In addition to the problems he had already - graduating high school soon, starting college soon, needing to find a job soon probably - he now knew that magic existed. Real, honest to goodness magic. He'd made his first real friends outside his sister, and one of them was a boy, even. In some respects, life was looking up.
In others, every time he looked up at night and saw the stars, he thought about the sheer number of them - and the sheer number of magically-powerful people that might correlate to them. It was like living in a fishbowl for your entire life and then being dumped unceremoniously in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Mason didn't want to get eaten by sharks--or, in his case, wildly terrifying dog-tiger-monster-creatures. Youma, they were called. He'd tried to research them on his own, but nothing came up (or, at least, nothing credible), and he just ran into a million different dead ends.
His sister, for her part, only partway believed him; she believed that he wasn't lying, that he thought it was true, but...well, she hadn't been there. She didn't want him to go out at night--since something had happened, clearly--but nighttime was the only time he could think. The only time he could really and truly believe himself, if he was being honest, about what had happened.
Monsters were real.
Mason sighed to himself and glanced up and down the street. He was perched on the steps of the Destiny City Library, where he'd stayed until they kicked him out. He needed to go home. But going home meant walking across town, at night, by himself, when he knew there were real-life monsters.
Mason sighed to himself and looked up at the stars and moon above him. What made some people magical and not others? How was he supposed to defend himself? He couldn't rely on Aruna to escort him to and from everywhere he went--presumably she had other things to do with her magical time, and anyway, he didn't want a babysitter.
It was isolating, having a secret like this. How many people knew about this, aside from the magical people themselves? How many people were just supposed to go about their day, knowing that magic existed?
LP
Posted: Tue May 27, 2025 10:51 pm
Juliette06
Hugbell had taken an unusual route for herself today. She didn't normally patrol near the library but it seemed something was pulling her towards it. Namely an energy signature from a youma.
The senshi of comfort looked around and saw a civilian on the stairs of the Library and she sighed deeply. The youma was nearby but she wasn't sure where it was at the moment as she scanned the area.
She was debating between friendly and slightly scolding for Mason, he was blissfully unaware that he was going to be alluring to any monsters. "Good Evening, what's brought you out here on the steps of the library?"
Butter yellow eyes still scanning for the youma that she knew was near by. Could it be hiding in one of the alleyways or bushes that littered this area of street?
Mason jumped in surprise as a voice pierced the silence, and he located the source immediately - another clearly-magic girl, like Aruna, but instead of tan and red and dark brown, this girl was all pale yellow and pale purple and...
Mason squinted. Was that a teddy bear?
"The library closed, kicked me out," he said with a shrug. "I was just...thinking, and...debating if it's safe to walk home at night, with all the..." Mason gestured vaguely at his new friend, then vaguely at the street before them.
"I'm Mason," he added, giving her a little smile. "Sorry, I should've said that first. Do you...am I, like, in the way of whatever you need to do? I should probably get home anyway..." he glanced dubiously out into the dark street and sighed to himself. He didn't want to have to call Aruna every time he stayed out past sunset, but he also wasn't willing to lock himself up in the house for the rest of his life.
He felt trapped. Powerless.
"Hey," he said, as an afterthought, "do you know if there's a way I can like...handle those youma monster things? I'm not--I'm not like you, but I have a friend who is who told me all about them after one tried to eat my face. I should've asked her at the time but I was...well, kinda freaked out and not really thinking. Do you know...like, would regular weapons even work against them, if one found me in a dark alley again?" There had to be some way to protect himself, right?
Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2025 12:29 am
Juliette06
Hugbell was talking to Mason her eyes kept watch for the youma, she knew it was hanging around but finding it was a problem.
"I see, yeah the library tends to do that at closing time." She chuckled lightly as she leaned on the railing, tilting her head when he mentioned he was debating if it was safe to go home. "I mean it's never really safe to travel alone anywhere if we're being honest. Youma are perhaps some of the smaller worries of what goes on in the night, crime is fairly high too and tends to like to target those lonely souls."
She wasn't sure if he'd met the negaverse before but it was better to be safe than sorry. While all the negaverse wasn't terrible there were still enough to be wary of that would gank a starseed without a thought. "Sailor Hugbell, Eternal Senshi of Comfort." She said offering her hand in a shake.
She caught a glimpse of something moving. "Can you handle a youma?"
The senshi seemed thoughtful as she moved to put herself between the youma and Mason -- at least she was pretty sure that was the youma. "Sure, you might not be able to dust them. But learn some basic self defense if you don't have any. It'd help you at least be able to get away from them if you can fight back. They're kind of like sharks in some ways. You smack them right they run or the weakest ones turn to dust."
She threw Barnaby at about that time, as a small bear shaped youma rustled out of the bushes. "Ahh I've been looking for you." She said and called her attack, "Teddy comfy catches!" It wasn't normally how she used Barnaby but suddenly the bear puffed up and the youma when it charged and connected with Barnaby you heard a PUFT noise and Barnaby deflated.
She grinned, "I'd been tracking this thing for a bit, I wasn't sure what it was after or up to." She added as she watched the youma shake it's head after being stunned by Barnaby's growth.
NAME: Teddy Comfy Catches
Hugbell can change her plush teddy into a "big bear pillow" for a comfortable landing.
Pros:
- Can make falling from certain distances easier on the body! - Barnaby's so soft! - He's the size of a full/queen mattress. - Works for either Foes or Friends. - Barnaby can be sat on if not used to catch people. =o - Barnaby Can be Punched a couple of times before disappearing.
Cons:
- He's the size of a full/queen mattress. Don't Miss! - Barnaby shrinks after a hard hit. (EX: Sailor Rainbow Dash fell on him? Barnaby goes back to normal) - Can be used twice (second time is often very dangerous and little more unstable) - If no one falls on Barnaby he can cause a 'road' block. - If not struck in 40 seconds Barnaby disappears.
Mason grinned and stood, shaking her hand after he did so. "Nice to meet...you," he finished his sentence belatedly, eyebrows rising almost into his hairline as the youma finally announced itself. He felt like ducking behind one of the pillars of the library and waiting until Eternal Sailor Hugbell did whatever it was Eternal Sailor Hugbell did, but he resisted the urge - he had to at least pretend to be brave, if he ever wanted to be taken seriously by the people who dressed up and--
--and...threw...teddybears? At monsters?
Mason blinked. Blinked again.
"I...don't," Mason said, watching as the teddybear shrunk back down into what Mason would consider normal teddybear size, if he'd ever given any consideration to what size teddybears should be at all. "Know self-defense, I mean," he added, edging slightly away from the youma. "And I can't say I've ever punched a shark, either. Can I...help you with this somehow? I'm a cheerleader! Would a chant help?"
Somehow, Mason doubted it.
LP
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 2:06 am
Hugbell aimed a fairly decent kick at the youma as she picked up Barnaby thinking about what Mason said at the fact he didn't know self defense but knew cheer leading.
The senshi of comfort thought, "So what kind of moves do you know from cheer leading? You can turn that into something you can fight against a youma with." She added as the youma charged again and caught her arm the senshi winced a little but called out her magic again after tossing Barnaby on the opposite side to use as a distraction which seemed to work.
"Flips? Kicks? Um... I wasn't much of a cheer leader in school. I paid more attention to like Home Ec and Business." The senshi admitted as she tried to rattle off some basic knowledge she had of the sport.
Mason raised his eyebrows as she pointed out that cheer could easily segue into self-defense. He hadn't ever considered that, not really, beyond assuming that his increased flexibility and upper-body strength might come in handy for future lessons.
Further rumination (and, briefly, the image of Hugbell in a Home Ec class) was cut off when the thing lunged for Hugbell, and Mason made a startled, alarmed noise. She had gotten hurt, because of him.
"Knock it off!" Mason yelled at the thing, running down the steps, taking them two at a time. He charged the monster, hoping to create a diversion - don't think about it as a monster, think of it as...as....as a pommel horse, or--or, no, a vault! It was just vaulting! Like in the Olympics.
He and Madeline had been jumping off and over things for their entire lives. This was no different. He tried to just let instinct and muscle memory take over: when he got close enough, he raised his arms above his head and went into a handspring, springing himself up and fully over the youma's body.
He even managed to land on his feet, though he didn't quite stick the landing, stumbling slightly.
Distraction: accomplished. The youma was staring at him, baffled and confused and drooling - but not trying to take any more bites out of Hugbell, at least for the moment.
"Do you have any other magic stuff you can do?" Mason asked, breathless at the unplanned exertion.
LP
Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2025 11:11 pm
Juliette06
Hugbell watched as Mason took the suggestion and ran with it. There was a slight grin on her face, "Good. Now make sure to aim for it too."
She seemed thoughtful about the question of if she had any other magic stuff she could do. "Welll.... nothing really offensive."
She admitted as she aimed a kick for the back legs of the creature before grabbing Barnaby and dropping him on the youma. Backing up a few quick short jumps while calling out. "Teddy Extra Comfy Catches!"
The way she'd dropped Barnaby on the youma was enough to leave the bear to trap the youma for a second. "I think if we both jump on top of Barnaby we might can dust him." She suggested.
The fact that the bear had grown to the size of a king sized mattress at the moment only gave them a little time to hit the monster and she hoped she was right about dusting the thing if both of them jumped.
Quote:
Super Sailor Senshi Attack NAME: Teddy Extra Comfy Catches
Hugbell can change her teddy into a "big bear pillow" for a comfortable landing. Pros: - Can make falling from certain distances easier on the body! - Barnaby's so soft! - He's the size of a King mattress. - Works for either Foes or Friends. - Barnaby can be sat on if not used to catch people. =o - Barnaby Can be Punched a couple of times before disappearing. Cons: - He's the size of a King Matress. Don't Miss! (Harder to miss but still possible!) - Barnaby shrinks after a hard hit. (EX: Sailor Rainbow Dash fell on him? Barnaby goes back to normal) - Can be used twice (second time is often very dangerous and little more unstable) - If no one falls on Barnaby he can cause a 'road' block. - If not struck in 40 seconds Barnaby disappears.
"I wasn't trying to hit it!" Mason protested lamely, suddenly aware that...yeah, okay, maybe doing a fancy flip was not the move versus something with this many teeth.
And then she did the teddybear thing again, and Mason couldn't help the laugh that escaped him - it was like some absurdist painting made by a demented toddler.
"Okay, sure," Mason said. Was it weird that he was actually excited about this part? The bear just looked so soft! He backed up a few steps, nodded to Hugbell, then took a running leap, aiming to land as hard as he could on the teddybear's soft, inviting stomach, like he was a kid and the teddybear was a pool, just waiting for him to bellyflop into it--but hopefully with a much kinder reception than the one time he'd actually bellyflopped from a diving board when he was a kid. Ouch. If all went well, though, it wouldn't be him who felt pain, it would be the youma.
(Could youma feel pain? Did it matter?)
Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2025 11:48 pm
Juliette06
There was a grin from the senshi when Mason protested he wasn't trying to hit it. "Yes, but the goal is to hit them so they don't hit you."
It was a very light and joking tone as she watched Mason and she timed her jump with him. Aiming her boot for the monster to give a nice thunk.
When both of them landed, Barnaby shrunk and she watched as the youma dust flew around them. Thankfully Barnaby did lessen the shock of a hard landing and she picked up the bear from the ground and dusted him off once he'd returned to normal stuffed animal size.
"Good job." She said holding her hand up for a high five. "I'm guessing that was your first successful youma battle?"
Mason beamed up at her, giving her the requested high five happily. "Definitely my first one that I had an active part in, for sure. I've only seen one other one, the one that wanted to eat me. A different scout, Sailor Aruna, saved me. I helped by...throwing a rock, and missing." Mason chuckled sheepishly.
"Thank you," he added, giving her a wide smile. "For saving me from this, because I'm sure that thing would've also tried to eat me. Do you think there's any more of them out there, or am I good to go home?" Mason paused. "Or...do you want some company while you...do whatever it is you do when you're not saving dumb kids who got booted from the library?"
Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2025 11:26 pm
Juliette06
Hugbell stretched a bit, "Honestly any help even if it's just throwing a rock, is usually welcomed help."
She grinned softly and paused when he asked if there was any more youma. "I don't feel anything, it should be safe if you want to go home."
There was a pause when he asked if she wanted company and she shrugged softly, "If you'd like to accompany me you're more than welcome. If we run into the negaverse though, I do need you to be very careful. They very wildly in if they're friendly or a threat right off the bat."
She'd turned serious for a second, "I've had both encounters and I do prefer the more friendly negaverse agents but you never know what chaos does to someone."
Mason laughed. "Yeah, I'd imagine in most cases friendly is better than not friendly." He considered a few moments, then let out a soft sigh and shrugged. "As fun as it sounds to shadow you, for the sake of my own well-being I should...probably just head home," he admitted, reluctantly, in spite of himself. Staying out at night by himself was one thing, but actively tagging along on a magical scouting trip like a civilian on a police ride-along was a bridge too far even for his own justification - Halia and Madeline would kill him if they found out.
"But...thank you," Mason said, giving her another big, genuine smile. "I appreciate you keeping me from getting eaten - and for letting me help. It was...is fun the right word?" Mason chuckled and tucked his hands in his pockets. "Keep yourself safe, Hugbell, okay? Don't get eaten on your end either." His eyes darted down to the teddybear, and he gave it a little wave - he still wasn't completely certain if the teddy wasn't alive or sentient in some way. "You stay safe too, bud, okay?"
Mason gave them another smile and a little wave, then began to walk home, a pleasant lightness in his heart and step - no, he hadn't learned anything from that research at the library, but he'd maybe made a friend, and he'd gotten to see a totally different kind of magic, too. And he hadn't, you know, gotten eaten by yet another monster--in fact, this time he'd gotten to be an active participant in saving himself. It felt good to work together with someone else toward a common goal (not getting eaten). It felt...really good.
Maybe Hugbell was right - maybe he should start taking some self-defense classes, just to be on the safe side...and ready, for the next time a monster reared its ugly head.
