synflux | ( open. ) someone kneels and prays / amongst the wisteria / silence tells of pain.

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( open. ) someone kneels and prays / amongst the wisteria / silence tells of pain.

WHO: Wanderer and YOU.
WHAT: Urban Legend number ▊▊▊ "The Ghost of a Kabuki Dancer", friendly but perhaps aggressive sparring, among others.
WHERE: Akasaka's Hikawa Shrine, Greenhouse, Simulation Arena, Brimstone Hallway.
WHEN: Throughout the month of December.
WARNINGS: None as of now!

000 — 『藤娘』 FUJIMUSUME
TAKES PLACE SOMETIME AT NIGHT BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 00:00 TO 6:00 AT AKASAKA'S HIKAWA SHRINE

( hearsay has it that between midnight and sunrise, the faint sound of shamisen can be heard coming from a shrine far, far from lilith's base. no one knows when it starts or when it ends, for the time always varies, as though a performance not meant to be heard or seen. if one catches sight of it —

for the month of december, hikawa shrine is decorated with artificial wisteria. the vocals, shamisen and percussion seem almost pre-recorded, for they are; there's no ensemble or choir to be seen, and the only attraction is a performer at the center of a worn-out stage. adorned in a purple kimono equally decorated with wisteria, their face is slightly obscured by a silky, and just as purple katsugi that sits atop their head. the performance itself is breathtaking, almost as though done by something inhuman. a doll, or even a puppet, with its delicate and precise movements, yet with unfocused eyes, as though this performance, too, is automated.

if he catches sight of you watching him dance, however, the performance will come to a halt, together with the music. maybe he recognizes you from lilith's base, maybe you're even in the same team — whatever the reason, the mysterious performer looks none too pleased, angry almost. as though his privacy had been infringed upon. )

You shouldn't be here. Leave.

( ... or, if he does not, in fact, catch you watching his performance, you'll be one of the lucky few to have watched it in full. the performer bows to no one in particular, and begins to collect the few props used to bring them inside the shrine's storehouse. you may help him, if you wish, or approach him to speak of his performance. you may even simply sit back and watch him from afar, but whatever you decide to do — he will notice, eventually, and be none too happy about your presence there. )

001 — Chorus of Desert and Wood
MAIN BASE: GREENHOUSE — VARYING TIMES OF THE DAY

( sumeru's rainforests became something ever-similar to home, if he were to have one. calming, soothing, comforting. inazuma's have always been too gloomy for his taste, the suffocating air of electro a reminder of his origins. snezhnaya's, too frigid, lacking in foliage most of the time. sumeru's have spoiled him, for when wanderer visits the greenhouse for the first time, he finds the air... unsatisfying.

as though it's not real, as man-made as he is. his eyes narrow in dissatisfaction.

there are many plants he does not recognize, and in spite of the warnings not to touch them, wanderer does hold the leaves between his fingers. it would be fine, probably, immune to poison as he is, artificial as they are. the texture, too, isn't half as soft and moist as the trees and plants of sumeru. the homesickness this all provides him is exhausting. what's the point of missing something that isn't his, anyways?

wanderer clicks his tongue at his own annoyance, making way for one of the caretaker robots to walk past him. he spots, then, you, visiting the greenhouse for whatever reason. though it is not like wanderer to make small talk — )

Being here is pointless. What's the point of a greenhouse if none of these are real? How meaningless.

( ... can you tell he's in a bad mood. )

002 — (shouki no kami voice) Bow before me, worm!
MAIN BASE: SIMULATION ARENA

( though not much interests wanderer around lilith's main base or neo-tokyo in general, the simulation arena, at the very least, had caught his eye. he had used it once, before, on their first briefing and simulation trial. it had felt real enough, and though he does not speak much of how he decided to approach the situation, it stayed in the back of his mind.

he could use it for training, probably. to kill time. the other recruits should have strengths, abilities, skills and powers of their own, from different places, different worlds. though wanderer is hardly as obsessed with fighting and challenging others as a certain someone he knows... he's not against it, the thrill of a fight well fought.

the hows, whys and whens aren't necessary. what matters is that seok had granted him and his sparring mate entry into the simulation arena, and standing ways before his opponent, wanderer couldn't help but wield a grin all familiar to times of old, when he had a rank within a certain group, and a name to call himself. though he has changed considerably in certain areas, he is, unfortunately, still as arrogant as they come. )

There's still time to turn back and give up, you know. It'd be understandable if you did, and foolish if not. No worries, I won't tell anyone.

( the tone of his voice is clearly mocking. does wanderer look like he's any trustworthy like this? )

note: since fighting threads aren't everyone's cup of tea, we can try and handwave most if not all of it. i don't mind writing it out, and mind even less having wan-chan's ass be kicked!

003 — JUST MEOW MEOW
MAIN BASE: BRIMSTONE HALLWAY — VARYING TIMES OF THE DAY

( it hasn't taken too long for wanderer to adapt to the abrupt change from his daily life to... this. whatever this is. it's an overall different atmosphere, from the green life that embraced sumeru to a technology-packed city that reeked, for the most part, of something ever-similar to inazuma.

it has, however, been taking him a considerate amount of time to adapt to this: a room filled with cats that have been following him for what feels like days now. he has tried to scare them off - it didn't work. he has tried to give them bowls of food somewhere far - they found him, still. he has even flown high and far, to no avail. over and over the cats find him, and it'd be fine, really, it would. if they didn't yell so much. therefore, cue the situation:

wanderer, annoyed at their incessant yapping, locks them outside of his door. they scratch at it, five cats trying to fit next to each other as they meow meow meow. eventually he opens it, throws some cat food at the middle of the hallway, and closes his door. a couple of minutes later they return, and resume their yelling.

he only has so much patience for this much noise - cue, again, the way his door is thrown open. )

I'm not going to let you back in until you all shut up with your crying! Go elsewhere and leave me alone, dammit!

( ... yes, the 500ish years old puppet is arguing with five cats. what about it. )

004 — WILDCARD

feel free to write me a prompt if we've discussed anything, or even if not! this will be a general catch-all for december shenanigans, so anything goes!

Threaded | Flat

[ when is he not in a bad mood....

But it's fine, because the newcomer entering through the greenhouse doors has enough good cheer for the both of them, his casual steps forward coming to a stop at the snippy words floating his direction. Despite the size of the base they've all been deposited into, there's enough of them crammed in here that it's near impossible not to bump into one of LILITH's recruits while heading from one location to another. He's beginning to get a sense of most of them by now, though the specifics still elude him.

Information gathering is so much slower when he's reduced to relying on only his own eyes and ears.

Idly, he glances around the greenhouse, gaze lingering on a broad-leafed plant here and a small flowering shrub there. From a distance, it's hard to tell they're fake and not real, but maybe he just doesn't have a sense for this sort of thing anymore, relegated as he has been to a life under the ocean. ]

Oh, I wouldn't say entirely pointless. Even the illusion of greenery and nature is enough to lift the spirits for some people.

[ Is he thinking of the hallways of the Fortress, filled with mechanical parts and the salty dampness of the surrounding sea rather than sunlight and rustling leaves? Perhaps. It might have been nice to have some greenery down there. ]

But if you're so dissatisfied, why not send LILITH a note? Surely there must be a suggestion box lying around somewhere.

[ someone do be yelling quite loudly outside of his room, and this is why leona has opened his door and slowly stuck his head out of it--- to peek at the commotion. cats being yelled at. being fed. yelling back. then his almost-neighbor responds in kind and leona is left to just... tiredly stare. ]

I don't know why you're tryin' to fight a losin' battle.

[ of course, someone here understands the whining of the cats better than wanchan ever will.

and this is why leona is just. deadass glaring. ]

_{[ i'll probably throw in handwaving some things when the time is right, don't mind me.......

Toji had already forgotten the names of basically everyone in his wing because he's never really been good at remembering them, even his son's name. Like Wanderer, he enjoys the thrill of a fight, especially to stay in shape. Although his body had been gifted the ability to surpass that of normal human abilities, it took a lot of training and hard work to get to where he's at today; he doesn't plan on letting all of that go to waste. When this person was looking for a fight, Toji had been itching to get out some restless energy — he had, to his knowledge, just killed someone very strong in his world, so you could say he felt pretty on top of the world about now and that's probably the reason he's been extra assholey as of late.

He had to accept, because the pride that he thought he had gotten over wouldn't allow him to say no.

As he enters the arena, Toji appears to be unarmed, but he's giving Wanderer some space as he stretches his own body. ]}

H'oh.

_{[ He pauses, cupping one hand over his ear as he is in mid side lunge. ]}

Did you say something?

_{[ Wanderer has several things he has to deal with: somebody who is incredibly strong but even more so, incredibly fast. Not to mention, all five of his senses are heightened; it always gives him an upper hand when he's needing to find a target as an assassin. If he's allowed to use weapons, he is armed, but it isn't visible to the naked eye. ]}

[ it's not like ishmael is a complete fight-addict either. she's only here to kill time, and the simulation room is the closest thing this place has to a mirror dungeon, albeit with less dangers afoot. sure, it's a relief that she doesn't have to risk her life here compared to being on the bus, but fighting 1v1 with someone with flesh and blood does have its drawbacks.

like this one. they'd only barely started, but the shit-eating grin on this kid(?)'s face is already lowkey ticking her off. it's fine when other sinners like ryoshu do it, but if it's coming from someone who's going to be completely annoying about it? she may as well get herself killed now and spare her the irritation. ]

...Don't waste my time.

[ she heaves out a sigh as she ties up her incredibly long ginger hair into a ponytail. wanderer might have even noticed her as one of the three red-headed women in brimstone, even. what are they odds. ]

You're going to have to do better than that to intimidate me out of here. Unless that's the best you've got?

[ The commotion has led Sunrise to investigate just what is going over in Brimstone, if only because she doesn't think it's normal for things to be loud here ~~(little does she know)~~. She lights up (or, well, as much as she can while still having this blank look on her face) when she sees the cats gathered in front of Wanderer's room. ]

Are they not crying because they want attention? [ Like, she's heard that's how cats ask for attention, anyway.

...The cats may be trying to get into his room now as if her sudden appearance has frightened them. ]

(The winter night is cold and still, the air sharp in a way that fills him with a familiar restlessness, and he finds himself drawn to the old shrines of the city late in the night when much of the city has gone to bed.

The sleepless city and its neverending brightness offer plenty of distraction but he finds himself drawn to the stillness of the old shrines. Maybe it's his nature as an old spirit, his brief history as a divine sword, or maybe it's just the music that draws him in like a siren's song in the night. He walks center of the stone walkway, the path reserved for kami, but he hardly looks like a kami now.

In modern clothes, simple but sharply dressed, a long, light gray winter coat, and a bright red scarf wrapped around his neck and lower face, he looks more like an ordinary person. He looks like "Adachi Rindou" instead of "Tsurumaru Kuninaga." Somehow, still, through this illusion he wears, his gold eyes are sharp and as he approaches the performance, studies it carefully.

Each move is perfect, from the way he holds his fingers to the way he carries his entire body. It's so carefully practiced and he thinks... it may even be better than his own perfectly practiced performances. Before he can really linger on it anymore, he's spotted, the music stops, and he withdraws his hands from his pockets and claps.)

Oh? Then why were you performing?

(Aren't these sorts of shows meant to call on the kami int he first place?)

[ The incessant meowing is what attracts him to check it out at first. Really, he could have gone about his day and ignored this, but something about how upset the cats sounded lures him in like a moth to a flame. It doesn't take him ages to realize what's going on, and he decides that it's not his problem.

But what makes him stay put is the puppet furiously arguing with the felines as if they could understand every word he just said. Fascinating. ]

Did they listen to you the first time you did that?

[ Clearly something isn't working here. ]

Edited 2023-12-13 17:31 (UTC)

[ Since the greenhouse is adjacent to the library, Sooyoung has decided to check it out on a whim. Rather than paying attention to the plants or the robots tending to them, she appreciates that this place is fairly quiet and secluded.

Wanderer's arrival doesn't bother her much since he doesn't seem to be interested in interacting, yet Sooyoung's gaze lingers on him while he's examining poisonous plants. Maybe someone else would point out that he should keep his hands away from these unless he wants to deal with unpleasant consequences, but as far as Sooyoung's concerned, he can do whatever he wants.

His comment, however, gets a reaction—she rolls her eyes before answering: ]

You will meet a lot of fake bitches in your life. That doesn't make life itself pointless, you know.

To identify these plants, should they ever appear in the wild.

[Ango is absolutely hear to learn about all these new plants and take in as much knowledge as he can. His mind is a sponge, and he will be ready should he come across any of the more dangerous plants in the future.

He looks like as much of a nerd as he is too. Brown suit and round glasses finish out the look, with only a mole above the left corner of his lip keeping him from being a perfectly ordinary man.]

That's why I'm here, at least. It sounds like you are here for another reason.

[He has a kind smile on his face as he speaks. He can guess why Wanderer might be disappointed to find fake plants instead of real ones.]

Threaded | Flat

greenhouse.

just meow meow

002; don't worry, wormy will show up...

simulation

003

001

🐈

greenhouse

001