[Motochika stands on the island, the restless ocean in the distance behind him; he is dressed in the thick, white fur coat Gracia gave him for Christmas, and his oshawott Takumi is tucked inside, head poking out. Snow falls heavily, catching in his hair and his eyelashes. The strong wind howls as it buffets them.]

The weather rages up here on the island, unrestrained... with no sign of relenting on its third day.

[Exhilaration is bright in his eyes; he smirks faintly.]

Severe conditions are a rare occurrence. If you must venture to the surface, do not come unprepared.

[Motochika spares a last look over his shoulder before he heads back in the direction of the elevator -- a conscious inclusion out of consideration for Mitsuhide's peace of mind -- and turning off the feed.]

So, anyone else here play a musical instrument?

Since Christmas is coming, I was thinking that we could get together to put on a small Christmas concert or something. What do you guys think?

[Filtered to Zelos]
Hi, I was talking to Ioder the other day and he told me about the Host Club. I'm kind of interested in working there and he said to contact you about it.

[Private from wavesoakedlegs ; So extremely hackable why did you even bother to lock this anyway hackable.]

[ Looking much happier and much more well-rested than her previous posts, Gracia appears on the SFC and waves cheerfully at the network. She's sitting by the steps of the library, with a glimpse of two tall piles of books in varying sizes to her left and right. ]

Vatheon, I have wonderful news! My father, Akechi Mitsuhide, is going to get married next year! On the first month! Isn't it exciting? I can't believe I spent so long holding in my joy!

[ Cue some squealing and yeah she pretty much shouts to the rest of the city that AKECHI MITSUHIDE IS GETTING MARRIED, MY FATHER IS GETTING MARRIED, etc. etc. For about five minutes. Help yourself to a dizzying view of the cold cemented steps as well. Yeahup.

Anddd she's done. Gracia plops right back down and holds in her giggles for later. ]

I'm going to plan a surprise for his wedding, but I need help! Muu, the library has many books, but only a few on weddings from different worlds and places. And I must hurry, so I won't have too much time to read thick books like this one - [ She holds up a three-inch book entitled "All About Weddings: From Proposing to the Honeymoon Bonanza!" ]

So tell me, Vatheon! How do you celebrate weddings back in your home world? Do you dress up in white? Do you have matchmakers? Oh, one of these books said something about "blind dates!" Is that a special kind of union? Tell me everything!

[ Yeah, she's way too preppy about this one. Sorry guys, she held it in for a long time. xD Sort of exploding now. ]

[Private to Chosokabe Motochika ; Hackable]

Motochika! Please help me as well! You know Father the best! We'll surprise him together, okay? [ Can you say no to that sparkle in her eyes, the glow on her complexion...? ~ <3 ]

[What you see when the feed turns on is an Oshawott holding a rather large black and white guinea pig. The guinea pig is squirming, and squeaks every now and again; it's obviously not very happy about its current predicament. But the Oshawott seems very determined to hold onto the creature, despite the fact that the little otter pokemon is not, in fact, much bigger than his captive.]

[All in all, it's not actually that unusual a sight compared to some things you might see in Vatheon.]

[Mitsuhide himself comes into view moments later, sitting down now he has set the SFC in place. He hums softly before patting the Oshawott on the head.]

Easy, Takumi. I think you may be squeezing the poor thing a little too hard.

[Takumi, who is, of course, the Oshawott, makes a noise that sounds something like a huff, but he does loosen his grip a little. This seems to calm the guinea pig, at least a little; Mitsuhide nods, and then addresses the SFC.]

I take it this is one of the animals that escaped from the petting zoo? Takumi here came running in with it mere moments ago... I have no idea how so small a creature got this far across the city, but-

[At this point the guinea pig manages to break free of Takumi's grip, its previous calmness vanishing in an instant as it bites down on the poor pokemon and then darts away. The Oshawott is not amused, and with a cry darts after it. Mitsuhide sighs deeply, forgetting the network for a moment as he gets up and follows after. One can hear him say, vaguely:]

Good heavens, will you please stop terrifying the poor thing? It can't get out of the kitchen, you know.

[The post is coming from Mitsuhide’s SFC, but it’s not his face that fills the screen. It is instead that of Motochika. Mitsuhide considers himself lucky to have swapped with his lover, really, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been problems.]

[For while Mitsuhide is smiling softly (and it’s an unusual expression to see on Motochika’s face), he looks rather tense.]

This is the second time this curse has afflicted Vatheon, and I have found myself in my Lord’s body yet again. Now, as then, it has been something I simply cannot get used to. Thankfully there are only a few days left…

[He pauses when his fringe, which he had pinned back away from his left eye, falls down again. With a soft sigh he takes a few minutes to get it out of the way again.]

I honestly cannot fathom how he can walk around with his hair like this all the time, it’s rather annoying…

[When it’s done, he tips his head back.]

Anyway, what I wanted to say was-

[Mitsuhide stops talking again when the door opens behind him, and turns around. Into view walks Motochika, inhabiting Mitsuhide's body. His manner of dress alone attests to that: his midnight blue trousers are form-fitting, showing off the legs normally obscured by Mitsuhide's hakama, and his aquamarine hitatare is worn only loosely closed, so that the hollow of Mitsuhide's throat can be seen, as well as a glimpse of Mitsuhide's chest. His nails, too, are painted.]

[It's decently restrained, by Motochika's standards.]

[Motochika takes place beside Mitsuhide. His expression is atypical of Mitsuhide's face – confident and calm, yet with an underlying, unwavering intensity.]

Don't mind me.

[Motochika says to Mitsuhide, faintly amused as he glances at the SFC. Mitsuhide sighs in response; the expression on his face is rather far from pleased. He reaches out to turn off the feed. The last thing one can hear before it turns off with a click is:]

I've forgotten what I was going to say. Did you really have to-


[OOC: Response will come from either, or both. ♥ Italics are Motochika talking, normal text is Mitsuhide!]

... So, I found something in that lab upstairs.

Something that, frankly, might explain quite a few things.

It... Looks like an employee handbook for a "Silas Enegery". The data's fairly corrupted, but some bits I was able to pick up is... Well, to say the least, it's scary.

This entire place is a sort of experiment... And one bad enough that no involved 'employees' are officially involved, if you know what I mean.

Something about an "Alpha Incident"... And the fact that they'll kill employees for so much as being late, if I'm reading this right.

The whole island and city are artificial, but we were already getting that idea. Controlled weather, and barriers controlled by tattoos. Employee tattoos allow for accessing areas locked to us - if we could find one of those, it might let us get to more useful places in time?

Then there's this "Object #325". I think that's the coral... And we're the test subjects, linked to it by the tattoos. Never mind that they're using drugs to induce memory loss and docility in the locals... And comas, for us.

To call this worrisome is... Uh, an understatement. And it convinces me that there's more work to do. The document was incomplete.

[When Mitsuhide turns on the feed, he looks thoughtful. Something has been on his mind for a few days now, and now he wants to mention it. Let it out, so to speak. The samurai twists a lock of his long black hair between the fingers of his free hand as he speaks.]

[This is quite a significant moment for him, though only a few of those who know Mitsuhide are likely to realise why this is.]

The great Darkness that we battled, from which the blessed Goddess Amaterasu saved us... it was not entirely unfamiliar. Before this moment I could not fathom why, but after much thought I realised that something like it, though much lesser in scale and raw power, existed in... in Lord Nobunaga.

[He hesitates for a moment, having found those words difficult. But after a deep breath Mitsuhide smile softly, and continues. There is a determined edge to his voice when he does.]

Perhaps it is best not to dwell overly much on that thought.

Of greater interest, I am sure, is the fact that the blessing I was given in that battle has remained with me, though much weakened. I fear I shall be ineffective with it for quite some time; my attempts at using it have only managed to scorch a patch of floor in my household and ruin a lamp.

if anyone needs me, i'll be in Yutopil Apartments. i think the room number is 301? |



...i'll be living here from now on. so you don't have to go to i hope everyone is having fun with those games i keep hearing about! with the fishes!


|




[OOC: So long story short, Gracia and Mitsuhide finally had that long-time coming ~dreaded confrontation~ regarding Gracia's irresponsible and slightly immature behavior as of late. All about certain issues she needed to understand as an adult, which she handled as a child (and this was done as a fade-to-black, ahaha sorry 'bout that, no threads to show for this. Muns just agreed on it~). Ergo, Mitsuhide asked her to move out of their home, and she's now living in Yuptopil 301 with her dog Futon. Also, that wooden necklace she wears all the time? Mitsuhide took that too 8'D Time to grow up for real, now, ohsnap. Anyways, any interactions with Gracia will be responded with either text or voice, no video for now. That is all, continue on with life my friends ♥]

*the feed cuts on with Ghirahim looking the device over in his hands, clearly amused by the shape. A starfish, how silly. It should be diamond shaped.*

Such an absurd little toy.

*in the attempt of seeing what it does, he cuts the feed. Oops.*