( 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.

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[ sword mafia at home. ]

Comments

[adornmental]

[POINTS over his shoulder and into the apartment!! Other swords are milling around, most likely, but considering they all look human that probably wasn't the best non-verbal explanation.]

Those guys! Not me. I walk quietly, y'know? You have to know how to do that in heels.

[NOT UNTRUE.]

[pure_havoc]

[Kashuu let him introduce you to Zhang He and his heels someday]

I see people, not swords. Though I've noticed a fair number of people carrying swords in the last day or two. Are all of you swordsmen?

[adornmental]

[Heels Anonymous, honestly.]

Kiiinda. [He's well used to the whole having-to-explain-we're-swords thing by now, at least, and he's quick to do just that.] We are swords! We just look like people 'cause Haruji gave us human forms, see? That's why some of us are still super clumsy!

[This said at a louder volume than the rest of the sentence JUST SO EVERYONE KNOWS HE'S TALKING ABOUT THEM.]

[pure_havoc]

[hopefully he's used to doubt, too, because Cao Pi isn't quick to accept such an explanation. His eyes narrow in suspicion.]

You are a sword. [like, pull the other one]

That is not possible.

[adornmental]

[HE SURE IS... Though he hasn't figured out a foolproof way of proving it yet.]

You don't have spirits in your world? Nothing like tsukumogami?

[pure_havoc]

[THAT...is a very complicated question, actually. In his own world? Cao Pi was always known as a skeptic, a man who did not tolerate superstitions and dismissed the mere suggestion that gods and immortals existed. But he's just come from several years of battling actual demons and rubbing shoulders with his own creator gods...

How to explain without spilling his guts? Because he's not about to do that. The conflicted look on his face says as much.]

Ordinarily, I would say no, but...perhaps I should not be so hasty.

That word. It sounds like it comes from the language spoken in Wa...

[adornmental]

[Kashuu waits patiently while he considers what to say, at least, and the interim gives him time to cool his jets.]

There are spirits in a lot of places, even when people can't see 'em, y'know? [He would know!! He spent his entire first life being invisible to like 99% of the population... That said:]

It's Japanese. I guess there's like, no real Cerealian equivalent for it so it comes out sounding like it does in my regular language.

[pure_havoc]

[aha! confirmation]

So you hail from the same land as some people I know.

[he'll debate the spirit part with himself privately, he might not truly believe it for a while]

[adornmental]

[That sparks a little curiosity, though not a huge amount. CERES seems to favor dragging in people from, near, around or with vague connections to Japan...]

S'that not where you come from, though? Where are you from? Oh— [Right, right-- it's probably rude to hold an entire conversation half in the hall, so he steps to the side and gestures with his thumb over his shoulder.]

You can come in, if you want. If it's not too noisy for you. [That's definitely a little teasing remark...]

[pure_havoc]

[he inclines his head in a grateful little nod, not even remotely close to a bow. Time to show how much more refined he is than these crazy swords]

Thank you. I would prefer it, if we are to talk.

[totally keeping his ice-queen face on, though, not showing any disdain for whatever state the apartment might be in]

Since you asked, I happen to be the Lord of Wei, in the northern Han. Some call it Chin, after our first dynasty.

[adornmental]

[It's probably in pretty good shape, miraculously! They have a good counterbalance going on here between the swords who make A Mess and the swords who clean up after the messy ones.]

Sure, sure - you can sit anywhere you want, 'kay? [And there's definitely plenty of seating... Chairs, sofas, beanbags; they're all up for grabs!

That said, it takes a second for Kashuu to place that name since his sphere of worldly knowledge is very, very small even when it comes to Japan's immediate neighbors, but-- well. Who hasn't heard of Zihuan?]

Woah— seriously? [THIS IS A FIRST. For some reason, CERES seems to like Japanese historical figures to the point of bias... EITHER WAY, he looks suitably impressed.]

[pure_havoc]

[Intrigued as he is by the squishy beanbag, he takes a seat in a plain old chair. Kashuu's reaction definitely brings out his smirk.]

I take it you've heard of it? My name is Cao Pi, known to the Emperor as king of Wei.

[adornmental]

[Kashuu will sit in the chair opposite! Though the squishy beanbag is always a temptation...

Nodding at that, either way.] Mmhm! That's a big name. I mean, I'm not super into history or anything, but even I know it, see?

[pure_havoc]

[maybe preening just a little...]

Then by what name do I address you?

[adornmental]

Kashuu! Kashuu Kiyomitsu.

[Which he doesn't expect this guy to know considering he's 1) Chinese and 2) old as balls. He smiles anyway, though!]

About twenty of my comrades live here too, if you end up sticking around or popping in more. [Just as a fair warning...]

[pure_havoc]

[he did get the warning from the little fox but still, holy shit man. Twenty? No wonder he can hear people moving around so much.]

That is...considerable. A veritable army unto itself. And you are all from Wa, I take it?

I know some things, about that land. My head strategist, Ishida Mitsunari, has given me a thorough education.

[adornmental]

[It's a right parade of maniacs going on here... TWENTY MANIACS with their loud elephant feet.]

That's 'cause we are one! We're the Sword Army. [Again with the swords... He'll also pause for a second before nodding. Now that he knows this guy is Ye Olde, he can recognize that as the Ye Olde version of his country's name.

But wait a second-- SOMETHING HERE ISN'T ADDING UP.] —Eh? Ishida Mitsunari? [What's a tactful way of saying "wasn't that dude alive like 2000 years after you"??]

[pure_havoc]

Ah... [oh right that sort of slipped out, there. It's become such habit to refer to Ishida as his head strategist, given all that they've been through.] ...I suppose that requires some explanation. But it is a very long story.

[adornmental]

[IS THIS TIME-TRAVEL BULLSHIT AGAIN. Why are there so many other time travellers out there and why are they messing with history! Where did Ishida Mitsunari even come from...! Ishida you're in the wrong country.]

That's fine. I mean, I don't have anywhere to go. I dunno about you, though.

[pure_havoc]

[he shakes his head and then decides to just come out with it. After all, it can't be any weirder than spirits of swords, right?]

Prior to finding myself in this place, I was not in my own homeland. I had been taken, along with many others, to a realm created by the demon Orochi. He intended to conquer us all, though for what reason no one can really say. As such, I found myself fighting alongside - and against - warlords from the islands. It has been a long and strange campaign, but my people are all still trapped there.

[adornmental]

[THAT... That is definitely a little weirder than Kashuu bargained for, and he looks more perplexed than understanding.]

So... you got kidnapped by the Orochi- [WHAT] -and you guys had to try fighting your way back? Or to defeat him...? Or both?

[pure_havoc]

Yes. [I mean really] We thought defeating him would send us back, but it hasn't. Twice, already, and still nothing. There is an enormous beast plaguing the land, now, likely connected to him, and all we can do is fight. We don't know if we will ever be sent to our rightful homes.

[his explanation is dry and patient, no sign of how he feels about it at all]

[adornmental]

[This is something else... Sure, he's a time traveler too, but at least he knows where he's going and that he'll be back once the fighting is done. The idea of being stranded in the wrong time (and possibly the wrong country??) is definitely upsetting just to think about...]

Geez... That sounds totally crazy. [But he says it without any disbelief, so clearly he means that in the "you poor guys, being stuck in that weirdass situation" sense of the word and not the "I don't believe you, crazy man" sense.]

And then you got like, double-kidnapped when you were dragged into this place, huh?

[pure_havoc]

More or less. [again, his calm exterior hiding his concern over being the only one to have somehow escaped Orochi's realm] It makes me curious, how this CERES can do what the gods themselves could not.

[adornmental]

I have nooo idea. I mean, there's that whole cover story they give- [About worlds being destroyed and all of them being rescued and whatnot.] -but it's probably a lie.