('From' is a strong word, to which she can only give him a waving hand that screams 'more or less'. How does she explain Krakoa without bumming out their entire evening beats her. Well, if she does, at least they'll have some topic to discuss. Mutanthood is never not going to be important to her.)
Technically, I was made in London. Also, technically, I'm American. But I'm also a Krakoan national. It was our nation away from all the yuckies of human society. Didn't last, because nothing we ever make for ourselves does, but alas.
(To be fair, telepathy is something horribly fun, and also, maddening. Annoying. Makes all of them fucked in the head, because how could they be normal with all that just happens to them? At least here in Etraya, whereas she expected to do a lot more 'I feel all you feel and I'm tired of your bullshit thus I'm feeling bitchy' explanation, most people seem to just let her be.)
Yup. I think the best way to explain it is like you're in a crowded room. You see and hear a lot, but it's all too chaotic and it just blends in the background. You pay attention, you can zoom in, see what is really happening with each person around. That goes for dreams, I can see that they're happening like I could glimpse at a person sleeping in a party, but I sure as hell am not going to go check on their drool or whatever.
(She hopes that helps explaining how it works. Sometimes, she knows too much, some others, she knows nearly nothing. Depends on how nosy she's feeling that day.
The offer is nice, though. She enjoys Clive's company; otherwise, she would not have helped as much as she has, or even reached out herself. The fact she's here says enough, hopefully.
What is interesting is that he is raising some really pressing questions at a very sensitive time. Sophie never emote-talks. Maybe to him, limited time only? She might.)
It's not... A horrible idea, no. I'll keep that in mind.
[The shortness of her answer has Clive wondering, but that is something for another time. The idea of there being a place only for mutants, away from all the other people that might other them, sounded pretty great to Clive honestly. ‘Nothing we ever make for ourselves does’. Clive frowns ever so slightly. Not for the first time, Clive wonders about the kind of life Sophie has had to lead.]
So you are both from the world where all the humans live and from Krakoa. I use the word ‘from’ loosely. More like a ‘this is where your home was’ rather than a ‘you were made there’. [He hesitates for a second on the word ‘made’. But he supposes she was, being a clone.]
Have you always had your powers or did they manifest one day? [Clive shakes his head a little.] You’re stronger than me. I would have lost it by now, not being able to have any quiet.
[Clive can’t help the snort of a laugh at Sophie’s analogy. He couldn’t really think of someone who made him laugh quite as much as she did. Yet another thing he enjoyed about being around Sophie.]
Of course. You’ve helped me through a lot. [Clive blushes the tiniest bit.] And I like spending time with you.
[Why was it so embarrassing to be open with people about this stuff lately? Normally he wouldn’t have any problems with it. Time to change the subject.]
Another telepathy question: If I call out to you with my mind, will you hear me through the noise?
I know it's probably confusing, but yes, that feels like home to me. The school I live in here does, too.
(Too many situations and variables from a world he doesn't know. There is a lot she is saying hidden in fine print between the lines, and it is a little bit of a test to see how much Clive connects dots. For, well, enrichment, and it's another way to get to know him. There's a lot to be said about someone with what they choose to see and what they pick up from their environment, biases, and thought processes, and all.
He seems to get the gist. No more Krakoa. Mutanthood sucks. So forth, so forth.)
Mutants just get their X-Gene manifesting one day. Us? We were made, aged to teen years, and dropped into that school, so the Cuckoos are a different case. I've never been different, so it's really all I know, so I guess if you wanna switch perspectives? Etraya drives me fucking insane. Too quiet. How do you not flip out when you can hear a pin drop every time? See, the grass is always greener.
(Big reason why she was happy upon getting to Earth? Millions of voices, like God intended for her. Here? Back to the same lame 100-ish. See why she gets grumpy sometimes for no reason?
But he laughs, and she does a little celebratory dance with a small smile on her lips, because yes, she's hilarious, thank you for appreciating it. Also, very humble.)
D'aaaw, Clive, I like hanging with you too. Although, technically, this is kinda the first time, huh?
(Oh. Another winner question.)
... Yes and no. I mean, here, probably? It's eerily quiet, so it's harder for me to not hear something. That said, truly dependent on how much I am, you know, tuned in.
Not really. Home can look like many places and those places change a lot over the years.
[Clive shrugs.]
For me, home is where my people are. It’s less of a specific place. I’m proud of where I was born, but that place doesn’t exist for me anymore either. It’s people still do, in pockets, but my country is gone. Maybe not in the same way as your Krakoa. I’m not sure.
[There are parallels there from his world, too. No safe space for Bearers outside of the Hideaway, which was already destroyed once, having magic sucks. So on, so forth.
He nods.]
That makes sense. I imagine it is similar for people who know how to use magic where I am from. Some have the skill from birth and know nothing different. Some don’t manifest until later in life. If you’ve never known anything different, suddenly having to learn how to cope with it… It’s difficult.
[Clive can’t help but smile at the little dance. He feels a warmth in his chest he hadn’t expected to feel in some time.]
In person, yeah. I didn’t really think of it that way. Talking to you the way we have been feels different, like I have you with me. In a sense, I do.
[He nods.]
So if I need you and can’t get ahold of you, shout really loud. Gotcha.
No, no, Krakoa is gone, too. Just, you know, keep it on the DL, sometimes we get people who don't know that yet, and it's really, really shitty, heartbreaking news. What happened to your place?
(Ever the optimistic, huh? Bleeding heart and all. This couldn't be her, not thinking about it in 'my people makes it living'. She really, really damn wants it back, but last time she tried that, she backed out in the middle because it was rather nefarious. Turns out, some people make her change her views, feel like home.)
I can... Ugh, literally cannot relate. The asshole who made us didn't even bother with a backstory or anything, so I can't even imagine how it feels to be quote, unquote normal. Were you just living boring life and then bam, vessel of God news?
(Now it's turning, see? Show his, she shows hers. That's how it works, so she can modulate how much she can share, and how she stands. She's normal. Quote, unquote.)
Kinda do, yeah. Also, careful with the whole yelling. I'm not the only telepath, you know, we can all hear you.
[Clive, ever the secret keeper. If Sophie tells him not to say something, he won’t say a damn thing about it to anyone, not even Joshua. Some things were meant to be kept private, even from those who were most trusted.]
Have you ever thought of giving yourself your own backstory?
[Clive shrugs a shoulder.]
Yes and no. I was the son of an Archduke and what we called the First Shield. It was a high military position. For my world, as someone of my skill and standing, it was normal enough. And then, yeah. Bam. One day, I woke up with my powers. I learned eventually that I was supposed to be the vessel of God. Took a bit, though. There’s a lot more to it, but that’s not exactly polite dinner conversation.
[The give and take is what Clive prefers and is a lot more inclined to engage and share when the favor is returned.
The mention of other telepaths makes him think of Nate and he frowns.]
Yeah, that’s true. I’d like to avoid unwanted visitors.
(She told Julian when she first got here. About Krakoa falling, about him being with the Cuckoos in their horrible plan of getting it back. How he was to eliminate a human or two or three, and he hid them instead. His ex.
Well. She showed him, actually. Full braindump. Turns out, he had never known. It was heartbreaking.)
If you mean creating a whole 'I was born in Chicago, to X and Y, and when I was four...' kind of backstory, it'd be meaningless, because I have never really been four. I don't know what that's like. What I can do is appreciate what I have from my weird origins, and make my own meaning of what things mean.
(Yeah, clone. Genocide. Yeah, whatever. She is here now, so she might as well create a life for herself, be thankful for what she has, don't sweat what she never did. It doesn't bother her, but it is does hinder her empathy and understanding of others, unfortunately.)
Wait, no, go back. I didn't quite catch the connection. You knew you were going to get powers, just not like that? Is that it?
(She'll drop it if he doesn't want to talk about it, but she's confused.)
Yeah. Well. At least I can tell you Jean is probably too disgustingly perfect to eavesdrop, Nate probably wouldn't butt in, Quire might jump in but you can trust that one, and then me, so.
Oh, no. I was thinking about making up something that was so ridiculous that it couldn’t possibly be real. Or it would be one of those scenarios where the stories feel so specific that you couldn’t be sure that what you were hearing was a lie.
[That sounded like it might be fun in the short term. A little game to play when out at places where you would never see the person you were talking to again. The idea of doing something like that now seemed a bit juvenile, but it tickled a little part of his brain anyway.]
Sort of. Joshua, my brother, gave me what is called the Phoenix’s Blessing. That gave me access to some of Phoenix’s magic. That is a gift given to anyone who becomes the First Shield, as they are the primary protector of the person whom the Phoenix chooses to awaken within.
[He thought about asking to just show Sophie his memories of the night he Primed for the first time, but with how gruesome and emotionally raw it ended up being, he thought better of it.]
One night, when we were getting ready to go to war with a neighboring country, we were invaded. That’s the night I Primed for the first time. What I am isn’t supposed to exist, not as we knew it then. Usually, there is only one Eikon per element. Joshua already had the Phoenix, who is the Warden of Fire. So, when my Eikon woke up and was also fire-based? It was unprecedented.
[He pauses for a moment, thinking. He sighs. Might as well.]
I can also absorb the powers of the other Eikons. Right now, I have Garuda, Ramuh, Titan, and Bahamut. That’s wind, lightning, earth, and light in addition to fire. Ramuh and Bahamut are here and don’t seem to have been impacted by what happened at home. Probably due to some Etraya fussing.
[Clive distinctly does not like the idea of Nate being anywhere near his mind space any time soon. Influenced by the Anomaly or not, knowing that someone of that strength could mess around and shift things without Clive even noticing? No thank you.]
I mean, being one clone out of a thousand from a hivemind of telepaths so we could destroy the world's mutants sounds pretty insane and dramatic.
(It is the truth, though. But whatever, she doesn't care about her side of this when he starts talking. Mind the face of 'oh, God' she makes when the word 'phoenix' is brought up, because, oh, God.
She can follow, at least.)
I cannot believe you guys also have the fire pigeon. So basically, you're like, master of all elements? Is that's what's up? And what exactly is this Etraya fussing you mean? Wait, how does God come into all this? Cripes, that's a ton.
(Okay, she can hear that discomfort, hold up, she can help.)
Quire is also an Omega-level telepath, and he's included in the alliance package. You're fine.
[Clive takes a beat to try and absorb that information. Clive opens his mouth a little then closes it again, not sure what he was going to say. His brow furrows.]
Yeah, that’ll do it. You don’t really need anything else when that is what you have.
[Graceful. Good job, Clive. He takes this opportunity to take a long sip of water. At least Sophie seemed more forgiving of his less than elegant social interactions.
He almost spits his water.]
Fire pigeon? [He tries to imagine the faces of literally anyone from Rosaria hearing that and, admittedly, it is kind of funny. ]
You could say that, yeah. Once I absorb the power I am able to use aspects of it. I’m not able to fully transform into anything other than Ifrit, but I can take on physical characteristics of the other Eikons.
[Time for more water. At least this time it is because he is going to be talking a lot.]
Etraya has a distinct habit of completely ignoring how things work in our home world. Cid, who has Ramuh, and Dion, who has Bahamut, should not be able to Prime in a way that isn’t incredibly dangerous for them, and Dion was able to do it easily the other day. I don’t know if Cid has Primed or if he would have the same experience.
[He sighs.]
God, his name is Ultima where I am from, is an all-powerful being that is trying to find a physical body to inhabit that can withstand it. Magic kills the users where I am from. It turns them to stone. So if a creature like Ultima were to inhabit just anyone, it would likely kill them as their body wouldn’t be able to handle the sheer amount of aether, that’s magic, that would come with housing such a thing. That whole turning to stone thing? My body doesn’t do that. No matter how much aether I use or how much I absorb, my body does not change.
[Clive gestures at himself.]
So that’s where I come in. According to Barnabas, all of the Eikons on our planet are currently there for me to absorb so I can make my body ready for Ultima to inhabit. Once my body is fully prepared, which I think means once I have absorbed all of the other Eikons, then my body will be ready to house Ultima. Thus, vessel of god.
[Time for more water.]
The difficult part of all of this is I need to stop Ultima and, in order to be strong enough to do that, I need to absorb all of the Eikons. So to kill god, I need to make myself ready for god. It’s–
[Clive sighs.]
It’s a mess.
[Clive watches Sophie cautiously. Not only did he just dump a lot on her, he could tell she was going to try to be reassuring about the whole ‘people can hijack your brain’ thing. Which he appreciated.]
Alliance package, huh?
[So that means one Omega-level telepath maybe won’t try and hijack his brain? That’s… better. 1 out of 3 isn’t bad. Not great, but not bad.]
People are much more upset about it than we are. Most of us, anyway. You're fine.
(Esme hates it, but she's the only one, too bad for her. It's not even the whole backstory thing that bothers the Cuckoo, it's more — she wants to be all powerful, all her, like a dick. Sophie herself just takes it a day at a time.
Also, she too laughs at his reaction. Yes, Fire Pigeon, sir.)
Barbanas is the dude I told you not to fuck and you went ahead anyway, right? How much do you trust his word? He might be totally fucking with you. It's known to happen.
(But hey, good enough explanation! She feels up to date, and just gives him a thumbs up as an answer.)
Got it. All good here.
And, yeah. We're all a package deal. You get me, him, a little dude who blasts force out of his eyes, and a demonic lady.
[Congrats Sophie, you pull another cough of a laugh out of Clive at that.]
Well, I’m glad you’re alright. [He shrugs a shoulder.] That’s what matters to me, anyway.
[Frankly, he did care about what others thought about what Sophie’s original purpose had been. If anyone tried to convince him off her, chances of success were extremely low. Even as a stranger, she had been there for him in a way he hadn’t realized he needed and that trend had continued.]
Barnabas is, indeed, the guy you told me not to fuck and then I did anyway.
[When he speaks again, the edge of levity in his voice is put on the backburner.]
He’s not lying. If Barnabas has anything, it’s conviction. He wouldn’t lie about his god. The way he talks about him, about how he told me all of this? [Clive shakes his head.] I don’t need to be a mind reader to know it is the truth.
[That, the Akashic people running around everywhere, and his own experiences all confirmed what the man had said.]
If you have any other questions or if anything pops up, let me know. I’ll do my best to explain it. I’m not the smartest one out of all of us here, but I am the one who has to live this experience so.
(Just in case, because she has no plans to stop being scandalous anytime soon.
If anything, Sophie would just like Clive to have an educated opinion about her. She's so alone in here. Blank slate. No reputation outside the mansion walls, and the one identity she has falls flat when she's not in there — even if she is actively building her own. She'd tell Clive all her shit, if only he could decide to be around her even so.
And with the conviction in Clive's voice, it makes her laugh again.)
Your taste in men needs to be studied.
(Because seriously!! Although, pot, kettle.)
You'd be surprised. If you want, I can do a little...
(Her fingers make a person, index and middle simulating a run — meaning, a little walk around the dude's head. Just, you know, in case.)
Yeah, no, that's fine. I'll ask as we go. I'm sure the others will have their own... And, yeah, demonic lady, lived in Limbo. She explains it better, but yeah, she got here when we were on Earth.
At this rate? Probably. I don’t think I’m going to have a voice tomorrow.
[That teasing lilt is back. Clive has no intention of going home any time soon. For the first time since… well, for the first time in a bit, he is actually enjoying himself and he isn’t going to let that go. Not yet. He can be selfish for a bit longer.
He shrugs a shoulder.]
Oh, most likely. You should hear about the other ones I’ve been drawn to. I’d like to think my taste in women is a bit more stable, but I guess time will tell.
[Clive chuffs another little laugh.]
I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think you want to go in that guy’s head. I can’t imagine it is the safest place to be.
[He also has a pretty strong feeling that, if Barnabas ever found out, he would go after Sophie with a vengeance and Clive wasn’t willing to put her in danger to confirm something he was already pretty confident in.]
Well, alright then. We are going to be quite the crew, huh?
Well, you chose this friendship, so at least you know one of the perils is being shocked.
(Good. There just has been too much shit, so if he has consequences over something that is ultimately harmless, and maybe good? She's encouraging it.
At the rest of the conversation, though, she laughs, shaking her head as her hand covers her smile for a second. Okay, yeah, she doesn't need to even imagine, just what he has told her so far is enough for her to know it's a shit show.)
What was it, were you just not held enough as a kid or — I'm joking, of course. I'm not much better. My taste as a Cuckoo? Impeccable and it annoys our mum, so great. My taste as Sophie? Dubious.
(But there's a shrug from her too.)
Everyone thinks that. Ooooh, my head is a mess, oh nooo, you'll be so traumatized. Except, you know, again, millions of brains we hear on a daily, but if you don't want to, that's fine too.
(If he doesn't wanna know, then that's his problem, affectionately and respectfully speaking.)
Oh, yeah. I'm wondering it this place is going to pull any other NYX, because that'd be interesting, too.
Mmm. Wouldn’t trade it, either. I need someone to help keep me on my toes.
[Clive nods at the waiter as they refill his glass, glad to have something else to focus on for just a second. Not held enough as a child. Ha. Yeah. He wouldn’t be surprised if that actually had something to do with his strange attraction towards the emotionally unavailable.]
Well, then we can have shit taste in men together and probably regularly criticize each other over it.
[He raises his refilled glass as if in a toast.]
I have no idea what goes on up in that brain of his. I’m more worried about what he might do if he finds out that someone tried to invade his privacy on such an intimate level. Have you seen where the guy lives?
(Respectfully, playfully, honestly, affectionately, gently, etc.
She's gotta order a wine for this, as well as some appetizers that pair ridiculously well with what she is ordering for them. Trust her, bro.)
Maybe I'll tell you someday, right now, the least I think, the best it is. I can tell you that, actually? I'm the worst Cuckoo to ask advice from about these things. I've never dated on my own, and Cable was... Well, we just wanted to fuck with himand fuck him. It wasn't that deep. And, uh, boring, he's not a great telepath.
(Perhaps Clive hasn't put those things together yet. All the ramifications of her power — sex is perceived in the brain, and she has access to all of it. Sensations, perceptions, pleasure, pain, she can mix it, remix it, change it, intensify it, numb it, anything she can think of, really. Imagination is the limit. Imagine how she perceives sex, it's a whole thing.)
Fine, fine. I mean, I might? I know where everyone is, I just don't look to know which people are where. It's kinda like seeing a rando in the street for me. Where is it? Was he also not held as a kid?
(Just making sure. And, uh, yeah. Okay.)
.... Yeah, so, NYX here? The building I do community stuff with? It's where I do community stuff at home, too. I had a villain-lite era, fucked everyone up, and then we kind of came together to undo the damage. NYX is the place and the team. It's, uh, me, Hellion, Ms. Marvel, Laura, the one we had here except grown and from my world, Synch, Prodigy, Kidden, and Anole.
[He’s hitting a point where he does not disagree, not even a little bit.
And of course he’ll trust Sophie’s taste. If she wanted to poison him, she probably could have figured out a better way by now. Also, he didn’t exactly have a refined palate. He’d spent more time eating what he could to survive than eating nice things so.]
Do you only have sex with other telepaths?
[The thought does, indeed, occur to him almost as the words leave his mouth. He wonders how boring it must be for someone who can do so much with their mind be met with someone who could do so little.
Thankfully, Clive hadn’t been actively taking a sip when Sophie made the joke at Barnabas’ expense. He smiles behind his glass.]
I have no idea, but I wouldn’t be surprised. He lives in Stonhyrr. The big, creepy castle out to the west. Tall walls, foreboding, now has a giant crystal that causes constant thunderstorms in what is essentially its back yard. It’s like something out of a gothic novel.
[He may have fallen down a rabbit hole on the gothic novel front. They were surprisingly engrossing.]
So it’s from your home then. What’s it like, having it here?
[Personally, he wasn’t sure he could have something so important to him in Etraya without the people that gave the place its life.]
(Not that she minds? If he noticed, talking about sex is definitely the easiest thing there is for her. Easiest than literally any other sentiments.)
I've only ever have, yes. Can't even imagine what non-psychic sex must be like, and God forbid. Do you realize I know exactly what being with me is like? Great stuff. Wonderful for my ego.
(Oh, yikes.)
... Yeah, definitely the case. Cripes, that's edgy. Compensating?
(Just making sure, her shoulder shrugging as she sips on the wine.)
I asked for it. I suck as a person. That place makes me suck less, or try to. Keeps me honest.
Or too much work on my part, and it's not like everyone is super okay with telepathy to start with. I'm learning that apparently, some shit's creepy and scary.
(Not to her, obviously. To her it's just another sense, another thing she has, but apparently just dropping information into people's brains and taking over their senses is not accepted by everyone. Who would have thunk? Not her.)
And what's wrong with him again? Like, specifically, alphabetically or chronologically.
(Just for entertainment. She doesn't really care about him, but alas.)
You just met me, and for you guys? I come reputation and history free. You just don't have enough data, you know?
I can understand why people might not be comfortable with it. So far, you’re the only person who has the ability to go into my mind that hasn’t made me uncomfortable or taken advantage of it. I’ve met three now.
[The information drop thing is very convenient. The senses thing was also convenient. Weird, but helpful.]
I’m sure I don’t even know the half of it. The primary one that sticks out to me is the whole ‘I want to take away every human’s free will because they can’t be trusted to not destroy everything’ mentality.
[Clive tries not to think about the part of him that had come to agree with Barnabas over the course of their time on Earth. That was the Anomaly. It had to be.]
Okay, I’ll amend my statement. You haven’t been a sucky person to me.
[Clive props his chin in his hand.]
You do realize that working to make up for what you have done in the past is putting yourself on the fast track to being disqualified from the ‘I suck as a person’ category, right?
What an honor. Cripes, Nate aside, who's messed with your synapses?
(She wouldn't even say she has. She's kindly kissed them, gently, like a princess, but the way he put it? Not good. Ugh, she's gonna have to teach him psychic defense, which might fuck her over if she ever needs to forcefully take over, but alas. Better he learn and protect himself and she finds ways around it than to let someone overpowered be taken advantage of.)
... And that's who you're attracted to. Just circling back on that.
(Clive???)
Okay, first of all, yes, that's where I want to get to someday, but that doesn't...
(She's got to pinch the bridge of her nose here. Ew, gross, is she gonna manage to talk? To be seen, right now she's just biting.)
Look. I'm... Okay. So, the Stepford Cuckoos. We just come with a lot of... Behaviors. Sometimes, I'm able to see them, and sometimes I'm able to recalibrate us to a better viewpoint, if I'm fucking alive to do it. Sometimes, I'm an active participant, and I only recognize it too late. Sometimes, I don't see it at all, and someone has to explain it to me — which feels really shitty, by the way. So, you know. It's not really to make up for it, it's to do something about it before I'm past a point I can't anymore. Any of this doesn't undo any shit we have done, with me or without me, by the way.
God. A couple of times now, before I even got here. It makes Nate look like a toddler playing with a wooden sword for the first time.
[He didn’t like calling Ultima ‘god’, but it just made things simpler sometimes, and he needed simpler right now. He was so tired.
Clive shrugs a shoulder.]
Physically, yes. I also feel sorry for him. I know that how separate he is from everything and how isolated he is are things that he chose to do. It makes me wonder if part of the reason why he is so set in the idea that humanity is irredeemable is because he can’t see the good in people anymore, so I am going to try and help him see that there is still life that is worth living as we are.
[Clive takes a sip of his drink.]
There are people that I care about who care about him. I would see them happy. And if I can convince him to stay his hand, then I can save my people while I’m at it. [He pauses, thoughtful for a moment.] Also, I like seeing what I can do to make him break his facade.
[The sex and the feelings aren’t connected on this one, okay????]
You’re right. Nothing we do now can change what we have done in the past. The only thing we can do is work towards making a better future, which, it sounds like you are trying to do, and that is commendable, Sophie. It isn’t easy to make that kind of choice and continue to make it every day, but you do. So, I still don’t think you suck.
Well, to be fair, he doesn't have the same training we got from being in a mutant school and everything, but that sucks.
(Mind-crawling is such a delicate thing. Difficult, complex, like puzzles that fit wrong and right at the same time. Sounds like God basically just broke the toy a few times, which means she might want to investigate at a later date.)
Oh. Nah, that's just stupid. I mean, I also dislike humanity and all, I'm not a fan, but also, gotta remember that's not your responsibility, right? You can only help so much.
(Just hope he gets that.)
That doesn't mean I'm always going to do it right, either. I'm a work-in-progress is what I'm trying to tell you. I don't know how to deal with half the bullshit I'm given.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2025-08-22 11:03 pm (UTC)Technically, I was made in London. Also, technically, I'm American. But I'm also a Krakoan national. It was our nation away from all the yuckies of human society. Didn't last, because nothing we ever make for ourselves does, but alas.
(To be fair, telepathy is something horribly fun, and also, maddening. Annoying. Makes all of them fucked in the head, because how could they be normal with all that just happens to them? At least here in Etraya, whereas she expected to do a lot more 'I feel all you feel and I'm tired of your bullshit thus I'm feeling bitchy' explanation, most people seem to just let her be.)
Yup. I think the best way to explain it is like you're in a crowded room. You see and hear a lot, but it's all too chaotic and it just blends in the background. You pay attention, you can zoom in, see what is really happening with each person around. That goes for dreams, I can see that they're happening like I could glimpse at a person sleeping in a party, but I sure as hell am not going to go check on their drool or whatever.
(She hopes that helps explaining how it works. Sometimes, she knows too much, some others, she knows nearly nothing. Depends on how nosy she's feeling that day.
The offer is nice, though. She enjoys Clive's company; otherwise, she would not have helped as much as she has, or even reached out herself. The fact she's here says enough, hopefully.
What is interesting is that he is raising some really pressing questions at a very sensitive time. Sophie never emote-talks. Maybe to him, limited time only? She might.)
It's not... A horrible idea, no. I'll keep that in mind.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-23 12:43 am (UTC)So you are both from the world where all the humans live and from Krakoa. I use the word ‘from’ loosely. More like a ‘this is where your home was’ rather than a ‘you were made there’. [He hesitates for a second on the word ‘made’. But he supposes she was, being a clone.]
Have you always had your powers or did they manifest one day? [Clive shakes his head a little.] You’re stronger than me. I would have lost it by now, not being able to have any quiet.
[Clive can’t help the snort of a laugh at Sophie’s analogy. He couldn’t really think of someone who made him laugh quite as much as she did. Yet another thing he enjoyed about being around Sophie.]
Of course. You’ve helped me through a lot. [Clive blushes the tiniest bit.] And I like spending time with you.
[Why was it so embarrassing to be open with people about this stuff lately? Normally he wouldn’t have any problems with it. Time to change the subject.]
Another telepathy question: If I call out to you with my mind, will you hear me through the noise?
no subject
Date: 2025-08-23 01:03 am (UTC)(Too many situations and variables from a world he doesn't know. There is a lot she is saying hidden in fine print between the lines, and it is a little bit of a test to see how much Clive connects dots. For, well, enrichment, and it's another way to get to know him. There's a lot to be said about someone with what they choose to see and what they pick up from their environment, biases, and thought processes, and all.
He seems to get the gist. No more Krakoa. Mutanthood sucks. So forth, so forth.)
Mutants just get their X-Gene manifesting one day. Us? We were made, aged to teen years, and dropped into that school, so the Cuckoos are a different case. I've never been different, so it's really all I know, so I guess if you wanna switch perspectives? Etraya drives me fucking insane. Too quiet. How do you not flip out when you can hear a pin drop every time? See, the grass is always greener.
(Big reason why she was happy upon getting to Earth? Millions of voices, like God intended for her. Here? Back to the same lame 100-ish. See why she gets grumpy sometimes for no reason?
But he laughs, and she does a little celebratory dance with a small smile on her lips, because yes, she's hilarious, thank you for appreciating it. Also, very humble.)
D'aaaw, Clive, I like hanging with you too. Although, technically, this is kinda the first time, huh?
(Oh. Another winner question.)
... Yes and no. I mean, here, probably? It's eerily quiet, so it's harder for me to not hear something. That said, truly dependent on how much I am, you know, tuned in.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-23 02:15 pm (UTC)[Clive shrugs.]
For me, home is where my people are. It’s less of a specific place. I’m proud of where I was born, but that place doesn’t exist for me anymore either. It’s people still do, in pockets, but my country is gone. Maybe not in the same way as your Krakoa. I’m not sure.
[There are parallels there from his world, too. No safe space for Bearers outside of the Hideaway, which was already destroyed once, having magic sucks. So on, so forth.
He nods.]
That makes sense. I imagine it is similar for people who know how to use magic where I am from. Some have the skill from birth and know nothing different. Some don’t manifest until later in life. If you’ve never known anything different, suddenly having to learn how to cope with it… It’s difficult.
[Clive can’t help but smile at the little dance. He feels a warmth in his chest he hadn’t expected to feel in some time.]
In person, yeah. I didn’t really think of it that way. Talking to you the way we have been feels different, like I have you with me. In a sense, I do.
[He nods.]
So if I need you and can’t get ahold of you, shout really loud. Gotcha.
[He’s teasing. Mostly.]
no subject
Date: 2025-08-23 02:26 pm (UTC)(Ever the optimistic, huh? Bleeding heart and all. This couldn't be her, not thinking about it in 'my people makes it living'. She really, really damn wants it back, but last time she tried that, she backed out in the middle because it was rather nefarious. Turns out, some people make her change her views, feel like home.)
I can... Ugh, literally cannot relate. The asshole who made us didn't even bother with a backstory or anything, so I can't even imagine how it feels to be quote, unquote normal. Were you just living boring life and then bam, vessel of God news?
(Now it's turning, see? Show his, she shows hers. That's how it works, so she can modulate how much she can share, and how she stands. She's normal. Quote, unquote.)
Kinda do, yeah. Also, careful with the whole yelling. I'm not the only telepath, you know, we can all hear you.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-24 06:08 pm (UTC)[Clive, ever the secret keeper. If Sophie tells him not to say something, he won’t say a damn thing about it to anyone, not even Joshua. Some things were meant to be kept private, even from those who were most trusted.]
Have you ever thought of giving yourself your own backstory?
[Clive shrugs a shoulder.]
Yes and no. I was the son of an Archduke and what we called the First Shield. It was a high military position. For my world, as someone of my skill and standing, it was normal enough. And then, yeah. Bam. One day, I woke up with my powers. I learned eventually that I was supposed to be the vessel of God. Took a bit, though. There’s a lot more to it, but that’s not exactly polite dinner conversation.
[The give and take is what Clive prefers and is a lot more inclined to engage and share when the favor is returned.
The mention of other telepaths makes him think of Nate and he frowns.]
Yeah, that’s true. I’d like to avoid unwanted visitors.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-24 06:19 pm (UTC)(She told Julian when she first got here. About Krakoa falling, about him being with the Cuckoos in their horrible plan of getting it back. How he was to eliminate a human or two or three, and he hid them instead. His ex.
Well. She showed him, actually. Full braindump. Turns out, he had never known. It was heartbreaking.)
If you mean creating a whole 'I was born in Chicago, to X and Y, and when I was four...' kind of backstory, it'd be meaningless, because I have never really been four. I don't know what that's like. What I can do is appreciate what I have from my weird origins, and make my own meaning of what things mean.
(Yeah, clone. Genocide. Yeah, whatever. She is here now, so she might as well create a life for herself, be thankful for what she has, don't sweat what she never did. It doesn't bother her, but it is does hinder her empathy and understanding of others, unfortunately.)
Wait, no, go back. I didn't quite catch the connection. You knew you were going to get powers, just not like that? Is that it?
(She'll drop it if he doesn't want to talk about it, but she's confused.)
Yeah. Well. At least I can tell you Jean is probably too disgustingly perfect to eavesdrop, Nate probably wouldn't butt in, Quire might jump in but you can trust that one, and then me, so.
Enjoy the mini lore drop
Date: 2025-08-26 12:06 am (UTC)[That sounded like it might be fun in the short term. A little game to play when out at places where you would never see the person you were talking to again. The idea of doing something like that now seemed a bit juvenile, but it tickled a little part of his brain anyway.]
Sort of. Joshua, my brother, gave me what is called the Phoenix’s Blessing. That gave me access to some of Phoenix’s magic. That is a gift given to anyone who becomes the First Shield, as they are the primary protector of the person whom the Phoenix chooses to awaken within.
[He thought about asking to just show Sophie his memories of the night he Primed for the first time, but with how gruesome and emotionally raw it ended up being, he thought better of it.]
One night, when we were getting ready to go to war with a neighboring country, we were invaded. That’s the night I Primed for the first time. What I am isn’t supposed to exist, not as we knew it then. Usually, there is only one Eikon per element. Joshua already had the Phoenix, who is the Warden of Fire. So, when my Eikon woke up and was also fire-based? It was unprecedented.
[He pauses for a moment, thinking. He sighs. Might as well.]
I can also absorb the powers of the other Eikons. Right now, I have Garuda, Ramuh, Titan, and Bahamut. That’s wind, lightning, earth, and light in addition to fire. Ramuh and Bahamut are here and don’t seem to have been impacted by what happened at home. Probably due to some Etraya fussing.
[Clive distinctly does not like the idea of Nate being anywhere near his mind space any time soon. Influenced by the Anomaly or not, knowing that someone of that strength could mess around and shift things without Clive even noticing? No thank you.]
Noted.
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Date: 2025-08-27 07:48 pm (UTC)(It is the truth, though. But whatever, she doesn't care about her side of this when he starts talking. Mind the face of 'oh, God' she makes when the word 'phoenix' is brought up, because, oh, God.
She can follow, at least.)
I cannot believe you guys also have the fire pigeon. So basically, you're like, master of all elements? Is that's what's up? And what exactly is this Etraya fussing you mean? Wait, how does God come into all this? Cripes, that's a ton.
(Okay, she can hear that discomfort, hold up, she can help.)
Quire is also an Omega-level telepath, and he's included in the alliance package. You're fine.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-28 01:06 am (UTC)Yeah, that’ll do it. You don’t really need anything else when that is what you have.
[Graceful. Good job, Clive. He takes this opportunity to take a long sip of water. At least Sophie seemed more forgiving of his less than elegant social interactions.
He almost spits his water.]
Fire pigeon? [He tries to imagine the faces of literally anyone from Rosaria hearing that and, admittedly, it is kind of funny. ]
You could say that, yeah. Once I absorb the power I am able to use aspects of it. I’m not able to fully transform into anything other than Ifrit, but I can take on physical characteristics of the other Eikons.
[Time for more water. At least this time it is because he is going to be talking a lot.]
Etraya has a distinct habit of completely ignoring how things work in our home world. Cid, who has Ramuh, and Dion, who has Bahamut, should not be able to Prime in a way that isn’t incredibly dangerous for them, and Dion was able to do it easily the other day. I don’t know if Cid has Primed or if he would have the same experience.
[He sighs.]
God, his name is Ultima where I am from, is an all-powerful being that is trying to find a physical body to inhabit that can withstand it. Magic kills the users where I am from. It turns them to stone. So if a creature like Ultima were to inhabit just anyone, it would likely kill them as their body wouldn’t be able to handle the sheer amount of aether, that’s magic, that would come with housing such a thing. That whole turning to stone thing? My body doesn’t do that. No matter how much aether I use or how much I absorb, my body does not change.
[Clive gestures at himself.]
So that’s where I come in. According to Barnabas, all of the Eikons on our planet are currently there for me to absorb so I can make my body ready for Ultima to inhabit. Once my body is fully prepared, which I think means once I have absorbed all of the other Eikons, then my body will be ready to house Ultima. Thus, vessel of god.
[Time for more water.]
The difficult part of all of this is I need to stop Ultima and, in order to be strong enough to do that, I need to absorb all of the Eikons. So to kill god, I need to make myself ready for god. It’s–
[Clive sighs.]
It’s a mess.
[Clive watches Sophie cautiously. Not only did he just dump a lot on her, he could tell she was going to try to be reassuring about the whole ‘people can hijack your brain’ thing. Which he appreciated.]
Alliance package, huh?
[So that means one Omega-level telepath maybe won’t try and hijack his brain? That’s… better. 1 out of 3 isn’t bad. Not great, but not bad.]
no subject
Date: 2025-08-31 12:47 pm (UTC)(Esme hates it, but she's the only one, too bad for her. It's not even the whole backstory thing that bothers the Cuckoo, it's more — she wants to be all powerful, all her, like a dick. Sophie herself just takes it a day at a time.
Also, she too laughs at his reaction. Yes, Fire Pigeon, sir.)
Barbanas is the dude I told you not to fuck and you went ahead anyway, right? How much do you trust his word? He might be totally fucking with you. It's known to happen.
(But hey, good enough explanation! She feels up to date, and just gives him a thumbs up as an answer.)
Got it. All good here.
And, yeah. We're all a package deal. You get me, him, a little dude who blasts force out of his eyes, and a demonic lady.
no subject
Date: 2025-09-01 12:00 am (UTC)Well, I’m glad you’re alright. [He shrugs a shoulder.] That’s what matters to me, anyway.
[Frankly, he did care about what others thought about what Sophie’s original purpose had been. If anyone tried to convince him off her, chances of success were extremely low. Even as a stranger, she had been there for him in a way he hadn’t realized he needed and that trend had continued.]
Barnabas is, indeed, the guy you told me not to fuck and then I did anyway.
[When he speaks again, the edge of levity in his voice is put on the backburner.]
He’s not lying. If Barnabas has anything, it’s conviction. He wouldn’t lie about his god. The way he talks about him, about how he told me all of this? [Clive shakes his head.] I don’t need to be a mind reader to know it is the truth.
[That, the Akashic people running around everywhere, and his own experiences all confirmed what the man had said.]
If you have any other questions or if anything pops up, let me know. I’ll do my best to explain it. I’m not the smartest one out of all of us here, but I am the one who has to live this experience so.
[Clive finishes his glass of water.]
Demonic lady?
no subject
Date: 2025-09-01 05:25 pm (UTC)(Just in case, because she has no plans to stop being scandalous anytime soon.
If anything, Sophie would just like Clive to have an educated opinion about her. She's so alone in here. Blank slate. No reputation outside the mansion walls, and the one identity she has falls flat when she's not in there — even if she is actively building her own. She'd tell Clive all her shit, if only he could decide to be around her even so.
And with the conviction in Clive's voice, it makes her laugh again.)
Your taste in men needs to be studied.
(Because seriously!! Although, pot, kettle.)
You'd be surprised. If you want, I can do a little...
(Her fingers make a person, index and middle simulating a run — meaning, a little walk around the dude's head. Just, you know, in case.)
Yeah, no, that's fine. I'll ask as we go. I'm sure the others will have their own... And, yeah, demonic lady, lived in Limbo. She explains it better, but yeah, she got here when we were on Earth.
no subject
Date: 2025-09-02 01:40 am (UTC)[That teasing lilt is back. Clive has no intention of going home any time soon. For the first time since… well, for the first time in a bit, he is actually enjoying himself and he isn’t going to let that go. Not yet. He can be selfish for a bit longer.
He shrugs a shoulder.]
Oh, most likely. You should hear about the other ones I’ve been drawn to. I’d like to think my taste in women is a bit more stable, but I guess time will tell.
[Clive chuffs another little laugh.]
I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think you want to go in that guy’s head. I can’t imagine it is the safest place to be.
[He also has a pretty strong feeling that, if Barnabas ever found out, he would go after Sophie with a vengeance and Clive wasn’t willing to put her in danger to confirm something he was already pretty confident in.]
Well, alright then. We are going to be quite the crew, huh?
no subject
Date: 2025-09-02 01:02 pm (UTC)(Good. There just has been too much shit, so if he has consequences over something that is ultimately harmless, and maybe good? She's encouraging it.
At the rest of the conversation, though, she laughs, shaking her head as her hand covers her smile for a second. Okay, yeah, she doesn't need to even imagine, just what he has told her so far is enough for her to know it's a shit show.)
What was it, were you just not held enough as a kid or — I'm joking, of course. I'm not much better. My taste as a Cuckoo? Impeccable and it annoys our mum, so great. My taste as Sophie? Dubious.
(But there's a shrug from her too.)
Everyone thinks that. Ooooh, my head is a mess, oh nooo, you'll be so traumatized. Except, you know, again, millions of brains we hear on a daily, but if you don't want to, that's fine too.
(If he doesn't wanna know, then that's his problem, affectionately and respectfully speaking.)
Oh, yeah. I'm wondering it this place is going to pull any other NYX, because that'd be interesting, too.
no subject
Date: 2025-09-04 12:13 am (UTC)[Clive nods at the waiter as they refill his glass, glad to have something else to focus on for just a second. Not held enough as a child. Ha. Yeah. He wouldn’t be surprised if that actually had something to do with his strange attraction towards the emotionally unavailable.]
Well, then we can have shit taste in men together and probably regularly criticize each other over it.
[He raises his refilled glass as if in a toast.]
I have no idea what goes on up in that brain of his. I’m more worried about what he might do if he finds out that someone tried to invade his privacy on such an intimate level. Have you seen where the guy lives?
[Not a facetious question.]
NYX?
nsfwish
Date: 2025-09-04 01:09 pm (UTC)(Respectfully, playfully, honestly, affectionately, gently, etc.
She's gotta order a wine for this, as well as some appetizers that pair ridiculously well with what she is ordering for them. Trust her, bro.)
Maybe I'll tell you someday, right now, the least I think, the best it is. I can tell you that, actually? I'm the worst Cuckoo to ask advice from about these things. I've never dated on my own, and Cable was... Well, we just wanted to fuck with him and fuck him. It wasn't that deep. And, uh, boring, he's not a great telepath.
(Perhaps Clive hasn't put those things together yet. All the ramifications of her power — sex is perceived in the brain, and she has access to all of it. Sensations, perceptions, pleasure, pain, she can mix it, remix it, change it, intensify it, numb it, anything she can think of, really. Imagination is the limit. Imagine how she perceives sex, it's a whole thing.)
Fine, fine. I mean, I might? I know where everyone is, I just don't look to know which people are where. It's kinda like seeing a rando in the street for me. Where is it? Was he also not held as a kid?
(Just making sure. And, uh, yeah. Okay.)
.... Yeah, so, NYX here? The building I do community stuff with? It's where I do community stuff at home, too. I had a villain-lite era, fucked everyone up, and then we kind of came together to undo the damage. NYX is the place and the team. It's, uh, me, Hellion, Ms. Marvel, Laura, the one we had here except grown and from my world, Synch, Prodigy, Kidden, and Anole.
Yay!! I get to play the rare occasion where Clive accidentally makes an innuendo and doesn't realize
Date: 2025-09-06 02:12 am (UTC)[He’s hitting a point where he does not disagree, not even a little bit.
And of course he’ll trust Sophie’s taste. If she wanted to poison him, she probably could have figured out a better way by now. Also, he didn’t exactly have a refined palate. He’d spent more time eating what he could to survive than eating nice things so.]
Do you only have sex with other telepaths?
[The thought does, indeed, occur to him almost as the words leave his mouth. He wonders how boring it must be for someone who can do so much with their mind be met with someone who could do so little.
Thankfully, Clive hadn’t been actively taking a sip when Sophie made the joke at Barnabas’ expense. He smiles behind his glass.]
I have no idea, but I wouldn’t be surprised. He lives in Stonhyrr. The big, creepy castle out to the west. Tall walls, foreboding, now has a giant crystal that causes constant thunderstorms in what is essentially its back yard. It’s like something out of a gothic novel.
[He may have fallen down a rabbit hole on the gothic novel front. They were surprisingly engrossing.]
So it’s from your home then. What’s it like, having it here?
[Personally, he wasn’t sure he could have something so important to him in Etraya without the people that gave the place its life.]
bless him
Date: 2025-09-06 02:30 am (UTC)(Not that she minds? If he noticed, talking about sex is definitely the easiest thing there is for her. Easiest than literally any other sentiments.)
I've only ever have, yes. Can't even imagine what non-psychic sex must be like, and God forbid. Do you realize I know exactly what being with me is like? Great stuff. Wonderful for my ego.
(Oh, yikes.)
... Yeah, definitely the case. Cripes, that's edgy. Compensating?
(Just making sure, her shoulder shrugging as she sips on the wine.)
I asked for it. I suck as a person. That place makes me suck less, or try to. Keeps me honest.
no subject
Date: 2025-09-07 03:37 am (UTC)Noted.
[Clive huffs a laugh.]
I imagine being with someone who isn't a telepath would be pretty boring. Kind of like a one-sided conversation.
[Yikes indeed.]
Well, it certainly matches its primary occupant.
[Clive frowns at Sophie.]
You do not suck as a person.
no subject
Date: 2025-09-07 08:11 pm (UTC)(Not to her, obviously. To her it's just another sense, another thing she has, but apparently just dropping information into people's brains and taking over their senses is not accepted by everyone. Who would have thunk? Not her.)
And what's wrong with him again? Like, specifically, alphabetically or chronologically.
(Just for entertainment. She doesn't really care about him, but alas.)
You just met me, and for you guys? I come reputation and history free. You just don't have enough data, you know?
no subject
Date: 2025-09-07 08:50 pm (UTC)[The information drop thing is very convenient. The senses thing was also convenient. Weird, but helpful.]
I’m sure I don’t even know the half of it. The primary one that sticks out to me is the whole ‘I want to take away every human’s free will because they can’t be trusted to not destroy everything’ mentality.
[Clive tries not to think about the part of him that had come to agree with Barnabas over the course of their time on Earth. That was the Anomaly. It had to be.]
Okay, I’ll amend my statement. You haven’t been a sucky person to me.
[Clive props his chin in his hand.]
You do realize that working to make up for what you have done in the past is putting yourself on the fast track to being disqualified from the ‘I suck as a person’ category, right?
no subject
Date: 2025-09-07 09:06 pm (UTC)(She wouldn't even say she has. She's kindly kissed them, gently, like a princess, but the way he put it? Not good. Ugh, she's gonna have to teach him psychic defense, which might fuck her over if she ever needs to forcefully take over, but alas. Better he learn and protect himself and she finds ways around it than to let someone overpowered be taken advantage of.)
... And that's who you're attracted to. Just circling back on that.
(Clive???)
Okay, first of all, yes, that's where I want to get to someday, but that doesn't...
(She's got to pinch the bridge of her nose here. Ew, gross, is she gonna manage to talk? To be seen, right now she's just biting.)
Look. I'm... Okay. So, the Stepford Cuckoos. We just come with a lot of... Behaviors. Sometimes, I'm able to see them, and sometimes I'm able to recalibrate us to a better viewpoint, if I'm fucking alive to do it. Sometimes, I'm an active participant, and I only recognize it too late. Sometimes, I don't see it at all, and someone has to explain it to me — which feels really shitty, by the way. So, you know. It's not really to make up for it, it's to do something about it before I'm past a point I can't anymore. Any of this doesn't undo any shit we have done, with me or without me, by the way.
no subject
Date: 2025-09-07 10:19 pm (UTC)[He didn’t like calling Ultima ‘god’, but it just made things simpler sometimes, and he needed simpler right now. He was so tired.
Clive shrugs a shoulder.]
Physically, yes. I also feel sorry for him. I know that how separate he is from everything and how isolated he is are things that he chose to do. It makes me wonder if part of the reason why he is so set in the idea that humanity is irredeemable is because he can’t see the good in people anymore, so I am going to try and help him see that there is still life that is worth living as we are.
[Clive takes a sip of his drink.]
There are people that I care about who care about him. I would see them happy. And if I can convince him to stay his hand, then I can save my people while I’m at it. [He pauses, thoughtful for a moment.] Also, I like seeing what I can do to make him break his facade.
[The sex and the feelings aren’t connected on this one, okay????]
You’re right. Nothing we do now can change what we have done in the past. The only thing we can do is work towards making a better future, which, it sounds like you are trying to do, and that is commendable, Sophie. It isn’t easy to make that kind of choice and continue to make it every day, but you do. So, I still don’t think you suck.
no subject
Date: 2025-09-08 10:34 pm (UTC)(Mind-crawling is such a delicate thing. Difficult, complex, like puzzles that fit wrong and right at the same time. Sounds like God basically just broke the toy a few times, which means she might want to investigate at a later date.)
Oh. Nah, that's just stupid. I mean, I also dislike humanity and all, I'm not a fan, but also, gotta remember that's not your responsibility, right? You can only help so much.
(Just hope he gets that.)
That doesn't mean I'm always going to do it right, either. I'm a work-in-progress is what I'm trying to tell you. I don't know how to deal with half the bullshit I'm given.
(no subject)
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