Work Text:
[Cuts to the host in newsroom.]
HIMMEL: Welcome, this is Pyrrhia News Network. I’m Himmel, your host for tonight. Right now we are covering the growing influence of Tui’s Chosen, a cult that believes we reside in a story written by a scavenger named Tui. Here’s how the cult is affecting the life of the celebrity hero Qibli.
[Cuts to QIBLI, outside a concert hall.]
QIBLI: I dunno what these cultists are up to, and only the desert wraiths know why they keep following me around. Creeps.
VARIOUS CULTISTS: Notice me, senpai!
—hope Tui writes me into her next book—
Do you think she’ll get my eye color right? I think—
—what twists are next—
Look at that protagonist! So handsome!—
—at me! I’m JP! Sarcasm sarcasm sarcasm self-deprecating joke love triangle.
QIBLI: Ugh, they’re weird. I think their presence is draining the humor from me. I know that sounds weird, but I really feel that way, you know?
REPORTER: How much are these cultists affecting your everyday life?
QIBLI: Do you have any idea how weird they are? Some of these cultists follow me around all day long. They’re even worse than the fans who want me to sign their foreheads. And they seem to think we’re in a story or something. They keep calling me a protagonist? And they won’t let me arrange a date with Winter, either! Some of them think they’re my soulmate or whatever. Weird.
[Cuts to the host.]
HIMMEL: And that’s it for Qibli tonight. Right now we’ll look at an ex-Tui’s Chosen cult member, who may give us insight into the beliefs of the cult.
[Cuts to RIPTIDE being interviewed.]
RIPTIDE: My name is Riptide. I was, uh… I used to be one of Tui’s Chosen.
REPORTER: Why did you join the cult?
RIPTIDE: I… back then I really wanted a girlfriend. My friend group was pressuring me to find someone to date. But I was, uh, not good around dragonesses. I would stutter and… I would forget whatever I was about to say. I hated myself for it, and, uh, I started looking for a quick fix to my problems.
REPORTER: … And that’s when you came across Tui’s Chosen.
RIPTIDE: Yes. They told me they could get me anything I wanted. Wealth, power, a long life, a spouse. I immediately signed on. I… I deeply regret joining now.
REPORTER: So what happened after you joined?
RIPTIDE: About a week after I joined, Tsunami—you know, the “Lost Heir”—returned to the Kingdom of the Sea. And out of all her suitors, she picked… me. It was a miracle. Suddenly I could talk, and I knew all the right things to say. I… I didn’t realize it back then, but that dragon—that dragon wasn’t me. He was only a persona, a false projection who didn’t have my fears and hopes. I… I hope that makes sense to you. I, uh, I’m not sure how to explain it.
REPORTER: It’s fine. Go on.
RIPTIDE: Alright, then. So back then, I… I wasn’t myself. I felt repressed, but I knew if I showed my true colors, Tsunami would dump me. Well, she dumped me anyway, but I was still part of the cult. I—I, uh, had to do some pretty nasty things for Tui’s Chosen.
REPORTER: Are you comfortable with elaborating?
RIPTIDE: It’s fine. So, uh, the leader of the cult is this RainWing. Everyone calls her The Highest Chosen. She claims she receives visions from Tui, who tells her to do things, supposedly. And we… we did a lot of horrendous things. I personally helped pass on the location of the Summer Palace to the SkyWings, and redirected several SeaWing dragonets to where the false Albatross ghost was, and who knows how many other things that haven’t come to fruition yet. The Highest Chosen is mad or power-hungry or both, I’m sure of it, and who knows what she’s plotting.
REPORTER: How did you leave the cult?
RIPTIDE: One night, I… I realized I couldn’t take it anymore, and I left. I flew away from the camp, straight to my kingdom, and sought sanctuary under the government. I wouldn’t wish anyone to join Tui’s Chosen. Its promises sound enticing, but they’re all lies. The cult will strip away your love for dragonkind and replace it with fanaticism for a false god. Stay away, I beg you.
[Cuts to host.]
HIMMEL: And that has been our interview with an ex-cultist, and that ends tonight’s discussion of the Tui’s Chosen cult. Next up, parents concerned about their dragonets smoking a plant colloquially known as the breath of evil…