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 Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2016 2:31 pm
Quote: As one year closes and another one lingers on the horizon, now is a good time to sit back and think about everything that's happened in the year before. A local newspaper is running a seasonal section asking for your most memorable moment in Destiny City. This year, last year, fifty years ago--what was your more memorable? It doesn't seem like this is very competitive; they seem to be printing random suggestions. Maybe your contribution will get printed! If you feel like writing, at least. You can always sit around and reminisce--or just read some of what others are sharing.
Scholomance seated himself on an old bench left atop a gravel roof. He knew not the story of the bench, or why it wound up on top of a building where nothing of obvious value or interest existed, but the Negaverse knew well enough about the bench to set it up as a meeting point. Someone else sat there recently, he found, for a folded newspaper lay next to his coat. With no further cause for distraction, Scholomance picked it up.
As he unrolled the pages as carefully as he could, Scholomance scanned the front page. Of immediate note were the disasters. If it burns, it earns; if it bleeds, it leads, the knight noted bitterly. He wondered if his own disfigurement would've wound up in the news. Maybe; as he read the top article, he recognized that Destiny City cultivated a particular penchant for a death count over five in order to make the front page. This time, a massacre by unknown assailants (probably the Negaverse or their youma) occurred in one of the shopping malls. Small wonder with so many people out on a shopping kick. Scholomance sighed; he felt for the janitorial charged with cleaning up such a mess.
A keen sense of urgency drove him from reading over the paper, and he froze to suss out the source. He vaguely recognized it as the urgency grew; someone of the Dark Mirror persuasion lurked. When was the last time I met one of those? Must've been when I was a page. I guess no one wiped them out yet.
In due time, then.
But Scholomance knew he could not move - an agent expected him here, so here he would wait. If they fought, then the Negaverse better step in to protect their 'investment'; Scholomance knew not how to throw a whip left-handed.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2016 3:11 pm
"Whoa...that's some outfit you've got there, cupcake," the Dark Mirror Senshi called as bounded over from the nearest rooftop. "If it weren't for your energy signature, I'd have thought you were a Negaverse agent with those clothes." When he landed, he rose slowly, his stance and posture as casual as if Scholomance were of his own court. His usual grin was present but faded a bit when he noticed that the knight was missing an arm. "Oh, damn. I'll bet you've got some tales to tell."
Walking over to the bench, he sat himself down next to the knight without even bothering to ask if he minded company. He didn't seem to bother with considering the other man's personal space, either, as he leaned back and spread his arms out to drape across the top of the bench. "What's your story?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 9:55 am
The Mirror Senshi approached, and Scholomance remained. Key muscles tensed beneath his uniform - his jaw set, his hands balled into hists, and every muscle in his legs stiffened up in anticipation of having to leave.
How silly. I lose an arm and suddenly I'm incapable of fending off a basic senshi if I need to. But that's how it is, isn't it? Lose a dominant arm, and suddenly I can't throw a whip. Suddenly my left isn't good enough. Suddenly I'm not good enough.
The senshi spoke, and what came from him was not the incantation for a spell. Scholomance relaxed somewhat. "I get that a lot. I've actually been attacked by a senshi for it." He still remembered the green-haired menace and her broken english. She was tall, too - tall like this other senshi. "I suppose Saturn just wants me to confuse the s**t out of everyone." And it worked, from what he could tell. Perhaps it predicted his resistance to claiming one side staunchly, and reflected his fence-riding nature in the drab colors of his uniform. Who could say or certain? He couldn't just ask Blaine and receive the answer.
The senshi seated himself, and Scholomance expected he was in for a conversation. Fine, he thought, let's have a chat. The man looked fairly unassuming in his posture. Tan he was, with brilliant blue symbols beneath his cheeks. Briefly they reminded him of transcendence, but they lacked the glow that left them standing out on a night like this. The rest of his outfit left Scholomance no indication for a sphere, nor did he feel like asking; to do so meant knowledge of this one, and any knowledge of his was accessible to the Negaverse. Hell, he was already expected to supply what he knew on a weekly basis. He needed to lay ground rules for this terribly careful game.
"Funny you should ask that." Scholomance raised the newspaper with the article on sending in holiday reminiscence. "But before I indulge you on this delightful tale, I need you to obey two requests: one, don't give me your name; two, don't tell me anything about your magic or your sphere. I am under surveillance, so anything you tell me of import about your power is subject to disclosure. Trust me, they're excellent interrogators." He sighed through his nose.
While he considered how to tell the story, Scholomance ground his fake teeth together. They still didn't feel quite right in his mouth. "I used to be more of a businessman. I never gave a whole lot of credence to the 'sides' of this war, you see. It didn't matter who was fighting who; the whole thing seemed like a joke. Magical moonlight fighters? Shady organizations looking for energy? A blind populace? It sounded like elements out of a kid's show. So, since I knew how to turn a profit, I decided I would try to monetize my services. My magic happens to be fairly lucrative.
"I didn't care who the buyer was. Knighthood certainly had its downsides, White Moon senshi were less than welcoming, your kind was almost completely absent from my experiences, and the Negaverse was a supposed threat that never looked terribly threatening. So, when I chose to sell my services, I didn't care who the buyer was."
He looked from his conversation partner to the horizon, where black sky matched white snow laced through trees. "Some months back, I did something to violate the trust of my business partner in the Negaverse. So, when she came to meet me this past Halloween, she brought with her a particular 'friend'. This thread informed me that there was no double-dealing, that I must only serve the Negaverse, and…" Even a month later, he found the conversation difficult to mention. "You can imagine the rest. I'm now a walking billboard warning anyone against crossing the Negaverse. And, I suppose, a beacon for thme to buzz about whenever they please. Pretty shitty for a 'most memorable moment in Destiny City'." As he perused his mental catalogue of memories, he found much of the same sordid tales - his apartment burning down by Alkaid's hand, the invasion of the Negaverse, his repeated struggles with his knighthood…
He should never have seized the ring.
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Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 2:39 pm
Ptolemaeus noted the strain of the knight's body as stress seemed to overtake him and wondered if he planned to attack. Fortunately, the man seemed to calm a bit once he realized the stranger who approached him had no intention of starting a fight. Ptolemy's own brow furrowed in confusion when he heard that another senshi had attacked him before realizing he meant it was because of his clothing. The comment of Saturn wanting him to 'confuse the s**t out of everyone' earned a laugh.
"It's a shame how people can't seem to handle moral ambiguity," he said with a melancholy smile. "Like how many don't know what to make of us Dark Mirror senshi since we're not corrupt, but we still have chaos signatures. I guess human nature is to fear what we don't understand, though. Especially when what isn't understood gives off a signature as powerful as yours." He waved a hand in emphasis.
"But that's probably for the best if people are going to attack first and ask questions later. The way I see it, you have to either be twice as paranoid or twice as strong to handle that kind of uncertainty from others because when people can't categorize you as being on any one side, you end up either having to be suspicious of everyone or giving everyone the benefit of the doubt." He grinned at the other male. "Thanks for not beating me up first thing. I like to try to be open-minded, but I'm not near strong enough yet to take on a full knight if you'd chosen to consider me an enemy."
Ptolemy blinked when the Knight of Saturn requested a couple of things from him. The reason for these requests was soon explained, but the senshi's brow only creased again. Interrogators? Was this guy, powerful though he was, in some kind of trouble? Even so, he seemed willing to talk at least a little. Would that cost him anything? Ptolemaeus had met others who had suffered from the Negaverse's actions before, but not any who were currently still suffering under their power and not on their side. Concern and fear for the knight poured over him like a freezing bucket of freshly-melted snow.
Even so, he listened. Still being fairly new to the war, he wanted to listen and learn as much as he could about others' experiences and how it had affected them. He wanted to know what he could do, if anything, to improve the knight's situation. But there was still so much he didn't know. He knew almost nothing about knights despite having met a bunch; only that they were on the same side as the White Moon senshi. It was weird to think the White Moon Court would have been 'less than welcoming' to this guy unless it was his willingness to work for any side that they were uncomfortable with.
As the knight went on, even Ptolemaeus' default grin began to wane. Of all the stories he'd come across regarding capture, torture, and the other horrible things powered beings had done to them, aside from having a hand stuck into their chest and forcibly corrupted, this had been the worst. But that brought up another question.
"Why would they do all that to you when they could just corrupt you?" he asked, though as he began to think about it, he thought he might have been able to work out an answer. "From what I'd heard, they don't usually have any qualms about corrupting people against their will."Strickenized ((Okayyy, if the information Ptolemy gave before Scholomance mentioned his two requests (like that he was a Dark Mirror senshi) goes against those requests, please let me know. I didn't think they did, exactly, (and I think Scholomance implied he already knew he was a DMS) but if you think they did, I can change it!))
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:58 am
Am I really a full knight? Scholomance watched Ptolemaeus' grin. Can anyone who's missing parts be considered a full knight? He kept the question to himself.
After the Mirror Senshi asked his questions, Scholomance remained silent for a time. He considered how to carefully separate his emotions from his statements, and how to frame his own thoughts on the matter in a way coherent to others. When he spoke, he did so slowly, precisely. He spoke around teeth not fully his, and even with the practice he had, some of the words sounded just slightly off from standard pronunciation. Still, he endeavored to explain.
"Corruption has its merits," he agreed. "An enemy turned into an ally is essentially a double-victory, even against its repercussions. If they corrupted me, which they could given my lack of transcendence, I would be fighting under their banner as, presumably, a general. I would willingly lend them what knowledge I still had. My existence alone would help bolster their ranks.
"I think there were many reasons that went into their choice. First, not many knights cooperated with or struck deals with the Negaverse, whereas I did. I showed a willingness to consider them beyond the obvious duality behind their auras and mine. My allegiance was buyable, and therefore useful. Secondly, I have a very peculiar magic that proves useful in larger battles. If they corrupt me, they lose that - and if they can buy or otherwise sway that magic out of me, then that's another point in favor of keeping me a knight. I also have access to a place among the stars that used to be a weaponized research facility, and my ancestor there assists me in turning out technologies. Keeping that production under their control proves useful in a tactics sense.
"I also think there are reasons purely on the Negaverse side that fueled their choice. Last summer, the Negaverse suffered a breech of their most secret confines by senshi and knights. I went there myself to take stock of the matter, and naturally, one of the agents there recognized me. They lost one of their General-Sovereigns, and sustained losses of… Lesser agents. I think that event likely marked a tactics change for the Negaverse - that while corruption still holds merit, especially when replenishing the ranks they lost, they also want to send a message that they are not to be trifled with." To spare the rod is to spoil the child.
"So, you're right - they don't have qualms about corrupting people against their will. But I think they may also be exploring new tactics of how to use a knight or a senshi without corrupting them - and exploit new fear in the war. Besides, having a disfigured knight under your thumb has some uses. Who better to lure new blood into your hands?" He finished darkly.
He waved his hand to dismiss the blackened thoughts. "So, that's my story. What's yours? From how you spoke of people treating Dark Mirror Senshi, I expect you have some tales to justify your view."
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:26 pm
Not really familiar with the details involved in the process of corrupting powered beings or what exactly it did to them or made them do, Ptolemaeus was grateful for Scholomance's explanation. It also brought up a few new questions for him like what transcendence was - other than a way to keep from becoming corrupted, evidently, which he hadn't even been aware existed. He could look into that later, though, since it didn't seem to pertain to the knight's situation at the moment.
All the information about why the Negaverse had abstained from corrupting Scholomance was intensely intriguing to Ptolemy, especially the idea what the Negaverse would have been willing to cooperate with someone of an Order signature on good terms. It was a shame that it hadn't seemed to work out for Scholomance, though. Even if he'd lost other things to the Negaverse, at least he hadn't lost his will. But now he questioned if the knight would have preferred that to this.
"To send a message that they are not to be trifled with using this instance would mean making it known what they did to you," the senshi pointed out. "Unless that message was only meant for you. Seems like they're also taking advantage of the fact that no one would suspect a knight of order to commit deeds for the benefit of the Negaverse - assuming you don't go around telling everyone you're working for them. So which is it? Do others know of your plight, or don't they?"
He couldn't imagine many did. If so, wouldn't someone have already tried to help or take revenge for what they'd done to Scholomance? Something stirred in Ptolemaeus and he suddenly leaned over to peer closely into the knight's face.
"Does it bother you?" He asked softly, speaking almost into his ear. "Being used against your own faction, having been tortured and disfigured...would you have preferred to have been corrupted, do you think?" He didn't seem ready to elaborate on his own point of view just yet.Strickenized ((I just have to say that I love Scholomance and he's amazing and I think I might have been looking forward to his post a little too much))
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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 11:51 pm
"It would be impossible for others to not know what happened to me, by my own volition or not. A knight found me after the fact, and… I don't expect she would keep something like that to herself. You're smart to come to these conclusions, but you don't have all the facts. The message was, indeed, meant for everyone. Most don't know that I am working directly with the Negaverse, and would probably have a few choice words for me if they did know." He sighed through his nose, the breath escaping as vapor. He hated the cold. "It's somehow acceptable to the White Moon for me to be working for the Negaverse against my will, but to collaborate when they have something I want and it's of my volition to get it, there comes a problem."
Then Ptolemaeus leaned closer, and Scholomance felt thin wisps of heat with his words. He did not retreat from the spatial confrontation; were he in better condition, he might simply take it as an invitation. The man spoke charged words, however, and Scholomance recognized phrasing keenly.
"Would I have preferred to lose every memory about myself, and all knowledge of what I've done as a knight, plus all material wealth and items of sentimental value and friendships and powered contacts and reputation for an entirely new life under the jurisdiction of the Negaverse?" Scholomance rubbed his temple lightly. "Answering this question at all is a moot point, considering the damage has already been done. Even if I could go back in time and make a choice out of a vacuum like that, I wouldn't accept corruption in its stead. Doing so isn't an improvement; I'd effectively become another person, so comparing… Mutilation to corruption is like comparing apples to oranges. How could abandoning this life and becoming someone else impact who I am now, you see. Between chaos and erratic memory loss, I wouldn't be the same person."
He paused a moment. "I suppose the second half of that is, if I accepted corruption instead, I would have no means to seek recompense. At least now, having complete memory of the incident and who did it, I could answer that violence how I please. Eye for an eye sounds delightful, but I think given today's business practices, I should tack on interest to that sum."
Scholomance turned to the other man, unafraid of the distance between them. "You're not keen on talking about yourself, are you? It's bold of you to let that question go unanswered." kitomyx hohoho their interaction is a lot of fun for me!
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 9:20 am
More information, likely for Ptolemy's benefit in the case he didn't already know (which he didn't), saturated Scholomance's response. The senshi wondered if corruption was the only change that cause those effects or if others such as any change of faction did those things to a person, too. What he was focused on just then wasn't the answer to that question, though, so he didn't bother asking.
"It may seem like a pointless question to you, but it speaks volumes to me about who you are," Ptolemaeus replied. "Even if it's like comparing apples to oranges, some people would still gladly have preferred to become another person and abandon their known life if the alternative were torture. Pain is a powerful motivator, after all, and even death becomes a more preferable fate at some point. And then there are those who would rather lose all semblance of themselves than willingly betray their own faction or simply submit to others."
The Dark Mirror Senshi moved closer since the knight didn't seem to protest against his proximity so far. Even disregarding the cold and the fact that his outfit was less than adequate for the weather, Ptolemaeus had always appreciated physical touch, regardless of if it came in the form of a punch to the face or a warm embrace. More than that, though, he felt a great deal of something for the person next to him. Heck if he knew what - pity, sympathy, compassion - but it urged him to be closer and Ptolemy was not generally one to hold back on his impulses if there was no obvious problem.
"Mmm, that's a good point," he agreed upon Scholomance's comment about seeking recompense with interest. The next sentence about him not being keen on talking about himself caused his grin to re-light and he chuckled lightly.
"My story doesn't hold a candle to yours, so I didn't think it worth changing the subject for. Most people don't care enough to continue asking if one happens to neglect talking about themselves, but I can see you're not 'most people'. As someone who just warned me that whatever I tell you is subject to disclosure, though, you seem awfully interested."
Stretching out on the bench, Ptolemaeus put his legs up, crossing one over the other, and moved to place his head in Scholomance's lap as casually as if he'd done it a hundred times before. "When I was recruited, I didn't know what was going on. But as I learned more about this war, I realized I like my court precisely because it's difficult to label as 'good' or 'evil'. I mean anyone can interpret either the White Moon or the Negaverse as one or the other with the right reasoning, but usually they're considered two opposite sides.
"To me, the Dark Mirror Court transcends those dualities, existing as an in-between. I personally think you would have been a good addition to our faction if we had knights, since you yourself spoke of how you showed the Negaverse 'a willingness to consider them beyond the obvious duality behind their auras and yours'. You were willing to work with and see the sides of either faction. That's a pretty profound and rare thing to find in people in my experience."
Ptolemaeus smiled faintly as he raised a hand to touch the side of Scholomance's face, gently brushing aside his dark hair to play with the edge of his mask. "I can help you, you know."Strickenized ((Hehe, glad to hear it))
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 5:41 pm
Is he trying to frame me as a good person? I hope not. I haven't been one of those in ages.
Scholomance offered no objections to the sudden casual interaction, as a warm head against his lap meant his thighs warmed up a little. Maiming cost him much weight, and now he looked closer to the size he was when he maintained a strict diet. And where he would have objected to the touch on the cheek, the recent addition of dentures filled his mouth out appropriately. If nothing else, touch reassured him that he hadn't lost all of his physical charm with what the Negaverse claimed from him. Plus, the company looked pretty fine. If he was still with Sid in his clubbing days, he would've taken the Dark Mirror senshi home, few questions asked.
"You can't fault me for being curious. Besides, I'm banking on my vague desscription skills to skate by if the Negaverse decides to solicit me for information again." It felt somewhat lopsided to only give the information. Anyone could resort to datamining him now, he supposed. But what merit was there in knowing how corruption worked?
"I think a lot of people mistake the war as a dualistic one. But that kind of Aristotlean logic is very endemic to the West. Besides, if everyone is only ever classified as Chaos or Order, that line of thinking empowers dichotomies. It also strips autonomy from the people within the factions. Where one might say, for Knights, support the White Moon, another knight may not. This line of thinking prevents such chances. So I wouldn't say that the Dark Mirror transcends those dualities any more than Knights or anyone else, but that it's harder to box them into such limiting terminology.
"You're an enabler, you know that? You've been letting me ramble on for far too long."
He raised an interesting point concerning knights of the Mirror Court. No one ever found any, and the senshi's own admissions all but proved their absence. Evidently the Mirror Court could not subsume all types of powered entities as the Negaverse did; he wondered if that was due to the style of Chaos they operated with. "To be honest, I don't know about any repercussions for corruption into the Dark Mirror - whether it's the same as the Negaverse or otherwise." There wasn't much to consider about it for himself, anyway.
"So, how would you help me?" He cocked a brow at the other man. Leaning back, he spread his lone arm against the bench. Unless you know something I don't about engineering new limbs and teeth, I doubt there's much to discuss.
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 8:10 pm
Ptolemaeus laughed. "Yes, it's interesting how the West sees opposites like light and dark as one being good and one being bad while the East sees them as needing each other to maintain balance. And I've met some who refuse to acknowledge that there could be anyone from the 'opposing' faction they might be able to get along with. But there are few every so often who are open-minded enough to get to know individuals rather than judging them based on the categories they can fit them in. The last one I met was another knight like you, actually.
"I'm betting there are also some in the Dark Mirror Court who are biased toward one side or another, prone to calling them good or evil, so you're right. I worded that badly, about transcending dualities. I guess I just meant I like that we're more morally ambiguous."
He smirked at being called an enabler. "I enjoy listening to your opinions and points of view, so it's beneficial to me." Ptolemy gestured vaguely. "And I'm not suggesting that you 'corrupt into the Dark Mirror'...I'm just saying it sounds like you would have made a good member."
The senshi inhaled and exhaled deeply, dropping the hand he'd raised to touch Scholomance's face. "I could do whatever you need me to. Make a deal with the Negaverse to get whatever it is they took from you back and get you out from under their thumb. I don't know how valuable I could be, but I'm yours to use as you like if you think I could be useful."
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2016 3:28 am
Scholomance grinned at the comment concerning his status as a potentially useful member of a Dark Mirror. "Am I morally ambiguous enough for that?" He teased.
"I don't know how I would yet escape them. Or how I could contact anyone to formulate a plan for it. Barring a prearranged dead drop scenario, which involves a lot of footwork, I don't think there is a way. I burned a few bridges with my fellow knights; if I could have borrowed their signet rings at times, I can't now." It mattered little; squirming out from beneath an organization as vast as the Negaverse sounded highly unlikely. It appeared to lack the bureaucracy that would otherwise conceal him as a target. He knew little of what Ptolemaus could contribute, too; he knew not to ask of his magic, lest he be coerced again into giving up that information, but what else had a Dark Mirror senshi at their disposal?
"What do you think you can offer? Magic aside, of course." He looked down at the Dark Mirror in his lap, curious for the answer. Scholomance could not recall the differences between a Dark Mirror senshi and a White Moon senshi beyond that only White Moon could return to their own planets ad nauseam. Did they have any kind of compensation? Were they a crippled subclass of senshi? That lent some credence to their rare numbers in his experiences.
He shifted legs somewhat beneath his companion and crossed his ankles. Falling into the habbit of running hands through the hair of anyone who happened to be in his lap at the time proved tantalizing. A return to old experiences, old eligibilities tempted him. Would that walk too far a line? He knew not. He did know he had very little left to lose.
Oh, what the hell, he conceded at last. The fingers he had found the senshi's hair rather quickly, parsing out wefts through which they could comb. His thumb pressed to temple in a slow drift across the temporal area, following the lead of his fingers. The gesture provided good tactile noise as a backdrop to their conversation.
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2016 10:37 pm
Ptolemaeus may not have been able to see the grin under Scholomance's mask, but he could hear it well enough in his voice. "I know you're at least morally ambiguous enough to intrigue me," he answered with his own grin. "And that doesn't happen as often as one might think."
Listening to the knight speak, his smile faded into a blank, inscrutable expression the harder he concentrated on the other man's words. As he felt a hand entwine its fingers into his thick, wavy hair, a soft, blissful moan escaped him and his half-lidded eyes closed entirely. The thumb against his temple elicited a sound from the back of his throat very similar to a cat's purr. After a couple of minutes, however, he found his voice again and forced it to produce comprehensible words even while his eyes remained closed.
"...You almost sound like you prefer things to stay as they are," the senshi commented, curious about the knight's subdued demeanor regarding the subject of his situation with the Negaverse. "You seem so ready and willing to accept the idea that there isn't a way out. I could understand if you have plans for retribution that you want to stick around to fulfill, but is that the case? Or is your spirit broken to the point you're not willing to risk anything more?"
His forehead creased lightly as he continued to ponder. "Why insist on 'magic aside'?" he asked. "I might not be very experienced or powerful just yet, but my sphere and senshi magic are of a nature that might still be considered useful if used in the right manner. But you don't want to know what they are?" His dark eyes opened to peer up at Scholomance's masked face. "It can't just be that you're worried for my sake, especially since we just met."Strickenized ((Oh man, hope you have/had a safe trip wherever you're going to/from! Also, sorry for the multiple quotes))
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Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 9:21 am
For a long time, he remained silent. Scholomance looked out against the frigid wasteland of Destiny City, where a handful of street lamps and coach lights rung out against the winter domination. The thought long crossed his mind - that resistance was too difficult, that perhaps his best quality of life was in servitude to the Negaverse - and on those days, he convinced himself to not power up that night. His conviction wavered often and he found great difficulty in perpetuating it.
"I think that… A lot of this is a little beyond my scope. I've seen the breadth of the Negaverse before - it's absolutely unending. It's youma as far as the eye can see, and agents clustered among them to mete out orders. It's a great dragon overhead burning everyone in its path. It's a General-Queen cutting through anything that dares stand against her. And… I'd be foolish to think that my resistance would make much of a difference to an organization of that size. That is, I suppose, part of the conundrum. I could resist them for my own personal moral agenda of 'sticking it to the man' but what real, practical effect would it have? If they lose, say, two generals… What would it even mean to the Negaverse? I've seen what it would mean." Nothing, he thought staunchly. He saw their leagues of opposition. Two generals meant nothing in the scheme of their grand machine.
"So I make my resistance careful. The less I know about other people, the less I have to telll the Negaverse. I'm not lying if I say I don't know anything new. I think my best shot of resistance is to be the worst damn informant I could be.
"But that doesn't account for the things they have me do. Luring senshi and providing energy is still assistance. I think the only option I have there is to give it all up and return to a normal life. And what kind of a shitty negation is that?" He sighed through his nose. A breeze picked up, and he felt its ice spread across his exposed face. "No matter where I turn, what I do, it's a s**t outcome."
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Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 10:37 am
Continuing to regard Scholomance with his dark gaze, the senshi was reminded of someone else; someone who had been so full of life and courage and ready to fight until they had ultimately felt overwhelmed by the forces they fought against. The memory pained him. Perhaps it was the similarity to that other person that stirred such intense feelings in him now toward the knight. They were only acquaintances, true, but Ptolemy felt a longing to do what he could to ease the other's despair.
"Maybe I'm overstepping my bounds," he spoke after hearing the Order being's reasoning, "talking about things way out of my depth...but in my experience, anything can be changed if looked at in a different way. Any obstacle can be overcome if you change your perception of it." He sat up and twisted to face the knight. "You're talking like someone opposing the Negaverse, wanting to resist them and cause damage to their organization. But is the entire organization your enemy, or are you just looking for vengeance against a few select individuals?"
His eyes flickered to Scholomance's missing arm. "There are ways to get back at particular people while still cooperating with the organization as a whole. That's not as daunting a task as trying to overcome a whole faction by yourself, is it?" Ptolemaeus offered a warm smile. "Heck, if you go about things the right way, you could even have the organization itself turned against those individuals you owe and then retribution would be carried out with minimum effort on your part. You just have to pin-point exactly what you want in order to figure out how to achieve it. Don't give up so easily."
The Dark Mirror sailor scout maneuvered so he could lean against the bench back once more, but he put up his knees to rest an elbow on each one. "I guess I won't impose my information on you, then, if that's your aim. But my offer to help in any way I can is always on the table. And when I say any way, I mean any way." He put down an arm to support himself as he leaned over to brush his lips against Scholomance's cheekbone. "Even if it's just providing a little warmth."
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Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 9:23 am
"You have a very good point. Another set of eyes can be invaluable at any impasse." Knowing how to use those eyes helped, he knew, but he currently found no wherewithal to plot within himself. Speaking of past events drained him of that spark. "In truth, the Negaverse is very vast. I've seen some of that in their very own domain and I do not think that was all they had to offer. It wasn't the whole Negaverse that ruined me, you're right. No, it was just… Two generals." The resultant answer sounded so flat, so unimpressive. He knew differently, that he faced two trained soldiers with lethal capacity while he himself could do nothing of the sort, but…
No one could stop them. He kept looping back to the same answer. No one could stop the Negaverse. So why stand against them?
"I'm not certain if the Negaverse has an open bureaucracy ladder I could climb. If it does, I'd be in good shape. Well, if you can think of any clever schemes to execute on my behalf… I don't have a way to contact you yet, but I can tell you about the officers. General Schörl and General Cinnabar are their names, and they're roughly as powerful as me. One wears a long green coat, pale hair, wields a cane. She looks severe - like her facial features could cut you if you weren't careful. The other one, General Cinnabar, looks like she's half-dragon, or lion or something. She wears a skimpy leather… Bathing suit? With a trench coat over the top of it, and she's got red scales down her thighs and face. She's got horns and black sclera too." It's damned hard to resist wanting to get in her pants.
Well, except for the fact that she has no pants.
Scholomance remained silent for a time after the Dark Mirror reminded him against giving up easily. Part of him wanted to be contrary about the whole thing. Another part reminded him that the damage was done and could not be reversed - that these aims for closure ultimately meant nothing.
As swiftly as he felt the kiss, Scholomance turned his head to face the other man. "You're dangerous," he remarked, a wryness in his eyes. "If I met you a couple months ago, I imagine I'd be in a very compromising situation about now." Granted, if the senshi was as willing as he seemed, the situation would be consensually compromising. A regret, certainly, but perhaps he could regain the confidence he lost someday. Literature suggested that amputees returned to a baseline happiness after around six months. It felt clinical, but hopeful.
"How about…" He stood with a brief groan in his hip, then surveyed their surroundings. "I'll leave you a letter or two under this bench. All you need to do is check back once in a while. It's not ideal, but it should do until I get my ring back."
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