#event: eternal spring

[prcttyinpcnk]

"Hey!! I'm so sorry! I got so caught up with my friends, and my dad, and my moms, I didn't even think to check on you after everything!!"

Well, being in a panicked state of grief can mess with your memory... Still, Phiona found that as no excuse. She needed to take care of everyone and make sure that everyone was safe! Things are extra dangerous now!

"Oh! You don't even know my name, do you? It's Phiona! Phiona Souris!"

Weird time for a proper introduction, but better late than never!

[ XXX ] @theoldsecretkeeper

[pcrfumebcttles]

CRAAAAACK!!

"Oh, that's not a good sound."

Allison pulls the tiny mushroom witch close to her side. Falling leaves and sticks gave the two ladies the tip that they should probably move. And the sticks quickly got bigger.

"DIFFIDENTLY, NOT A GOOD SOUND!!"

Allison scoops Ophelia up, getting them both on Daisy's bike and riding as fast as they can go away from the tumbling trees. With a press of a button, the girls were in the air and far away from the sudden catastrophe. Great view of the forest from up here, though

"Phew...! Talk about cutting it close... You okay, kiddo?"

Ophelia is silent for a moment, looking down at the forest with her arms wrapped around Allison's waist. Finally, she spoke.

"....they're gone."

"Huh!?"

"Ynemn... They're gone. Dead."

"How can you tell?!"

"...I just can. This eternal spring is over..."

Allison looks down at the small girl, before turning her attention to the forest. How!? When!? Where!? Why!? That's when she does a little thinking. As it hits her, a little smile forms across her face. Peppino.

"Ya did good, Paisano. Ya did good. Don't know how the hell you do it, but you find a way. Still gonna kick his ass for not coming to me about this later..."

Ophelia flinches, before gently tugging on Allison's sleeve.

"Let's not give Mr. Sacchetti too much of a hard time, Ms. Conway. We should probably head back to town to help the citizens, yes?"

Allison agrees with a smile, and the two fly back to town. The alchemist won't give Peppino too hard of a time, but he had some explaining to do the next time she sees him...

[rcseteaparty]

@prcttyinpcnk asked:

Even if you can't see me. Even if you can't hear me. I'm here. The roses bloom for you ... I love you.

(For Harper of course.]

Harper’s ear twitches, axe held off from its swing and now resting against her shoulder. She closes her eyes and there’s a gentle sigh followed by a deep breath. 

Something burns in her chest with a new determination, and words she’ll leave for when her hands are holding her princesses again.

[lamentmournanddespair]

A low rumble of thunder across the sky punctuates many heads turning as one.

And as the echo sounds over the great growth, a split second...

Turns into several more seconds, when a blade plunges into that instant and tears it open. That gap in time, between potential and destination... was all that he needed.

Wuthering Heights can hide in many places, but he will always find them, no matter where they go. No matter what ends to which timelines they conceal themselves within. They will be found.

The gap between seconds closes.

They will return with their spoils soon.

[pizzamassacred]

(kxllerclaws) “What are you doing here.” It may have been a question, but it very much carried the inflection of a statement. Chimizo was not pleased to find Spirito skulking about the outskirts of the forest, given what he last remembered of him.

Perplexed, Cherish poked her head out from behind her father, casting him a quizzical glance. He usually only acted like this within reason, but did they really have time to be beefing with this spirit? “Papa. Please don’t start anything right now,” she urged, which did not placate him as much as she would have liked it to.

In fact, he was unfazed, pointedly glaring. This must have been highly bemusing, considering they never actually met before.

Who wants to know? And more importantly, why should I be telling you my reasons for being anywhere?

Geez. Who was this random, coming up to have beef with a ghost who doesn't even know who the hell he is? Granted, Spirito's aware that his presence may be both palpable and read as exceedingly negative, but he's definitely unaware of this stranger's connection to a certain island representative he may have juiceboxed in the past.

That's some good advice. Don't start anything with me. If you're here for the reason I'm thinking of, you've got much better and more productive things to do, right?

Slowly, his ethereal gaze trails back to the wild forest. Right?

[ycungmagick]

It happened over night.

Ophelia went from a tiny girl with a small shop, to now creating a sanctuary for the young and old to protect from the effects of this now eternal spring.

She's unsure how or why this happened, but the fairies that ventured to and from the forest to tell her news mentioned one name... Ynemn.

She's not deterred. She's dealt with something younger. She doesn't have her mother this time, but... she's prepared. And strangely... her mother never left. Her main focus right now? It's protecting the innocent. She'll find who's truly responsible and stop them herself. Right now. Tend to the weak and innocent. That's the most important part.

[lultimagoccia]

once again, his life had been upended. all he had worked so diligently to achieve, the sense of stability he had in knowing who he was and what he could do with himself was again stripped away, torn to shreds and dropped at his feet.

once again, he found himself at the mercy of forces so beyond his control he might as well have simply laid down and let tragedy befall him. for all the difference fighting it had made.

however, this time was different from those before

this time

he gave up

he accepted it

locked the door to his beloved pizzeria and threw the key as far as he could before retreating inside. he turned off the lights. put everything away, as he always dreaded he would the day the business finally went under. this was the end.

then he found a place in the kitchen and laid down. he closed his eyes, to rest.

maybe when he gathered the last dredges of what strength he had

he'd make use of that rifle he always kept under the counter

she hated guns. she would be so angry with him. so disappointed.

" creecher. "

her eyes gleamed as she watched him from her favorite seat at the counter. her long tail trailed behind her as she moved about, being what help she could because she knew this place mattered to him, that this was his forest, his sacred space.

" creecher. "

she held his hands, soothed with rubs of tiny fingers. she called him dove, reminded him that he too could be cupped in such small palms and treated gently. she told him this would be okay, they would figure it out together. that he did not have to do it alone.

" my creecher, where did you go? "

she was not there. she was not anywhere. she was everywhere, in every place he searched. he would never find her again.

gone

gone

dead

[cheftasks]

" ain't like it matters. my shit's all covered in fuckin' flowers.

... wonder if you c'n grill evil plants ... ? "

[prcttyinpcnk]

@theoldsecretkeeper asked: "Hey, phionaaaa!! Where are you? I am as blind as a bat! I need you for something important!" Hey, it was Margarita! And she sounded.. Excited?? -

Phiona was going over a few game plans with her friends when she hears a voice calling her name. Odd. That sounds... familiar. No, it can't be.

"One sec, guys."

It takes no time at all for Phiona to locate Marg. Odd. She seemed... happy. What's even weirder is, Phiona's gut is telling her that this is a good sign. She looks at the camp and them back at Marg. Something was missing. Or rather... someone.

"Gimme a sec, Marg! I'm gonna go get dad!"

With that, the young witch heads to the big top to retrieve her father. Hopefully it's something good. They need some good news.

"Dad?! Hey Dad!!"

@lultimagoccia

[pcrfumebcttles]

She cannot catch a break can she?

First this eternal spring nonsense, then a sudden winter storm, now the forest is trying to eat people. Madness.

...Even so, what is her life without a little madness? With the others back home, she was now racing through the forest on Daisy's bike, slashing and hosing down any threat that came their way.

She knew he was here. This was Creech's forest going haywire. She that he was in here to help his wife... and she'd be here to help him too. She knows all too well what it's like to lose someone so precious to you. She won't let him suffer like that.

"Wait for me, Pino. I'll be there soon."

[rcseteaparty]

@prcttyinpcnk asked:

She could've sworn that she heard their voice. It was unmistakable. That soft southern drawl that brought a sense of peace in her heart. Her beloved. Her knight.

"HARPER!!"

Phiona ran as fast as her legs could carry her as she quickly wrapped Harper in her arms in a tight embrace. How stupid she was, running around making sure everyone was safe, and had no time for her beloved... How stupid and selfish she was....

 “Easy now, easy.”

Wasn’t just the people who had to keep moving, but the critters too. Harper was doing her best to help her parents with that when she heard a familiar-

“Phi?!”

Harper practically picks her up, arms wrapping around her tight as they meet and her tail wagging up a storm.

“...Hey now.” 

Gentle kisses above each eye before she lets go only to softly cup Phiona’s face.

“I want ya to take a deep breath for me, okay? You're here and I'm here…promise~.”

[lamentmournanddespair]

the forest knows what you have taken . even now , it rises up to greet you , wrapping vines around your men and pulling them deep , back into the earth . bone , broken by ever green . branches scrape and thorns pierce .

in the distance , there is the faintest of light .

Thorns pierce but the pain is so forever engrained that it is just another moment of life.

The dirt devours them. But the rain washes down just overhead, like a personal cloud, and those bones are revealed again. A low rumble of thunder promises lightning that never comes.

Vines are scraped and gashed but never cut clean through. Left to mend, left to live. Every step, heather blooms and when the foot is lifted, heather decays.

"You used them not," the Erlking growls, "and yet you try to take them from me? Just as all things do..."

[clearly-squishy]

For the second week of the Free! Spring Event 2024: "Words that we couldn't say"

Word Count: 2,276 words

Rating: Teen and Up

Relationships: Matsuoka Rin & Nitori Aiichirou

Characters: Nitori Aiichirou, Matsuoka Rin, Yamazaki Sousuke

Tags: Angst, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Failure, Ai Needs a Hug, Set in Season 2, Free Spring Event 2024, Swearing, Angst with a Happy Ending, Free! Eternal Summer

Summary: Freshly informed that he didn't make the cut for the medley relay for prefecturals, Ai quickly loses himself to the swarm of racing thoughts swirling around his mind. This was his last chance to swim a real relay with Rin, and he had nobody to blame for his failure but himself.

[ycungmagick]

How the forest howls and hungers.

...And yet, each step she took was slow and graceful. The violent plant life and soil was quickly tamed by the spreading of spores and fungi radiating off the young witch.

A living biogazard.

Her once unassuming broomstick now a scythe to reap the plant life that dare threaten her. It is harvesting season after all.

Plants, Mortals, Gods, all would know the sting of the reapers scythe eventually.

But for Ophelia...?

"You cannot kill me in a way that matters...."

[lultimagoccia]

(kxllerclaws) Perhaps one last sweep of town was in order. Donning their human disguises, the two family members took in every sight they could, appreciating the sense of community in the air. No one was left to fend for themselves, which was heartwarming to see.

All seemed to be normal. But Charles could not help but notice Muse, who looked a little too much like another Fake he had unpleasant memories of. Thankfully, their overall demeanor and the scar on their face differentiated them enough to prove it could not be him. Still, it was a little unsettling.

“Apologies. I didn’t mean to stare.” He coughed. “We’re not from around here, so we’ve been meaning to ask someone about what’s been going on. If you don’t mind, would you happen to know anything? It doesn’t matter what, big or small.”

Nice save, Cherish’s sidewards gaze seemed to express. She had no clue why he was drawn to this person in particular, but a gut feeling told her there was a reason for it.

Watch Peppino, watch Peppino ... he was SO out of practice with tracking the one guy he'd been created to terrorize! Already they'd let themselves get distracted with offerings of food and conversation, and they'd nearly allowed their charge to escape their watchful gaze!

It was embarrassing, was what it was. HIGHLY unprofessional!

" What we know? What we know ... " Muse repeated anxiously, their gaze just beyond the duo as they tried to keep track of Peppino. " Many things, friends! Big things, trees, lots of trees, pretty trees full of flowers and vines. Very hard to climb, did you know this? Frustrating! Small things ... many plants cause rashes. This, we know now. Small plants. Big pain. HORRID! Starting to hate forests, a small amount. Most of all we feel love. But hate, a small amount, too. "

[cheftasks]

a lot had changed for maurice, real fast.

thank god he had ada to help ease him through it, or he would have punched a LOT more holes in the walls of his sweet new beach home. the place still kinda smelled like old person ( and ... fur?? for some reason??? did gramps have a dog maurice didn't know about or something??? ) but it wasn't too bad. he had his kid with him, and most of his possessions had finally been brought overseas from his apartment in the states.

yep. a lot had changed, since he came to the island for the funeral.

nonno willing his former home to his estranged grandson was ... something, alright. but he refused to pussy out on the challenge. fuck that. if dear ol' pops was gonna give maurice a free house, then fine. he could handle the responsibility just fine. he'd show that dead guy a thing or two.

it was with this determination in mind maurice opened the door out to his back porch to reveal ... there was no porch. only lots and lots of plants. like an absolute jungle out there, where once had been a beautiful beachfront property.

" ... what the fuck ...? "