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]

Yep. Reality is my playground, I can make it to whatever I want. It's why I don't really buy into this whole thing, but at the same time, I can see where they're coming from. Because we can never be too sure just what we see around us is true and what's someone else's game. Good thing I like playing games.

[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?

[foeyay]

If someone's turning life into a game, I'd rather play on a battlefield. You can keep your stale civilization sims to yourself.

[topmagician]

[For half a second, Fran considers smiling at that. It's the feeling he has, sure, but why show it? For the sake of it, perhaps, or maybe in direct defiance of somebody he used to know. But then the other half of the second drops, and he remains bored and impassive. For another day, perhaps.]

Yeah, me too. Life simulation is boring, so you have to make it more interesting by adding a little blood here and there. Nothing's quite complete without it. That's why I've got an idea to make things more interesting, at least for me.

[foeyay]

Oh? You have a plan?

[topmagician]

That's what I said. But I don't see why I should share it until I get it set up. It'd be like jinxing it and that'd be a pain. There are still some steps that need to be taken and details to iron out. But it's gonna be fun.

[foeyay]

I'll have to watch out for it. Don't let me miss anything fun, okay?

[topmagician]

I might share, but I dunno yet. If I feel like it, I'll let you know.

[foeyay]

If you don't feel like it, I'll just have to find out some other way!

[That innocent smile is anything but.]

[topmagician]

[This time, Fran does let a smile slip through his mask.]

You seem fun. My name's Fran, and I kill a lot of people for work.

[Because that's clearly the way to introduce yourself to strangers.]

[foeyay]

[To this particular stranger? Yes, actually.]

That explains a lot. [He nods, still smiling.] I'm Kamui. I used to kill people for work, but then my boss tried to execute me, so I had to kill him too.

[topmagician]

What a jerk.

[Because killing your boss for that is a perfectly reasonable thing to do.]

My boss doesn't really do much. Or bosses, I guess. I listen to whoever I feel like, but technically, I work for the mafia. It had it's fun moments when we were at war, but now that that's settled, well. We're the cleanup crew, so there might still be some fun left for us when I go home. I hope so at least. Normal missions suck.

[foeyay]

[Deep down, Kamui is glad someone here recognizes this. Killing your boss is an entirely valid career move when you're a pirate. And when your boss is a weak and stupid asshole.]

Mafia? Those are the ones with the suits and hats and cigars, yeah? I never thought of them as soldiers. Are they strong?

[topmagician]

I don't think I've ever seen anyone dressed like that. The movies always lie. But it's a lot more fun than you'd think. Varia is a special assassination branch of a larger family, and the standards are set pretty high for joining. Boss is scary powerful, and the rest aren't too bad either. We're the Elite, the best, and probably all pretty badly deranged in various ways too.

[foeyay]

Hmmmmmm~?

[His voice lilts as he closes his eyes. His smile only widens.]

I wanna meet them. If you're all as strong as you say, I wanna kill them.

[topmagician]

You'd fit in perfectly with them.

[Because that's true. Why does Fran attract these sorts of people?]

Anyway, I don't think they're here. And while I'm strong, I'm also pretty lazy. I only fight when I have to. I'd rather just fuck with people's heads indirectly than face them directly.

[foeyay]

You just keep being boring then. I'll stick to shedding real blood.