Mistress Dizzy

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Around 2:00pm

Jin managed to find their way back to their beat-up vehicle and sat in the front seat, blank. Their head was pounding after crying so hard. Everything felt blurry and wrong. Despite not wanting to look at anyone, they noticed several more cracks around the school as they had traveled. Well, that was going to be someone else’s job, now, wasn’t it? And the only cracks Jin would have to deal with would be the ones on the sidewalk where they might be sleeping again…

A few cars passed by, pausing, but Jin waved them off. They were like parking lot vultures, desperate for a spot on the ever busy campus.

There had to be something they could do. Picking up the phone, they decided to dial a number they hadn’t dared to in a while.

“Barclay First Baptist, how may I direct your call?”

“Hello, um… may I speak to Pastor Northman please?”

“One moment.”

There was a brief silence on the line. Then someone new picked up.

“This is Pastor Northman, how may I help you?”

“Pastor, it’s me. It’s… it’s Jin. Ifriti?”

“Ah, hello Jin. How are you?”

“Not, aah… not great. You see-” The story came tumbling out. Jin had to hold back the tears that threatened to fall again.

There was a long silence at the end of the line, once the story was all told. “You could always stay here. We’ve discussed this before.”

“Yes. We have. But I-”

“All you have to do is renounce that ridiculous notion about not being a woman.”

Jin winced.

The pastor continued. “I’m sure the parishioners would love you. But you would have to be normal. We don’t tolerate this newfangled nonsense about a thousand genders and whatnot. Just come as you are, as God made you to be, and you will be fine.” Despite his demeaning words, there was a genuine cheer in his voice. The invitation was real. “Now come on. You come up here, we’ll find you a nice proper dress and work this thing out to find you some more suitable work for a young woman.”

Jin was trembling, though out of anger or fear, they weren’t sure. Now they remembered why they hadn’t called this man back. This is what it had come down to before, the reason they had preferred to live in their car rather than the church.

“I’m not a woman.” It slipped from their lips before they could stop it. And once that was out, the rest Jin had been holding back decided to follow. “I’m not pretending to be anything other than myself. It’s not ridiculous, it’s my life. I can show up, but it will only be as me.” Their voice was rising, anger spilling forth.

“What if someone made you decide between a hot meal and a roof over your head, or your belief in your precious God? How would you feel about that?!”

The pastor huffed, the noise staticky through the old flip phone. “There’s a difference between you and me, child. My beliefs are real.”

“Argh!” Jin screamed sharply into the phone, and slammed it shut, hanging up on the infuriating man. Unfortunately, that was about all the old piece of tech could take, as there was a distinct crunch and a fizzle. Dreading the consequences, Jin opened up the phone again to see the screen cracked to pieces, black and dead.

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit!” No phone meant no way to communicate. Meant they couldn’t start digging for new work. Every application – every damn one – needed a phone number.

“Fucking dammit.” They slipped into the backseat of their car, removing a lockbox and opening it up. Inside was cash – Jin’s entire life savings, in fact. It wasn’t much. Jin gathered up as much as they dared, hid the lockbox again, and headed out.

Maybe they could afford something cheap at the school store?

3:30pm

They could not.

Everything at the school store was priced for students who could afford to go there and spend that kind of money. Jin didn’t need the latest tech, they just needed something that worked. Even the cheapest model there was about a hundred bucks past their limited price range. With sheer frustration, Jin stormed outside, stomping down the sidewalk and dodging cracks. No doubt looking like a crazy person, as no one else seemed to be taking note of them. Their feet followed a large, long crack that only seemed to be growing. There wouldn’t be enough concrete at the school to fix this.

After seemingly being led to a small gazebo, they entered and slumped against the wall, ignoring everyone around as they were sure they’d be ignored.

“What else can go wrong today…”

Young Justice

About a week after their failed mission, the day dawned clear, bright and warm. It was a stunningly beautiful spring day, the kind you just wanted to spend outside. And that is just what one member of the team decided to do.

Kassy headed down to the beach with her MP3 player tucked in her top and a pair of sun-yellow waterproof, wireless headphones. Soaking up sunlight was usually Daphne’s deal, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the day too. Once she settled down on the sand, some way away from Mt. Justice, she relinquished her legs for her usual orange tailfin. The cold ocean water washed over her tail. It felt fantastic to be in her natural state during the day.

Slipping the large headphones over her ears, Kassy did the one thing she would never do in the presence of others. She began to sing.

Ja in the meantime had just gotten his first bit of outside for the day. Today was gonna be one of the days he decided to bother someone else. Daphne would need some time to try the meditation techniques he had taught her, on her own. To truly master one’s abilities, they had to battle with themself. That inner fight had to become a conversation until your abilities could finish your sentences. This was what Iwisa taught him.

She also told him that he needed breaks, lest losing himself to the Red Beast. So, today was a break from training and stuff too. Going down the list of people to bother, he realized that he hadn’t gotten around to Kassy as much as he liked to. Well, maybe not bother her but at least see what she was up to. It was getting close to lunch time…maybe she’d want to eat lunch with him and stuff!

So far, his sniffer had led him outside as he didn’t feel her presence from the Blue on the inside of the base. Remembering she loved the ocean, intuition led him to the beach. For such a trip, he wore the green sleeveless hoodie he was gifted and some simple black swim trunks just in case she was swimming already.

On the way, he debated on sneaking up on her to surprise her. Mischief made the decision for him, chattering softly, he skittered across the sand like a raccoon. Upon catching sight of her, Ja was careful not to make a sound as he approached. Though as he got closer, he found himself slowing down and his ears twitched. His lips quivered a little and the back of his eyes stung as he listened.

Ja could do nothing but sit back and listen. The boy had heard singing many times in his life, and at times even sang himself. This, however…this was much different. Beautiful felt like the wrong word…it wasn’t strong enough to describe Kassy’s voice. Ja’s memory told him that she said that she wasn’t very good at singing…She lied.

Kassy had gone back to the excellent music store in the mall for more things. They taught her how to get the music onto her device, and even offered some suggestions. Today’s soundtrack was Queen (Queen of where, she didn’t know) and she was simply singing along to one of the songs without a care in the world. Freddie Mercury spoke to her soul.

“Can anybody find me… somebody to love?” Her voice carried across the beach, a velvety alto, rich and smooth like melted butter. It belonged in a smoky speakeasy, crooning into a silver microphone over a jazz band.

There was a bit of amateurishness, her voice lifting excitedly as she ran through the lyrics with Freddie. She was just a touch too fast, perhaps too loud. She gestured along with the music animatedly. But she was clearly, utterly happy.

“Every day, oh I try and I try and tryyyy!” She carried on, blissfully unaware of Ja’s presence behind her.

The boy had only gotten about an arm’s length away and a little off to her left side before stopping. He simply sat with his hands laid on his knees in silence. Any thought of pranking the mermaid vanished into thin air. He could feel the happiness in her voice and it, in turn, made him smile a little. He felt a foreign warmth come to his face, one that the rest of his body didn’t share, but he didn’t mind.

“Uzuri wa kichawi…” Ja couldn’t help but mutter softly.

The song finished, Kassy nailing a high note near the end. She grinned to herself, as the music died down. Then she blinked, and ever so slowly turned her head.

“...”

On pure instinct, she dove forward into the water, splashing heavily as she doused herself, her music kit, and Ja. Poking her head up, she stared accusingly at him.

“How long have you been there?!”

Getting super soaked by the splash of Kass’ panic knocked Ja out of the daze that she inadvertently put him in. He jumped a bit, but still sat pretty stably, albeit shaking any large clumps of water from his afro. Upon her question, he blinked and pursed his lips. The wonder in his eyes still remained as he stared back.

“I…am not sure…I was going to surprise you but you were singing so nice and…” Ja trailed, having retraced his steps. Oddly enough, the way her eyes bore into him actually made him feel kind of bad, to which he broke eye contact.

“I am sorry, Kassy.”

Kassy’s gaze softened, and she looked away as well. It was hard to be angry at Ja and his soft, pretty eyes. “It’s okay. I’m not mad, you just… startled me really badly.” She ran a hand through her thick curls, dislodging water. “...I’ve never sung in front of anyone before. Please don’t laugh too much, okay?” The fact that he said she had been singing nicely had seemed to soar straight past her.

His wandering eyes blinked back into focus on her last bit of words.“Laugh? At what?” His tone found genuine confusion.

“I mean…I suppose startling you would have been funny if it wasn’t that bad for you…Plus your singing made me too happy to laugh…” Ja said, though the phrase tasted strange. Being too happy to laugh didn’t make sense, but he didn’t quite understand how to describe it.

“Uzuri wa…kichawi…” He said it aloud again, hand on his chin to remember and his head bouncing left to right.

Kassy looked just as puzzled right back at him. “I don’t know what that means. But -- wait, are you saying it wasn’t terrible?” She seemed lost for several moments, gaze going distant. “But I was always told…” Dropping into silence, she went very still. “She always told me to…” Something strange seemed to be happening, as her gaze darkened. There was something different about her eyes, suddenly. She shut them, taking in a deep, deep breath. When she looked up again, everything seemed to be fine.

“Thank you, Ja. Knowing my singing isn’t bad makes me really happy.” There was a shy, sharp toothed smile on her face now.

Ja nodded to answer her question, but she seemed aloof. The distant look in her eye spoke to memories, the jungle boy knew the look well, he wore it sometimes too. Seeing it emboldened him to crawl closer. He was at the ocean’s rising and falling border with the land when she seemed to snap out of it. Her smile quickly reflected one from his face as well.

“It is not only “not bad” but it’s actually really good! I have not heard anything like your voice before.” Ja felt the need to elaborate, unashamed by the enthusiasm in his tone.

“Wait, really?” Kassy’s eyes lit with happiness, and even her cheeks lit with embarrassment. A happy embarrassment, if there was such a thing. Swimming forward toward the shore, she grabbed Ja in a sudden hug. “T-thank you! That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

She let him go just as fast, looking down as she had practically saturated his shirt. “Oops. You might have to change. Sorry.”

The sudden cold of the water rushed through his system, but his training kept him from instinctively flinching. Instead, he giggled. “It is okay, Kassy.” He reassured, clawing through the back of his hair in hopes that his hand didn’t get stuck. Ja wanted to say something else but a low rumbling growl escaped from his stomach.

“Oh yeah, I forgot why I came out here…again.” He chuckled. “I was wondering if you wanted to go find food with me. Of course, you can always go back to your singing though, and I’ll leave you be this time.”

Kassy giggled, having heard Ja’s stomach complain. “Food sounds good. I think I skipped breakfast so I could get out earlier. Would you like me to hunt some fish? There’s decent pickings around here. Big, fat, lazy fish that have never been hunted before.” She grinned, sharp teeth on display.

Ja bit his bottom lip in thought. There was American food on the inside that was sometimes good and sometimes bad. Then there were times that someone inside would yell at him or Red Robot would have to chase him from the kitchen because a bag had someone’s name on it. Ja wasn’t sure why they were so mad…he didn’t eat their bag.

On the flip side, he didn’t get the chance to go to the ocean too much. BSF claimed that he would swim away…though to Ja, he wasn’t sure where he could go. He could get pretty lost on his own…but this time, he wouldn’t be, and surely Kassy knew the way back. So, returning her toothy smile, he nodded.

“It sounds like fun!”

“Great!” After depositing her headphones and music player in the sand, Kassy pushed herself back toward the water. “I know a really good spot full of tasty ones. Let’s go!” And she slipped into the ocean with barely a splash.

Ja watched her go and his grin stayed. He hadn’t met someone, other than his Amai, that understood the excitement of the hunt before…He wanted to jump in the air but didn’t for now. Instead, he looked down at his shirt now soaked by water. Pulling off his gift from Daffy-Knee, he found two sticks to prop up the shirt in the sand to allow it to dry.

Turning back to the unknown bounds of the ocean, he felt a side of the Red that he hadn’t dove into yet. It felt like the first time he was thrown off of a cliff to fly. Though, this time, it was by choice that Ja took the leap.
--

Present Day

Location: Mission Briefing Room, Mt. Justice
Interactions: Probably staring at Batman

Kassy was once again in awe of the Batman. Even she knew his exploits. To see him in person was actually a little scary. His presence had shut her up entirely. Even though she had questions. Like 'what was a circus' and 'wouldn't it be suspicious if they just showed up and pretended to fit in'. But she didn't say anything, not yet.

Hopefully Sanctuary

Devika grinned when she heard that Roxy had never played Scrabble. "It's so much fun! You have to know a lot of words, but it's great." She started to explain the rules as they headed back home.

"...and if you play all the tiles in your hand, that's called playing out and it's worth 50 points!" They were now pulling back up to the house, which was good because Devika had just finished the rules. "It'll probably make a lot more sense when we're actually playing."

"And if that doesn't work for you, we have other games." There was a warm cheery feeling emanating from her. She could have reined it in, but she wanted to spread the pleasantry.

Planet Mobius - A Sonic Universe Open World

@Shiny Keldeo

I don't have much to post either. Kijani probably drives a jeep for daily use.

Hopefully Sanctuary

It takes a lot of practice.

Hopefully Sanctuary

Because I don't want to assume anything - Have you played Scrabble before, Kath?

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Jin walked back to the maintenance ‘hub’ with a sense of purpose. On the way back, they had noticed several more of those little plaster cracks, in very strange places. Texas didn’t get earthquakes, right? So what was the deal? They hated to be the one to report more work, and have the boss bitch them out for it.

Heading back in the door, they couldn’t even open their mouth before the boss approached. That was odd.

“Hey boss, I’ve got some stuff to call in. Some weird cracks I’ve been seeing-” They went for the notebook, pulling it out and expecting the diatribe to begin.

It didn’t. Instead, the boss jerked his thumb at one of the folding chairs. “Sit down, Ifriti.”

Jin did so gratefully; walking around this massive school with heavy tools did tend to wear them down. “Sure. What’s up, boss?”

The boss sat down too, and had an oddly serious look in his eyes. “Ifriti. There’s the annual personnel review coming up. Some administrative bullshit the school makes us do every year, as if we don’t have work to do. That means I gotta go through all the employee records and verify your shit. Names, addresses, employment history and shit.”

“Okay…” Jin said slowly, feeling an unknown sense of dread creeping around their stomach.

“Your address is fake.” His voice was flat, but his eyes were pinning Jin down.

Jin swallowed, and did not say a word. They could only squirm in their seat.

“I looked it up – I gotta look them all up – and it’s a church, of all places. Why?”

“I-” Jin couldn’t speak, for the bile that was rising up in their throat. “I-” To tell this man the truth would be giving the man far too much credit. He wouldn’t care and Jin knew that. Besides, they had already lied and been busted, which just looked bad for any job.

“Look, I don’t care why you lied. You either fix the form and we all go on with our fucking lives, or you don’t fix the form, and I send it up the ladder. They’ll probably have to look into it more. Probably fire you if they don’t like what they see. So?”

Jin’s heart was about ready to bounce from their chest. There was no fixing that form without a second lie, which would easily be caught. The truth was worse somehow – no one would give a single shit that Jin was living out of their old car. So this was it? Back to the street? Back to having nothing?

“I can’t fix the form.” Jin managed to get out before rising from the chair and fleeing, feeling this morning’s breakfast rising up quick. They managed to stagger to the nearest bathroom, shoving aside students, to barely make it to an unoccupied toilet. Everything came up, and up, until they were left dry heaving on the side. Something broke inside, and they started to simply cry, like a child.

After that, they staggered from the bathroom after rinsing their mouth, and started to walk the campus quite aimlessly. Should they just pack their shit and leave now? Or wait for the axe to come down on their neck?

Tiny and the Terminator [Mistress Dizzy & Shifter_Master]

Jinny frowned. This girl was not getting the picture. “I don’t think you have anything I want.” She looked on resolutely as she was also sized up. It was a bit of a surprise to her, however. Usually she was the one to do that, not the other way around. She found that she didn’t mind it.

She didn’t miss the tiny flicker of pink, either, and wondered what that was about. The girl was very obviously metahuman, unlike Jinny who could hide it until necessary. What sort of power did she have, exactly? Maybe…

“Tell you what. If you can manage to impress me sometime, I’ll consider it. Not now, but… sometime. ‘Kay?” With that, she stood up.

“Come on, I want to go outside.” That was for Slade. It was very rare that she spoke in that kind of tone to anyone, let alone him, but it seemed she was trying to keep up appearances. After gathering up her paperwork, she headed for the door. Her chin was raised high, and it would be clear to her uncle that she was copying his ‘Move or be run over’ sort of walk.

Once outside, however, and out of range of other people, she slumped and exhaled. “Don’t they know it’s rude to stare?” She scowled, huffing softly. It seemed the morning was wearing her down already. “I didn’t like that. But I’m probably going to have to get used to it, aren’t I?” Sighing, she started walking the grounds in an aimless way.
“Do you think they’ll expect something of me? Like, something extra?” Her nails went to her mouth and she began to chew.

“This is already better than regular school in a lot of ways. But I…” She fidgeted, then voiced her thought. “I really don’t want to disappoint you.”

Young Justice

Location: Team jet
Interactions: @dreamingflowers@DClassified

Mirage was settled into one of the jet’s seats, staring off at nothing. How had that mission gone wrong so fast?

Personally, she felt rather accomplished. She had done her part, and done it rather well, at least in her own mind. Her illusions and staff had both come in handy. Although she had very nearly lost it after two guards stared right through her. Thank goodness she’d been practicing invisibility since she was a child. Being spotted would have been… well, “bad” wasn’t even the word for it.

It was quiet in the jet. Rain was silent at the controls, she wasn’t sure if the others were sleeping, and poor Daphne was huddled in blankets near the back, where the engines were. She felt sorry for her fellow hero. Even though it helped to know that she wasn’t the only one on the team that struggled with confidence, she knew having a power that you couldn’t fully control could be… deadly.

Getting up and stretching her back, she crossed the seats to where Daphne was seated. Without preamble, she began to speak.

“It’s not your fault, Daphne. We’re all still learning. Those of us with unique powers… well, we have to learn with the current, don’t we?” Although she didn’t know it, the closest English expression was ‘learn on the fly’. Without warning, she wrapped up Daphne in a soft hug.

“I’m sure you’re all warm and cozy in your blankets. It’s okay to come out when you are ready.” Her voice was low, so only Daphne could here. Flashing the other girl a gentle, sharp-toothed smile, she retreated. Maybe that would help, maybe it wouldn’t.

Then she startled, her senses finally noticing Ja, on the ceiling of the jet very near Daphne. “Gah! Um.” She looked up slowly, waving. “Hi Ja. How are you feeling?” She noted that he had been somewhat morose once they all got over the adrenaline.

Star Wars: A Legend Reborn (Nobodyman123 and Mistress Dizzy)

Kijani watched Prince Eskel leave, and sighed faintly. She was glad he was listening, and hadn’t made a rash decision. She almost didn’t hear Master Yoda, simply nodding along to his comments.

“Wait a min – what?”

She looked down at her diminutive Master, who was smirking ever so slightly. “Do I wish he were Adam? Wha - no - I mean, why would I want that? Adam is no prince. If he was, I probably wouldn’t like him as much as I do…”

As what she said passed her lips, she blanched. “Attachment is – you said I can’t – I’ve been focusing so hard on training, I haven’t had time to – ”

Realizing she was stammering and making little sense, she took a deep breath.

“I need a walk, Master. I’ll be back.”

With that, she left the hut and set off at a jog. Away from Eskel. Away from Yoda and his prying questions. She moved through the swamp, paying very little attention to where she was headed. Without meaning to, she found the largest tree in their area of the planet. With weak knees and a heavy heart, she sunk under it and shut her eyes.

The next thing she was aware of was the cold. It seemed to seep into her bones as she got up and started to walk. There was no sound but her own footsteps, as she moved on what seemed like water. Her feet seemed to be leading her somewhere, and so she simply walked.

The rushing of water hit her ears. Before she could blink, she was surrounded by water, covered in it, consumed by it. Everywhere she turned was dark and wet, and she couldn’t find the way up. Shutting her eyes, she let the Force guide her. She swam on and on, lungs burning, and somehow she was looking up at the surface. Three faces looked down at her, hands out stretched to receive her.

They were all her.

The first was dressed in queenly robes. Her dreadlocks fell down her back, and she had an elegant and ramrod posture. She was older, and somehow looked very much like her mother. Her golden eyes were resolute and stern. Eskel was behind her, hand on her shoulder.

The second was robed like a Jedi Master of old. The robes were soft white and tan, and her lightsaber hung prominently from her belt. Her chin was raised, gaze earnest and calm. Adam was behind her, hand on her shoulder.

The third was dressed in black. Her hair was shaved to a short black fuzz, and she held a dazzling deep burgundy lightsaber in her hands. Her eyes were bright, too bright, almost manic, and she was smiling. There was a leather gloved hand on her shoulder, and as she looked up -

Vader came into view.

Kijani awoke – choking, shivering, drenched in a cold sweat. She coughed hard, as if clearing water from her lungs. Her heart thundered in her chest as she got her bearings. Even her clothes were somewhat damp, as if she had truly been trapped underwater.
She knew that dream, that vision, had been very important. Her choices had been laid bare.

She set back off for home at a run, bursting in the door.

“Master Yoda! Something happened…” And she started to explain.