【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

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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!

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Comments

[nightwild]

You mean the one I endangered in the first place?

[She glances back at Pidonus. Damn it. How does everyone keep seeing her?]

[marshmallowpurgatory]

How so?

[The woman chuckles a bit.]

If you hadn't stepped into that fight, I may have had to start it solo - or gotten jumped by that thing. Bards don't do well alone, it's not how we work. More than that, you kept the thing from getting full focus on me.

Unless you thought me speaking for someone else.

[nightwild]

[She did, in fact, think that, considering.

But her point still stands, as:]

You mean when it spat all my attacks back out at you? That wasn't exactly helping.

[marshmallowpurgatory]

It still took attention - and with that, it took time away from it going for full striking at me.

All we could do was keep it split, and you did that.

Dare I ask why you seem to want to reject having a role in our winning today?

[nightwild]

I barely did anything, if you didn't notice. I split it into more pieces, or had my attacks reflected at you.

[She looks away, brown eyes flecked with gold staring at the ground.]

I can't do anything useful, all right?

[have_hat_will_travel]

[Pidonus slowly reached out, putting a hand on Fauna's shoulder.]

You had no way to know that it would be able to handle strikes like that. None of us did. Thus why the fight turned into a buy-people-time situation.

What you did do, decisively, was activate your powers and dove right in. That's not a level of bravery most could display, you know.

And I'm pretty sure a lot of people appreciate that far more than you know. I can say I do.

[nightwild]

[Fauna wants to argue. She wants to protest. She doesn't believe it. She can't believe it.

But she's tired. Too tired to protest as she should.]

... It's not bravery. [Is the most she can muster.]

You shouldn't appreciate me, okay?

[marshmallowpurgatory]

And why not?

[Pidonus seems fine leaving the first point as 'agree to disagree'. More than that...]

You tried to do the rightest thing you could given what you knew. That's a good thing, you know?

Or is it perhaps something besides your actions that makes you think you don't deserve appreciation for them?

[nightwild]

[Fauna grimaces.]

It's all my past actions. I'm a villain.

[marshmallowpurgatory]

[Pidonus seems completely and utterly unfazed by this.]

Think you're alone there? I'm a literal succubus, Fauna. And I wasn't a good person.

Could blame my former queen's influence, but that wouldn't be entirely true. I was willing to do almost anything if it advanced my goal, the entire reason for my existence... and assumed I was going to die before it was fulfilled. That'd be a just comeuppance for what I'd done.

But now I'm here.

You?

[nightwild]

That's different! Did you have a choice? You had a queen, or your nature, or... any reason to do it, instead of...

[marshmallowpurgatory]

Like I said, it'd be dishonest of me to claim that it was just her.

I had choices all along, Fauna. Sometimes even made them. I tried to pretend I was just a servant of evil, but there was still something of... Well, I'm not sure what to call the past. Can't even say it's my own.

But here, I had the choice. And you did too. It'd have been easier to run to evacuate people maybe. But you fought, and we really are better off for it.

Would a hug help make clear that I'm trying to say you deserve thanks regardless?

[nightwild]

No-!

[She doesn't deserve that. She shouldn't- She doesn't deserve anything. Stop it. Why are you caring?]

Stop- Why do you care?! Why won't you just tell me I'm wrong?!

[marshmallowpurgatory]

... That's easy, if you want a purely greedy answer.

If I accept that you are irrevocably evil, or useless, or anything...

What the hell does that say about me?

But that's not the whole answer. Not at all. The deeper truth is, I see more in you than perhaps you yourself do right now. And the first step to getting you to see that, is perhaps being overly aggressive with my gratitude. Telling you, no matter how hard you claim otherwise, that you deserve kindness that... Well, that it feels like you haven't received much of for way too long.

[Just like her, Pidonus doesn't say aloud.]

[nightwild]

Aren't you worried? If you hang out with me, that might mean you're bad, too.

[marshmallowpurgatory]

The alternative, near as I can tell, is leaving you to just. Be bad, hide away from stuff.

People see you as someone capable of being much cooler than that.

So yeah. I'd rather risk seeming the bad guy who hangs with a jerk to try and help her, than being the bad guy who abandons people who deserve better.