Video | Intro

[jasidian]

[ There's a matcha green, underbite-y toddler staring at the other end of the device. She's wearing a loose-fitting cotton dress, her dark brown hair messily pulled back, and holds in her hand a half-eaten, baby-sized banana.

She puts the banana down on the goddamned floor and taps the device a bit before trying to put it in her mouth. It is too wide to go in her mouth.

As she babbles something that's comprehensible only to an exasperated parent, you get a glimpse of the area around her. Clearly the private study of some sort of eccentric millionaire obsessed with weird magic forbidden knowledge shit. There's like, specimens in jars and anatomical diagrams framed on the walls and everything. Plus walls and walls full of old-ass bookshelves. Not the kind of place that you'd expect a toddler to be in, but then-

Then she gets scooped up by a massive, bearded orc man who sighs, boops her nose, and places the device on a table before wiping the saliva off the screen with a handkerchief.]

Oof, I didn't anticipate this ending up here, but... um, hello! Sorry if I ought to have said something earlier, I've been away from home for a while and then I was so caught up with some research, and I suppose I didn't-

Harliss, Harley sweetie, no, I promise you that you do not want to eat this-

-erm, I just didn't expect there to be a... Whatever this is. In my study.

... this isn't another demon thing, is it.

[ There's a weak little laugh. ]

Rinley Yatskaya and The New Kid

[theriflespiral]

[this is a series of still pictures, one after the other. Each one is captioned, in turn.]

[The first is a picture— a badly taken selfie of someone who could be anyone’s kid sibling. They wear a crown of woven strawberries over messy hair and covering their mouth to conceal their laughter. In the background, a young woman with black hair, wearing the colors of the dead— a black school uniform with red trim— carries a bag full of groceries, including a baguette. She is not in focus. “Look what I found in the new kid’s bag, lol”]

[Next is a still of a large crowd, clearly quite a bit taller than the camera. “LET A CAT THROUGH WOULDJA 😾”]

[then, a video. The black haired girl from before rockets up to the tin rooftops of the dockside shops, followed shortly by a young man with brown hair in a green vest. Both of them are holding baguettes. The black-haired girl holds hers easily in one hand, in a sword fighter’s stance. Chuubo— at least you can assume it’s Chuubo because the caption is “OMG CHUUBO!? O_O”— holds his like a baseball bat.]

[Chuubo seems to have been immediately debreaded. “The expected result”]

[This is a close up. A slightly troubled, yet peaceful expression on a pale young woman’s face. “Wow this camera is really good”]

[She is now looking at the camera. No, that light in her eyes is not a filter. “Uh-oh”]

[a second short video. Various shouts of “RINLEY” fill the air in various tones of exasperation, as the holder of the phone enacts every chase scene trope they can. A black blur approaches at speed, seemingly undeterred by such interference. “New kid’s chasing me gotta go, like comment subscribe—”]

[video] The Nature of Power (CW: discussion of master-servant sexual relationships)

[silentsummoning]

So I find myself once connected to this forum. I had almost began to think this an dream, but I see now it isn't. I will update you, those who have been selected by BadgerNet, on the years that have passed for me. I, Lord Summoner Auau, and my fellow student, Lord Summoner Jaiu, developed our summoning arts sufficiently to summon a Lord Spirit, therefore advancing to the rank of Lord Summoner.

However, our master and teacher High Lord Summoner Macri graciously allowed us to stay and continue our studies using the resources in his tower. He... I will admit I have came to care about him; he was a good teacher. And I believe Jaiu feels the same way. He encouraged great diligence in our studies, but allowed us some leisure and was not an overly strict teacher. He also contributed several notable advancements to the study of spirits. He was an intelligent, fair, and hard-working man.

And he is dead. There is no cause for suspicion in his death: he was an ancient and ailing man and it was only natural that his body would fail him. And, indeed, nothing suspect was found by those who came to make a careful investigation.

He will be missed, if nothing else by his students.

Now I come to the circumstances I find myself in. Our reagent has seen fit to lay claim to my master's tower, as I and my rival student do not have a superior claim since we are only Lord Summoners, not High Lord Summoners. Said reagent has proclaimed that she will return the tower to us if we become High Lord Summoners and is presently only temporarily holding it for the safety of its contents. I do not believe this proclamation. It is clear as water that she intends to make use of the tower's library and resources.

I can only think to advance toward becoming a High Lord Summoner while being wary of those that would discourage me by various means, and Jaiu is attempting the same. We have an agreement between us that whoever reaches that rank first will allow the other to use the tower. It is our master's legacy and has been our home for several years. We will not allow it to remain in the hands of one who does not truly appreciate it.

[She sighs.]

Both of us have found others who would take us in. Presently, Jaiu resides with a High Lord Summoner who is indifferent to anything but the pursuit of weaving spirit-augmented garments, an interest Jaiu herself shares in some small part. She has spoken to me of how he regularly spends days without speaking a single word to her, and stated she prefers this arrangement.

As for me, I am residing with another Lord High Summoner just as... eccentric. Lord High Summoner Naam is known for her... fancy of my own kind, the Kikin. Let me immediately say that she has offered amply sufficient reassurance that she will make no undue advances upon me, and indeed she has lived up to her word. Still, the situation leaves me somewhat uneasy, not for my own sake, but for the sake of what I have seen. All her servants are Kikin, and she is known to bed at least several. She has said that no coercion is involved and I believe she believes this. Indeed, she will refuse to bed any who feels any distress at being involved in the act and employs the aid of spirits to ascertain their feelings on the matter.

However, it is quite plain that she holds great power over those she sleeps with. And I find myself pondering the nature of power. Its influence on the relationships people hold with each other. How it informs and shapes, perhaps even deforms those relationships. I find myself thinking about certain concepts some... acquaintances have spoken of, about how there can be no true justice as long as power over others exists. There are many reasons said acquaintances are opposed by those vested in the current way of things. That is all I will say about said acquaintances. Indeed, perhaps I have said too much already.

I will instead ask you all: What do you think power is?