( OPEN ) MAY CATCH ALL

[cranekin]

WHO: Tsurumaru and you
WHAT: Sword lore, revisiting an old home, holidays, and shenanigans
WHERE: around Kyoto & Tokyo
WHEN: May
WARNINGS: N/A for now


source

catch-all for the month, open to using tdm prompts, setting up starters, etc.
if you would like an original starter or have your own idea, hit me up yosakoi | discord: diejoubus

Comments

[wheft]

Samurai...?

[ crying, do samurai even exist in the city? the closest she could think of are the more noble swordsmen of the blade lineage syndicate, though ishmael thinks it's not really the same?

regardless, she follows him wherever he needs to go. ]

Any notable names I should know about while I'm here?

[cranekin]

Mhm, noble warriors.

(Literally nobles... a class all of their own.)

Hmm... I can't recall. Most of the visitors were quite boring!

(No one that really stands out in his memory though he recalls how cute some of the babies and younger children would be when they were brought. Even if he can't remember the details clearly, he remembers how adorable they were wrapped in their kimono robes, red faced and tired from traveling.)

Of course, you can wish for other things, too. (It doesn't have to be victory.) I wonder if the gods here are awake to hear us, though...

[wheft]

[ a thoughtful hum as she follows him further in. ]

I guess I could, but I don't really believe in gods and the like. I think I already told you this. [ most religions in the City are high-profile scams and cults... she wouldn't buy into that malarkey so easily. ] I don't really have anything to wish for, either.

[cranekin]

Right, right... Sorry.

(He wonders if maybe they should find something else to do later. )

I can't help it. I guess it's a part of my nature to be interested in other gods. ("Other gods" he says...) The ones here are much greater than me, though.

Or at least, they were. I'm not sure if they're still here.

(It feels so still here.)

[wheft]

[ wait. he's being vague again, isn't he? that, or she just... completely doesn't understand what he's saying because she knows nothing about the subject.

but that's what asking questions are for, right? ]

Other gods... you personally know some of them?

[cranekin]

The ones here? Not personally. (And he sort of waves his hand in the air like he wants to clear any miconceptions or misunderstandings there,) By the time I was here, most gods stopped wandering around.

But I know a few others back home.

(So yes, he does know some gods.)

Ah, that's right. You don't really know, do you?

[wheft]

[ that got her to sigh her usual ishmael™️ sigh. ]

That's why I'm here, right? I'm curious about this place, and even more so now that you have a connection to this one, apparently. Please do keep up.

[ it feels like they're going around in circles? just get on with it 😩 ]

[cranekin]

(Quiet for just a moment, letting the quiet of the shrine fill the silence between them and--)

This was my resting place before. (And he points to the main shrine up ahead,) I used to listen to prayers everyday. Right there.

Of course, they couldn't tell I was there so maybe they thought no one was listening at all... but I listened to everyone.

[wheft]

Your resting place...

[ oh. of course he's also dead. ishmael doesn't bat an eyelash at this revelation, though the atmosphere does become more somber despite his casual voice.

but wait, he listened to everyone? how is that possible? ]

Erm, if that's the case... If you're this important of a figure to be laid to rest here, then what exactly are you?

[cranekin]

(Oh, why is the air suddenly so heavy? He doesn't want that at all.

Despite being cryptic and vague and full of distractions, he's always been surprisingly open about some things if one can just ask the right questions and so he holds out his hands in front of him. There's a quick swirl of cherry blossom petals that seem to appear from nowhere and in a flash of bright white light... a sword rests in his open palms,)

This is me.

(A beautiful white sword with a white lacquer scabbard and gold regalia... kind of like a certain white haired swordsman with gold trinkets,)

"Tsurumaru Kuninaga." Forged in the Heian era and passed down through the years. I'm quite renowned back home.

[wheft]

[ she stares, wide-eyed, at the pristine sword being held out in front of her, her gaze going from that to the... human-like entity, then the sword again. ]

You're... the sword...

[ she reaches a hand out and - can she touch the sword? if only to poke it. ]

Wait, so you're not human this entire time?

[ she thought you were just some weirdo, tsuru 😭 ]

[cranekin]

(He nods,)

This form is a gift from my master.

(And he smiles, holding his head up high,)

Are you surprised?

[wheft]

Yes? I thought you were just some freak.

[ well. he's still a freak in sword form, so.

anyway it's still a lot to take in. give her a moment. ]

Wait, hold on. If you're a sword, and this place managed to stand even after all those attacks... Did you originally come from this world, then?

[cranekin]

Just a freak...

(Wow.)

This world? Not quite. A version of it, yes; there's a different problem where I'm from.

[wheft]

[ blinkblink ]

So this is a different timeline, then.

[cranekin]

More or less.

(Yeah, he'll roll with that theory. It's what he's been thinking, too.)

Sorry, I should have explained sooner but by the time I was ready... it never really came up.

[wheft]

It's fine. You're not even obligated to tell me if you don't want to.

[ she walks up to his side. ]

But... Thanks for telling me anyway. I see now that this place has a lot of meaning for you. [ a pause. ] Do people pray to swords here as well? Like gods?

[cranekin]

But it's been long enough! It's overdue now.

(They were among the first batch to arrive, after all.)

No, not usually. I was just a medium for people to focus on. Other shrines have other items; mirrors, armor, instruments, and so on. Ah, but I didn't do much... I listened for them, even if, perhaps, the gods didn't at times.

[wheft]

I didn't know these things have a time limit.

[ backstories, that is. maybe tsurumaru's just that eager to tell his side of the story. too bad ish doesn't share the same sentiment. ]

So you're just hearing them out... [ hmm. ] Isn't that tiring?

[cranekin]

(Everything feels like there's a time limit when you're semi-immortal surrounded by mortals...)

Sometimes... but when someone asks for help... I can't help but listen.

(It's actually one of the reasons why he was summoned in the first place. He couldn't not listen and ended up answering humanity's prayers.)

[wheft]

[ a thoughtful hum. ]

You think people's still praying for you to this day?

[cranekin]

Maybe not to me specifically... but if I hear someone, I'll definitely listen.

(That's just how he is.)

It's how I was summoned in this form, after all.

[wheft]

[ hmmmmmm. ]

And I thought you'd be some kind of Abnormality. Guess I'm wrong.

[cranekin]

(You know. He's been called a lot of things.

Strange. Weird. Annoying. Impossible to understand. But something about being called an abnormality...)

Oi, oi, there's no reason to be rude.

[wheft]

Huh? Not that that of abnormality. But you're still weird, so...

[ ahem. ]

Abnormalities are what we call certain entities created from the human mind. They're not human, but I think there are Abnormalities that used to be human? [ like the magical girls... ] Sometimes we have to suppress these Abnormalities, and if we're lucky, we could get weapon and armor from them.