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 Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2022 6:32 pm
Ilse looked at her for a moment; her eyes narrowed again.
“I’m not staying here alone. You don’t understand, Lysithea. This feels…”
She looked at her hands and her eyes lit up. “So good.”
Ilse looked enthusiastic, she looked alive.
She looked happy.
“I’ve never been this strong. Why would I fight this? I can finally make a difference. I can finally do something. And you–you want to sit there on the ground and let them die? What kind of leader are you? You can’t even think about them over yourself, can you? You’re so self-righteous. You think you know everything. You think you can save them?”
Ilse scoffed.
“You’re not strong enough, Lysithea.”
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Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2022 7:45 pm
Super Sailor VarunaVaruna choked on a sob when Lysithea appeared, and she slumped down to her knees in the mud as she watched Lysithea make her way to them. To Adria.
Adria, who had only ever been kind to her. And now…
“I thought he was Chaos--” she admitted weakly, tears spilling from her eyes. What had she done?
“I… I killed him.”
Maybe this was her punishment for thinking she could make friends. For putting herself out there. For allowing people to get close to her. She held them all at an arm's length, not wanting to get close. Not wanting to give anyone the chance to manipulate her like her mother had. Abandoned by her father.
No one wanted her, and she understood why. She thought she was prepared for whatever Chaos had ready for her. But she didn’t know the mud would rise up and swallow her friend. And now the only other person she might have thought of as a friend knew she was a murderer -- and she knew Adria was dear to Lysithea.
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Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2022 8:34 pm
Eternal Sailor LysitheaLysithea frowned and shook her head, gently laying Adria’s head down on the ground and standing to face Ilse, her gaze growing cool. “You’re not Ilse. I know Ilse. I know what Ilse was like when she was corrupted. I know for a fact that going back to what you left costs power, and you have the wings I once wore. You’re a fool if you think I’m going to fall for this. A fool to think that I’m…going to just let this happen.”
The words stung, but they were untrue. She was strong enough. She wasn’t going to let anyone die, but she couldn’t just leave them here to look for the others…then again…now that it was Ilse and Varuna that she had to find…
She glanced behind her and thought she heard someone crying out the names of the others. Was it Varuna? Was she in danger?
“I don’t have time for this, you know. I have people who need me. People who I need. And you. You just need to go away.”
Without giving herself time to think, she punched “Ilse” hard in the face and then shoved her back into the dark water, and then drew the unicorn baton from her sash, laying it on her palm and letting it spin, hoping it would lead her to someone, and realizing that this wouldn’t work since Adria and Malus were both clearly in need of saving and they were right here…
…Yet.
…Yet the baton pointed away from them, out towards where she had heard the cry from who she thought was Varuna.
Oh.
The Chaos was tricky, then…and she…did trust too easily. Well. Okay.
Even though every nerve in her body wanted to look back towards Malus and Adria, she drew in a breath and plunged into the shadows, following where the baton pointed. “Varuna!” Her voice was as strong as she could make it, and she only hoped that she wouldn’t be fooled again. “Malus! Adria! Ilse! Where are you?”Guine If Ru wants to hear Lysi she can ;w;
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Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2022 9:04 pm
Lysithea’s cry from beyond the shadow was masked by another, louder cry–the Lysithea with Varuna tried to drown out the noise and shouted her name, too, with such venom and hatred that it might have been audible to Lysithea from beyond the shadowy veil.
Lysithea lurched towards Varuna. Tears streamed down her a face in an angry rage.
“No!” she snapped. “No, he trusted you. We all trusted you. Take it back. Take it back and fix him!”
She screamed, a heart-wrenching, broken sound, and she touched Adria’s face. She shook him, she tried to use her magic, and–
She knew he was gone. The realization was obvious on her face. She looked up at Varuna like a wild animal and snarled, and channeled all of her grief into anger, and she wrapped her arms around her neck.
“We never should have let you join. Never! You were never good enough for us. You were never good enough for him, you were never good enough for me. You don’t belong here, you don’t belong with us!”
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Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 5:18 pm
Super Sailor VarunaTake what back? How could she fix him?
Varuna flinched away from Lysithea as tears streaked her face. Her heart felt like it was breaking. But she was used to having a broken heart. Learned to live with it. Cut herself off from everyone else because it was the only way she could survive.
“I’m s-sorry,” she choked, arms around herself as she squeezed her eyes shut, unable to see the look of pure hate on Lysithea’s face.
A mistake, because she wasn’t prepared for Lysithea to attack her.
She thought she was numb to the cruel words and people telling her how worthless she was. How she didn’t belong. How she wasn’t good enough. Her mother made it quite clear how unwanted she was, and it was why the once bubbly little girl, full of life and a voice, shut down and locked herself away from the idea of friendships.
Part of her thought she deserved it. A large part of her thought that maybe if she did die by Lysithea’s hand, then maybe Adria would be justified. She didn’t think that Lysithea was capable of something like that -- the sweet girl who liked making picnics and pretty things and had kind things to say --
But there was another voice...
How? Somewhere that sounded so far away. Calling her name and the others.
Lysithea? But…
Varuna grabbed hold of Lysithea’s arms, trying to force her away from her neck. She couldn’t loosen the grip enough to call for help--!
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Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 5:48 pm
Eternal Sailor LysitheaThe strange cry of Varuna’s name from another voice…that sounded startling like her own made Lysithea’s blood grow cold, and she began to move more quickly, following her baton until she felt something strange in front of her…it didn’t seem strong, just…there, and Lysithea reached out her hands, tearing at it before plowing through.
The sight that met her eyes made her heart utterly stop, it was…herself with her arms wrapped around Varuna’s neck. The Varuna who had to be real, as the baton was still pointing right at her.
“Are you kidding me?”
The words exploded before she had time to think on them, and she shoved her baton back into the sash around her waist, marching up to Varuna and prying the hands from around her throat. “Don’t you dare touch her. You have no right. You’re not real. Varuna is perfect for this court, but you. You’re an unspeakable monster. Lysithea Untamed Purity!”
Turning her back on the fake her, Lysithea tugged Varuna a little closer and then let her powered form drop. “It can’t do this. You’ve never met me outside of being powered yet. My name is Talia Harper, I work with Evan on the food truck and I stress bake like…a lot. I hope that when we finish destroying all of this and help Alastor you’ll come back to my house for a stress baking session. I think…Damnit I think we’ll all need it after all of this.”
And with a swift kiss planted on Varuna’s cheek, Talia gripped her henshin pen and powered back up again, keeping herself between Varuna and the fake Lysithea…and…the fake Adria too, it looked like.
“...I saw Adria too. He was dying. Malus turned into a youma. Ilse was corrupted. I’ll…be honest, it had me going with Adria and Malus but…the Ilse thing didn’t work. Guess the Chaos isn’t smart enough to think of details that I would know.” Her voice was on the edge of hysterical, but…Varuna at least was safe.
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Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2022 5:43 pm
The air was thick with humidity, and electricity, and chaos. But, for a brief moment, there was something more.
Order. Magic. Something powerful. Something familiar, something good. A light in the darkness, Ganymede’s Purification magic surged from the Core of his world and the shadows, all connected, carried the blast throughout the Hall.
The shadowy illusions hummed, and for a split second, light shined through. It flickered along the illusion, like fire burning a thread. For a split second, there was a clarity that hadn’t been there before, an understanding–
There was a reason they were here.
They were supposed to do something. Defend–something...
The illusion was quick to restore, but it wasn’t quite perfect. The barriers between them thinned and it was almost possible to see the others on the wall. And, maybe there was something just a little off about their would-be companion–like looking in a mirror, or like they had a filter over them.
For a brief second, they looked almost transparent, but they corrected quickly. Lightning struck above with blinding force, as if to distract them from any distortion.
But, it was too late; the illusion concealing the sky faded and they could see the dark storm clouds. A shower of wet rain poured in, refreshing and clarifying. The wind whipped around them with so much force that it could have knocked them to the ground.
The bright glow of a setting sun shimmered to the right of Lysithea and Varuna; the black barrier between them wasn’t thick enough to hide it. Malus’ voice carried on the wind as he yelled, “Lysithea!” somewhere near the golden glow.
The fake Lysithea evaporated; she disappeared in a plume of black, sulfuric smoke, and she screeched so loudly that it hurt.
The fake Adria melted back into the dark shadows; they swallowed him up completely.
The smothering chaos had made it hard to read energy signataures, but for a split second the walls were weak enough. All five of them were still there–nearby. Close enough that they could reunite.
And, they were going to have to; in the distance, if they could see it, could feel it, there was a wave of darkness building. Growing.
Coming straight towards them.Quote: Characters can use this opportunity to have a clarifying moment that allows them to break through the spell of Chaos! If you are playing your own chaos manifestation, it may turn into a mirrored reflection of itself, or may shift forms in front of you; if you have any questions or want to see if something works, please let me know! If you want to continue speaking to your Chaos character or engage it in more than one post, please let me know when you quote me and I will try to tag back as soon as possible instead of waiting for the next prompt! If your character has already broken out, they might be able to help others in their group but please make sure this works for them before posting! If your chaos manifestation is not destroyed by the post on the 16th (sometime after 8PM EST) the Chaos will be forcibly destroyed around you. If you defeat your Chaos before this prompt, you can try to reunite with the others!
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Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2022 7:37 pm
Super Sailor VarunaAnother Lysithea appeared. This one was rushing forward to pull the first one off and then --
She powered down.
Varuna’s eyes widened, immediately worried that she was going to get herself hurt. She was unpowered! She wouldn’t have her extra strength like this. And yet, her heart throbbed painfully. The tears wouldn’t stop, but she could feel the words sinking into her.
After all, even if Varuna hadn’t been sure about her at first, Lysithea had only ever been kind to her. Naive maybe… but she was the one saving Varuna from whatever Chaos decided to descend upon them.
She relaxed a little when Talia placed a kiss on her cheek and powered back up, and she could feel the energy signature flare in front of her. And she knew she was real.
Knowing that the Chaos had used Adria against both of them made her so angry. Adria was sweet and kind and she was grateful that he suggested she join them, because Varuna had very little else going for her, especially in terms of being a Senshi. She wasn’t even a good Senshi.
And then something happened. Something that seemed to spark through the air and push the darkness back. She could only think of Ganymede in that instance, and she knew she was guarding the Core.
“Lysi--” she gasped, seeing as the illusion started breaking apart. “If Ganymede used her magic near the Core… they might be in a lot of trouble.” Why else would Ganymede need to use magic like that? Had they failed in doing their job to protect the entrance? Was the Chaos able to slip in, anyway?
She could see the bright glow -- Adria’s bright magic, and hear Malus calling Lysithea. Was Ilse close by as well?
But there was something coming. Something dark.
“Lysi,” she said again as she finally rose back to her feet, a hand placed on Lysithea’s arm to keep her close. “What do we do?”
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Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2022 9:23 pm
Eternal Sailor Ilse, Senshi of the Unattainable
Ilse reached out. Wanted to take the hand offered to her. It was being offered in kindness, wasn't it? She was being lifted out of the muck and the mud, and she wasn't drowning anymore. Maybe...maybe she could be safe, and she could--she could--
There was a reason she was supposed to be here, wasn't there?
"I'm sorry, I know I need to spend more time on my world, but--I need to--"
There was a bright, brilliant light. It felt like...warmth. Safety. It felt like hope.
And Ilse remembered.
"I'm sorry," she said, and she jerked away from her strange mirror image,t he Ilse that she had once been. "I'll visit more, I promise, but right now, I have to help my friends. We have to save Alastor."
THat was more important than a dream. So, she flung herself towards them--towards where she was pretty sure her friends were waiting. Her Court. The people she needed in this life, not the last one.
"Lysithea! Adria! Varuna! It's Ilse, I'm here!"
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2022 8:58 am
Eternal Sailor LysitheaLysithea closed her eyes for a moment as the wash of energy overtook her, and when she heard her name from in Malus’ voice. Heard Ilse calling for her, she felt a sense of peace. A sense of peace that was strengthened when she saw the glow of Adria’s magic.
Varuna’s voice asking what they should do and the feeling of her hand on Lysithea’s arm had the senshi giving a sigh, and her body going loose, the tension draining from her. “Now? Ru, now we do our best, which is what we’ve been doing since all of this crazy started.” She twitched her arm and pulled it out from under Varuna’s grasp, moving to take her hand instead, lacing fingers with her and kissing the back of the senshi’s hand.
“We’re together. That’s what matters. We’re okay. We’re together. And soon, we’ll be all together.”
She could see Malus and Adria clearly now, and was so pleased that they were both human. Both still…in one piece, though she didn’t like that it seemed as though Malus was supporting Adria…if he was hurt…
But no. It wasn’t a trick, and to be sure, she withdrew her baton again and let it point towards who needed help, and it pointed towards the two.
She gave a small, shaking sigh. “Ru, I think Adria’s hurt, come on.”
Tugging Varuna with her, she made her way over to the two Eternals, worry on her face. “What happened?”
If they were together like this, there was no doubt in her mind that Ilse would be able to find them easily.
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2022 9:28 am
Eternal Sailor Malus, Senshi of Glass and Eternal Sailor Adria, Senshi of Sunsets
Relief washed over Malus’ face when he saw Lysithea, and he hurried forward. Adria was leaning on him, and blood stained his chest a bit. The fabric had been pierced in two paces, and while Adria was pale, he looked a bit green, like he was more sick about all of this than hurt.
“I’m fine,” Adria said as soon as he saw Lysithea. “I let my guard down and I’m sorry. But I’m okay!”
Just a little muddy; he’d been shoved backwards into it.
Malus looked a bit better, and though there was something guarded in his expression, he was more focused on this than anything else.
“Can you heal him?” he asked, shuffling closer to Lysithea.
“I’m okay,” Adria insisted again, but he still looked apologetically at everyone else. “Are you okay?”
Worry, for Varuna, for Lysithea.
Adria was the more emotional of the two, but whatever Malus had seen had left him shaken but not hurt. And, he was more distracted by the visible wave of shadows about to come crashing down on them.
Malus thought they looked okay but they’d have to talk later. No one was bleeding out right now, and they had a much bigger problem to deal with. “We have to do something about that,” he said quickly. “I haven’t used my magic. I saw Adria when he used his, we’ve both still got some left.”
…But he didn’t think it was enough to deal with whatever was coming at them.
Fast.
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2022 9:58 am
Super Sailor VarunaVaruna heard Ilse, and she took Lysithea’s hand and didn’t pull away when she kissed the back of it.
She pressed her lips together, because doing their best hadn’t been working so far, but maybe that would change now that they were together. They’d tried staying together, but the Chaos had pulled them apart so easily. She didn’t think anything could have prevented that, and she was upset with herself for not going with her instinct.
With one more squeeze of Lysithea’s hand, she let it go, but only so she could hurry over and help Malus with Adria. She still had tears in her eyes and guilt heavy in her heart, so seeing him alive was everything she needed.
Both hands lifted up to fuss over him, hovering over his wounds, before she reached for his face and pressed a kiss to his forehead, and then gave Malus’ cheek a quick kiss in gratitude.
But she also stepped back to give Lysithea space to use her magic if she had any left, and reached out to grab onto Ilse’s hand to pull her closer to them, and then placed a hand on Lysithea’s shoulder to make sure she knew she had the support and appreciation she deserved.
“I still have some magic left,” she admitted, although she wondered if she should have used more of it. “Not much. Should we all try attacking at the same time?” She didn’t seem too confident about it. The shadows didn’t seem to be affected by her snow too much. For all she knew, they could just be wasting another attack.
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2022 11:31 am
Eternal Sailor Ilse, Senshi of the Unattainable
Ilse staggered out of the darkness. Towards her friends, towards her Court, and though she was shivering, and the vision of her past still clung to the back of her mind--so inadequate, really, in the face of who her starseed used to be--there was a hand reaching for her.
A real hand. A person's hand.
She reached back, and took it, and let Varuna pull her over to the group. They looked a little bit battered around, but everyone was still alive, and they weren't separated by that strange, consuming darkness anymore.
Even if more of it was rushing at them, fast.
"I'm okay," she said, "and I have all my magic, but--we still don't know if it'll do anything."
She was willing to try, though. Whatever it took.
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2022 11:54 am
Eternal Sailor LysitheaLysithea felt herself sag in relief as they were all once again together. The fact that Adria really was injured gave her a moment’s pause, but she touched him with her basic magic, taking care of what she could for the moment, more could be done when they got home, more could be done when they weren’t being threatened by that darkness.
Again. The hand on her shoulder was a comfort. They were all such a comfort. “I...I have two uses of my basic magic left, but it’s just healing. My only offensive magic was used to save Ru from…the fake me.”
She had no regrets though.Lysithea wouldn’t have hesitated to save any of them. They were hers. Closer than family. And after this…they were closer than anything.
There was a warmth in her chest and Lysithea held her hand out towards them all. “Whatever we’re going to do, it has to be together. I can’t do this without you. I don’t want to do this without you.”
Into her outstretched hand, a bright light suddenly appeared, and the court wand materialized in her grasp. It was different than it had been before, not that she would know, but the snowflakes and flower petals that now adorned it replaced the different charms of the old members.
For a moment, Lysithea simply stared at the wand in her hand, and then she blew out her breath. “...I need you all. We can do this, but it has to be together. Please.” There was space for all of their hands on the wand, and she put hers, one near the bottom and one near the top, with space between for the other four to hold on.
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2022 12:37 pm
Super Sailor VarunaThere wasn’t much time. The darkness was coming. With Ilse so close now, Varuna moved to the side to help Malus with Adria. And even if he wasn’t dying and in better condition thanks to Lysithea’s magic, if they were going to use what they had left of their magic, Malus would probably need some help keeping Adria upright.
She’d never seen anything like the wand before, but she could recognize the elements that included her magic as well. Grateful that Lysithea was keeping it in place, and assuming it would be something to help channel their magic, Varuna slid one arm around Adria’s waist, and took his hand to help place it on the wand with her own.
Varuna nodded to Lysithea to let her know she was ready, and then to Ilse and Malus as well. They could make this work… whatever this was. They had to, if they wanted to help Alastor clear the Chaos from his world.
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