epidemiology | EVENT ▸ HANABIRA FINALE

HANABIRA FINALE

A week passes after the summit at Doro's castle, during which some members of Guild Ophelia presented arguments in favor of Youmi and Nama joining together in marriage. They are now left to their own devices as the empresses and their aides presumably negotiate behind closed doors; there's not much to do around Doro's property beyond relaxation, so if you're looking for a little more action, you might want to continue patrolling the Flowerlands for clan conflicts while you wait. The Sea Clan capital is open to visitors, while the Mountain Clan capital remains under lockdown as the guards search for the remaining rebels.

Finally, news circulates that the empresses have an announcement to share, and ask for their citizens' attendance the following night. The empresses emerge together on the balcony of Doro's castle, a large crowd in the garden below hanging on their every word. There is, of course, heavy security keeping the rowdy at bay, which turns out to be necessary after the announcement is made.

Nama speaks first. Those standing close may notice her hands shaking ever so slightly.

❝We have caused you all to be summoned here today so that we may acquaint you with our resolution in the matter of imperial claim over the lands of the Crashing Wave and Celestial Mountains, which have caused the people much distress over the months. We have determined that, due to forces unknown and out of our control, neither side shall be faulted for laying claim to land they truly believed belonged to their clan.

We find that the clans will remain at an impasse as long as the public believes an empress is deprived of land that is rightfully hers. Therefore, in the interest of public welfare, it is my intention to ally myself with Her Imperial Majesty Youmi in the bond of marriage.

The crowd murmurs among themselves in shock. A couple people shout, angry, before guards from both clans roughly escort them out. Nama seems a bit dismayed even by the small outburst, so Youmi steps up to speak next.

❝I am deeply affected by the gravity of this engagement. Neither I nor my future wife have come to this decision without strong contemplation and assurance that the other will care for all people, not just her clan, as her own. A marriage between us shall mean a marriage between the empires.

The benefits to the people will be great. Unfettered access to natural resources across our unified empire will improve trade, and will the end of skirmishes in Lord Doro's lands. And I assure you, the bloodshed ends today. Guards from both empires will be stationed in the Flowerlands and will be aided by a foreign mercenary group who have proven themselves formidable allies. Those who do not heed this warning will pay dearly, as to threaten members of any clan is to threaten both of us. Those who wish to live in harmony need not worry, as our soldiers are even more powerful together than they are apart.

None need worry about the change that is to come. We shall maintain both capitals, and we do not ask that either clan change their traditions. Above all, our union is one born of love for you, the people.

Youmi squeezes Nama's shaking hand for a moment, urging her on. Nama speaks once more, finishing up the announcement.

❝We have thought fit to make our intentions known to you at the earliest time, so that you may be informed of a matter so important to the empires. The wedding shall take place in two days' time, but I promise you, Empress Youmi and her subjects are under my protection as of this moment. A move against them is a move against me, and shall be treated as what it is -- treason.

I trust this will be most acceptable to all. ...And if it is not, I suggest you persuade yourself otherwise.

Nama and Youmi leave the balcony. Most of the crowd talks among themselves, more bewildered than angry, although a small number of people do begin to swing insults -- "I'll never be one with Sea Clan scum!" "Scum? Better than Mountain Clan filth!" -- and are forcibly removed.

▸ THE WEDDING

The wedding of Empress Youmi and Empress Nama takes place at Doro's castle, the neutral ground between each empire chosen so as not to show favoritism to either clan. The ceremony is held at night, as is Hanabiran tradition; the cherry and plum trees are strung up with electric lights that softly illuminate the castle grounds, lending a certain romance to the atmosphere.

Hanabirans from all walks of life are invited to the wedding and the banquet after, from farmers to merchants to soldiers, in celebration of the promising future for the merged empires. Only the nobility is allowed inside Doro's castle, however -- the exception being the honored guests of Guild Ophelia, of course -- to view the elaborately laid out gifts from one empress to the other: lacquer boxes, mirrors, decorative combs, tea chests, and more are laid out on beautiful silk cloth, heirlooms from each empress's family and the empresses before them.

The ceremony itself is short and takes place on the balcony for all to see. Youmi and Nama, both dressed in black furisodes with motifs representing their clans, share sips of sake from elaborate lacquer cups to symbolize the joining of their families -- and thus, their empires.

The banquet afterwards is opulent, with traditional food from both clans prepared. The Sea Clan has brought various fish dishes, most notably all kinds of sushi! They've also prepared tuna and cuttlefish sashimi. For those who don't care for fish, the Mountain Clan has prepared sukiyaki, a thinly-sliced beef dish simmering in a pot with vegetables, soy sauce, sugar, and mirin. There's also skewered chicken and pork cutlets. For the crowd who doesn't like meat -- or just wants some variety! -- there's soba, udon, and plenty of fresh vegetables.

Beyond food, there are entertainers who have been hired to perform music and to socialize with guests, and contests of skill for the guests to partake in themselves: hanetsuki, tea-guessing, and Go. Owing to the romantic theme of the gathering, prizes for winning any of these contests will be a plum or sweet rice cake intended to be shared with a loved one.

But the wedding isn't all fun and games -- before the ceremony, Doro asks any interested members of Ophelia to volunteer to play guard and ensure nothing is interrupted by displeased citizens of either clan. Volunteers are recommended to guard in shifts so as to keep fresh eyes on the situation at all times.

Throughout the festivities, there are a number of attempts at disruption: the Mountain Clan inventor who scales the walls with a grappling hook, worrying that the new competition from the Sea Clan will put her out of business; a group of Sea Clan teenagers who start a riot at the gates simply because they want to riot; a Flowerlands farmer who becomes a bit too inebriated for his own good; and finally, a dangerous plot about which one of Doro's guards alerts the volunteers:

Mountain Clan rebels have escaped the lockdown of their city and have slipped into the wedding party with the intent to poison Nama due to her betrayal of siding with the "enemy." It'll take the best investigators of Ophelia to figure out who the rebels are and to stop them before they kill Nama and destroy the burgeoning peace everyone has worked so hard to secure. All they know is that it's likely the rebels will be slipping the poison into her drink via a poison ring or will have a moment alone with her food to slip the poison into it.

(Mod note: Players are welcome to NPC their Mountain Clan rebels and can make them however they wish as long as it doesn't contradict game canon! Their motivations, personalities, and backgrounds can vary, and they can work alone or in groups. Whether they can be persuaded out of it or will have to be taken down is also up to player discretion. This is your chance to get as creative as you want. Keep in mind that if your character accosts the wrong person or gets too rowdy themselves, they'll be kicked out! Please let us know if your character destroys anything in Doro's castle during a fight... he'd like to know himself, as he'll be expecting reimbursement.)

▸ THE AFTERMATH

As the festivities wind down, the guests are invited to stay the night at Doro's castle (or camp outside, depending on their social standing) instead of heading out in the middle of the night. When the morning comes, most guests sleep in, worn out by the revelry the night before, so Ophelia will have some privacy to talk amongst each other freely.

In the later morning, while guests begin to depart Doro's land, the empresses send word that they wish to speak with the foreigners; Ophelia is invited to meet them in the garden, where they are seated and holding hands. Youmi says that the future of their people is bright now that they are together, and that they couldn't have done it without Ophelia's assistance. Nama thanks them for their strength in military matters -- and immediately blushes when she realizes how blunt she sounds when compared to her wife, though Youmi only smiles and doesn't seem to mind.

Several hours later, Ophelia's magitek suddenly projects words in front of their eyes that only they can see:

Guild Ophelia:

Hathaway mission analysts have observed you to have successfully completed your mission. You'll be pleased to know that on your success, timeline analysts have also found continued peace in the Hanabiran region to be a 99.8% certainty for the foreseeable future.

Please prepare for return to Headquarters. You will be rifted in exactly 36 hours, so do make sure you're not visible to any natives at that time.

- Guild Master Imogen

With that, Ophelia has their orders. Finish up your business, buy whatever souvenirs you want, and get ready to return to Hathaway Headquarters.

▸ OOC NOTES

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.

▸ Up now:

Activity Check is due 5 March 23:59 UTC. Please note: we do not accept late activity and we do not post warning lists.
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▸ Coming next:

Post-mission assessment goes up on 11 March. Finalist uniform voting will also go up.
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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Lifeforms? [ That's a weird specialty. Rey tilts her head, studying him. ] What lifeforms?

[It's a complicated question to answer, to someone who's never seen mushi. Even in his own world, people who could perceive them like himself were heavily in the minority. But he set himself up for this question, so he doesn't hesitate much before formulating a response.]

They're called mushi. There's such an endless variety of them, I could start telling you what I know now, and we wouldn't be finished by the time we were to be rifted back.

...But they're beings that share the natural world with plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms -- they can share similarities with any one of these, or even more than one type, but....they are more primal than any of them. At the very heart of all life itself, in a sense.

As you said, the world demands balance, and in my world, mushi are a significant portion of that. Where there are too few mushi, the earth is barren and lifeless; crops struggle to grow, and infants are born frail and sickly. Where there are too many, there follow natural disasters and plagues, and all other life suffers.

Only some are capable of perceiving mushi, however, because they are only partially of our reality. Those who have the ability to, like me, often make their livelihoods around it--traveling the land and offering assistance with problems that seem supernatural in their source, or have remained unsolved with typical methods.

Edited (phrasing nitpick) 2018-03-06 10:00 (UTC)

[ It sounds like the Force, if it were alive. More and more Rey is realizing that the Force isn't exactly unique to her galaxy, only that particular representation of it. In Ginko's world, it seems, the Force is alive, a microorganism of some kind; in Keith's, it's quintessence, able to be bottled and used. ]

Only … partially in your reality? [ She puzzles over this a moment. ] Strange. [ It's so similar, but so different. ] How do you treat a lack of mushi?

[He shakes his head.]

You can't.

[Well, technically, he could stay in such a place until mushi followed him there, but that's bad practice, and dangerous besides. Ginko can't control what kind of mushi he attracts to any particular place, and the kinds of mushi that are found in places where the soil is poor tend to be harmful for humans.]

Us mushi-shi can provide medicine to counteract the effects of being born in an area with few mushi, as well as repellants for the more harmful kinds they might be vulnerable to in their weakened state, but besides that...there's little to be done but leave the area, or hope the Light Vein shifts its path and brings fertility and mushi along with it.

Mushishi?

[ She blurs the word all together, making a face that makes it clear she thinks that sounds like a very silly word.

Moving on, though— ]

So you have to move people out of their homes and relocate them?

It's my profession. It means "mushi master", essentially.

[He lets out another exhale of smoke from his cigarette.]

But no. That's not my call to make. I can only offer them information, and medicine to help their children gain strength and survive.

That sounds like a difficult position to be in. To always have to watch, but only be able to manage the symptoms.

Mm...such is the fate of man, I suppose.

[The cost of the gifts of reason and empathy. Ginko makes a soft sound in his throat, and shakes his head again.]

But my work isn't always so dire. I've dealt with many incidents that were straightforward to resolve.

[He's seen a lot of tragedy, but he's seen a lot of joy, too. A lot of kindness and love.]

Are all the places you go very bleak?

[ This sounds depressing, but— ]

I just think ... It would be nice, going all those places, but if the mushi are dying or weak, then ... then the planet must be frail there too, right? All life.

[Ah. He's given her the wrong impression, he thinks.]

Not at all. Sometimes, the problems arise when an area is teeming with entirely too much life.

[Like that time Tanyuu asked him to investigate the Path of Thorns with Kumado....that place had such an imbalance of mushi that it had lost "absolute death", becoming overgrown with once-dead plants sprouting back up everywhere.]

I think I might have given you a mistaken idea about mushi, though. They aren't bound to any one place; if they are unable to get what they need from the environment, they move on. The ones that linger when most have left typically get what they need from humans; that's why children struggle in those areas, particularly.

[Imagine if the Force was like a billion different organisms with different needs and preferred environments, basically. And then there's the Light Vein, the source of all life, including mushi, which flows under the earth....It's Complicated, basically.]

Mushi sustain the earth, but the earth sustains mushi, as well. The balance of nature, as I said; when generations pass and the soil eventually grows more fertile again, the mushi will return.

[ Balance over time. This helps make sense of it, as does the give-and-take aspect. Rey nods her steady understanding as she realizes even the mushi sicknesses he's treating are part of it — there will be weak areas and strong areas and altogether it helps the world stay as it should be. That's the Force. ]

An exchange, then. Not quite like what I was imagining, but I think I understand now.

EVENT ▸ HANABIRA FINALE

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i'm so sorry mushishi canon is so Much

be prepared for bad mushishi hot takes also i can't believe he just told her about midichlorians

i looked that up and im sobbing dkljasf (sorry for the delay, also!)

it's all good!

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