pawnstorm | [OPEN]

[ At the very least, after fulfilling some of the requested job postings, Shinya has found himself slightly richer. The amount was nothing to be impressed by, especially not when he had one very hungry tiger to feed (and he seemed to be growing hungrier and more restless by the day, which was a bit worrying), but it meant that he could freely roam the streets and vendor stalls without feeling apologetic. Maybe he would find something worthwhile this time, rather than being strongarmed into carnival games that subjected fellow heroes into a watery fate.

Still, that doesn't mean he can't enjoy the atmosphere a little. For all the tenseness he's felt at being in such an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar goals that weren't his own, maybe he could use a day or two to simply soak in the strange culture. Every now and then, his eyes drift to what must be the inhabitants of Airy, distinguished by the presence of feathers on their person. They were quite mysterious, weren't they? He begins to follow a young lady's trail in particular, hoping to catch a word with her, and following said trail leads him to a less populated street.

There's still festivities here, but the mechanical lions are nowhere to be found. A single monkey, which has decided that Shinya's shoulder is a fine place to rest on, forms part of their entourage. The last member is, of course, Byakko, who follows Shinya's footsteps silently.

Though he was initially determined to stop the young woman, something interesting catches his eye. At first, Shinya thinks he might be hallucinating (wishful thinking, perhaps?), but closer inspection confirms his suspicion. That flash of black hair is exactly as he remembers it, and the man's voice (who is he complaining to? Oh, it's a giant ant), reaffirms it. In his surprise, he's already lost sight of the young woman, but this finding was just as useful.

Guren has yet to notice him, it seems, and while he picks up his walking pace, he leans over and whispers something into the monkey's ear and slips him a coin. Maybe it wouldn't actually understand him, but on the off-chance it does--

Oh look, it does. The monkey hops off his shoulder, bridges the distance between himself and Guren, and jumps on the other's back. Tiny hands reach around Guren's head to cover his eyes, and the little guy's got a pretty strong grip, Guren.

It's already a really funny sight, and Shinya laughs as he approaches, the genuine happiness in his voice indicative of how glad he is to see his friend here. ]

It's just like you to show up late, Guren. Don't tell me you got lost inside the hall and it took you days to find your way out.

[ He should have spotted him earlier, during the initial festivities, or wandering around the hall, but for some reason, fate decided to work against them until now. ]

theres only one pre-written prompt sorry im lazy;

Happy Luna-- I mean, First Bloom Festival! ♥

[So, you know how some of the wealthier elders are giving out pretty red packets to the younger ones? If you open up any of them, there's money inside it. COLD, HARD COLLE. It's the best tradition ever, unless you're the senior giving them out. In that case, it's incredibly taxing to your wallet.

However, despite not really having much money in her possession, Tamamo has taken it upon herself to distribute many of these red packets herself! They don't really have too much colle in each one... maybe 100, at most... but it's the thought that counts.

You see, red packets are distributed from the seniors to the juniors. And what better way to showcase her marital status than to give out free packets of money?! Yes, she's your senior, because she's married. 100% taken. Married couples normally give out red packets, after all, or at least, back in Tamamo's world.

If she recognizes you and like you, maybe you'll get one with a generous 200 colle, or maybe she'll just give you several at once. If she recognizes you and doesn't like you, maybe she'll give you the one with, idk, 10 colle.

It's still something.]

something else;

[HIT ME UP]

[ Festivities are something Lord Light is not unfamiliar with, having being present at every New Years and Moon Arch throughout the years. However, attending another culture's celebrations is something else altogether - an opportunity to experience new things, which is something he cannot pass up even if it goes against his preference for solitude.

For the most part, he lets himself be swept along by the crowd, visiting booths at random and spectating each performance. Of note is how he refuses all food and drink, citing health reasons - again, not false, but it gave a different impression. All for the sake of appearances, he has learned. Some things are still best kept secret.

His footfalls pause before a performer singing traditional Ma Jiang folk songs while strumming a string instrument - music will always catch his attention, and this is no exception. About half a minute into her song, he begins to sing as well; first in one voice, then in triads and full harmonics as he familiarizes himself with its key. Soon enough, there is what appears to be a full five-man choir accompanying the songstress, but a cursory glance would only reveal one man actually singing.

He's careful not to drown her out, merely providing background accompaniment. She continues playing despite the surprise in her eyes. ]

CLOSED TO HEI.

[ The festival is nostalgic, reminding Bolin of the lights and festivities of the Southern Water Tribe. The primary difference being that this time, he's alone. He'd gotten used to isolation working under Kuvira; Team Avatar had essentially gone their separate ways after Korra had left Republic City. It was strange for him to travel to new places without his brother, and Varrick was a sore replacement, but he'd been forced to adapt, unwilling to remain stagnant while Asami and Mako progressed and progressed.

So perhaps Bolin isn't as lonely as he navigates the crowds, his staff strapped across his back. He's trying to adjust to not having his bending, acclimating to the need to actually carry a weapon with him. He thinks of it something like having Pabu has a permanent fixture on his back, if Pabu was cold and stiff and potentially deadly. (As for his sheep, he'd left her behind, unwilling to deal with the chaos she'd create.)

It turns out to be lucky that he has weapon with him, in any case, when, as his gaze drifts over the crowd, he catches sight of a monkey, a mischievous little thing, carefully pawing at another man's waist. It's odd enough that it gets Bolin's eyebrows to furrow, wondering if it's a Carrier before—realization hits! That monkey's trying to be a pickpocket!

It's not instinct for Bolin to turn to his staff, but he'd always been capable at making the most of his surroundings, both inanimate and animate, so the motion of drawing the staff from his back is fluid. He's too far to reach the monkey with just his hands, but with his staff—he strikes, hard and with intent. ]

Got'cha!

CLOSED TO SETSUNA.

[ The festival is garnering more attention now. Bolin, though competent in battle in regards to spatial reasoning, bumbles around a bit more awkwardly this evening. It seems like everyone but himself knows which way to surge and gather, whereas by the time he manages to stumble into places the spectacles have already disbanded. Maybe he'd be better off back at the dormitory, he's become the kind of grump that looks at the joy of others and just sighs forlornly. (He misses his friends and home.)

In his desire for companionship (he hadn't been able to catch his roommates to have them accompany him), he'd actually opted to bring his Carrier along for the evening, and as expected, it was a mistake. The sheep had immediately taken to fighting with one of the monkeys, and while the on-lookers gasped in horror, Bolin just quietly backed away.

That had also been a mistake, because now the young earthbender is overcome with guilt, wondering what kind of havoc his Carrier is wreaking, and searching for the sheep in a crowd of too many when, during a frantic swivel of his head, he doesn't notice another young man until he's bumping rather roughly into his back. ]

Oh— sorry! [ He jerks back, both alarmed and apologetic. ] Sorry!

[ The festivities are a sight to behold, but after a while, Shinya thinks it a good idea to remove himself from all the hustle and bustle. Just for a few moments. This break is in the interest of keeping Byakko happy and sated, because he's sought refuge on a bench, in a street not too far from the center of town. He's apparently decided to splurge a bit in feeding his carrier. Shinya waits patiently while Byakko picks at a plate of cooked meat at his feet, surprisingly polite for a beast of his size.

He smiles when he spots Minato nearby, waving him over. His roommate is quiet, but from their interactions so far, he's made a favorable impression. Anyone who could keep their calm upon waking up naked and powerless in a room with two other strangers probably wasn't so bad.

Either that, or Shinya's perception of "not so bad" is skewed. Either way... ]

Minato-kun, hey! [ and apparently already comfortable enough for such familiarity. ] How are you enjoying the festivities so far?

[ The performances really are something else. Shinya is just on his way out of a bakery when he almost practically walks into the path of the mechanical lions' performance, and he quickly has to redirect his path around them. In doing so, this allows him to get a better view of the people of the street, and his gaze falls upon a familiar, yet unexpected face.

Lord Light is seated at one of the many benches lining the street, and given by the number of people quickly amassing in the vicinity, Shinya can only guess that something interesting is about to happen. How could the festivities possibly get anymore impressive?

Granted, it's been a long time since Shinya has seen any sort of celebration-- they simply aren't a priority in a world all but decimated in the apocalypse.

He approaches, offering a polite bow and a smile. The other man had introduced himself as a Lord, after all. As far as he knows, he may just expect the respect of one. ]

Ah, Lord Light. What a pleasant surprise. [ And then, especially since they're becoming more of a rarity as the night progresses-- ] Is this seat taken?

[ There are probably two people in this entire world who would be willingly sitting in the City Hall reading old battle logs in the middle of a festival.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what these two are doing, a sizable pile of old logs on the table they're currently at. Koon's surprised at the efficiency of the government, and their general... willingness. Perhaps these people - or at least, the prime minister (?) - does regard them as the true heroes that will win Blanc the war. It's too naive for his tastes, and he has no idea how someone can just trust a stranger with 200 year old battle logs of their country, but yet here they are. ]

Found another one where Blanc won the battle. [ Koon's voice rings out through the shuffling of papers, eyes flitting from one log to the next. ] Just barely, though. [ He's inclined to note, barely keeping the distaste from his voice. These are the men he's fighting with? They're worse than Wangnan's team. ]

( Graham )
[ Yoichi's been subtly trying to edge away from the fortune teller's stall for the better part of five minutes now. The woman has been droning on, waving her arms over her crystal ball, the beads hanging from her voluminous sleeves clacking, going on about portents and the stars aligning and doom, terrible doom! and Yoichi had listened very politely up until it became clear she wasn't going to be stopping any time soon.

Except now, every time he manages to get half a step out of the radius of her impassioned mutterings, she looks up from her visions of the future and glares at him. It's terrifying; he eeps, very quietly, and freezes in place.

It seems like Yoichi's going to be stuck there forever right up until Graham walks by — and then, the woman leans forward to grab Graham's arm and yank him in so she can pontificate at them together. ]

I see a great destiny awaiting! [ Very seriously intoned, and she waves her arm very impressively. ] Two knights there must be! Two Heroes, holding back the darkness, bringing light back to the world!

[ Yoichi stares at her and swallows. Sneaks a quick, uncertain glance at the man who's been dragged into this mess with him, then leans over to Graham to whisper, low, as the woman keeps on with her patter: ]

Um. Maybe she wants our help?

( Guren )
[ All of the older Airy inhabitants have been happy to shower Yoichi with colle-filled red envelopes. After all, he's such a nice young man, polite and cheerful and letting them boss him around to do errands for them without any complaint. By the end of the day, Yoichi's cheeks are red from being pinched.

And he's got a literal mountain of red envelopes to carry back to his room in Queen's Hall. So many that it's a wonder he can stack them all in his arms without dropping them — well, he is dropping some without even noticing, has left scattered red envelopes in his wake like a trail of breadcrumbs. The stack in his arms is so tall that Yoichi is barely recognizable behind the armfull. He can just barely see see over the envelopes, stacked up to his nose, and he's wobbling a little, trying to keep from running into anyone. His attempt isn't very successful.

At least the bird perched on his head — his carrier — is trying to be helpful and give him directions. It's just that the magpie is also distracted by all the bright, shiny things in the stalls they pass by. One delayed squawk of left, turn left! and Yoichi turns right into someone — right into Guren.

The stack of envelopes wobbles, wobbles, wobbles... Yoichi stumbles back, trying desperately to keep them all from going flying, babbling an apology and too distracted by not dumping all the envelopes on this poor person to actually see who he's run into. ]

[ Perhaps the most awe inspiring view of the festival was that of the dancing mechanical lions; a view which was only made more spectactular by the flash of fireworks; colors bursting through the sky and reflecting on their moving bodies. Since she'd first seen them, she'd returned every night to watch. At a distance, the sounds die out a little and the excitement becomes a more relaxing display. ]

It's strange... all this celebrating makes it feel like we've already won. There's no sign of what these people's lives are really like, or the hardships they might have faced. I can't get a real feel for the danger at all.

[ That is... both nice and also concerning. She doesn't know what to make of it. Should they be this confidant? They had no real idea what they were dealing with here. But the positive side was, of course, that they had this reason to celebrate-- time to be at ease. ]

CLOSED TO LEVI —

[ The beach. No one ever thinks about visiting the coast during off season, but he isn't strolling along the sandy beaches to enjoy a long walk of the single life. In fact, it's strictly "work" related. Now Graham hasn't entirely bought the idea of his role here, but he would much rather play along until he finds what the "punchline" truly is. There has been too many red flags about his being here in Caissa - namely the fact that he should be two feet in his grave, and yet here he is, touring a new world, as it were.

He's not going to try to wrap his head around the physics of it. Science has never been his field of expertise - all he can do is act and react. Blending in, assimilate as needed. "Assimilating" to Caissa and his role as a Hero has taken him down this sandy path to the beaches. He doesn't believe everything will come free, so taking up job opportunities had seemed to be a reasonable excuse to pass the time and make money (colle, they call it?) in the process. With the festivities taking place downtown and distracting the natives elsewhere, it makes sense to take advantage of the lack of people.

Graham isn't certain if the shore sees many people during this time of year regardless, but he's taken particular interest in a man, yelling at someone (or something?) toward the waters. Instantly, he feels something's amiss, and it prompts him to pace a little faster towards the Caissan native. Beats trying to reason through voice alone - that man appears to be up to no good.

That's when he catches sight of another figure - passing the man (that is, you), he makes deliberate eye contact. Recognizes him immediately (why can't he think of a name?), and he wants to stop and say hi, but the citizen's panicked screams draws his attention back. ] -- Shit!

[ The native, fully clothed, had decided to run for the waters, and Graham finds himself running as quickly as he can, now. With the waves crashing at the Caissan, both pulling and submerging him under the surface, Graham has no choice but to join in. Whipping his head back to the other man who appears to be a fellow Hero, a quiet request for reinforcement, he begins to undress, discarding the layers of of the Hero uniform given to him. The chill hits him instantly, but he ignores the prickly sensation and the icy touch of both wind and waves as he makes his way to the waters, attempting to chase after the citizen. ]

CLOSED TO TIERIA ERDE —

[ The marketplace is most likely the closest thing to home he's visited. No matter what world (or country for that matter), if one excludes the appearances, the feel is still the same. Same urgency, same needs, and fundamentally, same people.

Graham isn't looking for anything in particular - merely exploring, he's interested in seeing what's the most bizarre item that can be purchased. And similarly, he wonders if this world has ever seen the might of Mobile Suits -- based on the technology thus far, it seems rather unlikely. Still, it makes a man curious if anyone has ever thought of building such a thing. After all, even the concept of mobile suits in his own world had started with a single idea.

And then he got hungry.

Well, the grocery store hadn't been a necessity in his search, but he ends up browse along the aisles. As he turns to leave, he accidentally bumps into you, effectively dropping your groceries. No worries, as a gentleman, he does rush to pick up the milk cartons and place them back in the bag, then handing it back to -- ah? ]

My apologies! I have been lost in my own world all day --! [ Peering at him, now, he rubs his forefinger against his chin thoughtfully. This man looks awfully familiar, and not in the same way as the others. Unlike the others, this one feels more real - it's more of a solid memory instead of a dream. Catching himself staring for too long, Graham holds his hands up.] I do not mean to inconvenience you any further, but do you have a minute?

[ As a man who relies almost entirely on his instincts, his guts is telling him to talk to this person what whatever cost. ]

CLOSED TO REGENE REGETTA —

[ Communal baths - such an ancient practice, it seems. But considering the European influence, he isn't entirely surprised that they would have something like that here. Graham can only vaguely recall any participation - they're buried along with memories of Mr. Bushido, only really allowing himself to go when there wouldn't have been anyone else to bother him. Slightly wiser now, Graham doesn't care about the time of day to go. After a long day of exploring, he had felt exceptionally filthy. More than that, though, he can barely feel his fingers by the end of the day thanks to the chilly weather. Submerging himself in hot water is especially appealing, in this case.

Graham joins the water (less traumatizing than the monkey business incident) in only his under garment, uncertain if there's a rule for or against it. Well, someone would tell him; it doesn't matter to him, but considering it's a unisex bath, he's certain nudity isn't humored by everyone.

Relaxed, he leans against the edge of the pool, which is why he notices you -- who he recognizes as Tieria Erde immediately. ] So we meet again! Fortune favors our alliance, it seems!

closed to guren

THANKS 4 THE LOG also open 2 all

closed to setsuna;

no subject

closed to minato

closed to lord light