...Hello, City. It looks like the governing of this place has now changed hands...

Now that this has happened, I am posting here to ask the City's infrastructure, and anyone who wants to collect and be of use to the City's rebuilding and maintenance, to let me know when you might have spare time to visit Xanadu and have something of a gathering there. I haven't met many of the local police, and Penny's Welcome Center group, and others who are responsible for assisting the local infrastructure. Let me know if you are interested, and I will set this up. We need to coordinate, and on top of that, I would at least like to meet you all.

I don't have much money, and I don't need to eat, so I have nothing to offer a group...if you wish to bring anything, though, we could make a day of it and try to get away from the chaos for a short while.

[Shikieiki is facing the camera in her most stiff stance, magical aura aflare. In person, she is probably 5'4" on a tall day...but now she seems like she might as well be eight feet tall with how powerful and large her aura makes her seem. Her eyes, though, are intense and open, not cold and harsh; they peer into you, whoever you may be.]


I stand for those who will not rush into battle.

I will not escalate this. I will not cry havoc against the Deities or cut down the resistance. I will take no sides. In a battle where neither army is given any information past what is required to stoke them into a rage, I refuse to take the bait.

Justice is blind, but it is not deaf. I would ask that someone, anyone, from either side, agree to some sort of diplomacy here. We need ambassadors, decorum, a process. We do not need these threats and this death.

Please give this one chance before the fabric of the City's society breaks down.


I would extend a request to both the revolutionary leaders and to the Deities to agree to a single day of diplomatic discussion between representatives of either side. This chaotic damming of information and discourse has to stop. This fighting is happening because no words are being exchanged, because neither side is showing regard for the other. Please, try, before all is said and done and the blood has been spilled.

I would also ask for help from whichever individuals are not involved in this upcoming chaos. If we have support, we can be a real voice over the screams of battle. We can form another group; we can stand for reason and action, not presumption and reaction. If you want this to end...do not choose. No one is taking your free will from you. You do not have to choose an army to fight with, and you do not have to shed blood. We are the diplomats and the negotiators, the medics and the caretakers, the cooks and the quartermasters...but also the commanders and the honorable soldiers. We do not rush into bloodshed. We stand for civility and pride in our actions.

I also request that whoever is of similar mind on the police force, to help me in safely defusing conflict that may occur as a result of this unrest. We cannot let the City devolve into chaos. I have decided to make this a public request, so that my intentions may be known, and so that I am hiding nothing.

In my world, we have many traditions to honor and remember the dead. Those who have died are given proper rites and coins for the ferry across the Sanzu River; they are prayed to and worshiped as honored ancestors; they are welcomed with a feast each year, observed by our entire nation.

The City takes from us with no ceremony and no warning, and it doesn't even leave a body or ghost behind. What do citizens do to respect those who have left? They are not dead, but they have been taken away. It is a strange sort of limbo, a death without closure, as if each who vanishes has been dragged into the forest by some youkai, never to be seen again, and all their works and the fruit of their lives are left behind to dwindle and decay.

Does the City find any peace after this? Scattered about like birds flushed from the grass, do citizens simply scatter and take their despair with them? Is there any organized way to provide solace to those who are still here?

...I wonder if some of our customs might be welcomed in this place. The Toro Nagashi, or "floating of the lanterns," comes to mind, where we send lanterns down a river at the end of Obon, to light the way for spirits to return from our world to the other side. It is a quiet practice, beautiful and simple both in its metaphor and its purpose.

City, I implore you to think before you act.

Yes, the deities here have caused a number of problems, and their actions are inexcusable. Were we all in Gensokyo, I would tell you that they too would see their eternal fate sealed someday...but we are not, and I cannot. We are all of equal status here, though some be strong and some be weak, and we must all pull together to support this shambling society. Even so...I am seeing traces of revolution breeding here, as are all of you. I know that this brings many of you hope, and that many will stake their very lives on it. I have seen this all before.

Even as a god, I cannot assure you that all will be well. I cannot tell you that our cruel masters will be punished for their actions. I cannot tell you that your revolution will succeed, or that fate is on your side, or that karma exists, or that good always wins. I cannot give you a storybook ending, and I cannot tell you how to win whatever battle you may be planning. I cannot even say that it will not snow tomorrow, let alone that justice means anything in this place, with the authorities that exist here.

What I can tell you, is that if you have any hope of success whatsoever, you will not rush into this blindly.


Deities, it is your move. The City is restless, and if you continue to turn a blind eye to its needs, you will reap the rewards. Even if you were to cleanse the City and begin again...well, history repeats itself, yes?

City, hold strong to your ideals, and take care that whatever you may be supporting is not worse that the current situation. Take caution, and understand that repeating past patterns is no way to achieve victory in a place where your lives can be snuffed with a snap of unseen fingers.


For now, I will remain outside this conflict. Even so, justice may be blind, but it is not bound: I will take whatever actions will improve and reinforce the City's good standing, moral nature, and capability.

...
...

No. I am not going to do this.

It's a poor idea.


...
...

City, how does one, ah, no, I'm not going to ask this, this is ridiculous.


[She's preparing dialogue here. Clearly whatever this is, is either important enough or awkward enough to warrant her actually practicing whatever it is. She also sounds incredibly distracted, not at all like her usual self. Her mind is elsewhere...badly.]

Fine. I will just ask.

This is humiliating.

[She clicks the video on, showing her sitting on a stone in one of the parks, then stands there in wide-eyed surprise. Her face is a rather delightful shade of pink.]

The device was already on.

.......

City, how does one...ah...

No.No, no, no.

[She cuts the feed. The last thing is her voice...]

I'm not going to ask the City how I would proposition people. This is just absurd.

[ooc: If you like awkward people and/or easy targets and/or just want to make life really amusing...have at. She's so damn affected by this curse and has no idea what to do with it. Or, rather, she knows the theory, and is just really...not used to people. :P  I'd love to corner a character with her if anyone is willing ;)]

[It's ridiculous-o'clock in the morning, something like 3 or 4 AM. Shikieiki is sitting by the fountain, silent, eyes closed, breath stilled in silent meditation. Only the sound of the water behind her and the occasional scuffle of footsteps disturbs the quiet.

In her hand is a slip of paper -- a ticket stub for a movie.

She could easily have been sitting there for hours, who knows, but it still takes a little while for her to make any sort of motion. Still, perfectly controlled, focused, like a statue. Then, ever so slowly, one of her fingers taps on the side of the fountain's concrete rim.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

One second intervals. 60 beats per minute. The same as the ticking of a clock.]

I have earned what I have deserved.

[She lets the ticket stub go, and the wind carries it away. Transient, just like Nobori, just like anyone here.]

I am alone, again.

I need information, City.

My work is all that I am. I was created, and I exist now, solely to serve one purpose, and once that is expired, so too will my life. With that in mind, I am going to apply myself to the greatest extent, to the City and to its problems at hand. I am searching for the answers to the following questions, and will likely have more in the future:

Does the City have a rigid medical on-call system? With instant communication, are there facilities for rushing the injured to hospital facilities?

Insofar as there is a police force, is there a way to draw their attention to crimes? Do they have ways of reaching the crime quickly, or are they slow and on foot?

Are there systems in place to restrain those who have been driven to madness or violence by curses?

Are there capable persons who can assist those who have been damaged mentally by curses and/or other occurrences here?

Who in the City actually knows magic? For the magically powerful, are there counters should they be cursed or turn criminal?

Are there any monitoring systems here, either magical or technological?

Is there a database of City residents, with contact information should they choose to give it?

Do the City deities discourage organization and break up groups?

Are there any combat protocols in the City, for settling disputes physically should the participants desire to, or is that done on  a case-by-case basis?

Are there any public factions that I should know about? Is territory claimed in the City, aside from individual businesses or homes?

Has there ever been a formal legal system in the City? Not a police force, a formal judgmental system.



I will post more as I think of them, but right now, I believe that is enough. A bit scattershot, but I am trying to determine the strength of the City's intelligent infrastructure.

Thank you.

...Well, that was not the most welcoming of experiences. The City's gods cast a net over the good and the evil alike, making immense sacrifice just to catch not only the true criminals, but also the repentant and the innocent. If this is a typical sample of the CIty's behavior, it is no wonder the place is in chaos and is hated by so many.

...My policy is usually one of non-interference. As a Yama, I am not to toy with the lives and actions of mortals. My place is at the end of the road, on the boundary of life and death. (...I sound like Yukari.) Still, here, my position as I knew it does not exist...so I must find something else. Still...I have not enough information about this place to determine my best course of action yet. I need to gather more information, and not just about the cruelty of the gods here.

I will understand what has happened to me, but I will not blindly accept it. I will do whatever I can, to assist the City in the ways that are right.

What I can do...remains to be seen. I only hope I can help to prevent the next catastrophe, or else intercept it.

How broken this City is.


(Filtered to Nobori)

(Her voice is calm, quiet, almost meditative. Not quite distant, but not empathetic, either.)

Nobori-san, did you escape with the rest of them?

[What's that sitting on a now-empty statue plinth near the Fountain? Oh, it's a person...specifically, a woman on the short side, with asymmetric green hair and a snazzy blue and black uniform. The fine fabric and gold embroidered shoulder patches say she's someone of either wealth, importance, or both, as does the elaborate hat with its metallic accents and silky edging.

Her legs are folded neatly and she is slumped over them, kneeling in almost a ball, as if she fell asleep in that position. After a few moments, she awakes. Blinking, she glances around, then fixates on the buildings, craning her head back. Her eyes widen, cold and blue.]

...Ah...

Where...

Where am I?

[She brushes a thin layer of dust off her shoulders. Looks almost like stone dust, as if one of the statues had transformed. A faint smile, nostalgic, crosses her lips for a moment. Glancing down, she seems to notice her City device and picks it up. Stares. Prods at it a bit. It statics.]

Oh, it's some kind of magical communications device...

[That didn't take long to figure out. She's gesturing at it now, calling up something, peering at it with the air of a studious professor. Her voice has a strong and projecting yet calm sound to it.]

There. My sincerest apologies to whoever is on the other end of this communicator, but I appear to be lost, and it was placed beside me. My name is Shikieiki Yamaxanadu, and I am a little bit lost...if someone is there, would you please let me know where I am and how I would get back to Gensokyo proper? If this is inappropriate protocol for your communications system, you have my apologies for my ignorance.



[Feel free to stumble upon her if you wish, or simply respond via device. She's lost and wandering around the center of the City.

Also, please take note of this: http://monochrome-mirror.dreamwidth.org/284.html  if you choose to run into her!)