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 Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:23 am
Lionel was enjoying life tonight. He had a cup of an overpriced pineapple drink in one hand, and his phone in the other and was pleased to see that his stocks were all on the rise. It was a good feeling that. Knowing that everything was as it should be. Perfect and easy to deal with.
The only issue hanging over his head was the fact that he had absolutely no inspiration for any new designs, and that...well. That was a problem, to say the least. Of course, there was no way to get inspiration while walking home...and pineapple didn’t really inspire much, especially not with the autumn coming around the corner more quickly than he or anyone else could want.
With a sigh, he continued his trek, pocketing his phone and glancing around, acting like an actual human being for once. It was so empty tonight. There was someone a little bit away though and idly, Lionel thought about just pulling his phone back out so that there wouldn’t have to be any awkward conversation that neither of them wanted, when the person literally seemed to burst into flames.
They...changed. From a normal looking...normal...to…
God.
The cup slipped from his hand, clattering to the ground with a noise that was loud in the quiet of the evening, splashing pineapple all over his Versace loafers.
A small part of his mind screamed out in protest, but he found himself moving towards the mystery inferno person, taking in the outfit, the colors, everything.
“How did you do that?”
Perhaps he should have been afraid, but his curiosity and awe clearly overrode that.
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Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 10:01 pm
Funny how his own lack of tracking time affected someone else. How Eion, a nobody with a charcoal secret, had power in the worst of circumstances. When he no longer existed, skin sloughed off in blackcharred chunks and fire breaking through the his joints, his clothes, he was determining someone else's fate.
And he was powerless in that he had to — those were the rules.
Flame-eyed thing looked at his assailant — curious one. Wasn't shying away from the fact that he was clearly on fire, clearly not the most human in that derelict alleyway space. He burned, and this stranger hadn't asked him if he needed help, hadn't called 911 for him, hadn't run away. He asked how. Like it was a parlor trick and he needed to know to impress his friends. Faustite smiled meanly, huffed out the start of a laugh that died before it could take voice.
The falsehood that was Eion became ash, then vapor, then nothing. Without that veneer, Faustite turned toward his onlooker, started toward him at a steady pace. One thumb hooked in the belt loop at his hip, a thing of nonchalance.
Spoke quiet, matter-of-fact. "Need a reason to let you live."
The answer to this stranger's question? That would wait — he had to choose how long this one lived, first.
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Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 6:17 pm
His eyes were still taking in the transformation, and it took every ounce of self control that Lionel had not to start touching the rich fabric, examining what it was made from...what...made the fire look and...and feel so real.
It did feel real. There was heat coming off of the male, and for a moment, Lionel squinted at him, and then took a slow paced trip around him, taking in all of the details that he could, before he realized that his question had not been answered...in fact...what the flaming fashion icon in front of him had said...wasn’t…
Wasn’t an answer to anything at all, and as the male came to a stop in front of him again, he folded his arms over his chest, frowning slightly, wondering if he had heard correctly. “Ah. Pardon?”
A reason to let him live? Was this some kind of a joke?
“...Are you the model of a rival designer then? I must say, they’ve done a splendid job. Who is it? I should watch out, hm?”
Or simply find a way to get rid of the competition. That was always the easiest way to get ahead.
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Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2021 11:07 am
Oh, so this one was completely ******** checked out of reality. Clearly someone didn't burst into flames before him and become a monster. No, this one was too focused on Metallia's cosmic tailor and the threads it produced. More interesting to him was Faustite's asymmetric vest, the quality of his sleeves, and whatever the ******** else was worth looking at in his conglomeration of cloth.
Faustite could laugh. He did laugh. The audacity of it all was so far beyond anything he could ever expect from Destiny City's populace. A rival ******** designer. He laughed until he choked on a lack of air, until his sides hurt, until his eyes teared up with more black.
Assassination over clothing designs. That's what this is.
"Yes," he answered, though he couldn't keep a straight face doing it. "Model for Metallia. Suffers no rivals. Join her or die," he finished, while he attempted and failed to stifle another chuckle.
Albite would've liked this crazy ********. And maybe this one was good enough for that — give Albite some practice leading, teach this one the essentials, then have some cheap cannon fodder in case Albite got overzealous in training. It was irresponsible, he knew, but the Negaverse couldn't be made worse than it already was.
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Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2021 4:01 pm
Lionel was missing something, that much was clear, and he felt his cheeks beginning to burn with something that almost felt like it could be approaching shame. But. No. He refused to feel shamed by anyone. Join her or die, hm?
“And what’s in it for me? What makes this Metallia so great that joining her is better than death?” Not that he had a death wish. But it was well known that the dead were happy. It was an inevitability anyway, so. Besides. Think of how much inspiration could come from death.
Perhaps that should be the focus of his new works, anyway.
He looked thoughtful. “What’s the catch?” At least now there was interest in his voice, and he crossed his arms over his chest, in an attempt to stop himself from reaching out and trying to see just what fabric was used in the flaming boy’s elaborate costume.
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Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 3:05 pm
"It isn't that it's great," Faustite answered, shrugging. The Negaverse duly reminded him of that with its performance for the last couple missions. "Being barbecued's worse."
Not that he'd mind terribly; meat was meat, and this one fought viciously for the right to die for witnessing something he shouldn't have. Far be it for Faustite to rob him of that, even with the prospective use of this one as Albite's mulligan. The burning General rested a hand on his hip as he started to pace around the deathmongering stranger.
"But you get a new outfit. Just have to listen to a half-naked dumbass try to give you the rules. Get power, but you pay for it with other people's energy. And there's people who want to kill you for what you're wearing."
He couldn't. He just ******** couldn't. Pressing his palm to his face, Faustite stared at the stranger between his fingers. "Not gonna convince you to live. Might be worth more as a starseed."
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2021 8:21 am
“I can’t and don’t want to imagine what being barbecued feels like, but I’ll take your word for it.” Lionel was starting to believe that...perhaps...this guy wasn’t just flaming for the aesthetic...that he might actually be on fire...and that…
Was both worrisome and rather fantastic.
“Trust me, in my line of business, I’m used to listening to half naked dumbasses. And people are always trying to kill me for what i”m wearing. I’m in. I want power. I’ll take people’s energy.”
...Not that he knew how he would, but it sounded interesting, and perhaps even amusing. “Where do I sign up? Also, I don’t want to die. The thought just doesn’t work much on me as a threat. If it happens it happens. Besides. I know it wouldn’t be for long.”
Obviously.
Reaching into his bag, he drew out a fancy looking pen. “Do you have a contract for me to sign? Is this something that’s exclusive?”
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Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 3:01 pm
Faustite didn't have a retort. That was a rarity — a moment worth remembering.
Nothing about that night, or its constituent deal, was usual. People never jumped into joining the Negaverse because they liked the clothes, or agreed to take people's energy in such a straightforward manner. Faustite expected that, one day, this one would wake up and bemoan what he'd done. However, Albite was so outlandishly stupid and easy to get along with that Faustite was counting on that realization never hitting home, because surely it wasn't real life when one's boss was as dumb as a triangular tire yet so enviably good with people.
Faustite still stared at him, second-guessing what he heard. Brows lofted with cool interest.
Then the pen came out. "Put that away before you drop it." He spared this fashion-forward stranger half a minute, then blinked out of existence before him.
He'd teleported to the man's back, pushed his hand through, and took up the starseed as he leaned toward his shoulder. "Trust me, better you don't watch this." Spared a few seconds to gather up his connection to Metallia, call Chaos up from his suffused being and wrap it in threads as he'd learned from energy draining. Braided it thick, forced it down his arm, through his wrist, out his palm and into the as-yet-untouched starseed he held.
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Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2021 6:02 pm
Ah...so no contract then. That was fine. It made Lionel feel a little moment of uncertainty, but he could deal. Well, at least until the fiery man simply vanished from in front of him. That…
That might be a cause for concern.
The voice behind him would have made him jump, but for the sudden pain in his chest, starting from his back. Was this…
Was he having a heart attack? Was this some kind of a prank, hidden camera show perhaps?
It hurt, and for a moment, he thought that he very well must be dying, the pen slipped from his grip just as Faustite had warned, but he didn’t even seem to notice, too busy gritting his teeth to hold back a scream.
He felt it though. The power that had been spoken about. When the General behind him suddenly…felt like something behind him. When he looked down and saw that he had indeed changed clothing...though.
It was not something he would have chosen to wear, at least not based on his first look. And there was a long string in his hand, attached to a stuffed polar bear on top of a rolling block.
“...What...kind of…” He sputtered slightly, the only sign of discomfort he had physically shown at the chaos filling his soul. “...These...aren't’ great clothes…And what’s with the...the toy?”
Just what had he gotten himself into?
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 4:17 am
Gone was his energy for that — like he'd burnt out a part of himself as roiling inferno. Faustite removed his hand, shook it out as if cramped. Then he realized this was the first person he'd corrupted before. On his own, at least.
Felt a little sick for that. First corruption was rectifying a mistake, a counter to you're not being discrete enough.
"Take it up with the Tailor," he muttered with a roll of his eyes. Faustite clasped a burning hand on the stranger's shoulder, added pressure to urge him to turn. "It'll change as you get promotions. Negaverse has a military structure. With more ranks comes a better… Appearance," he finished with a spicy smile; he felt a little violent about this explanation. "And that polar bear's your weapon. Albite — the half-naked dumbass —will explain it all to you." Which was basically this boy doing him a goddamn favor.
Sipped the hand off this one's shoulder before it burned a hole in the fabric. Turned to walk, to find a better place for this chat, then paused a couple steps in. Snapped his fingers, pointed one, chest-level, at the air, as if Metallia reminded him from beyond, then turned to face the boy again. "Everyone gets a codename. Mine's Faustite. Yours will be —" And Faustite clicked his tongue for that, knowing he couldn't summon a tablet to look through their database of officers. He'd have to guess. "Celadonite." He hadn't heard of or met anyone with that name yet.
He was terrible at this. Never corrupting anyone on the fly again — they all get death.
"Follow. You're going to meet your superior." Started walking backward before he turned and peered further into the messy dark of their surroundings.
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 4:01 pm
“Then I suppose I have to get promoted. I hope the half naked dumbass will be good enough to help me get the promotions.” Lionel--Celadonite nodded slowly. “It’s a good name.”
He was quiet for a moment, following the General. “Thank you, Faustite.
His poor pen lay forgotten on the ground as he went to find his...superior.
...that might be an issue. But...not for long, if he could help it. If he could get promoted--and he would, quickly if he could help it...well. Then he would be the superior, as it should be.
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