Eternal Entertainment

"Eh?"

Marcus snapped back to himself, His mind still muddled from the blow he took while on the... Job? What did he do again? He remembered Fire, Smoke... Screams. Then pain and coughing. None of that explains why he's in a, for lack of better description, interrogation room. Just him in a chair, at a desk in a horribly dark room.

"Marcus Francis Freed-" A new voice made itself known from the ever-expansive darkness, It poured out jovial and smooth but with a high note of mocking as well. " Organ donor, career firefighter, quite the boy scout by the looks of it. Rescuing kittens out of trees and all. Died during an apartment fire while rescuing a child. Sweet lord any more good karma and you'd be taking MY job."

"Excuse me? Died? As in dead? Me?"

"Yes, Bless your heart. Not exactly rocket science, try to keep up."

"HEY! I lived in the south long enough to know a backhand when I hear it."

"I know you did, anyway, that's not why we're here. We're here to get you all nice and set up for..." While he still could not see or even guess where this voice was coming from he could still hear some shuffling of paper. "Ah! Avatar! That's a good one!"

"The blue cat people? Wait, what the Fudge is going... on... Fudge. FUDGE!"

"The one with the bald child, and this is a no swearing space. Now we rack up your point total, get you some nice powers and send you on your way. Simple as that."

"Bisque, Noth- SERIOUSLY!? God BLESS it- WOULD YOU!" Marcus took a deep breath to center himself. "... I do not appreciate being censored. Now. I feel like this process is being a little rushed, whatever this process is. You've told me that I've died-"

"Taking a 150 pound wooden beam to the back of the head tends to do that to people."

"That answers one of my many, MANY questions. Next question... Why does it look like I'm about to be interrogated? I mean, a table and a chair? Couldn't spring for a couple of desk toys?"

"Well most, if not all, mortal souls that witness the glory of the afterlife immediately go to it's embrace. You on the other hand, we've selected to go on an adventure! You aren't the only one, but the odds of you meeting another Spark are near non-existent."

"Spark?"

"We used to call it an Ember of Stories... Truth be told, the after life is... Boring."

"Boring?"

"Yes, turns out. Eternal bliss gets a bit blasé. So for the entertainment of all who pass, we pick a few out and send them on new journeys. Sometimes to entirely new worlds, Sometimes familiar... But always changed."

"So what? I die, you stick me in a work of fiction and watch me get up to my business?"

"What is fiction but a reality in which we do not exist? Be warned, the worlds you'll go to will be just as real as the one you lived in."

"I'm sorry, worlds? Plural?"

"Yes, worlds. Once you reach the end of a story, you'll be given a choice. To continue to another world, Usually chosen by the souls that have been watching you, or... to retire, Live a proper life and pass on properly. I know your grandmother, and to be frank most of your ancestors. Let me tell you, I've heard no end of bitching about how you never settled."

"Oh, so you get to cuss!?"

"I've no clue what you're talking about."

"Not sure if you can see me, but I'm squinting very judgmentally right now."

"Oh hush, Now lets get to my favorite part. Points and Purchase! You lot always get so creative. Now then, you get 10 points simply for having lived but you also get points on virtuous deeds, as a career fire fighter. You've earned a lot... 5 per year of service-"

For what felt like an eternity to Marcus, He was given a breakdown of his every good deed. Walking old ladies across the street nets you a tenth of a point apparently, not sure how he felt when saving pets earned a half point, but hey. So long as the math, Maths. He almost missed when he was told his total was finally tallied.

"Which brings us to a grand total of... 144.65, I'll go ahead and round that up to a nice 145. Very high for a first go about."

"Cristiano Ronaldo that took for- Really?"

"No taking the lords name in vain. Now." Marcus jumped out of his seat as multiple decks of cards rained onto the table, roughly in the style of tarot cards, as he inspected the boxes he could put together the theme. Each of the boxes contained abilities from different forms of entertainment. Anime, books, comics, video games, movies, etc. Along with a deck of miscellaneous powers. "Have fun pouring through all of that. Oh, before I forget, the more in tune an ability is to the nature of a world you're being sent to, the cheaper it is. See you in a bit."

"...Well. Fudge... Shitake... Cumin? Bless. No getting around that censor for me, huh?" Deciding to waste no more time he went for the DBZ pack and went through the first 3 cards before immediately closing them back up as he spied the price for Ki blasts. "2 THOUSAND POINTS!? WHAT IN THE FFFFFF... Okay. The censor makes sense now, I was about to make a new language just to cuss about how utterly ridiculous that price is."

//

After that harrowing experience, Marcus sat back and really gave himself time to think. finding the deck of cards that related to the Avatar world itself. Cheap indeed. bending an element was 5 points. but removing a card from the deck, he was able to watch as the prices shifted. Once he took out an element, the others spiked up to 100. Makes sense, He watched Avatar twice. Once as a child as it first came out, and again with his sisters kids. He remembered well enough that only one being could wield more than one element naturally... the Avatar of course. To take up a second element would be slapping the logic of that world in the face.

"...Fire it is." Having any of the elements is a massive boon in it's own right. But some choices were greater than others. Water was restricted by having carry some around, he couldn't just generate it on the spot like fire or use the surrounding environment like air or earth bending. Air was the second out, they were extinct- well nearly.- Having that would just draw too much attention... Fire Nation attention.

The choice between Earth and Fire bending was much more agonizing. With earth, he could literally build himself a camp near anywhere. Same with Fire, Fire is power, death and destruction. He knew that well enough from work... but it was also safety, warmth, a way to purify water and cook food. That sealed the deal. But hey, 140 points left. Time to see if he could really fudge around and find out. "...you gotta be kitten me right meow." ...This is hell, it has to be. There is no heaven that would force him to say something that cringe.

Ignoring his own suffering for the moment he sorted the decks from most likely to have something good for him to least likely. While he didn't go out and buy a body pillow like Kevin. He did watch anime, most of the newer ones escaped him. He did listen to his nephews recommendations, so they'd have something to talk about when he visited on his rare days off. This was the short list.

Fire Force

Jujutsu Kaisen

Demon Slayer

Tower of God

Fairy Tail

Naruto, Decidedly not Boruto. If he could be proud of one thing, it was teaching that boy good taste.

From Fire Force. There was plenty to grab, hell even Shinra's devil footprints wasn't that expensive... Okay it is but that's main character power, so duh. What was interesting was Flamy Ink. A third generation Pyrokinesis. The downside is, that it doesn't effect flames produced from something other than the user... So Marcus wouldn't be able to absorb enemy fire outright. Although, a crazy physical boost along with a bad dude aesthetic? Sign him up. 10 points

One of the few things he remembered from the show is that the breath is fuel for Fire bending. So there was only 1 or 2 things he wanted from Demon Slayer. Total concentration breathing constant at 15 points? Good deal. Imagine his surprise that after finding and reading some cards, some skills and abilities are just learnable. One of which being Blazing Heart. (Set your heart ablaze) Buying it out would cost 90 points so... It may just be best to pass and try to learn that naturally. 115 points left.