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Usagi Quest (CK3/Princess Maker) (Sailor Moon)

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The Second Meditation Part 1
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    • The Second Meditation
    "Speak, Memory…"
    By: @Simon_Jester ​

    Thursday Night, June 11th, 1992

    Sit on the floor of your room in your pajamas. Fold your legs in a posture that you guess might be stressful if your body hadn't gotten used to treating its own weight as practically nothing. Close your eyes.

    Visualize.

    The petals of the white lotus cup you protectively, and your hands cup the lotus, as it cups you. Don't question it. Relax. Your fingers brush the petals, which rustle around you in gentle breezes. Relax. Open. Listen. What aren't you noticing, in the mad whirl of your magic and your battles and your days?

    Oh.

    There.

    There's a phrase. Something from a story you tried to read in an English class, once, were told to read and just couldn't get into it, but you remember the words. It plucked at you, even then, before Luna, before the youma, before the Castle. It plucks harder now, in the moments when you remember it.

    Like someone is walking over your grave.

    Your first thought, when you recall the words and feel the resonance of them, is of the memorial in the palace gardens of the Moon Castle. But you're pretty sure no one can get in there without a friendly Senshi or a rocketship. Your gut says "no." That's not it.

    There's something definite about the sensation. Something you don't like, something that feels just a tiny little bit off in some ghostly corner of a ghostly corner, but something that you could fix.

    And really? This is just about the first clear sensation you've had as you try to learn to meditate that wasn't an obvious distraction. The first time anything you can grasp about anything has emerged even once, you seize on it.

    Calmly, clearly.

    And you depart the lotus. Your spirit skips across the heavens without the effort-intensive flick of teleportation. Nothing that exhausts your influence over space for seconds or minutes or hours. Nothing carrying the heavy burden of mass and power. Even the slightest effort you might have needed to push your self, your self alone, to this place, is unnecessary. Because it, so very gently, pulls at a string connected to you, or at least pulls at your shadow, your reflection.

    You appear- well, mostly appear- in a blur of iridescence. You blink afterimages from your eyes, but you look down and faint colored shimmers are still crawling along your hands. You are shimmering. You see yourself, touch one hand to the other, but there is a... tenuousness. A lightness upon you, not the lightness you felt on the Moon, not just a weakening of the world's grip. Something less calculable.

    You frown and dig a toe into the dirt experimentally, then slip and start falling into, through, the ground-

    Ack!

    You steady yourself and you're standing level again... That was odd. Probably shouldn't try to push that without more practice. You stop and concentrate on your surroundings.

    The sun shines down around you. It must be close to noon. The faint sound and smell of the sea fills the air, along with the splash of a little brook that you can barely see through the undergrowth. There are trees around you that must have grown up slowly; the low cliffs on all sides probably block a lot of light. More immediately around you, in this little grove tucked into a crack in a mountain, are mounds of vegetation twining around stone. You can pick out a few fallen blocks and pieces of columns, and here and there enough stand atop one another that you could call them part of a wall. For a moment, sadness washes through you. Something is wrong. Something is lost and irreplaceable. It's not as bad as the dead moon, but it's... not good.

    Still, you have to start somewhere.

    The words for the Burst form on your lips. As you gather your will, something feels strange, as though you're pulling on the air or trying to crawl along on slick, wet, frictionless glass, sliding uselessly in place. Your strange, floating, non-present presence feels naturally ineffective and unaffected. But there is something in this place that answers softly even to your shadow. There's a magic in the ground that does what you would otherwise not have the leverage for. There's something you can call up to do what you, for some reason, cannot.

    Light of every color and none washes gently through this place, beside the stream in a little blind canyon the world has forgotten. The dirt and dust of centuries slides down and away from stonework. Vines are gently plucked away from surfaces that somehow never admitted their roots. Plants are smoothed down into more orderly arrangements. Leaf litter and windblown dirt cascade down and off and out of sight.

    The stones that used to be buildings don't restore themselves, though a few shift and twitch faintly as your wish whispers to them of what they were. This place reminds you of pictures from a history book, from a chapter on ancient European history.

    But the stones are just architecture. With the place cleaned up, they're not what you notice anymore.

    There are… statues.

    Very much statues.

    They're pretty nice statues, and hauntingly familiar. So familiar that you have flashbacks to the museum field trip. But none of your friends have ever, to your knowledge, dressed like that. So hopefully this isn't some kind of premonition of Pisard coming back and turning you all into stone.

    As you examine the statues, you get distracted, because there's the statue. The one that looks so much like Makoto that you feel sure it has to be of her. Only… wow.

    The white marble is beautiful, in a way that the other statues are… only almost beautiful, by comparison. You see the tiniest flecks of faded maybe-paint, as if the statue was once colored. But you don't need the paint. Knowing the big girl yourself, you easily imagine the color of her hair, her face, just from looking at the stone. And. And.

    The statue shows her wearing something odd and archaic. It doesn't really show any more than a typical sundress. And she's in a posture that isn't, uh, you're not sure how to put it, wow-inspiring on purpose. Something perfectly natural, really!

    But… Wow.

    There's just… something you can't put a name to about the statue, in the lines of her posture, the subtle shaping of her face or the curve of her calf. How it looks like at any moment she might step off the podium. The podium that raises her up a little further off the ground so she looks even taller and. And.

    And it whirls you back to two months ago before the talent show, when she was new to you. And almost like then, you imagine Makoto from probably about five or ten years in the future leaning up to you and over you, your back to the column-stump behind you, and-

    ...um.

    She's getting taller. No. You're… sinking?

    You look down and realize you've dropped almost to your knees. Down into- through- the ground. You look around yourself awkwardly as you pull yourself back up, though there's no one here. This floaty thing is tough, especially when you're having trouble concentrating.

    And the statue doesn't even look like it was meant to wow like that, it's just… really beautiful.

    You don't know who made this statue, but they must be really good.

    You're pretty sure Makoto never modeled for this, though.

    Wait. That's not Makoto. That's Iúpatar. You recognize her- the differences- from the visions with the music-box. They're subtle. But you can tell.

    Makoto didn't. She... surely didn't. But did Iúpatar ever model for a statue like this? Well... maybe?

    But you certainly never modeled for the one to your left, and with a moment's certainty, you know Serenity didn't either.

    It's… you. Her. Something like that. You look nice, honestly, even in a stiff, uncomfortable standing pose, wearing a dress you've never seen in your life. It's... definitely you. The nose is right. So, importantly, is the hair. Though the statue makes it your hairstyle look more princessly than you can usually manage.

    But it's... not you. Because you don't have feathery wings folded behind your back. That's… weird. For a moment you check behind you, and no, no you do not. Are the wings part of the statue's dress? Are they supposed to be growing out of her back? Who made a statue of you- Serenity- here, anyway?

    Where is here, anyway? It's not the Moon; you're pretty sure you're somewhere on Earth.

    And, while you're at it, who made statues of Ermis, of Shukra, of Tyr? All of them dignified, all of them beautiful, though not- um- like Iúpatar's. Very much like Serenity's, really. All of them wearing simple clothes and ornaments. They're too detailed to call them crude or badly made, they're not. But none of them pluck, all of them most definitely don't pluck, at your past life's memories of Silver Millennium fashion. Or at your present life's memories of what the dead in the Moon Palace wore. There's a certain delicacy to Silver Millennium fashion, and the statues are good enough that you'd pick up on it if that delicacy were what was being shown here.

    For minutes, you stand, staring, occasionally drifting here or there, absently rising a little above the ground or dipping into it a few centimeters deep, trying to understand the mystery of this ruined- temple?- and its curiously intact, curiously perfect, curiously familiar-unfamiliar statues.

    And then you hear a faint grating sound of one loose stone shifting slightly atop another.

    A beautiful woman with dark curly hair, richly tanned skin, and dark, expressive eyes steps out from behind a half-ruined wall. Her clothes are unfamiliar. Rather than wearing robes, trousers, or a skirt, she's dressed from shoulder to ankle in a few big probably-rectangular sheets. They're wrapped around her to provide very full, modest coverage and pinned together into place with jeweled brooches.


    [ ][Samothrace] Veil She's overdressed for the June seaside warmth, wearing a long cloak and a veil along with everything else. She looks at you through the veil's translucent cloth, and it utterly fails to hide the intensity of Her focus and attention. You feel as though to Her, in that moment, all the universe contains only you. You have never felt so much pure, concentrated attention from any one person. Or any hundred people. Then the moment passes. Her eyebrows rise slightly and her hand flies to her mouth. She dips slightly in a strange form of curtsey, then straightens. You sense that she isn't quite sure what to do either. Then she smiles and says, in halting, thickly accented High Lunar, 「Samothraceward jumpy-waves... Unto... Samothrace helloses?」

    [ ][Samothrace] Garland She carries a tube under her left arm. She absently bounces a garland of leaves in her left hand. With her right hand, she brushes the stone beside her. She seems lost in thought, her eyes adrift, not focusing on you. Until they do. Her vision sweeps across you, and Her momentary glance is a gaze as bright and piercing as any you've ever seen. Somehow, in that split second, Her eyes manage to make you feel as conspicuous and tiny as a bug on a plate, and yet totally and unconditionally accepted, both at the same time. Then the moment passes, and she looks away, the feeling fading. She smiles and says, in perfect Japanese, "Welcome to Samothrace."

    [ ][Samothrace] Sash On the right side of the deep purple sash about her waist, a large knife sits in its jeweled scabbard. A broad, delicately engraved case shaped for a thin, curved object balances it on the left. Somber and gentle-eyed, she regards you for a long moment. The sounds of the sea and the faint rustles of wildlife fade as Her presence fills the ruins with quiet dignity, and the whispers of your past life stir at the sight of Her sad, soft smile. Then sound returns. The moment passes. And she smiles and says, in smooth, crisp English, accented but less so than yours, "Welcome to Samothrace."
     
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    • SuperBigMac said:
    @Chaosmancer Bocchi is one of the best Slice of Life anime I've ever watched, because it's not just Cute Girls doing Cute Things. It's like the Girls und Panzer or School Live! of band anime, and it has great messages, such as (not quoted word for word): "Losing your uniqueness is akin to dying," and "[These lyrics] may not reach everyone, but those it does will be impacted strongly."

    They also made enough songs to release an album on Spotify and the like, with I think one song uploaded alongside each episode airing, which is just fascinating.

    Honestly, if I had any knowledge whatsoever about Symphogear, I'd probably try to write a Bocchigear crossover.
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    I want to end up reading Girls Und Panzer. I watched the show, but I feel like there was a lot left out, since the anime just... abruptly ends and doesn't cover a lot of things.
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    Lunaryon said:
    Right, since my beta has also reminded that there is a mini-event between these two, I am going to close the vote.

    Then that one can go up, and I can fix the update.
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    Glad I decided to keep reading down. I'll hold off commentary until the update is revised then.

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    [Suddenly all the stories!]

    B-but... I have to go to bed... :(

    Edit: Checked Usagi's stats, just to plan my vote for tomorrow....

    Usagi has a Higher Martial than Diplomacy

    24 vs 23

    When did THAT happen?!
     
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    veil sounds like she recognizes that you're from the silver millenium, garland comes off as translation magic, and sash says she doesn't know, but english is the current trade language, so the safest bet for her. (and blonde hair doesn't scream japanese anyway, though the technicoloring makes it less reliable than in reality)

    [X][Samothrace] Garland
     
    Why does it seem like Nori is either going to join or start some evil group or accidentally explode themselves? Good thing we're getting those security upgrades.

    And it looks like some onis are about to be eaten by an eagle.


    [X][Samothrace] Veil
     
    ...So, are we picking between three different goddesses, who happen to look alike, or is this a case where we are meeting one "aspect" of a goddess?

    Hmm, I'll have to think on this.
     
    Chaosmancer said:
    I want to end up reading Girls Und Panzer. I watched the show, but I feel like there was a lot left out, since the anime just... abruptly ends and doesn't cover a lot of things.
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    Good idea! There's also Ribbon Warrior, but that one amps up the Yuri bait by 2000% by mainly focusing on two girls who use a single two-seater tank in what are basically pick-up games of tankery. One of the girls wears a ribbon, acts like a samurai, and mans the cannon. The other gets hot and bothered imagining herself dressed and saddled like a horse for her samurai waifu to ride into battle on.

    They're also both completely worshipful over Miho, despite never meeting her, because her actions in the original series have been blown out of proportion into legendary status.
     
    Silverking said:
    ...So, are we picking between three different goddesses, who happen to look alike, or is this a case where we are meeting one "aspect" of a goddess?
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    That is an interesting question.

    To be sure, they all have dark curly hair, richly tanned skin by Usagi's standards, dark, expressive eyes, and a similar, idiosyncratic style of clothing.

    Then again, a lot of women in the world might match that description, apart from the clothing at least.
     
    But possibly important. So... Something to do with Desert Apostles and all those Heartcatch things?

    Egypt and all those Divine asshats that really, really want to kill us thinking We're our best friend?
     
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    [X][Samothrace] Veil

    Was a bit leery of the Lunar Empire tie-in, but that level of focus followed by that extremely casual if not mildly insulting greeting? Yes, sounds like the most interesting choice.
     
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    Simon_Jester said:
    I don't remember if the Egyptian gods even know about Sailor Moon.

    Wasn't their prophecy specifically about Naru?
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    I think so... But their "I really, really wanna go kill that!" Declaration was in response to that mass Healing of all those identity challenged victims in the Oblivion base we raided that time that the Catholic Church is calling the Reckoning. Yunno, the ones locked in animal cages wallowing in their own filth?

    That was Usagi, not Naru, despite their Entertainingly Wrong misattribution of the feat to Pandora.

    Simon_Jester said:
    An interesting characterization of the greeting.
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    Mildly insulting as in a low level taunt, not nesessarily hostile, likely more casually provocative.
     
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    VenturaZiggy said:
    I think so... But their "I really, really wanna go kill that!" Declaration was in response to that mass Healing of all those identity challenged victims in the Oblivion base we raided that time that the Catholic Church is calling the Reckoning. That was Usagi, not Naru.
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    Usagi Quest (CK3/Princess Maker) (Sailor Moon)

    Even now, as she holds space taught, two locations overlapped the force of her magic flows through the hole and into the blocks on the other side. All across Tokyo there are hidden spaces that hold sensors and crystals to keep an eye on the magic of the city. At once they ring, at once they...
    forums.sufficientvelocity.com

    I'm reviewing the update where we see their reactions, and I'm... am I missing something here?

    Mildly insulting as in a low level taunt, not nesessarily hostile, likely more casually provocative.
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    Ah. I see what you were getting at now.
     
    All those reactions are in response to Usagis successful advancement of Sliver of Silver (IIRC) from the previous post when she called on a massive amount of power and just threw an overpowered conceptually based Mass Heal at the entire room stuffed full of Oblivion batteries.

    Having to delay this is part of the reason she yeeted that Oblivion Boss's [Chain Core] and deliberately left some sort of spiritual scarring in it's place, permanently denying him the privelage of Magic.

    Edit: wrong post, forgot about the battle with the Oblivion Boss. Corrected.

    Edit2- was correct the first time, lol. Actually Corrected.
     
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