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.
Voting for Guild Ophelia's uniform is now open! Voting will close on 10 March, after which finalist voting will be held.

▸ Coming next:

Post-mission assessment goes up on 11 March. Finalist uniform voting will also go up.
Mandatory How's My Driving meme goes up on 25 March. Participation is required to pass March AC.

▸ Bounty Board ▸ Items Page ▸ March Calendar

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The hell are ya --

[ HOW UNDIGNIFIED, getting grabbed and hauled up into the air like a fancily-dressed sack of potatoes and then ducked underwater. This was the worst log ride ever.

With the giving way of the dam, all the water that had been diverted was now rushing them along the length of what was no longer a calm stream, but a rushing river. They'd no doubt find themselves sailing past the site of the former dam and down a short drop and into a sizable basin of water now refilled with the imps' latest contribution.

Several of the imps had collected here, and they were better swimmers than either Inuyasha or Majima were, judging by the way they were streaking through the pool.

Majima shook the water from his hair as he hauled himself up onto a large rock near the center of the basin. If Inuyasha was around, he'd grab his teammate as well. ]

This is literally worse than the Ice Capades.

[Surprisingly, the first thing he screams when he comes up out of the water is Majima's name. The current isn't too bad for him, but he knows it's way too powerful for a human.

A skinny log hits him in the back of the neck and shoulders, and he swats it out of the way, trying to look around, ears up, trying to listen.] Majima?! [He goes under again. Everything rushes by him, wood, imps, water. He scrambles with one free hand to grab a hold of anything earthy--a stone, the shore, anything.

When he surfaces the second time, he has no choice but to grab a log.] Maj-- [Oh> What?! This whole time, trying to be a badass demon, and it's Majima who grabs him as he flows by.] Dammit.

What the heck are the "Ice Capades"?

[ God Inuyasha stop calling his name, you're like the most shoujo demon ever. ]

They're --

[ An imp zipped by them in a near miss, snapping for one of Inuyasha's ears. This would be the perfect time to stop talking about the Ice Capades and start talking about strategy. ]

They're like an ice show, but no one wants to see them so they're goin' bankrupt!

...Alright, let's roast these meatheads. I'm done.

What?! None of that makes any sense! [MAJIMA, HE'S A FEUDAL. SORRY.

The snap at his ears folds them both quickly against his head, and he gives the imp floating away a good right-hook sock to the face before it vanishes. His grip tightens on Tessaiga as he clambers up to his feet on the rock with Majima.] About time you said something that made sense.

I'm ready to ship these scaly creeps down the river. Stay here. [He leaps up into the air off the rock, jumping across the length of the risen water to see if he can spot any of the imps.

When he does, he drops down to pluck them up, then leaps into the air again.

And then he literally just hurls them back to Majima, hoping the dude is gonna put up his dukes or knife and whack them as they come. Like baseball, but with imps.]

[ Majima simply took out his bat, started his windup like it was the goddamn batting cages, and swung at each hurled imp. The first one or two didn't really fly like he was planning; they weren't actually baseballs, and so it was completely different actually controlling their trajectories.

But by the third or so, they were sailing through the air in a storm of feathers and scales and squawking. I'm sorry, they were probably supposed to solve this through negotiation but apparently they were just going to be horrible.

"N-no!" squalled the last imp in a watery, quavering voice as Inuyasha grabbed him. "S.... surrender!" ]

[Oh. Well. The bat works, too. They really are the type to devolve a choice between negotiation and brute strength down to... beating ass. Bruisers.]

What's that? "Surrender"? [Inuyasha holds the last imp up by the back of the neck, propping Tessaiga on a shoulder.] Fine. The condition is that you watery idiots find another stream--and stop damming all of them up!

Learn to build some houses or something.

[And instead of suffering the imp to the Majima Homerun, he spares its life and drops it back down into the water before landing on a smaller rock jutting out of the surface.]

[ But what about Imp Cultural Erasure said absolutely no one here, as the imp sailed away downstream. ]

Hey, problem solved! Let's go see what kinda rewards they give out for dealin' with imps.

Y'know, someone gave me a block of platinum once for beatin' up some punks for them.

[When the heroes live long enough to see themselves become the villains.]

What the heck do you need platinum for? [He leaps from his rock several yards away back to the rock with Majima. And then he promptly scoops the man up at the middle again and leaps them from the rock across the water to the shore where he deposits Majima down.

He glances over his shoulder.] Hope they were ready for some flooding. [Their destruction.... RIP. He looks back to Majima.] Fine, whatever. Let's go.

It's not like it's gonna be Jewel shards.

[He sounds put-off.]

[ Wow Inuyasha, what was Kagome going to think if you kept sweeping dudes off their feet like this. ]

You're like a goddamn grasshopper. Do you do this a lot?

[ But whatever. Back at the farm, several of the farm workers looked like they'd been constructing a pinewood box, which had hastily been set aside in favor of spreading a large tablecloth over a makeshift table.

"...oh!" cried the woman who'd hired them in the first place. "You're back. I've just ordered a fine banquet for you both in thanks!"

Majima... looked at the box....... ]

Uh, thanks. And thanks for the maki, too, it ended up comin' in handy.

[ sort of. ]

S'easy when you're a demon. [And when you have control over your demonic energy or whatever. Animes. He's too powerful.

Majima luckily gets to walk the rest of the way. The only person he ends up carting around half the time besides Kagome is Shippo... or the bike. Katara is very handy for riding, amazingly.]

What the...? [The "banquet" is, well, a little much he thinks, not wanting to spend so much time hanging around because... because you get attached! Feelings! Then you care! Then you have to leave!] Give me a break...

EVENT ▸ HANABIRA FINALE

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WHAT IS THAT FACE INUYASHA

the time to die face

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