epidemiology | EVENT ▸ EMPIRE OF THE CRASHING WAVE

EVENT ▸ EMPIRE OF THE CRASHING WAVE

EMPIRE OF THE
CRASHING WAVE

The royalty of Guild Ophelia has managed to hold an audience with Empress Nama of the Celestial Mountains, urging her to meet with the Empress of the Crashing Wave in the interest of finding an accord between their clans. In return, Nama requests that Ophelia take two letters to the Crashing Wave's court, where, as foreigners, they should be received better than any of her own people.

The Empire of the Crashing Wave is a week's travel by foot from the Land of Celestial Mountains, through the forests and farms of the Flowerlands. There is no visible indication that this universe was once two, with even the road leading through the Flowerlands heading seamlessly toward the sea.

The farms and villages in the outskirts of the Empire of the Crashing Wave are decorated in seashells and motifs of the sea, and the closer one gets to the city, the stronger the scent of the ocean becomes. Once the city proper is reached, Ophelia's magitek projects words in front of their eyes that only they can see:

Location reached:

» EMPIRE OF THE CRASHING WAVE
A progressive society that values innovation. Main sources of income: fishing, pearl diving, jewelry crafting, shipbuilding. Politically matriarchal; socially egalitarian. Empress YOUMI resides at the PEACEFUL TIDE.

No events scheduled. You may wish to survey the surrounding area.

The city is built right on the ocean's edge, with some parts of it even jutting out into the sea on bridges and piers. The castle, Peaceful Tide, is built high above the rest; guards will stop anyone at the gates and, if shown the correspondence from Empress Nama, will deliver the letters directly to Empress Youmi. Attempts to seek an audience with Youmi will be rebuffed for the time being, so you may as well take in the sights...

▸ A PROMISING DEVELOPMENT

Unlike the Land of Celestial Mountains, men may move freely here, the matriarchal rules of the land only extending to politics. Men and women work alongside each other in all sections of the city, nobles and commoners alike, and even the guards have men among their ranks. In the Artisan District, potters, musicians, and artists line the streets and sell their wares, work, or discuss their craft with each other.

Closer to the Beach, there is a boardwalk where young couples stroll alongside grandparents chasing after their grandchildren, electric lamps bathing the wooden planks in a warm glow at night. Fishermen haul in their daily catch in buckets and nets, trailed by a gaggle of hopeful cats. Beachcombers and pearl divers populate the beach as well, making it a clear place for work instead of play.

A few days after Ophelia's arrival in sea clan territory, a bell rings loudly in the late afternoon, drawing citizens toward the castle. Guards stop anyone from getting too close, though the populace seems to know what to expect -- soon, a beautiful woman in an elaborate blue kimono appears in an upper balcony.

When viewing the woman, Ophelia's magitek will tell them:

» EMPRESS YOUMI
Leader of the EMPIRE OF THE CRASHING WAVE.
30 years old. SPECIES: Human. MEDICAL CONCERNS: Lactose intolerant.

The crowd cheers at Youmi's arrival, only quieting once she raises her hand. She speaks clearly and confidently, her voice carrying easily across the assembly.

"I have received a letter from Her Imperial Majesty Nama of the Land of Celestial Mountains. She informs me that their spring festival was interrupted by an attack from our own people, working without my knowledge or consent," Youmi begins, holding her hand up again when a displeased rumble begins to ripple through the crowd. It's unclear if they're perturbed by the ambush or by Nama herself. Once all is silent again, she continues.

"She has detained the criminals, for that is what they are, and assures me she will not bring this to the battlefield. I will send her an agreement to the terms, but hear this: any who escalate this further will be slain by my order. I have spoken. The spirits of the sea watch over us all."

Youmi then retreats back into the castle. While some citizens cheer their empress's decree, others mutter unhappily amongst themselves as they disperse and go about their business.

▸ BUT TROUBLE CONTINUES

The rest of the day following Youmi's decree goes by without incident, leaving time for Ophelia to stop by the sake breweries near the sea or travel back through the forests of the Flowerlands for hunting, hot springs, or simply enjoying the nature of Hanabira. With war averted and the empresses in communication, it seems as though Ophelia's time in this universe will draw to a close soon.

As the sun sinks down, finding a place to sleep might be a good idea. There are hotels in the city, but for those who are trying to be a little more frugal, the Flowerlands is a good place to set up camp for free. Doro, the Lord of the Flowerlands, has heard of Ophelia's efforts in starting communication between the empresses as well, and offers rooms in his castle in thanks; if war were to start between the two, his land would suffer for it.

During the night, those who accept Doro's invitation will hear a commotion very nearby, steel clashing against steel. Doro and his daughters rush out, weapons drawn, and straight into a skirmish between sea and mountain clan ronin. The warriors are fighting to kill, and in their fervor, someone's fire arrow alights a farmhouse on Doro's property. The farmers need to be rescued and the fire put out, and while the warriors will likely kill each other, they could also be subdued to prevent further damage. Please let the mods know with a link to the thread if your character is killing or capturing any of the ronin.

After the skirmish, Doro must be brought back inside his castle, having been wounded during the battle. He pleads with Ophelia to continue to help, as it looks like a tentative truce by the empresses is not enough to calm the citizens. Since they were so successful in receiving an audience with Nama, he believes they can propose a way the two empires can live in harmony.

Throughout the next two weeks, skirmishes between the clans are peppered throughout the Flowerlands, some leaving bodies behind and some leaving damage to farms and forest. It looks like Ophelia's peacekeeping mission just became a lot more hands-on: keep the skirmishes from getting out of control while still working toward a way to end the conflict once and for all.

▸ OOC NOTES

This log will last for two IC weeks: the first three days will be free exploration, and day four is Youmi's proclamation and the skirmish in the Flowerlands. Your characters are free to explore for the next ten days, during which further skirmishes will occur. 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.

▸ Coming next log: Peace proposals! Get your brainstorming started now.

▸ Activity Check is due on 5 February 23:59 UTC. We do not accept late submissions, so make sure you fill it out!

▸ Uniform Design Contest is open! Submissions are due 28 February 23:59 UTC. Gamewide voting will be in March.

▸ Bounty Board ▸ Items Page ▸ Exploration Group Planning ▸ General Plotting ▸ February Calendar

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

I am attempting to manufacture a powder with properties that allow it to stick to stone, with a long staying power.

[She does try to keep up a steady pace, but with the amount of people she can't keep her balance centered, needing to duck and weave... which requires a bit more concentration when you don't have much feeling in the limbs.]

Oh- and water resistance.

[ there's a hum that says he's thinking about the sake before he answers. ]

Everything is comparative, isn't it? Let's just say that it's a change.

[ Loki tilts his head. there's not many good associations that come with thoughts of old Loki, as much as she may not know it. ]

[ The young spirit happens to be in the area, just in time to hear Veronica's singing. Of course, not that anyone here is able to notice his presence. However there is a little fluffy black cat that followed him from the beach, tagging along wherever he goes for the time being.

He, unfortunately, won't be able to join in on any of the dancing. Not that he knows how anyway. But he takes a seat on top of a nearby crate, with his current cat companion joining him. Veronica will soon get an audio message from him as he expresses his childish excitement, through the magitek: ]

Wow, Ms. Lodge! I've never heard music like that before!

Rohan, Thrawn and Allura together will approach the old pretentious woman with questions.

Thrawn, ever the charming flatterer, will ask about what sorts of clients and customers she deals with. Particularly he wants to know if her business has been seeing any notable success despite the current political climate of warfare and terrorism afoot.

Allura, who had met with the Mountain Clan empress as part of a group of royals, would want to ask the older woman's opinion on the Mountain Clan. Given her worldly knowledge, she wants to know her opinion on if there could ever be peace between the lands.

Rohan, after the two ask questions of the woman and all is said and done, will activate his power Heaven's Door and turn her into a book. He will be quickly skimming through to grasp at the situation (i.e. the war and disputes) from the perspective of a native who has lived in Crashing Wave all her life. He will also see if she may have any special information that normally wouldn't be shared of any kind. It won't be more than a few minutes so that nobody spots him, and once done he'll write in a command that would erase her memory of him using his power on her.

(if anything about my portion needs to change let me know via PM, i'm happy to meet your requests!)

[ He is, unfortunately, right. Zarya had really been hoping physical restraints would be enough, but that's starting to look like not the case as tempers just keep on rising. She scowls, putting a few more (probably useless) steps of distance between the two women with as polite a drag as she can manage. ]

You have a better idea? [ It sounds like an admonishment, irritation that he doesn't think her idea is working out — but it isn't, really. She's so open for suggestions, here. ]

[Jason can make out the symbols of the sea clan. Perhaps that was mark enough for them. They'd have to know what they'd been getting into right? He continued removing pieces. It wouldn't be too much work--it looked like the collapse happened after the fire and the structure had been one that mostly kept its shape.

He paused when the other man spoke again.]

Don't worry about me. I'm stronger than I look. Unless you want to divide the work...one of us could be digging the graves while the other gets the bodies.

[Had she heard something just now? Sieglinde squints even harder, staring at the cat who left her and attention caught by the way the wind moves... and how her hair is fluttering to the east, but the leaf blows to the west.

Curiouser and curiouser...

Sieglinde pulls a small pouch from her sash next, reaching in to pull out the lens of the sea serpent's eye she'd scrounged from Nalawi, holding it up in front of her face to look through...

For half a second, she thinks she sees a boy.]

The hole does not need to be so large as to inconvenience the landowners.

[The rubble would present a problem for the locals, perhaps, but to her eyes it just seems a matter of lifting and time... and that was if they wanted to pull them out first at all.

She picks her way slightly into the burnt out structure to examine the position of the corpses better, nose wrinkling and tail raising stiffly despite her intent to remain stoic, one hand still on the blade- the one she had hoped to slice the necks of her enemies and present the heads to her lord with.

But her lord is gone, and these aren't even her kills.]

We shall bury the heads, and burn the rest.

[Oh. Well. This is going to be the same as babysitting Shippo, isn't it? Except the boy is some kind of apparition instead of a fox demon.

For a long minute or so, Inuyasha just stands there and watches Laphicet, a bit dumbfounded, arms full of corpse. Trying his best. Not succeeding.] Give me a break...

[With a huff, he continues on with what he was doing so he can get it over with and help Laphicet not be a fool. Carefully, he settles the dead man into the third hole he had dug previously, making sure everything is situated respectfully.] Hand that thing here. [He holds out his hand, beckoning with his clawed fingers at the shovel.] Come on. You can't even push it into the dirt.

Let me do it.

i. let's grease the wheel over tea ( shore )

[The beach is powerful, Giorno has discovered. The smell of the sea and the taste of salt in the air, the grit of sand mixed with earth under his shoes: it's powerfully nostalgic. The moment he gets close enough to the shore to really feel it, he's overcome with homesickness--not in the normal way, where it really does feel like he's a little sick to his stomach. Instead, he feels a bit giddy in a way he knows isn't rational. He can't really fault himself for it, though. Honestly he can't.]

[It would be a little much to take his shoes off and walk in the surf, as much as he'd like to, as much as the water is practically calling out for it. Besides, this is a place where people are working, just like Napoli only more so. There are fishing boats everywhere. This is the epitome of a coastal city.]

[So he restrains himself. Instead of throwing his shoes off like a lunatic, he walks and people-watches, smiling faintly at the couples strolling by and the companionably-bickering older people, bartering just because they like to. It isn't long, though, before he catches sight of . . . cats. The cats following the fishermen, hoping eternally for fish scraps. His eyes alight on the cats with a truly ridiculous amount of delight.]

We should feed them.

[Insistent. As if stating fact, rather than a possibility. Or maybe you find him already crouched on the boardwalk, holding out a piece of raw fish in his fingers like it's no big deal while a cat sniffs the air from a few feet away.]

ii. let's discuss things in confidence ( post-battle )

[It's always a judgment call, deciding whether to head to the front and fight or stay back and heal. This time, though, the decision was sort of made for him; the shock of the battle in the middle of the night left casualties before anyone even really knew what was going on, and his skills were needed.]

[So by the time the battle is over, Giorno's been fixing people up for a while now. His lips are pressed tight, expression severe and serious in a way totally divorced from the Extreme Cat Enthusiast of the beach.]

So infuriating, [he mutters to himself, setting another bone by laying on of hands, then rubbing his temple with the heel of his palm.] You'd think it would be common sense to not go out of your way to kill each other-- You!

[Yes, you. Accusing stare.]

Have you been checked out yet? If you've got some gaping arrow wound or something and you're trying to tough it out, I'll scream. Get over here.

iii. let's be outspoken ( patrolling )

[Okay: so maybe Giorno's overextending himself with the patrolling thing. Maybe. But, look, the way he justifies it to himself is that he's offense, defense, and healer, so who cares if he spreads himself a little thin? He's valuable, so it's necessary--a thin veneer of narcissism spread over genuine, nearly obsessive concern for his teammates and the people of Hanabira. Even if he's sort of mad at them right now.]

[And even overextending himself, he knows to take breaks. Well, that's a lie: he knows that other people have to take breaks, so he makes his patrolling party stop, rest, and eat halfway through their sweep. He does this bossily. Very bossily.]

[Fortunately, it's also a good time to share information that it would be bad to chat about while actively moving. Once the perimeter of their rest area has been secured, he allows himself to relax very, very slightly and stretches his limbs as best he can while keeping his head on a swivel.]

See anything odd out there?

[And can he punch it.]

iv. let's be ridiculous ( wildcard )

[Hit me with anything else or PM me for a specific toplevel!]

Edited 2018-02-05 03:09 (UTC)

[Ummmmmm. ???? ?? ?

None of that makes a bit of sense to Inuyasha. The... why doesn't make any sense. The fact a young girl is saying this and the why doesn't make any sense. Which is about on par with how he feels hanging out with Kagome and Kaede during botany lessons.] Yeah, okay. [He'll humor her.]

And what are you planning to do with it once you've made it?

[ How she addresses Laphicet directly has him jumping up in surprise. Certainly, she's talking to him? Nonetheless, he spins around to ensure that there really is no one else. He's not sure if he should be jumping right into the entire spiel about he's a spirit and all. ]

Um... yeah!

[ Of course, he loves helping out. Her smile allows him to ease up.

There's still some nagging feeling as to why that bit of growing darkness feels so familiar. How he reads others was never very clear to him, only capable of making guesses. Whatever he's sensing, perhaps Laphicet doesn't need to concern about for now while there's light remaining.

He jogs over to join her, nearly tripping over a broken plank of wood in the way. A sigh as he glances back at the piece of debris. ]

We've still a lot of work to do.

Those ronin really did a number on the land here. But it will be worse, if war comes.

[ there's a shade in her eyes, the sort that has seen what that looks like. she looks out over the farmlands, frowning, as though she were imagining what it might look like here. the flowerlands were so peaceful. it would be a shame if—

well. that's why they're here. ]

I want to do more than picking up after.

[ Yes, definitely you, says this cheerfully maintained eye contact as she makes a beeline for Loki. She doesn't know this one — but that's alright, there are so many she doesn't know yet. Time to check one off the list. ]

Good morning! [ Her jog slows as she approaches, like she's reluctant to stop it entirely. ] You are... [ She eyes him thoughtfully. ] Looking for breakfast. Yes?

[ He's sure not out exercising, and he doesn't ready for fishing, so it's gotta be breakfast. She can appreciate another early riser, even one not out for a workout. ]

[ Zarya's happy to slow her jog as she nears Majima, and looks enthused that he's awake enough to be willing to engage her. Some people, they just aren't morning people. ]

Among other things. [ Her workout is never just a jog, please. ] The fresh sea air could not be better for it! I see you are out for that too, yes?

[ From the corner of his eye, he catches the sight of a girl staring his direction with some sort of lens. Or perhaps she's looking at the cats? He can't really tell from where he's sitting.

Distracted, he stops casting his artes and the leaf drops, landing back on the ground. The army of cats are back to pouncing the leaf madly.

Should he wave? It's worth a try to see if he'll get some reaction. He raises his arm and waves in the girl's direction. ]

Uh... hello there!

[ Initially, he ignores him and stomps his foot on the shovel as hard as he can. It only results in the same thing, lifting out a small bit of dirt. He really doesn't have much physical strength to be doing this.

It doesn't take long for him to call it quits though. He knows Inuyasha is right and when he has to rely on someone to do something he absolutely cannot do. ]

...Okay. Here.

[ He mutters in defeat, holding out the shovel. But now he feels useless with nothing to do. ]

Me? I just had a little trouble gettin' to sleep, that's all.

[ And it was better to just haul himself up than lie around staring at the ceiling. Maybe the sea and sand would tire him out. ]

It is nice to finally get a chance to see this place, 'specially after all that time we spent up near them mountains. Nice to be able to stretch my legs solo, too.

[ Like no offense ladies but it was kind of tiring having to have a chaperone all the time. Especially after a little taste of freedom. ]

[Hayame has to look away from Keith's fight when the slightest flare of pain signals a need to return her attention to the flailing warrior pinned beneath her hoof, who has pulled a small dagger from their waist sash and is flailing around with it-

From their position they can't actually get a good hit in, but it had been enough to grace a fine line of red along her hock.

Snarling, she leans more of her weight on that foreleg until the enemy is gasping before she leans down to twist the blade out of their hand and confiscate it, returning her attention back to Keith in time to catch the kicks.]

Agreed.

[More might come.

There's a lariat looped on her harness, which she undoes and tosses at Keith.]

Tie her up while you can.

[ Pacing along the shore at weird hours like he’s about to pose for some kind of alien indie shoegaze album cover isn’t something he saw himself doing here, but the ocean actually is sort of pleasant from a land perspective as opposed to trapped forever at the bottom of it.

Simon spots Zarya and is well aware that she’d only heard him, and now that she’s looked in his direction, her friendly acknowledgment was most likely a mistake that will be rectified very, very soon. She probably hasn’t had a change of heart about robots since they met the first time.

He stops and raises a hand in greeting anyway.

because. what else is he supposed to do. ]

Oh. I was kinda wonderin' about the glowy blue aura.

[ There was a brief flick of metal and flame as Majima lit up, slipping his lighter back in the pocket of his robe. Not too long ago, he would have been surprised to find what looked like a spooky robot wandering around outside. Now, he supposed it came with the job.

It was late; he should be sleeping. But seeing as how that wasn't going to happen, investigating weird lights seemed like a decent way to kill time. ]

Don't think I've had the pleasure. I'm Majima.

[ A little trouble getting to sleep, that's a long time to be awake. Zarya's eyebrows arch, but she takes it in stride and nods it off. ]

You should stretch your legs more. Running, that will get you to sleep.

[ ... you know, eventually. Look, the point is, run with her. ]

[ Zarya nearly jolts to a stop when she realizes just who she'd waved at. The gray light of dawn does much to make a figure on the beach look human, and it isn't until several steps later she realizes how very not human it is. Her readying smile drops quickly into a dark frown instead, but nonetheless she slows as she approaches him. ]

What are you doing?

[ She asks it like she's expecting something dastardly — if not to be said, at least to be uncovered. ]

[ Lance has essentially been in the water since they got here.

He's in much better spirits than he'd been on the Viridian Sea, with the success of their audience with Nama still buoying him. Admittedly, all he'd done was stand there and look ~~pretty~~ useful, but still! They did it!

And now for his "efforts" he gets repaid in the best way he can think of: beach time.

Er, rocky cliff time? The 'beach' is mostly stone, and the water cold, but Lance will absolutely take it. He's not the only one with a good idea, either: plenty of Hathaway agents are dipping their toes in, some more literally than others. ]

You gotta get in! The water's great!

[ Said to a girl splashing around by the surf, smiling and laughing. It's a pretty picturesque sight, to be honest. ]

[ Majima sped up to lope along at her side.

He never ran unless he had somewhere to be (in which case he ran all the time), but did he have anything else to do at ass o'clock in the morning? Answer: no. ]

I'm Majima. Nice to meet ya.

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EVENT ▸ EMPIRE OF THE CRASHING WAVE

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i. (-ish) lmk if this is ok or not!

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giorno giovanna | ota

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a, obscenely early

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iv. ze beach

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