TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 10

[avalonmods]

{ QUICK NAV } Premise ⚔️️ Rules ⚔️️ FAQ ⚔️️ Taken ⚔️️ Reserves ⚔️️ Apply ⚔️️ Locations ⚔️️ Bestiary ⚔️️ Top-Levels Only ⚔️️ SUMMARY: New arrivals drop into the lake and have to climb up a cliff to the Rent a Ride, where they are given their device and some headphones and can retrieve their personal materials. They travel to Camelot, which is a multiple day journey, so they stop at the Red Springs along the way and stay at an inn there. A ⦿ Soaking in Your Arrival KERPLUNK, SPLASH! Regardless of what you were in the middle of, you and your familiar have been magically pulled into the world of Avalon just above the Bay's waters. After a brief plunge into the Bay, the rush of water filling your ears and soaking up into every creak and crevice of your body, you may need to cough to clear your airways when you rise above the surface. It's still chilly, but not enough that you can't manage on your own. The Lady of the Lake is swimming around under the water, helping to rescue any wayward travelers who look like they're struggling in the water. This month's helpers are giant pillow jellies, a species of jellyfish that is capable of ballooning itself at the surface to create bouncy pads for characters to hop across to the shore, should they choose or not be able to swim. They come in a variety of bioluminescent colors, but do not seem to be very talkative even to animal magic users. Those who try may find themselves being ignored, even if they hear the jellies talking amongst themselves about this and that. If anyone tries to ask the Lady of the Lake for directions, she will direct you to Archimedes at the Rent-a-Ride. The shores themselves are littered with new arrivals complaining their way up a staircase carved into the walls of the White Cliffs. There is no railing, so be careful, but if you do fall, be prepared for a mysterious sand hand to reach out of the side of the cliffs to catch you. The hand will pat you atop the head twice before retreating back into the wall. This is the Cliff Beast; despite the name, he is quite friendly. (Though.. given how hot and muggy the weather is this first week, maybe you might want to ask him to toss you right back into the lake where the waters are still cool.) *Reminder: Your character's familiar may or may not be with your character in their initial plunge. If the familiar isn't partial to water, it may meet your character on the beach or sit atop their head while they swim. Or if they are, they might splash about and swim alongside your character. Familiars have different personalities and body specs and we leave those up to the players. B ⦿ The Caravan to Camelot Once everyone is wrangled up to the top of the White Cliffs, the handsome owner of the Rent-a-Ride, Archimedes, will distribute smart phones and a pair of ear buds and tell them to "Check the Shit Box." The "Shit Box" refers to wardrobe more formally known as the Wardrobe of Finding, a hammerspace-like wardrobe that opens to each person's items and pets when the person touches the handle. It was recently enchanted by Merlin to prevent people from having to fish their waterlogged possessions and pets out of the water with them. From there, Archimedes directs everyone to settle in groups into modernized carriages pulled by horses and gives them a basic explanation of why and how they've been brought to Avalon: The rest of the universe is frozen in time and your character has been brought here by a familiar that was able to bond with them. They'll have to learn magic to help save their own world from destruction, but first they've got to get them to Camelot. It is here that you have the first opportunity to decide who they will be in their new home. You'll have about an hour to wander around here, meet and greet, and pet the horses before it's time to go. These carriages use fae technology that combats weight, so your character will be able to get in regardless of whether they're light as a feather or weigh two tons. The carts have air conditioning when it's hot, heating when it's cold, and a mystical shield to protect from bugs. There is also a mini-bar that pops out of the console with whole coconuts filled with tropical drinks and topped with tiny umbrellas. Strawberry daiquiris, pina coladas, margaritas, mai tais, and more... all frosty and in the spirit of keeping you cool during the sunny month of August. (Naturally, virgin editions are available for the underaged.) Characters can use their smartphones to connect to Camelot's internet service, avalononline (AOL), to chat with other characters, watch dumb videos, learn about the world, contact Camelot Support (they'll answer any questions they can for you, from how to use a smart phone to where to find quests and resources to learn more about your magic). Be careful if you decide to use your phones while in the caravan-- if you don't use those earbuds and start forcing everyone to listen to your nonsense, Archimedes may make you walk. C ⦿ The Red Spring The journey from the White Cliffs to the City of Camelot is a long one, and the first evening you arrive you'll end up spending at the Red Spring, a booming resort town. Because of the volume of new arrivals and vacationers, inn rooms are assigned two-to-a-room. The rooms have two twin beds, a bathroom, a mini-fridge and microwave, and a TV equipped with a couple of entertaining video games and a few free movies. If you don't want to relax in the room, try taking a dip in the spring for another chance to meet your fellow travelers. The waters have restorative properties that help horses and travelers recover quickly when drunk. It is known to relieve stress, improve energy levels, and mildly accelerate healing. It may be a little chilly when you get out though, so make sure you don't slip rushing back indoors when you get out! The springs are also home to a large training grounds just outside town limits, where there are teachers who will teach basic magic safety and help you discover what kind of magic you have together with other new arrivals. Try target practice, obstacle courses, meditation circles, and other ways to try to figure out just what you can do... if you didn't already have an accidental discovery on the ride there. SUMMARY: The first attempt at using the mounts to travel en-masse up to fae territory is filled with problems: mandrake sprouts caused by recent murders drumming up requests to dig them up, two titanic creatures face off in the lake and catch characters in a maelstrom, and a mysterious underwater town with a strange curse being good neighbors with a last minute save... at a slight risk: becoming a merperson, naga, or cecaelian for a little while. With communications with Elphame in Celliwig disrupted by specters and Arthur temporarily decommissioned, the Hall of Mirrors is temporarily off limits for cleansing rituals. Celliwig has encouraged people to return to Camelot for the time being, which is just as well with all the newcomers flooding in. Last month's new arrivals through the old guard got an introduction to the new aquatic mounts and there are now plenty of people versed in how to handle and work with the magical alpacapies, mossatees, and deinosuchus. As scout parties head out further, there are a few problems that they've run into that need a helping hand from Camelot's otherworldly population. A ⦿ A Mandraconian Task Just as volunteers are asked to bring supplies for the journey to fae territory, a series of grisly murders involving strung up corpses appears around town (see this month's quest, "Not-So-Good Morning" for more details), and the dripping blood and fluids of these corpses seeps into the ground to give birth to strange, leafy plants that sprout leaves in all directions at once. They're small, and the locals seem weary of them, but ultimately they're breaking up pathways and making them into trip hazards... the locals recognize these plants as mandrake root, which is known in different cultures for... very different things. The mandrake root is a cursed plant that screams in a way that curdles blood enough to kill small creatures if they're too close and make a grown person go deaf. The reason anyone would pull them up however... well, their magical properties are astounding. It is said that Joan of Arc carried one in her possession to give her the power to take control of her own fate. Some religions claim that it has the ability to restore a person's fertility, and before clever manufacturers started using the name for tomatoes, Islamic tradition called the "apples of the jinn" and cause strong bouts of lust. Needless to say, a good many people are cautious about pulling them up, but more than willing to offer a fair sum of money to a newcomer who can get them out of the ground. The cause of their sprouting may be tragic, but there's no way that you're going to make it through town center with trip supplies without getting pulled aside and asked to help harvest the mandrake roots for a pretty penny... or maybe you're interested yourself. Either way, it may behoove you to practice a little magic with a friend to try to get them up. B ⦿ Clash of the Titans Finally everyone has gotten going and a mixture of brave Camelot citizens, Celliwigians, and otherworlders have headed back to Albion's White Cliffs to take off with their mounts (and partners... you're going to have to ride with someone, there aren't enough mounts for everyone to get their own!) and things are going well. It's about two days into the waters of Lake Avalon that things start to send a chill down your spine. Back on land, even for the first two days there, the weather had been hot and sunny, a beautiful summery start to August, but as the party starts to approach the southern banks of Dinas Emrys, they see a gargantuan beast run at bewildering speeds off the land and straight across the surface of the lake. The creature appears to be some kind of centipede formed of black clouds and lightning that illuminates its exoskeleton from inside of its body in deep purple and blue hues. Each of its legs kicks up a titanic wave headed straight for the party of explorers as it charges towards its target, what appears to be a tsunami wave containing a dark, shadowy figure emerging at least twenty stories above the water. The only part of it that isn't black are the blank, soulless eyes. As the lightning bug monster charges what some may recognize as an umibozu, it crashes into the tsunami wave and all three fall asunder... which is bad news for the traveling party, as the waters are now extremely choppy and lighting up with charges of the centipede's lightning. The result? As the two monsters dive down below the water, a maelstrom forms in their path and starts sucking everyone down! C ⦿ Fresh Waters Anyone who manages to escape the maelstrom will find that their mounts aren't moving forward this time around and are heading back where they came from, even with lost supplies. You may find yourself having to switch mounts with others nearby or talking to a strange beachball on the back of the alpacapie that's carrying your ass back to the White Cliffs... Or if you weren't so lucky, you may find yourself waking up on a slightly different shore. An underwater shore. An underwater town, in fact. After the initial panic of realizing that you're not drowning when you wake up settles in, you'll realize that you seem to be able to breathe underwater just fine. In fact, the real panic is probably about to start when you realize that like the fine people of this town that saved you, you've been temporarily gifted gills and a bottom lower half of either a merperson, a naga, or a cecaelia. Your caretaker, a nurse of the local town, offers the explanation that the only way to save everyone from drowning was to pull them into their territory, which is cursed to turn them all into sea monsters. Not to worry though, as long as you leave before the sun sets on the third day, you'll turn back to normal just fine. ...Though, they're not really sure when that was or if they battle is over, so you should probably find your friends and any possessions you had with you and start heading toward the surface. Not too much time to explore this strange, underwater town... especially since you don't have much practice not having legs to get you up to the surface. Don't worry, if you don't make it out in time, the Lady of the Lake will come fetch you... though perhaps not in time, so you may need to spend some time back in Camelot seeking out someone to break a curse. SUMMARY:After the recent event, people need to recover and heal. So Camelot's castle opens its doors for an open house, a swap meet and poetry battle auction, and a healing circle ritual. Arthur is injured and recovering, and news has spread on social media about it. There are lots of well-wishers and gifts being sent to the castle... enough that there's just too much for Arthur to do anything with it. He needs time to recover and rest and not be bothered, and as such declares that all those who need it shall share in the wealth and generosity of those wishing him well. The abundance (Especially from guilty Celliwigians who didn't realize what was happening right under their own noses) results in a few things happening... A ⦿ Open House Camelot's castle halls open up to all those who would like to come. Invitations are sent and a feast is prepared. A huge table with all manner of foods from different cultures is prepared. The only thing they ask is that you stay out of the wing of the castle that Arthur is resting in, as he is not available right now. Try new foods made from recipes from all around the different worlds or invite yourself to use the castle's royal public baths, remodeled from more ancient styles to include cool things like old architecture mixing with jacuzzi jets and waterfall shower rooms. There's even a water slide. It's more a water park than anything... Explore the library (except for the forbidden section, which has a very powerful magical barrier preventing entry-- even trying to tamper with it could result in your character glowing colors by their mood as punishment for messing with the magic). Those are dangerous texts in there! There's even a live show with a magician! Which sounds lame, but he's more or less showing off his skills in tricks, knife skills, and has a mean comedy routine to go with it. He's even willing to teach lucky volunteers how to escape death-defying stunts... hopefully. You may want to bring a buddy for backup. Or perhaps you're more interested in heading out to explore the rose gardens or finding a place to stay for the evening... don't worry, if you've had too much to drink or simply tired yourself out, you're welcome to stay in one of the guest rooms during this open house celebration. B ⦿ Swap Meet Not interested in exploring the castle? Well perhaps you'll enjoy the open-market bazaar that seems to have set up in the courtyard. All kinds of oddities are being exchanged in the castle courtyard and you may just find something rare.. or maybe it's a piece of crap. It's hard to tell, and the chances of getting swindled are just as high as the chances of getting an antique masterpiece. There is an auction for those willing to pay more for authenticity, but auctions in Camelot go a little bit differently... to win art, you must first prove yourself worthy of art-- all bid submissions must be performed in stanza. Haikus, rap, short poems-- all are valid, as long as they follow the rules of your chosen form of poetry and express why your bid deserves the win. The last person to falter wins their right to pay their bid, with at least 10,000G upped with each poetic rebuttal. C ⦿ Healing Circle After Party It's good to take care of yourself with a little fun, but if you're still stressed, hurt, traumatized, mildly upset, hung over, or just want to feel better about yourself, consider joining in some of the local witches and wizards in a meditative healing ritual. Step one: Gather herbs from the castle gardens. They've got all kinds, but you're looking for things like yarrow, apple blossoms, cinnamon, and lemon balm. Once you've gathered your herbs, join in the silent meditation circle with an available partner. Anyone is fine, but once you've entered the circle with someone, it's very important that you do not make any noise. Silence is important, and as you burn each of your herbs with your partner, you'll find that the smoke forms a barrier that surrounds the two of you. Put your hands together, and focus on the source of your pain. You will share your emotions with the person you're performing the spell with. They will feel everything you feel in that moment, and be able to share the burden without having to speak of or share what caused this pain. With the pain lightened, you will find that the smoke lights up and dissipates up at the top. Whether or not you choose to share with your newfound partner... well, that's up to you, but they sure are going to know how you're feeling right now, and that definitely wasn't warned about when you were asked to join the healing circle. MOD NOTES: • All test drive prompts are open to anyone in the game at any time to create your own logs with, but this post should have top-levels by potential new characters only. Current characters may reply to any threads, but should not top-level comment on this post. • If your application is accepted, you may accept TDM threads as game canon as long as both players consent. Characters may begin threading as soon as their journal is accepted to the communities. •If nothing here tickles your fancy, try one of this month's Quests for your TDM prompt. • The first "Arrival" prompts are present on every TDM, but contain seasonal tweaks for flavor. All other prompts will change monthly. • Questions about this TDM's content? Comment here! If you have a question about the game at-large, please head over to the FAQ.

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Na'na Niall | FF14 (WOL) | Healing & Dark

[knightglow]

A ⦿ Soaking in Your Arrival

[ Crashing into the water wasn't a problem for the Warrior of Light, or so she thought. It immediately became her problem, the moment she attempted to take in a bit of breath... Choking on the water thusly. The fauna or fae folk that watched this take place seemed rather flabbergasted - gawking at this stupid individual. Unaware of the blessing once upon her.

The sword within her hand starts to slip from her grasp, it had initially been the reason she fell right in as opposed to bouncing upon the jellies. It sinks into the depths. Fixing into a bit of coral, and despite her attempts to grab it once more. She fails.... The water that had began to fill in her lungs, became a problem. Her misfortune was rewarded by something grabbing her, and dragging her out of the water.

Whether it was fae folk or not, Na'na now starts coughing for her life. ]

What... In all.... [ Well her mind is setting straight, and her priorities are totally in order. The first thing she asks of the passerby or person who potentially saved her life was - ] Wait... Wait... My sword..? Can you get it?

B ⦿ Red Springs "this bird pecks male pedestrians"

[ This darling Chocobo, hilarity holds a long story behind this title. Its feathers sport a midnight blue color, and is black in looks. Yet when the light reflects upon it, it is evident that the colors are a deep dark blue. Currently... It is chewing on Na'na's tail. It wants to get her attention, whilst someone approaches. The woman's mind is on other things, tying her large dark sword - now absolutely useless to her.... Upon the Chocobo's back, wrapped in a large cloth. For safe keeping.

The Sun Miqo'te is very upset that, without her Dark Knight stone. She wouldn't even be able to hold such a weapon. Let alone the fact that, she felt different. No echo, no ability to breathe under water, and on top of that she couldn't harness her ability as an Astrologian. Having attempted to connect with the worlds Aether flow at first.

It all felt different, not like walking into the Crystarium... It genuinely felt like everything around her, went into her lungs and felt so alien.

With her mind fumbling through thoughts, a cool expression dawned along her face. Cat like ears pinned back against her head. She was very focused on the task at hand, and the level of thoughts within her mind.

The Chocobo however, is aware of someone's presence and if they are male, they will immediately start pecking at them. If they are female, they will splay out their feathers excited to show off their plumage to the other. If they are the cast mates, for whatever reason. Then they wont peck at you, unless youre Thancred. Thancred gets lovingly nipped.]

A2 ⦿ Fetch Quests / / / Some where Frey is sighing in disappointment ....

/ / / A Mandraconian Task

"Can you acquire for me 10 Mandrakes from the roads? Ever since those bodies have been hanging 'bout. There been these little critters taking root all around?"

Sure. [ Na'na does not so much as skip a beat the moment she is asked to help with something. Although her abilities are unbeknownst to her as of yet, she will gladly jump the gun and attempt to pull up these little critters... Maybe even taste them - no Wol don't do that. Either way, when she pulls one out, and their screeching hurts her sensitive ears. The woman shoves it back into the ground. ]

By the SUNS breathing grace, what are these?

/ / / Don't Treep, Man

[ She hasn't the green thumb, but she does patience of a Quest taker. To water crops, fix other peoples fences, and run around doing whatever is asked of her during her time with the farmers. Incidentally she hit it off with them, and is quite smitten by the hardworking folk of the land. ]

Ahh, I could never be a farmer...

/ / / Hot Nights

[ Asking to hit on someone was about the easiest thing she could do, logging into AOL was a bit of an effort. Thanks to working with Tomestones however, and her knowledge of Allagan works... She could figure it out. On she logs into the AOL network and posts: ]

UN: shepherdofstars
'The stars may not move around us, but my heart finds itself bursting to life the moment my eyes lay upon you.'

Is what I'd like to say if I knew any one of you more personally, did you at least get a laugh?

/ / / Invasive Species

[ So straight forward! When she was asked to cull animals, she had done so without a second thought. It took her some time to adjust to her magic, but after helping the farmers. They had gifted to her one of their weapons, especially after hearing she were struggling to carry her great sword. Are you battling along side her, or enjoying the defeat of those scorpion animals. ]

How vitalizing!

C ⦿ Wildcard

[ Feel free to hit me with a wildcard - she's the essence of a yes man. Typical warrior of light stuff, but also be aware she acts very bimbo. Even if that isn't who she is as a person. She's miqo'te! Visual ref here. Following the standard, feel free to not acknowledge her as the actual warrior of light - though she will acknowledge some characters from the cast? The moment she knows they don't know her, she will play it off accordingly that she only knows them by name or not at all... Or try to. You can hit me up here: witchcess ]

A

[scriptwriter]

[Whenever he saw someone drowning, Kotarou's first impulse was to take off his black suit and white collared shirt to dive right in to save her. There was no rhythm or reason to this... Whenever he saw someone in trouble, Kotarou had a habit of butting in to help without thinking much about it. All the training that he did in Guardian had prepared him for situations like this. So he safely pulls Na'na of the lake and brings her to shore. It was a good thing that he was around or this would've ended very tragically.]

Man, I can't complain about it raining girls... But that was really cutting it close there.

[Phew. That's one goal accomplished. And now for the second one...]

Your sword? You sure that you wanna be carrying that big thing around? It looked pretty heavy, you know.

[knightglow]

[ Raining girls? Na'na couldn't help considering how displaced she was with everything but make a face at him. Though it quickly goes away, when he mentions the sword. Almost a bit urgently, she rises up and slaps beneath her breast a few times. Trying to get all the water out, after a long moment. She heaves and says, ]

That sword means everything to me, [ Half true, swords were important to Knights weren't they? Na'na wanted to continue that illusion in her mind, it made her feel as if she were rightfully one. ] besides. I'll get it, its fine.

[ Attempting to jump to her feet, she shakes her head. Ears wiggle, and tail writhing about. As she was about to go and grab it, one of the Fae from the sea rolls it out of the waves onto the beach. It's there on it's ide, and Na'na tries to let out a thankful sigh. ]

Oh by the Twelve, it's okay.

[ Her hands reach over to grab it, but.... Immediately.... She starts struggling. Now you just have this girl very pathetically trying to drag the sword up, and she manages but not without gurgling in agony to lift it up. Please help her. ]

[scriptwriter]

[Ah. Kotarou couldn't help and hyperfocus on the way that her breasts jiggled whenever she slapped it like that. She was certainly packing a nice rack there! Though he couldn't get distracted here! She seemed rather determined to pick up that sword from the ocean. It was a good thing that jelly fae came along to push it out of the sea. He lets out a big sigh of relief seeing that was taken care of.]

Well, that's another problem out of the way! Alright then, let's get--

[He was about to turn around, but notices that she was having trouble picking up her sword. Kotarou couldn't help and look rather incredulously at her. "What kind of a knight can't pick up their own sword?!" He's going to walk over to her and put a hand on her shoulder to give her a signal to stop.]

Hold on, hold on! You're gonna hurt yourself if you keep going. Why don't we try to pick up this thing together?

[knightglow]

[ Had Na'na noticed, she would have spoiled him a bit more with a show. However her mind were on the mishap of her inability to carry her own sword. This came about for one reason only, no longer could she channel the powers of the Void? What sort of world were she in, where her own abilities were null like this?

It was indeed pathetic, and in her mind she too was asking what sort of Knight am I?

The pat to her back goes welcomed, and she lets it go. With a slight thud. ]

Alright, well. Lets just, put it in the ground and go from there?

[ Rolling her shoulders a few times, and giving one big stretch. As if she were a cat, she reels over reaching for the hilt of the sword. ]

Alright, come on now! I need your big boy muscles to help.

[scriptwriter]

Sure. That sounds fair.

[He takes a moment to put his shirt and suit back on, then rolls his arms around to relax his muscles. He'll move over to the opposite end of where Na'na was standing and grabs onto the lower bars. He figured that would help where she had the hilt secured and he had this part handled. This was reminding him of a time when he had to help a certain airheaded girl with a heavy box.]

Alright! Let's do this thing on the count of three. One, two and three-!

[It was time to hit the accelerator in his mind so to speak. He couldn't rewrite himself like he used to, but this was always a good mental switch in his mind whenever he was going to do a big physical task. He grunts as he begins to feel the sword lifting up. Slowly and steadily... Good thing his Guardian training left him physically fit as a fiddle. He thinks that this will work!]

Hnngh... H-Hey, miss? Just what is this sword made out of, anyway?!

[knightglow]

Ah, the best metals the Crystarium could offer - a gift. Then I had old Gerolt fix me a sword to my liking. Though - he didn't like it at first, but he owes me one.

[ There she goes acting as if anyone knew who she spoke of - its fine though. At this point in the Warrior of Lights life, she knew them and that was what mattered. Up it goes though, and Na'na is all too aware at once that this is going to be an inevitable problem. Thankfully, as luck would have it. The stifling, 'KWEH!' In the distance can be heard, and Na'na lets go of the blade. A bit too excited - hopefully Kotarou can hold it up otherwise the damn that heavy sword is going to drag him onto the floor again. She believes in you Kotarou.]

Midna~~!!

[ As luck, would have it her trusty Chocobo that would fight through all utter hell to be reunited with their rider. Did as much, instead of waiting patiently where she was suppose to be. Theres a quick moment to greet one another, and then Na'na clicks her tongue respectively. The Chocobo answers and settles down all the way onto the floor.

Now.... Now Na'na turns, having forgotten about Kotarou just for a minute. ]

Hmm... Are you doing okay there?

[scriptwriter]

--Hiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeee---!!

[Okay, scratch that. Even with his Guardian training, Kotarou was not experienced enough to be lifting heavy swords like this! This was more of the territory of the Bayern Knights who have been fighting for over forty to fifty years. Kotarou was still a young man in his early twenties. There was no way that he was experienced enough to be lifting this big thing around!

That's why he's on the ground and wheezing hilariously with the sword on top of him. This was one of those moments where he wished that he had his rewrite power to give him a little boost! Then again, even with that, he had to wonder if it'd be the worth the cost to be carrying around a giant sword!]

Haaaaaah... I-I'm dying here... Why was I dumped for a freakin' biiiiiiiiird?!

[knightglow]

Haha. [ The Miqo'te lets out a lofty bit of laughter, enjoying the sight of the other attempting to rear off the sword. Unfortunate she could not carry its weight, but with some newfound resolve. Nana comes over toward the other and with both her hands clasped around the hilt. She gives one big - ] UP!!!

[ No longer was poor Kotarou clutched beneath the agonizing feeling of the sword trying to kabedon him onto the ground below. She at least manages to drag the weapon, and lay it upon the Chocobos back. Where there were leather straps making it a bit easier to hoist it on. It took a moment, with the chocobos help but it got on.

Wiping her brow, she looks over toward the other. ]

Phew, thank you so much for that. [ Is he on the floor? Its okay shes here to help if she can... ] Might I've your name?

[scriptwriter]

[He was very close to seeing a white light with a set of angels before Nana had came along and pulled the sword off of him and lets out a big wheeze. Kotarou couldn't help and be a little confused right now. "Wait a second... She could do that the whole time!? Was I just here to be fodder?!" Well, this wouldn't be the first time and it sure wasn't going to be the last.

At least she could manage to get her sword up and onto that bird... Though it looked pretty familiar. For now, he lets out a mixed laugh and sob as he feels water leaking from his eyes.]

Uuuu... My name is Kotarou. Tennouji Kotarou. And please don't mistaken the water running down my face as tears of emasculation... This is just pure sweat from all the hard work I had to do.

[Weakly, Kotarou lifts a hand up. He's going to need some help up, indeed!]

[knightglow]

[ Nana lifts him up, and peers a bit closer to his face. As if looking for the tears that were running down along his cheeks. Were they there? Were they not? The hand clutched tightly to his own did not let go after helping him up, and another reaches out to cup his cheeks. Running a thumb searching well for any tears that he were speaking of.

Personal space? Did not exist. ]

Hmmm...? I don't see any tears?

[scriptwriter]

Huh?! Oh, uh...

[This is dangerously close! Kotarou could feel his heart pounding like a jackhammer. There weren't any tears running down his cheeks anymore, but he's definitely red in the cheeks now. What should he say? What should he do!? He's not looking Nana directly in the eyes.... This woman is really pretty and had cute ears too.

Wait a second. She was a cat girl-- Holy shit!]

T-They probably just faded away. Yeah, that's it... Totally! [Ahem.] Uh... Who's your feathery friend over here?

[knightglow]

Good then, I would hate for my savior to be crying tears like that. [ Her hand leaves his face, and gently pats along the others shoulder. Giving it a gentle squeeze, as she turns with her tail flickering behind. Taking her movements toward the Chocobo who had now rose unto both its back haunches.

Now that he was up(kotarou), and the attention was on him(kotarou). Midna immediately began pecking Kotarou's head. ]

Hey! Hey! Stop now. [ Nana reels the harness that controlled the Chocobo back. Making certain that the partner of hers, wouldn't go about pecking the other to death after he just got off the floor. ] Sorry about that, he isn't fond of strong Male heroes.

Red Springs // Male Pedestrian

[icastsword]

[This tall male pedestrian doesn't really notice the large bird until it starts pecking at him...which is pretty much par for the course with this lad. His Perception stat is in the toilet. Once he does notice he's being pecked, though, he immediately backs up, raising his arms to shield his face.]

Woah, hey! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't see you, please stop pecking at me...!

[The very large purple tarantula clinging to his back hoists herself up to peer over his shoulder and starts doing some threat assessment.

Please save this big buff tiefling warrior from the cranky chocobo.]

[knightglow]

[ The Chocobo Kweh's rightfully unafraid of the spider attempting to threat asset. If anything the bird mount gives a puffed up look toward the spider that has joined the 'battle', and peers upon it as if to say 'What you don't scare me!!'

Na'na on the other hand, is alerted by the voice that responds from her partners attempt at.... Being a menace, as usual. Her own hands reach over to guide the harness down and lay palm upon its beak. ]

Now, now. That is no way how we treat Men. How many times do I have to insist? [ Thats an absolute lie, she definitely taught the Chocobo to do that. Her hand reaches over for a Gysahl Green within one of the side pockets. Handing it to the Chocobo to distract it and settle down. The plumage of feathers lax around the Chocobo, and flatten along its body. Na'na on the other hand gives a wide smile, ]

Hi! She didn't succeed in hurtin' ya, did she?

[icastsword]

[Oh thank goodness, a rescue...!

He will slowly lower his hands as the bird withdraws, and automatically returns the woman's wide smile with a bright grin of his own. The tarantula peering over his shoulder, on the other hand, glares at the bird and hisses quietly. Don't start something you don't intend to finish!]

No, no, she didn't! I was more surprised than anything. I was probably crowding her without realizing it. Sorry about that.

[He does notice the hissing coming from directly behind him, and reaches up to pat one of the spider limbs clinging to his shoulder. He turns his head to murmur: "Calm down, Daisy, I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it."]

[knightglow]

Ahaha, she mean's well. She is mighty and proud, been through a lot. Ya know? [ Rather gleefully, the Miqo'te clicks her tongue. Then because there are quite a bit of words with the annunciation of 's'. Na'na cannot help but find her tongue coming out slushed. ] Isss that a Sspider of sssorts? Looks like a little one from the kind of lot I have seen in my life.

[ The Miqo'te runs her fingers along the plummage of her Chocobo, her other hand pressed upon her waist as she spoke. The Chocobo gives a glaring look, but it is happily chewing on the Green it was given. ]

The names, Na'na Niall. [ A distinctive pause between both Na's. ] If you ever wanna call me anythin' else. Just Nana, please.

[icastsword]

Oh yeah, I get it! No worries at all.

[He smiles at the woman again, shifts his gaze briefly back to the large proud bird, before returning to regard her once more and answer her question. He is far too polite to remark on her hissing "S's", though he does notice them with some curiosity.]

Yeah, she is! She's, um. Well, she's an Amethyst Spider. Normally she spends most of her time as a little figurine that fits in my hand - [And he holds up one of his hands as if to demonstrate] - and only gets this big when I summon her, but she's been like this ever since she came out of that wardrobe by the lake. Not that I'm complaining! But it's a little weird that she can't go back to being small.

[He frowns a little bit then, because he kind of gets the feeling that maybe he should be worried about that, but it's not like he can do anything about it.]

Na'na? [He takes a lot of care to mimic the first pronunciation she used; it's very important to him that he gets people's names right.] It's nice to meet you! [And now his big dumb smile makes a reappearance.] My name's Griffin O'Callahan, but please just call me Griffin.

[knightglow]

Oop, might mess your name up a bit. Don't mind if I do though, when you come from the city state like Ul'dah. A melting pot of all sorts of people, the annunciation of things changes, ya know? [ Taking her fist, and slapping it against her palm. She says his name a few times before getting it right, however she always rolls the "R" in his name. ] Griffin. Hah, got it!

So she's an Amethyst spider, 'nd she is this big? [ Na'na makes hand motions, the side of the spider currently. ] I thought she could be bigger, that is cute though. Make sure to keep her close. The place seems full of all sorts of trouble here. Reminds me a bit of my own home lands. Any of it remind ya of your home?

[icastsword]

[He listens to her practice patiently, and his big dumb grin makes another appearance as soon as she nails it.]

Yeah, you got it!

[His uncle rolls his "R"s the same way - that is a sound he 100% does not mind. And he nods solemnly at her advice, taking it to heart.]

I always keep her close, even when we're not pulled into some weird unknown realm. [It might be more accurate to say Daisy is the one who keeps Griffin close, because of the two of them, she's the one with an actual Intelligence Modifier. But anyway.]

Hmmm...Some of it does. A lot of it feels like someone smashed the Feywyld and the Earthly Realm together. It has that kind of timeless, ancient feeling of the Feywyld except with smart phones, which is really weird. [And then he tilts his head curiously.] What's it like where you're from?

[knightglow]

... Earthly Realm? Names I know nothing about, [ She's heard of a few during her time, acknowledged the plethora of universes that like to crash into her own. Or the rare occasions she crashes into them.... Like this one it seems. ] Eorzea. Aldenard to be exact... [ It was weird stating her world like this, but it mattered not. Even if she said more it looked like nothing of what she would say. Would make sense or sound familiar to anyone here... So she would keep it to herself for now. ]

Mmmm.... It feels like my own realm. [ The chocobo finished eating, and its beak taps along Nana's shoulder as the woman thought. ] The magic is different though, the Aether of this world is nothing like my own. I doubt I'll get use to it, but I imagine after a while I'll have to.

[icastsword]

...Aldenard, in Eorzea...? [He takes a moment or two to consider.] Yeah, I guess we're both kinda in the same situation. I've never heard of those places.

[He tilts his head with interest when she mentions magic, though. This isn't the first time the topic's come up since he got here.] I...don't really know enough about magic to be able to tell the difference. I met a guy over the network and he was telling me a little about it. It sounds kinda complicated.

[It's not complicated, Griffin only thinks it is because he doesn't get it.]

[knightglow]

No, no. It's in Eorzea. [ It didn't really matter, but this stiffles a gentle chuckle from her. ] So then...? You didn't work with magic much on your realm? It might be a bit exciting then, coming to a place much like this.

[icastsword]

[Wait, isn't that what he said? Oh, well, it's not the first time he's mixed up something so simple. It definitely won't be the last.]

Well...I worked around a lot of magic. I just never really had much skill with it myself, so I focused on the stuff I could do.

[While Griffin's teammates cast spells, Griffin casts Sword.]

I'm sure it'll be interesting, being here. [He frowns a little bit.] I think it'd be more exciting if I wasn't worried about everyone at home.

[knightglow]

[ IT WAS AND MUNS ISSUES(?) kicked up and put them both backwards its okay. Griffin is so valid. ]

Mm... The Archimedes sir, spoke to us. Did you hear? Ya needn't worry, your folk at home will be okay. The worlds time stop, we just need to worry about doing stuff here for now. [ Normal stuff, so to say. The Miqo'te taps at her own chin, thinking about quizzically but then smiles. ] Which means we can have a bit of fun here, whilst trying to save the worlds best we can - ya?