TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 7

[avalonmods]

✨ Greet new players on the OOC intro while apps are processed HERE! ✨

{ QUICK NAV } Premise ⚔️️ Rules ⚔️️ FAQ ⚔️️ Taken ⚔️️ Reserves ⚔️️ Apply ⚔️️ Locations ⚔️️ Bestiary ⚔️️ Top-Levels Only ⚔️️ 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. *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 special ear buds (the supplier was out of the regular ones) 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 nip bottles. 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. After the new arrivals come in, they'll find that this month they came in on the middle of a rather tumultuous time... people are arguing and debating about a future decision to be made. King Arthur recently tried to negotiate with Celliwig's people to open the doors to Camelot, but they refused, and the people have been left with a decision: 1. attempt long-distance, slow wooing of Queen Elphame via the Elphame Traders of the next couple of months, 2. attempt to prove a balanced and deeper understanding of the need for both pure and impure hearts by suggesting an acceptance of trials from Celliwig, or 3. band together under Camelot's flag to invade Celliwig. Celliwig is a place of communication between Elphame and Camelot that bypasses the need for weeks of dangerous, often fatal travel, so the choice is very important in regards to how Camelot both presents itself to the fae people in the future. To that end, people with strong beliefs about particular choices have arranged gatherings to draw people in to hear their perspectives on what the choice should be. A ⦿ Honey Over Vinegar A wide variety of people have sided with this group, including the Elphame Traders, as cutting Celliwig off from them would mean a much harder journey each month to the city of Camelot. (Though commerce always does find a way.) This group is hosting a Tree-Picking Tournament! Of course, the trees to be picked are out in the farmlands, and members of the lobbying group will be giving people free one-use Farm Totems to get to the tournament. The trees in this grove are a little different than normal trees, however. For one, they don't bear fruit. This is Camelot's cookie orchard, composed of special fairy tree hybrids that grow a variety of sweet treats on their branches instead of fruits. There are your usual chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies, but also little puff-like wedding cookies on bushes or checkboard cookies blossoming out of stems instead of flowers. There are even some trees that have clusters of miniature French macarons! The best part, at the end when you turn in your cookies for the count and get your participation prize (and bonus pamphlet about how slow and steady wins the race), you can totally keep and eat them, so be careful not to drop them! How you get them down from the tree is up to you, of course. Try some magic, or maybe just some regular old tree-shaking will do the trick.. just be careful you don't accidentally knock down any wasp nests. Those stings will hurt bad! B ⦿ A Balanced Approach The party of people who want to try to woo Celliwig over to smooth things over see this little political gathering with cookie-based bribery and quickly fashion their own event to make sure the fanfare isn't all for just the one idea. To gather people in to hear their side of the story, this group has decided to host a bug catching contest! Head out into those flower fields between Camelot and the Red Springs that are now thriving thanks to April's plentiful rains. Whether you use a net or figure out how to use your magic to get the bugs, it's how many you catch, not what kinds you catch that count-- so make it fast and make it plentiful! And at the end of the day, what you choose to do with your captured bugs is up to you. Crush them or free them, keep them or eat them, whatever it is you want to do... ultimately, all moral choices are valid, right? So let's go along with what Celliwig wants! Don't forget that May is the season of the frog, however, and you'll be in competition with a variety of sentient and wise members of the Frog Tribe, a group of bipedal frogs who live in the southernmost part of the lake and come up to the flowerfields to stick their tongues out for some delicious bug treats. They have no problem sticking their tongues right into your captured bug nest, hopping on heads to steal your catches, and do all kinds of crazy interferences like snipping belts and tonguing ankles to trip people. You may want someone to watch your back for this event, lest you get done in by a hopper. C ⦿ A Show of Strength The more war-hungry citizens of Camelot seek to go to war. This whole issue will be over if Celliwig itself isn't the one in charge of communication and it's just made directly between Elphame and Camelot, rather than having a mediator who refuses to mediate. They believe that a show of strength is the only way to solve this problem, and as such, they'll be demonstrating that the greatest rewards come from strength by organizing an expedition to a cave at the base of the Ash Mountains. Taking a path squarely between the Dusklight Woods and the edge of the Lands of Rot to the base of the Ash Mountains, this expedition will lead into a cave known as the Giant Cave. It's a pretty on-the-nose name, since it really is a big cave. One of the cool things about this cave is that it's filled with geodes. Those who have enough strength can use provided pickaxes and drills to dig up their own crystals and gold, both great for jewelry and enchanting. In particular, there is a large amount of: • Rose quartz: dark mages can make their love spells much more powerful and healers can use this to enhance spells that soothe anxieties and self-doubt • Amethyst: siphoners increase the potency of counter-curses and light mages will find this stone makes their hard light shields stronger than ever • Agate: strengthen cognitive abilities like post-cognition for a clearer picture of what happened by enhancing perception, and death mages will find they're able to extend their possession times by about 30 minutes by using an agate to stablize their aura • Moonstones: will increase navigation as a traveler's protection for kinetic users-- no longer will you risk tripping over a rock while going at enhanced speeds, or can be traded to fairies to potentially bring down a steep price to something more reasonable • Black tourmaline: a crystal that shields from opposition/negativity-- for technomancers and elementalists, this means that technology is more likely to side with them over another technomancer, or elementalists will find that when using opposing elements, theirs will come out stronger-- like water vs fire, electric vs rock, etc. • Hematite: can soothe blood, leaving it a good tool to enhance animal and blood magic-- animals may trust you more readily by having a calming effect on them, and blood mages may find that they heal more readily after using their abilities • Boji stone: alchemists will find that this is a good stabilizer for for particularly volatile potion combinations, and the properties of this stone leaves green mages to sense new types of plants they haven't yet encountered in passing, even if they're not looking at them It's not particularly a contest in this case-- you can keep and use what you want, and this show of strength has given you more power than ever, so why not consider the same concept for how to deal with our unneighborly neighbors in Celliwig? It may be sweaty business, but surely hitting some rocks will show you the value of strength! With the surprisingly tame day in the Giant Cave, one would think that the Ash Mountains were something of a safe place. No one really bothered the travelers, but that's because no one had been home at the time. as it turns out, the Giant Cave is home to a giant... douchebag of a minotaur. Not a giant, despite the name. His name is Simon and he doesn't like to share, and now that a bunch of people have gone and taken his rocks (he didn't even know there were crystals inside, nor does he do anything with them). Now he has to take his revenge, regardless of not knowing who actually took the crystals that were never really his to begin with, they just happened to be in rocks near where he sleeps. A ⦿ A Stone's Throw from Revenge The minotaur is a very instinctive creature, and his instincts say that the people of Camelot, the nearest settlement, are the ones who need to be punished for this. He uses his superhuman strength to drag huge rocks and boulders all the way to the north-east edge of Camelot, seemingly for no reason, until he's got practically a wall built. At which point he starts picking them up, spinning, and then vaulting the rocks into Camelot's buildings. You may find yourself inside of one of those buildings and scrambling to check if everyone and yourself is okay, or perhaps you're rushing out to stop the minotaur from throwing another. Either way, it's a sudden attack and you're going to have to act fast. Trying to attack the minotaur will be difficult, since it has superhman strength and durability, sharp horns atop its head, and can smell you coming from a mile away. Get creative, and stop the minotaur before it's too late! B ⦿ There's Safety in Numbers Once the minotaur's attacks stop, it flees to recover its wounds, promising it will come back to destroy Camelot once and for all. It's a time for reprieve and to help clean up the damage. Use your magic to help clean up broken buildings and structures, or heal and help others who were injured in the sudden, mostly unprovoked attack. Many of the uninjured citizens will be going around town and providing drinks, towels, and cups of noodles to those who are helping out. Because of the impending threat of the minotaur's return, it's recommended that otherworlder's use the (Recipe) Buddy System spell. The way they explain it, it's a spell designed to alert your buddy if you're in danger and lasts about an hour. The way it actually works is you must be touching your buddy in any way at all times for the next hour. Unfortunately, it seems like the volunteers sharing the recipe may have missed that it was created in a kindergarten class, not for adults. C ⦿ Gross Thankfully, the Buddy System wears off before the Minotaur is back for round two. When the Minotaur returns, the castle has since gathered forces to the edge of town to defend it from another attack. It's unclear where the Minotaur went to get healed, but whoever he went to apparently had some advice, however, and the instinctive minotaur gave into a different instinct for part two of his revenge. Rather than go right back to his pile of rocks, he instead travels the day to get to the southernmost part of Camelot and barrels into town unopposed, as most of the troupes are where they had thought he would come from again. After all, minotaurs are not known to be big thinkers. Instead of violently destroying this time, however, the minotaur instead heads straight to lowertown's well-- and takes a pee in it. It turns out, not only does he have a giant-- ahem, but he is a giant dick as well. Now the entire lowertown has to be evacuated due to contaminated water up to other areas of Camelot. Many people who live there are relocated to live in extra castle rooms. After all, Minotaur Urine is known to be incredibly potent and stinky. Mages who are able to handle the smell are asked to come help perform a ritual of water purification for the lowertown's water system. This ritual involves multiple groups of people performing synchronic magic, a magic type that requires you to be in perfect sync with your partner. Draw a special ritual circle with four candles at equidistant points. Chant a spell in sync with your partner, and blow a special powder made of ground jasper, charcoal, and rosemary into the center of the circle. It will be drawn into the candles' flames and with enough people doing this, all impurities will be removed from the lowertown's water and dissipate into the atmosphere. KEY POINTS 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. There is a vote pending for Camelot and each side of the issue is trying to engage otherworlders to their side of the vote. The slow/steady approach is hosting a cookie harvesting tournament from a grove of cookie trees, the middleground group is hosting a bug-catching contest, and the group that wants war is hosting a mining expedition. The mining expedition aggros an asshole of a minotaur, who throws rocks at Camelot. Driven away, the townspeople try to help by distributing a spell called "Buddy System" which binds two people together, not realizing it was intended for kindergarteners. (Oops.) The minotaur returns and pees in the lowertown's water, so a ritual of water purification must be performed because it's gross and stinky. The minotaur is still at large. **** The above key points are a new feature we're going to start including on TDMs and Events. Since it's new, the format is still fluid, so please let us know if you have any feedback for this section here. It should just include brief summaries of each prompt to make parsing information easier and more accessible. The original prompts should still be read and referred to for complete information and details. **** 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. • A poll will go up a little later this week regarding the mentioned voting, which should be answered ICly by each character you play. The poll will remain open through the 15th so that newly accepted characters may also vote if they choose to. •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.

Comments

kainé | nier | faerie familiar, kinetic/death

[shithogs]

i. the shit box

[Kainé snorts as she approaches the Wardrobe of Finding as directed, having dragged herself out of the bay with no small amount of cursing and stubbornly made the trek up the cliffs ahead of everyone else who had been herded, insisting on going it alone. She's not soaked through as thoroughly as she had been before the climb, but it doesn't make all that much of a difference, because she's definitely standing here in her underwear and leaving very little to the imagination regardless.]

Like the name, at least.

[She reaches back to tuck the phone and earbuds she'd been given into what passes for a waistband— she's used to managing without pockets, and while she doesn't know what she's supposed to do with this thing, she'd gotten it for free, so it's not all bad.

The door of the Wardrobe opens to reveal a pair of long, curved swords with serrated blades, which she easily reaches for and hefts from the locker, letting one come to rest against her shoulder in plain view.]

Shit, nice. Can't say I liked landing without it, but saves some rust.

[She'll stand both swords on the ground so that they rest against the open door as she reaches in to pull out something else. It's an item that's much smaller and less eye-catching to anyone who may be waiting their turn, but it seems to hold some interest for her: a delicate white flower that she carefully holds by its clipped stem, frowning to herself as she examines it.]

ii. red spring training grounds

[Magic as a whole is nothing new, but it's nice to be able to make use of it without some asshole voice hanging out in the back of her head and nagging her the whole time. It takes a few tries to summon her new abilities to the surface, but it seems like a much better way to channel her anger at the moment than giving in to temptation and tearing through the Red Spring demanding answers. She's gotten as many as she's going to get, for now, and everyone else here is in the same boat, which is just weird enough to pacify her— if only for a little while.

After half an hour of trying to focus and get her new power to manifest, she finally manages to lift one of her swords from the ground without touching it, her gloved fingers spread as she guides it upwards and then thrusts, sending the blade flying forward and slicing clean through one of the many training dummies.

Shit.]

Fuck, a girl could get used to that.

[She takes a few steps forward to grab her sword from where it had fallen afterwards, kicking aside the dummy's remains. Someone will take care of that, probably.]

This could actually be fun.

iii. gross

[Up until now, Kainé has maintained that the whole Minotaur situation has nothing to do with her. She'd been interested in wailing on it during its initial assault, but after it had decided to retreat, she'd written it off and assumed it wouldn't be stupid enough to come back.

Wrong, apparently, and while another bull-headed assault using brute force wouldn't have been entirely unexpected, what actually happens is somehow both disgusting and... weirdly impressive? Being near the scene when the Minotaur enacts his revenge, however, makes it markedly less so, and she raises an arm to cover her mouth as the stench begins to take over lowertown.]

Come on, are you fucking kidding me?!

[It's vile, beyond disgusting, but she also kind of wishes it was something she'd thought of when really wanting to ruin someone's day. Guess even shit-for-brains Minotaurs have good ideas now and then.]

Alright, people, clear out— when I find that asshole, I'm gonna find a way to drown him in his own goddamn piss—

[She'll usher bystanders away from the where the worst of the smell is, but she's definitely armed and on the hunt for a Minotaur. Seriously, dick move, guy.]

iv. wildcard

[Something else in mind? Hit me with a starter based on one of the other TDM prompts or hit me up via PM or on plurk at necrofancy to work something out together!]

1 - The Shit Box

[scriptwriter]

[Kotarou just so happened to be waiting in line as he stood behind Kainé watching her examine the flower. Now he should've been smart and kept his mouth shut, but he had a bad habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Especially to dangerous looking people... But he couldn't help and feel delinquent vibes from her. It reminded him of an old friend of his.

She had a pair of swords, so she was definitely the fierce type. Though the flower that she was holding probably held a significant meaning for her. Ah, he feels rather poetic all of the sudden...!]

"And so, the scantily clad babe had stood quietly reminiscing upon the mysterious flower known as "youth". And what is 'youth' she quietly pondered? Was youth fleeing like a cherry blossom pedal flying through the skies? Was youth as memorable as a firework shooting into the night? Was youth as sacred as a pinkie promise between two childhood friends destined to marry each other?"

[Did you ask for a narrator, Kainé? Because Kotarou is here to fulfill that role in a lemony dramatic voice. He does drop it for his own regular voice, though.]

Who knows! But I'm a little curious about what kind of flower that is.

i laughed SO HARD

[shithogs]

[She sure as shit did not.

Rather than a verbal response, for a moment all he gets is a slow turn of Kainé's head as she looks back at him over her shoulder, her gaze cold and clearly unimpressed.]

Are you fucking finished?

[She's ignoring his pondering for now, because what the hell.]

OH GOOD

[scriptwriter]

Wait, wait. Hold on. Think I've got another one in me!

[He'll clear his throat to speak in that narrator tone again.]

Chapter 2!

[...]

"Are you fucking finished?" The scantily clad babe said calmly, in a sweet tone, meaning absolutely no harm. [A beat.] Okay! Now I'm finished.

wheezing

[shithogs]

[A calm, sweet tone... how's that for wishful thinking.]

You some kind of goddamn weirdo?

[As if she's one to talk, even going by appearances alone.]

Mind your own damn business, dumbass.

[Honestly, despite the language, her anger is kind of lackluster— she's almost too baffled by his actions to be truly irate?]

[scriptwriter]

Sorry, sorry. Just trying to loosen the air between us!

[Kotarou laughs a little apologetically. Thankfully, he's used to the delinquent type so he looks more amused than anything else.]

Asides the swords and your flower... Did you get everything you need out of there?

[shithogs]

What the hell do you care?

[The response is so immediate that it's almost definitely a reflex; half a second later realizes it's actually not out of line for someone who'd been waiting their turn to be curious, and so she settles for looking surly as she hefts her swords from their resting place and uses one foot to close the wardrobe door behind her before taking a few steps out of the way.

Alright, maybe that was out of line, but whatever.]

Yeah, I'm done. Nothing else that thing could spit up that'd be worth having.

[She's never really been into material possessions.]

All yours.

ii. red spring training grounds

[lunarchain]

[ Mona has never heard such method of speaking ever in her life. It matters not shes more interested in how the other did their magic. ]

Are you a newly arrival? That is a very amazing feat to have control over your magic like that.

[ If it really could be called that. ]

[shithogs]

[Kainé shrugs fluidly as she brings her sword up to rest against her shoulder. She's not sure she would call it 'amazing,' but it is a pretty cool trick.]

Magic's not that hard.

[At least not in her experience, but magic as she knows it isn't exactly something to be studied.]

Think about something hard enough and it happens. You just feel it.

[lunarchain]

Oh! You'd be quite wrong about that, needless to say... If you don't mind my watching. I have yet to see your type of magic, and want to take some notes about it.

[ Mona states canting her head, the long lengths of hair that were tied up like pig tails dance along with her movements. ]

SLAMS IN HERE!!! iii

[conciliant]

[2B had been in the fray of the Minotaur's initial assault, but not even she could outmatch the beast's brute strength. At least, not without further destruction to the city. So, when it turned around and left, she counted that as a blessing. She was never one to devise tactical strategies, always running in swords blazing instead, so it leaving would buy her some time to figure something out, and perhaps find others like her who were keen on taking it out for good.

What she didn't expect was for it to be back so soon! Here she comes with her Pod hovering behind her as she rides on the back her familiar—a large, white fox—charging in with its teeth bared, ready to strike the Minotaur once she finds it. The moment they near the well, however, the familiar rears its head back and tries to turn around, fighting against 2B's orders to move forward. There's a brief fight between the two before she ultimately decides to hop off its back, only to be almost met with an untimely demise.]

Ngh...!

[The stench that fills her head is sickening. So strong that it puts her sensors on the fritz, and it feels like someone's taken her insides and lit them on fire. All she can do for now is wrinkle her nose and bring a hand up to shield it as she stomps over to the first person she sees: Kaine, who's in the middle of ushering the humans away.

Her visor hides her frown, but her frustration is clear as day in her voice.]

Where is it?

[shithogs]

[When another woman carrying a big sword shows up and starts asking questions, Kainé is simply forced to stan. It's not the time to be her usual stubborn self and dig her heels in about doing things on her own, anyway, and so after hurriedly sending another civilian down an alleyway that will take them away from the action, she reaches for one of her swords and uses her free hand to gesture in the opposite direction.]

Fucker ran off that way!

[At least it's hard to lose something that big.]

Probably off to take a shit in the town square as a second fucking act— this place looks clear, you in to help cut that asshole down to size?

[Apologies if her language isn't immediately accessible in your database, 2B.]

[conciliant]

[It's fine. If the language wasn't in her database before, Jackass made sure that it was in there sooner or later. This girl reminds 2B a little of her, but now is not the time to reminisce about old acquaintances.

They have a "fucker" to catch, as she's so aptly put it.

Her swords rematerialize in her hands now, one greatsword and one smaller one, and she looks more than ready to cut it down.]

I was part of the effort before it escaped. I'm here to finish the job.

[So that's a yes.

But first:] What's with the smell?

[shithogs]

[They sure do have a fucker to catch!

That sword trick of hers is cool as hell, eye-catching enough that Kainé files it away to ask about later, but for now, she'll settle for an extra hand while bull-hunting.]

Good, because that asshole is tough. Hate to admit it, but it's gonna take more than just me to bring 'im down, I barely left a mark on him last time. Most of my enemies don't get so lucky.

[She looks about ready to haul off in the minotaur's wake, but 2B's question gives her pause, and she raises an eyebrow. What charmed kind of world did this girl come from that she'd never had to smell someone's piss before?]

He peed in the goddamn well— real dick move, even if it didn't smell like something crawled in there and died.

[That said, it sure does.]

[conciliant]

It what?

[She understands what that means, but having to process the fact the smell of it is that horrendous, and the fact that it even peed in the first place is... Well. Need she say more? The rancid smell speaks for itself. Her Pod blips next to her, like it's about to explain further, but 2B raises a hand to halt its explanation. She doesn't need to hear any more about piss than she already has, thanks.]

Never mind.

[Her familiar regards her instead, growling low when the Minotaur's roar echoes through the city again, and there's a crash as a boulder shatters against the walls. She hoists herself onto its back and motions for Kaine to do the same.]

Get on. This will be faster than running.

[And they don't have any more precious time to waste.]

II

[sereneadherent]

[The sword flying of its own accord and slicing a training dummy clean through elicits a surprised shriek from Marianne, who is unfortunate enough to be standing nearest to it. It's her fault, mostly, for not paying attention to her surroundings despite being in a training arena, although in her defense she didn't anticipate weapons flying around by themselves.

She watches the sword return to its owner, who... really needs to be wearing more clothing. Isn't she cold?]

H-how did you do that?

[shithogs]

[Honestly, that's a good question. The spring weather is pretty warm, at least, but a reasonably stiff breeze would be enough to give most people a chill if they were just hanging out in their underwear.

It's probably fine.

Kainé looks over at her upon retrieving her sword, shrugging in response.]

Just kind of thought about what I wanted to do and it happened.

[MAGIC!]

Pretty damn cool, huh?

[sereneadherent]

[To each their own?

Marianne looks from the sword, to the woman, and back to the sword.]

...yes?

[She's intimidated by most people, and this woman seems like she'd be intimidating to most people, so it's a perfect storm of the type of interaction that makes Marianne want to bolt. For now, she's fighting that urge in the name of not backtracking into old habits.]

That's the magic they gave you? Moving things with your mind?

[shithogs]

Far as I can tell, yeah.

[There's probably a hell of a lot more to it, but not bad at all for a first attempt.]

I'll take it for a start, anyway. I can see how it'll come in real fuckin' handy.

[She, too, is not exactly known for being a social butterfly; it wasn't all that long ago that she would have told anyone who simply made an effort to be friendly to stay out of her way and leave her alone, but she's feeling a little more willing to make the attempt to engage, thanks to some good influences.]

What'd you get?

[sereneadherent]

I can speak with animals.

[Which, now that she says it aloud, sounds a lot less impressive than 'being able to move things with your mind.' Marianne shuffles her feet a little, awkwardly.]

I don't know how good it will be in a fight, but it's been nice to get to know the wildlife while we stay here. I think they like having someone to talk to.

[Marianne braces herself for one of two possibilities: either this woman is going to dismiss it outright or she's going to react like Raphael and the birds. Neither sounds like an especially desirable outcome, so she quickly continues.]

Someone said I should try spending some time here to see what my secondary magic might be, but so far I haven't come up with anything.

iii

[apshot]

[ The real question here is... How much piss does it take to contaminate an entire water supply? Just how much? Though that's the really impressive part, eh? Bakugou is more disgusted than impressed though.

Evacuating because of it... Uh. ]

Take a number because I swear I'm gonna punch the thing so it won't be able to do it again.

[ That is Bakugou threatening to punch a minotaur in the dick. Yupp. ]

a beautiful friendship is about to be born

[shithogs]

[Any amount is too damn much when it smells this bad, but damn, it really is kind of impressive.

Kainé snorts in response. You know what, kid? She respects that energy.]

Seems a little tame if you ask me. Just cut the damn thing off and be done with it.

[You punch, she'll slice; either way, that minotaur will be a lot less man than he is now.]

i am playing the series for the first time... i am so excited you gotta believe me

[apshot]

It won't be as satisfying!

[ Since you know. One slice and it's done. Not that Bakugou would actually inflict pain on anyone just to make them suffer, mind. This, in a way, is just talk. He'd rather just be effective in the end. ]

Is everyone out or are there some losers still straggling and ho humming about this entire thing?

hell yes I am so happy for you!

[shithogs]

[Maybe he's just talk, but she sure as hell in it.]

I dunno, I think relieving that asshole of his manhood would be pretty damn satisfying.

[She looks over her shoulder, quickly scanning the area.]

Looks like everyone got out safely. Let's make that fucker regret this piss-tantrum of his!

[There's only a single beat before she's off at a run. Keep up, kid!]

i am not very far, but the moment i heard kaine talk... i was like *must have*

[apshot]

[ Look, he's not going to feel bad for the minotaur. If she wants to cut it off, then she can cut it off and Bakugou's not likely to stop her. Not after all of this! ]

You do you, lady.

[ But only after people are safe. Usually Bakugou is the one that focuses more on the "win battles to save people" mentality, but evacuation? He's capable of that too. But now that they're done here? Of course he is going to want to charge in, metaphorical guns blazing. ]

Maybe I'll save that part for you! If you keep up!

[ Because he's not going to have any problems. With a burst of flame at his hands, Bakugou's lanching himself forward at top speeds! ]