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 Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 4:45 pm
Fighting the impulse not to roll his eyes at how nice Sappho was being to this weirdo with the disgusting aura—that took about all the energy Reiki could spare for being polite right now. God, how did these idiots from the Order even stand to be around each other, never mind working together? Just being around this guy was overwhelming, with his aura so insistently bright, like bleached underpants or Junsei distracting Mom and Dad with some minor accomplishment from a science class, so they wouldn’t notice that he’d bombed another essay in tenth grade English lit.
At least the interloper seemed to be about Reiki’s height (slightly shorter, but not by very much, if you did the mental math to account for Reiki’s heels). If nothing else, should blows come to blows, nobody could say that Reiki was picking on someone who wasn’t his own size.
They could, however, say he wasn’t being exceptionally difficult, fixing Amsvartnir of Cosmos with a cold, firm glare and keeping his hand up, lifted in a way Reiki hoped came across as an implicit threat to start throwing spells around if Amsvartnir of Cosmos didn’t behave himself. “I don’t see why it’s your business who any of us are, Order-slave.”
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 5:19 pm
Bélénos took strength from the hand on her shoulder and gave Sappho a quick little smile, before fixing the Knight with the scariest glare she could muster. Though she wasn't sure pink hair was very intimidating. At least she had people beside her that were totally making that guy sweat, by her measure of his posture.Amsvartnir had opened his mouth to respond to Sappho, when Murikiabushi basically flattened him with that... insult. His tentatively friendly demeanor dropped and he squared his shoulders, staring at Murikabushi. s**t. This guy was a beefcake. He'd have to rely on his street fighting, more than likely, with this one, if it came to blows. "For your information," he said, as coldly as he could muster, "I am no slave to Order. I abandoned the Negaverse to pursue teshuvah. I came over to see what Chaos auras were doing, given that you all feel very different from the slimy, infected Negaverse types. It's my business to stop them and their ilk from continuing to murder innocent people because they think they're high and mighty." The grip on his cane tightened, knuckles turning nearly as white as the cane itself, but he kept himself together. "I was curious who you were, where you're from, since you're not with those rotting soul-thieves. And if your brand of Chaos is as prone to murder as them." He raised his brows. "If not, then....I would prefer to not have hostile relations." He shrugged, relaxing his stance some.
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 11:28 pm
Sappho crossed her arms. She wasn't sure why Murikabushi was so hostile--maybe he'd had bad experiences with the other side, that certainly wasn't out of the question. And it wasn't like she was eager to trust someone who'd been creeping around in the woods.
"Well, if all you wanted to know was if we're currently committing murder, than you've scoped us out and you know the answer is no, so why don't you get along and get going?" There was a thread of threat in her voice. "We're not the Negaverse. We're the Dark Mirror Court. And even if you think you can screw with the three of us, my brother and his husband are Eternals, and so's my girlfriend, and I'm really not above calling for backup."
Was that pretty? No. Was it a little childish, very neener-neener-my-dad-can-beat-up-your-dad? Yeah. She really didn't care.
"You've got your answers. Move on. I'm sure you've got very righteous things to be doing, Sparkles."
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 1:20 pm
It was best for Reiki that Sappho didn’t bother asking him about the causes for his hostility toward this complete stranger with the hideous aura like suspicious bleach stains. So much easier for Reiki that he didn’t need to explain himself (not least because part of him did realize that it was supremely unfair of him, judging this rando—who apparently wasn’t even a Senshi—by the actions, or lack thereof, of his side’s stupid cats, or by his gross, overly bright aura, or any of it, really). At the moment, it would’ve been better for Reiki to just go take a nap and let Murikabushi take over—but since that wasn’t happening, Reiki would settle for conveying a distinct attitude problem, a lack of interest in taking any s**t, and a refusal to play more nicely than was completely necessary, all things that explaining himself would’ve hindered his ability to do.
Shaking out his ponytail for both dramatic effect and a dire need to soothe his nerves, Reiki lowered his hand ever-so-slightly……but still adjusted his posture to hopefully make it clear that he wouldn’t abide by any funny business today. “Y’know, it’s funny, what you just did,” he said, arching a brow. “Accusing the Negaverse of acting high and mighty while condemning the lot of them out-of-hand as a bunch of slobbering, mangy, stupid poachers.”
……Hearing his mouth spit that out for him, Reiki wrinkled his nose like a bunny who couldn’t quite put his paw on what was wrong about what he’d just said. Something wasn’t right. That wasn’t what Amsvartnir had said, was it? A deep breath helped steady Reiki’s mind a little, it would come to him, what he’d mixed up, it would come—“I mean! Slimy, infected, rotting soul-thieves……as it were. Maybe it’s fair to say about the leadership, but how can you claim a moral high-ground when you’re condemning people who may not have had a choice in joining up?”
(Despite the nonsense he was trying very hard to be on right now, Reiki made a mental note to ask Elijah and Theo, Miss Cherry’s husband, what in the world “teshuvah” was, when he next got the opportunity, and to first ask Google or something it it was actually a Hebrew concept, or if Reiki was imagining that. The fact that Reiki didn’t want Mr. Amsvartnir of Cosmos to think he was interested in anything he’d said didn’t change the fact that Reiki was, in fact, very interested.)
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2022 6:48 pm
Bélénos blinked a bit at the harshness coming from the both of her companions, but she stayed quiet, slipping a bit behind them. Perhaps if they were this hostile, they had a reason to be...?Amsvartnir had nodded at Sappho, disliking but understanding her reaction. He had been intruding, and even if he hadn't been hostile, they were still ostensibly on different sides of things. And yet. That tall b*****d spoke again, first twisting his words, then seemingly changing his mind and ripping him apart regardless. His jaw tightened. "I had no choice at the time they took me in, either," he said, "But that doesn't change the fact that that's what they do. I'll certainly blame their leadership, as you say. But there are also plenty of people on the bottom rungs who revel in the murder, in the forced corruptions...." He moved backwards down the alleyway some, before sighing. "People can change. Even their leaders," he said, recalling Sylvite becoming Nectaris. "People who choose to purify pay, often, an enormous price. But I've rambled on long enough, and I know where I'm not wanted. I apologize for disturbing your night." He turned and started to walk away, tense, but trusting, hoping, that they wouldn't attack him from behind. Because if they didn't... he could, in the future, try to curry favor with them, somehow. And if they did, well, perhaps a small part of him had already decided he'd deserve it. Letting his residual anger come out this way. He was ashamed of himself.
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 12:41 am
He was leaving. Sappho let out a relieved breath, and her shoulders dropped. "Y'know," she said, voice low, "we probably totally could have taken him, but I am so glad we didn't have to find out."
Still, there was plenty to think about with what he said. She wondered if she ought to ask Alistair some pointed questions about the Negaverse, about who they were, about how one went about getting out, because he probably knew better than she did.
She really hoped the other two didn't blame her for calling him out. He'd been lurking around, okay, Sappho was not the kind of person that wanted to stand around and let a creep over.
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 12:54 am
Reiki squinted and frowned in the direction where Mr. Amsvartnir of Cosmos had gone off, and waited until he couldn’t see the son of a b***h anymore before he let himself sigh in relief and turn back to Sappho and Bélénos. Even without Amsvartnir there anymore, the instinct to huddle close to the girls was quite strong.
“I……I don’t know about that, actually,” he admitted softly. Now that the bad feelings aura was kindly ******** off back to Party City where it belonged, Reiki could get some deep breaths in and admit—if only to himself—that maybe, he hadn’t been entirely fair to Mr. Amsvartnir of Cosmos, and maybe, he’d been a bit jumpy in ways he couldn’t have lived up to. “I mean, I don’t know about you two or your magic? You guys might’ve been fine, but I, uh.”
This sigh came out with several more degrees of exasperation and a roll of the eyes besides. “Mine……doesn’t always work, I guess? Like, sure, sometimes, it’s fine—no idea what it actually does to humans yet, but still? But other times, it’s just like ‘Mmm, yeah, ******** you, though? Have fun beating that youma to death with whatever blunt instrument you can find in this dirty alley, I’m on break.’”
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Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 1:20 am
Bélénos shivered, giving Reiki a wide-eyed, afraid stare. "You mean your magic is all kaput? Mine isn't even!" she stopped suddenly, aware of how loud she was getting, and squeaked, burying her face in her hands. "Mine's just some really shitty healing spell that makes it smell like I just shat out pears," she hissed under her breath begrudgingly. "I'd have had to fight that guy with my fists, if you couldn't!" She unconsciously kept closer to Sappho, who seemed a bit more like she was safe. Right? She hadn't said what her magic did, but... surely it was better than what Murikabushi and Bélénos apparently truly had up their sleeves, which was exactly jack s**t.
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2022 1:30 am
Sappho winced. Alright,so they were not exactly the most battle capable group. "Uh, mine mostly just...makes people think I'm less scary or intimidating than I am. Because violets symbolize innocence, I guess?"
She exhaled. "So...yeah, uh, I mean, that probably would have diffused the situation, but not great for throwing down with someone who doesn't care how cute and nonthreatening I am. Healing sounds pretty useful, though, and I bet whatever Hunger does to people is pretty spectacular."
She exhaled.
"And, um. I....don't think I've ever had my magic just not work? That sounds incredibly scary." Her eyes went a little wide. The very thought of it, of the one thing she could rely on in this stupid war ******** off on her...yikes.
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2022 10:26 am
For all Reiki had been distinctly Part Of The Problem, rather than part of the solution, when Amsvartnir had still been around, hearing Sappho and Bélénos talk about their own powers made him join Sappho in cringing. “I mean, my powers can waste a youma just fine, provided they actually decide to work? A little while back, there was this one? I got an attack off at her and whatever my powers do, they basically made her tear herself apart—which I can’t imagine was particularly easy with tentacles?”
That could have been cause for feeling very pleased with himself, but in light of everything, all Reiki could do was slouch, flex his left hand’s fingers, repeatedly curling them into and unfurling them from a fist, and try to keep himself from pouting. “But……yeah. Sometimes, the magic just…doesn’t feel like playing nicely? Which—when Elsa and Soyala found me and took me to the Black Mirror? Soya-hime said that I must’ve been waiting for a long time to be Awakened, and……maybe that’s why?”
But……wow, he was being a Debbie Downer par excellence now, wasn’t he. He could still save this first meeting, though. And he had to do that. Letting his new Dark Mirror sisters go off, feeling miserable about everything, sounded like The Worst Possible Thing that Reiki could’ve done at the moment.
Tucking his fringe behind his ear, he said, “Listen, I……I’m sorry. For…being such a hostile jackass to the Mr. Cosmos Centerfold Boy with the film school bro facial hair. It—it wasn’t fair to you two, to put you in that situation when I had no idea how combat-ready we were or weren’t. And……any feelings I have toward his team in all this don’t justify putting you two at risk like that, but……?”
Shrugging, he gave Sappho and Bélénos a small, hopeful smile. “If you ladies have had enough magical excitement for one night, or just don’t mind powering down? There’s an all-night diner not too far from here, over by the bar where I perform—y’know, as me me, not senshi me? Gertrude’s has pretty much anything you could want, and……my treat. As recompense for almost getting us into some bullshit with Mr. Pastel Rainbow Centerfold?”
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Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2022 9:19 pm
Bélénos really, really wanted to cry, or puke, or something, after hearing what Sappho's magic did. None of them would have been combat ready if that guy had decided he really wanted to be a d**k, instead of just have a little chat and then ******** off!
She took in a shaky breath and pushed away the desire to just collapse on the spot, swallowing heavily, and looked to Murikabushi.
"You think he's centerfold worthy?" was the first thing that decided to pass her lips, and she grimaced a bit, but went with it, adding, "I'm not really into guys so I can't really judge what would be on the 'sexually attractive' scale."
She laughed at herself a little, then answered his question. "You're forgiven, since nothing happened, as long as you follow through on that promise. I am SO into a milkshake the size of my head right now. Super bouncy hair included."
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Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2022 11:07 pm
Sappho snorted. "He's cute enough, I guess," she shook her head a little. "But, I have got to say, a late-night diner run sounds great, maybe we can get to know each other a little better there?"
At least this whole thing wasn't a total wash. She had two new friends out of the experience!
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