07: Well that escalated quickly

[paladaddy]

Who: Shiro Fujimoto and Franken Stein
When: Shortly after this post.
Where: The Villa
What: Shiro confronts Stein for a talk
Style: Action
Status: closed

[Okay, it's not really a fight, but it's a confrontation that needs to happen.

Shiro knew this whole deer thing was going to go spiraling out of control from the get-go. Leaving a carcass out there for anyone to find was definitely a lapse in judgement, and they should have taken care of it when Stein had insisted on killing that deer in the first place.

But no, this isn't about the mess or Hubert's post. This is about the underlying causes of the whole thing.

After talking with Hubert, Shiro goes to Stein's room to see if he is there. He knocks on the door before speaking.]

You got a moment?

Comments

[paladaddy]

[Of course you would, Stein. Of course.

But since Stein explained the weapons and meisters thing to Shiro the last time they talked, Shiro doesn't mind.]

Well alright, what did you want to know?

[circumsutus]

[Stein shrugs, finally spinning his chair all the way around to face the priest.]

I wouldn't even know where to start.

[paladaddy]

[You and your spinny chairs.]

Demonology 101? I did teach fist-years, so I've gone through the basics a million times by now.

[circumsutus]

I promise I'll pay more attention than your first-years.

[paladaddy]

[He's grinning at that.]

Lucky for you, there won't be a test at the end.

To start off with, our world is actually two worlds living parallel to each other. Collectively they're called 'Earth,' but the two wolds are called Assiah, the world of humans, and Gehenna, the world of demons. They exist in different dimensions of the same space, but it's possible to cross over between the two worlds.

Demons cross over to Assiah, but because they're from Gehenna they can't normally manifest in the human world. They drift as spirits, causing no real trouble to humans, since they can't interact with them. However, demons have the ability to possess people and objects if they are strong-willed enough, which is how they gain a physical body and cause trouble for humans.

[circumsutus]

Do you do anything to the demons that aren't strong enough to possess people? [As for the possessed humans, Stein's assuming they drive the demon out and then kill it.]

[paladaddy]

Not usually. If they can't possess anything, then they can't hurt anyone. The only time we ever do anything about them is if they're bothering someone who can see them. Sometimes non-exorcists get a Mashou, and if a demon keeps hanging around them specifically to scare them then we'll go tell them to knock it off.

[circumsutus]

Mashou?

[paladaddy]

Remember how I said most humans can't see demons? Getting a Mashou is what changes that. Basically, the first time a human is injured by a demon, they change a bit. They're still human, but they can see demons and sometimes gain demon-related powers and such. Without a Mashou, it's pretty much impossible to become an exorcist.

[circumsutus]

Fascinating. [Stein's glasses have a habit of catching the light, and the glare flickers across the lenses, obscuring his eyes.]

It's far less genetic and far more circumstantial than how similar abilities work in my world.

[paladaddy]

[Shiro nods.]

Which is actually great for us, many of the best exorcists don't come from exorcist families.

[circumsutus]

Development of sixth sense tends to run in families, though it can appear at random.

The weapon transformation is entirely genetic, though it can skip generations. Maka actually comes from one of the better scythe lines, she'll probably get marriage requests from young men looking to improve their family status. [He's still a little scattered mentally. Today was a bad day for some reason.]

[paladaddy]

Well that sounds like a big pain in the ass.

[And he feels kind of bad for Maka now, if she has to deal with that kind of BS. He knows all too well how shitty the politics of marrying within important families can be.]

[circumsutus]

The Albarn family has focused on development of a perfected scythe form and on wavelength control. Her father is the Death Scythe, and her sixth sense has the potential to be incredibly powerful. She's under no obligations, of course, but people will ask.

[paladaddy]

Heh, I didn't know she was such a big shot.

[It's said jokingly, Maka's still a sweet kid even if she's important.]

[circumsutus]

I doubt she's realized it yet. She's not much for Shibusen politics, and I can't picture it coming up in conversation with her father.

[paladaddy]

Mmm. Well at least she doesn't have to worry about it here, she's a little young for it anyway.

[circumsutus]

Plus, I think she's found someone she likes already.

[paladaddy]

That's true too.

[Oh kids and their young love.]

I don't think I've ever seen Rin so enamored with someone, either.

[circumsutus]

Rin isn't the sort of person to get enamored easily.

[paladaddy]

He really isn't. Which is weird, because when I was his age, I was already chasing after women.

[circumsutus]

Some people are just late bloomers. [Stein speaks from experience.]

[paladaddy]

[That's so true, Yukio was too.]

Speaking of late bloomers, in all the times we talked, you never mentioned a wife or girlfriend or anything.

[circumsutus]

[Stein twists the screw in his head, cranking it backwards once, twice, three times until it clicks.]

I killed the last woman who said she loved me. [Love? No. Stein doesn't love. But she was a very sexy amoral scientist, and Stein can't deny that he was very attracted to her.]

[paladaddy]

[Well that certainly wasn't the answer he was expecting.]

...Ah.

Sounds like your life was pretty eventful.

[That's the most tactful way he can think of to say jesus christ Stein what the fuck]