【fallen stars vs TREE】

[berriah]

Punch A Tree Log

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A Twisted Rumor

It's the day after the Fallen Star Meeting regarding the recent rumor. As morning brightens the city's night, stories are making their way from the bottom level to the top.

"The cherry blossom tree isn't going to hurt us, is it? It looks so scary."

For those who have learned the truth about rumors, this may especially distressing to hear. There's no time to wait: If anything is going to be done to save the tree's spirit, it must be done now.

The current plan is to address the tree spirit's wish to be remembered and acknowledged by holding a picnic by the lonely cherry blossom tree. Fallen Stars hope to reenact the lively Reblooming parties that had been happening on the upper levels all month. This tree, though the origin of that tradition, exists at the bottom level of Starsand City: Where spirits and kami are still feared. The hope is that this party will soothe the raging spirit and bring it peace... and, ideally, bring back all of the people who have recently gone missing.

But the meeting also ended on a note of caution. If the spirit will not peacefully give up the missing people, then more drastic measures may need to be taken. And... Spoiler alert, but this log is titled tree FIGHT.

Timeline of Events

This log will operate a bit different from normal! It's also an experiment, so if it doesn't work then apologies in advanced! In order to maintain an easy-to-follow timeline of events, there will be a top-level for each stage of the encounter. As the encounter progresses, new top-levels will be added to reflect each stage of the Rumor.

Character top-levels are still welcome, but please try to use the top-levels for time sensitive threads. Threadjacking is welcomed & encouraged, though please be respectful of one another. And of course, make use of the feedback section!

Backtagging is also still welcome. Event stages will be staggered over the course of the next week & past threads still have time to make an impact. Please don't feel rushed!

!

Timeline of Toplevels

OOC Check-In - There will be IC consequences for participating!

Feedback - Yell at me

Questions - Ask questions, Get Answers

---

The Night Before - For preparation during the night.

The Morning Of - For preparations before heading out for the picnic.

Hanami on the First Level - The picnic that was planned at the meeting.

A Shift in Tone - Reacting to the battle start.

Battle Guidelines

• Battle A - VS Tree Spirit
  
• Battle B - VS Bread
  
• Battle C - VS ???
  
• Battles D - VS Lost Spirits
  

Aftermath - Victory Party!

code

Comments

[nightwild]

[... Fine. Can't run away. Fauna has to protect him, then.

She hates having to protect people.]

We'll figure that out later. For now, we have to fight.

You stay back and use that stick of yours to protect Tau.

[She's not letting Chron come back to a dead family.]

[aupologizes]

OH BOY.

Trying to get to these before I pass out.

- Okay, I'm asking this one because it may or may not be relevant in a fight: how much Starling is too much Starling and what effects would happen by eating too much. Asking for Hanyuu, specifically. Also can Hanyuu summon the onigari-no-ryuuou? (I probably won't use it for This Specific Fight but just for my reference.)
- Echidna both 1) has magic 2) is the Witch of Greed so like, information is kind of in her jurisdiction and 3) has actually created spirits from scratch so she'd probably be able to notice it but is there anything that she would sense with the shift coming from the following sources:

The tree itself

The goo

Any outside source that outside of the above.
I'm talking about both magical and spiritual shifts, here.
- Also for prompt D, when the people rise is there anything to be sensed there as well? Like, are the familiar faces pinging anything re: their souls?
- And for prompt D: are there any commonalities on anything that they whisper out?

[melancholie]

A: How much Starling can Hanyuu eat?

Hanyuu can eat 3 pieces per day before she starts to feel unwell. On the 3rd piece, she'll already begin to feel sick. The Starling will fill a kami with so much power that by the 3rd one their body starts to deteriorate from the inside-out and they'll use their awareness of the physical world (see Yuuto.)

Yuuto or Dimitri will likely step in if they sense her eating too many and try to stop her.

Onigari-no-ryuuou?

Yes.

Echidna will notice:

• The energy burst was not from the spirit, but from the Prompt C monster.
  
• The goo is filled with spirit magic.
  
• The tree is dying.
  

What do Prompt D people look like?
They can be recognized as people from town, but something is very clearly off. Their eyes are white holes, their mouths as gapping open and white, and the proportions of their limbs are strange.

Not all of the whispers can be heard, but those that can have a common theme of "My wish was granted. I exist!" which goes from excitement to horror.

1 / 3

[aupologizes]

[ In the briefest of moments Hanyuu finds herself smiling.

She was right. This child really wanted something so simple. It makes sense to someone as old as her, who comprehends the idea of a vast loneliness that expands out for centuries.

She can't help but think to herself, though --

What had caused people to forget?

Was it like she had said: that it was just simply a cherry blossom tree that bloomed every now and again, growing weaker over the years? Or was there something external to it?

However, Hanyuu isn't allowed to think much of it-- ]

2 / 3

[aupologizes]

[ --at least, not until a wave of something happens. There's a shift in the air, an uneasiness that's settled in the pit of her stomach.

Hanyuu's mouth moves, but the words die in her throat.

At least, at first, before she finally manages to scream out a singular word: ]

No!!

[ She immediately rushes over in front of the falling drops of goo, immediately concocting a barrier.

Of course, she is very much aware that her abilities, as they are right now are weak. Especially in this small, lithe form of hers. ]

[aupologizes]

I have no choice.

[ She speaks in a commanding tone, much more mature than usual as she takes out one of the starling. Thankfully, she had been saving most of it for moments like this, and well...

Now's the time, she supposes.

Even though she had vaguely alluded to the onigari-no-ryuuou when speaking about her abilities and spoke much about how she had the ability to manipulate time and even travelled through other worlds, she didn't speak about this.

Her eyes blaze scarlet, full of inhuman power as her form shifts.

No longer does she take on the form of a child, but a clear adult woman, and not one that is pleased with the current turn of events. ]

For those who wish to harm this land, I will not allow it. If it is a fight you want--

[ She bares her teeth, sharp and gets into a stance that she hadn't used in many, many years. Her nails shift into long, sharp claws. ]

--then prepare yourself!

[protectshope]

Eh? What do you mean?

[Madoka looks at the ring on her finger. Technically she uses magic to move her body, but she doesn't want to bring that up.]

Do you come from a world with lots of magic?

[protectshope]

[When the black rain has stopped, Madoka hold out her hand and transforms into her magical girl form. She may be exuding her full power, but there is certainly a new heaviness around her as she summons her rose bow.

They've failed. It doesn't matter how or why, but they've failed that spirit. Seeing it morph into a monster hurts Madoka enough for her soul to feel the pain.]

I'm sorry... If only we'd noticed sooner.

[She whispers a sad prayer, then turns to the rest of the Fallen Stars. All traces of the timid girl from before have been replaced with the stern and serious look of a girl with a mission.]

How are we going to start? Fauna-chan, Hanyuu-chan had plans and I, too, can do something. But we have to start somewhere! They're suffering!

[markofthejedha]

[ Hanyuu herself, now physically older, decides to join Tau in her efforts. While she's basically in battle mode, that doesn't mean that she can't assist in playing defense as well; she's making sure to create barriers in the directions that she physically reach, but she also decides to rip and tear into the roots with her own claws as well.

And given that she's already used her first Starling, she knows that there'll be a definitive boost in her own speed and strength.

Not to mention that by using her claws in the first place, she's increased it as well...

... although she knows all too well the price of using her claws. ]

We mustn't let the roots reach the people.

[ That's spoken aloud, to Tau, and anyone else that decides to join in the fray here. But then, she shifts her voice and her gaze at the figure, allowing her words to reverberate, in an attempt to vocally reach out to the spirit while she still can: ]

Your pain and suffering will end here, child.

[nightwild]

[As Madoka changes, Fauna does as well- Though while Madoka transforms into a cute magical girl, Fauna's transformation is darker, like the sun going below the horizon, revealing a figure in broken armor.]

Don't call me -chan. My plan's already impossible- It's not going to wish for power like this, and it's already a monster.

[naturalgreed]

[ While everyone is either in a panic or preparing themselves to fight, Echidna on the other hand is... still drinking some tea, her gaze flitting around her in clear amusement. ]

What a rude interruption. Although, at the very least, it keeps things from getting too boring.

[nightwild]

[As everything falls apart, despite herself, Fauna... grins. Of course it came to this. It always came to this.

Feelings, faith, abstract things like that are hard for her. But violence? She can do that. And she can hurt this monster, returning the hurt she feels.]

Wild Change.

[The light dims around her as she slides a disc into the strange device she always carries, like the sun going behind the horizon at night. As your eyes adjust, or maybe the light comes back, Fauna stands in broken armor.]

Finally. There was never any other way this could have gone, after all.

[markofthejedha]

They are. There's a change in plans. But that's the way it will be. I will have to get closer to the spirit myself.

[ Her voice reverberates, but she's not happy about it in the slightest bit, her claws digging into the skin of her palm. There's no use in making empty apologies now.

All she has to do now is act. ]

[protectshope]

[nope you friends now.

She'll address that later:]

Then what were you going to do if they became a monster?

[nightwild]

Can't you tell?

[She lifts her arms, and from those giant sleeves, countless ofuda are poking out...]

I'm going to burn it.

[protectshope]

[Madoka flinches at the change in Hanyuu's voice. That's right... The spirit isn't the only one in pain right now. Hanyuu worked so hard for a happy ending. She organized the meeting, planned the picnics, and gathered everyone here to bring that spirit a happy ending. It isn't just the crying spirit whose hope rides on this battle, is it?]

... Can you back me up, Hanyuu-chan? If their soul is really corrupt, then my power will clear that up one last time.

[protectshope]

[Madoka's determined expression nearly becomes sad. Fauna had planned to fight it from the beginning, but Madoka can't feel happy about her being right. Instead, Fauna being correct about this is painful.]

Is that really the only solution that you can imagine?

[nightwild]

Do you have any other ideas?

[The broken visor seems to stare into Madoka's soul.]

In the end, it's always fighting that decides everything. There's no such thing as justice, or a happy ending. All there is is strength, and the ability to force things to be the way you want. A little feel-good picnic was never going to manage to solve anything.

[Fauna's words are filled with venom.]

So? What other solutions can you imagine? Do you want to go hug the tree now and hope that fixes it?

[goldspecktacles]

[So this is how it ends?

Leo feels a pang of sympathy for the spirit as its wish falls apart around it. He's been thinking it for a while now, but this spirit reminds him of the cast of his own story: Lonely, forgotten, and desperate to keep those they love chained to them. He had decided that a life where they knew loneliness was better than a life without it, and yet...

Seeing the parallels, Leo recognizes that he's as responsible as anyone. Because he would not turn back time to change this fate. Not if it meant erasing the love for the city that the spirit had shown them.]

Jabberwock!

[A circle of light appears around Leo's feet. Behind him, a large dragon-like creature appears. Its no less horrific than the monstrous transformation of the tree, but Leo doesn't flinch at Jabberwock's arrival. His fist clenches at his side as he tries to formulate an answer that isn't murdering the spirit, but he's not coming up with anything.]

We can't let it hurt the civilians. Who here can lead everyone to safety, and who here can fight?

[protectshope]

[Fauna isn't wrong. Sometimes you have to fight. When despair clouds your heart, sometimes you do have to use your shine to fight it back... and sometimes, you need for someone else to loan you their light and rekindle your own.

So she doesn't tell Fauna she's wrong. Madoka doesn't want to invalidate whatever it is that makes Fauna feel that way. But she won't leave her with only that sad reality either.]

... Yeah. I do. Can you help me get close enough to do that?

[markofthejedha]

I can do that.

[ When she looks at Madoka, it isn't with the same kind eyes that she had worn before. There's a tiredness to them but also an understanding that there seems to have been much going on behind the scenes that she couldn't have possibly fathomed, much less solved in just a simple month. ]

Make sure to keep your distance. It will all be for naught if you get caught up and get hurt.

[nightwild]

-- What?

[Madoka's answer throws her so far off her guard she doesn't know how to react at first.]

Are you stupid?! That thing is going to eat you for even trying!

[naturalgreed]

Well, a dead woman isn't what one would call "normal", is it? Not to mention a dead witch at that.

[ Hm. ]

But yes, I do come from a world where magic is quite normal. What about your world?

[protectshope]

Hanyuu-chan...

[That look in her eyes is such a far cry from the eyes Madoka first met. Her heart aches for her new friend... Just how much of a burden does Hanyuu shoulder, that it makes those kind eyes of hers look so tired..?

Madoka touches the soul gem around her neck.]

Don't worry about me. As long as this doesn't break, I won't either. [It's not a confession that Madoka makes lightly,] I'll explain later, but for now... As long as I can touch them, I can purify them.

Let's save them, Hanyuu-chan!

[protectshope]

Maybe. [Madoka is honest about that, but--] But also, maybe not.

[She steps towards Fauna.]

You're right. Sometimes you have to fight and sometimes... Sometimes, things-- lives,-- they have to come to an end. But that doesn't mean that the ending has to be painful! I won't let that happen!