shiny new world

[mrsparkle]

Sadde's running.

Not for any particular reason, just because it's faster. He's been meaning to go to one of the capitals for a bit and now, he supposes, is as good a time as any.

And eventually he's not running anymore, because he's close enough to civilisation that someone might spot him. Not that he wouldn't be able to notice them by scent before they saw him, but still. And as he makes his way to the Norway capital at this more leisurely pace, he notices the tiny, shiny key. He walks towards it and picks it up and immediately notices just how magic it is. He can tell by the way the key feels like things, and different things depending on where it is.

He verifies that what the key feels like is consistent in absolute location by waving it around a bit and seeing that the same place always feels the same. "Huh," he murmurs to himself.

He straightens up and thinks. The first obvious thing to try is seeing whether it opens any doors - a universal skeleton key sounds like the kind of thing a magical key could be - but the second obvious thing can be tested right there and then. He pushes the key into thin air with some purpose, as if he wanted to unlock an invisible door, and then turns it, et voilà, the faintest of door-shaped outlines appears before him.

He locks the door, and it disappears. Unlocks it again, and there it is. So he pulls it open and sees-

Comments

[from_scratch]

"I hope you're not buying into the stereotype that most demons are rapists. I was a virgin until I was forty-something because that's about how long it took me to figure I didn't necessarily have to be in true love or anything, not because nobody ever looked at me twice."

[mssparkle]

"I'm not buying into any stereotypes, I don't think. And, well, I'm in true love with you, hopefully I'll get you in true love with me and everything will work out just fine."

[from_scratch]

"You're in weird magic love with me," Cam points out. "Possibly prophetic weird magic love, but still, I'm not sure it's a Disney classic in the making."

[mssparkle]

"...I'm pretty sure love-at-first-sight is in fact a Disney classic. Ours is definitely less creepy than Snow White."

[from_scratch]

"Okay, that I'll give you, but the prince was at least not mind controlled, unless I'm remembering it wrong."

[mssparkle]

"I'm not mind controlled, I just have inexplicable knowledge that you and I are as romantically compatible as two people could possibly be."

[from_scratch]

"That mere knowledge would not, I think, do the thing it seems to have done. Like, that's a dating network result. It's not customary to declare eternal love, growl about past sex partners, and have two weeks of sex over a dating network result."

[mssparkle]

"Right, inexplicable knowledge plus the love itself, then." She sighs. "Fine, I'm a little bit mind controlled."

[from_scratch]

"It's kind of disturbing, honestly."

[mssparkle]

"Yes, a little bit, but I can't say it's not worth it. The perks more than make up for it, and my core personality certainly didn't change, and I get to find you."

[from_scratch]

"Did you want to find a mate, before you did?"

[mssparkle]

"I guess it's better to describe it as being resigned to finding one? I knew it'd happen eventually, it was a possibility I kept in mind."

[from_scratch]

"But now, of course, you're delighted..."

[mssparkle]

"I also knew I'd be delighted afterwards," she shrugs. "And I mean, like I said, no personality change, so you're the type of person I'd have eventually fallen in love with even sans vampirism."

[from_scratch]

"So you assume."

[mssparkle]

"So far the evidence's been stacking up. My plans when I turned were to overthrow and supplant the evil shadow government, but someone else beat me to the punch. I think at least superficially that's the sort of person that'd fall in love with the Revelation, yes?"

[from_scratch]

"I mean, I can't contradict you, or anything, but I haven't ever been in love and it's sort of weird that you'd step out of a portal and land on me first thing and happen to find we're soulmates."

[mssparkle]

"...I think I've fallen in love when I was human, a couple of times, but. It really doesn't compare. But I mean, yeah, it's weird, also I'm a magic biokinetic vampire and you're a demon with arbitrary conjuration skills."

[from_scratch]

"There's billions of demons with arbitrary conjuration skills, that is not an unlikely part of this scenario."

[mssparkle]

"I think there aren't any demons where I'm from, and while extrapolating from two examples isn't a super great idea, two universes with humans plus something else, presumably demons are as rare as vampires in the multiversal scheme of things. But I get your point, I suppose, I'm just not sure what you want me to do with it."

[from_scratch]

"Nothing in particular. I decided to my satisfaction that you probably aren't too mind-controlled to issue valid consent a couple weeks ago. But it's still disturbing."

[mssparkle]

"Mm, yeah, there's a reason why I didn't list the ability to form mate bonds amongst my superpowers. All in all, between falling in love with you the regular way and the magical way, I'd probably prefer the former, especially if the end result was still this, but here we are."

[from_scratch]

"I mean, I suppose someone else might have given you the rundown on Hell if you hadn't been staring at me like that from the word go."

[mssparkle]

"Yeah, so I guess it all worked out nicely."

[from_scratch]

"If you're happy with it. ...Unrelatedly isn't it kind of a contradiction to be bewildered that I took a few decades to get around to having sex and annoyed that I ever did?"