counterfeit

[onceandforall]

This. This is a good bar.

She does not mind taking counterfeit currency and she sells everything.

Bella is going to exploit the fuck out of that but first she is eating really, really good pad thai and finally talking to a person who is a) interesting b) not someone she has already talked to a lot in the last... several years. Lovely friendly bar who makes a lovely delicious pad thai! Bella will have to try opening that door at that moment again in the past.

Comments

[onceandforall]

"Oh. I don't need to say anything in particular to get into costume. Although one time I did let the media notice me and showboated a little to see what happened. I had them calling me 'Gem', which was not very creative."

[whatamithinking]

"Better than 'Psychic Maiden Cerebella' or 'Iron Maiden Magnetar'."

[onceandforall]

"I'll give you that."

[iamnotpolaris]

"And that would be the other reason to do Synchronicity."

[onceandforall]

"Is that the magically-enforced name of the - hybrid you?"

[whatamithinking]

"No, Synchronicity is the name of the magical maneuver that produces her. The magically enforced name is Lady Ironheart."

[onceandforall]

"That's not as bad..."

[whatamithinking]

"Exactly."

[onceandforall]

"What does your magic do besides... combine you? Which sounds fantastically uncomfortable to me but must not be that bad if the improved name compensates."

[whatamithinking]

"Lots of things. Most but not all of them combat focused. Basically you say a usually but not always ridiculous phrase, sometimes accompanied by some kind of silly gesture, and a magic thing happens. And you just sort of...know the magic things you have available, and every now and then you get a new one."

[onceandforall]

"Huh. My magic is pretty freeform but I have usage limits. When do you get new spells?"

[whatamithinking]

"Usually when you've just achieved some kind of personal milestone. So, when you've just defeated a big enemy, sure, but also when you resolve a recurring interpersonal issue or had some kind of important epiphany or something."

[onceandforall]

"Interesting incentive structure. What spells have you got?"

[whatamithinking]

"...Perfect Scream, Third Eye Annhilation Beam, Third Eye Burning Sear, Synchronicity, Si Vales Valeo, Mind Mirror, Psionic Blast, Axiomatic Restoration, Ironwill Shield, Wings of the Mind's Eye, Mind Palace Gateway, and Soul Aria."

[onceandforall]

"...I was mostly curious about what they did, but that's interesting in its own right."

[whatamithinking]

"Third Eye Annhilation Beam, Third Eye Burning Sear and Psionic Blast are basically the same thing in descending power level. Perfect Scream does brain damage. Synchronicity is the obvious. Si Vales Valeo is sympathetic healing. Axiomatic Restoration restores objects or systems to a state of lower entropy. Wings of the Mind's Eye gives me, well, wings. Ironwill Shield is a shield. Soul Aria is projective empathy of varied intensity depending on what I intend when I cast it. Mind Palace Gateway and Mind Mirror are really really obvious when I cast them, I promise, and they...do have applications besides mind reading. But they also allow for mind reading."

[onceandforall]

"Under what constraints?"

[whatamithinking]

"Mind Mirror creates a planar surface with a representation of someone's mind on it, and anyone who steps through gets a more...close look at the relevant mental activity. Mind Palace Gateway is similar, but it stays interpretive and you can also move stuff around. If it's your own mind you automatically interpret what everything means; if it's not then you're just in a palace-like area. With stuff that may or may not make sense depending on how well you know the person. I've only ever used either spell on myself--they're really good for introspection--or on my sister. Who consented in advance."

[iamnotpolaris]

"It's true, I did."

[whatamithinking]

"But I generally warn people in case I get possessed or something, that's not very common but some very evil people have been known to be able to do that, so they can stop me if I do something like that while I'm not in my right mind."

[onceandforall]

"Okay, sounds good. ...I kind of want your introspective spells, but they're not the sort of thing my magic lends itself to."

[whatamithinking]

"...I mean, I could make a mirror or something pointed so neither of us could see it and you could go inside, but I wouldn't blame you a bit for not wanting to trust me that far."

[onceandforall]

"Is 'you being able to see the mirror' actually the limiting factor, and how hard is it to affect the outside world from inside a mirror?"

[whatamithinking]

"If you haven't walked through the mirror, you can't get any feedback from it aside from what you can see. And you can't, exactly, it's...why don't I show you with my mind, I've checked to my satisfaction that most of what's visible from the surface is opaque if you don't know me."

[onceandforall]

"Okay, sure."