TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 8

[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 ⚔️️ 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 (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. SUMMARY: Merlin has a Plan B in case Camelot failed the trials: raise a sunken ship and offer it to the Elphame Traders on their way out in exchange for permission to travel their waters. Characters prepare for ritual magic to raise a sunken ship and travel underwater at the empty Camelot docks to gather ritual ingredients for it. After they've done all they can, Merlin sets up a little beach party with a bit of master magic for anyone who came along for the trip. After arriving, people may have heard about recent events-- the people of Camelot voted against war and to instead accept the trials of the people of Celliwig. The trials are now concluded, and a good number of people are emotionally exhausted and taking time to recover. Word from Celliwig has not yet arrived, but across multiple social media platforms, including AOL, there are clips of Merlin's cryptic addendum to Arthur's announcement along with notes that the meeting date was delayed a couple of days due to the awful weather and a need to rest after how bleak the trials were to some people. With people down and out, it won't hurt to have the new arrivals pitch in and learn a thing or two. "Lucky me, we've got a decent group. Celliwig's out of our hands now, but what isn't is a back-up plan. Vote was close enough I figured we'd have enough people to get a head start. Celliwig is closer and much less dangerous to deal with, we'd be able to communicate much faster with the faeries' queendom. They're not big on internet. Big followers of the Old Ways. T-L-D-R, we can't just text the queen and ask if drop-bys are on the table. We'd never make it past the leviathans without permission, so here's the plan: There is a... fixer-upper of a vessel sunken about a hundred yards from shore tossed out from Bermuda. We tried to build docks here forever ago, but you can guess the Bermuda triangle spitting out stuff in the lake all the time didn't go great. We just keep it up for visitors now, but there's plenty to explore in the immediate area that we can magic back into business." A ⦿ Shipwreckers He goes on to explain that the fairies value items that were once lost and refound, so step one is exploring the shipwreck with fellow magic users to find what amounts to a scavenger hunt list of items from the ship. He sets everyone off with a quick spell that essentially transforms their clothing into swimsuits that best fit their preferences and personality-- that means no one's going to get a swimsuit that makes them horribly uncomfortable, he's not harassing anyone. After that, magicians will be directed to use their magic to get down to the ship. It's not as convenient as underwater breathing and not as easily sustainable, but there's definitely different ways to go about it. Light magic users will find they can create a forcefield above the surface of the water and go under the water, though they may run out of oxygen quickly. Elemental users can find they can create a similar bubble by pushing water out of the way, though may run into the same diminishing air without a more advanced elemental user already in the game who can pull oxygen out of the water or an alchemist who can create chemical reactions to generate oxygen. Animal mages may be able to convince local lake life to help push bubbles along, and healers will be instrumental in healing oxygen deprivation if anyone stays under too long! (Note: If two characters can't create a bubble, you can put in a third NPC to do the bubble while your characters handle other roles during the search.) No matter what, make sure you bring someone who can watch your back. Rumors have it that the Fuath are harassing anything that comes near the area. Fuath are intangible spirits that may present as giant humanoids at about 8-9 feet each, but with the mane and tail of a yellow horse, with no noses and keen eyes. They hold grudges against anyone who takes advantage of their surroundings, even if not their own, and will come to attempt to throw those who try to take from the ships and flying through the air to land somewhere else in the water. Be very cautious about using names around the Fuath, as though they do not speak in human tongue, they have a particular ability to draw people and animals in using names that makes them very difficult to escape once you've been found. They've been known to turn familiars against their partners. They can be deterred, dissipated through attack to buy you time, but they'll keep coming so get in and out of the ship as fast as you can and definitely stick to more combat-heavy magics like dark and cognitive mages! *Note: These magics are all examples of ways to use primary magic, but feel free to get creative with your character's magic if you think of something else! B ⦿ Hoist the Flags Once all the ingredients are gathered, the ritual is underway! With the mementos from the ship, swim to a protective circle formed at the top of the water by Merlin that will keep the Fuath out. There, you need to take whatever item you gathered from the ship and try to find someone with a similar item. This "sister" item will allow you to pull the essence of the item up from the ship. It takes a load of people to raise a whole ship, but pouring your magic into the item and chanting the spell will cause the ship to resurface and restore itself to its original state before the crash, using residual memories from all the different items on the ship. Of course, finding a partner with a matching item while swimming around could be a challenge, especially if you don't get along-- it may take a while for everyone to get on the same page. It certainly won't clean up all the algae and kelp and wayward flopping fish, it brings the ship back to a livable state.. and a much cooler, more explorable one. Get a quick exploration of the ship and help clean up some of the lake slime before Merlin flags over the traders. Or goof around until then, and learn a sick free spell called (Recipe) Cool Firework: create a rocket firework from your fingertips. Make sure you're aiming it into the sky when you cast this spell, or Merlin will set off a Camelot totem right beneath your feet. No sinking the ship when they just got it up. The fireworks will attract the Elphame Traders, who are leaving the day after they close up shop to head back to Elphame, before the set out to leave. Merlin negotiates offering the ship to them as an offering for Queen Elphame to give them permission to travel in the Elphame territory. At that point, the ship is pulled into the docks and Camelot citizens are ushered out for the fae traders to take over the ship. C ⦿ Beach Episode Once everything's said and done it.. really only took a couple of hours, so the whole group is done around 4pm. There's plenty of time left for dinner and a good time at the beach a short walk away from the docks and the sun doesn't go down until around 9pm. Before Merlin leaves everyone to themselves, he conjures up a buffet-style table with loads of fresh food and drink, watermelons and bats for smashing. The swimsuits provided earlier wear off at midnight, though you'll probably want to leave before then since it still gets chilly in the evening, especially if you're all wet from playing with the chest full of waterguns or the beach balls distributed around the beach. The docks are nearby, so feel free to call your friends over to come hang out with you, even if they didn't help. It's a beach party, enjoy it! SUMMARY: Unseelie faeries and unseemly humans have teamed up to kidnap a small number of otherworlders in the chaos of the trials to fight in an underground fight ring. Play as a victim or be part of the squad to put an end to it if you're more good-leaning, or villains can choose to participate as audience and pay for "gifts" to be given to their favorite fighters during matches. CW: These prompts contain kidnapping, illegal and forced fighting, and inhumane treatment of fighters. Just because people are tired doesn't mean that the world stops for them... crime certainly doesn't. Throughout the start of the month, people are going missing. Exactly what's happening.. well, finding the truth out about that is going to depend on your perspective. A ⦿ Cursed Kidnapees Kidnapping victims will find themselves suddenly blinded by a spell, and then chloroformed by a floating cloth pressed against their face. (Smart kidnappers don't touch their victims if they have magic, you know!) When they wake up, they'll find themselves in a dungeon with at least a dozen other people. There's definitely not room to lay down, and sitting down as you had been propped up immediately starts you with a potentially uncomfortable view. Don't worry, someone's peeks in from a window at the top of the room-- an extremely handsome-looking man with long, wavy hair and pupils slitted like a cat's. "Let's see.. You two, you'll be the first fight of the night. Winner gets dinner, gyahaha!" It's a fighting ring. You've been kidnapped into a fighting ring and there's no obvious escape! Fight against fellow captives and monsters for your dinner and to buy time to figure out what you're going to do... At least you start hand to hand, so there's nothing lethal... right? (See Audience for more details.) B ⦿ Audacious Audience Maybe you're a less scrupulous sort and saw an invitation to this event hidden on the dark web, or got invited by a particularly sketchy friend. Either way, you've got cage-side seats close enough to chat with either fellow audience members or interact with the cage fighters. As a bonus point, audience members can spend some of their G on betting or on purchasing "boons" for their favorite fighters, such as weapons or enhancement spells. They can also bid against other audience members for special sabotages that make it harder to fight-- foot weights, strange masks, roller skates, hinderance hexes.. get creative with it! It's the biggest fight show that you can interact with your wallet... newbies may find it's a very lucrative way to make a pretty penny very fast. (As always, remember to communicate with anyone you're helping/sabotaging so you don't go past anyone's OOC comfort level.) C ⦿ Roaring Rescuers Thankfully, the fae who want nothing more than to sow discord and the greedy humans who joined in their venture are a bit disorganized. Even the beginning-level heroes among us will be able to track them down and topple them with a little bar hopping to gather information from the locals. Eventually, one of them will give up having overheard some "scary looking fellows" talking about which of the patrons of the bar looked like they'd be good in a fight before getting extra hush-hush. Follow all the leads, and you'll find yourself at an outlying, smaller-scale castle with a dungeon tower and an underground fighting ring built beneath its floors. Sneak in and unlock individual fighter dungeon doors while the fights are providing a wealth of distraction. Maybe you'll find a grateful Fogueria who casts a temporary fire-immunity spell on you to allow you to do ride them into battle to bust up the fight going on right now. There's definitely gratitude going on, regardless of moral compass, and you may find gifts of food and drink (non-alcoholic if you're not old enough) placed at your door over the next week for your deeds. 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. • We are testing out formats for key points displays, to be voted on for player preference based on what seems to work best for the most people. The other options were used here (end of post summary format) and here (start of post preview format). The format featured on this post is the last option, which will provide small summaries under the banner of each prompt set. A poll will be put up before the next event to see which format will be used going forward, so please keep in the back of your mind which seems most comfortable/makes the content more easily accessible. •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

yoshizawa / persona 5 royal / kinetic + green magic

[bravesteps]

arrival;

[ she's a pretty good swimmer, really, under.. normal circumstances.

but these are not exactly normal circumstances. one moment she had been comfortably seated at leblanc, and the next the ground dropped out from beneath her, plunging her - fully clothed! - into a cold lake. sumire shrieks unceremoniously before she is swallowed up by the water, a large jellyfish opening its bell up wide beneath her and pushing her gently to the surface.

that's also kind of unexpected...

coughing hard, sumire sits up with a start, her hair wildly plastered to her face, the jellyfish floating serenely, clearly unperturbed by her weight. what the heck is going on!! pathetically, she squeaks: ]

H-help..

ship cleanup;

[ well, at the very least she isn't entirely unfamiliar with the idea of other worlds, and even traveling to them, but a world parallel to your own is quite different from a literally different planet, but she is not alone here at least, so settling is is going.. fine. sumire is half convinced she's going to wake up from this strange dream at any time now, but for the moment she has to believe it's real.

which means keeping busy! and learning magic?? it seems impossible, but then, so did using her persona, once, and so did the idea of the metaverse. this year is really blowing her mind. anyway, she hadn't been confident enough with her new magicks to help very much with raising the ship, but she can help with cleanup!

maybe she can even do both!

zeroing in on a large ball of slimy seaweed, sumire opens her hands in an attempt to summon the kinetic energy to give the thing a push right off the side - it should be easy, right? at first nothing at all happens, so she screws up her expression and tries harder!! rather than slide across the deck and off into the water, the slime ball.. explodes! all over the person nearby! ]

Ah! Oh no! I-I'm so sorry!

beach episode;

[ obligatory beach episode!! sumire's swimsuit is a pink frilled two-piece, comfortable and bright, and her long hair is tied up with a red ribbon to keep it tamed in the face of the brusque lake winds.

the buffet looks excellent, especially after a long day at work, and sumire piles her plate with rice and fish, sitting in the sand with a beach ball between her feet; her portion is impressively large, but she seems to be putting it away without much trouble..

thoughtfully, she tilts her head. ]

What are the baseball bats for?

wildcard;

[ come at me!! i'm open to most any prompt, or you can tweak any of the ones above to suit your needs as well. ♥ ]

arrival

[devilsfootprints]

[As a wannabe Hero, the moment Shinra hears someone call out for help he's on alert. He quickly scans around him and finds a girl not too far away who definitely looks like she's had better days.

Not that he isn't in his own predicament, with no idea what happened or where he is, but he can't leave someone who needs help alone. Besides, he was already on his way swimming to shore anyway and that's probably where she'll want to go too.

So he calls out to her.]

Hang on, I'm coming over.

[bravesteps]

[ okay so admittedly, she feels a little silly about calling for help now after the fact.. it had been a knee-jerk reaction!! but she's safe atop this jellyfish (she thinks??), and unharmed, most of the blow was to her self-esteem. she's nevertheless still quite shaken. ]

S-sorry.. I'm all right..

[ she says, using her hands to part the mess of red hair that has fallen over her face. ]

Where am I?

[devilsfootprints]

I dunno. One second I was trying to stop the end of the world and the next, I'm here swimming with jellyfish.

[Even the swimming is weird. He's always been kinda so-so at swimming but ever since finding himself here, it feels like swimming is a lot easier even while wearing his bulky Fire Soldier uniform. That is something to contemplate about later on though because just floating in open water makes him nervous. There's a lot of space for something dangerous to hide.]

I'm heading to shore though, do you want me to help you get there too?

beach episode!

[starshower]

[Tifa's finally helped herself to some of the food, after her long battle with her inner thoughts was interrupted by the rumbling of her stomach and the realization that she hasn't eaten all day. While her selection isn't as impressive as Yoshizawa's, it could still put some plates to shame with its selection of fruits and veggies!

With it balanced carefully on her hand, she looks to the girl when she hears her voice beside her, and then back to the bats in question.]

They're breaking melons with them. Look.

[She points through the heads of the crowd that's formed around the pile of watermelons just as someone arrives at the front and is handed a blindfold.]

It's a bit strange, but I guess it's more fun to break them than it is to slice them...?

[bravesteps]

Breaking them?

[ sumire cocks her head, puzzled, before she follows the line of tifa's pointing finger toward the group of people whooping and hollering while one person lifts a bat. ]

Oh! Like on one of those crazy game shows?

[ there's a lot of those in japan.. ]

[starshower]

[Annnd SMASH!

Pieces of watermelon fly this way and that, spraying the cheering audience as they're covered in melon guts. It's messy, but it does look like fun... But the girl's observation makes Tifa raise a brow.]

There're game shows like this? I've never heard of them. Do people win money for breaking fruit open?

[How do they even judge that!?]

beach!!!

[warmasters]

[ Wow, this girl really knows how to eat. It's impressive, actually, putting away a mountain of food like it's nothing! She could give Raphael a run for his money, and that's saying something. ]

Dunno. What's a baseball, anyway? They look more like clubs to me.

[ Like, skinny, streamlined clubs, but he doubts the intention here is for people to start fighting with them. There would be much better weapons they could use for that! ]

What're they usually used for? I'm new around here.

[ Must be some kind of weird Avalon tradition... ]

[bravesteps]

You've never heard of baseball?

[ right, there's people here from.. other worlds, right? though she supposes that some of them must know about baseball, considering there are, you know, bats here. unless maybe they aren't actually baseball bats and instead just something that looks like one, and now she's definitely overthinking this and all of her assumptions about the universe in general.. ]

Oh, it's a sport. You use the bat to hit a ball, and run around bases..

[ she's not great at explaining things.. ]

It's.. well, I would say it's more fun to watch than to explain, but I've heard it's kind of boring to watch.

[warmasters]

Huh...yeah, never heard of that one. Sounds fun, though! Less the running around part, more the smashing a ball with a club part.

[ But now he's intrigued, and crossing over to pick up one of the bats, weighing it between his hands. ]

Wow, this thing is light! Waaaay lighter than the weapons I'm used to. I gotta try this out.

[ Sorry, Sumire, you're a part of this now, by granting him the knowledge that bats are used to hit things. He surveys the table of food first, because it's the closest thing with smashable items, but then his attention is drawn further down the beach, where a few people are taking turns attempting to bash in a watermelon. HE'S ENLIGHTENED... ]

— Yeah, definitely gotta try this out.

arrival

[peacewithouttyranny]

[Soundwave isn't a new arrival but he comes by the Bay every month when poor new arrivals are dropped into the lake water. He's glad that he never had to deal with that again, but he sympathizes with those struggling in there. No help from Soundwave though, as he trusts whatever sea creatures to rescue and bring new arrivals ashore. Otherwise, he would've been proactive with fishing people out of the water as well.

He's standing near the shore with his arms crossed as he watches arrivals falling one by one. And only when they're nearing the shore and that meek 'help', he takes notice of the giant jellyfish carrying a red-headed girl, floating in his general direction. Ah, perhaps he should help her next from here on out. The jellyfish can't aid the girl to the rest of the path on land, after all...

A terribly large shadow looms over Yoshizawa-- Even before she has the chance to look up to see a mech with a glowing red visor before her, the voice speaking is definitely not human, more mechanical and electronic in quality. As if she needed another surprise coming her way.]

Do you still require help?

[bravesteps]

[ oh.......... THIS IS UNEXPECTED.

not that everything up until this moment hadn't been unexpected, but just about the last thing that sumire expected to see - after being dumped into a lake filled with giant jellyfish while enjoying her latte - is an enormous robot. its shadow engulfs her entirely, and sumire freezes in shock and, yes, a little bit of fear, because who wouldn't be afraid of a huge mecha looming over them?? ]

I.. I-I..

[ GOD, she probably should not be rude to the giant robot!! ]

N-no.. I was just surprised - um - where.. where am I?

[peacewithouttyranny]

[Can't say he's too surprised to see the human girl is intimidated by him, even when it's wholly unintentional on his part. At least he can be patient with her while she finds her voice for a moment there.

That said, he at least tries to appear friendly... somewhat. Somewhat because he's aware that his size and appearance would easily frightened most out of their wit, especially when they least expect him and he so does have the terrible habit of approaching people unannounced. The first thought to come to his mind is to crouch down to his knee on the sand, so he wouldn't keep looming over her.]

An island called Avalon. Here specifically, the Bay of Avalon. You've been summoned here, like the rest of us dumped into the lake on arrival.

beach episode!!!!

[songstressedout]

[ Pink frilled swimsuits was a terrific decision... at least in terms of Yuzu's opinion (even if the things aren't exactly a decision and more just Merlin's magic). In any case, Yuzu had a similarly pink-frilled swimsuit on while she mingles around herself. She doesn't have as much food as Sumire, but she does have more than what would be considered the 'norm'. ]

Oh, I think those are for watermelon splitting!

[ A game Yuzu's played a lot back home... though not exactly successfully. She did at one point accidentally hit her friend while blindfolded, making her responsible for a sizable lump on the head. ]

[bravesteps]

[ hey that sure is a nice suit what good taste you have!! ]

Watermelon splitting?

[ sumire has not played that game, but then she kind of did not get out much until somewhat recently, so that is no real surprise. ]

I suppose that is easier than using a knife..

[songstressedout]

Well, sure, but it's less slicing and more smashing.

[ Which made the name seem a little off, huh? Still, it's fun to do with friends, that's for sure. ]

You put on a blindfold, someone spins you around so you get dizzy, and then you're supposed to find the watermelon and smash it!

ship cleanup! because why not mortify poor yoshizawa

[kirijo]

[ The person in question is actually dressed fairly well, too. A spotless white halter top, a black jeans, and a pair of high-heeled pumps. It's ... a bit much for a job such as this, and Mitsuru knows it. However, it's also the only set of clothes that she has at present, so ... she has to make do with what's available to her.

[ Fortunately, the sodden seaweed and lake slime are almost entirely water - enough that she can manipulate them with her newfound elemental magic. A thought, a gesture, and they slide across the deck and slough over the side of their own accord.

[ It was going well, she thought. Well enough that they might be able to finish within the next few minutes.

[ And a few seconds after that thought entered her mind, she was bowled over by a wall of sludge and plant matter, and fell to the deck with an undignified yelp.

[ There wasn't much force behind the impact - she'd been knocked over by the surprise more than the hit itself - so was she was unharmed ...

[ But she was plenty of other things. Shocked, mortified, more than a little upset that her previously pristine clothes were now stinking and stained with slimy plants and decaying detritus ...

[ Note that 'happy' doesn't appear anywhere on that list.

[ She looks around, searching for the utter fool responsible ... and then she hears the meek, floudering apology and her eyes fall on a younger girl that looks every bit as shocked and mortified as she does -- if not more so.

[ It's ... it's suddenly a little more difficult to be angry.

[ So ... Mitsuru takes a deep, steadying breath. She reminds herself that it was an accident, and tries to find something resembling calm. ]

It's ... alright.

[ ... not the most convincing bit of reassurance she's ever mustered, but she's trying. ]

oh god mitsuru please spare her she is just an idiot girl

[bravesteps]

[ oh god of all the people she could have hit with a pile of putrid lake slime..

sumire doesn't recognize this woman, but anyone can see she is a poised sort of individual, dressed nicely, fashionably, and now sumire has gone and stained her pristine white halter top and knocked her to the ground!! ugh, she's such an idiot, she should have known better than to practice in a place like this - ]

Oh - oh no, I'm so sorry, please forgive me!

[ starting forward, she reaches her hands out as if to help, though she soon hesitates because what if she just makes things worse?? ]

I'll, um, I'll see if I can find a towel..

[ sumire there are probably no towels here.. but she turns anyway in a panic, and immediately slips on a patch of slime, falling right down onto her ass with a yelp. ]

fortunately she is too cute to execute

[kirijo]

[ Watching the younger girl flail about trying to apologize and atone quickly robs Mitsuru's anger of any sort of edge ... to the point that she starts to feel embarassed over her initial reaction.

[ She opens her mouth to try and reassure her - more genuinely, this time ... but before that can happen, the other girl slips and falls. ]

H-hey! [ Mitsuru gets to her knees, moving a little closer. ] Are you alright?

👀!! ship cleanup

[fooligans]

[ Akira thought that getting the ship up will be the hardest part of this adventure, but the slime ball exploding right into his face proves to be quite challenging as well. At least none of it got into his eyes, but no one has invented glasses for mouths, unfortunately. ]

It's okay, don't worry.

[ Since he can't see clearly, Akira wipes the lenses first to make sure if the voice belongs to someone he's familiar with or if the slime was magical and makes him hallucinate. ]

Long time no see.

👀!!!!!!!!!

[bravesteps]

[ ah yes, of all the people to smash in the face with lake slime - ]

S-senpai!

[ time to crawl into a hole and die!! sumire's mouth works like a fish out of water for a few moments, before she's stepping closer with her hands outstretched, as if there is anything she could possibly do to repair this (there isn't). ]

I'm so sorry! I was just.. trying to..

[ play with magic.. ]

arrival

[scandroid]

[ Upon hearing a cry for help from the same body of water where 9S himself nearly met his end, he immediately springs to action, knowing that time is short. Cue some intense action music as 9S runs along the shore, trying to shorten the distance between and calculating the most efficient angle to approach her from. When he thinks he's found the best spot, he comes to a grinding halt as he tenses up his body. This would be the moment an action hero leaps into the water and saves the day! ]

Hang on, ma'am!!

[ ...9S, however, plops his butt on the ground and crosses his legs. By this point there is no music to imagine whatsoever. Instead of jumping into the water, he is emulating fishing as he sends his Pod Unit to float in the water like it's supposed to be fishing bait (it's exactly that). He looks more like a peaceful old man than an action hero right now... ]

You just have to reach for it, come on!

[bravesteps]

[ this day is unfolding in entirely unexpected ways!!

9S's unfamiliar attire aside (is he blindfolded??), she watches as he sprints across the shoreline, and sumire is beginning to feel that she has overreacted a little but he's really putting his heart into this.. how can she stop him?? but then he's sitting right in the sand, and she opens her mouth to speak, until a strange.. robot?? item interrupts her train of thought. at this point, sumire is beginning to suspect that she might be dreaming. ]

Reach for it..?

[ the pod floats before her innocently enough, it doesn't look very threatening, and the boy seems genuine enough, so she hesitantly reaches forward.. ]

Like this?

ship cleanup! because... ha....

[snaccs]

( being in embarrassing situations isn't really that new for Maruki, though normally they're at his own hand, and not... someone else's. he yelps, seaweed dripping off his arms and torso where it crashed and exploded into the side of him, and thanks everything that at least it didn't also hit his glasses. )

That's... no proble—

( he's shaking some of the seaweed off his arm when recognition dawns on him. he knows that voice! )

Yoshizawa-san?

[bravesteps]

[ before she even realizes who it is she's so kindly splattered with lake slime, sumire is stepping forward with her hands outstretched, as if there's anything more she can possibly do about this but apologize. ]

I-I was trying to practice my magic, I probably shouldn't have -

[ she should have saved it for a better time than now, maybe when there aren't, you know, a lot of people around for her to cover in pond scum, but anyway, she recognizes that voice. ]

- Doctor Maruki?