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Title : Formerly Aurae; The Galaxy Cauldron Forums' Official Professor Tomoe Posts : 6250 Join date : 2013-07-23 Location : Chicago
![[Contest] June 2018: Fun in the Sun - Tiebreaker Voting! Empty](https://2img.net/i/fa/empty.gif) |  Subject: [Contest] June 2018: Fun in the Sun - Tiebreaker Voting! ![[Contest] June 2018: Fun in the Sun - Tiebreaker Voting! I_icon_minitime](https://2img.net/s/t/21/09/42/i_icon_minitime.gif) 5th July 2018, 6:08 am | |
| ![[Contest] June 2018: Fun in the Sun - Tiebreaker Voting! X23OgkJ](https://i.imgur.com/x23OgkJ.png) For the June 2018 contest, Fun in the Sun we have a tie! Please help us select one winner! Look at the wonderful qualifying entries: Entry A
- Entry A wrote:
- Author suggested background music: Icarus by Bastille
The battle spread out beneath him, an army as far as the eye could see, writhing and raging, pushing forward through the darkness, lunging closer by leaps and bounds towards the precipice upon which he perched. Twisted faces screamed and groaned their cries of challenge as they scrambled to meet him, to tear him limb from limb, to rip him to shreds for being the forward scout. Heart hammering in his chest, their cries reverberating through him like hundreds of hammers striking hundreds of gongs, he pressed himself to kept control of his breathing, waiting until they reached the exact line in the black, rocky surface - and then stood proud against them. He quickly pressed his horn to his lips and blew, the pure tone cutting through the air above the gluttoral cries like a laser light cutting through the dark and then, on queue, the first rays of dawn crested the horizon behind him.
Warm light flooded the barren scape behind him - he could see it reflecting off their shining eyes and matte-black bodies as they renewed their screams in rage, climbing up his cliff to seek revenge before the true battle again, but he was prepared for that. Slipping his goggles into place and dropping the trumpet to hang on the string against his shoulders, he took in a deep breath, ran, and jumped from the ledge, spreading his arms wide. As he left the ground beneath his feet and fell towards the writhing horde beneath him, a shiver traveled from his shoulders to the small of his back as the tattoo of wings shimmered in gold and then freed itself from his body, becoming appendages as real as his own arms and legs, twitching once in the sudden freedom from his skin. His mouth a grim line of determination, he locked his wings in place and glided down to gain speed, then angled up, staying just out of reach of their cruel claws. He tilted, turning a tight circle to head back towards the cliff face, soaring above it to bask in the glow of the brilliant sunrise. Peace overtook him and he smiled, relaxing as he coasted back towards the source of that sunlight - the source of alllight in his life:
Sol Apollo.
The young ruler rode forth to meet him, his sun-kissed skin glowing in the light of the dawn he brought with him, his Stars riding their own steeds at his side; the sight was enough to bring tears to the eyes of poets, to stop mortals in their steps for sheer awe of the heavenly sight, and yet the guardians themselves never seemed to notice or give it any mind as they raced forward to fight the forces of the Night and bring peace to their budding Star System.
Venus was brightest among them, the long blonde hair whipping out behind her nearly as bright as her eyes and the grin of challenge as she rode into battle, her whip held at the ready, sunlight setting afire her tresses and making the golden laurel wreath upon her brow glow. Mars, beside her, looked on dispassionately as her steed raced forward, her own hair dark as night, the golden laurel the only shining thing about her other than the tip of her arrow, alight with literal fire as she aimed and loosed a shot into the horde of creatures behind him. Mercury rode on his other side, bright blue eyes searching the line with determination, her fingers racing along the strings of her lyre nearly as quickly as the thrumming beat of their horses’ hooves across the carbon rock beneath their pounding feet. The last of them - Jupiter - urged her horse forward, sparks of electricity arcing along her crown until she pointed a graceful finger and lightning shot away from her to crash into the enemy’s flank.
These were the guardians of this new Solar System, the senshi that would win it for the Light and allow life to flourish within its borders, led by their King, the guardian of the life-giving Star itself, the very man who looked up at him now with those golden eyes and gave him a cocky smile. “Icarus!” he called, and the white-winged scout dove to meet him, as able to resist the call as rocks were able to resist the pull of gravity. Sol Apollo reached up and Icarus reached down, his heart racing for more than just the adrenaline of the upcoming standoff as his hero gripped his forearm and pulled him down to ride behind him on his white steed. As his wings disappeared in another ripple of sensation across his back, he wound one arm around golden-clad torso of the would-be King and raised the horn to his lips with the other and blew once more, the brassy command joined by the whooping call of the Guardian of the Sun as he braced before him, leaning low over the equine creature with his long spear pointed forward. Icarus braced as they crashed into enemy lines with the sun at their backs, tearing through forces as easily as parting waves.
On his left Venus stood upon her steed and whipped her chain around her, the steel slicing through anything it touched, the wound burning with light even as the creatures fell. Mars’s arrows flew into enemies both far and near, the arrows sinking into the ground far into the distance exploding in an inferno as the Guardian of War picked her next target. The music Mercury played emboldened him in a way that his horn could never hope to imagine, and somehow her cold words were heard easily above the din as she pointed out weaknesses in their defensive lines - weaknesses Jupiter immediately sought to take advantage of, grinning madly as lighting sprung from her fingers to turn the creatures back to black dust.
When the first creature survived their leading line Icarus turned back, only for a second, to see the warriors made of golden sunlight quickly engage them, following their creator’s whims as surely as the beings of darkness were driven by their own orders.
How lucky was he to be chosen to be here? To serve any part in this war to claim the territories hitherto left to chaos was an honor, but to be chosen to serve them directly? To be given wings and the ability to call them forth, to ride with them into battle, to witness their acts from a position directly behind him… behind Apollo…
As though able to read his very thoughts, the tall rider turned back, the shining sun-pointed earcuff sparkling in the light of the risen sun behind them, his golden eye-makeup somehow still perfect against his dusky skin despite the battle raging around him. He smiled, at him, and Icarus’s heart seemed to stop. “Isn’t this fun?” he asked, and Icarus could not answer, his tongue somewhere between swallowed and paralyzed. Sol Apollolaughed, and it was like colors came back into the world, his head growing lighter to the point that he wondered if he was breathing. Apollo twisted and ruffled Icarus’s white hair with a golden-cuffed hand, his spear balanced on the back of the horse’s neck as he joyously proclaimed, “Don’t worry, Icarus, we’ll make a Helios of you yet.”
‘If it was for him,’ Icarus thought, his breath and heartbeat returning as the king turned back around and Venus’s blue gaze met with his to deliver a knowing wink that made him blush. He held tighter to the man in front of him - as tight as he dared - and swallowed, knowing, if nothing else, that this was true. ‘If it was for him, I would be Helios for eternity.’
Entry B
- Entry B wrote:
- "How could anyone want to do something when it's this hot outside," Ves complained. The red-haired girl lay draped across the patio chair on the small deck outside the "historic" Tsukino home, now used as a hideout. The air felt eerily still, thick with the muggy summer weather. The open sliding door provided no additional flow. Ves's two sisters and their princess seemed to have taken a page from her book, listless and vacant-eyed as they tried to do anything but focus on the oppressive heat.
The teenagers didn't even move when the front door slammed shut and footsteps pounded their way over.
"Everyone! Nana and Ruru won tickets to a huuuuuge festival! Palla wants to go!" the blue-haired girl announced enthusiastically.
Jun barely lifted her head. "It's too hot."
The pink-haired girl crumpled on the floor, her pose almost mimicking an area rug, nodded wearily. Even the yellow bows in Cere's hair seemed to sag. "Can't move," agreed a muffled voice.
Palla covered her mouth coyly, the sly expression on her face distorting her features to nearly qualify for a new horror film.
"What a shame," she yawned. "Palla will go to Crystal Tokyo Large Sight alllll by myself and enjoy that air conditioning without you."
The youngest (in how she acted, at least) of the sisters pranced back towards the front door. Cere sat up violently, narrowly-avoiding knocking her head into a low-positioned lamp. Chibi Usa shrugged, but decided it sounded better than their other options. The bait Palla had selected seemed perfectly suited to the companions she fished for.
It only took a few more minutes for the group to board a bus and head on their way.
"Girls!" cried the voices of Nana and Ruru, their chipper voices in unison as they ran over. The teenagers they greeted didn't seem quite as spirited, but they hardly looked as despondent as they had at the house. Even the brief time in the air conditioned interior of the bus seemed to have provided some level of restoration.
"We were so afraid you wouldn't be interested!" the pair sniffled dramatically, clutching hands.
Chibi Usa offered a smile, covering up for the others: "Palla made it sound very nice."
Behind her, Jun released a small sigh of relief. Cere nodded eagerly at the explanation. Ves crossed her arms over her chest, biting her tongue to hold back a comment asking why they weren't meeting inside the convention hall.
"Who wouldn't want to attend the Dermatological Technology Expo!" piped up a familiar voice, followed immediately by the glasses-dominated face of Umino. He had been standing behind the twins, both girls taller than him by a few inches.
Ves slowly turned her head back to face Umino, the first of the group to break their intense stare-down of the giggling Palla.
"Yes, let's go inside. There's so much to see," she replied through gritted teeth. Anything had to be better than standing out here where the harsh summer sun beat down on them, boiling them inside their own skins.
"It's not all that bad," Chibi Usa tried, thanking Jun with a nod of her head as the brunette brought back ice cream from the nearby "Crystal Sixteen Ice" vending machine. The taller girl took her seat opposite the temporarily-incognito princess, unwrapping her own ice cream cone without a comment. Ves declined the offer of frozen treats, lounging in one of the chairs and attempting to maintain a look of blasé disinterest. Cere took a large bite of her own popsicle, wincing at the sudden brain freeze, before protesting.
"Yeah, it is cooler in here, but it's also super boring!" she whined. Chibi Usa attempted to shush her, blushing brightly as heads turned their way and other patrons whispered.
"Is... is Palla still in there?" Jun asked, looking around.
Ves shrugged. They had politely followed their hosts for a few aisles of booths, but although she might have been entertained by a comic book festival, this didn't quite fit her usual criteria. Palla seemed content to stay with the pair—Umino certainly seemed to be enjoying himself—so they let her know where she could meet them.
"Palla found a thing!" called a familiar voice. Doctors and other medical professionals furrowed their eyebrows, a few of them narrowly avoiding collision with the running girl. Palla skidded to a halt just in time to stop herself from crashing into the table, but she reached out for Chibi Usa's hand and almost yanked the pink-haired girl right across the surface. "Follow Palla! It's so cool!"
Ves raised an eyebrow. "What... what is this?"
The young woman in the stylish yellow nurse's uniform gave a small smile and gestured to the device.
"It's called Violetta," she explained. "It detects UV damage to skin. We hope to introduce it to more clinics to use during routine screening for skin cancers."
Cere nudged Jun. "It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie! Like that 'Cryogenic Monsters from Beyond Mars' one we watched the other week!" The other girl nodded; she couldn't deny the similarity.
"We're offering free trials to show off its capabilities. Perhaps the clinics that you work for would be interested in installing one. Would you like to try it?" the saleswoman offered.
"I don't know..." Chibi Usa trailed off, eyeing the metal box suspiciously. It looked large enough to fit a car!
"UV imaging can be used to help prevent aging—" the woman began, but before the sentence was finished, another voice cut her off.
"Oh yes! Our clinics would love to learn more! Let's go!" cheerleaded Cere, grabbing the arms of her friends and practically dragging them with her. Those magenta eyes burned with the fire of a thousand updated beauty regiments. Her captives rolled their eyes, but played along—Palla absolutely gleeful.
The inside of the machine looked as metallic and sterile as the medical facilities it was intended for. The girls huddled together, Nana, Ruru, and Umino occupied elsewhere in the expo. The woman peeked her head in, made a few small requests, and then slid the white curtain across. They could hear her typing on some kind of keypad outside, and then the thing whirred to life, lights suddenly visible as they illuminated to near-blinding.
"Cere, what have you—" Jun started to protest, but as the white light surrounded the quintet, her words were cut off as her eyes rolled back into her head and her body slumped to the floor.
"Wait, look out—" Ves gasped, falling prone.
"What's going on?" Palla wailed, staring at her fallen friends as the tears gathered in her eyes.
"There's something evil!" Chibi Usa gasped, dodging to the side as she sensed something charge at her. Ruby eyes locked on a strange mechanical-looking creature, in concept vaguely familiar, exuding enough evil energy to make it completely clear what she grappled against. "Quick, transform!" she called, hoping the others could hear her.
"Ceres Power, Make Up!"
"Pallas Power, Make Up!"
It was too bright for Chibi Usa to see any elements of their transformations, even the usual flashes of light.
"Frozen Spear!"
The icy projectile whipped past, narrowly avoiding swiping Chibi Usa in the face, but she didn't have a moment to critique her teammate. The creature had released its hold on her, recoiling for a moment, and she called out her own transformation phrase.
"Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!"
It screamed—she realized that the monster had been buffeted by another attack. Sailor Moon didn't see it, but she could still sense it was near. She stepped backwards, bumping up against Sailor Ceres. Ceres heard a noise and spun around, sending a blast of petals out at the monster that raced towards them.
"Sailor Moon!" Pallas called. "Here!"
"Moon Princess Splendor!" she cried.
Beautiful pink energy surrounded the thing, hearts and petals everywhere. Thankfully, her aim was true. The beast dissolved, and as it did so the light that had filled the machine faded.
Sailor Moon knelt down near her fallen friends, thankful to find that the two were easy to rouse. When the group of five exited the machine, providing support for Jun and Ves, they were not terribly surprised to see that the woman from before had disappeared. The booth looked deserted.
"Palla, what were you thinking?" hissed Cere. The blue-haired girl's eyes filled with tears.
"Palla just wanted to..."
She paused, midway through her sentence. "Why is Cere so red?"
"What?" cried the girl, fumbling for her mirror. She was red—crimson.
"Usa, too!"
"Palla... Your face..."
Even Jun and Ves shared the same look—as though they'd collectively fallen asleep on the beach, without a smear of sunscreen between the five.
"Detects UV damage, huh?" Chibi Usa sighed. "Let's go. Maybe Mercury has aloe. Gallons of it." |
Please, don't vote for your own entry! Vote in the poll! Important DatesTiebreaker voting begins: Thursday, July 5Tiebreaker voting ends: Sunday, July 8Winner announced: Monday, July 9 |
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