1840/Sculpt me like your earth alicorns

Sculpt me like your earth alicorns
Date of Scene:	05 August 2024
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	Jadeite comes and checks on the little alicorn and the two discuss the life of being ex villains... also, Hinoiri is a model now. Very proud. Much majestic.
Cast of Characters:	Jadeite, Hinoiri Kirara

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Jadeite has posed:
So. Apparantly Hinoiri's having a bad day again. He'd never say it to her face, but he gets the impression that right now she's experiencing the emotional equivilant of bouncing down an endless flight of stairs, squeaking like a dog toy on each step.

Not that he's much better at the moment. Beryl's been defeated, the world is at peace, and yet he feels like his sled has yote itself from a steep but managable hill off a cliff.

That was rather the point, wasn't it? He didn't want to backslide, and he assumed she didn't either. Better to talk about that sort of thing with someone who knew what you were going through.

He knocks politely. He's in an enormous CHICAGO CUBS t shirt that goes down almost past his cargo shorts and he's got some American snacks and the clay he was gifted a few days ago with him. "Miss Hinoiri?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was home alone, eating a massive pancake to help calm her nerves. She was doing much better, all things considered. After all, she'd managed to work with Takashi and they'd accelerated the process. Before long she'd no longer be her hooved self. So, while she still had magic and this size, she'd enjoy it! And that meant treats!

... Okay, it was a small soft cookie, but to her? Massive. Chocolate. Chip. Pancake.

However, when someone was there... knocking... She hmed. Making her way to the door, flapping up and...

Okay, so, the peeping hole wasn't the best when you were a tiny pony. Okay, so she just had to... get her head to the hole and--

"Who is it?"

And then her wing hit the wall and she shrieked, followed by falling and slamming into the door knob, swirling and--

Hitting the ground in a small, discombobulated pile. "O-ow..." she whispered.

Jadeite has posed:
Tamaki winces. Oh, that sounded like it bruised. "It's Tamaki! My parents sent me some stuff from America and there's too much for just me to eat. Would you like some company tonight?"

He's uh. He's just going to give her the same dignity he'd like to get, to pull herself back up and answer the door.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was jsut going to need a moment. How to play this. Well, dignity was gone. But then, she was a cat-sized alicorn, so that was always a toss-up. She got to her hooves, flapped her wings and readied herself. She. Could. Do this. She opened the door with her magic this time, peeping her head out and... looking up... and up... and...

"Oh... it's you. Hey. You look... different."

He did, in fact, look taller.

"... So, I know you're like... a sparkle now, but... just to be sure. You're not here to try and murder me, right?"

Jadeite has posed:
He does look different. Significantly less dignity, for one. He's had enough nights of poor sleep that he doesn't so much have bags under his eyes as an entire purse department.

"I'm not here to kill you," Tamaki says with a sigh. "If I wanted you dead, I would not be subtle about it. I'm not that intimidating, am I?" he asks with a wan smile.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara shook his head. "Not particularly, no. But I am tiny and a lot of people have tried to off me lately." Pause. "But I'm also pretty sure you saved my life that one time so... it'd be a waste. Unless you were..." Then trailed off. "You look terrible. Do you want a cookie? I'm guessing you're here for me, since... Dianora isn't here right now and, unless she's become a sparkle since I got back, I don't think you'd be coming here for her."

".... Well, unless you're trying to get her for an acting job. Because she's going to a... a star."

Hinoiri was a tiny alicorn now. So she could make... a tiny, illusion shooting star that flew by. It was simple and dazzling. "Just make sure you close the door behind yourself." Before she trotted back into the room to jump back onto the coffee table.

Jadeite has posed:
"I wouldn't mind a cookie," Tamaki says, following her into the room once he closes the door. He sets his bag down on the coffee table and sits, watching her zip around and make illusions. "I like your star."

He shrugs at her as he pulls out a bag of corn bugles and opens it, offers it to her; surely a horse would like a corn chip, right??

"I don't know Dianora. You don't have to humble yourself so much to make up for things, you know. Losing your power is frustrating, but that doesn't mean you're reduced to a target."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri's horn glowed and a small plate with a cookie would flow out towards him. "What are those?" she asked, taking a small bugle from it. And barely, just BARELY, resisted the urge to blow on it like a horn. Adding it to her plate, along with the 'pancake'. She even had a tiny fork and knife. They were not effective but it was to be prim and proper.

"Humble myself? You... don't mean this, do you?" she asked, spreading her wings out. "Cause like. I'm an alicorn now. This was pretty much my entire goal. Aside from... you know. Being... the size of a small dog. And I'm not reducing myself to a target. I'm just acknowledging after many attempts on my life I am, in fact, a target."

"... Are you okay? You seem... distressed." She then groaned. "Oh buck. Who got kidnapped this time?"

Jadeite has posed:
"Corn bugles! They're really popular where I grew up. I figured you'd get a kick out of them since they're corn." Hm. "That sounded better in my head." Is it horsist to assume a horse would enjoy corn and other such grains?

"Oh, no, I don't mean the tiny horse thing. I mean the assuming I'm here to hurt you or to see your roomate. I know it's easy to assume the worst in people and feel like everyone hates you,but you aren't alone."

(he'd learned that the hard way, unfortunately.)

"Oh, no, I'm fine. I'm just," and he pauses a second too long, "tired. I presume you heard that Beryl and her allies have been dispatched?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times, then... "I'm... going to assume it's because of the vegetarian thing? Do... do ponies here eat a lot of corn? I've never really been a 'corn' person, to be fair. It's okay? But I tend to prefer fruits." And pastries!

"Oh! No. I mean... well. I'm... not really magical right now, so... I don't see *why* someone would come to see me from the sparkle side. It's not like I can offer you..." She then trailed off. Looked back at her wings. Paused. "Okay, so I'm amazingly magical, I guess. So yeah, I can see why you'd come to me."

"... But yeah. I knew... something was up. I got some... messages... before you all left. About how everyone... how some people might not return," Hinoiri mumbled gently. "But everyone came back safely, so... I can only assume everything went well. Is... that what you wanted to talk to me about? Cause, I'll be honest? Beryl and me? Nooooot exactly close. In fact, our relationship was borderline frosty," Hinoiri said, before snickering. "S-sorry, I can't resist making puns like this. It's a pony thing. You're ummm... oh. Wait... you... you didn't have a crush on her or anything, did you? Because, I'm going to just say it now. There are so many, many other terrible choices you can make instead."

Jadeite has posed:
"Corn is considered a high quality meal for horses here," Tamaki confirms. "I wasn't sure if your diet would become more like that of a horse of this dimension while you were transformed, so I wanted to have option. And if it was just as prized on your world, then I'd be in luck." Ah well! Corn bugles were still pretty delicious, and you could use them to be claws or unicorn horns.

"You don't have anything I want," Tamaki says. "I'm not interested in your powers. But you're in the same boat as me, leaving Obsideon with a bang and having them come after you about it. I thought it'd be nice to talk about it with someone who knows what it's like?" ... Is that not clear enough? "Since, you know. Restarting is hard. Figured it'd be good for both of us to hang out since we're both in this together." As...friends? Possibly?

At the suggestion of having a crush on Beryl, Tamaki makes a face like he bit a lemon. "Absolutely not!!" ew ew ew ew ew!! "I loathe that - that - that - " and he rattles off a string of words that Hinoiri's probably not going to catch unless she's fluent in American English Cussing. "She's dead and I'm glad she's dead!"

Breathe in. Breathe out.

"...We went to defeat her," he says, trying to calm down. "And we did. She's dead, Thetis is dead, the DG Girls have been depowered. It was a hell of a fight, though, so I'm still bouncing back."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara took a small bite out of the tip of one of the bugles. Oh, it was SO HARD not to just... blow on it. "Ohhhh. It's not prized, but not hated. A lot like this world, I imagine. It's just... a food. Fascinating that we both have them, though."

She then cocked her head to the side and nodded. "Ohhhhh. Yes, you and your lot were part of Obsidian at one point, weren't you? The butlers five was what I called you. I... appreciate it. It's... not always easy, I guess. Being... well..." She paused, trying to think on how to phrase it.

"... Being the odd person out, I guess. Though, I guess... probably different for you. Since... you have magic still, and all. I'm... curious. Is it different on your side? Like... do they ask for your help and stuff? Or..."

"... Does it ever feel like... everyone... is watching you? But... like..."

She squirmed, shuffling from hoof to hoof. "Like they're watching you, and almost... feels like... they know something you don't, and they're just waiting for you to figure it out?"

Jadeite has posed:
"You can play with it if you want. I used to do that all the time," Tamaki says, and scoops out a couple bugles to put on his fingers. The fearsome Cornclaws returns!! "If you have horses on your world, it wouldn't surprise me if you had a lot of other equivilants to Earth organisms there. They're probably different to a degree since a magical pony culture is going to be different from a human culture, but everyone needs staple crops." A pause. "I'm related to a lot of farmers, so,,," He knows such things,,,,

"We were," he confirms, and then goes quiet to phrase his response. "They still ask for my help, but it took a while. I was pretty exhausted right after leaving and stayed in my room, and then I spent a lot of time trying to demonstrate I'd changed my behavior, and that - helped?" It was probably easier than her journey had been, between his amnesia and his prince being able to read into his soul at a touch, but he'd still walked a long path.

"...I do feel like they're waiting for me to figure something out. I don't know what, though," Tamaki sighs.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod and... "Toot toot," she said, blowing into the horn. It was a bugle bugle.

"Really? I wouldn't have imagined you a farmer. It's a noble profession, though. Farmers provide the backbone for the majority of society, feeding them so others can create and work on other projects. But yes, we have horses and ponies back home. Griffons, hippos, dragons, bears, all kinds of things," Hinoiri said before cutting off a small piece of her cookie and biting into it.

"... That's comforting, though. I always... feel like that. Like... I'm just stuck... waiting. For it. There's... a lot I could help with, but I think Yellow Pearl Voice is the only one who really... reached out and asked for my help. I know more about magic than anyone here." Pause. "Which, I guess is ironic, considering I don't have any now..."

Her mind flitted back to what Rashmi said. "Apparently... I guess.... being selfish might make that... harder. So, who knows? Maybe... I never will."

She held up a hoof and looked at it. "You know, it's weird. I feel this should... annoy me more? Being so small? And it kind of does? But honestly, it's just... such a relief to have *magic* again. Even magic as pathetic as this. Going cold turkey like this has been... hard. Did you ever miss dark energy?"

Jadeite has posed:
Tamaki laughs at the bugle, then eats his claws off one by one. Victory over the Cornclaws!

"Well, if I went into the family business, I'd probably be asked to help sell them rather than grow them. Corn's incredibly lucrative here - it's used as a sweetener, a fuel, food for both humans and animals... A lot of human societies don't value farmers or farm workers that much. Can I have some of that cookie?" He coul djust take some but she's still awfully jumpy. Better to ask.

"There's a point where if you're too selfish, people will be loathe to trust you. It's a lot of work to fix that," he says. "Even when you're getting better, it feels like people hold back for a long time. It doesn't feel fair. It barely feels worth it, right?" (Endymion, please, look at me - )

"I can't make you do anything. You're the queen of your own life. Rebuilding that trust is a long process, and being selfish is easy; you can push everyone away before they hurt you. But - do you want to keep living like that?"

(He hadn't, in the end - but it had taken a long time to realize it.)

He nods, understanding. "I have partial amnesia about having dark energy, but - when I had been reborn as a human, in my second life, I always felt something was missing. Being able to use magic again made me feel complete. The dark energy made me feel - well, energetic, even when I was drowning." wait. "Metaphorically. I have not drowned literally." yeah his fight with thetis went GREAT

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara frowned, cocking an eye at him. "That... that's so short sighted! You need food to live. You..." Trailed off. Blinked. "Okay, you know what? Yeah, we did it too. There's a lot of stories about us... mistreating the 'food growers' of our land, just because others controlled the weather and we controlled the sun and moon."

"Still... I guess... I know I can't really do magic now, and it's selfish but... it'd still be nice to be involved. Like, I had no idea about this Beryl thing until I got a message warning me that people might die. And I didn't even know the whole story until... you lot got back..."

"... And I'd have wanted to help. I helped train the DG girls, I'm sure I could have done *something*. Of course I don't want to push everyone away. I've been working really hard to... help where I can. When I can. And no, you can't have any of my cookie."

Her horn glowed and she shook the other plate before sticking her tongue out at him in a teasing manner. It had likely been partially blocked from sight when he put the bugles down. "It's why I got you your own."

"But... on the other hand... I do get it. I probably wouldn't want to trust me either. I really was the most competent and dangerous opponent the sparkles had. Sure, Beryl was more powerful, at times, than me... but she was nowhere near as competent. About the only thing that really gave you a chance was the fact I didn't really want to hurt you lot... until I didn't. Err, no offense. I'm sure you and your... friends... were... somewhat competent. But you were under Beryl, so I assume it was wasted."

She took another bite of cookie.

"... Dark energy... is dangerous. It twists and turns you and it hurts. It's... subtle about the hurt, too. I knew it was hurting me, but I just... I kept... the alternative was... this. And being powerless? That hurts a lot, too. I don't know how Naru puts up with it. She may be one of the strongest people I know."

Jadeite has posed:
"...Please tell me there aren't pony lobbyists." Please, let one world be free of that nonsense!!

He bites into his cookie with a pout before scooping up more bugles. "There's probably something you can do. Feeding people, or helping people who miss class to fight catch up with homework, or helping run laundry if someone's clothing got trashed in a fight. I know none of that sounds glorious, but it's some of what I've been doing when we've had a crisis. My powers are very - I can't heal anyone. I can fight or I can shield someone, but none of that's terribly useful for waiting for the danger to begin. So I found other ways. When I was Mamoru's bodyguard in my past life, a lot of my time WASN'T fighting but other things. There's more to helping people than having magic."

Maybe that sounds overly simplistic, or naive. It might be? Tamaki's desire to help or harm revolved around people, not ideals.

...He's not going to say anything about Beryl and her ilk being more or less competant than Hinoiri because he knows he'll get upset and Hinoiri's feelings will be hurt, which is not the purpose of the visit! And, frankly, he'd rather not get into how the 'incompetant' Beryl and minions killed him right now. Like, he's better, but he's not going to have Hinoiri tell him he has a skill issues about it.

"Dark energy is dangerous. It makes you want to do anything to get more. But, like - I don't want to downplay how losing your magic is terrible, but doesn't some of htis feel better, not having it in your life? Being able to start fresh?"

And. Hm. She's really behind the times,if she doesn't know, "She truly is. Naru did manifest some magic recently. She helped put Beryl down - so, you know, not having magic isn't forever."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
"What the buck is a lobbyist?" she asked.

Of course, it wouldn't take long before... "Oh, yeah, there's a lot of that. It's not a profession, though. But any pony can come and try to meet before Sora. But... I don't think to the extent they are here."

She was nibbling her cookie then, giving a light shrug. "Ehhh. I mean... kind of? But magic has been my whole life. I'm... trying to help in other ways, where I can. But... it never feels like enough. It feels like... well... I guess... it's kind of like... I don't know. Having a home with like... a broken door. And now I don't have the house at all anymore. Sure, it's nice not having to worry about the door anymore. But not having the house at all feels a lot worse..."

Hinoiri lowered herself down and sighed, resting on the table like a nesting cat. "And now I can't even have a house, because last time I had a house I tried to use it and blew up a volcano. But I've also spent my whole life... building on this house, I guess. Modifying it, learning how to... work it. And everyone else still has a house but only one person even seems to want my help to fix up their house."

She was so pouting, stuffing some more cookie in her mouth...

Only to choke on it when he mentioned NARU had MAGIC now! "SHE HAS WHAT?! HA! I called it! But... really? She's had magic? How long? Why didn't anyone tell me? She..." Then trailed off. "Since... before... Beryl? So its been... a while... yeah. I guess... that shows exactly where I stand, huh?"

Jadeite has posed:
"A lobbyist asks the government really nicies to priotize whatever thing they sell or person they represent with laws. It's a whole thing. Like, wheat and corn and soybean lobbyists will fight to make sure their crop gets the most government money." Pony government was probably a lot les... THIS.

He nods along with the house metaphor. "I know what that's like. I was able to get a tent, but it's still not the same. Though."

Hm. Ok. "Can I speak frankly, Hinoiri?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small shrug. "Seems... weird. Surprised it doesn't result in like, a lot of corruption or things like that. Having people who are hired just to push one viewpoint seems like it'd cause a lot of problems."

She stuffed a bit more cookie in her mouth and gave a little nod. "Whatever you want," she mumbled around the cookie.

Jadeite has posed:
"Oh no, it absolutely does result in corruption. Politics on Earth are very wild," tamaki says.

He finishes his cookie, considering again how to phrase things. "Look. I'm not saying this to guilt trip you or make you feel worse. I know how bad it feels to have the shitty things you did brought up over and over again. But I thought my best friend was going to die, you know?" And his boyfriend, now, but uh. This does not seem like the time and place for it. "That's a big thing to get over. I did even worse to Usagi and Mamoru in our first life AND in my second and I'm probably going to spend the rest of my life trying to show I'm not going to do it a third time. It's a whole work in progress. The worse you mess up, the more you've got to do to reverse course."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara went silent then. She stared at the remainder of her cookie.

He might even think she was going to just... stop there. Or say nothing in response. Instead, eventually she spoke up. "I... know. It was... I couldn't... control it. I was... I can vaguelly remember. Not everything. But enough. I just..."

"I hoped everyone would stop me. I was hoping... everyone would kill me. I just... no, nevermind, it's silly. I did... some terrible things. I know that. I shouldn't expect anyone to trust me. I'm lucky people... even helped me when I bucked up that badly. Saved the... saved the people I hurt..."

"... I was incredibly lucky. And I am grateful."

Jadeite has posed:
"It was the same way for me," Jadeite says quietly.

He finishes his cookie, then pulls the clay out of his bag and starts playing with it. Rolling it, forming the pale blue clay into circles and sausages and squashing it between his fingers.

"I don't remember much either. I took a bad blow to the head and, well, concussions." among other things. he's not getting into that. "I barely remember how it ended. In my first life, though, at the very end - I felt some clarity. I hoped that someone would stop me or kill me before I made things worse."

He stretches the clay out some more, making a fat little snake.

"That's part of why I went to fight the Sunset of Sora. I needed to get Mamoru's powers back so he could heal himself, of course, but - I wished someone had stopped me before I went too far. It was the least I could do for someone in that situation." The snake gets bent to have a neck,and part is broken off and rolled to make a long face.

"I don't want to downplay what happened to you. I can't ignore what you did to others, either.

"But, you know, I helped end the world, and somehow I got to come back from that. It's going to suck, but you can do it too."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light chuckle and nodded. "Thanks. That... is oddly comforting. I guess that makes, in some ways, Sayaka my Mamoru. At least no matter what happens, I can always count on her to try and break me out of it."

She then glanced over towards his claymaking. "Huh. Are you a... ummm... claymaker? Clayerist? Uhhhh. Are you a clay artist? What are you working on?"

"And... if I can be entirely honest... A part of me is scared... That after bucking up, I'll be... helpless forever. That I'm just... doomed to always be the one who tried to blow up your world. And I'll never be able to... really make up for it."

"... I did some good with dark energy, but... that was back when I had control."

Jadeite has posed:
"Exactly. Sayaka has your back. You've got others."

He hums, showing her the vaguely pony-shaped squiggle he's formed. "I'm a scuptor! I do a lot of different art media, actually, but I used clay to make monsters a lot back when - you know, so I stopped using it. A friend suggested I try and pick it back up to destress, but I haven't known what I wanted to make with it until now."

But when inspiration struck, he took it! He's gonna roll out some legs now, so he can make his little horse sit on the ground.

"For me, I'm always going to be the one who helped end the world to myself. I know there's plenty of other things I am in the years I don't remember well. Is it strange I'm ok with that? I don't like it, but I can't change it."

Bend those horsey legs to make his horse loaf, then get the yellow clay for the hair. "Well. What do you think of me? Am I the moron who tried to buck up the world lots of times and succeeded once? Or am I some weird guy sculpting in your house?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
"Huh, really? I've... actually been trying painting. Someone recommended I try that. I've also been trying drawing, it's... oddly... nice? Soothing? Not trying to be... perfect when I do it. And it turns out drawing all those arcane symbols makes it not too difficult to carry that skill to drawing... actual things."

She watched him work. However, after a little bit, her cheeks went red and... oh. She did not know how to say that. But...

"I'll... be honest? To, ummmm... me? You're... actually the guy who caught me out of the air and... ummm... made an ice slide... so I didn't like... die or break all the bones in my body on the cruise ship."

"... I never really saw you do the other stuff. While... everyone was in the other world, that little fantasy of Beryl's, I didn't see much of you. I was mostly focused on... well, what I was focused on isn't important. But I don't really... know the bad you."

And she was, fortunately, smart enough to not mention she kiiiind of found him saving her life to be hot. Cause Double Trouble would likely not like that, it'd make things awkward and... well. Frankly it was probably a given. Saving lives was hot.

Jadeite has posed:
"It's good! And I think it's fun. I've always enjoyed art. Just - don't get caught up in chasing perfection, alright? That way lies madness." He's done things that have been, how do you say, very stupid in that.

The pony gets a tail and mane; beady little eyes; there he pauses, considering where to go next.

He relaxes despite himself. He'd hoped for an answer like that - but he couldn't have been sure. HE didn't remember how much they had fought or gotten along in Obsideon - but he'd managed to make a good impression on her, which served his point nicely.

(And it was. Nice. Not staying haunted by the past.)

"So, I know it's oversimplying things but - if I can become that guy who saved you on a slide, then you can become - the girl who pulled someone out of a fire. Or who figured out where someone was kidnapped."

(...perhaps luckily for both of them, Tamaki's oblivious to the attraction. His eyes are for one man only!)

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a soft sigh and nodded. "Oh, there is. It's called 'Sunset of Sora' and I'm hoping to keep that madness locked away from now on," Hinoiri said firmly.

"Yeah... I think, officially, I'm not supposed to be going into fires. But the kidnapping, at least, maybe? I think you all have a magical detective now, though. But... I'll try. I've been helping Yellow Pearl Voice with some magical research. Studying the way magical music works, when sung by different magical girls. I learned a lot when, uhhhh... that Hope magical girl did it."

On the other upside, Hinoiri... knew better than tothink 'Hot' was 'worth pursuing'. She had a pretty great relationship as it was (somehow) and she was more than happy to have hot friends.

"Want me to pose to catch the full grandeur of an alicorn?"

Jadeite has posed:
"Preaching to the choir - that instinct always got me bad too," Tamaki says, and he holds up some white clay experimentally. "Do you think I should have wings or a horn?" Teach him your ways...

"Yeah, fires are a bad idea right now, but - there's always something you can do. Yellow Pearl, that pink hope girl... there'll be ways."

And he nods. "Yes please! I want to catch the look while I'm inspired!"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara got back to her hooves and spread out her wings, holding her head aloft. "Sora used to stand like this whenever she posed," she said, with a small smile. "If you're making one of yourself? Well... the magic would imply unicorn. However, as your magic is more ice focused, pegasus could work just fine. Pegasi adjust the weather, setting up blizzards, all of that," Hinoiri said proudly.

And, at the very least, he'd have a willing model for as long as he wanted to create these little clay statues. Now she was a model!