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 Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 2:52 pm
The holiday season was in full swing. There were Christmas trees in almost every shopping center and lights strung along people’s houses. He’d already seen at least ten different nativity scenes scattered throughout the city and was sure there were plenty more where that came from. There were enough fat old men dressed as Santa Claus—ringing their bells for charity and sitting around waiting for people to come take pictures with them—to confuse all the children who were smart enough to wonder how Santa could be in so many different places at one time, and he’d heard enough people claiming there to be a war on Christmas to sufficiently annoy him, considering Christmas was literally everywhere he turned.
If there was a war in this city—and there was—it certainly wasn’t on Christmas.
And it was that war that troubled Paris more than any other. He didn’t like it—but then who did like war?—but he was also determined to end it, and he was pretty sure he’d have more success with that if he worked with a group of like-minded people. He’d come to decide that that was the Jovians. He’d also come to decide that as a member of said group, he needed to become more open and available to his teammates. Which was difficult, considering he’d spent so much of the last year closing himself off when and where he could, but that was going to change. He just had to figure out where he wanted to start.
Since revealing his identity to Chris, Paris had been considering whether or not he wanted to extend the same courtesy to some of the other Jovians. Certainly Europa deserved to meet him without magic and costumes. It would probably also do him well to be more open with Pasiphae, who’d already expressed enough trust in him to power down in front of him months ago. Either of them would have made a logical first choice, and would have perhaps been a bit more comfortable that the decision he eventually made.
It was all rather spontaneous. He didn’t think he’d have been able to go through with it if he’d taken the time to do some careful planning. He’d woken up that morning to find himself with some free time and had impulsively sent a text of “We should meet. No magic. I’ll figure out a place. Tell me a good time” to non-other than his frequent companion in bickering—Kallichore.
As he sat at a corner table in a quaint and sparsely populated café decorated in garlands and wreaths and pretty multi-colored Christmas lights, Paris told himself it made perfect sense. Being a part of a team was all about trust, and it sent the biggest message to formally introduce himself to the member he butted heads with the most. It showed that he was serious, that he intended to make this work—not just with Valhalla and Europa and Pasiphae, but with everyone.
So he sat nervously stirring a spoon through his mug of hot chocolate, hoping this hadn’t been a big mistake. Once they’d agreed on a time, Paris had texted Kallichore with what he thought was a decent enough meeting place, as well as the comment “I like to dance” in the hopes that his t-shirt with “Dance Your a** Off” printed on the front would be enough for her to know that the skinny, girly looking blond kid in the corner was the same skinny, girly looking blond kid she was looking for.
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Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 6:03 pm
One usually grumpy teen found herself almost shocked to the point of unconsciousness after receiving a text from one particular senshi she'd not been agreeable with - Ganymede. His message was simple: meet somewhere in public (she assumed), out in the open with no magical glamour, no asswings and no stockings, boots or ridiculous heels. Something about this meeting made her quite nervous, and Christa wasn't sure why. There was no real reason to be nervous, she told herself. He and I simply don't see eye to eye very often, and we haven't met very many times on top of that. Our last meeting was a fight in front of the rest of the Court... so what could he want? Public ridicule? A stoning, perhaps? She knew he wouldn't instigate a fight in such an open environment, at least without a damned good reason. Pissing someone off in public was never a good idea and could risk too much, she decided.
Then Christa realized she was completely over-thinking the whole situation and thoroughly embarrassed herself by the thought that Ganymede would hide behind a fake plant at a coffee shop with a bag full of garden rocks to pelt her with.
He'd never do that. He might break a nail.
Shaking her head, Christa made her way to the cafe in question. Her first thought was to try and impress the vice-captain (if he could be called such a thing) with some nice outfit, and then found herself laughing at the idea. The Jovians didn't work the same way as the Blood Moon - impressing someone wasn't a full time job and got you nowhere. Instead, she simply donned her usual attire of brown suede jacket, dark pants and shoes with some top or other she found in a pleasing earth tone. No jewelry, but her hair was considerably tamer than it was when she powered up. She carried with her a small satchel with personal items and remembered that his text mentioned that he liked to dance. The meaning behind it went over her head and she simply replied, "I like to read." and left it at that.
Her heart thumped into her throat as she entered the cafe, noting hardly anyone was inside. Most people in the city were shopping for the winter holidays and were at malls or in the shopping district. Her eyes landed on a pleasant-looking young woman in the corner and spotted that her shirt said something about...
...oh.
...........oh.
Suddenly things made sense. The gray haired teen walked up to one Citizen Ganymede and slightly bowed her head in greeting, realizing she wasn't sure what name he went by in human form. "Is this seat taken?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 10:01 am
Paris certainly hadn’t bothered to dress to impress. He wasn’t looking for that wow factor. Instead, he’d taken his time considering how he wanted to express himself as far as his clothing choices were concerned. He wasn’t going to hide who he was—if someone didn’t like it, that was their problem and they just needed to get over it—but he didn’t want to inadvertently go over the top with it either. His senshi outfit was ridiculous enough as it was. He didn’t want to look ridiculous as a civilian, too. He wanted people to take him seriously even if he didn’t dress like other boys.
So he had his t-shirt on over a pink long-sleeved shirt, and dark leggings under a pair of cut-off shorts, with brown cowboy boots to finish it off. His coat and scarf had been removed as soon as he’d arrived and hung on the back of his chair. He’d pulled his hair back in a low, messy bun and wore very little make-up—a different look than what he had when he transformed. Overall, he looked fresh-faced and young, unsurprisingly seventeen, and hopefully seemed more approachable than his alter ego.
He looked up when another figure arrived at his table and knew right away that this must be his intended company. He stood to his feet—all five-foot three-inches of short, skinny teenager, though the boots helped to bump him up just a little bit more, thankfully—and stared at the girl who was Kallichore.
He tried not to let himself react too much, especially in the face, which was difficult, as he knew he usually had a pretty expressive face. He didn’t want to frown and look unimpressed. He hadn’t known what to expect from this girl, and though he rarely got along with her when they attempted to work together, he was trying his best not to judge too quickly. At the same time, he didn’t want to smile and seem as if he were impressed, either, even if that might have been the more friendly thing to do.
He settled for a slightly raised brow and extended one of his hands. “Paris,” he introduced himself. It took him a few seconds before he realized he’d fallen into the old habit of not sharing his last name, and quickly added, “LeFay.”
Should he say “it’s nice to meet you”? He wasn’t sure. He couldn’t decide if that was the polite thing to do, or if it’d be a pointless effort, given that they both knew their meetings had rarely turned out to be nice.
Now what? Paris wasn’t usually this horrible at meeting people, but he found himself feeling oddly uncomfortable and out of place.
“Um… you can sit. Did you want to order anything?”
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Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 11:37 am
He seems... shorter. came her first thought, and the second was about how he chose to dress in public. It didn't shock Christa in any sense of the word, considering how his fuku was designed. As the boy introduced himself as one Paris LeFay, Christa came to realize that it was likely this was his real name - no ulterior motive, no fake identities. Ganymede probably was Paris LeFay, and if she wasn't sure, the other Jovians might know and could confirm.
But where was the trust in that? It was becoming increasingly obvious to her that Paris really did just want to meet. Perhaps she could let her guard down and loosen those shoulders just a little.
She took up his outstretched hand and gave it a firm shake. "Christabelle Calloway." There, she let slip her full name before the rest of her mind could clamp shut and stop it. "But call me Christa, please." she amended and felt a little better about it. Taking her seat across from him and her expression softened a little. She folded her hands on the table and blinked. Order something? Right, they were in a cafe. People tended to order things when they came to a cafe.
"I'll probably get a hot chocolate or something..." came the absent reply. Thoughts were roiling around in her head and wondered whether Paris felt as uncomfortable as she did. It was like she was waiting for something to erupt, something to set one of them off. When nothing did, she was unsure and almost surprised. It made her nervous when the expected outcome didn't arrive. She had to make some kind of conversation, or else this entire meeting would be nothing but awkward silences.
Eyebrows furrowed a bit. "You look.... cute." she said finally, almost as if the word 'cute' was completely foreign to her.
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:29 pm
Paris didn’t know what he wanted or expected out of this meeting. It had all been rather spur of the moment, and now that they were both here facing one another, he didn’t even know what to say. All of his usual conversation starters seemed weak and pointless. They were different enough as senshi; he was sure those differences would extend into their civilian lives as well.
Sure enough, the differences were highlighted at her apparent compliment and in his response back. “Thanks. You look… sort of studious…”
He wasn’t sure how else to describe her. She didn’t seem especially trendy—perhaps a bit earthy in her clothing choices, but definitely not what he would deem any sort of great beauty. Not that he’d thought she would be; she looked crazy in her fuku. With that image in his head, he thought it was at least a good thing that she could look decently put together under more normal circumstances. He found the sort of average—though perhaps a little bland—look to be much less off-putting than shredded garments.
“This is weird,” he decided for them both, taking his seat again once she was across from him. He fiddled with the spoon in his mug for a few seconds before releasing it and crossing his arms along the table-top as he casually leaned over it.
“Sorry if this is really random,” he said. He was trying to keep his voice level and not let too many emotions come through in it. “I’ve been considering this for a while now. Not just with you, but with the others, too. I figure if we’re going to make this team thing work, we should at least know exactly who we’re working with, and since you and I have some issues with getting along, I thought it might be a good idea.”
He still didn’t know if it truly was or not. He supposed he’d just have to wait and see.
“So this is me,” he continued with a slight shrug. “I’m Paris. I’m seventeen. I dropped out of school and I dance semi-professionally. I’m girly. I like pretty things. I like being pretty. If that makes me vain, oh well. I have an attitude. I’m moody and self-absorbed and I don’t like people standing in my way. I like normalcy,” he said, “and that’s what I’m fighting for, so I can go back to living the mostly normal life I had before. I don’t care if anyone thinks that’s selfish. I think we all have selfish reasons when it comes down to it. No one’s going to willingly sacrifice themselves to something if they’re not going to be getting anything out of it.”
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 5:35 pm
Paris was saying everything Christa hadn't put out the effort to decode - this was weird, awkward and teetering dangerously into Bad Idea territory. She certainly couldn't fault him for trying, necessarily - he had the notion to get to know everyone if he was going to open himself up more like he admitted in one of their earlier meetings. In a way, they were much more alike that they realized - Ganymede was a loner by choice and Kallichore by necessity. They both probably didn't trust much of anyone for different reasons, but lack of trust was still lack of trust.
She sat back and was almost... relieved? when the blond started to go into himself in a bit of an expedition. He opted to open himself up first - good and bad and everything in between. There was a part of her that admitted to the relief some time after he was finished and she felt her shoulders relax. How long had it been since she had been able to let go, even a little? Christa didn't want to admit it, but perhaps this wasn't as bad of an idea as she initially thought. There were always reasons behind things, of this she was certain, but who was controlling the reasons... that was something Christa had yet to figure out. Fate and destiny were obviously working to and for all senshi, but here?
Destiny worked in mysterious ways.
The gray haired teen folded her hands in her lap and, like Paris, kept her voice low. It wasn't a secret, what they were sharing - no extremely vital information was being passed around, but the fact that they were sharing was no less important. "I'm eighteen now, going to graduate soon from Meadowview. I'd like to major in literature or something at DCU, but whether I'll get the chance, I'm not sure." She stopped for a moment, contemplated, and drew another breath. Caution was being waved a bit in the wind. "I'm not pretty and that bothers me sometimes. I've been made fun of all my life for my old lady hair. I'm an introvert - I like to read and write and research and I'm told I'm very good at each. I collect stationary and old books. I'm intense and obsessive and have a love of violence that is usually construed with being psychotic. Part of me likes that."
She looked down at her hands and closed her eyes, feeling another bit of weight leaving her shoulders and it was probably noticeable in how her back tension eased a bit. "...and I'm deathly afraid of losing one of you."
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 6:54 pm
Becoming Ganymede had changed him, much more than he’d realized at the time of his awakening. He had never been much of a loner before, but as the year had gone by he’d noticed how much he’d pulled away from people, and learned to rely on only a few. He didn’t like it. He’d alienated his best friend in the process and had made himself less available to other people. If it hadn’t been for Chris, he wondered if he would have spent much time with anyone at all, or if he would have ended up hiding away and keeping to himself.
At the time, he hadn’t known what else to do. He would never pretend as if he liked what had become of him. Even now, that bitterness he’d felt in the first initial few months remained, but it was getting easier to deal with. Slowly, the more he learned to rely on others, the more he worked with the Jovians, he was finding that he was able to open himself up to people again.
“I went to Meadowview up until last year,” he said. He stared at her closely to try and decide if he recognized her from there before deciding he didn’t. It wasn’t surprising. He might have hung out with the older crowd from the time he set foot there, but if she was the bookish type—as he suspected she was with an intended major like that—he probably wouldn’t have noticed her even if she’d been staring him in the face. “Then I got kicked out and sent to Hillworth. I wasn’t exactly a model student, but I never really cared much for school to begin with, so… dropping out wasn’t really a big deal.”
His reasons for it hadn’t been for any aversion he had for the education system, but he and Christa weren’t nearly close enough for him to feel comfortable discussing his family problems with her.
Instead, he moved on to some of her other comments. He chose to ignore her apparent violent impulses for now. He was pretty sure discussing that would lead them straight into another round of disagreements. Beyond that, he thought they had a couple of other similarities he hadn’t realized before. He could definitely be intense and obsessive, though he was sure for different reasons, and even if he enjoyed being social and spending time around people, he couldn’t deny that there were times when he just wanted to be by himself, or simply with the select few he truly cared about.
“You’re not the only one who’s been made fun of, though clearly I’ve gotten crap from people for different reasons,” he said, absently motioning to himself and figuring she knew he was referring to the fact that he looked like a girl. “You just have to embrace it. I look like a girl, I act like a girl, I do stereotypically girl things, but that’s who I am and I’ve never really cared if anyone had a problem with it or viewed it as a source of amusement. Your hair’s more a cosmetic problem than anything in your personality, so it wouldn’t be that hard to change if you really wanted to. Since you haven't, I assume it wouldn't be such an issue for you if people would just leave it and move on. Honestly, if someone is seriously so pathetic that they feel the need to constantly comment on it, I say screw ‘em. They obviously have no life.”
He frowned lightly again and lowered his voice a little more. “As for losing one of us… I don’t intend for that to happen.” Paris paused for a moment and tried to smirk. “Sorry, but you’re kind of stuck with me. I might have been a little wary about joining a team before, but now that I have I plan on sticking around, whole and uncorrupted. I probably need this more than you realize.”
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 7:43 pm
Not everyone is into school, she told herself. Most anyone would opt out of it if possible. It's become a joke these days, especially in public school. And yet, without a lot of money, Meadowview was the best and only option. Soon, she'd have to contemplate balancing her senshidom with a class schedule at college. It was daunting, but if she could manage to skate by in high school, she could opt for a smaller workload and go to college part time. But what about a real life? That was something she rarely, if ever, considered. Perhaps Paris had a good idea - dropping out meant more time to yourself. More time to train, discover, to live. Living was one thing most people took for granted and, this being a war, may have taken away from them.
Christa leaned back in her chair and regarded Paris with a look of genuine curiosity. "Names are rude and hurtful, but, like you said, one way to deal with it is to just embrace it. Maybe I went about it the wrong way." Why had she kept her hair gray all these years? Her entire family had premature gray hair and that only bothered her when people made fun of her for it. Sure, the change could be easy, but then all that time and money and effort for something that one shouldn't be ashamed of. If she had learned anything from the Jovians, it was that one should not be ashamed of who they are. Pashiphae and Ganymede would know that best of all. "Instead of crying, I found back. Verbally of course, and shut everyone out. I figured, it can't hurt if I can't hear it." The last admission came with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. That was so many years ago.
"You're very confident, and I think that's a good thing. If anything, maybe the group can teach us things about ourselves that would make us stronger." Christa was more than certain she could learn something from each of the Jovians - control from Europa, confidence from Ganymede, serenity from Pasiphae, humor from Babylon, strength from Valhalla and the list went on. But what could she teach others? Was there anything within her that could be used to better someone else? Christa suddenly wasn't so sure.
Paris' admission to never turning to the dark side brought a smile to her face then. It was slight, but it was there. "For once, I'll admit I like the idea of being stuck with you." Her voice lowered and she leveled a gaze at him that meant nothing but truth. "I'd gladly step between you and her. I won't let her have you."
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:34 pm
“I’m not always as confident as I seem to be,” Paris said.
He tried to be. He didn’t like appearing weak. He didn’t like being seen as pathetic or incapable. He knew what his strengths and weaknesses were. He knew what he was good at. He was generally pretty confident when he did those things. When he spoke with people, it was often fairly easy to put on a front and seem pretty self-assured. He knew how to talk big. When it came to who he was as a person, he was upbeat and undaunted.
But when it came to other things, when it came to certain actions and responsibilities, he floundered the same as anyone else--perhaps more, sometimes.
“Being who I am and giving people the finger when they have a problem with it is easy compared to-” He cut himself off and looked around the café to make sure no one could overhear him, but none of the few other patrons seemed interested in the two teens sitting in the corner. “-compared to being a senshi,” he finished, lowering his voice a bit more just in case. “Let’s face it, I’m not that good at it and it bugs me. I don’t like not being good at something. Usually I don’t bother with the things I’m not good at, but I can’t just quit this. I have my own reasons for fighting. I have things and people I want to protect.”
He had Chris now, and the rest of the Jovians, not to mention his father and his best friend, neither of whom he wanted to see dragged into any of the s**t that happened in this city. He’d do what he could to protect them and stop the madness from spreading further.
“It’s easy to be confident when I’m like this, when I’m me. I know who I am. I know what I’m doing. That’s one of the reasons I want a normal life again. I mean, yeah, I’ve had problems. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t. But it’s nothing compared to the war. I might be the same person, but being Paris and being Ganymede are completely different. At least like this I know what to expect. I know what I want and I generally know how to get it. I’m good at what I do. Paris has direction. Ganymede is still struggling to find it sometimes.”
It had gotten better in the last handful of months. He had clearly defined principles. He knew what he wanted, he knew what his limits were, but he was never sure how find the solutions they needed to end this. What should they do? How long would it take? Would it be worth it once it was all over?
Would it ever be over?
“In the end, I’m pretty sure she or any of them won’t have me because I’m a coward. I have a pretty strong sense of self-preservation. I’m not heroic or dumb enough to face her, definitely not on my own, and probably not as a group either. I not like you, Kall-” he stumbled and had to stop to correct himself. “Christa. I’m not brave.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 5:33 pm
Something about returning to a normal life was terrifying for Christa. She so enjoyed having the ability to affect change into her everyday life, the thought that her actions could really have lasting consequences. The thought that she and her allies could really one day win this war... that was what drove her. She didn't think it a curse, no, surely a blessing. Not everyone received the call of destiny and not everyone who wanted it would receive it. The war was still very distant, almost like a myth when Kallichore joined in. Was it still like that for the others? Those who were blissfully ignorant? It wasn't the knowledge of having ended the war that frightened her.
It was the question of what to do with oneself when it was all over.
Could someone just return to being "normal" after all of that? All of the violence and death and bloodshed and magic. Was there a normal after that? Veterans certainly didn't return from active duty in one piece. Christa easily caught the parallel. How many of them would be able to return to a peaceful life when all was said and done?
Paris' conversation brought her back into the present. "I could... try and help you get better, if you'd like. I suppose I'm sort of good at it. Made it this far." Sure, Christa had her fair share of brushes with death, but who didn't? One didn't make it to Eternal level without a few bumps and bruises. "Direction is something I'm probably not the person to define. Several... instances have given me the direction I need for right now, but that's not to say everyone's will be the same. I do worry, though," The gray haired teen leaned in, watching a pair of patrons from the corner of her eye, "I worry that my goals may not be the same as that of the others. I work hard to see things the way they do, and it's worked... somewhat."
What Paris didn't know was that Christa was fairly positive Ares would did her claws into anyone, willing or no. Self-proclaimed cowards probably didn't make one bit of difference to her - power was power. "Brave? A month ago, I'd have been sure you'd call me reckless instead. But brave... I think I may be growing into that, bit by bit. The group... they're a ground. They keep things level, and I can't tell them how much I appreciate that. Even you, and Chris and all the others, they're like a light - a constant reminder of what to be thankful for."
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 11:12 am
“Bravery and recklessness can sometimes go hand in hand,” Paris decided.
He did think she was reckless. He still didn’t always like the way she went about things, and he suspected—especially as she revealed her concerns regarding her place amongst the team—that the things he hadn’t appreciated in her hadn’t changed much between then and now. Yet he could see a bit more than recklessness in how she carried herself sometimes. Not everyone could face this war and watch their teammates become what hers had without faltering. It took a special sort of strength to keep moving after that, he thought, and while he wasn’t sure if he had it himself, he thought that Kallichore did.
“We’ve both been through a lot. It’s been different, but it’s still been more than normal people usually have to experience, and we’ve chosen to face it in different ways,” he said and shrugged, gripping the edge of the table with his hands as he leaned back in his chair. “I ran away from it for a while. Sometimes I think I’m still running. You don’t seem like you’ve done that. You’re either brave or you’re completely crazy, and while you seem sort of insane when we’re… not like this… when you’re normal you don’t look stupid or mad, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and say it’s bravery.”
Clearly that opinion could change, and he had a feeling it might the next time they happened to be powered up around one another and potentially working together, but for the time being he left it as it was.
He wondered if his opinion would always vacillate back and forth when it came to her, or if he’d finally come to a firm decisions one day.
“I don’t know if I can get better,” he admitted. “At least not any better than I am now. I’m better than I was when I awakened, but there are still things I won’t do. I don’t like violence. No amount of training is going to change that. With the team I feel a little more included, a little more like I actually belong, but I don’t like that we’re fighting in a war that doesn’t seem to have had very much to do with us in the first place, and over some dumbass princess who isn’t even here. She can fight her own battles. They don’t have anything to do with me.”
Yet the war raged on, and he found himself stuck in the middle of it. With a sigh, Paris leaned forward again, resting an elbow against the table with the side of his face cradled in his raised palm. “I think we’re still working on our goals. I know what mine are. I know what Chris’s are, and I think Pasiphae and Europa are more or less on the same page. Some of the others seem to be, too. Babylon’s a good guy.”
For someone who’d never had much of a desire to join up and form a team when he’d first awakened, Paris thought it said a lot that he genuinely liked his teammates.
“You can do good without violence. It’s just more difficult, because a lot of people probably aren’t going to want to listen. Chris has already been hurt trying. But in the end, I don’t think it’s who we kill that’s going to make a difference. It’ll be who we manage to save along the way.”
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 8:40 pm
Christa found herself chuckling low in her throat. It was a quiet sound, like something she wasn't entirely familiar with, but her shoulders shook slightly with it. "If we've ever left a legacy, I'd like mine to be bravery. I suppose I don't feel afraid when I know what I do will impact something greater than myself. There are things, people, out there that are utterly terrifying. I know it. I've seen them. I ran from one when she looked to me, when she was going to throw me through one of her damned mirrors..." Instead of clenching a fist like she would have done any other time, the gray haired teen simply let her fingers slide back and forth over one another. "But the thought of being on the front line of a huge battle and not having a chance to think, just to do..."
Being unable to find the words, Christa shook her head. There was something in her that allowed her to forget personal safety and only concern herself with others. What that thing was was something she couldn't define. Maybe it was bravery. Maybe it was stupidity or recklessness or pure abandon. Whatever it was, Kallichore would not hesitate to be the first one in and the last one out.
It was simply what she did.
After a few moments, Christa continued. "You can get better. You said so yourself - you can do good without violence. It's just harder. So how is that not better? I'm sure there are many people out there that hate the fact that we're in a war to save the earth. Even more of them, if they're aware, are probably pissed that this war was started by people thousands of years ago. But I do disagree on one thing - it has everything to do with us. If it didn't, then they would have won a long time ago. We're the ones stopping them." She leaned forward, resting her hands on her chin. "We're the barrier between the lives of everyone we love and total annihilation."
She sat back in her chair and was quiet for a while, brows furrowing in thought. It was thoughts like these, like the ones she'd just voiced, that kept her fully fueled in the war. She was more than convinced that if every senshi gave up and called it quits, the Negaverse would kill or enslave everyone in record time. Ares would pick off whoever she could, and Queen Beryl would reach her claws into the hearts of any and everyone. Even if their past selves were nothing but ghosts, the fight was living in the now, and Kallichore thought it was a blessing to be a part of it. She wanted nothing more than to wield her power in the name of justice and protection. Not everyone could say that they took part in saving the world.
"That's what keeps me going, and keeps me on this side of things."
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 12:51 pm
Paris fell silent, unsure how he wanted to respond. He wasn’t of the opinion that they were impacting much of anything. They tried, and a certain number of them managed to do some good, he supposed, but it never felt like it was enough. It never felt like they were making any progress. If anything they kept circling around, successful for only so long before they cycled back down. There was too much dissent and too little organization. He knew that, but he didn’t know how to fix it, nor could he decide if it would even be worth it.
They were all fighting for different things, with different reasons, in the hopes of achieving different outcomes. He wondered how many of them were senshi as the Negaverse saw them, fighting for the coming of some fanciful Moon Queen, and how many of them were like him, just trying to survive and live another day while fighting for the chance to live a normal life. He didn’t know how to bridge those differences; if they did, and if a Moon Queen somehow came along because of it, Paris wasn’t so sure he even wanted to build those bridges.
He liked Earthed as he’d known it before the war—if there’d ever been a “before the war.” He liked it as he’d known if before he realized there was a war, at least. He wanted that back again—not the ignorance, but the relative peace.
“I don’t know,” he finally said. He shrugged, still unsure how to respond to her. His thoughts were a spiraling mess in his head, as they always seemed to be when it came to his life as a senshi. “If this wasn’t settled however many years ago when it began, I wonder if it’ll even ever be settled this time around. It’s lasted this long. Who says it won’t go on forever?”
He didn’t like the thought of that at all. If that was the case, either he’d be stuck fighting for years and years, or he’d be killed in the midst of it.
Neither option pleased him much.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” he decided. “I’ve gotten this far. Back in February, I wouldn’t have thought I’d last this long, given how things were at the time. I suppose it says something that I’ve managed to keep going despite all the crap that happens. I’ve learned to try and not to let what happens in the senshi part of my life effect what happens in this part of my life. When I’m Ganymede, I’m still Paris, but when I’m Paris… I try not to be Ganymede.”
He couldn’t say if it was easier that way, or better, but he preferred it. As far as he was concerned, being Sailor Ganymede was simply an unfortunate circumstance he was learning to deal with. He’d been born Paris; Sailor Ganymede was merely the mantle he’d taken up when he had the choice between cowering in his fear and ignorance or doing something about it. Maybe that was what he’d been born to become, but that didn’t change the fact that underneath it all he was still human. He was still just a seventeen year old kid with seventeen year old dreams.
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 6:41 pm
"Trying to keep both of you separate can be difficult, I imagine." She realized then that to her, there was no difference between herself and Kallichore. Her civilian life was rather mundane and not really noteworthy. She was finishing high school soon to go on to Destiny City University to become a literature major. Maybe. If things went well enough, she could go part time to give herself plenty of space to live and breathe as a senshi. She could keep the campus safe at night, perhaps. There she went again - would there ever be a time when both sides of her would be equal?
Christa wasn't sure she wanted to even entertain the idea.
She shook her head finally at the thought of a never-ending war. "Maybe there was peace at some point. Maybe it lasted thousands of years - there's no way to know, really. There's always an eye to a hurricane and a calm before the storm. Maybe that's what we're all really fighting for - the peaceful time, even if it's fleeting." Christa voiced those thoughts more for Paris than for herself. She wasn't fighting to have a normal life again. If she was normal again, she would have no idea what to do with herself and that thought was sheer terror.
"I suppose what really matters in the end is that we're ahead of the game in some respects - we have a team, a cohesive team with strength and greatness behind it. We work well together, which is more than can be said for however many others out there who are alone." Christa knew full well how organized the Negaverse was and how well they operated under that organization. They were and still are a unified front against the forces of good, but once the forces of good became organized, Christa was convinced the war would cease. Even if only a handful of senshi banded together, really and truly, it could be enough.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 2:27 pm
Paris liked to think that one day all of this would be over. He liked to think that they could somehow find an end to the war, even if he truly had no idea what they could possibly do it bring it about, or if it would even last if they did. He liked to think it would last, that when it ended it would truly mark the conclusion of all these years of fighting, that it wouldn’t drag on into the future when he and his teammates were dead and gone. When he died, he didn’t want it to be because of this. He didn’t want to pass on wondering who the next batch of fighters would be.
He wanted it to be final. He wanted the end to be the end.
“I’m not sure we’re really so far ahead,” he said, continuing to keep his voice low while the conversation continued, unsure how wise it was to be discussing such things in a public place, even if no one seemed to be paying them any attention. “Yeah, I think we’re better off as a team. I didn’t have anybody until Europa and Val. It probably would have been a lot easier if I’d had this from the beginning. I might have been able to accept it better. But I still feel like we’re sort of running to catch up. Not the Jovians, but the senshi as a whole. It’s like we’re always being caught by surprise. We know to expect youma. We know we’re likely to run into the bad guys when we go out. But the big things, the big battles, the ones that really count, we’re never prepared. We always seem to get through it by the skin of our teeth.”
He tried his best to block out his memories of the Surrounding, and further back to Elysion, but somehow an image or two always managed to break through.
“I don’t know that being more organized will help that,” he admitted. “Sometimes I think the fact that we’re so disorganized as a whole and fighting for different things and not always able to come to an agreement is one of our weaknesses, but then other times I think it could be one of our strengths, too. We have people who see things from so many different points of view. We’re able to think for ourselves and come to our own conclusions. Most of us still have our individuality. I don’t know that I can say the same for our enemies.”
He frowned and looked down at his mug of cooling hot chocolate for a few moments, then lifted it to drink the rest. When he was done, he lowered it and stared across at Christa again, glancing her over, still trying to decide what he thought of her.
“No offense, but I think I like you better like this. You’re much more normal,” he said. He wondered, for a moment, if “normal” was a comfortable concept for her. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t be, though he supposed everyone was different. They all wanted different things for themselves. “That’s not a bad thing,” he added. “You seem more sure of yourself as Kallichore, which is another thing you and I clearly don’t have in common, but I don’t think you should try to forget who you were before all this, even if you might not have liked it as much. I think knowing who we are outside of the war, having some sort of a life removed from it, even if it’s only little things… I think it’ll help keep us human.”
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