8FOLD: Mancers # 7, "Blood Magic"

[Drew Perron]

On 8/20/2018 10:46 AM, Tom Russell wrote:
> The waiter asks if they want to start with an appetizer. Trini looks
> at David, and David at Trini, each waiting for the other to make a
> decision, it's up to you dear. After a moment David decides that, what
> the heck, we're celebrating, let's splurge. He orders the mussels.
> Trini stares at him.
>     "What's up?"
>     "Are you mad at me?" she says.
>     "Am I mad at you," he says, flat and confused.
>     "I'm allergic to mussels."
>     He pretends to remember it. "Right. Of course. I'm sorry. Let me
> get the waiter."
>     "No, if you want to have it, you can have it."
>     "I made a mistake, Trini. Let me make it right."
>     She takes a deep breath. "I just wish you'd pay attention."
>     He gets a little furious, but buries it. He does pay attention.
> Close attention. She thinks he doesn't, that he's oblivious, wrapped
> in his own little world. But that's not it at all. He just doesn't
> remember. It's not for lack of effort, for lack of trying. Sometimes
> he tries so hard.

ahahaha THIS ISN'T PAINFULLY RELATABLE AT ALL @-@

(I really liked Finding Dory)

>     "Oh, David," she says, shaking her head. "David, listen to me. They
> know that you forget things."
>     "What?"
>     "They know. And they promoted you anyway. So you need to think
> about why they did that."

ohhhhhh

>     "Trini told me," she says. "She's been spying on you. She wasn't
> supposed to tell you and I'm very disappointed in her." Trini jams a
> steak knife into the back of her left hand.
>     David sees it without seeing it. "Who are you?"

What a hecking mind game @-@

> Claire taps the glass with the handle of her umbrella, and her
> reflection shimmers until her mouth becomes Lydia's, her eyes become
> Lydia's. She looks at Lydia, and then feels a familiar pressure in her
> throat as Lydia's voice comes out of her mouth.

Wow intense. >#>

>     Something flickers in Lydia's reflection, and Claire immediately
> begins to apologize. It's not fast enough; Claire smashes her own face
> against the glass. She does this three times. Her nose breaks before
> the glass does.

Oh I hate Lydia so fucking much. Even worse asshole than Samson because doing 
this shit within a D/s relationship is Worse.

>     Claire closes her eyes. She takes a breath through her red wet
> nose, then says her own words with Lydia's voice. "On second thought,
> yes."
>     Claire opens her eyes, and Lydia speaks through Claire. "On second
> thought, yes." (Oh, thank the blue lady. Claire wasn't sure that would
> work.)

Oh holy crap. :o Fascinating.

> The emergency is that one of the field teams has captured one of the
> terrorists. Or half a terrorist, anyway; it's a doppelmancer.

Lieke, half terrorist, half goofball

>     "But I guess you'll still do the wiping from time to time. Keep
> your hand in it."
>     "Uh, I don't know," says David. But he does know. Once the new
> mnemonomancer starts, and David can concentrate all his attention on
> managing his team, he fully intends never to set foot in an
> interrogation room again, not if he can avoid it. This might be the
> last time.

I can understand that. @. at v

>     "They can't hear you," says the woman. David can't quite place the
> accent. "Cameras are out too. We don't have long, David."

Ohhhhh, this is the scene from the Medley, yeah? :> I didn't realize it was this 
far in - I thought it was a prelude.

>     "It's better that you don't," says Lieke. "You'll need to wipe the
> last day or so from your memory. For your own protection. They'll
> think it's some weird magic thing, my magic interacting with yours.
> But first, you'll need to wipe my mind. Not just these last few hours.
> You need to wipe it completely."
>     "Completely?"
>     "Everything, David. A blank slate."
>     "You'll be useless to them. They'll kill you."
>     "Won't be the first time," says Lieke.

Ohhhhh, I get it now

> "Getting close to go-time," says Maile nervously. They've spent the
> last eight hours at Sarah's, waiting for midnight. The door that will
> take them home only works between midnight and dawn.
>     The first time they went through, Maile had asked Lieke (the other
> Lieke, the one that's gone to rescue David) how that can possibly
> work. How does the door know that it's after midnight? Because time
> zones and such?
>     And Lieke had just shrugged. Somehow, the door knows. It's magic.
> It's easier if you don't think about it.

Because the door is someone's idea, as is time~

>     "I feel kinda useless just standing around."
>     "Then sit," says Maile.
>     Trevor throws up his hands.

Heeheehee

>     "Maile," says Sarah. "When we get to your weird house, I need to
> talk to you a minute. Privately."
>     "About what happened at the restaurant?" says Maile.
>     "Well, about one of the things that happened at the restaurant,"
> says Sarah, throwing a glance across the room. "Something that doesn't
> fit."
>     Maile nods and whispers. "I saw it too. I'm working on figuring out
> what it means and what to do with it."
>     "I might be able to help with that," says Sarah.
>     "Counting on it," says Maile.

Yessssss. :3

>     "Almost done," she says. Then, in a stage whisper: "Her clothes are
> terrible."
>     "Well, you and you will have to give her some tips."
>     Lieke nods.

Cuuuuuuute.

>     "Are you holding up okay?"
>     "Yes," says Lieke. She pauses for a moment. "Just a little anxious.
> I always am when she's going to die. And I stay that way until she
> comes back. It's silly."
>     "It's not."
>     "It is," insists Lieke. "She always comes back. But I always worry
> that this time, this one time will be different. And every time I tell
> myself that there's nothing to be anxious about, and every time I'm
> right, but it doesn't stop me from getting anxious."
>     "I have a feeling that she feels the same way."
>     "Yes, she does," says Lieke, smiling.

CUTIES ;;;;;;.;;;;;; I LOVE YOU BOTH

> Trini hates the infirmary. It reminds her of who she used to be. What
> she's lost. How she's been diminished. How much she hates magic.
>     She stares at her thickly-bandaged hand, infuriated. If it had been
> someone else's hand, she could have stopped the bleeding with a
> glance. But Trini's blood magic doesn't work on her own blood, just
> like most pyromancers can't burn themselves.

Oh that happened, oof.

>     "I think so. I'm, uh, I'm not in the habit of stabbing myself normally."
>     "No, I don't expect that you are," says Lydia. "But you've no idea
> who would possess you?"
>     Trini hesitates. She knows about Lydia and Claire. Everyone knows
> about Lydia and Claire. This must be a test. "No. Sorry."

reeeeeeeeeeeally don't like Lydia >:/

>     "Something like that," says Lydia. "Poor thing used to be part of
> the circle, but she wanted to defect. So they cut the mancer's mark
> right off her face and wiped her memories. She's barely a shell. She
> doesn't even know her own name."

Mmmhmm.

>     She removes her hand from Trini's arm, and leans in, close to her
> face, so close that Trini can feel Lydia's lips brushing against her
> cheek: "Just between us girls, we both know you can't really say no.
> But in these circumstances, I really enjoy having someone actually say
> yes."
>     "Yes," Trini hears herself saying.

IMMASTABU

>     She nods. It hurts to look at her, the way it hurts to look at the
> sun, sharp, intense, disorienting. It makes his head boil and his
> stomach churn. He looks at the reflection instead, and even then, he
> only does so out of the corner of his eye.
>     "I think you're having a bad reaction to my glamour effect," says
> Claire. "I might as well drop the pretense. Turn around."
>     He doesn't want to, he even tries not to, but somehow,
> irresistibly, he pivots. Her nose is smashed in, freshly bruised, red
> and ugly.

Awwwwww.

>     "David has quite a future ahead of him," she says. "But it's the
> end of you, I'm afraid; there needs to be a body."
>     She points the tip of the umbrella at his heart, then runs him through.

Guys. Guys. Company peeps. Plz. It's not worth it.

Drew "sheeshicles" Perron