|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2023 4:10 pm
The hopelessness and the existential crisis was still, as they called it on Earth, a thing. Winter was also a thing. Just because it was Daphne's second year of absolutely freezing temperatures didn't mean she was any more well adjusted. All she wanted to do was sit under blankets, eat soup, and indulge in her new hobby of looking at memes about staring into the void. She was trying, though. There were people around her who still cared, at least about Earth, and some people who cared about her. There were the friends who wanted to grow stronger with her. There was the team that she'd committed to. So, she patrolled, every once in a while. She did it grumpily, but she did it, mostly when other people wanted to go out. Otherwise it was the blankets and the dark humor memes. Today she was out with Soleiyu, a pink hoodie over her outfit with the hood pulled tight. Yes, the magic of her fuku helped with the cold, but her outfit wasn't cozy without some help. "Do you think there's anything out here?" she asked, hands in her pockets.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2023 9:39 pm
“Something is always out there,” Soleiyu said, putting forth his best effort to sound like he wasn’t thinking about being home and soaking his feet in some warm water. He had a full coat of fur and the chill wasn’t necessarily horrible, but he’d gotten used to being pampered in a nice, warm house.
He’d have much rather been home than looking for trouble, but the day they slacked off was the day the Negaverse got the advantage so everyone had to make their best effort whenever they could.
He trotted alongside Daphne and tried to keep his spirits high. He knew she didn’t like this weather.
Something about her seemed…off.
Not bad. Just off. There was something different, and while he had his suspicions, he was interested in more than just patrolling right now. He glanced up at her for a few seconds and then asked, “How are you feeling, Daphne? Are you okay?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2023 6:39 am
"Okay?"Daphne peered down at Soleiyu from within her hood, which was pulled tight around her face. It wasn't a secret that being out in this weather was close to the top of the list of things that both of them hated, and that was ignoring the rest of Daphne's situation. It was ignoring her world. It was ignoring her family. It was ignoring the fact that neither of them existed anymore. After awhile, she'd stopped talking as much about it in front of everyone else, since it wasn't like there was anything they could do beyond what they already were, but it was hard not to notice with all of the sulking and void memes that she was miserable about it. She didn't quite answer the question. "Why?" she asked, instead. "What is it?" She glanced around, since staring down Solieyu wasn't giving her any answers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2023 5:37 pm
“It’s not anything bad,” Soleiyu reassured, because the last thing he wanted to do was rile her up and she already seemed like she was getting a bit finicky. He just wanted to be sure before he said anything.
But then, maybe he’d been sure of it even before he’d asked.
“Your starseed is loud. I can feel it, it’s bursting with energy. That usually only means one thing.”
He watched her look around and waited until her eyes were back on him. “I think there’s more energy you can tap into. I think you’re ready for an upgrade. If you want it.”
He was sure that she would, but he didn’t want to force her into anything she wasn’t comfortable with. She’d already been out of control of her life for so long, the last thing he wanted to do was take away another choice.
“We can sit down for a moment if you do. I’ll just need to borrow your Henshin Pen for a minute. You can have it right back, I just need to upgrade it so it can tap into your magic.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 6:51 am
"Really?" There were limited things that could break through the fog and pique Daphne's interest at this point, but there were some, few and far between. What Soleiyu was saying made her straighten, and she was fishing her henshin pen from subspace before he had even completely finished his sentence. She knew something about how this worked, even if she'd never actually experienced it before. "There was this girl I was talking to, before," she waved a hand, "Everything. She'd also been a basic senshi for a long time. Started as a chibi, like me. We both hadn't been taking things seriously. We promised each other that we were going to do more, to try to get stronger." She sat down, as Soleiyu suggested, perching on a curb and handing her pen over. "I didn't know if it was going to work."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2023 1:50 pm
Soleiyu accepted the pen with great enthusiasm, and he placed it between his paws as he began to tinker with it. It was hard to see what he was doing, but it was clear that he was confident enough that he knew what he was doing.
“Really?” he prompted, and glanced up briefly as he listened to her. His attention was on the Pen; he’d promised only a minute and he intended to keep as close to that estimate as possible.
“I think you’ve been working very hard.” Of course, losing your whole world could push you in a direction that you might not have been prepared for. It was the sort of thing he wouldn’t wish on anyone, no matter how strong of a catalyst it might be.
“I have a lot of faith in you, you know. It’s not about how long you’re a Senshi, or how long it takes to be ready. Sometimes it’s better to wait. It can be more dangerous when you get stronger. But I think it’s worth it. You’ll be able to protect yourself better. You’ll be able to do more. Here.” He nudged the pen with one paw. His tail twitched behind him, like he could barely contain his excitement.
“Try it,” he said, with the confidence of someone who knew it would work. “If you say the same phrase you use to transform into Daphne, it should activate the magic.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 11, 2023 4:39 am
Daphne didn't actually care how long he needed her pen for. Depending on how you counted, she'd either been a basic senshi for nine years, or a thousand years. This wait was not something that was going to bother her, but she watched him all the same, smiling at how invested he seemed to be in fixing her pen up. "I don't know," she muttered, when he said that he thought sometimes it was better to wait. If she'd been stronger before, maybe she would have been able to do something about the war on her world. Even if she hadn't saved her people, maybe she could have bought them some time. She didn't dwell so much on the what ifs, but they did bother her sometimes. Either way, when Soleiyu was finished, she took the pen. It felt a little heavier, but she didn't examine it for too long before she held it over her head. "Daphne Power, Make Up!" she called out, like she'd done it a thousand times before. The colorful sparkles that surrounded her were familiar, too, although there might have been a few more of them. Afterwards, though, she was very much a Super Senshi. "It worked," she said, like she wasn't quite believing it, her hands immediately going to explore the extra layers of her skirt, and the fact that the bow at her waist had at least doubled in size.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2023 8:36 pm
Soleiyu looked on with pride and relief. He gave himself a moment to admire her outfit and all the changes that came with it.
For whatever Chaos still loomed on her homeworld, and whatever grief she carried in her heart, her starseed was strong enough to grow. She was strong enough to grow.
He nodded approvingly once more and then pressed his head against her ankle.
“Of course it worked, I knew it would. You’re doing very well, Daphne. I’m proud of you.”
She might have a way to go before she unlocked the full potential of her power, but a step in the right direction was still worth praise. He couldn't imagine what she’d been through or how hard this must have been for her.
He hoped the universe didn’t throw her any more obstacles to overcome.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2023 3:38 pm
With Soleiyu looking at her like that, Daphne allowed herself a moment to be proud. She had done it, hadn't she? She'd worked for this, and now she had new strength that she could show to the others. The bow might take some getting used to, but the dress was more in the style that she liked than the old one had been. She twirled, feeling physically lighter than she ever had before. Then, it was back to reality, because she knew that this was not a stopping point. This, like everything else, was not enough. "I guess we keep going, then?" she asked Soleiyu. "If I'm stronger now, I can test it out on some youma." Step after step, she kept walking.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
