Fiddling with her nose piercing, she ran a hand across one of her braids. Then, turning her face this way and that, she went with lipstick and eyeshadow that was red mahogany in color, going with darker shades to accentuate her complexion. She usually had fun doing her makeup, viewing it as body art and a form of expression...but she went a little light today.
Obviously, she was worried. And who else was she worried about but her (cough, cough) little brother? He hadn't been acting like himself in a long time, and now he didn't even have the decency to answer her texts when she KNEW he was up?
I'm sorry; what kind of world does he think he's living in? Muho was lucky that Edna had a conscience; otherwise, he would've been bombarded with numerous piledrivers.
Edna marveled at her patience. Truly, she was the kindest older sister anyone could ask for.
Finishing up, she donned a long-sleeved black shirt and a short plaid dress overtop. Then, not bothering with accouterments like stockings, she shuffled on her slippers and made a content sigh before leaving the bathroom that Muho dubbed "the mirror room."
Yeah, with a flat affect and everything. Someone oughta beat some sense into the rebel. Didn't he know that staging a coup with his sarcasm is still treason?
Edna snickered as she cracked herself up. She made sure her nails were painted properly before she left her room.
In the hallway, there stood Spokesman. He was her favorite Gearspirit.
The number of metals she ingested to concoct the suave-suited Gearspirit in her Factory was ridiculous. But it was worth it.
Speaking of her Factory, she unzipped the specially-made hatch around the abdomen and revealed the lower end of her torso. Then, to invisible fanfare, her abs shifted into the visage of a mechanical garage door...before folding downwards.
A fairy-looking Gearspirit was forming, funneling liquid metal condensing into a mostly copper-composed figure. As the adornments were added, it was finished.
The little fairy looked around here and there, met with the slate-like face (aside from his nose) and a shark-like grin formed into a tapered v shape; it felt a strange sort of attraction.
Floating away from the space of its conception, it noticed it lugged a key in its arms. Its eyes shot wide open, eagerly rushing towards the kitchen.
"...That one's a dud, too, Spokesman. I still love it, but I wish more of you could understand me..."
The miniaturized Spokesman held a hand to his chin. Then, seeming to be mulling over something, he walked over and pointed to the room with the NU-Life Capsule (and mini fridge) inside.
"Huh? Hey, Spokesman! Are you suggesting that I should try out that game or whatever?"
Spokesman eagerly nodded and pantomimed what he had witnessed earlier. To the untrained eye, it might seem abstract. On the other hand, maybe it might look like calisthenics or yoga...
But it was clearly the process of Muho not knowing how to wield a straightsword, then miraculously becoming better at it. Clearly.
"Yep! It's unmistakable...the rumors about that game and developing Particularities were true. What a hog...stinky Muho, keeping all the goods to yourself. Why I oughta..."
Edna caught herself before she finished rolling up her sleeve in frustration. Instead, she took the time to set her abdomen to a more "normal" appearance and rezipped the hatch on her clothes.
Opening the door with a wide swing, she slipped into the capsule as invisible sparks emitted from her frame. It was like a booth with an additional chair, one that was capable of adjusting the position of your body to keep the user comfortable and sectioned off from outside influences.
That was why the walls of the NU-Life Capsule were soundproof, too! In the event that somebody finds a way to transmit the sounds within the wide web into reality. With Particularities...many things had to be accounted for. Good thing the Seed of Babylon was practically infinite, so much so that the Babylon Bulb in each capsule wasn't a rarity. Sometimes they even had two or three, but that kind of extravagance was a little too irritating for the Suus.
She fixed the console and put on the headset. It covered the whole entire head, sending waves that would synchronize the user's senses with the signals produced on the web. All fail-safes had been implemented to override this, should the user be projected to suffer mortality from shock or trauma...it was essential after some cheeky game devs "accidentally" set the pain synch rate into overdrive, killing way too many people for the situation to be swept under the rug.
Yeah, somebody was definitely fired that day. And depending on the Corporation, getting fired was literally worse than death.
The things breadwinners had to do to get their food cash was pitiable. But hey, at least the danger from the Carbuncles was all equal. That's one thing as opposed to nothing, eh? Eh?
Putting her sympathies aside, Edna collected with the worldwide communicative infrastructure known as The Branches of Babylon.
She floated aloft. Panels of light floated around her silhouette, all dazzling and circling around for ease of access. Anywhere her fingers desired to traverse, a keyboard would appear for her to input her queries.
Edna grimaced after being cascaded by a wave of recommendations. She and Muho didn't own a good TV, so the things she wanted to watch were often accessed via the Theater Mode in the capsule. Streaming services and fan pages clouded her sight.
Frustrated, she swiped them all away. She was considering entering the name of the console in the Module search-bar, but then she saw it. A miniaturized, golden rectangular vessel encapsulated in a prismatic panel.
Without further ado, she sent a command to the Homespace domain, which was the privatized hub of the internet that most would greet before entering any apps or services.
======*======
...E N I G M A T I C
...E N T E R T A I N M E N T
Presents.
The Loaded Game is: EiB (ver .98alpha)
E V E R Y T H I N G is B U R Y
...The STARTUP screen could not be scheduled.
Reason: There is a preexisting account. The request does not match the details of the account user, even if the console is shared.
P.S.: We would like to remind you that no matter how much genetic information is shared between requestees, only the specific requestee may access the account. We do not care if you complain. Even if you kill the requestee and attempt to utilize their corpse to enter, it will not work. We suggest that you do not attempt to try this.
Please find another copy or another alternative method of admission. Thank you for your cooperation. We hope to see you in the future!
======*======
"WHA-!"
Edna plumed out gusts of air from the sides of her mouth, her teeth bared, and her expression crumpled into an alarming glare. A vein bulged on her forehead as she rolled up her nonexistent sleeve, irritated at the audacity of the game's system.
"No, wait, how many people have tried that kinda thing for that to become a built-in message...?"
A shiver ran up her spine as she clasped her arms and legs together. What kind of person would sacrifice familial bonds for a game? Are they crazy? What the hell...
Among many thoughts rushing through her mind, these were the most recurring ones. Finally, frustrated, she brought the toolbar up and scrolled to the [Logout] function.
If you knew her, you might've asked why she didn't watch a drama movie to cool down. Well, she wouldn't have to! Edna had one more ace up her sleeve...
Exiting the NU-Life Capsule while tapping the metallic chassis in a faux-friendly manner, she muttered with an ominous smile.
"If you wanna play that way, then fine! Let's see if you can stash the goods for long, you stupid canister."
Sallying forth, she inspected the rest of the house. Checking each and every compartment, she nodded when she confirmed that none of the stashed objects were missing or broken.
(Muho keeps breaking these whenever he's mad...it's annoying. I can't talk to LS if he keeps smashing these, and I don't even know if LS will keep giving copies...)
Edna pouted and reentered the main hallway.
She readjusted the poster she had shifted earlier, accessing a secret compartment. It was behind the Bakersfield Street promo because she thought it was funny.
The contents of this kept away area? A bobblehead.
It was a cartoonish effigy of the person the Suus referred to as "Boss" as a title. The name they introduced themselves with was Lucky☆Shark. Neither of them knew their gender, but Muho was convinced that they were a man, and LS simply told the young man to refer to them in any way they liked.
All pronouns were fine, as they said.
Lucky☆Shark had never exposed any of their face, not even a smidgeon of skin, either. The most evocative thing they wore was a baseball-style outfit and a massive shark mascot head. Hell, LS even formed a baseball team just to have the excuse of branding their clothing.
Regardless, there were three facts that Edna knew about them.
1. Lucky☆Shark will reply whenever something is asked, and because they are resourceful, most problems can be solved with their assistance.
2. Lucky☆Shark is exceptionally talented in all matters regarding technology. In one instance, they were even able to create a Mana Inductor Circuit with a battery and shoestrings. The ability to change the properties of something that thoroughly was so outlandish it bordered on lunacy...
3. Lucky☆Shark can appear wherever their bobbleheads are situated.
*********Start of Conversation: 7:02 AM
JJJE: boss, i want some help with smth. you OK to help me?
☆☆☆LS!: ☆(*^o^)☆
JJJE:
great! (1)
when are u available? (2)
☆☆☆LS!: （─‿─）ゞ
JJJE: ok, i'll put the bobble down this time
☆☆☆LS!: (′＾⌄＾‵)
*********Endlog Time: 7:03 AM
After years of interacting with LS, Edna victoriously fist-pumped. You see, LS never took the time to type out anything on The Bomb. Whether it was because they were busy or just didn't care to, all they used were emoticons.
And sometimes, the emoticons were hard to decrypt their meaning, which was a nice way of saying that LS often misused them. But finally, Edna was able to figure out what they were saying!
It was a good thing that the conversation was brief. In the event that she decided to boast, Edna knew that the consequences would be dire...
LS might even use archaic runes instead of standard, decryptable characters! Edna wouldn't be able to stand Muho's scornful sarcasm if he had to suffer for her actions, and she would already be feeling guilty for spoiling LS's mood for the both of them...
One transgression was enough. To deal with the fallout of two sins...that felt really annoying just to picture.
Edna placed the shark-mascot bobblehead on the ground. A second later, a light blue energy filled the room as it swirled and condensed into the same image the effigy was depicting.
5"10, same as Muho. The sharp grin across the jaws was rather cute instead of eerie, and a pleasant smell akin to the breeze of a beached isle wafted from them. Several bandoliers were slung over the baseball outfit, obscuring most, if not all, of the words. At least the undershirt's black sleeves had the team's logo, if nothing else.
LS gave a salute and fished in their pockets. A ticket to the Second Thunderdome was withdrawn, the date signaling that an event would be held at the end of the year.
It was currently August 16th.
School started on the 31st.
...So, why was an event already scheduled for December 25th? Edna had heard of preparatory measures, sure, but they were selling tickets a whole 4 months before the match? What if something disruptive happened before it...?
"...Hey, LS, wouldn't people lose a bunch of money?"
Lucky☆Shark shrugged as if it had nothing to do with them. Instead, they went off to the room containing the two separate NU-Life capsules.