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 Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2021 8:39 pm
Late Monday nights in Destiny City were nights that Scylla normally required copious amounts of coffee to keep going. Tonight was not really an exception. Giulia was still hyped after a certain battle against a wisp-infused Croco-zilla, and though the young senshi had been injured that had not kept her from trying to convince her older sister that 'I just went WHOOSH and BOOSH, and there were others going WHAM and BHAM, and it EXPLODED and I helped'. Her little sister was about two Whooshes and a Boosh away from being grounded. Jada had thought a few times about taking Giulia's Henshin Pen away, but memories of Ares held her back from that. Her own experiences held her back as well. But it would be awful nice to not have to worry about her little sister being an eleven year old soldier, for just a moment. Not having to worry that in two more years her daughter could be the same. Cheap gas station coffee was in Scylla's hand- a beverage that her civilian form would almost never be seen drinking. But few of her regular coffee places would be willing to fill up the 64 oz coffee mug that sat next to her, especially when she gave them a dead exhausted fish-eyed stare. And there was something to be said for the fact that they brewed her up a fresh pot of absolutely vile rot-gut poison real quick, and she left bearing a bag of something called 'Munchos' and a box of mini donuts too. Victories were to be had. And desperately needed. Scylla needed to go see Alma again, give him a stern questioning, but at the same time the Eternal wasn't sure she would have anything nice to say. He could, perhaps, do something about the wispy blob that was stalking her since last night, but it was still probably for the best that she not want to strangle him next time she met him. He would also probably drink all her coffee, and then there would be blood. Maybe hers. Maybe his. The transcended senshi draped herself over a bench near the water, pondering tonight's route. Maybe she would loop around and go visit the theater district? Hmmm...
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2021 8:34 am
Cybele may have started her patrol alone, trying to prove to herself once again that she could go to protect the city while the others in her new family focused on parenting and other important things. She'd even tracked and dusted a youma, her first real battle victory since the purification. It brought pride to her chest and a sort of confidence to her steps as she continued roaming. Still, the moment she caught the feeling of a senshi's aura, she headed towards it in as straight of a line as she could manage. It involved a bit of looping through various shortcuts in the theater district, but within a few minutes, she'd found the source. This was so much better than running into one General or another who would imply that she was a traitor before prodding her for information. Even if the Negaverse did show for some reason, she wouldn't have to face them alone. She didn't immediately notice the exhaustion in the woman's eyes as she approached, or even the size of the mug of coffee that she was sipping from. Her gaze was first drawn to the glowing markings on the other senshi's skin. The tentacles. She'd seen transcendence before, but she'd never seen pictures in anyone's markings. It was only after a drawn out look that might have edged into a stare that her gaze flicked to the woman's face. "Good evening," she said with a slight nod, before she added, quietly, "I don't know you, do I?" There was usually at least a hint of familiarity if she'd met someone before her corruption, and there was none here, but it seemed worth asking to someone who had obviously been around for some time.
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2021 11:58 pm
The feeling of an aura approaching was not enough to stop the senshi of the Kraken from taking a nice long sip of her coffee before turning her attention to the person who approached her. There was no violence there in the long stare that the senshi gave to her, more of a slow interest or curiosity, before the other greeted her. Lowering her mug, purple eyes crinkled with Jada's own smile of greeting. "Evening," Scylla replied cheerfully, "I can admit I don't remember meeting you before, I'm sorry. My name is Scylla, I am the senshi of the Kraken." the large mug lifted in a salute to the other woman. "What's your name?" After ten years plus as a senshi, Scylla wouldn't be surprised if she had forgotten a few people over the years, especially those who she might have only come across during the mania of a large-scale battle. No need for her to pull out her senshi phone either; if the other senshi couldn't remember if they knew Scylla, then it would just be introduction time! Easy Peasy.
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Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2021 12:31 pm
"Cybele," said Cybele, throwing in a small curtsy before she walked over and perched on the other edge of the park bench. "Senshi of the Hunt." She leaned back until her shoulders just grazed the backrest and she crossed her feet in front of her. Every few seconds, she still stole glances at Scylla's glowing markings. "You would know better than me," she said, "It just seems safer for me to check, since I've lost so many of my memories. I'd feel awful if I offended someone who I used to know." It was probably an eventuality at this point, with how many senshi and knights were out there that she might have met over the eight years or so that she'd forgotten, but she'd do what she could to mitigate it. "It's nice to meet you," she added, remembering her manners and trying not to linger too long on problems that were specific to her. A moment passed, and then she went ahead and asked, "You're Transcended, aren't you?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2021 7:59 pm
Scylla blinked twice to the other woman, realizing as she spoke where the question had come from. "You purified." there was no judgment there, only an acknowledgment. "Or- well. I know not everyone who joined us from the Chaos side considers it purification, that's just what I'm used to calling it." her lips pursed as she thought over the name again. "No, I don't remember meeting a Cybele, so there's no offense to be worried about." Leaning back on the bench, Scylla considered the other senshi. "Do you have everything you need, since joining? You're safely housed and everything? Do you need money, or help finding a job?" But Cybele seemed to be better with manners- where Jada went towards 'mom' mode, the other senshi gave greetings. "Nice to meet you too." the smile was slightly embarrassed and thoroughly genuine. "And yes, I'm Transcended." she held out an arm to the other woman, silently inviting her to take a closer look at the tattoos if she wanted. "I have the tattoos along my spine, too."
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Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2021 6:22 pm
"Forcibly corrupted as an Eternal, first," said Cybele, her tone conversational, not at all offended or even all that bitter. It was part of her story, and a recent part, at that. It was going to come up at times. " Then purified. I've been a senshi for almost ten years, as best as we can tell. I remember part of a few months." Her lips did press together a bit as she thought about that, but Scylla's kindness was quick to break through her train of thought. "Oh," she whispered, a smile spreading across her face. It still made her chest go warm when people asked after her well being. "I'm taken care of on that front, but thank you for asking. Truly." Even with support, the transition had been somewhat intense. It would be all too easy for someone to purify only to end up slipping through the cracks again, and it was nice to see that others were trying their best not to let that happen. "My problems are all on the powered side of things," she said, now letting herself look openly at the marks on Scylla's arm. "Those markings mean your starseed can't be touched, don't they? That's what I was told in the Negaverse."
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2021 5:23 pm
"I'm sorry for that. The memory loss. The time." Losing years not once, but twice- When Scylla thought of Audrey- Lina, and Daphne, the memory haziness that her friend had suffered before she had... left again- she could only imagine... and a decade? Lord, no; that was almost as long as Scylla herself, and the thought of losing everything she had learned, and having her life uprooted like that... Cybele's smile was lovely, and the senshi let herself bask in it for a moment. "Of course." her eyes wrinkled at the corners a bit. "If anything changes or you need anything unusual, keep me in mind." she lifted a hand to push away the insistent floating orb of light that was creeping towards her face, shoving it down like a small dog. "Especially if you like shopping. And if you don't remember if you like shopping, please take me along when you go to find out." There were more serious things to consider than a shopping marathon, however, and Scylla leaned back, considering the markings. "I wouldn't say that it can't be touched," she said after a moment, "though no one has gotten close enough to me who has actually tried to, lately. What I do know is that if they try it isn't just going to be me stopping them. I'm... not alone." she touched her hand to her forehead, tracing the glowing symbol on her forehead with accuracy born of hundreds of repetitions in a mirror. "I'm not sure that it can't be touched as much as it wouldn't be worth the energy to try." Years ago, in that Dream Future, there had been Transcended pulled in and offered corruption, but... Precious little of that had come to pass, and it was two years further along than it had ended.
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Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2021 2:06 pm
"Do you want to go shopping?" Cybele's smile widened into something a bit more casual. She did like shopping. She'd learned that much already. Perhaps it was vapid, but there was something oddly grounding about having clothes and things to call her own, and going out to look for the things that fit her best could be its own thrilling sort of hunt. "I still need to go back out, especially once the clothing stores start shifting to their fall and winter stock. I also met someone looking for those the other day." She nodded towards the floating orb of light that she briefly saw floating up from Scylla's other side. "Trading artifacts and magical items, if that's more what you're interested in." She wondered, briefly, what would happen if he'd left before all the wisps were found, since he said they got volatile, but as far as she knew, nothing awful had happened with them yet. Although she leaned back again as she thought about the Negaverse. "Please don't tell them any of that," she said, smile fading as quickly as it had come. "Let them think you're immune. I was hoping I wouldn't be worth the energy to them anymore, after everything." Her fingers came to her chest, tracing a circle around where there had once been cracks. "My starseed is damaged now. I'm weak." She was always aware of the odd emptiness where her wings should have been. "But I found one of the agents that knew me, and he still said something that made me think they want me back." She went oddly still just at the thought of it, her eyes still locked on Scylla's markings. "Whatever protection that grants you, I need it, too."
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Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:10 pm
Scylla laughed at Cybele's question, and nodded her head without any hesitation. "I love shopping." To be specific, she loved spending money- at least that seemed to be the consensus. "Shoes are a personal favorite, but there is no such thing as having too many clothes." Not that Jada had many places to wear them anymore, which is why much of her shopping had evolved into being for other people. But she was still under 30... and with the kids getting a little older she could probably look back into getting a babysitter and... getting a social life??? "Let me give you my cell phone number, then, before you leave." Scylla's eyes were incredibly bright and she leaned forward eagerly. "My civilian number. You can call me anytime you like." Lifting a hand she tapped at the wisp that was dancing around her. "And I met the merchant. Almadel. He traded me something that belonged to my homeworld. I've taken it home now." The smile faded, however, and Scylla nodded firmly. "I don't plan to. If they think there's a weakness, they'll try and exploit it." And Scylla herself would be a perfect target for experimenting with such weakness. As far as she knew, there were still survivors of the Blood Moon's torture among the agents, and a desire for revenge burned for a long time. Looking at the other senshi solemnly, the senshi of the Kraken straightened. "I didn't find transcension actively seeking it. I found it because I was damaged, and I needed peace, and direction. My friend was Transcended, and she told me about how she got her markings, and the peace that came with it. Through some water, from her homeworld. It let me... dream, kind of like magical peyote. But it didn't do anything for me the way it had for her. But it gave me... a direction? It broke down some... barrier, I had thrown up between my self and... myself." Scylla leaned back, staring blankly upwards towards the speck of darkness through which her homeworld lay. A hand lifted, caressing the golden necklace, and the shimmering blue gem set there. "I decided to try and pass an old adulthood test on my homeworld. Diving to the depths, to collect a Messian gem. Proof of the dangers and the fears I had faced, before the eyes of the Great One. And in its way it... showed me that peace. I grew up. Became the Scylla. And Scylla shared itself with me." Holding out her hand, the short Eternal waited for Cybele to touch her before she reached out to her homeworld and shared energy with the other woman, like a cool ocean breeze. "Cybele is the only one who can give you this protection. Maybe you have a ritual hunt, maybe it will just give it to you, or maybe there's something else. You'll have to find that out for yourself." stari_maga Here's Scylla's massive transcension solo arc ( LINK) with a few rps linked in there if you wanna read it. There was a lot biggrin
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Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 10:25 am
Cybele laughed softly at the comment about shoes before they turned to more serious subjects. "You remind me of my sister," she said. Her eyes flicked skyward as she listened to Scylla's story. It had become something of a habit since she'd purified and learned more about the senshi's connection to the worlds above. She did not remember enough about those worlds to know if Scylla was one of the bright pinpricks that she could see from the city or if it was something smaller, something like her own asteroid that she simply had to imagine. She wasn't sure what Peyote was, or a Messian gem, but she understood most of what the other senshi was saying. She certainly understood being broken, and craving peace. She accepted Scylla's hand delicately in her own, some of the desperation in her face softening away as the familiar warmth of shared energy made its way up her arm. "You really remind me of my sister," she said, a small smile breaking through. The feeling of the energy itself might have been a bit different than Ganymede's, a bit crisper, somehow, but the warmth of it was the same, as was the way that the other woman had given it so selflessly. "She was telling me about space right before I purified. She told me about Cybele. She said that it had purple skies and that it was waiting for me." Cybele could pick out Jupiter in the night sky, and sometimes Mars. Now, she glanced between them, towards where the asteroid belt was supposed to be. "I thought it sounded beautiful, then. I still do, and it's more than beautiful, if it can give me this protection." Her gaze turned back to Earth, to the garden bed across the way that was fading somewhat in the heat of late summer. The tension came back to her shoulders. "I haven't been yet. It feels-" she paused, looking for the right words, "Like a difficult thing to do, and I'm not sure why." She looked to the other senshi. "Or I don't remember why, more likely." Infinities ooh it’s cool to see how she’s grown as a person
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Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 6:18 pm
"If your sister is also a fan of shoes, she must be a woman of excellent taste and character." the words were said with a sage nod, but there was no amount of faux-gravity that could hide the delighted twinkle in Scylla's eyes. And she wrapped her fingers around that delicate grip as Cybele's face softened and a smile broke like dawn. "I don't know about purple skies, but I can promise you that Cybele is waiting. It has been waiting for you a long time. No pressure." she gave the other senshi a small wink. "It can wait a little longer, until you're ready too." If it felt difficult, there could be... any reason there, couldn't there? Something from before that forcible corruption, or even during that forgotten time on the side of Chaos. Scylla didn't release Cybele's hand, though if the other tried to remove her hand she let go easily. Perhaps... "May I take you to Scylla?" Jada tilted her head to look at Cybele. "You don't have to say yes, but maybe it would be a little less difficult if you had more experience with what you might be able to expect."
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Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2021 6:25 am
Cybele did not pull away. She was not always one for physical contact, but Scylla had shown her nothing but kindness and warmth in the few minutes since they’d met. Already, Cybele found herself relaxing in the other woman’s presence, and she also found that the small warmth of clasped hands was sort of nice. “I think I’ll be ready soon,” said Cybele with a small nod. “Whatever it is that’s holding me back is distant, now.” She’d spent a bit of time trying to figure out what it was that made her hesitate. Apparently, she’d been up to the asteroid before her corruption, and there was no way to know if she’d seen something awful there, or if it was just that Sylvite’s misguided stories about the senshi killing their own worlds had gotten into her head a bit. Her eyes brightened at the offer of Scylla, though. “Really?” she asked, and then quickly nodded. For some reason the thought of seeing this woman’s world did not seem at all intimidating. “I’d love to go, if that’s all right. I’d love to see this place that’s so important to you.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2021 4:59 pm
Whatever it is that’s holding me back is distant, now. There was a whisper of certainty there that gave the Transcended senshi the courage to squeeze Cybele's hand gently. "Yes, really," she said instead with a laugh as the Huntress seemed to brighten and sparkle at the idea of seeing Scylla, "You're more than welcome. I love tourists." Cybele got a big wink before Scylla adjusted her posture and cleared her throat. "Anchors aweigh, I guess?" And Destiny City spun away from them as Scylla welcomed its visitors.
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