an aside to Penny as she scoops more food from the buffet table onto her plate. ] I was expecting more... uh, just more, I guess.

[Penny can, in theory, dance. Has she ever actually danced WITH anyone? No. But has she danced under any kind of attention or scrutiny from her peers? Also no. But dancing is a thing Normal Flesh Teenagers do on at least something resembling a regular basis, especially when judged by the metric of Penny's personal research of teenaged magazines and musical cinema. So she had studied, intensely.]

[It had been good enough for one out of two armed chaperones-slash-bodyguards-slash-handlers, at least.]

Hm. Mostly? Sometimes there's a break-in somewhere else while the prom is happening, but I don't think that's usual.

Edited 2023-02-06 02:59 (UTC)

[ ... a thoughtful pause, with some sort of Fried Meat On A Stick snack halfway to her mouth. ]

What, for student enrichment or something? Like, is the break in organized by the school to keep everyone on their toes? Or is it a different, unrelated freak breaking into the school?

[ She goes back to her food, ripping some of the meat off her skewer with a little more gusto than is really called for. ]

It's what they'd probably do at my school.

[Penny brightens up.]

Oh, that actually would have been a FANTASTIC surprise training exercise!

[She thinks for a second.]

But no, this was an unrelated break-in. ...I'm almost certain. Surely Mister Ironwood would have-

[dot dot dot]

Oh my gosh it might have been part of the event. I guess having to fight even in formalwear IS an important eventuality to prepare for.

[ Around yet another mouthful of meat skewer, because nobody is physically preventing her from taking them yet and at this point that is what it will take; ] Uh-huh. Exactly. Imagine if you were at some fancy dance and you had to kick ass in all your finery and got killed because you had no practice?

[ She chomps down hard on her foot as if to emphasize that particular point. ]

... not that it matters to me, I guess. I won't be going to any dances if I can help it.

[erina has so much gusto for life and good food, why would anyone ever stop her]

Dying in fancy dress would be beautiful but even more tragic than usual.

[Maybe there's a weird poetry to that.]

[Or maybe it would just be sad. Sad and uncomfortably dressed. And also dead.]

...oh, are you going to be too busy to take time off? That's so sad.

Yeah, but imagine what you'd save on funeral costs. If you're already all dressed up, they don't have to fancy you up to put you in the ground.

[ Gruesome to consider!! It's also unclear whether or not this is an off-the-cuff idea or something she's thought about a lot, both of which are equally unpleasant possibilities. That's our Erina! ]

Anyway. It's less a case of can't and more a won't. I don't dance. I just turned up at this one because I knew Shion would kill me with her mind if I didn't.

You'd save the mortician so much time!

[laughtrack.wav]

[But then she gets a little quiet, hands folded and eyes downcast. Considering something.]

[Which is normally at least potentially dangerous on its own, but almost certainly so when factoring in an agent of chaos like Erina.]

Are you not having fun?

[Just to confirm.]

...Would you like to leave? Sneak out. To avoid the brain killings.

[ Erina pauses. She chews over the question (as well as another mouthful of food) then responds with a resounding: ]

Eh.

[ go girl, give us nothing! ]

Don't get me wrong. Parties like this are absolutely not my thing. But... s'not the worst thing in the world. I mean, look–

[ She gestures to the hustle and bustle with the remains of her skewer. It's noisy and a little chaotic but even the members of their weird little interdimensional group that are usually a bunch of grumpy assholes seem to be begrudgingly enjoying themselves. ]

– how often do you see that? Our big group of dumbasses all hanging out and having a good time in the same room. Just because it's not one hundred percent my thing doesn't mean I'm not enjoying the vibes.

[ She gives Penny a little nudge. ]

What about you, though? I figured this was totally your kind of party and you'd be tearing up the dance floor.

Oh, absolutely!

[She kind of- packs an entire solo dance routine into that one exclamation? Metaphorically. It's a tone of voice thing Erina is presumably familiar with at this point, not an actual three-second dance number.]

But I thought you didn't want to dance?

[There's a logical disconnect in play which is obvious to only one of them.]

[ See Erina. See Erina slow blink and set down her skewer. See Erina positively, definitively, Not Get It. ]

Yeah, that's right. But, uh... you want to dance, so...

[ She makes a vague gesture towards the dance floor. ]

Go get 'em, tiger. Or whatever you're supposed to say.

TOKYO野蛮人
RA MU

that girl is good, this girl is good, whoever catches your eye
walking fancy, winking around, dive into a dream
i only want to believe in one love, but they howl to the moon

but your heart is grit-grit your dance moves are grit-grit
tokyo barbarian even though you hide it, your claws will come out

[ People say cities are most beautiful at night, in rain, but Ryoko barely takes any of it in as she tears down the street. Sheets of rain come crashing down from the sky, soaking her to the skin and she's so cold that her breath comes out in gasps of white fog, but she doesn't slow down and she doesn't dare look back. In the damp evening haze, neon lights and sharp black shadows, Ryoko's a tiny, vague shape at risk of being swallowed whole by the city.

It's better that way. Nobody needs to know she's here.

She takes a sharp turn down a side street and almost trips when her foot goes into a puddle deeper than she'd expected but she clenches her fists tight and uses the momentum to force herself to keep running. The tiny shard of metal in her hand, the precious relic she'd stolen, cuts into her palm but she doesn't let up her grip.

This is her last hope. If she lets herself get caught now, it's all over.

She hears shouting in the street she'd just left behind – the SIU's thugs, hot on her trail still. Further back than she'd expected, but still too close. She takes another turn and finds herself barrelling into a filthy back alley... and with it, a dead end. It takes her a precious few seconds to run through her options but she realizes then that she's out of options. No shelter and nowhere to hide.

Nowhere to run.

Swallowing hard, Ryoko peels open her fingers. The catalyst sits in her palm, a shining fragment of a larger blade, peppered with her own blood from the death grip she'd had on it this whole way here. And then, without allowing herself to hesitate any longer, she stooped down, snatched up a sharp-angled stone from the floor and began to scratch the summoning circle on the wall as fast as she could, leaving sweat, blood, rain and tears in its wake, chanting desperately even as she outlined it. ]

H–heed my words, my will creates your body–

[ Please. Please, please, please. ]

I hearby swear–

[ Please, just let this work. ]

[Strange how a slither of metal, an unidentifiable piece of scrap that could have so easily been smelted or lost through the years, holds such power- but in those moments the world tilts on its axis. Perhaps it's Ryoko's innate talent for magecraft, perhaps it's her desperation, but either way the lines her shaking hands scrape into the concrete flare to life with her words. And that scavenged nothing she's protected so diligently? It carves through the lines of history as cleanly as it would have done a throat when it was whole.

Summonings are always described with such reverence in texts but the air is suffocating, thick with the tang of ozone and gunpowder as the Throne answers Ryoko's call.

Would the result have been different with Izuminokami in its whole? Or with its tsuba or scabbard? Who can say. But there's little than Ryoko can do about it now. The wall cracks around the magic circle as the pressure of something otherworldly forces its way through in less of an arrival than an assault. Liquid light pours out, blinding in its brilliance as it swirls and takes on a familiar form.

- and then it's gone, leaving something- someone standing in its place.

A man. The rain is now coming down so heavily that it seems to create an aura around him where it bounces off of his overcoat and, as he steps forward, his shadow swallows Ryoko's form whole. Dark eyes flash as he looks her up and down, nakedly critical even with the rest of his face too shadowed to give any other expression away.]

Are you my Master?

[He doesn't need to raise his voice. So commanding is his presence that it feels like the rain itself quietens in his wake.]

[ Ryoko doesn't allow herself to have even a sliver of hope until the final lines of the summoning circle connect and the whole thing flares to life, like the muzzle flash of a gunshot in a blackened room. The sheer magical energy of the summoning and the force with which it comes exploding out of the circle sends her staggering back – she doesn't even realize she's lost her footing until she feels the hard concrete of the ground press into her back and the rain soaking through her clothes.

Slowly, carefully, Ryoko pushes herself up onto her hands but it's not until she hears his voice that she dares actually look up. Her breath snags in her throat and for a moment, even though the rain is still pounding down all around them, everything feels oddly still and quiet. She's looking at him like she can't quite believe he's there – the desperate disbelief of a drowning girl tossed an unexpected lifeline.

Then another shout in the distance fractures that odd, frozen moment and the rest of the world starts moving as well. Right, of course. Surely they must have detected the surge of magic just now and realized what she'd done which makes her worse than a traitor or an irritant – it makes her an enemy. And in a Holy Grail War, Ryoko knows what happens to enemies.

With adrenaline pumping through her veins, Ryoko rises up onto her shaking legs and though she knows how miserable and pathetic she must look, she refuses to quail in front of this Servant, with his crushing presence, and lifts her chin high. ]

Yes. I'm the one who summoned you here. [ She sounds a little breathless. Still disbelieving. ] Tell me who you are.

[A car drives by the narrow mouth of the alleyway, casting them in white light for just a few seconds but's all Hijikata needs. Foolish as it is to judge a mage by appearances, he makes little effort to hide his incredulity as he looks Ryoko up and down. His Master is not only young but petite, just barely reaching his chest and dwarfed by his broad frame. Ostensibly, she's no smaller than Okita and she carries herself with a similar determination but her inexperience is obvious.

"This wa...! Don't... guar... down!"

The voices are getting closer and clearer. Looks like he'll be putting his blade to work sooner than he thought.

Well, whatever he thinks of her, they're still bound as any Master and Servant would be and while he has no intention of following orders that don't suit him, her safety is still a priority. Mind made up, he sets his mouth into a steel-hard line and inclines his head. His hair is already wet enough to cling to his cheekbones and forehead.]

Hijikata Toshizō, Vice Commander of the Shinsengumi. [And, as far as he's concerned, the Shinsengumi itself. In spirit, in power, in ruthlessness- he is makoto and through him their will lives on.] Berserker.

[Without waiting for Ryoko to respond in kind, he stalks past to place himself in between her and the opening of the alley.]

What is your command, Master?

[ Berserker.

Ryoko's heart stills in her chest for just one beat.

Of course it would end up this way. Maybe because of her frantic desperation – or maybe because the catalyst is such a small, fragmented thing that the summoning has been similarly fragmented. Either way, she can't afford to look a gift horse in the mouth... even if some tiny part of her feels cold and panicked at the thought of trying to control a Berserker.

Not that she lets any of it show. Her hands curl into fists and she wills herself to stay steady, even as her whole body wants to shake. ]

The men coming this way are looking for me... or I suppose you could say that they're hunting me.

[ The command that should follow stills on her tongue. Just long enough for her to let herself think about it.

Even if her Berserker is the one who kills him, Ryoko is the one who gave the command. In that sense, he's nothing more than a weapon and once his work is done, Ryoko will be the murderer here. She's fought and tricked her way in and out of the SIU and defended herself when it's necessary, but Ryoko has never killed before. She waits for some second thoughts, some fracturing in her resolution to tell her that she doesn't have the stomach for this.

Instead, she feels... nothing at all.

When she speaks up again, her voice is harder and steadier than it was a moment ago. Maybe more than it should be to give a command like this. ]

Take care of them.

[Hijikata's head tilts ever so slightly. It appears his Master has some steel in her yet.]

... I'll cut down every last one. [His eyes flicker back to their sole escape route- not that he's considering this in terms of an escape. No, what he's looking at is a bottleneck, a perfect place to lay waste to each foe on his own terms.] Stay close or find somewhere to hide. I don't care which.

[And wouldn't you know it, they're just in time to meet the first of Ryoko's pursuers.

Rainwater churns underfoot as the man rounds the corner, only to stop dead when he realises just what he's looking at. Even with Hijikata in between them, Ryoko can probably see the cogs turning in his head as he pieces together the scene and when everything finally slots into place, he visibly balks. For a few moments, it looks as though he's seriously considering cutting his losses and running rather than take on a Servant. Unfortunately for him, that was never an option.

Hijikata strikes without hesitation, delivering two slashes in a flash of metal and sparks as the blade catches on the walls. The man doesn't even get a chance to cry out before he's gagged by a spray of blood from his own throat. Trying to stimy the flow is pointless; no sooner has he clamped two hands over the wound than the one across his chest blossoms in a red mist. Gurgling, the man crumples to the ground. Hijikata kicks him onto his back.]

More are coming.

[There's no mercy in the way he stamps down on his fallen opponent's neck. Bones crack, fingers give one final, desperate twitch- and then he stops moving.]

I won't hide.

[ Her voice shakes even as she says it and she hates herself for it. But true to her word, Ryoko stands as resolutely as she can and falls into step beside her Servant, telling herself over and over as she does so that this is what she wanted. She can deal with danger if it means she's out of the SIU's hands.

So she makes herself watch the kill. Her kill. She reminds herself, through the blood and the wet snapping of skin and bone that she did this. Berserker is her weapon. She's the murderer.

A huge swell of nausea rushes up her throat and Ryoko has to take a huge, steadying breath to swallow it back down. Later. She can deal with her inconvenient feelings later. She can't break down now – not in front of a Berserker fresh from the kill and not in front of the SIU.

More yelling echoing down the street. She feels a swell in her blood that tells her they're preparing spells. ]

Get rid of all of them. [ ... then a pause. ] All but one. Leave one alive for me to talk to.

Skeleton Key
Dessa

by now it's just a simple trick / not much to see, you hear the tumblers catch and click / then turn the key / but i've found work and welcome everywhere i've been / 'cause everyone's got someplace they wanna be let in

SAIREN
REAL

make a world without talent
rock the world of common sense and break out of it
'till we can't take it back
as long as you're here, even in a future so terrible
I can still fight

[[ INFO: character, setting
PREFS: Honestly I'm down for just about anything since I haven't threaded her at all yet... dark, fluffy, shippy, stupid, go nuts. Oh, but I'd rather do OU than AU. ]]

Edited (smaller image) 2023-11-04 01:30 (UTC)

69th ♫ | nice lol

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ONE VIBE CHECK PLEASE

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Nanjiao!