001 | ( VIDEO. ) | JULY 30th

[pubertytwice]

_{[ The feed clicks on and shows a kid appearing no older than 13 seated back in a chair, curled knuckles against his face. His eyes look tired and expression rather thin. He's wearing a uniform of some sort, though pieces of it look tattered or stained. One of his legs bounces in his seat (aren't his shorts cute?) but after a moment of mulling over what to say, he leans forward, hands folding together neatly. ]}

I already lack faith in gathering information from anyone here, and yet, here I am with inquiries. Serious responses only.

_{[ What could this boy possibly be asking for?? Where is the best place to get ice cream? Hardly so. ]}

Has anyone has ever even attempted hacking into any confidential files that could be in the government's system that operates here? Alternatively, if anyone has ever attempted to assassinate the Queen?

_{[ Oh.. what.. ]}

If not, is there any place on this goddamn planet that serves coffee? Decent coffee. Every place here is a shit hole.

_{[ That's it. No thanks for your time or anything. ]}

Comments

[fourthdimension]

You don't strike me as the kind of person to reject privacy, if given the option.

[ just sayin'. regardless of her remark, elizabeth shoots over the address of the aforementioned diner along with a recommendation for the cruellers.

the nice thing about hole in the wall diners is that it's not hard to guess which of the patrons is elizabeth— there's only one person at the counter, with a cup of coffee and a half eaten crueller on her plate. red lipstick stains the paper napkin resting against the rim of it. ]

1/2

[biotictouch]

[ She hadn't seen it in person, and she didn't know the intimate details of it, but Moira was vaguely aware that this ability was also present in her dimension, timeline...what have you.

The cogs begin to turn as she tries to make sense of it, and she sits agape for a short moment. Not startled, not in the least. But, thoroughly intrigued. ]

2/2

[biotictouch]

...So you do.

[ So this went against her better judgement. This kid was a wildcard and she now knew it, but he has some kind of...prerogative, and she was intent on finding it out.

He talked like an agent, he walked like an agent, and if it looks and sounds like an agent... ]

Natural ability. That's quite the gift. Some would work for lifetimes trying to unlock that kind of gift.

[ Like her. She couldn't transcend time, no, but space? Physical materialization? Sort of. And she'd done it to others, too.

He was curt. She'd be curt as well, and lean into the spin here. He wanted to find underlings? Moira would plant a scent. ]

Special operations agencies would kill for half as much.

1/2

[pubertytwice]

It would just be terrible if someone like me ended up in a place that was heavily guarded, or you know, off limits.

_{[ He just.. seems so smug to talk about it. ]}

[pubertytwice]

I mean, besides a bar.

_{[ Cause that's exactly how he got in so easily. ]}

[pubertytwice]

I'll try to keep this.. condensed.

Basically, I was born with the natural ability to jump through time and space. I adapted to spatial jumps first. Eventually, I was able to time travel by pushing my consciousness through various planes of existence. By mathematics equations, I can calculate specific parts of time to travel to, but the outcome can have error, especially if miscalculated. Of course, there are some things that are too much to explain without going into an entire quantum physics lesson, so..

_{[ Five squints for a moment, lips pursing together as if in thought. ]}

I heard of someone used a basic term for me before.. a "teleporter?"

(so I accidentally deleted the notification for this. apologies for taking so long!)

[pidgeypidge]

That's fair. I feel like there's a distinct lack of people willing to ask the less pleasant questions for curiosity's sake. Either way, I haven't heard anything one way or the other. But I'm hoping not. [Needless to say, she approves. Carry on, strange boy.]

And look. Coffee is pretty much a necessity as far as I'm concerned. [It also makes it a lot easier to avoid sleeping as much as she can. But that's neither here nor there.]

( VOICE → PERMA ACTION. )

[pubertytwice]

<sub>[ Five is relieved that they're going to a diner. He is feeling peckish after all of this thinking he's been doing over the past few days. Sometimes.. you don't eat as well when you have a lot on your mind.

The little bell rings to indicate his arrival and Five makes a beeline to her direction. He joins along her side at the counter and slides into the chair. Sort of reminds him of Griddy's, but the menu seems to have more food. ]</sub>

Do you typically gravitate to the shitty atmosphere kind of places or this a new experience for you too?

_{[ He's from a rich family, alright, but why is that the first thing he says when he meets her? ]}

( TEXT, PRIVATE, tua spoilers. )

[pubertytwice]

About my dysfunctional family? Not really.
It was just a minor inconvenience nobody wanted to cooperate during these.. times of trial.

_{[ You know. 8 days before the apocalypse and your brother just wants to find dad's stupid monocle or bitch about being sent to the moon for no reason. ]}

Last thing I remember, things were coming together nicely.

_{[ As in, they were heading back in time to stop their now super powerful armageddon sister from blowing up the moon. ]}

Then this happened.

_{[ Whatever this is. Five's still trying to figure it out. ]}

( VOICE → PERMA ACTION. )

[pubertytwice]

<sub>[ He's already caused a handful of trouble and doesn't want to cause anymore over alcohol and age matters (though apparently talking about treason and killing people is perfectly okay.) Anyway, he goes where he's supposed to and disappears at the front door, reappearing inside the bar without using the door.

He keeps a look out for.. an old guy. Cause that's how 76 sounded.. a lot like him before he got reverted back to his teenage body. ]</sub>

[pubertytwice]

You can't possibly be serious that you haven't even started to get information about this place and look for anything suspicious.. anything worth looking further into. Weaknesses. Clues.

_{[ sorry.. he's a know it all ass. ]}

If you have, well.. any information is valuable to me, even if it's the same thing I've already heard.

_{[ Validation and consistency his crucial for anything dealing with timelines or alternate worlds in his opinion. ]}

[pubertytwice]

You're a pretty.. sunshiny guy, aren't you?

_{[ He's not sure what to think. ]}

I guess so. Sometimes I wonder if it would be different if we were all actually related.

[pubertytwice]

Take a guess. I'll be impressed if you get it right.

[pubertytwice]

You think so?

_{[ He still doesn't seem intimidated. ]}

Consider it a shortcut to get closer to the source of the issue.

_{[ Yeah, he's not worried about being a criminal here. In his mind, this is a temporary place, so it shouldn't matter.
But also, he's a hard person to capture and keep captured. ]}

no worries!

[pubertytwice]

Well, that would explain how most people don't seem concerned. Nobody is taking any steps to do something like that.

Yeah. It's really the only thing in existence that doesn't disappoint me anymore.

[bigredcheese]

I just guessed like three times. But I'm sticking with frozen in time, and if not that, I'd say some combination of superpowers or magic.

[sometimespawnskillkings]

I’ve been looking but I’ve found nothing particularly significant so far.

[Sure, Temple knows some stuff about the past of the planet and how things work on Prismatica but it’s stuff that anyone could discover if they paid attention to what the Prismals say to the Moonblessed and the Prismals’ ceremonies and to the basics of the world around them.]

[And he hasn’t reached any conclusions about it yet, other than that the Prismals seem to view the Moonblessed as sources of Chroma more than anything else.]

[So, though he could list off everything he knows about Prismatica, he’s not sure where to start quite yet and he is not sure what Five wants or what conclusions he’s reached.]

Other than that, though the Prismals claim to revere us, they are willing to endanger us if they think it’s necessary to achieve their goals and only really seem to want us for our Chroma.

[ciao]

I get that a lot.

[ he's just accepting of these things honestly, but there was just a shrug ]

I'm not sure if that would make a difference...

Like I have a brother, and even though we look similar I'm still not very sure if we're actually related or what. I didn't meet him until a few hundred years later...

[ existential moment. hold please.

oh here he is again ]

In any case, he's my brother no matter what and I'd still protect him against anything.

[biotictouch]

So then riddle me this---[ She acknowledges, taking her drink from the bartender kindly and asking for a second. ]

If your natural ability is to transcend space and time.

[ She pauses and sips, for effect. ]

Is that why you talk like a fourty year old, and look like a twelve year old?

I know the effects of being suspended in space on the body. Not time.

Cell degeneration and suspended ageing sounds like a fascinating explanation for your---obvious demeanor.

[ Another sip. ]

How far off the mark am I?

[properprincess]

Arrogance leads to a tumble down the hill and a cracked head.

[She sighs and shakes her head in disgust.]

I understand that you think you won't be taken. If that were completely true, you would not be here, yes? However, I realize that nothing I say will convince you to act in any sort of self-interest.

Good luck in your endeavors.

( TEXT, PRIVATE. )

[nobodylikeshim]

Fair enough~
Even I know not to poke too hard about family.
Some things are sacred!

[ Doesn't mean that he wouldn't use that weakness later to distract someone from what his actual goal is, but details, details! ]

Mmm! My apologies.
It's always difficult when things get in the way of bigger events happening.
I feel the same way~

[ He's attempting to stalk and have a fight to the death with someone. That individual has evaded him for many, many months. It is honestly a little vexing!! And being dragged to another world, it really grates on him!!! But he's fine~

Being mad about it isn't going to return him sooner. Being mad about it just means that he is mad and isn't able to enjoy himself in this weird city. Being mad means that he can't make any fun connections with people~ So, he'll just store away all his upset to let it out some other time~~ ]

Anyway.
I forgot to tell you the best thing about friends, Five.
Friends are good alibis~
Friends also make it hard for people to disappear without a trace~

I like you, but I don't like you enough to ask anything if you suddenly up and vanished. ;)
I'm certain you could say the same about me!
Since we understand that about each other, it makes it difficult to ever know if someone is laying low... or if someone has been killed.

People would be upset if you died because of how you look.
However.
That is only if they ever found out you died~

Make some friends.
Being alone is very lonely~
And you don't have to care about them.
You just have to get them to care about you. ;)
OKAAAAY!
Mission! Start!!

[mylawn]

[Here he is. An old guy. An old guy who looks like he's seen some shit to boot. Conversely, 76 knows exactly what he's looking for, because Five had gone and put his face on the network. A kid in a place like this sticks out like a sore thumb either way, and when he spots someone of the appropriate age, he offers a nod.]

You're shorter in person.

[That is supposed to be a joke.]

[pubertytwice]

_{[ A second? Well. She just is wanting to have another drink, he figures. Her answer brings an expression of surprise across his face before that familiar smirk grows on his lips. ]}

Not very off the mark at all.. other than the fact I'm a little bit older than you think.
Try 58.

[biotictouch]

[ She couldn't actually fathom how well she'd guessed. Good god. Her second glass is set down, which she carefully slides over to him. Consequences be damned, really. ]

A chipper 58.

[ She sips with a smirk. ]

I'm honestly stunned. Here I was taking a shot in the dark. Eternal prepubescence must be exhausting.

[onerous]

[She blinks slowly and tilts her head, parsing through it in her head.]

I understand.

[Sort of. It seems like a lot of words used to just say that he can time travel and teleport around, but the fact that he did explain it in so many words like that just seems right for him.]

So, the reason you look so young is because you...miscalculated a jump. And ended up in your own younger body? [Or something like that? She hums thoughtfully] I suppose there are worse things than youth... It's an advantage, at least, to look like that.

[Looking on the bright side!!]