ERode

After Era Mythos

@Digmata@Papitan Since I've getting the feeling that Elpis is going to stay around for the police while Amaris peaces out with the guy, what statement, if any, would Elpis make to the police. They'd probably ask her, as the closest witness to all this, if she saw anything out of the ordinary.

After Era Mythos

Posting tomorrow. Will be moving peeps along by a day.

@Crowvette@Yankee Feel free to collab together an end to y'alls conversation.

Iris Ascendis

_{@Nanaya@AThousandCurses@Psyker Landshark}

A forced transportation spell was a curious one. With his own Ethos, Otis hadn't studied that particular field of magic quite as much as perhaps he should have, but it was clear enough to the Strigidae that he had made the correct choice, deciding not to rely on Fianchetto's magic: the two bandit leaders possessed some form of teleportation themselves. Banishing them while they were relatively healthy would simply mean that they would return at a later time, still just about as healthy as they started.

Which wouldn't be an issue, Otis supposed, since Alto came to the swift conclusion that an expedient retreat was for the better.

Nodding to Iraleth, he stepped into the carriage, squeezing himself into a corner. Otis folded his arms, crossed his legs, and shrunk in for what was definitely going to be a crowded ride back...but, of course, such uncomfortable settings did little to prevent him from asking the first, and perhaps most important, question on his mind.

"So, who else knew about this trip?"

For the timing was simply too convenient. Two carriages full of young Ethos users who had their essence-manipulating capabilities sealed, attacked by uncommonly skilled bandits not even a day away from Wingram Academy? A situation like this wasn't misfortune. It was conspiracy.

Iris Ascendis

Will post tomorrow fo sho.

After Era Mythos

@Yu Narukami@Psyker Landshark Eyo whats going on.

After Era Mythos

Can't wait to torpedo Armada's Fame as his parasocial fans immediately crash out over him doing a stream with an Onlyfans Talent. ;3

After Era Mythos

Dang the fuck y’all are fast.

I’ll give you two both two more rounds of conversation if you want, before the police arrive, if ya want. Gonna be the most awkward media interview inbound otherwise, especially if Elpis just blurts out that the brakes didn’t work into the cameras.

@Digmata Whoever took the remaining spot is a mystery (which means you can make them up. I’d imagine they’re mostly a rival magical girl figure that they’ll weave into Elpis’s storyline).

After Era Mythos

Aaaand update done.

Like I mentioned before, Yankee and Crowvette can just continue with their personalized yapping.

With consideration to the contents of the update, I'd say that Taka and PapiTan should probably post first for their respective groups.

After Era Mythos

//AE 53, Sol 13
//Day 1 of the Play/Tech Expo

---

_{@PapiTan@Digmata}
"Jump!"

Shocked into action by the iridescent magical girl's orders, the young man immediately reached for the door and tried to fling himself out, only for his seatbelt to jerk against his shoulder instead. His eyes widened, but there was no time for Elpis to hesitate now. Her heels shattered asphalt, digging into the reinforced concrete underneath as her hands pressed against the crumpling fender of the car. There was an immediate deceleration, the young man's body lurching forward a second time and causing a sharp 'BEEP' when his head smacked upon the steering wheel.

Elpis was not a magical girl known for feats of strength. She was a magical girl, after all. Her promotional videos were of her descending like an angel from on high, before utilizing all sorts of pink-colored magical projections to save people from harm, or smiting her foes with flashy beams from her wand. In this moment, her strength was only sufficient to slow the vehicle, her physical durability only potent enough to prevent her body from being shattered.

But this act, recorded by police drones and corporate cameras alike, would be recorded. Streamed. Proliferated.

...

"Sir, she's acting out of character again. Should we request a suppression of this encounter?"

"No." A thumb brushed against a perfectly waxed moustache. "That old dog at Summit's trying something. Let this develop...organically. If the Opera Nova's wave ever comes, we'll be primed to take it for ourselves."

...

Salvation, that day, was found not in the smile of a girl who inspired hope, but a single shaft of moonlight, whistling like an antediluvian song to pierce the engine of the rampaging car. Without its heart, how could a beast continue to struggle? Pistons pumped, only to gradually gas out. Smoke sputtered, but the Moon Arrow's divine precision had avoided puncturing the gas tank entirely. Ten meters away from the guardrail, with its front compressed by half, the car stopped, leaving a magical girl covered in dust and asphalt, a car that was certainly going to be scrapped for parts, and a driver that was fully unconscious.

Of course, though she was responsible for actually stopping the car, it would be Elpis who would benefit most from such heroics, who had the spotlight that took the form of the majority of drones tracking her movement. For camera-shy Amaris, perhaps it was to her benefit, but there wasn't any doubt that her junior would be gaining the most fans tonight.

There would be an ambulance arriving soon. Probably a news unit that would be dispatched to interview Elpis. She should probably join in on the scene, even if it felt like pulling out her own teeth, if only to fulfill contractual obligations.

Bzzzt.

Her communicator sounded, but it wasn't the droning tone of their operator-office-clerk.

"Ah, this is the Moon Arrow, yes?" A man spoke, and the intonation immediately gave his identity away. Corporate hijack. "I'm representing GAG, the Gendarmerie Automotive Group. It would be most beneficial if you could convince your partner to leave this scene before any statements can be made involving this incident."

The GAG. It wasn't one of her own sponsors, but they were still one of the big four automobile manufacturers in Neo-Astraea.

"Please understand, of course, that not doing so would mean that we may have to reconsider our relationship with AGC."

Really, there wasn't any reason not to obey this outsider directive. Gave her a reason to dodge both the police AND the media, after all. So long as she ignored the implications of this particular bit of ickiness.

_{@Taka@Psyker Landshark@Yu Narukami}
The air around them turned cold, colder than the air conditioners...but that wasn't a good thing at all.

Ladyice had gone off-script, dramatically so, and in that moment? Well, it certainly proved the critics of her actress-career right. Blaire Ozly was not a method actor. She needed a script, needed direction, and often ended up being typecast into the seductress or femme fatale role on the strength of her naturally good looks alone. Now though?

"Is she...making puns?"
"Bwahahaha, a milk moustache?"
"Dunno 'bout you guys, but that kinda gap is kinda cute..."

The image that Blackriver had cultivated for her, that they had hoped her own personality could then naturally coast on, was crumbling. This was Day One of the Play/Tech Expo. There were far too many eyes in every direction. And in this moment, Ladyice was no effortless queen bitch, as cold as a tundra. She was falling apart, being dragged down into the arena of Zephyr's barbed insults. Her earpiece sounded immediately, one of her producers telling her to just shut the fuck up, turn her nose up, and settle for a stink-eye before she said anything else. But was she going to let this lie?

Her abilities hadn't yet managed to develop. Would she throw hands anyways, pull this metal-bitch by the hair and clock her right in the nose? Would she screech and rant, pale cheeks reddening? Could she win the after-round via sheer social media influence, grinding the SKybreaker's fans into dust with the sheer number of her followers?

"Blaire! Just keep your lips sealed and smile! Poker face through it! I swear t-"

And in that moment, a third factor arrived.

Armada, the Technological Marvel. A showman at heart, one made fearless due to the fact that in a tech expo, against one Talent who was functionally still powerless and another Talent whom his own Fame absolutely dwarfed, could take them both on and come away without a scratch...so long as there were no surprises.

The crowd immediately responded. Some were already eagerly texting away at this new development. Others were seething at how some privileged m*le Talent just had to insert his way into a females-only event. Still more were wondering if this 'spontaneous' catfight was actually just a scripted planned between all three corpos.

They were right, of course.

But only because the script that Team RESPAWN followed was one that morphed and mutated at the whims of their eccentric CEO.

"Ey, Justin, my guy!" David's voice sounded cheerily through the Technological Marvel's earpiece. "Casanova'll be ready for the support. I'm just letting you know that you've just gotten approval to announce the latest system at Re:Arcade! As for the demo of the VR tech, I'll work things out with Carmine and Blackriver. Get those ladies in on it!"

Armada could clearly envision his boss's goofy smile in that moment. Guy was probably still playing mahjong over at the park. But amongst the crowd, Jimmy caught his eyes and gave him a wink, letting him know that the honor was all his.

Return of a Failed Generation

For a moment, he almost pitied them.

He had been in this same position before, standing on the opposite end. If he forced things, perhaps there would be some disciplinary actions taken against him, but these men would end up losing their jobs. Could he bear the burden of such thing? Could he sleep at night, knowing that he ruined two lives, just for a momentary pleasure? A flicker of emotional release? A period of nostalgia that he could indulge in, one obtained even more easily if he simply waited for after orientation to do so?

Yes, he could.

Ferrucio had failed far more, to deathly consequences, and had still managed to scarf down his bread and broth, still managed to snatch sleep from cold stones and blood-crusted cloaks. And anyways. He was getting tired of this. If he wanted it, he should just reach for it. If he sought it, there was no reason to second-guess it. Compromise now, be reasonable now, and what would that get him? He clenched his teeth. Let out a low breath. His knuckles were white against the handle of the basket of foodstuffs he had. Saliva gathered, then was swallowed, the joy of living out a peaceful, sunny, perfect day gradually being smothered by the anxiety of doing something unlike himself.

The bastard-child raised his eyes.

"I will return through the main gate and leave it to speculation as to how I left the estate to begin with."

Let's see how far I can push it.

"But I will leave."

And with that, he walked, mirroring the same gait, the same confidence, that Sherry once held. A steady stride, a straight back, and eyes that expected all obstacles to give way in his very presence.