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 Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2023 10:47 am
Prompt 6 The Fireflies (6) : In the warm summer nights, little glowing lights begin to bob and dart through the city. Fireflies are mating, so this isn't uncommon in itself; in the past few days you've probably seen hundreds of fireflies. What makes these lights so unique is that they seem to change color; you might see a blue one, a green one, a red one. They flicker randomly, and something just seems off with them. If you come into contact with one, you will find yourself with a strange electric jolt. They cannot be caught, and will flicker away if you pursue too aggressively. This isn’t the first time they’ve appeared in Destiny City, but no one’s been able to tell where they came from or where they’re going. No matter how quickly you chase them, they always seem to disappear before you can find any answers.
He had no particular enthusiasm for summer, because he had no particular enthusiasm for any degree of heat. It was implied that his powered guise offered some magical protection from the worst of the elements and the climate, but Rakovanite had shed much of it, anyway. No cape, no coat, no unnecessary tassels or wraps: if it was extra, it wasn’t on him. And without weapon in hand, he looked particularly unassuming. Just his black undershirt, dark pants, and boots. Hardly anyone spared him a first glance, let alone a second one.
It suited him just fine. Because even though he did not care for summer, there was no denying that it was a season wherein many in the populace found it most suitable to spend time outside. More so during the yearly festivities. It was a particularly easy task to energy drain when more civilians were out roaming through the parks, enjoying the scenery and the warm weather, letting their young spawn chase fireflies in the glow of lantern light. And since no one was paying any mind to him, there was literally no fight to be had here.
He didn’t need to be particularly close to drain them, so couples and friend groups who spent a few minutes in his general vicinity would just eventually feel the drag of exhaustion, yawn, and saunter off, none the wiser. And Rakovanite was left with a glowy wispy energy orb for virtually no effort at all. No hassle at all. Nothing of significant interest, at all.
Until he felt another aura nearby.
Some weak senshi wandering too close to him, probably all too eager to stick its nose where it didn’t belong. Rakovanite didn’t move to intercept it; he was perfectly content where he was. Perched on the lowest rung of a sturdy treebranch, one leg dangling down with the other folded, and his back leaned up against the trunk, out of the way of anyone passing through the park trail below, and not doing anything of particular significance to draw attention. He sat a touch straighter, more alert as his dark gaze angled toward the direction the aura approached from.
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Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2023 12:36 pm
At first, she hadn’t noticed him. She had been distracted by the firefly. Until the three came too close to ignore. Urania had come out again for the Star Festival. She was really starting to enjoy it. Seeing all the people so happy and enjoying themselves. It almost made her fell like, maybe, she wasn’t so far from home. But she was. She had ignored the summer heat that told her to slow down and rest. She had been practically running, trying to catch the thing. But every time she came close, it zapped her with a bit of electricity. Just enough to tell anyone with any sense to stop. But Urania didn’t have a whole lot of sense to spare. The aura of Chaos should have stopped her, too. Would have, too, had she not almost caught the thing. She has been so close to catching that little creature that reminded her so much of the stars twinkling at night that she was under the tree before she senses met her again. The Chaos was like the summer heat. So easy to ignore until you stopped running and suddenly you were out of breath and the air was so humid it may have well been like breathing water. “Umm! Sorry to disturb you. I was just following that glowing creature. Whatever it was.”❂
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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2023 12:59 pm
'Whatever it was?'
Rakovanite stared down at this seemingly grown woman who did not appear to recognize a common seasonal occurrence. Fireflies were hardly rare around here, though the ones that inhabited Destiny City in the summer were certainly unique with their vibrantly flashy colors and shocking way of protecting themselves. But the creatures did have the same shape, appearance, and general movement of their more normal and less magical counterparts. Maybe it was just her first summer here.
He canted his head very slightly, silently observing for several long moments while he twisted the tiny chain of a red starry charm around one finger, despite that he should probably offer some kind of reply. Nothing about her looked particularly odd, besides maybe an extra glint in her eyes as she looked up at him.
But an extra bit of magic that followed someone was hardly uncommon, either. He decided to dismiss it and simply remain alert. She seemed more interested in the bug than she was in him, anyway, as if it was just happenstance that she'd found herself here. Rakovanite didn't feel any other auras that might be waiting outside of his vision for this girl to distract him... But he didn't trust the implied innocence.
"It was just a firefly," He replied eventually, tone carefully flat and neutral. "They show up in June and will be gone by July. If you are interested in them, best to enjoy them now."
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Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2023 5:01 pm
Urania looked up at the general and watched him in the same manner that he was observing her. Except there wasn’t much expression in her face. And a much more pronounced head tilt. She was trying to determine if he was a threat or not. Erytheia had said to be wary of Chaos. But this man wasn’t exactly jumping down to attack her, even though he had the strongest Chaotic aura she had ever felt here on Earth. And then he answered a question she hadn’t even asked aloud. Certainly, he couldn’t be all that bad. “A firefly! So that’s what they are called.” She said and breathed for she had been holding her breath without realizing it. “What are you called? If you don’t mind me asking.”❂
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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2023 8:18 am
"I mind," Rakovanite stated stiffly, brows pursing ever so slightly behind his glasses. There was no part of him that wanted any information about himself anywhere on the White Moon's radar, and he thought he was decently successful on that front. It was no bother to him to eliminate anyone who seemed too intrusive or too bold or too dangerous. There was usually some fight to be had, or some attempt at deception. He was just waiting, filled with anticipation for such things to rear their heads now, with this girl.
The less she knew, the better.
...Though she seemed quite... fresh. Like she barely knew much of anything, at all. She didn't even look particularly wary, and Rakovanite thought he deserved at least that basic courtesy. He could be patient, see what the scheme was and who was involved. And if it turned out to be nothing with no one and she was just an idiot, maybe she wouldn't be missed.
He didn't want to question, since he'd refused hers, but if she was so comfortable asking, he expected her to have no problem answering, either. "Is this the first summer you have spent here? Most people who live in Destiny City are prepared for it to be a bit... different than elsewhere."
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Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2023 3:54 pm
Urania sensed she had said something rude. It was not her first time doing so. And it would not be her last. Between not knowing the local customs and simply being too curious for her own good, she was a walking faux pas most of the time. “You don’t have to tell me. But that means I won’t tell you who or what I am,either. You’ll just have to settle for calling me Stargazer.”She folded her arms and there was a slight pout in her lip now. “Yes. This is the first summer I’ve spent here. I tend to somehow make that very obvious to people. And I am prepared for it to be a bit different.” She responded coyly, but couldn’t keep up the pretense for too long. “I’m not quite sure I was prepared for how different.”❂
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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2023 1:14 pm
'Who or what-'
Rakovanite tried not to jump to conclusions, but it was a particularly odd way for the girl to invite the concept that she was something different than he might immediately assume. She was obviously senshi. He could feel as much without her needing to vocalize it. Maybe she was freshly awakened enough that it was difficult for her to differentiate what auras felt like to specific factions and expected that was a lingering problem?
He didn't want to assume.
But if she was just 'new,' the cat that found her should have explained anything like that. So Rakovanite expected the 'what' was more than just 'senshi.' There were people roaming around in broad daylight who had not been born on this planet. The Vanguardians he had met a handful of. The senshi that had come from other worlds, less so.
He slid from his perch, boots landing with a soft thud in the grass next to her. Rakovanite eyed her warily, still alert for whatever chance that someone else was nearby, waiting for him to relax around Stargazer's innocent charm.
"I have never been particularly fond of change. 'Different' can be difficult, even if you were prepared."
A flicker of light just to the side of her made him reach for it, very slowly, careful not to touch, and he cupped his hand against the air to keep the firefly from wandering away. It stalled when it sensed his proximity and lazily bobbed to put more space between it and his palm. "They are for looking only," he advised, voice low and soft as he gently guided it closer for her to inspect. "No touching. It will fly away if you try to contain it."
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Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2023 4:24 pm
Different was being difficult at times. She didn’t like to dwell on it, but she knew she was out of place here. People were different. Things were different. Times were different. And it was as if she had never changed when Earth and her world had. A thousand years of difference was a lot to cope with. “I used to be okay with change, but it is as if everything else has changed but me.”Urania watched as Rakovanite reached for a light just to the side of her. He was incredibly smooth, even gentle, in how he handled the small creature. Careful, but exact to capture it without touching it at all. She gasped when she saw the firefly. “It… it’s beautiful.” She whispered, barely able to contain the sheer awe in her voice. “It’s light is so soft.”It will fly away if you try to contain it. That was kind of like how she was, she thought. She could never be contained by her world or anyone else, even now. ❂
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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2023 6:10 pm
"Do you consider that problematic?" Rakovanite questioned quietly.
It was the expectation, probably, that people were supposed to adapt to a changing world, and there was some implied weakness of those who couldn't manage that- who didn't or refused to change. Rakovanite didn't like change. Didn't like to see it, didn't like to be part of it, found it grossly presumptuous when people expected he needed to be different than he was. A truly prevalent notion when dealing with Order. Always thought they were right. Always that others needed to be modified.
'There's something wrong with you.' The comment hadn't been particularly recent, of late, but it had also been much more common than the General felt comfortable with for a long time, before his joining the Negaverse, even. There was something wrong with him- he needed to fix it, needed to be different. Rakovanite disagreed. He hated change, wouldn't do it because he wasn't 'right' by anyone else's standards.
"I think it used to upset me: everything changing but me." Should he be surprised that he felt something similar as her? That a random White Moon brat could feel anything that he was feeling seemed so out of place. "But I suppose after a while it is... less sharp of an upset."
It stung less when he had people who loved and appreciated him and din't expect anything different than what he was.
"I think these must be somewhat unique to Destiny City," Rakovanite told her, gesturing lightly to the firefly, though no longer trying to encourage it toward her. He had lived here his whole life, so they did not seem particularly strange to him, but- "The fireflies show up en masse every year; there are others-" He notched his head slightly to the side, indicating soft flickers intermittently appearing through the trees in a variety of colors. "They only flash one color in most places, though. Yellow, I believe."
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Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2023 1:30 pm
“Do you really think so? Maybe it won’t upset me after a while?” She said softly, barely audible. She never took her eyes off the firefly. “Unique to Destiny City, huh? So much seems to be special about this city.”She’d heard that before and she was beginning to believe it each day she was here. ❂
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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 9:16 pm
A brow arched quizzically at the young woman. She spoke so softly that Rakovanite couldn’t be sure if it was genuinely a question for him or if it was meant as something more introspective and personal, but she had asked aloud, and he was the only one here. “I have no idea what your tolerance for accepting change is. I know nothing about you,” he admitted. And why she would seek any kind of confirmation of that from him, he did not understand.
She was very strange. Unlike most senshi he had come across prior.
“That seems to be the consensus…” He agreed. That so many special people wound up here. So many bizarre, magical events. Aliens that popped up here at their leisure. Maybe it happened elsewhere: there really was nothing to suggest that Rakovanite would know about it, if it was being intentionally hidden. But it felt like he would know, if somewhere else was as magically charged as Destiny City. “Many people like this kind of thing, I think. To be somewhere that is ‘special’ and ‘interesting.’”
It wasn’t really his thing, not what Rakovanite found enjoyable or necessary- He probably could have been very content with a normal, nonmagic life. Provided he never learned it was under his nose…
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Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2023 11:55 am
“Well, I do like when things are interesting.” She said cheerfully again. “Special is such a strange word though. I think everything is special in its own way, but people all have such a specific definition of it. For them, anyway.”She leaned back and looked at the bugs again. They flickered in the light. “These fireflies are pretty special.”❂
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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2023 7:38 am
“Mm.” That would be a senshi’s narrative. Everything was special. A justification for why exclusively they deserved these cosmic powers: it was what was special about them, and other people had other ‘unique assets.’ Rakovanite did not think everyone was special. He did not think everyone was important. He did not think everyone was inherently valuable. It didn’t make sense that anyone could be worth the same as anyone else.
But neither did he feel any pressing urge to argue about it. He hadn’t met a senshi that wasn’t so lost in their delusions that they could be convinced with words. …And the girl had a certain sense of obliviousness about her that Rakovanite didn’t feel he had the skills to penetrate.
“I suppose they are to someone not from around here,” he said instead. But Rakovanite saw them yearly, like how most people saw ‘normal’ fireflies. “It is difficult to see them as particularly special when no one would even notice if one or two or a hundred were missing, though.” They were everywhere. Fun and weird as a species, maybe. But individually? He couldn’t even say for sure if anyone would notice them not showing up for the year at all. It felt like it diminished their ‘specialness.’
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Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2023 5:37 pm
“I suppose no one would notice a small amount, would they?”It was probably like that with the worlds, too. No one noticed when a few fell. But, eventually, it wouldn’t just be a few hundred. Eventually, it would be everyone. “But surely they’d notice when they are all gone. And they would wonder when it started — and why they didn’t take the time to notice back then.”She was clearly not talking about the fireflies any more. “Well, I’ve got to go now. I have something I need to do.”❂
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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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