New Hope [Completed]

[tenshinomakai.livejournal.com]

Character(s): Urd, open!
Content: Urd opens up her temporary relief shop to all!
Setting: Across the street from The Cheap Prayer.
Time: Week 24, all day!
Warnings: None.
Note: This log will be done via "party style" threading! Come in and make your own thread to get Urd's attention, or join into someone else's thread. It's all good!

Praetoris was playing dirty. Though Urd put on a casual, unaffected mood on the network, she was just as annoyed and insulted by this new attitude toward the visitors as anyone else. When it came to dressing "inappropriately," the goddess took it to a new level in a way that even modern-minded individuals would deem a little too sexy. She never minded much; she enjoyed finding new and colorful ways to show off both her style and her body. She was a goddess! You had to instill a certain amount of awe in people!

Her favorite tea shop had been adamant in not serving her and as a result, she had broken most of their cups in a fit of frustration. Really, they'd been lucky she hadn't set fire to the whole place! But once her temper had cooled and she had a clear mind, Urd admitted that fighting back had to be done in a better way. A smarter way.

Thankfully, poorer natives of the city weren't so quick to judge them. She'd always had a good relationship with the gypsies, in part due to her continued business with them (she had to get her ingredients for her potions somewhere). It didn't take much to strike a deal with them for her new plan: they'd supply her what she needed and she, in turn, would make sure the majority of the money the visitors had would go to them. Urd didn't need money, of course. Even if she wasn't a divine being, she had a djinn on her side!

Now the goddess floated in a reclined position in the middle of her shop, hands held out in front of her. Rich cloth and strings of beads flew up to the walls and windows, rags wiped the tables and floors on their own and merchandise of nearly every kind arranged themselves onto shelves and tables. She could have done it all by hand, but manual labor did not sit well with Urd.

Out front, a large embroidered banner read, "New Hope."

Comments

[celestial-hope.livejournal.com]

Celes had heard, but not seen, the reason for the clamor that was going on over her communicator. At first she had thought it was a whole bunch of overreacting to not being able to shop. When she finally saw it for the first hand, she changed her mind. The whole idea of segregating people that were different just felt... so... wrong. She had been used to being set apart for a lot of things: casting magic, leading a unit, being a traitor, but never because of what she decided to wear. It was all so... petty.

Not that she could do anything about it, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to yet. Though she had the opportunity to explore Paixao, she regained the ability to walk comfortably only just recently. Whole new areas of the city remained unexplored that were previously inaccessible to her. She was just begun to understand the culture, the people, the government, the situation. Overall, it was a lot to take in and she wasn't quite sure what to make of it yet. She hoped that she'd find something a little more familiar: a small nugget of comfortable understanding that she could build the rest of this city from.

Boy was she in for a surprise. She wandered through the poor district, having heard an advertisement for a shop that wouldn't turn her away for her military uniform and was curious of what they meant by "selling anything". As she passed the banner bearing "New Hope" on the front, she was surprised at both how richly adorned everything looked... and the small floor brush sweeping out a small pile of dust out the front door. Her eyebrow raised and her attention wary for more of the unusual, the former general peered quizzically around the store, wondering what else she could find (and hoping that some of it would be useful).

[kotetsu-blade.livejournal.com]

Auron had been one of the lucky few to receive minimal attention from the natives of Paixao. Perhaps it was the fact that, while his attire was odd by the citizen’s standards, it covered as much of him as the citizen’s attire covered themselves. Aside from the difference in cultures, and the bright colors there was little to criticize.

At least to the guardian’s face. There was no doubt that the citizens were intimidated by the tall, gruff, scarred man who always seemed to be short and to the point with people. And even moreso now.

Auron supposed he should have been relieved or hopeful in some way that Spira was the next world, but he wasn’t. Instead there was only a sinking pit in his stomach and a sense of wrongness that he could not shake. This was a castle of memories. He remembered that specific title being said. The Spira that lay beyond was likely just another of those memories. And even if it wasn’t, he didn’t belong there. It was the world he came from, but it was no longer his world. He had left it behind. He was supposed to have left it behind.

And he would have to tell Braska and Jecht sometime.

Auron had seen something on the network about a new shop opening. Not surprising given the response from most of Paixao’s visitors. The message, and subsequently, the shop, had piqued Auron’s interest, if only for something to get his mind off of Spira and have at least one place to go to to escape the cautious stares and glares of the xenophobic citizens.

[fuhgottaboutit.livejournal.com]

It didn't take much for Osaka to get lost. Urd-obasan had given her the name of the apartments and stuff, but no matter how much she looked back at the map on her handheld, it didn't seem to match up with where she was. It didn't help that she'd never been up in this part of town before. She'd found the train station all right, but from there...

In any case, she well and truly had no idea where the Iriela Apartments were, and she'd been wandering around forever and her feet were really starting to get sore. She was just about to give up and sit down somewhere for a while when she noticed the place with the "New Hope" banner out front. Maybe she could ask for directions there... it didn't have one of those signs on the front, at least. So she entered, setting the door chimes jingling.

The shop, though, instantly enchanted her. It was decked out so different from the other places she'd been here, and... was that a mop mopping the floor on its own, nearby? Or was there some invisible person doing that? Osaka trotted over to it to investigate.

[whitelotustea.livejournal.com]

A few gentle knocks sounded at the door. "Excuse me..."

Iroh's round head peek around the corner of the frame. "I apologize for interrupting anything, but I was wondering if you had any paints?" he asked knidly. He slowly made his way into the New Hope shop. "I would have gone through the other shops, but it seems the new policy makes it difficult for a man like me to get things. Even in my old age, I could not stand wearing anything but sandals. How else are my toes supposed to breathe?" he asked rhetorically, wiggling his toes playfully along with it.

[crystalchamber.livejournal.com]

Kida never had much of a temper. Though playful and childlike at times, she assumed an air of maturity during more serious situations. However, she always had a strong sense of justice. And that is not to say, however, that she never displayed an attitude. After having a debate-turned-argument with a store owner, she had been asked to leave. Ironically, she had been trying to buy the very attire that would have allowed Kida to make purchases in the first place.

She also wondered if her landlord would not accept her payments and evict her at this rate.

As time wore on, she grew increasingly frustrated with the new policy. Unable to even buy clothes to fit the dress code, Kida trekked from store to store until she reached the streets of Vanaheim. There she came upon a store with a banner out front. "New h-oap-eh. Hope." Weary as she was, reading a foreign language seemed harder than it should, especially given her usual enthusiasm to practice the skill.

Kida entered the shop and looked around, crossing her bare arms immediately. She expected the same refusals and people to look down their noses as if she where prancing naked through the streets. The queen was not in the mood for it. Still, she glanced around looking for the shop keep, ready to get this over with.

[my-blessedbell.livejournal.com]

The energy signature was unmistakable: this was Paixao.

Making her way throughout the city, Belldandy was a bit confused. The last thing she recalled was building a new house for her elder sister and Genie-san, and... then nothing. Judging by the ebbs and waves of energy, this was definitely not correct. It was as if she was waking up from a deep sleep, almost. She had to admit to herself, it troubled her.

In times of like, it was customary, nay, expected to visit somebody for advice. So, Belldandy searched for Urd.

Noticing the building, she took in a deep breath, and stepped in. On her face was a smile which could have melted stone.