DEPLOYMENT 15: Be the Other Walking Nuke

[walking_nuke]

[(Note: All tagbacks will be from walking_nukebird!)]
[ACTION - A (847 Goldberg Street, Early Morning, HOUSEMATES)]

[The first thing Balin notices as he starts to wake up is that he's in some kind of cubicle, swaddled in big, fuzzy blankets. He grumbles, thinking that yet again Mayfield has kidnapped him in his sleep in preparation for its latest twisted game.]

[... Until he realizes that his grumble sounds rather bird-like.]

[And his field of vision is ... considerably wider than normal.]

[He raises up, and cranes his head around to discover that ... he's covered in feathers. Black, iridescent feathers—]

AWK!

[Were he still in his human body, Balin might have lept out of bed and reached for his sidearm ... but he's no longer Balin Wilbur. He's now Utsuho Reiuji—and considering this is the man-eating town-burning youkai he'd fought with not long ago, he's taking this predicament far worse than he might have if he were swapped with someone else.]

[So instead, the hell raven that has been spending most of the past few weeks sleeping peacefully in that box, courtesy of Virginia, is now having a night fright. It squawks in distress, its wings flap haphazardly as it tries to escape the box, crashing into one thing or another. The real Utsuho has had a lot of practice shifting between her raven and humanoid youkai forms, so much so that it doesn't require much thought to trigger the switch. Balin's panicky thoughts of wondering what happened to his human body are enough to trigger the transformation—which, for someone who never wanted to be a Polymorphing Spy, is a highly uncomfortable and horrifying sensation.]

[By the end of it, "Utsuho" flops onto the bedroom floor chest-first. Coming to "her" senses after a few seconds, "Utsuho" pushes "herself" up, but "her" now much larger wings are all ruffled and splayed everywhere, and there's a lot of "her" shorter feathers floating about in the air.]

What—WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!

[That yell is loud enough to be heard throughout the house, easily.]

[ACTION - B (Anywhere in Mayfield, Morning/Afternoon, OPEN TO ALL)]

[Utsuho spends a lot of her time flying around in the air, but today she apparently is preferring to walk around town. She seems a bit clumsy and cautious, though—Balin is having difficulty adjusting to a woman's bone structure and center of gravity. Especially since this particular woman isn't even human. Aaand also much taller than he is.]

[Sometimes you might see "Utsuho" looking down at "her" chest and muttering or even angrily talking out loud. Like "she's" arguing with someone.]

[ACTION - C (Downtown Mayfield, Afternoon, OPEN TO ALL)]

"Go on, you mangy mutt! Get out of here! Shoo! Shoo!"

Hey! I'm not a mutt! What's the big idea—

["Utsuho" just tried to enter a store and got pushed out by a drone armed with a broom. With one last shove, "she" stumbles out the door. As the drone slams the door shut, "Utsuho" turns around to look back at the store with "her" hands on "her" hips.]

—Dammit, every store is doing this to me!

[Ah, the joys of finding out Mayfield considers you a "pet."]

[ACTION - D (John Doe Park, Afternoon/Evening, OPEN TO ALL)]

["Utsuho" is currently trying to figure out how to fly. Flight is an ubiquitous ability among Gensokyo's denizens, even if they have no biological ability to do so—but Balin doesn't know that, and so he assumes the only way he can fly as Utsuho is through wing power alone. In fairness, wingspan is one of several things in which Utsuho's body is well-endowed.]

[Flying with wings is a learned skill, though, even for birds—and having never been a bird before, Balin is clumsily trying to imitate what he's seen the real Utsuho and other, normal birds do with their wings. Instead, "Utsuho" ends up flailing "her" wings much like a Killdeer faking a broken wing. Sometimes "she's" lucky with a jump and gets airborne for a few seconds, "her" wings fluttering spastically before "she" falls back down. And "she's" not too graceful about that, either.]

[ACTION - E (Makeout Point, Evening, OPEN TO ALL)]

[Well, if he's going to be stuck inside the hell raven's body for a while, there's one thing Balin can take advantage of for the time being.]

[Up at Makeout Point, "Utsuho" is armed with "her" control rod, and judging from the light show and miniature suns over there, "she's" practicing with "her" powers. Yet unlike her murderous rampage back in March, "she" seems to be taking to aim up at the sky, away from Mayfield. "She's" even trying to avoid setting any trees on fire.]

[But it doesn't look like "she" has a good handle on it, because there are stray fireballs every once in a while.]

Comments

[idkmybfforin]

[WELL FINE BE THAT WAY.

With a growl that sounds...rather odd coming from Balin, Not!Balin throws that pillow at Utsuho's face.]

1/2

[walking_nukebird]

[BAMF. "Utsuho" stumbles backward with a yelp. Maybe "she" was too distracted by hearing "her" real body growl like that.]

2/2

[walking_nukebird]

["Utsuho" grabs the pillow and wrenches it off her face, throwing it right back at "Balin!"]

Fuck you then!

["She's" kind of not paying attention to how much stronger "she" is as a youkai. That throw might have a bit of a sting to it.]

[idkmybfforin]

[GOOD JOB BALIN YOU JUST GAVE YOURSELF A CONCUSSION FROM TEN FEET AWAY.

HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?]

[walking_nukebird]

[Like this!]

H ... holy shit ...

[idkmybfforin]

[Not!Balin seems to be down for the count for a moment; bouncing your skull off the headboard like a basketball did that to you.

Your body will be right as rain in a bit, Balin! Just...give Okuu a bit she's not used to being squishy.]

[walking_nukebird]

[Nope, gonna panic!]

Oh fuck oh shit oh fuck oh shit I forgot she was this strong—

["Utsuho" hurries over and tries to prop "her" real body up gently. The feathers on "her" wings have smoothed down, and the wings themselves have furled away.]

Um—are you okay? Can you hear me?

[idkmybfforin]

[Nope, sorry. CALL AGAIN LATER.

--wait that was a grumble. A little one. Along with a normal pulse and breathing and lack of bleeding through the nose or ears the prognosis seems to be favorable.]

[walking_nukebird]

["Utsuho" is glad for that at least—she does indeed check "Balin's" pulse, breathing, and examines "his" head. Then "she" puts the pillow behind "Balin's" head as gently as "she" can manage. Meanwhile, "her" wings twitch and flap axiously—"she" does not want to find out what might happen if "Balin" dies. Being stuck as Utsuho for ... however long Mayfield plans to keep this up is bad enough as it is.]

Shit ... what do I do for a concussion?

[idkmybfforin]

[More reasons to get the fuck out arrive shortly--this time, as a voice. But not Balin or Utsuho's; a new one, growled at the back of the mind.]

YOU. YOU ARE NOT THIS ONE'S HOST.

[The voice is like the rumbling of a volcano thinking of erupting--loud, everywhere, inescapable.

The eye in Utsuho's chest has reformed, reignited--and the pupil is staring up at Balin-as-Utsuho's face.]

[walking_nukebird]

[Oh yeah. "Utsuho" is startled by the voice. "She" jumps back, "her" body going rigid and "her" wings ruffling and spreading out.]

["She" looks around for the source of the voice, but—of course, it's nowhere to be found. Unless "Utsuho" looks down.]

Who said that?!

[idkmybfforin]

[The voice persists.]

WHO ARE YOU, MORTAL, TO NOT KNOW WHAT I AM?

[walking_nukebird]

["Utsuho" totally thinks this voice is physically speaking to "her."]

What, are you saying I should know? Well, I don't! Who is this, the Milkman?

[More like milkeye.]

[idkmybfforin]

[It's all in your head, Balin.]

LOOK.

[The yatagarasu can't take any direct action against its host. But it does glow slightly brighter.]

1/We'll see~

[walking_nukebird]

[That's an odd response—oh hey, there's something glowing below "her"—]

2/

[walking_nukebird]

[... Oh, hey, the eye is ... glowing again. Didn't Virginia break it—?]

3/

[walking_nukebird]

[—oh shit it's staring up at "her" face—]

4/Done!

[walking_nukebird]

... I HAVE TALKING TITS?!

[The obvious conclusion.]

[idkmybfforin]

ARE YOU FINISHED?

[The yatagarasu is displeased.

...well, presumably. Its voice has a slightly different timbre to it now.]

YOU ARE AS FOOLISH AS THE LAST.

[walking_nukebird]

[You'll have to forgive Balin, Yatagarasu, his "software" is running on entirely new "hardware" at the moment and he's not well-adjusted.]

[In fact, "Utsuho" is giving "her" breasts a few tentative pokes. Not directly on the eye, but on the side of "her" bust.]

... Are you—you're the bird she swallowed, aren't you? The Yatagarasu?

But they said you were dead!

[idkmybfforin]

I WAS.

[...what, bitter? Oh no of course not. That pitch shift is entirely in your head--oh wait.]

[walking_nukebird]

[Yeah, "she" can sense that bitterness.]

... How did you die? Did she kill you and then eat you? Or did she like ... swallow you alive?

[Never mind the latter's not what "she's" been told, but "she's" seen the real Utsuho at work. It's scary.]

[idkmybfforin]

ALL THINGS MUST DIE. EVEN GODS. I WAS PREPARED TO DO SO. I HAD FLOWN INTO THE DEEPEST FIRES OF THE OLD HELL, YET SOME PART OF MY HEART BETRAYED ME AT THE END. IT CRAVED LIFE TOO MUCH.

NOW...NOW I REMAIN. I CANNOT COMMEND MYSELF TO OBLIVION, NOR CAN I ESCAPE.

YOU, MY HOST, ARE MY PRISON.

[The last was almost spat out, with the words hissing like molten earth.]

[walking_nukebird]

[A god who wanted to die? ... Balin's just ... going to chalk that up to divine depression. More to the point, though—]

Yeah, well, that makes two of us. I don't exactly wanna be in the broad's body, either!

[idkmybfforin]

[THE CIRCLE OF LIFE it really sucks sometimes.]

RARE IS THE MORTAL WHO DOES NOT DESIRE MY POWER. DO NOT THINK YOU ARE SO DISSIMILAR.