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 Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2025 10:03 pm
Quote: Snowy Showdown (16) : There’s something magical about fresh fallen snow–completely undisturbed and untouched by the rest of the world. It should be relaxing and peaceful–a sign that no one has been around and you’re perfectly safe. Except, the best predators lie in wait, completely invisible to their prey. What do you do when a patch of snow starts clumping together and taking shape right before your eyes? When it all comes together, it looks like a person, only there are no features, just a snowy white form. Maybe there wouldn’t have been an issue if you hadn’t seen it, but it’s too late. In frantic, panicked movements, it lunges at you with icy fists. It feels like being pelted with snowballs, but each hit lowers your core body temperature–rapidly. The creature is highly susceptible to heat and will melt if exposed to it; if you hit it, snow splatters everywhere. It may attempt to reform, but eventually it loses strength. You might not want to stick around to see if it just needs a little more time. If the creature manages to knock you unconscious, you may wake up covered in snow and with a bad cold. You may be more aware of strange, snowy figures that seem to be standing around in odd places; who knows where these things are hiding?
He wouldn't have minded so much if it weren't so damned cold, but that was the tragedy of wintertime. Alas. And with his focus primarily on getting home, rather than on what was around him, it took him a moment to notice movement in the snow.
At first, he thought it might be his mind playing tricks on him. Perhaps he ought to get better sleep, or he'd simply worked too long, because snow was...snow. And it was not supposed to shift or take any kind of shape.
Except that it was.
Slowly, the snow in the parking lot came together, forming into a humanoid shape, blank and white, and it started to lumber towards him.
He was, Gerard recognized, in danger. And perhaps it was foolish, but his first instinct was to wind up and throw his briefcase as hard as he could. It was the only weapon to hand--and he certainly wasn't going to just lay down and let some miserable snow monster kill him.
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Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2025 10:18 pm
It was lucky for Gerard that his cousin, younger and smaller than him, knew he was staying at work and had decided to bring him food and something to drink. He knew his elder cousin and he knew the other might just forget to eat, or do anything aside from work, his cousin was good at what he did and once something had his attention and focus...well sometimes other thigns might just be forgotten. He'd heard the other was working late from another family member, he'd been trading texts with them earlier when they'd mentioned it, and not knowing when Gerard would finish burning the midnight oil he'd headed out once he'd made some food for him.
That said he was just heading up to the level the others car was parked on, his own was a floor below, when he heard noise. These damn car garages echoed horribly. "Gerard?" Calling out, hoping it was his cousin, he couldn't see at first as he was just coming up to level and than he spotted it. Lovely...winter time just had to decide to rear it's ugly head...and against his cousin.
Dropping what he was carrying, he'd deal with that later, and picked up his pace as he ran towards his cousin. "You really are going to owe me for this." He called out, eyes trained on the other.
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Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2025 11:56 am
Of all the things Gerard had anticipated, Alexandre showing up was not on the list. Perhaps he sohuld have known; family was family and someone had likely told his cousin he was working late and might need someone to remind him that dinner was not optional. But for him to come rushing into this--
Well, family looked after family.
"Alex? What are you doing?" Not that Gerard was exactly in a better position, but Alex was smaller than him, and the monster didn't at all seem fazed by being hit with a briefcase--so what was Alex going to do?
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Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2025 2:04 pm
"Handling this, obviously." Rolling his eyes as he put himself between his older cousin and the snow monster. He didn't have time to power up, well he really did, but when the monster swung it sent him to the snow covered pavement. Most of the snow in the area had been pulled into the monster, to help create it, so more of the pavement was showing and it was hard and cold.
Growling as he pulled himself up and onto his feet, powering up as he did so. "I really am getting tired of the holiday season." Even though he enjoyed spending the holidays with his family, Christmas with Rene and his family was well worth it, he could live without the magical chaos that disturbed the city every year. "You should head for your car." Calm, far too calm, as he pulled his weapon and used it to block the next swing before he took his own swing at the snow monster. What he wouldn't give for a larger, sharper, blade. He'd talk to Chalcanthite about that second weapon the other had, he needed to, if he could get something with a larger blade he'd be pleased.
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Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2025 10:04 pm
Gerard wasn't sure what to make of what was happening in front of him. Alexandre looked far too calm, far too ready for what was happening--even when he got knocked down.
And when he got up, he changed.
Were it not for the biting cold around him, Gerard would have thought he had to be hallucinating from lack of sleep. People didn't change like that, like--magic, and yet...
And yet perhaps some things in Destiny City made more sense if you accepted the premise that magic was real. It was a realigning of the axis of his understanding o the world; a sudden moment of knowing, and then accepting, that what was before him was the truth, because no other option was possible. It was that, or he had lost his mind, and the latter....no. He did not have time to be having a mental break. So this had to be real.
In the moment he took to take that in, Alexandre(???) swung a spear at the snow monster, and held its attention long enough for Gerard to run around it for his briefcase.
"No," he said, simply. He wouldn't be ordered around, especially not to leave family behind.
This time, when he struck it solidly in the back with his briefcase, swung with both hands and all the force he could muster, the snow monster came apart. Two pieces flopped to the ground, and he stood over it, narowing his eyes at his cousin(???).
"What was that. And what is this." He gestured at Alexandre's(???) outfit, with a tone that made it clear he would not accept any half-explanations.
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Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2025 10:33 pm
Somehow he should have expected his elder cousin to not run, especially not on his orders, but he'd somehow hoped he'd do as told. Heaving a sigh he let his gaze linger on the downed monster before he turned his eyes onto his cousin, his weapon vanishing from his hand, as he shook his head. "You're as bad as Lorcan was, though he was threatening to use a thick needle and thread at the time. Same no nonsense tone though." As if he wasn't the same when he needed to be, which was any time he powered up.
"I'm not sure how much you'll believe, it is a rather unbelievable story to be honest. But it involved aliens being reborn here, senshi and knights, and a war to take over this world. Them versus the Negaverse. To be honest this is the last hold out for the senshi and knights..." Which means the war was as good as over and yet this had been the case for years...too many years. "Lorcan calls the senshi witches...because they have magic." Which was really no surprise Lorcan would call them that, it was also no surprise that they were why he joined. He was an Evans but he was also a Cosgrove.
"Sooooo...over a thousand years ago a moon queen wanted to take over earth and she did try. Civilians fended her off then, but at a cost, and when she fell so did many other planets. Others which supported her. They've been reborn here, on this planet because their homes are dead, and they want to finish what was started. The Negaverse is the resistence as it were." Shrugging a bit he was glad for the warmth his uniform offered, even if it made him look shorter than he already was.
"Officers like myself, Hudson, and Lorcan are either reborn knights or we descended from knights. We just happen to serve the Negaverse instead so we're officers and not knights. Corrupt senshi lilke Aberdeen and Ophilia are senshi who serve the Negaverse..." He had been collecting family members, obviously, and not invited Gerard to the party. "Then both sides have alien cats, mauvians as they're called." He didn't mention Katya, not yet, he was giving his cousin a lot of information and wasn't sure how well he'd handle it all. He didn't think adding talking cats to the mix was a good idea just yet.
"My partner is also a corrupt senshi, like Aberdeen and Ophilia." The general added after a moment, having paused to make sure he felt no auras around them. So far they were safe.
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Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2025 11:20 pm
It was, frankly, a lot to take in.
There were familiar names. Other cousins, all apparently involved in this complex web of magical allegiances. On the same side, at least, as best he could tell. Moreover, as with most serious disagreements, it went back a long way. Longer than most--a thousand years--but given the magic of it all, perhaps that wasn't surprising.
God. He was accepting the premise of magic existing because anything else either made less sense (Alexandre was lying to him) or was unacceptable (none of this was real and he was losing his mind). The most simplistic answer was that everything he was hearing was true--no matter how unreal it sounded.
"Alright," he said, and there was a certain resigned flatness to his tone. "So you, and plenty of our other cousins, have been fighting in this magical war. That...thing--was that directly connected? Some monster created by a...Senshi or Knight?"
It seemed a reasonable question, all things considered.
"And if I wanted to," he began, and he almost couldn't believe he was saying it, "could I become an officer? Clearly not being one isn't protecting me from anything."
There was a lure, to the power on display. And to the idea of gaining a deeper understanding of the madness that often seemed to occur in Destiny City. Saving the world...eh. Not exactly something he was massively vested in, but fine enough, as a possibility.
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Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2025 11:45 pm
"That thing is not a part of either side, if it were associated wit hmy side I could control it. Youma will take my orders...with few exceptions anyway." Greater youma would not take his order and he was not stupid enough to attempt giving one orders, though he had interacted with one once so many years ago.
"Order, as it's easier to refer to senshi and knights as, would never control something like a youma. This." Nodding his head towards the snow pile, which had been the monster. "Is a product of this city. I suspect it's just a collection of so much magic in this city that things like this happen, mostly around holidays." Why then and not year round he didn't know, he wished he did. "Though I could also be wrong, no one for certain seems to know the cause of the magic in this city. I haven't heard of it happening elsewhere either." Though perhaps it had, before thos ecities had been won by the Negaverse? It was an idea but one he knew nothing about, information was limited severly.
"Lorcan, Ophilia and Aberdeen are new to things, less than a year, Hudson longer but less active. I only recently decided to bring family in besides Hudson." He hadn't really had a choice with Lorcan, he'd been backed into a corner really. He wasn't upset by the choice of things though, he trusted his family. "While none of them can bring you in...I can. I can give you the power to bring you in. Beyond that I can't give you more power...I would shatter your soul if I tried." he'd done that ebfore...Bazzite. "It will hurt though...power doesn't come without pain." Turning serious eyes onto his cousin he took the steps needed to close the distance, standing ther he stared right up at his cousin.
"I never intended to bring family in...I thought it best I join so I could protect myself and our family. I thought, at the time, that I didn't want idiots who I didn't know fighting for our family and our freedom and safety. It was best if I joined and fought for us." That if the Negaverse than failed it was because he wasn't good enough. It was what drove him so hard and had him climbing ranks as fast as he had. "It's been thirteen years and we've not lost, nor have we won. And you want to join now...I don't know if this war will ever end while we're alive - think you can accept that? Accept not winning and the pain which gives power?" A gloved hand rested against the others chest. He was giving him a chance to back away, to leave wit hthe knowledge he had and change his mind.
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2025 12:37 am
Ah. Good. There was weird, rogue magic. That was....fine, probably. Why wouldn't there be.
"Unfortunate," he said, deadpan. "Would have been easier if you could just tell it to back off." But no, that would have been far too easy. "I suppose concentrating enough of a thing in one place can have...unique effects." Especially if that thing was. ******** magic.
Part of Gerard hated this. It was so...unreasonable, so outside his experience, such a massive disruption of his understanding of the world. And yet, there was nothing he could do but simply accept it.
"I'm glad you've come to your senses," Gerard said, "about not continuing to believe you have to shoulder this alone." His expression became a little wry. "You can't sincerely think that you could tell me all this--introduce me to a magical war--and I would simply walk away, just because you warned me of a little pain? If you can do it, do it. And if this is a magical forever war, then so be it."
He couldn't ignore this. Not when it was right in front of him now.
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2025 12:45 am
"You're as bad as Lorcan. You may not say the same words but the idea is the same." Rolling his eyes he wasn't surprised, not at all, he'd let his cousin know about Gerard joining soon enough. He doubted Lorcan would be pleased but he wouldn't be surprised by another family member joining, though he might be surprised by who it was this time.
"Lorcan made me come to my senses to be honest." Shrugging a bit before he pressed his hand to his cousins chest. It didn't take much, not really, he had more than enough experience in corrupting people, so pushing his hand past fabric and flesh and bone was easy. When he did grasp the others starseed he let his own pale eyes stare up into his cousins own. "This is going to hurt like nothing you've ever felt..." That was all the warning he gave before he pushed his own power into his cousin, pushed enough to bring him over and give him power. A lieutenant was what would come from this...another cousin in the war.
"I did hope you'd surprise me and turn this all down, even after hearing what I've said. It was never something I minded shouldering on my own." Though it had, for years, kept hi maway from his family. needing to hide injuries, times he went missing, and all manner of other things. Since coming back into the fold he'd brought family members in because blood was the one thing he trusted most and always should have trusted. His family had survived so long, had gained so much power, because they were so close and tight knit. He'd not forgotten it but hadn't trusted them with this...hadn't wanted to burden them all with his choices. Now he wasn't alone...he had his family here with him, he didn't need to hide from them all.
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2025 10:43 pm
"You say that as if it should be a bad thing," Gerard said. It wasn't exactly a surprise to hear that he wasn't the only one who was unimpressed with Alexandre trying to carry all the weight of the world on his shoulders alone. "Lorcan would disagree with that."
Alexandre's hand went into his chest.
It hurt. It was, indeed, pain like he had never felt before, like being lit on fire from the inside out.
But when it ended, he was changed.
He flexed his fingers, opening and closing them around the fountain pen in his hand.
"Please," he said, and he surprised himself by sounding a little out of breath--aftershocks of the pain of whatever Alexandre had done, he supposed, "you know me well enough to know that I don't shirk responsibility when it's offered."
Never had. Never would.
He twirled the fountain pen between his fingers, frowning slightly.
"What else do I need to know?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 7:10 am
Stepping back he shook his head, a smile playing about his features. "Somehow the uniform, and weapon, don't surprise me one bit." It was more than fitting for his older cousin.
"First things first, you and I are giving off an aura. You can sense it if you feel for it, you'll sense mine easier." As his was larger and stronger. "Senshi, knights, officers, corrupt and dark mirror senshi all have an aura and it's different for each of us. You'll get used to it, be able to tell them apart, in time. What you need to know is what chaos and order feel like as well as strength right now. I don't need an eternal senshi or a knight coming for you - they're as strong as me." Two ranks above his cousin. "It's a fight you won't be able to win. You can pull a data pad out and put in a call for help if you can't escape one of them - people will come. The datapad does also hold a lot of information including, though not limited to, information on officers and corrupt senshi and information on order's members. It's not a bad idea of go over it." Find out who the enemy was and learn about them, and their magics.
"To power down just focus on what you were wearing. Same to power up." Saying that he did power down himself, uniform and weapon vanishing with ease and leaving him all nice and bundled up for the winter weather. "energy collecting is a lesson you'll need and once you hit Captain..teleporting will be a lesson. If you get hurt you go to Lorcan, though if he can't handle it than the Negaverse does own a hospital and h as a special area for us to use." Though he'd never used it himself, hadn't needed to. He might have in the past, way back in the past, but nothing recent.
In time he'd give lessons on youma, he'd need to, right after energy collecting he figured. He'd have to fill him in more on the war itself as well. "I have notebooks I filled when I was new to things, and even a few years in, information on the enemy, missions and operations we conducted. All manner of things. I'll bring them to you as well." He wasn't going to leave any member of his family without or somehow lacking. He'd failed others in the past, those he'd brought in, one had gone round the bend and in the end died. Others had changed sides. He wasn't going to allow that here, not with family.
"If you're going to show this your usual dedication I fear the general you'll become...order will be in trouble." Smiling even more at the idea, because the idea of dead senshi and knights always had him smiling in a rather concerning manner.
"Now power down, we should be moving. If you want you can come by tonight and crash in a guest room. I can fill you in on more there, this'll take time."
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Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2025 10:57 pm
It was...a lot, all at once, but if Diaboleite focused, he could sort of sense what Alexandre was talking about--a feeling, of sorts, that someone was nearby. Everything else was details; to pay attention to strength and type, because getting into a fight where he was outmatched sounded like a terrible idea. Particularly when, unlike Alexandre's spear, he was wielding a dangerous, dastardly...pen.
The explanation for how to power down got a nod, and in a moment, where Diabolite was, Gerard was again.
It was almost...disappointing, coming back to his ordinary self. But such was; he would find his way to bigger, better things eventually.
"I'd appreciate as much information as you can give," he said. Going forward blind would be a fool's endeavor, especially when he had such a resource before him. And there was so much he didn't know. Like stepping onto a case that had been in litigation for years. Plenty of prior documentation to catch up on.
"And as if I would give this anything less than my best." The very suggestion made him scoff. "I'll spend the night at your place, then. You can start catching me up."
There was, it seemed, quite a lot to learn.
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