2023-03-06: !this is the greatest void i designed that you have given mE
- Log: !this is the greatest void i designed that you have given mE
- Cast: Yuliana Kafim, Elisa Kafim, Alma Stirner
- Where: The Silent Castle, Kaffeklubben Island
- Date: 2023-03-06
- Summary: Alma returns to the Silent Castle after taking some time to find a Spinatia of her very own, courtesy Mia. Meanwhile, Elisa's gift (of the wanzer Yuliana designed) arrives, just the same. Welcome to the family, Da Xukong 0 -- and be mindful of who's really in charge, just like everyone else, here.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
"Captain?" Parminder calls, through the stone halls of the Silent Castle.
"Caaaaptain," he calls, longer still, and follows the sound of her echoing voice.
(She makes no exclamations to him.)
Finally he leans into the open door of one of those lavish sitting rooms, and grins. "Okay, so like, you're clearly busy making out with your wife -- get it, queens -- but you wanted to know when your intern's on approach with your new ride?" Beat. "The intern's on approach with your new ride." Which is absolutely something Yuliana asked him to share in confidence, because she didn't want Elisa to worry that she was going to run off immediately, but anyway.
He snickers at the way Yuliana's blissful surrender shifts to huffy haughtiness, when her attention finally orients on him. He finds the way she's breathing too heavily to properly pout and scowl hilarious. (How could he bring up her anxiety over Da Xukong's arrival in front of her dear Elisa?!) "Anyway," he supplies for her, helpfully, "this ain't my scene in so many ways, so I'm outtie. Have fun, you two!" He definitely didn't need to salute. That was absolutely a sarcastic salute.
But when Yuliana's attention is inevitably called back to the woman always with her, it turns out that his interruption doesn't really matter... and Elisa's able to distract her wife for quite some time.
(She never quite manages to suspect that the kissing was a distraction from the start.)
...---...
Yuliana does eventually want to see what Shari brought them, of course. Eventually. Enough time may have elapsed that the teenager could have set it down and left already, but this is not about that. Because, after all, it's --
"Elya, it's beautiful!" Yuliana celebrates her wife, as she hurries into the stables. (They hold mobile suits, rather than the horses of castles past; the intent is the same.) She lets her fine fur handwarmers drop on their strap now she's inside again -- though her cloak is still plenty thick enough to ward the chill. Her snakes just have to kind of peek out from underneath it. They get cold, too, probably. Maybe.
Don't worry about it.
Worry, instead, about Da Xukong 0. Wanzers are small machines, but even they tower over humans(?) and micronised Meltrandi(?); the first thing visible about it, from this angle, are its eight grasping legs. They're designed for climbing and rough terrain; where two legs might fail, there will always be another to compensate, with eight. Rising up from that base is an upright upper half, counterbalanced by a long, stinging tail; there's an axe holstered on one side of it, for use in those grasping claws. A crest rises from its headpiece.
More impressive, perhaps, is the black engine woven through its chest, coiling out from its shoulders in obscene opulence -- the Abyss Engine.
With a gleeful noise, Yuliana leaps into Elisa's arms again, but this time she's just giving her a tight hug twice over. "Look at it!" She enthuses, brightly, as she turns against Elisa to look up at the scorpion-machine. "I'm not sure what you did with the shoulder parts, but -- oh, it's gorgeous!"
A beat of a pause, and she adds, a little less sure of herself: "Can I go have a look..?" Inside the machine, presumably.
Conveniently, there are still plenty of empty stalls in the stable, so to speak, so there are no machines immediately looming over Yuliana aside from the one she's shadowed by. Of course, some of that emptiness is for --
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Elisa does not care even slightly that Parminder is interrupting them except insofar as it's very nearly a problem. When it's not a problem, it's just fine. Quite the opposite, he's informing on--rather, addressing an important matter to both of them instead of only one of them.
The salute was a good touch though. If she were paying him, she might have to give him a raise.
But it's more important to distract a little longer...
Eventually! "It was a wonderful design," Elisa says. Because of course--it was. And it is. She looks to Da Xukong 0, towering above them, and smiles. Those legs; that upright upper half; the axe, the claws....
"Yes," she says, "I see!" Then a warm smile. "Yes, you may."
Then she says, "The shoulders I will be happy to explain. You see..."
But something might interrupt her. Rudely.
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
Alma's had a lovely while of it getting out and seeing the world on her own terms again. It's been legitimately healing for her -- but the Silent Castle calls her back, back, back...
It always will.
Terrible timing, though! Alma's flown straight here from Britannia, stopping only at a handful of Celestial Being boltholes and hidden facilities to periodically refuel -- and the long operating time and great fuel economy mean even those have been pretty short stops. Her haste, unfortunately, means:
She's very poorly timed.
Alma slots herself into the emptiness, as if it were made for her -- or at least had carved a place just for her. The Spinatia, tall as it is, dwarfs Da Xukong 0. ... for the moment, it's simply a stock Spinatia, though. She needed something.
The cockpit pops, and Yuliana gets an enthused wave. "Yulie!" Alma calls, and she sounds so happy to be back, after what felt like an eternity away despite being... a week, ish. "Yuliiiiiie! Dr. Kafim~"
She starts the arduous process of affixing a zipline so she can get out of her much taller MS. ... well, she's back!
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
"Mm," Yuliana hums, with a warm, glowing smile in turn, as Elisa says it's fine to investigate. She listens, attentively, as --
ENTER SPINATIA
It's not the first Spinatia they've known; Yuliana immediately notes the difference between this one and the Witchcraft type. The stable doors open for her, and close after her, to avoid letting too much cold air in -- of course, there are plenty of places to park one's machine. It towers...
And Yuliana has to laugh. "Really? At just this moment? Are you sure this world's not a passion-play, Elya? Just as a matter of dramatic timing..." At least she seems in decent humour about it, as she waves up to Alma.
"Welcome back," she's still in good humour enough to smile, to Alma, when she manages to get down to ground. "Did you have a nice outing? I see you've found a new machine for yourself."
She leans on Elisa, hand to her chest, and adds: "My dearest Elya has bought me a new wanzer, as well... Da Xukong 0. The great void," she translates, offhandedly; her memory of flashbacks is poor, but she remembers, at least, how she couldn't reach Alma with Chinese. "Isn't it beautiful? She's made some wonderful additions to my design..."
Yuliana tilts her head, smiling up to Elisa. "... don't you think we can adapt another Spinatia, too, darling?"
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
SO rudely.
At least it's a nice machine. But indeed, at this moment. "Sometimes it would seem to be so," Elisa answers Yuliana, and perhaps she even made a joke herself. Maybe. it's possible.
"Hello," Dr. Kafim answers Alma, and it almost sounds pleasant. Almost. She regards the machine too. A Spinatia...
"Where did you get this one?" she wonders. "And yes, do welcome back."
She puts an arm about Yuliana for the moment; she is, indeed, still cold. But it's fine.
"The great void," she agrees. "I will tell you all about those additions," she says. "...But..."
She considers.
"Well, we can do that. There are certainly some things we could do with such a machine..."
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
"It was great! Fantastic!" she says, getting down toward Yuliana. She hits the ground with a small 'wumph!' and jogs over; she feels a bit like a third wheel with Elisa and Yulie, but even so, she seems so much more animated than she did when she was told to leave. Perhaps that's all she needs to remain comfortably aware -- a brief vacation every now and again.
"I ran into Mia!!" and she sounds so happy about it. "Mia Brinkman -- um, apparently she works with the same people you work with! I've been missing her for years...!" There's a bright, enthused giggle. "You really did end up bringing me back together with my friends -- or, well, one of them."
She doesn't hug Yuliana, though. In this moment, at least, Yuliana is Elisa's.
"And -- your new wanzer...? 'The great void...'" She looks at it with a sort of reverence, before turning to Elisa. "Oh -- this is just a Celestial Being deniable operations asset... I poked my head into one of the hangars in Britannia and decided this one was mine! Mia gave it a little refit, and then I stayed with her for a week... I feel like we need to do a little more for it before it's," she gestures vaguely, "enough for you. But it's a start, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Elisa puts an arm around Yuliana, and Yuliana leans against her, all hopes of getting in the cockpit forgotten for the moment. Perhaps that's fine.
Yuliana, at least, is still warm. Warm enough to laugh at Elisa's jokes, even!
She raises a brow when Alma burbles so happily, trying to decide how she feels about it, for a moment. "Mia? She's one of yours?" Yuliana asks, and it certainly looks like surprise, because in part it is. One of Alma's friends...
Yuliana leans on Elisa a little more heavily. She just feels a little ill.
She puts a smile on her face, anyway. "How wonderful," she decides, generously. "I'm so pleased you were able to find her here. And she was able to provide you a Spinatia! How kind. It's a good machine. It will treat you well."
Yuliana smiles, and adds: "You know, it was even a Spinatia which my dearest used to protect me, when that awful woman took the Banshee to destroy us... though Elya's Witchcraft-type is modified to her liking, of course. Well, I hear there's someone more innocent in the Banshee, now, but isn't it still fitting you'd find a Spinatia of your own?"
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Wumph!! Elisa notices how animated Alma is, in the same way that someone might notice a particularly persistent bird singing at the window. But Yuliana has her taken care of at the matter of the others. Mia Brinkman...
"That's nice," Elisa says, of bringing her together with her friends. She supports Yuliana without complaint. Instead, she says, "I see! Yes, it is very appropriate that you found one of these." 'For you', Yuliana says. Well, in different words, but who's counting?
"Yes," Elisa agrees. "We shall have to improve it for your use, little Alma." She used her name!
"I do enjoy the machine quite a lot. Yes, I think there are many possibilities here..." A pause. Someone else in the Banshee...
"Oh, did the other one die?" she wonders. "A pity."
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
"Yes! Mia was part of Noisy Fairy... haaa, if I'd never decided to help you -- and hadn't followed you through all of this -- I'd never have found her again!" Alma enthuses, and she almost, almost wants to run over and hug Yuliana -- but she maintains respectful conversational distance.
The knowledge they're Spinatia buddies now has her excited -- as does talk of improving it for her use. "When they were tuning it up I learned all about the weapons and how you can swap so many parts out so easily... maybe it'll be easier to keep everything maintained with two of them!" The mention that the Spinatia is, apparently, the Banshee's natural rival makes her brighten -- and then...
"I kinda hope so -- even if I did want to settle things one last time," Alma murmurs, at the idea that the Banshee's pilot may well have died. "I guess I can't be picky, though..." She scratches at her cheek, turning her attention back to Da Xukong with some curiosity. "I want to hear all about this thing, though!" ... clearly the higher-salience topic.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
Yuliana! Yuliana is counting. Not consciously, of course, but the way Elisa says things...
Well, she's an attentive wife, so obviously she cares about what Elisa thinks.
She smiles about Mia, too, as much as she has a bad feeling in her gut. (Don't call it guilt.)
"Sadly, I can't say for sure she's dead," Yuliana sighs. "I had Parminder look into it, and apparently she's still in prison... but this new one in the Banshee's been brainwashed into it. It seems the Vists are even using Amabilis, these days, at that... of course, I was able to clear all suspicion from you, dear," Yuliana assures Alma, smiling.
"But you'll like the Spinatia very much," she assures her. (Tells her.) "Much like a wanzer, this line is very modular." She doesn't know, yet, that some of that modularity has been sacrificed to make room for the Abyss Engine. There are still a few mounting points, of course. And she shifts, effortlessly, into talking about it, looking up to Da Xukong from beside Elisa. "Those quad-legs make it a master of rough terrain and vertical scaling. And do you see the tail? That was my own design -- it's a flamethrower, you see, but it can inject into another machine. It should be much more effective than a simple bayonet! And sturdier, too, now I've been able to design the fuel tanks into the base design." Having those things strapped to Annihilation's back led to its... well, annihilation, more than once.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Noisy Fairy. That's something that existed at some point. Elisa may be aware that Alma wishes to hug, meanwhile. She cruelly keeps Yuliana at her own side instead.
"Oh yes," Elisa says. "We have many weapons and parts for my own Spinatia, only some of which can be used at one time. I suspect that, with the proper modifications, they would work for yours as well."
Modifications. But Parminder looked into it, and... "Hmmm," she says. "How terrible. We should put the new pilot out of their misery if we get the chance." She does not comment on the other. If she is dead or not...
It determines only whether Elisa can have her vengeance.
But Yuliana begins to explain, and Elisa marvels at her wife's understanding of such technicalities. "A fine design," she says. "It will be incredibly effective. And the tail is a charming thing to look upon, is it not? Being so free-spirited, so unmoored to the limitations of humanoid form... Yes. It is ideal."
Then she says, "And my own additions," Shari's additions, shh, "Will allow it to protect you further. I will explain another time the functionings of the Abyss Engine, but it will empower itself with every strike you make, and provide enough power to use all of your weapons quite effectively."
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
"Hm. ... then maybe I'll still get a chance to settle things, after all." Amabilis... it had been very lonely, until the Unicorn showed up. Perhaps it's still not lonely, if it's being used alongside the Banshee. ... That's not really Alma's concern anymore, though.
Nodding enthusiastically at the idea she'll like the Spinatia, she orients more fully on Da Xukong. "Oh, it's really... brutal? I know that's how you like to fight, though..." ... it's familiar, fighting alongside someone who fights that way. Alma decides she'll like that, too, and indeed may like it more now.
Alma raises an eyebrow at Elisa's comment about the new pilot. "... I guess that might be all they can expect," she agrees, though it pains her greatly to agree with Elisa here. They did just see the costs of that horror, though -- and not everyone is as resilient at Yuliana.
"All of you are so amazing! I'm really looking forward to seeing what you do with my machine -- I'll be happy with anything, as long as it makes my swordarm faster. It needs to be -- for Yulie's sake, now that she has so many enemies..."
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
And, happily, Yuliana is kept.
She looks bothered by... something, though, when Elisa says she ought to put the Banshee's new pilot out of their misery. "Should we?" She asks, and she is troubled, even as Alma supposes it's all they can expect.
She's troubled, so she looks to Elisa for guidance. That's just natural.
Yuliana did come to Elisa, a day or two ago, worried about whether she was a monster; she was easily assuaged, back then, but her worries after Koji's call make Elisa's admiration all the more valuable now. Those snakes at her back slink out from under her cloak to coil about Elisa's waist. "It's ideal," she echoes, warmly.
"Isn't it terribly brutal?" She adds, at length, smiling to Alma, too. (She's kind of cheating, since she's being held by Elisa. Of course she's in good spirits. But that's good for Alma!) "A scorpion may be small, but it can kill in minutes... that's the thought that went through my head as I adapted this design! Inspiring that same fear on the battlefield means half the battle is already won!"
Half the battle... and how many battles? When Alma mentions just how many enemies Yuliana has, now, she shrinks in against Elisa a little more tightly. "Yes," she agrees, frowning for a moment, before she looks up to Elisa and smiles. "But Elya, you're so clever... you say this Abyss Engine is a power generator? I'm going to guess it uses a different power source than usual..."
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Settling things... yes, that may be good. But the pilot?
"...Hmmmm," Elisa allows. "Well, darling, if you think we can save them, then of course that's what we should try to do. Isn't my Yuliana generous-hearted?" she asks of Alma, pleasantly, smilingly, adoringly towards Yuliana.
She hates that machine. The pilot is immaterial.
"Very brutal," she agrees, and then looks to Yuliana. "What an inspiration! Yes. Fear is a powerful tool indeed. With enough fear, you can convert your foe without ever having to injure them at all. Indeed, a powerful tool..."
Then, she considers Alma. What will be 'better'...
"Hmmmm." 'So many enemies.' "Yes, we will make it much faster. You shall have a glorious machine."
She looks to Yuliana, as she shrinks in more tightly. "Indeed. Some of the power we've stored up was used to infuse it with this energy, that it could sustain itself indefinitely. It is truly a machine meant to keep up with your great might." A beat, "Indeed, this great power is used as well to generate a barrier to protect you... A strong barrier."
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
"It's really clever!" Alma enthuses; after all, why would she find anything Yulie makes unsettling? War is war, after all, and death is death, even if it's because you might happen to cook the pilot inside their mobile weapon. "This would make a really good mobile suit hunter... though it sounds like it'd be pretty difficult to mass-produce."
Elisa's comment on Yuliana gets an enthusiastic, "Oh! I'd be happy to help, if Yulie thinks that's a better approach," and a bright smile. Just like that, thoughts of killing the Banshee's pilot take a backseat again -- she really does just do whatever the two of them think is best, huh...
The talk of fear as a tool... the longer it goes, the more she seems anxious about something. Is she... afraid of Elisa? Why would she be? There's something nagging at her just the same, though, the more she talks...
... and she can't find an easy offramp, either. Tech talk doesn't fully register for her, but she at least seems like she's interested. (Or at least interested in latching onto something else.) "I really wanna see it in action..." she pouts. "Then again, I guess I'll get the chance soon!"
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
If she thinks they can...?
"Of course," Yuliana agrees, and certainly she hears Alma's reply, but she's rather too busy gazing lovingly up to her wife. "Someone who doesn't wish to be inside that wretched machine... perhaps I'm too tender-hearted, but I don't like to think of some woman being compelled to use it." It's only natural she would fall on a descriptor like tender-hearted, despite how unlikely the description would sound to most people, after Elisa specifically named her generous heart.
(Yuliana shares Elisa's feelings on the Banshee, of course, and Elisa doesn't even have to lead her to them.)
"You're so reliable," she remembers to praise Alma, a beat later, when she finally manages to look away from Elisa. (Is she ever, really, looking at anything but Elisa?)
"Isn't it?" She asks, as Elisa praises her intimidation tactics. "It's one of many, but it can be so useful, in a fight." She doesn't think of her anxiety over getting in the cockpit without her wife's blessing, as she echoes her. Why would Yuliana ever be afraid of her own life's companion?
She meets Alma's eyes with her own endless green, for a moment. Just a moment, before she looks up to Da Xukong, again.
"Our power," Yuliana reflects, as she admires it. "That's a problem I," was having fun solving, "could never quite solve... the power drain of all these systems always left it stranded in my models. But with this Abyss Engine, it generates power... oh, Elya, you're wonderful!" She enthuses, again. "Power enough to form a barrier, even... you really are keeping me safe out there..."
Her fingers curl, in Elisa's cloth. "Come to think of it, it would be rather difficult to mass-produce, wouldn't it?" She reflects, and it might almost sound divorced from Alma's enthusiasm, coming so much later. "Even if it would be convenient to send our things out in such a frightful machine... what a shame But 0, it's mine!" She insists, brightly, and may well dash any hopes of the Abyss Engine being charged by someone more expendible in the process. "And I'm sure I'll be able to employ it soon... wouldn't that be all right?" She adds, with that same hint of anxiety, looking up to Elisa.
She just doesn't want to trouble her.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Is Alma afraid of Elisa?
Elisa smiles at Alma, as she speaks of Yulie's thoughts. "Indeed," she says. "Perhaps you will be vital to the effort, dear." But whatever could make her anxious? Surely it is not the fact that Elisa's smile shows her teeth.
Yes, it's still true.
"You are," Elisa agrees, "But not too much. Only the perfect amount, my darling." She smiles, and it is almost tender.
So useful! Yes, indeed.
"Of course. It is so important to me, to see to your safety, Yuliana." She then looks--mass production...
"Indeed," Elisa agrees. "Such a thing... it would devalue your work, I think. And your work is so very good." It's 'hers'. Elisa would only think for a little while about having someone else pilot it. A little bit.
"That would be wonderful, my darling. As soon as you are fully healed, you simply must. I would not dream of keeping you cooped up forever!"
Mostly because she doesn't sleep.
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
"Wow! You really do think of everything," Alma remarks to Elisa, as Yuliana works her way through the power situation. She seems loath to pursue the topic of the Banshee further; this is easier, even if she's a little lost.
It'd be wrong to say that normally she might feel differently; after all, bit by bit, Rusalka's life is becoming Alma's new normal.
Elisa flashes the normal number of teeth, and Alma decides that that's something pleasant and she has been well-assured. So she doesn't pursue... honestly, most topics, that much further. The topic of deployments, though, has her very excited. "Yes! As soon as Yulie's okay, I'll be ready to go! It doesn't matter if the adjustments to my Spinatia are finished or not." After all -- she will do all she can for Yuliana's sake.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Kafim has posed.
But Elisa calls Yuliana perfect with a smile like that, and Yuliana's cheeks flush, and for a moment she's in danger of melting regardless of how many degrees minus it is outside.
It's easy to forget what's worrying her, when her wife is so, so charming.
"I'm so glad you think so," so glad she approves of her work. And -- as soon as she's fully healed... Yuliana takes the weight of the demand without even realising it's settled on her shoulders, dipping her head in a nod.
"Haha... of course not!" No, Elisa doesn't dream; she watches Yuliana dream, instead. They both know that. But surely the meaning is that she won't keep Yuliana here? "Even if it's as comfortable a place as this, I think I'd go mad if I couldn't stretch my legs and cause a little devastation now and then..."
As if Yuliana's madness is something to avoid.
"Oh, you're so considerate," she praises Elisa, a hand reaching up to cup her cheek. Is it too affectionate, in front of Alma? No, it's fine. Alma's practically family. Yuliana doesn't even feel the need to wear scarves around her! "Even though I cause you such trouble and grief through my conflicts... you still let me fight." Since when was it about Elisa letting Yuliana fight? (Since when was it about Yuliana letting Alma leave?) "I'm so happy... let's try to fix Alma's little Spinatia up before then, all right? I'm sure... it's better if she or Lettu are there to support me. Won't that ease your heart, darling?"
And if it bothers Yuliana -- well, it shouldn't bother Yuliana. Hasn't she had a team with her for years?
She looks to Da Xukong, looks to Elisa -- and finally disentangles herself from her side, to step up towards the walkway. "Come on," she calls, to Alma. "Help me get up there, would you?" She doesn't really need help; push comes to shove, Yuliana's climbed up the side of her wanzer to get into the cockpit on multiple occasions. But it will make Elisa feel better, she's sure, if Alma is helping with the gangways. And once she's inside the cockpit, her gleeful first reaction is audible even from down on the ground:
"EEEEEEEeeEeEEEEEEEeeeee! LOOK AT ALL THESE LEVERS!!!"