situationship | ASHLYN

[ And he has been avoiding people because their memories can be heavy-handed and he isn't a therapist.

But they're ABSORBED. ]

I have questions, but this wasn't so bad! Kind of dramatic, though.

[ from now on he will forevermore perceive ashlyn's shadow as having short hair like so! ]

Ah. Yeah, my hair had just been grabbed and Logan got hurt pretty bad right after, so. [ embarrassing. ]

[ Huh. That's interesting and weird. He will look at that much like a cat does. ]

Honestly, long hair can be a detriment in combat... So that makes sense. You really had to do it in one swipe like that? Everyone looks spooked.

[ she pays it no mind. ]

I was worried I'd forget, and we didn't have much time left.

Eh, it's efficient in the end.

[ So it will get his stamp of approval, not that she needed it. ]

Your friend Logan okay?

Yeah, he's fine. That was the worst injury we'd seen so far so we were pretty freaked out, but in retrospect it really wasn't as bad as a lot of the ones we got later.

[ truly saying this as if it's a positive. ]

More phantoms, I'm guessing? What's even up with your world, anyway? Seems apocalyptic! Except for the delivery bit!

[ THAT MIGHT HELP HIM VISUALIZE MORE. ]

[ a little nod. ] It's usually normal, actually.

[ she is getting pretty used to explaining this but knows it still sounds kind of insane. ]

There's just another dimension we get pulled into. There's no one else there but us and the phantoms.

[ This makes sense to him so far, at least. ]

And the phantoms are like... Shadow monsters?

Basically. We don't really know much about them except that they don't like being in the light and that they attack anything that moves.

[ well. ] Except each other.

... Convenient. Curses are kind of similar, though I guess sometimes they cannibalize each other. [ So not exactly. Picks something else. ] Zombies are like that.

Is it easy to kill them?

[ Assumes violence. ]

Oh, you fight the curses and stuff too? Or using them? Or whatever?

[ a lil nod. ]

Yeah, a good stab will do them in. The smaller ones, anyway.

Yeah, I'm also a sorcerer. Only Suguru can manipulate them, though.

[ Cool, this means he doesn't need to explain anything for himself. ]

... Oh, that's simpler than I thought.

Why's that?

[ no. explain more. ]

Yeah, it could be worse. Guns work too, but not everyone's as good with those.

[ suguru you are useless to him... there's a sigh, but. ]

Cursed techniques are unique to bloodlines. Think of it like genetics, but for exorcism powers. His is specific to manipulation, while my clan's is specific to warping infinity.

[ He tries to make easy to understand comparisons. A memory pops up where he was protecting an important figure, a middle schooler whose fate will pave the path of the future—Amanai Riko—from an assassin wanting to claim her head.

With all the mumbo jumbo, it is basically nothing can touch him with the Infinity barrier, then blue technique attracts things together like magnets. ]

Guns would be easier, wouldn't it...

[ h... huh... cool to see some magic action and get an explanation. even if she mostly only understood the first half about things slowing down infinitely. ]

... Too bad other people can't learn things like that. That kind of magic sounds even easier than guns.

[ It is all about manipulating the numbers in between, so she has the basics. That's enough. ]

It comes with a lot of training, but it is more useful than a common gun... It'd probably be able to wipe out a lot of phantoms at once.

[ Which is convenient. ]

Is there no way toooo close the door or portal to this dimension?

[ no fair... she shakes her head though. ]

We get pulled in at midnight every night. It lasts for seven hours, and then we wake up without any time having passed. It's just about waiting it out.

Huh... This sounds like a videogame.

[ He's thinking some knockoff of Persona 3, though different. ]

Man, how are you supposed to win in these conditions?

[ Is there a plan? Let him listen. ]

Does it? [ all she knows is ddr and whatever group games her friends play. ]

I don't think there is any winning. We just need to survive.

A little bit. Sometimes art imitates life or vice versa... Games have to be beatable, though.

[ WHICH WOULD BE GREAT IF THIS WAS ALSO SOLVABLE ]

And it's like... The whole world gets pulled into this dimension? Is there a radius? Or is it just you guys? No nest where these phantoms are coming from?

It's just us that get pulled in, but when we go there, we're generally put where we left off the night before - not where we fell asleep. So traveling too far from the graveyard is dangerous when we've got the lights and traps set up there to keep us safe.

But that means we don't really know how far it extends or where the phantoms might be coming from. If there is anything like that.

[ He's imagining this.... And... He thinks more about their situation. ]

Surviving, waiting it out... How annoying.

We need to push things a little to learn more about how it works, but... It's dangerous.

Scouting is extremely important in exorcism. The reward of intel can really make things easier. I've seen sorcerers die without it, though worse they die because of wrong information.

[ Crosses his arms. ]

Would you say your team's smart?

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