GAME MASTER
Wandenreich - Soldat
Memories broken, the truth goes unspoken...
Hibano
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Post by Hibano on Jun 26, 2022 10:02:42 GMT -5
Hibano Location: Japan
Status: Alive Niji figured out Morgan and turned the conversation back around. She has had enough talking about her illusionary world and what it meant for her, she wanted answers - and confronted Morgan about his attempts to sway the conversation away from her questions. She wanted to know what his goals were, she wanted to know what the Red Lotus' goals were. Morgan initially responded with silence. His fingers twiddled with the grip of his sword, resting pointed at the ground, while he lost himself in his thoughts, thinking of how to answer - if he even could. Even after all that happened between them, Niji had high expectations for him. She remembered him as a heroic defender of justice, one who would never stand up for such tyranny and would find a way to resist Virgil, one war or another. So, those expectations weighed on him - but, ultimately, Morgan went with the truth. " I... don't know," he answered, briefly gritting his teeth. " You're right. I don't want to stand and watch, I want to do something, but... for the first time in my life, I feel utterly lost. I don't know how to move forward from there, or whether I'm even alive enough to continue. Even if I escape and defect, there's no "forward" for me to go..." It was a despicable feeling of helplessness, and it frustrated Morgan to no end. " ...the... goals of the Red Lotus, then. If you're aiming to compare what you heard in your illusionary timeline to what stands in reality - then what's the impression you have of it from your illusion?" |
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Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
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Post by Niji on Jun 28, 2022 7:01:10 GMT -5
Niji made a frustrated noise as Morgan asked his question, it was an annoying route for the man to take. She had no real ideas of this man’s actual personality, nor his true loyalty to the Red Lotus, despite his dislike of the man that ran the organization. While the Red Lotus of the false reality had been pretty clearly explained to her, she was not going to give Morgan an easy answer to agree to or disagree. Her eyes narrowed at the man, ”I will tell you what I know of the real Red Lotus.” She stood up, allowing her stone chair to sink back into the ground, ”As you mentioned, it is a secret society, but that is not entirely true. Yours is a militant organization, focused, near as I can tell, almost exclusively on honing your spiritual abilities for combat.”The fullbringer shook her head as she continued, ”I know this because I know the Red Lotus found a young Russian girl whose power was manifested as a toolbox. And rather than teach her to develop the full range of her gift, all they taught her to use was the sledgehammer.”A twinge of loss and sadness touched her eyes as she continued, ”It was never what her power was supposed to be for, Morgan.” She gestured at the lush forest around her, complete with small animals running through the nearby trees, ”Her ability was like mine, best for creation, not destruction. Yes, my powers can be turned to combat purposes, but that is a waste. With the amount of energy I expended on my demonstration earlier, I could have grown a forest.”She sighed, ”Given the potentially vast array of Fullbringer abilities the Red Lotus must have at their disposal, and the example Val provides, I can come to one of two conclusions. One: The Red Lotus focuses on combat applications of their abilities, to the exclusion of other uses. Or two: The Red Lotus does train their members in non-combat applications, but have no interest in using those abilities for the betterment of our fellow man.”Obviously, neither was a good answer. Hibano |
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GAME MASTER
Wandenreich - Soldat
Memories broken, the truth goes unspoken...
Hibano
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Post by Hibano on Jun 29, 2022 11:52:11 GMT -5
Hibano Location: Japan
Status: Alive Niji continued her verbal assault. Dissatisfied with Morgan's question of what she knew of the goals of the Red Lotus, she immediately began attacking his organization and their motives, on their basis of how they treated Val. Even though she had openly stated that Val hated her and wanted to kill her, Niji went to greater and greater lengths to defend her - and blame Morgan's people for her turning out the way she was. It was a touchy topic for her. Everything about the Red Lotus was a touchy topic for her, and it all returned back to Val. They shaped Val into a weapon, they left her yearning only for destruction. They weren't mindful of her creative potential. Niji was certain that the blame fell upon them. Morgan wasn't sure if it was even worth it to convince her of anything - but, the least he could do was to offer his side of the story. The Val he knew, ever since they first arrived to that destroyed night club in the suburbs of Moscow and found a crying teenage girl next to the corpse of her sister. " She... made her choice," Morgan answered and stepped away from the tree, slowly pacing around Niji, through the garden. The Fullbringer imagined that just saying that would frustrate her - so, he immediately continued: " Put the Val you knew from your illusions to the side and focus on the one you met here, in reality. As I understand it, you two did not know each other for long - but from the time that you met one another, have you witnessed her receive opportunities to change, pressure to move past her hatred and self-destruction? A voice of reason, internal or external, that refutes her ideology and calls her to stand down?" Morgan glanced towards Niji, before turning his gaze away. " She had chances. To find beauty in the world, to find something worth saving, enter a path towards recovery. She had a boyfriend, whom she loved. She received a pupil from our organization, whom she trained, and whom she could have grown attached to, found someone to mentor. She had freedom, more freedom than she ever had before we found her - she never needed to worry about food, or money, ever again, and could travel the entire world like she always wanted to..." Morgan finally stopped, and turned directly at Niji. " She chose to go to war, and so she chose to become a weapon," he finished. " Mentoring, tutoring can go far, but there's a part of you that no amount of control will ever change. For Val, that was her dream - and I was not going to be able to erase it." |
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Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
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Post by Niji on Jun 29, 2022 12:34:07 GMT -5
Niji sighed, shaking her head sadly, ”Of course, you are correct. I just know that she…she could have turned out differently.”Val could have turned out differently, it all could have turned out differently, if Niji had just found her earlier, before her dreams had become a nightmare of destruction. If she had been more honest, or a bit braver, when she discovered her abilities. The woman briefly turned from Morgan to wipe her eyes, disguising it as looking at another small woodland critter. The Fullbringer turned back to Morgan, eyes clear once again, ”As I said, it does not matter, once I figure out how to save Hibano, she will not be a threat to anyone again. But you are once again avoiding my question. I have kept my ear to the spiritual ground for over a decade. Near as I can tell, outside of slaying a few hollows, the Red Lotus has no particular desire to help humanity as a whole.”She gave a helpless shrug, ”There is little point in explaining what a Red Lotus that does not exist stood for, when you could simply tell me about the real one. At the very least, I am reassured that the goal of the organization is not the destruction of reality.”Hibano |
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GAME MASTER
Wandenreich - Soldat
Memories broken, the truth goes unspoken...
Hibano
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Post by Hibano on Jul 3, 2022 10:34:12 GMT -5
Hibano Location: Japan
Status: Alive " Well, you were the first to avoid my question," Morgan answered Niji's statement that he distracted their conversation from the topic at hand yet again, and briefly strolled around the fellow Fullbringer yet again. " Since you told me that this illusion you saw during your fight with Val gave you very specific knowledge about our organization, I wanted to see whether this extends to your knowledge of our purpose. I suppose you aren't interested in doing that experiment, though." Obviously, Niji saw everything about the Red Lotus through her experience of Val - so, she did not let go of her belief that the Red Lotus did not truly help mankind, or was even trying to - so, Morgan had a lot to grapple with as he formulated his answer to the woman. The Zodiac stopped, sighed and turned to Niji, speaking: " Individually, some of us do go out and help the rest of mankind, to the best of our ability. Val used to do the same, for example, though her method was always a bit more violent - others applied their powers in more subtle ways, if able," After the explanation, Morgan briefly glanced away. " But we are not a police force, or a league of superheroes. We are a reserve army." The Fullbringer slowly paced to the side. " It is a fact of our history that there were others before us on Earth, hundreds of years ago, who unlocked the ability to wield spiritual powers - but, they were exterminated as soon as they caught the attention of the Shinigami. That was the original purpose of the Red Lotus - to avoid experiencing the same outcome. To train a generation of Fullbringers in secret who are in control of their abilities and are able to fight the Shinigami, and so protect ourselves and others from an inevitable attempt to leave us extinct. Which, of course, means combat applications - for our safety and yours. I'm sure there were plenty of Quincies who preferred using their abilities for creation, but those weren't the ones who lived." After a sigh, Morgan continued: " We established our bases, the one in Tokyo and the others, to keep our kind invisible as long as possible and to give us room and equipment to train for this future battle. Over time, it became... just training Fullbringers in general, though at least the original members never forgot the real reason for why we formed." |
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Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
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Post by Niji on Jul 5, 2022 20:39:50 GMT -5
Niji held back a growl, and just listened to Morgan’s statement, ”Wasting time with experiments will not help anyone. Were this a conversation that would exist in the future, I would be more delicate with my questions and play your game.”
But he relented, and gave her the explanation. She shook her head, it was the same, at least from what she understood, ”Nonetheless, the goals of the organization are the same as they were in the illusory life, but that just confuses matters.”It didn’t make sense; while she only heard of Virgil in passing in the false life, the objectives had been the same. Morgan, along with that reality’s version of Janus, had been their main contact with the Red Lotus, and the war between the spiritually aware mortals and the Shinigami they heard about mostly secondhand. Even given what Morgan said, the goal of the Red Lotus was to be able to fight the shinigami, Virgil’s actions seemed to run contradictory to the goal. She looked to Morgan, he hadn’t paced this much in her alternate life; he had been more confident, perhaps he was still shaken over his encounter with Virgil. ”It does not add up; even given Virgil’s growing concern towards Val, why would he offer up anything to Shinigami ally like Tendo?”Tendo was one of a small number of individuals that both knew her as Hikari Niji and were aware of her activities as Gaia. He even personally knew her parents! Even if she wanted to destroy the man, he was more of a direct and current threat to her and those she cared about than Virgil ever was. Not only that, he seemed to have a finger in a great many pies. She supposed at some point she’d have to sit down and have a peaceful chat with him. Hibano |
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GAME MASTER
Wandenreich - Soldat
Memories broken, the truth goes unspoken...
Hibano
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Post by Hibano on Jul 6, 2022 14:30:19 GMT -5
Hibano Location: Japan
Status: Alive Niji found an issue in Morgan's detail of the goals of the Red Lotus - she fixated herself on Tendo, and the fact that Virgil made a deal with him did not resonate with the Red Lotus' motive as the guardian of Fullbringers against possible Shinigami invasion. After a brief pause, Morgan answered: " ...I'm not too sure about what happened there, either. It was Virgil's unilateral decision to negotiate with Tendo first, he brought the news to us already after it happened." From the way Niji spoke to him, it did not seem like she had a high opinion of Tendo, either. Perhaps it was just because he was involved in Val's transformation, though he could not ignore the possibility that she had even more reasons to despise him. " Tendo does not strike me as someone who's just a Shinigami ally, at least. I've only seen him twice, and only barely both times, but... he seems to me like he just works for any side. You know... like a war profiteer." And, besides, he was a former Shinigami, after all. The soul reapers were rather strict on their ranks, someone who was expelled from them is probably not very beloved among them. " I'm sure there's something that Virgil doesn't tell about the deal - but, for now, this is all that I know." |
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Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
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Post by Niji on Jul 7, 2022 19:02:14 GMT -5
She narrowed her eyes, Morgan’s assessment was correct, Tendo was obviously not just a shinigami ally. Granted, any information about Tendo would either have to come from the man himself, or she’d have to find others that knew about him and were willing to share information. The conversation had looped back to the goal, information gathering on the people who threatened the existence of the worlds. She spoke hesitantly, ”Tendo…he is a concern for another day. And one I have to approach more delicately."The woman continued, questioning Morgan once again, ”But why do the Zodiac even follow Virgil? From what you have told me, the man stays aloof and mysterious. Obviously he also has no issues lying to the entire organization about his activities. That is usually not the type personality that inspires the level of loyalty we have discussed. Your director claimed that the end of the world would be stopped, but the apocalypse seems like something that at least one of your number would go to try and stop even without orders, hell, even with orders not to do so.”The redheaded Fullbringer shook her head in confusion as she continued, ”That can not just be fear of his fullbring, heart popping ability or not.”Hibano |
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GAME MASTER
Wandenreich - Soldat
Memories broken, the truth goes unspoken...
Hibano
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Post by Hibano on Jul 9, 2022 7:17:27 GMT -5
Hibano Location: Japan
Status: Alive Having learned all that she could about Tendo, Niji moved on to Virgil and his relationship with the rest of the Zodiac. Having received an unflattering image of the Director prior, she began to question how he was able to control the organization in the first place. Morgan sat back down on his seat. " No, it's not because of fear, no - even if the knowledge that he is mysteriously powerful does loom over the shadows," the Zodiac began to explain. " That he keeps himself mysterious doesn't mean he cannot talk to people or inspire loyalty. When he does make a presence, he can easily disarm people with his words. He's clever, and knows how to read people well." Briefly, Morgan paused. " A natural politician, I'd say - and those don't need to know each supporter personally to earn their loyalty. This world has plenty of people who blindly follow someone charismatic despite never seeing them face to face, I'm sure you have experience with that." Virgil was almost a legend for many rank and file members of the Red Lotus for much of the same reasons - and the air of mystery around him helped that reputation. It meant that when their Director did appear, before them, and informed something of them, they knew shit was going to go down. " And... he was the one who recruited many of our strongest members to the Red Lotus in the first place. Almost all of the Zodiac, myself included - we first learned that our mysterious powers come from our Fullbringer nature, and how the spiritual world works, from him. There weren't many ways for Fullbringers to learn something about how this world works before he arrived, and the Red Lotus was founded - so, he was a mentor of sorts for many of us. Just for that, he's someone to respect... and someone whose words you would consider when a phenomenon never seen before happens in Tokyo." |
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Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
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Post by Niji on Jul 10, 2022 19:01:26 GMT -5
Well, that was unfortunate; the man wasn’t just a spiritual powerhouse, but had the type of charisma that actually inspired loyalty. Niji’s business dealings made her tangentially involved in politics in several countries, either through industry lobbyists the Hikari Ranches worked with, or the occasional elbow rubbing with members of the National Diet. Wagyu was an internationally known Japanese export as well as a luxury item; politicians liked being associated with both of those. She supposed it wasn’t too surprising, it made more sense than just a powerful Fullbringer running the organization. He was obviously smart and well organized; until she had basically learned the name of the organization, she had not come across it in years of fairly subtle research. What did surprise her was that Virgil recruited many of the Red Lotus personally. That was another question that she would have to determine. The Red Lotus was based out of a region she was in fairly consistently. She had fought hollows in Tokyo, as well as across most of Japan as random occurrences, but no one had ever approached her. Which made her wonder if, perhaps, this was yet another thing Tendo had his hand in. The man had obviously kept tabs on her for some large amount of time, possibly even her whole life. It was an unnerving feeling, but one she had to acknowledge might have been the case. It was entirely possible that he was involved in mortal politics, not just spiritual ones. She might have even seen him. ”Do you happen to have a picture of him?”Hibano |
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GAME MASTER
Wandenreich - Soldat
Memories broken, the truth goes unspoken...
Hibano
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Post by Hibano on Jul 12, 2022 3:58:44 GMT -5
Hibano Location: Japan
Status: Alive What's going to happen after he has explained everything Niji wants to hear? From what Morgan understood of time reversal, mostly just from fantasy and science fiction, his consciousness isn't going to be transferred to whereever in the past Niji was going to arrive. So, he'll effectively die here, and he'll have to trust Niji's judgment to be able to repair at least one possible timeline. Or, maybe Niji simply vanishes, and he has to deal with the consequences of everything that has happened today? He didn't know how he'd possibly explain it away to the Red Lotus... Or maybe he can just resist, in that case. Niji is right, he doesn't really sound like himself anymore - to the point where even he was shamed to admit that he did not have any idea or plan how to resist Virgil. It isn't the plan that matters - it's the act of resistance against tyranny itself. If so... Niji suddenly raised one more question to Morgan, getting his attention out of his thoughts. " Oh, uh..." he muttered and reached towards his pockets, from which he pulled out his smartphone. A picture of Virgil..? That was easier said than done, a man who generally kept himself in the shadows didn't have that many pictures floating around - and just describing him to Niji would hardly help. There could be a hundred thousand men who fit his description, after all. Maybe in the group chats..?" I... guess this is the best picture I'll be able to find." Morgan turned his phone around, showing a low resolution photo from a scene in southern Japan from two years ago. |
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Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
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Post by Niji on Jul 19, 2022 9:15:23 GMT -5
Even if Niji wasn’t someone whose career revolved around understanding people, it was easy to tell that Morgan’s thoughts were elsewhere. It could have been on any number of things, but they didn’t have the luxury of an extensive discussion of whatever was bothering him. She waited patiently as Morgan flipped through his phone, eventually showing her a photo from some range of the man that led the Fullbringer organization. It was…not particularly helpful. Other than the black goatee and shaggy mane, there were no distinguishing features. She couldn’t even discern face, eyes, or even ethnicity from the range the picture was taken. Hairstyles and clothes were easy enough to change, so the odds of her being able to use this photo to distinguish this man from one of the other dark haired men that lived in Japan was unlikely, to say the least. Niji didn’t bother to hide her disappointment, and offered a small shrug to Morgan, ”Well, I guess I know he has black hair, at least.”The woman sighed, there was not much that it seemed Morgan was able (or possibly willing) to share. Might as well be direct, and put the ball in his court, ”Is there anything else you want to tell me, about Virgil, the Red Lotus, the other Zodiac, anything? Even if you think it might not be all that helpful.”Even though she knew this was not the Morgan she knew, there were enough echoes of the man he could have been that she was hesitant to abandon him to the despondency he had shown earlier. But once this conversation was over, and it seemed to be inevitably winding down, there was no telling what their next encounter would be like; or even if he would survive long enough to meet her. Hibano |
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GAME MASTER
Wandenreich - Soldat
Memories broken, the truth goes unspoken...
Hibano
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Post by Hibano on Jul 22, 2022 4:00:26 GMT -5
Hibano Location: Japan
Status: Alive Niji was clearly expecting more from the picture, but if she had any complaints about the quality, then she did not vocalize them, and merely quipped in response. Morgan withdrew his phone and pocketed it once again. The conversation was dying down, Niji did not have much else to ask the Zodiac anymore, and so even offered him to say his piece, if he had anything to tell her. " Well..." Briefly muttering to himself, Morgan folded his arms and immersed himself in thought. After briefly considering what he could still offer her, he finally answered: " Well, I suppose this is a bit selfish, but... when you do finally get on to that time reversal - if you can actually pull it off - then I hope you don't... waste your time. I'm not sure if I'll still be around for that much longer, if the status quo in the Red Lotus continues." Perhaps a morbid thought, but it wasn't wrong - and Morgan wasn't sure if he from a few hours ago would manage to find a way out of his despair without an outside force pushing him on. " What's going to happen when you reverse time? Am I going to have to grapple with the consequences of all the crap you just pulled, or is my consciousness just going to... stop?" |
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Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
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Post by Niji on Jul 22, 2022 21:40:42 GMT -5
In CirclesShe didn’t meet Morgan’s eyes as she thought about his second question; he was worried, understandably, about how the reversal might work. Niji knew what she wanted the wish to do; but the question of if a fragment of Val that gave her the potential wellspring of power to do so would cooperate was another question. ”I do not know for sure; but I do not think either of those will be the results. This morning simply will not have happened for anyone but myself. One more false memory for me, life proceeds as normal for everyone else. It will simply be a dream you will not even remember forgetting; nothing more.”Niji gently rested a hand on Morgan’s shoulder with the familiarity she had not earned with this man, ”When I go back to this morning, I will not come to Akai Hasu temple, you and the Red Lotus will continue in ignorance of my existence. I do not have a way to safely contact you without the rest of them finding out. As you said, it would be folly to strike unless I am sure I am prepared.”The woman spoke quietly, her voice shaking slightly, ”It will be a few months, maybe even a year or more.” As she shook her head, she let the tears fall freely. ”I am sorry, but I can not save you.”Hibano
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GAME MASTER
Wandenreich - Soldat
Memories broken, the truth goes unspoken...
Hibano
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Post by Hibano on Jul 24, 2022 11:46:02 GMT -5
Hibano Location: Japan
Status: Alive The realization of the consequences of her time reversal broke Niji into tears - she declared that she could not challenge the Red Lotus in any speedy enough timeframe to save him if his life really was in danger. She did not want to strike unless she is prepared - even if it meant letting an another Morgan die. The Zodiac remained stern in the face of Niji's tears, but then rebutted: " You're the one who told me that I would never simply stand back and watch evil happening. So why cannot you? My life doesn't matter that much, sure, but I can at least fight by your side - and you witnessed before that we're equals." Briefly gritting his teeth from the frustration, Morgan looked away, glancing at the grass. If her confirmation that the reversal of time will mean his consciousness ceasing was bad enough already, her resignation that even an alternate version of himself, after all that was said and done, could not be saved was soul crushing. " Is there really nothing you can do? If I wrote a letter, to myself, from the future, and gave you precise instructions how to deliver it without rousing any suspicion... would you be able to deliver it? Would that be safe enough for you?" |
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