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 Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 12:05 pm
Quote: Prompt 1: Destiny City has its fair share of infestations--rats, youma, seasonal monsters...There's no shortage of unpleasantries. But, for the first time in a while, there's a pleasant sort of infestation: along with the winter chill and a steady stream of snow, it seems like a herd of small, fluffy white rabbits have overrun the city. They aren't menacing or evil, they're just everywhere. They seem strangely domesticated; they are sweet, curious, and friendly creatures that will eat anything you give them. They always seem cold to the touch, and when they shake, little snowflakes sprinkle off of them. They can show up just about anywhere, either alone or--often--in pairs. They tend to wander off on their own but they seem to appreciate anything warm and will cuddle up to steal body heat.
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 12:13 pm
Of all the things that Ogygia might have expected to see during the winter, flocks of precious little bunnies hadn't even made it to her Top Ten. Hell, they weren't even in her Top 100. Yet, here she was, standing in the park and watching bunnies popping around in the snow. They couldn't be escaped pets, could they?
She watched one give itself a shake and felt her eyes widen as little flurries of snow flew from it. It wasn't currently snowing.
Definitely not escaped pets.
She felt, rather than saw an officer approach and sighed. All she wanted to do was watch and maybe snuggle the bunnies, not fight. Maybe his one wouldn't be the fighting happy type? She could hope.
"Unless you are here to pet small, kind of weird rabbits," she spoke in a soft, clear voice, "please consider taking a rain check for any fights. Which I really don't want."
She turned slightly and arched an eyebrow before sticking out a hand in a friendly manner.
"Hi, I'm Ogygia."
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 2:47 pm
“Mmm… Nah, honestly too tired for that s**t right now.” He replied. “What’s with the dandruffy bunnies?” He said curiously and eyed her hand cautiously before offering his in return. “Pleased to uh… meet you?” He offered cautiously. “I’m uh… Parisite….” He said it cautiously like the name might garner a rather nasty reaction. “But um… yeah, that’s the worst case of um…. hold up, is that…snow?” He squinted and rubbed his eyes which had enough of a dark circle under them to count as carry-on luggage. <******** this city is weird, I….say while wearing freaking vigilante clothes.” He added the last bit with a sort of amused ironic tone.
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 8:44 am
"Nice to meet you," she said cheerily, wondered why he acted so cautious when he introduced himself. He looked so tired and she wondered why. She couldn't remember ever being that tired when she'd been a Captain. Of course, she couldn't really remember anything about being a Captain. Come to think of it, Rutile had looked equally exhausted. Rather than pry, Ogygia filed the idea away for later and focused on the rabbits.
"It certainly looks like snow," she answered. "And this really is a weird, goddamn city."
She went quiet for a moment, mouth curving into a faint smile as she watched the rabbits. There wasn't anything about them to worry her and given all the things that could happen around the city, she'd happily take snowbunnies any day of the week.
"I've been watching them play for the better part of an hour now. They don't seem to mind me, so I've been working up the guts to see if they'll let me pet them. I just don't want to drive them off if they do end up being skittish."
Or, you know, they could end up being like the damn bunny in that Monty Python movie. She really didn't want to end up as dinner either. But now that someone else was here...
"If I went closer, how fast do you think you could pull me away if they turn vicious?" she asked. "I mean, not that you'd have any good reason to given the whole opposite sides thing, but if they end up being killer bunnies, it seems like something both our sides would have to worry about."
Turning back, she grinned at Parisite.
"What do you think?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 9:59 am
“I… yeah that seems like it might be a problem. Hard to get energy off people who are like… being eaten by literal snow bunnies.” He admitted cautiously. “I mean, if I pop us out of here I’m trusting you not to like, beat my face in when I freaking pass out. Taking someone is HARD.” He said with the weight of someone who might have done just that. “…Though if they were vicious, wouldn’t they have like, eaten our ankles or something by now?” He squinted at the bunnies again suspiciously. “This city is so weird.” He shook his head slowly from side to side. “I suppose I could try and pet one so you could see if I lose a finger start running?” He offered.
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 10:15 am
Blinking owlishly, Ogygia simply stared at Parisite for a moment before laughing helplessly. She'd forgotten about being able to teleport too, apparently. But now that he'd mentioned it, she could just dimly recall how tiring it had been.
"You're right," she murmured. "It is hard to carry another with you. Funny, I'd forgotten just how hard it was to be an officer."
The bunnies provided something to at least look at while she thought. She'd rather not contribute to someone passing out. Nor was she terribly keen on the idea of using the officer as a guinea pig to see if the rabbits were carnivorous. She didn't want to ever be the cause of harm again if she could help it.
"They might be territorial?" she ventured softly. "And we're just not in their space yet. Who knows."
Huffing a sigh before laughing again, Ogygia seemed to make up her mind.
"Hell, me being a knight ought to be good for something. I doubt they can run or jump as fast or as high as I suspect we both can. Wish me luck, here I go!"
That said, the tall squire walked out and headed for the nearest bunny cluster. To her surprise, they didn't startle or seem terribly worried. Instead, they seemed to hop closer until she was surrounded. Visibly nerving herself, she knelt down to offer her hand to sniff.
And then squealed in complete delight as the bunnies shoved cold noses into her palm. Well, they weren't horrible monsters in bunny skins.
"Oh my god, dude, get over here," she called. "They're so cute! And soft!"
Friendly too, judging by how they seemed to enjoy having their ear cups scritched.
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 12:34 pm
He did a double take, blinking at her. “Oh… You used to… why did you… “ He started and stopped like maybe he’d offend her by asking. He braced himself as she moved into the nest of bunnies, and they surrounded her. He didn’t think there had been a time in his life when he had found fluffy white dandruffy bunnies that intimidating, and he wasn’t even in her shoes. He sagged at her delight. Relieved he wasn’t about to see her start to be eaten by tiny carnivores. “I’m glad they didn’t start eating you?” He called back before carefully stepping towards them as well. He was half sure that one of them was nibbling the wide leg of his uniform trousers but, at least they weren’t trying to hide under them. He crouched down too and then offered his hands to them. God….they really -were- soft, and… chilly to the touch, then again everything was cold at the moment so that wasn’t shocking. "Wow.... dang, they really are."
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 12:49 pm
Looking up from where she'd sunk to the ground in order to get even closer to the bunnies, Ogygia looked up and wrinkled her nose a little at him.
"You don't have to dance around it. I know I'm probably on the Negaverse's s**t list by now. In fairness, though, I really don't remember much of anything. I've got in on good authority that the memory loss is probably a really good thing for my peace of mind."
Scooping up one bunny, she gently touched its nose with her own and began to shamelessly baby talk.
"Ooooh! Who's my little snugglebottom squishynose? Whose a good little baby?"
Pausing in her snuggling, Ogygia glanced back up and laughed merrily. He was being so careful! What on earth had happened to him to make him so very wary?
"I'd glad too! But if I have to go, drowning in a sea of adorable rabbits isn't a bad way to go. And I mean, look at them. They seem to like being cuddled."
And they did, she could feel one or two pressing up against her sides, clearly happy to (and the pun made her groan silently) chill out with the people. And after another moment, she glanced over and decided to be blunt.
"So level with me. You look like you haven't slept a wink in a while. You have my word that I won't attack you unless you come at me first. So just... talk to me. I promise I'm a good listener."
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 1:42 pm
“If it helps, I have probably not heard of you? Kinda new at this…ish… somehow ended up with a Lieutenant anyhow.” He grimaced slightly before laughingstocks softly at the baby talk to the bunny. Her blunt question made him arch his eyebrows though.
“Ah… mmm…” He hesitated. “Well… I haven’t had the best, month…” He admitted. “Someone threw a friend off the roof, I’m…. making bank with Overtime…” He hesitated on what was safe to share. “One of the …Senshi keeps trying to strangle me, he broke a dude’s neck …and my car died.” He gave a thumbs-up, it seemed like it was better not to include a few details but that at least would give a general excuse why he was so tired. “….oh…and one of us who was an absolute idiot drained MY energy, so that helped.” He added and rolled his eyes. He gave up and sat down in the snow, letting the bunnies edge in closer, and stroked their soft fur. "You're...the second one I know left, but I haven't met anyone who went the other way around, what uh, what made you leave?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 2:52 pm
Nodding acceptance of all the things he probably wasn't telling her, Ogygia kept her sigh purely mental. She knew she could be trusted, but he didn't. So of course he would still keep things to himself. She really should have thought of that. Still.
He'd certainly told her enough. Leaning back in the snow and pulling a bunny up onto her chest, she absently stroked it's soft fur as she listened. And as much as it alarmed her to hear about people tossed from rooftops or senshi breaking necks, she did her best to maintain a serene facade. She wouldn't exactly inspire confidence if she began to freak out.
"That is a lot," she settled for saying. "And I certainly wouldn't be holding up nearly so well as you seem to be in I was in your shoes. Is your friend all right? Are you holding up all right? I can't imagine how awful it would be to be targeted like that by someone on the other side. And i know it's not much, but for what it's worth I am so sorry for how this senshi is acting. I promise most of us are reasonable, non-neck snapping types."
It was all she felt safe saying. What she wanted to say was more along the lines of hunting this senshi down and slapping the taste out of their mouth for being just as bad as the other side. How were they supposed to inspire trust and convince officers to jump ship if they went around doing things like that?!? She absently pulled a bunny close and kissed it's little wriggly nose and wished she knew how to help.
"Hmm? I promise you there are plenty that went the other way around. But... corruption is hard, especially if it was forced. You may have met an unwilling convert and wouldn't know because they simply can't remember ever being anything else. I think the willing one's fare better memory wise, but I don't know precisely since I never had a chance to ask."
And now came the trickier part. Explaining that sometimes willing purification also had it's hazards.
"I honestly don't remember specifics. I'd tell you if I did, honest. What I do remember if an overwhelming fear and horror and so much pain. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to have every ounce of Chaos purged. And well, she heard the call and came to help me," Ogygia's voice was softly reverential. She couldn't remember a damn thing about Cosmos other than her warmth and clinging to her shoes praying for help. "Now, what I know for certain is that I had to be completely willing to purify. No doubts of hesitations allowed or it won't work. And I know it felt like something inside me was repaired and cleansed."
Somehow words just didn't seem enough to truly convey that night.
"One other thing I know, though the knowledge is sort of secondhand. My cousin was there. She said that before Sailor Cosmos appeared and rescued me, I almost became a literal monster. Maybe that's why I can't remember more than impressions and random useless tidbits? I really don't know, but it's a good working theory, don't you think?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2020 4:12 pm
“She?” He blinked curiously. The information was, interesting, and the idea that she was almost a monster made him shiver despite the ability of the strange uniform to keep him fairly comfortable. “Yeah, he’s okay, he’s… with someone who cares a lot about him. I just want them both, safe.” He chewed his thumb absently, the other hand stroking a rabbit that had climbed onto him and snuggled in like he was a heated blanket... “Is it… Is it alright if I ask what you mean when you say you nearly became a real monster? Like… are Youma, infectious or - “ He wasn’t even sure how to finish the thought. He should probably ask his General these things but, at the same time she’d been there too, what was it they always said about fights and wars? People had to believe in the side they were part of, or they were traitors. But sometimes it was the hand you were dealt. Cavansite was a good boss, a really good boss… She’d basically adopted him, but sometimes it was just…odd. “… I’d also love to know why you guys uh… feel so weird to be around, it’s kinda awful, but not all of you seem to BE awful. Not that some of you aren’t jerks. But… some of you have been pretty chill, and some of you guys really need to learn to fight. Though… I think I ******** up trying to help with that.” He heaved a sigh. “I guess… we both just think we’re the good guys till it’s proven otherwise…”
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Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2020 1:08 pm
Well, if Parsite's friend was safe and recovering, that was excellent. That he, himself, just wanted to keep his friends safe was also good. As long as he never slipped into the idea that corrupting them would be the ultimate form of safety. Honestly, it was less stressful to think about youma.
"I don't know about infectious, but I have to assume you've been to the space the Negaverse calls their own? Well, youma breed down there. And sometimes... Sometimes an officer messes up and gets turned into a youma or turns someone else. Even senshi can be turned into a youma if the corrupting officer isn't quite strong enough to control how much chaos they're pumping into a starseed. It's one of those complicated, but stupidly simple things."
She wished she had clearer memories. Even with Orcus telling her it was better she couldn't remember events, she still wished she had something to hold on to. Then, at least, she wouldn't feel like such a farud trying to explain.
"Okay, so. You understand I don't have any strong memories? Like I said before I remember a lot of pain and like something inside was trying to take over...,: she paused, hand moving to her breastbone for a moment. She was sure that her very starseed had been screaming in fear at the time. "My cousin was there with another knight. He wouldn't tell me much except to explain being a knight. She, on the other hand, told me that it had looked like I had another being sharing my skin with me. I think she was being quite literal. She certainly mentioned me arguing with something before I started screaming. I really don't know what else to tell you."
Ogygia paused again, taking a moment to realize that they were both quickly becoming covered in bunnies. Well, there were worse fates.
"As for our auras, which is what I think you're asking about? We are on opposite sides after all. Light and Dark, Order and Chaos. I guess it makes sense that to each other we'd feel pretty gross, but to our own kind we'd probably only notice weak and strong. I wouldn't try to use it as a gauge for anything other than sides and power levels, honestly. It takes all kinds of people after all. And not all officers joined the Negaverse out of a desire to be bad people."
Just like not all senshi or knights were shining paragons of virtue.
"It takes all kinds," she repeated quietly.
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Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2020 8:35 pm
He worried his lip, one sharp tooth worrying at the edge of his lip as he listened. “Good to know.” He murmured, with a small shudder. “I guess it really does take all kinds.” He wondered what Cavansite’s experiences were, what she’d say if he asked her. He at least trusted her to be honest, and … he wondered if the knights and Senshi had anything like that that they just weren’t sharing with outsiders. “Uh…so…question is it just me or… are they sort of…” He made a small strangled sound as a cool furred rabbit found its way up a wide pant leg and curled up by his ankle. “Oh no you don’t…out! They may be stupid pants but that is NOT an invitation!” He shifted to try and shake it free in an indignant flurry of snowflakes. “…. Paragon of dignity, that’s me.” He huffed. “Here to listen to serious information while little cold rabbits nest in my… ridiculous pants.” He shifted to try and wrap his pant legs around to keep them out. “In…all seriousness, thanks for telling me, but do you guys not have anything similar? I…thought you were like, aliens taking over or something. Pod people or whatever.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 11:51 am
Laughing a little helplessly at Parsite's reaction to bunnies trying to sneak into his pant legs, Ogygia gathered the tiny, furry offenders and snuggled them close.
"You can't blame them for being curious," she said. "Silly buns are going to try to explore their surroundings since we've made it clear we aren't threats to them."
She'd decided that she liked the fact that this officer clearly thought and considered things. Though she was no longer able to authoritatively say one way or another, she was pretty sure that not many others did the same. And at the mention of aliens, she brightened.
"Consider this," she said. "How could I or any knight be an alien pod person? I was Negaverse long before I purified. Besides, if your higher ups really believed the whole Aliens Bad thing, why would they take the time to bring senshi into their ranks?"
Thinking a little more, she shrugged and sighed. "Also, all the senshi now were born here on Earth after like... thousands of years, right? I think that's about when the first War was. So how could they be aliens if they were born people? My cousin doesn't want anything to do with trying to snatch power for herself here. She just wants me to stay out of trouble."
And now for the part of the question that had offended her on a deeply spiritual level. The idea that senshi or knights fostered anything like youma!
"We don't have anything like youma," she said a bit sniffily. "Why would we? Youma are... well. They're monsters. I think some of them just come into being down in the Rift. And others are people or animals corrupted and twisted by Chaos. Besides, we're trying to keep the monsters at bay. Why on earth would we turn around and make our own. Ridiculous!"
Drumming her fingers furiously against her knee, the knight huffed quietly.
"Look, I know that officers get told that we're all scary aliens bent on world conquest. I probably believed that horseshit when I was there. But seriously, we're all fighting so hard because we were all born here and we don't want to live in some awful dystopian wasteland all Mad Max style, but with more literal monsters."
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 12:13 pm
DaisyMilk “….Fair.” He said with a small flinch. “I mean, the…costume change stuff was enough to make a lot of this more plausible! And… you could like be… little brain… um… let's pretend I didn’t start saying that.” He grimaced embarrassed that he nearly made things all the worse by saying they might be little brain worms that took people over. “And you could have something like Youma, maybe they just end up… I don’t know…prettier or something.” he waved a hand. “So… if…” He started another question and then frowned, his shoulders sagging. “s**t… if that’s all, bullshit, wouldn’t that just figure.” He sighed. “Kinda, just … sounds like I’m on the wrong side.” He admitted. “Like a bad movie trope.” He tapped the scar on his face with a half humorless laugh. “Shitty too, I have a pretty nice boss it feels like. Maybe… I should ask her about … dystopian wasteland goals. I kinda think she’d like the bunnies honestly.”
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