( OPEN ) system zero

[hating]

» WHO? Morgana + anyone who wants to get hit in the face with a communicator
» WHEN? 5/18, you know, around then
» WHERE? deck 6 corridors, observation deck
» WHAT? Morgana wakes up, thinks her communicator is possessed and then yells at the moons (Old Witch Yells At Space)
» WARNINGS? None, but I'll edit accordingly and warn in subject lines if anything comes up!


a; outside level 6 quarters

[ all things considered, this is not where she expected her soul to end up.

the cold, grimy floor of the deck corridor is not so unfamiliar to her that morgana is perplexed. no, it feels like somewhere she was before, and this dim lighting certainly doesn't help. there are key factors missing, and she uses those to ground herself. Don't forget about those things. It is not the same, she tells herself.

far less familiar to the girl is the device that buzzes. it comes alive, and it's looping message is curious. morgana thinks it's just someone speaking directly to her, and upon discovering it is not a person...

...the source of the noise, whatever this curious device is, must go. metal doesn't speak. morgana wastes no time in disposing of it.

by throwing it into the corridor.

you know, with her skeleton hand. there's a redhead with long braids lobbing her communicator down the corridor with such a disdain for the thing, you might think she was doing it for the vine.

hope it doesn't hit you in the face? ]

b; observation deck

[ the other point of offense was that hideous jumpsuit. morgana doesn't have spare clothing, though, so she raids the room she claims as her's, and can be spotted in the observation deck. the sheets off her bed have been pulled free of the mattress and wrapped around her like a cloak, covering most of her body. this is much more appropriate, she thinks - now, if she had a belt and some way to sew sleeves into it...

...but that's not why she's glowering out into space. her expression is hard, steely; she doesn't look particularly approachable. morgana is standing there, arms at her sides, one flesh hand exposed and one skeleton hand peeking out beneath the sheet settled over her shoulders. ]

...And I'm to believe there were two moons all this time? What sort of madman dreams up a world with two moons? I have to say, it's unique, at least.

[ she's calling it stupid. going quiet, the girl stands as still as a statue. she seems unaware anyone is at all present in the room with her...? ]

What are your ears for if not to listen? Decoration? I must say, my dear, I was hoping you might have an opinion on the doubling of that particular celestial body.

Comments

a

[wingstosee]

[ venus has seen a lot of things in the two weeks - three? she's sort of losing track already - that she's been in here. other devils. humans. superheroes and aliens and people from space who are logically aliens but look sort of like... humans??

what she hasn't seen is someone straight-up yeeting their smartwatch straight down the hall and at her. venus makes a noise remarkably like a young devil-woman getting a piece of technology thrown at her - sort of a: ]

Argwhua?!

[ yes. it sounds exactly like that. what comes after is a bit weirder, though, since it sounds like someone smacking a smartwatch out of the way with a large, feathered wing. OH WAIT IT'S EXACTLY THAT.

venus just sort of stares at the communicator on the ground. where did this come from? why did this happen?? what is happening here. ]

[hating]

[ the communicator smacks to the ground. it speaks, on loop, and morgana does not speak for a long time. she only stares, her breathing shallow and slow, as she takes in this person's appearance. it is... baffling, yes. but it looks so familiar, in a multitude of ways, and she would vocalize them if she could speak. this is a sight for sore eyes. ]

...

[ the communicator loops it's message, as if defiantly trying to fill the silence. she looks like a scared little girl for a moment - or perhaps just a girl displaced from this time. ]

...An angel... is it.

[ morgana moves her arm - the skeleton arm - behind her back. ]

[wingstosee]

[ morgana's not the first person on the station to react like this. actually, she's probably in the majority? so venus doesn't flinch away from the gaze, as self-conscious as it makes her. she just focuses on what's in front of her - a communicator in front of her, and a woman with a skeleton arm.

sorry, morgana. kind of hard to hide things around someone who has native, 360° vision. ]

Oh my god. I'm sorry! I don't think it's broken, but you should really-

[ she's on her knees on the ground, trying to pick up the smartwatch and check for damage, when morgana's words finally sink in. an angel.

venus doesn't mean to laugh. she especially doesn't mean for it to be as utterly undignified as it comes out- a full laugh stuck in her throat, her free hand flying up to her mouth as her eyes widen and her shoulders shake. oh my god. why does this keep happening?? she waits until the laugh's a bit more undercontrol, and only then does she say- ]

Um. Not exactly? Sort of the opposite, really.

[hating]

[ the communication device is fine. a little damaged on the outside, perhaps - there's very little a person can do to prevent things like that when it comes to technology, unless you're nintendo. there's something like resentment in morgana's golden eyes, or maybe it's betrayal. her mouth is closed tight, lips pursed together to keep herself from speaking too much. even so, she looks upon this person and sees only an angel in the moment; how many times had she prayed back then? (why now? why, why, why? why now? why why why why why)

the angel laughs. cruelly, morgana thinks. laughs at her assumption, laughs at how she mistakes her for an angel. this is no angel, she declares: this being is a demon. one of satan's kind.

morgana's expression tightens, then, the expression less so clearly keeping her from asking too many questions. no, this is the morgana who refuses to show herself. ]

I should have known. Your kind takes the appearance of things more preferable to lure in hapless victims. And to touch that thing so freely, without even a hint of revulsion at it's unnatural existence... This places house devils, is it? It's too cold to be Hell, so is this Limbo?

[wingstosee]

[ venus assumes the best in people, almost habitually. she's made a habit of it, part kindness and part defiance; if you grow up in a world telling you to fight, to be louder and angrier and meaner than you ever want to be, then the best "fuck you" you can give is to be nice, right? she doesn't even assume people will lie, when she can.

but she's not an idiot. she's seen that face before - not often on a woman this young, but she's seen it. she grew up in the midwest, you know? when you tell someone you're a devil, and you see that face... well. she knows what she's in for before morgana speaks.

doesn't mean it hurts any less, though. ]

This can't be hell. [ her voice is patient, the smile on her face unflinching. ] I mean, think about it. If God's trying to punish us, he'd never let us go somewhere like that. And besides, you seem like the kind of person God loves most. Right?

[ it's not an insult, but that doesn't stop her from feeling some degree of subversive satisfaction. she takes a look down at the communicator in her hand, flipping it over to look at the underside. yep. it's... a smartwatch, alright. definitely not anything out of the ordinary here. venus politely clears her throat and, after only a moment's hesitation, tries to help morgana out. ]

It's, um... Hm. Maybe technology probably seems pretty wild to you right now? But it's not anything bad. I swear. It's sort of like a radio. [ a beat. ] Do... you have radios where you're from? Or phones?

[hating]

[ morgana has more interest in prodding the beast than idle conversation, she'll admit. she can adjust to the technology, as shocking as it is. space travel was a far off dream, and yet, here they are... well, this isn't new. the only difference is now she's forced to truly interact with the world. hah. ]

Yes, to both. The concept isn't lost on me.

[ a beat. ]

You seem no more unusual than the other people I have met during my time, and yet... you have become this wretched creature. Tell me, my dear, what kind of hatred sits in the base of your heart? How do you hide it? I'm oh so curious.

[ really, such a sweet voice shouldn't be asking these things, saying these things. she knows that. the skeleton hand rises to her chin, and morgana seems to contemplate venus' appearance for a moment, as if appraising it. ]

[wingstosee]

[ thank goodness. she doesn't have to explain that much - although honestly, she'd rather not explain anything at this point. she'd rather duck out of this conversation altogether and hide in her room until she knows judging eyes won't watch her any longer. but that's not an option here, not when she's already made up her mind to be as unflinchingly, rebelliously nice as she can be. so she hears morgana out, and mulls over her question, and crosses her arms before she responds. ]

Mm... I don't know if I want to tell you? Haha. [ her words, polite as they are, don't sound defiant - but her actions speak much louder. ] I mean, whatever it is... it's bad enough to make me a devil, right? The worst girl in the world. Why would someone like you want to know about that?

[ the hand of a skeleton at morgana's cheek is- intimidating, a little. she seems so cruel from what few words she's spoken, so unbearably good and righteous that the bones seem out of place. who is this lady? what is she? it's a lot to think about, and it sort of makes her head hurt - trying to figure people out like this always does.

so she smiles (thin, and more than a little cautious, but not insincerely), and taps her elbow gently, and says: ]

If you really want to know, I'll tell you. I'll tell you all the sins I can remember. But I don't want to do that without making sure you want to hear it. I mean, there's no point to tempting the unwilling, right?

[hating]

[ morgana's silent for a moment, her expression thoroughly unreadable. there's a vacancy in her golden eyes for a moment as she ruminates over venus' words. bad enough to make her a devil, she says, to morgana's face. she looks morgana in the eye and tells her this, and something inside of her radiates pity. pity for this poor girl, who thinks her life is so terrible, pity for herself, who can only think about a time centuries ago when...

without another thought, a grin cracks across morgana's face. it is devilish in it's own right. ]

I assure you, my dear, anything you have to throw at me in terms of a history with terrible things will not phase me. You haven't even the slightest idea of true pain and suffering, but I do pity you. I am curious. I do wonder what it is like to find yourself so thoroughly out of options that you'd become one of God's unfavored, eternally at war with yourself and Him. What is it like, being broken and unloved?

[ a short pause.

morgana wants to hear it from someone else's mouth, for once. it's almost healing. ]

I'll hear your tale out if you're brave enough to share it, my dear... Oh, yes, you have this witch's attention.

[wingstosee]

[ witch...?

venus is caught unawares by her words, enough that she has to run over everything in her head to make sure she caught it after. terrible things- this girl's led a terrible life. god's unfavored, out of options- is that it? is that really what led her this far? ]

It's... not really like that. I haven't led a bad life, you know? I probably had an easier time than everyone else on this station. [ maybe that's an exaggeration. maybe not. the devil isn't omniscient; she doesn't know what struggles all the others here have faced. ] And I'm not brave. I'm not anything like that. I never really was a good boy.

[ at war with yourself. broken and unloved.

isn't that as good a starting point as any? ]

So I guess... my first sin was dissatisfaction. [ she's still smiling as she says it. she doesn't even seem to regret her actions, or even the words pouring out from her lips. ] It'd have to be, right? I mean, God gave me everything. A family that loved me. A roof over my head. A body without any real problems. And I couldn't even do the one thing they wanted me to do.

[ it's... nice, weirdly enough. it's nice to let the words spill freely for once, to not have to worry about whether or not it's okay to say any of this out loud. she knows it's probably just getting filed away to use against her, later. she knows nobody just listens to this kind of thing without expecting something in return.

but for right now, she's taking this woman of god - this witch? - at her word. ]

[hating]

[ 'a body without any real problems' quirks morgana's interest the most, in the end. she thinks of someone very special to her, in a strange way, and realizes that she mistook him for an angel, too. in some way, he ended up being so much more than that for morgana. ]

Curious, isn't it? How God will give you everything you could want, and then settles free will into the very base of your soul.

[ almost like a cruel joke. to want more was a sin; is that not what gluttony was? a love of food, for sure, but food is nourishment, is life - if you want more of life, then... is that not a sin? ]

[wingstosee]

Yeah. He's sort of an asshole like that?

[ pretty casual for blasphemy, venus. she knows that it's a sin, of course - just like everything else she's been talking about - but she doesn't seem to care too much. honestly, she looks more scandalized over the word "asshole" than attaching it to a deity. ]

But... honestly, it wasn't me that mattered. It never was? Haha. [ from someone else, it might sound bitter - but it's stated simply, like she's just telling the witch a fact. ] It only got really bad when I started to think about it. I mean, if I felt like that, how bad was it for other people? There's so much- hurt in the world. So many people hurting, a million times worse than me, and he just watches.

[ she laughs again - small, sad. ]

Doesn't that make you mad? Doesn't that make you absolutely inconsolable?