[video | open]

[ex_outofcontrol435]

[Video: start. Unimpressed teenager with slicked-back hair and a cranky expression: appear.]

Okay, so either the Professor is pulling a huge fuck you on me for leaving, everyone in this town is sharing some kind of mass delusion, or I actually got kidnapped to a Japanese city in another world to fight monsters.

Someone remind me why I'm believing the third one?

[He rubs at his eyes, then looks a bit more cheerful as he keeps speaking.]

Free room and board just for beating shit up, though. The place I came from could learn from this Philemon guy. All I wanna know is if there's any other mutants around - that's Homo Superior, the evolution beyond humans, not whatever you might call mutants in some other world. As good as this all sounds, I'm not sticking around if demons are my only alternative to humans.

[And he's done.]

((ooc: rather pertinent rewrite after he got the details about the place and actually kind of liked them. facepalm.))

Comments

[trainwrecking]

[At least this guy is listening to him. The more people he can educate, the better, really.]

There was a memory swap instance recently. People would start remembering other people's pasts and acting... strangely. I don't understand why...

[Deep breath.]

And there have been two events where people of certain birth signs... lose control of themselves completely.

[ex_outofcontrol435]

Someone's playing with our heads, in other words. [For the first time, he looks so intensely serious that his expression is almost grim.] And here I thought I wouldn't see that again.

[trainwrecking]

I know it's a lot to take at once, but I'm trying to... help anyone I can.

[Even if they're enemies at the end of it all.]

Haha... It's almost pitiful! This is all a game between two gods here...

[ex_outofcontrol435]

That's actually something I needed to know.

{There's all the thanks you're ever going to get.]

Who's the other god, though? I only heard about Philemon the butterfly guy and his quest to save humanity.

[trainwrecking]

Nyarlathotep is the second god. I don't hear about him as a figurehead as much, but if Philemon exists, I'm sure he does too.

[Probably because Nyarlathotep with his ridiculous name is the token "bad guy."]

[ex_outofcontrol435]

Oh god, the names around here. [He rolls his eyes.] So he's second in command? Or is he on the other side?

[trainwrecking]

They're not all that bad. [But that one doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.]

He's on the other side. His role is to see everything destroyed, and ours is to fight.

[ex_outofcontrol435]

What's his damage? He just likes chaos?

[Pyro can relate, really. He really is feeling like he's on the wrong side here.]

[trainwrecking]

Supposedly, he's a representation of mankind's evil, so... it seems that way. I don't know what he would gain from ruining the city other than bragging rights.

[Human or not, the city isn't all that bad, minus the events and probable government dishonesty. Why ruin it?]

[ex_outofcontrol435]

What do humans ever gain by destroying each other? But they still do, when they don't have another target.

[trainwrecking]

Not all of us want that, though. [Otherwise, though? Point. He can't argue.]

I think we all just try to live the best we can. It's not perfect, but...

[ex_outofcontrol435]

Optimist, huh?

[His tone flattens, edged with anger.]

No. Most people only want to fuck things up for others. They'll make laws to single people out and target them, they'll hunt down people just for what they are; they'll even murder or try outright genocide. You can try your very best - [His voice takes on a childish lilt at that, then drops again.] - but you'll never make the majority.

[trainwrecking]

That's--that's not true. Do you think we're out to hurt you? That I'm out to hurt you?

[He caught that little snipe and grits his teeth in response.]

What else should I do? Nothing?

[ex_outofcontrol435]

If you mean do I trust you? No. Trust's a luxury I had to give up, and a weakness in the end.

Oh, you keep believing life is sunshine and rainbows if you wanna. Just don't be surprised when reality finally hits.

[trainwrecking]

I won't ask you to trust me. I--I don't know that I could trust you right now.

[But--]

That doesn't mean I'd ever want to hurt you. Obviously you've lived an unjust life too, so... why would I want to add to it? Your pain is as real as mine or anyone else's.

[ex_outofcontrol435]

At least you've got that much sense left. You shouldn't trust me.

[His eyes light up dangerously.]

All my life did was show me the truth and toughen me up for what I had coming. I don't give a shit if people wanna try and hurt me, 'cause they never will.

[trainwrecking]

What truth is that? That you have to live your life alone?

[Because he used to believe that, too.]

... And all my life did was end before it started. I think I was 17, but I, ah... don't even remember that much.

[ex_outofcontrol435]

Just 'cause you only trust yourself doesn't mean you're alone. There are people who actually get that it's the smartest way to go.

[Then he blinks, his brow furrowing in confusion.]

Another dead one? Why are they bringing live people when they can apparently raise an undead army?

[trainwrecking]

That's still a lonely outlook. I don't know you, but I know that much.

[He huffs, shaking his head.]

Hey, hey--not undead. [Rude, Pyro. Rude. He's not using words like "freak" or "supernatural" for mutants.]

I don't know how they choose who they bring, or... why they even bring us back if we were safer being dead.

[ex_outofcontrol435]

[Hey, he doesn't know the rules of courtesy for dead people any more than he does the ones for demons!

Although lbr, he's probably just storing the offensive ones away for later use.]

Alright, not undead. Not zombie, I'm guessing, since the kid didn't like that one either. You guys are touchy.

But I doubt they give a shit about your safety, or any of ours. Dragging people into a demon-infested city and saying "go nuts" doesn't say concern to me.

[trainwrecking]

N-no! Not zombie... That's even worse to imagine.

[And Otonashi's imagination is a very dangerous place, so he'll focus on not getting stuck there.]

Ah, well, no. I wish I could say otherwise. Their solution to the last big outbreak was "lock up the ones acting strangely, put out an unresearched announcement and hope for the best," and... it didn't solve anything.

[ex_outofcontrol435]

[He snorts, but leaves that topic alone for now.]

Doesn't surprise me at all. What I wanna know is who's behind the telepathy - the demons, or the two having their little pissing contest.

[trainwrecking]

The loss of control itself? I don't know... All I know right now is that that event affected us based astrology signs.

[ex_outofcontrol435]

That's great. Any Aries gone crazy yet?

[Hey, he doesn't know anything about astrology, but he at least knows his sign.]

[trainwrecking]

Uh, no, not Aries. Not yet. Scorpio and Taurus were the major signs affected so far, during different outbreaks. But it never affects just one sign.

It has something to do with, um... the star signs' relationship? When I was... "sick," it was because my sign shared something with Taurus.