The Wishing Tree (1): A Destiny City Star Festival Tradition to be held every year; In Town Square, there is a beautiful tree with spreading branches. It is tall, but the lowest branches are easily reached. The city has decorated the tree with small, starlike ornaments and glistening lights. Thick leaves and beautiful purple flowers dangle from the branches, along with a myriad of different colored papers with handwritten wishes. Next to the tree is a stack of blank paper with twine attached, and a handwritten sign that explains:
Write your wish on a sheet of paper and tie it to the tree. Take one wish off the tree and do your best to grant it. When you have granted the wish, bury the paper in the park.
The papers are biodegradable and filled with seeds. There are no rules for wishing, but you are encouraged to wish for something vague enough that it can be interpreted in many ways so that it can be granted; you do not write your name on it, but it is encouraged to write something that doesn’t wish for self gain, but rather something that can make the world a better place. Some wishes dangling from the tree already include things like “I wish there wasn’t so much litter in the park,” “I wish someone would clean the graffiti off the old historic buildings,” and “I wish there were more volunteers at the shelter.”
If you choose to use the Wishing Tree, what do you wish for? If your wish is private, you may write it on the paper and choose a spot in the park and bury it yourself instead of hanging it on the tree.
This was the second year Beta would be at the tree, a slip of paper in her hand, and waning hope in her heart. Her wish, written in coded language that only she and her lost sister would know, burning a hole in her palm like cruel stigmata. In the other hand, she clutched the blue star charm for this year. A sibling to the charm from last year in the same color. Two made for a heavy burden, and Beta was wondering, not for the first time, just how heavy with charms that key ring was going it get. Would she someday fill the ring with blue charms for a sister that she would never find? Would, one day, she simply stop picking up charms? What would be worse, to collect blue star charms until the end of her days, hope and keychains wearing away at her soul... or to someday lose hope entirely? To give her sister up for dead knowing that she hadn't died at all?
It was too large a question, Beta supposed with a heavy sigh. Too large for a hot evening where all she wanted to be doing was laying under her ceiling fan...
Maybe she was losing hope. A year ago this time she would run herself ragged searching and questioning, following chaos auras around the city demanding answered and receiving only lies and blood. This year... this year... she had homework. She had a job now. This year, she had therapy and her family was starting to do things again. She was... she was going to her planet.
She was tired some nights and stayed in and of course that chewed her up with guilt but...
But...
Beta glanced down at the charm in her hands and wondered if she'd get to five charms. If she'd get to three...
Still too big of a question. Beta still avoided it. Instead she tied the coded wish to the three and hoped against everything that her sister, wherever and whatever she was now would find it. Would know it. Would answer it.
Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 2:29 am
Irenaea could feel the powered signature standing just a little ways off before the so called "Wishing Tree" even came into sight. It wasn't one of her own faction and even thought Irenaea had "heard" of the other chaos-aligned senshi, corrupted, she believed the term was, she'd yet to come across any of the latter. There were nights when she wanted to merely hang out in the outfit that her powered self had and if that invited trouble, well she was able to defend herself: or so she hoped. There'd been no reasons yet to test her magic and so even though she tensed at the order-aligned aura did Irenaea merely continue on her walk.
There had been talk about how this ritual went: basically one had to write a wish down, tie it up, and then grab another wish in order to try and fulfil it. As Irenaea watched the order senshi tie her wish into the tree she had an urge to ask what one white moon senshi would wish for before shaking her head. Was it any of her business? Instead of possibly landing herself in trouble Irenaea strode to the table before glancing at the paper that was provided for the wishers to use before she turned to the tree instead. If she didn't write a wish down, could she still take one and try to grant it anyways? Would that be allowed?
In retrospect, maybe she'd have been wiser to leave things alone but where was the fun in that?
"Judging by your demeanor, that's not exactly a happy wish, is it?"
Beta Leporis, lost in thought, tensed considerably at the intrusion on her thoughts. And then she tensed further at the feeling of a chaos aura. Sort of. Upon further inspection, the aura felt... felt rather off. It drew her shoulders the last few inches towards her ears where they fused to the lobes and her spine went ram rod straight. A chaos aura was one thing. Beta had been cutting her baby teeth on chaos senshi for better or for worse. This, however... this was something else.
And Beta didn't really do well with something else.
"My wish is my business," she responded, turning slowly as she called her magic to her lips, just in case. At the very least, this... person... felt like she was the same level as Beta was. Which meant that she stood a better chance than normal if it came to a fight. "As is my demeanor. I wish I could say anything about you judging by anything else, but as it stands... I've not come across anyone like you before. And I've come across my fair share of chaos-aligned trash."
tefla
Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2023 11:17 pm
Irenaea at first wasn't insulted by the reaction that her mere presence drew out of the other young woman. Heck, if she'd been in the same situation she probably would have reacted in the same manner. It was one thing to perhaps politely make yourself known to someone lost in their own thoughts rather than suddenly just barging in with observations. The least she could have done was maybe clear her throat before she had approached. Maybe then it wouldn't have looked like the strange senshi hadn't just been hit with some sort of magical attack straight out of a certain book series. Even as Irenaea made the attempt to correct her oversight of the situation did she move to put a bit of distance between them before glancing towards the tree once more.
"Look, I'll be blunt. I don't care if you don't like me. I don't even care if you don't trust me. I really don't care if you are suspicious because I'm something else in your eyes. Just I give you my word that all I've come to do is check this tree and the tradition out. I couldn't care less what you feel you need to do in order to feel safe. I won't stand for being attacked without provocation though. And considering I'm just wanting to check the tree out, I don't view that as provocation."
There, she'd gotten that cleared up hopefully with this senshi in white. Side glances were given to the outfit of the other before moved to the table to grab a piece of paper before writing down quickly a string of words that would bring the wish possibly to life. It wasn't a wish for her specifically but maybe it'd keep the waterways that she liked to visit in order to magnet fish, cleaner.
She was a little affronted though at the thought of being seen as trash though. That comment, unknown to the other woman, had stung just a little.
As the other senshi spoke, Beta could feel her nerves simmering further and further into something more... useful. Surprise gradually gave way to irritation and then into anger. The presumption. The audacity. The unmitigated gall. Without provocation? Beta had the highest of provocations. She had been wronged, violated, and ruined. Three times, this had happened to her, and all at the hands of chaos. She'd been starseeded, nearly youmafied, and then had her sisten stolen from her. Hidden from her. Kept from her.
Before she knew what was happened, Beta whipped around fully, bodily facing the other senshi, and closed the distance between at a dizzying speed. She was inches away from her face when she began to spit, "without provocation," her fists balled into fists at her side. She was seeing red. Her vision had narrowed dangerously, pinpointing to only a small window where Beta could only see the other senshi's face, so close to hers.
"Without provocation," she repeated through her teeth. "Your kind is never without provocation. Your very existence begets violence. Everything you do is steeped in evil and hate. Your kind deserves eradication, and when I find my sister, when I rescue her from you, that is exactly what I am going to do."
She shoved the senshi away as though to prove her point, trembling with rage that kept climbing as she spoke.
tefla
Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2023 1:53 pm
At first Irenaea had thought that perhaps her words had been too much for the other senshi. With her back turned to the other as she was writing down her wish she couldn't see the girl's fists clench, couldn't see the reaction that her words alone had provoked ... couldn't see anything. It was only when she felt the fabric of her outfit flutter in a non-existent breeze and the physical presence of the order senshi right at her back that Irenaea deigned herself to turn around. What she wasn't prepared for was the amount of vitriol in the words that were spat back at her.
Words were just words, but even Irenaea knew how much words could hurt when chosen specifically to inflict hurt on another individual. She was guilty of using words over actions herself when she used her media outlets. It was pretty clear to her after listening for only a few seconds that this senshi of the white moon blamed everyone for losing her sister. What was clear though is that Irenaea had no idea who this person even was? Who she was even looking for? Heck, she didn't think she'd even been a senshi yet when this might've gone down. Words were easier to ignore but the physical shove was almost enough to get Irenaea to go toe to toe with this stranger. Instead of resorting to return the gesture, yet, Irenaea tried to use reasoning.
"Look. I don't even know you. I don't know what your sister's story is. But know this. I have no interest in being labelled as someone who does evil and hateful things. You want to find your sister, great. Have at it. But while you do keep in mind that not everyone takes kindly to being accused of something they've no part in."
Taking a moment to tie her own wish into the tree and grabbing a random bit of paper, not even daring to touch the one that this openly hostile senshi tied up, did she turn her back to the other for a moment. She tried to apply logic to the situation and was coming up short but she had to add something else, "look, I'm sorry about whatever happened to your sister. Truly, but ask yourself this as you go searching for her, maybe apply some searching of your soul too. Surely something might be keeping your sister from coming back to you, but is all evil's fault, or is there something else there too? Something closer to home?"
To be honest, it had been something that Beta had been ignoring for a long time. Something that she knew, but refused to acknowledge. Something that she ignored day after day and refused to give any attention to because she knew that if she did, she'd crumble. She knew that if she took time to untangle that feeling that she knew was more than just a feeling, it would be her undoing as well. She wasn't ready. She may never be ready. And then this chaos senshi looked her in the eyes, poked her nose where it didn't belong, and then jammed her nasty little finger into the still bleeding wound in Beta's heart.
She hadn't even known she'd spoken when she whispered, "rice powder, dust."
As always, the sudden wind of her magic caught Beta off guard. The dust itself didn't bother her, but the sound and the whipping of the wind was another thing all together. The din of it, especially, caused her to raise her voice as she called, "how dare you presume to know anything about my sister and I." She took a step closer, blind, white-hot rage quickly overtaking the pain in her chest. "How dare you presume to speak on something to which you have no insight. You weren't there. You didn't see the Negaverse rise up against us. You didn't suffer the betrayal of the Valencians. You didn't choke on the fog of chaos on the battle field." And she paused, as always immune to the effects of her own magic.
"But then," she mused as she regarded her target, "I suppose the miasma wouldn't have taken you, would it? No, not you. It would see you as kin. It would know that it already has you, wouldn't it? A tip, whether you want it or not. If you don't want to be conflated with all that is wicked and horrible and odious, then don't align yourself with all that is wicked, and horrible, and odious."
Beta Leporis calls the name of her attack and instantly a whirlwind begins to whip around her. A moment later, the air begins to grow thick with fine rice powder. This powder conceals her and any other order-aligned allies from by reducing or eliminating the vision of any chaos-aligned opponents. Along with diminished or eliminated visibility, the rice dust also causes irritation in the lungs resulting in coughing if it is breathed in. Order-aligned allies are spared from this effect as well and are able to move around freely. If a chaos-aligned opponent is wearing a mask or something that covers the nose and mouth or if they are wearing goggles they may experience lessened or no effects based on the amount of coverage. For instance, a scarf around the mouth may diminish the effect, but a gas mask will eliminate it altogether. The dust-filled whirlwind has a 15-foot radius and lasts for 30 seconds. Beta Leporis can use this attack three times per battle.
tefla
Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2023 10:23 pm
What in the actual ******** hadn't gotten more than two seconds of reprieve from the senshi that was looking more and more like she had bit down on something that tasted rather unpleasant. Perhaps it should have been a sign that her analysis of whatever situation had unfolded in the past had struck a nerve. As the white moon senshi muttered underneath her breath Irenaea was struck by the oddest sensation of a small puff of wind lifting her veil before all hell apparently broke loose.
Yes, I definitely struck a sore spot I think, was the thought that fired through her mind even as the puff of wind became a whirlwind of ferocity. Not even did she have to contend with the sudden whipping vortex of air but there were also the finest of particles that were interspersed into the air as well. Irenaea almost felt herself choking on the particulates before she narrowed her gaze. The angered white moon senshi was shouting at her over the roar of the wind and for a moment Irenaea was taken aback at the level of vitriol being spewed at her. The veil that was a part of her outfit when she was like this didn't do the best job of protecting her vision and she squinted in the direction that she could hear her opponent shouting from.
Everything that was being hurled at her in the form of angered words was entirely correct and Irenaea almost flinched before she felt her back stiffen in response as she heard the last few sentences thrown at her face. Her voice was choked from the dust that still continued to swirl around her but she managed her own reply just fine. Her own words were getting hard with the frustration, and yes, even anger that was starting to bubble up from within.
"You can call me all the unpleasant words you want. It doesn't change the fact that maybe this was actually all on you. You cast blame on everything else that was around you but fail to take responsibility that perhaps you have some partial blame too," Irenaea coughed before continuing, "You're right. I wasn't there. This was before I even was brought into this entire powered war but just because I'm not on your side, it doesn't give you any right to attack me or blame my court for a mess that you might have created entirely on your own."
Irenaea's gaze narrowed as the whirlwind began to subside in its strength before she called out the words that were offering the clearest clarion call from her heart. She had no idea what would happen but knew that this senshi opponent needed to be taught that she couldn't just go around flinging her own magic around and not to expect reprecussions, "Irenaea's Lonely Widow!"
Sweenys_Revenge
Quote:
Sailor Scout Attack: Irenaea's Lonely Widow Irenaea calls her attack and a lone widow spider will materialize from her fuku brooch. This spider is then attracted to the nearest enemy combatant to Irenaea. It'll sense vibrations from the target and rush over to make physical contact via a simple touch. Upon making contact with the target in question the spider vanishes in a plume of black smoke but the effects of a widow spider's bite begin to manifest. Inflicted symptoms include muscle pain, abdominal cramps and a racing heartbeat. Once thirty seconds are up the symptoms disappear. (( players can opt to have their character affected longer if they chose to do so ))
Area of Effect: 9 feet Duration: 30 seconds Uses: Three
The thing was that, technically, Irenaea was right. not even "technically." She was right. Beta losing her sister to chaos and not being able to find her wasn't this particular senshi's fault. Hell, if she was telling the truth, then she wasn't even capable of having been there in the first place. The other thing was that Beta simply didn't care. She couldn't. Caring about nuance like that meant taking time to differentiate between things and she didn't have the time. Every second, every breath that slipped by with her sister in the clutches of chaos was a step away from her that her sister took. And Beta had no idea how long it would be before Aura would simply be lost.
So yes. Irenaea was right. But that didn't mean that Beta was about to say so.
And Beta was opening her mouth to say as much when Irenaea cast her magic. Beta watched as the spider emerged from the other senshi's brooch, a truly unsettling image, and then tried to jump out of the way as it came towards her. He was, however, not fast enough, and yelped when it made contact, causing her skin to itch and crawl like it always did when she spied a creepy crawly.
And then, the spider vanished. Erupting in a puff of smoke, it disappeared without doing anything to her. It didn't even leave her with stranger-than-usual creepy crawlies. Had the magic failed? Was this senshi simply spectacularly weak? Beta would have laughed, except when she moved to mock the other senshi for their failure of an attack, her stomach turned and roiled back on itself unpleasantly. Her muscles began to creak and ache, the sensation growing until she had to double over and protect her core. Her heart thrummed against her chest and her body began to shiver, sold sweat beading on her forehead and the back of her neck. she may have cried out in surprise or pain, but she couldn't hear over the sound of her own panic. It could have been seconds, or it could have been hours, but when the magic finally wore off, she was on her knees, hands planted in the grass as she hunched over herself.
Humiliation washed over her as she recovered, leaping to her feet as fast as she could with the phantom aches and sore stomach.
"This..." she gasped, finally catching her breath, "isn't over."
For now, however, Beta needed to get away, not exactly keen on another attack like that one. And so she backed away, keeping the other senshi in her line of sight until she felt she was far enough away, and then she made her break for it.
tefla
Posted: Wed Jul 12, 2023 1:34 pm
Irenaea was just as surprised to see the spider materialize from her brooch and could almost admire the detail in the appearance of such a specimen before making sure she caught what was going on with the other senshi. As much as she could sympathize with the order senshi's dilemma; going around and pointing fingers at every chaos-touched individual was going to have repercussions especially if not all of them were her. In a sense though was this a life lesson that everyone lost something in the process of learning>
She learned, even as she watched the other senshi crumple, that her magic was apparently potent in a sense. She was curious about what sensations were being felt by her opponent and instead of listening to her heart to apologize for the magical attack, Irenaea merely took a step back before impassively standing there with arms crossed at her midriff. When the other senshi spoke, it almost seemed as if her attitude had taken a severe downgrade to someone who'd been brought to their knees before she uttered that well-worn out threat of things "not being over"
Even as the other got to her feet and ran away did Irenaea continue to stare after her before once more glancing up at the tree before she quickly grabbed at a wish and unrolled it.
Quote:
I wish that everyone could discover their true potential. Don't let obstacles hold you back.
Well this wasn't really a wish for something to be done but Irenaea gently placed the wish into the voluminous folds of her uniform before making her way slowly out of the festival grounds, alert for any signs of trouble that could come her way.
