[Open, Major Event] 12 June 2066

[geistnet]

Over the course of the last week, you'll have likely noticed the buzz and excitement that's been building all around Metro Manila -- if you've been around awhile, you know what time of the year it is. If you're new: well, this is an experience you're sure to enjoy.

The festive mood surrounding Philippine Independence Day is hard to miss. Wander around the metropolis and you'll note that the streets are filled with tourists and locals; turn one corner and you'll see parades, turn another and you may be treated to performances set up on strategically placed stages.

As for Falner, the colors of the Philippine flag seem to be everywhere you look: the kids who live or study at the estate are mostly running around with their faces painted. If you wander down towards the Fair Grounds in the South District, there are a couple of booths set up offering anything from body paint and temporary tattoos to local delicacies. West District establishments The King's Rest and Liquidated also have special treats aligned with the theme of the day. There's also talk about the annual street party which will be held over at the Baywalk later this evening, and the younger initiates are abuzz over the yearly light show held over Manila Bay that showcase reenactments of all the major battles all the way up to the Darkest Vigil.

Independence Day is also not all that's being celebrated, because for Keepers of the Vigil and supernatural communities all over the world, today marks the second anniversary of Arcis Fortress City.

OOC NOTES FOR PLAYERS

Don't forget to mention in the subject heading if your threads are OTA (Open to All) or Closed, and the time in which the exchange takes place. Feel free to make a top-level comment of your own if none of the placeholders fit. For details on each of the locations found at the Falner Estate, here is a handy link!

Comments

[icarusalsoflew]

Before? Yeah, a really good reason. I always came back with the same face and the same eyes... it wouldn't do to have any evidence of my existence around for mundanes beyond the Veil to see.

[ Rolling his shoulders now, like he's a big cat who's in need of a stretch. ]

Nowadays, though, I just don't like it.

[ Not entirely true, that, but he'd rather not go into the details. ]

[bloodsinger]

Hmm.

[ He makes sense, so Sophie doesn't dwell on it too much. ]

Hey, do you know if Bladians can shape shift?

[ That conversation with Aidan is still fresh in her mind. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

We can, with the right Disciplines. Most of you won't make it before you can reach that level, though.

[ Curious. ]

Why do you ask?

[bloodsinger]

[ Aidan didn't quite put it like that, but Sophie assumed it was one of the time + experience - Bladians don't have much time sort of thing. ]

It sounds pretty cool? I also probably have more chances to become a werewolf, I guess.

[icarusalsoflew]

[ Chuckles. ]

I doubt that. Pretty sure you're not Wolfborn, so. [ Anyway. ] Shapeshifting has its merits, although - more correctly - what Bladians can do is shift their entire biological structure to suit their purposes. It's pretty different from your run-of-the-mill shifters.

[bloodsinger]

Sarcasm, Hikaru.

[ But his explanation sheds new light into things. ]

So, if I'm getting this right...more like getting all attuned to nature or whatever, Bladians simply order their bodies to change to whatever form suits them best?

Somehow that sounds painful.

[icarusalsoflew]

Trust me when I say that it certainly feels strange.

[ But it has its merits. ]

[bloodsinger]

I gotta see you doing that sometime.

[ She will facepalm so hard if he turns into a girl though. ]

And one day, maybe. Got a couple of things I want to strike off my list before seriously thinking about more...exotic powers.

[icarusalsoflew]

"A couple of things"?

[ Color him curious, of course. ]

[bloodsinger]

Just...Bladian things. With, you know, blades and stuff. Specially the blood made, floaty ones. Sigma and I have also been working on what we can do as a team, I suppose.

[ For all the awesomeness she's seen on people using Blade Fans, Sophie has always been a one blade sort of person. She's not even a dual wielder. ]

All those classes better give my more insight into things.

[icarusalsoflew]

You're in ASC. They will.

[ It isn't Balamb's top program with the highest attrition rate for nothing. ]

[bloodsinger]

[ Sophie not knowing just what she's getting into is something of a constant in her life. Her eyes drift back to the fountain. ]

How are they? The people usually gunning for Zangyaku.

[icarusalsoflew]

I don't think it's possible to box them in. Everyone's got their own reasons for trying for the conspiracy with the highest mortality rate in the Fifth World.

[ A touch dry there. ]

[bloodsinger]

Well that alone is a bit telling. Everyone is different though, yeah.

[ Oddly enough, she can't help but grin widely. She even poorly disguises a chuckle under an attempt to clear her throat. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[ Noting all of that down, of course. ]

Might I ask why you're interested?

[ Since there wasn't an opportunity to, the last time they talked. ]

[bloodsinger]

This might sound weird, but even after taking everything into account, after making a well though analysis of what it means to be me, to be here and to be trying to achieve the things I'm trying to achieve...even after considering what is the Vigil and what is at stake, the importance of it all, every single time I think about this stuff the same six words keep crawling from the back of my mind to the very first row.

[ She lets a brief laugh out and then cracks her knuckles, smile still present. ]

This is going to be fun.

[icarusalsoflew]

[ ( Hm. )

She'll learn or she won't, Brother.

( Indeed. Now whether that involves a certain level of trauma or not is still under investigation. ) ]

Define "fun".

[ Thank Elaine for an excellent poker face. ]

[bloodsinger]

Exciting? Violent? Dangerous? Challenging? Life-threatening?

[ She shrugs. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

And you're convinced that any of those items are "fun".

[ It isn't a question, but it doesn't sound flat at all in the delivery. They're just talking, at least for the moment. ]

[bloodsinger]

You guys have files on me, right?

[ It sounds like a question, but it's not really one. ]

The problem of having everything in the world is that you never really understand what means to work and suffer for it. Sure, I was a spoiled little brat, but I also always wanted to know that feeling.

[ Plus this involved working towards a good thing, which was something Sophie had never had the chance to do before, either. ]

If this hadn't happened I would have eventually gotten myself killed doing something reckless, anyway.

[icarusalsoflew]

Fair enough. Still, you could probably get that feeling in any other conspiracy.

[ Speaking less from being able to really give points of comparison and more out of the sheer amount of experience he's had as a Keeper. ]

So this might bring us back to my original question: why Zangyaku?

[bloodsinger]

And yet you said: "Everyone's got their own reasons for trying for the conspiracy with the highest mortality rate in the Fifth World", didn't you?

[ She feels like he's...concerned about her choices. She's not particularly fond of the feeling. ]

Because you offered? Maybe I'm hoping to find a better reason inside.

[icarusalsoflew]

That's a good possibility.

[ A light shrug. ]

I'm mostly just curious. Sorry if that made you uncomfortable.

[bloodsinger]

I'm just terrible at this kind of stuff. Everyone's got their own reasons, but usually I feel like I do thinks mostly out of impulse.

[ She mimics that shrug though. ]

It's okay. Actually, I guess I should try to mind my manners around you, right?

[ Mr. Big Shot Blade King. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[ Lifting an eyebrow at that. ]

Why the sudden decision to be well-behaved? I was almost beginning to like your bratty attitude.

[ :D ]