sm_monthly Mar 22 theme
As rarely as these actually follow, this one is a direct prequel to Star of Nemesis.
Title: In Hostile Soil
Author: purplekitte
Theme: Villains--Sin
Genre: Romance
Version: Anime
Rating: PG-13
Orange Topaz was as surprised at the miniskirt was anyone else. Actually, no one else was surprised because she was practicing alone out in the asteroid cloud.
“What in the nine hells? I wouldn’t be caught dead in this.”
It didn’t take her any time to see the irony in that. If she was caught in this, she would be dead. If ever there was a crime the Black Moon Clan would never forgive, it was looking like the Enemy.
“Sailor Nemesis, eh?” She could feel the heartbeat of the planet, the cold stone in her crystal earrings. She took them off. The casual gesture felt wrong, unnatural. A member of the Clan never took off her earrings, ever. It felt colder without them, but the Death Phantom, the dark god, felt further away. She could still feel him, the lifeblood of her people, but his miasma was lifted from her mind and she felt steadiness in the place of temper, acceptance in the place of her lies to herself, caring in the place of rivalry.
“Topaz? Are you out here? Bixbite said you were.”
Sapphire. Of all times. She closed her eyes tight and willed away short black skirt, orange bows, black collar, black tipped white gloves, and orange-topped black boots. An orange shirt just pulled tight over her cleavage, dark brown pants and vest, and short black boots and fingerless gloves. Please. Please. Please. She didn’t want this, had been unlucky enough to have been the one born with something wrong with her this generation sure as if she’d been born blind.
“Topaz?” He didn’t sound shocked so she opened her eyes. “Didn’t you hear me?”
“Sorry, cousin. I was lost in thought.” She deplored lying but if ever there was a time in life to avoid a topic and keep a secret it was now.
“How’d training going?”
She shrugged, really, really not wanting to call up her magic just then. “How are the droids?”
“Great! I just finished a new one.” Sapphire could always be counted on to want to talk about droids. “Do you want to see?”
Topaz kissed him, making it clear they were going back to his room and wouldn’t be looking at engineering feats for a while. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”
Sapphire, who wore his earrings yet, didn’t quite get it. But wanting and calling the emptiness not quite filled love was perfectly familiar to Nemesis, and so, she knew, was loving and not noticing what it meant. And that was a crime the Death Phantom would never forgive.
Title: In Hostile Soil
Author: purplekitte
Theme: Villains--Sin
Genre: Romance
Version: Anime
Rating: PG-13
Orange Topaz was as surprised at the miniskirt was anyone else. Actually, no one else was surprised because she was practicing alone out in the asteroid cloud.
“What in the nine hells? I wouldn’t be caught dead in this.”
It didn’t take her any time to see the irony in that. If she was caught in this, she would be dead. If ever there was a crime the Black Moon Clan would never forgive, it was looking like the Enemy.
“Sailor Nemesis, eh?” She could feel the heartbeat of the planet, the cold stone in her crystal earrings. She took them off. The casual gesture felt wrong, unnatural. A member of the Clan never took off her earrings, ever. It felt colder without them, but the Death Phantom, the dark god, felt further away. She could still feel him, the lifeblood of her people, but his miasma was lifted from her mind and she felt steadiness in the place of temper, acceptance in the place of her lies to herself, caring in the place of rivalry.
“Topaz? Are you out here? Bixbite said you were.”
Sapphire. Of all times. She closed her eyes tight and willed away short black skirt, orange bows, black collar, black tipped white gloves, and orange-topped black boots. An orange shirt just pulled tight over her cleavage, dark brown pants and vest, and short black boots and fingerless gloves. Please. Please. Please. She didn’t want this, had been unlucky enough to have been the one born with something wrong with her this generation sure as if she’d been born blind.
“Topaz?” He didn’t sound shocked so she opened her eyes. “Didn’t you hear me?”
“Sorry, cousin. I was lost in thought.” She deplored lying but if ever there was a time in life to avoid a topic and keep a secret it was now.
“How’d training going?”
She shrugged, really, really not wanting to call up her magic just then. “How are the droids?”
“Great! I just finished a new one.” Sapphire could always be counted on to want to talk about droids. “Do you want to see?”
Topaz kissed him, making it clear they were going back to his room and wouldn’t be looking at engineering feats for a while. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”
Sapphire, who wore his earrings yet, didn’t quite get it. But wanting and calling the emptiness not quite filled love was perfectly familiar to Nemesis, and so, she knew, was loving and not noticing what it meant. And that was a crime the Death Phantom would never forgive.