Video; 1st Illusion ♪

[topmagician]

[The video turns on to show a young boy sitting on the floor in front of his mirror, large black bunny in his lap while a matching blue one seems to be plotting on the bed behind them.]

So, I've been thinking. Who's to say which reality is real? How can you be so sure what you think is real is really what happened? When it all comes down to it, we make our own realities. Someone can delude themselves that something is there when it's not. And on the same page, what's there can be made to not be there if someone convinces themselves it's not. Our minds play tricks on us all the time, so how are you certain where and what you really are is what's real when reality as you know it is just one perspective out of millions? Can we really trust what we believe to be the truth?

[And just as he says that, the blue bunny behind him bloats up like a balloon before popping, spraying blood and chunks of flesh all over the bed and wall.]

Comments

video;

[foeyay]

[Kamui doesn't so much as blink over the mess of bunny bits.]

You sure like to make things complicated.

video;

[topmagician]

[And it's as if the bunny never exploded, as it's busy biting Fran's hand when he replies.]

I don't make things complicated. They just are.

[foeyay]

[Okay, this time? This time, he can't help but be a bit taken aback. He cocks his head as if a new perspective will somehow resolve how the rabbit managed to survive.]

...Your dead rabbit is breathing.

[topmagician]

[This time when Fran replies, the setting around him has changed from his bedroom to him sitting at the base of a tree in a lush forest that couldn't possibly exist within a swamp.

The rabbit's still biting his now bleeding hand.]

Yeah. He does that.

[foeyay]

[Fran's rabbit just explodes and puts itself back together like it's a regular thing?

...

Huh.]

Neat!

What else can it do?

[topmagician]

[And the forest around him starts dripping blood, no big deal. But it doesn't take long for Fran to grow bored with a clearly unappreciated and time wasting show, so without even a flicker it's suddenly back to just being a normal, boring room with no traces of the previous bunny gore.]

Whatever I want him to. Except to stop biting me. He's just a jerk like that.

[foeyay]

Ah! [He drops a fist into his open palm, signalling that he finally gets it.] That was you then! I thought you had a magic rabbit! But I guess a magic person can be fun too.

[powertotearer]

Well, I know...

[And Eiji drops that train of thought for a moment because exploded bunny WHAT now?!]

Y-your rabbit! The blue one--behind you!

[topmagician]

[And like that, the blue bunny is resting on one of Fran's legs while the black one on the other leg is being restrained from pouncing on it.

The gore-tastic mess on his bed is still there.]

Ah? This bunny? What about it?

[powertotearer]

How--how did it do that? I thought...

[video]

[heartguard]

The mafia, is it?

[ Nevermind questions concerning the nature of reality. It's a certain conversation Dinah's taken the time to eavesdrop on that's kindled her interest. Pausing atop some rooftop if what little can be seen of the backdrop is any indication, she straightens from a crouch and regards Fran with open curiosity and a slightly tilted head. She never had asked him about his occupation. That he was a powerful illusionist in possession of a malevolent artifact of some power and difficult to grasp had been enough, but the board has changed. ]

[video]

[topmagician]

Yeah.

[Because what else is there to say on the matter? She never asked, he never mentioned it. But, he supposes he should have. She's... a friend, even as he uses the word tentatively. He's still not good at classifying people as such, but he knows, in this place, it's the bonds they make that might just save their lives. He's spent too long pushing people away, strengthening his mask to the point of cutting off his emotions entirely, and he knows that's not the way to do things, not anymore. He wonders briefly if this is going to be some issue, but he can't change who he is and what he does, so he'll just have to see where they go from here.]

[video]

[heartguard]

[ It should be fine. That's her initial thought. The mafia is an organization independent of the Catholic Church and its Order despite its members' religious leanings. It's not like someone from that organization would be in the know where it concerns the gritty details of certain recent events in the West, least of all with the precautions taken by the Fellowship and most assuredly the Church to keep those details hush hush. It just means she has to continue to mind herself and her little tell, that's all. Nothing new, different, or out of what's become fairly ordinary to her.

She drops easy and claims a seat atop the roof, allowing her legs to dangle unseen as she considers what she remembers of his conversation with Kamui. It probably says something about her that she isn't flying into a state of indignation, shock, repulsion, or apprehension. No, that expression of hers is breaking with a smile. ]

I wanna say I'm surprised that organization would employ someone with your kind of power, but that seems a little naive. I don't know much about the mafia outside of movies, but the Varia sounds like a really big deal!

[video]

[topmagician]

I was put in the Varia so Master had a connection on the inside, and I was really just a replacement for their illusionist that died, but we're a big deal. And illusions aren't really all that surprising to see in the mafia, not since they started using flames as their primary source of weaponry.

[With both bunnies shooed aside, Fran makes himself a little more comfortable leaning back against his bed. This is a girl he lives with, one he hopes to be able to utilize in this world to find out just what's going on, and how they can turn it around in their favor. In that aspect, he feels that some measure of transparency is in order. As Master says, the mist is the lies in truth and the truth in lies.]

But your world probably doesn't have flames, I don't think anyone besides my original one did.

[video]

[heartguard]

[ Listening intently, she nods occasionally in following. She recalls him mentioning his master, who she distinctly recalls as being indicated as a strange and creepy person, and after whom his blue rabbit is called, but that person isn't part of the Varia? That's something to ask about. That aside, it seems fairly straightforward and easy enough to follow until he mentions flames, but it's not just that that causes her to pause and blink. ]

My world? Flames? [ What. ]

[video]

[topmagician]

Come home.

[It's so strange, referring to their assigned house as "home", but there's really no other word for it. It's not a home, not by far, but they could make it a temporary one if they work together.]

It's a lot to explain, and a better story over snacks.

1/2 - [video]

[heartguard]

[ It's strange to hear their shared housing referred to like that and it doesn't sit well with her, not in the slightest. It's not home. About that, she's not only certain, but adamant, but especially considering the narrative that's been shoved down their throats from the beginning. It garners furrowed brows in that moment before she realizes she's not entirely sure what to call it and it's that uncertainty that spares Fran a snap. It's not home. Whatever it is, it's not that and it can't be. ]

2/2 - [video]

[heartguard]

The network probably isn't the best place for this and it's not like I can't go back out later.

[ A story and snacks sounds pretty worthwhile for the sake of them and her piqued interest, too. Most curious of all is that distinction about worlds and it sees her pushing off from the rooftop to land crouched on her feet, mirror in hand. She straightens,adjusts the backpack at her shoulder, and moves. ]

I shouldn't be long!

[gottastaycalm]

That's quite a show.

[topmagician]

I try.

[And that's... certainly not the Lambo he usually hangs around. Wow. Who knew Lambo grew up to be cool? Never would've seen that one coming.]

But some people don't appreciate my humor. It's too bad. I'd have a lot more fun here if they did.

[gottastaycalm]

Some things take time.

[topmagician]

[This is certainly interesting. Fran doesn't know how long it's going to last, but he's intrigued by the drastic difference here. He can definitely see how this Lambo's Vongola's guardian.]

Not really. No matter how many times someone sees gore and creative deaths, that doesn't mean they're going to like them. If anything, it makes people wearier of them. I'm fascinated in different means of torture, and gore, and what someone can live through before they finally die, and a lot of different ways to die. It's just how I am, and when it comes to strangers, I think it's fun to see their reactions to it. But I know better than to subject Family to it because those are people I kinda have to see on a regular basis, and I get enough from Master and Bel-senpai that I don't need extra amnosity on top of that.

[gottastaycalm]

I wasn't talking about them.

[topmagician]

What do you mean?

[For all his genius, Lambo's lost him. Because why would he be talking about him??]

[gottastaycalm]

Pleasant moments.

They take time.