✧ wanna save all my magic for the ones that I like

[buddinghopes]

[Another day, another Nightmare attack.

Finding an alley to duck into to transform is a simple enough matter, and before she actually engages the monster, she needs to get any civilians out of there.

Luckily, most of them have cleared out already, but there's one particularly unlucky one who's been cornered.

She's charging in, hoping to momentarily distract the Nightmare before teleporting to the guy's side to get him the hell out of there--

--but before she can, something's happening, she can see it out of the corner of her eye.]

Comments

[switchaxe]

[Ash has no fucking clue what the fuck is going on, but it sure is happening and he doesn't get a say in it! There's glowing and weird reddish-purple light, and the next thing he knows he is whacking this fucking whatever it is out of the way with the weird scythe-axe thing he suddenly has in his hands.]

[buddinghopes]

[Oh. Shit.

That sure looks like a first transformation if she's ever seen one.

The Nightmare goes reeling back, and Lia teleports to the boy's side, one gun trained on the monster.]

You know, I was gonna ask if you were alright, but, uh. I see I don't really need to ask.

[switchaxe]

No, I'm not fucking alright! What the fuck is happening!?

[buddinghopes]

Welcome to the bullshit world of magic!

[That's punctuated with her firing a few shots at the monster. Okay, she will not be using her usual tactics for this, so...]

Stay close to me for now, got it?

[switchaxe]

Magic? Magic ain't fuckin' real!

[But he's not going to argue staying near.]

[buddinghopes]

You know what, we can go over that shit later--

[Switching guns, firing more!]

--Once this bastard's been put down!

[switchaxe]

[Works for him! He has no idea what's going on, but he's ready to attack anything that gets near them.

Thankfully nothing really does, and soon it's just them in the middle of the street.]

[buddinghopes]

[Finally, the dust has settled. Lia lets out a sigh of relief, but doesn't let her transformation drop just yet.]

... Whew. Well, that could've gone worse.

[switchaxe]

Yeah? How?

[buddinghopes]

We got out of that pretty unscathed, all things considered, I'm counting my blessings where I can.

[switchaxe]

Unscathed?! Look, bitch, I don't know what about any of this [he gestures to himself] says "unscathed" but--

[buddinghopes]

Oh my god, dude, would you rather be bleeding out in an alley?!

[switchaxe]

At least I'd know what the fuck is happening!

[buddinghopes]

[Okay. Deep breath. Inhale. Exhale.]

Look. If you can suspend your disbelief for one goddamn minute--

[switchaxe]

I look like a Sailor Moon reject!

[buddinghopes]

Of all things, that's what you're taking issue with?!

[switchaxe]

It's just the first thing!

[buddinghopes]

[...

God, okay, fine, time to be serious.]

Okay, just. Close your eyes. Deep breath. Try to imagine the power dispersing. Focus on that.

[switchaxe]

What power?!

[buddinghopes]

I guess the situation hasn't put you into a position to actually, like, analyze shit. God. Okay. I'm sorry I suck at this, I'm not normally around for this shit happening to a newbie to magic.

Take a few moments to just... try to cool off a bit, okay?

[switchaxe]

["Cool off", please. Like he can "cool off" when so much weird bullshit has happened and this bitch ain't explaining shit.

Still, he's not getting answers until he tries, so he does step back and just. Breath. Or try to, anyway.]

[buddinghopes]

Explaining this whole thing and having it actually make sense is going to hinge on you accepting that magic is a whole Thing, which you were already... clearly resistant to.

[switchaxe]

Yeah, because I fuckin' hate occult shit. But okay, say it's real.

[buddinghopes]

[A beat.]

You know what, that is extremely fair.

[Anyway.]

So about that whole "Sailor Moon reject" thing...

[switchaxe]

Yeah?

[. . .]

You're shittin' me.