[ Too bad I, Ramey, have FORGOTTEN WHAT THEY WERE. ]
Not even going to give me a hint? How cruel.
[ He doesn’t sound bothered at all.
The idle chatter and bouts of silence save the low drone of something or other on the radio get them through the next hour or so fairly uneventfully at least. At last, Warren eases the van off the main road onto a stretch of gravel and dirt that is partially grown over, maintained only by the occasional enterprising urban explorer passing through. It gets rather bumpy, winding up, up, up the hillside and through the trees, until finally the headlights pour through the trees to illuminate the decrepit edifice of what was probably a very impressive bit of Hollywood architecture at one point.
Now, the place is falling apart, the paint all but stripped away by the elements, the windows long busted out. It’s overgrown and dark and perfectly intimidating there in the light of the van’s headlights. It’s about what he expected. ]
In the vein of movies, this looks like the sort of place where a bunch of kids with a camcorder would go missing.
[ Was Blair Witch after her time? It might have been, if only by a couple of years. ]
[It's fine we can make up movies on the list as we go along--
Eventually, they fall into silence, which doesn't bother Makima in the least. She has her magazine to keep her occupied, and though she's the sort to strike up a conversation with ease, it's clear that she isn't the type to fill the air with idle prattle for the sake of it. By the time they reach their destination, she does draw her attention to beyond the van, up that hillside and watching as the headlights blow through the trees to illuminate their surroundings.
And oh, what a spooky area. Perfectly overgrown and shadowed in just the right places. Great for a horror film, she thinks, even if this set's purpose has been long, long abandoned.]
Go missing and... find something terrible waiting for them in the darkness? I'd like to see something like that.
[No, she's missed Blair Witch by a number of years. And also, the concept is more humorous than scary when the two of them are the "terrible somethings" that could be awaiting a few dumb young adults stumbling around outdoors.]
But it really is unnerving out here. Fitting for a demon, right?
[ Then this list officially starts with the Blair Witch Project.
Warren pulls the van up alongside the mess of overgrowth that probably once constituted as the house's "yard", and parks it there. Once he kills the ignition and the lights go out, it's very dark indeed. ]
It's unnerving because of the demon. I doubt it'll have too much of an effect on you or me, but for normal people? They can tell there's something wrong here, and it scares them.
[He's right, it doesn't really affect her at all. If it's possible to sense something wrong twinged in the air, it's certainly not enough to put Makima on edge. She was once in the business of dealing with problematic Devils, after all, so this whole outing has strange shades of nostalgia to it, rather than trepidation.
She moves to open the passenger door, but not without remarking first.]
Are normal people in any real danger, though? The veil might be thin, but do demons make a point of crossing the threshold and assaulting regular humans?
[ A small shrug, before he, too swings the van door open to slip out into the night. ]
It happens on occasion, especially with lesser demons. It's usually covered up and repackaged as something else for the public. Wild animal attack. House fire. So on and so forth.
[Casually, as she exits the vehicle to meet the night, too. She doesn't sound all that concerned, just curious as to the nature of demons and their interactions with humans in this world.]
The ones doing the "covering up" must have their work cut out for them. I can't imagine all the paperwork...
[that moment when you are just remembering all the government paperwork you had to file for incidents that were very much in the public eye]
Shapeshifters are the keepers of such things, so it's nothing you or I need to worry about, so long as we don't draw too much outside attention to ourselves.
[ Which implies that within magical circles, they have a bit more freedom to cause a stir. He plans to leverage that quite a bit once Makima has enough of her power back. ]
[ Warren retrieves their bag of supplies for the ritual and follows along, idly pushing his way through overgrown grass and bushes to the faux house's front door.
It's a shell, mostly, with a single room on the inside, full of bits of debris and old, victorian-style furniture. There's a ruined staircase that leads to a second floor balcony lined with fake doors to rooms that don't exist. All of it is crumbling in some capacity, though apart from the natural decay, it's remarkably untouched. Even vandals don't feel comfortable lingering. ]
[Outside of the natural, degrading march of time, the interior of this place really is untouched. Like Warren said, it must be very uncomfortable for humans to linger here, which is a shame -- all this fake Victorian-style furniture is going to waste, unappreciated!]
Oh, this is a fun set, though.
[She's making her way to one such Victorian-style chair when the toe of her shoe bumps up against something, clattering it slightly.]
Hm?
[She bends down to pick it up and...] Warren, look! [She spins on a heel to face him, wielding a movie clapper board. You know, one of these things.] They left more than just set dressing behind.
[ He can only imagine they were shooting some sort of period drama here, though it would be truly ironic if it were supposed to be some sort of gothic, Crimson Peak-esque horror. The atmosphere would have been too real for anyone’s comfort.
Makima scoops an old relic of the shoot from the floor, and Warren arches a brow. ]
Huh.
[ Yeah, “huh”. ]
They must have cleared out in a hurry.
[ Surely that will mean nothing bad for the two of them. ]
It's hard to say. There's a certain level of unpredictability involved when dealing with places where the veil is thin, but I still doubt we'll pull through anything we can't handle.
[ Warren plops down the bag somewhere for now, which also makes a fair bit of noise, kicking up dust.
[She's reasonably confident it won't be a problem, regardless, but it might be fun to pull a little excitement through the veil. Still, she tucks the clapper beneath an arm and moves over to a chaise lounge nearby, pulling it back to give Warren a wide berth. Time to move this fancy furniture out of the way, which makes for a funny sight since Makima is a petite woman moving heavy items with very little effort.]
Are you about to make a big mess?
[A big, ritualistic mess. She wonders just what's in that bag.]
[ It is kind of funny to watch her schlep around whole couches like they’re nothing. Props or no, they can’t be light, and Warren is once again reminded that her appearance really sits at odds with what she is. That suits him just fine – he can leverage that to their advantage in a lot of ways. ]
I’ll need to draw a summoning circle, for starters.
[ So saying, he etches out a few runes, sending an orb of light bobbing into the air, hanging over the center of the room where presumably some kind of chandelier should have been. With light to work by, he rifles in the bag for the books and some sticks of chalk. Cliche? Maybe, but those cliches exist for a reason. ]
[There are pros and cons to looking completely human, minus the strange eyes. Making others underestimate her will definitely come in handy later for the both of them, she’s sure. A very big pro.
She continues to move props out of the way until he has more than enough room to work. The light blooming overhead helps, though it casts long, severe shadows elsewhere. Spooky.
She’ll just watch him work.]
So is this a basic wizard’s skill, too? Summoning demons?
Anyone can do it, with the right references, and the right supplies.
[ And the right amount of blood, or a possible tear in the veil. He selects one of the books – a very old-looking tome of worn leather with pages that are gilded on the edges. It looks like a bible.
It is very much not a bible.
He opens the book up to one of several marked pages, displaying a diagram of circles and symbols and strange words in latin. Without asking, he offers the book out for her to hold so he can start his drawing. For this, he doesn’t mind doing the legwork, since she’ll have to handle the lion’s share of combat. ]
That’s part of what makes demons tricky business. They're not confined strictly to magical spaces.
The right references and right supplies. You make it sound so shady.
[But they are summoning a demon, so that's probably valid to some degree. Still, Makima looks more amused than anything else, and she draws close enough to take the book and diligently hold it while Warren works; and yes, she still has the clapper tucked under one arm.]
Tricky business for those trying to keep the existence of demons under wraps, you mean?
It is shady. Human sacrifice and full moons and all. We’re taking a shortcut.
[ A somewhat less messy shortcut, though it’s clear this is a matter of convenience than any real moral quandary. Why have a quandary when one can have no morals at all? ]
Yes. Especially when the people doing the summoning lack the means to keep things under control.
[ Scratch, scratch, scratch goes the chalk on the floor. The summoning circle is taking shape. ]
[But zero morals is just so much easier. It just means maybe they can dally in a human sacrifice under a full moon some other time if they like. For now, Makima does appreciate Warren's efficacy; the fact that this will happen sooner than later. She is direly curious about the kind of demon that'll greet them.]
Well. That's what they get for dealing with things that are too far out of their league.
[Heartless, this one.
Anyway, she kills some time by carefully flipping through a few pages in this not-Bible. Doubtful she can make heads or tails of anything, but it's a passing interest.]
The people of my world would know better. But that's a consequence of Devils being a common occurrence, I suppose.
[ Here's a bit more risk involved in this method, less of a way to try and exert control over the beast once they bring it here, but Warren figures with Makima being what she is, she'll have that part well in-hand anyway. ]
Even knowing that, do people still try?
[ Like, how did so many Devils end up kicking around in the first place? ]
Sure, they can try. There are a few instances of humans and Devils getting along. Some are happy to exist beside humans; in fact, the more human a Devil looks, the likelier it is to be friendly.
[Which is funny because here stands Makima, the most human-looking Devil there is, in possession of a cruel and manipulative heart.]
But I'd say... probably ninety-percent of the time, they're dangerous. As you know, a Devil's power grows in parallel with how much humankind fears it. So it's not very beneficial to be friends most of the time.
[ "Friendly" must be a matter of opinion, because while Warren would consider Makima perfectly friendly, he is aware that his idea of friendship is twisted at best. (Or whatever a man with no friends can have for an idea of friendship, anyway.) ]
That's right. Just like I was "friends" with the Japanese government.
[At this point, she's really stretching the idea of "friendship." If Warren's idea of friendship is twisted, Makima can only view it at a distance without truly ever comprehending it.
Like through the lens a movie camera.
Either way, they both belong in the Zero Friends Club.]
[ “Friends” in a contractual sense is mostly what Warren was referring to, anyway. They’re both so good at this.
He motions for her to bring the book back over so he can start etching out the markings around the circle. It’s not quite the language of Warren’s magic, though there’s a little similarity. Whatever this is and Necromancy borrow from each other a bit. ]
How did you end up in the employ of the government, anyway?
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finalflight2023-03-24 06:21 pm
no subject
[ Too bad I, Ramey, have FORGOTTEN WHAT THEY WERE. ]
Not even going to give me a hint? How cruel.
[ He doesn’t sound bothered at all.
The idle chatter and bouts of silence save the low drone of something or other on the radio get them through the next hour or so fairly uneventfully at least. At last, Warren eases the van off the main road onto a stretch of gravel and dirt that is partially grown over, maintained only by the occasional enterprising urban explorer passing through. It gets rather bumpy, winding up, up, up the hillside and through the trees, until finally the headlights pour through the trees to illuminate the decrepit edifice of what was probably a very impressive bit of Hollywood architecture at one point.
Now, the place is falling apart, the paint all but stripped away by the elements, the windows long busted out. It’s overgrown and dark and perfectly intimidating there in the light of the van’s headlights. It’s about what he expected. ]
In the vein of movies, this looks like the sort of place where a bunch of kids with a camcorder would go missing.
[ Was Blair Witch after her time? It might have been, if only by a couple of years. ]
no subject
Eventually, they fall into silence, which doesn't bother Makima in the least. She has her magazine to keep her occupied, and though she's the sort to strike up a conversation with ease, it's clear that she isn't the type to fill the air with idle prattle for the sake of it. By the time they reach their destination, she does draw her attention to beyond the van, up that hillside and watching as the headlights blow through the trees to illuminate their surroundings.
And oh, what a spooky area. Perfectly overgrown and shadowed in just the right places. Great for a horror film, she thinks, even if this set's purpose has been long, long abandoned.]
Go missing and... find something terrible waiting for them in the darkness? I'd like to see something like that.
[No, she's missed Blair Witch by a number of years. And also, the concept is more humorous than scary when the two of them are the "terrible somethings" that could be awaiting a few dumb young adults stumbling around outdoors.]
But it really is unnerving out here. Fitting for a demon, right?
no subject
Warren pulls the van up alongside the mess of overgrowth that probably once constituted as the house's "yard", and parks it there. Once he kills the ignition and the lights go out, it's very dark indeed. ]
It's unnerving because of the demon. I doubt it'll have too much of an effect on you or me, but for normal people? They can tell there's something wrong here, and it scares them.
no subject
She moves to open the passenger door, but not without remarking first.]
Are normal people in any real danger, though? The veil might be thin, but do demons make a point of crossing the threshold and assaulting regular humans?
no subject
It happens on occasion, especially with lesser demons. It's usually covered up and repackaged as something else for the public. Wild animal attack. House fire. So on and so forth.
no subject
[Casually, as she exits the vehicle to meet the night, too. She doesn't sound all that concerned, just curious as to the nature of demons and their interactions with humans in this world.]
The ones doing the "covering up" must have their work cut out for them. I can't imagine all the paperwork...
[that moment when you are just remembering all the government paperwork you had to file for incidents that were very much in the public eye]
no subject
[ Which implies that within magical circles, they have a bit more freedom to cause a stir. He plans to leverage that quite a bit once Makima has enough of her power back. ]
no subject
Good thing we're out here where no one can see just how big of a mess we could make if we wanted to.
[She starts towards the old set first, intrigued.]
Come on, I want to see how this works.
no subject
It's a shell, mostly, with a single room on the inside, full of bits of debris and old, victorian-style furniture. There's a ruined staircase that leads to a second floor balcony lined with fake doors to rooms that don't exist. All of it is crumbling in some capacity, though apart from the natural decay, it's remarkably untouched. Even vandals don't feel comfortable lingering. ]
no subject
Oh, this is a fun set, though.
[She's making her way to one such Victorian-style chair when the toe of her shoe bumps up against something, clattering it slightly.]
Hm?
[She bends down to pick it up and...] Warren, look! [She spins on a heel to face him, wielding a movie clapper board. You know, one of these things.] They left more than just set dressing behind.
no subject
Makima scoops an old relic of the shoot from the floor, and Warren arches a brow. ]
Huh.
[ Yeah, “huh”. ]
They must have cleared out in a hurry.
[ Surely that will mean nothing bad for the two of them. ]
no subject
I think so, too.
[And their thoughts also run parallel.]
I wonder if that means we might actually be facing an actual challenge?
no subject
[ Warren plops down the bag somewhere for now, which also makes a fair bit of noise, kicking up dust.
He motions to the furniture with a hand. ]
We'll need to get all this out of the way.
no subject
Are you about to make a big mess?
[A big, ritualistic mess. She wonders just what's in that bag.]
no subject
I’ll need to draw a summoning circle, for starters.
[ So saying, he etches out a few runes, sending an orb of light bobbing into the air, hanging over the center of the room where presumably some kind of chandelier should have been. With light to work by, he rifles in the bag for the books and some sticks of chalk. Cliche? Maybe, but those cliches exist for a reason. ]
no subject
She continues to move props out of the way until he has more than enough room to work. The light blooming overhead helps, though it casts long, severe shadows elsewhere. Spooky.
She’ll just watch him work.]
So is this a basic wizard’s skill, too? Summoning demons?
no subject
[ And the right amount of blood, or a possible tear in the veil. He selects one of the books – a very old-looking tome of worn leather with pages that are gilded on the edges. It looks like a bible.
It is very much not a bible.
He opens the book up to one of several marked pages, displaying a diagram of circles and symbols and strange words in latin. Without asking, he offers the book out for her to hold so he can start his drawing. For this, he doesn’t mind doing the legwork, since she’ll have to handle the lion’s share of combat. ]
That’s part of what makes demons tricky business. They're not confined strictly to magical spaces.
no subject
[But they are summoning a demon, so that's probably valid to some degree. Still, Makima looks more amused than anything else, and she draws close enough to take the book and diligently hold it while Warren works; and yes, she still has the clapper tucked under one arm.]
Tricky business for those trying to keep the existence of demons under wraps, you mean?
no subject
[ A somewhat less messy shortcut, though it’s clear this is a matter of convenience than any real moral quandary. Why have a quandary when one can have no morals at all? ]
Yes. Especially when the people doing the summoning lack the means to keep things under control.
[ Scratch, scratch, scratch goes the chalk on the floor. The summoning circle is taking shape. ]
no subject
Well. That's what they get for dealing with things that are too far out of their league.
[Heartless, this one.
Anyway, she kills some time by carefully flipping through a few pages in this not-Bible. Doubtful she can make heads or tails of anything, but it's a passing interest.]
The people of my world would know better. But that's a consequence of Devils being a common occurrence, I suppose.
no subject
Even knowing that, do people still try?
[ Like, how did so many Devils end up kicking around in the first place? ]
no subject
[Which is funny because here stands Makima, the most human-looking Devil there is, in possession of a cruel and manipulative heart.]
But I'd say... probably ninety-percent of the time, they're dangerous. As you know, a Devil's power grows in parallel with how much humankind fears it. So it's not very beneficial to be friends most of the time.
no subject
Unless you're friends with the right people, hm?
no subject
[At this point, she's really stretching the idea of "friendship." If Warren's idea of friendship is twisted, Makima can only view it at a distance without truly ever comprehending it.
Like through the lens a movie camera.
Either way, they both belong in the Zero Friends Club.]
Or just like I'm "friends" with you.
no subject
He motions for her to bring the book back over so he can start etching out the markings around the circle. It’s not quite the language of Warren’s magic, though there’s a little similarity. Whatever this is and Necromancy borrow from each other a bit. ]
How did you end up in the employ of the government, anyway?
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