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 Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 4:13 pm
Quote: Prompt 10 (Winter Star Poinsettias): Poinsettias are common during the winter seasons, so it isn't unusual to see them decorating windowsills and local establishments. What is unusual are the unique Winter Star Poinsettias that seem to have accidentally mixed into the bunch. They look like ordinary Poinsettias reflecting a bit of glow from nearby lights--only, the leaves themselves are emitting a soft, silvery glow. They look like they are covered with a fine morning dew, only with fine silver glitter peppered in to give it a unique sparkle. They seem to have gone unnoticed by most of Destiny City and the landscapers, and it's not clear how these plants were selected, but anyone with a keen eye might recognize them as the catastrophe of Destiny City Botanical Garden's 2016 Winter Extravaganza. Thankfully, these variants are far less dangerous than their counterparts, however, these plants have a strange pollen that acts like an allergen and can cause agitation, oversensitivity, and sneezing to anything with much of a strong smell. Anyone who comes into contact with these plants may also find themselves suffering from flu-like symptoms such as fever, coughing, fatigue, and nausea and no medicine will relieve it, but the symptoms gradually fade. The leaves of the poinsettia are sharp and can sting like a papercut, so be careful! ...If you're worried about an all-out attack again, it might be a good idea to destroy these poinsettias--if you can manage to do so without getting caught. Stribor wasn't so sure this was a good idea... But he couldn't help it. He'd found Izanami. A part of her, anyway. She no longer was his Izanami, his Irihime. He knew that. Or kept telling himself that. Something. Fields above and fields below, he was si stupid. He didn't want to scare her off or anything. He didn't want to treat the new Izanami, whose name he didn't even know, like she was Irihime. Irihime was gone. So why oh why, when he'd gone shopping out of mostly simple curiosity for what on Earth he could buy, had he purchased these ridiculous, gigantic flowers to give to Izanami? They made him think of her. Irihime. Maybe the new Izanami would like them, too. Or maybe he was just being stupid. But he wanted her to like him. Maybe not in the way he had once enjoyed with Irihime. He didn't know the new one. That would be unfair. But still, he wanted to be her friend. To have some tenuous connection to the life he'd had before everything crumbled around him. He sighed to himself, shifting in the snow and sneezing as he smelled the flowers again. Ugh, he could feel a headache coming on—what perfect timing, as he waited for Izanami to show up. He'd push through it, though. He had to.
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 12:11 pm
Stribor was....a sort of enigma, to Izanami. She still wasn't sure what to make of him, all things considered; he was sweet, yes, and he knew her past self, but...it was hard to know how she felt about her past self's "it's complicated" ("it wouldn't be complicated if we weren't bound by duty"? that didn't have the same snappy ring to it) arriving on Earth, with memories of a whole lifetime that she only had vague snippets of.
But she was, truth be told, excited to see him, if only because she was excited to show off her new Eternal wings to someone. It felt validating of all her efforts as a Senshi, to finally have them sitting on her hips; to finally have attained that peak of power.
"Stribor!" She called his name when she spotted him, and walked up, waving as she came. It was, perhaps, a little unexpected to see him sitting there with flowers, but--she didn't want to read too much into it. Maybe they were a traditional gift for his people, maybe he didn't know that giving flowers had romantic connotations on Earth, they were poinsettias--not exactly a dozen red roses.
"Oh, those are lovely!"
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 1:57 pm
Stribor perked up when Izanami called to him, and he looked to her with a wide smile. His heart lurched in his chest, but he took a slow breath and told it to calm down. He refused to put any unfair expectations on her. That wasn't who he was. The wind blew a little and the smell of the flowers caught in his nose again, and while he liked the smell... He was starting to feel a little nauseous, too. That wasn't a good sign—but he just thought he was getting a bit sick. Perhaps he'd been in the cold too much after all. "I picked them out for you," he said, nudging them across the picnic table he'd sat at. "I mean, your planet. I thought they might be nice—some holiday flowers for the dead to celebrate with." He felt so silly as he said it aloud.
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 2:29 pm
There was something charming, about Stribor's awkwardness. Had he always been like that, Izanami wondered? Or was that new, or just for her, considering the very unusual place she occupied in his life? She had to admit, she liked it.
Besides, he was nice to be around. Better than the men she dealt with most of the day--her father's partners, and the lawyers under them, and how little they respected her no matter how much work she put in. She was, permanently, the boss's hot daughter, and even though she was just as qualified as the rest, her father's firm was still a shitty boy's club. But she endured, regardless. And Stribor reminded her that it wasn't always like that.
"Thank you. Yes, I think...it would be nice to take these up to the cemetery, there."
Although, the closer she got, the more she couldn't help but notice that these particular flowers had a....very strong smell. Strong enough that she felt her head swim, more than a little. Yes, it seemed prudent to deliver them to her world, where they could look pretty and be out of the way.
"Would you like to go with me? We can...I..." It had started out as a good idea, but halfway through saying it, Izanami realized it might not works o well; still, she soldiered on. "I made sure Irihime was laid to rest. We can take them to her grave marker, if you'd like," she offered.
Oh, this was probably stupid. How brilliant of her, offering him the chance to visit the grave of the lover she'd replaced. The person he probably wished he was offering these flowers to, instead of her.
"You don't have to, if you would prefer not to," she said, quickly. "But I wanted to offer, in case you did."
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 3:08 pm
Stribor's ears drooped at her answer, a deep sadness welling up inside him. He wanted to go, of course, but the seriousness of the situation... Well, it called for respect, even if his ears initially drooped from the sadness he felt more than social convention. He took a deep breath, regretting it when a fresh wave of nausea shot through him. He needed to push through it, though. For Irihime. "I would love that," he told her tenderly, looking to her with big, wet eyes. "It would... I know she would have liked it, if I could say a final goodbye. I... thank you. You don't have to do this, you know."
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 3:55 pm
Oh. That was...devastating, seeing those bunny ears of his droop with sadness. It seemed almsot unfair, that he could broadcast such emotion and be so....cute, about it, even if it was also sad, and--ugh. She needed to stop thinking that way. It made her head swim--or maybe that was something else? She'd been busy, at the firm, lately, so maybe she was just....starting to have all that lack of sleep catch up with her.
She produced her Senshi phone, and extended a hand.
"It probably won't be like you remember it," she admitted, "but the more I visit, the more lively I find it."
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 4:04 pm
Stribor took another dep breath, concentrating on not getting another face full of that scent of the flowers he was suspecting as the catalyst behind his headache and nausea. Maybe.... He stored them in his subspace for the time being, and the effects didn't clear up instantly, but he felt a little better already. "That's okay," he said softly, taking her hand. "It'll be nice to see it again, anyway. Thank you."
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