EVENT #07: ASPHODEL CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

[vivalamods]

EVENT #07: ASPHODEL CONSTRUCTION PROJECT PLANNING

The Corsairs have been mobilized and preparations are underway. As negotiators are dispatched to Vindess to prepare for the evacuation under Imperial noses, the crafters and suppliers set to work, preparing the new settlement and whatever airships can be spared for the evacuation. Some Corsairs have even taken it upon themselves to build or “liberate” more airships for the effort.

As always, when the goal is certain the Corsairs move as one. Together, they will see Asphodel completed. All hands are needed, the question is, where do you lend yours?

MISSIONS

Prepare Asphodel: Get the new settlement of Asphodel up and running to receive the refugees from Vindess.
Priority: Critical
Challenges: Corsairs will need to keep the settlement hidden while also making suitable housing and preparing farms and other amenities to sustain life. It will require a large amount of excavation to get in order, as well as construction of homes, furniture, and other facilities. The work will be backbreaking and the timetable is extremely aggressive.

Prepare Citizens for Evacuation: As the citizens of Vindess toil under Imperial lockdown, the Corsairs must prepare the entire population for evacuation.
Priority: Critical
Recommended Roles: Negotiators and Infiltrators
Challenges: Corsairs will need to convince the entire population to evacuate. There are a number of methods that can be employed, while many are going to be reluctant the Imperial crackdown has shaken the settlement and unease is high. There is evidence within the Imperial offices that Infiltrators can recover that show mass executions with lists of “dissidents” have been scheduled for April which the Corsairs might make use of if they choose to investigate. Other options include capturing potential dissidents and taking the entire willing population while executing or taking prisoner loyalists, or other methods the Corsairs determine for themselves to make this happen.


Acquire Airships: The Corsairs always need more airships, and moving an entire population will require heavy effort and can use as many ships as can be mustered.
Priority: Optional
Recommended Roles: All
Challenges: The Corsairs don’t have the major Ether Stones that serve as the airship engines and will need to either capture or salvage resources to increase the size of their fleet. While the Corsairs have been investigating airships that don’t require Ether stones, that research is still a distant dream, but some Corsairs may want to spend some time pushing that investigation along to see if they can make it a reality sooner rather than later.

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Comments

[singlemilletgrain]

That's some intense hair care. Shu can flaunt her own mane when needed as per the icon, but she has never tried carrying anything with prehensile hair before. She blinks for a few moments as she glances up at the sound of the unfamiliar voice.

"Ah. Aira."

But she seems to take it in relative stride. Perhaps it helps that they have discussed Aira's yokai-sourced powers previously or perhaps she is simply maintaining face in front of the Corsairs she just scolded, but either way, she addresses the girl as if there is nothing peculiar at all.

"Thank you for the shipments. We are just about ready to begin laying down the fertilizer. And though it might seem strict, when there is a need for instruction, it must be followed swiftly and accurately. Acceptance of poor work is a failure for both the teacher and the student."

[testygirl]

She does make sure it's well-maintained, and understanding the science of hair care has actually helped her in battle on at least one crucial occasion.

Anyway, she sort of figured that Shu wouldn't have an exaggerated reaction to her transformation. It wouldn't match her demeanor, and other Corsairs have also taken it in stride. The form does take extra energy to maintain, so after a few seconds, she slips back to her normal appearance.

"No prob. You remember that alien invasion I mentioned? We knew it was coming, but we only had a few days to prepare, so I really had to drive everyone hard during training." She wheels her arms and does a few stretches. "So hashtag relatable, basically."

At this point, you'd think maybe she's purposefully trying to dumbfound fellow Corsairs with her incomprehensible Earth slang.

[singlemilletgrain]

Hash...tag?

It is telling of Shu as an individual that she first wonders if that is a kind of food, although the best she can come up with is corn hash (she finds this dish rather unappealing and laments the fate of those doomed to eat mushed up meat and potatoes for the rest of their days; this is probably why countries like Victoria are always at war, really.) While she is busy pondering this, Aira returns to her normal appearance.

"Ah -- yes. Relatable. I have found that many of the Corsairs are open to taking such orders, anyway. Perhaps because they are used to following critical orders in combat without question."

She gives Aira a curious look up and down. "That was the power of the yokai, yes?"

She might be unperturbed, but that doesn't mean she isn't curious.

"It is something you can do at will?"

[testygirl]

Corn and potatoes out here catching some strays, huh. Aira can't speak much for European-style diets, but she does recognize that she's been spoiled both here and back home. All of the leftovers she got from Shu during the New Year's gathering ended up finding a good home: either in Aira's stomach, or into the hands of other Corsairs who were happy to receive.

Aira puts a hand up to her mouth and giggles softly at Shu's initial reply.

"Hmm, I don't know, Miss Shu. I think maybe it's more that you have a... presence?" She nods, happy with that word. "Yep. Definitely a presence."

Aira is also pretty good at getting people to do what she wants, but why bring that up? It's a different sort of game for her.

"But yeah, I can transform whenever I want! It tires me out after a while, and I get drained quicker when I'm fighting or working hard, but still. It's really handy!"

[singlemilletgrain]

"Hm."

Is Aira trying to say she's scary? The face Shu makes for a very brief moment provides some evidence to support this hypothesis, contrary to any thoughts Shu might have on the matter. But that pleasant neutrality returns soon enough, less a facade and more her reflex under all circumstances.

"Granted, I have always been quite effective at ministering to my younger siblings. Half of them don't even remember to eat most of the time."

Aira will of course recognize this as the essence of nagging Asian parenting in its purest form.

"Would you say this is because your spirits have fused in some fashion? I have never seen something like this before in a human. Does it not cause you harm to host that kind of power?"

[testygirl]

Ack. Aira registers much of what goes unsaid from that brief shift in Shu's expression, and for a second or two, her eyes slide askance. Gee, what nice weather!

"W-Well, that's just natural. Haha... I mean, if I had any younger siblings, I'd make sure to keep them in line! It's an important sisterly duty, after all."

Has this come up before? She would be a bit of a terror, frankly. Donnie, their mutual acquaintance, has already gotten a little taste of the big sis treatment.

"Acro Silky willingly gave me her power before passing on; plus, I had the natural talent to control it right away. So there aren't really any drawbacks." She makes a face. "Except when I get attacked without warning or something and the transformation ends up ruining my clothes.

"... I'll admit, I do have it pretty easy. Like, there's an obnoxious yokai called the Evil Eye who's possessing one of my friends, Enjoji. He can totally take over his body—and it's a huge pain, since the Evil Eye is super violent and really immature."

[singlemilletgrain]

Please, Aira. They are underground. There is no weather. But Shu does not seem to hold any resentment for the comment as they progress the conversation thread.

"Hm. I would agree with that. I would say you have the natural aura of an older sister."

Shu has already called dibs on big sistering Donnie, but she supposes they can share. He is, after all, a hopeless small one who requires direct guidance in his poor, misdirected life. Shu will provide the nagging and Aira will provide the bullying.

"Your yokai don't seem to follow any particular rules in their actions. Can you not help this Evil Eye creature move on, as your Acro Silky did?"

some spoilers for the upcoming arc in the dandadan anime!

[testygirl]

"Heh, you think?" She makes a determined fist. "It's nice to have a natural gift, but I'll keep working to raise my sister power to new heights."

Poor Donnie. Being small and misdirected probably isn't grounds for ceaseless torment, but life isn't fair, sometimes.

"Mhm. I mean, they all act differently, just like people. Usually like really traumatized, messed up people, so you never know what you're going to get. The human Evil Eye died when he was a little, and he spent his whole life locked up, so he'd have to watch all the other kids play without him. So that's his deal. Takakura came up with a way for him to play and have fun without causing too much trouble, but who knows when he'll ever be ready to pass on."

She pauses. "The original plan was to exorcise him, actually, but Enjoji begged Auntie Seiko not to go through with it. He's soft like that."

Speaking of. Aira's tone is mostly accepting, though. Her group back home might be full of soft boys, but that's still much better than having any macho jerks around.

[singlemilletgrain]

*ceaseless opportunities to better himself, is what Aira means.

Shu listens with an ever-increasingly furrowed brow.

"...It is the lingering spirit of a child?" Her understanding of the situation had not yet stretched to encompass the natural boundaries of what a yokai might represent. "But that is heinous. To think that children would be abused to such an extent that their spirits would be bound. And yet -- I am not ignorant to the evils of the world. If any living thing dies under terrible circumstances, it lingers as a yokai? Then there must be thousands - tens of thousands across time. Is your world positively bedeviled with the spirits?"

[testygirl]

"They aren't, like, crawling all over the place? As far as I know. My guess is that it really does only happen to people with the most intense grudges and regrets and stuff, because you're right. So probably just the teeniest, tiniest percentage. It'd be really rotten luck."

She tosses out her shoulders, then gives Shu a glance.

"... Want to talk something else? I feel like it's a bummer to linger on some nasty topic when we don't have to."