September Event Log

[kaisoumods]

September Event
Dominant Element: Wind
Waning Element: Earth

Full Moon: September 28th - September 30th

※

As August and all of its chaos leaves Kaisou, September comes in with cooler weather. The Spirit Vein in the sky will turn to hues of green, indicating the shift towards the Wind element. In fact, there's so much wind, it frankly isn't funny. No tornadoes (that was a few months ago), but more than half the month will have windy weather, and a day or two of high wind warnings from the local weather people. Try not to get blown away!

Rosemary and Thyme

It's September, and you know what that means: school, school, and more school. For the seniors in high school, it's their last year, and soon it'll be time to start looking into secondary education and making plans for the future. Everyone else... enjoy a week of syllabi and ice breakers!

If you're looking for an education that's a bit more magical, there's a whole different school you can attend. While Cygnus Academy has had classes all summer, now that it's fall, they're really kicking it into gear. Several of the faculty will be offering more regular classes on various magical or practical skills, and they're even offering homework help for the younger students as well as college prep for those who looking for it.

September also means that Kaisou's renaissance faire, Sherwood Festival, is back in town! Located near Blue Fish Park, the renaissance faire is full of the usual things one might expect to find at a ren faire. If you're looking for activities, there's all manner of things; from jousting, magic shows, bard performances, visiting a "royal court", and so on! Meanwhile, if you're looking to spend money, there's many vendors selling their handmade goods, such as soaps and or potteries, as well as all sorts of "old timey" foods to try, such as mutton or turkey legs (and of course, beers and ciders for those old enough). Or perhaps you're just interested in the new attractions, which include a fairy circle within the forest, or the mermaid cove that's been set up in the Blue Fish Lake.

However, it's not all just simple gimmicks in this year's faire. App users may notice a few things different about some of the performers this year. That faerie having fun dancing with the kids? That's an actual Fae, likely one that stayed behind after the incursion in March. That "magician" performing around the food stalls? She's performing actual magic, not just illusions and sleight of hand. Even in the mermaid cove, a few of the "mermaid actors" are actual mermaids, and the forest where the Fae circle is located is still heavy with traces of fae magic from last March. There's a couple more strange sightings like that, and though they're not the majority by any stretch it is perhaps a bit concerning that there's as many as there are.

It's up to you if you call these people out or not. Leave it be, and you'll be able to enjoy a good time. If you approach one of these more magical folks, they will try to deny anything strange going on - they're just running a nice faire! Should you take it far enough to piss off one of the fae, you may find yourself cursed into becoming a monster.

Bad Moon Rising

The full moon usually passes through Kaisou with very little fanfare. There are certainly people with monster changes who have to deal with it for the few nights it hangs around each month, forcing them into their monster forms until daybreak. Until now, though, it's always only affected a very small selection of the population - feline and canine monsters, specifically. A few individuals, most of whom have figured out how to manage their condition by now, nothing to cause a panic.

Not so for this month... and for all months following. Thanks to the damage done by the spirit vein, all monster types will feel the full moon's effects. This means that once night falls and the full moon rises, you will have a harder time maintaining your normal form in the city, while your monster side gets significantly stronger. Retaining your humanity will be extremely difficult unless you have some serious control over your monster self. Perhaps you will be fortunate and be able to keep your stable mind, or perhaps you will find your monster thoughts overpowering you and you'll find yourself going a little feral, which is rather unfortunate if you happen to be in a populated area when night falls. This effect will last until sunrise, when you will regain normal form again. Best find a way to handle your abrupt changes, as this certainly isn't going away and the full moon lasts for three nights. You will either need to get better control over your monster form, or seek out other means to manage yourself through the full moon nights. Every month following this one will be the same- it seems like these changes are very much here to stay.

The Stable Gates

Full moon chaos aside, this quiet time in Kaisou might be a good opportunity to check up on how the stable realms are doing. Hyrule, newly freed from the grips of Calamity Ganon, has begun the slow effort to rebuild. Even better, with the Calamity gone, weapons will no longer decay as quickly. Besides Princess Zelda, the Hudson Construction Company is building new structures and is working on infrastructure around various communities in Hyrule. Curiously, every member of the Hudson Construction Company has a name that ends in "son". But that quirk aside, they are the ones to go to if you, too, are interested in having any structures built within Hyrule. Otherwise, you can help them with gathering resources or fighting off any monsters still around.

It's not all peaceful in Hyrule, though. If you're unlucky, you might run into the Yiga clan. They're a clan of Hyruleans that, despite the Calamity's goal of wiping out all life in Hyrule, thought it was a good idea to side with the Calamity. With it gone, they've now taken to attacking the folks that were responsible of destroying Ganon. They'll often be at roadsides, pretending to be travelers in distress before attacking. Besides dressing like red clothed ninjas, they seem to carry a weird amount of bananas with them. They should be easy enough to fend off if you're a skilled fighter, but maybe it's best not to travel alone for awhile.

Meanwhile, in Stardew Valley, the autumn season has fully set in. Crops like pumpkins, cranberries, and apples are all the rage in the small community. At the end of the month, the townsfolk will hold a festival to showcase the harvests for the year and have small community activities. If you're looking for a simple life or want to do some simple farm work without getting attacked by monsters, this might be a good place to spend some time.

A New Job

On the morning of September 4th, Zodiac will send out an alert message.

ALERT: SPIRIT REALM GATE DETECTED IN UNIVERSITY DISTRICT.
Element Classification: Wind
Danger Level: Low
Designation: Great Library of Alexandria
Zodiac has detected a spirit realm gate appearing in the University district, and confirmed it to be the Great Library of Alexandria. We have also has received a message from the Muses. It reads: "We the Muses, goddesses of the arts, have decided to take some time off due to some recent events. As such, you shall be charged with watching our library this month. Failure to do so competently will incur our wrath. Thanks!"

No pressure, huh.

The atmosphere of the Zodiac office is calmer compared to last month, as dealing with the Great Library is much easier than everything that was happening last month. The Zodiac employee will tell you the most important thing is to make sure to bring a piece of knowledge to share, as that's the admission fee of the library. They aren't sure what watching the library entails, but surely it can't be that bad, right?

That said, while the Zodiac employees are relaxed, the Professor (fuzzy) is anything but. He's talking a mile a minute about how excited he is to see the Great Library of Alexandria. He even has a little suitcase with him that's full of notebooks and gear in case he wants to say overnight. Because of course he's coming with this time! He wouldn't miss the great library for the world!

To find the gate, one simply has to head out to Kaisou University's main campus. Among all the class buildings and libraries, there's a new building front that seems to have appeared. White columns and stone stairs are hardly unusual among a college campus, so it might be easy to overlook, except that the entryway is glowing with a bright energy. No doubt about it, this is the gate.

The Great Library of Alexandria

Stepping through the gate, characters will find themselves in a grand marble hall that would put most to shame. Around the hall are statues of the nine muses, posing in different fashions with objects associated with each one. There are signs with the rules of the library. Even though it's written in Ancient Greek, you find yourself able to read what it says like it was perfect English:

I. Take nothing out of the Great Library, leave it all as you found it.
II. Damage nothing in these halls.
III. To obtain knowledge, you must share knowledge.

In the center of the hall is a pedestal that stands four feet tall. It is here that you place the knowledge that you've brought to share. Books, movies, comics, art pieces, fact sheets, personal notes - anything that could technically be considered either knowledge or art are accepted. Once you place your item on the pedestal, it will disappear and a bracelet made of olive tree wood will appear around their wrist. This is their proof that they are allowed entrance into the rest of the library. Anyone who tries to go into the halls without donating a piece of knowledge will find the entryways into the other wings magically blocked.

Once the admission fee has been paid, it's off to explore the rest of the library! There are several wings to explore, each of them chock full of knowledge. A person could easily spend a lifetime in a single wing and not see everything there is to offer. Even though it offers works written and created in countless languages, you'll find yourself able to understand all of them as if they were written in your native language. That said, any cameras will not work while within the hall, so if you want to remember the things you read- you'll have to take notes. Any character with fire magic will find their fire powers do not work while in this realm either - the library has a bad history with fire, okay.

The wings are as followed:

The Literature Wing

This wing is devoted entirely to any work of literature that's ever been written. Novels, poems, short stories, comics, fables - anything that counts as a story would be found within this wing. There's even a section devoted to fanfictions throughout the ages, if that's what you're really about. There are braille and audiobooks with headphones, for those who get their reading through that way. Throughout the wing, there are comfortable chairs and window seats to sit in. The wing is managed by a legion of cats, who are clever enough to understand human language. They will carry books to and from their shelves, bring book recommendations, bring snacks and drinks as refreshments on a little push cart, or just curl up on your lap as you read.

The Knowledge Wing

Next to the Literature Wing, the Knowledge wing contains any non-fiction texts or documents that have ever been written. Any topic of non-fiction is covered here: history, science, mathematics, cookbooks - the list goes on. Interestingly, there are more than just books about this Earth found in these halls. It's possible to find textbooks detailing events or information about other worlds as well - so long as it covers events already taken place (meaning before any OU's canon point). Unlike the literature wing, the seating are set up more as study tables and chairs, but are still comfortable enough to sit in for hours on end. This wing is managed by a bunch of owls, who will fly up and down the aisles with books in their talons. The fuzzy Professor can be found here, basically acting like a tiny child at Christmas as he piles on all the history books and shares every interesting fact he learns ("this is going to make such great material for my classes!!"). There are several puppets with him helping out. Where did the puppets come from? Maybe it's best you don't ask, because they'll start to sing and annoy the owls.

The Music Wing

A wing designed to have perfect acoustics, no matter where you go within the hall. Here, you can find every music piece ever composed, as well as any type of instrument ever created. There's plenty of practice rooms for any size group, all of which are soundproofed. In the back of the wing, there is a concert hall where you can either perform your own shows, or watch astral recordings of any concert that's ever taken place. Want to see Beethoven perform his famous 9th symphony? You can do that! All the musicians past will appear as ghostly apparitions as they perform. Songbirds are the maintainer of these halls, who will fly by on errands or maybe even stop by to sing along with your performances.

The Theatre Wing

Next to the music wing, there is the theater wing. This area has play stages and movie theaters all set up. You can either watch any movie or show in existence (no worries about streaming rights here!), or rewatch any theater performance that's happened in history in the form of ghostly visages. Find out how Hamlet was performed when Shakespeare was still alive (in fact Shakespeare's visage himself might look... familiar), or see the first Greek tragedy. Mice and rats are the maintainers of this wing, they will help out pick out movies and also run a concession stand with any movie snacks you'd like to consume during the show.

Of course, not all shows are ones that we passively spectate. Besides the theaters, there is a room devoted to be a fighting simulator. Take any kind of weapon you'd like, and fight spectral foes from history and legend. Trade blows with the greatest samurai or battle a beast of legend. While it feels real, no actual injuries will come from these fights. And for those who prefer their battles to take place in the digital plane, there is a relatively newly added room with all the video games you could possibly want.

The Planetarium Wing

The planetarium is the wing devoted to astronomy and the heavens. While there's plenty of shelves of books here with information about space, the main event in this hall is a planetarium. A massive dome that can be set to display the night sky as it appeared at any time or day- and not just on Earth either. You can find out what the sky looks like on any number of worlds. All of them feel hyper-realistic, like you're looking at the real night sky. Bats help run this part of the library, the dark starry skies doing nothing to hinder their assistance with visitors.

Should anyone use this room to investigate the moon, they will find that the moon itself? Is still a perfectly normal moon. No, really. It's normal. However much like it affects the tide, the moon will also affect the magical energies of Spirit Veins. And the higher level of concentration of magical energy, the larger the effect. So the reason the full moon is affecting more monsters? Is less about the moon and more the increasing spirit energy that is ever growing in Kaisou.

The Museum Wing

The museum wing covers all artifacts that relate to knowledge, but wouldn't quite fit in the other wings. Dinosaur fossils, vases, paintings, tapestries, all of them are carefully displayed with information about each item. These items have been collected across different worlds and throughout history, with all of them carefully preserved. One room of the museum is devoted to divine donations - donations given by deities when they came once came to visit, and clearly the shining gem of the museum. Items such as a Dharma Wheel, an apple from the Tree of Knowledge, an actual eye (thanks Odin), and other items relating to knowledge have all been carefully put on pedestals. While trying to steal from the other wings will have magic measures that simply prevent you from doing so, the consequences of trying to steal from this part of the library will lead to much more dire consequences. To reflect that, this wing is patrolled by crocodiles who will guide you to exhibits, but will also snap their jaws anytime they feel you're getting too close to an artifact.

The Mess Hall

With so much to see in this library, it'd be a shame if hunger got in the way. Just head down into the basement, where an expansive dining hall and kitchen await you. The goats that run this part of the library will be happy to cook you up any kind of meal that has ever existed. Or, if you're the type to want to cook for yourself, you'll have free access to the kitchen, which is full of any ingredients you could possibly want. The walls are lined with cooking tools and cookbooks to help you along, as well. Cooking is a form of art, after all.

The Records Wing

The final wing contains records of every person who has ever lived and died. Each person's life is recorded in a hardcover book that is decorated in ways to reflect the person. The length of a book will depend on how long the person has lived, and it will cover events that happened throughout their lives. While you can access records of people that live in different worlds, you can only access records of people who have died (the permanent kind). Not only that, but the keepers of this wing (ghostly apparitions of scholars) will only allow you access to the records of people that are part of your family or somehow related to you.

Hauntingly, AU characters will be able to find books of their past selves among these shelves, as well as the records of their past selves relatives. It will detail their lives in their previous worlds, the events described lining up with memories you've experienced. The causes of death will vary. Some will go on to live long lives before dying of old age, while others will be killed abruptly by something either within or out of their control. Either way, it's probably rather unsettling to read about how your life once came to an end.

Watching Over the Library

For those who have agreed to care for the library, when you enter the library and pay your admission, a special key will appear in your pocket the same time the wristband does. This key will allow you to enter the backrooms of the library. The backrooms of the library are expansive, split into two main areas. The first area is clearly the living areas for both the Muses and their animal helpers. There's a bathing area that's full of rejuvenating water, a greenhouse full of plants found in Ancient Greece, and nine apartment-style homes that belong to each of the muses. While you're free to use the public bath or look through the greenhouse, going into the apartments is a good way to get yourself cursed in new and horrible ways.

The second area? Well, that's where your work as the library's caretaker begins. There are a couple important tasks that must be done. First, the animal caretakers must be fed. There are large storage containers full of the different kinds of foods the animals like to eat and food troughs assigned to each group of animals. Make sure they get fed regularly, unless you want them to start to turn on each other. You can also help the animals by playing with them, grooming them, or just giving them some nice pets.

Not quite an animal person? Well then, you can head into the next room where the Sorting takes place. The Library of Alexandria is getting new material all the time, and all the newest items appear here. There's a pile of books and media that need to be sorted into their proper wings. Each of the wings have a drop chute that you can throw items into, or you can hand them off to an animal attendant. Try to keep up with this task as much as you can, before the piles grow out of control.

If neither of those jobs sound appealing to you, there's always patrolling the library and making sure everything remains in order. Keep things from getting out of control, or help clean up messes that get made by other patrons. Remember, you want to make sure the Muses don't come back to a sight that angers them.

Finding Closure (POKEGO Mission)

"This is a selfish request from a selfish old man, I know. But in every way but blood, he was my son. So please... help me understand his reasons. If it was my fault, or if there was something I could've done. I just... I need to know. Thank you."

It's not typical that Professor Oak asks personal requests, usually preferring to allow his associates to follow their own interests and goals. But it seems the memory of Willow's actions were haunting him more than he was letting on. And for those who were familiar with Willow's case file... this realm was the place where he had gotten his idea to go after Ra, so if there was any place to search for answers...

There are two wings within the library that will yield some findings. In the Knowledge Wing, shoved away amongst the other books about Ancient Egypt, you can find Professor Willow's notebook lodged into the bookshelf. The notes are a mixture of research and observations, as well as his own personal log. At the start, it reads much like the man many of them were familiar with; an easy-going and curious man who truly did think well of his fellow colleagues. Persephone was like a mother, Abasi was so intelligent (even if a bit prickly), and he felt pride watching Sorey and Mikleo grow and come into their own as POKEGO members.

But as the notes and logs go on, the tone slowly slips into something darker and eventually... desperate. Life setbacks (usually described in vague terms, if at all) eat at him more and more. And more and more, he begins romanticizing his past life, his past world. Not wanting to trouble anyone, he never speaks to anyone about it, allowing it to fester until idle daydreams manifest into dangerous plots. His notes and observations become less careful, more unhinged. But even as he continues his plans, his logs continue to reflect a man who is torn by his actions and whether they are the right thing to do. Even in his final log, the one written on the night he found the way to get to Set, he writes: "I know I'm going to cause a lot of pain, but this is the only way. I just... I'll try to make things right, somehow."

The other finding POKEGO can find is within the Records Wing. Willow had long considered the members of POKEGO as his family, so they'll be allowed to view his records. These will shed some light and give context to his background from an outside perspective. In the final pages, it mentions that he's currently serving his life sentence in Florida under the Order's watch. He doesn't know if he deserves to live, after so many lost their lives through his actions. Frequently, he'll try to write letters to various POKEGO members - but can never bring himself to send them. Each one of them has the same kind of message: I'm sorry. It's not your fault. Maybe you can use what you learn to help give Professor Oak (and yourselves) some closure.

Speaking of Professor Oak, for those who are curious enough to look up his records, POKEGO members will be able to access them as well. Reading his record might learn some interesting information about the old man, even if you'll have to own up to grandma that you were snooping.

To Be Forgotten (Black Order Mission)

While everyone else has the library or their own matters to attend to, the Black Order has their own mission to follow. "Locate Rukkhadevata" was the message that the Order had left them with. Strangely enough, there's no records of any Rukkhadevata anywhere in the public areas of the library. Looking through any records relevant to the name turns up empty, and even the animal keepers of the wings seem puzzled at the mention. If no one named Rukkhadevata exists, then why does the Order seers keep hearing that name?

The answer lies in the backroom of the library. Past the sorting room, there is another room hidden away. This is the forbidden part of the library, books that have been intentionally removed from the main collection. Most of these books are sealed and marked, with clear labels indicating that attempting to break the seal will result madness or death.

However, there is one book that sits on the table that has no such warning label, looking more like a normal book that got placed in this room by mistake: a life record book on Rukkhadevata.

Should you read the book, her life story becomes clear: Rukkhadevata was a former member of the Black Order, a recent former member. She was recruited after she began getting memories of being the Dendro Archon, the god of wisdom of Teyvat, in her previous life. Wise beyond her years and deeply kind, she did her best to help her fellow comrade through missions. Alarmingly, these comrades include Black Order members that are present in Kaisou today, with specific stories of their time together being detailed in this text. None of these stories are ones the Black Order members remember as they are written. Only as they hold the book in your hand, do the memories of her existence begin to come back to you.

Its only at the end of her record book does it become clearer what's going on. Three years ago, Rukkhadevata decided to leave the Order. Her reasons aren't discernible, with the lines being intentionally blotted out. But it took her time to figure out the best way to leave. In the end, she found two feasible options: the first was giving up all her powers by striking a bargain with a "bargaining horned spirit", which would render her useless to the Order. As for the other option...

"The Great Library of Alexandria is the realm that maintains all the knowledge in the world, as well as all the world's memories. Even for those who have faded into obscurity among the living still have records within the Record Wing, so the gods and seers are able to draw upon them. So in theory, if one removes their own records from the library, then the world itself will have no memories of them to draw upon, and thus will forget them. To maintain normalcy, any records of my existence will be eradicated or repurposed. Even the Order itself will have no knowledge that I exist. The Muses say doing such an act will consume about half of my soul's power to pull this off. They also caution me how difficult it'll be to be truly forgotten, but if this is the best way to achieve what I need to do...

World, forget me."

The record book ends there, with no further recordings to what happened to her. Rukkhadevata must have placed the book back here, thinking it'll be enough to erase her from the world's memories. However if the seers in the Order are still able to get her name...that's clearly not enough. The book itself needs to be destroyed.

So, the Order is now left with two options. They can return the book back to the Records Wing, which will reinstate the world's memories of Rukkhadevata. Or... there's a single fireplace within the forbidden part of the library, the only fireplace within the entire building. Should you throw it in there... all memories tied to Rukkhadevata will be permanently erased with no hope of regaining them. Decide amongst yourselves what the best course of action is.

Aftermath

The library will be around all month. At the end of the month, it will vanish once it came. If you've done a good job with looking after the library, you will be blessed with new inspiration for your creative endeavors. Should you have done something to harm the library on the other hand... well, depending on the severity, you'll certainly find yourself with some curses to attend to.

As for the Black Order, whether or not you remember Rukkhadevata, you are now equipped with knowledge that could help you leave the Order yourself, if you choose. Erase yourself from the world by burning your own books in the record wing, or seek out this bargaining horned spirit that the notes mentioned. Even after the library leaves this month, you'll just need to ask the shopkeeper of the Gacha Goodwill for the means to return to the library. He'll take you... but only if the stars are right.

OOC Notes

The dominant element this month is Wind! Anyone with an affinity to the fire element will find themselves boosted throughout the month. This could mean a boost to their power, having more energy, feeling more inspired with creativity, having better luck on different attempts -- the boost can manifest in all sorts of different ways. By contrast, anyone with an affinity for Earth will be experiencing the opposite. Perhaps their powers will be weaker, they have less energy, they're having a creative block or general worse luck - again it can manifest in all sorts of way and players are free to play with this mechanic as they'd like.

The original OOC plotting post for this event can be found here. Another Zodiac Post will be going up September 15th to serve as an intro post for new characters and allow characters to react to developments over the network.

Comments

Gilgamesh | fate/grand order au | ota

[throwmoreswords]

i. in the library; reading is fun-damental

[ if there's knowledge to attain, then of course, Gilgamesh wants it.

he is all over the place in the library, partaking of its amenities; he is in the planetarium, he is in the music wing, he is becoming at least one crocodile guard's personal nightmare with how much he keeps going through the stuff in the museum wing. he finds a transcribed copy of the Epic's tablets and probably spends a good long time reading the poetry about--himself, and not himself; the man who inspired the legend in another life, in another time, as Gilgamesh as he is remains the ghost of a ghost, a memory of a king and a hero carved into the World itself for good or for ill.

his stupid golden face is going to be most everywhere, so feel free to set your encounter rating to high--except, strangely, when it comes to the Records room.

there's really only two records that Gilgamesh takes in--his own (read with a sort of... odd detachment, as if reading a biography about one's life that they hadn't authorized; the words are clinical and true, even if they feel so strange and distant. the tyrant king truly cared for nothing but himself) and one other's.

the other record is what will take him from the library in a pensive storm, memories brewing in the back of his mind, and it'll be a cold day in hell before Gilgamesh allows anyone to see him feeling emotions, especially emotions over a--over a mere weapon

(a brother, a soulmate, a friend ) ]

ii. battle simulations; he's gonna figure out throwing shit someday

[ he'd been meaning to talk to Dante, of course, but Gilgamesh isn't really--good? at asking for things that he's lacking in? he likes new experiences, of course, but using a sword doesn't feel like a new experience

it feels like Gilgamesh knew something and then forgot to continue practicing, like an errant child losing command over his piano scales because he's too lazy to practice, and Gilgamesh hates feeling like he's not good at something that he's previously been very, very good at. it's a whole different animal than running face first into nonsense is; something irritating and under the skin that almost, almost humbles him, but it will once again be the coldest of days in hell before Gilgamesh admits that he's having trouble picking up something.

he's watching the simulated battles with a voracious intensity, and occasionally trying them out himself--and if someone that he's not too suspicious of comes up and offers to show him a thing or too, he might just accept the tutelage without too much posturing and playing at being too disaffected and cool for everything.

he may also try out a wholly different technique, when he thinks he's fairly alone (though whether he is or not is an entirely different animal), an odd combination of launching his chain(s) at targets and angling some strange, glimmering golden portals to better shoot a gleaming sword out of--because if he's honest, swordplay itself feels... overrated. like he shouldn't need to try that hard to get a similar result.

so he's gonna try a new thing. a lobbier thing. ]

iii. hyrule; this ya-ha-hole was made for me

[ after reading the Enkidu stuff and probably getting a good workout or three (read: somebody taking advantage of kicking the shit out of him), Gilgamesh is going to head back out to Hyrule because somebody needs inventory spaces, and also because let's be real, for several years there, the happiest years of Gilgamesh's life were spent wandering around with his feral homunculus BFF while they camped and fought monsters and were just two dudes being guys.

the king is exploring nature and all it's glories, looking for weird little vegetable guys in their super difficult puzzle allotments. he's getting good at spotting strange and suspicious "nature" formations. ]

i

[prunedworlds]

There hadn't been anything of note for Ritsuka in the records, which while disappointing, wasn't really unexpected. What is unexpected is seeing a certain former Servant practically storming out of the room. Unexpected, and definitely concerning enough for Ritsuka to hurry after him.

"Gil?"

She'd ask what's wrong but, well, probably best to get a gauge on exactly what mood he's in, first.

[throwmoreswords]

A king does not run from anything, but a bitch might powerwalk when he's well and truly offended.

Gilgamesh's long, purposeful stride freezes when his name is called, and he takes a moment--just a moment, enough to school his face to its usual smug, lackadaisical expression, though the rest of his body language isn't doing him any favors.

"Ah, little master. Find anything interesting from your adventures?"

Casual, be casual. Nobody needs to catch him on the backfoot.

[prunedworlds]

"Not really."

There's something inherently strange in catching Gilgamesh, of all people, in a moment of possible weakness. Usually his sheer, staggering arrogance prevented such concerns from even crossing his mind in the first place. Even at the worst moments of the seventh singularity, Ritsuka recalls how the king had practically exuded confidence in every respect.

So she can't help but stare a bit at how that tense posture belies his smug tone.

"At least, nothing very interesting compared to what you must have found..."

One other thing she remembers about Gilgamesh, is his tendency to try to handle everything on his own without any outside help, even if it's to his own detriment. Ritsuka doesn't plan on letting him get away with that if she can help it.

[throwmoreswords]

He folds his arms as he takes up his battle line, staring down at Ritsuka with a sharpness in his gaze. She's done him no wrong; but he's not used to feeling so out of sorts with himself (because he's always an absolute, no matter where or when he is). Ritsuka seems like she knows more than she lets on, and something about that sets up Gilgamesh's hackles, makes him uneasy.

(It makes sense--in another lifetime, he'd know everything he could ever want to know, but his gift for prophecy has been lost to time and rebirth, but that still sits uneasy on his shoulders and makes him feel like something is missing. Again.)

"Not much. The King of the past was a rather solitary creature, wasn't he?"

He's not about to go flinging information out and about; Ritsuka will have to play her cards if she wants the king to reveal what he's holding close to his own chest.

[prunedworlds]

She isn't intimidated by that gaze, she's met it plenty of times before. Ritsuka can stand her own ground when it's something she believes in, even if, as it happens, that something is concern for Gil's wellbeing. Which is probably as strange a sensation for her in some ways as this situation must be for him.

"He was."

A simple agreement. But that's just the start. If he'd been reading about his past, she can think of only one thing in particular known to upset King Gilgamesh. Rather famously so, in fact.

"Except for a time when he wasn't, of course."

She definitely has a suspicion at this point, the question is whether or not she can get him to confirm it.

[throwmoreswords]

It's strange--he's made people twice her size and power curl back and away with the intensity of his stare (even without the red eyes), and yet here this pipsqueak is, meeting him with a carefully constructed curiosity that's been delicately cleansed of pity.

Her suspicion is a good one; Gilgamesh is an absolute, which means he's incredibly straightforward, incredibly literal, and at least a little predictable if he hasn't resolved to throwing all the coins in the air simply to see if they land on heads or tails. "It's hard to think there was ever a time when he wasn't kept to himself; between his variety of voracious appetites and his single-minded quest to possess all of mankind's treasures, I can barely think how he'd have time to run a country, let alone anything else."

One advance deserves another. Not a full reveal, but an opening for her to play off of. He doesn't... he doesn't want to be completely shut inside of himself. (He never has wanted that, but he did what he had to in order to carry the part of fate that he'd carved for himself.)

[prunedworlds]

Ritsuka does have the advantage of knowing him, or at least knowing the Heroic Spirit he had been in his past life. But even so, she'd never quailed before him or any of the other Servants she'd met, anyway.

And if he wanted to play games with dancing around the topic, well, two could play at that. She does know his story, quite well, and appreciates how important some of it was to him. Is, perhaps.

"A tyrant king without peer." Quite literally, in fact. "Until his people asked the gods for help, and they sent a weapon to oppose him... But who became his dearest friend, instead.

"After that, he eventually became a wise and just king, beloved by those same people."

[throwmoreswords]

"You're leaving a few steps out, aren't you."

It's less a question and more a wry observation as Ritsuka meets him, eye to eye, will to will; it's one of her better features, he thinks, how she stands resolute like a stone plinth in the middle of a storm. The faintest feeling of having seen her pull this trick before looms in the back of his mind, admirable and infuriating in the same breath.

"'Wise and just king', ha. Why oust your old tyrant in favor of a new one whose proclivities you don't know? Men stay the same, despite their protestations."

... which is unfair of him to say; the only interesting thing about people is their tendency to change, to be taken by whims and circumstances, but if he has to feel frozen in place and choked by a grief that's his by birthright, then so does everyone else.

[prunedworlds]

"Or maybe they always cared for him enough they hoped for him to change his ways rather than be ruled by someone else."

She remembers the way his people had spoken of Enkidu, and Gilgamesh's own past. He wasn't beloved because of his change in heart, but despite his fall for a time into petty tyranny decadence. And while that was the Gilgamesh of her world, not necessarily the wealthy businessman of this one, clearly something about it all was troubling the Gil standing before her anyway.

In fact, she realizes that intentionally or not, he's given her an opening, and Ritsuka is quick to grab it.

"And I did skip a few steps. Did you want to talk about them?"

owo

[poisontippedcure]

[Rose doesn't like libraries, and she's not even sure why she's in the record wing. The last thing she wants to do is read about herself--she knows what she's done--and reading the books of her family seems wrong.]

[Which means she's already in a bad mood when she sees who it is that she's in the room with. Rose is somewhat adept in recognizing changes in demeanor among her friends, but she's only met Gil once and it left a lasting bad impression. Also, it is completely possible she doesn't care.]

I shouldn't be surprised to see you here.

[In her mind, Gil seemed every bit the type to take in his own vanity. So far she's been too shallow to ponder if there's anything deeper.]

welp

[throwmoreswords]

[ on the other hand, Gilgamesh adores libraries; he likes old, interesting things, and he's spent more than a share of time pouring through the library's collection, prior to finally working up the (nerve) interest to wander into the Records room. being that he's not the man that he used to be--the man he's accused of being, it feels like, sometimes, he couldn't help but be terribly curious when it came to finding out more information on who Gilgamesh was outside of the repetitive poetry of the epic, the twenty different translations...

and curiosity killed the cat, as they said. reading of his own exploits had been--odd, but not unexpected. going a step further and reading about them, though, perhaps that'd been a mistake, even if Gil didn't make those--but he couldn't quite come up with a good explanation for the tightness in his shoulders, the twist in his stomach, the memory of mourning that hangs over him like a shroud, sorrow with nowhere to go

and then Rose invites herself on up to him as the head representative of the Asshole Brigade. the bean weirdo must've been busy with something.

she sneers out her derision and Gilgamesh turns to face her, halfway through pacing as he debates with himself on whether he wants to continue reading, to feel the prickles of memory twisting under his skin like ugly, uncomfortable briars, and Rose has picked the absolute wrong time to test his temper. he fixes her with a look that'd made lesser men squirm in their patent leather shoes, drawn to the fullness of his height. ]

Who in the world are you and what does that mean? [ incredulous, that people in this city thought it was their right to just walk up to people and run their mouths? what was the world coming to? ]

c:

[poisontippedcure]

[If Rose had stopped to think about it, she'd realize that this is how she used to behave towards everyone and that she was, indeed, being quite rude. Gilgamesh hadn't actually done anything wrong yet, and even the worst assholes have redeeming features somewhere.]

[But she's not being introspective right now, she's being a jerk.]

Rose, although I'm not surprised you don't remember. You didn't seem like the type concerned with remembering women's names.

[She has absolutely nothing to back that up with. Nothing at all.]

And it means that you seemed like the kind of person who would delight in their past exploits. Thus, I'm not surprised to find you here.

gurl

[throwmoreswords]

Why would I remember the name of a rude child that I've spoken to once? People like you are a penny to a pound; why would I bother to give you the regard you seem to think you're oddly entitled to?

[ there's a curl to his lip and his eyes are narrowed, pupils drawn to tight, irritated slits as he wonders at the sheer audacity of this woman--and her entire 'I've never been punched in the mouth for running it' demeanor. Gil does his best to school his temper because she doesn't deserve to stir his passions.

a gnat is a gnat. it behaves how it must, but that doesn't mean it needs more consideration than a good wave of the hand. he settles on cold contempt, continuing to look at her as if she's having a fit in public, happy to mark her as the unreasonable one for any nearby gawking eyes. ]

And whatever I may seem like, you are an absolute lunatic to walk up to someone you mislike simply to accost them for doing nothing that concerns you. Here you are, able to curate your space and your life, and you choose to spend your precious time being a brat about only the gods know what? Are you so gifted with extra time that you've nothing better to do?

[ she continues her snippy little campaign and Gilgamesh. tilts his head? eyes still narrowed as if he's looking at a puzzle that he can't find an answer for, a bare hint of pity clouding his expression. ]

Do you want pity for being so terribly incurious? You know nothing about me, I know nothing about you, so why is this interaction happening? What do you want? Who are you?

[poisontippedcure]

[Her tail flares up. She's getting angry, and she can't pinpoint the reason why. There's a part of her, one that she's not acknowledging right now, that understands that Gilgamesh is correct. She, is, in fact, in the wrong here.]

[But there's another part of her that's extremely upset with his demeanor for reasons that she can't quite place, but probably have to do with the fact that she once dealt with Emet Selch.]

Because, for most of us in this city, we're allies. We bother to learn each other's names, even if some of us are completely insufferable.

[She's not even calling out Gil with this one! There are a lot of people in Kaisou that frustrate her. Probably.]

And I have plenty better to do, thank you. [She doesn't.]

I--[She doesn't have an answer to that. Well, she does, but she can't explain it in concise sentences and she hasn't quite put the pieces together yet.]

You're infuriating.

[And you're a brat, Rose.]

[throwmoreswords]

[ it's strange, to have things explained to him like he's a dim child, or a cartoon villain who has no concept of love or camaraderie. he stares at Rose as if she's grown a second tail, or a second head.

(that sort of presumption performed again and again and again is probably what drove Emet-selch to behave as he did alongside the raging narcissism, but that's for another Gilgamesh in another time to contemplate.)

his voice takes on a familiar tone; the tone of someone who's found themselves neck deep in talking with a person who doesn't understand that 2 for $9.00 and $4.50 per unit were the same sale. ]

Yes, and the people in the city that I count among my allies, I know their names and their general desires, occupations, and obligations. I do not devote my time and energy to people who've stated they don't like me. Do you know what you're even arguing for or about?

You have plenty to do, and yet you are here, haunting me like the world's most ineffective ghost as I don't fear spirits, and I don't care what your opinion of me is. Hate me all you like, but it is baffling that you're devoting that level of energy to someone that you don't know, and does not know you.

[ he leans in, down, so that he is eye to eye to Rose, as if that'll drive his point home faster, deeper. ]

You. Approached. Me. You ran your mouth. At me. You weren't even a blip on my radar, and yet here you are as if I've committed some sin against you, and I don't apologize for my mere existence, you madwoman. Are you jealous that no one loved you in another time and place and I'm catching your temper because I had records to consume? Because you're neither my employee, my lover, my companion, nor of use to me, so I absolutely refuse to play your sounding board.

[poisontippedcure]

[Rose is absolutely offended.]

[And it's probably good that she is, because she is unequivocally in the wrong here. A point that is, extremely slowly, starting to dawn on her. She's not quite to the point of acknowledging it yet, but soon she will be.]

[She can only manage a frown and the most simple of explanations. She's tempted to leave in a huff, but she stops herself. She isn't sure why, considering--once again--this is a problem of her own doing.]

I conflated you with someone else.

[She pauses.]

You are not him.

yahaha

[lowestclass]

[ gilgamesh isn't the only one interested in finding more koroks. he'd found a few with that weird masked guy, lapis and a certain man-bat last time, but.

After seeing how useful hestu's gift was... well.

Gilgamesh might either find his own Korok in the wild first...

...Or he might find Jinwoo, making a bit of a fool out of himself as he's trying to pull what ... looks to be like a Cork out of a tree stump. It's a weird... acorn shape, attached to a chain... attached to a literal cork.

...Jinwoo can tell one of those bastards are in there, for sure.

But... the bloody thing is in way too tightly for Jinwoo to move on his own.

This is so embarrassing... ]