[mingle] world three: claws & fangs.

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world three:
claws & fangs.

With the Space at your back, your next step lands on the soil of a winding footpath. It seems you just missed a sunshower: light shines through the raindrops clinging to the lush canopy overhead, dappling the ground and your fellow travelers in midday sun. Trees are in full flourish everywhere you look, filling the air with the light fragrance of fruit and flowers. Fresh breezes contrast with the warming spring air, and birdcalls overlap softly with a burbling, full stream. In the distance, the sound of wooden wheels shake down a packed dirt road. If you peek through the vegetation, you may be able to make out ornate carriages drawn by oxen or horse. Smaller wooden rickshaws weave through the traffic, and if you're lucky, you may spot one of the rare cars (not a seatbelt in sight!) puttering its way through.

As Original Individuals take inventory of the world around them, they'll realize that there's a letter in their pocket...?

Or Are You Just Happy to See Me? (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵)

(*´ω｀)o Here we go again! This might be a refresher for some of you buuuuut!

If you want any chance of going home again, to your family, friends, loyal dog or whatever, you're all gonna have to try to put yourselves back together! The easiest way to do that is to regain the pieces of yourself that you've lost - and those pieces are gonna be more likely drawn to your soul the more you feel.

That's right! Feelings! You lone wolf types are probably shaking! (ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ )

The same is true for all your sweet ol' friends who have tapped into the alternate version of themselves here. (」゜ロ゜)」 They have to experience meaningful moments in order to regain pieces of themselves too! So laugh! Cry! Question your meaning for living! Don't lose sight of the goal which is to just like, experience stuff really. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ All you've got is each other!

Don't get too downtrodden if they don't recognize you right away though - your bonds will never be broken, true friends are never that far apart, kyahhh. o(*≧□≦)o .... aka they're more likely to want to talk to you than you think.

And besides, you'll only all be able to make it home if you all collectively regain enough pieces of yourselves. ヾ(o✪‿✪o)ｼ

Yayyyyyyy. (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ Teamwork. Make use of Home Base to touch base with each other if you can!

(*･▽･*) A. Ny. Who.

Welcome to Kōun, the Blessed Country. Look out overhead. （・□・；）

Original Characters will then find themselves with a semi-brief summary of what their Remixed life would have been - and this time around it includes a helpful sentence blurb for each of their relationships to others, as well as the climate of the town around them, recent politics included. For those of you who haven't crafted possible Remixed lives, you'll only get:

( ⚆ _ ⚆ ) Um… Backstory not found?

Just do yourself a favor and don't wander onto the wrong side of town. Kind of a big deal around here. Whoa! Deja vu!

The tiny country of Kōun, so named for its lucky and prosperous lands, sprawls out before you. A few steps in and the path splits off, leading in two directions. One branch goes toward the oceanside town of Umite, while the other heads up to the mountainous town of Yamate.

Umite offers a vivacious scene. The weather here is warmer with very little cloud coverage most days, but the sun is tempered by a constant, cooling breeze. The ports are noisy and hopping with business. Bars and restaurants are always full, and parties and gatherings often spill out onto the streets. Here, humans and demons thrive together with minimal conflict. You're just as likely to run into demon employees and patrons as you are human ones in any given establishment. Houses and businesses are often only one or two floors tall and closely packed together, made primarily of bamboo and sturdy woods. Many locals take to decorating their places with wind chimes, colorful fortune kites, and banners. Modern amenities like electricity and plumbing are also common.

Head out to the white sand beaches and you'll find a large and popular bonfire area used for picnics, sunset drinks and fireworks after dark. Up the boardwalk is a small aquatic history museum for those who need a break from the liveliness of the town. It offers intriguing displays of fossils and preserved specimen of ancient, long-gone creatures. Clusters of boating merchants gather around docks and ports, waving and giving a jovial holler to people who pass by. They sell everything from deliciously fresh fruits and fish to hand-crafted pots to exquisite jewelry from their floating shops. From sunrise to well after sunset, Umite is alive and bustling. But surely there's more to these towns than meets the eye.

Yamate provides a stark contrast. With the forest's canopy so thick in the mountains, the sun offers less heat the deeper you travel. The light here is thin and the temperature is on the cooler side year-round. There's a tendency for fog and mist to gather around its peaks. Locals to this area have not had as much exposure to cultural blends as Umite, so tension between humans and demons is more palpable here, and people seem a little more likely to keep to themselves in general. The businesses and homes of Yamate are much more spread out and spacious, with the building materials of choice being white marble and stone. Residents seem to favor pristine appearances and clean aesthetics, along with open-air designs and high ceilings. It's quite common to find a shop or home with glass-less windows and patios that open directly into the surrounding forests.

One of the biggest draws of Yamate is an enormous meditation chamber. It offers patrons the chance to calm their minds in times of stress, clean their energy, and center their spirits. Another popular destination is the acoustics hall located between the two oldest trees in the forest. It's a perfect place for any musically-inclined folks to practice their instruments or de-rust their pipes, as it offers perfect resonance. Further up in the mountains, an expansive bonsai garden is open to the public. In addition to rare species of trees and a legendary sakura that blooms off-season, there are many unique sculptures donated by a local famed volcanic glass artist before their passing. You may also hear some stray rumors about cursed castle ruins. Hidden high on a forgotten mountain peak, this castle supposedly devours anyone foolish enough to enter its walls, with a preference for newborns... but it's probably nothing to worry about. Unless you want to take a peek inside?

Connecting both sides of the country from the mountain peaks to the ocean are a network of rivers that vary in size. Some are barely large enough to be considered rivers, while others have fast-moving currents and are tens of feet deep. Buildings along the waterfronts here are often raised on stone walls or stilts in the event that the rivers swell, which they often do during the rainy seasons. Networks of much smaller streams branch off between rivers, cutting paths through the forests and towns. At the halfway point between Yamate and Umite, one river leads to a gorgeous, mid-sized waterfall. Rumor has it that this waterfall has magical properties.

On each side, there is a small post office that you can drop letters and parcels off at for delivery. Strangely, the sole deliveryman and two overseers of the offices seem to bear an uncanny resemblance to each other... You can also find one single ancient computer nestled in each town's respective library. Despite the fact that there are only two in the whole country, they don't seem to be very popular just yet. Maybe that has to do with the fact that you can only use them to play Pong. Every now and then, they may also serenade you with The Dial-up Screech™. Enjoy!

Beyond that, regardless of where you travel and what you get up to, both sides of Kōun seem to be bustling with a little extra energy lately. There's plenty of buzz about the upcoming Demon Market Grand Opening from stall owners and prospective customers alike, and some people may pull you over to poll you on what you want to see out of it. More food stalls? Less unruly foot traffic? The world is your oyster! The Night of Demons Parade that will happen several weeks after it also seems to be generating a lot of excitement.

You might also catch wind of a meteor shower set to light up the sky at night - but you know what they say about curiosity and cats, don't you? Anyone outside when this shower hits may find that it's much larger than anticipated, with several flashes and flares of light rocketing straight toward the ground. Though no one is killed and mass destruction doesn't seem to be the goal, one thing is clear... This tiny country is in for some big changes. The gods presiding over it have decided to test its dedication to peace and coexistence, and with this, they offer the start of their challenge: Humans (OU and AU alike) who are too close to these falling meteorites may find themselves transforming into demons. Some change all at once, while others transform slowly over time. That same night, three demons among you will develop unusual physiological differences and abilities, chosen by the gods to become Maou.

That evening, everyone will share the same dream. A swirling darkness that will begin to encroach on their most beloved places - where they might have grown up or shared in vulnerable moments with friends. A shadow that begins to envelop their loved ones until they're disappeared into dust - or an image of their corpse flashes before their eyes, withered and rotten. When they wake up, even though they might not knowhow to fix their problem, they'll know that they are meant to search for the Maou. Any additional answers might take a bit of investigating.

With the stage set, it's time to see if Kōun can live up to its name.

---

Welcome to your world hop - World Three: Claws and Fangs! Please utilize this post, as well as the AU Plotting Post for all your reference needs. Questions are also welcomed to be sent to Dana (and Aki and Francy) at any time via the Discord!

Comments

[alitaba]

[ she'll slink out right behind him, once she's Absolutely Sure the coast is clear. at least the immediate vicinity looks okay. ]

You've got it! I'll be nice and loud if I find anything.

[ she's fully expecting to find something terrible, haha! but she's a brave fox and she's gonna go look! and not cry! Yeah!! ]

[stressweets]

[ .....let him kneel down and pet her again, such a brave fox. ]

Thank you very much. I'd be terrified if you weren't with me.

[ only somewhat true - it's easier for him to be brave if there's someone he has to be brave for, and with that he'll be off!! TO CHECK ON THE WEST... he's also fully expecting to find something terrible, but he's hoping his bad luck didn't attract anything. ]

[alitaba]

[ he gets a head rub into his hand and whatever purr-esque noise fox makes. best partner ]

I'm glad you're here too.

[ with that, Futaba strikes off on her own, slinking through the woods and foliage. so far so good, nothing but damage and hot rocks and the occasional spot of fire. she calls loudly in her fox form, searching for any replies but it seems even the wildlife has been spooked off by the fire from the sky.

how spooky. how quiet. ]

[stressweets]

[ it's the same on his end, too.

somehow, that's much more unsettling than if something bad did happen. he double-checks the shrine itself to make sure nothing's at risk of catching on fire, putting it out if he can - with his feet, his hands, anything he can manage - but eventually he'll return to the steps to wait for futaba. if nothing else, he looks mostly unharmed (minor burns aside), though he's watching the sky with an unsettled expression.

mentally, he's going through the places he has to check - the ones in umite, the ones in yamate... the forest, though he's sure sena will be fine. sena's been around longer than he has - a few rocks wouldn't kill him.

ahhh... tonight sucks. he hopes tomorrow is better. ]

[alitaba]

[ there's no one else here which perhaps is a good and bad thing. at least she doesn't have to worry about the siblings being in trouble here but at the same time, where are they............? ]

Nothing on my end.

[ just the occasional smoking meteorite hole but most of those were easy enough to deal with. all that's left is heading out to find any of her missing people and checking in on everyone else...! ]