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 Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2021 2:51 pm
Quote: Prompt 10 (Runaway Reindeer): Someone thought it would be a good idea to get real reindeer to pet while visiting Santa, and someone should have considered that might be a bad idea. No one knows how they snuck out, but one by one they disappeared–and now they’re wreaking havoc on Destiny City. Or, so the reports say. The reindeer have been spotted eating everything, running in front of cars, chasing people down. It’s strange, almost as if they are possessed. They’re aggressive and hostile and not having any of this holiday nonsense. Are all reindeer like this? …Or have you run into a very aggressive youma masquerading as one?
Note: If you use this for a powered battle prompt, it does not count for the ‘one youma battle per growth’ ; this is a special prompt where the creature will attack anyone. It can only be used as a battle if there are two powered characters involved; you cannot write a solo and count this as a battle, and your character must be powered to count this for a battle. The reindeer will not respond to any commands and cannot be destroyed; it will always run away before it can be defeated.
The lights twinkled, sparkled and blinked.
The sound of laughter and music filled the air.
...And despite how utterly freezing it was (another rather foreign concept to her), she felt a warmth brewing in her chest as she watched each and every human live. She'd taken the opportunity to embrace many of the activities, even adjusting her glamours to sport a rather fabulous red hat. She'd researched several things she had overheard such as 'santa' and 'elves', and then eventually she had even seen the fabled reindeer where you could actually meet Santa.
The real santa.
Alas she hadn't had the time to remain in such a long line, but she had afforded the opportunity to pet some of the reindeer in passing and offer her well wishes to each. Only to find that with each passing day as she had wandered passed the spot, that there were fewer of them. Were they all preparing to fly off for Christmas, warming up to deliver the presents in the flying rocket-sleigh? At first she hadn't thought much of it, and she probably would have continued to remain totally oblivious to how unusual this was, had it not been for a burst in activity on the radio about rogue Reindeer.
Did Reindeer take Vacations? The concept of pets was still a touch lost on her, though she was beginning to grasp some of the nuances, and as they were considered employed animals then surely they were entitled to a break... Even if that break meant they were causing disruption and some light arson.
Honestly, not a great look for Santa at the most important time of the year.
She had elected to take the time out to locate at least one of these wayward and rebellious souls later, and all being well, she might be able to use her comtech to open a dialogue with them to find out if perhaps this was simply how they celebrated this festive season. Her main goal in recent months had been to understand and learn from Earth's citizens and this seemed as good an opportunity as any, right?
Thus... this was why the young woman, devoid of her 'costume' was now walking slowly through the park at 2am. She'd heard some whispers that one of the vacationing Reindeer might be nearby, and rather than disturb all of them at once, she had set her sights on interviewing this one first. Comtech at the ready, and blaster slung at her side in what was likely to be the 'off' position, she meandered towards what looked like the creature you was looking for.
Grazing quietly, it remained otherwise undisturbed, but as she stepped on a twig and caused a delicate snap, its head lifted and it turned towards her with a look that could only be described as disgruntled.
Ah.
"Apolo -"
She didn't get to finish what she had intended to say, the thing was already charging at her, and she had personally let out an alarmed squeal in reply!
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2021 11:04 pm
Hydor had long become convinced that Destiny City was cursed. Even long before he learned that he was a senshi, he dealt with the strange assortment of things that insisted on happening here every summer, every Halloween, every winter; it had come to the point where there was a part of him that did legitimately believe that there was some kind of cosmic magic in the air around the holidays and that was why everyone acted the way they did. He had caught the news reports that at some point the holiday frenzy had apparently caught the reindeer as well and they had run away, and his honest reaction was to roll his eyes. Runaway Reindeer? ********. All he cared about was that he didn't run into them and in fact, took a wide berth. It seemed Destiny City had other plans. Of all things, another one of those aliens -- was that one of the ones who had ended up on the Moon or should he take the time to get the hell away from them -- was attempting to approach what he guessed was one of the infamous runaways. He had half a mind to just ignore the situation and move on; if the alien was really foolish enough to try and use them as a learning experiment, perhaps they deserved what they got. Nothing in Destiny City could be trusted. By the same token, though-- How the hell was she supposed to know? All the aliens seemed so innocent-- Well, some of those ******** did. Others of them-- Or maybe it was just the Commodore-- His thoughts came to a halt as she tried to apologize and it charged her. The words of, "Whirling Wrath!" escaped his lips before he thought about it, and Valnyr would find herself quickly surrounded by the whirling winds that could be used as a protective shield. Epine de Rose Super Sailor Attack: Whirling Wrath! Hydor throws both arms into the air, and either lowers them towards himself or lowers them towards an ally. Either himself or an ally finds themselves surrounded by a Wall Cloud. They are protected from the enemy as they are more difficult to see or reach. Any enemy approaching the target will find that they are buffeted by strong circular winds, making the target much harder to reach. In addition, the target can move around and swing at others in an attempt to knock them back. Any movements from the target will be accompanied by strong gusts of wind. Uses: 2 uses per battle Duration: 30 seconds Range: Localized
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2022 11:20 am
They moved surprisingly quickly, far more quickly than the bovines they chose to rear in their Homeworld. It wasn't long before the Reindeer was upon her and for all intents and purposes she should have been crushed, but instead she found herself surrounded by... wind, some sort of cloud? Having never experienced the powers of a senshi before, it would have been safe to assume that the young woman was momentarily stunned.
...But her new 'opponent' most certainly wasn't.
Despite the fact she had been surrounded by this peculiar shield, the reindeer was determined too get through it. Intriguing though that it struggled, buffeted repeatedly by winds that she herself didn't feel, but were very much present and working to her advantage. As of yet unseen, Hydor had been heard and his presence now felt as she fumbled at her side.
There would be time for research later, right?
A time to question.
However for now as she pulled her pistol out and gave it a shake, it seemed more pertinent to handle present company first. Not that she took pleasure in harming another but when it came to her weaponry, at the very least it didn't really do much at this level. It hurt a little, stunned a tad, but it might do enough to cause the reindeer to back off. Nevertheless with no battle chants or spells to be had, Valnyr raised her weapon cautiously, took her aim and fired.
A single laser 'bullet' shot out from behind the cloud wall and collided with the reindeer, causing it to stumble. The limb she'd hit was twitchy (at least that was her best description of it), numbed in some capacity where the weapon had struck. That didn't make the Reindeer any less angry, but it had at least hesitated as it came to terms with the heavier limb.
She took the opportunity to run backwards and away from it, but it wouldn't be long before it was on her tail again.
...She was going to need to find something heavier to throw at it. Alas, at this point in time she hadn't quite worked out that the helpful clouds surrounding her might well have been that 'heavier' thing she was looking for.
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2022 1:54 pm
Coming back from the instinct took a second, but he did note with some relief that the reindeer -- didn't feel like a youma, was just an angry reindeer -- seemed stymied by the winds of his attack. Probably surprised the Velencian, but she seemed to be adjusting quickly enough. (Or if she wasn't, well, there was a part of him that wondered if she perhaps deserved a taste of her own medicine--) Though he hadn't gotten the impression that all the Velencians knew. Of course, maybe they all did. The senshi had been betrayed either way-- But they were all crowding around their damn commodore like they expected some damn answers as he was attempting to fight off a whole panic attack, which in retrospect he now recognized as one of those-- His thoughts screeched to a halt as eyes tracked the way the reindeer paused and stumbled after being shot at by the alien, and he tracked again the way she used this opportunity to retreat. Probably better to get away from the damn thing before it attempted to wreck her again. Stymied didn't exactly mean stopped, though, and Hydor found himself quickly reviewing the possibilities of what to do from there-- "The clouds give an extra boost to any attacks you do!" That would require her to get closer to the thing that was just trying to murder her, though. All things considered, she might not exactly want to go back toward the outraged Santa's Sleigh Reject. Had just gotten away from it. There was something else he could do, now, without getting too ******** close to getting trampled himself-- Right, had gone to his homeworld, had nearly gotten destroyed by a ******** storm-- "Hang on! I got some other magic!" Hydor turned his attention to the reindeer and hissed out, " Hydor's Cyclone!" Epine de Rose Enhancement Attack: Super Sailor Attack: Hydor's Cyclone! Hydor whirls a finger above his head and points it at an enemy. This enemy will find themselves entrapped in a mesocyclone. It's humid, rainy, and a bit chillier than it was. The pressure within the mesocyclone is rather low, resulting in the enemy feeling effects that people may feel associated with low pressure, especially after a rapid drop -- headaches, joint pain, and lowered blood pressure. The enemy can attempt to exit the cyclone, but the clouds around them rotate rapidly due to strong gusts, making it difficult to escape. Anyone else in a close radius near them will also find themselves trapped within the cyclone. Uses: 2 uses per battle Duration: 30 seconds Range: 10ft radius
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 2:23 pm
She heard him, but it took her a little longer to process what he meant. In fact, she mouthed what he'd said a few times before staring at her gun and then her hands. Whatever he meant, it didn't effect her gun, but what if she was to do something else? She was left to ponder this for a little longer as the senshi cast another spell, wielding the wind as if he was born to command it and leaving her just a little starstruck.
She had questions.
Alas, now was not the time to ask them.
However the process of controlling an element occurred, it had managed to box in the rather disgruntled reindeer. Though it might push and thrash it found it difficult to breach the wind which gave her a small number of options. She could keep running and run the risk of it chasing her in what would be a losing battle (the damn thing was fast), or she could make use of whatever Hydor's advice meant and do...well, something.
She wasn't much for fist fighting, she'd sparred the odd time and hadn't been the best in terms of finesse; but, if punching a reindeer in the nose would serve to do something then perhaps grace, finesse or any type of 'good' form was irrelevant. Granted it did mean she would have to approach it again but given she didn't know how long the peculiar wind around her would last...
"Well okay then," she murmured softly, a touch uncertain as she barrelled forward and into the second 'wall' of cloud. It was an odd sensation, but she did manage to breach it and then she did the only thing she could think of. The rather tall alien gave the very flustered reindeer a rather firm punch to the nose, a punch that was most assuredly enhanced by Hydor's assistance.
...A punch that hit far harder then even she had expected.
"Ooooh, so that's what you meant," she cooed.
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Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2022 12:14 am
Good. Keeping the reindeer in one place meant that it wasn't likely to rage over at either of them again. The way the alien seemed to amaze at what he did and then murmur something to herself gave him some sort of clue that she had understood what he had said. He watched as she approached, slipped through the barrier he had created, and punched the reindeer squarely in the nose. Looked like she got the message. There was a part of Hydor that, for a moment, felt bad doing more harm to a reindeer that wasn't a youma but rather just some outraged creature that was another part of this cursed month, but he did grumble under his breath and stomp his way over to the reindeer. He pushed his body toward it and attempted to shove it for good measure. "Go on, get." Hopefully, the reindeer just ******** ran away before he was responsible for killing wildlife of all things. Didn't really want to add, Hydor, Cursed Wildlife Murderer to his resume.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2022 2:24 pm
Reindeer were a surprisingly sturdy species, this was something Valnyr could now confidently add to the database. Hydor had attempted to shove it, was saying 'get' in a context she didn't entirely understand, and the thing was surprisingly determined not to be swayed that easily. Were all animals this stubborn on Earth? She'd seen an instance where someone was pushing a horse (to no avail) in a similar fashion and it had decided it was perfectly happy where it was.
...And some of the smaller animals like the dogs were particularly opinionated.
How was one to be more persuasive towards an animal that had decided it didn't want to move? Taking inspiration from the moment with a horse she gave the reindeer another punt, and then taking inspiration from Hydor, she motioned with both of her hands as if to say 'go away'.
"Shoo!" she remarked. She didn't know what it meant, but that was what the man had said to another animal once and it had walked away. "Go home!" she added softly.
She wasn't entirely sure if what she had said had worked, or if Hydor had already managed to 'persuade' it to take its leave. However after a few more moments of being buffeted by wind it did finally turn round and with a disgusted snort, it trotted away.
Valnyr could do nothing except stare after it for a solid few seconds.
"Thank you," she spoke up at last and turned to Hydor. "It doesn't seem wise to have something that can't live harmoniously with others in the city," she added and pursed her lips thoughtfully. "But thank you, I am not convinced my pistol would have been enough to convince it to find adventure elsewhere..."
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 3:21 am
For all of its absurdity, Hydor watched as the alien seemed to take a hint from his actions, and the reindeer at that moment apparently decided that was enough. After being told away a couple of times, it gave some sort of displeased huff before trotting off. Hydor rolled his eyes, crossing his arms under his chest as he watched it retreat. He thought, for a moment, of taking his leave and leaving the alien to deal with whatever aftermath there was, but she spoke to him and the modicum of civility he held kept him to where he was with a, "Sure," in response to her thanks that sounded minimally enthused. The observations she made, though? That was enough to draw a snort. "Yeah, not very wise, is it? Welcome to Destiny City. ******** up s**t like that happens every holiday season here, I swear." Hydor lifted his arms and stretched, feeling his shoulder pop before he relaxed his arms back at his sides. "At the very least, that wasn't a youma. Think it was just a very enraged, very strong reindeer. Not sure what pissed it off but maybe it was just the magic in the air." Sarcasm. He wasn't sure how well the aliens understood it, but that was what his statement was bathed in.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 5:34 am
Now that was a little bit alarming. Sarcasm was a little lost on her still, but the fact that this simply happened every year and the citizens were expected to be okay with it seemed a little bit odd. Her lips pursed thoughtfully for a moment as she peered in the direction the reindeer had stomped off; she hoped it wouldn't bother any others, but one didn't know in these scenarios. She hadn't necessarily done anything mean to it and it had still charged at her so who knew...
"Every holiday season?" she clarified and shook her head slowly. "How many do you have, has no one thought to find a means to stop it?" she asked curiously. Oh, Earth had more than enough oddities to keep her on her toes and there were many things she desired to research, but she hadn't thought that such moments of danger were considered acceptable.
Humans were an odd bunch sometimes.
This city could be unusual as well.
She squinted as she turned her attention back towards him and raised a brow. She had finally remembered her manners and though it seemed a little late now, she felt it was better to use them rather than to completely ignore them.
"Ah, my apologies I'm Valnyr," she added. "And your magic is somewhat foreign to me, though I would like to understand it," she admitted.
"Particularly if it can help stop disgruntled animals from assaulting passers-by and you might be able to live in harmony..."
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Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2022 1:40 am
How many holiday seasons did they have? He would have thought the question absurd if it wasn't for the fact he was talking to a literal alien in the flesh. "Winter holiday is just once a year. We often see unexpected things like that happen in the Fall too, though, near the holiday Halloween. Sometimes near the yearly festival that Destiny City has called the star festival." He paused, considered if it was necessary information, and then added, "Scheduled around a meteor shower or some s**t, I wasn't born here." Destiny City was an unusual place full of unusual people and unusual events. The Velencians had sure picked a place to land. Probably was on ******** purpose, though, considering what had happened -- no, no, not all the aliens were involved, and when he thought about it he was fairly sure the face of this one seemed vaguely familiar. Maybe this was one of the ones who ended up on the Moon-- "Hydor," responded Hydor, who didn't particularly care for niceties. "Senshi of Mesocyclones. Magic makes you a buffer of winds or traps them in a cyclone." He glanced toward where the disgruntled animal had gone, noted, "Apparently it was good enough to frustrate it," before turning back toward Valnyr and asking, "Take it you haven't run into a lot of us yet?"
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 4:17 pm
So this was normal then and the denizens of the city simply accepted it. Valnyr found this fascinating and made a mental note to research it further. She didn't know where to begin yet, but as she found hints as to possible avenues of investigation she would be sure to follow them. However, Hydor's explanation as to who he was and what his magic did, coupled with her lack of familiarity for what he was...did cause her to hesitate slightly.
"I met a small number of you previously," she admitted. "But not in a capacity that allowed for your magic to show," she continued and took a small breath. She hadn't felt comfortable at the time, she'd noticed quite quickly that there were those who didn't respond well to directness and as such she had been attempting to be 'subtle'. Valnyr hadn't mastered the intricacies of that kind of conversation yet and as a result it normally meant she missed her window of opportunity.
"And after everything that happened I would be lying if I said I had tried to find more of you since then," she murmured, glancing down briefly at her feet. She knew that they had hurt some of them quite badly, she didn't understand the true depth of it and the consequences yet (corruption was a foreign concept to her at this point), but she'd seen them writhe in agony all while she had been fine.
"It didn't seem appropriate and I wasn't sure if I would have been welcomed in your circles," she explained and returned her gaze to him. "While we didn't know the whole plan, I can't speak for everyone in regards to whether they did or didn't approve of it in the end," she pointed out. "Nor can I say if they decided to side with anyone because they agreed with the actions or if they thought it would be the only way they can come home."
She paused.
"I can't even apologise on our behalf," she pointed out.
"...So while I'm sure there would have been chances to meet before, I wasn't sure if I should." she finished.
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Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 4:52 pm
Unlike most people Valnyr had crossed paths with, Hydor had a preference for the blunt, too impatient and too gruff to care about the intricacies of conversation that most seemed to find essential. He gathered from what she said that before now, she hadn't fought on the side of any of the senshi or knights; perhaps she ended up somewhat exposed to it due to the events she too had ended up stuck in the middle of. At the very least, it was interesting to hear a Velencian's thoughts about what had unfolded, and he crossed his arms over his chest as he listened. Understandable that she wasn't exactly sure if she would be welcomed, considering Hydor's welcome of her itself was also shaky and mostly predicated by the fact that she didn't seem to be a threat. And honestly, in the end, sounded like the Velencians were just as confused as they all were. Maybe his read on that had been right. "Understandably. Do you know what was happening to those of us who fell to what the Negaverse was up to?" He didn't let her answer that, presuming the answer was no. "Memory wipes, identity wipes, pain as Chaos came in and consumed our whole ******** identities. I can't say your Commodore is exactly on my nice list at the moment." Admittedly, that wasn't saying much. His nice list was notoriously short. "Got lucky enough to avoid it happening to me, but," he shrugged, "relieved to hear you all weren't in on it, in any case. I suspect opinions on Velencians, in general, may vary."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2022 2:48 pm
"There will always be those who believe that what we did was necessary, even if they didn't realise it would happen to begin with," Valnyr admitted. She couldn't pretend that everyone felt any guilt or shame, if they felt any measure of remorse for what they had done. In the end, just like humans, her kind had the capacity for independent thought and there would be those who very much agreed with the Commodore's actions, or trusted him enough not to question the methods.
She still didn't understand, not really.. From a diplomatic point of view his actions had doomed them to a life of mistrust and scepticism if they ever managed to save their planet. Who in their right minds would trust them, who would believe they were peaceful, when they had set upon those they had become allied with?
An action potentially taken out of desperation could have long lasting consequences.
"But there are also those of us who want to make amends and find a way to achieve our aims without harming those around us," she grimaced. "It isn't our way, we're not supposed to be cruel or violent, even the life we research beyond this star is returned to its natural habitat without harm," she explained.
"It is not an excuse, I know that, but desperation can make anyone do questionable things," she finished softly. "Not that I will ask for your forgiveness, but a chance to try and make it up to you would be appreciated."
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Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:08 pm
Valnyr just backed up that opinions may vary. She seemed to be someone he wouldn't have to concern himself with, but that meant that he would have to approach the other Velencians with a similar degree of skepticism until they proved otherwise. If they could once side with the Negaverse to create a mass corruption event, there was nothing in his mind that told him that they wouldn't just do it again if they saw it necessary again. "Hadn't gotten the impression you were a violent people," Hydor snorted under his breath. "Your determination to make sure that any energy you took was willing was my first clue. Negaverse ******** with the natural order. You didn't seem to." Didn't seem to was, of course, the operative phrase there. It seemed that some of them did. But he believed her well-enough. "Desperation can make people do some serious s**t, though. Can't say I forgive all of you, but I do believe you." His shrug was nonchalant and accompanied with a glance toward her. "Willing to let you make it up to me. Of course, Order isn't a monolith either. You'll probably have to approach us individually on that front." Especially because Hydor wasn't exactly the best at making connections. He could tell Faust, he guessed? He didn't know where the ******** Eurydike had gone--
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 12:59 pm
"Perhaps that is the appeal some might see in your enemy then," she murmured softly. The Order were not a monolith, they lacked structure and direction, and even she had witnessed as they squabbled with one another over what to do in the heat of battle. With no co-ordinated approaches across several fronts they had probably lost more than they should have, but give her own kind had become fractured and lost, she wasn't about to give feedback on that.
...When it came to the Negaverse though, well she had seen them, and almost all of them had fallen in to line and done as they were required. They answered to a singular voice, not a cacophony, and it seemed to have worked in some capacity. They'd certainly seemed more orderly and had responded in a co-ordinated fashion.
"Belief is a start though, I'll take that," she smiled warmly and cleared her throat. "And maybe in time I will be able to do more for you, though I suspect that resolving our own issues may perhaps be a good way to start down that path," she admitted uncomfortably. Suffice to say that even she knew that some of them would continue to be a threat and may unintentionally cause chaos if they didn't find a means to save their world.
One day, they might run out of time and the fate of Caedus would be sealed regardless of what those senshi had said.
"In the mean time I'll be a touch more careful," she glanced after the reindeer with a raised brow. "Particularly around the wildlife," she finished.
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