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 Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2023 9:45 pm
Fang needed to get out of the house again. Having a small space with the slanting roof because of where his room was positioned was nice—good for sleeping in and feeling safe in there—but he needed to be outside a lot. To see the open space. Even if he didn't plan on really doing much... Of course, in order to be himself, mostly himself, and outdoors at the same time, he had to be Fang and not Todd. He wondered if he could ever be just Todd outside the pack home. Doubtful. Of course, there was someone out there to disturb his peaceful night, and he growled low in his throat as he approached the Corrupt Senshi. Ah. The one he'd met the other night. "Go home," he growled warningly.
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Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2023 10:33 pm
It had bene such a nice night.
Valjean hadn't been putting out any especially heavy effort, not really. Or, at least, not by his own standards. Just some idle draining--though still more than enough to keep up with his quotas. It just felt easy because he was very used to it, at this point--a rote sort of thing. Wander throguh a crowd, pull a little from everyone you brushed past. Follow someone down a walking trail, draw from them as you casually passed them. Most people would never suspect, and even most Order folks wouldn't necessarily clock him draining.
They'd probably start trouble anyway, though. Self-righteous bastards.
Valjean wondered if he'd been like that, once.
He knew he'd been stupid enough to challenge a General to a fight, which was already a fairly scathing indictment of his choices. But terrible choice in foes or not, it was hard to guess if he'd been as arrogant and shortsighted as so many of his former peers. Had he, too, once seen things only in boring black and white? Had he attacked officers on sight? Was that how he'd ended up in a fight he was never going to be able to win?
It wasn't as if answers were forthcoming. Faustite hadn't known him long, and it had been a lucky thing that he'd thought Valjean's old magic useful enough to make him worth sparing. Of course, chaos had remade it, but in some ways, it was even more useful now.
Of course, he didn't get to just wander and have a nice long think. No, the feral animal Senshi--Fang, was it?--had to show back up again.
Valjean sighed, heavily.
"Must we do this? Again?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2023 10:41 pm
Fang snarled, ears pinning back. "Maybe. Depend. You go home, no fight," he said, baring his teeth at the Chaos Senshi. His tail stuck out stiffly behind him, all the fur on his ears and tail standing on end. If he had hackles, they'd've been raised. Every inch of him was tensed and coiled, ready to spring into action at any moment. He would not let the fight end so disatisfyingly as last time. Sure, the other senshi had left, but he was clearly still fine, out collecting energy and making trouble for people. Fang didn't want to let this man live if he could help it. Something told him deep in his bones, this other senshi would never regret his actions in serving the Negaverse.
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Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2023 11:45 pm
Things, for Reiki lately, had certainly Been Going. He……didn’t entirely know how else to describe what to say about his life, right now. For every fun thing or ostensible success he’d had happen (working on self-defense with Demeter and Bélénos had been fun, Vesuvianite had been polite enough to back off of Dad when Reiki had asked and offered himself up as an energy sheep instead, Reiki had managed to get the Negaverse senshi in the Sylveon-looking outfit to back the ******** off and retrieved the starseed she’d tried to steal), there’d been something going on to make him feel sufficiently kicked in the teeth (the magic wolf on Amsvartnir’s Wonder didn’t like him, apparently neither would Amsvartnir’s magical ancestor, Mirrorspace continued to be on Reiki’s last gay nerve, he was probably taking another mental health semester and it honestly felt like this one hadn’t even accomplished anything).
At least he’d mostly embraced the idea that Mirrorspace was going to spit him out wherever it damn well pleased unless he was specifically mirror-walking from Point A to Point B without slowing down in the middle. Made it easier, for example, when Reiki walked out of a mirror that someone in the Court (probably Prince Remarque, as far as Reiki knew) had stashed down an alley and almost immediately felt the brilliant flare of a White Moon aura and the sharp darkness of a Negaverse aura. Both about as powerful as he was, seemingly over in a nearby park. Because of course this was going to happen. And of course Reiki would not get so lucky as to feel a General’s aura, when he frankly didn’t want to meet any more Generals than the one he actually cared about, but also lacked a means of reliably getting in touch with Faustite, even just to see if he was still alive. Not that Reiki had any right to know, but he wanted to know.
(Maybe it didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Maybe, in the grand scheme of things, it would’ve been better for Faustite to die so someone who was so thoroughly, proudly Negaverse would get taken off the cosmic playing field, like Cybele had wanted to do, even if it killed her in the process……but Reiki couldn’t accept that way of thinking. Even if Faustite would never want to be of the White Moon, Reiki could not accept the idea that it wouldn’t matter that Faustite’s team and his harem of cute sluts would suffer from losing him. Reiki would not accept the idea that it didn’t matter for Faustite to lose his life because what did it count for anyway when he was half-youma instead of human. None of these concepts made sense with Reiki’s fantasy of how he wanted the world to be, and therefore none of them were worthy of respect in a democratic or any other kind of society.
Period. End of discussion.)
He could’ve left well enough alone, with the auras on his senses tonight. Reiki really could have done so, and he knew that.…… But leaving well enough alone did not make sense with his fantasy either. That did not make sense with the kind of magical girl that Reiki wanted to be. If there wasn’t any problem going on—like maybe it was Lilith and the girl she liked, or maybe some other pair of Order and Negaverse mismatched darlings having a beautiful clandestine love affair—then fine, Reiki could leave. But first, he had to check things out and make sure that nothing was going on.
Good thing he went, too. Darting past the sign that said Levallan Park, Reiki found the aura sources pretty easily, and recognized them both. One, Negaverse and relaxed, dressed like a particularly niche stripper for horny academics who started out his routine not as a sexy cop, but a thotty cosplay of Enjolras from Les Miserables. The other, Order and very on-edge, and as Reiki got closer, he got a view of bared teeth.
“Fang!” Reiki went to his side immediately. No offense to Valjean, but Reiki had only seen him once since that encounter with the redheaded Order senshi. Not like Fang, who was a good friend. “Hi to you too, Valjean, but—Fang, either of you, what’s going on?”
There. No accusations thrown at either party. And if Fang was objecting to Valjean doing his job, then……Reiki understood that. He really did. But maybe Valjean would be reasonable and Reiki could just……let him drain off of Reiki instead. Faustite had done it. Vesuvianite had done it. Would it really be so bad, letting one more Negaverse operative drain from Reiki in order to prevent innocent people from getting hurt (and Faustite, who did not fit most people’s definition of “innocent,” but that was only because they didn’t have all the facts)?
(……Facts such as “But Reiki liked Faustite, though.”)
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Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2023 12:05 am
Valjean pinched the bridge of his nose. Closed his eyes. Felt a deep, deep sense of exhaustion.
This was ******** ridiculous. He was getting growled at by some sort of extraterrestrial Senshi, who was clearly ready to bite him. Which was the most undignified possible thingt hat could happen to him. He was not going back home to Holly with ******** bite marks from a feral dog of a Senshi on his body. Quite simply, ******** that.
"You are incredibly aggravating, do you know that?" He asked. The prospect of dealing with this nonsense made him want to turn around and walk away, but also, his dignity made him want to actually stand up and fight.
He needed to redeem himself from getting chased off, because that had been ******** pathetic.
The thing was, apparently, Fang was not alone. Valjean narrowed his eyes at the ridiculously tall Dark Mirror that came running in to stand beside the Order Senshi. This...was not what he wanted to deal with. Whatever Murikabushi thought he was doing, it was definitively not Valjean's problem.
"I was simply minding my business," Valjean said, "when your friend there," he gestured, casually, at Fang, "decided to threaten me. Which would, by the way, be the second time he attacked me unprovoked."
He took a breath. Weighed the odds. No, it was not going to go well for him if he stayed here.
"All that said, I'd prefer not to deal with both of you. Voice of the People."
He tapped his fist to his chest. watched the magic activate. And then, he turned on his heel to run.Quote: Valjean speaks the name of his attack, and taps his fist to his chest. A ripple of red light bursts from him and fades away, and everyone within 10 feet of him feels seized by a sense of righteous, revolutionary zeal--conflicts are magnified, be they with enemies or allies, and all feel worthy of aggressive responses. Those affected by the magic are convinced that their cause is righteous, and whatever ends they must take to carry it out are valid. These effects last for 30 seconds, and Valjean can cast this spell twice per battle.
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Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2023 12:32 am
The red light washed over Reiki and Fang. Clearly some kind of attack—but it didn’t dissuade Reiki any. If anything, it just made him feel even more certain that he was right: things didn’t need to be a ******** mess between the three of them. Whatever Fang had done to Valjean before, Reiki could make it right……but only if Valjean stayed around.
“Hey, wait, why—what are you—” Reiki called after the other senshi.
He started to give chase—but cut himself off after barely a few paces. No, he couldn’t leave Fang. Who knew what the magic actually did? Or how it would affect Fang? Nothing would get any better if Reiki abandoned his friend to chase after some Hot Boy Revolutionary Summer ******** thot, on a chance that the Negaverse senshi in question might not have gone for. That wasn’t what a magical girl did (or at least, not the kind of magical girl that Reiki wanted to be). Even if he wanted to resolve things with Valjean, just offer himself up for draining and make things right in that regard, Reiki couldn’t leave Fang alone. Not when he knew about how Fang had been left alone before (……on his homeworld, when everyone else had died, because of the Chaos that destroyed it).
(Chaos, the magical force that empowered Mirrorspace as well as the Negaverse.
Mirrorspace, the arctic freezing s**t-hole to which Reiki had sold his soul for……what, exactly? He didn’t know anymore. Did it even matter? None of the things he’d wanted apparently made sense with the universe’s fantasy of what kind of magical girl he was supposed to be.)
Still, Reiki called after the retreating blonde, “Valjean, wait! We can work something—just? You can take what you want from me, just…come back…… You have to……” His breath hitched and he trembled, silently telling himself to keep his cool. He failed miserably, fat tears welling up in his eyes and glistening beneath the moonlight and the streetlamp-halos. “Drain me as much as you want, Valjean! Just come back!”
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Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2023 12:38 am
Fang howled his anger as the awful, horrible Corrupt Senshi booked it, leaving him and Murikabushi in the dust—he wanted to give chase, but what if Murikabushi was hurt? He seethed, snorting and hissing and gnashing his teeth in the direction Valjean had run off in, and turned to Murikabushi to start looking him over— Except he offered to let himself be drained by Valjean. And that, well. That set off something deep inside him, and he roared at Murikabushi, shouting his attack. "Double Slash! Chaos all same! Want death! How could you?! Muri was friend!" amorremanet Fang swipes at his target with both hands, and two ghostly paws of a Chrysocyon with claws extended spring forth. They leave the sensation and appearance of deeper, more burning cuts, slicing into skin like a hot knife through butter. He can attack the same target twice, or two different targets, but he only has one chance to hit someone once per swipe. The effects lasts for about thirty seconds, has two uses, and has a range of fifteen feet. The magic can tear through clothes or can cause lasting damage at player discretion.
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Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2023 1:20 am
Fang’s cries of pain were excruciating to hear. Clearly, Reiki made the right call in staying. Sure, he’d chalk it up as a loss that he didn’t get Valjean to come back—that tonight, however many people he drained wouldn’t get that energy back, or what if he’d starseeded someone and he was getting away with it and that person would die, and all their future potential incarnations would never get to exist (snuffed out)—but at least Reiki could make sure that Fang was okay.
Except Fang roared (not okay).
“Fang, wait, I—I didn’t—”
Except Fang shouted his attack (not okay).
Reiki gasped. In total defiance of all decency, his eyes went wide and his body froze in place. Made him watch the ghostly paws springing up, slashing at him along the same path Fang’s hands had gone down. Reiki bit back a yelp as the claws dug into his collarbone, but couldn’t stop the little note of pain from escaping. The claws tore his collar. Ripped his bow. Shredded the layer of violet overlay that had, since Soya powered him up, looked not entirely dissimilar to a yukata. One of the claws left a nasty gash right down the center of Reiki’s chest, knocking his brooch out of the way to get there.
But it didn’t hurt even half as much as those three little words: “Chaos all same!”
“So why don’t you kill me then!” He snapped back at Fang, voice breaking like his heart. “I wanted him to take my energy! Let everyone he drained from have theirs back! They could get hurt from him draining them, but I’m a senshi! So I can take it!” He’d taken it fine with Faustite. He’d taken it fine with Vesuvianite. Valjean could’ve been the same, and then all the other people he’d drained from could have their energy back. Sobbing, Reiki bit out, “But fine, okay?! If I’m just a Chaos rat, then <******** kill me!”
Bracing himself for another attack, Reiki defensively raised his arms. He didn’t want to die, but one of his friends had decided that he didn’t matter anymore. All because he’d tried to help. None of which mattered. Made no difference. Not because of who Reiki was or what his actions meant, but because of what he was.
“Let me give you some counsel, Chaos rat”, Reiki thought helplessly, wishing that the sentiment felt even a pathetic fraction as empowering as it should have. “Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not.”
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Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2023 1:34 am
Fang snarled again, raising his hands again, ready for the kill— Then the magic floated away from his brain and he blinked. Blinked again. Stared down at his hands, up to Murikabushi with his shredded outfit and clawmarks and— alone alone ALONE burden B U R D E N burden you do not deserve to be among people you are too much you are HORRIBLE you were only ever meant to S U F F E RHe gasped, raw pain radiating in his chest as he fell to his knees and hunched over himself. "No," he whimpered, high-pitched yet soft. "No, no, no. Muri friend. Fang mistake. Fang sorry. Fang not—Fang not—" He clamped his mouth shut, his nails digging into his shoulders and scraping down his upper arms. A gasp and a shuddering sigh escaped him as the physical pain helped him balance the emotional, helped make it make sense. His wisp appeared, making concerned bubbling noises at him, but he ignored it. He'd always been the worst.
He deserved this pain.
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Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2023 4:33 pm
The high-pitched sound out of Fang snapped Reiki out of feeling miserable for himself, at least. Didn’t make him stop crying—his eyes really wanted it to be a good day for rain, no matter what was happening around Reiki—but it gave him someone to focus on besides himself. Fang, sweetheart Fang who always tried so hard, crashing to his knees in distress, and………
And clawing up his own shoulder.
“Oh no, Fang, please, no…” Scrambling, Reiki dropped to his knees so he could be on Fang’s level. He kept his voice soft, gentle, hopefully soothing. “Fang, please? You don’t have to hurt yourself. Please don’t hurt yourself? It—I’m sorry for yelling, I’m so sorry, but……please? Fang is a good boy. Fang is a good friend. And hurting yourself isn’t—it’s not good for you, so can you please……”
Oh, wait, duh.
Just going “don’t do that” was ******** pointless without giving Fang another option.
Such as, for example, a ziploc container of grilled cheese sandwiches that Reiki pulled out of his subspace.…… Not that coping with food was necessarily good for Fang either, but it was a damn sight better than hurting himself.
“Hey, Fang?” Holding up the container but not opening it yet, Reiki tried to find his eyes and look Fang in them. “I have grilled cheese. I want to share with you. But I want you to please stop clawing up your arms first, okay? ……Please?”
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Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2023 5:03 pm
As Murikabushi spoke, Fang clawed down his own arms again as his distress rose once more in answer to Murikabushi's own stress. He couldn't think, thinking meant letting himself feel, and he was trying to put that part of himself away so he didn't hurt Murikabushi, his friend, again. So when Murikabushi brought out the grilled cheese as a distraction, it worked. His movements stopped and he took a deep, shuddering breath, sniffing at the air. "... Fang sorry," he said in a tiny voice, looking up with red eyes. "Fang never... Fang think the magic..." He stopped, swallowing hard and holding back a sob. Murikabushi was too good. After what Fang had just done to his friend, here was said friend, in the ground, trying to make sure Fang was okay. "Fang never mean something like that," he whispered. "Muri good. Muri best friend. Fang... I let magic make me stupid and mean." Chaos had taken his planet and the magic had reached into him, found the deep rage he hadn't known he'd carried, and made him lash out at someone he cared for. Yes, that person was touched by Chaos, but Murikabushi had never done anything to hurt Fang on purpose. He hated himself so much right now, and nearly ran his nails down his arms again, before he paused, staring at the grilled cheese in the same way a dog would stare at a steak he'd been told not to eat.
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Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2023 5:59 pm
Waiting for Fang took all the patience that Reiki had, all the mental reminders he could summon that sounded like Ojiisan telling him that learning some more patience would help him. Usually, Reiki heard that and only managed to get more and more exasperated. He had more than once known the feeling of “Why is it Patience that’s a virtue when Obaasan says nothing ever gets done by waiting for it to get better? Why can’t ‘Hurry the ******** up’ be a virtue instead?”
But patience was key, now. Fang needed his friend to be here for him. To help him calm down and stop hurting himself. To reassure him that everything would be okay, even if Reiki really needed somebody else to tell him the same.
“You’re okay, Fang. I know you’d never mean anything like that. It’s not like you. You’re a good soul, with a good heart,” Reiki told him gently, opening the container with the sandwiches and holding it out for Fang to take. He briefly considered taking one of the triangular-cut halves for himself, but……Fang was the one in the most distress right now, and Reiki genuinely had more food with him. More sandwiches. Egg with bacon and yet more cheese. Some of the only things Reiki could make on his own without serious risk of poisoning himself or someone else.
……While he was thinking about it, Reiki took those out too, and opened the container. He did take one of the triangle-cut sandwich halves out of this container, before setting it on the grass between himself and Fang. “I brought a lot with me when I went out tonight,” he explained, giving Fang a small smile as his tears finally started easing up. “Partly, it……it’s just this thing?” Reiki shook his head and shrugged. “I haven’t been feeling so well lately? And my family worries? And I don’t want to, like, forget to eat while doing senshi stuff and trying to help people, and make them worry more? And partly, y’know? You never know who you might see, or if they might not need it.”
Looking Fang in the eye, Reiki told him, softly and earnestly, “I’m always happy to share with you, Fang. Valjean’s magic making you feel hurt and angry won’t change that. I promise.”
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Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2023 9:49 pm
Fang's ears flicked and he reached out, taking one half of the sandwich for himself. "Share," he said firmly, pushing the untouched half back to Murikabushi. "Fang feel bad, food help. Muri feel bad, food help." He wasn't stupid. He knew his words, no matter how much he apologized, had hurt. And in addition to all the troubles Murikabushi was suffering outside of senshi things that he hinted at, well. Fang needed to make sure Murikabushi ate. That was why he'd had the food in the first place—for himself. "If Muri no eat, Fang no eat," he threatened lightly, sensing that his friend would certainly object to being told to share after he'd even said he would share, specifically.
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Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:04 pm
Under a lot of different circumstances, Fang’s apprehension probably would’ve been warranted……but Reiki really didn’t have the energy to fight him about this right now. Tonight had gone from fairly normal to kind of ******** up in a matter of seconds, all because Valjean had jumped the gun on attacking instead of being willing to work out a trade. And Reiki didn’t want to upset Fang any more when he was already beating himself up so much about what he’d said under the influence of Valjean’s magic.
So, nodding slowly, he took the proffered half of grilled cheese sandwich to match with his half of breakfast-for-dinner. “I’ll eat with you,” he agreed. “Thanks for looking out for me, Fang.”
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