INTRO LOG

[katsuwa]

DATE: 04/03
INVOLVED: Everyone.
ACTIVITY: Mingle post. Characters wake up and Ukiyo is still here, but with a few changes.
RATING: None yet. But always subject to change
(Players are encouraged to read this OOC information post before tagging this log.)

It's April third and the sky is cracked.

As fissures go, this one is mild, the hairline fracture that is barely noticeable from the ground. However it runs across the breadth of the heavens, from horizon to horizon. North to South. Its meaning is undetermined and when asked, neither the citizens nor the household owners of Ukiyo will breathe a word on it, though on the faces of some, that look of fear is unmistakable.

As for Ukiyo itself, the place has seen better days. In spite of the fresh spring air, and the scent of newly bloomed cherry blossoms in the air, city seems scarred, much like the sky is. It's almost as though something wrathful has torn through the streets while people slept. The damage at first might appear random, for to look at it all there certainly doesn't seem to be any pattern here.

In Spindle, only the outskirts have seen harm. Waremono and Tsumi Inn have been demolished, the wreckage charred and burned, still visible for those who wish to take a look. While on the opposite perimeter, Chousojutsu is no more, and there is no sign of any of those who called themselves servant to the house either. Madam Inoue has also disappeared.

The same could be said of Aster, where the damage has been limited to the outskirts of the district. Here, Kawabari Household has been hit hardest, the two story house lies in ruins. Sir Hidaka however, is ever stubborn and can be seen already rallying his servants to rebuild.

In Hibiscus, the earth has been gouged open from Hachisu to Nanbe Armory, taking whatever structures that were there and wrecking them beyond recognition and Hachi-En gardens along with some of the Ukiyo Guard's quarters has also been injury.

Camellia has been offered a similar fate, with a stretch of destruction that cuts an eerily straight path from Henshu to Mazoku. Though neither house remain and both household owners seem to have disappeared, there lingers something strange around the house of Mazoku, and when darkness falls, a sense of malevolence permeates the area where the house once stood. If the city is quiet enough, and a person is to stand still enough, they might even be able to hear things. Whispers. Cries. Or is that just the wind?

Perhaps unfairly, Peony is the only district which has not suffered any harm. Some of the servants and household owners look particularly smug about this fact, with Madam Aya and Sir Nagi trumping that list.

Everywhere else in Ukiyo, it's business as usual. The market is open and bustling, even if there is a sense of urgency about some who buy and sell there. The displaced guards of the Ukiyo Guardhouse have set up a makeshift quarters along the north wall and the headquarters in Cameilla, and patrols along the city's parameters have been unchanged.

For those who have awoken, it will be as though from a drugged sleep. The hours before they last closed their eyes will seem hazy and that persistent grogginess will linger the entirety of the first day they awaken. For some, it will feel like time has passed, as though they have been sleeping far too long, others however, will feel as though they have hardly slept at all.

The bracelets that encircle prisoner's wrists look the same as always, but those who have had their special abilities wrested away from them by Ukiyo and its rules may be able to feel the subtle thrum of that power they remember. Distant, but present. However, they will not be able to access those power or use any of their abilities.

Finally, at the center of the city stands the remains of Ten-ji. Here is the heart of Ukiyo's injury. The pagoda has not merely been destroyed but remains of the structure can be found for miles around, a beam here, a brick there. Whatever happened, the brunt of the violence lies in this place. The ones who existed inside are nowhere to be found, but those who are perceptive enough and curious enough to look may find traces of them here and there; a bloodstain on the trunk of a tree, a scrap of stained cloth on the side of a street.

More importantly perhaps, the Tradesman stands at the verge of the destruction, her arms folded inside the sleeves of a resplendent kimono. For all the disarray around her, she alone seems to be untouched and untouchable. Even now, she wears a Mona Lisa smile. It lingers on her lips in the face of the damage around her as hooded eyes gauge the destruction of the pagoda with deceptively idle curiosity. Perhaps she has reason to smile.

Destruction or not, Ukiyo still stands. She still stands.

Come talk to her if you like. She is always interested to hear from those she aims to help, after all.





(OOC: Standard mingle post for players here! Players can post open threads or lock them to other players if they so wish. They can also have their characters talk to the Tradesman, but they will be unable to act on any hostile urges for some mysterious reason.

That is to say, they can want to wring her neck, but their hands and feet just won't obey the urge.)

Comments

Tradesman - Open to all.

[nephilaclavata]

(OOC: For best results, players are asked to a comment in this post before having their characters engage with the Tradesman.

It's not necessary, it just really helps the mods out! Please be aware that she might be a little more tight lipped otherwise.)

Re: Tradesman - Open to all.

[cinematiques]

She's been moving around the city erratically, in a daze. Her head still feels foggy, and her body hasn't had the time to shift gradually from winter to spring, so everything is far brighter and fresher than it has any right to be, despite the rampant destruction.

She gravitates without her consent or knowledge to the center of the town, to the flattened remains of the temple. It's there that Shoshanna's eyes regain their usual sharp look, and her posture straightens.

It's her. The Tradesman, who else would it be?

The French woman steps toward that mysterious figure with a purpose, though even she's not quite sure what that purpose is. She finds herself a few feet away, eyeing the Tradesman warily, and it's a few moments before her mouth remembers how to speak.

"I don't understand."

[alchimia]

After awaking and not finding his brother at his side, Edward had made a desperate scramble for clothes, dressing quickly and all but throwing himself onto the streets of Ukiyo. And at first, all seems the same, normal, or as normal as possible for Ukiyo. But when Peony gives him no answers and a look at the shredded sky leaves him staring, he knew he had to find his answers elsewhere.

For some time, he wandered the streets, seeking out a familiar face amongst the rabble and ruin. He found none until at the edge of his vision, a figure stood, decked in expensive silk. He had seen that face before, several times, and once in his dreams.

Quickly, Ed covered the distance that remained between himself and the Tradesman, but before he could reach out, he found himself halting in his tracks. Unable to go further.

"You—" Even in his ears, his voice still sounded gravelly, tired, and groggy and he didn't like it. "Where is he? What happened?"

[transcendens]

Since his first arrival in Ukiyo, Sousuke has not spoken with the Tradesman. He has heard that she occasionally communicates with people over the fansuwoth, and that there are places in the city that she can perhaps be found, if the individual doing the searching is lucky enough to chance upon her. In all the time that he has called the city his prison, he has not gone looking. And he is not looking today, when he enters Ten-Ji.

Once a place of refuge, illusionary though it was, Ten-ji is anything but now. The damage that marks the rest of the city is heavier here, and Sousuke cannot help but feel a brief prick of discontent at what’s been lost. Brief, because it doesn’t last. Brief, because his attention is drawn to the woman standing untouched within the destruction. He doesn’t know her face, but he doesn’t waste too much time in hazarding a guess at her identity.

He does not recognize her. And he recognizes so many in this place.

“Hardly a place for contemplation now, is it?” he asks, casually strolling closer, hands tucked into his trouser pockets.

Open to all

[transcendens]

Beneath the broken sky, Sousuke slowly walks the scarred streets of Ukiyo. There is something wrong, a persistent thickness behind his eyes, a disconnection between himself and the city in which he has been forced to reside. He has been drugged, or so he believes, and the world he sees before him now is like a distorted reflection of the one he once knew.

No one gives him answers. Unsurprising, given how how reticent so many of the natives have always been. And he has since learned not to waste time asking. He didn't ask the servants of Iki, when he awoke from a sleep that still feels unnaturally long to him. And he doesn't ask those he passes in the street, choosing instead to fill the gaps in his knowledge through what careful observation. He sees destruction and war where he cannot remember hearing rumor of approaching conflict. He sees fear on the faces of those who have always seemed confident in their place and power within the city. And he sees all of the empty places where those he expects to find used to be.

It's only when he comes upon the wreckage of Waremono that he asks, and the answer he receives from one who calls the district home prevents him from inquiring further. There is no need. So he directs his steps away from Spindle, turning his back on a ghost who has finally been put to rest, and he moves toward the heart of the city.

That Peony has taken no damage is evident to him, its buildings and houses untouched by the destruction that apparently came so silently in the night. It makes him wonder, and the path down which his thoughts travel is not a pleasant one.

Yet still he walks. For he has slept too long and lost too much time. He will not go back to Iki. Not for a while. Not until he’s satisfied that he knows how much has changed. And who still remains in Ukiyo.

[alquimie]

The feeling of drunkenness and something like a hangover (a feeling Ed knows too well) is beginning to fade by the time he resumes his search of Ukiyo's streets. It lingers only slightly at he back of his mind, like the leftovers of a bad dream and all of this certainly does feel like a bad dream. He still hasn't found Al and he still hasn't found anyone but servants without answers and the Tradesman with her vagaries. Even the sky above him seems to taunt him with the way it remains rent and he's never seen anything like it.

It's likely due to his eyes on the sky that he doesn't notice Aizen at first. Initially, he walks right past him, hands shoved deep into pockets of dark trousers. But the hint of something naggingly familiar out of the corner of his eye makes him stop in his tracks, turn slowly, and eyes of gold widen as he takes in the familiar form.

"Sousuke!" Immediately, he rushes towards the other man, coming to a stop when he finally stands before him. An expression of relief is painted all over his expression. Finally, someone he knows.

Open to all!

[willoffire]

He doesn't know how long he's been stumbling around, everything is hazy in his head and it feels like that one time he got drunk, only worse. In fact, it's like having a hangover at the same time as being drunk. Naruto can hardly tell up from down as a result.

Some of Ukiyo is missing. That much, he does know. Some of the streets are scarred, some of the buildings have been gouged away and as he wanders away from Komainu he's a little surprised that he hasn't seen any dead bodies. Surprised, yeah, but glad too.

It's warmer as well but really, he hasn't noticed that part yet, or how the sky has a long freakin' crack running right over it. He hasn't thought to look up; all he's done so far is check some of the houses where his friends used to be.

He can't find any of them. The servants aren't helpful at all. So, screw it, fuzzy headed or not, he takes to the streets.

"Oi! OIIIIIIII! Anybody here?!" When in doubt, shout on out.

He ignores how it turns heads, that's half the point anyway. Maybe someone will recognize his voice. Someone who knows him.

[heavenly_earth]

Neji blinks through the haze as he walks through the broken city. He's moving slow, because there seems to be debris everywhere and his vision likes to make him stop as colors blur together and his surroundings swim nicely. He's really never had a great relationship with drugs. Mild anesthetics were about the only things he seemed to be able to take without suffering some debilitating side-effect or another.

He knows where he is at least, can vaguely recall structures and roads from the angle of Ukiyo's walls, but the utter loss of the pagoda on his way to Spindle leaves him staring for several moments.

It isn't until blonde hair catches on the edge of his peripheral in a blurred yellow does he turn, although recognition comes with a wave of disappointment and a reinforcement of crushing concern.

"...Naruto?" Was that his voice? The cracked and dried syllables falling from his throat? Licking his lips and swallowing, he tries again, bracing himself against the nearest solid surface as a few steps leave him feeling dizzy all over again.

The blonde is definitely too short to be Kanji. "Naruto, did you see anything?"

[transcendens]

Sousuke hears the shouting before he catches sight of the one to whom the voice belongs, and he alters his steps accordingly. He has not spoken to Naruto in quite awhile, though the precise length of time is lost in the darkness of the unnatural sleep that has befallen him. Since his sickness, he thinks, and that memory in itself remains somewhat hazy and unreliable. Yet with so much in ruin, he finds it more difficult to turn away than to brave the awkwardness that exists between them.

Stepping out into the street, he walks forward toward the shinobi, expression calm and unreadable. If he is affected by what has transpired, he doesn’t allow it to show on his face. And when he has closed the distance enough that he doesn’t have to yell, Sousuke greets him in the level tone of one who appears unfazed by the turmoil around them.

“Yes, Uzumaki Naruto. There are still a few of us here.”

Open

[pishirogane]

Awakening had been surreal, bizarre when, for a moment, she didn't recognize anything around her. Slowly, she rose from the ground, covers slipping to her waist and stared out the window as she heard the distinct chirping of birds and saw a petal drift past. That couldn't be correct; it was only December. Naoto hurriedly rose and ate the meager breakfast before dressing and hurrying out into Ukiyo.

It definitely was Spring. Her communicator's date read April 3rd, but that didn't seem possible. Had they'd really slept since December? Or had only certain people fallen into a state like she had been in? There were so many questions and absolutely no answers to be found standing around like this.

Prepared to head forward, she glanced up, double taking at the crack in the sky. What was going on up there? Naoto shook her head, sighing under her breath. What was happening to Ukiyo? And what apparently happened to the district? Were the other ones like this? What about--

The young detective shook her head, stopping her contemplation and breaking into a quick stride. She had to assess all the damage in Ukiyo before trying to draw conclusions. Perhaps if she was fortunate enough, she would happen to come across Kanji and Neji when she reached their districts. At least, if they were still here.

so sorry this is late oh god

[heavenly_earth]

He managed to get to Spindle after some of his disorientation cleared up. It lingered of course, hanging over him with disconnecting thoughts and a faltering perception, but he was managing. He could see enough to know that the damage was much more extensive than Camellia's and it made him work that much harder to find Kanji.

But he spotted Naoto first and automatically moved for her. She was the last thing he remembered seeing that night. "Naoto, are you alright?"

Open!

[kissedgoldfrog]

The last thing Madison remembered was seeing snow cover Ukiyo in the good way. Now she felt like a semi-truck decided to run her over twice. So when she spotted the sky line from her room in Youfuu, it caused great concern from the ranger. She didn't even bother eating the food the servants had rationed out and bolted out of the house without a second thought.

As she looked around, she noticed that it was worse the further away from the house it got. A tornado? No...something far worse. Her first idea was to check on the Mazoku house because she knew Charley lived there, but once she arrived within the area, it looked completely destroyed. No one was inside were they?

Figured it was time to try and talk to some of the locals and try and make light of the situation but all Madison got was looks and wary looks. So much for that idea. The only thing she could really do is try and find anyone she knew and maybe get some answers.

[pantherking]

He doesn’t know the woman he sees making her way down the street. This isn’t surprising. Grimmjow doesn’t know many people in this place. Already barely socialized, he hadn’t been there very long before the months’ long sleep overtook him. But he’s awake now. And he still wants answers. To the time spent too long asleep. To why he’s still here. To practically everything.

Altering his gait so that their paths might cross, Grimmjow steps up beside her, wasting no times with pleasantries. As if he knew what those were.

“You new? Or you been through this kinda shit before?” he asks, tipping his head toward the rent in the sky.

[caiticature]

Already outside she might notice Kate, walking through town and looking over the various signs of damage. The last thing she could remember was saying goodbye to Ziva before heading back to Youfuu. Waking up in Youfuu itself wasn't too strange, but... waking up in Youfuu in APRIL? She was trying to put her investigative skills to work and figure out what had happened, but so far she had no more luck than Madison.

That was when she spotted said familiar face, calling out as she approached.

"Madison!"

open!

[decks]

It's like walking through a fog, and it is incredibly frustrating. Because drugged feeling or not, Sakura knows something's gone awry and she'd really like to get to the bottom of it but her synapses are being less than cooperative at the moment. She has no patience for it, and being pissed off at herself helps a little but not all that much.

Still she doggedly moves through the streets of Aster, trying to find one person who'll answer her slurred questions. Just one. But people are either as confused as she is, or they're refusing to talk.

Sakura smacks her own face lightly. "Wake up," she orders herself. "Wake up."

But it's tripping like a drunk over some of the rubble that was Kawabari House and seeing the extent of the destruction there that best provides the shot of adrenaline she needs. Now, she's less concerned with finding answers (for the moment) and more with finding her friends, and she weaves a little less as she goes forward.

[pantherking]

If there's one positive trait about Grimmjow, it's his adaptability. Sure, his body aches and his mind's a groggy mess. But he takes it in stride, pushing long unused muscles to loosen by forcing them to carry him through the city on his search for answers. And something to do.

Because even in the middle of a disaster, the arrancar gets bored easily. Especially if there's nothing to do and nothing fight.

All of this is seeming like a tease anyway. Lots of destruction, no culprit. And none of the people he demands an explanation from can give him one. Like none of them know either.

Pink hair catches his eye, and it's the color more than anything else, something unusual in a place that's already losing his interest, that carries him over to the girl. And it's with his usual abrupt, lack of social graces that he starts talking.

"Hey. Pink hair. The hell's going on here?"

[alkahestry]

[With Peony nearly untouched Al isn't bothering to stick around their home district. Still wearing his pajamas, a simple pair of cotton shorts and a loose fitting undershirt, thankfully the change of seasons makes his state of dress easy to ignore. Ed will recongize the direction he's running bare foot towards. When crowds get in the way, Alphonse easily finds breaks to twist, and when there isn't a way through he makes one by climbing walls. Aster isn't far thankfully, Nannai House however is. By the time the boys manage to find Sakura in front of Kawabari, Alphonse is quite out of breath and red faced.]

BROTHER - She's over here!

[His attention however lingers on the rubble and ruined house that once stood here, and now for the first time he sees what Konoe had meant. It was gone - destroyed almost entirely. Swallowing the lump in his throat his gaze turns back to Sakura, glad and relieved to see she hasn't been hurt.]

Glad to see you're still with us, Sakura.

Open like a boss! GIVE ME ALL YOUR LOVE UKIYO!

[alkahestry]

If being asleep for over three months wasn't someone's idea of a joke, then waking up outside and beneath the broken sky had to be. The last thing he can remember is slipping into bed in Iki and the warmth of the covers as he fell asleep besides his brother.

Alphonse is not sure how he ended up outside, but the ache in his body and the heaviness that makes thinking impossible tells him something is wrong. With a raised hand he glances up to sky only to gasp in shock at the jagged cracks that cut through the cloud covered heavens.

Alphonse forces himself to his feet, pajamas be damned, and begins to make his way down the street with a purpose. He had to find his brother, Sakura, or any one else for that matter.

lmao screw this /gets lazy

[alchimia]

[ After spending quite a bit of time wandering around the remains of Ukiyo, he's about ready to give up. What the Tradesman had told him has only helped a little, and soon he's returning to Iki, hands in his pockets and his head hanging. When he finally arrives in Peony, he glances around again, hoping he'll see some sign of his brother. It's only when he's grown closer to Iki that he spots the familiar form, still dressed in pajamas. He hesitates, heart seeming to skip a beat, and then...

And then he's running at Al, throwing his arms around his brother when he reaches him. ]

♥

[tailcrook]

Wandering into the Peony district is almost surreal compared to the others Konoe's tried to explore. The normalcy, the near nonchalance of the natives he passes puts him on edge, so much that he doesn't want to ask them for anything. It's obvious he's not from around here, Henshu's crest on his back drawing as many eyes as his tail does.

Didn't realize they had one anymore....

Who'd take him, Sanzaka...?

Finally, Henshu! You owe me ¥50 -

He turns a corner furtively, trying not to be bothered by the hushed gossip that reaches his ears. It's tempting to retrace his steps, to go back to Camellia's ruins and figure something out from there, but he has to check this district before he can rest.

Catching sight of Alphonse in the street makes him stop, surprised in his tiredness. Alphonse does live this way, doesn't he... his friend is safe....

Any relief he feels doesn't reach his face, and Konoe still seems distraught as he calls out to him, "Alphonse, it's you!"

[cuatra]

[Mazoku house is gone, the derelict remains are surrounded by a strange heaviness and the very earth around the house is already starting to blacken and decay.

Still there yet remains some kind of life, as Ulquiorra stirs from his slumber he awakes ill and nauseated. Wood and stone is uprooted as he crawls his way free and when he is feeling well enough he begins to take in his surroundings. The demolished house, the tainted earth, the tickle at the edges of his perception - a feeling that's all too familiar, and the strange whispers that now and again that fill his ears.

He stares for some time at the house to which he had been sold, all in the name of some ridiculous wish and the debt that must be paid to attain it.

It's gone, as is those ridiculous servants and that insipid woman.

Maybe it's the heaviness of his body that causes his head to fall back, but as his eyes catch the jagged cracks in the sky the edges of his lips crack ever so slightly.

A laugh, barely audible, but a laugh none the less leaves his lips as he continues to stare at the sky.]

[pantherking]

[ How long Grimmjow has been wandering the city, he doesn’t know. Half his attention is on the crack in the sky. The rest of it’s split between looking for more damage and trying to find the person responsible for it all. Whoever it is has to be strong, and he’s missed having someone to fight.

Drifting from one place of wreckage to another, he comes eventually to Mazoku. It’s a place he’s never been before, but he can feel something off about the air, a creeping chill raising the hairs at the back of his neck, when he gets too close. He doesn’t know fear, not of things, so while he senses it, feels the predator lurking unseen, he doesn’t back away. Doesn’t flee.

Instead, he pokes around, and what he finds is Ulquiorra.

Sauntering over, hands stuffed into the pockets of his hakama, he tosses his hair out of his eyes and barks a brusque greeting. ]

What the fuck happened here?

[ open ] action or prose, both fine!

[tailcrook]

It isn't easy to get moving again. After waking up, from what fells like a short, if fitful sleep, Konoe's run about a lot. Compelled to, when it hits him that the wreckage he's been blinking at was Henshu. He darts forth only to be stalled by the debris. As the minutes go by, self-doubt becomes another obstacle. Trying to salvage anything seems a wish for injury with his head swimming and throwing off his already affected balance.

So on a fallen beam he sits for a while, so tired his tail curls limp on the ground at his side. Part of it's a lack of energy. He may not feel as though he's slept for over three months, but his body does. His arm aches terribly, and with a strained exhale he looks back to the household once more. Amid the many things he grieves as he rests (Madam Mimi and others he can't find, his pet octopus, his plants, Zuko's plants entrusted to him) it's his medicine he misses now.

As of yet unaware of what's happened in Spindle, he gets it in mind that a visit to Waremono could be a good idea. He sways a bit as he stands, but he keeps his head up (if not yet high enough to notice the sky) and makes his way towards as clear a street he can find.

[pantherking]

Still wandering the city, disinclined to return to his house and vaguely hoping that someone might be able to him what is was that he apparently slept through, Grimmjow isn’t exactly watching where he’s going. His eyes are on the sky, or on the broken buildings around him. His senses are turned outward, on the shadows that hang over the rubble and the whisper of the wind as it moves through the sky. Searching for the thing that wrecked the city. Trying to figure out where it went and what it was.

When he bumps into one of the passersby on the street, his attention snaps back to what he’s doing and he straightens, eyes narrowing as he looks the guy over.

“Watch where you’re going.”

Never mind that he is the one who run into this guy. Oh no. Grimmjow doesn’t take the blame for things. That’s what other people are for.

Open <3

[cinematiques]

So now she's here, standing numbly outside Youfuu house. Her head is aching, numbly, and she feels like she might be sick.

She's searched everywhere, overturned every stone, looking for him. Gone. He is gone, just like everyone else she's ever loved has left her. So now it's just numbness, instead of hurt and heartache. As such, Shoshanna has the most ill-fitting vacant expression; anyone who didn't know she's an inhabitant of Youfuu would assume she was lost. Geographically, that's untrue, but mentally—she's still trying to find her way back.

[kissedgoldfrog]

Coming from behind was Madison, who had been running all over the city trying to find any one she could find but to no avail. Even one of her fellow housemates seemed to vanish during the time. As she nearly stumbles back to Youfuu, she spots the other woman outside.

"...Shoshanna?"