Usurper (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
divinedaifuku) wrote2021-08-25 09:02 pm
divinedaifuku) wrote2021-08-25 09:02 pm
WEEK 2 - Chuo Tower
[Night falls over Kansai, and rain begins to beat against the windows of Chuo Tower. Usurper, a formless entity in this world, blinks within her virtual realm as if it would clean the spots off of the lenses throughout the city. Still, there is plenty she has seen. Liv on her way with her bike, Ryota protecting his phone. Maybe a holo-chat would have been better, but after her little "birthday present" of Cangrande's "initiation", they agreed to come and look into how much recalibration may be needed to account for all of those who refused their treatment.
Though, she really can't complain. It has been a while since they spoke like this. Everything is going well enough, she's certain in her head she's not being abandoned. But... But. It's still something of a relief when they appear, and she's free to manifest in Kansai. A beam of light still surrounds her just like it does when she plays with the Noh masks, but they're high up enough that no one would notice from the buildings or street below.]
Why, hello...! We have been quite busy, have we not? Please make yourselves at home!!
[This isn't your mansion, Usaa....]
Though, she really can't complain. It has been a while since they spoke like this. Everything is going well enough, she's certain in her head she's not being abandoned. But... But. It's still something of a relief when they appear, and she's free to manifest in Kansai. A beam of light still surrounds her just like it does when she plays with the Noh masks, but they're high up enough that no one would notice from the buildings or street below.]
Why, hello...! We have been quite busy, have we not? Please make yourselves at home!!
[This isn't your mansion, Usaa....]
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Well, there are easy enough ways to get comfortable, why not play it up. Her tentacles push off the rain-soaked white coat and press the tower's control panels. Not all of them. Someone needs to address the visuals.]
I have no doubts at this point that everyone will believe it when they see more images of this group getting stab-happy, so the grand scheme of things is going pretty great. How are the first three? All wrapped up?
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Why, I might have been slightly overconfident in letting Liar keep her "gift"... She is asleep regardless for now, but the other two have made their way back into Kansai before even finding my dream world, and I am honestly not sure what to make of that. I had made contact with Sorceror for my own reasons, but I suppose I will be putting on airs for them all.... it would be more suspicious to dispatch their toys while they have decided to play coy.
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[Mitarai certainly looks exhausted. He was never the sort to have what may be called 'a healthy night of sleep', but now that this whole plan is in motion? He's definitely not sleeping. In a way it's a regression to times he thought he had left behind and he's bitterly aware of that.]
I did get kind of worried when those first two died -- like it wouldn't work, but if they're okay then it's all fine.
[He knew Loremaster would probably be okay, getting killed specifically the way she was. The other two, though...uf, for a while he feared they would just die and not find the Usuper's dream world. But it's fine. He needs to have confidence in all this, he knows it.
He manages to smile faintly]
How are you two holding up? Everything going well? Nobody tried to attack you yet?
[That goes to Liv, really. They're overseeing a bunch of highly violent people, after all. That someone may have tried to attack her isn't impossible]
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[She keeps up the whole secondary school scientist schtick as best she can, but their very first subjects roaming far and wide? This is a special case. The tentacles all flop at once. Let's not be defeated, though. She wasn't fought, she even eagerly volunteers:]
I did see that Servant guy in my dreams, but it wasn't like that. ...or like that.
[The less said about that man, the better.]
You haven't been telling them it'll all be alright in the end or anything like that, have you? [She does get where he's coming from, being happier with them existing in a dangerous form than true elimination, but:] It's more important than ever that they think their despair is real. That they're being killed and, well, separated in the spirit realm or however we're spinning that. Maybe there's still time to deck it out like Hell...
[Inclines head at Usurper, knowing it'll be recognized as a joke. They worked too hard on the mansion she has.]
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My, there is certainly time for me to introduce alternative theories. I have to play the fool for now, so calling them dreams is what I have been doing... in that sense it's fortunate Servant and his allies have little interest in what Loremaster is doing for now.
[Would be a shame if her bluff got called like that! Nor does she have much to say about being attacked, but - if she had, she'd probably let her injuries remain visibly to play victim for them.]
How about you, friend? [She looks toward Ryota, slightly fretful.] It seemed their demands of you were escalating quickly...
[Belial's sekuhara is one thing but who could have predicted Phone Supply Bullying? It's harder to attack a drone, but on the other hand, she wouldn't put it past this group either.]
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[True, he's still not going to go and tell them off, but hey, be civil with Mitarai and he'll be civil in return. He's not giving them access to him so they can be friends, but he's not going to say no to a conversation if they really want one. At most Mitarai does feel concern about them, knowing what their fate will be before they're given a nice, peaceful existence.
Still...he doesn't trust any of the X-Classes not even one bit. Liv and Usurper? Oh, they're the only ones he feels he can trust. The X-Classes, though, they're all only looking out for themselves.
To Liv's question Mitarai shakes his head]
Even if I did they wouldn't believe me, would they? They'd think I'm trying to get them to let their guard down so they die easily. I don't plan on giving reassurances.
[At most Belial knows he's someone with altruistic goals, but also utterly twisted, mad methods. That's the impression he's been giving to that guy -- not intentionally, but still, Mitarai must be sounding so incredibly delusional when he talks about wanting to bring hope to people, given he's cooperating with a killing game]
They're starting to ask questions, though...that Lucilius guy is demanding information about the pods' stuff. I suppose he's fishing for anything weird effects they could have on them all. I didn't promise I'd give anything, but knowing him he'll keep insisting.
[And Lucilius won't hassle Liv, too. He must be considering Mitarai an easier target to get information from]
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Lucilius, though. Hoo boy. She'll have a lot to unpack As You Know Bob.]
His intermediary hasn't even approached me, no. [They really are working on Mitarai, then.] Honestly, if it comes to Lucilius opening the pods himself, I don't really care. We're already below the maximum number of users, after all. The final version has the whole suite in the lid. Up, down, strange, charm, truth, beauty. He'll see the bursts of quantum energy, the big power draw, and dismiss them as creepy or useless or wasteful or benign, but I don't think he'll go away realizing they're literally for show. Oh, monitors are in the base too, pressure-sensitive panels for heartrate and everything.
[Warmly.] I never would have thought about dialing the electron chair so low without both of you guys. [What she used for herself. Separate two legs, two arms, back, and headrest, the six types of energy. Far brighter than the colored lamps in the pod, enormous jolting auras of electrocution straight out of a cartoon. Smashed to pieces afterwards in a fit of rage that she had ever been so vulnerable. Not that hard to weld back into place, it was the principle of the thing.] Even though this amount of quantum energy does nothing, especially not to their augmented bodies, they're having out of body experiences that really stay with them. In fact, the majority of the few cooperating people have their composite lines rising. I really think they'll be happy in Kanto.
But for now since so many of them are resistant... instead of adding more affected areas that consume their whole body, let's have them cycle through single effects that are scarier and scarier each week? You know, like the electric shocks we have right now. Just replace those with something else, like coldness? Maybe towards the end they can start phasing through things. That's always scary.
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Sensei, there is no need to praise us for that. Why, anyone would have found that scene shocking.
[Her allies are both. So absolutely terrifying. However well they get along, Usurper is acutely aware that by all rights she would be the easiest target, like the King in a chess game, if their opponents knew she was on the board. The sooner her plan is completed, the better. But for now, she gives a graceful nod of approval to the cooperating people.]
The illusion of phasing may be tricky to maintain... but cold is rather deathly, so hopefully they will be inclined to take that seriously.
[She's still thinking about that 'happy in Kanto' point though. It's important - for both her and Ryota, for different reasons.]
Do you suppose there are more things I could try, to make them want to stay? Kanto is a powerful engine, but now that I... am the only administrator, [Usurper's smile tightens subtly as she avoids speaking casually of her parricide.] Another human's opinion may be quite valuable.
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Don't give them the option to refuse. Make them realize it's the only choice.
[Surprisingly direct, and also perhaps surprisingly ruthless -- but hey, maybe it was to be expected. He's the guy whose morality broke until he was willing to brainwash the entirety of humanity for the sake of hope, and when he was about to do that he was dragged into another world where he has spent the last eight months getting his relatively recent zeal encouraged and, unwittingly to him, used as the tool to manipulate him. Still can change his ways, but for the sake of giving everyone a peaceful life anything is acceptable]
I guess we should have expected all these guys wouldn't be very willing to cooperate. We knew what we were getting into, but it doesn't stop being kind of daunting. Even the younger ones are dangerous!
[They're all truly fitting the title of Akudama according to the beliefs of this world! He wouldn't want to be in close quarters with the X-Classes, that's for sure]
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[Man. The criminals they've collected are dangerous. Truly she worries about an anklebiter herself on occasion.]
Honestly, I expected way more vigilantes or, you know, Sorcerer maybe. For a computer that scans criminal histories as much as deeds, Kanto knew how to pick 'em.
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[Usurper's not surprised he's become hardened either. I mean, Ryota's 3 for 3 on having his confidants running death games. At this point, maybe he's just accepted it as fate? Liv isn't telling her anything she didn't know either, but this is good. It sounds like she'll have their approval no matter what she does to 'format' the X-Classes in her domain.]
My, they certainly are something, aren't they? Before all of this happened, I never imagined I would meet anyone with such a long list of offenses... let alone this many.
[She agrees it's daunting. Even foolish to mess with so many powerful people. But that's the most terrifying thing Usurper has to offer. Her lack of perception that there is anything she has to lose. Even merely having Kansai in her hand is an unacceptable existence. She cannot be her parents forever. She won't.]
For most, I'm sure no one will pity them, or lament their lack of choice as my offerings. And their powers would absolutely be enough to ensure utopia lasts forever. If they come for you in earnest, you may - [She pauses. Not enough.] - you must sacrifice them early. You'll have "Kanto's" support, and there will be other scapegoats. But the two of you - why, I consider you quite irreplaceable.
[Miraculous is a word she's used to describe their meeting in the past. They were always sincere. She's someone they saved, even if she immediately began taking advantage of it to take over the world. A virtual girl's gotta live for something.]