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

[inaurare]

But you already had skills, anyway!

[and Gokudera's abilities were basically the same as magic, in Linneus' eyes]

Who is--?

[echoed in confusion. By keeping mostly above his head (if not near-hiding in his hair), his fairy had been doing an excellent job of keeping herself hidden from him - who would have imagined candy would be enough temptation, even if her size in comparison means she does have to extend both arms for it. Shimmering into gold, as Linneus gasps in delight]

I-- I have no idea. How marvellous...!

[bakudan_bambino]

They’re gone now. Replaced with magic.

[His weapon system does not work, and won’t even open because he can not push a dying will from his body. No Uri. At least Gokudera believes his Storm leopard is safe inside his box. Yamamoto has Jirou as a completely normal dog. Maybe Gokudera could get Uri summoned from Namimori.]

Either she’s your familiar, or the fae are taken with you.

[Gokudera smiles and offers his other hand for the fairy to stand on while it enjoys the sweet. It’s a small strawberry candy, hard, pink, and not much bigger than a grain of rice.]

My familiar is a sea monster who likes to hide and play tricks on people. I named him Larry.

in my mind the candy is like a Japanese konpeito...

[inaurare]

Everything...?

[he likely has not considered Uri, at this point, though he knows their connection, that Uri feeds on his will]

She is lovely. Though I am wary of calling her mine.

[even in the loosest sense of the world. Linneus is wary of anything, even wording, that might imply some sort of proprietorship he has no claim to. She clearly has her own free will and seems very comfortable with Gokudera, if this is their first meeting, settling in his outstretched hand while she has her treat. Her silhouette is more visible at rest, though features are not any clearer on inspection - just a delicate, winged female form of softly coloured light, eating the candy like one might a large fruit]

Does he at all hide in the water? I felt something push me up and toward the shore...

Re: in my mind the candy is like a Japanese konpeito...

[bakudan_bambino]

Yeah, any magic abilities I had before are null on this world. I can’t heal anyone or even open any of my boxes.

[Gokudera watches the fae in his hand with an affectionate expression.]

Your friend, then, or companion, or your guide to discovering your magic.

[Gokudera can understand Linneus’s care with wording, especially considering what they’d gone through on Amoi.]

He does, and maybe he did. Or he could just be sleeping somewhere.

[inaurare]

That is a shame. Though you know I always worried about you and your explosives.

[but then, when did Linneus not worry?]

I like companion. Friend, too, though I shouldn't wish to assume friendship until I have earned it.

[that does make Linneus chuckle gently]

Well. I would like to believe it was your... Larry. So what is it we do now? [with a little gesture to his familiar, already a little fond] Once we have finished eating?

[bakudan_bambino]

Oh I still have the dynamite. It’s fair to worry.

[Linneus won’t stop working, and Gokudera won’t stop putting himself in risky situations.]

Companion, then. Anyways, we have to climb the cliff and settle down with the caravan until it’s ready to return to Camelot.

[inaurare]

Of course - I should know better than to look to you for reassurance on that score...!

[on anything else, perhaps, but as sure as the sun will rise Gokudera will risk blowing himself up]

Climb the cliff? This cliff?

[where Gokudera has led them as they talked?]

Gokudera it's been years since I last climbed and even then it was just the house...

[bakudan_bambino]

[Gokudera gives a small chuckle at that, then grins at the reaction to his suggestion of climbing the cliff. He shakes his head, then puts his hands on Linneus’s shoulders, pushing him a little to the right and turning him. Now that they’re facing the correct direction, they’ll see a path.]

It’s not rock-climbing, it’s just this path up, and if either of us falls, we’ll be set down safely, okay?

[inaurare]

Oh--!

[a little sheepish as Gokudera guides him. That... sounds a lot less treacherous, even with the missing guardrail]

All right. And... Camelot? That is a town here?

[bakudan_bambino]

More like a city, but yeah. It’s where most of us stay. You can get a room at the inn free for a while until you’re settled in, I think.

[That’s what he, Yamamoto, and the Tenth did to start off.]

[inaurare]

All right. Well I suppose the sooner we start the sooner we shall get there...

[and the sooner Linneus hopes he shall be out of his sopping clothes, though the climb at least should warm him up?]

Are all of us ready? Where is--?

[realisation - he lost track of his familiar after Gokudera set his hand on his shoulders. Out of Linneus' sight, she has settled on top of his head again, her prize still clutched in both hands. Looking to Gokudera (if she had features, it would be direct eye contact), she holds up the candy and brings it back toward herself. It disappears into her light, which in turn ripples pink in happiness, just for Gokudera to see, before she takes wing again, hovering between them]

Ah!

[bakudan_bambino]

Right.

[Gokudera would be a bit irritated usually, but his mood has lifted significantly after seeing Linneus. He smiles at the fairy, and then focuses forward.]

She may go away to do her own thing. Larry prefers to linger about and sleep most of the time, but there are times where I think he just may be living his own life. He stayed with me when I was asleep for so long, made sure the Tenth knew I was okay.

[inaurare]

But of course...! [with a smile at the little fluttering light] I'm sure she has far better things to do than to be stuck by me all the time...!

[what it is fairies get up to when no one is looking, Linneus isn't sure, but she's as welcome to a private life of her own as she is to staying nearby.]

Could I...?

[extending his hand for Gokudera's right, just a delicate linking of fingers. They can't walk side by side, and he doesn't want to hold on so tight that he might pull Gokudera with him if he falls. But just to be sure of him]

...why were you asleep?

[bakudan_bambino]

There are a lot of fae in this world. Maybe she just feels drawn towards you?

[Without any verbal communication or hesitation, he takes Linneus’s hand.]

All that time I was back home, then on Amoi, then Anchor, it seems I was still here. My body and memories changed during that time in my sleep. So what was years there was weeks here. It’s been dizzying to readjust.

[inaurare]

Maybe...! They've only ever been in stories, in Ivore. But I always secretly wanted them to be real.

[Some might think it childish, but Linneus is glad he never really lost his sense of whimsy, as much as life conspired for him to do so.

A thankful squeeze of Gokudera's hand as they walk, the fairy zipping ahead of them]

I can only imagine how that must have been to wake up from. But your familiar stayed with you all that time - and your Tenth? I should like to meet him properly - again.

[though for Tsuna, the first time.]

[bakudan_bambino]

Same with my home world. I think a fairy would be a fitting familiar for you, Linneus.

[He glances up at the creature occasionally, remembering the trouble the fae caused him when he was still new to this world. It’s nice to have one on his side now… or on their side. His through Linneus, anyways.]

The familiar stayed with me. I’m sure the Tenth checked on me often.

I’d like you both to meet as well. Especially without the limitations and pressures of Amoi to get in the way.

[He still feels absolutely disgusting based off how he acted in that world.]

[inaurare]

I hope so - that we are a good fit.

[smiling as he watches her dance ahead of them, untroubled by the climb but always staying within reach.]

Indeed. [There's something between a sigh at that, and a nervous exhale through his teeth.] I have to confess it almost-- doesn't quite seem real. But then it hasn't really since the taboo was ended...

[but he has Gokudera's hand in his. It may not be quite reassurance enough but it is certainly reassuring.]

Is there anyone else I should perhaps meet? That you have got to know in your time here?

[bakudan_bambino]

I'm sure you will be.

[Honestly, the fairy seems to be playful, and Gokudera knows that Linneus has been through enough hardship, he deserves a more innocent, playful attitude instead of the undeserved punishment he's been given. Linneus is the kind of person who only ever seems to do wrong unintentionally. He's always been caring. Gokudera will only ever want the best for him.]

I agree. Being on Avalon feels like a dream. Ah... which taboo? [The touching one? Wasn't that only lifted in Tanagura but not Midas? Was it the other way around? Or was it just that mongrels were newly allowed in Tanagura? Gokudera was there, but it feels so long ago.]

Yes! There's another young man around my age. His name is Zuko. Apparently we met in another world I don't remember being in. We're best friends... probably as close but in different ways than how you and I are friends, Linneus.

[inaurare]

Mmm. I always... hated having to be conscious of who I spent time with - who I touched. I know you never quite saw eye to eye but Ryu, for example.

[and Linneus tends to be quite a tactile person with those he cares about. If it had ever been misdirected in public... it was fear of the consequences that kept him in line.]

And yet even once I didn't have to worry about it anymore... it was like I couldn't stop second-guessing myself. Like I didn't know what to do with my hands anymore.

[though he squeezes Gokudera's lightly]

I would love to meet your friend - but another world? Is that four, now...?

[bakudan_bambino]

What, saw eye to eye with Ryu? I didn't hate him. He was just fun to argue with. He might not have felt the same way but... he reminded me of someone from home.

[Wow it's been a long time since he thought of Ryohei. Loud, boisterous athletes have a sort of type in Gokudera's mind. Like annoying brothers. Gokudera listens and gives a soft sort of hum. He felt pressured about who he touched, but then, he's felt a lot of pressures about who he's been around ever since he was a kid.]

I understand. I spent a lot of time on my own as a kid, so... being in that world made a problem I had even worse. It was like I went from not trusting anyone to being meticulous about it. Being here, it's hard to shake that feeling of always being watched.

Hm? No. It was a different me. I remember those other worlds, but not the one Zuko talks about. I think that is a different Gokudera Hayato entirely.

[inaurare]

You two were always squabbling!

[with another fond squeeze of Gokudera's hand, the dancing fairy up ahead rippling joyful yellow as he laughs.]

Heavens, but it is confusing. I just barely came to understand the idea of there being different worlds at all - and the possibility I might now be able to go to a different world to the one I came from...

[he would be gesturing, as if that would help him convey an explanation he doesn't quite understand himself, but... possibly better to wait until they make it to the top]

[bakudan_bambino]

He was so easy to rile up!

[So was Gokudera, though. Ah... oddly fond memories.]

Also, who yells during a chess tournament? It's not a shouting or loudly cheering kind of sport!

[It's a fair point, right? Gokudera sounds exasperated, but he's in good spirits about it.]

It's... a lot. It took me a while to adjust, but I've been trying to keep to myself. I've definitely been made... odd compared to how I was back home. I don't want anyone to be able to tell right off that I've changed...

[Which is unavoidable, but Gokudera is good at following his fear. Being inaccessible is something he prides himself in. If there's a problem concerning him personally that he cannot solve immediately, he distances and over-thinks every aspect of it, too proud to ask for help, and getting angry at anyone who assumes he needs it. It's a good thing Linneus has always been so gentle in his support of the bomber.]

It's not that odd if you think of how many versions of the same person you've met before. I've met... [He holds up his unoccupied hand to count on his fingers for Linneus to see.] The Yamamoto from my home, the ten-years older Yamamoto from the future of my world, the first Yamamoto on Amoi, the Takeshi that owned me, the Takeshi I got engaged to on Anchor, and then the Yamamoto here. It can't be that crazy to accept that there's another version of me out there on some other world while I've gone to three.

[inaurare]

You shouldn't feel you need to pretend.

[softly, because of course Linneus knows what it is to hold parts of himself back - the less palatable aspects of his history]

It isn't something you'd want to go into immediately, to be sure, and even then it may be a balancing act.

[like with Makoto - when he had left the city, then returned and not recognised him Linneus hadn't wanted to go into their previous relationship, or divulge as much of his story as he had the first time around. Heaven help him, if he had found Gokudera here and Gokudera had not known him - and that was just the one Gokudera.]

But it's all right to have been away. To have changed. And if it helps, when the time comes, I can be with you - to help you explain it.

[another squeeze. This is not a good talk to have climbing a cliff, but--]

You know I will help you any way I can?

[bakudan_bambino]

I know I shouldn't, but I do... I trust them. They're my family, but it's a lot to tell them, and a lot for them to accept. The Tenth worries about me without knowing what I've been through. It won't get any better.

[He doesn't think he'll rush into it.]

If he asks, though... I'll tell him. I think that may be the best. Him and Yamamoto, together.

[Gokudera has plenty of reservations about speaking the truth of what he's been through. Doesn't know when he'll be ready to share, and when his lover and boss will be ready to listen.]

Is it? I... well... [A hum, so quiet thought as he keeps climbing.]

I'll take this one step at a time, but yeah. I know you'll help me. You've always been very good to me, Linneus. And even though I'm engaged, and my heart is Takeshi's, just know that I love you, okay?

[Linneus is irreplaceable. He's done more for Gokudera this entire interaction than anyone else could have. With him, the bomber doesn't feel so alone.]

[inaurare]

Yes! [fondly amused at that question] A little at a time, yes and just... try not to always pretend you're all right? From someone who had to for more years than I dare count.

[and from an age not too far from Gokudera's. He knows well enough what damage it can do.

His expression softening with those words, though Gokudera can't see it.]

And I you.

[And obscured from Linneus, the hovering fairy up ahead blanches over white before washing through with multiple colours, blossoming into glittering opal.

Even if his words are understated - even if he is shy of those particular words together - Linneus knows what he feels. He has always felt a great deal of love and protectiveness for Gokudera. As useless as his protection feels, sometimes - Gokudera is the more able of the two of them, by far.]