open

[queenofseers]

WHO: Cassandra and you!
WHERE: Maurtia Falls
WHEN: Early August
WHAT: Cass gets hit with a red kryptonite crystal and experiences the rarest of emotions: joy. Too much joy??
WARNINGS: None at first, will add if needed!


1. A street in Maurtia Falls
[ There's a reason Cassandra has become a bit of a recluse in the last few months. The last thing that happened to her publicly was dying violently, and then to come back without her powers and with a noticeably different appearance? Yeah, being about town seemed like a bad idea.

But it's been two months since she returned, as she has to do something with her life. She's gone out today to look into some new publications in the library, only to be accosted by a particularly incessant member of the paparazzi on her way out of a coffee shop. She's not taking it well. ]

How many fucking times do I have to fucking tell you- ow!

[ That exclamation was a reaction to something landing on her head: a piece of red kryptonite. And as she leans down and picks it up, her expression shifts- into a rare smile. ]

Hey. What is this?

2. Outside Maurtia Falls #004
[ Less strange but still rare is to find Cassandra sitting on her front porch, but she does that later in the evening, as the sun starts to set. She's still got a hold of the kryptonite, and she's somewhat aware it's improved her mood...but for basically the only time in her life, she doesn't feel like interrogating that further. It's so nice out today! Why's she been inside all the time? This rules!

Hell, she even feels like talking about this with someone else. If you're coming out of the house or passing by, she'll wave you over, looking like she's just had the best day of her life. ]

Hey! Look at this thing. [ She waves the kryptonite around. It's cool as hell and definitely not harmful, right? Right. She is having a normal one. ]

Comments

outside the house

[planetary_bonds]

[Oh look, here's someone who's visibly unhappier than Cassandra is. He's pushing a motorbike down the street that's clearly been in some sort of wreck, the front all dinged up and crumpled like a tin can; and his overall appearance is...haggard.

When Cassandra shows him the rock, his eyes light up in alarm, the slightest hint of rainbow lights glinting inside them.]

Isn't that thing dangerous?

[he hasn't had a good experience with these things, okay.]

[queenofseers]

What? I've had it for a few hours, it can't be that bad.

[ If Yusei knew Cassandra well enough, he'd know this is quite weird. Normally, she'd be accustom to paranoia here, especially considering the things she's experienced in her many months here. Although for a moment she does look more closely at the rock, almost puzzled. ]

I mean, it's probably some sort of alien reality-warping thing, but... [ Her expression shifts to a smile again. ]

I'm not dying of radiation poisoning yet, so I'm probably fine. I feel great, actually.

[planetary_bonds]

[Yusei glances at the rock, unaware of what kind of effects it's having on her. To a stranger like him, he doesn't notice how weird her careless attitude is.]

I got hit by one of those. A green one.

[He shows off his riding helmet, which has a golf ball-sized dent in the front. Seems like it had nestled itself in there quite cleanly before Yusei eventually pried it out.]

I ended up losing my powers temporarily, almost passed out, too...I'm only now starting to get them back.

[queenofseers]

What, really?

[ This is a far less worried reaction than she’d usually have. Cassandra simply raises an eyebrow and glances at the object, then shrugs. ]

My powers knock me out if they get drained, too- that just happened- but I’m fine. Are you sure it wasn’t something else? Unless they’re color-coded...

[ Normally she’d call that trite. Now she’s got a rosier view of things. ] That’d be handy.

[planetary_bonds]

[Yes, really.]

I'm pretty sure. I didn't stop feeling faint until after I got rid of it.

[It was a natural thing to do, considering it was stuck in his helmet and all, but man. It was a hell of a trip, let him tell you.]

They might be. I saw some animals get hit with a different colored stone, and they gained powers instead.

[queenofseers]

What, really? How are we not living in the burned-out wreckage of Maurtia Falls if dogs can turn invisible or light things or fire or...whatever you saw?

[ Yet she says that all with a grin, as if it's an amusing and not vaguely terrifying image. She walks down off the porch to talk to Yusei to his face, finally. ]

Are you sure things are that bad? Really.

[ Somewhere, her past self is screaming. ]

[planetary_bonds]

It wasn't permanent, I think...and the cats were more interested in getting more food than anything else.

[yes, yusei feeds the weird cats(?) in Jeopardy sometimes. for some reason.]

I don't think they'd be too dangerous if we're careful, but I doubt I've seen all the effects they can have.

[yusei you nearly died in a traffic accident because of these things they're probably PLENTY dangerous]

[queenofseers]

[ Cassandra seems too pleasant to be in the mood to debate, but fine, Yusei- there's still a journalist in her soul. No rock is suppressing that. ]

Come on. Do you have a video or something? For once it's been too nice out for me to glare at shitty opinions on Bwitter all day.

[ But, you know...maybe those opinions weren't that bad. ]

[planetary_bonds]

I didn't videotape what happened to myself, no. Although I imagine someone must have.

[An ImPort crashing in the middle of a busy intersection and causing a scene must have caused...well, some sort of uproar.]

Surely you've heard someone voice their complaints, if you've been out here all day.

1

[killtime]

[ Fortunately, that street happens to be on the same cafe that Andy gets coffee from on her break. On her way back out, she spots the commotion. Another ImPort being harrassed by that paparazzi, probably. It's not uncommon, and it wouldn't be her first time chasing off a crowd. She just hates having to do it on her coffee break. With a sigh, she makes her way over, pushing her way through the small crowd. It helps, being in uniform. The vultures start to back off.

Her eyebrows lift when she recognizes Cass.

Well, mostly recognizes her.

That look on her face — that, Andy does not recognize. ]

Cass?

[queenofseers]

Andy!

[ At this point, of course, Cassandra cares deeply for Andy, and considers her a good friend, but to say she always shows that openly would be a lie.

Right now, though? She's obviously happy to see the woman in a way that surprises even herself. ]

What do you think this is? Some sort of weird space bullshit?

[ That's the kind of thing she'd normally say in a bothered tone. But right now she sounds...amazed? ]

[killtime]

[ Andy, for her part, is not convinced that this is, in fact, Cassandra Igarashi and not some alien that has taken her body for itself. She squints suspiciously as this blatantly happy woman comes towards her waving a weird looking rock. This whole situation is entirely too much for one coffee break already. ]

Genuine question: How the fuck should I know?

[ She squints a little. ]

Cass, are you alright?

[queenofseers]

Yeah, I’m fine. Today’s pretty good for a day when I’ve had to go outside, actually.

[ Despite the fact that she was miserable just a minute before. In fact, that paparazzi who’d been bothering her before is now staring in confusion. ]

We could find out what it is. Bring it to somebody. We’re fucking surrounded by aliens, Andy. You’re technically married to one.

[killtime]

[ She's never known Cass to be particularly prone to mood swings. In fact, Cass seems to have mostly one mood whenever Andy's seen her, and that mood usually involves a varying ratio of concern to frustration. It's weird in a way she can't put her finger on, for Cass to just... Suddenly be fine when she looked pretty fed up just a hot second ago.

Andy spares a second to glance over at the paparazzi. ]

Hey. You see the badge, right? Fuck off.

[ Friendly cop, she is. But like hell she cares about professionalism, particularly right now. ]

Okay, Rex technically being an alien is definitely not a conversation I'm going to have sober and in the middle of the street. [ A bit flatly, as she eyes the kryptonite with tangible suspicion: ] Maybe you should just leave the weird fucking rock where you found it.

[queenofseers]

Ha. Nice.

[ Extremely good send-off, Andy. It deserves...a compliment. Andy deserves plenty of compliments, really.

Cassandra starts walking, assuming Andy will follow her. If Andy doesn't want to talk about her husband being from deep space here... ]

Why are you so concerned about this rock? You're rarely concerned about anything that isn't Rex or Martin, and now you're getting worked up about a rock.

[killtime]

[ How is that even in this kind of mood, Cassandra finds a way of calling her out? Andy frowns a little, one hand coming to rest at her hip on that heavy utility belt of hers. She's tempted just to let Cass wander off and wash her hands off this totally, but — ugh. Fuck it. Okay. With a sigh, she trails after her. ]

It's not really the rock. [ Flatly: ] It's you.

[ Slow on the uptake though she might be, she's starting to suspect that rock may or may not have something to do with Cass's funny behavior. ]

[queenofseers]

What?

[ Considering she feels as if she's in an especially good mood, she can't imagine what Andy is so hung up on. Isn't it her nitpicking what usually bothers Andy? Hell, she even just complimented her. ]

What'd I do now? We're not having an argument or anything. Did something happen?

[ This still feels like it's about the rock. Is it about the rock? ]

2

[choosetruth]

[Georgia has recently been exposed to a similar rock. She's definitely aware of the effect it's had, and even aware to some level that she's going to regret this later, but at the moment it just seems neat.

She grins beneath her sunglasses and waves back when Cass waves.]

Oh yeah, I saw one of those earlier. Pretty sure they're not safe to handle too much. [But what's the fun in playing it safe? More importantly:] You ditched the god makeup!

[queenofseers]

Are you sure? Because my skin isn’t falling off yet.

[ For a second some nervousness enters her- but it’s quickly supressed.

She would also, normally, be a lot more perturbed by Georgia bringing up her newfound non-god status, if only because of how tired she is of explaining it. But that’s not that bad, is it? She’s been exaggerating it, surely. ]

Oh, yeah, I did. It’s a good thing, actually, except now I need a glasses perscription again. I’ll live. [ A pause- ] Literally.

[choosetruth]

Nothing wrong with glasses! They're very stylish.

[She taps her own sunglasses, which aren't remotely stylish. Except in that being cool and not having your eyes showing sort of way.]

I guess rumors of immortality were greatly exaggerated with the god thing, huh?

[queenofseers]

Oof. You know, in my case it was rumors of death that were exaggerated. Just...not in this world. I got out of it in mine. Long story.

[ Although...she taps her chin, thinking, but she's still smiling a bit. ]

Well, I got out of dying anytime soon, save some sort of awful accident. You get my point.

[choosetruth]

Well, that's still great news! As someone who hasn't gotten out of dying soon when I get home, it's nice to hear things can change.

[Even if she's not really sure how, or how such a thing could apply to her.

That should be depressing, but right now it's just a fact. Besides, she's alive now! Why dwell!]

[queenofseers]

Oh, that's-

[ Actually, that's a prominent enough new fact that Cass' expression shifts for a moment, to a slight frown. ]

That's fucked. I'm sorry.

[ And then she, practically involuntarily, smiles again. ]

But maybe you'll miraculously get out of it too, who the hell knows.

[choosetruth]

Oh, it's not so bad. [It definitely is, and the kryptonite-induced cheer can only cover for it so far.] I got the story I was working on out before I died. Martyr for the truth isn't the worst way to go. Maybe I'll get a Pulitzer posthumously!

[queenofseers]

God. That'd be the dream. Not the dying part, but-

[ She's aware what Georgia is explaining is bad enough that she shouldn't be smiling. But she shakes off the feeling. ]

So. What journalistic rabbit hole did you fall into? Can't be any weirder than the ones I've been down.