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 Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2026 5:03 pm
Quote: The Lantern Festival (7) : Scientists have been hard at work trying to understand the strange, glowing qualities of the luminescent caterpillars found in the caves by the reservoir. The caterpillars still shrivel up if they are taken out of the caves but their glowing secretions have been processed into an organic paste that can withstand the outside world. The city is selling paper lanterns infused with various seeds. The glow paste is full of minerals to support healthy plant growth without risking damage to the environment; all lantern purchases come with a small packet of activating power that will heat the paste up enough to mimic the effects of a candle without the concerns of flammability. When the glow paste loses its heat, the lantern will return to the Earth, and upon the first rain (or any contact with water) the paper will dissolve, and the seeds may begin to grow. All proceeds from the lanterns are put right back into the community to support local conservation and environmental protection efforts. Time had passed, so much time, yet he hadn't felt it the same way as he had in all those years wandering. Nothing felt urgent; he didn't have to keep moving to figure out some way to eat or stay warm. So months had gone by where he simply lay on the couch with Brioche and felt content to watch the world continue on full of life in a way that he hadn't experienced in centuries. The changing of seasons brought him out, though, as did the sight of one of those lanterns drifting on the breeze. It was something he enjoyed, and it motivated him enough to wander through the booths and grab a few lanterns to let float up into the sky. Another charm was pressed into his hand as he paid with the money Brioche had given him, another for his collection over the years he'd been on this planet. The trek up to one of the quieter hills had him a bit cold, even as he pulled his henshin out and let that human glamour fade. It was more comfortable like this, it always was, but he knew that the disguise was there to keep people from asking questions and so that the old woman whose home he stayed at would continue to see him as a friend of her grandson's. Sitting down in the grass, he took time to look up at the stars, wondering if any of them were in as good a state as this planet was. He'd been to so many places over the years. Were any of them intact? Maybe if he'd seen some sort of sign one way or another, it might give him direction in all this, but for now he was content just to exist on this planet and watch the lanterns. Though with his track record and the nice view this hill provided, he wasn't surprised when he thought he heard someone approaching.
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2026 7:27 pm
Jörmungandr had always quite liked local festivals. They were a good way to get to know what was going on in a given place, to see what they valued and what they celebrated. These lovely little lanterns were incredibly charming, and he'd wandered the festival as Keziah under glamor for a while, picking up a lovely little opal charm as he went and then wandering to one of the booths and buying himself a lantern to let off.
The concept of a light in the darkness felt perhaps especially poignant to him right now. Or maybe he was just a little high and that made everything feel a little poignant right now. But his world had gone dark, as one of the first signs of its infection, and the thought of sending a lantern into the sky and hoping it might somehow carry the dream of restoring his world felt--
Well, it felt like a ritual he had seen before, and it felt comforting. not one of his own world's, but still, familiar.
So he wandered into the night and shed his glamor, aiming for one of the quieter hills on the outskirts of the celebration, but as he walked, Jörmungandr found that he was not alone, and he swore he could see pointed ears beyond what Earth humans tended to have.
"Ah," he said, as idly as it was possible to greet a fellow that he was fairly certain was also from beyond this world, "I see I'm not the only one who thought to stretch my legs and let off a lantern in private tonight."
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2026 7:17 pm
Looking back towards the voice, it took him a moment to notice things that stood out. A passing thought about how they had features that reminded him of his lovely yet cold acquaintance. Another ascended, another dragon, and this one was talking to him now, so he paid attention. "I like this festival, it reminds me of how things used to be, also I enjoy the change in weather." It was easier on him than fall and winter were; he felt more alert and less sluggish. Moving to stand, to properly greet the other, he wiped some of the grass from his clothing to seem a bit more presentable. "Have you been to this festival before? Or is this your first time?" It wasn't as if he wandered enough to meet many others, but if they were around this city for a while, then it was a shame he missed them.
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2026 9:01 pm
Honestly, this felt like something of an auspicious meeting. Jörmungandr didn't consider himself superstitious or particularly invested in portents (though it was usually wise to listen to a seer, you never knew where their information came from) but every person who was not of Earth meant one more person who had managed to survive a Chaos invasion.
It would eat the universe someday. But it had not eaten them yet.
"The familiarity appealed to me, as well," he acknowledged. "I've been to festivals like this before, but this is my first one on Earth. I've only been here a few months, you understand." His tail swished, and he let his eyes drift to the dots of light beginning to flow upward.
"Jörmungandr. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2026 7:27 pm
His eyes caught the movement of their tail even if he hadn't meant to look, just in case it was rude. But then he focused back on their face as they looked up toward the other lanterns. "Only a few months..." Thinking on things, he looked up towards the sky as well. Time had been iffy, days blending together as he lounged and drifted through time here without doing much of anything. "I've been to this festival once before, I believe, a year and a half, nearly two years I've been here." It didn't seem like that much time; Earth still felt new in a way to him, the small drop in the bucket compared to the time he'd been wandering. "Chang'E," he said as he inclined his head in a light bow. "If you'd like to let off one of my lanterns, I bought a few extra since my Brioche enjoys setting them off with me." Reaching down, he picked up two from his small pile of them and offered one over. "To new festivals and well wishes?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2026 10:40 pm
It really did feel strange, to know that he had been on Earth for such a short time when others had passed years already on this new, livelier world.
"Two years, hm?" Both an age and a blink of an eye, Jörmungandr suspected. He wondered how long the other Senshi had survived alone on his world--it seemed a rude question to ask, but one couldn't help a little curiosity in these situations, he supposed.
"Thank you," he said, taking the charming little prize. "Delightful and innovative, these people of Earth. And so much care put into these little contraptions."
The instructions to activate them were simple enough, even for one struggling with the written language here.
"And to fine companionship for both," he said, and he let the lantern fly.
A lucky sort of night indeed.
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