♦ ♦ 15th Contract [Video]

[mortemscintilla]

[ Look, City. Look at all these desserts. Cake Pops. Santa Hat Brownies. Snowflake Cupcakes. Sugar Pavlova. Peppermint milkshakes. Pinecone Cheeseballs. Mmm. Diabetes in the making. You can totally tell the chef hates you all and hopes you suffer. ]

[ 'Li' hovers closeby, a little smudge of flour on his cheeks, smiling sweetly like he couldn't be a bigger replica of the Pillsbury Doughboy if he tried. And he is trying. So hard. Not an ounce of cynicism in sight. ]

Just wanted to let everyone know. We have some great desserts at Cafe Satine, if you're in an early Holidays mood. [ He glances away for a moment, creating a pink icing rose in an easy motion. Adds it to a half-decorated cake, before continuing, ] You know, I read somewhere that Christmas originates from an old Roman holiday called Saturnalia. They say it was all about property damage, debauchery and a hideous human sacrifice. Oh. And naked singing from house to house.

[ Pause ]

I have no idea if it's true or not. But it makes you wonder how some things can start out so [ typical to human nature ] wild, and end so [ sugar-coated and distorted ] wholesome.

[ He shrugs it off with a shy laugh. ]

Anyway. Didn't mean to ramble. I hope everyone's doing well this week.

[ A parting nod, and the feed ends. WELL? WHAT'RE YOU WAITING FOR? COME BUY SOMETHING. ]

[ OOC: Hei will be disappearing after tonight for his canon update. He'll return on the 20th or 21st, so be sure to get all the fudd you can from him x3 ]

Comments

[deadmanbusiness]

They do look down upon mortals. But, with the lack of worship their power has gone down.

[mortemscintilla]

So they accrue power through worship? [ Interesting. He smiles. ] It's like that story. Peter Pan, I think. How Tinkerbell was saved from dying when children believed in her and clapped their hands. [ doot doot ] N-Not that I think you or your family are Tinkerbell.

[deadmanbusiness]

Something like that, yes.

[He looks mildly amused at the idea of his father as Tinkerbell.]

[mortemscintilla]

Have any of the gods ever gone... extinct? From a lack of followers, I mean? Some religions and cults have a way of fading into obscurity.

[deadmanbusiness]

Things... are unknown on that aspect.

[mortemscintilla]

I see.

So are these gods required to follow the same laws as humans? Or do they differ? Because with beings that powerful, there'll always be people who fear and hate them.

[ He has intimate experience with that. ]

[deadmanbusiness]

Everyone will have someone that fears and hates them.

[He does too.]

[mortemscintilla]

That's true.

But a god -- or a supernatural being -- takes that hatred to the power of ten. It's common knowledge that people would rather look down on you in pity than gaze up at you in awe. [ And do everything to drag you down to their level. ]

[deadmanbusiness]

It depends on where you live.

[mortemscintilla]

I wonder if it's ever happened in the City. There's so many ordinary people here. [ Like him~ ] But so many inhuman ones too. I'm sure there must be frequent friction. Even if you don't hear too much about it. [ Unless you keep your eyes peeled. ]

[deadmanbusiness]

Oh. I wouldn't at all be surprised if there's been a rebellion or fifteen here.

[mortemscintilla]

Th-That sounds [ predictable ] terrible!

This place has no powerful police-force either. [ Think of the children! Won't someone think of the childreeeeen?!?! ]

[deadmanbusiness]

Predictable. Terribly predictable, you mean.

[He shrugs.] It's hard to be effective in a place like this.

[mortemscintilla]

Um, I-I guess I try not to be so jaded. [ Or is bitter the right word? Oops. He already is. ]

You don't think so? Is there something about the City that inculcates lawlessness?

[deadmanbusiness]

[He gets a side-eyed look, but it's mostly ignored for right now. Because, at least to Theo, it's fairly obvious why it'd be so hard to keep an effective police force...]

Everyone here comes from different worlds. Every world has different laws. Where I come from there are serious laws regulating necromancy, for example. For someone else there might not be any. In a third necromancy might be punishable by death.

Who's laws do you go by? Is it fair for me to be killed because one person's laws says I should? Is it fair to the necromancer who can practice freely to be subject to my world's laws?

[mortemscintilla]

[ Ssh. He's *~Playing Dumb~* It's the best way to get away with asking provocative questions. ]

I didn't realize you were so impassioned about this. But you do have a point. I guess I meant laws for more basic things. Like, well, murder, theft, assault. Things that bring the other person nothing but pain.

[deadmanbusiness]

[There's dumb. And then there's dumb.]

It's not passion. It's common sense.

Different punishments for thieves and murders.

[mortemscintilla]

[ And then there's Moss Growing On Rocks In The Arctic dumb. ]

Have you considered a career in law enforcement?

[deadmanbusiness]

[He's got it down to the making Theo wary a bit.]

I am in law enforcement.

[Sort of.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ Wary? Pshh. Look at this innocent face~ ]

Oh?

That explains a lot. [ A smile. ] Any time there's a bank robbery, you can summon an army of undead to take the perps down.

[deadmanbusiness]

[The intern back home: empath, projects a field of "I'm Harmless". Yeah. Sure... innocent looking means nothing.]

Against the law and not my particular jurisdiction.

[mortemscintilla]

[ Sometimes the illusion of harmlessness is preferable. No one (but the most desperate) wants to do business with a heartless mercenary. Much less have him cook their food. ]

Just undead rats to slow them down, then?

[deadmanbusiness]

[Yes.]

Not quite that either. It's a bit more complicated than your standard law enforcement.

[mortemscintilla]

Really? [ He tilts his head to one side, curious, ] What exactly is it that you do?

[deadmanbusiness]

Damage control. For whatever magical incidents governments don't want to deal with they contact the group I work for.