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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Mary Steinberg | No Guns Life | Healing & Technomancy

[extengineer]

I. ARRIVAL

[In the spectrum of weird stuff that has happened in Mary's life, falling into a giant lake and then being rescued by some red-headed lady and then being carried to shore by giant jellyfish ranks pretty high up there. Given her profession and the company she keeps, especially lately, that's saying an awful lot.

And she's not exactly happy about that fact.

The red-headed lady doesn't give her any answers besides 'go talk to this other guy standing at the top of that cliff,' which doesn't help Mary's mood much. Especially since it looks like there are no familiar faces among the crowd of equally confused people who also had the misfortune to be thrown into the lake with her. Plus she's drenched, there's sand in her boots, and the sun is way too bright and hurts her eyes.

Overwhelmed with frustration, she lets out a very heavy, very vocal sigh and flops down onto the ground below her. She needs a minute. Or ten. If anyone gets close enough and looks like they won't rip her head off (or maybe if they do--she's not picky), she'll address them.]

Do you have any idea what's going on here?


II. OUTSIDE THE CARAVAN

[Once she's had a chance to dry up and collect her things from the Shit Box, Mary finds herself feeling a bit better about this whole weird turn of events. The big guy says something about frozen time and being brought here by something or other, but Mary's only paying half attention as she stares starry-eyed at the smartphone and ear buds she's been given. Eventually, the groups is dismissed to go do whatever before the caravan takes off.

An hour until departure? Plenty of time.

Mary sets up shop in a patch of dirt near the carriage, removing her vest and setting it down for a cleaner working surface, and starts taking the smart phone apart with the set of tools she's just retrieved from the Shit Box. Look, if these people (whoever they are) expected her not to disassemble the device they just gave her, then maybe they should have done a better background check before bringing her here.

A bipedal device with a left hand for a head walks up and settles in next to her, watching dutifully.]


III. A MANDRACONIAN TASK

[Being an urban war orphan and all, farming is so far from Mary's skill set that the very idea of it isn't even on her radar. At least, it wasn't until she was approached about these mandrake things by a local merchant looking to sell a few of them to line his pockets. The pay is good, and he provides her with safety earmuffs to protect her hearing, so Mary doesn't really see a reason to turn the job down. It's just pulling some roots out of the dirt. How hard can it be?

Not very, as it turns out. The trouble comes after she's pulled one out and it starts screaming bloody murder. The earmuffs prevent any actual damage, but enough of the screech comes through that it makes her want to crawl out of her own skin.]

Shut up!!

[At a loss, she shakes it roughly. When that doesn't seem to have any effect, she starts bashing it into the ground.]

You're a VEGETABLE! Vegetable are not supposed to be able to scream! So stop it!

[Mandrakes, much like people, don't really care for abuse. Its scream turns into something more like a wail. Mary looks around for the nearest person and calls out for people, knowing she is well out of her depth here.]

Hey, you! How do I get this thing to stop?

[She's not being paid enough for this.]

II.

[tsumtsuki]

[ Tsumugi is, quite honestly, a little out of his element. None of his acting experience could prepare him for a role as big as this. Save his world? His idea of high stakes are having a stage catch on fire, or being challenged to an Act-Off! Nothing involving heroism or magic like this... But no matter how he feels about it, the fact still remains that he's here now. As a certain someone back home might say, the show must go on.

He's standing near the carriage, taking a moment to breathe before trying to sort through his thoughts, when out of the corner of his eye he spots... a robot? He guesses it's a robot? He's not sure - and it certainly doesn't help that he's terrible with technology. ]

Excuse me? [ He won't approach Mary or her... hand-y companion quite yet, in case she really doesn't want to be disturbed, but he will speak to her from a couple of paces away. ] What are you working on? If you don't mind me asking.

[extengineer]

Mm?

[Mary looks up from her handiwork--bits of the phone are currently laid out in careful pattern in front of her--to find that she has something of an audience now. She briefly considers telling him to go away so that she can concentrate, but quickly decides that she'd much rather be social. It's been a weird day (a massive understatement), and chatting with someone about things is a welcome change of pace to quietly trying to make sense of things in her own head.

As such, she greets him with a smile.]

I'm taking this smart phone thing apart to see how it works. It's more chip-based than what I'm used to, but all the more reason to learn its secrets.

[The smile shifts to a grin. Mary's really, really excited about this thing.]

They gave one to you too, right?

[tsumtsuki]

[ Tsumugi returns that grin with a kind smile of his own and, while still giving her plenty of space to work, squats closer to her, so he can get a better look at exactly what she's doing. ]

Yes. [ He pulls his out of his pocket. Everything looks the same except, well, the fact that it's all in one piece. ] Honestly, I'm a little shocked to receive a phone like this. It's pretty similar to what I'm used to. At least, on the outside.

[ Everything has been so... fantastical up until now, it's almost nice to have something familiar in his grasp. But speaking of secrets: ] What kind of things are you looking for? [ He's curious! ]

[extengineer]

[At the moment, she's mostly picking various components off the phone's motherboard, although she pauses and looks up to look at the phone he shows her. Yep, looks about the same.]

They have these where you're from? With all the same functions and everything?

[She sounds genuinely surprised. And impressed, as if Tsumugi himself is responsible for his world's technology.

After a pause, she goes back to picking through parts.]

I'm trying to figure out how it does what the big guy said it can do. Shouldn't it be wired to something for video and audio? You need cable and phone lines for that.

[For all of the ways technology has advanced in her world, cellular technology and WiFi aren't among them.]

[tsumtsuki]

[ He powers up his phone and pokes around with his pointer finger for a moment before answering. ] Mm, the applications have different names, but I think they're similar? [ That looks like a messaging app! And that kinda looks like Instablam! He'll have to take a closer look later, to be sure. ]

Honestly, I'm not very good with this kind of thing, but if you'd like, I can tell you what I know. [ There's a lot he doesn't understand when it comes to using technology, but at least he has a sense of how it works! ... Or, at least, enough to talk about it in simple terms. ] Though I won't be able of any help with the parts...

[extengineer]

Oh, could you?

[Thank you, new best friend! Mary scoots closer to him so that she can get a better view of the screen. Good thing she actually showered today!]

Don't worry about the parts--I can take care of those later. Just show me what this baby can do.

[tsumtsuki]

[ Oh! Hello, new best friend! Tsumugi tilts the phone a little more in her direction, giving her the clearest view possible as he begins poking around. ]

These phones are able to send and receive information through the air using waves. That way, we can take them with us and be able to use them anywhere. [ Or, well, anywhere with reception. But he won't go into that. ]

I'm afraid I can't show you an example, since I don't have any contacts, but [ He opens up the camera app and toggles it to front-view. ] if I were to start a video call with someone, they would see what we see on screen right now. [ Which is the two of them at a really unflattering angle. Good thing this isn't a real call! ] The picture and my voice would be sent to their phone through these waves, and my phone would receive their picture and voice in return.

[ There's still more he can explain (namely, apps), but before he continues: ] Do you have any questions so far?

[extengineer]

[Mary appreciates him taking such care to make sure she can see. She nods along attentively as he explains how it works in the absolutely simplest terms. Which is what he promised he could do, and it's enough that Mary can sort of fill in some of the blanks.]

Waves. Got it.

[So it's like radio waves, only... more, somehow. She's not the sort of engineer to be able to speak to the technology more than that (her work is much more analog and biomechanical), but it makes enough sense.

When she sees herself in the camera, Mary makes a stupid face at it--making the unflattering angle look even worse. Good thing it's not a real call, indeed.]

Yeah, I have one. The screen--there has to be some kind of sensor under it, right? For it to respond to your finger when you touch it like that?

[tsumtsuki]

[ That's... a bit more mechanical than Tsumugi can confidently explain. But at the very least, he can say this: ]

I believe so. But it's not as responsive if the screen is wet, or if your fingers are covered. [ He demonstrates the latter by covering his finger with his sleeve, then touching the screen. Nothing happens. ] Though I've seen gloves that're designed to let you still use your phone. The finger pads are made of a different material than normal.

[extengineer]

Hmm. I'll have to poke around on mine and figure that out, then.

[She has theories, but she has a feeling they're going to be lost on him. He's being nice showing her this month--no need to overwhelm the poor guy when he's already warned her he doesn't understand the mechanics much.]

So what about these applications you mentioned before?

[tsumtsuki]

[ He would've listened to her talk about her theories, no problem! They just... would've been completely lost on him...... ]

Each of these icons is an application. They let you do different things, like post pictures or play games. [ Unfortunately, he doesn't have any games to show her right now there are more than enough gamers in his theater troupe anyway, but he does have Youtube? ] This one is for watching videos.

[ And while this isn't necessarily part of his explanation, he'll ask: ] Do any of these look interesting to you? We can watch it, if you'd like. [ There's so many options! Look at all of that clickbait! ]

[extengineer]

[So much clickbait!]

Ooh, let's watch this one. I wanna see some ghosts.

[Without asking, she reaches over and taps a video titled "I SLEPT IN A HAUNTED HOUSE??? YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENS". The video goes on for about ten minutes and mostly consists of a lot of screaming and poorly-rendered nightvision. There are no ghosts.

Consider this your first lesson in how YouTube works, Mary.]

Well, that was disappointing. Let's look at something else. What other applications you got?

II.

[gunmettle]

[ It isn’t a familiar face that shows up to greet Mary as she settles in on the ground near the carriage – it’s a small clockwork bird, no bigger than a common sparrow, its feathers shining silver and the small gears of its working parts polished brass. It lands on the ground next to her workspace, chirping at her in music box tones.

It hops over onto her vest and pecks at some of the parts she has spread out – and at Lefty, too, should it try to get too close. One, two more hops and then it takes off again, spreading impossibly delicate-looking wings to fly away.

Only a moment or two later, from somewhere on the other side of the caravan comes the sound of metal striking metal, and an all-too familiar voice: ]

[ Tink! ] The hell’s gotten into you! [ Tink! Tink! ] Get offa my head! [ Tink! ] I said stop! What do you want??

oh hi

[extengineer]

[At first, Mary mistakes the automaton for an actual bird because she's so distracted by the work she's doing, waving absently at it to try and encourage it to fly away. It's not until it chirps and starts poking at Lefty that she finally looks at it.

It's... an Extended? One shaped like a bird, and it looks more antiquated than any she's seen. She sets down the bits of plastic and silicon she's been fiddling with. Forget the phone--she wants to get a better look at this thing. Unfortunately, it flies off before she has a chance to grab it. Leaving her stuff under the watch of Lefty--it's probably fine--she pulls herself to her feet to start after it.

And then she hears that voice and stops in her tracks.]

Juzo?!

[She rounds the corner to the other side of the caravan to find the bird pecking poor Juzo in the head.]

It is you!

[gunmettle]

[ Juzo likes to come out to the area where new arrivals quite literally drop in whenever it’s that time again. He knows he appreciated there being people around to help him get acclimated, and he can also keep an eye out for familiar faces while he’s here.

(After two months, however, he doesn’t get his hopes up.)

His familiar, while sometimes annoying, usually behaves itself, but something seems to have stirred it from its usual next in Juzo’s pocket and sent it zipping off and back again. Now it’s perched on his head and pecking the shit out of his chamber. ]

I swear, you little—

[ Did he just hear-? He stops mid-swing, hand poised to bat his troublesome familiar away. The bird also seems to have stopped its pecking, but Juzo doesn’t notice.

Because Mary has just come around the caravan. ]

Mary?

[extengineer]

[Mary closes the remaining distance between them with a jog, holding a hand over her eyes to block out the sun as she smiles up at him.]

I am so glad to see you.

[It's an understatement. Or, rather, the words don't fully convey the range of thoughts and feelings she has upon finding him on the other side of the caravan like this. That Mary's relieved goes without saying, but there's also a part of her that's unsurprised that he's crossed whatever planes of existence to be here. He swore to Victor (and himself, honestly, despite the whole "it's a job" line) to look out for her, and Juzo's the sort of stubborn person to see that through no matter what, multiverse be damned. It's comforting and familiar to have him nearby in such a strange place.

And the feeling of relief goes both ways--she's glad that he's not alone, either. Juzo needs people, whether he admits to it or not, and it's better to have someone nearby who's at least familiar with him and how he does. Even if Mary's only just scratching the surface of what he's been through, it's better than no one at all. Plus, who else is going to make sure he's tuned up and supplied with cigarettes? It's not like he's good at taking care of himself if left to his own devices.

Of course, like many things between them it all goes unsaid.]

I didn't see you down on the beach with everyone. Did they take pity on you for that head of yours and drop you directly up here?

[Her simply not noticing him isn't possible, as far as she's concerned. No matter what the environment, Juzo's hard to miss--especially when she was keeping an eye out for him or any other familiar face among the crowd.]

[gunmettle]

[ Likewise, he’s so very glad to see her. It’s been so long, and he’s worried about her every step of the way. The very last thing he heard from her was her heartbroken cries echoing through the apartment building, the wail of someone who'd lost their whole world - it was enough to make something in his gut twist itself into knots.

Seeing her here, hale and whole, and surprisingly chipper, makes some of that tension he’d been carrying around with him ease. From atop his head, his familiar intones a few notes happily and hops down onto his shoulder.

Guess he owes the bird one, for realizing Mary was here. ]

Huh?

[ Oh. Oh. She must also assume he’s a new arrival. Hell, if she hasn’t noticed he’s been gone for months, then maybe that time-stop stuff isn’t all bull after all. ]

I got dunked in the lake - when I got here two months ago.

[extengineer]

Two months ago?!

[She shakes her head in response. That's simply not possible.]

No, I just saw you yesterday. At the hospital, where you decided to stare down Berühren and act all big and bad with Rosa's patchwork on your coat. That couldn't have happened if you were here.

[Mary pauses, looking for something in his expression that might make what he's just told her make some damn sense.]

You do remember that, don't you?

[gunmettle]

[ And just like that, all the relief he’d felt at seeing her evaporates. The hospital? That was back when Pepper… when he… that was so long ago! Maybe not long in actual time - well, not counting the months he’s spent here - but so much happened between that moment and their escape from Wunderbender.

So much happened to him. To her.

To Victor.

Shit. Shit shit shit.

He doesn’t know how to guard himself around Mary, now that he knows she can read his expression, but he does his best. It’s there and gone again, a ripple of shock and confusion and something that shares a relative with sadness, before he goes back to something more impassive. ]

‘Course I remember. But you heard what they told ya, right? About time bein’ frozen?

[extengineer]

[Mary can read Juzo better than most, and the momentary shift in his demeanor doesn't go unnoticed. Something about what she's just said has bothered him, and it's clear from how he continues on like it didn't even happen that he has no intention of telling her what it is. She narrows her eyes briefly at him with suspicion, but otherwise elects not to pursue the source of it.

For now.]

Kind of. I admit I wasn't paying that much attention.

[Who could blame her for getting distracted by the new toys they handed her just before they started with the exposition?]

So you've been living here for two months while we were frozen back home? And now the same is true of me, I guess. [Sigh.] I'm definitely going to have to take a look at you once I'm settled in. Make sure everything still tuned up like it's supposed to be.

[Which won't bring up any uncomfortable questions at all.]

Is it just you, or is the kid here too?

[gunmettle]

[ Yeah, he definitely didn’t handle that smoothly at all. Mary is absolutely suspicious and will be even more so once she gets a look at him and notices his brand-new hardware.

Hell.

For a small mercy, she lets it slide for now. That will at least give Juzo some time to figure out how to handle all this. ]

That’s the long and short of it. Found a couple of folks to keep me runnin’ in the meantime, thankfully. I’ll have to introduce you.

[ Speaking of, he fishes a cigarette out of the case in his pocket (the one that still bears Mary’s note inside – like he’d ever get rid of it) and lights up. He takes a long drag, exhaling a cloud of smoke. ]

Just me. Only Extended around, period. No one else seems to even know the word.

[ He’s so tired of questions, Mary! So tired!! ]

[extengineer]

The only one? [Wow. Sucks to be you, Juzo.] Good thing you were able to find people to help you out, then. I look forward to meeting them. And maybe getting some tips from them on what I can do to earn a living here.

[Since her usual line of work isn't going to be a viable one here. Sucks to be her, too.

She watches him light up his cigarette and perks up as if she's just realized something.]

Oh, that reminds me.

[With a wave for him to follow, Mary leads him back around the caravan to where she's left Lefty and her half-disassembled phone. She crouches over the pile of stuff, grabs the pack of homemade cigarettes that's sitting amongst everything, and tosses it up to him.]

This was with my things in the Shit Box. In hindsight, that should have been my first clue that you were here.

[gunmettle]

I’m sure you’ll find something to do, depending on your magic.

[ It suddenly occurs to him that Mary with magic is a frightening thought. Here’s hoping she got something innocuous – he’s not sure he could handle her throwing fireballs around.

He follows where she leads, and it’s a bit of a shock to see Lefty again. Thankfully, he has his moment while Mary’s back is turned, rifling through her stuff, so he’s spared more awkward questions.

His hand snaps up to catch the tossed pack of cigs. ]

Huh. Appreciate the box lookin’ out. Also— [ his muzzle tilts downward as his gaze falls on the pile of things laid out on her vest. ] Is that your phone?

[extengineer]

I hope my magic ends up being something cool. [Like throwing fireballs around. If she has to get used to this whole fairy tale magic stuff, the least the universe can do is make it worth having.] What kind of magic did you get?

[Mary shifts her position a bit, sitting cross-legged on the ground as she starts putting her phone back together. Even with the unfamiliar technology, it's a practiced enough activity that she's still able to carry on her conversation with Juzo.]

Yeah. I had planned to pass the time before they load us all up figuring out how it's put together. But that can wait, since you're here and all.

[Lefty shuffles a bit next to her, which--since she's not currently well-grounded--creates enough static electricity to cause an arc on the motherboard. Mary frowns deeply at the scorch mark the spark leaves behind.]

Or I can render the whole thing useless. This is why chips are such a pain. [She'll take the grotesque biological parts of Extension work any day over this. With a sigh, she dumps the remaining bits into her pack and pulls her vest back on.] You think they'll give me a replacement?