( OPEN )

[swordsitter]

Who: swordhaus + cr
When: throughout april
Where: the three apartments swordhaus uses..
What: april catch-all
Rating/Warning: probably nothing, but i'll edit as necessary.

---

[ sword mafia at home. ]

Comments

Pitch Black || ota ;;?

[isolophobia]

[ As had become his habit, Pitch spent the extra time in the lengthening hours of evening carefully looking over this piece or that of custom-made tailoring.

It was almost funny how exacting he was about everything. But on the other hand it was a useful alternative to ViViD. Still, whenever Haru would call it a night, so would Pitch.
He would neatly fold his work, and put it away, like he'd never been there. Then he'd disappear into Haru's room too. But not into Haru's bed, but rather into his closet.

It was always the same every night. It wasn't always following Haru, sometimes Pitch was already a part of that closet. Sometimes he was nowhere to be found. But it was always on nights when Pitch followed Haru that Haru had bad dreams. ]

[adornmental]

[At some point this particular evening, as Pitch is pouring over his work with a meticulous eye, Kashuu will take a break in his work (similar work, actually - he's not a tailor, but he does sometimes design clothing for his boutique) and stop by whichever area he's working in.]

Hey. [It's not a confrontational tone, exactly, but it's not Kashuu's usual up-beat one either.]

You got time to talk?

[helmsplitter]

[At first, Dotanuki hadn't thought anything about Haru's sleeping habits. He lived in a different apartment and while he knew Haru hadn't been sleeping well, it didn't hit him at first that anyone had anything to do with it. In fact, he had no idea that Pitch had anything to do with Haru at all until he heard somewhere that Pitch was actually living with them. When a cursory search of all the rooms yielded no sign of Pitch in any bedroom, Dotanuki was left with only one option.

Pitch was living in Haru's room.

Which was the one thing he couldn't stand.

It wasn't that Pitch was a threat. He knew by now that even if Pitch wasn't a "nice" guy, he didn't intend Haru any harm (and by proxy, the rest of them because it would upset Haru if he did). It was that Dotanuki couldn't trust the other spirit. Something about him just felt off and it raised his hackles to think that someone he didn't trust was living in such close quarters with their Saniwa.

So it was that one night, before Haru went to bed, Dotanuki made his way into their apartment and sat crosslegged on the floor, staring at Pitch as he worked. He arrived in his armor, sword at his side, and plunked himself down, a few arm's lengths away.]

open!

[pure_havoc]

[When he finally locates the apartment his card-key opens - and gets help figuring how that works, somehow - Cao Pi has no idea just who lives around him. There sure are some weird creatures, but seeing as he just came from a place where cadres of snake demons were a daily visual, he can get past it. But after the first day, he realizes he's seen a number of young men carrying swords passing back and forth in the halls. Now that is way more interesting.

It isn't the swordsmen that get him to leave his apartment and prowl around to meet neighbors, though. Cao Pi is already annoyed with having to live like a commoner, mingling with them isn't a priority. But he can't help but notice that the upstairs folks are pretty active. It's not the most awful noise but it's noticeable in the solemn quiet of his quarters. So after a couple of days here he is, maybe not in armor but still in his coat and finery, striding up the hallway to find which of the apartments must be the culprit. When unsure, he starts knocking on all the doors.]

[yaayaa]

[One of those doors, once knocked on long enough, will eventually open to reveal...a masked young man with a tiny fox by his feet.

It is sadly not the fox that usually talks for him, so rather than saying anything, Nakigitsune's gonna just stand there and stare up at...ah, haven't they passed each other in the halls before? Maybe he's a new sword? How many non-swords live in this building again...]

[adornmental]

[ALL THAT INCESSANT KNOCKING even if this is only like, 1/12th the amount of noise that the swordhaus apartments generate on the daily... But Kashuu, who was trying to take a nap, isn't super thrilled with the sound that just doesn't go away. Normally when you ignore a door long enough, the person gets tired and leaves! Not today, apparently.]

Whaaat? [Actual Child Kashuu Kiyomitsu... But when he realizes that he has no idea who the person knocking is, he'll kind of shape up a tiny bit maybe.]

Are you looking for someone?

open!

[dishevelment]

[It takes several rounds of knocking to rouse Koumei from his uneasy slumber for long enough to shrug on his robe and slip on his slippers to actually go and answer the door. A prince by rank and lineage, as well as military commander and academic, he was unused to having to answer his own door and take his own calls. Typically someone else in the palace took care of such business, allowing him to continue his work with the war effort undisturbed.

Or, if someone really wanted him, they came and got him on their own. There was none of this knocking and polite waiting.

Cracking the door open, Koumei peered out at the tall, regal stranger standing at the door. His hair messy hair, noticeably bound in a high and uneven tail even through the slim opening, did nothing to help his presentation-- although, someone with a practiced eye would notice that the cut and weave of his clothes were startlingly fine for someone so disheveled.]

...Is there something you need? [he asked, no hint of sarcasm or demand in his tone. He merely wanted to cut straight to the point-- two hours of sleep wasn't nearly enough to bolster him for the hassel of being social.]

open & mutsu's fault

[refate]

I.

[ Generally speaking, Kon doesn't tend to go home with strangers. But Mutsu proved himself to be incredibly friendly, like a stray dog that's decided to adopt you instead of the other way around. Except the tsukumogami definitely isn't a stray, considering he'd offered to bring him back to where he and his numerous sword buddies live with a bunch of other people.

And, you know, the historical ramifications of him being Sakamoto Ryouma's sword sort of leads him to not questioning much when it comes to whether he's getting himself into trouble or not. The curiosity and intrigue outweighs literally everything else as he makes his way to the apartments Mutsu told him to go to.

So here he is, poking his head in curiously. And maybe nerding out a little, internally, because the swords of historical figures live here. ]

II.

[ Do swords need to eat? Kon imagines not, but that doesn't change the fact that he figures they still like to eat, considering they're human-shaped and most spirits will eat food if they think it tastes good. Besides, not all of the people here are swords. Probably.

... there are, admittedly, a lot of people, so who knows.

But he disappears for a little while before he comes back to the apartment that seems to be the base of all activity, plied with ingredients for a very easily customized stir fry. It's something that can feed a lot of people, and since there's so many of them, hey, it seems like a great way to show gratitude for the hospitality that's been extended to him.

Still, he's at least going to stop someone on the way to his work, asking: ] Hey, you mind if I borrow the kitchen?

ii! bless the food-bringer

[adornmental]

Huh?

[It's a new face asking that question, but Kashuu is pretty used to new faces coming and going here by now. Haru tends to adopt everyone who wanders within a ten mile radius of the apartments and he's passed that trait on to several swords, so their living quarters are always abuzz with activity (and slowly spreading out like the blob monster to take over the entire floor...)

Besides, this guy has food?? Who would turn down a free meal! He eyes the ingredients for a second, curious, but then nods and gestures toward the kitchen.]

Sure, sure! Just lemme clean up a little.

[There are probably mugs and bowls all over the counter...]

i

[yaayaa]

[Poking his head into one of the rooms, Kon might notice a face peeking at him over the back of the couch...or two faces, really - a boy and his fox--ah wait no the cybuddy fox is popping up too, now it's three. We have a new visitor! They're all curious.

Curiosity doesn't stop Naki from continuing to chew on his pocky while he stares, but at least his non-robotic fox is polite enough to speak up.]

Ah, are you a new comrade? Welcome to our home!

ii

[heiwana]

[ Swords do not need to eat but that doesn't mean they don't like to?! Kousetsu has enjoyed all the foods he's sampled thus far in this strange and he's not all that unfamiliar with cooking now because of it.

Still when he sees a new face in the apartment he can't help but inquire. ]

...that is fine. [ Though he doesn't move for a moment before he goes to put away the myriad of cereal boxes left on the counter. ]

Are you in need of...assistance?

i!!

[swordsitter]

[ haru usually lives in the central apartment, but he's between the other two off-and-on most days for purposes of chores. that's why, when kon pokes his head in the apartment, there's a small figure with a laundry basket on his hip heading toward the door.

haru pauses, blinking up at the stranger, before simply stepping back to let him in the door. ]

Oh. Are you new? [ haru, don't just accept random strangers into your home.. ]

i;

[spes_phthisica]

[Of all the things you want to happen when you're investigating your new home, being tackled by a belligerent pig - even one that doesn't even reach up to your knees - probably isn't what you're hoping for. But this is nonetheless what poor Kon has to put up with, having his ankles savagely headbutted repeatedly before a mildly alarmed voice exclaims:]

Saizou, that's enough! Is that any way to treat guests?

[The pig backs off, still glaring suspiciously up at Kon, and Souji quickly hurries forward to scoop him up. He's notably way too pale and thin still, even after having spent time recovering a bit at the hospital, but he smiles brightly at the newcomer even so.]

I'm so sorry. He's a pretty spoiled pig. Did Haru-kun invite you here, or?

hello roomie; i

[helmsplitter]

[Dotanuki is adjusting to the fact that when people begin arriving in the colony, they begin arriving at the apartments. It's fairly normal by this point, even back home it was pretty normal. Whenever people went out on sorties or whenever Haru was smithing, there was a high chance that a new sword would come home with them. More often than not it was resources that tired swords brought back with them, but in the colony, resources were scarce and people were in a particular abundance.

So when Dotanuki wanders out of his room, dressed in his grey sports jersey rather than his armor, he spies someone looking in and stops. New person is either looking for an apartment to live in, or they were looking for this specific place.]

Hey.

[That may have come out more strongly than he meant. More like a guard dog noticing someone who doesn't belong than someone who just saw someone show up.]

What'dyou need?

Open-- and also Mutsu's fault

[dishevelment]

I

[It was hard to turn down an offer from Mutsu-- especially when Koumei found himself reminded of the vibrant personality and legacy of his late cousin Ren Hakuren every time the young man flashed him that warm and boyish smile. The offer was doubly hard to turn down when it involved sharing quarters with Mutsu's friends and countrymen. A shared culture, even if only superficially similar, was something to be prized in this strange city of Tellus and it's 'modern' sensibilities.

What Koumei hadn't expected was that there would be so many of them. If Koumei closed his eyes, it was almost like being in one of Kou's colonial territories...

He would need to thank them, somehow.

Thus it was that he lingered near the door of their quarters, a voluminous basket of fresh fruit in his arms. Although Mutsu had assured him that his presence was not a problem, it didn't feel right entering without invitation.]

II

[3am. He couldn't sleep-- and not for lack of wanting.

After hours lying in the dark, thinking about that battle and trying in vain to contain his worries for his family, Koumei had finally had enough of the images that haunted him every time he closed his eyes. All he could think of was his brother Kouha, with his dapper hat and his cute little braids, lying bloodied on the ground. His sister Kougyoku was beside him, Metal Vessel clenched tightly in her hands as she struggled to bring forth the Magoi necessary to summon Vinea's presence in her body.

It wasn't reality; It was pessimism, and emotion clouding his sense of rationality.

Padding out into the kitchen in his slippers, Koumei sought a distraction. A cup of hot tea-- or maybe that remedy from Balbadd, with the warmed milk that had turned golden with the addition of turmeric-- might suffice...

Except, nothing in the kitchen made sense.

Several moments later an electrostatic pop could be heard, followed by an explosive crash as a ceramic-lined metal cup ruined the communal microwave.

Scalding milk soaked the counter. The golden dust of turmeric had blasted in the air and Koumei, choking on the spice, was hiding behind his feathered fan on the far side of the room.

He had just come out for a cup of warm milk, and he was honestly feeling so attacked right now.]

ii! goodbye microwave 2...

[adornmental]

[Kashuu is, contrary to what many people think, a very light sleeper most nights. It usually takes less than a knock on his door to wake him up (though whether he'll actually indulge whoever's trying and get up is another matter entirely), so the loud bang from the kitchen is definitely enough to wake him even though it's the next apartment over. WHAT 3AM SHENANIGANS ARE GOING ON--

Rushin on over to knock on the door... He sure isn't being quiet about it either, just in case there's some weird break-in or fight going on over there. No wonder they're getting sound complaints, honestly.]

Hey! Open up!

I

[heiwana]

[ And low and behold Kousetsu is one sword that happens upon him standing near the door. He will look at the basket and then at Koumei with a slight tilt of his head. ]

Do you wish to...come inside?

[ Don't mind the soft, barely above whispering, voice of the gentleman with bluish green hair. He totally lives here. ]

Are you a friend of Haru-san's?

i

[yaayaa]

[Whenever he finally comes in, Koumei might catch sight of a small fox running out of one of the rooms, with what appears to be a very tiny (sheathed) katana clutched in its mouth.

This fox is followed shortly afterward by another small fox! Only this one is apparently talking.]

Get back here!!

[The swordfox may eventually run over in Koumei's direction, circling around his legs in a way that'd probably induce tripping if he's not careful, before going to hide behind him...]

open........

[helmets]

[ it's funny how celty lives next to vietnam and never actually visited swordhaus before. well, technically she's dropped things off at their door but she's never actually been inside.

so she figures she'll change that today. she's baked a lot of things in the past few days that she can't eat, so why let it go to waste? the castella seemed to be a hit with mutsu the other day, so she brings more of them this time, as well as some others.

everything is in one large container that she quietly places on the kitchen counter. maybe you'll run into her when she's cutting up the cakes or distributing the cookies onto some plates. either way, she'll hand you a slice or a few cookies if you ask nice, or if you just look cute. also, don't be alarmed when she breaks out her device to talk. ]

Hello, would you like to try some?

[adornmental]

[Kashuu isn't a huge sweets fan, all things considered, but there's just something about fresh and free desserts that always seems appetizing... Especially when they're cute! #aesthetics and all that. He ends up poking around on the outskirts of the kitchen somewhat curiously for a little while, only stepping forward when she holds out her CereVice because he needs to come closer to read it.]

Oh— [Well, if she's gonna offer-!] S'that okay? I can just take a little piece!

[Something from the end of a loaf, maybe! He'll take whatever she decides to pass over though, since everything looks good.]

ota!!!! i said i would destroy the washing machine and its time, come my victims

[yasusada]

[ Who lets Yamato live IN this house? Honestly, all he does is cause trouble but that's because he's still learning technology. It was all much better when back in the day all they had to do was wash their own clothes but now.. there's something weird about whatever this thing is in front of him. For some reason, it has water inside and seems to be doing no wrong but that's until Yamato guesses that the boxes of baking soda, containers of bleach and clorox and some weird sheets of paper that smells good should go all into it.

He is learning? Be proud of him.

So as he's experimenting with what's going on, he decides to turn the machine on high and forgetting to put the clothes inside. Well, he doesn't know where the clothes go. Does the machine open up once he can clean the clothes inside or.. what is the lore? Ok well, he doesn't know. A shrug of his shoulders as his small little troop decides to come from the corner, keeping an eye on Yamato because he is a terror when not supervised. Seeing nothing wrong, the small being decides to walk down the halls with it's chest up and guarding the area. So, as Yamato closes the door to the room where the washing machine is, this whole technology phase unknown to him, he sees someone walking by and wonders if they'd be of any help.

Waving his hand and pointing towards the door. ]

Excuse me, do you know how this— [ As he opens the door to the washing machine DOES A WAVE OF BUBBLES JUST COME ROLLING OUT OF THE DOOR. Covering the person Yamato was talking to in the suds and lost in the soapy white that seems to keep going out and invading more of the floor than just the companion. ]

Oh. Is that how it cleans clothes? I wonder are you clean now, I did it. I defeated the washing.. That. So, are your clothes clean? [ Yes.. he's talking to you in the suds. ]

[ Help. ]

[swordsitter]

[ this is fine.

haru stares blankly at the soap bubbles pouring out of the door, then glances to yamato. ... this is your life, kure haru, and these are your choices. regret them and despair.

then he just wades into the fray, heading to the washing machine to turn it off.

ugh. ]

open! later in the month

[yourotherleft]

[Zoro's just here to say hey, don't mind him. He's working for Tenka now, and knows the guy knows all the swords too, which reminds him that he needs to stop in and visit once in a while.

But really, he does have nefarious purposes.

For one, if Haru has two seconds to sit down and rest, Zoro will make sure he does. He has no idea of the chaos the spirits regularly get into, broken appliances, so on and so forth, but he knows exhaustion when he sees it broadcast on the network.

Barring that, he made an offer to Haru and thus needs to have a chat with some of the swords he knows the best. Away from the dojo, no less, so everybody is safe from him wanting to spar. He's looking for Mutsu and Kashuu especially, but he's met so many more through the dojo that he'll stop to chat with anyone.]

[adornmental]

[At some point during Zoro's visit, Kashuu will finally mosey by! He's got his CereVice in one hand, but he's not doing anything important (except browsing through CERES' version of instagram is totally important) so he'll definitely stop to greet this familiar punk with a grin.]

—Oh, hey! It's been a while, huh?

[Since he's seen Zoro in the apartment proper, that is! He's not counting the dojo...]

OPEN both pre and post the Soojpocalypse

[spes_phthisica]

i; before the latest arrivals

[You know that feeling when you're really ill and you go to the doctor and they prescribe you antibiotics and you take them and suddenly you just feel great. Like wow, compared to how you were feeling before, this is just so much better, and it's such a high to be able to do things other than slowly perish in your own sweat under a blanket.

That is more or less what Souji has been experiencing after having gone from almost dying of fever in the jungle to getting treated at the hospital. The contrast was so sharp, he felt practically healthy there for a while, and he'd been able to actually do things like help out at the dojo and even go to work a bit at the tea house. The freedom of it, after the misery of doing nothing back home, is quite hard to comprehend.

And of course, he doesn't want to lose these privileges now that he's gotten them. Which is why, when he does feel a coughing fit coming on, he presses a sofa cushion to his face in a desperate attempt to muffle it. It's not the most stellar plan, and it also leaves a pretty big blood stain on the cushion, which he gazes down at apprehensively once the spasming has stopped, thinking no one saw that and no one is there to witness his shame.]

Ah, I should... put this in the laundry, maybe. [Which is why he's talking to himself about his cover up plans.]

ii; after the latest arrivals

[The thing is, it's disconcerting.

As flippant as he tries to act about it, the existence of not one but two other versions of himself in Cerealia gets to him - just like the presence of the other Hijikata really gets to him, but he was trying not to let it show.

It's like getting teasing snatches of home but they're all subtly wrong, and they only serve even more to make him long for something... well, real. Or maybe not real, because those other iterations of the Shinsengumi are just as real, aren't they? They're just not real to him, not the way his comrades at home are.

The point is, it's confusing. And upsetting. And honestly, Souji just tries not to think about things like that most of the time, but he doesn't have the same things to focus on here that will keep his mind off it. It's kind of like a terrible feedback loop of not knowing what to do, and possibly that is why Souji gets the bright idea of trying to temporarily solve it with alcohol.

That's what plenty of other people do, right?

Except he only gets through about half a glass of strong liquor before he more or less gags on it and starts coughing, and has to set the rest down rather urgently.]

Gross. [He's honestly feeling so attacked right now, staring down at the other half of the glass - which he'll optimistically call half empty - and then at the bottle.] I'm not sure I know how to get drunk at all.

ii!!

[adornmental]

[It's not that Kashuu's been avoiding Souji lately - not really. He's just been very selective about the company he keeps, spending a little less time around the apartments and a little more time around the people who don't live here.

(So it's essentially avoiding, when it comes to people as clingy as both of them.)

But this is kind of hard to ignore, SO HE DOESN'T. He's on his way through the room, possibly on his way out again considering he's heading for his jacket, but he pauses to give Souji a mildly disconcerted (and possibly judgmental) look.]

If you don't like it, you should mix it with something else. [That's what people do, right??]

[newtimes]

( Being a spirit, he doesn't need to eat but he sure loves it. And it's no secret that one of Mutsu's favorite snacks is castella. Sweet, light, and spongy, it brings back memories of a bright time, traveling across Japan by his master's side to the ports of Nagasaki. Back then, he'd only been able to hear about it but with this life he's been granted, he's able to experience it too. Hundreds of dishes and snacks later and it's still his one of his favorites...

And while it's true that he enjoys eating and the taste is certainly one of the reasons why, the joy that comes from sharing food with others is just as fulfilling which is why he doesn't think twice when he beckons you to come over into the kitchen-- )

Hey, hey, come here!( And shoves a small plate into your hands, ) C'mon have some.

( And he motions over towards several slices of different flavored castella. Who knew there could be so many flavors? Mutsu has only ever brought the one original flavor and here we are with matcha, chocolate, and marble green tea too... )

[horsepoop]

[Well! Like Namazuo's going to say no to being ushered into the kitchen! Either he's getting a snack or he's getting roped into cleaning up yet another explosion... please don't be another explosion.

Luck is with them today, though! Namazuo's only a little surprised by Mutsu's sudden generosity--it's not like his love of castella is a secret.]

Thank you! This is unexpected. [In a good way! Namazuo's also never seen the other flavors of castella, so he leans over, peering at them curiously.] Did you make these yourself?

LORD.......... ota

[swordsitter]

[ over the course of the past week or so, haru has begun looking worse and worse. he's not the only one in the swordhaus apartments with similar symptoms, much to his alarm, but it's noticeable in haru because it's actually obviously, visibly affecting his ability to get anything done.

at this point, he's curled in a tiny ball on the couch. he hasn't bothered to change out of his oversized pajamas yet, and he's wrapped in a blanket, looking distinctly ill and miserable. there's a cup of tea in front of him, but nothing to eat-- he hasn't even been able to make meals for anyone today. he's actually kind of nauseous.

.. ugh, this sucks. ]

ugh haru why are you so pure

[gravesite]

[ unlike haru, tsurumaru has been feeling perfectly fine this past week! he doesn't understand why so many others are suffering! but with that being said, it's not as if he hasn't noticed what's been going on — slowly, more and more of their swordhaus residents had started looking, well... a lot like the way haru is looking now: curled up, pale, and miserable. so he crouches down next to the couch, peering at him with curiosity, rather than concern.

it's not that he isn't concerned, maybe... probably... anyway, even though haru isn't a sword, swords can't catch diseases, right? ]

Haru, what's wrong? Where's dinner? [ look at his A+ priorities... ]

For Mutsu and feverish funtimes...

[spes_phthisica]

[The worst part of fevers is the way time sometimes seems to drag endlessly, and sometimes it passes in great big chunks without any sense of change or movement in between. You close your eyes, and when you open them again you have lost three hours with no recollection of how that even happened.

That's the state Souji is in now. Time drags and skips and stutters and slips, and the world around him seems unreal and fluid, too bright and strangely muffled at once. At one point, he decides that he needs to get out of his room and go get some fresh, cold water, so he drags himself up and totters in the direction of the kitchen. Then there is one of those moments he can't remember, and a moment later he's sinking to the floor next to the sofa, head spinning unpleasantly as he fights his useless lungs for air. His legs feel like they're made of water, so maybe he just ought to... stay there for a while.]

no

[newtimes]

( Like many of the others in the apartment, Mutsu has also found himself feeling under the weather, though, compared to some of the others, he’s not nearly as bad. He’s somewhere between less sick than the holy swords and the guy dealing with tuberculosis on top of Cerealia shenanigans but more sick than a certain peanut sword. Still, he isn’t the type to get beaten down so easily so he’s managed to hold out well on his own! He can still help out! He’s still useful!

For the most part, however, when it comes to said guy dealing with tuberculosis, Mutsu has tried to stay the same, that is, keeping his distance as much as possible. It’s no secret that Mutsu likes this particular Souji more than certain other Shinsengumi members in the colony but still, he isn’t going to go off making friends with any of them so easily. That goes for their swords too, if he’s honest.

But today, he finds himself alone with Souji and he’s tried his best. Right now, he can pretend he’s too exhausted or sick to help but… Souji’s pretty sick right now, isn’t he? I mean, he was sick already and now he seems to have caught whatever is going around too…

He’s a distant spirit when it comes to the Shinsengumi but he isn’t uncaring or heartless. He starts off hovering from his safe distance, poking his head around doorways just to make sure Souji isn’t keeling over onto the floor. And gradually, he begins to step closer… like a wary stray, trying to work up the nerve to get closer…

It takes a while but eventually, after some time, Mutsu finally appears, kneeling by Souji’s side with a single cup of hot tea. Setting it down, he slides it over carefully and quickly pulls back his hand, setting it in his lap and watches Souji with scrunched shoulders and furrowed brow.

He’s not doing this because he cares!!! He’s just worried??? In a general sense! )

… Do ya… need anything…?

( A blanket? Medicine? An adult...? )