[ sometimes you wake up in a grimy ditch feeling like shit and lay there for a bit 'cause this isn't the first time it's happened. awareness sets in properly a little after that, enough for him to realise that he has no idea how he got here or where here is. had he gotten rayshifted somehow without realising it? or maybe he'd been sucked into another one of those singularities that shouldn't exist, in which case— ]

If I find out there's a Nobunaga behind this shit again I'll kill every last one of 'em...

[ but he has to get up first. and he does, but this is when izō becomes aware that there's a lot more about this that's wrong than he originally surmised. his connection to his Master is simply gone; a realisation that at first triggers a hot wash of anger for a second or two before it occurs to him that this isn't the Throne. whatever's happened it isn't because the contract had been dissolved — at least by ritsuka — else he'd have been sent back to where every heroic spirit goes when they aren't summoned as a servant.

the fact remains that he is completely alone here regardless of why he is, and izō preferred anger over what he feels about that now. that hits different when it's a choice. in any case, standing around in this hole in the ground isn't going to help. its when he's just climbed out that izō finally notices the gravestone with his name on it, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process.

it's not the grave that bothers him — honestly, that never would have occurred to him because who buries dead bodies? — but he knows a grave marker when he sees one, even if it's in a strange style. ]

The hell is this? Ya think this shit is funny?!

[ so much for stealth. or subtlety. there's no telling how far his voice might carry out here. but then there's other gravestones and other names and he reaches for a sword that isn't there. izō can't recall the last time he's been so livid; if he weren't human right now he'd be radiating the sort of killing intent even non-magical people could feel. but since he's not, anyone else will just have to settle for being able to see it. ]

You here to laugh at me? 'Cause I don't need a sword to kill ya; I've slain everybody who ever looked down on me like that...

[ he accosts the first person he runs across — whether it's a new arrival like him or someone who's been here a lot longer. monsters? he's seen monsters and a handful of very weird servants besides. you aren't special. more importantly, right now he thinks you're in on the "joke". whatever that is. ]

[ ooc; since as a fate/ izō also has backstory from actual history, characters familiar with bakumatsu era japanese history are free to recognise the names on the gravestones as historical figures. the other two besides izō's would read sakamoto ryouma and takechi hanpeita. ]

[ make no mistake, izō's still pissed off, but there's nothing a little food and drink can't at least improve. he does a lot more drinking than eating and after a few hours one might think he's actually having a good time.

the people here are definitely strange and he has no idea what exactly all this "children of the fog" nonsense is, but no one's actively trying to kill him right now so he can deal with the rest. as much as he distrusts others he's not suspicious in the right way, perhaps, because he couldn't imagine what they might want from him. it's easy to assume all this monster stuff is just a strange hobby. he's not very smart but he's not a complete idiot; someone's told him what cosplay is before. ]

Hey! Whatcha get on the quiz thing? The fuck's a "werebear"?

[ his experience with monsters and monster-adjacent things begins and ends at figuring out how to kill them. if he'd ever seen one, he wouldn't have known it. ]