aterat | 1 Audio Broadcast & 2 Open Logs

Entry tags:

1 Audio Broadcast & 2 Open Logs

Who; Llewellyn & Anyone!
What; 1 Audio broadcast & 2 Open Logs
Where; The logs are at the Historium & the market!
When; Over the first couple weeks in May!
Warnings; Nothing to start, will update if anything happens!

1 - Tellphone

[Clearing his throat a little, Llewellyn tried to think of where to start, he’s been snooping around for a few days and compiling some notes.]

Hello! I’m sure everyone is rather used to these sorts of broadcasts now, but uh— I’ve only just arrived in the last few days. My name is Llewellyn Watts-Maresh, to get introductions out of the way.

I’ve been catching up on the goings on already, seems like there’s a lot going on right now that I’d like to offer my assistance with. So! I’ll skip directly to the main point of my broadcast.

While this world is a significant improvement on my last... I’m finding myself in need of a starting point. I’m accustomed to having an office to work from, but I don’t believe I’ll have the funds to open something myself from the start. Is there possibly a private investigation firm already that would be looking for a detective? I… don’t need much space. I’ve gotten used to taking my work outdoors in the past, but a desk to keep my notes and work at on occasion would be appreciated.

[And he paused, humming a little as he mulled over a secondary thought he’d been playing with since he arrived.]

That aside, I’m also knowledgeable with floriography. Even if this worlds is different from my own, I’m a fast study. I’ve had practice in making arrangements for various meanings and occasions, and before I was pulled here I was dabbling in gardening…? So if anyone is looking for some part-time help there, I wouldn’t mind doing that on the side. I uh— I like to keep busy.

[And if he and his husband ever do figure out how to purchase a home, he knows they’ll need the money for it. Being cooped up in a small apartment is not ideal long term.]

Mm… That should do it, thank you.

2 - Historium

Llewellyn might have been a little slower to get here than he normally would have been, too distracted with this new world and getting his feet under him. But any sort of library was a good starting point to see what kind of references were available when you wanted to investigate and learn more about certain things about a place that might not be readily available through word of mouth. Or things that were just easier to find out on your own, as he was prone to doing.

It was… a lot more disorganized than the last giant library he’d frequented, but that actually wasn’t a big issue for the detective. His thought process already tended towards the chaotic and scattered, so he actually felt rather at home in the place. It wasn’t hard to start at one shelf, scan the titles, and grab something before he continued onward.

Anyone around the Historium would see Llewellyn either with a few books under his arm, or sitting on a table (using the chair as a footrest) and leafing through a selection curiously. Once in a while, he’d stop, jot a few thoughts down in messy scrawl in his notebook, and then continue reading…

He’s not so absorbed in his task that he doesn’t notice anyone else around him. Llewellyn could be quite paranoid and didn’t enjoy being surprised, so unless you’re particularly sneaky, he would be quite aware if someone were to approach…

3 - Market

There were several places that Llewellyn could be guaranteed to be found if you needed him. The first being where ever he worked (he truly was a workaholic at times), with his husband (obvious, perhaps), and the market… The last being because Llewellyn usually found himself in need of a snack every few hours, he tended to think better on a full stomach and his metabolism was rather high given how little he sat around.

It was also his other go to for making contacts and gathering information on a place. People talked, especially shop and food stall employees. They saw or heard about everything going on in the city, after all, and if you were a frequent enough customer, they tended to appreciate your business enough to be on friendly terms.

Given this was another new world… Llewellyn was starting from scratch. So over the course of his first few weeks in this place, through the day, he’d take a stroll through the market whenever he was feeling hungry. Every time he’d stop somewhere, he’d take a few minutes to chat and get to know the person working, he might not remember names right away, but if he stopped there frequently enough he’d start to commit things to memory (and he certainly wrote more important conversations down).

If approached, Llewellyn would actually be quite happy to talk, as long as no one minded his snacking… He’d even offer to share.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

People were always power hungry, it seemed, in any world. They were terrible to each other often enough in his world without any of the complications he’d heard in other worlds.

“I suppose they might have because they like having you around,” he responded with a small rise of his brows, “Though it can be rather confusing to not be sure… Doesn’t always make sense.” And that made it hard to figure out who you could trust in a group, made it hard to want to take the risk of getting closer. Which he’d certainly found had made things difficult and awkward until he relaxed a bit. “It was, in some ways I’ve been lucky at least.” Some ways, not all ways, but the way things had progressed in his life recently made him a little more willing to consider himself lucky.

“No?” He responded with a curious tilt of his head, that was too bad… There had to be some sort of connection though, why a copy of something that happened in someone else’s world had been brought here. “I suppose I’ll have to keep thinking on it then… I only wondered because in the last world, things that some of us found particularly upsetting tended to happen every few months. It was noted that they were all a ‘nightmare’ pulled from our minds. I can’t help but try to uh— connect things to make sense.” He desperately wanted things to make sense, sooner rather than later. Not that he expected to get his wish. Being in a different world while still having some of the people he cared about seemed like the best he should hope for. “Mm… That’s kind of you,” He responded to her offer, offering a curious smile. “I don’t suppose you could tell me if there are any other particularly odd or dangerous things I should know about here?” Things she found boring or not. The sewers had been a warning he hadn’t expected to begin with, though he had a feeling that was because everyone was a little distracted by the situation at the docks.

“Friendly now but… I’ll have to see what more I can find.” Would have to ask a friend who might be able to work out more than he could. “There are people who live in the forest? So there is more to the world than just the city— I wonder if their low opinion has to do with us not really being meant to be here… Not that it’s our fault, he didn’t ask for this.” He hummed a little, it didn’t really matter that they hadn’t. Often enough people had low opinions of others for very silly, small reasons. He’d been on the receiving end of such dislike in the past.

The creator was a particular subject he hadn’t been aware of before, and it was something worth writing down. So that got added to the side of the bag as well with a hasty scribble. “So we have an absent god, two ‘Aspects’ abandoned to run all this themselves and a malfunctioning portal…” That they broke. “Seems strange to create everything only to abandon it, but I suppose there could be any number of reasons for it.” Boredom, disappointment, realizing the responsibility and fleeing from it, or maybe like most stories about gods, the creator here was just a fickle sort.

“Never thought of it that way,” He hummed a little, rolling the top of the bag closed and tucking it under his arm as she explained to him what it was to be ‘heroic.’ Llewellyn still wasn’t sure if he fit the mould, he failed to save people more than he succeeded in life, and most of his cases were about giving closure to those who were left behind… But it was a nice thought.

And of course, all she had to do was ask in the future, Llewellyn would always share. Most of the time he would offer without any prompting from the other person.

"Or because they felt guilt and a desire to cling to the past." That was the one she was more apt to believe in. After all, her first death had been when she had been reverted back to a child. It'd been complicated and from her understanding it had left her brother particularly broken up with feelings of failure. The idea that they clung to the past and to guilt made more sense than them just wanting her around. It wasn't as if she as the same Illyana as they remembered. "I have discovered recently that emotions rarely make sense. It is most...unusual." For a while she'd really felt very little at all, probably a side effect of her missing soul pieces. Now that it was returned though things were...different. Difficult. Confusing.

"No. Unless..." she narrowed her eyes in thought for a few seconds. "Unless it picked it out because it was simple. Many of our foes have been large and complicated. Perhaps this was chosen because it was something easy to copy. As a first test of some kind?" Or maybe it was only capable of reacting smaller things. Or maybe it really was completely random and it was only the first that would come from her world.

A short burst of laughter escaped her lips. "The Demon Bear would never be my nightmare. It was an annoyance. A parasite." Though perhaps that in itself was a clue? The Demon Bear had been a parasite by nature which might have made it an easy thing for this place to copy. "It had it's own dimension. Perhaps it created it." And perhaps this place wanted some sort of blueprint.

"I mentioned the sewer." What else was there? She clicked her tongue thoughtfully. "Ah. the Sha. They were summoned by the bear and are also parasites. They are drawn to negative emotions and can posses a person. There are whispers they are still around. A healer in town helps the locals for a price when they are afflicted. Though, should it ever happen to you I can free you of it. Perhaps even for no price." He had given her pretzels. "There have also been crab creatures abducted locals. A ghost ship came into harbor but I do not know much about it. I would stay clear though." Perhaps she should have been paying more attention to all of that. It had not affected her or anyone she knew though and so she'd mostly ignored it.

She shrugged. "Perhaps. Though I am uncertain as to if they are native to this place or if they were brought here long ago in a similar fashion." They were something she actually had been curious about but had made no effort to contact. In her own mind she was not well suited for the task of ambassador to another people. She barely did well interacting with her own people. Besides, if they really didn't want to be bothered, who was she to challenge that? She'd been in a similar position.

"It would not be the first time I have seen that happen. If this 'Creator' is as arrogant as most, then maybe they abandoned their creation when it did not behave the way it wanted." Or when it found something better or stronger. Gods worried her more than she would admit to anyone. They were...difficult to deal with and not just because of their power. No, the real difficulty came from their arrogance and failure to understand their creations.

"My brother is much the same. He often laments the people he fails to save rather than celebrating those he has." It seemed to be a fault of all the heroic types.

“Perhaps… I can’t deny there are those of us who do that.” Guilt had driven him to do a lot of things, but so had the love of what little family he’d had left before all this world hopping began. Not that it had ended well, but the point stood. Emotions not making sense got a small sound of agreement. No, he’d never lost his soul, but that didn’t always mean he understood emotions all the time. Or, more on the point, when other people’s emotions concerning certain things didn’t line up to his mind. “I do believe it depends on the person, and it’s hard to know at times why certain things make one feel the ways they do without uh— digging a little. Which isn’t always a good idea, unfortunately.” Admittedly, for a while he hadn’t understood why he felt certain emotions around certain people either, or perhaps it was more of a stubborn blindness out of a need to protect himself.

Now Llewellyn liked the way she was thinking, or perhaps not like so much as appreciated the fact that she’d come up with an alternative that might make more sense to his thought. “Because it was simple, a test run…” A test run of what? Something worse it wanted to accomplish? Oof… “That actually would make sense, if it’s trying to work out what it can do and if there are limits… Or to see how we react and handle something.”

That sounded more like an experiment, and he didn’t like that. But her laughter startled him out of his little paranoid spiral before it really began. “I would say that’s rather worrying to think about, but at least it’s a point in the category that this world wont be operating on a cycle of throwing our worst nightmares at us. The less like that place, the better I think I’ll feel.”

“The Sha…” He parroted a moment later, brows knitting a little. “So they’re a byproduct of the bear that remained after it was taken care of…” Was that the intent behind the bear’s arrival all along? To spread something smaller and more permanent? Another thought to file away for later. He’d have to remember to mention these things to Rhy as well, that was something they both could stand to avoid… The two of them had been through enough to have some negative emotions to feed upon if they were having a bad day. Her offer gets a grin though, “Thank you— If you aren’t inclined to do it for free…” He glanced at the bag, “I can always pay in more of these.” Yes, by this point he’d realized just how much she enjoyed them.

“And I’d heard about the harbour at least, it’s… a little worrying, I intend to see if I can learn more about it.” People were dying, and being reanimated. Not something the detective could overlook, even if it was outside his realm of expertise entirely. If there was a chance that he could help or offer up ideas for someone who could handle it, he had to try.

“Mm… If they were brought to this place like we were, rather than native to this world… I suppose it might be that they don’t wish to see something they were through repeat, or that they were neglected in favour of us being brought here.” Which was sad if that was the case… Regardless, there might be something important there to learn, and so it was added to his mental list of things to go over and research at a later date.

Perhaps the Aspects would be willing to speak more on the subject of this Creator, or perhaps it would be a sensitive topic to approach if they felt abandoned themselves… Llewellyn of all people knew how that left you feeling, he alternated between hurt, anger, and a deep sense of loss… “Wouldn’t surprise me… Some find it easier to abandon responsibility just because it is a little difficult or disappointing in some way.” Sighing a little, he shook his head. “Makes you wonder how it wanted everything to behave or act versus what it got.”

“It’s sometimes hard to remember the small victories, depending on how great the loss… Feeling like you failed those who needed you most can weigh too heavily sometimes.” Clearing his throat a little, an awkward expression crossing his face he, he gestured a little around the market. “I don’t suppose you know a good place for coffee in this world, we’d grown rather accustomed to it in the last— coffee makers are a marvel. I don’t know if it’s as easily gotten here, considering it seems behind even my world.”

Yes. That was a horrible, obvious attempt at changing the subject.

"I'm well aware. Guilt seems to be a powerful emotion." A powerful and irritating one. "Digging a little for what?" Perhaps he had a point, but she really didn't want to dig deeply. Not for feelings at least. If there was one thing Illyana hated more than anything it was looking dumb and that was precisely what feelings did for her. Besides, what good would come of digging deep to get in touch with your feelings? That sounded like something stupid her brother would say.

"It's possible. Perhaps the next few pulses will tell us more," she said with a shrug. "Or not." Perhaps it was testing limits or perhaps there was nothing as thought out as that. It was hard to tell with this place. "My nightmares are certainly something one should worry about. Be grateful you most likely will not experience them." It seemed like an appropriate time to add some dramatics to the conversation.

"They appeared with the bear and lingered after. I took care of someone who was possessed while others took care of the bear." If it hadn't been for that she would have joined in the fight for against the bear. Potentially. Or perhaps she would have just ignored it. The fact that she hadn't just ignored Jagger when he'd been possessed had been a strange thing all on it's own. She chuckled at his offer. "I might be able to accept that form of payment. We will have to see"

She shook her head. "I would suggest avoiding the harbor. It would not be safe for someone like you." Then again if he really wanted to it might be interesting to see what he might do. "Maybe you could try contacting those creatures instead." That seemed safer than a human going to an area where undead might be. At the very least it seemed like trying to find the reptile people would result in less potential death than the docks would. Why precisely did she care about what happened to this man though?

"Maybe we'll find out someday." Though she doubted that this Creator would ever actually return. "Perhaps, though it is selfish to lament your failures while ignoring what the person you failed thinks." She'd never felt like her brother had failed her, but he seemed to disagree. She sighed and then shook her head. "I make my own." It was easier and in her opinion it was better. "Jagger might know of a place."

“It can be, though not everyone is bothered by it.” He responded with a little shrug, some people were weighed down heavily by it and others didn’t seem to care much about what they’d done at all. People were confusing that way, in his opinion. He tilted his head at her question, “Digging to figure out what the feeling is, I mean, or to work out what’s wrong to make one feel a particular way.” Whether it was yourself or someone else. The bad side was finding something you didn’t want to find or it didn’t help. The good side… Was realizing what you’d been missing and being happier for accepting it, even if it wasn’t always easy.

That certainly was dramatic… Whether it was a good time for dramatics or not, Llewellyn’s expression shifted to something more than a little awkward. Given what she’d said so far about her life? He was more than willing to believe that. “Uh— We can only hope that none of the things like the last world I was in happens here, then.” And he sure is glad that it didn’t seem to be the case here.

“Are there any particular signs to watch for, if an individual is possessed by them? Things that might be less obvious, I suppose.” He prepared to take a few more notes if he could, because it seemed like a good idea to be prepared for the possibility that someone close to him might become affected. And if they didn’t realize what was wrong… That could be more than a little problem. He did offer a smaller smile at her potential acceptance of his offer, “If pretzels won’t suffice, I’m sure I could find something else that’s good to eat.” He added, and yes he’s quite confident on that much at least.

“No… It might be foolish to go strolling down to the harbour, but I still want to see if I can learn a little more about it to offer some assistance to those who can.” He responded with a little wave of a hand, but that wasn’t to say he wouldn’t find himself there at some point… Llewellyn sometimes forgot about his own fears and the potential danger in favour of doing what he thought was the right thing. But she had made a point, and he might get further with the creatures living outside the city. They were going to be on his list of priorities, regardless of the order. “Though you’re right, there might well be some answers to be found in contacting these others that were here before us… If they’re willing to talk, that is.”

Llewellyn glanced away at that, a pained expression in his eyes. Maybe it was selfish, but he couldn’t exactly ask most of the people he’d failed what they thought. They were gone, and it was because he’d hadn’t worked fast enough, or at least that was how he saw it…

Stubborn and desperate, he chose to focus on his weak subject change. “Then I’ll have to ask this Jagger when I next see him, or perhaps find what I need to make my own as well.”

"What do you get out of digging for those things?" That was what she really couldn't figure out. What exactly did someone get from it? Other than more confusion and irritation. Ultimately it seemed like something of a waste of time to focus on feelings like that. Then again she had little interest in figuring out her feelings, they were too complicated and foreign.

"We can hope. Though it might be more interesting." Probably not in a particularly good way. She gave a nod at his question. "They become more negative, more angry and rude." Some of the comments that Jagger had made had managed to actually get under her skin, not that she would admit that. It was stupid that she'd let it bother her. "You'll know if they're different if you know the person." The person wouldn't know anything was wrong, but other people should. Unless they were stupid, there was always that possibility when dealing with humans.

"At least you know it's foolish. That's a step above most." Was it a compliment? Sort of in a weird way. "Those who can probably don't need help." At least that's what she would assume, truth be told she'd kept from involving herself too much. Was it the right thing to do? Perhaps not, but it was the easier thing to do. "From what some have said they are very unwilling, but perhaps someone with a talent for talking can convince them." She had no idea who that could end up being but there had to be someone, right?

"I would recommend finding your own. Though maybe you would just burn it."

Her question gets a rather surprised, curious glance from Llewellyn. “It gets answers, on how to help those around you or yourself if it’s your own emotions you can’t quite figure out… At least sometimes it does, not always, but… Sometimes.” He couldn’t deny the irritation though, he got frustrated often enough when he figure out his own feelings depending on what they were… Sometimes it was easier to just squash them down and try to move on if they were the unpleasant sort of feelings.

“… I think I’d take less interesting over that again, to be honest.” But he was quick to scribble down what she said for later, just in case… “So it’s more obvious than someone simply having a bad day…” He hummed a little, putting his pen back in his pocket for now. She’d given him a lot to start with, and he’d definitely be warning Rhy about a few of them… Just in case. They didn’t need to be taken by surprise by these sha things. Better to know what to do if it happened than to be blind and let it get out of hand…

Llewellyn grinned a little at what might have been a compliment. It felt like it might have been one, anyway. “Thanks, I think…? I do try to be smart about my investigations.” It was just that sometimes unexpected things happened, or he got carried away with trying to do what was right that he forgot about his own mortality in favour of prioritizing someone else’s. “I’ll have to see if they’ll be willing to talk to me then, I’m uh— not known for always making the best impression depending on the person, but it’s worth as shot.” But he’d tried to find out a little more about them before he approached, to ask around and see if he could figure out anything important about them that he needed to know to avoid sticking his foot in his mouth.

With a small, slightly embarrassed laugh, Llewellyn shook his head. “I can’t deny that might be smart for me… I don’t make the best cup of tea as it is, coffee might be best left to those who know what they’re doing too.”

"Sometimes seems rare." she shook her head. "Emotions just cause problems. Especially with my team. The amount of things I had to keep secret so they didn't act on their emotions." She let out an exasperated sigh. It was definitely the better option to just ignore emotions, stuff them down and move on. It was getting harder and harder to do that though, and Illyana really didn't get why.

"A shame. I do get bored." Maybe that was weird for her to admit. This place wasn't exactly boring but it was less than what she was used to. "It should be more obvious than a bad day. Unless they always have bad days." She could think of a lot of people who seemed like they were always having a bad day. "Though...I don't know if they cause negative emotions or if they show what's already there." That seemed like an important distinction that she hadn't thought about much herself.

"I've seen what happens when someone is careless with investigations. They go too far, get too deep, and can't swim back out." A weird little smirk tugged at her lips. "Then they drown... heroically." At least that's what they would think about it. They would assume they drowned heroically for the sake of helping some poor soul in need. The reality would just be they were foolish and rushed in to help someone without thinking it through. "Or they accidentally drown someone else." That was probably the more annoying one. Those people that foolishly tried to help only to realize too late that they didn't actually understand what was going on. If he could tell when he was being foolish and stop himself, then he was doing better than most of her team.

"Try not to start a war when you talk to them." Were they even a warlike people? She had no idea, but it was funny to think about. "If you do, I will deny telling you anything about them."

“I can’t deny that they do.” Cause problems, that was. If he were being honest, her team sounded like they were prone to doing what he was when his own emotional state had been pushed a little too far and a case that tugged on just the right strings. “Having to keep secrets just for their sake sounds rather complicated, and in my experience… it sometimes gets out in the worst ways.” Llewellyn was a man who had far too many secrets to keep in his life, and a few that shouldn’t have been kept from him. Which really hadn’t helped with his proclivity for pursuing things a little too hard when he got emotional himself. So his tone had slipped into something a little conflicted, and more than a little apologetic for her frustrating situation.

“I knew one or two people who still managed to profess that they were bored on occasion there, so I expect it has more to do with the person than anything when it comes to how interesting it was.” Llewellyn shrugged his shoulders into an uncertain hunch, some people didn’t seem bothered by much, while others had a hard time… But he wouldn’t miss the nightmares, and he’d miss the memory sharing less, though he wasn’t about to bring that up. That had been something he wanted to leave as far in the past as possible, because talking about them in the moment when they happened had been bad enough without brining them up now. Even if it had gotten him a little more used to talking about his life… it hadn’t been the best way to get used to it in his opinion.

Her comment gets a little thoughtful sound as he took another bite of his pretzel, working his way through it at quickly as the first. “So we don’t know if it’s an amplification of what’s already there or causing them… Hm… Regardless, at least it’s noticeable enough that it could be caught before it gets out of hand. It seems like the sort of thing that could a lot of emotional pain for the person affected and those dealing with them.” He frowned, not fond of the idea of the idea of having that kind of drama thrust upon someone he cared about. The detective was definitely going to have to warn the others who arrived with him, if they didn’t already know.

Llewellyn frowned a little at her comment about those who got in over their heads with their investigations… It struck a little closer to home than he liked. As he’d said, he tried to be smart… it just sometimes got out of hand in a very similar fashion to what she described. It depended largely on the case and the situation, of course. At least when it came to something like what was going on down at the docks, it was very clear that he’d be in over his head to go down there without a plan. If it weren’t for that, it was hard to say what he would have done if all he’d known was that people were being drowned without any of the supernatural elements to the case being made known.

His brow furrowed a little, were they a people prone to war…? Definitely something to find out first. “Mm… I will try to tread lightly, then. Perhaps find out what might be considered an insult first, if their societal norms are different.” Llewellyn hummed a little, waving a hand dismissively at the idea that she’d need to deny anything. “And you can hardly be held responsible for my actions if I did cause trouble. It would be my choice to approach them, anyway.”

"Smart man." She said with a light chuckle. Too many tried to deny the fact that they caused problems in favor of talking about how good they were. "You must be bad at keeping secrets then." So far she'd done an excellent job at keeping her secrets. Some suspected that, but when they confronted her they always seemed to back away. Maybe that had something to do with the tiny tidbits of future information she shared. For some reason the worst things always seemed to come immediately to her mind when someone poked around. "I could teach you. But I have advantages you probably don't." Mainly that she had built in psychic defenses and a vast knowledge of black magic.

"The person and their experience. The lives of mutants tend to be...busy. We have a lot of enemies. If it's not something from space attacking then it's humans or other mutants." Mutants weren't exempt from not getting along with each other. There was an eternal divide between people who thought mutants and humans could get along and those who realized they couldn't. Then there were the people like her that knew the could never get along but still stayed with those who had hope. "Some mutants realize we can never get along with humans and some don't." She shrugged.

"I didn't ask Jagger." Though, now that it'd come up in this conversation, she wanted to. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes and she immediately looked down to avoid eye contact. Why did she suddenly feel so weird? No, no, this was back to the emotions she'd mentioned before. Ignore that. Ignore them all. "If it happens, I can easily deal with it in a way that only hurts a bit." There was a tiny smirk that accompanied the comment.

"Sounds like you have quite a plan already." It might be interesting to see how this would unfold.

Llewellyn had enough experience to know that they complicated things in some of the most unpleasant ways. Admittedly, it had only been more recent in his life that he realized sometimes things turned out for the better. The detective raised a brow at her light accusation, dusting some crumbs from the pretzel off his hands. “Oh, I’m not sure about that… It depends on the secret.” Did it though? Did it really when they did inevitably get pulled from him in the least pleasant way possible more often than not. Sure, he’d managed to keep some for a longer time than others, but they still eventually got on. Whether in his world, or the last he’d been in.

He nodded a little at the explanation with an internal wince. “Ah… No wonder your idea of boring differs so greatly from mine, then.” But if there was one thing that wasn’t surprising, it was that at the end of the day that people were unpleasant to other people purely for being what they were. A frustrating trait that seemed to span all worlds and dimensions. “I’m sorry to hear that humans don’t make it easy to get along with there— but they don’t tend to get along with each other particularly well as it is in my world.” He let out an awkward sigh, “So I shouldn’t be too surprised.” But he was sorry, it sounded like being a mutant wasn’t an easy thing.

“Perhaps next time you’ll have a chance to ask…” Llewellyn responded in a quieter tone. He was an observant man, sometimes too observant… It was hard to miss that there was some sadness in her eyes, even as she looked away to hide it. Whatever had transpired between her and Jagger due to these ‘Sha’ things… It hadn’t been good, had struck some part of her… Which, given her thoughts on emotions and feelings? Probably was bothering her more than she wanted to talk about. He’d been there, on multiple occasions, but that was why figuring out his own emotions and why some things had bothered him or others around him had been so useful at times.

But he let her shift the subject slightly to what seemed like a rather… curious point. “A little is uh— better than a lot, I guess?” He responded with a slightly nervous laugh, not entirely sure if she was joking or being entirely serious. What did he know about being possessed by a spirit? Being under the influence of a nightmare? Yes. He’d been there a couple times now. Possessed by a spirit would be new territory if it ever came to pass.

“I don’t know if I’d call it a plan. An idea, maybe, but… It will eventually be a plan.” It was a starting point, and those were the hardest thing to find sometimes.

"Does it? Should I amend my statement to be you must be terrible at keeping some secrets?" A crocked smile stayed on her face as she tilted her head. For some reason it was extremely difficult to imagine this man being good at keeping secrets of any kind. Though, in all honesty, it was difficult to think of what kind of secrets he might want to keep. He didn't really seem like the type to hide things from those around him. At least not like she did.

"That is why I believe we will never get along with one another. Humans can barely get along with each other. How can they be expected to get along with a race infinitely more powerful than they are? No, they will never tolerate that." Humans reacted badly to other groups of humans that had more powerful weapons or technology than they did. There was never a chance that they would just accept the existence of an entire race with powers that were stronger than most of their weapons. Even if a lot of those people with powers just wanted to live ordinary uneventful lives. Her brother had been like that, someone who just wanted to live a peaceful art filled life. But he'd realized he couldn't and instead went off to play the hero. The thought caused her nose to scrunch up in something like disgust and then she shook her head. "Do not be sorry. It is foolish for people to fight for a dream of peace." Peace rarely came in any situation.

"No, I do not think I will." Not that she wouldn't have a chance to ask, but just that she probably wouldn't ask. The truth was she wasn't certain if she wanted to know the answer to the question. Why should she care what he Jagger thought about her anyway? She hardly cared what the other New Mutants thought (that wasn't true) so why should she care about some human who couldn't even control his powers? She shouldn't. She shouldn't care what any of these people thought. Yet...there was a strange feeling connected to all of them that she couldn't figure out.

"Much better. It would only be as unpleasant as the person made it," she said with a shrug. If they flipped out at the idea of being sliced through with a magical sword that could break spells and hurt spirits she imagined it'd hurt a lot more. That was always the most amusing part of the entire thing though, seeing someone's face as she brought the sword out.

"Ideas become plans."

“Mm… It would be more accurate if you switched it to that.” He responded with a nod, possibly entirely serious or maybe joking a little. The fact that she found it difficult to imagine him keeping a secret wasn’t strange… It was how some of his secrets had been kept for as long they had. Many had noticed his penchant for being entirely too honest at times, Llewellyn had always preferred the truth. He didn’t like being lied to, so he doubted anyone else did… But it had given him the advantage of people underestimating his ability to be untruthful when he needed to be. So it was reserved for the sake of others for the most part, or in the case that it was something that he couldn’t help…

Llewellyn’s expression sank a little, it wasn’t like he didn’t see where she was coming from. It was hard to imagine things could get better, let alone finding acceptance in a world where the majority disliked you for ridiculous reasons without getting to know you properly. “I don’t know if I’d say foolish… It seems worth the trouble to at least make things a little less hopeless for others around you.” At least that was why he did what he did… He didn’t want others to go through what he had and, even if it meant stepping on toes, he had been trying his best.

He hummed a little, wondering if she wouldn’t have the chance to ask or if she simply didn’t want to ask. It wasn’t as though they didn’t all have ample opportunities to speak with their fellow arrivals. It seemed like it had bothered her, whatever had transpired… Not that he could say he wouldn’t try to avoid talking about it himself if he were in her shoes… Perhaps she was the type to deal with things through avoidance.

“Is that so…?” Llewellyn certainly would have probably been more than a little concerned himself if he knew the details. A sword, magical or not, would have been an alarming thing to be confronted with. The detective certainly hadn’t liked being held at sword point the last time he had, for more reasons than it just being rather odd to find yourself threatened by a sword when they were far less likely a weapon to be used in his world at that point in time. “How exactly would you deal with someone possessed by these ‘sha’ things?”

Because of course he’d have to ask.

Llewellyn couldn’t disagree though, eventually the idea would lead to a proper plan… Once he had some of the smaller details worked out, to see how to best approach these people…

"Consider it switched then," she replied with a tilt of her head. Maybe this man would be more interesting than she'd given him credit for. That was something she would just have to wait and see.

"Perhaps it seemed worth the trouble when the fight began. Now though?," she shook her head. "Now it's idiotic. You would think the children that have died for the hope of something better would have taught them that," there was a clear bitter edge to her voice and then she sighed. "But it is the side my brother chose." And so it was the side she stayed with, even if she didn't quite agree with it. Truth be told if it weren't for her brother and the other New Mutants she'd grown up with she'd probably be on the side of the Brotherhood fighting a very different fight. After all she'd seen both in Limbo and in their own world she knew humans would never accept them. It would just be a never ending cycle of trying for peace that would never come. Besides, at this point she had little love for humans herself. They weren't all bad, but the majority? The majority were awful, especially when they got together in groups.

"Curious are you?" Illyana was never one for passing up an opportunity to see if she could startle someone. Or get a reaction of some kind. So, she finished off the last tiny bit of pretzel, brushed her hands off, and then closed her eyes. When she reopened them a second later they were glowing a bright white. She moved a hand to her chest and the ornate silver hilt of a sword formed in her hand. Slowly a light began to form from her chest to the hilt and then in a fluid motion she pulled out the beaming white soulsword. It shimmered with pink and blue flames occasionally reflecting off the white and she grinned.

"The Soulsword was created from my own life-energy, my own soul while I was in Limbo. It's capable of cutting through any spell and any noncorporal beings and spirits. Luckily it can do so without killing the host a parasite has attached to."

One did get worn down after a while… It wasn’t like he couldn’t understand getting to an eventual breaking point, when you gave up hope and accepted things as they were and that they wouldn’t change. He’d nearly been there before all this, but not quite. And now… Well, he was here now and would rather think about that. The way she phrased it though gets a small, soft expression. “And one does stick with family.” It’s said as a compliment, something he could respect. Something he’d tried very hard to do over the years, regardless of how it all had turned out in the end.

“I tend to be, yes.” He responded to the question. Curious was a better word for nosy after all. Llewellyn doesn’t say much more than that though, as she seemed to intend to demonstrate rather than tell him. Even if he had intended to say more, it was kind of hard to when he realized she was pulling a sword right out of her chest.

Llewellyn had seen a lot in both his life in his own world and in the last one he’d been in. This, however, was something entirely new.

So she definitely got her wish to startle someone, as his expression did a complicated and rapid from curious, to surprised, alarmed and settling on something that was a mixture of the three. It was mostly in his eyes and eyebrows, an impressive feat. After a moment or two of look at the sword, head tilting one way and then another, he cleared his throat a little before he spoke up, “That’s made of your soul… And it doesn’t hurt the person at all?” He added with a wrinkle of his forehead, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that it was made of her soul at all.

"Sometimes." For a moment a darkness overtook her expression as she thought back to her other brother. So many things had gone wrong because of Mikhail's interference and manipulations, her first death included among them. That was a complicated relationship that stirred strange and complicated feelings inside of her. Feelings once again. This was becoming tiresome.

"Yes and it depends," she said with a slight smirk. "I control it." Whether or not that actually meant she fully decided on if it hurt or not was left up in the air. She could have explained more, but where was the fun in that? "For possessions though it only causes pain to the entity inside." She released her grip and the sword disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. There was really no hiding, or denying, the fact that she enjoyed putting on a show. It was always amusing to see the reactions form humans that had less experience in the realm of the weird than she did. "I forged it when I was a child in Limbo out of what was left of my innocence." Despite how dismal the statement was she sounded oddly emotionless about it. Curt almost.

Her response gets a curious look, and perhaps something a little more cautious bled into his expression. “Mm… I suppose I mean the family that acts like they are.” He counted his brothers, for all that they weren’t related by blood. His sister who was…? He wasn’t so sure anymore. She hadn’t wanted him, and he couldn’t help but wonder if that till made her family or not. He was essentially dead to her, as far as she was concerned. At least her actions suggested as much. So he tried to think about her less these days, but Illyana seemed to have some experience with disappointing family. Whatever had happened, he could tell it was a complicated and troubling subject for her.

“Ah… So it could potentially hurt, depending on your intent?” Don’t mind him Illyana, if he internally hopes he never had a reason for her to use it on him. Possession sounded bad enough. The idea of having to have the entity cut out of you was even less pleasant whether it hurt or not. He listened to the rest of her explanation, blinking in surprise as the blade just disappeared as though it had never been there. Eyes darting to where it had been and squinting a bit, clearly Illyana was enjoying this for all her tone was rather curt on the subject.

It was times like these that Llewellyn tended to feel a little out of his depth, even if he’d stopped being nearly as surprised as he had been when he first ended up in another world… It was a lot that he didn’t understand, and really couldn’t from his perspective for all that he wanted to. “So it’s a weapon but it’s… also very much a part of you, I presume?” He responded quietly, a little troubled by the idea of a child having their soul removed and turned into a sword.

For the first part she simply ignored what he said and instead chose to move on. She was done with feelings and this was a much more entertaining direction to take the conversation in.

"Yes. Everything depends on what I want. When it was first created it only harmed magic and noncorporeal beings. I used it simply to break spells and exorcize demons," she tilted her head and smiled. "Eventually I learned to expand it's capabilities. Now it can kill people too. Or stun them." That was the option she was told to use more often than not. For some reason most of the X-Men felt that killing should be an absolute last resort. Illyana was less conservative in her approach to things though. She'd seen some pretty horrific futures and if death prevented those? Then death was the better choice. Not to mention the amount of times an enemy had come back to kill one of their own.

"It's made from my soul." She raised an eyebrow and jut stared at him for a few seconds. "Of course it is a part of me. It is also connected to Limbo itself, meaning whoever wields it can rule the realm."

“Mm… So it started out one way, and then you mastered it.” He responded, humming a little. At least that’s what it sounded like, given what it could do. “Stunning people seems rather useful in stopping them, I uh— know the other detective I worked with had invented something that could do that.” Unfortunately, Llewellyn might have been a little more like-minded with her teammates. He had never had the stomach for killing, and had confessed on one occasion that he didn’t have it in him… Though in some situations he could have hardly blamed someone for doing so themselves. After what happened to his brothers, Llewellyn grew somewhat frustrated with himself for not being able to do what had needed to be done to protect them.

“Mm… Yes, I was just trying to work it out in my head, I suppose.” He responded with an awkward duck of his head. Llewellyn was more hung up on trying to work out what had happened to this woman, given all the little details she’d shared here and there about her life… It added up to ‘complicated’ to him, and he certainly didn’t want to forget as he was prone to on occasion. He wasn’t about to start writing her life story down, but somehow he also doubted she’d like to repeat herself at a later date if he did forget key details she’d explained to him. “It seems rather complicated. You must have a lot to contend with between limbo and your own world.”

And now this one, he supposed.

"Precisely. Like my mutant gifts and my magic." Which were two completely different things that had somehow come together. Though, she wasn't too fond of admitting she hadn't really mastered all of her magic. There was a lot she still didn't know and a lot she could learn from better teachers. Too bad she wasn't keen on looking up better teachers at the moment. Not that many people would jump at the chance to train someone like her.

"It's so temporary though. You stun someone and then they can just come back later when they're inevitably free again. Then they want revenge. Why not just cut that out?" Did everyone have that experience with villains? That they eventually broke free and just came back? That was how she assumed most villains worked.

She gave him a curious look and then laughed. "Complicated. Yes. Limbo itself is complicated, all pocket dimensions are. They have their own rules and most are shaped by those with the most power." Her eyebrows furrowed together for a moment as a thought occurred to her. "Like this place."

“Mm… I can see the logic in that, but… I don’t know that it’s for us to say who should live or die, or for any one person to. The person in question should be stopped, of course…” He was uncomfortable, if only because this was getting a little too close to his own inner turmoil. Something he already reflected on a lot in the quiet hours, ever since just before he started getting pulled into other worlds. If the man who’d killed his brothers had died or somehow been dealt with before he got to them… Well, he wouldn’t be the only one left now. It wasn’t as though trying to make people see reason had ever worked, not as a child, nor when they were all adults supposedly deserving more respect than in their youth.

Eager to shift the topic from one thing to another again, Llewellyn was curious about her next words. “Those with the most power, hm… Yes, even if it’s not a magical sort of power, that holds true even in my world… But I presume you’re thinking more about abilities and magic when you think of power in this world.”

"Some evil cannot simply be stopped. It must be ended." There was more firmness in her voice there than any almost anything else she had said. It was naïve and dangerous for people to think otherwise. Yet for some reason so many felt otherwise and then more people suffered and more bad things happened. All because they wanted to hold onto some ideal of it being wrong to decide who lived or died. It wasn't as though a villain thought about that before they killed people.

"I was thinking more specifically. In this world they made claim that it was being recreated based upon us. Limbo works that way as well. The landscape itself changes based on the ruler and their...mood."

Llewellyn highly doubted Nigel Baker had thought twice about that before he hurt anyone, before he killed anyone either, and got away with it. But the detective was trying very hard to not think about that, as hard as that was with the line of conversation. Illyana’s world was different though, and he got the distinct feeling that when she said ‘evil’ she meant something a lot different from your standard human murderer. Or maybe they fell in that category as well… But he couldn’t say for sure, and this was getting very near to something he wouldn’t talk about.

There were aspects of his life that he’d bring up, but this wasn’t one of them. He hadn’t really told his husband in any great detail about it. “Perhaps you're right… but sometimes things are more complicated than that. At least they are in my world.” His tone wavered a little, suggesting that he knew it didn’t make sense. People deserved justice, and yet they never seemed to get it. It bothered him endlessly and tended to drive him to work harder, more often than not.

“Ah… So more that our presence shapes the world? The more people that are here, that is… I suppose that would make sense, we aren’t exactly given much direction upon arrival.” He responded with a small hum, a little distracted. “I suppose if all they need is our presence to change things, then it might not necessarily matter what we do when we’re here.” It was more food for thought, though… Something to ponder over later, and perhaps see if he couldn’t think of a good way to ask those in charge about it.

But Llewellyn was starting to get antsy between the path of the conversation and the fact that he had been on his way back to the apartments. “I should probably be on my way, though… I wouldn’t want these to get too cold.” He added quickly, gesturing to the bag. “You’ve given me a lot to think about, thank you.” Perhaps the pretzels shared had been an even trade, in a way.

"Are they? Or do people wring their hands over their morals and make things more complicated than they are?" It was blunt. Perhaps even a bit harsh. But truthfully she'd grown a bit tired of some of the X-Men's refusal to acknowledge that grey existed on the moral scale. They seemed to be obsessed with thinking about how they would appear at the moment and ignored the bigger picture. In the back of her mind she could hear some heroic speech about how not killing meant they didn't fall as low as their enemies. Or something equally stupid and morally superior. It was a topic she found unpleasant to dwell on for extended times though because she knew it was not a sentiment many shared with her.

"It depends on just how similar it is to Limbo." And that was not something she knew. In all honesty until now she hadn't really thought about comparing the two. She gave him a little smirk. "And you have given me some to think of. And pretzels." Wait. she knew what to say here. "Thank you." It was said in a very strange and awkward way, as if it were something she hadn't said that often. It was in fact something she hadn't said very often.

Llewellyn ducked his head a little at that, not sure if she realized that it wasn’t that he didn’t see reason. It was just not a conversation route he wanted to go down with someone he’d just met. He wasn’t ready to have this conversation with his closer friends as it was, and he was forced to the only two times that he had. A lesson to be learned, as those who got to know better would find things that evoked thoughts and feelings involving what happened to his brothers would be met with resistance and outright avoidance.

The thanks get a small, awkward grin from him at least. “You’re welcome, I Uh— hope you stop into the bakery I mentioned. They have other good things as well.” He would have tipped his hat if he had it, but instead he could only gesture in a small wave of goodbye. “Until next time then, it was good to meet you.” And then he was off, shoulder’s hunched in his usual slouch as he walked.

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