The month drags on and on. Every morning someone casts Fireball. Every night, someone’s summon bursts through a window, steals your food, and runs. Luckily, the chaos starts to slow as the magic flowing through the leylines is finally used up, and the Grove’s natural magic — and your own native abilities — start to listen to you again. It makes resting easier, at the very least. No longer do you have to wait for your window to automatically repair itself after something smashes it.
You know, unless someone wants to start throwing completely mundane stones at it.
With everything settling back into a sense of normalcy again, Ydalir is… still doing things. She never apologised for her candies setting off a chain reaction of chaos, but this time, she’s not feeding you. Kind of.
“If you want to stay connected to the leylines here and maintain some of the magic native to this place, here’s a spellbook for you to write your spells in, and—” she slams a leather-bound journal into your lap, a quill on top of it next to a small crystal that looks like it’s made of quartz.
“A star shard! You’ll need to eat that to anchor yourself to the magic here. It’ll taste like sugar, uh… and it won’t do anything weird to you this time, I’m so sorry. Anyway, you should go out and practice with your peers! It’ll make all of this easier.” If you head out, it looks like you aren’t the only person who’s been snagged for a bit of a magic lesson. It might be worth asking the more experienced spellcasters to help you with whatever new school of magic you picked up, or you could grab a study-buddy that’s on your tier… or you could just rawdog it and see what happens. Surely it won’t be as catastrophic as when you tried to do that throughout the month.
-New characters that app while this TDM is good (March + April) & existing characters already in the game will be grandfathered into the magic system, automatically gaining one Tier One Blessing of their choice without the initial 10-thread buy-in. The rules on the page must still be followed.
-Existing characters with ties to Beiwe & Ourania are free to pick up Gifts of the Sun & Moon at this point, instead of a Blessing.
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sticksandbonesmods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
sticksandbones2026-03-06 10:57 am
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[Panic briefly grips him, before logic jumps in right after. Tengen did not say "kill," and Kyojuro highly doubts he would mince words right about now. It's an important step. He knows he cannot expect out and out friendship, so tolerance is the best he can hope for.
And demon slayers tended to tolerate one another by beating the hell out of them. Case and point:]
If you are that desperate to get your energy out, perhaps you could spar me!
[Who could resist such a wonderful offer.]
no subject
...And he does also just kind of want to kick his ass. He's allowed a selfish motive or two as a treat for putting up with playing nice, he thinks.]
Hope you've improved since last time. We've both taken out an upper moon, but only one of us in a way that matters right now~
[Taking Akaza out on cutieful little dates will not help you now, sir.]
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Very funny, Uzui! [His voice sounds a little strained, and he tries to cover it up by reaching for his sword. He doesn't draw it right away, since Tengen hasn't fully agreed. But he has to show that he's serious about the fight, right?] I will have you know that I have been training vigorously since I arrived here!
[And when you have an Upper Moon who loves to fight, well. Maybe all those "cutieful" dates will prove to work to his advantage.]
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...And he can't even give him a hard time about "training vigorously," because knowing Kyojuro, and from what he'd heard about Upper Three, there's no way that's a euphemism.
He could imply it was if he won this fight, though.]
I'd expect nothing less!
[He could go for a quick sneak attack, but sparring wasn't (always) the time to fight dirty, especially not when he hasn't made it clear he's serious, yet, so he uses that speed of his to put distance between them instead as he draws his swords plainly, keeping both to one hand for the moment.]
no subject
He was still a formidable foe, and Kyojuro would do well to remember that.]
I have missed the sight of your fighting form, you know! [Completely heterosexual things to say.] You have always been adept at keeping me on my toes. I expect this to be no different!
[Once the blades are drawn, once it's clear that this is to be a true spar, Kyojuro charges forward. It's rare that speed is not on Kyojuro's side in a fight, but this is one of those cases. And so he remains light on his feet, ready for Tengen to dip or feint out of the way.]
I hate him so much
As if.]
Hah! Of course you have! You're the only one who comes close to this level of flashiness! [Only the most heterosexual things said in the grove tonight.] I hope you have surprises of your own for me, as well!
[Tengen is fast, but Kyojuro had always been able to keep him on his toes, something he'd come to appreciate over the years, and come to miss in his absence. And yet, it's all too easy to fall back into a rhythm with him - a straightforward charge forward, met with a dip under the blade and an attempt to circle behind. If he's lucky, it'll end the fight early. He's rarely that lucky against any of the other Hashira.]
god same
[Tengen has significant bulk on Kyojuro, which means when dueling with their blades pressed together, he's bound to come out on the losing side. He lingers only long enough to meet Tengen's single-sided gaze with a determined one of his own, before he has skirted off to the side.
From a distance, he's able to move through his sword forms that much easier, sending a few arcs of flame toward Tengen as distractions before plunging straight down the middle. Only a few feet shy of the other hashira does he stop short, bending down low and arcing his blade up high.]
also this is the tag I remind you he's in a yukata because we need more reason to hate him
[Determination meets determination. He knows their blades will only meet for a few scant moments, lest he truly gain the upper hand here - even one-handed, he can still throw enough strength behind a blow to make holding out difficult, and if he manages to nock Kyojuro's sword in the curve of his cleavers, disarming him would be all too easy.
Familiar forms are met with modified ones as Tengen spins his swords by the chain to send his own shockwaves to snuff flame. He knows he should just dodge or ignore the distractions, but where's the fun in that? In a moment, Kyojuro will make another of his direct attacks and-
There he is. He drops low, and Tengen uses his upward momentum to step on the back of his blade and backflip out of reach. Were he a demon, there'd be a handful of bombs thrown, or a kunai, but he's not actually seeking to do harm, here.]
Have you gotten slower?
[He hasn't, but we're in Playful Taunting mode.]
who needs smoke bombs when you can show off your balls
[He clicks his tongue as Tengen leaps backward. Unfortunately, he can't even avert his eyes from the display of calf, thigh, and other details. Who is to say where the next attack might come from. A rain of kunai would hardly be impolite in Kyojuro's eyes. It was part of practicing, and certainly nothing he can't handle.
A few steps back are taken, while a wary eye sweeps toward the nearby grass and trees. A few embers smolder here and there, but it's still damp enough from the recent snows to keep things from outright igniting. He does notice the trees creak in protest, however, and opts to angle his body away from the woods.
Not that the buildings are a better target but... At least those are less likely to fight back.]
Funny! I was going to ask you the same question! [His words have barely left his lips before he's plunging in again, this time with a horizontal cut aimed toward Tengen's abdomen.]
is it working tho
So he just laughs.
(A rain of the kunai he happens to have on his person would be incredibly impolite. Sparring is not the time or place for a poisoning, Kyojuro is not a shinobi, after all. He'll have to collect some non-poisoned ones soon.)
He follows the wary glance towards the trees, with natural and unnatural abilities on the fritz, maybe Kyojuro heard something he hadn't (and wouldn't that be cause for concern?), but the fading embers are all that meet his eye. The creak from the trees isn't... normal, though. Noted. Be more careful. No Yoshiwara 2: Deforestation Boogaloo.]
I have to give you a chance to hit me, don't I?
[This time, he also goes on the offensive, darting in with the intent to catch that slash with one blade, only to switch grip to the other for an upwards strike of his own aimed toward Kyojuro's chest.]
of course it is
It simply wouldn't have been proper.
Still, he wouldn't have batted an eyelash if Tengen opted to hold those feelings against him, especially as far as the demon in the proverbial room was concerned. Not that he's any less grateful that it hadn't gone that way. He's certain he never wants to repeat what happened with Shinobu ever again.
But these are all thoughts to be pondered another time. For now, Kyojuro focuses on the fight at hand. It doesn't surprise him that his strike is blocked. The follow-up from the blade is equally as unsurprising, but it does limit his options. Stepping back would put him far out of range to retaliate, while sliding inward would make swinging his blade difficult.
In that moment, a thought occurs to him. Tengen's innuendo aside, Kyojuro had indeed been practicing with Akaza for some time. They'd shared sword on fist spars, yes, but Kyojuro had also promised to study Soryu style as a student as well. It's not proper, as far as swordsmanship goes, but neither was tossing the occasional Kunai.
And if he could pull it off — maybe it would prove to be flashy enough for Tengen to hold his complaints.
As he pivots inward and to the side to avoid Tengen's strike, Kyojuro shifts his sword into his left hand. With only a flicker of focus, he summons enough flame into it to light the blade from hilt to tip. It'll hopefully be enough to draw Tengen's eye as he lifts his non-dominant arm up and -
tosses the blade into the sky.
Only then does the opposite hand shift, plunging forward in three strikes to the chest. In the perfect scenario, it would be enough to knock the wind out of Tengen. But Kyojuro is untrained, and he doesn't quite have the force he should considering the way he'd had to rapidly shift his body.
So, jury's out as to whether or not he pulls it off.]
thunderclap and flash indeed
What should have been, if he'd had any say.
Kyojuro believed his ways to be improper. Maybe he was right, to a point. His brother's ways were improper. His father's ways were improper. But his? He simply hadn't been given a chance to prove otherwise.
Thoughts for another time. Conversations left in the past and, surely, lying in wait for the future. There's a fight to be had, here, after all, and one where Tengen knows the moment his focus shifts he's lost. So it goes between Hashira, former or otherwise.
Kyojuro pivots, and immediately the shift in his usual rhythm - loud, overpowering, but straightforward - catches his attention and puts him on edge. The rush of flame is a familiar trill, sliding into a discordant key as the blade is thrown.
It's a reflex to spin his own blades in such a way to bat Kyojuro's away - if he's foolish enough to discard his weapon, then Tengen would be worse to let him recover it quickly - but that opens him up fully to the strikes at his chest.
It's not proper for a swordsman to be throwing his blade, let alone throwing hands, so some part of him recognizes that this must be what demons who faced him felt - he wasn't a swordsman, his techniques were unpredictable to one who was expecting a swordsman, and... he'd been doing just that in this fight.
The first strike lands. The second strike lands, as Tengen brings his left hand up to catch Kyojuro's fist, reflexes acting first as the blow grazes where his hand once was. It's not until the third strike, when he casts his own swords aside to clatter to the ground with Kyojuro's, that he can block properly.]
testicle torsion no jutsu?
But it didn't have to be that way. Though Kyojuro's hearing is not nearly on par with Tengen's he can at least hear the whoosh of a blade returning to earth. More than that, he can see the not-yet extiguished streak of flame plummetting toward him.
To reach out and try to snatch the blade from mid-air would certainly be dangerous. More than that, it was liable to get him killed. But Kyojuro throws his hand out all the same, surprising himself as his fingers curl around the hilt.
He whips the blade around deftly, scattering sparks as he tries to put himself between Tengen and his now discarded weapons.
Only now does the triumphant, almost overconfident smile spread across his lips.]
lordt he hopes not
Think you've earned my praise now? [Because he has.] I can't just lose after you've shown me something that flashy!
[I hate him.
Anyway.
He knows without his weapons he'll be at a disadvantage, and with Kyojuro trying to block him off from them, it's his turn to play dirty. The kunai don't fly towards Kyojuro directly, but rather towards his feet, to both make him reconsider his path and, maybe, if he's lucky, be a tripping hazard. Making him fall on his face like that would be depressingly unflashy, but that's a risk he has to take right now if he has any hope of getting his cleavers back in hand.
It's not often he uses his full speed when sparring, either, but he can't be put to shame now, so he dashes forward in a blur, thunder rolling in the distance.]
he's no fun
[Kyojuro only barely gets his words out before he finds himself distracted. The rain of kunai is dangerous indeed, even if he would be the first to praise the logic. For now, he focuses on dancing backward, careful of his feet in the damp grass. His brows push downward, none too happy about being led away from Tengen's weapons, but he won't count himself out yet.
A few slashes are delivered not toward Tengen, but toward the grass. If he cannot reach them, he will keep his companion from doing so as well. Unfortunately, the grass doesn't seem keen to light quickly — it hisses and steams, and begins to smolder, but the fire has yet to grow.
He should have known better. His best bet was to focus on the target. Getting hit with one of the kunai isn't an option, not when he isn't nearly as trained to suffer poisons, but that didn't need to be an issue. He moves through the motion of fourth form, using both blade and flame to hold whatever kunai continue to fall at bay as he rushes headlong to meet Tengen once more.]
he does not want to take that kind of injury to shinobu okok
[Of course he isn't, not until one or both of them are laid out in the grass, or any further sparring would risk injury. Becoming fully disarmed would no longer end the fight - Tengen is no stranger to fighting without, and now it would seem that Kyojuro has learned a few things as well.
And forgotten a few others. The grass hisses and steams, embers catching in the odd dry patch and only just beginning to rise, threatening to spread. On a drier day, there would have been a wall of flame between Tengen and his weapons, to the point where seeing the form that lit the grass should have given him pause.
He doesn't so much as flinch. What are a few burns, anyway? He's not letting his advantage in speed go to waste, not with Kyojuro hot on his heels.
So he recovers his weapons, sure, and has just enough time to turn and slam his blades into the ground in a quick and dirty partial execution of first form.]
you know what. fair. terrible fate.
[Kyojuro's grin borders on wicked, and does not so much as waver as Tengen charges through the smoldering grass. He has half of a mind to meet Tengen in the middle, to gladly cross swords in close proximity, to keep him on the back foot, to -
He sees the way those blades lift and immediately abandons the plan. He may not be intimately familiar with all of Tengen's techniques, but he at least recognizes some of the breathing styles. He only has so much time to bring his blade forward, to try and guard against the coming shockwave.
Even with partial force and a clumsy block, Kyojuro is still knocked from his feet. He feels his body slide backward, wet grass absolutely soaking both uniform and haori. The grass stains alone will be a nightmare to clean out.
But he'll deal with that later. For now, he pushes himself back to his feet. It takes a moment, briefly slipping against the grass as he lifts his blade up high to block whatever follow up may come.]