ONLY HAD MYSELF TO BLAME / lantern wishes

[bubblegum]

I HEARD, I HEARD ACROSS A MOONLIT SEA

THE OLD VOICE WARNING ME

ϟ GOLDENLUXURY "GOLDIE" ROUX ϟ
noun
ϟ the clash between the eye and the raging storms. ϟ the healing warmth of the sun and the raw brutality of the seas. ϟ the self-fulfilling prophecy and the stolen future. ϟ
"I AM GOLDENLUXURY ROUX."

BEWARE, BEWARE THE DAUGHTER OF THE SEA

BEWARE, BEWARE OF ME.

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She almost felt sad, hosting this event. There's something very personal about it - maybe it's the fact that everyone could do it; it was their own wishes and aspirations. Maybe it's the thought of doing it last year, holding a certain nostalgia with it, while also feeling a sense of...adversity from the wishes she'd made before. Things had changed so much, in such a short amount of time. It had happened just days before her back had been destroyed, her young mind had filled with paranoia, and her path would be set on one filled with confusion, fear, and one fatal mistake that nearly lead to her unfair execution. Her world had been flipped upside down and it took the rest of the year for her to bring it right side up again, but even then, it isn't quite right. It's still different. Change didn't wait for the world to be ready for it; it was up to the world to adapt, but that, too, took more time than change often granted.

Last year, when this event took place, she had been a young bengal cat. She had her brother at her side, her papa leading strong, her aunts making their place, her friends close, and a general love filled for everyone and everything. The world was good, and it was so kind to her. She knew it was, and all she had wanted was to give back to it all. That had been her three wishes. Now, she's captain, and many of her friends and family are long gone - whether they've disappeared and gone off to live their own lives or simply died as death eventually took most everyone. She still remains, with her feather earring, and the island, too. Those are the constants. They're different, but still the same, and offered something to ground her at least.

"Is' time for lantern wishes," the tigress would eventually call out throughout the territory, hoping to gather her crewmates attention. And, eventually when others started to show up to Barracuda Bay, the female would gesture towards a pile of the currently flat cloths, a bucket filled with brushes, and several little bowls with ink inside of them next to it. She would sigh silently, forcing a warm smile to her features. It was almost lonely, doing this now. "Pick a lantern n' write or draw two or three wishes o' yours, or 'ave someone do it for ya. When you're done, you're free t' write your name, or leave it anonymous, n' we'll send 'em off in our sailboats to float out into the sea for good fortune." Before, it was mainly the captain's job to set them all off, but now they've got their sailboats, she'd like to encourage crewmates to free their own lanterns where they chose.

(example of what they look like)

information — plotting

[Splitvisage]

  [font=trebuchet ms]Lanterns had been commonplace in the underground, usually lit by fireflies or other creatures with bio-luminescence- a term he had heard thrown around by his caretakers, which according to them meant "living things that glow in the dark." They had lied to him about other things, but there was no reason for them to lie about the meaning of such a beautiful word. These lanterns, though, were lit by fire, and intended to be sent away for good luck. Did he believe in good luck? He wasn't sure.

  Still, the captain believed in it, so maybe there was something to the ritual. Lumbering over to the pile of supplies, Darksouls lowered his head, allowing Inkquill to hop off his antlers and onto the sand. Fixing his eyes on the pieces of cloth, he pondered what to write on them. What sort of wishes did he have?

  When Inkquill looked back at him and offered a curious quack, Darksouls looked over at the bowl of brushes and lifted his head slightly. "Please get me a brush," he asked softly, twitching his ears. Inkquill waddled over to the bowl, picked up one of the brushes in his bill, and brought it back, setting the brush at Darksouls' hooves.

  He had a way to write now, but not a clue as to what to write. What did he actually want? For so long, he had tried not to think about what he wanted, focusing instead on the greater good. Not that he didn't want the greater good, but most people had other things they wanted as well. Wishing that the underground had found a way out of its destruction seemed pointless now, and he couldn't find it in himself to wish anything for his parents or caretakers.

  Taking a deep breath, Darksouls took the brush, and started painting letters onto the lantern cloth in barely-legible script. He wasn't much for writing, but that was okay. He had figured out a wish, two wishes in fact, and that wish would remain a secret between himself and whoever might grant it.

  I want siblings to be okay, one side read. I want to find a purpose, read the other.

  Setting down the brush in front of Inkquill, Darksouls then lifted his head to face Goldenluxury. "How do we light these?" he asked, allowing a soft smile onto his face. With his hooves he might not be able to do it without help, but he could ask.

[idyllfields]

idyllfields

stars did fall

lantern wishes... idyllfields experiences a bit of déjà vu as they watched the water. crewmates pushing their desires or wishes out onto a sailboat to be whisked away by the current. it reminded them of their time with their officiation into the typhoon. taking a glass bottle and writing their notes... this was supposed to be something more upbeat though.

something more innocent.

idyll gently dragged their lantern away and thought quietly. it felt like a long time before they even picked up the ink pen, writing their wish across the canvas.

completion. it said. it was barren of any other words or pictures. just one simple word which they so desperately wished to find some day. they returned the lantern to the pile, politely asking someone to put it on the sailboat for them, and sat patiently.

completion.

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[bubblegum]

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GOLDENLUXURY ROUX

I HEARD, I HEARD ACROSS A MOONLIT SEA
THE OLD VOICE WARNING ME

BEWARE, BEWARE THE DAUGHTER OF THE SEA
BEWARE, BEWARE OF ME.

information — plotting

//late reply but im determined to do this event

The tigress would wait several moments before even considering grabbing her own lantern, looking over the two that arrived and picked out their own, scribbling down whatever wishes they had. She didn't let her gaze drift to that, though, figuring that would be much more personal and she is not so nosy to just stare at them in this event. Her eyes drift back down to the array of cloth, thinking silently to herself, about to extend a paw to fetch one for herself when Darksouls would speak up. Her eyes drift back towards the male and she would look around for a second, her paw reaching out towards a small stack of wood, twigs, and a few stones. "S'pose I ought t' make the fire now, huh. You'll use a twig t' carefully light candles in 'em before sendin' 'em off." And with that, the female would set up the stack of wood, quickly rubbing it against the stone to ignite the small fire.

Afterwards, the captain would pick out her own cloth and brush, staring at her blank canvas for a few moments. Wishes are a tricky thing. Wishes, perhaps, were nearly impossible things. Things one had little control over. She had thought before, last year, that she could accomplish them all. But, it wasn't true. The tasks proved harder than even she could handle - though she's not so sure she'd admit it. Safe family, she had written, and then a happy world, and, finally, perfection. But now, what does she want now, a year later? She can't say it's so different. The tigress would struggle to figure out her ideas.

But, finally, she settles on something.

That first wish - it's not something she can get rid of. She needs it still. Safe family, she writes. Proud family, says the next. It's what she's wanted all along. Victory, comes the final one - the most plausible one. She wishes to win. Against the Pitt, against the assholes, against the world. She wishes the pirates to be successful, to never feel truly threatened, to consider themselves strong, safe, and always prosperous. Those are now her ultimate goals.

[dovedeparture]

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Dovedeparture wasn't sure she believed in wishes. She believed in fate, and she believed in blessings. Wishes were merely hopes and dreams of the beings who did not understand fate controlled all. One's wildest hopes and dreams did not come true simply by wishing them into reality; it had to be written in the stars, carved into the stone of one's creation. Couldn't these ground-dwellers understand that? Surely, she thought, they were not that simple-minded.

The lynx frowned at that, head tilting sideways as she tried to make sense of the scene playing out before her. These beings were so unlike her, so strange in their habits. For not the first time, she felt a bit lost.

She listened closely to Goldenluxary's explanation of the affair. Luck. Wishes. Dovedeparture's confusion did not float away, but it was perhaps beginning to melt. Her Captain's words seemed so sincere, and Darksouls and Idyllfields were willing participants. She wondered, then, if there was more to this.

Guided forward by an odd swell of emotions and a newfound understanding, the guardian angel selected a lantern and a brush. The blank canvas seemed to open its arms to embrace her, and the ink magically drew forth her innermost thoughts.

Home. The word materialized in a flurry of neat cursive. She so desperately needed to feel a sense of belonging in this place - in any place while on the ground. Wings. The cursive was sloppier, then, as if she had written it took quickly. Wishing for wings felt odd at times, like she shouldn't miss them, like it was wrong to long for the past. Choice. The last word was scrawled too messily to be legible, but Dove knew it, felt it. However, she did not quite know what she meant by that... Perhaps this vessel was getting things confused again?

Ruffling her feathers, she stood and carefully marched her lantern toward the boat. The angel placed it among the others, watching her three wishes fade against the hopes and dreams of the crew. Trying not to think about how silly she was behaving, Dovedeparture returned to where she had been seated before.

"This is lovely," she noted, to no one in particular. Green eyes watched the smiles and somber looks and other emotions paint the faces of those around her. Lantern light sprouted here and there, and slowly but surely, things began to glow.

Maybe her first wish was already coming true.

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