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Post by Pippin Laudin on Feb 12, 2022 6:41:48 GMT
It was strange how everybody seemed to just... disappear. There were normal people milling about their normal days when Janiya and Pippin first began to interact, but it was as if the longer they were there, the fewer people dared to even approach the area. College students who used the library as a half-forgotten world away from school had evacuated early on, and those that were actually trying to use the building for its intended purpose were soon to follow. By the time Janiya's rather fragile mental health began to crumble, it would look - and feel - like there was nobody around for miles.
All of the students had scattered... like prey before a wild animal.
Pippin continued to sit exactly where they were, their entire thin body beginning to slowly tense as they listened to the utter madness this woman muttered. Them? Death? Father would never be so kind as to make her some immortal being with a clear-cut path and purpose. Oh no. That would all be so silly and simple... Instead, they had experienced something, and whatever it was, it continued to wiggle through their brain like a worm they couldn't get rid of. It was there, just behind the shadows and the fog, stored somewhere in their precious memory. It was no use trying to figure it out directly, of course. Instead, they waited for the worm to come to them.
"Fast?" they muttered softly, and a weird, distorted smile seemed to appear across their features. They were utterly, completely still as they sat there, ankles still crossed, frame lazily strewn across the seat. If Janiya dared to look at them, she would watch as they began to slowly distort, their image twisting and turning like a dial as somebody searched for the right combination. The only thing she would see clearly was her smile, the way once average teeth became a sparkling, hypnotizing white, as if they were a dial for a safe.
And then, rather suddenly, whether she was looking at them or not... she would see him. A giant, towering shadow seemed to slowly, meticulously materialize just behind them, a featureless black opalescent being, a hand shaped shadow resting possessively on one of Pippin's shoulders.
"I can show you fast," they whispered, though their voice sounded to be just beside Janiya's ear, as if they stood over her like the shadow stood over them.
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Janiya Isgrim
Player
Everyone deserves to be protected from the evil in the world. Even if it's in themself.
Posts: 115
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Post by Janiya Isgrim on Feb 13, 2022 4:13:19 GMT
Her nervousness continued, she stared at the one in front of her, now stilled, making her even more concerned. She looked around; no one in sight- wait what? She could've swore at least a few passerby's were around during their chat about the macabre past and present, where did they all go now?
Yellow tainted Nen began to form in her hands, struggling to take shape but failed, resulting in just a blob of Nen. She couldn't just could she just whip out constructs like her sibling could so quickly, so effortlessly, so second handedly... she couldn't focus at all. She felt like someone was gripping her neck, taking her breath away with every squeeze...
She was a Jane Doe in their headlights, and like a deer, she only focused in on the words spoken with extreme difficulty; the sound of her heartbeat made it harder than it should be. Again, their features altered before her which made her question her sanity. Was this really happening? No, maybe she pushed who she believed to be Death too far. If that were the case, she had to Move. Move. Move.
Do something, anything. At least, at the very least, form a shield... but her body disobeyed her, her mind at war with her heart. This was a little girl, she didn't need to defend herself from her... or she could be dead wrong about both identity and sex... She tried to shake free of her trance by biting her tongue.
Her mouth didn't even quiver a movement, her eyes now focused on their smile, but then she saw it. The thing. Her head slowly moved up, looking at the tall thing that came out of absolutely nowhere. All the Nen constructs she's created thus far completely fell apart, dissolving into nothingness. She didn't move, but she was trembling.
Was this their true form, or a vision of it? She looked at the hand that rested on their shoulders. Maybe this was the guardian she inquired about? Did Eszrai have one of these too, if this person was Death, that is? She opened her mouth to speak but no words seeked freedom from her lips. Regardless of her suspicions, both options meant she had no way of actually fighting back or defending herself... and that terrified her.
"I can show you fast,"
"FUCK-" Janiya immediately jumped back holding her violated ear. "What the... where the... fuck...?" The swords master couldn't form words properly, she was too focused on figuring out what the hell was going on. She could've sworn she heard the girl's- or the thing's, rather- voice right beside her, so very, very close. Jani nearly expected to feel a hand touch her somewhere. Her trembling became too much for her and she fell to the ground, overwhelmed by the twisted scenery and perverted image of what she thought to be a girl with memory problems turned embodiment of Death.
She was too shook to use Nen properly, despite being well enough to do so, and she didn't have the courage to just stand up and face whatever was happening. All of it, it reminded her of things that have already happened. Truly, was she this afraid of him, and the world beyond this one? Of course she was, her indecisiveness about it all traumatized her way back when, and so being faced with someone that could make her feel so helpless only triggered that trauma more. So she did what any person would. Even if it was the source of her fragile mentality, it was the only name she had left. She just wanted to leave, to make the shadows and figures perish.
She couldn't even give in to her own malice and handle it that way; that ability was purified a long time ago. Now, despite it being a blessing, she could only see the vast possibilities of how fucked she was if she made a wrong move with her bright pure blue ocean eyes. Janiya fell to the ground, eyes wide, just... staring. Subconsciously, she muttered words to herself she couldn't even hear: "Eszrai... help me..."
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Post by Pippin Laudin on Feb 26, 2022 5:44:23 GMT
And just like that... it was gone. The world had returned to normal, the sights and sounds flooding back to Janiya as if she woke from a dream. She would find herself on the ground on her knees, but the oppression that had put her there - rather suddenly, one might add - had disappeared entirely. It was, in fact, not unlike waking from a night terror; the fear might remain, but the more time that passed by, the easier it was to feel the distance, and the harder it would be to put everything together in a way that made sense. Janiya had fallen so deep into the rabbit hole that a piece of that madness would forever reside with her.... and yet, in that moment, she would feel the entirety of who she was return to her as if it were never gone.
Pippin was standing over her, hands on their knees, in a far different position than the one Janiya would recall. It was as if they had teleported, despite having moved quite leisurely to get into the place they needed to be. The shadow that had guarded over them was gone, seeming to be nothing more than a figment of Janiya's exhausted, obviously overworked mind. And looking up at the little punk-dressed, probably-female-bodied creature... it would feel almost silly to have ever been scared of them. Their eyes, just a bit too big for their face, were wide and filled with a mixture of concern, confusion... and curiosity. Their lips had moved, right when Janiya had snapped back to reality, but they seemed vividly aware that the woman probably hadn't heard them.
And so, they repeated themself. "Miss? Are you okay? You... Do you need something? Can I help?" And then, the words that Janiya would rather suddenly remember being spoken, almost at the exact same moment she had formed the words she could most likely deny. "Who is Eszrai? Is that your bubba? The one you mentioned before?"
And, without leaving even the breath of a moment for Janiya to answer any of their questions, they suddenly shoved an unopened bottle of water so cool, condensation rolled perfectly down the plastic. It was like a scene stolen straight out of an anime, and after the surreal experience Janiya had just gone through... it was the last tiny moment of the madness as it began to settle within her. They tilted their head to one side.
"You should drink water. That's basically the best solution to any problem ever. You look like you could really super use it, so please please take it? You... Can I help you over to the chair? Are you okay?"
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Janiya Isgrim
Player
Everyone deserves to be protected from the evil in the world. Even if it's in themself.
Posts: 115
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Post by Janiya Isgrim on Feb 27, 2022 20:13:50 GMT
Janiya blinked slowly in her fright and when she opened her eyes again... everything was gone. Was she dreaming or was this a hallucination to which she had no fortitude against? She took a few moments to steady her breathing, noticing she was stable enough to use her purified Malgrimace Nen again.
"What..." she said quietly, failing to find an explanation for what happened. Still, she didn't move, instead scanning the area around her. With breaths now steady but heart still racing, she remade her yellow Nen beanbag behind her and let herself fall onto it. Janiya looked up to be met with the person... or thing... behind the mayhem. Did they simply move while she was gathering herself and she didn't notice or was this some kind of quick step technique? Or, Nen? With them standing over here, a part of her wanted to slap the other part of herself; this kid was the one who threw her into PTS-Fuck You land? Her? Janiya groaned, watching at their lips moved but no sound reached her ears.
Shaking her head, she tried to focus. Thankfully, they repeated themselves.
"Y- Yeah..." Janiya replied as quiet as her earlier words. Sighing, she crossed her arms out of two parts tiredness and three parts insecurity before briefly gagging at the intrusion of a water bottle. Her eyes widened as she again lost her composure before taking the bottle, preventing death by waterboarding. It was confirmed right then and there her overall composure wasn't coming back for a good while. Even though she felt like she didn't need it, she gulped down as much water as she could, craving for the feeling of satisfaction. Sanity. Peace. But none of it came.
"Yeah..." she again replied. Taking a deep breath she relaxed, seeing no reason to hold information from this girl-thing anymore. "Eszrai is my younger sibling. Malice incarnate. Anything I can do, he can do better and your madness would probably just make him stronger." She looked down at the ground. "Even after all this time... I'm still terrified... and dependent on him... I'm supposed to be the big sister damnit! How can I help save other people when a little girl like you scares me and a little boy like him I failed to help?"
Sighing again, she shook her head. "Whatever, doesn't matter. He's someone else's problem. I'm clearly not fit to deal with it. With him. You though? Damn kid you're something else."
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Post by Pippin Laudin on Mar 1, 2022 17:28:19 GMT
Pippin's face fell. Apparently, this girl didn't learn her lesson the first time. It really was quite a shame... You'd think that she would be smarter than that. At the very beginning of this interaction, they almost thought this girl could be their friend... A voice whispered through their mind, hoarsely: the voice of a little girl, or somebody who had just barely grown out of being a little girl. She sounded so far away, so tired, so very scared... Pippin's jaw clenched and they stepped back, their lips pressed together. Little girl.
They gave a shake of their head as they fought back the sudden, rage-filled urge to destroy this woman. They hated when somebody made them feel that way.... like this wasn't their life, this wasn't their world. They closed their eyes tightly for a second as images flashed across their vision. A little girl, an older girl, a boy, a creature too far removed from human to even have a gender... and him. It was the image of him that calmed them immediately, like wrapping up in a familiar blanket, or sitting next to a roaring fire. Their shoulders slowly loosened, and they turned to look at her again.
"Me?" they asked innocently, surprise making their eyes go wide. "I would have to be something to be something else~" they giggled.
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Janiya Isgrim
Player
Everyone deserves to be protected from the evil in the world. Even if it's in themself.
Posts: 115
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Post by Janiya Isgrim on Mar 1, 2022 22:59:30 GMT
Janiya noticed the tone shift, quickly sensing she'd made a mistake of some kind. Raising a hand up in defense she tried to laugh it off. Clearly, something about what she said earlier is some sort of trigger. The problem was she had no idea what that could be. Was Death really as blind as love when it came to casual conversation? If, of course, an entity named Love existed. It certainty wasn't this creepy little girl.
"The hell'ya mean you'd have to be something to be something else... what?" Janiya would question with an extremely puzzled look on her face. What were they talking about, they were something, she just didn't know what. "It's an expression... It's alright, I'll explain it to you next time... I need a nickname to call you... Death is a no-go."
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Post by Pippin Laudin on Mar 15, 2022 0:49:13 GMT
Pippin blinked their wide eyes slowly as they contemplated what this weird person said, seeming to forget about the insult that had just passed her lips. Their attention span was quite limited, it seemed; they were easily distracted, and the thought of having a nickname... Now, THAT was interesting.
"I don't remember ever having a nickname," they murmured, placing their index finger against the hollow of their cheek, obviously thinking hard. "What's a Nickname supposed to be based off of?"
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Janiya Isgrim
Player
Everyone deserves to be protected from the evil in the world. Even if it's in themself.
Posts: 115
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Post by Janiya Isgrim on Apr 2, 2022 4:24:00 GMT
Janiya thought over the question quickly before answering with a big grin. To her, nicknames were just a part of life; you don't go through life without getting one at some point in time.
"That's fine! Nicknames are like a super, super short description of yourself. An easy way to point someone out in a crowd of people even if you don't know their real name..." She paused mid sentence before continuing again, not wanting to admit the more basic use of a nickname. "Or it can, you know, be a shortened version of your name. Name's Janiya, nickname would be Jani. Get it? Was called Bullet a long time ago..."
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Post by Pippin Laudin on Apr 14, 2022 9:14:01 GMT
"Hmmmm~" Pippin hummed softly as they contemplated the exact phrasing that Janiya had offered. A way to point someone out in the crowd... They thought of the only two people that they knew, the only ones that really mattered to them, and what they called each of them... and what each of them, in turn, called them. "Are those nicknames or pet names?" they asked out loud, completely unaware of having not voiced the entirety of the thought. They tilted their head slowly to the left, and then began to slooooooowly shift it to the other side, continuing to make the strange humming sound. It was almost hypnotizing to watch them move, and most people found it utterly unnerving, the slow, careful, intense control they expressed with every minute shift in their small frame.
"Bullet? Are you really fast? Or is it because you're a tool for a master? Or because you can be lethal but also aren't? Or because you're one part of a set that together is lethal?" Pippin asked everything quickly, excitedly, as if they were getting to learn something amazing and absolutely couldn't wait to hear more.
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