EVENT ▸ WELCOME TO HANABIRA

[futurologists]

LAND OF CELESTIAL MOUNTAINS Following guild Ophelia's first mission, after which the temporal shard was found and safely disposed of back on Headquarters, Guild Master Imogen informs them they've received a contract to help ease tensions in a land known as Hanabira, on an unnamed planet designated as Hathaway-484. However, the contract is from a third party and the Hanabirans themselves do not know about interdimensional travel, she explains, so it'll be best to announce Ophelia as visitors from a foreign land. Any strange appearances or abilities will be able to be brushed off as magic, as the Hanabirans are no strangers to things such as ogres and imps. They're given five days to look over the dossier, and then it's through the rift they go. Those who are new to rift travel may find themselves a bit dizzy on the way out, but overall, everything seems to have gone according to plan. Upon arrival, their magitek projects words in front of their eyes that only they can see: Location reached: HANABIRA. No events scheduled. You may wish to survey the surrounding area. » LAND OF CELESTIAL MOUNTAINS A militaristic society that values strength. Main sources of income: mining, foresting, hunting, blacksmithing. Heavy matriarchal ideals. Empress NAMA resides at the HEAVENLY SUMMIT. Those who attempt to reach the Heavenly Summit, which turns out to be the name of a castle situated on the tallest mountain peak, will not make it very far. Empress Nama's guards have no time for foreign strangers attempting to enter the castle without an audience, and there are plenty of them. It looks like that plan of action is going to take some time to rethink. There's still much more to look at, though. In the Merchant's District, you can stock up on everything you'll need to blend in. A cursory look at all the clothing and it's clear that the Mountain Clan style focuses on a more powerful look, with broad shoulder accents and thick fabrics. Both men and women wear kimonos, but it seems men's fashion changes depending on their age and marital status. Time to figure out those backstories! There are several more items for sale as well, as long as you're willing to pay -- or if you're particularly good at sleight of hand. The Commoner's District, derogatorily called the Slums by some, is where many of the lower class Mountain Clan work and live. Those who don't have the coin to buy a space in the Merchant's District sell their wares here; they are at a lower price, but often of lower quality as well, unless you're particularly lucky. This is the most densely populated area of the Celestial Mountains, and also the most egalitarian. Here, both men and women must do the same work to provide for their families. However, you will still find that the prevailing cultural attitude supports the matriarchy. On the other side of town is the Noble's District, which is patrolled by guards on regular routes. Men on their own will arouse suspicion in this area, as will anyone in any garb but the noble disguise. Troublemakers will be asked to leave and unceremoniously escorted out. Those who manage to stay will be able to find conversation with the nobility, many of whom are high-ranking military leaders. The rest of the town belongs to the lower to upper middle class, who are friendliest to women or groups with at least one woman in them. Women's reactions to sole men may range from dismissive to awkward, although men alone are not in any danger of angry or violent reactions (as long as they don't provoke anyone). ▸ SPRING FESTIVAL After a bit of time for exploring, a new message flashes in front of recruits' eyes. New event scheduled: MOUNTAIN CLAN FESTIVAL. » INFORMATION: Analysis of all mentions of 'festival' since the arrival of OPHELIA suggests heavy HANABIRAN presence at this time, during which guild members may wish to gather intel. It appears as though Ophelia has arrived just in time for the Spring Festival, a yearly celebration in honor of the changing of seasons. Plum and cherry trees throughout the Celestial Mountains flower in white and pink blossoms, creating a cheerful atmosphere as the population goes about their daily business during the day. Workers view the flowers during their lunch and tea times, and nobles can be found strolling through gardens in the Noble's District at all times. In the early afternoon, food stalls begin to appear in the Merchant's District, and by the late afternoon, the festival is in full swing: dumplings, noodles, persimmons, and skewered meat are available at various stalls, as well as plenty of sake. Other stalls sell beautifully designed kites, fans, and kimonos, and as the sun begins to sink down, some stalls begin to sell incense-stick fireworks. There are also games to take part in, from the light-hearted collaborative ball game kemari, to an archery competition, the winners of which are rewarded with plums and sake. An old man near the archery competition invites any passersby to join him in a game of Go, and he'll even offer to teach foreigners the rules of the game. There is also a falconry competition for the nobles, but unless you have a disguise, you'll just have to content yourself with watching. With so many people milling around, it's a good time to ask questions and try to get a feel for the political opinions of the people of the mountain clan. They are all in favor of their empress ruling Hanabira, supporting the spread of their traditional culture over the more lax culture of the sea clan. If asked their opinions on how to ensure there is no war, suggestions will range from preemptively killing the sea empress and her army, to banishing them across the sea. It should be noted that the mountain clan is not especially known for their expertise in diplomacy. As the sky darkens, fireworks light up the sky. It's very beautiful, but also very distracting -- the perfect time for something to go wrong. ▸ AN AMBUSH The fireworks are loud, and everyone -- even guards milling around -- are looking skyward toward the display. No one notices the danger until it's too late. A scream pierces the air, and everything after that happens quick and sudden: people are running in all directions, panicked, trying to escape. Stands are knocked over and food goes flying through the air. A merchant struggles to reach her wife, caught across the fearful throng of festivalgoers. It's chaos. As the panicked crowd begins to thin, those of Ophelia who stay behind to help will see the cause -- women wearing clothes of the sea clan and masks covering their faces are laying waste to the festival ground. They begin to set stalls ablaze, and though they aren't targeting any civilians, a handful lay dead or injured, crushed by the panicked stampede. Guards rush in to stop the women, and they could probably use help; they will be trying to capture them, but if your character is killing an ambusher instead, please let the mods know with a link to the thread. For those who aren't the fighting type, there are plenty of other things to do -- direct traffic, try to rescue civilians from the stampede, or go find someplace to hide yourself. Once the immediate trouble is dealt with, the festival unceremoniously ended, the civilians drift back to their homes to begin a restless sleep. If your character hasn't found lodgings for the night yet, they'd better get that matter settled soon. The morning after the ambush, there is tension and unease in the air. The people of the mountain clan mutter about taking revenge or continuing peaceably; the ambush and its effect on their relations with the sea clan is the topic of the day. Was this an attack sanctioned by the Empress of the Crashing Wave? Were these sea people acting of their own volition? Does it matter? The festival grounds could use cleaning up, and tending to the injured can be a good way to ingratiate foreigners (that's you) to the mountain clan. Otherwise, the forests of the Celestial Mountains are open for exploration, or the Flowerlands and its farms below. ▸ OOC NOTES Welcome to the first mission of the season! Apps are now closed and will remain closed until the mission is over. If you have questions about this log or the overall mission, please ask them on the dossier. Questions about Futurology in general should be directed to the FAQ. ▸ The festival and ambush lasts one IC day, after which characters may continue to explore. Areas currently open are the Land of Celestial Mountains or the Flowerlands. The Empire of the Crashing Wave will be introduced in the next log on 3 February. ▸ The Bounty Board is now live, as well as an items page. The February calendar will go live in late January. ▸ January AC will go up on 1 February. You will only need to supply one proof. February AC will require full activity.

Comments

rohan kishibe - ota

[opensup]

Spring Festival

[ with the festival in full swing, a good means of collecting intel is root oneself as a part of the community and participate in the local events. he typically doesn't even enjoy doing conventions back in his world, but for the sake of the mission he'll do what he must. to that end he takes his per diem allotment and rents out a stand at the festival: ]

[Ukiyo-e Paintings]
[ though of course none of the natives actually know what "ukiyo-e" means, people come and go and have themselves painted in single color inks in less than fifteen minutes. and while he wears a kimono to blend in, his more modern headband and hairstyle will indicate he is part of hathaway's group quickly to those part of the organization. if observed it's easy to see the real purpose of this stand - as he works, he also talks to every client, asks them questions, turns them into a captive audience who must stay in their seat as he paints them. more than making any money, he wants to gather local opinion.

and should you approach... ]

Welcome. Would you like yourself painted? My prices are fair and my work is quick.

Ambush

a: during

[ rohan is no combatant and so he turns his focus to what he can do. he abandons his stall, the value of it gone to him in this disaster, and begins trying to redirect people toward safety. but when he begins to hear for people calling help he starts to direct his attention toward finding hathaway members in the panic and grabbing them by the arm-- ]

You! Come with me, I have someone who needs help.

[ ooc: on this prompt i'll make up an emergency and our characters will work to help - you can also pm me if you have an idea of something. ]

b: after (for female characters please)

[ so the chaos is over, but in the panic of the ambush and beforehand, rohan never quite arranged lodgings. and he figures that nobody around town is really going to take his pleas seriously in this society. this leads to him looking for female-identifying members of hathaway, hopefully before they go off to their lodgings for the night. ]

Excuse me. [ he calls out when he sees one. ] I could use your assistance if you would?

WILDCARD

[ ooc: for any bounties or what-not, please feel free to pm me or make up your own prompt that i'll roll with. my plotting comment is here ]

spring festival!!

[attorneyatblah]

I object!! I mean, no. I'll pass on having a portrait of myself, thanks.

[Objecting is just a reflex at this point. Apollo didn't mean to say no with such force. He lets out a deep sigh. Sorry about the random shouting Rohan. Some habits are hard to break. ]

Would you consider yourself to be an experienced artist?

[ Just asking out of sheer curiosity. You don't come across painters here everyday. ]

[opensup]

Don't scream in my face again. [ he huffs, and crosses his arms, tilting his head in dismissal. ] I'm not experienced. I am a master. You will be hard pressed to find an illustrator with greater talent than I, Rohan Kishibe.

[attorneyatblah]

I didn't mean to yell, ugh. My apologies.

[ Apollo smiles and offers a handshake in turn. ]

Do mind if I call you Mr.Kishibe? Or would you prefer Rohan?

[opensup]

[ hm. ]

Rohan will do. [ and he takes the hand after a moment of hesitance. he doesn't... really like shaking hands, but he'll do it to make nice with the people he works with. ] Now then, are you interested?

ambush / a i'm here for my cr gimme

[spiritgun]

What? No, the fight's that way!

[ Or Yusuke thinks it might be. It's genuinely hard to parse where any actual fighting is happening in all the chaos. There's screaming and fire and clattering from every direction. But still, he yanks his arm back and grabs Rohan by the wrist. ]

What are you talking about?

[ Actual concern is leaking through the spike of adrenaline. Yusuke's priority would be to stop what's actually causing all the chaos, but it's hardly a stretch to see how many people around them are actually in immediate danger. ]

hey hey

[opensup]

There's a fight everywhere!

[ he lashes back, clearly in an anxious panic as well. mostly he's keenly aware that the amount he can do is small without someone to assist. it hits his pride but he can't worry about that when people are getting hurt. ]

If you're thinking about the attackers then give up. You're part of Hathaway, right? I found two woman trapped under a broken stall, I can't pull them out alone.

[spiritgun]

[ Aspirations of plunging into the fray fall by the wayside. This guy's serious. Yusuke stops yanking but he gestures impatiently, aggro even when he's trying to leave room for Rohan to take the lead. ]

Alright, you got me. Let's get this done before something worse happens.

[ Though worse is admittedly happening all around them very rapidly. ]

Are you sure it's just two people?

[opensup]

[ he nods and starts to run, expecting yusuke to follow him toward the sight of the accident. as they go he answers-- ]

I'm not! I only hope it isn't worse.

[ there could be more people trapped in other words. he didn't the clearest look through the blaze of fire and there was no time to check, no time to waste in wondering. in times of needs the mind simply acts without question and rohan's mind is no different than that, even with all his analytics.

the site of the crash isn't far away luckily and both women can be seen with their legs sticking out from the broken wood structures, battered and bruised, their heads only barely peeking out. the fire rages on top of the wood, but it hasn't yet done anything to them. ]

How should we do this? Any ideas?

[ ooc: sorry for the slowdown, i was in the middle of a move this week and didn't have time for tagging! ]

after (also after the Apollo thing)

[feytality]

[Oh no, it's this guy again. Normally, Maya would be all about helping a poor man in need, but the last time she did that she almost got eaten by pirates. And then those pirates got turned into books. It was weird]

[She folds her arms and rolls her eyes]

That depends. Are you going to use me as live bait again?

[The bigger question: is she going to have a choice in this. All signs point to no]

[opensup]

Hello, Maya.

[ he smiles, completely ignoring her question, bait what bait-- ]

I need to acquire lodgings, but it seems like they don't want to take me seriously. The innkeeper seems to be more in the mind of giving women a space, and men only if they are with the woman. Do you see why I'm in need?

[feytality]

[Literally why is he like this. She's so not impressed by him!!]

[What he's actually asking for doesn't seem too bad, though people might get the wrong idea if they try to get a room together..... and she does kind of mind that, considering it's this weirdo]

Yeah, I see why you're in need. [Maybe it's karma!!] I don't see why I should help you get a room.

[opensup]

[ well it didn't take long for his smile to fall into a look of his traditional annoyance. figures she has to be so difficult. ]

If this is about what happened before, I assure you I won't be putting you in the line of danger with this. Not that you were in any danger before - I had total control of the situation.

ambush, a

[unholey]

[There is smoke. There is fire. The air around him, once light with the sounds of revelry, hangs heavy with blood and screams. The horrible worst of the panicked crowd has pressed past this area; Fugo himself avoided being caught and dragged away by it through the firm use of elbows and crouching behind the half-toppled remnants of a food stand. His stomach is pinched with nerves and the back of his neck is prickling with what he knows is adrenaline.

The festival is being attacked. By who? Masked women he sees, now that the crowd has thinned some; dressed in mostly blue clothing patterned after waves and ocean storms. Ah, is what he thinks: not so peaceful after all. His second thought is that he should probably do something. There aren't many people left. Mostly guards, what he has to assume are members of Hathaway, and civilians who are too injured or deep in shock to escape. Or dead. There's more than one twisted body lying still in the mud, left trampled by the crowd.]

[Fugo is so caught up in his assessment that Rohan's words seem out of sync with his gesture. He yanks his elbow back, sharp and angry, before he realizes why a stranger has tried to grab him.]

Let go-- [I have someone who needs help. Fugo's hand, halfway stretched out to try and grab a piece of wreckage to fend off what he mistakenly perceived as an attack sharply stops.] What? Where? I need more details, now.

[As much as he hates to admit it, whatever "something" he could provide in contributing to the fight is far too final a solution for what's happening now. Moreover, it's dangerous to use his Stand at night-- let alone in such a thick press of people. Support is the much more reasonable and less dangerous option, especially since the guards and whatever Bruisers are on their team seem to have a decent handle on the situation.]

[opensup]

[ the sudden yank startles rohan in return, but he quickly gets over it when the young man understands his request. the insanity of the world around him has been filtered out with only a need to act, efficiently to the best ability he can in this chaos. he has always been a man understanding of his limits - what can he do and what can't he - and he knows this isn't a situation he excels in. it's only for this reason he must swallow down his pride and ask for the help of others. there are more important things than ego.

so he re-calibrates in less than a second and goes-- ]

Follow me, you'll see what I mean.

[ and with that he turns and runs back into the fray of people running for their lives and wooden structures burning and crumbling down. he doesn't even think twice whether or not the man will follow him, because surely the most logical choice for someone part of hathaway would be to follow. that's why they're here after all.

it won't be a long run and the sight is bad. an elderly woman is leaned against one of the stands that isn't set ablaze, at least not yet, in terrible condition. her body is scuffed and bleeding and the marks suggest she was trampled over in the insanity. her legs seem to have taken the brunt of the damage in it all, as they're laid out parallel to the rest of her body to relax the pain. she's unconscious but still breathing and that's all rohan is thankful for in the moment. ]

She was at my stand when everything happened. I can't carry her out of here on my own with her legs injured.

[unholey]

[Fugo hesitates. He's not claustrophobic: he tells himself this every day, when everyday life pulls him into closed spaces, dark rooms, and crowded streets. He's just cautious, because he has to be. If he isn't and loses control of his Stand in a place where it's easy for the virus to spread, people will die. He will die. This is not a possibility. It is a simple, inevitable fact.

That does not make it any easier to follow the stranger who grabbed him back into the crowd, against every instinct and precaution he has developed since awakening to the power. But he does. He swallows the fear whole and dismisses the painful clench of nausea that comes from being pushed into such close quarters with so many other hysteric people. The trick, as always, is forcing himself to take one step at a time.]

[It thankfully doesn't take long to reach the quiet pocket this person must have come from. Fugo immediately crouches down to the woman, reaching out to take her pulse; she's still breathing and her pulse seems steady enough, thank fucking God, but she's been seriously hurt. In any sane circumstance, moving her would be the worst thing they could do for her. But no one is coming to help. If they want to help her, they need to get her away from the crowd and the smoke.]

Does your stand have any narrow pieces of wood? We can use fabric from your stall to make a stretcher, but if we can we should splint her legs and wrap up the worst of her wounds before moving her to someplace safer to call a healer.

[opensup]

The wood shouldn't be an issue - the fabric might have been destroyed by the fires.

[ but fugo is right, they will need something to wrap up the wounds. so maybe...hm. well this could potentially get him in trouble, but he's not going to give a damn about that right now. so he starts quickly unfurling the strapping around his forest green kimono, hands rapidly and perfectly undoing the garment and then taking it off. he is still clothed underneath, but the attire is more modern in styling. he's going to assume good hope that no one cares about fashion senses in the middle of an emergency situation.

he practically shoves the kimono into fugo and looks back toward his stand. ]

I'm going to grab the wood - I don't care what happens to the kimono, just help her.

[ and he rushes off again into the fire and bodies running amock. ]

spring festival

[healstaffs]

Wow!

[ They have painters aplenty in Ylisse, of course, all vying for a chance to paint the royal siblings and their coterie, but to see someone work so quickly - and so deftly too! - is truly impressive, and she's quick to scramble up once the previous customer leaves with their painting in tow. ]

Your paintings look so pretty! [ Except: ] What does "ookiyo-ee" mean?

[ She has never heard that word in her life. ]

[opensup]

[ he nods as the customer leaves, all smiles and well presented, but the moment he turns to lissa his nose wrinkles a little at her question. the lack of cultural knowledge irks at him. ]

It's the term of early Japanese art that originated into the Edo period. [ which, after he says it, he realizes that it may not mean anything to hear to say that. ] It means "pictures of the floating word." The depiction of the world in its beauty, sorrow and moment.

[healstaffs]

[ Yeah, that goes entirely over her head, sorry buddy. Princess she might be, but educated well-cultured she certainly isn't. Her nose wrinkles and a look of confusion crosses her face. ]

"Pictures of the floating word"? But I didn't see any words anywhere.

[ Maybe she just wasn't looking hard enough? ]

[opensup]

[ he clicks his tongue. ]

World, not word. But I suppose my explanation must seem quite obtuse to someone uneducated in art, such as yourself. [ poor, poor girl. he will help. ] The point of it is that the art comes from how the artist sees the world. The paintings are beautiful and realistic, but every artist adds their own contortion, some layer of distortion from their own view. From that comes out the true beauty - you see the world through the eyes of another.

[ ooc: sorry for the slowdown, i was in the middle of a move this week and didn't have time for tagging! also you totally didnt see me work my brilliant typo ok... ]

b

[rosewitch]

[Usually Anthy slips away after this sort of thing. She's not good in battle, or at the very least prefers to hide in plain sight. It's just not her thing. But she hasn't quite managed to find lodgings yet--and honestly, she's tired and irritated. She lost a really good snack in the ambush, and she's in mourning.]

[So Rohan catches her before she makes herself fade into the background. Her shoulders, one of which is housing a small passenger of indeterminate species, slump just a bit before she turns to face him with a faint smile.]

I'm not sure what I could help you with. But I'll try.

[opensup]

[ is that... a monkey? no, it also has similar features to a mouse, and he can't quite tell what species it is. how curious. any other time he try to determine that, but there are more important issues at hand. ]

I need to acquire lodgings for the night, but the innkeeper is not amenable to taking in men without a woman to accompany them. I know this is improper, and I won't ask anything of you other than to lie, but I need a fake partner.

a; Stand Users Are Drawn To Other Stand Users so rohan gets two at once

[digiorno]

[In any other circumstance, Giorno would (and does, and will) bristle at being ordered around, but--look, a fight's a fight, there's no ego in a fight unless you really want to die. He does very nearly turn on Rohan, but it's only because he grabbed him by the arm in a combat situation. That's how you get stabbed, Rohan.]

I'm following, show me--

[And he's already looking over Rohan's shoulder, show him where the action is dude.]

[opensup]

[ well to be fair rohan deserves to be stabbed in most cases-- ]

Let's go.

[ --but in this case there's work to be done and he appreciates the stranger's willingness to go along with him. this goes unvoiced and assumed as he rushes down, avoiding people fluidly as he runs, until they make it. up along a tree, a young boy clings to a large branch as the rages of a fire burn the tree from the base. too far up for the boy to jump without injury, and it wouldn't save him from the fire below. ]