Occult Tome Bullshit 2

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[17:50] Lemuria made her way over to the child and hovered over him, waving her hand in front of his face to get his attention.

"Hello, child."

Even when addressing a younger teenager, her vernacular was needlessly formal.

"Are you in need of assistance? I could help you in your future magical endeavors if you wish."

Not the best advertising pitch, but she worked with what she had.
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[17:50] Lemuria Augustus says, "<...wait no, I should be more dramatic.>"
[17:50] Lemuria Augustus says, "<Next time, Lemuria. Next time...>"
[17:54] Robin was still staring up at the sky, wondering where the hell he went wrong in life when Lemuria introduced herself. The gentleman in question who had just thoroughly wiped the floor with Robin in one singular spell immediately departs the scene by jauntily walking away, happy to be done with this horseshit.

Robin is still stuck at rock bottom.

"...I don't need your handouts." He grumbles, rolling over onto his stomach. It takes him a second to manage to pick himself back up.
(Robin)
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[17:57] Lemuria couldn't help but crack a smile. That smile eventually broke into a vaguely villainous cackle, far too dramatic for the situation at hand.

"Kyahahahaha! Come on now. Would you really rather rob someone than take help?! You could do so much more, and be so much BETTER than that."

With that, she offered her hand, her demeanor taking a turn for the more quiet and composed.

"Come on now, child. There's nothing wrong with accepting help that someone offers. It doesn't make you weak. It makes you resourceful."
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[17:59] "I'd just use you." He coughs out, finally standing back upright.

"I don't lie to women." The young man explains his rationality. "If you offered to teach me a powerful spell, I'd probably never pay you back if I could get away with it." Facing her dead on, there's a painful haze in his eyes just barely covering up a certain ferocity. He was being wholly serious when he said,

"And if you were the only one who knew the spells weakness, I'd probably kill you or something.

So buzz off."
(Robin)
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[18:05] Lemuria held in yet another cackle. She very much enjoyed the attitude this kid had, and something within her begged her to cultivate it further. Nothing she said managed to dissuade her further, as she was well-aware of what directions relationships like this normally took. She was prepared for it; nay, she welcomed it!

"I just want to see someone like you flourish. Nothing more. People like you can make this world interesting and entertaining! Why would I not offer such services to someone promising if it breathes color into an otherwise dull and uninteresting world? And if you say you're going to just use me and kill me later..."

She pointed towards her chest, her previously giggly expression changing into one far more serious.

"Then go ahead and use me. I welcome it."
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[18:07] * You have been awarded 4 Roleplay Points! *
[18:10] … Yo. You can just say this kinda shit to kids on the street? Even Robin is a little taken aback when what he felt was his worst was accepted... and adored, even. Usually when he talked about killing people all the other kids were like 'Wow Robin, I'm going to Han's house tonight.' not... this.

His astonishment is clearly visible on his face, aghast at it all!

"...Then."

...He would take this as far as it took him. To do otherwise would be wasting his life, wouldn't it?

"Help me. Either you teach me... or help me find someone who can teach me what I need to learn. Right now... I'm useless. I've never won a fight - and I've fought RATS before! Singular! But I know if someone just... taught me instead of reading these damn books, I would learn something!"
(Robin)
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[18:10] Lemuria Augustus says, "Then come, follow me."
[18:10] Lemuria Augustus says, "There's much to inform you of."
[18:12] Robin asks, "Is this... rock bottom?"
[18:12] Lemuria Augustus says, "I could take you elsewhere, but this is convenient."
[18:14] Lemuria rested her arms on the table and tented her fingers, making no attempt to look like anything other than a stereotype. She is who she is. Why bother hiding it?

"How far are you willing to go, child? What are you willing to learn?"

The first step was to gauge his interest and willingness. Lemuria only had so much to teach, and some of it required a very special type of person. She needed to see a certain drive and a certain strength of will before she could make her decision.
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[18:20] "...It's not really a question of what I'm willing to learn, but what you're willing to teach me." He gets comfy in his seat. "I've thought about this, from what little I do know of magic. Spells that outright win a battle are preferable above all others... while I'd rather avoid conflict, if I get into it I don't want doubts.

To that end, being able to manipulate gravity itself is just about the easiest and most direct way I can think of. Time is close as well. Simple fire or lightning is fine until you run into something immune from that." He rambles on for a good half a minute before catching himself.

"Of course... there are illegal magics and things like that. But good luck finding anyone to teach me that when the streets are crawling with Knights."
(Robin)
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[18:21] Lemuria Augustus asks, "...do you -want- to learn the illegal ones?"
[18:22] Robin says, "Depends on why they're illegal."
[18:22] Robin says, "If it's strong, I really don't care."
[18:23] Lemuria Augustus says, "I do in fact know people who could show you the occult."
[18:26] Robin seems to deeply consider this for a moment.

Eventually he finds a complaint, "Don't those guys usually want you to pledge allegiance to a religion of some kind? Or join a cult? I'm not really interested in having to join some kind of organization if all I want is to do things for myself."
(Robin)
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[18:31] Lemuria stood up from her seat and slowly made her way over towards Robin, standing on his left. She held her hand up in front of his face; not close enough to invade his personal space, but close enough to keep it relatively hidden on the off chance any onlookers showed up suddenly.

"No, child. All I'd need you to do..."

...and with that, occult flames sprouted from her hand, covering the entirety of her arm. Her demeanor took a sudden shift- as it's known to do- as she had just channeled into her hand a raw desire to destroy. to hurt others, and...

"...is to keep a secret..."

...to desecrate.

"...and promise that you'll fight for your own causes above all else."
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[18:40] It takes him a moment to fully grasp it all, what's being offered here. A chance at sacrilege. A door opened before him that never would've been here if he hadn't taken that leap of faith into the world of violence of crime. This was his calling card. Not to see if he could be a better person --- but to see if he was willing to embrace himself.

"Fine."

He's terrified of her, to be honest. But the thought that he might somehow get away with this. That he might pull one over everyone who had laughed at him before.... that was more appetizing than anything else.

"Teach me then. There isn't a bone in my body interested in serving this world. If that promise is all it takes, then have it. If you're offering me the kind of power I need - I'd tell you anything." Honest as always.

"Where do I start?"
(Robin)
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[18:48] To enable someone to become their darkest and strongest self...

"You indulge. You indulge to the point where your inner darkness becomes your outer darkness."

...was that not the most entertaining part of any of this?

"Occultism is the power of destruction, the power of chaos, and the power of desire. It's when you lose yourself in the darkest aspects of yourself, and turn them into just as much a part of you as anything else."

"You need to be yourself. You need to never compromise it. Self-preservation becomes the most important thing, as your world shifts from encompassing others to only yourself and your desires."

It's a very metaphorical and abstract way of describing the occult, but it's how Lemuria conceptualized it, for better or worse.

"It's the world's gift to those who reside in no world other than their own."

The world's gift was probably the key phrase here, were Robin perceptive enough to pick up on it. One could consider it a curse, but Lemuria couldn't consider it anything other than a blessing.
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[18:54] The Worlds Gift...

Like... that moment of instinct that hit him at the stall. The one that screamed at him to lie and cheat to get a leg up. The one that told him whatever harm he caused was nothing in the face of what he had to gain from things going his way. To be able to look at a situation and count how many bodies need to hit the floor for you to walk out of there. To look another human being dead in their eyes and rank them on how easy they are to pickpocket.

...Were these the kinds of things that made him special?

Was everyone else just BULLSHITTING him when they told him 'compassion' and 'love' were the things to strive for in order to succeed?!

"...I think I get it." And just like that... this confusion. This regret. This sorrow. This woeful child... the gears in his brain finally click to a certain path. They finally line up with one of the forces beyond anyone's control. Fora moment, his thoughts are in tune with those of the occult.

He finally understands, and he's okay with being a scumbag bastard. Better him be happy as one than be miserable as a faker. This life. These eyes. This skin. This is all that is real. Damn everything else.

It's a harrowing, existential fucking nightmare to inflict on a vulnerable young boy like this. Lemuria has thoroughly corrupted him in this moment, a gardener to the now blossoming seed of fuckshit hatred and coldhearted backstabbing that had borrowed its way into this unsuspecting hooligans heart.

He'll make a fine occultist.
(Robin)
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[19:02] Another giggle.

Lemuria was tempted to let out a full-on cackle in response to all this, but somehow, some way, she resisted. She stood up and found herself back at her seat on the other side of the table, unable to wipe the smirk off her face.

She did it.

Yet another person, whether they realized it or not, was indoctrinated into her school of thought. Nay, the school of thought behind all those like her. It was the one universal tenant behind just what kind of magi she was.

"You'll find most of it comes to you on its own once you understand the principles behind it."

To not indulge is a sin.

The world was on its way to becoming a darker place, and she hoped this child would realize the nightmare that she, on some level, wanted everyone to suffer.

"And if you desire any help in assuming the correct mindset, just ask. I have my means of giving you a head start."
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[19:06] It really wasn't a question of who was using who anymore, regardless of what Robin believed in his head right now. He was electric with the idea that there was a magic in the world that let him just be a cunt for free and get stronger from it. This simple, primal desire was what swept away many occultists.

"I'm warning you though. I've seriously never cast a real spell in my entire life. So it just... comes on its own?" He sobers himself a little, trying to temper his own expectations and not seem like a dork with how hard he was grinning on the inside. "And... how strong is this magic anyway? It seems more people would learn it if it's just a matter of getting into the right mindset..."
(Robin)
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[19:12] Lemuria nodded in response to everything he just said, for the most part.

"It's one of the most powerful magics you can learn, and it can lead to so much more. And this magic is heavily symbolic in nature-"

Raising her hand up, Lemuria cycled through different facial expressions while causing the occult flames on her arm to flicker on and off. Unfortunately, none of the facial expressions were actually funny.

"-Which means it comes from your feelings. When you learn how to manipulate mana to even the slightest degree, and channel your emotions into it to give it form, it'll come... somewhat easy, assuming you're meant for it."

"And no, most people don't want to weaponize those kinds of feelings. It can lead to a powerful and perhaps horrifying experience that most are simply not prepared for."
(Lemuria Augustus)
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[19:17] Robin notes that occultic magic is also useful for campfires and party tricks. A mental footnote to be shoved away for later, really. He was just getting started. "Symbolic, huh?" Robin mutters.

"...I'll try, then.

I guess... I should see you in a few days and let you know if I managed to learn anything?"
(Robin)