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crescentview2023-02-07 08:20 pm
hearthwarming) wrote in crescentview2023-02-07 08:20 pm
🏝️ dulces sueños group excursion! 🏝️
🏝️ who: intrepid adventurers (vacationers?) and more!
🏝️ what: ori organized (origanized?) a group trip to the resort! mass memshare ensues.
🏝️ when: fall 9-10
🏝️ where: dulces sueños resort
🏝️ warnings: threads will be marked as needed for memshares.
( This is the ill-fated massextinction memshare event. Please refer to the event for details on the resort and the plotting post for any specific details for characters' memshares! There are toplevels for each area of the resort (and for the memshare). Enjoy! )
🏝️ what: ori organized (origanized?) a group trip to the resort! mass memshare ensues.
🏝️ when: fall 9-10
🏝️ where: dulces sueños resort
🏝️ warnings: threads will be marked as needed for memshares.
[ Hopefully everyone had fun on the Arco Lunar! The morning after the boat departs from the docks, a letter arrives to your mailbox: ]
Hello, intrepid adventurer!
I am excited to have you along for a group excursion to the mysterious new island! In two days' time, let us gather in the town square and set off from there! Please be prepared to stay the night. It will be so fulfilling and memorable for everyone to spend a night on an adventure together!
If you have any questions or concerns, please come find me at my flower shop in town or at the forest farm where I live!
Sincerely,
Oriphi
[ If she accidentally delivered it to a few wrong mailboxes, then... Oops!
On the promised day, once everyone (and likely a few surprise tag-alongs) has gathered or been gathered, Ori distributes little paper bags of snacks to everyone. Inside are cookies, oat snacks, and a freshly-picked apple from her and M-21's orchard. Do with them as you please... Just don't let her catch you throwing it into the sea or something. 🥺 ]
Alright. I think we should head out, then! Thanks for coming along, everyone! I hope it'll be a great time. Oh, and please don't forget to drink plenty of water and use this incredible ointment I discovered on this island! It's called "sunscreen!" Tieflings don't really get sunburnt, but you should use it!
[ And with that our intrepid adventurers set off to the mysterious, dangerous, unknowable... resort island! ]
( This is the ill-fated mass
no subject
"Ahh, Sekigahara, then?"
"No. Just preliminary skirmishing. We don't believe the Shogun is the true target this time."
It's a deep and demanding voice, the tone of your master. You're eager to get going. This is your first mission in many weeks, even though you're operating with a limited team of four. You're presented formally to your master, a lineup in front of his citadel quarters by his own hand-picked orders, armored up with weapons in hand. But the date... the location...
There's familiarity, anxiety, enough to make your hands tighten against the pole of your spear. To go back home, even for a mission... what would happen if you crossed paths again? You, and your old master? The likelihood is slim - you know Sekigahara was a massive battle. You know what history's written, like a script you should follow to the dot.
Still, your heart remains uneasy. You feel now is the only time you can ask questions of your saniwa.]
no subject
... Uh. [Syrlya stares blankly at the polearm in his hands, the uneasiness sitting uncomfortably in him, both from the other heart in his chest and his own confusion.]
no subject
Lost and confused in your own thoughts, you snap up to attention at the call of your name. Ah. You apologize, mumbling. The swordsman who'd just called your name merely shoots you an unimpressed look, which is here and gone about as fast as you can recognize it. "You know Sekigahara, don't you?"
You nod, though it's hesitant. Everyone knows Sekigahara. October of the year 1600, when the military ruler of the entire nation would subdue most of his warring clans and slowly pave a lengthened internal era of peace in its wake.]
I wasn't in the battle itself, but... I'd been in the care of the Shogun's son for a little while at that point...
[Your saniwa gently cuts you off with a raised hand. "That is the matter at hand.
Touken Danshi, I wish for you to rendezvous with two others out on expedition in this era. We believe the enemy's goal is Yuki Hideyasu."
You hear the name, and your heart drops like a stone. That's your master. Your old master, one of your first, the one who made your heart hurt to dwell on and made it twist even further to know he could be in danger.
You know the enemy. You know they ravage. They slaughter, they sneak, they conspire to adjust things to their whim, to warp history by whatever means they deem necessary. To think the enemy could end your own master here... what would happen to history?
What would happen to you?
For a moment, you see red. You taste metal. You hear the pulsing crackle of flames, as your breathing starts to quicken.
You need to get a hold of yourself.]
no subject
Someone's he's fond of is in danger, and it makes Syrlya's chest physically hurt in a way he's never experienced. Is this what having an actual heart is like? Uncomfortable.
He takes a shuddering breath, steeling himself against a sudden surge of emotion and flickers of older memories.]
Understood. I'm ready to go whenever.
no subject
The smallest of the group, Kotegiri, at least seems to be observant, as he always is - wakizashi always tend to have that trait, and as he bumps your arm with his own in passing and gives you a reassuring smile, you can't help but try to return it.
"We'll fight hard, Otegine-san. Chin up."]
...
Right. I... I'm fine. I'm ready.
[Your captain lets out a shrill and energetic laugh at the confirmation, even as he collects what he needs from your saniwa - a device that looks strangely like an oversized pocketwatch. Tsurumaru is the oldest of your group by many, many centuries, but one would never know from his level of energy or the brilliant, mischievous smile that always crests his expression.
"We'll surely surprise the master with our efforts, then, agreed? Come! Come, come, all of you. It's our turn for the battlefield."
He gestures with a quickened pace out of your summoning quarters, leaving your master behind. With Kotegiri ahead of you and Akashi trailing behind, the four of you make your way out to the courtyard, an enormous device sat atop a pedestal like a sundial.
As Tsurumaru turns the dials, you can't help but glance at Kotegiri. He's proper and straight, but there's a nervousness to him you recognize - anticipation that came from being cooped up too long. The master never let fresh faces out to the field right away... perhaps graciously.
He catches your eye, and his facade drops a little, his smile wilting with nerves. "How did you feel on your first mission? Was... it exciting? Or did you, you know... feel fearful?"
You feel any advice would be good. This wakizashi is a fledgling, and this fight will be hard no matter what happens.]
no subject
He nods slowly.] I was afraid. But, I also knew that people were depending on me so I could not allow my self to second-guess because of those doubts.
1/2
"I see... I suppose hesitation won't bring me any closer to my brothers. So... I'll try to keep my heart firm, Otegine-san.
Thank you." His smile is bright. You do really enjoy his company. The wakizashi are always your favorite, and this one... he sure is a fun little spirit.
Despite the words from your mouth, you find you have a hard time believing them - a conflict of the memory, a clashing of experience with inexperience. You want to pursue that ideal, to do your best in everything. But to be free of doubt? It sounds... impossible.
...
With a clap, Tsurumaru gets your attention back, his hand clasped to the center lever of the dial.
"Listen up, then! We all know the plan. From 2205 to 1600, we'll be intercepting Tonbokiri and Sengo Muramasa on the outskirts of Sekigahara's preliminary fights. Expect a nasty welcome, and keep your blades sharp. We should look forward to a surprise.
Now... let us be off to war."
You all vocalize your agreement, and Tsurumaru turns the switch.]
2/2
Congrats, there's a first time for everything!
The flash of light engulfs you, a warm and peculiar rearrangement across a space that is no longer your citadel. You've long since embraced this as normal, keeping your breathing steady and your eyes closed.
When the brilliant light starts to fade, and your eyes reopen, you are no longer inside. You're out in the open country outside of a familiar location. The shogunate - the leaders of the military government - is housed nearby. It's familiar, but from a long, long time ago, scraping at the back of your memory.
You hear the whinny of a horse and the panicked rush of people. A call goes out in a familiar voice for the lord of the estate to enter the house, lest he get hurt.
You can feel it, though - as can everyone else, given that everyone's hands go for their weapons. There's a crackle of distortion through the air, a dark and deep energy that you know is the enemy.
"Revisionist Army! Split up, down the embankment! Akashi, with me - Kotegiri, Otegine, take the west! Don't let them swarm the entryway! We move towards Tonbokiri!"
Your sheath is shoved off your blade before he's even done requesting, a brief holler of acknowledgement as Kotegiri leads the charge.
Even before your descent, the enemies that step through seemingly thin air are already numerous and intimidating, a discolored and animalistic force of spirits just like you with eyes that glow red, sharpened teeth and incredible strength. You can't match Kotegiri's speed by a long shot. But you both have the high ground for now, and the coverage of trees.
You can brute force your way toward the entrance together, try a distraction tactic, or attempt to stealth your way around portions of the mob.]
no subject
Break the whole thing and all that.
He opens his eyes to the sight of... well, not much more familiar than the other place. It's two of them, and he can work with small numbers but he's in an unweildly body, with a blade that feels too big, and he's pretty sure he can't teleport. Stealth will be difficult. So will a frontal push.
He looks aside to Kotegiri. He's supposed to be the one in charge here, but...] They're after something in particular, aren't they? What do we have to draw them away from the gate?
no subject
"Aruji had reason to believe Hideyasu-san was a target, right? We won't know for sure until we see for ourselves, but... that was Tonbokiri-san shouting from inside the grounds, wasn't it? Maybe he and Muramasa-san are being pinned down. If they push through before we can get in... who knows what they'll do to Ieyasu-sama and his family."
You haven't been spotted yet, but there's several waves of troops already on a beeline for the gateways. Tsuru and Akashi are already splitting down the eastern side, picking off numbers from the back.
"Um... We can cause a distraction at the stables, or we could try to find a way to block the gate altogether. Or, if you have my back, I can move to distract since I'm faster, while you make your blows so we can thin some of the numbers. Right?"
You nod. Eliminating them all right now is unrealistic... getting Tonbokiri and Muramasa to a more supported position has to be the goal, no matter how you chose to do it.]
no subject
So--] We'll check the stables. If we can cause a stampede to break their ranks, it will make picking them off easier.
Mild cw: combat
I can lead--"]
No. [It's a sudden cutoff, your hands tight against your spear.] I know how to get us there. I trust your support, wakizashi Kotegiri.
[This isn't where you spent the most time, but you visited the shogun's property so often, it's not a mystery anymore. So you carefully lead Kotegiri around the western path, picking off what soldiers you have to as you go. The combat exhilarates you, satisfies you. The blade and you are one and the same, like arm or leg or head, and you feel every blow.
You finish pinning an enemy to a nearby tree close by to the stables, slicing your weapon free with minimal effort. Kotegiri has gone ahead, already trying to scout to see if you can enter without being spotted. Fortunately, you can tell the answer from here, given that Kotegiri makes a clean jump straight up to the rooftops for a better view, slicing at enemy tantou that pursue him up the tilings. You can hear the whinnies from inside - the stables are panicked.
There are multiple entrances. You could let the horses out freely, or try to set it up to be more controlled. Unnecessary civilian death must be avoided... but sometimes it cannot be helped.]
no subject
Otegine's spear feels foreign and not in his hands, and he lets the memory guide a weapon he's had little practice in. Once the stables are in view, he gives them a look over. Watches Kotegiri to ensure his back is secure.
Already panicked is, in this case, good. So Syrlya hurries to the gates and begins to yank (or break) the locks to swing the doors with open. With any luck, they'll run out on their own without being pushed.]
no subject
The first two or three attract attention. You urge Kotegiri to go faster, and your reflexes are strained to try and not get run over yourself, snapping the gates open and then hoisting yourselves into the back of the pens, snapping the bottom of your spear to the ground with a loud crack of a noise to startle them further. Kotegiri opposite you raises his voice, trying to herd the beasts out and urge a stampede.
It's not perfect. But panicked beasts on a rampage plow through the battalions that had separated to see what in the world was going on. Not many have been injured, but they're dazed, caught off guard.
You could either wipe out part of their numbers here, or make a run for the shogun's grounds.]
no subject
The horses will continue to cause trouble as they fight for their own lives in terror, and he expects the situation will get worse for them before it gets better.
So he runs towards the Shogun's grounds.] Forward, Kotegiri!
no subject
It's all reflex as you dart your way through. Kotegiri leads this time, and the two of you move like clockwork - you pin down the larger bladed foes to keep the both of you from being swamped, and Kotegiri in turn picks off the faster troops before they can sneak past your slower speed. You bolt.
The enemy army has already started to flood in. You can recognize Tonbokiri from a mile away, even dressed up in the fashion of the era, bellowing and swinging his own spear with such force that enemies go flying. At his side is his brother Sengo - where Tonbo yells, Sengo laughs, a sadistic and low chuckling even as fresh blood spills to the grass.
The two Muramasa are split apart from one another in a mad rush for space. Kotegiri splits for Sengo, while you beeline for Tonbokiri, who is pinned to a corner. With a cry of effort, you slam your own weapon through three soldiers in succession, wincing at the feel of the force but following through nonetheless.
"Otegine!!"
Tonbokiri's eyes light up just as much as his voice, and your heart soars. One of your fellow Sanmeisou, though you will never be as great as him. All the more reason to get him out of trouble.]
It's been a while, eh, Tonbokiri?? [There's a smile to your voice as you rip your blade free and thwack it back through another, clearing our space for your fellow yari to free himself. He's just as postured and polite as ever, a warm smile framing a polite bow of relief he still manages, a split second before he nearly cracks an enemy in two over his own blade. "Fifty years feels so very short at times when you talk like that, Otegine."
The two of you fight in perfect synchronization. You can hear Akashi joining Kotegiri far behind you, see the flash of white of the jacket of your captain, Tsurumaru. You hold the choke point, though only temporarily.
With effort, the front gates are barred. But there's a deep, unsettling ripple through the air - Kotegiri jumps to his feet almost immediately, before you even have time to recognize what it is you feel.
Something strong is within the Shogun's grounds.
All of you brace, eyes alert, weapons on the defensive. The enemy army starts to file in, from with the grounds itself. And leading the charge is a young, bitter face of a man in his twenties that makes your heart drop.
Hideyasu leads the HRA. And he, himself, is the source of the distortion.
You can't fight him. You can't. He's part of history, he's your master. But he is still drawing a blade at you.
What do you do?]
no subject
Otegine's heart isn't in it, anyway, so maybe he can just keep him occupied while the rest of the team does... whatever they're supposed too. Presumably the captain is in charge here.
So, he tries to steel himself past Otegine's reservations to go straight for Hideyasu. He will hold back with his blows, being careful not to cause fatal wounds. He's just going to keep him busy, limit his ability to lead his army.]
no subject
He doesn't let any of you close at first, despite your best efforts. Troops come flooding in from all sides, and just when you think you're close enough to him, four other soldiers fill in to take the spot and push you back.
As he raises his blade, the distorted wave strengthens, with the strange sensation of someone else. Kotegiri's voice chokes as he bats himself free from a soldier with a rip of his blade. "That's--- I know him! That's my brother!"
Though you don't know who, exactly, Kotegiri could be talking about, it explains the sensation immediately. The blade is controlling him. Possessing him. A tsukumogami without a body of its own has gone rogue. The spirit is using your master.
But then... what do you do????
Tsurumaru and Kotegiri pick off a path to Hideyasu, who throws them each back in turn without effort, parrying blades with strength he should not have. But with the way clear, you hear Tonbokiri's voice clearly yell for you.
"Otegine!! Come on!"
You grip your spear tighter, trying to knock off the enemy that hinders you and join your fellow spear. But your eyes meet Hideyasu, and too many feelings pour in, freezing you in place. This was the boy who first truly owned you, who USED you, who made you into a symbol worth any sort of recognition. You made one another great. If he falls here... what happens to history?
What happens to you?
"Otegine! Pull yourself together!!!"]
A-ah.... Ah!!! I... I'm coming! I'm ready!
[You don't feel ready. You feel your heart is about to rip from your chest. But you force yourself to Tonbokiri, force your weapon up, force yourself into a charge.
Your master meets you without hardly blinking, filled with rage. He screams at Tonbokiri, meeting the both of your blows with a mind that you know comes from a short but talented military life. Given the strength of a fellow tsukumogami, you both struggle to even make a blow.
His blade rips into the skin of your leg, your shoulder. Tonbokiri seems to have the same idea as you - maybe there's a way to stun him, to knock him to his senses... but you're both hesitating. You're both holding back, and blows that should leave him rattled do nothing to down him, sending the both of you tripping into one another. Tonbokiri easily helps you up each time.
As long as that sword is solid in his hand, you're going to be in trouble.]
no subject
He grits his teeth as the blide strikes, twisting the spear and relying on Otegine's muscle memory to leverage it for defense. It isn't quite enough, not used to this body, but at least he hasn't been stabbed fatally.
He'll attempt to surge forward and get Hideyasu's attention again, trying to draw him to strike. If he can, he'll try to catch the blade in the thrust with the shaft of the spear and twist it to try and yank the sword out of his grip.]