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โœค ๐–ฌ๐– ๐–ฏ๐–ฒ โœค

โœค ๐–ฎ๐–ต๐–ค๐–ฑ๐–ต๐–จ๐–ค๐–ถ ๐–ฌ๐– ๐–ฏ โœค
โœค ๐–ข๐–จ๐–ณ๐–ธ ๐–ฌ๐– ๐–ฏ ๐– ๐–ญ๐–ฃ ๐–ซ๐–ฎ๐–ข๐– ๐–ณ๐–จ๐–ฎ๐–ญ๐–ฒ โœค
๐–ก๐–ด๐–ฑ๐–ฆ๐–ค๐–ฑ ๐–ฐ๐–ด๐–ค๐–ค๐–ญ
๐–ณ๐–ง๐–ค ๐–ค๐–ท๐–ข๐–ค๐–ซ๐–ฒ๐–จ๐–ฎ๐–ฑ
๐–ฒ๐–ด๐–ซ๐–ณ๐–ฑ๐–ธ ๐–ฒ๐–จ๐–ฏ๐–ฒ
๐– ๐–ก๐– ๐–ญ๐–ฃ๐–ฎ๐–ญ๐–ค๐–ฃ ๐–ถ๐– ๐–ฑ๐–ค๐–ง๐–ฎ๐–ด๐–ฒ๐–ค
๐–ณ๐–ง๐–ค ๐–ก๐– ๐–ฆ๐–ค๐–ซ ๐–ฏ๐– ๐–ญ๐–ณ๐–ฑ๐–ธ
๐–ก๐–ซ๐–ฎ๐–ฎ๐–ฌ๐–ฅ๐–จ๐–ค๐–ซ๐–ฃ ๐–ก๐– ๐–ธ ๐– ๐–จ๐–ฑ๐–ฏ๐–ฎ๐–ฑ๐–ณ
๐–ฌ๐–ด๐–ฒ๐–ค๐–ด๐–ฌ ๐–ฎ๐–ฅ ๐–ถ๐–จ๐–ซ๐–ฃ๐–ซ๐–จ๐–ฅ๐–ค ๐–ง๐–จ๐–ฒ๐–ณ๐–ฎ๐–ฑ๐–ธ
๐–ฅ๐– ๐–ฑ๐–ฌ๐–ค๐–ฑ๐–ฒ' ๐–ฌ๐– ๐–ฑ๐–ช๐–ค๐–ณ
๐–ฑ๐–ฎ๐–ธ๐– ๐–ซ ๐–ข๐– ๐–ฒ๐–จ๐–ญ๐–ฎ
๐–ช๐–จ๐–ญ๐–ฆ๐–ฒ๐–ถ๐– ๐–ธ ๐–ฏ๐– ๐–ฑ๐–ช
๐–ฅ๐– ๐–จ๐–ฑ๐–ฆ๐–ฑ๐–ฎ๐–ด๐–ญ๐–ฃ๐–ฒ
๐–ก๐–ซ๐–ฎ๐–ฎ๐–ฌ๐–ฅ๐–จ๐–ค๐–ซ๐–ฃ ๐–ก๐– ๐–ธ ๐–ก๐–ค๐– ๐–ข๐–ง ๐–ฑ๐–ค๐–ฒ๐–ฎ๐–ฑ๐–ณ
๐–ก๐– ๐–ธ๐–ฒ๐–จ๐–ฃ๐–ค ๐– ๐–ฐ๐–ด๐– ๐–ฑ๐–จ๐–ด๐–ฌ
๐–ฒ๐–ง๐–จ๐–ฏ๐–ธ๐– ๐–ฑ๐–ฃ
๐–ฒ๐–ฎ๐–ด๐–ณ๐–ง๐–ฏ๐–ฎ๐–จ๐–ญ๐–ณ ๐–ฏ๐–จ๐–ค๐–ฑ


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Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by January
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โœพ THE BEGINNING โœพ

ใ€‹ BLOOMFIELD BAY || 1 AUGUST 2019 || XXX



Bloomfield Bay's yearly, week-long autumn festival was the town's biggest event next to all the major holidays and the spring festival. The cozy autumn celebration that even big corporate chains like the Royal Casino participated in was a good social event for the town as well as an excuse to party for most. The Fairgrounds and the theme park there bustled with activity for the season and the farmers' market was alight with homemade food and decorations. It was one of the heights of Bloomfield Bay revelry and anyone who was anyone participated with surprise shows, concerts, guest signings, the works.

The city government used it as an excuse to splurge on events for social brownie points that would hopefully translate later into votes from people, but the west-side slums remained entirely neglected in all the fun. There had been some attempts by the government to add public housing and social aid programs specially for the marginalized, but the rampant crime in the area saw most of the charity work withdraw in time. The only completed project was a large 30-story building crammed with apartments and people. Initially meant as government-managed public housing, the building was abandoned when maintenance workers and staff were routinely threatened by gangs in the area and police investigations were overwhelmed with petty crimes. The building remains officially owned by the government, but any attempts to further improve or expand on the project has long been forgotten.

On the southern end of the city, Southpoint Pier was just as bright and lively as the central business district and its easy access from the docks allowed plenty of people to ride a scenic ferry from the northern harbor and back. It was a joyous time, even as security guards arrested several wild-eyed people who had run screaming into the crowds of merrymakers, brandishing knives and bats. Most chalked it up to drunken revelry and the news mentioned it only in passing along with several other petty crimes before returning to the highlights of the festivities.

ใ€‹ BURGER QUEEN || 1 AUGUST 2019 || 8:00 AM



"Well damn, if things don't get peskier during the festival, I guess," Dave groused from his van outside the Burger Queen. A small television set hooked up to a portable generator flickered with static as he watched the news, keeping tabs particularly on the locations of various minor crimes. it was how these things started--someone loses their mind and like an infection others around them did as well. During a season as bustling as the autumn festival, any scene could easily escalate into chaos.

He finished his sandwich and sat up from the futon layered floor of the van, rummaging for his morning hygiene materials and tucking them into an inner pocket of his trench coat. The Burger Queen was always open, but the new staff member was on his lunch break and he didn't want to trouble the guy, so Dave slid out of the van, locked the doors behind him, and plodded sleepily to the back entrance of the building. He waved at the part-timer smoking in the back before ducking into a different back door that opened into a set of descending stairs. A light switch nearby took several flicks to catch, but when it buzzed to life it illuminated a cozy basement room further down padded with worn, but cushy sofas and several twin beds. He coughed loudly in case anyone was around, not wanting to sneak up on any poor sod, but with no rustling of clothes or responding noises, Dave continued further into the room, slipping into a clean and tidy bathroom in the back to brush his teeth and shower.

Life as a full-time Crown subsisted on charity and resourcefulness, as he realized over time. Gone were the easier days when his family supported him and he could be a high school student by day and a magical hero by night. Nowadays he was alone, rummaging for food from bins whenever Jared forgot to send his monthly support money and relying on the bathroom being available more often than not in the BQ hideout. Sure, there were other Crowns around, but they had their own lives to worry about, or their own batch of newbies to take care of. He was a veteran, and he should know how to take care of himself. But Dave had never bought into the delicacy of balancing superhero life and normal life--he preferred to just do one thing, and fighting the Elegies had always felt more pressing than filing papers for his previous boss.

Still, no one paid him to save this little patch of world. So for now he was stuck sharing the living quarters of the BQ HQ and hoping Jared had enough money and influence to keep the managers from bothering him.

ใ€‹ CAKE CAFE || 1 AUGUST 2019 || 12:00 PM



โ€œWelcome to Cake Cafe! I'm Catherine, your server for the day!โ€ A violet-eyed brunette chirped the greeting as he escorted another customer towards the tables. โ€œWould you like a booth or a regular table?โ€

The customer was a middle-aged businessman who looked entirely out of his element, um-ing and ah-ing until someone waved to him from the corner. He muttered something about being with a party before dashing off to the booth and sitting down with a bewildered expression on his face.

Micah couldnโ€™t blame him. Who would have thought one of the priciest joints in Bloomfield Bayโ€™s central business district was 1. a maid cafe and 2. blandly named โ€˜Cake Cafeโ€™? Even better was the obvious tolerance the place had for workersโ€”while some of the male staff dressed in suits, there were plenty others who preferred the cute frills and lace of the female uniforms. The manager had never cared, so longed as they showed up on time, looked good, and did their work properly. Given the upscale neighborhood, there was enough social pressure to keep most of the bigoted silent and even more of them well away.

But the occasional new person was always a treat to behold.

The table wasnโ€™t his, so he left it alone, but he glanced over several times while checking in on his section to see if the guy would start any trouble. The customer just seemed increasingly flustered by yet another man in the female uniform arriving to take his order. Hopefully it was embarrassment and not hostility.

Before Micah could mull over it any longer, the ringing of tiny bells scattered through his thoughts. From the sounds of it, there were quite a few of them in the city all of a sudden. Dave would be able to manage any that cropped up near the Burger Queen, but the city center was too far from there to bet on Dave's help. He glanced back and forth, making sure the coast was clear before spinning around to grab the nearest staff member by the arm.

โ€œHey, Stella,โ€ he beamed at the poor guy he had grabbed. โ€œIโ€™m gonna go on break a bit early today, take over my section would you?โ€

โ€œWhat? Micahโ€”I mean, Catherine,โ€ the guy corrected, looking around to make sure no one had heard him use Catherine's real name, โ€œIโ€™m about to go on break, too!โ€

โ€œCome on, youโ€™ll be fine. This is more important than your break anyway.โ€ Micah ignored him as he continued protesting, running to the staff room to take off his uniform before slipping out the back and calling forth his Crown.

Heโ€™d have to buy George lunch later for that favor.



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GreenGoat Harmless Flower Person

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Miyamae, Nanami


The new bike roared, its powerful engine purring excitedly at the speed she was pushing it to go.

A recent 'acquisition', her just dues from one of the richest parts of the city. A small bike like these wouldn't be missed, nor would they even find out who it was, considering all it took for her was to just jump in the flip side, jump out and disable their cameras, then shove the vehicles into her storage space and get out again using the other side of the world. All in all, she had a few more good additions to her growing collection.

Stopping the bike, she dematerialized it, and summoned a familiar old beat up trailer truck, before flipping back to the real world, under a sort of an overpass bridge near the east side, where the construction left a bit of a ledge for a truck to park on under it.There was rarely anyone here, not even the hoboes or homeless, due to the high winds and height of the ledge she was on.

Reaching inside what had been her home for quite a while, she took out a can of sardines, and a slightly dirty spoon. With just a wipe of the spoon on her skirt and carefully removing the gasmask, she dug into the can, and sat down on the back of the truck.

A solidary life, where she would raid the rich to supply herself every month.

She wanted nothing to do with the newer people for the most part. Some of them made her feel sick with contempt, especially those who treat it like a game.

Almost as if summoned by her thoughts, the tell tale bells of several Elegies approaching came.

"Again...."

The truck disappeared, as she pulled out a motorcycle. She munched slowly on her tuna as she waited for the Elegy to come.
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โœพ CHANCE MEETINGS โœพ

ใ€‹ CAKE CAFE || 1 AUGUST 2019 || ~3:00 PM


The Elegies were small and numerous this time, the damn things shaped like scuttling rats and spiders coated with a surface of smooth, black ink. They were too defined to be the ephemeral, shapeless masses that were normal Elegies, but it was something to think about later for Micah as he mowed down the critters. They seemed to just keep coming and he was getting tired. The area he covered seemed deserted of any other Crowns so he decided to hang in there a bit longer until he really couldnโ€™t hold out anymore.

The roar of a powerful engine was heard first before the rapid hollow booming of her blasters. The veritable rain of fire left the familiar ozone smell in her nostrils as she perched precariously on top of the bike trying to finish her canned tuna.

She looked bedraggled and dirty, but as she stood up, putting her weight behind the bike as she swung it in mob clearing wide arcs around the lone Crown, her dull crimson hood and her transformed look all but conformed her identity.

"Pretty reckless fighting them solo."

โ€œI didnโ€™t really know anyone was around here,โ€ Micah said, backing away from her carโ€™s movements. โ€œBut right now thereโ€™s still a ton of them! Can you take them out? My offensive capabilities are, uh, yeah.โ€

He didnโ€™t wait for her to respond before a golden, ethereal ribbon beelined through the monsters and wrapped onto Nanamiโ€™s ankle. Nothing felt particularly different, but a tingling flitted through her body as the energy that she had recently depleted regenerated at breakneck pace.

The Crown of Potential wasnโ€™t the type of person that lingered with a regular groupโ€”it was something that anyone that had the opportunity to work with the woman was likely to say. That was why, when the chimes had sounded, sheโ€™d simply left her gardening half-finished.

That was why, when she noticed two other Crowns present in the Grayspace before she arrived, Tyjha couldnโ€™t help but be surprised. The Crown traced a path in the air with her armament, two shimmering gerberas the size of saucers following the batonโ€™s movements as she moved her way through the crowd with an elegance only found in comfort. Two others meant Scatter wouldnโ€™t be the easiest option to handle the sheer numbersโ€”a disappointment, but not an issue.

The gerberas cut another line through the Elegies, their forms returning to Tyjhaโ€™s side with a sweep of her baton, the third of seven Blossoming behind her from its ethereal form. Its form grew in response to will and magic, trailing behind her until it had grown to Tyjhaโ€™s satisfaction.

Unable to announce her presence with her voice, the Crown instead used action, the largest of her flowers following instruction from her baton. It landed in close proximity to the horned crown, brambles immediately growing outward in a line to slow the approach of Elegies from one side.

โ€œWow, lucky me,โ€ Micah greeted, the statement genuine. โ€œSomeone else with better powers.โ€

"Don't lose focus." Energized, with what little energy she had used returned, she transformed the bike entirely, forming it around her left arm. A large combine appeared, roaring like a demonic beast, the blades in front a maelstrom of sharp metal.

"Fall like chaff in the wind."

The combine roared forwards, moving with the speeds of a hungry beast. The black specks of rat-like Elegies vanished beneath the deadly attack, its power shredding through the immediate horde like paper. Dismembered rats dissipated back into the air of the Greyspace as if they had never existed. The remaining Elegies scampered away, too numerous to chase, but held at bay for now.

Micah released the spell on Nanami, breaths rapid. โ€œItโ€™s always been rats lately,โ€ he muttered, still looking around in case more appeared.

Another Crown chose that exact moment to step into the Grayspace. Well, he didnโ€™t exactly step so much as stumbled into the magical dimension, cursing and swaying all the while. Under the black garb his Crown gave him, it was difficult to tell who he was. But surprise was plain enough in his voice when he looked up and noticed Micah.

โ€œC-Catherine!?โ€ He called out, caught off-guard.

Micah recognized that voice, but he was having trouble remembering who it was. One of the customers who frequented the cafe. Markโ€ฆMichaelโ€ฆsomething with an M.

โ€œWaitโ€ฆMatthew?!โ€ he blurted out when the name finally came to him. โ€œYouโ€™re a Crown?!โ€



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โœพ UNREST โœพ

ใ€‹ BURGER QUEEN || 1 AUGUST 2019 || ~9:00 PM


Dave had never been one to complain. He hadn't said a word when he was expelled from his first high school over a misunderstanding, and he never groaned about the lack of job prospects in Bloomfield Bay. There were jobs, but there weren't any he could fill with his high school diploma. The service industry jobs went to younger, better-looking people who could put in more hours instead of a hobo living out of his car. He had tried applying for janitorial positions, too, but found that even there the applicants were usually plentiful and overqualified.

Occasionally, customers at the Burger Queen would mock him for having a cell phone despite being homeless, before they returned to their own brushes with poverty in every bill that needed to be paid. He understood that it was their own fears they wanted to avoid, and having him around made it easy to forget how precarious their own positions were. So he never complained when they made those comments, just like how he wasn't complaining now, as a snot-smeared kid wiped her little hands on his ragged coat in complete defiance of her screaming mother. Eventually the woman dragged her child away, scrubbing the toddler's hands furiously with wet wipes.

He noted with resignation that the lady never bothered apologizing to him. She was probably more horrified that her daughter was touching a homeless person.

His phone rang at that moment, the screen flashing while on silent, so he left the fast food on the table with a nod at the cashier and a quick look towards the restroom to indicate he would be back soon. Inside, the sterile lighting and white linoleum revealed too many piss stains to count and several dark brown spots peppering the immediate vicinity of the toilet.

"Hello," he answered, already knowing who it was.

Jared's chipper voice answered from the other end of the line, "Hey, Dave! Sorry about the late pay last time--I got a new accountant and he thought the monthly payments sent to you were 'suspicious' so he flagged them and forgot to check with me. Honestly, I appreciate the meticulous work, but the guy really grilled me about who it was going to and why--"

"They're getting numerous here, Jared," Dave cut in. It was Jared's nature to talk and talk often, the well-bred sort of assertiveness that resulted from years of trained socializing and careful sidestepping of awkward silences.

"...Is it bad? I don't think I'll be back in Bloomfield Bay for at least another month or two, and I just killed a pretty beefy one two days ago here," Jared's voice dropped, though from the stark silence in the background, Dave could tell he was already somewhere private.

"Even if you were, I'm not sure it'd make a difference. Some new type of Elegy these days. Sends lots of little things skittering around causing discontent and misery, but the big one's hiding somewhere I can't tell. Bell sounds have been maddening lately."

"Do you want me to call someone? I think Anna and Leelee are still in the area, and Anna's got that tracking ability--"

"Yeah, if you could," Dave agreed, "that'd be great." He paused a moment but continued when he heard the sound of Jared's mouth working up another silence-filler. "Hey, Jared? I know I say this all the time, but I really appreciate what you're doing. For me. And by proxy for everyone else. I know it looks weird to be helping a random hobo all the time--"

"Stop, I should be thanking you." Jared cut him off this time. Then the sound of something muffling the receiver end while Jared shouted at someone ended quickly. "Sorry about that--I was saying I should be thanking you. Most of us don't want to give up anything, even when we know the world's at stake. I'm not going to make the excuse that it's human nature, because we should know better than primal urges by now, but you're stronger than everyone I know. Don't think you should be ashamed of that. I'm not."

If there was anything Dave had to say in response, he held his tongue, afraid Jared would hear the slight stuffiness of his voice when he tried to hold back more emotions than he could.

"But hey, I've gotta go now, my secretary is absolutely reaming my ass right now, I'll call you again later if I can duck away." The call ended on a merciful click and Dave calmed his reddening face with splashes of water. Jared was wealthy, but not as much as he could be if he erred more on the shady side of business. That he had always refused to partake in tax evasion schemes and corporate exploitation meant he was often away checking in on various branches of his family's hotel chain and making sure someone else wasn't shaving off profits in his stead. It also meant he was cutting back himself in order to support not only Dave, but various other Crowns who had come to him for assistance.

When Dave had calmed down enough, he walked out as quietly as he had entered, finishing his meal and cleaning his table so the Burger Queen staff would have a little less to do.

When he was away from both security cameras and human sight, he called forth his Crown and stepped into the Greyspace. It shrouded his body in an ink-dark pallor before shaping into a thin layer of black armor over his now ash-gray skin that faded into a blue translucence around his legs and arms. It seemed to reveal much of his new body, but the texture of the new skin was hard as steel. The Crown became a horn jutting from his forehead and furled out two sharp tendrils of pulsing blue on either side of his head. The top half of his new, inhuman face was shrouded now by a sheath of that same black carapace and small divots of blue light glimmered to life along the face and collarbone of his new form.

Floating now, he turned towards the nearing sound of tiny bells, already expecting the swarm of vermin. It would take a coordinated attack and a careful tracker to reveal the main body of the Elegy and he could only wait until Anna returned to organize the friendly Crowns.



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