And so Annabel ensconces herself in her room once more, because she's done with this shit.

She wonders if Lilith is awake at this time of night.

...well, there's only one way to find out -

Hey, you awake?  Long day.  Then parent was awful.  Thought I'd be tired.  Am not.

Yeah%20I%27m%20awake%0Awhats%20up%3F

shit sorry is this better

dang but I kind of expected that

how was the SA?

. . . I'd ask why that was URL style but I think I know.

Better now.  SA was decent actually.  Though 'Spiritwatcher Maeve' was detrimentally committed to the bit; talked w/ her about Culpeper Cut, but she was all, 'hieth ye to the Association for to speak of thine enkindling by a spirit who wisht to prank us' to start until I went off at her.

 

...Do *you* know what the heck was weird about 1923 btw

since Maeve said CPC was particularly violent then

...hang on.  GW ended 1922...

Was it *the War vets?*  and the resulting backlash in the collective unconscious or w/e?  That would be.  Pretty sad, honestly.

They're all like that. Taking themselves way too seriously.

I wasn't around back then. I don't know about the war. could be? It's hard to tell because at first I uh

I was not super conscious at first? and may have done bad shit

but I think I started existing in the 80s, I remember being a slut near an arcade and it's one of my earliest memories

like what are those lights and noise why do the people it's fun to fuck/with stare at them

also stealing wallets and stuff

not being able to know you were doing crimes is a pretty good defense against 'did you do a crime', so, yeah

wasn't *you* doing bad shit if you weren't, like, actually thinking-capable at the time

 

...damn, though, that's gotta suck

not the arcade sluttery, that's, all the more power to you imo, just, the, "I don't even know for sure what 'I' did before I was 'born' but it probably sucked."

 

...And damn, you're gonna have to keep me on my toes then, 'cause the reason I went off on Maeve is that I felt like she *wasn't.*  (Taking me seriously, that is.)  ;P

You shouldn't get too full of yourselves either. Too many for one body. Spread it out.

It's kind of blurry like at what point did I start being more thinky? Don't want to just say 'I didn't know any better'.

I definitely scared a few boys into thinking they'd gotten me pregnant. I thought it was funny. Also broke this one dude's phone and plumbing because he was a terrible lay.

Snerk.  Ophelia is being smug at this, idk why.  But yeah uh Maeve just...it was power play and power play and not...I had taken time out of my day to try and help do work *they* should have done, and I wasn't given any respect for having bothered until I demanded it.  Though I suppose I hardly gave Maeve much of a chance; her opening monologue just.  Set me *right* off.  Went on a whole *rant.*

 

...honestly if that's the worst you did, though, like, you didn't scam the boys out of stuff or anything?  I don't think that's any more than petty human shit, though I might've done something different with the bad lay.  Maybe make his toaster as unsatisfying as his sex.  Or applied the good ol' permanent-marker-face.  Or dramatically overacted while clawing up his mattress, but that might end up disappointing someone else or outing you.  Hmm.  Anyway.  It was...human-shaped petty, albeit amplified by magic.  And if the boys *weren't* doing safe sex with their random hookup, well, good thing they learned with someone who *wasn't* actually harmed, I guess?  Like it was definitely in-the-moment bad but not, long-term, *harmful.*  ...In a society where we weren't fucking *Puritans* that plot could be an entire PSA, tbh.  "Do you want to be this boy?  No?  Then use a fucking condom!"

probably not the worst I did. did they talk about 'we're not Napoleon'? I kind of think they totally are secretly in charge of the government. part of it at least. lobbyists. magic lobbyists who could bring the world down if they went on strike.

Yeah they are totally a separate power structure Maeve was all 'we have all this culture and procedure that you don't understand because you're a child, neener neener'.  Okay no actual neenering was done but she was absolutely looking down her nose at me anyway.

At least, the DC office absolutely believes it is, I think.  Haven't tried other spots yet, y'know?

And honestly the mortal staff - ugh why did I even think that - the *not-magical* staff were kinda pretty obsequious.  Though maybe that's fickle memory, but like...I still did get the impression that it's panem et circenses a little bit.  Not *hugely,* but, like...

The celebrity status is both internal appeasement and external soft power, accomplishing multiple goals in one very flashy blow.

i mean of course you're special

you're magic

;796f75NULL

asdf I mean if you say so long enough maybe my brain will listen?  Or Ophelia will drag it out of us.

...Did your phone survive the whatever that was?

The message could not be sent.

Bother.  Well, she'll get some sleep, then, and re-send in the morning.

And possibly tease her girlfriend about flirting so hard the Internet combusts.

About five minutes later,

hi that happens a lot restarting fixes it

usually

Oh she's still awake by then.

Aha!  Well, as I was saying -

Resend Message...

- and did you just flirt so hard the network combusted?

ha

I only maybe 40% meant that as flirting the rest was dark sarcasm about the state of the world

spirit bearers are a different class in the Marxist sense

hey there's a couple people I kind of want you to meet, one is sort of like me but uh... big and more monstery than me? and gluttonous instead of sexual. maybe the seven deadly sins or whatever are diversifying away from just wrath and sloth.

the other is a magical girl who doesn't trust me but I know how to contact, she's totally on the run from the coppers for various reasons, she tellssssssssssthestorywaybetter

Yeah.

Wouldn't mind meeting your gluttonous friend - think I should probably avoid doing anything that doesn't have plausible deniability about magical girl who the cops hate, though; I hate the *cops,* haven't been quiet about that, and I'm sure they will look for an excuse to bite me.  But like, I can't say I don't want to at least hear her out; talking to someone the authorities considered evil went so well the last time ;)

You might have e heard of her. Brass Blaster

...Has she heard of her?

Not yet, but searching turns up actual results.

wtaf even is a 'Dark Girl' b/c *clearly* they just made that shit up if I don't count

and

'rogue magical girl' says *whom* because *why,* anyway?  you can't just...go rogue from nobody whatsoever, you have to have been part of the system first

and *somehow* I doubt she was!

but if she's Malcom X I could be her MLK, I think.

you count you just lied by implication

and rogue from the standard society expects: for dutiful little girls who fall in line and fight the monsters and push things only in non-disruptive socially acceptable ways, like charity fundraisers and cute social media posts

I don't know much about MLK and Malcolm X and all that. She goes after cops who bury body cam footage or "break" their cams.

yeah but like they didn't even *notice* so obviously they just made that shit up to be prejudiced about

 

ugh charity fundraisers and cute social media posts will not ever be my speed

even with Ophelia existing who will happily seduce rich people out of their yachts for a cause

what's she *do* with them afterwards?

i feel like that's more than a one step process

sell them? set them on fire?

oh uh

no, I meant brass blaster

'cause i can get behind rendering cops unable to fuck with people more

but I just want to not...be gratuitous about it, i guess?  my brain's jumping back to that medieval 'thieves lose hands' thing and thinking that's probably appropriate for cops that didn't do wanton murdering (they totally did, but let me exposit)

it's a...

the principle of harm reduction

do the least harm possible to secure the most good, thing.

She publishes incriminating documents and footage, sometimes steals shit and breaks shit. She's kind of

escalating over time, since it doesn't seem to be actually doing anything. Told me if they're scared of retaliation they won't murder kids anymore.