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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[sometimes life is like when your parents aren't home and you're a teenager so you drink all their alcohol and then they come home from the movies early and you immediately try to sober up and act normal even though normalcy is vastly out of the realm of achievable things for you.

aka that's what poe is going through right now. he had lots of IMPORTANT WELL THOUGHT-OUT (for him) THINGS that he wanted to say to rey the next time they crossed paths, but now he's had way too much to drink and he was feeling kind of angry about the state of the hanabira union and now he has to ... stop feeling that way. and find all those thoughtful things. seeing rey is like having a bucket of ice water dumped on him.]

Rey. Rey! [just gonna ... get up from the table and make his way over with all the grace of a gazelle being born. he puts a hand on her shoulder to steady himself. probably not thinking about — well let's be real he's not thinking about anything, but definitely not thinking about how he shouldn't be acting like they're friends again and on a touching level again pre-apology?]

Look, Rey, I'm ... I'm really sorry. About the stuff. That was bad.

[you're doing amazing sweetie......]

[ tension ripples through her from the point he touches her shoulder, and for a minute, the instinct to grab him and disengage grips her. she stops herself, though. that's her defensiveness talking; obviously, if he's running over here like this, he wants to talk to her. that had been the whole problem — him walking away.

still, her jaw is set when she exhales, keeping that command over herself. and it's not until he apologizes that her expression starts to soften away from something neutral into something gentler, edging between relief and understanding. ]

Thank you. [ if you expected her to be like 'nah fam it wasn't your fault,' you were wrong. she's definitely holding him accountable, but the apology works. that's enough. it doesn't change the fact that she was like oh right we're not Friends friends bc we knew each other a week. but it's at least opening her back up to him. ] I'm sorry too.

[ for explaining herself badly — but, tbf, he ran off before she could further. and then, maybe, for making it about her when it was really about his pain. that one doesn't get a qualifier. it'd be nice if these things came out aloud, but no, rey's just committing to 'i'm sorry too.' ]

You should sit. You look … [ rough, buddy. ] Come on. [ she ushers him over towards a table. ]

Yeah, sure. [well he's not going to fight with the notion of going back to a table. he can redirect his brain to saying all those Nice Things instead of having to divide that energy with not falling over. it's ... he's having a time.

once they're sitting, good luck on getting a word in, because he is just ... going for it. the words. they're happening. vomiting out the words.]

Okay, look, I talked to Finn and I don't think you're a monster. It wasn't about you, okay? You're not a monster. You're a great and I like you a lot. Finn likes you. Great. Okay. But I was mad, because ... because when Kylo Ren did that to me, it was torture. Like, I was being tortured, and then he did it. And it was the worst. And you didn't — you didn't say it was different, you just kept talking about how we needed to do it and I didn't get it. And I got mad. But it wasn't about you. I got caught up in the moment. And I'm sorry.

I didn't explain myself very well.

[ it's less proclamation and more … agreement. she's not going to try and temper that. he's right, after all. she didn't get into how it was different because she felt attacked and jumped straight to the defensive about what she had done, when really, poe hadn't been talking about that at all. it was a bad move. ]

But … you didn't give me much chance to. [ her brow creases slightly like — he understands that, right? he understands that maybe his approach needs work? ] You weren't looking to understand, then. You just wanted to be angry. And … I understand why.

[ she sighs. stars, she understands why. it's a Lot, what they went through. she was angry, too. she can't forget that. ]

But it scared me. I felt like you were angry with me. Poe, you were one step away from calling me a traitor.

[he sighs deeply and nods like yeah i know i have issues. because i try to blow up everything i don't like. not limited to enemy ships and shit but also my relationships with other people. that's a cool thing i do.]

Yeah, I know, sometimes I get mad and — it's stupid. I get stupid. But it wasn't — I was mad because you didn't explain it and you kept acting like things were okay when they weren't okay. And you didn't explain it. And you know — we don't actually know each other that well? But I want to. But it was ... it was scary, because I didn't know.

There's nothing okay about what Kylo did to you.

[ she almost opens to defend herself and ben and what they had done during the festival, but she realizes quickly that this … really isn't about her at all. keith's words stick in her mind, about focusing more on her friends and less on herself, on this thing with ben.

and studying poe, all she sees is hurt. hurt, and shame, and fear. she reaches across the table to touch his hand, a gentleness about her. ]

I mean it. I remember what it felt like. All of my fears, things I've never shared with anyone, and he just — [ played with them. like he had a right to. like it was nothing. ] It was terrifying. No one deserves to be made to feel that way.

[i mean he's not finn so that's not his kink but he's not opposed to hand touching.]

Yeah. Yeah. [thinking about it gets him more worked up which may not have been her intention so uh thanks for that. (not mad at her though, clearly more anger directed ... at the principle of kylo ren going around mind raping people.) he's trying to be cool though. trying. "trying." he sways a little in his fucking seat with the effort. just gonna ... word vomit part 2 electric boogaloo. 2fast2words.] So ... you know ... when you kept talking about how it needed to happen for everyone to get along ... and didn't say it's never not like that ... it's not ... I'm gonna get mad, right? And don't say I walked away before you could because you had a chance, you had a chance and you said that other stuff instead. So don't say that. And I know it was my fault the second time but that doesn't make it okay. I just wanted to keep you and Finn safe.

[ her hand loosens somewhat on top of his, clearly rebuffed by two of these things: (1) that he tries to now justify and excuse what he had previously apologized for, and (2) that he's using defending her and finn as a justification for Starting Shit. ]

We didn't ask you to confront him for us. [ rey keeps her voice soothing, but now it's firmer. ] I would never ask you to fight him for me. The last time I checked, every person but me who has tried to fight him has lost.

[ on the record. ON THE RECORD. ]

I can take care of myself, and so can Finn. You don't need to fight our battles. You shouldn't try to.

[he just ... puts his head down on the table (with his other arm to buffer, heads up 7 up). that's where he is now. as a person. but at least he's listening??? while he has an existential crisis???]

No ... no, no. I know. I know. I keep trying to do the right thing and it just comes out wrong, right? I can't ... I'm just trying to do the right thing. And I'm bad at it. I'm sorry.

[might fuckin cry right here thinking about how leia could be dead and how the resistance is probably going to die and everyone's probably going to die and it's like 70% his fault smooth moves dameron]

I know the feeling.

[ she says it with a sigh and when he lowers his head, moves her hand to pat his fluffy hair in a way that's leveling up from friendly to borderline maternal. she's going to invite herself to his space because finn taught her that was a normal thing for people to do, regardless of friendship status. ]

How long have you been here? [ he looks Fucking Drunk, in other words. this appears much worse than the stage ben (and she, by proxy) had been at. ]

[as someone who is overly friendly with everyone and has very little concept of personal space to begin with on top of being hammered, he has no problem with it. maybe he needs someone to pat his hair. he's a human disaster.]

A while ... a lot. I drank too much.

[yes???? we know????????]

Where are you staying?

[ she goes from patting to sort of petting his hair because yeah wow he's going to be ill, isn't he? she thinks back to what ben had said about vomit and she just

really doesn't want to deal with vomit, but man, she's gonna have to. ]

I was on my way to Lord Doro's castle. I can walk you. But you'll want water first.

[the table is cold, compared to his face. maybe he'll stay there. what a good table.] Yeah ... yeah, I'm there. Water's good. Man, I ... I don't feel good.

[when you wanted to continue your existential crisis but your body is like get this stop.]

You don't look good either.

[ which is rare for him, so that's impressive. ]

I'll go talk to the owner and get you some water. Wait here.

[ as if he'd go anywhere kriffing else /?? she doesn't wait for reply before getting up to find water. in part she's doing this because she feels a little guilty, like getting him worked up exacerbated it somehow. this is bad science. she doesn't care. ]

Edited 2018-02-10 01:50 (UTC)

[he sort of groans in response to that, since he's also aware that he's not going anywhere anytime soon.

and now she's gone for a moment and he's

alone

with his guilty thoughts

that he tried to outrun for weeks but now they've found him and rey isn't here to distract him anymore. that's cool. that's really cool. just gonna

quietly cry about what a disappointment he is to himself and everyone around him. but it's okay because he's still playing heads up seven up. don't look at him. it's fine. everything is super fine over here. yep.]

[ it takes her time to come back. she has a pitcher of water just in case they need to stick around a while and spend time sobering him up. this was unexpected. she also has two glasses because well she did come here for a break. she fills both before she sits down beside him and

in doing so, slows down long enough to look him over. ah? it's a weird mixture of feelings coming off of him. guilt. misery. shame. all of these things, but she can't pin down why. he'd been so hard-edged earlier, digging his heels in, that she hadn't thought—

maybe he really does feel bad. ]

Here. [ rather than call him out (she's only known him for like a month at this point and they fought a huge portion of it ok; now she recognizes this fact), she nudges the glass towards him and puts her hand on his back. ] Drink this, slowly.

[he tries to dispose of the evidence (i.e. the tears) with the sleeve of his hakama but he's too drunk and uncoordinated to be subtle about it so it's just. yeah. it's like a little kid "hiding" something.

but it's fine. rey is back and there's water and he can focus on that instead of trying to pinpoint where he went wrong. it doesn't exactly work, since he's still thinking about

1) how he should've backed down from the dreadnought because even though they "won" maybe it ... wasn't worth it after all?????
2) he'd put all his eggs in the basket of finn and rose's crazy scheme to save the resistance. he was dramatic as hell, he staged a mutiny 90% for the sake of distraction and 10% for his own ideals and ... it wasn't even going to matter. he'd seen the writing on the wall before hathaway recruited him. maybe if he stayed, and did all the right things, he'd get his incentive and it'd work itself out but

it still weighs heavy on him that despite whatever he may have thought of holdo, at this point, if everything really does fail ... the responsibility sits squarely on his shoulders. not holdo for making choices he questioned, not finn and rose for not making it in time. him. he could have listened to her, he could have told finn and rose not to go forward and they might (??) have listened. but he was so sure he was right...

3) just like with rey. he got mad and indignant that she was suggesting torture, because it's a trigger topic for him, that he didn't consider that maybe he wasn't right until finn talked him down.

it's a mess. he's a mess. he can try to be pollyanna sunshine and tell everyone that things just work out because the force is awesome and balances things out like that, but ... man. sometimes it's hard. sometimes you just gotta drink a lot and cry it out.

but anyway here he is. trying to pretend he wasn't just crying it out over here and taking the glass and drinking from it. slowly.]

Thanks. That's ... that's a lot of water.

You're a lot of drunk.

[ she says it plainly. rey's never seen a particular cause for much artifice, but when it comes to noticing his tears, she doesn't say anything at all. she just turns her gaze away briefly to the water pitcher and keeps her hand firmly on his back, rubbing gently between his shoulder blades. ]

Someone told me recently that water helps. It should get you on your feet again.

[he can do it. he can be a normal person. he has water and rey is being really nice and he can breathe. breathe in, count to four, breathe out. drink the water. he laughs at the "lot of drunk" comment, a small wavering thing but still a laugh.]

I hope so, 'cause moving's not my strong suit right now. Everything kinda moves around when I turn my head. I mean ... You ever feel that?

[dizziness. it's called dizziness, poe. smh.]

[ she laughs. ]

Yeah. Yeah, I've felt that.

[ she gives his back another solid rub and then lets up to drink her own water. ]

You really should learn to pace yourself. Did you drink the whole bottle?

Yeah. It was ... it was a lot. But I didn't want to think anymore. Sometimes it's too much, you know? Sometimes it's too much.

[thinking? the drama? life? all of the above tbh. he drinks some more water.]

I know that it can seem like a lot at times, but Poe, we're winning. You heard Empress Youmi, didn't you?

[ it's great news!!! peace!! ]

Yeah. I heard.

[he doesn't sound as excited about it as she does ... maybe because it was part of the reason he decided it was time to turn up in the first place. he knows the mountain clan got the information about the attackers, and he's having a hard time reconciling that it's a good thing. that kylo ren (ha ha) could turn around and do "a good thing" that doesn't seem ... like a very good thing to him??? still not completely sold on the ends justifying the means. still not sold on anything. but apparently he is the only one feeling any sort of conflict about it, so. it was time to get shitfaced???? amazing.

does he have the mental capacity to explain any of that to rey right now????? absolutely not. ]

I'm sure it'll be — it'll be great for everyone. We'll all have a party.

Edited (so many typos so little time to catch them in one go) 2018-02-10 04:03 (UTC)

[ oh, he's ... not thrilled. she furrows her brow a bit, but it's not hard to figure out ... why he might not be. after all, he's still poe, and they'd still fought. in that sense, this almost feels like ... like they're only pretending to be alright. and the fight is just back beneath the surface.

it's going to come back. rey realizes it then. until she can find a way to reconcile these things and be honest about them, until they can all really be on the same page, it's going to keep happening.

she drinks the rest of her water down so she doesn't have to look at poe or reply for a few moments. ]

I think you've had enough partying.

Yeah, I'm not ... can't argue with you there. I already had my own party.

[he shakes his head, like why did i do this to myself. why am i such a mess. rip. he doesn't pick up any tension from her at all, because he's putting all his energy into trying to be sober instead. and it's a lot of work. he finishes his water and makes an unsteady attempt to pour himself some more because relying on other people: not even once.]

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