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 Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2025 2:53 pm
That was…unexpected.
The teleport, that is, to…somewhere else. If memory served, the Code had done something similar at least once by his experience, but given his flakiness with knightly duties he imagined that number varied depending on which knight you asked. Still, he fully expected to be on either Mars or Uranus, not…
Where were they, anyway?
With hands still cradling Danika’s face, Ashur looked around. Nothing felt ominous in any way, so while he was a little tense from the surprise, so to speak, he didn’t feel like they were in immediate danger. The ruins surrounding them vaguely reminded him of the state of his own Wonder during his first visit: abandoned and in disrepair, very much devoid of life of any kind. Unlike on Uranus, though, vegetation had survived and, having been left unsupervised for hundreds of years, was now clearly overgrown.
Blue eyes met her red ones after a moment, and he leaned in to touch their foreheads for just a moment before pressing a kiss to her lips.
“Everything’s gonna be fine, alright? Deep breaths, and when you’re ready we can get going. I don’t sense...much, so we’re probably safe." There was something. A subtle tug in a specific direction, but he had mixed feelings about just blindly following it. Still, it might be their best bet at finding an answer sooner rather than later. "Just a question of where the ******** we’ve been taken to this time.”
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Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2025 10:37 am
The momentary weightlessness was familiar in its own way, the sensation of movement outside of... whatever sort of bubble they were in. When she opened her eyes, however, she wasn't met with the familiar red sands of Mars, or the golden dunes of Uranus. White marble walls domed somewhat around them, though large cracks and shattered stained glass windows allowed a clear vision of the world beyond.
"What the..?" Her hands were still gripping Ashur's wrists, her pulse still wild and panic roaring in her ears. Tear tracks had ceased, but the dampness lingered. Danika looked up to him, unsure of what this place was and what sort of auras or whatnots were out there that she couldn't sense... but the light tap of his forehead to hers at least helped to ease that concern. If he thought they were in danger, she trusted him to make that clear and calm, so they could focus on getting out... not lean in for a quick smooch. The act got a small smile to twitch across her lips as she pressed up briefly to meet him.
...or maybe she'd given him a fraction too much credit.
Hearing Ashur say they were probably safe got one hell of a heavy deadpan, unimpressed glare from Danika, huffing heavily before she did follow the good advice to focus on deep, easy breaths for a moment.
It didn't silence all the fear and dread, but Danika at least didn't still feel like she was about to be swallowed up by something. A glimmer of something on his uniform caught her eye, though, and she frowned, peering at the rainbow, irridescent five-pointed star pinned to him where one definitely hadn't existed before. "Wait, what's-- oh, I've got one, too," she mumbled, peering down at her jacket and finding a same brooch pinned there.
Releasing one of his arms, and sliding her other hand to grip his, she took a step back and took in the state of the large room. Up on the ceiling, though...
"Oh... look." Her voice was barely more than a breath, eyes wide as she beheld the painted celestial imagery above them, watching in fascination as the apparent star map.. actually moved. Her gaze was drawn to one mark in particular, a red beacon that both chilled her and... made her, wistful..? And at the core of the whole ceiling... the star seemed to glow itself, a warmth reaching her that she hadn't expected in this place. "That's... that's the Cauldron, isn't it..?" She wasn't sure how she knew that, any more than she knew that red point was Mars...
"What kind of place has all this..?"
But even unpowered as she was in that moment, she realized she could feel something, and again turned a curious eye around. A tug. Light, barely there, but... there. Towards the only open door in the place, and what she could see of a long hall beyond. "...no Chaos, right? Not getting any vibe of that?" Her eyes moved back to Ashur, though brief as she couldn't help but look around in just... awe of this place.
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Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2025 7:19 pm
The Knight winced from the heavy deadpan she gave him, but let it slide. To his credit at least he’d been honest about it, but he knew it probably didn’t help her feel any better about the situation.
He followed her gaze to his chest and saw the brooch that he knew for a fact had not been there before, but between it and their immediate surroundings he was slightly more concerned about the latter. A brooch seemed innocuous enough, so he tucked it away for questioning later, assuming they found someone or something to direct their questions at while they were here. So he turned his attention back to the crumbling building around them, absently squeezing her hand as soon as he felt it in his and again following her gaze soon after, this time to the ceiling.
There was a part of him that wondered if that should have been telling enough, but still nothing came to him even as he looked at the painting above them. “Could be,” he said in the same whispered tone, sounding as uncertain about it as she did. “As for what…Olympus comes to mind, so something along the same lines?”
Blue eyes focused on a particular point in the painting, captivated for a long moment before Danika’s voice drew him back to the present.
“No Chaos,” he said with a perfectly confident nod. “Just…a little tug of something in that direction,” he said, nodding toward the open door. “Not sure what it is, but definitely not Chaos.”
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Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2025 5:23 pm
"Yeah I... can feel that too," she mumbled, brows still furrowed as she couldn't understand how she could. It didn't feel... wrong to her at least, but hearing Ashur confirm he couldn't sense any Chaos was a relief.
Of sorts. She still wasn't entirely sure where they were, or how they even got there. The brooches were cute, though.
"It might be similar to Olympus, yeah. But I thought only... y'know, powered up folks could go there?" She gestured with her free, wrapped hand to herself, having to swallow past the sudden tightening in her throat as she did so. Her marvel with the location had eased up her panic, but being reminded of her predicament set her on edge again. Danika followed his gaze briefly to another part of the ceiling, unsure what had snagged his attention, but...
She eyed the open door and the long fallen statue near it, taking careful steps towards it before pausing slightly to make sure Ashur was in agreement on this. Only once he was moving with her did she head for the door and the... the sort of call beyond it.
The hall wasn't overbearing or ominous, and if anything she just felt... more curious. There weren't any points of interest in here, just leading into another room with the same white marble everywhere. No stars here, no windows, no other exits besides the one they were coming out of. Just...
She paused as they entered the room, standing in the archway of the door. A single pedestal sat in the middle, and on it... was the source of the pull, wasn't it?
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Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2025 6:16 pm
“Oh, there you are.” The Code sounded unenthusiastic and a bit dry, though it wasn’t uncommon for it to have a bit of a tone. Nothing about it seemed otherwise different from usual; it was as bright as it had ever been, and the glowing mist of light that built up its form swirled slowly, unthreatened. “I was beginning to think you’d gotten lost. Don’t just stand there, come closer.” The Code didn’t seem entirely impatient but it was also impossible to get an actual read on it when it gave so little to go by. “Tell me why your starseeds are so troubled.”
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Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2025 12:20 pm
Ashur snapped his eyes immediately to the apparent source of the voice that greeted them as soon as they entered the room. The Code...they really should have known. Maybe it was because it'd been so long, their sense for this kind of unexpected teleporting shenanigans was a bit dulled. It sounded...like itself, or at least what he assumed was its norm. Bored, maybe? Or just not interested in what was happening.
Which, if it wasn't interested then why bother summoning them at all?
And to top everything off, it was hurrying them over.
Annoyed was putting it lightly, but the Knight bit his tongue, and he gave Danika's hand a little squeeze when the Code asked what it was that was troubling them. And while he took issue with being brought to a strange unknown place without warning, there was something much more pressing than that.
"It's her I'm worried about," he replied, glancing at Dani as he continued. "Just a little while ago, she tried but couldn't summon her weapon and we have no idea why."
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Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2025 5:04 pm
Did that thing ever sound happy, any of its pieces at all?
Despite her panic and confusion, she did... somewhat actually appreciate the dry voice that emanated from the glowing mist. It was a level of, odd though it was, normal in terms of her expectations as Themiscyra. She wasn't being pushed out, it wasn't objecting to her presence. She glanced at Ashur when he squeezed her hand, returning the gesture in support before starting to step further into the room. Hearing him voice her issue, the reality of what'd just happened... she winced, feeling her pulse starting to race again.
Taking a few deep breaths to stable herself and not start freaking out, she finally allowed herself to speak up. "I can... feel the magic there, but it won't come to me. I know I haven't... I've been..." She floundered, cheeks darkening in embarrassment as she glanced away from the mist. Saying her lack of uh... diligence as a knight to the Code felt partially redundant, and... ugh. "Er... focusing on.... other things... but I didn't--" Again, she faltered, lifting her free hand to rub at the back of her neck. "I didn't... abandon the city. I didn't mean to," she added in a barest mumble, before her voice picked up again. "Please tell me there's... there's not a-a different Themiscyra now... right?"
Danika hated how pathetic she sounded then, fumbling and pleading, but her pride was less important in that moment.
Why was it always you miss something when you've lost it?
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Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2025 6:36 am
The Code was silent for a few seconds, and then exhaled a painfully drawn out, “Oh.” The silence lingered for a few seconds afterwards, and though it had no face, no eyes, it still seemed like it was watching them. “I suppose that’s a good reason to be worrying.” The pauses must have been deliberate because the Code needed no time to catch its breath. “Why, would you miss being Themiscyra if someone else now carried the mantle? You cannot be upset that there might be other, more dutiful Knights. What else was there to be so focused on?”
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Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2025 5:41 pm
Ashur could almost feel his blood pressure spike at the Code’s response to everything that Dani had just said. It hurt to hear her voice the concern out loud, knowing how normally proud and confident and strong she was, and to get that kind of reaction from the Code was almost infuriating. He held tongue, though his eyes may as well have done all the talking for him.
The Code didn’t have eyes, but he wondered if it could sense the irritation radiating off of him.
“Life,” he said, lip curled and the word coming out nearly as a growl. “Because we have one separate from all of this. All knights today do. We just chose to focus exclusively on that life for a little while, and now we're back.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 3:12 pm
Danika did have to wonder where all this thing's attitude came from--it had to be innate to the Code itself, but the hell was the source?
It's response though made the blood drain from her face, lips parting to speak but unable to form a sound. Ashur's defense, though she'd argue was rational... suddenly felt hollow to her. He'd at least been going to check on things here and there. She... she really hadn't.
"Yes... yes, I do miss it," she said softly, hating how the words more dutiful Knights rang through her ears over and over and over and-- "I just... I needed to focus on me. I kept losing so much, fighting Chaos was never ending. I needed to focus on good things that I felt like I could affect. But I want to protect people again. I want to help."
Even if she still wasn't convinced there was a proper way forward with everything... it was still better than sitting on the sidelines. "I'm... I'm a cop now, in the city. I serve the public, and protect against violence and crime. I realized... I was already doing that, in a way, as Themiscyra. I want to protect people in both ways."
She swallowed thickly, unsure of how to... convince it to give her a proper answer. "Why won't the magic come to me? What do I need to do to show I want this back?" Assuming she could. There was a real dread for her there, that the Code hadn't answered that specifically.
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Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2025 5:21 pm
“Hm,” the Code rumbled, and with no eyes to see it looked at Ashur. “Have I struck a nerve? You’re taking this awfully personally.” Its words lingered in the room with a weight that outlasted their meaning. “But then, I think it’s safe to assume that it’s your fault she can’t access any magic right now.”
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2025 1:51 pm
“It’s personal enough,” he said, bristling at its words, “with how close to home it is. Da–”
The Code cut him off effortlessly with what it said next, catching him by surprise and leaving him speechless for a moment. He swallowed the quickly growing lump in his throat, gaze shifting slowly between the Code and Danika before ultimately landing on the Code.
“I…” he started, giving Dani’s hand a little squeeze to ground himself before he went on. “I don’t follow. What exactly does that mean? Wha–” he paused to look over at Danika. His mind had gone blank, though deep, deep down he knew he hadn’t done anything wrong. How could he have? He’d barely done anything knight-related even after getting back to it, and what he had done so far had absolutely nothing to do with Danika or Themiscyra. At least not directly.
Not to mention, saving someone from possibly getting seeded,dusting some youma, and reconnecting with his ancestor wasn’t exactly against anything the Code probably wanted them to do in the first place. So why was it putting the blame on him?
Turning his attention back to the Code, he finished his question. “What did I do?”
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2025 6:26 pm
....okay maybe she didn't miss the Code's sass that much. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, and all that jazz.
Because this level of cryptic was driving up her blood pressure, and her panic was swirling with a rising tide of annoyance along with it. "The <********> are you saying?!" If there was one thing Danika carried well before becoming a cop, and made great use of when needed? The deep, loud voice that could come off as intimidating to some. Not that she remotely expected that to work on the Code, to be fair.
For all the turmoil she felt, apologetic and pleading to get back what she did cherish--something something, put up a parking lot--to suddenly blame Dominic for her situation? The <********>? She stood up straighter, holding tight to her fiance's hand and all but snarling at the very entity she genuinely was happy to see.
"Plain speaking, please. Tell me directly why I can't access my magic. Please, Code. I'm afraid, and I want answers." She reined herself back in enough to simmer down slightly, trying to at least to speak in calmer, if still a firm, voice, figuring at least that barking at the Code wouldn't do her a lick of good. So she tired to address it with respect, still, even if her patience was worn thread-bare.
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Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2025 7:29 pm
“Calm down,” the Code said, in a breathless sigh. “You’d find out soon enough so I’ll be blunt, because you asked. You can’t access your magic when it’s not just your life on the line. Give it a few months. Eight, probably, maybe less. I forget the gestation period in humans. You’re fine, your Wonder isn’t rejecting you. The magic just doesn’t synchronize properly while you’re pregnant.” It gave her only a few seconds to process before it added, “So, it is, actually, his fault. I hope. Otherwise this is going to be even more awkward.”
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2025 11:43 pm
It may not have worked on the Code, but it certainly worked on Ashur, knocking him out of his state of shock enough that he was again glaring at the Code. He held fast to Dani’s hand as they both watched and waited for its response. And when it did finally respond…
Ashur felt his jaw suddenly go slack, expression going quite blank as he turned the words over again in his mind. It was only seconds before the Code added something, finally giving context to why it put the blame on him just a little while ago. It was…unexpected news, and certainly not the type he expected to hear from a magical entity of all things.
But he turned to Danika, expression currently more of shock than anything else.
“You’re…” he tried to start...but that was about as far as he got.
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