2024-09-25: .a supervillain's admiratioN
- Log: .a supervillain's admiratioN
- Cast: Yuliana Kafim, Violet Miyazaki
- Where: The Silent Castle, Kaffeklubben Island
- Date: 2024-09-25
- Summary: Yuliana receives a visitor to the Castle, and reveals more about the Void to Dr. Lambda... as well as some details of her time in the labs. Violet's fascination with Yuliana and her Void is only growing deeper. Where will their ambition lead?
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu8DTD7GvQY Nobuo Uematsu - The Castle
The New Arctic Basin, at the northern tip of Area 9-slash-Greenland, is one of the many craters which Break the World rained down on the Northern Hemisphere: somewhat under a hundred kilometres of empty space flooded by ice water, lined by roughly three times the amount of damage from the shockwave and tsunamis which resulted. The edges of those shockwaves destroyed the military outpost of Station Nord, and the blast consumed the listening post at the edge of the coast devoted to monitoring the Silent Castle -- but within the blast zone, to the side of the epicentre, there's one landmass which remains in the newly-carved bay.
Kaffeklubben Island, now even more the northmost piece of land than previously advertised.
If the New Arctic Basin had struck civilisation -- if it had just even fallen a little more south -- many more lives would have been lost. As it was, the impact at the top of the world resulted in relatively little loss of life... and Kaffeklubben Island lost no one to the explosion. (To the magic which protected them -- now that's another matter.) Unlike the newly-formed basin or the blasted-out icelands surrounding it, the island stands, too perfect and too normal. A hunk of red Psychoframe crystal rests beside the island, like another massive iceberg; it stands out, because the actual ice around the island is still reforming after that horrible explosion. The thin lines of rime -- white, not green, because Kaffeklubben Island isn't far enough North to be at the North Pole itself -- are still gathering themselves, weak and unsuitable to walk across.
Kaffeklubben Island is on land, though, so the white ice around it being reluctant to return doesn't bother it so much.
There are docks, beside the island; to one side of them rests a great Salamis Kyo, the draconic refit of the Salamis Kai which Dawn of Fold uses in their operations. Tentacles rest along the prow, and great fins sink into the water. The gates are kept shut, day to day, but they open to an expected visitor; a horrible green goose (of average size) HONKS and offers a good greeting by trying to steal something on the way through. Luckily, a servant in a black fur uniform chases it off with a broom. (And one does need fur uniforms, this far out North -- daylight stretches out as normal, at this time of the year, but night consists only of dim twilight, and no matter the time of day, it's a solid minus ten celcius and feels another ten degrees colder.) The doors to the grand entrance hall of the Central Keep reveal a rich, ornate atmosphere, with an oil painting of the Castle's Mistresses prominently featured.
It's silent, in here, as surely as if one were standing right beside Yuliana.
A trio of children -- none of whom look like Yuliana -- run through the entrance hall, laughing to themselves. "We've got a visitor!" One of the orphans, Suchart, declares. Soth and Sona, behind him, peer out from behind an ornate draconic statue. "Wow," Soth says, "we never get visitors."
"Nuh-uh," Sona says, as she puts her hands on her hips and tells off the boys. "We got one just last week!"
"Yeah, but that's the Queen's working buddies, that don't count," Soth wrinkles up his nose, as he corrects her.
"Maybe she is, too," Suchart points out, to the others. "She looks weird enough. What's with that mask?"
"Masks are normal," Sona rolls her eyes.
And here, a woman in black cultist's robes steps out into the Grand Hall, summoned by one of their servants; ornate jewellery wraps about her waist, hangs from her ears, and drapes off of her wrists under her long sleeves. She wears a bearskin cloak which has been folded and styled to resemble draconic wings, and the strange, tentacle-like frills behind each of her ears carry through the comparison. (That she does not hide them is the reason why the Silence stretches out so far around her, now.) Here, in her home, Yuliana doesn't keep her tentacles veiled, either; those things like snakes or jaws or flowering orchids fan out to either side of her, lazily. A black scarf, however, does veil her neck, even though her teal hair is uncovered now.
"Children, don't crowd her so," Yuliana smiles, gently. "Or at least introduce yourselves. You'll excuse them, of course," she adds, looking up to Violet again. "They're just excited to see someone new. Was the trip up here fine? Would you like to come through and sit down?"
<Pose Tracker> Violet Miyazaki has posed.
The trip up is uneventful. Violet is making use of the same identity baffling techniques that she used in Mongolia, subtle voice thrower included, with the alteration of the hair dye. Hair her colour isn't totally rare. She may as well just throw the shade off. She's still changed the style, of course - it's currently in a ponytail that starts at the back of her head, and she's messed up her fringe a different way.
The outfit, too, is different. Violet is sporting a black cloak over a white blazer, with a black shirt underneath. Party clothes, essentially, aside from the domino mask. She hasn't entirely decided what the Classic Lambda Fit looks like, but this is a definite contender - the cloak is fun to swish, and she does so experimentally on the way.
It's jarring to see how well Kaffeklubben Island survived the devastation around it. If Violet didn't know any better, she'd say the island and attendant castle were added AFTER Break the World. For the island to have survived and not the listening post nearby... she sees how the Kafims evaded first the Federation and then the NUNE up until now.
As Violet steps onto the docks, she draws her cloak in close as proof against the cold. The psychoframe crystal grabs her attention, of course. Psychoframe is one of the materials she covets - the Miyazaki Institute can't construct psychoframe machines yet. Compared to that... iceberg, the Salamis Kyo is a minor sight. The goose, though, that's something she hasn't seen before. Violet has to withdraw her foot before it snatches her shoe. She thanks the servant for waving off the Crime Goose and moves into the castle.
She takes the time to appreciate both the painting at the entrance and the silent atmosphere. It really is nothing quite like what she's experienced before. Not that she finds the quiet disagreeable. There's an unquantifiable difference between not being a Newtype and being in the silence, and perhaps that's what drew her interest.
She regards the children with a wry smile. Orphans, she guesses. Adopted? Taken in? Hanging around? She doesn't respond to the chatter, but she chuckles as they swarm.
When Yuliana arrives, Violet takes stock of her apperance. That outfit fits this castle, she thinks. The cloak is an interesting touch... and of course, the tentacles draw her attention. There is no need to hide them in Yuliana's own home, naturally.
She responds with her own subtle smile. "They're excused. Curiosity is the most natural human emotion, I think. And I do look fairly weird with this mask." She'll introduce herself to the children if they do.
"The trip was fine. Docks are chilly, but there were some interesting sights... like the crystal, and the goose."
"Sure, I'll sit, if you have somewhere in mind."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
The Crime Goose HONKS as Violet retreats out of range of its perilous beak. It knows, now. It sees. It remembers.
No wonder people stay inside. It's not the sub-zero weather, it's the GEESE.
(At least she didn't run into the goats.)
The children are polite enough, at least, to mind Yuliana's instruction: "I'm Sona," the prim little girl says, hair all pulled up into aqua twin-tails. "And this is Suchart, and that's Soth!"
"Hi," Soth says, as Suchart waves.
"We forgot our last names," Sona extrapolates, helpfully, "but it's okay."
"You've run off from Jadgit's watch, haven't you?" Yuliana says, as she pats Suchart's shoulder. Her voice is gentle, around the children. "Go on, back to him. I'm sure you still have studies to see to, and the adults need to talk."
"Aww," Suchart pouts. "'Kay. Bye-bye, Queenie."
The kids bustle off, and Yuliana smiles, looking to them, before she returns her attention to Violet. "We're not related," she explains, "but our people found them wandering, orphaned by conflict, and this was the safest place for them. They get on well with my nephews! Ah, in any case -- I'm glad you found the trip well. The crystal is fascinating, isn't it? It grew on Denver Colony, and I retrieved it back here to stop the Federation from getting their hands on it. That is -- back when it was still the Federation."
She smiles, as she gestures Violet to follow her. "The geese are our lovely pets," she adds, as she walks. "Though they're naughty little things, so they're outside birds... don't worry, their affinity to the Void makes them quite resistant to chill. Not at all like..." Up a flight of stairs, she turns into a classical sitting-room. There doesn't appear to be any electricity in here -- the light by the door is a gas lamp, and the fireplace is crackling with burning wood. There's a nice bookcase on the wall, big, broad windows letting in the eternal sunlight which streams in for half the year, and a fainting couch and several chairs arranged around the fireplace, with tables set up for convenient surfaces.
Also, there is a green tiger sleeping on the fainting couch.
"Like our precious baby boy!" Yuliana bubbles, as she heads on in. The tiger -- a whole-ass tiger! -- lifts his head, chuffing companionably as his ears perk with interest. Yuliana sits herself down on the freed-up space on the fainting couch, and he promptly just flops his head back onto her lap to receive the cheek scritches he always knew he deserved. "Isn't he such a good boy? He's so well-behaved! Aren't you, boy? Aren't you a good boy?"
Chuff, says Sokrova, happily.
Yuliana laughs, as she looks back up. "Oh, you'll excuse me -- this is Sokrovishche, our housecat." That's still a whole-ass tiger. "Or 'Sokrova', for short! He belonged to my wife, originally, but of course he's just part of the family now." She pauses, and adds: "Ah, don't mind that she hasn't come to greet you. My Elisa's quite busy with her work, at the moment, but of course she welcomed you to visit today." Of course. If Elisa hadn't welcomed the visit... well, the gates would have never opened, would they?
<Pose Tracker> Violet Miyazaki has posed.
When the children introduce themselves, Violet responds in turn. "I'm called 'Dr.Lambda'. Think of it as... a supervillain name, basically." Her cape swishes, and she extends a hand to shake.
After they leave, Violet's attention returns to her host. "They've got a resilient temperament. I suppose children are often like that."
She follows the change in subject. "I haven't seen a crystal of that size before... The Denver incident, I have a passing familiarity with. Now, the fall of the Federation wasn't something I expected... but in retrospect, it was inevitable it would change shape. Everything does, but groups run like the Federation tend to drive themselves into collapse, even if they manage to pin the blame for their actions on individuals and paramilitaries. I guess that's part of this era's charm."
Lambda follows Yuliana up the stairs. She hums thoughtfully. "I can see why the geese stay outside. One tried to take my shoe... and I got the distinct feeling that it knows who I am now." Her eyes twinkle. "Though I didn't expect green arctic geese to be ordinary in any way." Violet smiles. "Affinity to the Void... fascinating," she idly observes. When they reach the sitting room, Violet looks around and absorbs the atmosphere. Just the right mix of warm and cool. Nice, open plan. The fireplace is a nice touch, and the sunlight has a... holy look? She's no aesthetician.
The housecat is interesting - Of course an international terrorist has an eccentric pet. "This is a nice home, I think. The light through the windows is a nice touch... from the colour, I assume Sokrova has the same Void affinity as the geese..." Violet reaches out to pet him. "How is Elisa? Well, I hope... if all your work is as what we did in the desert, then I think she must be busy with some interesting projects..." It's natural, of course, to be curious. Violet hasn't met a witch before. Perhaps Elisa will be in sometime.
Of course Elisa welcomed Violet's visit. If she hadn't, she wouldn't have forewarned her about the lab coat. Violet has made a mental note to never wear those when visiting the Silent Castle...
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
"A supervillain," the kids can be heard muttering, as they leave. "Like the Queen?" Kids know a lot, actually.
Yuliana lets them talk; she's focused on something else, now.
"It lasted a hundred years, depending on how you measure it," she says, of the Federation. "I might loathe them, but that's not nothing. Besides... NUNE's really no different, save that they shed the southern nations." The OCU and most of the OAC, that is. "As for the crystal... it was borne of those left behind to breathe vacuum as the colony's supports failed. It was too inconvenient to move the subjects, I suppose. They became hungry ghosts... but Rita and I displaced the helium-3 tanks in reality and sent them elsewhere, so they couldn't orchestrate their own colony drop. Don't ask me what happened to the damned souls... they stopped me from putting an end to it." She sighs, and adds: "But the crystal remained, even once they were banished. It wasn't something I could simply leave to be taken, you understand. So I took it!" See, but it's fine when she takes it, because shut up.
She laughs, and goes on: "Oh, the geese are quite intelligent now. And quite persistent! I do hope you have an extra pair of shoes." She's being hyperbolic, right? Probably she's being hyperbolic.
Probably.
Once they're all settled down, Lambda will find it easy to lean over and pet the vast cat draped over the couch -- there's a lot of him to pet, he's a hundred and forty kilos of cat. He chuffs, companionably, basking in the attention. "Oh, yes," Yuliana smiles, scritching his ears. "He's just a little Void-touched -- he's very clever, our clever boy can understand what we say and even think about it, but he's not been Changed too much. Unlike our geese and I, he's not hiding any tentacles!" THE GEESE HAVE TENTACLES?! "My Elisa's very well," she adds, smiling. "After our operation in the desert, I wasn't well, but thanks to her I've recovered nicely... but of course she has quite a lot to do, after that." Either because she was focused on Yuliana and ignored her to-do list, or... for other reasons.
<Pose Tracker> Violet Miyazaki has posed.
"True," she says. "The Federation may have technically dissolved on paper, but NUNE is essentially all the same structure dressed up as a successor - a little like a vampire pretending to be their own descendant." Violet chuckles. "Vengeful ghosts trying to bring the sky down... what will this century bring next, I wonder? Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised."
Lambda takes her seat, and once she starts petting Sokrova... what she thinks is that he's decidedly fluffy. A good boy indeed. "So, the tentacles come from the Void..." Tentacular geese! Her interest shows on her face. She has decidedly never seen geese with tentacles before. Or any animal that has tentacles quite like these. "And they become more intelligent... You'll have to excuse the musing, I'm unfamiliar with the Void. I assume it's the source of the silencing aura... I don't think I noticed it on the geese, or on Sokrova." She punctuates the invocation by petting its subject once again. As she said, Lambda begins musing. It's natural for her to do this when she encounters something she doesn't know.
"It's good to hear of your recovery, also. In the theatre I was in, I could only observe your battle from a distance..." Violet does actually prefer that Yuliana be well. She's possibly the most interesting person she's met since returning. "...From what little I could tell, it was rough. Though we did win in the end - next time, I hope to be able to do more than bring up the rear."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
"It's all right," Yuliana assures Lambda, on the matter of the mission. "It turned out fine, in the end... since I have my wife's support."
She tilts her head, occupying her attention with petting her cat. (Tiger. That's still an entire tiger.) "The Void changes us," she says, "but its effects can be... difficult to predict. Some changes are stable, like these," she lifts a tentacle, to indicate them, "but others... the Empress once tried to hasten the process, and drain all the warmth from my skin. But I would have died," she says, quietly. "She didn't understand... how fragile mortals are... She thought it was a gift. But thanks to my wife, I've medications to keep my core temperature stable," she adds, smiling. "It's a simple inhaler I take throughout the day. I'd be lost without it, since I'm still human enough to need that warmth."
Yuliana shakes her head. "The Void is the source of my Silence," she says, "but creatures may be touched by the Void without that Silence. You see -- that oblivion -- it is the Void, made manifest in this world. I am a wound through which another reality seeps in... a manner of existence which interrupts the Awakened's connections to a world I suppose they call the Omni-Sphere." A Battle Operations forum leak did discuss that term -- but in the context of Lambda Drivers and the Whispered, not Newtypes. "They used to call me Minovsky's Woman, you know... and they said that was because I was a saboteur, but it was all to cover up how I was human interference. My connection with the Void disrupts those connections... but it is the active infiltration of the Void which causes this disruption. That is why the geese don't bother you, Doctor," she adds -- and names Lambda as someone bothered. "They were touched by the Void, but now live in this world wholly. They are not a bridge between worlds, as I am."
<Pose Tracker> Violet Miyazaki has posed.
Violet has made herself at home in her seat, clearly comfortable. "You've mentioned the Empress before... the god that you will usurp, but who your wife also is a piece of." Her head has turned to face Yuliana. "When you say hasten the process... Are these changes still in progress, then? It sounds like there's a continuing direction of change here," Violet says, and it's fairly clear that her curiosity has been activated. "There are many limitations to being human... reliance on a specific body temperature is one of them. There are many ways of overcoming those limitations," she begins Musing again, "or there would be, if the will existed to actually break those barriers in interesting ways instead of..." Violet recognises that she's trailing off, and reorients. "The medication maintains your core temperature... I see." She strokes her chin. She assumed Yuliana would need various medical treatments, considering her origins, but she didn't expect 'the blessing of a god' to be one of the things that she needed to be medicated for.
She mentally notes down Yuliana's explication of the Void, and the Silence, with a hungry interest. "I'm familiar with the Omnisphere, as a current topic of research... as far as it's possible to be familiar with such a realm, at least, but as I've said before, the Void, and the idea of interference in it of this nature is new to me." Lambda considers the new information. This is rapidly turning into her latest interest. "'Human intereference', huh... a bridge between worlds that disrupts connections. I think you may be the most interesting person I've met this decade. Perhaps that's why the silence doesn't really bother me... or maybe it's just because I'm not a particularly notable Newtype."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
"That's true," Yuliana agrees. "Your transgressions are minor, compared to some." She can tell? "The silence need not bother you... there are many who welcome my presence, allowing them to turn away from their unwelcome intrusions so they may return their attention to the Earth."
She smiles, placidly, hand still absently scritching Sokrova. "Learn of the Void, if you like... but know only that some things, once seen, cannot be unseen." Elisa would be inclined to warn her, she supposes, so she ought to just the same. It's only polite.
"But you are right," she goes on, "that the process continues. I am made more perfect each time, and I grow closer to my wife. For my Elisa is not limited," and her smile, at least, is warm, "by the fetters of mortality. She is a piece of God, who returned to Earth to protect me when I cried out in silence... the Empress was once a denizen of Earth as well, you know. Her black speech -- it was OCU English, once. But She became infinite, in the Void, and when the REA injected me with the alien cells which connectted me with the Void instead of that 'Omnisphere'..."
She pauses, looking over to the crackling fireplace. "The Empress held me in Her gaze, and She fell in love, I suppose. She saw that I was in pain, from the way they broke my barriers, and..." Her eyes shut, briefly. "It didn't feel real," she says, softly, "compared to Her. So I let them keep me a secret, and said nothing to those people around me... well, maybe no one would have helped me, anyway. What I know," she says, those pupilless eyes focusing on Violet again, "is that my Elisa made contact with me, ten years after my connection. I'm sure the Empress was trying Her best -- liminal time was long foreign to Her. And Elisa saved me... I fell in love with her, and we married." She's skipping over an awful lot of detail, there, but that's what's important.
"But... the Empress doesn't understand mortality," Yuliana sighs, the frills at the sides of her head wilting. "She would -- change me, at night -- in my dreams, where the fabric between realms was thin. Even though it wasn't real, it hurt so much... She wanted to find the form which would bring me success, but She thought nothing of the pain it caused me. In the end, I turned to the Photon Power Labs to help me... get a little distance, that's all," she frowns, "though it was my Elisa who best dulled Her voice -- with these." She holds up a wrist, indicating a black, lattice-crossed bracelet there; there's a matching one, on her other wrist. "The Liminal Lattice binds me to this world, so that She may not interfere with me."
Yuliana smiles, again, though it's wan. "Even though Elisa is part of the Empress, she's joined me in my rebellion against Her," she says, and names herself as the driving force behind it. Wasn't it her decision? "The strong decide reality, and with me, Elisa's strength will overcome her Self. She will conquer Herself, and we will claim the Void for ourselves. And my Elisa would never do me any real harm," she says, and speaks with specific intent. (Has she hurt her? Only to a purpose.) "If I'm beside her, I'll be safe... so, that's the story."
<Pose Tracker> Violet Miyazaki has posed.
Violet absorbs Yuliana's story with growing interest. Elisa is sounding more and more extraordinary with every new piece of information. "I've seen the news report on that lab raid... among other things. I doubt the REA fully grasped what they were doing, when they performed that injection... or what the true implications were. Such laboratories almost never do." The certainty in her voice speaks to experience. Lambda knows this to be true, of all Newtype labs. Of all the labs that claim, so boldly, to be revolutionising their understanding of humanity, only to end up pursuing the exact same design goal every time. "I'm not surprised you outgrew the box they put you in. A plant grown in a safe will either conform to its shape or break its prison... Seeing who you've become, I think I'm glad you managed the latter." There's a tinge of glee to her voice at this. "From what I know of what became of that lab, the ringleaders are gone. And while I didn't see it happen myself..." Violet adopts a congratulatory air. "I think I can surmise that you enjoyed getting to have the shoe on the other foot. Either you or Elisa."
Lambda keenly examines the Lattices. "Fascinating. It's been said that all change is violent..." She trails off again. The Lattices really are a work of art. "...a lack of understanding of mortality, but that's to be expected. Maybe there are disadvantages to the perspective of a god," she notes.
"An ambition worth having. To conquer herself and claim the Void... I think I really DO want to see where that ambition will take the two of you," she says, grinning slightly.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
"They knew nothing of what they wrought," Yuliana says, bitterly, and scowls. "And the boxes -- they were much too small! Those tanks, they put you on a tray and slid you in, because you had to pull your knees to your chest to even fit, with no light, and no sound, and sometimes there wasn't even air, and for so long -- you go mad -- and your legs didn't work. Coming out, they didn't work." She may not, entirely, realise she's switching tenses.
"But they're -- yes, Dr. Devi cannot hurt me any more." Gone, then? They must be gone. She looks uneasy, as she says, "... but it wasn't me. They told me to lay down, and I did... they didn't even need to restrain me when they put those tubes down my throat to keep my body alive. Ah," she says, because she's just realised -- "at the end, they wanted to awaken the Orchid Cells inside me, so they could harvest viable cells and clone my line. But -- they were in my brain, so -- since they weren't human, they'd -- cognitively, I wouldn't have survived. But my Elisa stopped the maturation from killing my brain," she adds, "even though I let them do it. She killed them all... but when I woke, and calmed down after seeing myself, and remembered -- I flew into a fury. I attacked my wife... she had to use their controls on me, to get me to stop. I wouldn't have been able to kill her, but even so, it's really quite sad..."
She pauses, and smiles, though it wavers.. "But it's all right," she says. "My Elisa removed those commands from my psyche. No one can control them with me, now. Thanks to my wife, I'm free to have my own ambitions... and wield my own strength."
After all, she's in control, now. Elisa assures her it's true.
<Pose Tracker> Violet Miyazaki has posed.
Violet listens as Yuliana's recounting of her past begins turning into a rant. Perhaps she prodded her slightly too much? No, she's regaining her composure... though she should probably be a little more cautious around this topic in the future, even if she's interested. Very interested.
She recalls the name Devi, it was in the report. The official report, and the other one she turned up - bless Erica's skills in collating this kind of thing. "Of course they were like that." Lambda closes her eyes. "These labs only know how to mulch. No appreciation for the potential, or the value inherent to what they study. Of course they'd take such a course of action," she speaks, only slightly disappointed. Expectations are not high regarding the people being discussed. "Though you're here now, and you've thrived in the wake of what they tried to do. Despite what they tried to reduce you to," she adds. "Again, I think of a plant growing outside of its box. An existence that outgrew their meagre expectations... I think you can take pride in that. If only they could see you now." Violet smirks approvingly. She really does admire what Yuliana and Elisa managed there. "Free of those crude methods of control, and able to pursue your *own* ambitions." Again, the congratulatory air. "Yes, I think life is more interesting when people are free to chase their own dreams instead of being corralled like that... and it gets particularly interesting when the people who rely on those methods realise that their... gauche techniques have failed them, and the 'tools' they've tried to restrain are ready to repay them by chewing on their bones." Violet permits herself to remember the time she was able to witness such an event for herself - facilitate it. The Titans never did find out WHY that happened... She snickers to herself.
"This has been an enjoyable visit, and you have a lovely home. I ought to be going... but it's been good being here. I look forward both to working with you and speaking to you in this manner." Violet says her goodbyes cheerfully, and makes to depart the Silent Castle. Yuliana Kafim... an interesting woman. She's glad she met her.