15strangers | SING, O GODDESS

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*round 7

SING, O GODDESS

SING, O GODDESS

[The place that Zagreus brings them to is an abandoned house. Like the rest of Greece, at first the grass and plants are dead, withered. But only at first.

As everyone files into the garden, it starts to slowly come to life. flowers begin to bloom. Fruits and vegetables start to sprout from the soil. The trees begin to grow once more. Wheat stalks slowly pop up out of the ground. Wherever this is, it's clear that life is returning-and the gods are awakening.

It's probably best that they don't return to the underworld, to the House of Hades-but, if anyone wishes to, Charon has arrived with the dead from the previous rounds-now alive-and little baby Ayame. If anyone wishes to go there-though, why would anyone ever willingly go back to the House, knowing you-know-who is probably awake by now?-they can.

But for those who stay here, there is food and drink, wine and bread, fresh meat and ripe crudités. Talk. Plot. Say your goodbyes before you are SHIFTed back to your homeworlds.

Who knows? Maybe there are still some surprises left to be had. But, either way...it is a good day. The new moon will pass. The sun will rise.

The Game-or at least, this variation of it-is over.]

((OoC: And with this, Round 7 is complete! Thank you everyone who participated-we hope you enjoy the aftermath, and stay tuned for the SHIFT Meme and HMD!))

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[Since they weren't about to use the motorcycle inside a quaint little house, Makima has found herself wandering the party quite independent from her partner. She's got her goodbyes to say, needs to loom ominously one last time, has to delicately dodge that whole weird screaming guy situation whatever that's about. But finally the sun is starting to rise. So here she is. The overcoat is still strewn with gashes, so she's folded up the small undamaged core of the fabric to form a satchel around the few meaningful items to take with her. She walks up to Kira and his statue - it'll add color to a certain room of her apartment, she can say that - and his stand (she does smell it but not see it yet. In her own world she will, she thinks) and does not sit down next to him.]

Well? Does my baby have a full tank? It'll probably be morning when we arrive.

[Makima will make him hit the ground running.]

Uh... [Kira's lips purse in a bit of confusion as Makima approaches in a casual manner. He did eat his fill of very delicious breads, but his face regrowing was a mental shock he won't quickly recover from.... His eyes are still puffy from the tears, too. He rejuvenated only to drain again, and it's overwhelming to see his - Yoshikage Kira's face again. He doesn't want to go on a long trip to Hell Tokyo yet before calming down. Ugh, even moving to regular Tokyo would have sounded like a pain before this nightmare.]

I ... need more time. My head is killing me.

[He assumes that the reason is clear, even if Makima didn't seem to care about his appearance for whatever reason.]

I see.

[At least Makima seems to have retained her completely nonjudgmental nature. Kira has been crying? Did the misery of Devil Tokyo finally sink in? He had previously shown, shall we say, an interesting mix of feelings about accepting his fate. Since then, interdimensional travel has proven to be slightly more work than they anticipated. Perhaps that's bothering Kira. Still, it looks more like he's physically irritated. The shock of being in the sunlight again for the first time? Makima decides to address something like that, casting a shadow as she leans over him.]

It's only going to get brighter and louder from here. Should we get you some sunglasses?

It's not the sunrise. I was actually admiring that. [Makima's blocking his view of it now though. Kira leans forward. She really can't tell?]

I would self medicate but I am sure you don't want me to drive under the influence. Just allow me another moment to rest. Come and sit with me.

[She might see Kosaku's face on the ground from that vantage point but Makima's seen weirder.]

Okay. There's not much reason to rush before any businesses will even be open.

[Makima has gotten Kira accustomed to her sitting with him; she does so now at his right side with no hesitation. The landscape has some life and also lots of dead things. Par for the course in Hell (a very specific place that does not mirror Tokyo). She can easily see why Kira would find this position more comfortable. It's so comfortable that Makima doesn't feel much need to say anything. She wonders to herself if it would even be a good idea to have a drink when they arrive, so early in the morning. Feeling the coziness, Makima begins to lift up her left hand. To hold his hand? To put around his shoulders? Before Makima actually decides, she finds herself drawn to Kira's right ear. The same shape she's admired and wanted to give a little affectionate nibble. There's a curly strand of hair, not exactly in front of the ear but close enough that she sees it and wraps it around her finger. How is that possible? This texture is totally different.]

... did you lose your hair at some point?

[Maybe it was on the ship before the killing started. She wouldn't have been able to tell.]

[At this question, Kira's confusion is souring his expression like a lemon. That's quite a big understatement isn't it? Has Makima been secretly blind the whole time and detecting all the things around her with olfaction? No... He can think of several instances that would contradict that. He doesn't understand but it seems like he just has to start explaining from the hair for whatever reason.]

It wasn't so much lost as replaced. The black hair belonged to Kosaku Kawajiri, Shinobu's husband....

[Kira shrugs. Makima already knows so much, this may as well come out.]

I may have omitted some details about her assistance in harboring me.

"Black" is a rather generous description.

[That is, Makima can remember that Kira had short, pale hair riddled with (black) streak-like pieces. Thus it seems likelier to her that he had his blond hair then lost it, rather than going through a third state in between. She's not sure how to bluff her way out of this one. They're bound to each other, so does it even matter if Kira is upset? What's he gonna do about it, cut off her hand again? But maybe she'll also need to learn how to recognize his voice, in case she's separated from her information network again. So many problems she thought she'd never have to deal with, when technically, it could all go out the window during the next prime minister election... Makima turns her head away to take a more unsubtle sniff, like Power would have, so that she's at liberty to make the vaguest allusions for this next part:]

Well, I figured you must have omitted some details when you proposed the arrangement to Shinobu in the first place. [This was obvious from the beginning, when Shinobu had been unaware of the powers that were supposed to comprise the reason Kira was hunted. Now it's even clearer because Makima is the only woman who has been told and lived, though not to tell the tale. She shouldn't take the feeling of the sun on her mesmerizing skin for granted. She looks in that direction as she says:]

I want you to rest up here, because when I take you home, I'm going to tell you everything.

The hair turned white during a moment of stress, but there was still plenty of black left. That was his hair. This is how I originally looked.... the true face of Yoshikage Kira. Did you truly not notice?

[he is not sure if he should be annoyed or not really. Kira always did try to blend in, but still...]

...I'm sure there will be much to learn about the situation, and what you intend to use me for. But I doubt I could focus on that. I thought I would never see "myself" again.

[Makima uncurls his hair from her finger, nudging him very slightly so she can get a good look at his face. He looks a bit sweeter, if she had to struggle to sum up his sculpted features with a word. Both faces have their charms.]

Do you want me to remember this face? Is this what all the other women saw?

[Because Makima may or may not have very much planned on memorizing his face after the talk was finished, but that is also not reasonable under these conditions.]

All but a couple. Still, you are the only one who would know the person behind this face, so I would like it if you would...

[Kira told all to that paramedic woman, but she only saw Kosaku's. If he's being truthful, he was excited for Makima to be the first woman to know everything and live. It's a bit awkward now but oh well. He shifts his head back slowly so he's sitting straight again, and his cheek rubs against her hand. Her finger curling his hair around it looked so cute and delicate, and it feels soft against his fresh face.]

Can you do that?

It's not impossible. Otherwise I'd have a much harder time watching movies. Should I, though? There are Devil Hunters who sell their sight and become much stronger fighters sensing vibrations through the ground. And I already know who you are, no matter what.

[This is turning into a bit of a ramble as she accepts that they might spend quite some time chatting about this. Her right hand grasps at nothing in her lap as she thinks about demonstrating their connection. "Makima" doesn't have eyes. If that was everything Kira needed, he wouldn't be so gentle with her now, willing to accept that faceblindness could be an irrevocable part of her nature. Should that mean something to her? At any rate, Makima is glad that she can hold his face like this, and lets him set the pace instead of interrupting with her own petting.]

Let's say I pass the test. Is there a prize?

Hm.

[Makima is being difficult. He knows she wouldn't make him become a devil hunter, so that must be an empty threat. It's hard to believe she can tell apart any actor in film but not a person she has lived with for months. That means she doesn't know because she doesn't care to know. No matter. "Makima" can do anything Makima won't. He wants this, but he isn't desperate. Kira doesn't move from her hand, but he turns to look at her flatly. Surely she understands their deal renders any acts of service meaningless in this context.]

It would hardly be a fair competition if you can always tell, and I have little left that I could afford to give. What am I supposed to promise, my firstborn?

[that's definitely an empty promise if he has anything to say about it]

[She meant to say that her own senses would weaken if adulterated by sight - she's still a little worried that someone could barge in at any moment, and thus employs the circumlocution. Though the two are far enough that an interloper's approach would almost certainly be from behind, so anything displayed in front of their bodies is safe. It's true that Makima has reduced this man to absolutely nothing. But to see him chafe against it makes her at least want to extend him a little more rope for the sake of watching him sink all over again. Her eyes settle like they do when she's speaking more freely; her left hand naturally forms a bit more of an L shape as her right hand clenches and manifests a chain that connects nebulously to Kira's heart.]

I know you no matter what. "Ceci n'est pas une pipe." You've surely heard of that. [Extremely innocent:] We'd print out a bunch of other men's photographs. And then... [Her lips quirk to the side. She dismisses the chain.] Talk of your firstborn makes me wonder if I should be on the lookout for guessing games I might lose. Like Rumpelstiltskin.

[ブオオ! His reaction to being chained is almost like the motor shouted "whoa." Has she always been able to do that, or did she get her much coveted powers back? He knew something was coming with that, but he still can't be entirely calm about it. He's always been a nervous man inside, but how vexing it is to require so much vigilance for the cacophony to remain within. He still pretends it didn't happen.]

...I'm familiar with the painting. But there are no photos of me in your version of Tokyo, so if you won't simply indulge me then I'm afraid I wouldn't gain much out of turning it into a game. It's probably for the best that it stays that way, no?

[He pleads the fifth on the guessing game.]

Rumpelstiltskin, huh. I don't suppose you have a secret first name....

The hot new trend of purikura didn't reach your sleepy little town yet? Not that you would want to go.

[Cinema exists, so obviously cameras exist... Even the movie Rear Window. But this is how it's supposed to be. If everything goes well, they'll be done with the plan in a matter of days and be free to indulge in their respective passions. In fact, turning Kira loose afterwards may be the greater logistical challenge. Perhaps it's in anticipation of that awkwardness that Makima has let her face pinch a bit. She has very selfish reasons that this is the last moment she wanted to widen the gap between them, and at this rate she might need to come up with another way to entertain herself, like uncaringly tugging on his chain. Makima folds both her hands over the satchel in her lap the moment before Kira indulges her mention of Rumpelstiltskin.]

"Makima" is as far as the cover story ever went. Harder to falsify that way. I've been reincarnated many times with new memories. You could say that Makima really is a strange young lady. My full awareness of the past reincarnations is only starting to come back now that we're healed, and I can tell you this. My sisters are even worse with names and faces than I am. We haven't met in a while. They might be calling me something insipid like "Connie".

I'm very camera shy. Try to understand...

[He doesn't understand why Makima is suddenly annoyed. She's the one who made this a competition. Now they're bickering like an old married couple. Thanks to that, his headache hasn't faded at all. Since she took her hands off him now, he turns back towards the sunrise. So, Makima is young but old thanks to knowledge of past lives. Reincarnation is an interesting subject to weigh against the chains of fate. But now she is bringing her family into it. What is he supposed to make of that?]

Hmm.... They sound like the high and mighty type. Will they be in the way of your plan?

[He doubts he could do this without her assistance, but it could be fun to blow up a woman who's like Makima but worse. It would make up for not getting to set Killer Queen on "Connie" herself.]

If they show themselves.

[Without eliciting attention again through her movements, Makima ponders Kira's furrowed brow, whether it will ever unfurrow in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. At least the sun isn't stunning him too much, which is good, because she loves that Tokyo isn't too cloudy. How does she put this without making it a guessing game...]

I pretty much told you already. Out of War, Famine, Death, and Conquest, I intend to be the last sister standing. Are you prepared to learn the method? That counts as a serious talk about the plan. You shouldn't have a full stomach before or after.

[Makima's eyes finally settle on something glistening in the distance. Something that does make her heart go badump, badump, badump.]

Because it's not just blood. Devils also like to eat flesh.

I can infer plenty from that alone.

[Kira is only a little full but not stuffed, but this would hamper his appetite only slightly. The thought of cannibalism isn't exactly new thanks to Val and Alastor. But what a shame, if Makima has to eat her sisters then he probably won't even be allowed to destroy the body. His glum thoughts derail as he follows her eyes.

What.]

Edited 2023-07-30 18:12 (UTC)

Well?

[Makima's annoyance has evaporated completely. Yes, of course she didn't need that smile Kira almost offered her. She had her wires crossed with a different pleasurable experience. And she's set up the board well: either he tolerates her presence longer, or she's at liberty to pursue this other whim. Though her hands stay in her lap, her legs shift to the side as if she's about to get up.]

Do you think you'll gather your thoughts a minute longer on your own?

[What the fuck. Why is this happening!! All he wanted was a moment of relief, but she is determined to haze him. No, no, no. Kira is putting a hand on her shoulder. He is... Sweating.]

Please don't eat things off the ground, Makima.

[.... That's what he takes issue with??]

Edited 2023-07-30 18:40 (UTC)

At least one side didn't land on the dirt, right? It didn't tumble head over heels, did it? I can't see from here. I'll have to go check.

[Makima is kneeling on the ground now, still about to get up while transparently letting Kira stop her. She's likewise dreamy in her priorities.]

You might not eat directly off the ground, but between the two of us, you're far more likely to get sick. And stand user flesh is probably extra useful. There is one option where I preserve it instead. Do you want to know?

Getting sick... [Kira seems sulky.] I understand it might seem hypocritical but I can't help that I am this way. You appear like you can. Am I wrong?

[Kira is bad at seeing things from another perspective. He tries pulling her back over with his shoulder grip. Get a hold of yourself, Makima! He's really not sure what to make of the value of his flesh...]

What are you talking about now?

[He can't help it? He's literally a human who made his own bad decisions... Makima being pulled back looks at him with intense pity. Such a rabid, thrashing feline. It might have been better if the integrity of his mind were compromised. But he didn't ask for that, so it's not the route Makima will use to accomplish her goals.]

Shouldn't be much surprise that I have lots of "control" over myself.

[Makima settles on the grass in front of him, both arms looped around his neck and looking into his eyes. Yes, she's feeling that urge strongly, to spin his wheels. To prove that her wits alone would get him right where she wanted him. As sick as Kira's mind must be to believe this, Makima is allured by the idea that her flirtations literally left him no choice. The skin inside her wrists is a lot warmer without the strain of a recent injury.]

According to our contract, I cannot knowingly put you at unreasonable risk of illness. Therefore, if you decide to throw yourself headlong into harm's way, then I cannot add to the harm. Kira-kun, what will you do when we get home, after we talk about the plan and before I have time to brush my teeth?

[She brings her right hand back in front of his face, pinky finger alone extended and its nail just barely grazing the surface of his chin.]

[Kira takes his hand down from her shoulder now that she has her arms around him. He really couldn't read her expression of pity, atypical. The man nods unironically at her joke, but her example is a bit poor. Offering her pinky is interesting though. A promise? A connection through fate? In any case the honest answer is the only one that could suffice, even if he can't fathom what it has to do with her threat of eating Kosaku's face.]

I don't have any plans yet. You could say I'm free for that time.

Hm. [Innocent boys can taste so sweet. Is it because he once again has lips that have never been kissed that Kira doesn't sense why Makima is leaning so close to him? A pinky promise is what she means, close to how they sealed the contract with a kiss. In the world of devil hunters, there is no such thing as a promise, only another type of contract. At least he hasn't let go of her completely. Makima loosens her arms further, basically waiting for him to let her go.]

Then I'll wait a little longer to decide. Might as well talk it over in the kitchen.

[She pats his face with her hand one last time (just barely avoiding the lips) before she stands up.]

Don't tell anyone what I'm doing, of course. I shouldn't be gone too long. [She gives another thoughtful, patient look that is much more typical for her, shows how the pity was different and deeper.] I know I've made you wait recently, and the precaution wasn't too productive in the end. I've already been gone so long. If you really aren't ready when I come back... [She turns to walk away in this moment.] I'll see what I can do to help.

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this entire thread has very vague chainsaw man manga spoilers

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cw vore

Cw vore....

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see content warnings elsewhere

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