Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
|
Post by Niji on May 6, 2022 11:43:50 GMT -5
A wish. Niji knew what it was the moment it had landed in her hands. It was too much power; there was too much potential to cause unintentional chaos. Her fiance was just as anxious, if not more so, German fairy tales about wishes often were monkey paws with hugely negative side effects. However, one of his offhand comments, ”we can’t see the future” did inspire an idea in her. She couldn’t see the future, but she had a friend who could. They discussed it for a bit, and Niji would go and talk to the Oracle of Sicily. She walked into the wooded backyard of their house and emerged in a park not far from the bed and breakfast called Tempo Perso. Niji collected her thoughts in the taxi to Janus’s bed and breakfast; she wasn’t one-hundred percent sure Janus would be able to help, but at the very least she could be an idea board. The diviner had mentioned her powers were usually limited to the next few minutes; but even that might provide a level of insight that could be critical to avoiding disaster. Of course, that was provided Niji could interpret the woman’s tangents and diversions as useful insights. To say Janus was eccentric would have been an understatement, but she was also one of the closest friends Niji had in the spiritual world. Paying for the cab in cash, she walked towards the entrance of the bed and breakfast. She took a deep breath before she opened the door; half expecting Janus to open it before she could turn the doorknob. Hopefully she'd be willing to help out, and not immediately panic and kick her out at her request. snugglyrum |
|
|
Player
Insert Passive Aggressive Statement Here
snugglyrum
|
Post by snugglyrum on May 6, 2022 14:56:53 GMT -5
Janus looked at her door around nine in the morning for a ping that she was going to get around eleven, a good two hours away. She actually growled at the door as it came up hoping that it would go away. Gaia was thinking about walking in, thinking, and she would come in at eleven oh three. Janus threw her hands up in defeat. She was finally off everyone's radar as far as she could tell and no one had asked her anything in a while.
Which meant that something had to start up and inevitably, send everything down the shits again. She wished that she had some way to do that interdimensional teleportation that everyone but her seemed to know and that she could be anywhere else. Unfortunately, no dice, so she went about her normal morning routine of using the Army in extremely boring ways, like making the Cyclops be a maid cause that was just too funny. She got to her chores and made a pair of paninis with some jamon and monchego around ten fifty, then spent the rest of the time staring at the door angrily, hoping that Gaia would have the good grace to think about this again, and leave it the hell alone.
When it was clear that was impossible, she had the cyclops open the door, then move back into her body. "I was going on a whole month of being ignored, what do you need, Gaia?"
|
|
|
Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
|
Post by Niji on May 6, 2022 18:33:54 GMT -5
Niji walked in and smiled softly, ”I am sorry, Janus; I have been busy; I should have come by sooner.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a small envelope, there was no point in trying to surprise the woman, ”I am sure you know already, but I am here for two reasons.”She bowed deeply as she gave her friend the envelope, a genuine smile on her face; even if she was grumpy, Janus was someone she cared about, ”I wanted to deliver this in person, but it is an invitation to my wedding later this year. I hope you will be able to make it.”The fullbringer sighed deeply, taking a seat at the table in front of a panini she assumed was already made for her, but she didn’t start eating. How does she even go about explaining this? Oh, hey, I have been granted a wish via a piece of Val that was apparently transformed into something called a hōgyoku by the shinigami; can we brainstorm? No, probably better to start at the beginning, ”The second reason is well, a lot more complicated. How much do you know about the crack in the sky? I know you are aware that the media blitz about weather anomalies or sunspots is nonsense.”snugglyrum |
|
|
Player
Insert Passive Aggressive Statement Here
snugglyrum
|
Post by snugglyrum on May 7, 2022 16:28:15 GMT -5
"Me going to a wedding is basically a recipe for disaster. Come to think of it, I am basically the poster girl for don't put your dick in crazy. Probably why only one of my futures has gotten laid. I'll be there, but I will probably backtrack it when it gets bad." She said as she poured herself a diet soda and one for Niji. She saw a bunch of futures swirl as Niji did not decide on what to say.
"I keep to myself so immortal superpowered incarnations of Fate leave me alone these days. Since getting any bloody help was basically impossible. So, the only thing I know is there was one, and you were all probably doing really stupid shit to make it show up." She picked out a few converging futures. "I'd be careful using any Wish from anything, have you ever heard the idea of a monkey's paw?" She said and started eating, she rolled her shoulders as she tried to think, though it was most likely searching the futures for more questions. Janus came back to reality a minute or so later and looked at her phone and the clock above the door to make sure she was back at the right moment in time.
"What the hell are you getting me into this time?"
|
|
|
Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
|
Post by Niji on May 7, 2022 18:52:41 GMT -5
Niji smiled warmly, it wasn't a refusal, which was what she had been dreading, "I am going to tell my parents about my abilities. I imagine they will understand if there is a bit of weirdness at the wedding. The actual wedding will be a smaller, private affair; some time after we will have a more public ceremony."Her face became more serious, the wish was weighing heavily on her mind. "I am of the same mind, Leon and I were discussing what I should do. I think it is too dangerous to keep, use, or give away; any wish that was created from such misery seems unlikely to lead to good long term outcomes."She bowed her head towards Janus again, "I know I have been a poor friend. I will not make excuses for it. I have come or contacted you when I needed your help, and you have always been willing to assist me." It was true, her life had been very busy, but she could have had time to respond to Janus's random text of Look, I broke it! She might have needed help, but Niji had been too concerned with her own goings-on to follow up. Niji closed her eyes for a moment, then sighed deeply, "Originally, I was planning to ask you to help me decide how to deal with the wish. But I think I need your guidance on other things. How did you figure out how to separate your real timeline from fake ones? During the battle of broken skies, I was forced to live half a dozen false lives, alternate realities that never were. I am..."She shook her head, it was hard to say. "I am having trouble remembering exactly who I was. And I do not know if that is who I should continue to be."snugglyrum |
|
|
Player
Insert Passive Aggressive Statement Here
snugglyrum
|
Post by snugglyrum on May 7, 2022 19:21:27 GMT -5
"That depends on the definition of seperate. As far as I can tell, if a future becomes too unlikely, the backstory of whatever future I tug at changes. Which, brings up the new member of the Army, the woman the rest of us have dubbed Chains. Though most of my futures can shift time ever so slightly, and at least see the potential futures. I am still basically treading on thin ice so I have not attempted to mess with anything recently." Janus stated before adding. "Which also means that the Fates have 3 of the pieces of eight and know where two more are, they might even have them by now."
"If you gave me specifics I could pull a member of the Army from the futures in question. Or I could cause a convergence and fracture reality like the whiskey bottle." Janus stated as she pointed to the bottle on the shelf that seemed to change volume the more one looked at it, causing nausea and worse. "As for your wish, we can simply check what they do in the short term, but that... is not what you should be worried about. It is always the long term that will bite you in the ass."
"You are my friend and I will do what I can to help, but do not expect me to not be willing to bolt out the door the first sign of trouble. As far as I am concerned between the Institute, the Fates, Demons with books and bones and another two wars in the future. I have done my part and not gotten a fucking thing in return. So, if the world gets destroyed, no one can say I did not try to warn all of you, repeatedly. But like the Oracles of old, I was seen, not heard." Then Janus shrugged and started laughing.
"You know Gaia, once, when I was dumber. I tried an interesting trick out. I sent a member of the army back to 2000, just to see if I could. To see if I was really crazy, you know? Do not mess with power you do not understand. It can lead to stories about time travelers on creepy parts of the internet." Janus said cryptically. "Though, if you got a wish, no reason to not use it for something interesting. Or, go ask M. They would be your best bet for someone with phenomenal cosmic powers." Janus said politely.
"Or, wish me Excalibur or something. After all you are the lady of the lake." Janus said waving the idea away. "How does your metamagic wish thing work, anyway?"
|
|
|
Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
|
Post by Niji on May 8, 2022 9:51:04 GMT -5
Niji raised her eyebrows, apparently Janus had been very busy with her own life as well, and Niji felt all the worse for not having been there to help. But before she could ask, Janus made a terrifying offer. She held up her hands to stop that line of thought, blinking away tears before they could form in her eyes, ”No, please.” She shook her head, ”It is hard enough when I can believe they are impossibilities. I do not want to know that if I had made a different decision a decade ago humanity could have colonized the moon.”
She sighed, shaking her head, ”The wish is powered by a fragment of Val; who was not the most stable person in the first place. The Shinigami, specifically your candy man; that son of a bitch, Tendo, transformed her into something they called the hōgyoku. The fight was…it was difficult, and it ended with the Shinigami putting her in a literal lamp. Maybe they have turned her into the their own personal genie. I do not know how it works.”The woman’s advice was vague, and mostly unhelpful, but trying to figure out what Janus was trying to say took her mind off of the chaos in her brain. Her eyes lowered to the panini on the plate in front of her, and she decided that maybe distractions were what she needed, ”Tell me more about Chains, M, and these pieces of eight. Is one of them the feather Atropos tried to extort us into getting from the Quincy? You…you probably do not remember her asking us to get that, but that’s probably for the best.”snugglyrum |
|
|
Player
Insert Passive Aggressive Statement Here
snugglyrum
|
Post by snugglyrum on May 8, 2022 14:58:16 GMT -5
"That sounds actually stupid. I hope you murdered that candy man in the face. That guy was evil and more proof that pajama samurai, do NOT belong here. You also seemed to have given this jinn back to the pajama samurai, which in and of itself seems actually stupid on a lot more than one level. They made a nuke, and when it went out of control, they asked someone else to fix it and kept the nuke for themselves." More proof, if it was needed that everything was stupid. These people were responsible for their problems and annoying enough to drag everyone else to help them.
Janus flexed her shoulders and the one armed, beat to hell, chained up Janus slowly emerged from her body. Unlike the other members of the Army, she was more broken than the cyclops, her version of the missing eye hidden behind ratty bangs and an almost twisted and darkened face. Her entire right arm was missing and the side of her coat caught in the chains around her as she grunted. She had a perpetual scowl and resting bitch face and looked like she was from a future where everything had gone to far more hell than a handbasket. "Oh wonderful, the lady of the lake, the fuck do you want?" The gravely, annoyed voice stated. She looked down at the prime and groaned.
"More questions, child, I can kill you just like your predecessor. Ask one of the others." She stated looking at the prime.
The woman stated before heading to the bar and grabbing the bottle of temporally jacked up booze. The, started drinking. Janus Prime shrugged and stated pointedly. "M is the leader of the Institute or the OGA, whatever secret society name you want to use. The pieces of eight are eight things that seem to do something? As for you last question, that is Chain."
|
|
|
Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
|
Post by Niji on May 8, 2022 15:43:54 GMT -5
Niji slammed a hand down on the table, harder than she meant to, "Do you think I did not want to?! I was ready to rip his fucking heart out of his chest, but he was backed up by every goddamn captain and vice captain of the Shinigami." She shook her head as the more battle scarred version of Janus appeared, "Maybe I could have killed him, maybe I should have; but I would not have made it out of that lab alive had I made the attempt, successful or not. They were going to take the thing they turned Val into back with them, and I could not do a fucking thing to stop it."
She narrowed her eyes at the version of Janus known as "Chain" dismissively noticed her, and growled in a low voice, "Go fuck yourself, lady; I am not here to talk to you. Threaten the prime again and I will tear your other fucking arm off."
Niji shook her head, that's not who she was, that was bleedthrough of one of the more vicious lives she had lead through Val's illusions. She sighed, turning back to Janus, "I have encountered the OGA, or at least one of their operatives, during a trip in the US. I have no particular opinion on them; the wannabe cowboy was a bit too big for his britches, though. So...the pieces of eight...do something. That is...not very helpful; but that feather Atropos wanted to send us after was one of them? Also, why am I the lady of the lake now?"
|
|
|
Player
Insert Passive Aggressive Statement Here
snugglyrum
|
Post by snugglyrum on May 9, 2022 10:22:33 GMT -5
"Their traitor was backed up by everyone in Soul Society. Just throwing this out there, but I EXPLICITLY said that black robes were useless, did not care about Earth, abusive and refuse to help. At this point, I think, I deserver A LITTLE BIT of credit. I pointed all this out. I pointed out that they do not want or care to help. I saw the future and not a SINGLE person believed me. I got killed, repeatedly I might add, just so that all of you could in-fight while I wanted them GONE!" Janus said as seemed to giggle in the background. "Now they have a Jinn, wishes, more power and once again. THEY LEAVE OUR WORLD IN RUINS."
Janus was now angry, really angry. If it was not Niji, she probably would have kicked her out, then gone and killed a bunch of pajama samurai on principles just to get a dam response. "The OGA's top agents are not a cowboy. I would give that to the Monster, the Bride, their insane Armorer, M and probably the "good" doctor. Maybe Salem or Morgan if they are still working for the OGA. And I am sorry but I do not have all the answers. You also just pissed off the one of me that does." Janus said referring to Chain.
"The world and the transversal parallels are dangerous, Niji. The black robes and blues are going to go to war, and it will let the Fates do whatever they want. So, when the black robes wish away reality for fun, or that child gets off his throne and wipes out millions in a flash. I will be glad to once again say. I WARNED you."
|
|
|
Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
|
Post by Niji on May 16, 2022 11:26:03 GMT -5
Niji frowned at Janus's outburst, but regained most of her composure and held back raising her own voice again, "What would you have me do, Janus? I am no match for a Captain, let alone the entirety of the Shinigami forces. Even if I had managed to eliminate Tendo, the Shinigami still would have gotten away with it. We are alone here. Do you expect me to throw my lot in with the Red Lotus or a shadowy organization whose motto appears to be 'shoot it or recruit it?'"She sighed, glancing over at the alternate known as 'Chain' before turning back to her Janus, "I will not apologize to an alternate version of yourself that is threatening you, no matter what answers she may or may not have. I am not the Niji of her timeline. If she is unwilling to provide answers, then so be it; I am tired of games."The fullbringer held up a hand, it glowed faintly with the power that now resided in her, waiting to be used, "Let us say we use this wish for the dream you told me months ago. Seal off travel between worlds; maybe even allow less dense reishi to pass from earth to the afterlife in order maintain the balance of souls. No sarcasm or bullshit this time, Janus. Is it worth the risk? Would it even work?"snugglyrum |
|
|
Player
Insert Passive Aggressive Statement Here
snugglyrum
|
Post by snugglyrum on May 18, 2022 15:44:54 GMT -5
Janus sighed and Chain walked back into her body and reality seemed to relax a bit as she determined that arguing was not something that she wanted to do. Then, she relaxed, and sat down. She looked at the clock above the door and seemed to slowly lose focus as she did so. It was a nice feeling, before the world's chonological point began to lose all form an function and a Number of Janus began to listen to Niji make different wishes.
Janus watched one version of Niji wish away spiritual travel, then another wish away interdimensional travel and yet another one start making conditions on each wish. It took about five paths before Janus realized that finding long term damage was difficult. She needed to either follow one line till everything went wrong, or something else. So, she started bolting through the path, hiding herself somewhere that did not interact with any choices until-OH SHIT. Well, that was a bad idea. She thought and tried another one.
After about ten minutes of real time, and probably years in her head Janus realized that this was a horrid idea. "Well fuck me." She stated out loud and opened her eyes. "SO, any permutation of that ends badly, but not for the shinigami spiritual balance bullshit. It causes everyone to go crazy and try and find ways back, including blowing giant holes in the planet doing so. The kid, the king that thinks he's god and M do a very good job of blasting their way back."
|
|
|
Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
|
Post by Niji on May 20, 2022 18:12:40 GMT -5
Niji lowered her eyes and frowned, "Well, there you go then. Sorry to crush your dream. I have to assume any permutation that puts any or all of the spiritual factions in any sort of metaphysical time out will end with a similar result."
She shook her hand, the glow dispersing as the energy of the hōgyoku fragment unfocused, "Like I said; I think it is too dangerous to use, keep, or give away. Similarly, just using it for something simple and mundane might be safe, but also an utter waste of potentially huge good."But Janus had mentioned something again, she must have become involved with the OGA. Considering she referred to other groups with dismissive nicknames like 'pajama samurai' or 'blue mages,' but kept referring to the OGA properly, and mentioning their possible leader, this "M" character, on the same tier as the leaders of other major organizations. She wanted something to take her mind off the burden that she had been saddled with. As if her life had not been complicated enough, balancing her spiritual life, wedding planning, and the family business. So she gently prodded, "Are the OGA not based on our plane? Or were they working with the king to reconnect the realms? If you do not know, that is alright; it just seems that you have a familiarity beyond just a passing interaction with this organization."snugglyrum |
|
|
Player
Insert Passive Aggressive Statement Here
snugglyrum
|
Post by snugglyrum on Jun 24, 2022 19:33:57 GMT -5
"My dream is a little different now that I have seen that shit." Janus stated and it had for the most part it was now about how to kick things the right way. Niji's personal interference with the creatures from other planes had changed her outlook which was a problem. That was a waste as far as Janus could tell.
"They are human, and recruited people from other groups. Though more blackmailed. Which is funny cause at least they do not lie about it like the others. They do what they want when they want. Like their leader knows more than anyone else." Janus stated to Niji.
"What king are you talking about?" Everything was a waste, maybe Janus had taken the wrong approach to this, maybe it was not about being the ally but, being the villain. She was learning, if they were all in league all of their wars and such were bullshit designed to let them control everything. Just like what countries did to manipulate global markets and such. "Maybe I have been doing this wrong, maybe it is time I just become the actual villain. Since apparently they can all do villainous things and not get in trouble for it."
|
|
|
Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
|
Post by Niji on Jun 28, 2022 7:45:22 GMT -5
While Niji enjoyed Janus's company, cryptic comments and all, she forgot how frustrating conversations with the diviner could be. "What? You mentioned 'the king that thinks he's a god,' I have no idea who that is referring to. I was just asking questions about the results of the timeline you saw."
She waved her hand dismissively, it didn't matter, and chasing conversational rabbit holes with Janus was an exercise in futility. "I will agree that it seems like the people who nearly caused the apocalypse do seem to be getting away with barely a slap on the wrist. But let us not forget, Jigoku is a real place, and these villains will end up there." She clenched her hand into a fist, and her voice became hard and cold, "And maybe we can help them get there sooner."
The Fullbringer shook her head, her voice becoming more considering and thoughtful as she continued, "There are a few unanswered questions I want the answers to before I make any waves. I am still practically unknown in spiritual circles, and that is an advantage at the moment. Justice for their sins may very well have to come from my own hands, but it would be folly to move before I establish a few more facts."
|
|
|
