18+ Private Diamonds in A Losing Deal

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"You want to wait that long, and then what? She's already attached to you, and the very idea of your death would render her inconsolable. I want to delete you from the equation before that happens."

He wasn't about to budge, but neither was she, a trait they both unfortunately shared down to the core. And Nico wouldn't see it any other way just like Theo, because their way is the only way, more often than not. "You sure love to prepare for what will never happen, huh? Well, suit yourself." She waved both arms on dismissal, and in defeat all at once. Why should she try any harder than this?

Why did she in the first place..?

"Do you think that it makes me happy to hear that? You're doing me some kind of favor by being nice to my mother and paying me backhanded complements?"
Hands ended up on her lap once heated words came her way spoken through the usual softness within his voice, or something along these lines. An incredulous expression just gave away half of her answer already, pulled back by how quick he is to drop everything under a negative undertone.

Nico shook off her head. "I really don't know what you talking. You thinking too hard about it." She replied, laying her back against the couch with a cozy little smile, closing her eyes for a moment. "I said what I said because I felt like it, just like I do the same when I feel like talking shit to ya'. Just take the compliment and move on, it's a simple fucking concept."

When she sensed movement out of it, or rather, when he picked up the mug, Nico opened her right eye to peek at him and notice that hateful stare of his, or at least something clearly not friendly given how hard he looked.

"Keep it up and I'll make sure to add a generous helping of cyanide,"
"I already got enough of it with you around." She retorted with a tootish grin.

But the mention of her short comings as his temporary fake girlfriend made her open both eyes to stare at him, rather curious this time around, if only rooted in teaseful maliciousness. "You know what? That's fair." She assented, he would probably notice way too fast at it. "Tell me then, what would you like a fake girlfriend to do? Can't do unless you ask."

@Jin

 

[Jin]

You're thinking too hard about it.

The amount of time it took for him to go and refill the cup was enough for her to give a response, adjust her position in her seat, and be ready to dress him down again. Truly staggering, the endurance of a harpy.

Just take the compliment and move on, it's a simple fucking concept.

"I imagine you're used to little bitchboys on the internet who love it when you talk to them way and pay a King's Ransom for pictures of your feet and your bathwater," he said as he placed the drink down in front of her, "but I'm not interested in the parasocial relationship, and you're not doing me a favor by giving me special treatment."

Tell me then, what would you like a fake girlfriend to do? Can't do unless you ask.

"You can't cook and you won't clean. We're already off to a terrible start," Theo jeered. "I'd tell you to suck my dick, but let's be honest, with your attitude and the way you act, you're probably a pillow princess and you wouldn't even manage to get that right."

Nico's pride was her greatest weakness, so attacking that was the best way to deflate her. That was the plan, anyway.

"The bare minimum would be 'at least treat me with kindness and respect so I could pretend that I'm actually having a good time,' but we both know you enjoy tormenting me too much for me to ask that, either."

He sat down next to her, closer than he normally would, and stretched his arms out across the back of the couch.

"Let's just agree to stop asking the impossible of each other. That shouldn't be outside of your abilities."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"I imagine you're used to little bitchboys on the internet who love it when you talk to them way and pay a King's Ransom for pictures of your feet and your bathwater,"
By the time he came back to drop a batch of insults, her attention went first for the drink over the table, stretching an arm out to pick the mug and give it a few trying sips. Gauge the warmth, the taste: just as good as the first.

"You can't cook and you won't clean. We're already off to a terrible start,"
Finally she turned herself over to face him, drink tilted over her face as she gave it a gulp, couping it between her hands to warm herself up,
"I'd tell you to suck my dick, but let's be honest, with your attitude and the way you act, you're probably a pillow princess and you wouldn't even manage to get that right."
She listened. Not a word slipped out of her lips, nay a gesture from her features. The chocolate certainly eased her mood despite how every single sentence bled out of his mouth and through her ears, taking note of just how close he got right now, how his arms spread over the couch...

"Really like this chocolate, thanks." Nico begun. Because what is a conversation when it's only one sided? Of course, that meant a back and forth, some form of feedback. In a moment's notice, the pinkette turned towards him, right arm functioned as a screen and some measure of 'protection' for the left, as she took the mug towards him, resting it deliberately on his crotch, letting the warmth over the cup transfer itself progressively so to his body. She left it tilted, just enough that any sudden movements would let her spill it all over his pants for one hell of an experience akin to tasty brown lava poured on one's privates.

"How about it, likin' the foreplay? Got you all warm and stiff already?" Given current context that might just be true if he rather freeze on spot than risk it. "Man, you know a lot of terminology for someone who never got his dick wet once. Someone's been looking up some nasty websites." Nico lowered her right arm, leaning closer to him to put a barrier between the mug and his hands. She kept her guard low. If he wanted to punch her, she wouldn't stop him, but neither would the chocolate be stopped once the barest amount of force shook her hand.

"See, you don't like when people assume stuff about ya', but you also do a lot of em yourself. But you got one thing right: I'm not doing any favors if I give ya' this special treatment." A droplet begun to spill across the surface of the mug, trailing downwards- Slowly... Gently.

"In japan? I was an ass to ya', I'll give you that. But i've been nothing but nice with you as of late. Try to keep that in mind, 'couse I really like your mom and I want to keep visiting her. You being a prick, I'll tolerate. You being a hypocrite? Not a chance."

@Jin

 

[Jin]

If he felt any sort of pain at the sensation, his features did not show it. The reality was, Theo had felt heat before. So very many times, he had felt heat. She leaned closer, got closer, creeping in and placing greater pressure on a part of the body men were fervent about protecting, but Theo's regard for the proximity of danger to his manhood was disturbingly beneath minimal.

"You're half right," he responded, eyes locked with the woman who called him a hypocrite. "I don't like it when people know anything about me at all," he said. "Which implies them getting close to me, getting to know me, doing things that because of unforseen circumstances, we were unable to avoid."

He reached for her wrist, since she had done all the work to get so close to him, to put pressure on him, to take away that minimum safe distance he left more for her sake than for his own, and like a vicegrip, he took hold of it. "But if you're going to hold violence over me, don't you dare do it by half measures," he told her.

Theo pulled at her arm, prying it toward his crotch do that the mug overturned and spilled all of its boiling hot contents into his lap. The pain blossomed, extraordinarily so. It reminded him more of the cigarettes his father put out on his skin at first, spreading out like a puddle of molten agony across the front of his clothes. As it set in, it started to burn more, then flash cool, like being removed from the mug set it immediately to cooling. It was considerably beneath the sensation of being burned alive by the Magia in Vintergard, a sensation still fresh in his mind, but his body still reacted involuntarily. He gave a silent sound, not quite a cry, not quite a moan, as he continued to match her gaze.

"Get it through your head that I don't want you here, and I'm the one tolerating you. It isn't the other way around," he told her in an even voice. "But to answer your question, hotter and wetter than I expected."

He let her go, but remained that close and made no effort to push her off or away, or escape.

"It would seem that you're in need of a refill though," he said. "Now that we have a better understanding of each other, I don't mind getting that for you, if you'd like."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

He chose the calm approach to the situation and that alone didn't go unnoticed. Of course he would.

That much she expected at this point. It's on cue for Theo, but how long would it last is the real question, the one Nico pursued past his drive for isolation, as verbally expressed just now. Apparently, his cool would run out of fumes once her wrist got grasped.

"But if you're going to hold violence over me, don't you dare do it by half measures,"
She frowned, confusion led her to stillness, frozen limbs if only to keep the mug from spilling, at least until he made a first move to warrant it. What she didn't expect was for the chocolate to be the only thing to drop and not her with a mean right hook to the face, some of the contents splashing droplets across her thighs, making her recoil just a little. Yet her brain wired itself to keep her hand wrapped around the cup's handle, gone unnoticed once baby blues darted down to his lap and what must be a thousand years of agony.

Pain cannot be denied no matter how one conceals it, but the lack of a reaction was just otherworldly. She had gotten a taste of just the contents herself, and how boiling hot they were when put in contact with the skin. Her attention fixated itself on him in quiet disbelief, only to sigh off once her wrist finally tasted freedom, rising a hand up in the air and lazily dropping it back on her lap.

"Sure you are, Mr. Tolerant. Glad you liked it, even if this confirms you got no dick whatsoever, but I wasn't going to dump it all on you, I still wanted to drink some more, asshole..." She pushed the now empty mug against his chest when he offered, like the gentleman he really isn't.

Masochist was the fitting word for his kind, but the lack of any excitement on his voice disproved her theory and just kept pointing darts at one sole idea which brought chills down her spine- She didn't like assumptions either, less so the most dangerous ones. Or rather, the ones that pulled at her heart strings.

"Alright, you go get me a cup, I'll go get you a clothing change. As much as I enjoy watching you suffer, your mom's gonna think you pissed yourself when I was around." With newfound light within her grin, Nico stood up on her feet, poised. "Which is accurate but still unfortunate, heh."

@Jin

 

[Jin]

She pressed the emptied out container to his chest taunting and Theo took hold of it. "Yes mistress," he mocked. "Of course mistress."

Truthfully, he wasn't a big fan of the girl going to his room and rifling through his clothes, but the offer was less of an offer than Nico saying she was going to do something. By now he knew that telling her not to was pointless.

He went and refilled the mug, listening to his mother humming along with the Christmas music in the next room before he started back toward the pink-haired woman with her drink in hand.

Theo's room was almost always closed, if not locked, but he rarely if ever invited anyone into it. The "dark" sanctum where he dove into Terrasphere was neatly kept, with orderly stacks of paystubs on the desk where he did his finances, including paying his own taxes and making sure that all of his mother's medical expenses were taken care of.

If Nico were to look closely, there was a family portrait on the desk, with one face torn away to leave a young Theo alone with his mother. If she recalled one of the times where she had been invited to the room, that portrait had not been in plain view.

His clothes were kept in a chest of drawers in his closet, where his sweaters and hoodies were hung neatly, and boxes of various magazines and newspaper clippings were tucked neatly away, like the youth had an obsession with information and hoarded it- albeit neatly, always neatly.

That was where she would find a change of clothes.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

Oh she would take advantage of his mockery. If only she had her phone sending an audio straight to Ari, maybe the man would get a laugh out of hearing Theo bend the knee for her. Sarcastic or not, that's a very peculiar way to address her.

Wishful thinking given reality.

"Good boy." She replied, whimsical steps taking her away from the couch as both wooshed past one another to head towards different destinations, with his being the kitchen and hers his room, an off-limits area nine eleven out of ten times. She gave a twist to the knob, closing the door behind her as lazy eyes darted over the room. Not so fresh in her mind, but what could be pickled from her memories was how much upkeep went to his inner sanctuary.

Function over form, as that is the only detail lacking in this bedroom. A clear echo of it's owner. Dull like every other room, incapable of standing up amidst millions of others. But perhaps the wardrobe is full of skeletons. If such were the case, then yup, she is certain this is Theo's room, if these stacks of boxes that display pure obsession in the form of newspaper weren't enough of a giveaway. What is this, 1998? Who reads newspaper nowdays?

"Aside of dumping all these newspaper, dude needs to get some drip. This shit's bitch repellent." Reality is often dissapointing though, no skeletons, no crime scene, only more clothes for her to dig through. In the end she went with the first pair of underwear/jeans she could get her hands on, going with black for the former and a classic blue for the latter. At least this would make him look slightly better than usual. Slightly.

The one thing that felt completely off finally got caught by the corner of her eyes, the family portrait that felt so uncanny given how young Theo is here compared to th eone she knows. Her face turned to a frown, and finally dropped a sigh as a hand went over to pick the frame up to get a better look at the enigmatic third figure.

No need for clues to know this had to be his missing parent, the one she never bothered to ask given his absence, but clearly it's not one he misses.

"One little strangled family... Guess that's why I feel bad for ya'" Pity blended itself with past emotions, yet her subconcious tapped into sadness rather than anger this time around. Not her business, and she already offered a hand. One he openly rejected.

Not much to do, despite wishing things were different- For the both of them.

@Jin

 

[Jin]

She wasn't in the room when he returned with the hot chocolate, so it had to be assumed she had gone back to his room. She knew where it was, because they had gone in it once, albeit only for several minutes. His mother facilitated that against his wishes, as she did most things he was resistant to.

What was curious was how the door was closed. As he approached slowly, measured steps on carpet masked any sound he might make. Theo took the handle of the door and worked it open slowly, making sure to hold his hand against it to prevent any creaking that might alert her to his presence.

As predicted, she had busied herself with looking over things. She opened the closet ahead of his entry and it was about the time that she'd collected the clothes that he finally pushed the door open properly. She had just started looking at the picture as he stepped into the room, and when she mentioned his family, and how she felt bad for him, he stared at the floor.

Everyone felt bad for Theo. It was never a mutual understanding, or a form of respect that motivated them, but pity. That was why he turned them away, chiefly. He didn't want anyone's pity, or their false kindness. He didn't want people to give him things they felt he needed, or because they felt it was the right thing to do.

With a silent motion, he placed her hot cocoa down on the desk next to her.

His hands found the buckle of his belt and loosened it, and he summarily tucked his thumbs beneath his waist and dropped his pants and undergarments. With the next breath, he pulled the shirt over his head and held out his hand.

"Thanks for grabbing my clothes," he said, standing directly behind her, completely naked. She'd already seen all of the most embarassing things that were available in his room, and he wasn't worried about her seeing him that way. He'd been desensitized to her poking fun at him.

Burn marks that had faded into scars, leathery flesh that hadn't healed quite right, cuts that ran along specific nerve clusters but never quite close to his vitals. Those were things that might stand out if she bothered to do anything but avert her eyes. Then there was another matter which would denounce one of her earlier claims, but Theo sincerely doubted she was interested in that.

He'd long since given up on anyone being interested in that.

With a hand now outstretched toward her, he waited for her to hand them over.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

Surprise snapped her back out of the trip to the past that her mind set it's tracks on, just as a quiet tap over the desk revealed hot cocoa. Every hair on her body stood up on it's own as she put down the frame. No reason to try and be sneaky about it, he already seen her. "Thanks..." She muttered, giving a long glance over to the picture, then over to the many stacks of papers over the desk. The heavy lifting he had to do, all for his mother and himself was monumental-

"Thanks for grabbing my clothes,"
"Yeah no pro-" She swore having heard more going on behind, with a squint on her face she quickly turned, only to be greeted by a museum of scars. Not the biggest deal, until she noticed just how pink his clothes were... Huh, curious.

Then her eyes darted further down and blood rushed to her cheeks instantly. "WHAT THE FUCK MAN." She cried out, slamming his clothes over his hands, doing her best to keep him as far away as her arms could with that single motion. She averted her gaze in that same instant, yet decided against her better judgement to glance once again to confirm this ain't a nightmare.

No it wasn't, he's still fucking naked infront of her inside his room, forcing a groan out of her.

"You don't just... -WALK- behind a girl, inside your room, while she can't notice you, AND NAKED. I know how a dick looks like, doesn't mean I want to see yours or anyone else's right fucking now. At least warn me before you do that, a 'Nico i'm getting naked letting you know'." Finally her anger caught up to her, staring daggers back at him while her right hand worked as a screen so she could avoid looking down to what he's packing.

Once the initial shock passed away, and with one loud sigh and a few mental notes to calm down before she gets a panic attack on spot, her hand finally dropped, despite her cheeks not being any less red, a finger pointed back to the plentiful of scars he had. "I have some of my own. None look like that. Care to explain? Or do you drop hot chocolate on you all the time?" Yet with how grave her voice sounded, it's clear joking is the least on her mind right now, if only to work as a filler for her questioning.

@Jin

 

[Jin]

He took the clothes from her in the midst of her shock and pulled them over himself to cover his unmentionables even as she let her protest be known. He had expected a response something like that, so it neither alarmed him or upset him. It was clear she wasn't interested in talking about it any more than that, and that was fine.

"You had nothing to worry about anyway, right? You had solid evidence there was nothing down there, last I checked." As he pulled the new shirt overhead, and she reoriented herself, Theo shrugged. "You know I wouldn't do anything that would get me in trouble," he added for her benefit. "I'm not interested in a woman who's not interested in me."

I have some of my own. None look like that. Care to explain? Or do you drop hot chocolate on you all the time?

"We're in Philadelphia. Gang violence is a fact of life here. People get stabbed and mugged all the time, and I live on the edge of one of the shittiest parts of town. Is it really that unbelievable?" he asked. Theo knew anyone who had scars would know better. He looked more like a victim of torture than someone who had been stabbed a few times, and the burn marks seemed mildly uncharacteristic of the afformentioned type of violence.

But he wasn't about to spill a lifetime of scars to this woman who barely tolerated him anyway.

"That makes us even," he said as he indicated the hot chocolate. "We might not get along, but I'm not going to respond with violence every time you do. That's only going to deteriorate into something neither of us want to deal with the fallout from."

He smirked.

"Who's blushing now?"

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"You had nothing to worry about anyway, right? You had solid evidence there was nothing down there, last I checked."
"Yeah I clearly forgot my spyglass last time." Not her strongest comeback, but she had no words to fight that off. But taking the L is absolutely out of the question for her, yet thankfully he quickly turned to a different page: his 'do''s and 'don't's. "What a relief..." Nico rubbed a hand across her forehead. He may be all sorts of scum, but apparently ninety percent of these rely on Terrasphere's anonymity. "Hurry up or I'll start throwing money at ya' to dress up faster." She insisted, crossing her arms against her bossom.

People get stabbed and mugged all the time, and I live on the edge of one of the shittiest parts of town. Is it really that unbelievable?"
"When wounds don't match with the description, yeah. I wouldn't be bothering ya' if I didn't find it eyecatching in the first place." Her eyes dropped into a squint as per instinct. A fleeting thought helped to change the eyes of suspicion into ones of mere curiosity, subdued by doubt, as if Theo would reveal anything in the first place.

Yet the topic took a change, a cheshire grin growing upon her lips as he called them 'even', only to end as soon as his own smirk begun, in disbelief that his face could contour into such a manner. Not like an edgelord nor like a deadpan: just a plain ol' smirk. What a fucking asshole he could be, making her cringe like that.

"Who's blushing now?"
"I'm gonna peg you with a screwdriver." She warned,hand outstretched to reach out for her chocolate to take a sip out of the warm drink. It always helped the mind cool off when she had something to sip away at, this time being no exception. "Pretty good. Thanks." Briefly spoken between gulps, before setting the mug down at stomach level with her hand cozily wrapped around it's surface. "I'm not violent. Or well, you haven't seen me be violent. But I guess that has something to do with the game itself." Her voice trails off, just like the conversation that went back to the game. To Theo it's clear: something's in her mind, given by the subtle cues on her face right now, an imminent question related to her last words.

"Ever felt different ingame? Like you ain't truly yourself but someone else? Not like an internet persona or that bullcrap, I'm talking about thinking and feeling different."

@Jin

 

[Jin]

When wounds don't match with the description, yeah. I wouldn't be bothering ya' if I didn't find it eyecatching in the first place.

A hapless shrug. He didn't rightly care if she took his words at face value, because without any leads or information from him it was a dead end. There was no reason to chase down the truth anyway. What was the point of talking about it?

I'm gonna peg you with a screwdriver.

"So you do want to fuck me. What a surprise." Theo didn't quite manage a smile despite the obvious connotation. Instead, he watched her take a sip of hot chocolate, and once it was clear she was satisfied with the drink, he made his way over to the bed and took a seat.

I'm not violent. Or well, you haven't seen me be violent.

He raised an eyebrow. He watched her hit Ari all the time. Violence and fuckery were like the entire crux of their relationship. The reason she never hit Theo was because of how uncertain she was about his intentions, and probably a healthy amount of fear of Jin.

Ever felt different ingame? Like you ain't truly yourself but someone else? Not like an internet persona or that bullcrap, I'm talking about thinking and feeling different.

"I'm not sure what you mean," he replied. In reality, he wanted her to explain what she meant before he gave her an answer, because what she was describing might be totally different than what he had experienced. And he wasn't one to volunteer knowledge readily, or for free.

"Different how?"

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

And after that, the bastard just shrugged, as if suddently his ability to use use logic and reasoning had just been taken from him, or that the truth was closer than he dared to admit. But whichever of the hundreds of reasons it were, she couldn't move from square one like that. Arms crossed, chin up, and a pointy gaze sent back at him in clear 'a picture is worth a thousand words', if one could picture her as being sus of him.

"So you do want to fuck me. What a surprise."
Her chocolate syrup almost went through the wrong tunnel, instead leading her to a hissy fit of coughs and punches against her own bossom in hopes of getting the cringe out of her system, to poor results. "Warn me before you say stupid shit. Ugh, If you do want to bleed out and die, sure, I'm a people's pleaser afterall."

A quirked up eyebrow from his was all she needed to know he's doubting her, which elicited a sigh out of the pinkette, waving in dismissal at an invisible conversation. To elaborate would get them nowhere, given how difficult it would be to convince someone of her point of view. Instead, she moved on to the topic of interest, which seemed to always pivot back to the game in her case.
"I'm not sure what you mean. Different how?"
Instead of giving him shit for that, Nico pulled back the chair infront of his desk, turned it to face him, then sat down cross-legged. "I'm a very upbeat person, no denying that. I express myself a lot, I tend to run on instinct and not think twice. But when I'm ingame I feel like all of that's been numbed down," It was a difficult experience to portray in words, blue eyes trailed back to the cup, severity within her frown, subdued once their eyes met once again. "It's still me, just not the same 'me'. It's like a me from inside the game, if I were a NPC. Somehow I feel it's worse than that. It ain't the problem resisting it and going against that, but it's starting to feel like I don't want to resist it at all."

@Jin

 

[Jin]

It stood to reason that someone might feel a difference between themselves in the game and outside, but to develop an entirely other persona seemed fascinating. Perhaps it was the difference between them that made him unable to notice such a change in himself. Theo, the person he was outside of Terrasphere, had effectively died the moment he was able to create Jin. That was the life he wanted, the life he worked toward a bit more every day. After he was through with his obligations in this reality, he planned to move forward in that one, as a new person, the life he left behind nothing but a bad memory. She would just call him crazy if he said that, though.

After all, what normal person stopped caring about being alive?

"You find yourself at odds with the reality of Fiora di Angelo and that of Nico Bellatoni?" he asked, speaking frankly. "Do you think you're starting to be drawn into the character completely, and losing your sense of grounding, like you're where you belong and there's no reason to go back, is that what you're inferring?" he continued.

"Because if so, no, I don't feel that kind of dissonance. There's no actual difference between Theo and Jin, except for how much freedom they have to do what they want. This world isn't enough for either of them, and it doesn't have anything they want anymore. It's just a matter of time before neither of them has any interest left here at all."

He glanced up at her from where he reclined on his bed and watched her expressions, the way she spoke, even the way she moved carefully. If there was even a hint of discomfort or conflict, he would see it. That was the kind of person Theo was. Always watching, always waiting for a mistake or a "tell."

"The best thing that feels different in the game, though," he said, picking out an event that might illustrate the difference for her in a way unique to him, "is that no matter how much abuse one suffers through, the implications are fleeting. You die, and the damage is erased. The pain is a memory, and certainly, memories can do you great harm- but you are the master of your own mind. You create and destroy with a thought. Magic exists in Terrasphere. The power to shape your own reality, to defy death, to literally unmake damage, wounds, to be as god in the form of a man."

He held out both hands in front of her so that she could see his palms, empty.

"It rewrites every treatise on what divinity is, don't you think?" he asked.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"You find yourself at odds with the reality of Fiora di Angelo and that of Nico Bellatoni?"
"Can't believe you nailed the last name." A smirk on her face as she said so, encouraging him to continue from the brief interruption with a wave of her hand, the smile she wore under her sleeve slowly dying off to a far more mute expression.
'It's just a matter of time' He says, as if to imply he would be the one to take himself out. At least that broke the Highlander theory she had- Or rather, it might just be part of it.

"No. I know who I am. Everytime I leave the game I'm fully aware of who I am, of how I feel. But ingame? It's as if the game just turned a switch on and my perspectives suddently changed." She explained, still at still with both her own story and his own even as she plays narrator and listener on the conversation. A turn of events that she's well aware of, and yet still shocking all the same if he meant what she thought he meant.

Both of his hands were offered at her, empty palms that got the curiosity bug to bite her on the ass as she sheepishly stared with a blank look of awe, only to switch back to infamous smugness as she locked eyes with Theo. "Slow down, Matrix." She said, taking a quick chug from her mug before offering it back at Theo, jiggling it tantalizingly. "No one defies death. Shortcuts to knowledge and power always have some fishy price tag with it. You would be smart enough to keep away from it, or your terrasphere tattooist." Eyes like daggers added the 'piercing' tag to her words. "I think we are being played with, that's what I think. It's too good, don't you think?" Which only pushed forth that one question inside of her mind, given a shove by Theo's mention of divinity, eliciting seriousness within her visage like that of a theorycrafter.

"I don't believe in gods. That's just people with a lot of power. Nothing good comes out of them, they got wants and no needs. But, if one thing is true in every 'fantasy world game' is that gods are physical and interact with people one way or another." She paused, leaving him to piece together where she's heading to with that alone, hands leaning forth a bit on a bent posture with her hands hanging down between her legs. "It haunts me every night to know there's some fucker out there pulling the strings, and that might be responsible for the game in the first place. Magic is just a child's play that everyone knows of. Think about it," Her right hand raised between both of them. "Everything you just described about magic? Science can do it, we can do it in our world. We found the means to extend our lives, to defy nature's cycle that animals are stuck with, and I bet we are trascending humanity by now. Snapping your fingers," Said words complimented with the gesture itself all in one go "And creating a spark with pyromancy ain't so impressive when everyone else can do it." She shook off her head, her hand then resting atop of her hairs, pulling swept bangs back.

"What I'm saying is: Everything we are capable of is nothing close to reshape our reality. All that power is nowhere near close to that, because everyone else has it and it ain't a big fuckin' deal. Someone out there is loaning us all this."

@Jin

 

[Jin]

And so, she cut straight to the heart of it.

I think we are being played with.

He folded his hands and closed his eyes, seated on his bed listening as she reasoned out her 'conspiracy theory' for him.

It haunts me every night to know there's some fucker out there pulling the strings, and that might be responsible for the game in the first place. Magic is just a child's play that everyone knows of. Think about it, everything you just described about magic? Science can do it, we can do it in our world. We found the means to extend our lives, to defy nature's cycle that animals are stuck with, and I bet we are transcending humanity by now. Snapping your fingers and creating a spark with pyromancy ain't so impressive when everyone else can do it.

"So what's the difference?" he asked at last, making his gambit. "In this world, we have no explanation, but in that one, its easily relegated to some mysterious entity loaning us power? You don't believe in gods, certainly, yet you've already easily solved the proof for Nietzsche's treatise on godlike power. Man creates god, man kills god, man kills man."

His lips pried upward in the slightest of smirks.

"Presume then, there is an overseer or construct, and it is provisioning us. What, then, is the limitation of that power? If that power has a source, then it stands to reason that a person capable of borrowing from that source is also able to steal it outright. The terms and conditions change, the method remains the same."

He leaned forward toward her now, meeting her in the middle.

"If your complaint is that everyone has the power, you miss the entire allure of the structure. Power in this world," he gestures to the room around them, "is truncated. Partitioned, allocated to specific people in specific positions. You don't gain power except by way of the system, and those without power remain powerless."

He slid his hand beneath the sheets of his bed and produced the VR headset that transported him between worlds and lifted it for Nico to examine. An older model, but functional. "You're right," he repeated, "in that world, everyone has power; but you're a fool if you believe that everyone having power means no one does." Theo leaned forward even more, nose to nose with the woman.

"If there is someone pulling our strings, then someone too is pulling theirs. Quid pro quo, Nico," he spoke quickly, making a scissor-like motion with his own fingers. "One need only cut the strings."

Theo folded his hands once more and closed his eyes.

"What you've come to is a psychological trap," he explained at last. "You're given freedom. You're given power. You're given a chance at an entirely new life. And you question it. Of course you do. Any reasonable human being who has existed in the reality we have for a lifetime truly believes that there is always a catch. It's fundamentally why we will never enjoy the lives we have."

He dangled the VR device in front of her now.

"The person holding the strings? It's you. It always has been."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"It's not hope nor belief, it's an actual fact, because something -is- giving every player out there powers. Why is it that not every npc in the game has magic, or don't you find it awkward not everyone is a super hero of some sorts?" She retorted, casually pointing back at him "You could say every god is just some idiot with power, even I could count as one if you consider lifting boulders and punching holes into steel a godly power. But everyone else in Terrasphere can do that, can they not? 'God' surely has a different meaning in there."

Her head tilted back, giving the impression of staring down at him, if only her own posture wasn't slacking off in the most casual of manners, taking onto his own point of view over what structure of power exists, and the room about them. To the way he leaned over, her nose flinching once he dangled his headset right infront of her face.

"Yeah? Well no shit sherlock, 'specific positions' just means politics, and these a lot of people don't give a damn for on both worlds, and in T.S they might aswell just get more power elsewhere. But riddle me this," She paused, tilting her head slightly to the right. "Only one player got to play king after who knows how many years, and still they suck at it. Don't you find it odd how nobody else fits the quota, and how nobody else among these old players stands out?" There's something as old people in a profession were others die young, yet that didn't make the young any less capable, all the more incriminating to the limits in everyone's power.

"You are taking your freedom for granted, your power as a constant, and your chance as real, when they can all be taken away real quick. Remind you, the game did get shut down time ago, that was blasting on the news for a long time, so this world and that one ain't so disconnected from one another, and you ain't escaping that." She smiled, eyes closed as she leaned backwards. "Well I do agree we all make our own destiny, but someone's fuckin' around with us. If they have someone behind or not I don't care, because thats what a schizo would be thinkin' about. But!" She opened her eyes once again, hands over her own thighs. "The only kind of power I'm looking for is the one to kill a god." Discard it would come afterwards, but that's nothing he should be made wary of, only half of her intentions.

His own would surface with his own shared thoughts, afteral.

@Jin

 

[Jin]

"God is exactly what it is," he corrected. "No more or less important than the individual's perception denotes it to be. We're all gods, by that logic, just like you said. So its not at all surprising that no single person stands out."

"Until they do." Her own given example, the King of Astorea, made his next point perfectly. "No one wants the responsibility, because its tantamount to painting a target on their back. The people who do want that kind of power meet with obscene levels of push back, because why- when you have as much power or influence as someone else- would you submit yourself to their control?"

Theo reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a bottle of water, twisted off the top, and took a sip. "I told you once, I wasnt interested in power in the traditional sense. I don't want to get in anyone else's way, and I don't want anyone in my way. This is exactly why. Its complicating. Unnecessarily so."

"But not being in power isn't the same as not having power."

You are taking your freedom for granted, your power as a constant, and your chance as real, when they can all be taken away real quick. Remind you, the game did get shut down time ago, that was blasting on the news for a long time, so this world and that one ain't so disconnected from one another, and you ain't escaping that.

"Because they are," he said flatly. "Who's going to take them from me? You?" he laughed. "No, the things that are coming are like the tide. They wont be stopped. Not even by VRSA. Think about it. They succeeded in stopping the game for a small span of time. It still managed to come back. There are some forces in this world that won't be denied, and I aim to be one of those inevitabilities," he said. "Fate in this world may have dealt me a losing hand, but the dealer offered me a mulligan and I'm cashing in."

The only kind of power I'm looking for is the one to kill a god.

"In the back, between the third and fourth vertebrae," he smirked. "Try not to overthink it."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"No one wants the responsibility, because its tantamount to painting a target on their back."
She waited instead of speaking out of hand. Nico took a quiet sip, one cut short once she found the mug lacking, savouring the last drops of warmth as she put the mug down over the desk and turned to face him once again as he himself seemingly got a thirst to sate, found in a bottle of water.

Right after she had offered him warm chocolate seconds ago...

"Who's going to take them from me? You?"
"If I have to, yes." Straightforward, a flavourless answer compared to her usual. "But you are being cocky in a game you and I and everyone else don't understand whatsoever, and just like you said: People don't want a responsibility. They can't handle it, and power is one. You ain't getting power without responsibility, it's like asking for money without working your ass off for it, and the game gives enough already for free." She trailed off, as it didn't need any more elaboration on that. Free power leads to stupidity, and perhaps that's the timeline Terrasphere sits upon: General Stupidity.

"And this is just my own view on the matter, but it ain't about the cards you are dealt with, but what you do with them. A better set ain't gonna make you any better if you play them the same way as your first." A fact many of the unfortunate 'players' have to face in both worlds. The sort of person she would feel any pity for, incapable of changing. These are truly bound by fate, prophecies and destiny, written by their own hand.

"In the back, between the third and fourth vertebrae,Try not to overthink it."
Nico laughed. "Got some weird kinks, Theodore."

@Jin

 

[Jin]

"I would love to see you try," he smirked.

She accused him of being cocky, but she missed the mark by a certain degree. Everything he did was calculated. The risks he took were included in that. What amused him most was the belief she held that power came with responsibility. It was true in the sense that power came with consequences; however, when one did not intend to suffer those consequences...

Well, there were ways around that, if you were creative enough.

Theo watched her closely as she talked about playing a different hand the same way, and he smiled. Who would waste their time doing that?

Got some weird kinks, Theodore.

"Maybe one day I'll share them with you, if you're a good girl."

@Fiora Di Angelo