The Story of Rebel Spies Catfishing Imperial Soldiers Over the Internet.
10 | PW(Jade) CD(Ceru) II(Anon)-11/29/2017
okay so well. it starts off with daginy, whose the rebel spy II anon
II being their handle initials
so anyway theyre like a pacifist rebel spy who cant stop wanting to help people. They're in the chat as Donlan, investigative journalist turned private researcher
and then there's the IPC trolls, particularly Vadaya and nanako whokind of admitted in chat that theyre psionic rebel hunters
Reba | ID (Maroon) UV ('Violet')-11/29/2017
}>:/ #ThanksNana
10 | PW(Jade) CD(Ceru) II(Anon)-11/29/2017
but before they figured that one out, daginy got messaged by nanako about an heiress that was being held prisoner, and they passed off to them 1 suspiciously well researched document with possible rebel connections
Reba | ID (Maroon) UV ('Violet')-11/29/2017
Also IPC = Imperial Psionic Corps. Big scary psionic soldiers who beat up rebels and eat them for breakfast.
10 | PW(Jade) CD(Ceru) II(Anon)-11/29/2017
and then daginy went into full IM INNOCENT mode
10 | PW(Jade) CD(Ceru) II(Anon)-11/29/2017
and tried to cover their tracks
as best as they could. Fast forward some time, daginy gets caught by scary imps, and after theyre rescued and theyve got a lot of recovery time. so theyre like
imma see what i can get out of these imps
Daginy comes up with lannia, a simpering teal librarian with a specialty in historic architecture and an interest in the mirthful messiahs, specificially to bother vadaya
see what he's made of
Cloud | inkedWhimsy-11/29/2017
spoilers: he was not made of information
10 | PW(Jade) CD(Ceru) II(Anon)-11/29/2017
he was not
Reba | ID (Maroon) UV ('Violet')-11/29/2017
He was made of 'Stop talking to me'.
Cloud | inkedWhimsy-11/29/2017
he was made of a good strong fear of a scientifically engineered justifiable homicide annoyance.
10 | PW(Jade) CD(Ceru) II(Anon)-11/29/2017
anyway there was a bunch of shenanigans where lannia had a "crush" on vadaya,10 | PW(Jade) CD(Ceru) II(Anon)-11/29/2017
nanako and h er friend tomie got to grill tf out of lannia for being a terrible person, orivar fucking hated lannia with a loathing that kind of out weighed anything lannia actually did but
also lannia was soooooo
sooooooooooo annoying
and herlyn joined the fray essentially bc she was wondering what daginy was getting up to, logged onto the chat and was like
lol mfer what are you doing go to bed you need to rest
and daginy was like
IM DOING SOMETHING HERE
and herlyn was like well i'll be your fake moirail and help you sell the whole schtick
and also i can tell you to go to bed when youre getting carried away and daginy was like
uggh fine
and so herlyn became lynner, and lannia <> lynner became a thing
this is really quite a tale tbh
10 | PW(Jade) CD(Ceru) II(Anon)-11/29/2017
so herlyn fucked up kinda bad on 2 points here on the catfishing, one of which was legit like.just fucking telling sipara who she was like
HI
which clued hadean in because he was reading over her shoulder or something
and the second point was that herlyn ended up being an incredibly awful moirail to fake lannia
partially bc herlyn thought lannia was terrible and lowkey hated herbc daginy can fake much better than she canso things became incredibly apparent that the "moraillagence" between lannia and lynner was pretty toxic and bad
cue daginy face palming everywhere bc the goal was not to have their fake relationship drama be the focus of literally anything
also pheres had a bet with his matesprit, Emerel, on who could get a moirail first, and pheres decided lannia would be good candidate
so pheres starts nosing into the relationship, dropping hints on lynner's ability to be a proper moirail to lannia, and fucking just
served as the catalyst for a real break up "real" break up
there was a drag out knock down moirail fight in gen chat
daginy and herlyn sitting next to each other and telling each other whats going on so they dont contradict each other
anyway so after that happened, lannia's been dropping hints about how all her coworkers hate her guts for like months
then she says that shes found out theyre a cult of sufferists, says shes stalking them, disappears for like three months, and then lynner shows up after also three months like
anyone's seen lannia? :/ we parted on bad terms but she texted me saying there were rebels building bombs in her basement
and "liveblogged" her break into lannia's "hive"accompanied with visuals thanks to daginy's light bending illusion psi
lynner finds lannia's dead body in the basement, and when she gets back out, the hive gets set on fire, and then people are following lynner, and she says she's shot and then
stops responding forever
10 | PW(Jade) CD(Ceru) II(Anon)-11/29/2017
in response to this, the IPC trolls got to neuja city, where all this stuff was supposed to take place, and the rebels slap a tracker on vadaya's ship
and the ipc gets to be very confused
bc there's a real lannia at the library she claimed to work at but she's well respected by her collegues and somewhat severe
and also alive
but yeah! that's the "rebel catfishing imperial psionic as a fake librarian" story
Reba | ID (Maroon) UV ('Violet')-11/29/2017
Vadaya was, and is still, not happy.
10 | PW(Jade) CD(Ceru) II(Anon)-11/29/2017
and this is why herlyn's banned from future catfishing attempts
Daginy looks up at you from your couch, their little grey eyes wide and wary behind their glasses. They're shy as they get, but you think they've eased up around you since you spent all that time making sure they weren't about to die.
“What do we do now?” they ask quietly.
You rub the bridge of your nose, sighing as you consider your options. You didn't think your life could get more complicated, but Herlyn really did have a way of picking up complications.
“Well we can't send you back,” you say. “You'll get revenge killed.”
You elbow your moirail. Herlyn shrugs sheepishly.
“Sorry,” she says. “Didn't really think it through. But yeah, his clade ain't gonna let this go nice and easy.”
Daginy looks down at their bandaged hands, their lusus curled up in their lap.
“I don't have a hive anymore,” they murmur. “I don't- I can't-”
Actually getting a permanent place for them would be tricky. They obviously can't afford it on stipend, and you're not exactly in the position to be loaning wads of cash to near strangers.
“You can stay here while you recover,” you say soothingly. “For as long as you need.”
“What's another stray?” Herlyn jokes. You elbow her again, hard. Your apartment is full of strays, yes, that you take care of, but Daginy did not need to be compared to an animal.
“I mean, like no offense,” Herlyn says hastily. “Like I'm her biggest stray, y'know. Like she had to taser me the first time we met.”
Daginy blinks up at the two of you, opens their mouth as if to question it, then closes it again. “Okay,” they say. “That uh- that sounds like a story.”
You roll your eyes and give Herlyn a little shove. “Yes, and we can tell it later,” you say. “The problem we have now is that we've got a highblood's clade on our tails here.”
“They haven't caught me yet,” she says. “I mean I can take credit for the kill-”
“How many times?” you interrupt. “How many highbloods have you killed now? Social enforcement is going to come for you if you keep the pattern up.”
Herlyn grimaces, then starts ticking off fingers. “Well the cops only know about two of 'em,” she says. “But three's a pattern and then my life's not worth shit.”
You're all silent for another moment.
“I mean I could probably kill everyone who tries-” Herlyn says, tapping her chin.
“Herlyn!” you blurt out. “You can't solve all your problems with murder!”
You were trying to avoid a revenge cycle, not generate three new ones.
“Please,” Daginy says. “Don't kill anyone else.”
They glance between the two of you, and you eye Herlyn, who catches your eye, and rubs the back of her neck.
“Well if anyone has a better idea,” she says, “I admit mine is pretty last ditch.”
“They can't kill me if they think I'm dead,” Daginy says quietly. “If you find a body and burn it in my hive, everyone will assume he killed me in my hive.”
You exchange glances with Herlyn.
“That's a little drastic,” you say, hesitant. “And it doesn't solve Herlyn's problem.”
Daginy turns to look at her, their eyes calculating. “You said they haven't caught you yet.”
“And they haven't,” Herlyn says with a shrug. “I'm good with it. Revenge cycle isn't going to catch, 'cause they don't have any idea who I am.”
You're more hesitant. “There's a lot of implications to faking your death,” you say. “Your stipend, for example. Skipping conscription is treason.”
Daginy hesitates, then shakes their head.
“None of that matters if I'm dead for real,” they say. “I- I'm not a fighter. If they catch up with me I'm dead.”
They look down and you sit back and sigh.
“Do you have any quadrants filled?” you ask, and they snort.
“I barely have friends,” Daginy says, steady. “Don't worry, no one will miss me too much.”
Herlyn stands and stretches.
“Well if I'm going to plant a body then I better get moving,” she says. “Where's the suncloak?”
You keep an eye on Daginy as Herlyn leaves. They sigh, just a little, resigned, then leans back into the couch, closing their eyes.
“How are you feeling?” you ask them, passing them another blanket. They look tired. You ought to get them a sopor patch and you get up to grab one.
“Tired,” they say. “Scared. I don't know.”
You return with a patch, and sit on the coffee table, handing them the patch.
“For when you want to sleep,” you say. “We probably shouldn't move you around too much right now.”
You shift, a little uncomfortably. What were you supposed to say to someone whose had their life destroyed? Who was currently in the process of ruining it further so they could stay alive?
“It'll be okay,” you say, regretting the words as soon as they drop from your mouth. They sound empty, even to you. “I mean- rest, okay? Heal. You can stay here as long as you need.”
You'll definitely need to move some of your animals out- you can't afford to feed them all, Daginy, and yourself, but you have more to share than Herlyn.
“What will I do after that?” They sound lost and you sigh.
“We'll figure it out when the time comes,” you say. “For now, you need to rest, alright?”
Daginy turns to look at you, eyes wide, brows furrowed.
“You're really nice,” they say, almost puzzled. “You're like the nicest person I've ever met.”
You smile, a little awkwardly. You're honestly not really sure how to react to that.
“I just want to help,” you say. “I'm not the only one like this, I promise, we're just not too common.”
They nod.
“I'm.. going to sleep now?” they say, looking at you like you're about to say no. You only nod.
“Good light,” you say, and retreat to your room.
–
Daginy does nothing but sleep for a week. They need help eating, with their hands as burned as they are, and you help spoon soup into their mouth.
They don't talk much, but you can tell they have a lot on their mind.
The next week, they're chatting with you more, asking what you do, healing slowly. Herlyn invites Ferra over to teach them how to pickpocket and pick locks. Whatever they choose to do in the future, it probably isn't going to be very legal. They pick it up quickly.
The third week, they're starting to walk by themselves again, their healing burns still tender. They spend time to themselves, thinking, but they've really started warming up to you, laughing, joking, arguing intensely about subjects that don't really matter.
At the end of the fourth week, they tell you they have an idea.
“I want to help people,” they say. “Like you, but you know, bigger.”
You raise an eyebrow, setting down the pan of brownies that Herlyn made. Herlyn peeks out from kitchen.
“What do you mean?” she calls out.
“I mean I want to help people,” Daginy says nodding. “Yes, I lost my hive and I'm fake dead, but that just means I don't have that stuff to hold me back anymore. What you did for me, I want to do for other people.”
You shake your head.
“How are you going to do that?” you ask. “I mean, I can't exactly take care of more people than I am already, and you, well- you don't exactly have a hive.”
Daginy shakes their head.
“You said there are others like you,” they say. “And there are others like me. We just need to be able to make sure that they can find each other.”
There's a grim determination in their jaw.
“I haven't figured everything out yet,” Daginy says. “But I think we could build a network of people who want to help. And help everyone. People who don't have a choice, who are running. People with mutations.”
They glance up at you, uncertain and vulnerable with their declaration but with a determined light that makes you think that they've already made up their mind.
“Mutants?” Herlyn says, walking into the living room stirring another batch of brownie mix. “You're talking straight up hemorebellion.”
Daginy nods hesitantly. Herlyn whistles.
“And I thought I was gonna be the one that brings the popo on our asses,” she says. “How're you gonna keep from getting your ass arrested?”
“How are they going to arrest someone that's dead?” they joke, raising a wry eyebrow. “We keep our tracks clean and don't take on more than we can.”
“We,” you comment. “You want our help.”
Daginy nods sort of sheepishly.
“Well, yes,” they say. “You say you want to help, don't you?” They look straight at you, expectantly, and you find yourself thrown.
“I mean-” you stutter. “There's a difference between helping someone right in front of you and- and- hemorebellion.”
Daginy sits back, a slight frown, disappointment written all over their face.
“I'm not worth any more than anyone else in my situation,” they say. “Or worse. They need help as much as I did.”
They're not disappointed you refused, they're disappointed in you.
“I think- I think I need some time,” you say. Daginy nods, still frowning, then gets up to get a brownie.
“Yeah,” they say. “Take your time I guess.”
You grab your moirail- Herlyn pushes the bowl of batter onto the kitchen table- and pull her to your room.
“Herlyn,” you say, as she picks you up and carries you into the pile. “Herlyn, this is crazy. Are you really thinking about doing this?”
She folds her arms around your waist and leans in, touching her forehead to yours.
“You know,” she says. “For all our talk about helping people, I think we just got showed up by this kid.”
You look up into her eyes and sigh.
“I know,” you say. “They're a good kid.”
“Are you scared?” she asks.
You consider it for a moment, then nod. “What they're proposing could get us all killed,” you say.
Herlyn nods, considering it. “We have known them for like a perigee,” she says. “But you know, I think its pretty safe to say we don't have to worry about them being an empire spy or anything.”
You chuckle and shake your head. “No,” you say, “No, I don't think so.”
“Daginy is gonna do it,” Herlyn says. “Whether or not we get involved.”
You nod. Herlyn could see it too.
“I mean that means the question is less whether or not we want to be rebels,” she says, “and more if we can live with ourselves if Daginy goes out and gets themself killed and we could have helped them avoid it.”
You lean in and sigh.
“It is,” you say. “Isn't it.”
Herlyn pulls you into a hug.
“Honestly,” she says. “I'm in for it. I've always been kind of a rebel.”
You roll your eyes. “You don't say.” Herlyn chuckles into your hair and presses a kiss to your forehead.
“And you?”
You know what your answer is already, but you take time to think about it, to try to settle that knot growing in your throat, to think about the pros and cons and choices, and really consider, really, really, consider the opportunities.
“I need to talk with them more,” you say. “I'm open to it, but we need a real plan.”
“Don't think they'll object,” Herlyn says. “I mean like, Daginy's really fucking smart. And you're really smart. You'll figure out something.”
“You're smart too,” you say. “Don't sell yourself short.”
Herlyn snorts. “I know what I'm bad at,” she says. “And this kind of smart ain't my kind of smart.”
You nod, acquiescing.
“Then let’s go,” you say and detangle yourself from the pile. Herlyn starts to get up, and you grab her hand, giving her knuckles a kiss. She smiles down at you, and helps you to your feet.
“Let's go kick some ass,” she says, and you nod.
The resulting conversation lasts hours, spanning over several nights. You debate this and that, discuss your roles, and when you're done, you feel the buzz of anticipation and nervousness.
“What do we call ourselves?” Herlyn asks.
You exchange a glance with Daginy, uncertain. They bite their lip, shrugging.
“Well,” they say, “Alnica's technically in charge. So maybe we can just call ourselves the Magpie's Nest.”
You glance over at your lusus, the white dappled asshole, and raise your eyebrow.
“Isn't that a little on the nose?” you ask, a little embarrassed at the prospect of having this venture named after you. You're still not sure how you feel about being the spymaster. It's logically the most obvious choice, but you were also the most hesitant of the three to get started.
“Well we'll be gathering info that you'll be hoarding so,” Daginy shrugs. “Either way it's fitting.”
“You need me,” you snarl, struggling against the twine binding you hands and ankles and nailed to the floor. Braided spiritgum root, probably, to keep you from doing any magic. A chalk circle surrounds you, sigils for protection, preservation.
A grinning face leers down at you, a familiar face. You snarl at her, the anger of betrayal biting and sharp.
"Of course we do,“ she says, surrounded by your clam and holding up a familiar necklace. "But you’re too dangerous, Ashevi. You can live but we’ll have to compromise."
You wake with a start, in a corner of Hester’s hive in a cold sweat.
"Daginy, Daginy, Daginy,” you chant under your breath as you test your hands. They’re still under your control, but a paranoid thought still occurs to you– she might still be in there, waiting for a good moment to take back over.
You didn’t realize, at first, that you had been possessed. There had been a million other things on your mind and an extra one slipped in unnoticed. She hadn’t taken away your perception of your body, just most of your control, and she had so seamlessly integrated herself, you had trouble telling what was you and what was something else.
Closing your eyes, you go looking for her again. There’s not a whisper of her any more but she obviously left something behind. You’d be willing to bet you’ll dream more of her life in the coming days. You’re not quite ready to go back to sleep just yet. Instead, you take out one of your little notebooks, and start writing.
You don’t know how you feel about your list having this many contradictions, but at least it’s yours, all these things you know about you.
You close your eyes again. You always figured ghosts existed, even if you’ve never seen the proof. You’ve met a lot of lowbloods who’ve all claimed they can see or hear them, some of them knowing things only the dead know.
Magic? Possession? That was something else. A group of cultists that had someway to force people out of their bodies, spin otherworldly things into existence. Even Hester, with the knowledge to stop you from getting possessed.
You’re kind of surprised you haven’t stumbled across this sort of thing earlier, but at least that means it’s rare. You want to be prepared for the next time something like this happens.
You hesitate a moment and then take your pen to your hand. You draw one circle, and then another inside. You draw sigils for protection, life, mortality, identity. An anti-possession rune.
There’s a faint swish in your ears as you feel the last bits of Ashevi leave you.
Not you. You draw another circle inside the rune and in it, you write a sigil for knowledge. Ashevi might have taken your body but her mind will help you keep it in the future.
You get started. You grab one of the notebooks you’ve stockpiled and write down everything Ashevi knew, jotting down sigils, recipes for rituals, magical theory, supernatural dangers and ingredients. It comes to you in bits and pieces and you have to split things up between notebooks, numbering the pages and referencing things as they come to you, like you’re remembering something on your own rather than plumbing another memory.
The sun sets and you’re still not done but you need rest. You look back at the work you’ve already done, words you commit to your own memory, not your borrowed one.
Hester will probably let you stay awhile, especially if you share some of this stuff with them, you can afford to take a break. You slap a bandage on top of the rune on your hand to protect the ink and sink back into the pile. You’re going to master this before the week is out.
It's not that unusual for them to disappear. They do their own thing and they're good at it. But a week? Even at their most moody, they'll at least contact you whenever you need an update on what they're working on.
You check the blogs and sites they often contribute. Nothing. Well, writing was hard and time consuming, and even if Daginy was prolific, it wasn't as though they could always churn a piece out every week.
You make contact with a few of the regulars, to see if anyone has seen them. Nobody. Okay. Unusual, but did not mean something was wrong.
You start investigating. The last project they had been pursuing was an illegal helmsman slaving ring based in a mechanics shop. Scanning the feeds for the past two week, you find a small article about the arrest and dismantlement of the ring. So it was done and Daginy never contacted you?
You stand and stretch your legs, and grab the grub with the last backup of Daginy's palmhusk data before settling back in front of your husktop. It's not difficult to trace the last known location of their palmhusk. The signal stopped near the coastline, next to the harbor, one week prior.
You frown, and check the date of the slaving ring's dismantlement. They disappeared afterwards, but not by long- only a day. The article is only a short blurb. Daginy would have covered it in more detail. You sneak yourself into the Alternian Police Department's digital database.
18 people arrested, 4 confiscated helmsmen. The helmsmen were due to be shipped from the Granite Guts Space Port in the city. The same harbor that Daginy disappeared from.
You curse their stupid grey ass out to the two moons and back then call Alnica.
That's the port where the Greyhound got caught earlier in the sweep. Your information on their security is out of date because there was no way they hadn't patched any existing security holes.
More importantly, there's no record of an arrest in the books, no unknown child in any of the APD jail cells or in an interrogarroter's chair. What you do know is that the man who runs the harbor has a hatchmate and that hatchmate is Interrogarroter Lyrian Aubade. You know they both will want to know how a kid got into their things.
You have no doubt that Aubade would want that information from them. You have no doubt Daginy destroyed their palmhusk and any subsequent notes, because otherwise half your network would already be dead.
Daginy- if they weren't already dead- was still in there.
