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 Posted: Mon May 25, 2020 4:19 pm
Well, at this particularly juncture in his life, Athalia could safely say that in his spare time he seemed to have picked up a part time job that was almost identical to his full time job. The only differences between his day job and his side-gig as a vigilante was the fact that he had magical-boy powers... Well, that and technically he'd just found out he was regarded as one of the terrorists. He had misgivings about that particular mis-identifier but given that he didn't have the influence required to address that, he'd just have to accept it for what it was.
Alas with the realisation that he had picked up a gig identical to his day-to-day life, he had come to regard it as a bit mundane. The same s**t happened every single evening, the same dance was done, and in the grand scheme of things nothing seemed to change. He'd spooked a number of Negaverse agents, he'd come to blows with some as well, but nothing had ended up making any significant difference. As it stood he didn't quite know how to make the difference he was looking for yet but in time it might come to him...
It should have come at no surprise to anyone that the senshi therefore suspected that this evening would be no different than the others. He would prowl, he would spook or come to blows with something and depending on what he found he might very well end up covered in some form of dust.
...From those eldritch horrors.
He'd say 'ick' but he'd touched far worse while investigating certain crimes.
He could be found half kicking and half scuffing his sandals as he wandered through the park. He didn't appear to be looking out for anything in particular, in fact he didn't even seem overly engaged in what he was doing, but rest assured the senshi was keeping an eye out for those familiar pings that required his attention...
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Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 2:49 pm
Paracelsian was no longer the type to get spooked by one singular senshi signature, especially one that felt small and ordinary. Indeed, if it wasn't bigger than him and speeding rapidly in his direction, he didn't think there was much to worry about. He just kept moving towards this one particular aura, keeping an even pace. He wanted to seem unbothered, because he really wasn't fussed about the senshi presence in the area. He even considered just walking right past the senshi as a subtle trolling effort, but he waffled on that. He decided to settle for raising a hand in greeting and letting the senshi make his choice. It could be a battle, or it could be a reasonable conversation. The ball's in your court, senshi.
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Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 4:15 am
Most of his encounters with the Negaverse had ended with some form of fight, what they all had in common though was that they had't really started with a wave. Athalia came to a halt, mid-step, with his brow raising just a touch in reply to how Paracelsian had chosen to act. Neither of them had interrupted the other, they'd just crossed paths and given than neither of them was doing anything particularly nefarious they were now very much in the same boat.
...So, when the chips were down did they just come to blows are what?
It wasn't long before some measure of amusement seemed to flicker on to his features. Whether he was against the Negaverse or not, even he could appreciate how ridiculous this had already become. This would quickly transform in to one of those incredibly uncomfortable conversations that tended to happen in the middle of a long elevator ride with one person swaying front to back on the balls of their heels to pass the time.
"Evening," he opted not to pursue aggression at this point in time, there really didn't seem to be any reason too be aggressive and with no one else around there wasn't anyone vulnerable to be concerned about! For all intents and purposes Paracelsian could have been on a leisurely walk.
While powered.
Like him.
Totally normal.
"Is this where we talk about the weather and stare at the ceiling or do your folks have a set of rules for this kind of thing?" He asked. They'd certainly seemed more structured and organised than his own kind so it never hurt to ask!
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2020 7:11 am
"Evening," Paracelsian greeted back, blandly, finally stopping his casual saunter. Upon receiving the barbed inquiry, he shrugged. He was keeping deliberately excessive cool here. Something the senshi said made him chuckle, however. "Ceiling? We're outside. Though the weather isn't half bad," he remarked, casting a brief look towards the sky as he did. "As for rules, well..." It had been forever since he'd read that dang primer, but he was pretty sure that the primary directive was to gather information, then kill or corrupt. Unpleasant and counter to his personal goals, but the information gathering stage left a lot of wiggle room. "There are a few ways we can do this. General Negaverse doctrine holds that I should attack you, or at least chase you off, but this can go more reasonably." Reasonable, reasonable, reasonable. He thought that word was starting to lose its meaning. "My request for you is simple. I ask that you donate some of your energy tonight. Do that, and I'll go on my way." Would that be enough?
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2020 7:18 am
"There is every possibility we could hit it off and go for coffee, there would be a ceiling at a Starbucks," Athalia shrugged. He was in surprisingly good humour this evening, but then again, he was also in the company of someone who didn't necessarily seem to be out looking for trouble. Interestingly, Paracelsian seemed inclined towards at least answering some of his questions even if they had been asked in a rather blase manner.
Attack - he knew about that one.
Chase - he knew about that one too.
Paracelsian hadn't gone so far as to point out that corruption was an expectation too, but Athalia probably wouldn't have been terribly surprised by the revelation. Instead, Paracelsian had decided to pursue a more reasonable approach and for the first time in his senshi career he had been presented with a proposal. It should have come as no surprise that the Senshi's eyebrow shot up at the request though he didn't seem inclined to deny it immediately.
"What benefit would I gain from allowing you to weaken me?" he asked in a measured tone. It was a fairly significant request to receive and he was sure he knew a senshi or two who would be benevolent enough to donate without a thought, but for him it seemed to present a higher risk that he needed to understand first.
...He did seem willing to listen and negotiate though.
That was something, right?
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2020 7:47 am
Once again, Paracelsian chuckled, a short sharp noise. This senshi was good. Very good. "Well, we can't quite step into a Starbucks while powered, can we? And powering down in front of each other would be ill advised." Well, actually, who said they couldn't go for coffee while powered? It'd just be weird and hard to explain, and god forbid another powered person walked by while they were doing their thing. "...The Starbucks would be an interesting experiment." The objection presented was reasonable, but he had a counter to it. "You may not directly benefit from donation, but consider this: it gets me closer to my quota, which means I have to bother less people for energy. It also means I don't have to tap into civilians for my energy source." Here he gave a muted sigh-huff. "It's tragic, I suppose. I wish we could keep powered business away from civilians, but since they're unaware, they become easy targets and none the wiser after an event."
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2020 8:42 am
"I'm sure they've seen more than their fair share of the unusual," Athalia shook his head, he knew that the most frequented locations tended to see the most peculiar. In fact, costumed individuals might be the norm around some of the larger event centres in the city now that he thought about it. It was certainly food for thought and he was tempted to stick his head round a corner to look out of sheer curiosity at some point.
"In fact, they've probably seen more than he had," he added after a few moments of contemplation. Truth be told in his own, normal working environment, he'd seen 'some s**t' and he'd probably have found that more peculiar than if he'd seen himself and Paracelsian wander into a coffee shop.
...Would have just been a normal Friday.
"While your remarks are fair that still doesn't confirm how I am supposed to remain safe in the face of the opposition," he pointed out. The prospect of a bargain, one that did prevent someone from touching civilians, was a tempting one. However to allow it to happen would leave him exposed and open to assault. At what stage was it feasible to trust someone like this, particularly when they would be back to normality the next evening?
"And even if I were to allow it this would not stop you from returning to your normal routine in later days, weeks or months," he added.
"Where is my guarantee? I am not so naive as to trust you, not yet anyway."
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2020 9:12 am
"Fair enough. This is Destiny City, after all. People know this city is weird." Powered shenanigans rarely kept to just the powered. They always trickled down to civilians one way or another. These objections were also reasonable. There was no real way to guarantee he wouldn't just go back to picking on civilians after Athalia's donation, despite his general preference to avoid taking from civilians if he could. "My normal routine... well, I could say that I prefer to avoid taking from civilians if I can, but I know those are just words. You're justified in not believing them." The other objection had a solution, however. "Let me tell you this: I generally stop draining when the senshi or knight says they feel uncomfortable. If you're that concerned about being left weakened, I can stay with you until you feel ready to get up again." A more interesting solution popped into his head next. "Or, perhaps I can help you restore a bit of that energy. We could try the Starbucks experiment after this. That'd be interesting, wouldn't it?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2020 9:25 am
The second brow raised to match the first but his expression certainly wasn't hostile, he seemed bemused by the Negaverse agent's behaviour. He'd only met one other agent who exhibited something similar and he'd been left with questions then as well. If they were unwilling to conduct themselves as they should within their organisation then...
"Why?" he pressed curiously. He didn't seem to have any sharpness too his tone, just a genuine hint of confusion mixed in to it. For now his suspicions seemed to have abated and been replaced with a willingness to listen. Whether this was through his reassurance that he'd stop, his offer to wait with him until he was better, or a combination of both was very much open to debate.
...To be entirely honest it could very well have been the Starbucks proposal too.
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Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2020 7:18 pm
"Why what?" It took Paracelsian a moment to surmise what exactly was being questioned. He decided that it was a general inquiry about his whole stance on everything. "I think it's possible to be civil and still do what I must. Though Chaos calls for energy, sometimes I wonder..." Here he hesitated, unsure of how much to divulge but deciding that a little scrap couldn't hurt at this point. "I wonder if it would be possible for Chaos and Order to coexist on some level. At the very least, no need to kill, no need for forced conversions. Just people like us, going about our lives, as we are." It sounded so lofty when he put it like that. He wanted it to be attainable, he really did, even as he had his doubts that such a thing could ever happen. "So, what say you? Will you donate, with or without refueling afterwards?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2020 3:51 pm
"I doubt your utopia could ever come to fruition," Athalia replied honestly. "Your master needs to consume everything it can, and in the end, it will run out of things to eat if it isn't stopped," he pointed out. He wasn't trying to be cruel and didn't seem to be trying to be insulting either, he was merely stating what he deemed to be a legitimate viewpoint. When it came to Chaos it was entirely selfish and he was under no illusions that given the chance, the leopard would quite happily eat everyone's faces.
He didn't trust something that had to drain the very essence of a being in order to survive. He was particularly unimpressed by those who crushed the only part of a being that could ever allow them to live again. Anything that had the power to snuff out a life in its entirety would never live in a peaceful world.
...At least not to him.
However on this occasion there was something he couldn't quite place his finger on. The agent seemed to be genuine in his attempts to find a compromise, his idealistic mannerisms seemingly real. On the one hand, Athalia was impressed by how someone like this could exist on the side of something all-consuming (their indoctrination was impressive), but on the other hand allowing him to drain him was the lesser of two evils.
One senshi could serve as a considerable power source versus a civilian, right? He assumed that was how it would work given the absurd boost in this form was.
If the agent was that much of an idealist as well, then it seemed more likely he could take his word.
"I'll say yes on the condition no one else gets hurt tonight," He said at last.
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2020 6:15 pm
"How do you know?" Paracelsian blurted out, on impulse. How could a senshi presume to know more about the master of the Negaverse than a Negaverse agent? Then again, he would admit that perhaps he was in denial of Metallia's nature. Energy could be recovered, couldn't it? Why would it matter if Metallia needed to eat to keep the Negaverse alive? Even if he had his own doubts about the feasibility of his "utopia," he wanted it to happen still, so badly. He nodded, accepting Athalia's condition. "I agree to your terms. No one will be hurt tonight." It was true, for the most part. He would not battle anyone, and he would not drain anyone else that night. He generally avoided battle if it wasn't necessary, but he might have to drain tomorrow. That didn't hurt much though, did it? In any case, the Captain extended one hand. "Give me your hand, and we'll begin." His other hand remained poised to catch the drained energy.
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Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2020 5:08 am
"Any being who encourages violence and torture to consume life is not capable of peace," he pointed out simply. He would perhaps never come to know that he was closer to the truth than either of them would have liked. However, in the grand scheme of things, anything parasitical was generally benevolent and far from benign!
"Your kinds methods are far from benign, they are cancerous, and they target the most vulnerable in society. If your kind were genuine in their pursuit of peace, I would not find you in dark allies assailing those who can't help themselves," he pushed and shook his head. The man deserved honesty, he deserved the truth from the senshi, particularly when it came to what motivations he may have for the actions he took against the Negaverse.
"If they were worthy of existence, if your utopia were to succeed, then you would not hide in shadows to leech what was not yours, it would be given freely. And you certainly wouldn't rip out the very soul of another to destroy it for eternity," he finished gently.
However the Negaverse had agreed to his terms and given the circumstances, this was as close to peace as the senshi had come to chaos in some time. In fact, it was perhaps the first time he had actually grand his aid. Whether it would do anything in the long term was uncertain, but for now it would get at least one of them off the street and most unusually... Athalia felt it appropriate to trust that this one would stick to his word.
"Then it appears we have an accord."
With a nod the man held out his hand, palm out stretched and raised a brow... At least now, he would get to see how this might also feel to their victims.
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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2020 3:15 pm
"It shouldn't have to be that way." The words fell out of Paracelsian's mouth. He shook his head. "I suppose most of 'my kind' do not seek peace. I suppose they are the dishonorable scum you paint them to be. If I had my way, those people would be weeded out one way or another." Not that he had a plan for how that would work. It wasn't like you could be fired from the Negaverse, right? "I can only hope that someday, we won't have to hide in the shadows to obtain what we need." The part about ripping out souls was passed over. He knew he had no right to speak on that issue. Nodding, Paracelsian took Athalia's hand in one of his, a remarkably gentle hold. "Here we go. Let me know when you start feeling off at all, though I do hope we won't reach that point." Soon, a swirling orb of energy would begin to form in the Captain's free hand, and his gaze switched between that and the senshi. He looked rather like a nurse monitoring a patient during a procedure, in that respect.
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2020 12:41 pm
Athalia would have disagreed, but in those moments it seemed that it was more appropriate to agree to disagree. The motivations of Chaos would never be something he would be convinced by, but this agent had adequately conveyed his hopes and handled himself in a manner that deserved a measure of respect. it might not always be that way and perhaps the pair would come to blows in due time, but for this evening, there would be no hostility.
There were benefits to being a senshi at least; that over abundance of energy that had the wonderful habit of exposing his location could now be put to some use. He might not be entirely happy that he was feeding a beast, but in the grand scheme of things it did prevent others from being harmed in the process. This was the lesser of two evils and as the process began, it didn't feel unpleasant.
...Actually, it would have been safe to say he didn't feel anything at all.
In fact it wasn't until quite some time in that he did begin to feel the effects, that tell tale sign of weariness and an overall heaviness that he would normally have associated with the need for sleep. This would explain why many he found were slumped over, knocked in to a comatose state by those who were less inclined to be mindful of their victim's vitality but he did have to concede that in the hands of the considerate it wasn't alarming.
A curious sensation to be sure and he certainly wouldn't have liked this to be a common occurrence, but he could at least acknowledge that those who claimed there were methods to avoid hurting another might very well have been telling the truth.
Unsurprisingly, this revelation came with mixed feelings.
"How much of this do you need to meet your overlord's demands?" he asked after some time.
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