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 Posted: Fri Sep 13, 2019 5:31 pm
Adorea's courage had returned to her, or at least a semblance of it had as the worst of her bruises faded and she didn't look like she had gone five rounds with Mike Tyson. She would have liked to have said that she'd won but she'd be real on this one, while she probably had the chance to take a world class boxer on, it was probably better to get more than just a couple of rather questionable battles under her belt before she gave it a go.
Thus, for the first time in a few weeks, the senshi had finally donned her uniform and made her way back out towards her favoured territory. Ever since that day she had taken to patrolling the parklands; aware now that joggers and those who sought the privacy of the shadows were most at risk from prowling beasts.
It was quiet this evening and it seemed that the bad weather from earlier in the day had shooed away most of the fair weather joggers and dog walkers. Save for the dedicated few it was reasonably empty and peaceful. There were no guarantees it would stay that way however and it was in her best interests to pay attention.
...You see she still wasn't great at the whole detection thing, the very obvious, spine-tingling pulse that occurred when something anomalous was in the area.
Yeah. She was good at missing that.
It was one of her goals to get better at it though and this evening would prove to be a good time to practice this, she'd be able to sense the youma if she focused well enough and that might give her some valuable time to get in between them and whatever it was they wanted.
Beyond that, she wasn't hoping for much excitement, just something nice and easy to ease her back into the whole good-guy routine she'd had going on until she'd slammed into the brick wall and realised she was most assuredly mortal even with some 'super powers'.
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Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 10:04 am
Zubeneschamali was never one for philosophical talk. He had his reasons for being here, most of which he loathed, but for better or worse, he was stuck.
Stuck trailing around in the darkness, stuck draining people dry and tossing bodies into a somewhat safe nook until they woke, if they were luck. The not-so-lucky ones, the ones who fought back too hard, well, they had their starseeds pulled. And then they were gone. Soulless husks left to be found by a youma or by an unfortunate passerby come morning.
Luck would have it that targets were easy tonight. One by one they dropped in the late-summer air, bodies littering the ground around the park, though he did try to atleast make it seem like they had just curled up for a nap. Wasn't hard to believe, given the lateness and the way more than a few smelled like alcohol.
And just as well that the last person he planned on draining for the night was being propped up against a tree that he felt that familiar 'ping'. A member of the White Moon...
While he didn't exactly care for fighting, it was more than a little 'required' to atleast give reports about people he found, and every little bit of information he could get would help secure him more power.
Power to tell his superiors to <******** off when they no longer had control over him.
With his hands in his pockets, he headed towards that energy he felt, thinking nothing of it. They didn't feel all that strong after all. And when he did finally see them, his face remained stoic, giving the girl a quick glance.
"A little late to be out here playing hero, isn't it?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 7:16 am
Perhaps that was why she hadn't initially thought to show concern for those curled up on benches. It was that time in the evening when there would be those who were less fussy about their preferences would be around. Those who were drunk or otherwise in possession of all their faculties would have been there. Alas, with her subconscious programmed to ignore what should theoretically be normal, she hadn't quite put the pieces of the puzzle together.
...Or she hadn't until she felt it.
It was a bit like a pulse, something rippling across her senses. It wasn't enough to knock the wind out of her but it was enough for her to turn round to face its direction. Something was here, something like her but also not. It had a similar signature to the senshi she had met previously.
Very little time passed before the blond senshi came into view, his posture somewhat nonchalant and otherwise unconcerned with her existence. A pause, and then he was soon speaking and it was in much the same tone as the other two senshi she'd met before.
Did they always sound so unimpressed, devoid of any spark?
Maybe that was confirmation bias on her part, she might very well just be missing the cues but...meh.
"Some of us need to make sure that your folks don't cause irreparable damage," she replied smoothly, rather impressed with her own restraint. If he was here then it really did mean she was going to have to keep an eye out and intervene where necessary. "Not a huge fan of theft if I'm honest, you never heard of reducing, reusing and recycling? It's a more sustainable way of life."
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Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 12:09 pm
"Irreparable damage? Sustainability? You must not pay entire attention to those cases of 'theft' you speak of." 'Mali found no real thrill in his work. The draining, the starseed pulling, the needing to neatly hide bodies every now and then. But he tried to atleast understand how the whole 'energy' nonsense worked.
"Let me give you a little less then." He took a step foward, closer to him, but still seemed disinclined to attack. "Just like you eat to get energy, or sleep, or drink copious amount of coffee, it renews itself in time. Just because I take it from someone, doesn't mean it's not being used properly, or given back in one way or another. And as long as there's not too much taken, they'll wake up just fine without any issue, so where is the problem?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 12:42 pm
"Yeah, it's not yours," she shrugged.
"More importantly, your...whatever it is, just gets hungrier and hungrier, it doesn't just say that it's had enough," she raised both eyebrows. "Last time I checked that just wasn't sustainable and eventually it would have to start eating itself," she stood her ground on this occasion, folding her arms across her chest as she regarded the senshi.
Based on his signature he was much like Fafnir, stronger than she was, but she wasn't passed running away if she absolutely had to. For now though he didn't seem to have an interest in harming her, merely disputing whatever she might have to say about his career choice.
"And I'm pretty sure that more often than not, you're inclined to take too much," she hadn't yet encountered the horror of someone whose starseed had been ripped out but one day she would, and one day she would realise just how horrible that outcome was. At that point it was irreparable damage, it was murder and it was unacceptable.
"And in the time you've left the ones you haven't taken too much from prone, someone else less scrupulous than you could make use of them, or something else," she wrinkled her nose. "So I see plenty of problems, you're assaulting people, sucking the life out of them and leaving them for dead," she snorted.
"But it's ok right, because you prop them all against trees and park benches like weird mannequins and just pretend you did the right thing by them eh?"
"Is that how it works, am I close?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 12:56 pm
"Flying Spaghetti Monster. Atleast that's what I refer to this 'thing' we feed as. Some would call her a goddess or some nonsense, but strange space alien seems to fit best." 'Mali corrected her, amused at his own irritation at the very idea that he was feeding this entity that ruled the Negaverse.
Had Wolframite been here, surely he would have been scolded for it. But he was not, so he could say anything he wanted.
"Too much, too little, either way, they end up fine, atleast when it comes to myself. I'm not the least bit concerned about these individual's health. After all, it's not as if they are being left to die in the snow in the middle of winter, now is it?" It was only natural he raised an eyebrow at the White Moon Senshi's words. His own body was drawn onto with joints and lines that made him look like the very dolls and mannequins she was talking of. Was it supposed to be an insult...?
"I am not denying what's right and wrong, simply that I do what I do and could honestly care less what happens to them because those I target are typically human trash." As for emphasis, he pointed towards a nearby rest area. "What sort of people do think hang around place like that in the dead of night when most people with an inkling of common sense knows to be safe at home? The kind that want to hurt others. The kind that wants to take advantage of a bad situation someone else might have been in. I see no issue in such a thing."
By now his arms had folded across his own chest, to copy this opposing woman's stance, breaking only to adjust his glasses a moment. As much as he'd hate to say it, he was amused.
"And what of you? A protector of the 'weak'? Does that stance cover the criminals that hide in the shadows?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 1:53 pm
"Flying Spag - " A momentary pause. "Wait, really?"
More curious about the apparent description of the entity than anything else at that precise moment in time, she had sudden images of something not quite as scary as it really should have been. At least Mali was providing her with clarity in regards to the nature of whatever it was Fafnir had been feeding, though she couldn't quite understand why he was feeding it if he was prepared to lambaste it.
Nevertheless, a battle of philosophy had begun, if only in regards to how one deemed society. She afforded a glance towards those he had 'dealt' with, pursing her lips briefly and ultimately oblivious to his possible discontent at her unintentional 'mannequin' insult.
"Some of them don't have a choice," she said finally.
There were those in the world who showed no mercy, lack compassion, and had no interest in acknowledging that some of those deemed trash were there through hard luck and a desperate need for aid. Others though? Well they were exactly what he said they were, deliberately out to cause harm, but without crystal ball it was too difficult to identify them.
"Circumstances put them there and throwing them back into the abyss only keeps them there," she stated.
"I'm here to stop you throwing them back in there," she shrugged and gave a light shake of her head. "So that the ones who didn't aspire to this life can get out of it instead of entering the endless cycle you seem so determined to cast them in to."
She wouldn't say she was a protector of the 'weak' per-say, honestly she didn't know what she was in that respect, but she did aspire towards giving them hope and a measure of confidence to go somewhere.
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Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2019 12:45 pm
He chose to outright ignore her question about the 'chaos' they served, deeming it unworthy of an actual response. It would likely only lead to another headache, one he just didn't want to deal with right now.
"No choice? And do you think that all of us here, in the Negaverse had a choice when we were forced here?" The senshi before him hit a nerve, a bad one, and he just couldn't stop himself from stepping forward, eyes narrowing in agitation.
"Do you believe you are the only 'good' here? You and your.." A hand rolled off to the side, gesturing at nothing in particular. "White Moon senshi? Do you really think that everyone here in the Negaverse wants to be here?"
He took another step forward.
"An endless cycle? Yes, it is, isn't it? One where a knife is held to my throat that says 'provide us with energy or your next. Or worse, your family is next'. Clearly, that isn't much of a choice, is it?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 3:53 pm
Now would have been one of those moments when a little patience and tact would have gone a long way. Unfortunately Adorea didn't have that measure of finesse and her mouth was running long before her brain could rein it in.
"So why are you with them then?" she challenged him and lifted a brow. If he wasn't here by choice then why had he elected to stay? Why hadn't he rebelled, why hadn't he defected? She knew Arthur had explained some of it, it had been a very top-line explanation on the whole but perhaps Mali was one of those who had been found by someone they shouldn't have...and the Mauvian had been too late.
"If they're of the opinion that they don't want to do it then why do it, why not just simply leave and find help elsewhere?" she shook her head. "There is always a choice when an opportunity presents itself but you're never going to find it if you keep shooting yourself in the foot," she motioned towards the comatose individuals he had 'dealt' with earlier.
"Hell you might be looking right at it and you're simply not prepared to acknowledge it," she furrowed her brow.
"Or you don't want to," she unfolded her arms and placed them on her hips, inadvertently opening her stance into something less hostile and a touch more conversational even if her tone didn't quite reach those levels yet.
"It's fine to make excuses and I'm not stupid enough to think that most of the folks you just hurt won't make them as well, but there are probably some in there that do want out and I'm going to make sure they can get out."
"White Moon or otherwise!" She added; after all she hadn't been a senshi for that long herself, but even her normal self had a charitable bone and some good faith in its body!
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Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2019 8:50 am
"Do you truly think it's that simple?" 'Mali took another step forward, looking down at the girl with disgust.
"Do you think the Negaverse just rolls over and lets whoever wants to leave just go? They aren't like your scattered and disorganized faction. They kill and they won't tolerate those who try to flee. They will hunt those of us who leave down and either force them back or outright crush their starseeds. Do you know what that means, little senshi? It means no life again. It means that you don't get reborn and the opportunity to find peace in another life. It's darkness for the rest of eternity because your very soul is crushed." He could feel his face burning now, enraged, but not enough to hurt her.
While he was a man of cruelty, 'Mali was also fragile in a fight. There was no reason to start one when it was a simple moment of education. One drenched in his own irritation, but peaceful nonetheless.
"Say If I could leave here, without being hunted, without knowing that I'll be marked a traitor and could have that 'choice'. You lose your mind. Your memories, things that I wouldn't ever be able to get back again. Surely you understand the importance of family, given your whole goody-two-shoes act you have going on. How do I save them who have been trapped to? How do I protect them when the Negaverse has seeped into their very lives? They know where I live, where I work, where my sibling lives. I go, I'm free, but do you know who gets punished? My family. Yes, you can say that you're 'going to make sure they can get out But how can you? This war is likely older than you. What hope do you have in helping anyone?" The longer he spoke, the less the fire burned.
... He wasn't blind to the struggles of this world, nor the helplessness of the situation they were in. It always seemed like an endless cycle of war, and none of the higher ups were suffering. Only the grunts, those no one cared about. Slowly, he grew quiet, shaking his head.
"You are weak. There are those out there far stronger than either of us. It was someone like that who corrupted me after saying 'I owed them' because they saved my life. There was no choice, just a hand shoved him my chest. I know it's not as easy as your innocence wishes to believe. But go on, keep on making such declarations while you can, while you still have that freedom to do so. You'll learn one day that not ever Negaverser is kind enough to talk. And that a hand in your chest is all it takes to ruin your life forever."
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Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2019 7:51 am
"Sometimes taking the easy road does more harm in the future," she replied with a surprising level of control. At this particular moment in time she was just as inclined to get into his face and give as good as she got. She had a passion too, not necessarily for the Order, she hadn't yet learned much to declare her undying loyalty to it... But in time she would and in time she would push to bring everyone back to a better way of life; a kinder world.
"You're right family is really important, it sustains people and it makes them who they are," she shrugged her shoulders gently and glanced over at the comatosed bodies on benches and in other little nooks. He'd been busy by the looks of it, but given the current subject, they were a useful resource to her as well. She didn't expect miracles though, not yet at least, but she would remain optimistic that maybe someday he might come to realise there was some truth to her words.
"But sometimes, it doesn't make them the best people they could be," she admitted.
"They can hold back someone because they're afraid of what might happen to them, they're afraid they might never come back because whatever they've found is somehow better," she pursed her lips. "On the flipside there are also families who will try desperately to hang on to someone to save them from themselves and sometimes it's hard to separate their intentions sometimes," she pursed her lips.
"You're right you know," her voice softened and her gaze returned to Mali. "I'm not that strong right now, I'd probably get crushed under the boot of whoever took you as it stands," she continued. "...But that doesn't mean they'll be able to do that forever and even if it's hard, I'm not going to back down from getting people out of situations they never asked to be in," she motioned to him.
"You didn't get to pick, they gave you a debt which you didn't necessarily sign up to," she pointed out.
There was a pause and she released a sigh.
"I don't collect those," she pointed out. "Brute force doesn't inspire loyalty, neither does fear," she murmured. "If anything it just breeds animosity and a desire for revenge which will give anyone heart problems if they do it long term," she half smiled.
"You don't think these guys if they decided to try and take that step wouldn't have some issues as well? You don't think they wouldn't be chased for debts, they wouldn't go through pain and anguish, shattered families?" she tilted herh ead to the side. "You don't think that others wouldn't hurt those they cared about to ensure they paid up?"
She paused briefly.
"I don't have an answer to losing a part of yourself yet, but maybe some day I will... But just because you might struggle doesn't mean it won't be worth it in the end." She pursed her lips as she regarded him, impressed at how well she had maintained her composure. Her naivety was still there, her spiel no doubt something he'd find comical, but she appeared genuine in what she had said... Maybe there would be a day when she could square up to a so-called general and put them on their knees, if only to save another from indentured servitude for eternity.
"Peace doesn't have to wait for another life."
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Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2019 8:39 am
"And what if they are good people? What if they've done nothing wrong except protect the ones they love? You speak more and more as if you have an answer to everything, but you're just some fledgling little senshi who hasn't seen the corpses that litter the city up close and personal. This isn't a discussion of morality, as if your pretentious little thoughts can change decades of blood spilt." It was obvious he grew tired of this conversation,
"What makes you so special, hmm? 'Maybe someday I'll have an answer'. As if those words haven't been said before, as if those stronger than you haven't been trying for years to do what you claim you will do. You are nothing but a tiny, insignificant drop in this entire magical war of nonsense we fight, as am I. Peace isn't going to come because only you desire it. Even those who have left before, escaped the Negaverse, find themselves missing part of their minds, a thirst for revenge and lost memories leading them right back into the arms of this horrid organization because that is what they figured they'd do best." Wolframite came to mind, his story of purifying because the Negaverse had changed, only to come back once he realized he had made one too many mistakes.
There really was no escape from this.
"Could you even make such a decision so lightly? Saying goodbye to your family for freedom? It's harder when they don't have powers like we do. It's never their fault, but you're still going to leave because you have no choice? And you know, there's no one waiting for you on the other side. And even if there is, you could entirely forget them. You could forget why you changed in the first place. For love? For peace? All of it can be gone in an instant, and you have absolutely no control over any of it? You can't even say you're 'smarter' than you were before and that you wouldn't make the same decisions or allow yourself the right to choose because you just wouldn't know." Even if it were possible to convince Lori and Obie to leave the Negaverse, there was still too much of a risk that he would come out the other side and not recognize either of them... And Gryph... Gryphon just would never be able to connect who he was.
It was only that love alone that kept him back here still.
"There's no winning here. No hope for peace unless you can take out the head of the snake. But those who rule are hard to kill. It's nothing you can do to fix it. And nothing your "White Moon" can do either, given the lack of organization. Tell me, do you know of any leaders among you? Or are you simply strangers who can't organize yourselves? Dictatorships aren't ended with one person alone."
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Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2019 12:40 pm
"Change starts with one person," she pointed out calmly. "Change starts with one, seeps into another and from there a revolution can be born," she shook her head. "If you always walk around under the assumption that something is impossible then to you it will be," she continued, her tone becoming a touch sharper.
She'd take the insults and observations regarding her naivety, she'd accept that there were many things she didn't understand, but that didn't mean she couldn't and wouldn't learn. Rest assured there was always an opportunity to learn and if the White Moon were missing something then maybe it was her duty to find a way to fill that void.
...There were bound to be people out there who could lead them, who had the expertise and the drive to do so. There had to be those who could unite them under one banner and drive them towards success. Then, in time, with some gains in foothold they could begin to make the changes necessary.
"Believing in the art of the impossible is only the start and if something is at your very core then you will make it work; and maybe in the next life, if you work damn hard in this one, you might find the peace that you personally deem an impossibility."
"You can't have a peaceful next life if you don't work for it."
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Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 7:45 am
"That sounds like childish nonsense. Yes, perhaps in a world where humans don't have magical powers, that might work, but you do understand that it's not that simple, don't you? It's not "all are made equal in the eyes of power", like we are meant to think when it comes to the magic. Some are obviously weaker than others. Some are meant to kill and bear weapons that our meek senshi powers cannot compare to. Tell me, what even is your magic? Let me guess... Based on your nature, something 'healing' or a 'boost in perception', or some nonsense. Do you know what mine is? It's a bomb." There was no threat behind his words, just fact after fact stated. And at this point, it wasn't even philosophical.
Negaverse powers were meant to kill. That's all that it was.
Yet, he grew tired of the fight, especially since the girl didn't seem to want to grasp the stark, bleak reality of the world they lived in.
"The afterlife means nothing, don't you know that? When you die, your starseed comes back. But the Negaverse actively eats them. Your very soul And can end whatever next life you are thinking of. You are Naive. Certainly the White moon are so careless not to have access to information as basic as that."
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Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 7:49 am
"I've been told what happens to starseeds," she replied coolly and shook her head. "And that makes it even more important to make sure that they can't get them," she motioned to him. "You speak of a future beyond this one, to another life where you might be able to live freely," she furrowed her brow and gave him a critical stare. "Yet in your world you deem it impossible, you're simply existing in a world you may not necessarily have chosen and you've accepted your lot in life."
"To you there isn't a future, so what would you have to lose by sacrificing something to secure freedom and the chance to start again?" she challenged. His outlook really was bleak, for all intents and purposes her spoke like a broken and defeated man. Was this his intention, his nature, or had he simply been beat into submission to the point that this was the only outcome he saw.
"By extension of merely knowing you all those around you would suffer the same fate, they have no future, no chance to find a new life," she sighed. "Childish as you might think it is, the possibility exists to redeem almost everything and it might be hard but it is worth it."
"I won't have other lives snuffed out because something is hungry," she snapped.
"Bombs can drop on all sides, people can heal on all sides," she didn't necessarily answer his question but he was on the mark with her abilities. "Just because you haven't seen what we can do doesn't mean that we can't do it, it's only that we've chosen to find a more delicate means of achieving our goals," she snapped back. She was bullshitting at this stage but she did at least hope she was on the right track, she hadn't met anyone who had told her exactly how they did anything to begin with.
"I'm not going to leave people behind just because they've decided there's no point in fighting back when based on everything you've said there's a very real reason to fight back, a necessity to fight back and reclaim the right to self determination."
She might be naive to Mali, but she had heart and passion at least.
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