histruename: (Alone)
Aɴᴜɴɢ ᴜɴ Rᴀᴍᴀ ♕ Hᴇʟʟʙᴏʏ ([personal profile] histruename) wrote in [community profile] tushanshu_logs2014-06-20 02:23 am

The Times, They Are a-Changin'

Characters: Hellboy and OPEN!
Date: June 9th - 14th
Location: All over Keeliai
Situation: Hellboy reclaims his bearings


After his short trip through the city, still damp from the basin he'd been summoned from, there was no denying things have changed. There’s a palpable darkness hanging over Keeliai, a new wariness in the eyes of its people, a shadow cast by the blackened palace looming on its horizon. Cultists hiss and scream with their signs and weapons on street corners. Others scurry past like scared animals, head down, looking at no one.

Less than a year ago, Keeliai was a different place, but they had known what was coming. Evandau had warned him of the ancient force of evil they’d been brought here to fight. And back then, Hellboy had offered to go find it, to do everything he could to stop it. But things are rarely that easy.

Evandau had said that the thing had to come to them, that they had to sit and wait with their hands tied before they could even think to fight it. It pissed him off then, and it pisses him off even more now. Because this is the end result, and innocent people are paying for it in blood.

He’s lost too much time. It’s time to get back to work.

Soon as he gets his bearings, gets some much-needed rest and scopes out his new suite in Earth, Hellboy takes off into the city, wanders back to the old noodle shop in the Metal Sector he used to frequent. The shop’s still there, and so is the old man who runs it. Business is bad, and most of the kedan have been relocated to the former Foreigner housing, but things like this just never change.

It's nice to have an anchor in this place, something familiar where lately, he hasn't been afforded that luxury. Keyun has always been nice to him. But now he's much more withered than before, his veined hands trembling over the hot bowls, spilling some of the broth.

Times are hard, and maybe there's still very little he can do to help. But in a small way, Hellboy's glad he's back, because these are people worth fighting for.

((Feel free to ambush Hellboy in the street, at the noodle shop, or even at the market perusing for charms and other odds and ends. He'll be looking for people to talk to about the happenings around Keeliai that he's missed, and will offer to pay for a meal or drinks to whoever's willing. I may put up some headers later for ease of use.))
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[personal profile] whitelotustile 2014-06-26 09:51 pm (UTC)(link)
"And it is a wonderful way to get to know your neighbors. New and old," Iroh said. "But I know it's the sort of thing that requires a bit of patience."

Iroh is thinking of his nephew here. It had taken Zuko some time to realize how his uncle operated, and it had taken Iroh some time to realize he sometimes needed to let Zuko in a bit more so he could see why Iroh did what he did.

Granted, sometimes it was because Iroh had spent several decades in military camps, and having a nice bed, a hot bath and well-prepared food was nothing to sneeze at.
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[personal profile] whitelotustile 2014-06-28 12:22 am (UTC)(link)
"Tea," Iroh said. It wasn't that he didn't drink alcohol, it was more that he didn't like drinking alone. And, well, everyone knew how fond Iroh was of tea.

Well, everyone who spent more than five minutes around him. "I'm afraid if I have anything stronger, I'll be done for the day."
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[personal profile] whitelotustile 2014-07-07 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
"Yes, you are more likely correct," Iroh said. "And such things are often hidden until they are ready to strike. In some ways, the taking of the Palace while the current Emperor was out was... not as much of a problem as it could have been."

In other words, Malicant having the Palace was bad, but Iroh could think of it being worse. They still had several people free and most of the city wasn't Malicant's territory. Iroh hadn't lived in a city under occupation before -- during the siege of Ba Sing Sei, he'd been on the invading army, and when the Fire Nation had captured the city, he'd been in prison -- but he understood some of the theory from talking to his neighbors. And, truthfully, Ba Sing Sei under the Dai Li hadn't been too different than under the Firelord's occupation, especially for a renegade firebender.

It was making Iroh think. Bounding over the walls on a comet-fueled fire blast was not an option here.
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[personal profile] whitelotustile 2014-07-12 11:19 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well, I can't say I've ever dealt with this problem," Iroh admitted. "I'm more used to more human armies." Was that insulting to the apparently-nonhuman person sitting next to him. "No offense. But such a large and hostile spirit would be something out of legend, even for those who have dealt with the Spirit Realm."
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[personal profile] whitelotustile 2014-07-13 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
Iroh isn't used to dealing with things that are neither human nor spirit; even beings like dragons have a (clawed) foot in the spirit realm.

"Work around it; we cannot get into the Palace, but we can control who comes out of it."

Firebenders are not known for indirect approaches, but Iroh has studied all four nations, and sometimes more subtle methods were necessary. Overwhelming force wasn't useful against Ancient and Powerful Evils.
whitelotustile: (disappointed)

[personal profile] whitelotustile 2014-07-14 01:07 am (UTC)(link)
"Or a siege," Iroh said. "though that is an ugly, drawn out way to fight a war. But there are no pretty ways to fight a war."
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[personal profile] whitelotustile 2014-07-19 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
"Septimus. Gaius Septimus, I believe," Iroh said.

He took the tea; he normally drank his green, but tea was tea, and the oxidized sorts weren't bad.
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[personal profile] whitelotustile 2014-07-19 12:54 am (UTC)(link)
"you're welcome," Iroh said.