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I'm Waking Up: Origin Stories.
You’re an old man who had a nasty run-in with Something That Went Bump in the Night, and once believed that the only way to make sure that you never had another problem like that again was to pick up a gun and shoot supes in the face before they killed you or hurt your family – and then some government shitheads called you up and told you that they’re your friends, you all have to get along. They took your weapons, sent you to some fucking program that felt too much like Alcoholics Anonymous. You hang up on them every time they check on you, but they still know exactly what you’re doing, every second of every day.
You’re a house wife in a quiet little town, accustomed to turning a blind eye towards the strange things that happened to people after dark because the local police either didn’t have a clue or were letting those things happen in the first place – and then some nice people in coats came in from God Knows Where, arrested some crooked cops, and made it all go away.
You make a new batch of cookies every Sunday, to give to the coated fellows who still hang around at the street corners downtown; some of them are young, so very young, and remind you of your younger brother. Your little ones want to be just like them someday.
You’re the kid who learns Judo rather than Track and Field after Math every day (Teacher Felipe says that you have to know how to defend yourself), then takes a quiz all about vampires, fairies and werewolves in Occult Studies. Every Wednesday, you tumble around with your classmates, and get mad whenever your best friend does his Superman thing and beats everyone to the top of the hill by flying there. Every Friday, a guy with more guns than you have teeth comes to school, takes over PE classes, and talks to everyone about what he does for a living. Sometimes, he takes “special kids” with him to another school, for special people like them. You hope that he won’t take your best friend away.
You’re the manager of one of the biggest call centers in the country. You’re happy because life’s been great ever since you opened your doors to the local vampire community. They’re damned good at their jobs, and you don’t have to deal with the HR nightmare of overtime, of medical bills and lawsuits anymore. And you feel safe, because you know that if one of them ever steps out of line, you know exactly who to call.
You’re the girl who leapt through time, who met a handsome stranger who took you to a fantastic place full of talking trees and flying fish, the girl who was loved and fucked and tossed aside when you started getting boring.
You came home and found that your house wasn’t your house anymore, that your parents have been dead for decades and all of your friends were old and gray while you haven’t aged at all.
They found you crying on a swing. They told you what happened, and helped you set things right.
You’re the drunkard at the local bar who sees monsters in every face, and still remembers what it was like years ago, when you didn’t have to be afraid of the dark, or wonder what’s beneath all the human skin and human smiles of every person you meet. The Truth fucked you up, you see. You wish that once upon a time, you had the better sense not to listen.
o r i g i n s t o r i e s.
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Um, how about here?
[ Rhiannon Towers: she can recognize them on sight. This one, though, is REALLY high-tech compared to the ones she read about. ]
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I'm going to have a stick, you want one?
[ It'll give you the opportunity to soak up the sights, in any case. ]
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[ And this girl has a big, excited smile on her face as she turns to you, and brings out the fresh pack that you gave her earlier. She's looking around as she lights up.
Should she try to establish contact with some of the tech spirits in the area? She is kind of really tempted... man, this is so cool. ]
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What're you thinking...? [ Oh, she's seen a similar look. ] Because you look like my brother when he gets a new toy to take apart and put back together.
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UM.
SO MUCH EMBARRASS. ]
S-sorry! [ Eep. ] It's just... I kind of want see if I can touch base with the spirits in there. There are so many of them.
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Go ahead.
[ Weren't you small town Technomancer girl for the better part of your life? And now with all this shiny around you, you want to be shy? ]
This city's great, and what better place to touch base right? Falner's not as high-tech, at least, not like this.
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Excuse her as she looks like you've just told her that Christmas has come early. She's going to glance back up at the building, worrying at her bottom lip out of sheer excitement --
-- and then you're going to see that typical Technomancer thing where their eyes become miniature computer screens for about five minutes. She's smoking all throughout, smiling every now and then, and nodding, as if she's talking to somebody without ever opening her mouth.
Wew.
Just. Wew. ]
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Putting you right smack dab in the center of technology-driven Metro Manila is like loosing a bird back into the sky or setting a fish out of a plastic bag.
Everyone's got a place where they're meant to be. Here's probably it for you, at least until you find the next big place to go.
She'll finish her stick and light up a second one. Like she said earlier: there's no rush until you tell her that you want to head on over to your new home. ]
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They're really proud of themselves. They said something about their towers being the most advanced Rhiannon Tower yet...?
[ That did explain the way they had resonated. ]
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Sounds legit-- [ a puff ] --I mean, I don't know for sure if that's how it is, but the Towers are about less than three years old if memory serves me right.
[ She's letting her eyes scan the general area now.
Those are a lot of red suits. ]
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Oh, that makes sense. It was around the time of Inquisitor Vice's disappearance, right?
[ She read about that. ]
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Same year, well after he came back though.
[ Maggie's lifting her eyes to both Towers now. ] There's an access point into Falner through there that leads right into the West District's Liquidated. It's a nice place, though the name's ironic given who runs it.
[ Dead Man humor. ]
Let me know when you want to move. Taguig's not that huge and other than bars and restaurants and office spaces, this is pretty much the most that you'll get from here.
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I think I'm good!
[ Moving back to the bike now, and suiting up to go. ]
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Anything else you'd like to see before I drive us both back to Falner?
[ She promised a tour and she sticks by her word. ]
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[ Saying that mostly because "everything" probably isn't a good answer... ]
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It depends what you'd find interesting. A beat. See, I figure if you like this place, a stroll down the Central Business District would be fun. [ Because all the tech, Brooke. All of it. ]
There are a lot of historical areas, more digital hubs and the school campuses. They're pretty spread out though, so those I figure you can check out on your own or hit up when you get the chance to patrol.
It's a big city. And she's thinking of you not as a student but as a fellow Keeper, graduation aside. Put in your mandatory hours and the months to complete your course and you'll be a fellow in the Vigil no doubt about it.
On that note, I could just tour you around Falner. Give you a chance to see the sights before the celebrations kick in tomorrow.
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Oh! Actually, that's a really good idea.
[ Might as well. She could always go back to places of interest all on her own, especially since she'll be there for at least six months. ]
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Once you get on, she'll gun through the streets and make her way back down the way you both came, cut straight into Ayala Avenue with a decrease in speed just enough for you to take in the sights. She takes the efficient route past several notable landmarks that showcase the city's advanced tech before she turns into the Main Gates that'll lead you both down South District. ]
That's Haven. My dad runs the place, [ she tells you through the helmet speaker. ] They don't open until much later, but you can drop in tonight if you want to check it out.
You should have access to the Network soon enough since you're enrolling at Balamb; the districts are divvied up nicely with tram routes all around. If you see a lot of red, white, blue and yellow -- that's because it's Independence Day in less than twenty-four hours.
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Glancing over once you point Haven out, though. She's read about that place. ]
Okay! Wow, I guess my timing couldn't have been better, huh?
[ Independence Day is a big deal pretty much anywhere, and the Philippines isn't exactly your run-of-the-mill Southeast Asian country. ]
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[ She'll be doing patrol with Foxtrot, her squad. They don't expect too much action outside of probably making sure that drunk kids don't get in over their heads. ]
You up for a circuit around the estate? Can't take you down to the Zangyaku power base, since that's a three hour trip into Falner Forest, but we can zoom through the districts so you get a general feel of the layout.
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[ She can always check out the other places on her own. As things stand, she's still really, really grateful for the pick-up and the impromptu tour. ]
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In East, she'll mention the Cemetery, which you can spot in the distance, and the Shatterdome, which she notes your way because once you graduate at the end of your stay at Balamb, you'll probably take up in the barracks unless you decide to ship off elsewhere. In North, she'll draw your attention to the Lake and the Academy grounds, but she'll smile quietly inside her helmet as she zooms right in sight of HECATON, the mobile fortress hovering overhead ( you're a Technomancer, might as well give you a glimpse of the facilities, right? Besides, that thing's pretty badass. )
There's no need to go inside West District, but she does slow down to give you a brief rundown of the way the residential area's more or less set-up. After that, she'll hang left towards Central and stop just a stone's throw from the Great Hall. ]
And that sums up Falner. The gist of it anyway.
[ She's grinning to herself as she disembarks, bowing her head forward to let that helmet slide off. ] Half the fun of this place is exploring it on your own though, and I think you'll have plenty of time to do that.
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Getting off in turn once you have. ]
I'll make sure to. The forests around here seem really nice!
[ Inasmuch as she loves the pulse and electronic symphonies of a technologically advanced city, Segan DID grew up in a mountain town. ]