Testing for voice and also for use in the distant future

[empress_without_a_throne]

1.

... The weatherman lied today.

[Well, technically no.  The forecast had just called for cloudy skies all day, but lo and behold, the sun was shining and the sky was free of obstruction.  Normally that would be cause for celebration... but for Mizuki, well... she hadn't thought she had needed to bring her umbrella along today and now she was stuck without it.  Great.]

If this doesn't let up and I can't find some shade, you're buying me a hoodie.

[And yeah, she's realizing how demanding she's being, which is enough for her to sigh in frustration.]

... I'll pay you for it when we get back, though.  Promise.

[Such was life for the Abyss Empress.]

2.



Whoo!  Dinnertime!  Been looking forward to this all month long!

[Indeed she has been!  And from the food lines, Mizuki picks up a particular meal that had been prepared for her, right before going, sitting down, and preparing to dig in... with her meal now plain to see for everyone.]



... What's everyone looking at?  You've never seen cooked anglerfish before?

3.



[It's late at night in the hangar, and most of the mechanics and pilots have already called it today.  Mizuki, however, is perched on some railing, looking at the feminine-looking, winged and black humanoid standing still like a statue.]

I heard that the Illuminati are opening up talks again about canning Project Sol for good.  We're not going to let that happen, alright?  If we kick enough ass, they'll reconsider.  Or at least they should.

[For whatever reason you're still in the hangar, Mizuki doesn't honestly care.  She needs someone to talk to and she's not going to be taking no for an answer.]

Things are looking up for us finally, I mean.  For me, Sara, the Director... everyone involved.  Sol's still got a place in this world, all of us do!  We've just... gotta prove it to them.

... Dammit, how does GGG and everyone else keep their financiers from breathing down their necks like this?

Comments

3)

[mistaken_for_monster]

I dunno... I haven't even finished high school...

[He's sitting next to her, shoulder resting against the rail as he kicked his legs.]

You'll probably do it though. You kept me alive right?

[Because he's got the life expectancy of a goldfish in a house of cats.]

[empress_without_a_throne]

That's because the people going after you are gullible idiots. It's the cause and also the solution to all your problems.

[mistaken_for_monster]

Yeah, they are aren't they? Those goofs...

You just have to make a good show the next fight right?

[empress_without_a_throne]

Maybe... maybe not.

If they decide that we're just fine as it is, they'll probably not cut our budget any more, but I doubt we'll get any extra funding. And we're running on fumes. The fact I'm unintentionally high maintenance doesn't help with that at all.

[mistaken_for_monster]

... Ugh... this is giving me a headache...

[Volya's rubbing at his forehead now.]

All this back and forth stuff with budgets and funding...

I say the next time we get some money, we buy an aquarium for you to breed those fish in.

[Ah the solutions of a teenager.]

[empress_without_a_throne]

Not... going to work.

[And with that, Mizuki begins sorrowfully counting off the reasons why that idea wouldn't work...]

- You'd also need the aquarium to have the right water pressure; anglers and other deep-sea animals are used to tremendous PSI and would probably explode at shallower depths, and then there's the matter of feeding. If they become part of a carbon cycle that can be traced back to photosynthesis, then I might as well be eating rat poison.

... And of course, it would have to be a salt water aquarium.

1

[63rd_shockwave]

I'm not buying you anything.

[Sophia takes off her jacket and hands it to Mizuki.]

Here, use this.

[empress_without_a_throne]

That... it'll do.

[Barely, though. And Mizuki's forced to put it up over her head to serve as an impromptu hood. She looks ridiculous like that.]

I probably look ridiculous.

[That's what I was just saying.]

... I'll try not to get it damaged or anything.

[63rd_shockwave]

Well...You certainly don't look like a senator. Or a bank manager.

[empress_without_a_throne]

And I was neither of those before putting it on, so nothing of value is lost.

[63rd_shockwave]

Mmm.

[Some time passes in silence...]

[empress_without_a_throne]

[Indeed. And the sunlight's not lessening at all either, so Mizuki continues to be as inconspicuous as a robot ninja in an Greek tragedy.]

So I've gotta ask though...

With work as a, well; you're old enough that magic "girl" doesn't really apply anymore but you get the picture.

Point of it being... was it always just one threat after another you had to deal with? No breaks in between?

[63rd_shockwave]

Pretty much. Knock down one demonic invader, another one shows up to take it's place. I had to skip out on my own birthday party once...

[empress_without_a_throne]

Pretty much the order of the day for Project Sol too. Kingdom of Darkness falls, the Shadow Alliance forms overnight. And when they were taken down by SolVanguard, the Eclipse Union stepped in.

... Kinda a crummy way to exist, though considering what happened after the Great Black Void got destroyed it's hard to say things have improved any.

[63rd_shockwave]

...Really? I mean, that stopped the invasions...

[empress_without_a_throne]

... Yeah, but pretty much nobody's happy about it. I'm sure the Director wouldn't have minded resolving things in some other way. He's got kids he's trying to put through school and it's hard to do that when your job pays you barely better than serving fries.

Needs of the many versus the few and all that. Only problem is the Few didn't realize the sacrifice they were making until well after.

[63rd_shockwave]

...Well, you'll have to forgive me if I think there are worse things than being underemployed for being too good at your job.

[empress_without_a_throne]

I know there are... but I really didn't have a say in any of this at all. So you can forgive me for maybe wishing things had gone differently.

... Not that I've got any grand desires for villainy.

[63rd_shockwave]

Calm down.

[Sophia points upwards with her left hand; the very tip of her index finger glows very briefly as she does so.]

I shouldn't have to remind you what I can do...

...What's this about villainy, though?

[empress_without_a_throne]

[Oh right. Sophia was a magic girl/woman/whatever the proper term would be. And meanwhile, Mizuki had an excess amount of Void energy inside of her, but she was at best a high-capacity battery.]

I'm just saying that even though I wish things would've gone differently, I don't want them to be the way they were meant to be, with me being the leader of the Abyss Empire.

[63rd_shockwave]

I thought you meant something like that.

I haven't heard this story. Mind telling me?

[empress_without_a_throne]

What's there to really tell? The battles between Project Sol and the Great Black Void were escalating with every iteration. SolCrusader was the height of that... a robot created by seven others combining together, and another four were created afterwards to further bolster its strength. It was a wrecking machine through and through, and the Twilight Apostles could raise a similar amount of power against it.

Nobody actually thought that in the final battles around the Apostle's stronghold inside the Void that the Void would actually be destroyed. It's the antithesis to the Sun, and that burning ball of Sol energy's still going strong. Defeat at that point was already certain, sure. The Void was already creating the Abyss Empire, with myself, Grand Vizier Vandof, and General Salanshiel being the first -and last- Abyssians.

But the amount of power both sides were throwing around was simply too much. The Void was torn apart and the still-developing Abyssians died with it. The surviving Twilight Apostles shared that fate as well. And of course, Project Sol all but fell on its own sword that day as well, considering how shoestring its budget has become.

[63rd_shockwave]

...Then, aren't you working for the people who killed the rest of your race?

Isn't that a bit...unusual?

[empress_without_a_throne]

Any port in a storm. Project Sol knows Void energy better than anyone else on Earth, and besides, they need pilots and they're saving a small fortune in maintenance costs since I power the DuskBird myself and Sol Reactors don't come cheap.

Besides.

[She gives a weak, sad kind of smile.]

Project Sol, myself, everyone involved? We're all trying to find a place for ourselves in this world. The only people we can truly relate to regarding this is each other.

1)

[stupiddisciple]

This would not be a problem if you dressed more modestly...

...Is sunlight harmful to you?

[empress_without_a_throne]

If I bundled up too much, the heat would be almost as unbearable as the light.

And yes, that's the case.

[A beat.]

... Just to stop you before you say it, no I'm not a vampire.

1/2

[stupiddisciple]

Oh! No, I did not...

2/2

[stupiddisciple]

...I apologize, your grace, for not being more accommodating.

[And Jacquier hands you her hood.]

Please forgive the mistake.

[empress_without_a_throne]

"Your... grace?"

[Mizuki's not going to say no to a hood, but she's still looking a little dumbfounded by this.]

The only two people who I thought would have only reason to call me that stopped doing that years ago. Parenting does that to you.

You're not going to get in trouble for this, are you?

[stupiddisciple]

...I would get in trouble for not doing it.

Is this not how humans are supposed to treat your kind?

[empress_without_a_throne]

[Yeah. Red flags getting raised here.]

Just so we're on the same level here: what do you think "is" my kind?

[stupiddisciple]

[Thoughts being crunched, processed, sorted...]

...Ah. It seems I have made a mistake again, somehow...Our worlds are very different.

[empress_without_a_throne]

Indeed they are. If it makes you feel any better, I am technically royalty though.

So what's your world like then? Are there lots of people similar to Void beings?

[stupiddisciple]

Indeed, Milady.

There are many beings for whom the sun is an enemy, in my homeland. The youngest child is taught to respect them, along with the rest of the Nobles.

[empress_without_a_throne]

Well, the Sun and me...

We get along well enough.

[stupiddisciple]

Quite well indeed, milady.

[Yeah this is going to make for an odd looking pair of women walking down the street]

[empress_without_a_throne]

You really don't need to call me that.

[Walk walk walk. And Mizuki's also starting to realize how convenient wearing a hood is. Probably less weird than an umbrella in broad daylight too.]

You're not going to do anything ridiculous like help other "oooh, I'm all evil and dark and I'll kill the day" groups we might run into though?

[stupiddisciple]

If it is not too much trouble, I would like to continue doing it. It is...strange, the level of informality people express here.

...And no, I would not. The sun here is more intense than in the country of my birth, but humans require it nonetheless. As problematic as they may be, the Nobles could not survive without them.

3 (Was thinking this would be a good way to narrate how the two of them met)

[actuallyselfish]

A technician in a bright orange jumper and a clipboard walks out onto the railing side, holding a hand over her mouth.

Lost in thought, she nearly walks past you before your tirade about the GGG reaches her ears.

"Hmmm?" She looks up. "Well, if I had to guess, it's because they're cosy with all the space agencies? Or something?"

Gah, the changes that SolSavior's backstory's gone through since I wrote this

[empress_without_a_throne]

Or the group they're meant to be the defense against didn't just up and collapse.

Still though, everything with the Unity Group? It'll give us a shot to get back in the swing of things.

Re: Gah, the changes that SolSavior's backstory's gone through since I wrote this

[actuallyselfish]

Dido blinks, and looks at you with dawning recognition.

"Oh. Ohhh!" She exclaims. "You're that one Void bad guy we have on staff–!"

Hastily, she rethinks her terminology.

"I mean, alien!"

She rethinks her terminology a third time. "I mean, uh, foster kid!"