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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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 Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2023 4:30 pm
Urania did not know where the sound was coming from. But she had heard this song before. So, very, very long ago. Yet, it wasn’t just the song… She recognized the voice! But… it couldn’t be… that person had died. Died a very, very long time ago. She had transformed as soon as she heard it and had run after the sound with abandon. She cared not who saw her or what attention she drew. She didn’t even notice where she was going or what streets she went down. She saw not what buildings she passed or alleys she wandered through. She heard only the song and she followed it, wherever it led. The song — why was it familiar, and whose voice was it? The senshi chased it, but the more she ran, the more distant it became. No matter how fast she ran, the voice got no closer. Even as she expended her magic to summon stars to bound from, she only got a glimpse of the song’s final verse beginning. Urania would have to move fast. Summoning her stronger magic, she jumped from star to star. She must get there before the song ended. She had to. As the song’s last line began, she suddenly knew where she had heard it before… There was a figure in the distance. She used the last of her magic and pulled the starry hood over her head to get closer without being detected. The last word she heard before she stopped in her tracks, frozen like the cold wind around her. There was a women, singing, with the same brown hair as her and the same star-lit eyes. She turned and said in that oh-so-familiar voice. And as she looked toward Urania, she spoke one last line as she disappeared — as if she were never there to begin with: Where have you gone, my little star? Why have you not returned?Urania removed the hood from her head. Tears were now streaming down her face. Her hands reached out to the falling snow. Her wisp drooped as if it were a teardrop. “Mom…”But she was alone. ❂
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Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2023 8:11 am
Celadon didn't normally run across other senshi or knights when she was out. None that didn't spring to attack her, at least. On the rarer occasions when she met someone who was a little more in line with her ideals, they usually went out of their way to come talk to her. This time, though, was nothing like those previous run-ins.
The girl, a super senshi maybe? Was already moving at a breakneck pace. She shot past Celadon quickly enough that her hair blew back for it, and Celadon turned to watch her on her way. While Celadon didn't feel anything that could use chasing, that didn't mean much in concert with her inexperience; curiosity spurred her to follow in case the Super Senshi could use some backup, or maybe someone else just to call for help or assist with civilians who were caught in the crossfire.
But she didn't make it easy to follow her. Celadon sprinted as fast as she could, but she was no match for the girl's speed. Nor was she able to keep up with that magic, awe-inspiring as it was. Even as Celadon zig-zagged through alleyways and climbed through holes that were cut in fences, the girl nearly lost her. What glimpses she caught of her were distant, and soon, Celadon was relying on her auric sense to figure which direction she should take next.
Finally, the Super Senshi stopped, and finally, Celadon climbed the last fire escape to the rooftop. She was out of breath, catching it as she walked across the graveled roof. She hadn't met that senshi before, but nothing else was around — just blocks and blocks of empty roofs. Why this one, then?
It soon became apparent, though, that she could have been running away from something — or someone. Looking like that, Celadon couldn't help but ask, "Are you okay?"
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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2023 9:57 am
Urania kept staring at where her mother had been, as if, maybe, if she just kept looking she would see her again. But she was gone. It was too good to be true, right? She knew her mother was dead. She’d… seen her die. All those years ago. Yet, there was some far-off hope in her heart that — somehow, someway — after thousands of years, she was alive again. It could happen, couldn’t it? Erytheia had told her about the Cauldron and how starseeds could be reborn. Couldn’t her mother be reborn in its waters? Couldn’t she come back? That wasn’t impossible, right? She barely registered the aura of another beside her until she was asked if she was okay. Was she sobbing that bad? “I’m… okay. I think. I don’t know.” The senshi said as she tried to wipe away tears that were still coming. “Did you… did you see her?”❂
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Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2023 5:05 am
Celadon couldn't begin to guess what the girl saw. She wasn't sure if it would be relieving or hurtful for the girl to know that Celadon didn't see anything at all — that the girl seemed to hesitate at nothing.
She didn't like the idea of anything messing with someone's mind. She thought it was a terrible trick, and that there was enough going on in life and in their besieged world that no one should have to suffer the troubles of distrusting their own mind. If she said anything, then maybe the girl would take it like she was going crazy. Or maybe she understood well enough the cause of such a thing, that knowing someone else didn't see what she saw was a blessing or comfort. Celadon didn't know.
"No," she confirmed after a beat. "Who was she? Did she say anything to you?"
She searched her dress for a handkerchief of sorts, but came up empty. Not even a tourniquet. Maybe that was something she should stock for the future.
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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2023 8:34 am
“Oh.” Urania said, surprised. So, they hadn’t seen her mother. Then… if someone else, a objective observer, hadn’t seen her… Her mother must not have really been there. Had it really been an illusion? She had seen her, heard her… It had all felt so real. It still did. “It was… my mother. She said…” Urania tried to speak, but a fresh stream of tears came instead. She wiped them away with the end of her bow like a starry tissue. “I’m sorry, I’m such a mess right now.” I’m Urania. Who are you?❂
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Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2023 4:43 am
The tears said plenty about her mother. She was either dead or vanished, and given that what she saw must have looked real or believable to her, Celadon was betting on vanished. In some ways, that was worse than death. She didn't have any closure. She could be baited into thinking she saw her mom, like this, and she had no way of knowing if what she saw was real or not.
That was unfathomably cruel. Celadon wanted to know what could have done that to her.
"Celadon," she gave with a nod. She reached out to gasp Urania's shoulder. "Don't apologize for having feelings.
"Do you know what caused you to see your mom? We could try looking for them, convince them to stop." Assuming it was a person. Strange things had been going on in December, and Celadon experienced similarly strange events during Halloween, too. She didn't know if these were all elaborate tricks played by the Negaverse or if it was something very different from that — if it had something to do with Destiny City itself being magical. Or if the whole world was magical and she just never noticed back home.
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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2023 10:39 am
Urania felt a bit better when Celadon touched her shoulder. It grounded her back into reality. This knight was here and that was what mattered. “Thank you. I don’t know what came over me… if you hadn’t come, I don’t think I would have stopped crying.”She looked back to where her mother had stood and there was nothing but snow. “I don’t know what caused it. But it started when I heard a song outside my bedroom window. I followed the song as fast as I could. Yet I didn’t find the source until right when the last verse ended. That’s when I saw her…”She pointed to the spot where she had been staring when Celadon arrived. Just wind and pavement and cold. Nothing special there at all. “… there.”❂
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2024 1:19 pm
Celadon tried to smile, but it was like trying to move a limb that had been asleep for over an hour. Like she'd forgotten how to do it, or couldn't do it anymore.
Even if she couldn't provide reassurance the normal way, the senshi seemed to be in a better place now. Better enough that she could talk about what happened, and Celadon could likewise dwell on the mystery it presented: a song played outside her window and led her to this place, but the player or singer of that song was nowhere to be found. And, evidently, the person responsible for it looked identical to her mother.
That sounded like magic, if she had to guess. And that reminded her of the strange happenings that she'd been a part of in the months earlier, too.
Celadon looked at the spot she was pointing to, pondering it. "Do you think it was magic?" She asked, as if it was no different than asking her preference for coffee or tea. "Or could it have been real?"
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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2024 3:09 pm
The senshi thought for a moment. Wishing for any other answer. But there was only one logical one. “It was magic.” Then she said with more confidence. “It had to be. Mom’s been dead for a long time now.”She wiped one last tear from her eye. She seemed much better now that Celadon had grounded her. “Sorry to be crying like that. I’m okay now.” She smiled, not wanting to be worried about. ❂
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2024 4:22 pm
"Don't worry about it," Celadon responded with a shake of her head.
Magic truly was an astounding thing. As far as Celadon could tell, there was no way to determine if the magic trick was over with or if it was going to hit Urania again while she was trying to go back to wherever she lived.
Celadon decided to let her residual concern be known. "Do you want me to walk you home? I don't have anywhere to be, if it helps."
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Bishoujo-senshi Mahou-shoujo
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Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2024 2:17 pm
“Yes. That would help.” Urania nodded. “You’re really kind.”How had she found someone so nice? She was already starting to feel better. She wasn’t alone. It had just been some trick of magic. Making her think of home. ❂
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