PapiTan

After Era Mythos

^{━━━❝ ʟᴀᴜɴᴄʜɪɴɢ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴀɴ ᴇɴᴅʟᴇss sᴋʏ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɪғ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟɪɴᴅɪɴɢ ʟɪɢʜᴛs ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜ ᴍᴇ ❞━━━}

There was no doubt that Silvia was still concerned over Remy, even as she used the heel of her shoe to soften the closing of the room’s door behind her with the wry smile that was so commonly on her face when it came to Remington Beauford. Crossing the space of the room with a few even strides, Silvia placed the bag of personal items she’d brought for her dearest, darlingest friend on the chair just out of reach from the bed. It wasn’t much, the items within it a fairly random assortment. Three items he'd left in recent visits (she still didn't know exactly what the buttons on one of them did), an insulated thermos she didn't remember buying, a tablet, and whatever she could get to accommodate Remington's request for beer from her own fridge. "Ice cream stand", the pale blue can read beneath the brewery's logo.

“Wow, and you never introduced the other parent to me? I’m wounded,” Silvia said with a tone between sarcastic and playful. Despite her usual demeanor, warmth found its way into the woman’s cosmic eyes as she tapped the side of the bag with the tip of her finger. Though muffled, a particular metallic ping came as a telltale report of the not-so-authorized beverage in the satchel of offerings. “But should you really be asking for this in your condition? You have to think of the baby.”

Something familiar lifted the pressure that had been building in Silvia’s chest as she allowed herself to indulge in a life only half a step away from her identity as Amaris. For all the headaches he might cause her, Remington’s presence was always a relief. Only a few moments, and the conflagration she’d been keeping in check was smothered by a heavy blanket. Present—it was always present—but too weak to compel her.

Behind the chuckle and exasperated shake of her head, Silvia couldn’t help but wonder if she relied too much on her friend.

“You’re not in here for something serious, are you?” A pause. One hand gently pinched the bag's opening shut with two fingers and angled it away from Remington with a slight lean in a fluid motion. “I’m not handing anything over until you answer, by the way.”

After Era Mythos

^{━━━❝ ʟᴀᴜɴᴄʜɪɴɢ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴀɴ ᴇɴᴅʟᴇss sᴋʏ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɪғ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟɪɴᴅɪɴɢ ʟɪɢʜᴛs ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜ ᴍᴇ ❞━━━}

For all her time doing patrols and “real” hero work, it was always when she chose to be out and about at night that Amaris realized exactly how far the faith of her believers pushed her. At under 300,000, she didn’t hold a candle to big names, but still the night was too much. Too loud. Too bright. Too busy. Every time she was out for work at night, it seemed like the city was out to overwhelm her with a little more force than the last.

Logically, that was a good thing. Her senses had been growing sharper ever since her debut. Realistically, it made moments without direction trying at best. By all means, Amaris was aware that handling small, individual crimes, was a worthless endeavor for her purposes. They might remember her, they might even become a believer, but what was a single voice against the crushing weight of all of Neo-Astraea?

Despite that, Amaris persisted when her senses tuned too far allowed something to slip through.

Her boots clicked on the pavement, stumbling footsteps following behind the sound of her own landing as a would-be thief all but crashed into the floor. Three too many beers in his system, she imagined. Near the front steps of the nearest agency—far enough from the main streets in case the drink fueled another clumsy attempt, close enough that there was no risk of being lost.

If the agency had no one to deal with a single drunk, that was their own problem.

“Just be good.”

Then, with a glance at her personal device, Amaris clicked her tongue in equal parts exasperation and concern. Remy being in the hospital was… tragically common, all things considered. Actually, considering the things he got up to, he was there far less often than one would expect.

‘His… what is that again…?’ And beers? Had he gotten a concussion and forgotten who he was talking to? ‘Ah, wait, there might be a few from when he was over last time?’

That was fine then. Amaris felt her feet lift from the floor again before a streak of moonlight cut through the skies.

---

Will I actually get your room if I ask the front desk for you?
Also guessed what gibblewhizzler meant

Sylvia kept her mask on and her hair carefully braided to hide the cosmic pinks and purples that had long become permanent additions to her hair color as best she could. With sunglasses out of the question--sunglasses? Indoors? At night?--it was about the best she could do.

With any luck, it would be enough to keep any nurses working their third consecutive shift from recognizing her as she looked for Remy.

After Era Mythos

Remy, no, what have you done this time lmao

After Era Mythos

^{━━━❝ ʟᴀᴜɴᴄʜɪɴɢ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴀɴ ᴇɴᴅʟᴇss sᴋʏ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɪғ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟɪɴᴅɪɴɢ ʟɪɢʜᴛs ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜ ᴍᴇ ❞━━━}

She probably should have gone home, but Amaris had somehow managed to win her stare down with Michelle that evening. It was a petulant and childish action perhaps more accurately described as a stubborn tantrum, but it wasn’t unexpected. Rare were the moments where Amaris wanted to go back to her apartment. Some of the newer staff members whispered about it when they thought she couldn’t hear—why did Amaris refuse to relocate if she was never going to spend time there in the first place? It was easier to pretend she didn’t hear them than to try and acknowledge the reality.

‘Ugh… but can’t we do something about these aftereffects?’ Amaris ran a hand over the back of her neck, her nerves jittering in oversensitive protest. Cornerstone to her persona or not, piercing anything substantial as her own arrow always left a messy aftermath of hypersensitivity. The evening breeze might have been nice, had it not felt like rubbing raw skin on cheap canvas. Nevertheless, Amaris kept to the skyline, a fresh coat heavy on her shoulders and the dull sound of reports buzzing in her ear. Distant scratches at the corner of her mind to try and wear down the anger still burning in her gut.

It was annoying, really, that the best distraction from her distaste of Talents was to act as one herself.

“Did you put me somewhere quiet so I’d get bored and go home?” The question was directed to an absent presence as Amaris’s feet settled on a rooftop. A soft, bitter scoff given by the dark-haired Talent was the only response. There was no doubt that the staff members obligated to deal with her peculiarities knew how she would respond. Going home would let the anger fester into a toxin that threatened to eat her whole. Without giving herself the time to hesitate, the Moon Arrow rose into the air again, one hand securing her coat more firmly against her body. A shower of sparks spread beneath the surface of her skin in a prickling swarm, yet the woman’s expression barely shifted to show the discomfort.

‘I’ll go back when Remy’s out of training.’

Just a bit longer. She could manage it all for a little bit longer.

After Era Mythos

"The girls" and it's just Remy and two hand puppets

After Era Mythos

Gonna try to get a post out tonight or tomorrow, just trying to decide where to end the post ^^;

After Era Mythos

I am never going to escape the trend of immediately interacting with an innocent character while playing a character that absolutely does not mesh with innocent characters, am I? /soft wheeze

After Era Mythos

^{━━━❝ ʟᴀᴜɴᴄʜɪɴɢ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴀɴ ᴇɴᴅʟᴇss sᴋʏ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɪғ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟɪɴᴅɪɴɢ ʟɪɢʜᴛs ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜ ᴍᴇ ❞━━━}

‘What is this speech supposed to be?’

Common sense? A cover up and whistle-blowers? Amaris couldn't entirely follow exactly what far-fetched conclusions Elpis had come to. Hounding a man—did this girl even hear what she was saying? Common sense was that companies didn’t like bad press. Common sense was that they wouldn't hesitate to bury a man in return for their reputation. Common sense was ensuring there was no reason for anyone to think twice about him, and that using their reputations to stir something more exciting than a traffic incident was an easy way to deal with it.

And to have the gall to call any of it something as petulant as silly, regardless of whatever half-baked scheme or speech the girl had... It would have been nice to think Elpis’s head was only full of flowers, but Talents never proved themselves deserving of such optimistic faith.

Amaris thought of her too-big apartment. Of men in suits and whispers at the dining table and of the day she saw specks of illumination dotting the tips of dark locks. She thought of a radiant smile. Of the smell of cigarette smoke fading over time. Of late-night searches and of AGC Rising. Of a phone call. Of staring into a mirror and forcing herself to acknowledge her own uselessness.

Her skin crawled, each word from Elpis raking across her like sharp barbs. Naïve and innocent, but there was nothing trustworthy about them, was there? Revulsion and disgust rose like bile in the back of Amaris’s throat as she worked, her movements gentle and precise as they always were when it came to aftercare despite the fury boiling her blood. Surface level first aid, easily removed parts of her coat stripped or severed with thin bolts of moonlight to turn into makeshift support or supplies, a quick perusal for identification to bring in case the hospital might need it; the movements were well practiced, even for an AGC Rising debut Talent.

This wasn’t out of her usual methods of operation; whether she was acting as Silvia or Amaris the Moon Arrow, it had always been the same: minimize the number of people affected, reduce collateral damage with precision, and above all else, people before press. She’d sold it with some difficulty to marketing before her debut—if she was going to try and hide her face, then it made sense for her to prioritize differently than the average Talent. A slower initial growth in exchange for long-term credibility when it came to her unscripted work, she’d said. If Amaris the Moon Arrow was gone before the press for the same reason every time, then she could always point to her previous efforts for an explanation. For all intents and purposes, laying the foundation was the only thing keeping her in check at the start. It was more for her own conscience—perhaps one day, the distaste would turn into white noise she could ignore—but the convenience couldn’t be understated.

Which might have been why she felt little more than revulsion over Elpis’s outburst. Wretched. Revolting. Vile. She should have known better than to be drawn in by the initial act at any measure. Maiden of Hope? A Talent that cared? That had been little more than a fraying thread to grasp to begin with. Hope was a stupid, idiotic thing to hold onto, and she should have known it. Long before she came to AGC and she was sure that long after Amaris the Moon Arrow fulfilled her purpose and faded from Neo-Astraea, Silvia Alba would always know only one thing to be true:

Talents were all disgusting in the end.

She shouldn’t have bothered with anything more, but perhaps Amaris, Silvia, whoever she felt more like in the moment had held onto a fraction of goodwill for too long. All she could feel as she adjusted the injured man’s position in her arms and prepared for her own departure was a sense of abhorrence. The façade of guarded distance chipped, a sharp trickle of long-held odium managing to faintly paint the her final words with the only emotion that Amaris had ever carried toward her own ilk.

“Enough. I get your act already.”

She really did hate Talents after all.

After Era Mythos

^{━━━❝ ʟᴀᴜɴᴄʜɪɴɢ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴀɴ ᴇɴᴅʟᴇss sᴋʏ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɪғ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟɪɴᴅɪɴɢ ʟɪɢʜᴛs ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜ ᴍᴇ ❞━━━}

‘Ugh, I don't have time for this. At least give me an excuse to bail...’

Maybe it was still a little too early for Amaris to be playing the senior to anyone, all things considered.

“Sure, camera-shy. Something like that.” Maybe if the higher ups would just approve a mask, hide-and-seek with cameras wouldn't be such a necessity. As it was, she needed either more time or more Fame before the cameras were a net benefit--not that Amaris could say as much out loud. “Your image is better for this sort of thing, but I’ll get him off scene and to a hospital on my own if I have to.”

The tone was distant, maintaining the guarded air that permeated most of the woman’s interactions. A company that was bold enough to skip a manager or agent and go directly for a talent before a situation resolved was both confident and brazen. Amaris didn't exactly trust that cutting to the quick was the only bold move they'd make if she didn't succeed in their request. AGC's likely reaction aside, she doubted anyone on the scene had more credibility than GAG in the present situation. Try as she might, it was hard to put aside the idea of an unknown person being buried over a blip in the grand scheme of things. That cut a little too close to home, and it was infinitely frustrating. Infuriating. The impulsive desire to scream into a pillow to try and alleviate the building pressure came to mind despite the obvious obstacles to such a course of action.

Still, the woman had to keep that ugly outrage in check. Amaris the Moon Arrow didn't have nearly enough power to do anything more than grip the scraps left to her like a lifeline.

“I’m not asking you to care. Most talents don’t,” Amaris started without much intonation. The “little stuff” was the job of their agents and management, as far as most talents were concerned. She knew that to the point of revulsion, and yet acknowledging it still left her bitter. “But I’d rather the media run ‘the altruistic Maiden of Hope can even get the standoffish Moon Arrow to care' than risk their investors trying to smear the driver. Plus, you’ll get follow-up interviews instead of a one-and-done and our agencies get collaboration avenues for the future.”

A pause. That did feel gross. How Michelle put up with it on a regular basis was beyond the Hero. Part of her wondered exactly how “convincing” GAG expected a new talent with a personality known to be less-than-friendly to be. It wasn’t like a statement on or off the scene would make much difference either—maybe it would? Should she have asked Michelle? With neither the time nor the insight to reconsider, Amaris had little choice but to fall back on the more direct nature of the image AGC allowed her to cultivate.

“Work with me or don’t. I'll do what I need to.”

Thus, the Moon Arrow’s feet started to move her toward the car. If all else failed, she would simply have to work with what didn't.

After Era Mythos

^{━━━❝ ʟᴀᴜɴᴄʜɪɴɢ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴀɴ ᴇɴᴅʟᴇss sᴋʏ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɪғ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟɪɴᴅɪɴɢ ʟɪɢʜᴛs ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜ ᴍᴇ ❞━━━}

Physical limitations hadn’t exactly been on the forefront of Amaris’s mind when it came to pushback. Between her own dogged stubbornness and the talents more inclined to help someone with a personality like her own, the Moon Arrow had never thought to consider that her tolerance for fatigue and pain might be the one out of the normal range. Such were the perils of working alone, she supposed. Expectations were easy to make unreasonable without a frame of reference.

Nevertheless, the dark-haired Hero gave only a restrained click of her tongue as a signal of the annoyances piling up on her shoulders. Attempts didn’t mean much when results were what spoke, but there were limits on how much someone with Amaris’s skillset could do. Again, something repulsive reared its head, an uncomfortable pressure settling over the woman’s chest in response.

This was why working with people outside of AGC was hard.

“Tsk… having him on scene when the cameras get here won’t go well for him. AGC usually has some talents on site at hospitals for treatments in case trainees get a little too enthusiastic, but…” But what? Would spelling it out be any use the scheme of things? Frustrations painted her thoughts again. “…things could get dicey for him if his identity gets out, and that’s harder to fix. Car companies tend not to be very nice about taking care of PR, and I don’t see either of our agencies trying to fight that for no return.”

Despite the control Amaris displayed, she couldn’t hold back the tired sigh that came across their communications.

“Part of taking care of the victims is making sure they don’t get burned by us after the fact.”

The memories such thoughts brought to the surface were unwelcome, at best. Then, the corner of Amaris’s mouth twitched as the seedlings of a plan came to mind. Physical limitations could be worked around, and they might even have a good photo opportunity. The thought of Remington’s taunting voice came to mind in response. If things worked out, he was going to be so annoying about what came out of it.

‘Wow, I hate this plan already.’

“Mmmh... It'll be tough if your legs give out here too. If you can’t move much, I’ll carry both of you. It should be fine if you play up his injuries a little and hold him steady while we move. Less damage in the backdrop too.” It might have been good that the drones weren’t focused on her and better still that they had their own lines for communication. Nobody but Elpis heard the strained notes that came with each of the Moon Arrow’s next (near-strangled) words. "And our agencies will… love… the optics… and the public won’t… focus on him then…”