metalogs | [open] August catch-all

[Sephiroth isn't entirely certain what to expect from this "Accelerator." The name suggests one of those "heroes" who believes a mask offers them some kind of protection, but one can never know for certain with people from multiple universes.

He suggests meeting at the north entrance to a park in Central City. It's public, to quell uncertainties about meeting with a stranger, but not the sort of crowded place that makes a private conversation impossible. There's a bag over his shoulder, containing the fruits of his efforts, though not enough to really weigh the thing down.

He doesn't know if any of the items will carry the necessary signature, but he's as curious about this stranger's powers. If they could be used to track a goddess... Well, that's useful to know.]

[Accelerator doesn't particularly care one way or another about meeting up. He probably should, since it's reasonable to be cautious of strangers you've met over the internet, but he's dealt with plenty of random assholes in his life. If yet another one wants to fight him, then he'll deal with the situation.

Thankfully, that isn't necessary. He heads to the agreed meeting place, sipping at a can of coffee as he approaches the park's north entrance, and as he does he recognizes that guy from the pet store. Huh.

He walks over.]

Don't tell me you're Sephiroth.

...and you're "Accelerator"?

[The prickly teen catsitter was not who he expected. It's not ideal, but he doesn't think he's inadvertantly roped the kid into anything dangerous. Certainly no more so than Accelerator's already been through, if he was there when Fantastic... broke down.

On the other hand, it's a bit amusing.]

How are the cats?

Yep.

[He doubts he's what most people are expecting when they hear a name like 'Accelerator' which, fair.]

From the perspective of someone who isn't an animal person, they're doing fine. I'm not sure what a cat lover would think.

[He's guessing they'd find some fault since they'd be way more in tune with the animals than him. Whatever. He eyes the bag Sephiroth has.]

What've you got?

[Sephiroth shrugs. He can appreciate cats, but he doesn't consider himself a "cat lover."

He motions for Accelerator to join him at a nearby bench, where he sets down the bag and opens it.]

I'm not certain how your power works, but I've liberated a few items from former cultists.

[Within are some sheets of paper with handwritten prophecies, and some trinkets and pieces of jewelry that Sephiroth thought seemed promising. The fact that one or two of them might have blood on them clarifies what he means by "former" cultist.

Don't mind the Loki bobblehead in the bag. That's unrelated.]

[Accelerator follows Sephiroth over to the bench, dropping down onto it. Before he hits the switch on his choker he scoots over, making sure there's enough space between them that Sephiroth won't accidentally touch him.

Then he starts grabbing the stuff from the bag. He's frowning the entire time, not picking up on any unusual vectors on the jewelry or trinkets. The blood doesn't escape his notice, though he doesn't really care and dismisses it pretty easily.

What does hold his attention are the papers with Chaos Gate's civilian name scribbled on them. Oh, that isn't good.]

... Goddamnit.

[Sephiroth lets him have his space. He is not one even for purposeful touching.]

...what is it?

[Of course he's read the prophecies, and there might be some alarming ones, if it wasn't clear they never happened. So he assumes it's something to do with Accelerator's powers.]

............

[He doesn't answer right away, paging through the papers. There aren't any bizarre vectors attached to any of them, so it looks like all of this stuff is clean....

But he's still pulling his phone out so he can take some photos of this prophecy shit, as he switches his choker back to normal mode and mulls over what to say.]

Katherine West is the name of a social media influencer. [And his boss. That part he keeps to himself, he doubts it's good villain etiquette to out someone like that.] I know she vlogged a meeting of some other cult that's about sleeping and dreaming.

[Once he's finished taking photos, he'll pull up that video and hold it out so Sephiroth can see. It's titled MY NIGHT WITH THE DREAMERS.

It is, honestly, pretty boring. the cult is settled in the forest of Sunset Falls. They're all the epitome of the 1960s hippie movement, long hair and flowing clothes with flowers tied in their hair. They're doling out enchanted pillows to the populace and teaching them affirmations to say to 'empower themselves to create their own future' and 'cast off the shackles of destiny' and talking about how dreams can manifest reality.]

I don't think they get along with that Shining God bullshit.

I've heard of them.

[Hm. Not what he expected, and he gets the sense that Accelerator is holding something back. A personal connection, perhaps?

But a Katherine West, active in Sunset Falls, noted beside a prophecy of Sunset Falls' destruction...]

...does she have any relation to the former Mayor West?

Hah?

[What the hell? Is Chaos Gate's dad really an ex-mayor?]

I don't know. Isn't 'White' a common surname for Westerners?

[He's never asked her about her family, but now he's taking his phone back and googling this.]

[Is 'West' a common surname for Westerners... That makes sense to Sephiroth, but this isn't his planet.]

I wouldn't know.

They may not be related, but considering the mayor is responsible for protecting the town from mystical destruction, it seems worth asking.

[Oh, mystical destruction sounds like something Chaos Gate would be involved in, if only for funsies....]

Mystical destruction? What the hell are you talking about?

The town sits on a hellmouth, but it is protected by a divine pact made between the Mayor and an obliging deity.

A mayor's absence weakens that protection.

[Just normal Sunset Falls stuff.]

[.... A hellmouth. Accelerator has no idea what a hellmouth is, but he can guess.]

It all must be connected, then. The Wests, the Shining God, a fucking hellmouth.

[This is insane and dumb and he just wants to take a nap.]

Well, none of this crap has the same kind of tether Fantastic had. As far as I can tell it's all normal junk.

[The Shining God connected to Sunset Falls specifically...? He wonders. Supposedly the cult has influence with a number of authority figures, but Mayor West? It doesn't seem like their territory.]

Hm. Unfortunate that it only leaves us to speculate, although if that was the Shining God's work, then its absence among her followers suggests her direct influence is limited.

She had said something about needing to get rid of us to manifest, so I'd be surprised if she could fuck up anyone or anything like she did with Fantastic.

[He's sure he'd be sensing more of the Shining God's vectors if she had more of a direct influence on this universe.]

I wonder if he made a pact of his own, inviting her presence.

[Sephiroth shakes his head.]

May I ask how your power works, exactly?

He must've. Or someone did it for him.

[And that made the tether between Fantastic and, presumably, the Shining God.

He leans back on the bench, sighing.]

I'm psychic, basically. There's this medical process back home that, when someone goes through it, causes their brain and body to disassociate from normal reality and perceive it in a way that's personal to them. I can then enforce my Personal Reality on normal reality using quantum mechanics and mathematical calculations.

[Just normal reality warper things.]

[Sephiroth gives him a lingering glance at "medical process," but he isn't going to ask. It's not his business, and he doesn't want to get into it.]

So you're able to perceive reality on an entirely different level.

But magic doesn't follow the rules you're accustomed to?

[Accelerator is very casual about the entire explanation. He doesn't care, it's common knowledge back home and he's used to both having no privacy and oversharing.]

Magic doesn't follow normal physical laws. Even my abilities are based in science. This magic is like a fucking black box to me, when I try to calculate for it I can do it up to a certain point, but then an error gets introduced and I don't know how to fix it. If I keep calculating the greater the error grows until it's taken over the entire thing.

[He sighs, frustrated.]

By that point I've lost sight of what I was trying to do in the first place.

Hm. The magic where I come from is based in scientific principles. But there are, or course, many kinds, and many sources. A practitioner of one may not understand any of the others.

So of course there's no need to push yourself.

[Accelerator clicks his tongue. Sounds like that's still science to him, just science that's more like Kakine's dark matter.]

I'm not pushing myself. [He might be, a little bit. But he wouldn't be named after particle accelerators if he wasn't like this.] I'll figure it out.

Perhaps you aren't, at the moment.

But you seem the type. [And he doesn't want to encourage it.]

... Tche.

[Sephiroth is not wrong, though that doesn't stop Accelerator from looking annoyed.]

This isn't the time to be taking it easy. If that fucking god shows up again I don't want to be caught off-guard. [He can't be. He's not sure if anyone else can sense those kinds of vectors, so he feels responsible.]

And will you be able to fight effectively if you've overtaxed yourself?

Central City Park - for Accelerator

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That should've been 'West'

I figured!

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