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 Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:49 pm
Getting back into the whole scheme of things had taken longer than Larimar had really anticipated - so much to see to, wills ze hadn't known ze was named in, bereavements, all those messy situations with transferring college credits, the unspoken assumption by zyr entire family that ze was more than willing to finish out zyr degree here as some pale imitation of zyr chosen field of study - but it was all manageable, in the end. Or some of it was, anyway.
Running around as Larimar salved a lot of those aches. Things like interrupted scholarships and interrupted financial aid and interrupted everything - those were Sparrow's domain. Larimar actually got to choose what ze wanted to do these days, and after a couple of months, ze felt like ze understood what it was to sit in this skin and outfit again.
But where would all of that be without draining?
A lovely technique, energy draining, and something the Negaverse had to be praised for. Meeting quota was getting back to being routine - to being relaxing, even - and, if ze wanted to be a little spicy, there was always pulling starseeds. And using them, too, for that rush that caffeine just didn't give. Not too many - maybe one a month at best, as a treat - but it was a rush like nothing else, to know that was a soul between zyr teeth, and to break it into pieces.
This starseed pull might've gone faster if the guy hadn't been so goddamn wiggly; he'd darted away from Larimar's hands enough times that ze'd gotten frustrated and pinned him to the brick as if he was a specimen, blade right through the meat of his hand, and he was screaming. What a ******** pain. There was the feel of an Eternal Senshi, closing in, and he still wouldn't stop ******** screaming. Didn't this guy know ze had places to be?
"Shut up," ze hissed, frustrated, and yanked the man's soul out of his chest in one sharp movement. Still, ze left his hand skewered: maybe this senshi would recognize that impalement and that blood as the threat it was and ******** right off, if Larimar was lucky.
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Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 10:39 pm
It was the screams that drew Kerberos's attention.
He'd felt a pull, of late, towards anything Chaos, and that made his skin prickle with discomfort. Yes, he wanted to help people understand--but that didn't mean he wanted to seek it out. Worse, he'd felt his temper more and more on edge; it was an effort to keep it in check, to not snap at people in frustration.
And he hadn't been to his planet in weeks, when he usually went as often as he could. When he should have wanted to spend every second he could there, with life slowly beginning to thrive on it.
So, Kerberos knew that something was wrong, and he'd been avoiding the Negaverse as a means of avoiding the problem. But there was a scream, and that made his heart twist, and then the scream stopped, and his stomach dropped.
He couldn't ignore that. He couldn't turn away.
So he ran for where it had come from, in time to see the Captain holding a starseed, and the poor victim with a knife through his hand.
"Put that back," Kerberos said, and there was a tense edge to his voice, "or you're going to regret it."
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Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 9:36 am
That aura was coming closer, closer, closer -- and there it was, made manifest, some guy cosplaying a glowstick. Felt like goddamn acid on zyr brain to sense it. It didn't look as if he was going to leave, either, which was worse. Realistically, he might've left if ze'd just put the starseed back and gone away - but that was admitting defeat and that was losing to someone like him, and that was intolerable.
"Oh?" Larimar cocked zyr head, like a bird, suffused with a mocking curiosity. "This starseed? This one I've got right here?" Ze held the starseed up to about eye level and rolled it between zyr fingers, turning to face him, pulling zyr blade out of the poor victim's hand with an awful noise.
Now this power play would end up with zem hurt. Larimar wasn't stupid. If there was any way to guarantee fists coming zyr way, it was what ze was about to do, but - sometimes one needed a little excess. Because it meant that, no matter what this senshi did, he would've failed at his primary goal here: keeping that victim alive.
And that meant, even if ze stumbled out of here with sprains and bruises and cuts and injuries ze wouldn't be able to explain, ze had won.
"You want this starseed to go right back in his chest, where it belongs?"
Ze made very clear and direct eye contact, placed the starseed between zyr teeth like it was so much rock candy, and bit down before swallowing the shards. Let him watch. Idiot. Should've made a pre-emptive strike, if he'd really wanted to save this guy.
"Oops. Guess my fingers slipped." Larimar spread zyr hands wide, mockingly - look, ma, no tricks! - and the look on zyr face, in zyr eyes, was something unbelievably cruel.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 1:44 am
Kerberos blinked. Once. Twice.
Once upon a time, he had to admit, that had been him. Bold as brass, violent, angry, and spitting venom at the whole world he felt had betrayed him. The problem was, the reminder was not to this poor Captain's benefit.
Especially not with the past few weeks Kerberos had been having. The tension. The stress. The headaches, the fraying temper, the strange desire to--to seek and find Chaos--and the wondering, sometimes, why he had left at all.
It wasn't like he didn't know. He knew! He absolutely ******** knew why he needed to not be Chaos! The evidence wa,s in fact, right in front of him--a Captain crushing a soul between his teeth, just to make a point.
Kerberos saw red.
Calmly, with the tone of someone who had very much just snapped, Kerberos said, "I'm going to make you regret that."
He took one step forward. Two. Made sure he was definitely within range.
"Thousand Asphodel Chorus."Quote: Alternate Attack: Thousand Asphodel Chorus!
Kerberos speaks the name of his attack, and sweeps an arm in front of him. Trailing after his palm, asphodel petals burst out and explode at a radius of 8 feet around Kerberos. The petals will only damage enemies; for allies, they are harmless and pretty. They behave like thin knives, creating a sensation of mild to moderate cuts, and can leave behind actual damage at player discretion. In addition, anyone struck by them will feel a sensation of grief and hopelessness that lasts for 30 seconds. Kerberos can use this attack twice per battle.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 6:50 pm
I'm going to make you regret that.
"You can try," Larimar said, half-conversationally, that cold-steel glint in zyr eyes, and pulled zyr arms up to protect zyr face as soon as the senshi cast his magic. Half the time these people always went straight for the face; it was honorless, but so was ze, so it was difficult to complain all that much. Had the dagger been greater, been a more threatening weapon, there might've been games of posturing and threats, always the most fun kind -- but of course this ******** guy had taken that taunt for what it was, and from the look in his eyes, he was definitely past wanting to respond in kind.
What was the point of a bloody, vicious fight, unless it was fun? How disappointing of him! Didn't he know all of this was an excuse, anyway, to make people bleed and scream? The whole of the Negaverse's needs for Larimar as a soldier might've been a cage, ze wasn't an idiot - but it made sense, to make people hurt. More than anything else made sense. This was what the world deserved; this was what ze deserved to be able to do.
The petals came in a storm, slicing thin lines through zyr sleeves and jacket and all zyr outer layers, blood already starting to feather and spread into the fabric in the spots where the cuts weren't just mere scratches - they were ******** sharp, what the hell - and Larimar staggered, because the weight of the grief that hit zem -- it had to be alien. It had to be the magic, but suddenly it was so tempting to give up and let him break zem, because it was all hopeless anyway. Ze wasn't going to get to go back to those interrupted classes, that interrupted life; it was just going to be Destiny City and dead family like shackles, forever --
The harsh breath that tore out of zyr throat sounded a little like a sob. Had to push through it. Needed to push through it -
Larimar still came at him with the dagger point-first as the petals were ceasing, but zyr grip was shaky and angled, and zyr eyes were bright with the possibility for tears.
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Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2022 1:52 pm
Clearly, this Captain was both very stupid and very cocky. The more ze talked, the more ze postured, the more sure Kerberos was that the Negaverse was doing what it always had--recruiting arrogant, angry kids and turning up the arrogance and the anger. And normally, he'd have had a lot of compassion for that. But right then, with a body on the ground and the sound fo that crunching starseed ringing in his ears--
All Kerberos had was rage.
Normally, he would have noticed the shining eyes. Normally, that would have given him pause. But not tonight. Tonight, he wanted Larimar to hurt, to pay fro what ze'd done. And unfortunately for Larimar, when Kerberos was in the Negaverse, he'd been trained very well.
He snalled one hand out to grab the arm coming at him with a knife, and the other went to the front of Larimar's jacket, and Kerberos used his weight and Larimar's momentum to spin them, aiming to slam Larimar against the wall of the alley.
"Arrogant. Negaverse. b*****d," Kerberos spat, angrily. "You all think you've got the right to hold life and death in your hands--Asphodel's Requiem."
Pile grief upon grief upon grief. Pass on the suffering.Quote: Sailor Kerberos says the name of his attack and spreads his arms, and in a radius of ten feet around him, a field of asphodel flowers grows up. Anyone Chaos-corrupted within the radius experiences crippling grief and hopelessness. In addition, the affected characters see a vision of someone they care about dying or dead. If they attempt to interact with this vision, they will find it insubstantial and untouchable, and the illusion will vanish, but the feelings of grief and hopelessness otherwise induced by the attack will remain for the duration (as they're separate from the illusion itself). This attack lasts for 40 seconds. Sailor Kerberos can use this attack once per battle.
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Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2022 6:40 pm
Oh.
It was, abruptly, very clear that Kerberos was better than zem. Not only that, he was better than zem in the way that meant he was trained, probably battle-proven judging from his rank and marks, and Larimar was even more sure now than ze'd been initially that this was a terrible idea ze'd decided to undertake. There was a strangled ghk! as he slammed zem into the wall, half surprised exhale and half waste of breath - zyr hat went toppling to the ground, which was adding insult to injury, it was a nice hat - and ze dropped the dagger, the clatter of metal on concrete sounding so quiet in comparison to the sound of zyr heartbeat, pounding drum-loud in all the bones of the skull in fractured reverberation.
For a second, Larimar still had that righteous anger - You all think you've got the right to hold life and death in your hands, he said, and ze hissed out a "Yes -" right back -- he didn't see, he didn't understand, this was the least the world could do for zem after everything --
but very suddenly there was no anger to hold onto.
There wasn't anything but the grief, crippling, drowning, blinding in its weight; it was almost foreign, to have a heart bleed so. Ze was crying, numbly, only even half-aware of those tears; it was the way someone cried when that person didn't want anyone to see, trying to choke it back, trying to be soundless. Faintly, it all felt very embarrassing to be doing in semi-public, but there was no room for that emotion in the sudden choking flood of grief and hopelessness. There was no way to work up the thought and will and followthrough to try and keep fighting Kerberos, let alone to try to run.
What was the point? What was the ******** point of this? Of any of this? Of anything at all?
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Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2022 3:13 am
Kerberos leaned his weight against the Captain's chest. He took the time to memorize every aspect of zyr face, zyr uniform, remembered zyr weapon. If he found zem again, he would know--and know that this was the type of officer he hated the most. The kind that reveled in what the Negaverse asked of them.
Part of him wanted to make zem pay in kind to the life ze'd taken. Wanted to shift his arm up, put it across zyr windpipe, crush. Or maybe pick up that dagger and make it swift but bloody, or--
Kerberos inhaled, sharply.
No.
He took a step back. Let go of zyr uniform, but fixed them with a cold stare.
"I've worked very hard to learn to keep my temper in check," he said, and his tone made it very, very clear that he was currently just barely restraining it, "and you aren't worth giving up all the work I've done to be better than the monster the Negaverse made me. But I promise you: kill in front of me again, and I'll reconsider that."
He tilted his head tot he side.
"I'm going to let you go, Captain. I strongly recommend you take a long, hard look at yourself, and your life, and your choices, and consider if the path you're on is worth it."
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Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2022 9:29 pm
It was hard to focus, to think, to stop ******** crying like an idiot, but Larimar nodded anyways; nodding along was easy, and nodding along made it look like ze cared. It was routine, to smile and nod, even though ze made to attempt to smile now - it would've been grotesque, and it wasn't as if he would've believed it, so it would've also been pretty ******** pointless.
"Fine," Larimar said, through gritted teeth. Let him think this was giving up, maybe. That didn't matter, even if it smarted. "Fine. I'll -- reconsider." It was a herculean effort to not sound as choked up as ze felt, and how decipherable any of those words had been was probably not ideal levels.
What did he know? It wasn't any of zyr goddamn business if he was a traitor, if he'd left the Negaverse. Good for him, whatever, did he want three cheers and champagne? That was SpecOps' job to care. As far as Larimar was concerned, ze'd been minding zyr own business, mostly. (Okay, yes, ze'd pissed him off on purpose, and that was a regrettable action, but besides bruises and aches everything would heal; it wasn't that far of a diversion from standard. And if ze kept phrasing it like that in zyr own mind, maybe that would be true.)
..ze was going in circles. But - it felt like it'd been an agonizing eternity - the grief felt like it was starting to lift, to pull away, that foreign sadness no longer so overwhelming - and it took too much effort, too much focus, but teleporting away was manageable. That was within reach. It was within reach enough to take it, and escape further consequence at his hands here.
The dagger still laid on the ground, bloody, next to a corpse that hadn't quite learned it was dead yet.
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Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2022 5:36 pm
The Captain disappeared. Kerberos took a deep breath. Shook, a little, and looked down at the knife--and then kicked it away. The fact that he wanted to pick it up, take it with him, see how long it lasted--that scared him. It reminded him of the violent monster that had gone at Pages with every weapon available to him, that had taken out his pain and rage and abandonment on everyone and everything he felt he could target in a desperate effort to punish Avalon.
The person he least wanted to be, anymore.
He knelt down next to the cooling corpse, dropped on the ground of an alleyway, and exhaled.
"I'm sorry," he said, even though he had a metaphysical certitude that there was absolutely no one listening, "you didn't deserve this. No one does." There wasn't anything he could do, now--and there was no telling what had just been lost. Utterly destroyed, even. But the least he could do was allow the body a little bit of dignity. So he found a bench, not too far away, and carefully laid the poor, dead civilian on it.
And then, still trembling, he pulled out his phone and took himself to space.
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