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 Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 1:20 pm
Draining got so much easier when he didn't have to touch people. That was definitely the second-best thing about gaining a rank. The best, though, was being able to teleport and not have to use his legs. Of course, he hadn't gotten there in his training just yet, but that was by far what he looked forward to of anything to do with the Negaverse.
The rest of it was, well… Like this. This being a chore, for how he had to wander out at night, cross the rooftops, stalk his way over to where the college kids lived in their on-campus apartments, and look for some frat boy who was too drunk and stupid to be aware of his surroundings. It was always the white boys that were like this, who never really paid attention to anything but themselves, and that was kind of a sad pattern for Niter to observe.
He reminded himself that it wasn't his business to make judgment calls about people as he jumped from one fairly dilapidated brick building to the next. One had a crusty-looking skylight that he made the mistake of peering into, and upon blanching at what he saw, Niter pulled away and told himself to keep moving. There'd be other, less occupied people to drain so he could get his quota over with and focus on another speed run of Elden Ring.
Then he saw his opportunity — some super drunk-looking kid that was about ready to spill. And that part was gross, but Niter wouldn't have to touch him. Reminded himself to just lean into his general concern for this dude's well-being, raise a hand like he was checking to make sure he was okay, and then scram with whatever energy he got out of it.
Maybe even take him back to wherever he lived, like making up a bad deed with a good one. Even if it was extra work.
Now decided, Niter dropped down onto an awning, then onto the street, looked both ways before crossing, then approached his target where he leaned against a pillar to an old, converted hotel.
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 10:32 pm
Gross. Abzu found himself giving a look to college-aged drunk that looked like he was about to say goodbye to the contents of his stomach. He had drank too much, maybe eaten too much, but either way, it was about to be unfamiliar with his body. And Abzu certainly liked to party a lot! He was familiar with this, had experienced this and helped several people through it. But every time, it was gross. "You okay?" The guy was drunk enough that the fact that he looked like a whole fancy conductor probably wouldn't even register, so Abzu didn't even bother considering that he should let go of his page guise and just confront him as a civilian. Abzu winced at the noise he got in response. Alright, so probably best he didn't push that any harder or he was going to deal with imminent vomiting... He softly suggested, "Maybe you should sit down," while eyeballing the area for a public trash can, only to find his movements disrupted by a corrupt super aura entering his senses. s**t. The last thing he needed was a hand heading toward his or this guy's chest. Yelling fire and getting Pendour's attention worked the first time, but he had a feeling it wasn't going to get him out of the second time. That was usually once a year luck at best. So he cleared his throat, straightened his back, and readied himself for the friendly approach.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 4:42 pm
Great, cool, a Page hanging out next to the guy he was going to drain. Helpful. If he had to get in a fight for energy tonight, Niter was reasonably sure he'd give up on it and head somewhere else. There was probably a million bars in Destiny City, with a million drunk people, and a million ways to drain them to get his quota and peace out.
Niter heard the overly loud clearing of the throat, and he wasn't sure what that was ever supposed to mean besides a very rude excuse me, which was low-grade annoying. Niter just sighed.
This was probably going to be a fight. Niter would have to use his magic, which would continue to be pointless, and maybe it'd distract the dude like Jet had suggested, and that'd have to be enough to get his energy and leave before it became more trouble than it was worth. There had to be a better way to drain energy than wander outside and try to take it from people like a pickpocket; hadn't the Negaverse come up with a set-and-forget method? Because that would be way better.
The drunken fellow, for what it was worth, nodded wearily at the oddly dressed gentleman's suggestion and slowly, disjointedly, lowered himself onto the bench. He'd somehow turned himself sideways in his descent, which resulted in a graceless slap of body against concrete. He dry heaved, but he didn't spill yet.
Niter sighed again. Yep, this was all sorts of gross. "So," he started softly, and pointed at the drunken boy as he stood in conversational distance to the Page, "I need him. Can you, like, leave please?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2022 12:22 am
Abzu winced. Alright. That didn't quite work. At least he hadn't vomited-- The more important thing to be addressed was likely the corrupt senshi that had walked up in following. Wasn't walking with any particular determination, didn't seem to be making a beeline toward the starseed, all good starts. And he seemed primarily interested in the drunk. Made sense. Easy target. Probably presumably easier than him, though considering his recent past with the Negaverse that seemed doubtful. Without him yelling fire, that one with pink hair and cherry red lips would have ruined him. ... and not in any way that was favorable -- Abzu made no effort to break the distance whether toward the civilian or toward the senshi. He was cute, actually. The Negaverse's tailor seemed particularly good at making form-accentuating outfits. At least, this one came with a nice peek at the hips-- "Ah, no, probably shouldn't just leave. No offense. I'm sure if he was a bit less drunk, he'd love to speak with you, though." He had no interest in dying, but that hadn't stopped him yet. "What do you need him for? He doesn't deserve to die for being a drunk." What he probably actually needed was someone to get him safely on his way home or to a hospital before he aspirated on vomit--
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2022 5:55 am
Niter's expression grew clouded at the thought of some dude loving to speak with him. Really, anyone loving the opportunity to speak with him would've been met with that same mixed expression of doom and consternation. No, the last thing Niter wanted to have was a conversation. He would rather have to do a 48-hour game jam for charity by playing Catherine the entire time. Or running a game like Gris over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. Or playing a game that had no replay value whatsoever, like the Final Fantasy series.
Niter strongly preferred this guy drunk, and he would've greatly preferred the Page drunk to the point of passed out, or outright gone. Then he wouldn't have had to have a conversation —
The question caught him off-guard and Niter's brows wrinkled. "Wait, what? That, uh, don't you think that's a bit extreme?" Who said anything about this dude dying? Did the Page think he was going to kill some drunk guy in the middle of the city?
Niter approached the drunk fellow and gave him a couple pokes in the shoulder, then waited for a reaction. Nothing. Okay, that was good. "I just need a little energy from him." Quotas didn't wait for anybody, and Niter preferred to get ahead and stay ahead. That way, when the next big release dropped, he had a few weeks to live indoors before responsibilities came knocking again.
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Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 2:32 pm
A bit extreme? ... What? In his experience, Chaos tended to either do nothing of the sort or go straight for the jugular in some way. He had a pleasant conversation with Akaganeite. That one former page nearly ran him through where he stood. And then there was that blight s**t, and also the fact that he was awoken shortly before a bunch of people got force corrupted, and the captain that just about murdered him a few weeks ago... All he wanted was some energy? He came off as honest, and Abzu saw no reason to think otherwise as Niter approached the drunk guy and just poked him, of all things. Unresponsive. Definitely needed to get him to a hospital or at least into a place, not on a bench. The hospital would probably be able to get him rehydrated and on his way. Abzu could probably take him home, but he had quickly come to the realization he had no guarantee on who was and wasn't chaos. Easier to take him to the hospital. Well, what would Pendour do? "Just a little?" Abzu's positioning relaxed a tad. "Guess that's not too bad. What kinda quota do they have you on?" He leaned back, eyeing Niter up and down. Those hips-- "Just gonna stay here and watch. Nothing personal, just want to make sure he gets proper hydration afterward."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 2:42 pm
Niter nearly flinched when the Page responded. He knew he outranked them, but Niter's magic was also useless, and he didn't like fighting, and… The level of effort involved was too much to even think about. But the guy was actually giving him a pass?
Niter questioned his own ears. Usually it went exactly in the opposite direction, and Niter was getting cussed out or chased down for even thinking about energy.
Well… Okay.
"Yeah," Niter added, still confused, as he returned his attention to the probably-passed-out guy. "They don't really, um, regulate how we do things? As long as we get what we need, and we're not, mm…" Niter pressed his lips together. "Drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves? Like, don't drain people into unconsciousness or anything, but I guess… Some people probably think it's easier to drain one person, or a few, and get their quota all at once. I dunno." He shrugged. He never asked his coworkers why they chose to drain the way they did; usually he was busy avoiding their signatures and dodging conversations with them.
Niter gave the drunk a few more pokes until a long, gravelly snore erupted from him. That was a good sign.
"Um, I dunno how they measure energy, honestly?" Niter steadied a hand on the guy's arm, while the other was shaped as if to hold a small globe. Nothing larger than a golfball. "I mean, if this were a power company? It'd be joules, or watts, or whatever. But energy orbs have their own unit of energy, I guess? Bit U dunno what it is. It's just, something you get a feel for after a while.
"Yeah, got it." Niter nodded, then pulled a small handful of energy from the man. Rivulets of dark violet threads collected together, formed into a sphere, and the Super was finished not long after he'd begun. "Okay, done."
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Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 3:32 pm
He found himself watching what Niter did directly, tracking the motions, how it left, how it was gathered; to be honest, so used to people of Chaos going for the extreme, he didn't quite know how it worked. Was good to know what he was fighting, if anything... In the interim, he listened. Part of convincing those of Chaos that Order wasn't so bad, he figured, was speaking to them. Being unthreatening. Maybe helping them relax, or getting them to talk about how their faction worked. The fact that the quota seemed vague and primarily determined by feel was interesting. To some, perhaps it would make it hard to keep up with or process, perhaps encourage more taking to ensure they were over the limit. Of course, the experience seemed to help. "I imagine life force would be a hard thing to describe in measurement. Joules and watts don't seem accurate to what it is." He watched the civilian as Niter drew away. Seemed fine... "You did that pretty quickly. Suppose that'd make it easy to avoid attention." How many were like Niter and were just taking these small amounts? Backed up just how insidious the Negaverse seemed. "Interesting that you say they don't really regulate you all. Aren't you all about the structure?"
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 3:44 pm
O-kay, the conversation bent a touch toward accusatory. Niter wasn't sure how to feel about that, aside from stressed; he wasn't interested in this being the point where they threw hands at each other. In case they did, though, he dismissed the poached orb to wherever they went when he wasn't thinking about them. Subspace, or something.
"I… guess?" Niter turned to keep an eye on the awake occupant. "Maybe not watts, but when you exercise, or do things, your body gives off joules of heat. Um, same with a lot of the chemical processes in your body. It's just… Better than having like, five thousand different units of measurement for it? That's how we ended up with like, curies, sieverts, rads, grays, röntgens, becquerels…" Units of measurement for anything atomic seemed to stretch on forever, and he got that it was deadly and important and stuff, but that was too much. Even if it came from people, it didn't have to be special. So many people wasted their energy, anyway.
"It's just less of a burden on everybody to take a little at a time." Niter blew at one of the bangs framing his face as he stared at the ground between them.
The worst was the last question, and Niter wasn't sure where it came from. Why phrase it like that? Seemed mean, and Niter wasn't out to criticize the company that the Page kept. "Um, structure's a little different than micromanagement, you know? If I do what I'm supposed to do, no one has to breathe down my neck…"
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Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 4:10 pm
The corrupt he was speaking with seemed either standoffish or nervous. Abzu took no issue with either, but took note of it. Either of those could lead to violence if he stepped wrong, and he really didn't have any interest in fighting someone who was stronger than him. He found himself eyeing up and down Niter's body once more. Maybe not build-wise, but... seemed a bit more equal in that. Abzu watched the orb disappear and then looked to the drunk once more. Keep the senshi talking until he wouldn't and then get this guy some help... "Seems reasonable. Like you said, more than that could draw attention." But it was still something to watch out for. Abzu was up for napping at most times even without considering the possibility of the Negaverse, but had the Negaverse or Dark Mirror ever been behind any of those bouts of exhaustion? Curious, at least. "Yeah, true. I hate being micromanaged." His laugh was warm and genial. Not that he had ever been in an office-- "Guess I'm just speaking from others of your faction I've spoken with. Lots of talk of the structures the Negaverse keeps. Missions and such. Glad to hear your ... general? Isn't taking that too hard on you. You seem nice." Or nervous, at least. Or at least not out to murder people. Probably a better target to try and ply away from Chaos than that axe-wielding captain...
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 4:57 pm
Niter never made a habit of eye contact, but when he finally convinced himself to look at the Page's face, he caught him — maybe — checking him out? And Niter felt his face burn to the point of numbness, and he wondered if he wouldn't just combust on the spot. Then he realized he had absolutely no clue how to react even if the guy was checking him out. Which he might've been? But Niter didn't know??? Was that assumptive?????
Once he remembered to breathe again, and half-remembered what they were talking about, Niter tried to gather enough braincells to respond. "Yeah, uh, it's bad. I mean, not the Negaverse — micromanagement's bad…" He sighed, and his shoulders heaved, and all his confidence followed his breath out of his body.
And he said Niter seemed nice!! That definitely had to mean something!
Unless it didn't!!
When did he step into his own worst nightmare, anyway? Was draining that dude really worth it? Couldn't he have picked some energy off of a college kid on a walk home after an exam or something? Or just gave up and went home to play video games? Didn't he still have a bunch of gimmick runs to do in old games?
And the worst part? Was that he hadn't learned how to teleport yet. Heck!!
"Yeah, he's, um, he's good," Niter looked around for an excuse, and upon seeing none, blurted out, "gotta go, though, dog's on fire —"
He turned without waiting for a response and gave a quick wave, as if that was the polite thing to do. Then he sprinted, and hoped he never ran into that Page again.
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Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 5:10 pm
Was the corrupt blushing? He was fairly sure he was blushing, which made the edge of his lips turn upward. Alright. He could absolutely work with that-- Maybe he could utilize that in a way that might help this guy calm down a bit. He had just slipped and said the Negaverse was bad, at least. Definitely was a good start if he wasn't just so anxious he was twisting himself into a knot. He -- alright, that told him a bit more about his chain of command at least -- Wait. He was running away. "Good luck!" called Abzu, though he knew for certain that was a lie, and snorted to himself after the corrupt's aura was no longer pressing on his senses. Alright, maybe he wouldn't get a chance to try a charmer's method... Maybe next time. For now, though, there was a very drunk guy whose guts would probably be on fire, and he should probably get this guy to a hospital while he pondered over what he learned.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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