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 Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2022 4:16 pm
There were so many dangers out in the city, and Ilse knew that, but she knew moreso that she had to get out and face her fears. She was a soldier of the Negaverse, which meant that to demonstrate her continued worth, she had to keep going out and doing....soldier of the Negaverse things.
So, with a deep breath, she had powered up, and now she was wandering aimlessly. She could feel the aura of a Knight nearby, and that made her square her shoulders--she would just have to be brave, and face them, even though they were much stronger than her!
Besides, fi she needed help, she could....she could call Lysithea, and then her beautiful savior could come riding in, and it would be wonderful.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 9:02 pm
Michel didn’t care. About anything. Or maybe he cared too much about things he couldn't have, things that weren’t falling into place.
He liked to think that he didn't care at all though, because that made this so much easier.
He’d snuck up on agents. He’d ambushed them. He’d come at them with full force, powered up. It didn’t matter how he approached them, it was never enough.
If it had been, Lysithea would be here.
Instead, he had some other, weaker Senshi. Some poor, corrupted fool.
He was so tired of this. He didn’t even enjoy the fight.
She was so easy to find, like she wasn’t even trying to hide. Which made him even angrier. Like all of this was a joke to them.
His lips were pressed into a cold frown as he made his way towards her. He didn’t care about social etiquette; he stomped through the snow, directly at her. He used his clock hand as a walking stick, not that he needed it, but something about it helped ground him.
“Isn’t it dangerous for a Senshi like you to be out on your own?”
He was only a few yards away, but he continued to approach. He had no need to keep his distance, no reason to be careful.
He was looking for trouble.
He’d found her instead.
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 12:57 pm
The way he kept advancing on her made Ilse nervous. Clearly, he wasn't intimidated by her at all (and why would he be? He outpowered her, outranked her, and could probably physically overpower her even ignoring that. Which was not great! Ilse did not like that at all! But she was committed, now, and she squared her shoulders and crossed her arms, and stared him down.
"I'm not afraid of you," she lied, blatantly. "I can handle myself, which is why I'm out on my own."
He wasn't going to stop. She was probably going to have to fight. Oh, this was a terrible idea, but she was already committed. Hopefully her magic would work for her--sometimes it seemed to decide that it just didn't want to, and this would be a very bad time for that.
She took a breath. Uncrossed her arms.
"Unattainable Wish," she said, and she blew a kiss, and watched the strange blue petals that came with her magic bloom around him.Quote: Ilse speaks the name of her attack, and blows a kiss to one target. The target is surrounded by a swirl of blue petals, and is struck by a yearning for something or someone they consider unattainable. It can be a dream, an object, a person, or anything else. This longing lasts for 30 seconds, but after it ends, the target may be struck with a lingering feeling of sadness or loss at player discretion. Ilse can use this attack three times per battle.
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Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 5:37 pm
Michel’s lip curled upwards and he braced himself for her magic, and–
A familiar feeling. He hated Senshi magic, It was unpredictable and it was cruel and it made him want to hurt her all the more. She probably didn’t even know what she’d done, and he was so off balance that he couldn't have even hazarded a guess at what her sphere was.
He looked at her and he remembered Cambria. He wanted Lysithea back and this senshi out here, not afraid of him, was a reminder that she wasn’t here and no one was taking him seriously.
His heart heart, but Michel didn’t retreat into himself when he was heartbroken, he got mad.
“Nice try,” he growled, and swatted at the petals. He hadn’t stopped advancing on her, and now that she’d tried to attack him, he picked up the pace. “We’ll see if that holds true.”
She was just a Senshi. He wasn’t afraid. He raised his weapon and swung the flat side of it against her side as hard as he could. He couldn’t cut her with this thing, so the second best thing was just taking her to the ground.
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Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2022 3:28 am
Okay, so, Ilse was suddenly very afraid. her magic hadn't made him hesitate at all, hadn't made him pause and wonder for even a moment, and here he was, coming at her with a massive weapon that made her yelp in fear. She stumbled backwards, bringing her arms up to shield herself--but she guessed the wrong trajectory for his swing, and it struck her hard in the side.
"Ow!" She took a few more steps back, and thought about calling on her magic again--but what if it just made him madder? What if whatever he wanted made him upset, like this? "You're such a jerk, what is even your problem!"
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Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2022 6:36 am
“My problem? You attack me and ask what my problem is?” he snarled. From his angry, erratic movements, it probably wasn’t easy to tell that he was shaking, or that his breath had hitched, or that all he could think about was her.
What he wouldn’t give to teleport. What he wouldn’t give to disappear from here and reappear behind her, in front of her–it didn’t matter.
He could hunt her down like this, though.
It was just going to take more time.
“You wanted a fight, I’m giving you one. Could have just talked. But, no. You chose this.”
He preferred this, anyway.
“If you want me to stop, maybe start talking.”
He stalked towards her, footsteps heavy. He let his weapon drag along the ground, as if it would help her see its weight. Maybe she could imagine how it was going to feel when he hit her again.
“You know a Senshi named Lysithea?”
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Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2022 11:21 am
Ilse narrowed her eyes. She kept backing up, not that she thought it was going to give her much space; he was faster and stronger than her, and that meant that she didn't have much room to maneuver. Her magic didn't hurt, which put her at another disadvantage, and she had no idea what his did.
But he invoked that name. And her eyes went wide, and she froze. It was obvious in every line of her body and every bit of her face that she knew exactly who he was asking for, and her heart jolted into her throat at the thought.
"You can't have her back," Ilse said, and her shoulders squared, and she clenched her fists, like she was going to stand up to this Knight and his massive, heavy weapon, dragging behind him like he was some sort of horror movie monster. "Lysithea is ours now, and you. can't. have. her."
Ilse wasn't sure what she was doing. Some part of her knew this was stupid, knew that she was playing with fire by challenging him like this when he seemed so determined to do violence. But she wasn't just going to let someone try and take Lysithea away from her--not when she finally had her. No, no, no.
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 7:57 pm
Oh.
Oh, ******** finally. Michel’s nostrils flared and every little bit of her magic clinging to him seemed to go into overdrive. He wanted Lysithea.
Yearned for her.
He’d have done anything to have her back, including slice this puny little Senshi into a thousand tiny pieces. Tear her apart with his bare hands if he had to, until he’d worked through flesh and blood and bone to dig out every last scrap of information she had on Lysithea.
Nothing could have stopped him from reaching her; he crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. His fist grabbed the fabric of her bodice and he carried her forcefully until he slammed her into a tree behind them. He wanted to knock the breath from her lungs, but if that wasn’t impactful enough, he swiftly shifted to wrap his hand around her neck and he pushed her against the bark.
Hard enough to bruise but not hard enough to cut off her breathing. Not much.
Hard enough to let her know he was serious, and he could do a lot worse if he wanted to.
“Tell me how you know her. What you’ve done to her.”
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 8:05 pm
Ilse was tiny. She was not particularly physical or capable, and when he grabbed her, there was very little she could do to stop him. This was exactly what had made her choice stupid, and she knew it, but she also hadn't been expecting how hard he would grab her, how seemingly easy he found it to smack her against the tree.
The wind went out of her lungs, and then his hand came around her neck, and she gasped, desperately, to try and get her breath back, struggling under his grip.
She brought her hands up, glaring, and dug her thumbnails into his wrist, hoping it would cause enough pain to make him let her go.
"You. Can't. Have her," she repeated, gasping between words. There was no way--this violent monster, she couldn't let him anywhere near her Lysithea, he would just hurt her!
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 8:35 pm
Her nails dug into his skin. They would leave a mark. Blood had already gathered beneath her nails, and it wouldn’t take long for it to gather enough to drip if she kept it up.
He didn't care.
She had answers. He would have them to, whether she gave them or not.
He would take them if he had to.
“Not an answer,” he said coldly, and repeated, “Tell me how you know her. Tell me what you’ve done to her.”
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 8:48 pm
Ilse kicked out at his shins, desperate for any kind of relief from the grip around her throat. She could feel the blood under her nails, but that just encouraged her to dig them in harder, to try and claw her way out of being cornered.
"Why should I tell some violent monster anything at all about Lysithea? How do I know you don't just want to hurt her?" As far as Ilse was concerned, that was a perfectly reasonable question. Maybe he'd hated her before, or he was jealous, or obsessed--she couldn't say. But she certainly wasn't eager to spill the beans to someone on the other side.
"And anyway, I haven't done anything!" Not entirely true, certainly. The taste of Ana's lips lingered on her own. "As if I'd sell out the girl I like to you."
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 9:15 pm
He could crush her neck. He could suffocate her. He could leave her broken and bleeding.
Or just dead.
His lip curled into a sneer and he raised her higher. It was a strain on his arm, but he took a step back just to put a bit of distance between himself and her flailing legs.
“I’ve asked a few simple questions.”
Oh, he hated her. He hated her for being here, for knowing things and keeping secrets.
“And you can’t be bothered to answer them. Do I need to repeat myself again or can you just answer the ******** questions? Tell me how you know her. Tell me how she’s doing. Stop wasting my time. You don’t have that much left.
He clutched his clock hand tightly and summoned its magic, just enough to make a point.
Let the world around her die.
Let her know that she was next.
Quote: His magic affects targets (at his discretion and not based on faction) within a ten foot radius. Targets caught in the magic are trapped in an illusion where they are forced to watch the world around them wither and die; in the illusion, any biological creature rapidly age until it dies, at which point it will appear to crumble and decay. Inorganic objects, such as buildings, will appear to dilapidate as the magic progresses. The magic appears in the target’s head rather than the environment; if someone leaves the radius the magic stops and if someone enters the radius they will be affected. This can cause a sense of fear or anxiety; the illusions may cause an extreme disconnect and be mentally jarring. The illusion may also make the target physically feel as though they are dying. The magic can be channeled for 45 seconds and there are no lingering effects unless the player wishes to have residual flashes or hallucinations of death and decay throughout the rest of the battle.
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 9:22 pm
Ilse watched in horror as his magic bloomed into the world around them. It was still winter, so plenty of things were dormant, yes--but what his magic did--
It was like watching the world die around her, and that made cold horror clutch around Ilse's heart in a way none of his threats had, yet. It was all too easy to imagine herself crumbling away, if that spell bled to her, started changing her--she didn't really know how Knight magic worked, maybe it would close in--
And in her head, something else began to decay.
The youmaglia Hessonite had slipped into her ear that terrible night, exposed to the power of a Knight's magic, could not hold on. And in her head, the creature crumbled.
And in a horrifying, jolting instant, Ilse was free of its grip, and suddenly, it wasn't the horror of the magic that was making her whimper.
It was the crushing tidal wave of guilt.
She began to tear up, and then to whimper, and finally, in a voice that shook, lacking all the challenge and confidence she'd had before--
"S-she's alive, and she's alright, and happy--sort of--but...one of the Generals, his name is Faustite, he lied to her. Told her she was his sister, that Order had stolen her and the Negaverse just got her back."
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Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2022 8:28 am
An answer. Finally. Something to work with.
Michel rewarded compliance, or maybe it was just because the tears meant something, still. He wasn’t a complete monster. Yet.
He watched her for a moment longer, but the magic faded. He lowered her to the ground but kept his hand around her neck–loose, but present. A reminder that he was still here. That this wasn’t over yet.
He wanted Faustite to burn. Wanted him to burn out.
He wanted a pile of dust and ash, scattered in the wind.
He wanted Lysithea back.
“That wasn’t so hard,” he said, in a tone that might have been soothing if it wasn’t so saccharine. “I don’t have to hurt you. How do you know her, how close are you two? Tell me everything and I’ll let you leave in one piece. I just want information. You care about her, don't you?”
She looked emotional. She was trying to protect Lysithea from him? It was the only thing he could guess by her reaction, and jealousy pooled in his stomach at the idea.
But, he needed answers. She was the only one handing them out.
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Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2022 11:21 am
When Michel let her go, Ilse crumbled to her knees, head bowed, as if that might cover up that she was crying. As if she wasn’t trembling with the weight of confusion, and guilt, and—
What had happened, that night? With Hessonite and Lysithea? What had changed, in her, that made her turn from the path she knew she wanted? And what had changed now?
She didn’t need threatening sweetness to make her afraid. She didn’t even really need Michel’s violence. She just needed the bone-deep understanding that something was wrong—that she remembered one thing, but the memory felt messy, and broken, and not right. And pulling apart the time in between was even messier, because sit all felt colored with an incongruous devotion—
Ilse didn’t understand. Couldn’t understand.
“S-she doesn’t remember, but we met when she was still White Moon. She helped me, after a youma attacked me, and she tried—” Ilse hiccuped on a guilty little sob. “—I wanted to get out of the Negaverse, and she tried to call someone named Cosmos? To help me? But Cosmos didn’t come.” She swallowed. “Hessonite did. And after that, everything feels….really strange….but I know that I wanted—? Revenge—? Because she lied to me—?” The hesitance and confusion in Ilse’s voice was clear. “I was there when she corrupted, and I tried to stay with her after, it was like my whole world was her, but I don’t understand.”
She made a miserable, helpless little noise.
“…..Who is she to you?”
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