epidemiology | EVENT ★ EXPLORATION

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EVENT ★ EXPLORATION

With the storm gone, the water surrounding Komo has calmed considerably. Much of the affected area is in ruins, but thanks to ALASTAIR, a large contingent of Komo survived the disaster. However, with parts of Komo uninhabitable, they need to be able to reach Nalawi’s other islands. With their technology so limited due to dependence on their Gifts, it’s all they can do to build a few tiny, shoddy canoes, powered solely by elbow grease. They only fit two regular-sized people (but four Nalawi), and the wait time is long, but they do the trick. If you aren't willing to wait, you can always try to get creative.

Strangely, though, anyone trying to use their magic to cross the waters will find that their powers are beginning to dampen. Similarly, anyone with superhuman abilities at all will find them waning, albeit at different rates. Those without any special powers at all will be completely unaffected.

But that's nothing to worry about, right? It’s time to see the rest of Nalawi.

PU’ULAI

PU’ULAI is the centermost island of the archipelago and by far the largest. Most of the travel between islands is to and from Pu’ulai, as it’s the cultural hub of Nalawi and the location of Nalanni’s largest temple. It’s very populated during the day, but isn’t a residential area and clears out once the sun goes down.

The first thing you'll notice is that the deer hate cats. The citizens of Komo are far more likely to let it go, but if you have anything slightly cat-looking with you here, at best, you'll be yelled at. Some Nalawi try to start fights, and no one but Komoans will allow cats anywhere near their homes or inns. Recruits might notice children running away from cats, screaming, "Dakal!"

THE TEMPLE, referred to as Nalanni’s Garden, is closest to the Nalalona volcano on a neighboring island. The regular ash from it was viewed as a good omen from Nalanni, who’s rumored to live within the volcano, but it’s been months since anyone has seen any activity from it. The temple is dark as obsidian, which is coincidentally what it’s made of. There’s a copious amount of brightly colored flowers around the temple, hence the name. The gardens are free for anyone to walk through, as is the temple. One image is constant throughout the temple: an inhumanly large, vaguely feminine being made in stone and fire, a walking volcano. It would be easy for such a woman to look frightening, but she looks welcoming and caring, arms outstretched to embrace her children.

Inside the temple are more murals of Nalanni, but also some curiously unrelated to her. They depict the Nalawi fighting against large, predatory cat-creatures, finally culminating in their enemies attacking Nalalona. This is when Nalanni reappears, striking them down. The temple is tended to by several Nalawi of varying ages, all very welcoming to strangers, especially those they’ve heard heroic tales of. News traveled fast once the Komo villagers crossed the waters and spread the news of their timely rescuers. There are plenty of Nalawi in the temple, making offerings and asking Nalanni to return to them -- some are hopeful, but others appear desolate.

CITY HALL is where the ten members of the Council convene. No one is allowed in, as they’ve been discussing the changing state of Nalawi nonstop for days. There’s a group gathered around the hall each day, hoping their leaders will emerge and announce their plans, but nothing has happened yet. It’s a good chance to sit around and listen, though -- you’ll quickly find out that Nalawi is a meritocracy; the Council have the strongest Gifts of anyone in Nalawi, determined by a nationwide competition to prove their worth every time a seat opens. Some of the more disgruntled deer whisper that some must have lost their powers by now and no longer deserve to sit on the Council.

A few arguments are beginning to break out around the city hall, and even a few scuffles. Luckily, their weakened powers have also dampened the damage they’re able to deal, and no one has been injured too badly. Just try to be respectful -- otherwise, you might upset the wrong person. Those hooves can hurt.

ELSEWHERE, there's a marketplace where traditional Nalawi clothing can be bought, among other things, inactive spas shut down due to dormant volcanoes, and maybe -- if you’re very lucky -- you’ll stumble upon a ferry that still works. It’s unlikely, though, and haggling with its owner will be difficult. You could always steal it, but you wouldn’t do that, would you?

You can always explore the SURROUNDING ISLANDS, which are mostly residential areas, similar in theme to the parts of Komo that haven't been destroyed.

Oh, and if you're disrespectful to the islanders or were at any point rude to the people in Komo, you might wake up to find a bunch of tiny, adorable Nalawi around your bed, swinging around bars of soap in socks. Don't worry, they won't actually do anything but threaten you for a minute before storming out. ...Yet. The moral of the story is 'don't mess with the Nalawi.'

OOC INFO

The entire map of Nalawi is now available to characters. Updated location information can be found here.

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_{[ Gintoki stops in his tracks, feeling his heart rate accelerate at the sight of a hooded figure and instantly assumes the worst. It's a ghost? A phantom? The grim reaper trying to finally take his soul?

You have to realize several things. Gintoki has killed too many people to really count in his lifetime; the only thing he needs is their spirit back to haunt him. And secondly, a spirit isn't driven away with a weapon like Gintoki knows how to use, so it makes him a bit skittish.

Anyway, he shrills.
Sadaharu, on the other hand, can sense Olivia's innocence and her scent, and just barks (very much like a puppy) a her. ]}

[ gintoki's shriek nearly has olivia yelling a second time, but thankfully for everyone's ears, sadaharu's barking comes quickly enough to distract her. hand still pressed against her chest, olivia is at least able to determine that this new addition to gintoki's side is a companion and not a threat. ]

Oh gosh —

[ mistaking the giant dog's barking for aggression, however, saffron squeaks loudly in complaint, his tiny lion roar sounding quite minuscule in comparison. especially when he has yet to come out from behind olivia's legs. ]

Mr. Gintoki — you startled us!

[ yes, this is all your fault... ]

Oh, but who is this? A friend of yours??

Edited 2016-04-11 01:26 (UTC)

_{[ Sadaharu opens his mouth, panting, unable to really side what appears to be like a smile on his muzzle. His large tail is wagging behind him, but he also gets distracted by the small creature behind Olivia. His mouth shuts, nose twitching and following the ground to its scent, giant paws leading him right to Olivia.

He allows his nose touch to Saffron.

Gintoki, looking exasperated, slouches his posture. ]}

Don't say crap like that when you very well startled us first. What's with that get up? Are you trying to be a reaper?
_{[ oh.. but girls like dogs, right.. he remembers that when he took Sadaharu to the dog park once.
Quickly, he replies: ]}

He's a pain in my ass from home. That's who he is.

[ at the sudden invasion of personal space, saffron jumps back a bit in shock, his own minuscule maw (in comparison to sadaharu's, at least) opening to let out a small squeak of discontent.

however, just like his adoptive mother, the lion cub's own curiosity soon gets the better of him, and before long he starts to inch closer and closer towards the large dog, tentatively sniffing at the air between them...

until finally the little lion is bumping his own nose back against sadaharu's. a challenge accepted! or friendship acquired, whichever. ]

Wait — he's someone from your home?

[ the excitement and fondness that had been in olivia's eyes with regards to the large animal suddenly triples, but now it is directed at gintoki instead. her eyes even get a little teary at the thought because finally, finally — a companion from home that can keep him company and keep all the terrible loneliness at bay...! ]

Oh gosh, I'm — I'm so happy for you...!

[ screw propriety YOU GET A HUG, GINTOKI!! ]

_{[ Gintoki just stares at her flatly— as he often does— and somewhere in the back of his mind is wondering if she is.. actually crying over something like this. Gintoki was relieved to find Sadaharu, and when nobody was around, buried himself in the giant animal's fur and probably was an embarrassing mess.

Gintoki is worried, though. That leaves Kagura and Shinpachi without their pet.
He much rather him be back home to at least protect his "family.."

Gintoki grunts when he's hugged, weight shifting back on his heels before he slowly lifts his hands and wraps his arms around Olivia. ]}

Thanks.. I guess.
_{[ He doesn't sound too thrilled about it. ]}

[ WAIT IS HE ACTUALLY HUGGING HER BACK WITHOUT MUCH OF A FUSS/FIGHT?!

sadly, olivia is too distracted by his lackluster answer to even fully appreciate this moment (gdi >:'c).

she pulls back from the hug a little — not enough that it breaks, but just enough that she can lean back and look at him, eyes wide and glassy. ]

You guess...? Aren't you happy?

_{[ Aren't you happy?
Gintoki isn't sure he can really remember when he was actually, truly happy. It was probably an odd time when Shinpachi and Kagura were getting accustomed to working for him and they became more "family-like" as opposed to subordinates. That's probably what made him happy again after all he had gone through. Things like sugar, JUMP, alcohol and one night stands were passing gladness— not anything permanent but it was a futile attempt to try and make himself feel good without anybody knowing that. It's not like they needed to know, anyway.

He keeps his arms around her, loosely. He'll actually let her break the hug whenever she wants. ]}

If he's here, then he probably isn't back home, right? _{[ Honestly, that had never been answered to them— what happens to their homes or their presence when they're here instead. Do their lives freeze? Do they go missing? Who knows. ]}

Kagura-chan is probably heartbroken. He's her pet.
_{[ ah.. ofc.. thinking of others before himself. ]}

[ olivia can't even be surprised.

of course he'd be thinking of others before even thinking of himself. she's seen him do it before, oftentimes because of her, and while it breaks her heart to see him deny himself even this little bit of joy, she can understand.

to gintoki, it's never about him.

(i'll only corrupt you.)

it's always about everyone else. ]

Oh, boss... [ briefly, she slips into the persona of catherine-san, his devoted assistant. easier then to look him in the eye, easier still to lift a hand up to his cheek and gently cup it. ]

I wish you'd let yourself be as happy as you deserve.

_{[ What happiness he deserves? Gintoki never agreed with the statement that everybody deserves happiness, so that includes himself. Especially him, actually.
Through his outward boasts and seemingly arrogant behavior, in reality, it was just a way for him to maybe try to be happy— foolishly— accompanied with his other methods of drinking alcohol and eating sweets.

Again, they were just passing gladness.

The blood of hundreds of men lay on his shoulders, and although most of them were enemies, after the fact, sometimes his kill-count haunts him. Those who were comrades of him begged to be put to death and out of their misery— to die with honor. Maybe he was tired of killing people or maybe he knew that his friend had a beautiful life to live. Maybe that's why he convinced his childhood friend out of seppuku on the battlefield— is he saw much more potential in other people rather than himself.

No matter how many times those who know his secret try to comfort him or talk to him about it (it's usually a topic they avoid), it was still, undeniably, his weapon that set the only "father" he really knew to his grave. The person who taught him how to keep promises; his death weighed on Gintoki's soul and responsibility. He knows suffering. He knows people will suffer, but other people are first. And in a futile attempt to take the pain of others away, he puts it on himself. That's just how he operates— it's his own way of trying to redeem himself and possibly find himself worthy of something.
His friends— fellow students of the same teacher of promises— became so bitter at the world for his death. They wanted the world to suffer, but Gintoki, he understands his pain and doesn't wish it on anyone.

While Takasugi is making others suffer, Gintoki is making others happy.

Even now, though, he's back from his stay at home (which was a good long while, actually), he couldn't even protect the leader of his country.
Tokugawa Shige Shige was dead— who at the end wanted to be recognized as a friend instead of a leader. Gintoki wasn't directly involved in his passing, but he cannot help but wonder if there was something else he could have done to keep him alive.

Why does it matter if he's happy or not? If it wasn't for everything he's done or everything he hasn't done, maybe things could have been better. It's sweet Olivia thinks so, though. Gintoki isn't sure he's ever heard this from another person.

His lips are slightly pursed, inquisitive, though his eyes look empty as ever. ]}

Nobody is the judge of me but myself.
_{[ his response is flat; lacking emotion. At least Olivia will know without a doubt he isn't angry, even if his words seem pretty harsh.
If her hand wants to stay there, that is fine. He isn't pushing her away, but he isn't pining for her either. ]}

[ can people change? is there really such a thing as a bad or good person, or are there only just people, who happen to do bad or good things?

i'll only corrupt you, he had told her once. perhaps she was wrong, and they were not the words of a man who thought of everyone but himself. perhaps they were the words of a man who, despite all his efforts, cannot forget himself. or, at the very least, the man he had once been. ]

I suppose that's right.

[ she is sad, but she can't determine yet who she is saddest for — herself or him. sad for the man denying himself the salvation of seeing the change he must have affected, or sad for the woman who had deluded herself into thinking she might have had the chance to show him herself. ]

I wonder what that says about those of us who are always the hardest on ourselves.

[ he feels cold to the touch now, despite how close their bodies are. despite how much she wishes some of her warmth could have transferred to him, but, with a shiver, it seems the cold has won out again.

she finally breaks away with the resolve she had been lacking when she'd first initiated that hug, turning her hand instead to the large dog that welcomes it. ]

They're the saddest people on the planet, but..

_{[ He says this, as if he knows everything about it— because he does. Sadaharu has been a well behaved and patient horse-sized dog through this entire thing, though he seems particularly interested in their conversation, sensing the mixture of emotions in the air. His tail wags when attention is finally put on him, yes thank you, and he dips his head down to selfishly get some pets. Pets are great. Pets are the best.

Gintoki continues on, shifting closer to Olivia against she pulls apart from him. ]}

Seeing others happy make them happier than seeing themselves happy.
So.. smile for me. Chin up. Do the things that make you happy. That alone can uplift the world.

_{[ His curved hand bumps under Olivia's chin to make a point. ]}

[ it would be so easy, too. to put on a smile and give him what he wants and that would be that — a momentary balm in a wound he refuses to let fully heal.

but would that really be helping?

her hands stall over sadaharu's soft fur, the corner of her lips remaining still, despondent. when his hand bumps against her chin, one of her own reaches up to catch it, her grip surprisingly firm. ]

And what happens when you meet somebody whose happiness will depend on yours?

[ it would be so easy, too. ]

Live [ and love ] isn't as simple as a one-way street, Gintoki. Maybe it would be best if you remembered that.

[ she moves away from them both then, letting his hand drop against sadaharu's where hers is now absent. she calls to the lion cub as she walks, gently patting the side of her leg for his attention. ]

Let's go, Saffron — we've bothered them long enough.

_{[ What she says and what she does— it hurts him. But, there is some gratification in all of this, as odd as it seems, and whatever sting he feels doesn't last long because he has realized something:
She is confident in herself. This response she gave, wasn't hesitant, as harsh as the words were. They were clean and cut and to the point where now— she hopefully not bend to anybody's will but her own, unlike when he first met her. A person like that will get swallowed up by this world if she continued to not grow stronger and confident in herself.

Ever since then, Gintoki has been making an effort to improve her confidence— to protect her and watch her ambition grow.

This, right here, is a huge turning point. And Gintoki's shoulders visibly slouch— not from disappointment, but because he feels relieved. Relieved, now, that Olivia can stand up for herself.
And this, is what makes Gintoki happy— that he was able to help, even if it wasn't in the best way. ]}

Olivia.
You did it.

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EVENT ★ EXPLORATION

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did their pets just kiss

;0

i hate you

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spoiler-rific

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