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

[walking_nukebird]

I'm trying!

[But is "she" really? Because that plasma beam looks ike it came real close to setting a nearby tree on fire.]

Shit!

[false_administrator]

I said you need to stop or I'll—[ Move too fast, stumble on the gravel, go down in a heap, scrape both knees, and roll onto her side?

Real intimidating, Yoshika. ] Aaaaah!

[ Yeah, see, when you're not used to feeling pain and you're in a body that already has weird sensitivity, you should really be careful. ]

[ She'll be with you in a minute, hell raven. ]

[walking_nukebird]

[Well. That got "her" to stop at least! "Utsuho" slowly lowers "her" control rod while watching this strange girl.]

[And she keeps on staring.]

Are ... you alright?

[false_administrator]

This is reaaally stupid!!! [ She grumbles and uses the scabbard to support herself as she moves to stand. ]

[walking_nukebird]

[One of "Utsuho's" wings twitches awkwardly while "she" watches.]

Look, um—I don't even know you. Who are you?

[false_administrator]

[ Once she's up, she points with the sheathed blade once more. ] I'm the jiang shi that you hurt that one day!!!

—oh, and I'm in a different body right now, but that doesn't mean anything!

[walking_nukebird]

[A beat passes. Then "Utsuho" tilts "her" head with a confused look.]

What's a jiang shi?

[Balin, you are really not succeeding at acting differently from Utsuho.]

[false_administrator]

I'm a jiang shi!! [ Doesn't she get it? This is frustrating on many levels. ] My name's Yoshika Miyako.

[walking_nukebird]

["Utsuho" blinks a few times, but then her expression turns more serious. And scrutinizing.]

Wait ... When was it that, um, I hurt you?

[false_administrator]

You don't even remember? Agh! I don't, either!!! It was a few weeks ago or something like that!

[walking_nukebird]

Was "I" deliberately shooting at people? Houses? Stuff like that?

[false_administrator]

I don't know!

I don't even know what you did except that it was really hot and then I woke up and I couldn't eat or move right!

[walking_nukebird]

[So Utsuho did kill people during her rampage. Or at least that's how Balin's taking this.]

... Listen, I'm not really Utsuho, okay? I'm not in my right body either.

[false_administrator]

—what? [ Pointing. ] I don't believe you! You're using that fire just the same way!

[walking_nukebird]

Well how am I supposed to believe you are who you really say you are?

[After saying that, Balin thinks to himself "oh God I'm doing the exact thing Utsuho does somebody help this body's getting to me!"]

[false_administrator]

[ Blinking. ] You think I'd lie about dying?

[walking_nukebird]

Maybe? I don't know! Like I said, I never met you before, not as—whoever you are now, or whoever you really are!

["Utsuho" is standing there with a hand on "her" hip, gesturing with the control rod while saying that—pointing it at "Miko" for a second, and then off to the side.]

How am I supposed to prove to you I'm not the real Utsuho, anyway?

[false_administrator]

I don't know!! [ She grabs at her head, the frustration almost causing a headache and—

Who has headaches, anyway? This body is stupid! ]

[walking_nukebird]

Okay, how about I just tell you who I really am? I'm Sergeant First Class Balin Wilbur. I fought this bitch when she was trying to burn down everything last month. I blew her arm off.

[false_administrator]

[ Pointing. ] Then why do you have the arm now?

[walking_nukebird]

Because youkai regenerate really fucking fast?

["Utsuho" flaps "her" wings once. Slightly annoyed, maybe!]

[false_administrator]

—but I can't regenerate at all. This isn't fair! [ Sighing. ]

Wait. You're a youkai?

[walking_nukebird]

["Utsuho" puts a hand to "her" stomach.]

This body is. She's a hell raven. In my normal body I'm just a human.

[false_administrator]

[ Yoshika just stares on ahead for a long time. ]

...oh.

[ Pointing again. ] Then you need to be careful with that power because you could end up hurting people, too!

[ Pointing behind, back the way she came. ] And I'm going to leave to make sure nothing happens to this body, either!

[walking_nukebird]

I don't blame you. I'm ... um, not exactly alone in here.

[A beat. Curiosity gets the best of "Utsuho."]

Do you know the woman you swappwed bodies with?