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 Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 2:20 pm
Lilith was well aware that as she did more in the Negaverse, worked harder, pushed herself further, drew more eyes on her, she was eventually going to get officially assigned under a General. The problem was, she was not exactly eager to be shuffled off to some random who might expect her to conform to a...particular way of doing things.
She'd seen a number of them in the Rift--remembered the one who had stalled out, panicked; remembered Jet's authoritativeness; but mostly, she remembered Faustite. Her encounter later, at the party, might have further cemented the decision, but mostly...Faustite seemed interesting. And, she hoped, would be flexible. She'd gotten him crab puffs, clearly that created a bond of friendship.
She knocked on the door, and waited, hoping he was in his office. Perhaps not--she'd heard a rumor or two that something had gone terribly wrong at some battle not too long ago, and that it had involved Faustite, but the specifics were unclear to her. No one wanted to cough up the details.
That was fine. She would find out eventually. By asking him directly, if that was what was needed.
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Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2021 7:10 pm
To call it an office was an overstatement. At some point in the past, only a week ago, it qualified for an office. It had a metal desk with a glass top, and a metal stool for Faustite, and two metal chairs for visitors, two sleek metal bookcases with glass fronts that protected books from their owner's volatility, and a metal writing desk that sat undisturbed and distant from Faustite's usual desk. It had the barest of amenities, and Faustite had started warming up to the idea of personalizing the space.
Today, however, it was no longer an office. it was an unfortunate room full of broken glass, ash, and twisted metal.
Faustite was in the midst of sifting the detritus when he heard a knock. Frowning as he tossed a pile of glass shards into a bucket, he reminded himself that he had no further appointments that day. He'd canceled them knowing he didn't want anyone to see the dismal state of his office.
So. This visitor was a cold caller, and Faustite had little love for them.
He gathered up the dust pan, held it by the handle in case it was Ashanite showing up for another friendly discussion. Then, after stepping over the overturned desk, and crunching through more glass that he hadn't yet swept into a proper pile, Faustite opened the door for his guest.
It was Lilith, so the pan dropped to his side. The night that they met more informally was hazy, and he had little else to draw on for why she would show at his door. "You lost, or looking for Albite?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2021 10:48 pm
Lilith raised her eyebrows. She'd heard what sounded like the crunch of glass as Faustite approached--had something broken inside?--and Faustite looked less than happy, to say the least, when he opened the door. Perhaps this was a bad time--but she was here, and it was better to ask now than simply put it off.
"No, I was looking for you, General," she said, and her eyes flicked to the dustpan. "Need help cleaning up?" She asked, idly. A little grunt work never hurt anyone, after all. But that wasn't the purpose of her visit, and so while she didn't waltz into his office, she also didn't want to idle too much.
"I don't want to take up too much of your time, but I would like to come in and chat, if that's possible." She considered, briefly. "In the event that's not, or you'd just prefer not to have me keep you too long--I'm sure you're busy--I'll be up front: I've gotten by this long without having a General I report to directly; it's been well enough to submit reports to Lepidolite, and I haven't done anything that might make me stand out. But I've bene putting in more work recently, and I suspect I'll be back on people's radars, and I might get assigned to someone--and before I get assigned to some intolerable hardass who hates fun, hates Corrupts, or both, I wanted to ask if I could transfer to working under you."
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2021 2:00 pm
Faustite rolled his eyes and pressed the dustpan to her chest. "Broom's on the stool." He turned from her, hand catching on the door and pulling it fully open as he retreated into his office.
Who the ******** spread the rumor that he was a decent choice for a boss? Or that he was even looking for subordinates? Who did he have to kill to stop this from happening? Was it one of those mischievous Lieutenants running around in their worthless little posses? Was it Sylvite trying to get him friends? Was it Ashanite trying to get back at him? Was it Albite trying to be helpful and stupid at the same time? And what if it was Axinite? What if it was all of them? The last thought soured his mood further, until he was a miserable cage of fire.
The flaming General turned and hopped up on the side of his overturned desk. It still held weight well enough; it wasn't collapsing or pitching him forward. He sat with both hands on either side of him, latched onto the frame.
"Chair's somewhere — over there," he pointed to the corner. Must've been knocked away in the firestorm. It looked mostly fine at a distance; a bit singed, but what wasn't?
"If you want your twenty back, I'll pay you." Better to cover that base in case that caused this mess. "If you're serious, need to know more about you. What you've done, your branch, your magic, your sphere, preexisting associates, last time you filed your ******** nails. Everything. Spare no detail." And while she was busy with that, he'd busy himself — by wrenching open the broken drawer in his desk and looking for the metal carafe and a couple unbroken teacups.
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:02 pm
Lilith took the dustpan, rolling her eyes briefly but not making a comment on the shove. Faustite was clearly in A Mood, and she'd deal with it.
The destruction in the office made her wince, and she picked aorund the glass and damaged items on the floor with her delicate heels.
She picked up the broom once she spotted it, idly sweeping instead of sitting down. easier to remain active than idle, especially when this place was such a goddamn disaster area.
"Not to brag, but money's not an object to me; I do pretty well for myself." She leaned on the broom, briefly, to look him in the face. "So no, I don't need a payback. That entire experience was worth way more than twenty bucks to me." She flashed a wry smile, and went back to sweeping.
"Sailor Lilith. Sphere of Kelpies--water horses, lure people onto their backs and then dive into rivers, lakes, or oceans to drown them. My magic causes people to feel like they're drowning." She paused, and wrinkled her nose. "I confess to not having a lot of existing Negaverse associates, but Lepidolite recruited my sister--Salome, of Penitentes--and I out of Romano's a few years ago. I'm not in a branch, but I'd been thinking of going into Infiltration." She paused, and turned. "I'm a professional Overwatch player and streamer in my regular life. I'd been thinking of turning my talent with social media to the Negaverse's benefit--still figuring out the hows, but there's space there for us to exploit."
Let him see her ambition. Let him know she wanted this.
She paused, thoughtfully, casting a look around the destroyed office--looking only marginally better for her efforts sweeping up broken and burnt bits.
"Tell me to shove off if you'd prefer, but I have to ask: sir, are you alright?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2021 8:29 pm
"Shove off," he answered flatly. Crossed his arms and watched her as she swept. At least she knew what she was doing; Albite would've found a way to make his office even more of a wreck. Probably blow out the damn wall and ruin the next office over, and find a way to blame Faustite for it because he wasn't taking care of himself Faustite snorted smoke as he stewed.
"Need more than that, Seahorse. How many targets can you hit? How long does your magic last, in seconds? How many uses?" He extended a finger for each. Always amazed him to learn how many senshi didn't have exacts. While he'd never had a real weapon, any officer should know their weapon like a part of themselves. Know its reach, its weight, know the feel of it as it cut through air. To know less than that was to throw away one's safety unnecessarily. Perhaps senshi knew these factors innately, without knowing their measures, but Faustite didn't want to leave that to chance. Lilith would memorize the constraints of her own magic and the constraints of her teammates' magic.
"Don't know much about streaming — it's a public thing, right? People look up to you?" Faustite clicked his tongue as he went back to the drawer. Found the carafe easy enough, and the business of making tea was something to do with his hands while he mulled it over.
"Lepidolite's the moneybags, but." He held the carafe to himself while he picked through the drawer. Plenty of shattered teacups, and he made a mental note to break every piece into dust against Albite's thick skull for all of his bullshit. "Streaming, that's a younger audience. Could mean fresh recruits. Puts you in an idol position. Easier cloth to cut out loyal Lieutenants." They'd be young enough, and they'd likely have better reaction times." Or, he hoped as much.
Lepidolite's money was useful, but if Lilith could recruit a cult following? Might be weird to see a crowd of Lieutenants lining up to lick her shoes, but damned if they'd ever purify.
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Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2021 12:18 am
"Fair enough," Lilith said, and that was it, subject dropped. If he didn't want to talk, he didn't want to talk, and they could just deal with the particulars of her request.
"I'm not sure about limits on targeting. It seems to affect anyone I touch, but I haven't had opportunities in larger fights to try it on more than one person just yet, so I'm not sure if there's an upper limit. Lasts for about 30 seconds all told, and I can do it three times in an average fight, I'm pretty sure? Again, haven't pressed that limit, not sure I'll like what happens if I do." All straightforward information she could give, and as she swept her pile of glass debris into a pile, she spotted the chair, fished it out, and set it up, plopping down on it and crossing one leg over the other.
"As for streaming--yes. Flatly: I'm a skilled player, and I've worked hard at what I do, and I expect to be respected for that, but I do also like to dress a little slutty when I'm on camera because it's fun, and because people donate more when you show some cleavage while you're clicking heads." She shrugged her shoulders. She had absolutely no shame about what she did; as far as she was concerned, there was no reason to be ashamed. "Between the people that admire my legitimate skill and the people that think they'll get to ******** me if they send me enough money, it's a good pool for recruitment. Loyal recruitment, too. Don't want to disappoint your fave."
She grinned. It was something she'd had the beginnings of an idea for, but it was good to hear that Faustite might support her if she took that leap.
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 2:08 pm
This one was much more aware of her magic than Albite, who said everything was by instinct and thus didn't know s**t. A welcome change of pace, someone who listened and could operate on her own, then. She didn't need direct supervision in the form of a Captain or Super, but where she fell among the ranks was both regulated and for someone else's benefit. Faustite expected that, while she would answer to Albite as a superior, she would likewise be the one teaching him how to succeed.
And that pleased Faustite greatly. So much so that he was availed of his sourness.
Steepling his fingers together, he angled them downward. They remained for only a second or two when he started speaking, and animated the air, as if they had to carry his every word. "That's your project, then. Make use of that platform. Suggest meeting a Mauvian, too — see if you can orchestrate a digital draining op." She was smart; he wouldn't have to spell that out for her.
"You'd work under Albite directly. He's —" dumb as s**t came to mind, but he waved the unfinished sentence off. "He'll handle your quotas. Bring your concerns of import to me. Recruitment is one of his things; you two will have a progress report to me by the end of the month.
"If you join," he amended.
"Any questions for me?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 8:23 pm
Lilith nodded, and her expression was thoughtful. Already she was churning with ideas; there were plenty of avenues to explore, and she would gladly pursue every single one.
She would have to pay attention to her stream and Discord regulars. See who might live in Destiny City, maybe host a little meetup or something so she could evaluate people in person. Yes, that sounded excellent.
"Understood. I think Albite and I will do well together," she said. "Or well, I hope so, at least." She regarded Faustite thoughtfully.
"We know what I'm working on--what about you? Do you have any long-term projects I might contribute to?" She paused, briefly, and considered her next question carefully. "...Also, are there any tactics you would consider off-limits for recruitment?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 3:35 am
Faustite sighed, kicked a foot back and forth restlessly. Albite got on well with just about everything with legs. Except for cats. That boy was more trouble than he was worth, and he told himself this daily, but did he do anything about it? No, just ******** made eyes at the boy's abs.
Of her other questions, the second was easier to answer than the first. "Don't conscript someone and then get them addicted to starseeds to make them Negaverse-dependent." He finished with a flourish of one hand.
Projects, though… Faustite's attention scanned the room as if searching for something. Then he dismounted his overturned desk, set the boiling carafes down, and dug some decent cups out of the drawer. One was cracked, but he could drink from that. In went a couple of assam tea bags plucked from a jostled tin, and he withdrew his pocket watch from subspace for a timer. Tea would make this more tolerable, he knew.
"Supposed to get the Mauvians working on a heatproof communicator." She wasn't around for the damned thing breaking, he thought. The brush with Whisler's shoplifting tendencies gave him an idea — "Need to see about stabilizing a comm link to Order, recording the line. Rebuilding my ******** office." Faustite kicked a chair out of the way of his pacing. He left off that he was supposed to be taking a break; that was simply too much.
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Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2021 6:38 pm
Lilith’s eyebrows migrated upward, and she took a moment to look Faustite up and down and consider. One of the things they were all cautioned against was eating too many starseeds; was that how he’d become a walking furnace? Shut, she hoped not. That sounded miserable.
“Duly noted, will absolutely not be doing that.” She paused. Considered. Turned her options over. “….What about, ah. Relationships. How close would you consider…too close, sir?” Test the waters just a little more, and with much care. She could wave it off as a passing consideration if he was hostile to the idea, make some crack about her tits or her legs and move on. If he didn’t, maybe she could let him in on her little scheme with Keiko.
She watched as he got the things together for tea, and felt a moment of relief; if he was making drinks, he wanted her to stay. Not that she had felt unwelcomed yet, but that was, she thought, certainly a very positive sign.
“As for Mauvians, I can introduce you to the one that Awakened me, if you’d like,” she said. “Get you started on the project. Unless you’ve already got a contact, obviously. She might be willing to help with that comm line, too, Mauvians are good for that.” The cats were a lovely benefit to being powered, Lilith thought. Clever and creative and so good with so many things. Maybe when she had an office space of her own, she’d see if one of the cats would work with her to get a proper computer setup in there. That would be something.
But it was a ways off, she was sure.
“As for cleaning up your office,” her voice went dry, “that seems like something Albite would be terribly well suited for, being so tall and muscular. I’m sure he can reach plenty of high places that would elude me.” Throwing her ostensible superior under the bus because cleaning sucked? Absolutely. Always. Besides, watching him do things with his ab-baring fuku would be an objective delight.
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 4:32 pm
Relationships. Faustite stared at her, eyes half-lidded. Explained a few things, what with her outfit being the way it was. "Too close is willing to purify for them. Close enough is getting them to corrupt for you. You've been an officer for a while; micromanaging how you do things would smother you." Better suited to someone fresh, or someone stupid — someone like Rakovanite, or Xenia, or Benitoite. Though putting any of them to the stake was just as well.
On second thought, spare Xenia. Useful magic. Just remove her pesky limbs so she can't pull that starseed s**t again.
Mind no longer wandered, Faustite's attention snapped back to Lilith. Offering cat contacts was quite the consolation; he could already tell this one had the makings of a great networking officer. And networking, he recognized, was one of the Negaverse's greatest downfalls — no one knew anyone. But someone like Lilith? She was easy to know, to talk to, had connections she was willing to share. Made a perfect Infiltration officer, conveniently under his own purview.
s**t. He was almost enjoying having a subordinate. Faustite vented a sigh.
"Could use the cat," he answered, his hands following the words. "One I knew vanished, haven't met more." Most cats were tech savvy, so far as he knew. Any cat would fit the part.
He listened as he finished dressing the tea. She volunteered Albite for cleanup, which Faustite thought perfectly sensible. Thought about how he wanted to clean up this little mess and soothe his hackles for having another subordinate walk into his life. Thought about it as he did away with the teabags, spooned honey into the tea, added cream. Stirred it to a robust golden color, tinted by tannin, and handed one of the cups off to her wordlessly.
Took up his own teacup for a sip. "Albite," he announced afterward, and his free hand gathered in the air as if catching a bug. Waited for darkness to coalesce, to produce The Boy. "Meet your new subordinate. Then take her broom and start cleaning this <******** hole," he finished, the words sizzling on his tongue.
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 5:31 pm
Waru had been at home - winding down - enjoying some reprieve from existence for five whole minutes. Face down and comfortable and - The noise he made - squwack of a thing that bled into a snarl as he whipped around to face down the only ******** person who would dare. Pulled into power unbidden, into an office, crunch of glass that nearly had him slipping in his pointed heels. Albite didn't often sneer, and yet there he was, lips stretched over a look he felt he'd seen a thousand times before. Being talked at, being told to do s**t, being.... Oh he was going to clean someone's ******** hole alright -- opened his mouth around a feral sort of grin to say as much - lost his fire on the intake of air and skirted his words like a record scratch from hell. His brain a bad Dj, fresh on the mic, fresh to choke over the fire he wanted to spit for being summoned the ******** outta nowhere - except there was someone else present - his... "Hey Lils! Lilith, yeah, just...hangon..I'm uh...the whiplash is r e a l with this s**t - yanno?" turned the grin on her and felt it fall, felt it crumble and shatter around the utter 'what the ********' sense of the moment, because he could've sworn over the pulse of blood in his ears that Faustite had said. "Firebrand..I'm...can you explain that in - ah - more words? Cause - I'll totally buy that you want me to shove a broom wherever the ******** - but, uh, did you say subordinate? Do you mean subscriber? I think he means subscriber..right Lils?" look he tossed her was a plead, because Faustite could not be handing him a subordinate. He wasn't ready, he wasn't capable. He wondered if Faustite had a concussion, a hemorrhage in his brain, because there was just no way....
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2021 2:14 am
"Understood," Lilith said, and her tone was light. "I've got a work in progress, but I'll let you know when there's more to say than 'there's a pretty girl, I like her, and I think she'd do well corrupted.'" Truth be told, there was little else to tell, except for things that were pure gossip and/or none of Faustite's business.
"And I'll bring Soyala by when I manage to find her. She's seemed lonely and bored, lately; I bet she'd be glad to have a project."
She took the teacup, sipped, and made a pleased noise. It was decent tea, well balanced, and he hadn't smothered it with honey and cream--a nice cup, and something fun to sip if they really did get Albite sweeping the place up while they observed. Delightful, truly.
When Albite appeared, she simply sat in silence, sipping her tea and waiting for the realization to click. When it did, she gave him her best, sunniest Streamer Smile.
"No, no! I came to General Faustite asking to be assigned to him, and he decided that I ought to direct report to you, sir." The honorific was delivered with a tone of teasing. "I trust that we'll work well together!" She was tempted by something a little more formal, the Japanese her mother had made sure she knew, but...maybe later.
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Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2021 2:43 pm
What a wonderful, exciting little look on his boy — something that said defiance, that was retracted and melted down and reformed into pleasantry. Sported a pleased look for that; couldn't hide that, every once in a while, he enjoyed staging a challenge that no one would take. Faustite sipped his tea around the smuggest smile he'd worn in years.
But it was quick to fade, and he was quick to return to business. The name of the cat was noted; cats often responded better when their solicitor was referred by someone they knew. The senshi earned Lilith a closer watch, but the outcome of that tryst fell on her shoulders. For now, there was only the challenge to meet and exceed her expectations for a team. That was partly on Albite, but mostly on him. Helped that he thought her the best little asset to present at his door yet.
He had nothing to add to her succinct explanation, so he simply gestured to her.
"You're a Super. Supers get Basics and Lieutenants for their subordinates. Wasn't going to spoon feed you your responsibilities." He could've gone to any other General for that. He wasn't interested in dispensing unasked for guidance unless something went distressingly wrong, so if Albite wasn't sure what to do or where to start, he'd best be asking questions now. "Got Nembus on a different project; subordinates go to you."
Besides, Nembus put up with this one through his initial rank, and Faustite knew that was enough subordinate training for the rest of her career.
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