"You'd better have a dark ritual to cure the complete infertility between same-sex relationships.

So, what were the exact conditions that forced you to choose your eleven year old self and not when you were younger or older? You'd be technically eligible at age thirteen and could pass off your abnormal knowledge as being exposed to the eldritch horrors of whatever is coming two years in the future and coming out the other side half-sane and enlightened. Why not go with that? Occultists around the world would flock to your banner."

Idiom Alpha!5tTWT1eydY 2018/01/14(Sun)02:39 No. 858345 ID: a606da
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“Supposing you are who you say you are: a sorceress of dark magics many decades removed from anyone I know - who is also, if I’m inferring correctly, asking me to usurp power - why should I trust you and do what you say?” Malorie reasoned carefully, still trying to wrap her head around the finer points of the situation. “How do I even know you’re you? Couldn’t all your ‘grown-up’ memories be a trick by someone else? I mean, if you figured out how to ‘time travel’, then who else could too?”

“You don’t understand how much I had to work to achieve this. I created the method myself, and now that I’ve changed the past, the future in which I invented it no longer exists. But if my memories are fake…” Leanna blinked some more. She mulled over the thought with visible discomfort. She opened her mouth a couple of times, closed it, and then opened it again. “I can’t deny that possibility. I believe that I’m still your sister, and I love you. I believe that we have to act, or everything will fall apart. I have no evidence besides what I know. You’ll have to choose what you believe, I suppose. Think critically.”

“I will.” Malorie agreed. “So, now that you’ve opened this can of worms: Why do I need to become Queen so badly? Why me, specifically?”

“Because I’m eleven.”

“You sure are!” Malorie smiled as she ruffled her sister’s hair.

“On the outside.” Leanna scowled. “Eleven on the outside. I’m still twice your age, mentally.”

“You realize I have to treat someone like my eleven-year-old little sister and not my forty-five-year-old aunt, right? I’m afraid you’re rather stuck with the role.” Malorie chuckled, poking Leanna in the nose. “Even after all this, I can’t really take you seriously.”

“Yes, that’s my point. No one will take me seriously for years yet, especially not about this stuff. We don’t have years, you’re old enough to make this happen, and I know enough about you that you’ll believe me. By the way, can you take me down from here?”

“Fine.” Malorie pulled Leanna off of the coathook. “But I’ve got my eye on you.”

“Thank you.” Leanna gave Malorie a curt nod, and then went about fixing her dress. “Any more questions?”

“Well, um, yes. About… about me and Scarlet…” Malorie’s words suddenly started slipping out all stuttered and slow. Color flushed in her cheeks. “And how I’m… what you said about me, and the way that I feel…”

Leanna smiled a very specific smile, all gentle and immediate. It was the kind of smile that either made you perfectly happy or perfectly unhappy for receiving it, as it meant the person wearing it understood you completely. “Yes?”

“How does she feel about - ?” Malorie shuddered, silencing herself by clenching her teeth in a grimace. “Oh, what in the world am I saying?!” She sat down on the edge of Leanna’s bed, miserably staring off into space. “…It is true, isn’t it? I walk on the wrong side of the road.”

“There’s nothing wrong with it. It just is.”

“Of course there’s something wrong with it!” Malorie snapped at her sister, even while stifling her own tears. “How will I get married, now? Who am I going to be? Even if I could find a… I mean, what am I supposed to do? No one is like this. No one does this!” She rested her face in her hands, weeping softly. “Don’t you understand, Leanna? This means I’m going to be alone for the rest of my life.”

“You will not!” Leanna sat down beside her sister and gave her a hug. “You know, not all the girls I pulled you off of were entirely opposed to the idea. Just startled, mostly. You do tend to come on strong.”

“Are you sure I stay like this?” Malorie whispered, quiet desperation leaking into her words. “What if it’s just a phase?”

“It wasn’t before.”

Malorie took some time to calm down, but even when she did, she was still upset on the inside. She was always good at acting, though, and so she acted calm then. Leanna saw through it, but she was nice enough not to say anything.

Idiom Alpha!5tTWT1eydY 2018/01/14(Sun)02:39 No. 858346 ID: a606da
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“Moving on.” Malorie coughed sharply, standing up and pacing around. She was trying very hard to think up a different topic. “What’s going to happen if I don’t become Queen?”

“Everything that was lost will be found again.” Leanna muttered, eyes going blank. “All the old stories, all at once. And we will not be ready.”

“Care to elaborate on that vague nonsense?”

“No.” Leanna wiped tears from her eyes. “Sorry. Give me time and I’ll tell you more. For now, please trust me: it will be bad.”

“Huh.” Malorie wasn’t convinced. “I’ll hold you to that. Anyway… I’m not exactly going to get away with being a ‘virgin’ queen with no successors, am I? So who do I actually need to marry? Who inherited the throne after grandfather died?”

“Well, if we’re going with Plan 1, that would be our cousin, Crown Prince Syovaris IX.”

“Oh, I think I saw Syovaris once. It was a long time ago.” Malorie’s mind was still a bit bogged down with thoughts of Scarlet, and so she noticed something a little late. “Hang on, there, what do you mean by Plan 1?”

“You didn’t think I’d force you to figure this all out on your own, did you?” Leanna grinned. “Before I traveled back, I thought up a few basic plans for how to go about this. Hold on a moment.” She rummaged around in a nearby cabinet, then pulled out her playtime drawing-board and wheeled it out to the middle of the room. She then started scribbling on it with an oddly frustrated expression. Eventually she sighed and backed away from the whiteboard.

“Cute scribbles.” Malorie held back her laughter. “You haven’t been to art lessons yet, have you?”

“I used to be better! It’s this stupid muscle memory.” Leanna grumbled, putting her marker back in its case. “Whatever. That’s not the point. I just wanted to give you a visual aid.”

“Aid seen and understood. Mostly. Do explain.”

“Plan 1 is ascension through marriage to Syovaris. Tricky and a little gross, but also decently safe if you can pull it off. Plan 2 is ascension through coup. Painful in a lot of ways for a lot of people, potentially very risky, but it’ll get the job done quick. Plan 3 is ascension through manipulating the court, using what I know from the future to help you influence high-status people and put yourself in power. It’s slow and a little complex, but I’m confident we could manage it.”

“You realize how far down we are on the list of heirs, right?” Malorie crossed her arms, gazing uncomfortably at the crude sketches on the drawing board. “I have at least half the court ahead of me. I imagine most of them would be a mite upset at me butting in.”

“We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it.” Leanna shrugged. “Anyway, these are the simplest methods of ascension that I was able to come up with. If I think of more, I’ll let you know. What do you think?”

Malorie spent quite a few minutes silently thinking things over. Her mind was practically churning. Finally, after much consideration, she realized what she wanted to do next.

Which was…?

The main dish will be the Coup with a dash of court politics. You need the kingdom geared up for war, so turning the capital into a bloody crucible will help forge some champions to fight the "old legends", but you have to keep casualties low or there won't be enough of an army left to fight.

Sadly, the squabbling decadence of the court is the true power behind the throne; every individual member is a corporation in themselves with high-value assets, intel, and connections. Your goal as regent will be to use their desires and rivalries against each other to create a balanced detente where the only weak spot for arbitrage and mass profit is to save the kingdom, do your duty and all that nonsense. In the long term though, technology and magic are going to see a major surge in the near future, so you're going to want to 'subsidize' all your aristocrats and bloat your own power base like a hungry dragon, and the upcoming war against the old legends is a good excuse for getting all your nobles killed. Then invest heavily into research, putting the kingdom in debt but simultaneously increasing the standards of living. Finally, retire hated by the masses but understood and praised by academics and scholars for the next century, and let your successors screw up the technological influx while you're busy porking every handmaiden from here to the Far East islands.

So basically, court a prince, war, or intrigue.
I think 3 is right out.
2...Is not entirely as bad as it sounds given old legends probably will require a competent military...
1 WOULD be simple, except ah, the wrong side of the road issue. But it’s otherwise a very clean path...
I like 1 the most. We might have to either ah, put out or maybe set up a thing where we put up with ‘rumors of infiedelity’ if the former option doesn’t work out...Though maybe we could just be an advisor to whoever rules the land? But that rather sounds like 3 to me...
1 or 3 I’d say.

Plan 1 is a safe plan, and should be tried first. If the plan is to fail, we can set Plan 3 with a few grains of Plan 2 in action as plan B.

Asset review. What sorts of magic can you still manage, particularly with reasonably minimal prep? Who else do you have blackmail on, or other anachronistic leverage over? Even small advantages can be pivotal in intrigue if nobody knows you've got 'em.

1 is the sensible choice, you wont be the first or the last gay monarch on the throne, duty means putting your own needs behind the needs of the people and lets face it love rearly features in royal weddings.

Marry theprince, get the throne and a hier to prevent counter coup or revolutions, then once the danger has passed either take a misstress or divorce him and move into a sexy nunnery.

>>858346
What assets do we have, besides your information?

How long will it take you to recover any of your black arts? That's a tool I don't expect many of our rivals are prepared to counter. Even relatively small feats could be useful if leveraged correctly. (Or can you? If the problem is fairy tales appear in the future... is magic not a thing that can we wielded until after that comes to pass)?

One of our first moves should be seizing control of our own schedules- attending lessons on maths or history or the like that you already know is a waste of time you could spend planning, or reclaiming key skills in your younger body. And I can only imagine there are some things I should learn how to do I did not last time. (Like how to stab a fairy tale dragging me off).

Who can we trust? You've had the chance to know these people years longer than I have- who would be loyal if recruited to our banner? ...who already serving our house isn't loyal and needs to be purged?

>I’m not exactly going to get away with being a ‘virgin’ queen with no successors, am I?
Depending on how you get to the throne, issues of marriage and succession could conceivably be put off till after you've dealt with fairy tails coming to life. But yes, if you want the kingdom to be stable after you save it, you will need heirs.

>plans
>plan 1
The problem with plan 1 is that should we pull it off, we are then stuck maneuvering around Syovaris. Assuming preparing the kingdom to face the looming threat will take quick and unusual measures, that might be problematic. Which means he will either need to trust me, or we will need to tell him the truth, or we will need to remove him from the picture after the marriage and coronation so I can rule without interference (assassinate him, subject him to a black magic sleeping curse, etc).

Perhaps the biggest problem with plan 1 is it depends on my ability to act and is aided least by what you know. And as an emotional teenager who is apparently conflicted, confused and uncertain about her own preferences, that might be more challenging than it first appears.

Who's my rival? That is, who did he marry before that I need to displace? I imagine every noble mother in the kingdom is scheming for her daughter to marry the heir apparent.

>plan 2
If the kingdom faces a looming military threat, it seems imprudent to weaken ourselves with internal conflict. A properly executed coup could have minimal casualties, but we can't afford the waste of a civil war if we make a mistake or if things escalate.

It doesn't need to be our first choice anyways- falling back on a bloody coup should another plan fail is possible.

>plan 3
I like this one. Blackmail and backstabbing and intrigue. We win useful nobles to our cause, and eliminate or disgrace those in who will stand in our way, or who will be more of a problem than an asset in the looming conflict.

>If I think of more, I’ll let you know.
There's an obvious variant to plan 1 to consider. If we decide Syovaris' personality makes him too difficult to work with, I marry whoever is second in line, then we remove Syovaris from the picture. (Or third, or fourth, etc, but the further down I marry the more murdering we need to do and the more obvious it will be).

If they are dead, they cannot complain. Time to practice proficiency in poisoning!

I favor a combination of plan 1 and 3.

Neither legitimacy nor foreknowledge is a overwhelming advantage, but both used in tandem might be.

Anyway, we should avoid being too greedy. And keep this timeline with its rightful monarch.

>>858346
3 is the one most likely to succeed in a stable manner. 1 is vulnerable to someone offing the Price (and requires beating off everyone else who already has the same idea of marrying him), and 2 allows power to be lost just as easily as it is gained (or more easily, coup governments are always more precarious than the ones they replace).

Idiom Alpha!5tTWT1eydY 2018/01/24(Wed)21:45 No. 861599 ID: a606da
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“Plan 1 seems decently safe. I can start off with that, and if it goes south, we can improvise. Plan 3 will probably be necessary no matter what, and is the most likely to succeed in a stable manner. Plan 2 can be our fallback in case things go wrong.” Malorie spoke hesitantly, still unsure about the direction things seemed to be going. How could she be a queen? She was about as royal as a monarch butterfly! “But… marrying Syovaris will be difficult. I’m sure every lady in the court is after him, and with me on the wrong side of the road - ”

“I wouldn’t worry about that. It might actually make him like you more.” Leanna shrugged. “Syovaris himself tends to jaywalk frequently, if we’re sticking with the metaphor.”

“Huh?” Malorie blinked.

“He’s a bit odd, is all. Open-minded and eccentric. Ah, but never mind that.” Leanna shook her head quickly, sensing Malorie’s discomfort with the subject. “I would say that your fiance poses a bigger hurdle.”

“Oh, of course.” Malorie groaned. “What in the world am I going to do about him?”

“Let’s leave that, for now, and focus on the overall plan. I’m glad you’re on board, Mal. Please continue.”

“I don’t know if I’m on board or not.” Malorie coughed uncomfortably. “But if we’re talking hypotheticals… I don’t know. It’s all so uncertain, still. What assets do we have, besides your information?”

“Nothing but what we already own.” Leanna gestured vaguely around, indicating the estate. “We’re well-off, at least, even if we don’t have much royal respect.”

“What about your magic? How long will it take you to recover any of your dark arts? That’s a tool I don’t expect many of our rivals are prepared to counter. Even relatively small feats could be useful if leveraged correctly.”

“I told you already, my magic is weak because…” Leanna trailed off. She furrowed her brow, thinking heavily. “There is a possible way to recover some power. Is there a hunt planned soon?”

“A hunt?” Malorie wrinkled her nose. “Well, yes, of course. Father loves those nasty things. He’s got a regular party of friends and associates who all get together and leave innards all over the forest. It’s a ghastly business. He’s hosting one tonight.”

“Let’s tag along.” Leanna went over to her dresser and started changing into her riding outfit. “I’ve got a pony by this age, haven’t I?”

“What?! I mean, yes to the pony, you’ve only just named her. Polia, I believe it was. But, more to the point, why would you want to hang around for one of father’s haphazard slaughters? They don’t often let the girls shoot, you know.”

“There is a primal rite only practiced in antiquity, used precisely for enhancing the magical potential of children. I hope to perform it tonight.”

“Why, that’s fantastic!”

“It requires the presence of a dying creature, the ingestion of an hallucinogenic mixture, and a mild amount of skin-stitching. There is little ‘fantastic’ about it.” Leanna frowned, a tempered unpleasantness flickering in her eyes. After a moment, she relented, and her face softened. “Well, not at first, anyway. It gets more interesting after the prep. The rite requires two people, so I’d need your help for it. Would you be willing?”

“What does it involve?” Malorie asked slowly, her anxiety quietly forming again. “I don’t know if I’m much good at runes or chanting or anything like that.”

“Don’t worry. I mainly need you to act as a sort of inverted vessel, your body working as an anchor while your qualia is set adrift on the Springtide.” Leanna paused, realizing Malorie had absolutely no idea what any of that meant. “You would, er… that is to say, your sense of self would scatter into pieces for the ritual’s duration. The rite would have no permanent effects on you, however. You might be a bit shaken afterwards, but that’s all. So, what do you say?”

Malorie wasn’t sure what she would say, at least not until she had taken a moment to consider it. Once she’d properly pondered, however, she did respond.

Only... what was her response?

There is, at worst, an amusing story likely to charm Syovaris here.
We're at a disadvantage, and need to lose it.

So, Yes.

>>861599
Sure, let's do this.

Sounds like a helluva time. We're in!

>>861599
Yes. We need power, and the drawbacks are minor. Only risk is being discovered in the act.

I hope Polia isn't the creature in question...?

Uhm... details. Nothing of what you just said might happen seems really inviting.

Well, there might be little 'fantastic,' but it's still certainly 'fantastical.' This is the stuff of fantasies.

>>861599
>your sense of self would scatter into pieces for the ritual’s duration
And I trust you have the wherewithal to manage putting all those pieces back in their proper places?

This is the quickest way to prove or disprove every crazy thing you've heard today

And face it, you were going to do something suicidal if you had to spend one more boring day in this back-water countryside where the most exciting event in weeks is watching horses trample each other

Let's do this

>>861599
From the very start we need to weigh the risk of discovery. The hunt is convenient, but if Malorie and Leanna are caught acting strangely, or if the marks from the skin stitching (this is the tattooing art, correct?) are found and recognized for the mystic sigils they are, they may lose credibility with the people they need to maneuver around for the crown. Worse, they may lose the advantage of secrecy about Leanna's knowledge of magic if one of the people in the area happens to be more knowledgeable than Leanna thought.

The highest-risk people would be ones who passed away before Leanna came to majority and started getting into magic in her timeline. They may know things she never knew they knew.

There may be secondary risks as well. I get the feeling Leanna is downplaying the risks to herself. She wouldn't risk Malorie, she needs her to succeed or this whole mission is pointless, but she would certainly gamble a little on herself. She already did once, today or 30 years from now depending on how one reckons these things.

>“Syovaris himself tends to jaywalk frequently, if we’re sticking with the metaphor.”
Well if he's going to be pursuing other men on the side I suppose he can't complain about your supposed preferences.

Biggest problem if you marry him will be the freedom for you to do what must be done. He'll need to trust you or be brought into the conspiracy.

>Only... what was her response?
That poor pony. Still, it will be one of our smaller sins on the road to treachery.

So... I'll be mad then, for a little while? Like being drunk, or trapped in a nightmare?

I'll do it. We need every advantage we can, and you're our best one right now. You need to be able to protect yourself.

Can we do this by ourselves though? If I'm mad, I might need to be restrained. Or I might overpower you. *gesture at the coatrack*.

>I hope Polia isn't the creature in question...?
>That poor pony.
I think this will depend on how well we can hunt. If we're good enough, we can capture some live game to sacrifice.

Idiom Alpha!5tTWT1eydY 2018/01/30(Tue)00:24 No. 863232 ID: a606da
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“You said that I would be… scattered into pieces?” Malorie asked, trying her best to imagine it. Her mental picture was dire indeed! “I trust you have the wherewithal to manage putting all those pieces back in their proper places?”

“I shouldn’t need to. You are naturally a conscious creature, bound to life by the flow of the Springtide. Our ritual may skip a stone into the water, but all ripples eventually subside. The Springtide will always attempt to pull things back into their proper places, and that includes you. But I will step in to help, if something wildly abnormal does occur.” Leanna smiled in a comforting manner, lightly holding her sister’s hand. “I can’t be sure of how pleasant the experience will be for you, but I promise that I wouldn’t suggest this if it wasn’t safe.”

“Hm.” Malorie nodded thoughtfully, still understanding half or less of what Leanna was saying. “Can you give me more details?”

“Only a few I can tell you, I’m afraid. Save for the basics, I suppose.” Leanna blinked again, unsure how she might explain. It took her a little bit of thinking, but when she spoke again, she did so confidently. “There are two vague dualistic forces whose push-and-pull defines reality. They can’t be measured in any concrete terms, only in abstract theory. Springtide, which you shall embody, is the force of life, creation, and everything that we consider natural. Wintertide, which I will be handling, is… well, everything else.”

“Oh.” Malorie would think about this for a long time and still have many questions. Most of those questions would never end up being asked, for fear that she might seem silly or stupid. She certainly felt silly and stupid, then, just as she had during her first arithmetic lessons when she was a little girl. Then, struck by a thought, she wondered if magic was going to be like math. “Can you teach me magic?” Malorie asked her sister, now furiously curious.

“Magic can’t really be taught. That’s what makes it magic.” Seeing the familiar confusion on her sister’s face, Leanna quickly elaborated. “Magic is an expression of the Wintertide, the unnatural made real. It is possible because it is not possible. The more you understand magic, the less it will work. So its manipulation must be through carefully-invented languages of obfuscating metaphor and rites performed with minimal comprehension. It’s why the oldest rituals are the most powerful, because the creators had pretty much no idea what they were doing.”

“So… the stupider you are, the more powerful you become?”

“In a way, yes.”

Malorie considered that she may have just found her calling in life.

In any case, she agreed to go along with the ritual. They split from each other for a few hours, which gave them time to dress and prepare and beg their father to let them tag along. He did so fairly easily, excited by the prospect of having his beloved daughters watch him kill things and act powerful. Before long at all, the two sisters were riding off into the woods with Baron Dogged and his hunting friends. The day was nearing its close as they arrived in the forest proper. The dusklight filtered through the trees, painting the world in ashen tones.

Malorie rode closer to her sister, whispering to her. “I wore my cloak, like you asked. Must I, though? It drags terribly while riding. I’d hate to ruin the fabric.”

“It shall double as a blanket and triple as a soft disguise. Hush!” Leanna went rigid, raising a hand. A shot rang out from ahead in the hunting party, and a great fuss arose amongst the men. All at once, they began searching wildly, racing far ahead of the two sisters. Malorie went to follow, but Leanna motioned for her to stop. “I saw where it went. This way.” She whispered to Malorie, and began riding in a different direction.

Idiom Alpha!5tTWT1eydY 2018/01/30(Tue)00:25 No. 863233 ID: a606da
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Malorie followed Leanna. Eventually, they ran into an area too thick with trees for their ride to continue, so they dismounted and tied the horses to branches. “Do stay safe, dear.” Malorie smiled, gently patting her horse’s head. She thought of how beautiful her horse was, and her mind went to the races. They had only happened that same day, but they felt so far away. Realizing she had gotten distracted, she quickly jogged after her sister, who darted rapidly through the trees.

They came to a clearing, then, and Malorie froze. There, on the grassy floor of the forest, an aging doe had collapsed, an awful wound shot through its neck. It tried desperately to get to its feet, but it didn’t seem to have the strength, and so it simply wheezed and glared at its two pursuers. Leanna was standing nearby, still as ice, staring down at the creature from a safe distance.

“The poor thing.” Malorie muttered. “We can’t stay here, can we? Father will call for the dogs, before long. They’ll catch her scent.”

“Before we set out, I stole some meat from the kitchens. I snuck half under the party’s saddles and stuffed the other half into the bottom of their packs.” Leanna shrugged casually, betraying a hint of pride in the gesture. “The dogs will be a problem all their own. We’ll have enough time for the ritual, at least.”

“A dying animal.” Malorie realized, glancing sadly at the twitching doe. “I had thought you meant Polia.”

“I would never!” Leanna gasped at the implied accusation. “I’m not a monster. The hunters would have made a kill anyway. At least this way I can ease its pain.” On that note, she dug around in her pockets, producing a small glass jar and a pair of scissors. Meat had apparently not been the only thing Leanna had stolen from around the house, Malorie noted. The bright cerulean goop in the jar was entirely new, however.

Leanna dunked the scissors in said goop, then slowly, calmly approached the wounded animal. “Shh… I’m going to help. I know it hurts. Relax, okay? Relax.” And with that, she darted forward and nicked the doe’s side with the blade of the scissors, getting the goop into the cut. Just as quickly, she retreated, narrowly dodging a kick from her victim. Before a minute had passed, the creature’s eye had drooped, and its breaths started coming less frequently.

Idiom Alpha!5tTWT1eydY 2018/01/30(Tue)00:27 No. 863235 ID: a606da
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“The mixture’s working. She won’t feel any pain.” Leanna’s voice quivered slightly, though Malorie wasn’t sure why. “She’s almost gone. We’d better do it now. I’ll go first.”

Before Malorie could say a word, Leanna kneeled over the doe and ripped the wound open. She reached into it carefully but quickly, like a surgeon, and pulled a long artery from inside. To Malorie’s absolute horror, she watched as her sister stuck the long vein in her mouth, sucking from it like a straw.

“Ah… ah.” Leanna shuddered, swallowing a mouthful of blood and gore. Pinching the vein in her hand, she immediately turned to Malorie, offering it to her. “Your turn. Quickly, now.”

Malorie stared, transfixed, at her sister. She backed away.

“Oh no. It’s too much, isn’t it? You’re not used to this.” Blood dribbled down Leanna’s chin, painting it crimson. “I told you before: Magic isn’t sparkles. It’s blood and guts.” She tugged the vein in Malorie’s direction, more urgently this time. “Come on, please. You have to drink while she’s still alive.”

Malorie tried to speak, but failed. Her mind had gone utterly blank.

“I’m not crazy, okay? I promise I’m telling the truth, and this will prove it.” Leanna insisted, looking extremely crazy. “The ritual’s already started, but if you don’t drink, it won’t finish properly. Worst case, something unpredictable happens. Best case, the blood will end up being just blood and I’ll probably get very sick. Please, Malorie!” She begged. “You have to drink, now!”

What did Malorie do?

DO IT

>>863232
That... shouldn't work. Here's a theory: you know there are greater forces in the universe who have more power in their pinky finger than our entire world combined. What if one of these forces is half-assedly analyzing our world for any anomalies, people who know how magic works and ultimately a disease to this greater force? The dumber you are, the less likely you'll use a particular "standardized, clean, and well written" spell that is currently watched and get your efforts neutralized by the magic police. So it's like "Inquisitor patrols look for any instance of swordmaking from the peasants and put them down violently, but they'll outright look away from drunk retards who are stomping on beets with their bare feet, and then those retards accidentally invent beer and the world's stability drops by half on the Inquisitors' watch".

>>863235
"Here's to... @#$% it." *Drink up*

>Can you teach me magic?
While knowing something of the art could be useful, time constraints will mean you'll have to specialize. Taking the throne is going to require you become a good liar and actor, a manipulator, a politician, a leader, a statesman, and other things. There's enough to master on the social side of the equation in short order that I think you'll need to leave the magic to your sister / seer / vizier.

>What did Malorie do?
If this has been an elaborate hoax, sister, my vengeance will be great and terrible to behold.

Leap of faith, drink.

We didn't ride out here for the exercise.

Let's do it.

It probably won't be the weirdest thing you've done by the time you're Queen. Do it.

The Heimlich maneuver!

Idiom Alpha!5tTWT1eydY 2018/01/31(Wed)00:25 No. 863489 ID: a606da
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“If this has all been an elaborate hoax, sister… my vengeance will be great and terrible to behold.” They were intimidating words, made vastly less so by the fact that Malorie could only mumble them through her nervousness. She took a deep breath, then nodded. “I’ll do it.”

“Thank you, Malorie.” Leanna beamed at her sister, deeply touched by the trust she had shown her. “Thanks.”

Malorie stuck the artery in her mouth. She drank. She tried not to think about what was in her mouth, but her tongue made that difficult. Tears sprang to her eyes as the murky taste of iron began to spred. She started to vomit, but Leanna leapt up and slapped a hand to her mouth.

“Don’t! It’ll be worse if you do.” Leanna yelped, desperately pinching Malorie’s lips shut. “Here, sip this.” She handed the jar of azure goop to her sister. “It’ll make this easier. It’s a hallucinogenic sedative, but the hallucinations are actually to help make things less vivid.”

Malorie drank. The goop had a surprisingly palatable taste. It reminded her of chocolate syrup, but mixed with sweet mint and blueberry. Within seconds, she began to stumble, and Leanna led her over to a tree. Malorie collapsed against it, sliding down into a sitting position.

“There you are. Let’s get you comfortable.” Leanna tightened Malorie’s cloak, wrapping it around her sister like a blanket. Then she undid Malorie’s hair, letting it hang loosely. When that was done, Leanna knelt down and gave Malorie a tight hug. “The hard part’s going to happen any second now.”

“That wasn’t the hard part?!” Malorie’s jaw dropped, unintentionally letting blood-and-goop dribble down her lip. She quickly tried to shut her mouth, but a bit of the mixture dripped onto her coat, forever blemishing it. No soap would ever be able to wipe that stain away.

“No.” Leanna sighed, backing away from her sister. She tried to hide her anxiety, but Malorie caught a glimpse of it. Leanna forced a smile. “You’ll be okay, I swear. Just stay calm. I’m here.”

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Malorie swallowed down the rest of the unfathomable juices in her mouth. They ran quite cold, but somehow scalded her throat anyway. “What happens next, then?”

“We wait.”

“Wait for wh

Idiom Alpha!5tTWT1eydY 2018/01/31(Wed)00:28 No. 863492 ID: a606da
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Once upon a time, there was a bird flying high in the sky.

It was a fairly average bird, and it knew it, too. It wasn’t one to go flapping around without the right feathers, after all. It was a dignified animal, and it knew its place in the order of things. It flew with gusto, spinning deftly in the air currents and sailing comfortably above the world below.

Until a certain point, this bird had lived a wonderfully pleasant avian lifestyle. But then that certain point came to pass, and the bird became extremely confused. On one hand, the bird was a bird. It knew very well that it was a bird. But it also knew just as well that it was not a bird.

And of course it wasn’t. Until moments ago, it had been _______, after all.

But what was _______, it wondered? It couldn’t remember. It tried, but the thoughts wouldn’t come. Perhaps they were thoughts too large for the bird’s relatively small brain to consider, or perhaps there were other forces in play. But it knew this wasn’t what it was supposed to be.

So, with a decisive flap of its wings, the part of the bird that was not the bird decided it wouldn’t be the bird anymore.

Only… what would it be instead?

It'd rather be a Clownbear.

Fuck, who wouldn't?

>>863492
The badger.

An oak tree.

A deity.

A dragon.

Oh hey look a fairy

bee the bee fairy

Be a bee. Remember that you are Malorie.

An ash tree. Perhaps a glass of water. Maybe a lion. Could be a wyrm.

>>863492
A fine dress.

A dungeon.

>>863492
A queen, of course

A phoenix. Light it up, Bird Fire Style.

A flowing cloak.

>>863493
Truer words never spoken.