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 Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 11:27 pm
He stared through the glass pensively, while standing beneath the sickly penumbra cast by the nearest lamp post. He offered no glance toward his monstrous shadow anymore, how each feather crawled like fingers over the thick blacktop offering parking space. He didn't care that it spread up part of the store wall and froze, immobile, as some blackened hump marring the otherwise white building. He never cared because his state of waste urged the whole of his attention toward what offerings sat displayed before him - Hostess products, chips ranging from Tim's to Lay's to Sun Chips, an array of nuts roasted in all manner, candies, sodas, juices and beer.
Sometimes, if his gaze lingered on one item for too long, he could taste the ghost of its memory just beyond his tongue.
Bischofite knew not how long he stood staring into the convenience store, or whether anyone spied the lurking monstrosity that stood so still outside closed doors. It didn't matter, ultimately. No senshi assailed him, no knight attacked him. Not even those ordained as his allies spared a meandering venture in his direction. He considered it an opportune moment, a means by which he could sustain himself without the assistance of some overconfident and underwhelming lieutenant or the insistent hovering of Lellouch. Nor would he need to endure Schörl's whimsical nature, nor her excessive jabs.
He knew the place well, how the first few tiles sat caked with so much scraped rubber that it never fully came clean. He remembered the used mat sporting a permanent stain in the corner, and the light which remained consistently out despite repeated replacement bulbs (he surmised the ballast was defective, though he doubted any of the clerks harbored the education or the inclination to rectify this). He knew the single bent display, the dusty register, the counter equipped with a peeling place mat that debuted an old tobacco ad. Perhaps more keenly, he remembered the brush of shoulder near the stand, a kiss passed beneath the broken light, hands locked together just behind view from the counter.
While considerably more exhausted, the creature committed the perfect break-in - once on the outside, now on the inside without so much as a breath against the door handle. No alarm sounded, though he suspected a possible silent alarm. From that, he guessed he had enough time to steal away some necessities before returning to the Rift. Finally he started perusing the wares with hawkish consideration, hesitating only when he felt the sickening, blistering auric energies offered by a White Moon eternal.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:07 am
It was far, far too close to the University, this General's aura. He'd been on his way back, home, to henshin down and try to get some work done of some sort in the company of coffee, an apple, and Faust's fuzzy body on his pillow. He tracked it to the couple blocks near the campus. He walked the lane of road, all the traffic signals gone to blinking with the lack of night traffic. The sick feeling grew as he approached....the minimart? Sleepless charade carousel-led memories of too many sweets for one and bottle water for another. Lips that smirked and tasted like chocolate. The faintest genuine smile-lines hidden by smokey designs and makeup worn in irony of social labels. Why near here.
But are you in it? on it? beside it? Whoever you are, you feel me. Then who ambushes who. His eyes narrowed, despite the shot of adrenaline dilating his pupil's to catch every available photon of light and motion. Fight or flight. This is a General, but which. They are all deadly. "Come out, Shadow, and tell your sorrows to the stones. "
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Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 8:28 pm
The chip bags sat untouched, the displays of gum undisturbed and the Powerade stand still recently faced from the last clerk's incessant boredom. Still they stood, unfazed by the long breath of myriad groans emanating from the creature that prowled through their aisles. He peered through the black metal Frito-Lay displayer that housed several snack-sized varieties only to spot a lone figure clad in white beyond the automatic doors. Even through the glass smudged and scraped by too many children, too many careless customers, he knew the scar that treaded a prisoner's line down his face - captive to the eternally stoic countenance that so easily overpowered it. He knew the eyes most of all, how they flared and flickered with the tidings of his voice.
His voice.
"Sraen," he mumbled among plastics bathed in too-loud advertising. And what fortune I have to see you here - in this place. Are you going to end me here, so close to Quenton? To the date claimed for purification? I suspect admittance to such does not buy freedom from your executioner's garb. One day you must behead yourself for crimes committed, Thraen - or you already have.
"Your sorrows," the voices echoed. "Stony sorrows. The Black Column. Know stone, know suffering. Writhe in filth."
It's a dangerous Game, dealing with you. I know the feel of your starseed at my palm. I wonder if you remember the texture of my skin when I touched your very soul. Straightening up, the creature rounded the chip displayer and approached the front of the store slowly. The tattered coat crawled over dirtied tile floors, grout blackened from wear and neglect. It trailed toward the welcome mat, so often browned with dirt and detritus drug indoors, that one might never discover the original red far beneath the surface. Most of the lettering faded from abuse, leaving only a few choice letters to indicate the store's name.
He stood between the S and the R, peering out beyond the unbreakable glass door toward the one who so often sought his demise.
He offered no greeting, and likewise no taunt. "Who, zough zey cannot answer my distress, yet in some sort zey are better zan ze tribunes." He paused, raising a long finger to scrape against the glass with one blackened nail. "And, were zey but attired in graf'e weeds, Rome could afford no tribune like to zese."
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Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 9:02 pm
The motion of dark, the voice, all drew attention to the source. He would be IN the store. You've been in their oft enough to teleport in. Why not. Like home. Bischofite. What fool hath added water to the sea, or brought a f*****t to bright-burning Troy?"This is a new low, stooped as you are, to add petty theft. Villany no longer fat you with the very thoughts of it? You walk again and already seek the easiest path, thievery, to solve your map of woe. " Alois, if you are hungry there are other ways. Why must you do this. You offer to carry the bucket for the fates of the world. And nothing matter, even this lowest stains, and all actions as meaningless as the next...and you make it self fulfilling prophecy. Demeaning yourself stain by stain to try to turn black into some sort of happiness, some sweetness in your heart out of all the bitterness in the world. As though the promises of the devil, the lord of sorrows, could ever pay out promises to followers except to share his pain. Pain without reward, stagnant in itself eternal until the end of all things.
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Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 9:39 pm
"Laws apply to man, Sraen. Do I look like a man to you? One cannot prosecute a dog for theft, or a cat for tresspassing." He tapped the glass twice before digging nail deep, screeching downward for a scar to mirror the one of his countenance. If standing at precisely the right angle, the scratch over glass both superimposed onto Thraen's scar and extended toward both distances as a monument and headstone. "What do you expect me to do, zen? Work for wages as I am now? Plot seeds and attempt to farm in a place zat never knows sun? Traipse srough ze forest and hunt deer, pick berries? Beg ozzer officers to bring somesing substantial wis' zem like some groveling vagrant?"
The night air leaked through the pane, seeping into his exposed skin. Despite the summer heat, it chilled him.
"Zere is but one known pas' I could take zat offers a probability of survival. However, I must somehow sustain myself long enough to meet ze appointed time. If it pains you so to watch me steal, I could drain energy instead. I could pull starseeds. Would it count as cannibalism, Sraen, if I were to eat a man now? I suspect it's a marvelous messod of body disposal now." He smiled, fragile beyond what dregs of energy he summoned to complete the action. Body humming with the last brilliance behind a crash, he twitched slightly.
"Vengeance ate srough my heart, deas' warped my hands, blood and revenge hammered wings into my back. Zere is, soon, a day of doom for me. Not by your hands, eizer. You must be disappointed."
He snorted softly, felt his throat threaten to close. "I hope you are."
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Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 10:05 pm
"What has reason has sin, what has hope is yet enough a man. Excuses." He didn't flinch as the claw marked the glass. The glass may break, but not apart to force. The hinges though...or the latching. Those they do not make proof to much force for such purposes as a mini mart."Not much of a bosom or womb, the Queen that does not feed her own. " That murders her land. This supposed ...chaos seed, Metallia. Or is that why you followed her, piece by piece making everything as meaningless and dead as you thought everything should be. For an organization with divisions and ties into all walks of life, that it must take begging to get food?
Or is it just you that thinks so? You always prefered to exile yourself, to call yourself to worthless, than to actually take a risk and ask for help. Too afraid of either answer, yes or no. "You focus so much on what you can't do, rather than what you can. " He left the commentary on cannibalism aside. It was pointless, piss in the wind, some try at taunting that probably would have worked some horror or anger in other senshi. "No, Bischofite. No Fury visited this upon you. You did yourself. "
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Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 10:23 pm
"And who ordained you judge? You practice law and principle wis' what education? What paltry background gives you zis aus'ority to cast half into ze ground and hoist half from zeir ashes? Tell me, Sraen. What made you a god?" His eyes settled on the senshi's visage, how yellowed light perched on his face at such a severe angle, illuminating every bump and ridge of scar tissue. "Sin is only defined as such in law practiced in each society. If your laws so strictly persecute me, zen are you to kill every civilian zat shoots at my form out of abject horror alone, wis'out provocation? Or do you pick and choose who you prey on by zeir chaotic affiliation? Do you see in black and white, Sraen? Or do you see in shades of grey?"
The insult to Metallia directly stoked an ire so deep in his animalistic half that the mouths dotting his wings raised a low, wordless yell to vent their anger, their deep-seated hate for this senshi so readily denouncing their absolute leader. Bischofite himself channeled a portion of that rage through a contortion of his countenance, warping otherwise smooth skin beneath the half-mask into a snarl. "Zose who are weak will find zemselfs trampled into ze mud, an organic carpet for ze strong to rest zeir weary feet."
His remaining hand met the glass, along with every digit he possessed. With the ten frozen on the glass, he paused for a moment, before he carefully recited a known melody that he played so often when possessed of a piano. "You never answered my questions regardless. I suspect you cannot faz'om a better way, so you decided not to bless me wis' your answer. Es ist egal. I will tell you zis, zough - it is far easier to focus on what I cannot do because zere's so much of it. As for what I can? A breas' away from nossing. I haf' but two abilities left to my disposal beyond coasting srough zis life." His eyes closed for a moment, weary.
"Malicious is a Fury, if one ever existed - and she plotted zis damnable alteration to my body. My own inclinations merely dug ze hole - and she pushed me into it." Finally the creature sank to the floor, seated and leaning against the metal frame to the automatic doors. Exhaustion stole away what meager inclinations he held toward standing. "I can continue living wis' zis affliction. I can commit suicide. Or I can purify."
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Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 11:08 pm
"To answer in specific, yes, I would kill a civilian who murdered. And when all this is over, I will answer myself for what I do." "Objectiveness, fearlessness, the pursuit to understand all things as a part of nature. I need not be a god, I need no God, to understand that legitimate power extends only to end before such acts only as are injurious to others. Virtue has other foundation than the love of the God or a god. Man has dreamed up thousands of gods as effigies to his own faults. " The roar roused no flinch in stone face. Thraen walked slowly closer, to the edge of the sidewalk that faced the door. "As you dream. A culprit who is condemned to death, not prepared to acknowledge any atonement; rather, seeing your guilt in your own inadequacy. Tragic, but still of the strong surround by the strong or eaten by them... so that theory has brought you to this door. To a minimart to roar as caged and starved lion trying to convince itself that it is free of chains even as it laments them. " "'Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is ' Yes..you have those options. Live in chains, die in them, or break to freedom terrible. " But at least you have the wherewithal to recognize them as chains from time to time.
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Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 11:36 pm
You're just adopting the role of the judicial system for... What purpose? You offer no 20 to life for premeditated murder, even for a civilian. I know you could turn your planet into a perfect prison. So you practice Hammurabi antics, but for what purpose? Why follow these old laws, what are you trying for? In eliminating the Negaverse, what do you gain - especially when you intend to destroy yourself for all crimes committed under the banner of war? Your aims lie beyond yourself, certainly. Back up. He assumes the role of the judicial system. Its aim is to protect the general public against those that willingly do harm to the system. So he's trying to protect the system? He wants to preserve this society, this asinine government and customary rules?
"You don't deal well wis' rhetorical questions, do you?" He stared dully out into the blankets of night to watch the beacon flame approaching. He bristled, yet remained against the door. Why answer the rhetorical when I need the practical. Idiot.
"L'Etranger." Perhaps my existence is closer to absurd. "No matter what pas' I choose, none of it really matters." He weighed his options for a while, considered his position in the minimart in its infinitely pointless place in the world. And during that time, he asked himself if he would object so vehemently to Thraen finally ending him here, in this pitiful dump of an establishment, left a wasted corpse on its doorstep. And when constantly and ubiquitously sieged by pain, he realized he wouldn't truly mind.
"Stop sentencing me, Sraen. Stop damning me for one ******** second." The creature sighed, breath clouding the glass while he closed weary eyes. "What confirms any faction absent chaos as one touting freedom? Zey are scattered groups, often chained to zeir own inadequacy due to zeir inability to coordinate in an appreciable fashion. Additionally, you lack ze freedom of teleportation. Of rerouting ze universal flow of energy at your leisure. Of knowing wis' incomprehensible intimacy ze starseed of your greatest enemy."
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2014 1:15 am
You hear sentencing because you refuse to hear that I tell you that it is you sentencing yourself. I am so sick of your nihilism. You are the one here wanting meaning and asking over and over again for people to prove it to you. Thraen closed his eyes for a moment, quelling a boil of thick want of that ever-so-glorified and vaunted teleportation to start throttling Alois all over again. "You refute yourself in your own demands and questions, in your own choices of authors. Camus implicitly supposes the value of freedom existing as something inherent to humanity. So there is one 'meaning' to it." "Ryle's category mistake- 'None of it really matters.' Meaning and value are not things that grow on trees to be plucked from the ether like apples and pears. Cognition is the function of the brain, and such an organ that does not assign meaning to experiences and value inputs and outputs is not functioning. The 'Universe' is not a person, it has no brain, no body, it doesn't have interests. Asking whether anything is significant to 'the universe' is a category mistake. I want to know: insignificant to whom? Your existence is significant to a number of people, myself included. " Good or bad being stupid subjectivity, it is significant."Freedom is that any sentient species evolving in it can still create meaning and purpose for themselves. That which still has the blank pages to author themselves, to live. Freedom to choose if you act or do not. Freedom to do both good or evil of your own will and not compulsory from the General Kings or your Queen. Your powers warp, they do not make. Your powers crush all things good or bad, as enemies and allies alike, and nurture no new growth or change to fill the void. Nothing new comes from the Negaverse or the Mirror that is not twisted from some other source that had synergy and power of change. You know there is no freedom in these postulates you give. You are your own proof of that. They give you power, certainly, but only so long as it marches to their want. If freedom is the only meaning, therefor the only positive and the only happiness to attain, you are not happy or free. " "Senshi to senshi every power given them is different. Listing yours is as unhelpful as 'proofs' unless you want to define 'freedom' as 'efficiency at ending souls and making less variation in the universe instead of more'. Negaverse Chaos so far as shown is no ultimate 'power' creatio ex nihilo seeking to return, its just destructive entropy- ex nihilo nihil fit." Where is Law in that, in a universe without 'intrinsic' meaning? No...no...I think my brain wants to crawl out of my skull and die. I haven't had enough sleep for that. Why can't we go home and sleep. We can stuff your wings under a pillow or something so Faust doesn't try to eat them like your taxidermy birds.
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2014 4:59 am
I'm not stepping on my own toes... am I? I can't even focus on his delivery. He's looking at the book as a whole, moreover the ending whereas I harvested but a couple lines from it to suit my needs. Yes, I'm making mistakes. He just called me on it.
A thin smile lit on his features, heralding a chuckle. "I know of... One ozzer person who can argue like zat. Value is only a capability of ze individual, not somesing nebulous and obscure like ze universe. It can be assigned for law purposes, ze weight of sin, but serves no more zan to curb action in some life-preserving manner. It can all just... matter to me. I could decide if it's more meaningful to rifle srough a sousand lives or pluck bluebells in ze swiss alps. Neizer action wholly compromises humanity as a whole, changes ze planet or alters ze course of ze universe, but zey are actions zat I can assign meaning and value to. Is zat all correct to what you were explaining?" I'm too starved to follow along worth a s**t.
Resting his head against the glass, Bischofite closed his eyes momentarily. "My existence may be significant to you in zat it is a significant pain in ze posterior, but you are not who I am concerned wis'. Ozzer senshi are not who I am concerned wis'. My own peers are not who I am concerned wis'. It's silly... I'm vying for recognition from concepts and ze Inhuman. Folly and stupidity all around..." Looks like I answered my own question. "My existence is insignificant to ze core of our power. But... I suppose zat's not terribly surprising." I don't know that those of highest rank find favor from Metallia. Or... Is she happy with the lot of us, for all the destruction wrought unto ourselves or unto the world?
"You're saying if I want any of zat, any meaning or purpose, zen I need to alter my philosophy." Which is true. Quenton said 'change is survival', and I am not surviving this - because I am not changing. My wasted state is direct mirror to the health of my philosophy. Nihilism... I need to do research. No, ******** research. I want to eat first, to sleep first. "You are right - I am trapped in expectations forcibly rendered more important zan my own. Ze goals I seek often go against ze grain, and from zat I find punishment and alteration by zose abof'e me. I'f known all zis for some time." Just refused to admit it, to recognize it wholly as 'I need to leave' because it's so damnably difficult to simply abandon the Negaverse. But what do I owe it? If it chooses to toil and crumble despite my input, I cannot change that. I value chaos, true chaos, but exist under the bindings of rule.
"From what I know of senshi power, each derives zeir abilities from zeir planet. But what supplies power to zose planets? Is zere not somesing behind ze shroud powering zem? Nevermind; I'm so far gone to starvation zat I'm starting to visualize planets as cake pops. Zis can wait, as can your execution order. Unless you intend to discuss zis over dinner. Maybe you'll get lucky and an undiscovered bone will choke me to deas' for you." And afterward - sleep. Even if it entails the compulsion to wake after that repeated dream.
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2014 11:41 pm
'One ozzer person who can argue like zat.'
It would be something indeed to hide so sure a thumbprint. Only glamour, only magic can keep that personal touch of the mind shared hidden. But it might lead to eventual suspicion. I have not been careful enough. Not nearly so. It is part of the choice, conscious or unconscious- to present the whole of an argument as best able? Or to protect myself. I rather the risk, it means that the chance for this to work is greater.
He will be free. "Correct. " To what I can prove. The potentiality, with your going right back to whether something has wider effect in the world, is not so easily provable. Its all idioms and anecdotes, but wholesale predictions saying that any and all actions have the potential to be world changing...I think that would be quantum physics? Or...need something of it at least. And bringing up Stephen Hawkings work as Thraen, when I did as Quenton, seems too obvious connection. And I don't think I could even do it justice right now. "I cannot get to you quickly enough. And we can neither remain here the hours." A capitulation to the truth of the situation. Alois could teleport still, if he wanted, much faster than the door could be surmounted. And as long as the door, the store, remained between them, that would always be true. A stalemate of combat. "Another time, maybe. Ease of thought to you, General." It was said without mock or irony. It was much to think on, and a hard decision to face, confronted with the unknown. Thraen turned on a heel, the stone grating over the pave with hateful sound and feel. Aeeth I think a fin from this end?
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