crittersheep | RUMORS: CLOVER

Entries are due at 4:30 PM EST, unless an extension is required.

[ Hello, welcome to Urban Legends with Shade (and the Yakuza): ]

They say there's a corpse under one of the cherry blossom trees at the hot springs. The blossoms o' that tree are a deeper pink, almost the red of blood...but that color only comes out at night when the moonlight shines on those bloomin' petals. How'd that person die, and when...? No one remembers, not even the person buried there. What the corpse does remember is what it felt like when it weren't buried. It could breathe easy, it could see with its own eyes, it could touch whatever it wanted to...

Ya can't do that sort o' thing when you're buried in the ground with roots growin' through you and dirt in yer mouth.

Still, those wishes came up through the soil. What a tree feeds on is half what it becomes, ya know? With strong, fertile soil you get strong, fertile trees. When it's barren ya get somethin' less hardy and more fragile. When ya grow on top of a corpse with bitter regrets and wishes, that's what ya get, too: a tree that wants, and wants, and wants, endlessly hungry...but even a tree can't see nothin'. It can't feel the things a human could, once. There's sunlight and moonlight on branches and a breeze through the leaves, but that just can't compare to livin' yer life out as a human...can it?

There's a corpse under one of the cherry blossom trees. They say if ya go to that tree and put one of the petals in yer mouth and make a wish, that wish'll come true. It's gotta be somethin' ya really want, somethin' ya would do anythin' for - but as soon as that petal is on yer tongue and ya make a wish, it'll come true for ya, they say. And they ain't wrong, but somethin' else happens too...

Wishes don't come free, do they? There's always a price to pay. They don't tell ya that part at the start of a story ever - it always comes after ya make the wish and have to pay up. So every petal ya put in yer mouth and make a wish with...yer givin' somethin' away to the corpse that tree shelters. ♪ Maybe a blossom'll grow out of yer eye, and yer eye will be down there in the corpse, lookin' up at the dark damp dirt. Maybe yer fingers will become roots, graspin' for nutrients with sap flowin' through those "veins". Maybe yer hair will be leaves and twigs, growin' to the sun. Every wish ya make gives that corpse one piece o' yerself, givin' back a piece o' the tree...and once enough wishes have been made, it'll claw itself up out o' the ground, wantin' to breathe that air again, see the open sky. ♪

Made up of all the pieces o' them that wished upon the corpse's tree, it'll stand there. Sometimes, it seems like there's more than one, 'cause there's so many wishes, so many parts...yer hand that was once flesh, ya see it there - even though yers is now bark and blossom. It's made up of the things ya regretted and wished for. And maybe that's always been the case.

Time and again, humans'll wish fer things they don't have. When ya see that corpse ya realize what died to make it: dreams, hopes, desires, things ya never could get but desperately wanted. This is the corpse o' you and those who came before ya. If you take those pieces o' yerself back yer wishes stop bein' true...but if ya don't, ya become part of the story. Yer the corpse under the tree, yer the thing that dreams of something more and wants more, forever after.

OOC: Also, if u need the non-accent version of the story lmfao:

They say there's a corpse under one of the cherry blossom trees at the hot springs. The blossoms of that tree are a deeper pink, almost the red of blood...but that color only comes out at night when the moonlight shines on those blooming petals. How'd that person die, and when...? No one remembers, not even the person buried there. What the corpse does remember is what it felt like when it wasn't buried. It could breathe easy, it could see with its own eyes, it could touch whatever it wanted to...

You can't do that sort of thing when you're buried in the ground with roots growing through you and dirt in your mouth.

Still, those wishes came up through the soil. What a tree feeds on is half what it becomes, you know? With strong, fertile soil you get strong, fertile trees. When it's barren you get somethin' less hardy and more fragile. When you grow on top of a corpse with bitter regrets and wishes, that's what you get, too: a tree that wants, and wants, and wants, endlessly hungry...but even a tree can't see anything. It can't feel the things a human could, once. There's sunlight and moonlight on branches and a breeze through the leaves, but that just can't compare to living your life out as a human...can it?

There's a corpse under one of the cherry blossom trees. They say if you go to that tree and put one of the petals in your mouth and make a wish, that wish will come true. It has to be something you really want, something you would do anything for - but as soon as that petal is on your tongue and you make a wish, it'll come true for you, they say. And they aren't wrong, but something else happens too...

Wishes don't come free, do they? There's always a price to pay. They don't tell you that part at the start of a story ever - it always comes after you make the wish and have to pay up. So every petal you put in your mouth and make a wish with...you're giving something away to the corpse that tree shelters. ♪ Maybe a blossom will grow out of your eye, and your eye will be down there in the corpse, looking up at the dark damp dirt. Maybe your fingers will become roots, grasping for nutrients with sap flowing through those "veins". Maybe your hair will be leaves and twigs, growing to the sun. Every wish you make gives that corpse one piece of yourself, giving back a piece of the tree...and once enough wishes have been made, it'll claw itself up out of the ground, wanting to breathe that air again, see the open sky. ♪

Made up of all the pieces of those that wished upon the corpse's tree, it'll stand there. Sometimes, it seems like there's more than one, because there's so many wishes, so many parts...your hand that was once flesh, you see it there - even though yours is now bark and blossom. It's made up of the things you regretted and wished for. And maybe that's always been the case.

Time and again, humans will wish for things they don't have. When you see that corpse you realize what died to make it: dreams, hopes, desires, things you never could get but desperately wanted. This is the corpse of you and those who came before you. If you take those pieces of yourself back your wishes stop being true...but if you don't, you become part of the story. You're the corpse under the tree, you're the thing that dreams of something more and wants more, forever after.

Edited (changed the icon, nothing else, ignore me) 2024-05-04 21:36 (UTC)

[ So they're making creepypaste stories? He's not so sure about this one, although he's read plenty. ]

Hmm...I kinda wanna leave out ghosts, if possible, but it's basically a ghost story, right? Or an urban legend kinda?

[ He might be just talking to his editor here (?) help ]

Edited 2024-05-04 19:02 (UTC)

[here is your editor, I'm sorry]

Urban legend stuff, yeah. It don't gotta be ghosts!

[ It's okay, he likes anyone Hannya likes (?) by proxy. ]

Well, seems like I can pretty much choose anything myself... [ Unless Hannya pops in, but even then Shade can probably play director here? ] ...in that case, I guess I can go with somethin' based off of flowers, maybe...? Sakura trees.

[ That's a pretty vague statement but he's genuinely giving it some thought here. ]

If ya got any opinions I'll listen to 'em, though.

[he's giving it some deep thought, nodding along]

Flowers are a good one! Sakura trees have all kinds of legends about 'em, comin' up with a new one could be fun.

Well, if it's an urban legend it should be creepy, I guess...?

[ Since he doesn't know the fulfilling part he's just. Thinking about it like what he'd read back when he was locked up...of course reading all those creepy stories is how he got himself terrified of ghosts, so what the hell, Shade.

He tips his head to one side, then the other. ]

I'm not gonna plagiarize, but there's that one that says there's a corpse buried under the Sakura tree. I'll use that as my base of inspiration here. ♪ Anythin' in particular ya wanna have me include?

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