The normally quite and calm playground had erupted into chaos and Hugbell heaved a sigh as a youma interrupted her typical quite night gazing from the pirate ship she'd essentially called her home base ever since she could remember.
Why it had to come to the pirate ship play ground was beyond her but the senshi of comfort jumped down from the crow's nest summoning Barnaby from sub-space and called "Teddy Comfy Catches~!"
Honestly, she'd been distracted. She'd felt an energy signature, a fairly strong one and it was admittedly slightly unusual for this area to have a lot of attention since most of those she knew growing up were doing their own thing.
She made sure to aim Barnaby at the youma just to drop it on the creature that looked like a mix of a shark and a dog. It would have been quite comical if it didn't think it could take a bite out of things. Hugbell landed on her feet with her hands up ready for an actual fist fight with the shark dog.
Rejam
tab Teddy Comfy Catches
Hugbell can change her plush teddy into a "big bear pillow" for a comfortable landing.
Pros:
- Can make falling from certain distances easier on the body! - Barnaby's so soft! - He's the size of a full/queen mattress. - Works for either Foes or Friends. - Barnaby can be sat on if not used to catch people. =o - Barnaby Can be Punched a couple of times before disappearing.
Cons:
- He's the size of a full/queen mattress. Don't Miss! - Barnaby shrinks after a hard hit. (EX: Sailor Rainbow Dash fell on him? Barnaby goes back to normal) - Can be used twice (second time is often very dangerous and little more unstable) - If no one falls on Barnaby he can cause a 'road' block. - If not struck in 40 seconds Barnaby disappears.
Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2025 8:58 pm
LP
There was a sound that was almost a gunshot: a loud, reverberating crack. It was not a bullet, however, but the lash of a whip suddenly being aimed towards the youma.
"Oh, my god," said someone: the source of that energy signature. "Good thing I've been practicing my ******** aim, right?"
And it was true: a bolt of light had shot from the end of the whip and raced towards the youma, catching it in the back where it was struggling back onto its feet and only narrowly missing the - giant... teddy bear...? Interesting.
Whatever the blow was, it must have packed a punch, as the thing emitted an unpleasant yelping snarl when it landed, and fell right back down again.
"Maybe let's try getting rid of it without having to punch it," the stranger suggested brightly.
Hugbell flinched at the sound that was almost a gunshot but impressed none the less. There was a smile on her face and a bit of chuckle, "Nice job."
Hugbell had planned on pinning down the youma and just doing the normal kicking and punching and as she watched the youma when it gave a yelping snarl. There was a quick shrug, "Hey, if you can get rid of it without having to punch it by all means."
She was looking the knight over, she let her arms down but not her guard just in case the Youma decided it had a wind left, "Unfortunately my attacks are pretty useless in the offensive department. So punching and kicking them are usually my go to route."
Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2025 2:37 pm
LP
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Normally she would have found this vaguely annoying, despite how blameless Hugbell was for the situation - which she, frequent decrier of the conscription of the Cosmos ought to know better than anyone - but the senshi was very adorable, and Joy was feeling benevolent. Also the youma was clearly staggered, and there was some pleasure in saving the day even in some minor way.
"Allow me, then," she said cheerfully, with another casual snap of the whip, yielding another lance of sunlight that caught the thing in the chest. Between the giant teddy bear's substantial blow and Joy's following efforts, the youma was clearly not long for this plane of existence, and dissipated as expected.
The knight then turned, beaming a dimpled smile. "Never seen anyone fight with a big-a** teddy bear before," she said.
Hugbell softly clapped for the knight who dispelled the youma fairly quickly, "Ah impressive, it must be nice to have such a useful weapon."
When the knight mentioned the big a** teddy bear there was a laugh, "Yes well, I've learned to use Barnaby for many a things over my years of being a senshi." She moved to punch the bear so he shrunk back to normal size. Not feeling any more danger in the area she placed the ribbon around the bear's neck so he could move freely.
"I'm Sailor Hugbell, senshi of Comfort and this is Barnaby." She said, "He's uh part of my magic as far as I can tell but he's also useful when someone needs comforting, either as a nice place to sit, a place to catch someone if they fall, or as a -- "living" bear. Granted sometimes he gets used for various other reasons such as holding down an enemy or buying me time to kick it."
The pastel clad senshi gave a soft shrug after she finished speaking. She watched as Barnaby waved to the knight, Hugbell then placed a hand on his head before standing up and motioning to the pirate ship, "Would you like to join me? The ship's a lot roomier than you would think for playground equipment."
Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2025 5:36 pm
LP
Joy had done weirder things, for sure, since becoming Joy. So she only hesitated a moment before making an "after you" gesture that had a certain queenly quality to it, as if she were humoring a lord in whose house her entourage was being housed.
"Joyeuse Garde," she said, "but just Joy is fine." She was eyeing Barnaby with distinct curiosity - being totally outside of the realm of her experience and incredibly fascinating. "If it makes you feel any better, it was a ribbon for quite a while. Not even something you could throw at someone." And then: "Has he always been - I mean, is that the shape your magic took eventually, or did it start out that way? Forgive me. Just really threw me for a loop."
Hugbell smiled when Joy introduced herself, "Nice to meet you Joy."
There was a soft chuckle, "Yes knowing others have troubles as well does make me feel better. But I also often try to watch over newer members of order."
There was a pause, "Barnaby?" The Bear looked up as it followed her to the Pirate ship which she slipped inside and motioned for Joy to come as well.
Inside there was a small table with some chairs. Hugbell lit a small candle that was inside a lantern providing more light. "Well, Barnaby's been with me -- ever since I can remember."
She paused looking thoughtful, "I was -- well I was a chibi senshi I've been doing this since I was nine and he's always been kind of who I cast my magic on."
There was a soft shrug, "It isn't normal for a senshi to have like -- something they cast their magic on. I never really thought about it though to be honest."
There was a smile though, "Perhaps it's because I am the senshi of comfort though. And stuffed animals are usually fairly comforting. The ribbon though was something I found on my homeworld, I can't use it when there's danger around. It just simply doesn't work; and well from what I can tell it's not as powerful as it use to be."
Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2025 1:31 am
LP
She wrinkled her nose as she distractedly looked around her, settling uneasily into a seat.
"That's concerning," she said. "I mean - obviously my ribbon got better over time -" she hefted the whip demonstratively "- but I don't like the idea that it could get shitty again. And I've got some ribbons I found on my homeworld, too, but they also don't seem to do anything especially useful. Maybe they've faded in power too? Maybe they used to do something useful too - like sensing danger."
"I don't think your weapon would become useless, I would be shocked if it did." Hugbell gave a soft frown and then a shrug, "I think maybe because it's got a little gem on it that lets Barnaby walk around. And when the world got taken over by chaos it weakened the magic. I'm still studying the properties of the ribbon so I'm not sure but that's my current running theory. But it seemed like in the past he was able to speak, the craftsman that made the ribbon was very talented."
Hugbell settled down at the table across from Joy watching Barnaby as he walked around. "It took me forever to find it. And there might have been more in the past so maybe, eventually there could be more I'm not sure."
She seemed thoughtful, "It's possible they could do something useful! Our homeworlds and wonders are full of surprises!"
She pulled out from her sub space a thermos, some packets of tea and a pair of cups, "Would you like some tea while we chat Joy? The water should still be warm enough to make a proper cup."
Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 7:24 pm
LP
"No, that's OK, but thank you," she said with a vague wave of her hand. "I always forget to drink it before it gets cold."
She seemed distracted, suddenly, apparently clearly absorbed in something Hugbell had been saying.
"They do seem to have things hidden all over them - wonders and worlds, I mean - and I've been doing some looking into that lately. Have you ever - I'm so sorry if this is a sudden interrogation," she interjected with an apologetic little laugh "-but have you ever noticed if you find things in a particular place on your world more often than other places? Like the - the magic, or whatever, seems to concentrate in areas? The way water collects in a dip, you know."
Hugbell nodded when Joy said no thank you, "That's fair, and I have done that a few times myself." She said as she dipped the tea bag into the cup.
She seemed to think and smiled when Joy apologized for the interrogation, "It's no worries, I don't mind answering questions at all. It's rare to meet someone who's interested in more than just - what's happening here and now."
There was a nod after another moment of silence, "But yes, it does seem the magic concentrates where it -- needs you to be in a way. Sometimes it drops you on the problem and other times -- well they have a way to draw you to what you need to attend to sometimes."
She smiled, "It's interesting to me to see if the magic always pools in the same place or if there's something else that needs attention and it directs you going 'hey there's a problem here'. Of course, it never out right gives the solution though."
She adjusted her hood as she spoke and waited for the tea to be properly steeped, "I've heard some knights can be a bit different, where as my homeworld shows me the past. I've heard some of you don't have visions of the past at all?"
Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 8:38 pm
"No," she agreed. "We don't. It's very strange. At first I thought - surely there must be something like what we have among other types of people, but it seems like it's just Knights. The old Garde - the former Knight, from back around the same time as your memories - he's still there. Dead, you know," she added bluntly, "but still there. His starseed is kicking around like it's no different than those other items that show up." She wrinkled her nose, tired and perplexed. "He can talk to me, move around, but he's sort of - suspended outside of reality. The way Earth Wonders themselves are, I suppose, but I've met ghosts on Wonders from several planets."
She paused. "I think about what you said a lot, too - the way sometimes you just feel like there's a problem and you instinctively go where the problem is. You do that too, then? Your world tells you, somehow? I wonder if we have some sort of - some sort of radar, like we do for each other, but it's harder to read, somehow."
As she spoke, she was procuring some small object from subspace as if to speak about it, but she suspended it, waiting instead to hear what Hugbell had to say about this other topic, apparently more interested in her answer than anything Joy had been about to say.
Hugbell looked curiously as Joy spoke about not having past life memories but an ancestor instead. And that Joy had met several, "Interesting, it would be something to meet one of them, but good to know it is true."
Slowly she sipped on her tea thinking, "I don't know if it's a radar or more the homeworld or wonder speaking to us. I can feel mine calling me when I'm away too long, especially now."
There was a pause as she looked at the glowing markings, "I can feel when I'm away too long as well. But I think the wonders and homeworlds are just as alive as the old Garde, we can't communicate directly but it can tell us what it needs without ever using words and pull us into the direction it needs attention too."
There was a chuckle, "Though that's silly right? A whole place just being alive. It would make more sense if it was a radar, like a sixth or perhaps a seventh sense."
She glanced curiously at Barnaby who continued to wonder around the ship and had moved over to Joy's side curiously looking at the knight.
Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2025 9:51 am
LP
In truth, Joy found Barnaby somewhat unsettling. Not without his charm, in the way that an unsettling thing can be charming - especially for a former goth kid - but certainly somewhat eerie to her. But she was not so offput by his presence that she felt any need to repel his curiosity, and she held out the thing in her hand - a lovely bit of ribbon, red and worked with gold and white thread in flowers - out towards him as she distractedly spoke, as one might allow a curious dog to inspect some object in one's hands.
"I don't think living is right," she agreed, "but I don't know that it's wrong, either. Sometimes - don't you think? - a place can feel like it has a sort of soul in it. I used to think that was silly, before I became - well. My mom would tell me that you can tell when people love a place, and even back then I thought that was sort of true in a weird, superstitious way. Can't you tell? When you go somewhere, and no one in there loves it. Or when everyone does. It gets into the ground, somehow."
She gave herself a little shake, and then shook her head as well. "But maybe that's just because they named us after places. Maybe they're alive because we are. I don't know. It's all very confusing. But thank you for telling me that - about your world communicating with you somehow. I wasn't sure if it worked that way for you as well."
She turned, then, and held the ribbon out towards Hugbell, instead. "I find these on my Wonder," she said. "They have a little magic in them - but it's such a small, quiet little magic - and they look a little bit like my weapon used to be. It clashes with your outfit," she said apologetically, with a little laugh, "but if you'll let me attach it, I can show you. I'm interested to know if it's similar to anything your world has shown you."
Hugbell watched as Barnaby inspected the Ribbon before meandering off to sit beside Hugbell. "Yes, my homeworld when I first went to it, was well very eerie because I mean well a kid going to a place that essentially looked like it was a large plastic castle and carnival."
She paused, "It was loved, the laughter and comfort that was there echoed in my memories but just, it was very much walking into an abandoned Carnival where something catastrophic happened."
There was another nod though, "There's a certain excitement in the air even after they're long gone if it was somewhere truly enjoyed." There was a smile as she sipped her tea, "I believe a lot of things can communicate with us if we listen though. Sometimes it's just learning to listen."
Hugbell looked curiously at the little ribbon that Joy had showed Barnaby. The senshi smiled as she held out her hand so that Joy could reach her wrist, "I don't mind if it clashes~" She said softly, "I am interested to see what it does."
