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 Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2024 12:55 pm
Cybele had found a single youma in the park, but it hadn’t really been much of a fight to dust it, and she found herself not quite wanting to stop as she trotted down the well lit sidewalk away from the playground that it had been skulking under. There were no other immediate Chaos auras in the area, which was unfortunate, because it left nothing to punch but the air. She tried that twice before giving up on it, unsatisfied. There was an Order aura around. Perhaps she should be social, instead. Wait, she thought, as she got closer and spotted the figure. Flowing hair, blue clothes, the flash of a Neptune symbol- “Siegfried?” she called out. That didn’t seem right, though. He was supposed to be home, and anyway, this person was a Squire, not a Knight. As she drew closer, though, it still seemed like there was something familiar to the Squire.
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:02 pm
“No, not Siegfried,” was the response, a smooth laugh from nearby as he lowered his saxophone. Who was that? Something was familiar to the aura – an eternal senshi? He knew a few of them, though his inner circle was primarily fellow knights. There was Eternal Encke, but there was multiple reasons why that couldn’t be the right person. For one, Encke was not a woman. Not necessarily a man from what he had seen on the articles of Ignacio Araya himself, but not a woman- Oh! “Cybele!” That was someone he did recognize, actually, even if they had never interacted one-on-one. They had both mutually been helping out with clearing chaos from homeworlds. That, and, of course, he had witnessed her become a princess after the whole bank incident. That had been an amazing stand against a general-sovereign. … And hot, but that was his own personal thought.“Abzu, actually. What brings you to these parts?”
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:06 pm
No, certainly not Siegfried. She recognized that it was Abzu as soon as he drew a bit closer and his features began to stand out against the Neptunian blue of the outfit. She recognized him from the battles they’d fought together, of course. They’d met at the Augusta, the night that she’d become a Princess. She’d spotted him with one of the aliens the last few times they’d been called up to space. There was something else, though. Speaking of husbands. Since Cybele had Transcended, the residual starseed damage or whatever else it was that had been keeping her from the memories of the past had seemed to dissolve. Whenever she went up, which was frequently, more and more would come back to her, sometimes in swathes of weeks, or even months. She remembered Abzu. She remembered holding his hand, slipping a carved ring on his finger. She remembered pressing her lips to his, and then- The blush was strong and obvious on her pale skin, especially as they were on a fairly well lit path of the park. She coughed once, swallowed. “It’s good to see you,” she said, as politely as she could manage. With the amount of relationships her past self had had, she was going to have to learn to deal with these memories sooner rather than later. “I was just,” she breathed again, “Dealing with a youma.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:07 pm
Dealing with a Youma seemed to fit her general operandi from what he had gathered on several levels. It was probably why it seemed like Ignacio’s sister was such a fan of her. The little one. … The little little one.
… They were both little but in different ways, he supposed.
“Good to see you too! And not dealing with,” he gestured upwards, with a wide grin and a laugh, “bigger chaos, this time.” Just Youma. Youma, he could handle. Youma didn't usually come with the complication of having whole human emotions behind them. Of course, then again, when they did, they became easier to convince with his magic.
Plus, when he could convince them with his magic, he didn't even have to try to fight. He was not a fighter. their peace, but it was hard to say he missed how hard she was blushing. Honestly, in comparison to just how much of a badass she could be, this was adorable in comparison. The two sides of the coin, he supposed. It was
There was a reason why even Pendour had to bail him out…
Abzu did his best to not really comment on it, the type that let people have gently that he asked, “Is everything alright?”
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:10 pm
“I’m all right,” said Cybele, who was ever so close to getting that mask of professionalism back on. She was meant to be a leader now. She couldn’t let herself get caught up in embarrassment about something like this. Still, there was something almost soft about the way he was asking. There was something sincere there, something that strangely enough reminded her of her other spouse. She supposed there was no harm in being honest. “I’ve been beginning to learn more about my past self,” she told him. “They were hardworking, but they also found a lot of joy in life. Found joy in people, in celebrations, especially weddings.” The blush was mostly gone from her face before she added, “You were one of their spouses.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:10 pm
Abzu was sincere in the way he was asking, because he was sincere. When she opened up to him, he turned his attention entirely to her, making sure to swing his saxophone entirely to his back so it was clear nothing was in the way of paying attention to what she said. Honestly, a joy in people and celebrations sounded like a good time.
And in weddings?
… And in spouses?
Oh! Abzu's brows rose in surprise.
“Ah!” Married? He didn't see his past self as the committing type, considering what he had seen so far, but then again, maybe it was something about the Cybelean culture too, and there was also Stromboli… “I suppose Milo got around quite a bit. He loved parties. I love them too, admittedly.”
His laughter was warm.
“I mean.” As earnest as before, “Were you looking to pick it back up, at all?”
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:12 pm
stari_maga “The parties on Cybele were rather interesting,” she said, thoughtfully. “Warm, I would say. A celebration of being alive in a life that wasn’t always entirely forgiving. I think there’s a lot that we could learn from that, in this era. I’m trying to bring some of it back, at least the bits that I won’t have to shoo the chibis away from.” Yes, it was easy to get caught up in the shock factor of how wild they had been, in more ways than one, but learning a bit more about the culture and gaining more memories had changed her perspective a bit. Talking to people like Grieve helped, too. None of that appreciation, however, had prepared her for the current Abzu’s reaction. She blinked once, then twice. She wasn’t wanting to be rude, but she had a hard time understanding where he was coming from. He sounded so sincere, but in this life? They’d not really actually spoken to each other before right now. Luckily, she had a simple answer for him. “Oh,” she said. “I’m already married.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:20 pm
Seiana_ZI He couldn't help the laughter at the concept of having to shoo the chibis away from some of the parties. Okay, he could understand exactly what she was talking about. Fairly well, actually. He still went to parties of the variety that chibis would need to be shooed away from… but a celebration of life and warmth for order? He liked that. A lot, actually. “Hey, look, I'd love to see something like that for order. I've been planning some more civilian life parties myself. With Pendour?” It seemed everyone knew each other, but– Her response that she was married took him by a momentary surprise, and it took him a brief moment to recalculate. There were multiple situations in his life. For one, he was sleeping with someone who was in an actively committed relationship, and both of them were fine with it. On the other hand, he had also hit on people who had told him no for whatever and he had taken it as an answer because he wasn't a douchebag. He had never been in the situation where he had been previously in a past life relationship with someone before and they said no, but then again, this was all about past lives and that was very confusing. That was then. This was now. “Fair enough. We can pick up becoming friends again, though. I have to imagine we got to know each other somehow to be married before.” Abzu snickered. “Maybe through party-planning.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:21 pm
“Were you at my festival on Cybele?” she asked, then waved a hand. “Or, well, the competition. The training. It was a multipurpose event, really. The Games, we can go with that.” While she’d tried to tweak it a bit for the modern era, she’d gotten the idea from memories of trainings and celebrations of Cybele’s past. “If you weren’t, it’s all right. People liked it, though. I think it’s nice, being able to gather for something where it’s not like our lives are on the line.” Not that Cybele minded the fights. She was a warrior, and there was no getting away from that even as she built up other areas of her life. She liked the thrill of battle, the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears. If things were quiet for too long, she started to twitch. She understood that others were different, though. The soft moments were important to some people, and even for people like her, it was important to know who you were fighting besides. So, she was interested to hear about parties. “Pendour?” She knew that name. She’d only seen her the once, but with Alya and everything that had happened that night, the memory had stuck with her. “ I haven’t really seen her since I was corrupted. I hope she’s doing all right. I did try to attack her back then, but if she’s ready to move past that, I’d be curious to see what you two could come up with.” Neptune knights always did look like they were ready for a ball. Even Siegfried, who was one of the more rough and tumble of the bunch, had some of that elegance to him. Whatever they came up with would likely have more class than her arm-wrestling and obstacle courses. Her smile was bright at the thought. “I do like events, and seeing what goes into planning them.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:22 pm
“Myself? No.” Abzu wasn't a terribly competitive person, and while the games sounded like they could be appealing to the right person, he wasn't necessarily innately one of them. Of course, that hadn't meant he hadn't heard of them. His eyes lit up at the mention of them anyway. “I do know several people who went, though! Encke loved what you did with them, honestly.”
Even if it had taken Encke a bit to talk to him about the games, they ended up sounding a bit more like Abzu could do the next time by the end. Not a whole lot of actual sparring involved. Abzu was not really the sparring type. Arm wrestling, though? Sure. He could do that.
Against most he would lose, but he would admire some rippling muscles along the way–
His expression softened beyond the jolliness he was projecting to something truly affectionate when she confirmed she knew Pendour. Chaos was a mess, and he was curious what had happened between them that she directly cited attacking her. Was it a punch, or was it more severe than that? “Pendour’s doing alright, I think. I see her on most days. She's pretty damn important to me.” Abzu's laugh was even softer than the chuckles and genuine laughs he had been giving before.
“I'd be interested in hearing what you think about what we come up with! I've been to a ton of parties and honestly this is one of my favourite types. A masquerade?”
Sounded like a fun thing, after all…
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:23 pm
Encke? Cybele smiled at the mention of the name. She didn’t know if she’d say she knew him well, but he’d certainly been one of the people who had encouraged her to forgive her homeworld, and to spend more time there.
“You know everyone, don’t you?” she asked, impressed. Honestly, she could see why he was the type of person who might have ended up in Cybele’s orbit in the past. “Although I suppose it’s not surprising you’re close with Pendour. Not that I know her well, but,” she paused for a moment, considering her words. “There’s an energy there, I suppose.” There was a sincerity there, and a calm.
Out of curiosity, she asked, “Have you met Siegfried? He’s a Neptune Knight, like you. Also, my husband.” Her current husband, if she would end up having to clarify. There was a softness to her own smile as she spoke of him.
“And I do like the idea of a masquerade. It’s always nice having a chance to get dressed up.” Was this an invitation, then? He said he wanted her thoughts on the idea, but she didn’t want to assume. “Do you have anything else interesting planned for it, or just the masks?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:26 pm
“I try to!” And, honestly, he did! One of the goals that the Bells he had connected himself so thoroughly to seemed to be a sort of collective vibe. Considering he liked knowing people anyway, and he liked being close to people anyway, and he knew he had the ability to get people to talk to him, and sit for a while, and just even chill in a hot tub, why not? “What can I say? I'm a bit of an extrovert by nature. Might as well use it to help people get connected, right?”
Even if that was just connected to him.
For some, it would be a start…
“I do think Pendour has a certain energy, though. She's soft. Gentle. Warm, in a way that you want to be close to, right? Or at least, I want to be close to them.” His smile was almost as silly as hers was soft for Siegfried. Had he come across Siegfried? “I haven't met him one-on-one or anything, but I've come across him several times! He was there when you went princess too, right? With Anser?”
Group of ******** badasses …
He would have been jealous if that was his style, but it was very gratifying to watch in other ways, really. “I didn't know that was your husband, though. I can see how much you love him!” And they just made sense…
When Cybele asked what else he had planned, he was delighted to roll into the mentions of things like, “Oh there's going to be delicious food, probably some fun little games, maybe some performances – I’d like to make it a fun thing, y’know? And I'd love to see what you'd come up with.”
It was as much of an invite as he could make, easily open to inviting everyone he could. If there was a chance that would mean that Pendour and Cybele would cross paths, Abzu would see if he could either run interference or help ease it.
Whichever Pendour needed.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:30 pm
“I do love him,” said Cybele, and something about the sincerity and calm that she felt in Abzu’s presence kept her from worrying too much about the fact that she was still smiling at the thought of her husband, or the fact that another hint of color was coming to her cheeks. He was telling her about the people he loved. It felt only right to tell him the same. “I actually have a wife, too,” she said, feeling like she should mention it. “Albireo, but she doesn’t power up as much.” That was fine. Maybe she could come meet Abzu at this masquerade, instead.
“I’m glad you have Pendour,” she told him. “And I’m glad you have other friends, too, and just that you’re able to connect with people in general. That’s so important.” She went silent for a moment, her gaze going a bit more distant towards some of the trees on the horizon. “The Negaverse is awful, but it’s also tight knight. It was a bit of a shock when I came over to hear about how many people felt isolated.”
The smile shifted into something more determined. “And one of the main things I’ve been working on since then is trying to make sure nobody has to feel that way, but when the goal is connecting people, it helps to have others on board.” She looked to him. “Especially others who can plan parties with food and entertainment and all of that. It sounds lovely, honestly.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:30 pm
Hearing Cybele soften up and talk about people she loved felt like a lovely thing, and it was honestly nice to be able to contrast that from his experiences with her so far. Sure, she was a badass and, like he had thought, the whole wing display against the general-sovereign displayed as hot for many reasons, but the fact that she had a husband and a wife was something that made him gleeful. He grinned to hear her talk about Albireo too. It was perhaps obvious she didn’t power up as much, but to be honest, perhaps this was the kind of thing that would bring her out.
Could be fun to see the whole group of them together, actually.
“There does seem to be a lot of isolation over here, I agree. It’s troubling.” Abzu’s brows knit. “I got lucky. I met Pendour pretty shortly after I awoke. Ended up finding out my accountant – Stromboli? – well, yeah. He’s a Uranus page. His son, a Uranus knight, Basiluzzo? Made it his whole mission to make sure everyone in Order had a place to go and so they’ve fixed up their whole house for it. I’ve never really felt alone.” He smiled. “I want to make sure everyone else gets to feel that connection too, and it’s … nice to hear it’s being worked on from multiple angles.”
He tilted his head. “Encke lives there too, actually. With the Uranus knight and page? But anyway.” There he was, already over there trying to make connections for everyone else– “I’m glad it sounds lovely! And I’m glad events like yours on Cybele exist too. I think we’re doing something good here.”
Maybe not a new marriage, but some kind of agreement could be made there.
… Honestly for the best. Marriage to him would be … complicated. His grandparents were assholes.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:31 pm
Now Abzu was starting to list a name or two that she didn’t know, but Cybele was happy to listen anyway, trying to slot this new information in with the things that she already knew. “That makes sense,” she said. “I knew that Encke was married to a knight.”
She hadn’t known that he had a whole household of people who were working on some kind of Order housing project, but that made sense with what she knew of him, and honestly that was another deeply needed service.
It was slightly different from the things that she was trying to focus on, however.
“All right. Now that we’ve talked for a bit, I do think I have a proposal for you,” said Cybele, smile twitching sideways at the joke in her own words. “Let’s be partners in this. It sounds like we have similar goals. We can run event ideas past each other, and any time that we run into someone who’s feeling isolated and hopeless, we’ll have at least one other person to introduce them to besides just ourselves.”
She took half a step forwards, and reached out for a handshake. “What do you say?”
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