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 Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:13 pm
Ptolemaeus thoroughly enjoyed the new boost in powers that becoming a super senshi granted him. He had just made a few quick runs through the city and he was hardly tired. It was only when finally noticed a presence in the park that he recalled he had duties as a Dark Mirror Senshi and that he probably should have slowed down to be more attentive to his surroundings. As nice as it was to just enjoy the enhanced abilities of a powered being from time to time, encountering others and learning more about them was still his favorite thing to do and a top priority among his responsibilities.
What was this, though? Two Order signatures? That was interesting. The pair didn't seem to be part of a group since he couldn't sense any others nearby, but perhaps they were waiting just out of range. It didn't seem like the White Moon Court to set up an ambush, though. Curious, Ptolemy casually slowed his pace and ambled straight toward the sources of energy with a huge grin on his face.
"Wow...an experienced knight and a beginning senshi? What a combination," he commented, keeping his voice light and friendly. "What are you boys doing out here at this hour? I'm not interrupting any sort of date, am I?"Kyuseisha no Hikari ((Hope this is okay! As usual, please let me know if there's anything I need to change!))
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Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:39 pm
The Senshi looked immediately on edge; more than just don an unsatisfied expression, he seemed to brace himself for some sort of conflict. He looked to the Knight next to him, for guidance or protection or both, perhaps.
It was clear why he might have; the Knight was far more confident in himself and “If this was a date, I’m sure you understand how rude it would have been for you to just interrupt like this. But I’m going to wager you’ve got a good reason for showing up. A Super Senshi like yourself certainly isn’t foolish enough to come here intending to pick a fight against the two of us.”
The Senshi at his side looked up at him somewhat skeptically but the Knight still carried his air of superiority. “What are you doing out here at this hour, if not looking for trouble?”
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Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 11:14 pm
At the knight's comment, the Dark Mirror simply responded with a sheepish laugh and ran a hand through his hair, pushing back his hood in the process. "Yeaaaah, I guess it would've been pretty rude, but I'm sure I could've made it up to you. I just had to ask because I don't think I've ever seen two of you on patrol at a time before."
His grin turned coy. "If you were going to wager that, you'd have had to define your idea of a 'good reason'. Also, if I were the type to get offended, I'd have pointed out how rude you're being in assuming I intended to pick a fight." Winking at the older of the two who appeared to be a few inches shy of his own height, Ptolemy then turned his attention to the younger.
"Would you believe me if I said I was just enjoying life?" Though his dark gaze sought blue eyes, his words were meant for the knight. "It's one of life's many pleasures to meet fellow powered beings, however. Especially senshi."
Taking a step back, he bowed to the couple with a playful flourish. "Sailor Ptolemaeus, Dark Mirror Senshi of Change. And to whom might I have the pleasure of speaking this fine evening?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 2:52 pm
The Senshi looked a little suspicious, but the Knight seemed totally in his element and scoffed at the Dark Mirror Senshi. “You’re pushing your luck,” he grumbled. “Honestly, I’m surprised I don’t see more of you traveling together. You’d probably be a lot safer, considering the number of Knights and Senshi you’ve got to deal with.”
“Why is meeting Senshi a pleasure?” the Senshi piped up; he had seemed content to be quiet and let the Knight do the talking but couldn’t seem to keep the question in. For a second he hesitated and then shrugged, gesturing to himself. “I’m Malus, Senshi of Glass. And Michel,” he introduced, nodding towards the Knight.
Michel shrugged; he would have been content not giving his name, regardless of how rude it would have seemed, but he didn’t seem upset that Malus had introduced him.
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Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 8:59 pm
"It's no fun if you're not living on the edge," Ptolemy answered in amusement. "Teetering between 'good' and 'bad'...'dark' and 'light'...walking the gray area in the middle that's made of more than either extreme could ever understand. It's called balance, and that's what keeps me from falling one way or the other."
Laughing, he shrugged at the comment about more Dark Mirrors travelling together. "I can't speak for the others, but I, personally, prefer to sort my situations out on my own. If I deserve a punishment for my stupidity, it's not like I'd drag others into my mess to make them suffer for it, too." His grin broadened. "Especially if I behave stupidly on purpose."
He extended his arms, gesturing as he spoke. "There are other reasons, though. Like the fact that I can't trust them to share my ideals in how to interact and deal with others. Another is that some order beings are alarmed simply because my signature is chaotic in nature, so two or more of my fellow court members would naturally make them even more uncomfortable and that's the last thing I'd want to do.
"Enough about that, though." Ptolemaeus smiled at Malus, glad the other senshi finally seemed willing or able to speak. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Malus of Glass; Michel." The 6'3" young man swept another theatrical bow.
"Meeting anyone is a pleasure for me, but I consider meeting senshi to be a special treat because I think it's really fun finding out what their spheres and powers are like. No two I've met so far are the same. And," he continued, holding up a finger. "my own magic adds to that fun because it has a different effect for each other kind of magic it encounters. Not even I can predict what'll happen when mine changes another."
Holding a hand to his chin in a thoughtful manner, he regarded Michel. "I've never seen what it might do to a knight's magic, if anything at all. But I doubt it would work on your friend here, anyway, because I think I can only use it on people whose abilities are at my level or lower."
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 5:08 pm
Michel rolled his eyes at the theatrics and crossed his arms over his chest as if he were annoyed. “If you try it on me, I’ll bash your face in. But if you’re so interested in seeing what your magic does, why don’t we give it a go?” he gestured to Malus, who looked at him with a bit of hesitation.
“I don’t know,” Malus began hesitantly, but his opinion was quickly swayed when Michel gave him a reassuring nod.
Reluctantly, he looked back at the significantly taller Senshi. He drew in a breath and seemed to build up some resolve. “I’m interested in magic, too. But I haven’t had the chance to practice my own that much.” Malus kept glancing at Michel; he seemed to find stability in the Knight nodding along with what he said. It was clear that Malus was dealing with some sort of social hang-ups, but he was making a conscious effort to overcome them. “Do you want to…spar? Maybe? I mean,” he faltered and drew in a breath. “Well—no, I mean. What does your magic do? Does it hurt?”
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 7:07 pm
"Aww, sweetheart, don't be that way," Ptolemy purred, brushing up against the knight with an impervious grin on his face. "You're right, though; better to test it out on someone it has a better chance of working on."
Chuckling at Malus' hesitation, the younger senshi shook his head. "Relax. Even if I wasn't sure about Grumpy Gus, here - which I am - I promise I'd do everything in my power to protect you."
His smile remained, but his demeanor became slightly more serious and he nodded as he took in Malus' situation. "Don't sweat it. Come at me with all you've got; I've been known to take some damage."
At the senshi of glass' question, Ptolemaeus laughed. "Okay, here's what we'll do if you're okay with it. Why don't you tell me what you know of your magic and you can try it out first? If you need a target, you can use me. Once we know what that does, I can use my magic, because mine's a bit more...unpredictable."
He glanced at Michel. "I can't say what'll happen, so we've got to be ready for anything. The effect depends on what your magic does. It often reverses the effect of the magic it comes into contact with, but it's hard to say in what way. Sometimes it even works against me rather than for me."
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:53 pm
Michel cracked his knuckles impulsively when Ptolemaeus brushed against him; it was all he could do not to just shove the guy over. He let the two speak, only when Ptolemaeus mentioned not being able to predict what would happen, he pointedly informed, “If you hurt him, I’ll break your face. So you’d better try your damndest to make sure you keep your magic in check.”
Reversing magic, or not—control over it, or not, he had no problem blaming the Dark Mirror Senshi and holding him accountable for whatever it did.
Malus cleared his throat and, while he was a little nervous, he at least seemed to be trying to trust the Dark Mirror Senshi. Or, he just trusted Michel so much that he knew he’d be okay.
“My magic is an illusion. Sort of,” he answered, realizing it wasn’t exactly the case. Illusions didn’t usually hurt you. “It’s hard to explain. I’ll use it on you, but as long as you’re careful, you’ll be fine. Uhm. But if you were serious about me using it on you, I can do that.”
He waited a second to give the man the opportunity to protest but quickly collected himself and tried to take a more confident stance before he called his attack: “Glass Façade!”
Quote: Sailor Scout Attack: Glass Facade Malus targets one opponent and they become trapped in a stained glass illusion; the world around them seems to transform into a vivid glass portrait. Players may determine if the illusion resembles the world around them or takes on new forms. Colors may seem to blend together and strange light may be disorienting. Attacking something will shatter its stained glass illusion, however the illusion will break into magical glass shards that may cause the sensation of slicing damage. The player can choose to retain physical damage after the magic ends. The magic lasts for thirty seconds and can be used three times per battle.
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 9:00 am
Smiling helplessly, Ptolemaeus extended his arms and shrugged at Michel. "It's not up to me what my magic does, cupcake, so it's kind of hard to keep it in check. But like I said, I'll do my best to make sure Malus stays safe."
He then abruptly clasped his hands together as he looked to Malus. "Now...you said we're dealing with an illusion type magic?" the taller senshi tilted his head. "'Sort of'. Okay. They're more fun when you can't describe them that easily," he chuckled. "Bring it on." The teen held his hand out to the senshi of glass and curled his fingers toward himself in a 'come at me' gesture, his grin ready and assured to dispel any of the other's doubts.
When the magic hit, Ptolemy's eyes widened and he gazed in wonder at the transformed world around him. If he had been in the heat of a real battle, he could have understood how such magic might have caused an inconvenience to its target, but as it was just then, he could only stand there and admire it.
It wasn't as if he could just do that all day, though. When it didn't seem as though anything more was going to happen, the Dark Mirror Senshi took the opportunity to throw out his hands toward his altered reality and call out his own attack. "Change of Plans!"Kyuseisha no Hikari Super Sailor Scout Attack: Change of Plans!Ptolemaeus flings out both hands as if casting nets over the area of focus. Colorful strings of light shoot forth from the mood rings on his fingers to create three vivid, luminous nets meant to ambush the targeted magic attacks. If successful, the nets will hit the stained glass illusion and the threads of light making up the nets melt into pools of rainbow light that cover the 'stained glass' completely before fading out. 'Change of Plan's' effect causes Malus' magic attack to continue without hindrance, but with its effect completely reversed. You, as the player of Malus, can interpret the reversal of the attack and how it affects her magic as you see fit!
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 9:31 am
Truthfully, Malus didn’t know what to expect when his magic shifted, suddenly. For the first time he’d been able to see a flash of stained glass. Only, it was everywhere.
“Oh,” he blurted, a bit alarmed when he realized everything was stained glass. It wasn’t that it wasn’t pretty, it was just overwhelming. Everything he could see was colored like some elaborate mosaic—the ground, the trees, the sky. Ptolemaeus. Michel.
Himself.
Malus’ breath hitched when he caught sight of an extremely colorful, glassy arm. He reached out his other hand to brush at it but it did nothing. He couldn’t tell if it felt like his arm or glass; all he could register was that it looked like someone else’s arm.
Maybe it was being a youma for so long that left him frantic to be back to himself; he began to rub at his arm quickly, frantically, trying to reveal skin, but there was only glass.
He took one step backwards moving to scratch at his other arm. His black sleeves and gloves were the only thing preventing him from tearing skin, but he seemed like if it had kept on for much longer he might have been able to do some sort of damage.
One second it was there, and the next it was gone.
Malus blinked and suddenly the world was normal again, but it took him a few seconds after that to even register. When he looked up, his face was a reflection of tempered alarm.
Michel was already taking a step towards him, stoic worry on his face.
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 10:06 am
Ptolemaeus has also been trying to understand what had transpired when he noticed Malus' panicked reaction. When he looked more closely, he realized that whatever stained-glass effect had been applied to Ptolemy's perception just moments before now seemed to have been applied directly to Malus himself.
It didn't appear to be harmful, but the other sailor scout's distress didn't seem to be proportionate to the apparent effect of the magic. Had something else gone wrong? Or was there something more to Malus having trouble coping with his new condition?
The Dark Mirror Senshi dashed over to find out. "Malus? You okay?" The magic appeared to wear off after a short term, but the young man's unease didn't seem to fade with it.
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 3:50 pm
Malus seemed frantic and blurted, “Michel,” as he continued to try and brush at his skin. The Knight moved to the Senshi’s side and took his hand, his arm, and squeezed. “It’s fine,” the taller man insisted. “His magic is ‘change’, it did what he said it would do, and now it’s over. Take a breath. You’re fine. The magic is gone, it was just an illusion. Just like yours.”
For a moment, Malus didn’t seem to believe him; his eyes darted from Michel’s face to Ptolemaeus’ and registration and calm slowly washed over him. He seemed alarmed, jumpy, but he glanced down at his hands and blinked. Slowly.
His breathing calmed after a few seconds and he nodded.
“Sorry,” he blurted. “I just—I don’t know, I saw something weird. It wasn’t the glass, it was—”
“I know,” Michel interrupted. “But you’re fine. You’re you.”
Again, Malus nodded. “I’m okay,” he finally answered the Dark Mirror Senshi. “I just. I wasn’t expecting it, it took me by surprise. But thank you for worrying. I appreciate it. I just, I got confused or a minute, I thought—”
“You’re fine, Malus,” Michel reassured, stern, but soothing. He gave the Senshi a firm clap on the shoulder.
Finally, Malus nodded and breathed a slow sigh or relief. “Thank you, Ptolemaeus. I’m sorry if I scared you. I’m okay.”
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 9:34 pm
As Malus appeared to want Michel, Ptolemy stopped short to allow the knight to examine and pacify him first. It took a few minutes for the White Moon Senshi to settle down completely, but eventually he began to speak again. At least until Michel cut him off.
At first the super senshi thought that perhaps the knight was just trying to keep him from thinking about the matter any more by assuring him he was fine again.
However, when Malus was cut off a second time, this time before he was about to explain what he had thought that had caused him to panic, Ptolemaeus realized it was something else. Malus had likely been about to mention something that Michel didn't want Ptolemy to hear about.
"...Was there a time when you...weren't you?" he ventured, unable to help his curiosity. "I mean I know it's none of my business...but if you're willing to trust me with it, I can keep a secret." Smiling again, he added, "And please, call me Ptolemy. I'm just glad you're okay."
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Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 4:59 pm
“There’s no secret,” Michel answered; he gave Malus a good clap on the back and Malus stood up a little straighter and nodded. “No, I’m sorry,” the Senshi added. “I must not be making a lot of sense right now. I just got confused. It really got to my head for a minute. We shouldn’t do that again,” he said to the Dark Mirror Senshi, flashing a semi-earnest smile.
He reached up to rub at his head. “My head’s still spinning. I’m sorry, I think I need to go lay down.”
“All right,” Michel said, wrapping his arm around Malus as if to support and guide him. He looked at the Dark Mirror Senshi and nodded; he didn’t say anything, but he wasn’t threatening Ptolomaeus. It was a quiet gratitude, for the fight, and a polite exit.
“It was nice to meet you,” Malus said, offering a slight wave. He had secrets, that much was obvious, and Michel was the backbone of keeping them. Malus himself seemed like he might have been easy to pry secrets from, if only because there was something distinctively desperate about him. He was still struggling to fit in, still struggling to be a person, and to interact with people.
But he’d been socially awkward for a while because he didn’t want to talk to people, with all their lies and agendas, and because he was afraid of them.
He still was, of course.
But at least he was trying to get along with them.
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Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 10:34 pm
Ptolemy's brows rose. "...If you say so," he answered, watching and attempting to comprehend the 93 percent of communication that was non-verbal in their exchange. "And if that's what you want." He nodded in acknowledgement of Malus' decision.
At the senshi of glass' parting words, the teen recaptured his easy smile and he answered, "The pleasure was all mine," before putting two fingers to his temples and casting them off in a casual salute. "Rest well and take care. Both of you."
There was obviously something going on there, but Ptolemy knew better than to pry in business that wasn't his, especially when help wasn't wanted or didn't appear to be needed. At least Malus had Michel and that seemed to be enough. Hoping he had helped more than harmed, the Dark Mirror Senshi took off in the opposite direction.
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