TDM #4: Welcome to Goldcliff

[balancemod]

RACES!? COUNT ME IN! NAVIGATION WELCOME TO GOLDCLIFF BACKGROUND Goldcliff, a prosperous metropolitan city on the far reaches of Faerun, is world renowned for its acumen in business and finance. Empirores, queens, large scale business owners, and the occasional villain are all anonymously the same within the wealthy investors eyes of the famed Goldcliff Trust. Funding everything from wars to expansions to armies to town reconstruction efforts, it's had a long history of making particularly good and sound investments that have paid huge returns on interest over the last four centuries since its inception. Sitting on high, Goldcliff is situated on- you can guess it- a cliff that performs as the fork for branches of the Crystal Gayle Rivers within the vast sprawling mass of the surrounding desert plains. Rushing over the edge is a waterfall that leads into a canyon below, and if not for the simple wealth, splendor and beauty of the nature behind the urban landscape, it also serves as one of the world's greatest vacation spots. Timeshares are bought into and coveted, restaurant reservations can be made up to years in advance for some of the creme de la creme hotspots, and no one goes anywhere without a handy, dandy copy of Zagart's Guide to Fine Dining. Zagart, a particularly keen gnome who fancies Goldcliff quite a lot himself, gives shining reviews to the trendiest and most interesting spots within town. As much as she could probably use it herself, Lucretia does not send her Reclaimers here for a bit of R&R. It's no secret that the venture capital which funded the Bureau of Balance to begin with had started with an impassioned plea to the Goldcliff Trust, and as such, she owes them a bit of a debt: personal and business. Without their funding, the Moon Base wouldn't exist. Without the promise of trade routes to bring supplies to a location deep on the outskirts of the plains, Lucas and Maureen never would have been able to create and launch the center of her operation. The operation to save a world- no, all worlds from imminent destruction. And as it stands right now, Goldcliff needs some of that help. The entire city has been laid siege with an uncontrollable plant growth, just at the eve of the annual regalia. You see, Goldcliff is also rather well known for something beyond dollars and sense, as it hosts a highly volatile and unscrupulously illegal event known as. The Battle Wagon Races. Back to top. 1. FEED ME, SEYMOUR A. THE STATE OF THE CITY Upon arriving, Goldcliff is in a bit of a bind. Literally, for the most part. Aside from citizens and vacation-goers running around rather frantically, several dangerous things are coming to a head around town and it's a good opportunity for Reclaimers to provide aid and assistance to those who need it. The city militia can only help so much here; most of their efforts are being widely spent in an attempt to stop a massive overgrowth of vines from toppling the Goldcliff Trust building. It's not just a symbolic center of the city, but rather, the collateral damage that it could cause to Goldcliff if pieces start to fall off or crumble could have far reaching effects on the stability of the town itself. Here are some points of interest to interact with during your initial descent into town: ○ Fala Lefallir, owner of Sage Wisdom, a greenhouse that supplies raw materials to the local clinics in Goldcliff, has become completely trapped within her own brick and mortar. The size of this property is not something to underestimate: it takes up an entire city block, where Fala tends to each of her plants daily. It's a labor or love, but currently, the hedges and plant life here have determined that it's in desperate need of a renovation. You arrive on the scene to a maze, a labyrinthine structure that twists and turns, leading to numerous dead ends and nearly impossible to figure out passageways. At the heart of the maze, Fala has been trying to reason with an oversized venus fly trap. You better hurry; although it has some affinity for the half-elf who's given much of her time to care for this particular plant, it's rather unpredictable in its current state. ○ The local temple of Chauntea, goddess of the harvest, has a particularly unique problem that Brother Lance isn't quite sure what to do with or how to handle. Although it's not an immediate threat, the hydrangeas that normally line the inside of the church have come to life. Brilliant in color due to their bloom, they're currently situated in the choir box high above the rest of the pews that normally line its interior. They've taken up singing the good gospel. It doesn't seem that there's a massive threat to handle here, but as you enter to check in the environs, you realize really quickly why Brother Lance has his hands over his ears. They're all off tune, don't understand the value of a half-note, and honestly? It's just awful. They need some work. Or some weedkiller. The choice, of course, is up to you. ○ (cw: emetophobia, mild body horror) Shady Pines, a resort villa that boasts a beautiful water park within its gated confines has become impacted with an overgrowth of a particularly powerful pollen. People who came here for a reclusive siesta have become violently ill. There's a disease that these spores have been known to inflict upon its victim, known as hanahaki. Those who inhale the spores from the flowers growing around the vacation hot spot begin to find flower petals in their mouths and a rather upset stomach. And although that's the main symptom of the affliction, it's not uncommon for people to find themselves randomly finding petals sprouting from their hair, growing from their feet, or appearing around their hands. Legend has it, that the color of the petals that appears describes the state of your love life: vivid reds denote passion, yellow denotes longing, blue for jealousy, and black for "no chance at all." The cause of this is a patch of flowers that have become life like in size, located in the lobby of the main building. Be careful, this is a full on plants vs. zombies battle for you and your team. 2. THE GOLDCLIFF TRUST The most prominent building in all of Goldcliff is a bank that towers with an exhilarating view over the canyon and the entirety of the bustling resort city. In its current state, however, long tendrils and vines completely block entrance into the bank at all. These thick, green vines cover every square inch of the architectural wonder and the frantic police of Goldcliff are currently scratching their heads about what to do in this entire situation. They're not inept, not in the slightest, but no matter what they try: setting fire to the plant growth, cutting it down, barraging it with shrinking magic... it seems to just grow back, even stronger. If you have a way in, you can convince the militia captain, Captain Captain Bane to let you get a solid attempt at parting the mess. Looking closely, you can see that he has a bit of silver under his sleeve, and he immediately notices your Bureau of Balance bracer as well. It's an unspoken nod of agreement that he already trusts you because of your affiliation. From here, the floor is yours. Your objective is to get inside the Goldcliff Trust and find out what's going on to cause all of this chaotic mess, but... you're going to have to be a little resourceful about the entry method. Oh, and by the way. Did you know these vines can be charmed? 3. BANK HEIST If you manage to make your way inside, you'll notice a scene of hedonistic excess. Gold plating lines almost every inch of various counter tops, walls, picture frames. Even the toilets are plated with the stuff. For the most part, the bank was evacuated the second things started to go south, so you're free and clear to explore and do as you see fit. Aside from the giant treant that's currently noticed you. You're going to need to take that bad boy down, because he definitely doesn't want you to hit the elevator (it has the plaque of "MILLER INDUSTRIES" written above the door frame) and get to a higher floor. Act fast and swift, this mighty giant is impressively strong and can wipe out almost anything with one strong swipe. It's not particularly fast, which is something you can use to your advantage. If you can manage to defeat or otherwise escape from this encounter, it's office space every floor up to the top. Some idiot decided that the top floor of this place should be number 69, so that's probably where you're headed. Here, you can notice a woman in a Raven's mask attempting to steal... something. You don't know what that is, and you absolutely won't be able to ambush her. She controls the power of gusts that can knock you back on your feet, and before you know it, you're left to scramble around and pick up the pieces of what just happened. And wouldn't you know it? A curious halfling arrives on the scene, just in time to watch The Raven jump out of a 69th floor window. Her name, she introduces herself to you, is Hurley. Back to top. 2. 5 FAST 6 FURIOUS... OR WHATEVER SEQUEL THEY'RE ON NOW The best hint you have currently, and one that's spreading among the Reclaimers who had seen the Goldcliff Trust's HQ, is a woman who goes by the name of "The Raven." An unparalleled Battle Wagon Racer, the Raven has never missed a race since she put her petals to the medal. You can guess that the only way you're going to be able to confront her is if you're taking her head on with the rubber meeting the track. Reclusive and impossible to find, she keeps hidden in the shadows. Eventually, you might come across a halfling named Hurley who's seen what you've done in the city and how you've helped as much as you could have. She tells you that The Raven is a friend of hers- a dear friend of hers who used to share the same idyllic love for the sport. But ever since she got her hands on a particularly powerful magic item, she's never been the same. That should send off Kill Bill sirens for you, as a Reclaimer, tasked with recovering said OP magic relics. Goldcliff seems to be in better shape after The Raven came and took what she was looking for from the Goldcliff Trust. No plant growth, no choirs of flowers. Things are back to normal, but that doesn't mean the city is safe. 4. OFF TO THE RACES Since racing culture is questionably illegal within Goldcliff (yet everyone deeply loves it, which puts to question why in the world the local government hasn't sanctioned it yet- or maybe because it's not above the brass tax, the allure of its appeal is intentionally provoked), it's incredibly crucial for the average Battle Wagon Racer to pick up a mask to conceal their identity. Taking a stop at a local vendor will provide a number of options to choose from right off the bat. But there's also one that's a little farther off the beaten path; down an alleyway and you'll find yourself near an old tabaxi woman who offers to sell "Luxeria's Purrmium Masks." The common theme between all these masquerade props is that they're modeled after some sort of an animal. That's just the tradition here in Goldcliff. Battle Wagon Racers conceal their identities, and it's commonly known that regulars like "The Shark Tank" or "The Raven" are a staple among big fans of the sport. You can pick from a decently varied list: ○ Ram ○ Owl ○ Bear ○ Mongoose ○ Dog ○ Deer ○ Grung ○ Tressym ○ Tortle ○ Wyrm After you've picked your spirit animal, you can try it on, see how it fits. Nothing weird at all happens- but when you leave the alleyway, and any subsequent time you try the mask on for size, you'll find that it won't come off. See, these are actually enchanted masks that make you become similar to the animal whose visage you wear, both in mannerism and form. How deep and how far you go with this is, of course, up to you- but for 24 hours, you're stuck like this. And then magically, it'll just fall off. Return to the same vendor the next day and you'll discover that there's nothing there. No stall, no receipts, no sign of anyone ever having a shop here. What a wild shape experience. 5. BE GAY, DO CRIMES You have your racing stripes, you're prepared to enter yourself into the match, and everything looks like it's ready to proceed forward. One tiny hitch. You don't have a Battle Wagon. You're going to have to get your hands on one. And in order to get your hands on one, you're going to have to get those digits a little dirty. ○ Did you rob the Goldcliff Trust? Congrats, you heathen, that's the easiest way to get a Battle Wagon. Buy it outright and get ready to rumble. We hope your conscience is okay with that, though. ○ The Hammerhead Gang resides in a chained off garage near the outskirts of town. They're a bunch of greasers, but they've also been working on their newest Battle Wagon. The Mawch-212 has been rumored to climb to speeds of 80mph, and has a unique crystal engine that can support even higher speeds when overclocked. As you can imagine, they're rather secretive with the plans for it, so you might have to... sneak in and abscond with it in the dead of night. Or, trick one of the Hammerhead Gang into sponsoring you. Maarvey (or possibly, Maarvi, Maarvy, Maarvie, or Maarfie, depending on how you decide to spell it), the leader of the Gang is kind of, well, dim-witted. You know what to do here. ○ The New Leaf, an ironically named dive bar has been known to host a number of shady people, is a great place to look if you're in the green market for something around here. A cloaked Tabaxi sits in the corner, shrouded in mystery. He speaks with an awfully weird accent, one you might have heard from somewhere else, but he has a deck of cards with him and an appetite to win big or go home. Best him in a game of Queen's Call (instructions can be found here and the appropriate RNG thread can be utilized for your game), and you can walk away with a Battle Wagon of your own. Careful, if you lose, he's going to want some of your blood. What for? Who knows. ○ Make one. Okay, we know some of you might be lawful good, so there's an option to put one together from scraps. Hurley can help you with that, but if you get caught "[she] never met you before." You'll have to take some odd jobs around the city to get the requisite parts, but there's something kind of nice and almost zen about building one from the ground up. Careful, though, it's more than likely not going to be amazing in any way, shape or form- unless you have a mechanical know-how. This one is going to be hard to pull off a blue ribbon at the races. Back to top. 3. CALL TO ARMS (WISDOM, STRENGTH): AND THEY'RE OFF It's the day of the Great Battle Wagon Race, and you've gotten yourself entrenched with local politics, become the hero (or villain) of Goldcliff, and you're about to face off in the wildest chase of your life. Your goal here is to show The Raven that she can be beaten. Hurley's intent is to get you, or her, past the finish line first. Maybe that'll knock some sense into the corvine combatant long enough to realize that the relic she's currently wearing, the Gaia Sash, isn't doing anything good for her. Of course, it's not just you who wants to take a stab at the throne. And when you play the game of races, you win or you... Comfortably get ejected out of your seat and a safety harness bubbles around you, rolling you off to an undisclosed location so that you don't die outright. Killing people here is highly discouraged, although some fowl (sorry) play is more than welcome. You'll have to face off against 12 other racers, all employing their own tactics and battle styles. The enemies are, of course, up to you- but keep in mind that they should be in some way related to an animal. Getting to The Raven is another story. Floor it. You're going to be up against all the elements when she sees you getting near, so be prepared. And just as the race comes to a close, she doesn't seem to want to back down: win or lose. You give chase to her, as she drives her Battle Wagon right off the cliff this metropolitan city is named for. What rises up from the bottom of the ravine is something else. A tree- an impossibly large tree, 100 times the size of the one that inhabited the Goldcliff Trust, comes to life. You see The Raven driving up one of its massive branches. Because in her mind, if she lost? It's time to blow this popsicle stand. For real. What do you do? Back to top. 4. A NOTE FROM YOUR MODS Hello everyone and welcome to the fourth Balance TDM! Here are some quick notes for you: The purpose of this TDM is to give you an idea of what our missions look like. It already assumes that your character has been initiated into the Bureau of Balance, and has been sent out on their first mission to retrieve a Grand Relic. To that end, threads in this TDM will not be considered game canon. What we're aiming to do with Balance is a little different from your typical DWRP game. In a typical setting, the mods set up some NPCs that have limited contact with you, the player, under a very structured set of conditions. For example, The Director is one of those NPC types, as are her two counterparts (Davenport and Garfield). However, in Balance, we'd like to take a moment to instill something early on as we run through this TDM of the game. We've listed a few NPC's and locations up there to give you a flavor of what the tone and pace of this mission should look like. Everything is on the table for you to sculpt, create, destroy, and remake as you test drive the system we have here in Balance. What we strive to do is a make a game that is, ultimately, completely decided by the players' actions and what they do within the frame that we give them. We're handing over the keys of the setting to you and we're completely confident that you'll be able to take a part of it and make it yours. Be amazing- not just in the sense of being amazing to each other and to your characters, but also with your character choices in-game. The world is completely malleable and up to you to meld, mend, repair, or bust. In a nutshell, what we're saying is... go wild. It's okay not to ask permission for something cool you'd like to do. We've given you some outlines of events, but the story that you create as you thread these out is entirely yours. And we, as a mod team, can't wait to see what you bring to the table. Back to top. blurb code by photosynthesis

Comments

TDM QUESTIONS

[balancemod]

CALL TO ARMS (WISDOM/STRENGTH)

[balancemod]

What are your plans for taking down the holder of the Grand Relic? Leave them here, and we will roll to see how successful you are.

RNG

[balancemod]

If you would like for your character to try something within the setting, whatever it is, we can randomize the outcome for you here!

Let us know if you have a specific path in mind for your character, as that may affect the roll itself. No worries if not, though.

[korekara]

HEY IT'S ME BACK AT IT TO HONK UP ANOTHER TDM

Quick question! If Honoka decided she was going to do her best to get the hydrangeas singing on-key, would she be able to do it? She's a Bard, so she already has Path powers on her side, but she's also a member of Muse and she's a pretty good singer thanks to all that hard work. She just wants to help them chase their dreams!!!

edit: oh god i'm dumb i forgot to ask for a RNG result for QUEEN'S CALL!!! honoka will be doing her very best to Not Lose Any Blood

dirk strider / homestuck / fighter probably

[splinten]

(canon point: [s] GAME OVER)

death by fic cliche (cw: emetophobia/body horror hanahaki stuff)

[It's not like he didn't know the petals would be black. His universe is dead. That doesn't do a lot for his romantic chances. But he's kind of pissed off that he's landed himself half a rainbow here, red and blue and yellow coming out of his lungs and messing with his breathing. He wears these shades for a fucking reason, several, even, and he is not appreciating this visual declaration of how phenomenally high school drama his romantic history is. Could it not just stick to black? Is "doomed beyond all salvageability" not enough? What goddamned bullshit.

So maybe it's a little bit personal when he draws his sword and stares down these shitty plants. And then gets interrupted by a hacking fit that has him splitting flower petals. Red this time. One stuck between his teeth. Ugh.] Fuck you too.

[That he mutters under his breath as he straightens himself up. No. Enemy. Gotta kill it. Focus. He addresses the person with him as he squares up against his mortal foe.] Unless you have any incendiaries, I'm taking this as my cue to go in.

be gay, do crimes

[Well. One out of two, anyway. It's not like Dirk objects to crimes. He definitely considers himself more inclined to the Chaotic or Neutral end of the spectrum than Lawful, because fuck the Batterwitch and screw the rules. However, Dirk absolutely does not trust anything made by anyone else. Yes, it's magic bullshit tech, but in a way he's been working with that since he was old enough to figure out machines, and this isn't his first time playing mechanic with half-foreign tech.

This is why Dirk can be found in a garage, covered in grease, his head underneath the chassis of... something. It'll be a battle wagon eventually. He doesn't look up, just hears footsteps and says,]

Hey. Can you pass me that screwdriver? The Pozidriv. It has a pink handle.

[For the record, he IS still wearing his stupid shades down there.]

gay crimes

[stormblooded]

[Lyse is not the most mechanically inclined, and she'd rather not do a grand theft auto if she doesn't have to, which leaves... finding another team to attach herself to! She's doing this by applying in person, aka wandering into nearby garages and asking who's got room. Dirk's is actually the third she's tried, but the first where it's a fellow Bureau member, though she's only seen him in passing.

She locates the screwdriver in question - ] This one? [ - and crouches to hand it to him.]

... It's looking good so far! [Not that she'd really know if it wasn't.]

Honoka Kousaka | Love Live! School Idol Project | Bard

[korekara]

FEED ME SEYMOUR (i've actually never seen this movie)

[ This doesn't really seem like the time to be singing, but if you happen to pass by the temple, you'll hear someone going ham on their vocals. It's just a basic do-re-mi scale up and down the notes, but it's nice enough. It sounds like someone who knows what they're doing, anyway.

If you decide to investigate whatever nonsense is going on in the temple currently, you'll find Honoka, all dressed up in her full bard regalia... serenading some flowers??? It's fine.

Once she realizes she's been spotted, Honoka beams and throws her hand up to wave this newcomer over. ]

Wow, hey, you're just in time! I've been hoping if I gave them a little help, they'd be able to hit the notes a little–

[ As if to prove her woefully wrong, the flowers pick that moment to let out a shriek of off-key wailing that's probably supposed to approximate music. It's absolutely awful. Honoka cringes and her smile turns a little sheepish. ]

... um... well, I guess it's still a work in progress...

[ RIP. ]

obligatory combat prompt (honoka vs a big tree edition)

[ How did Honoka manage to get inside? Don't worry about it. Maybe worry more about the fact that despite looking as though she hits with the strength of a wet bagel, Honoka seems all geared up to fight this big punchy tree. Dear god, she's all by herself.

Or... not? Because the instant she spots someone else making their way into the building, Honoka zooms over and glues herself basically immediately to their side. ]

We've gotta fight that thing if we wanna get through, right? I've got your back!

[ Congratulations! Now you have a fighting partner. And no, you absolutely do not get a say in this. ]

the new leaf (honoka trying to be at least chaotic neutral and failing miserably)

[ Now Honoka's an expert at being gay, but crimes are?? sort of out of her wheelhouse?? She's a well-behaved girl, she doesn't like getting in trouble. So she's a bit out of her depth when it comes to this "getting a Battle Wagon" business. She's not quite smart enough to build one for herself and outright stealing one makes her feel squirmy inside, so the only choice, obviously, is to win one in a card game. Simple!

Or it would be simple, if Honoka could actually convince herself to, you know, go inside The New Leaf. It looks shady and people are drinking and Honoka is just sort of hovering uselessly at the entrance, practically purple in the face with the scale of the internal war she's evidently waging with herself. ]

It's easy, I gotta just... just go inside and talk to this guy... just gotta... take myself inside... one foot in front of the other... easy as pie...!

[ Suffice to say, she has not actually took a single step inside yet. In fact, she's just sort of getting in the way. Scoot your boot, Honoka. ]

RNG RESULTS

[korekara]

so i can edit in the opportunity for more shenanigans should they arise

morgana, the house in fata morgana

[witchship]

[ ooc note: body horror cw! i'm tentatively taking morgana from the period of time where she lived as a witch in a cottage - this means her face is horribly disfigured, despite my icons at the moment. this is subject to change if i app her. she is also tentatively a wizard, because. witchcraft. okay. ]
feed me, seymour

[ To be honest, it's very easy to miss her. She's a little thing, mostly bone and skin at this point, who keeps her head trained to the ground so the hood will cover her up. You'd be forgiven for walking right past Morgana; she blends into the background as well as anyone can, with enough effort. But it's near impossible to disguise her voice.

From the dissonance of the croaking flowers breaks out a voice so beautiful that it's mesmerizing. Listening to it feels as natural as listening to the breeze. It's all the more impressive, probably, because this person's voice - magnetism in it - is highlighted by the godawful tone of the flowers. The girl singing does not parrot their song back to them, for she will never sing of false idols. Instead, those familiar with Christianity will know that this is a hymn. A prayer in its own right, it is only missing an organ accompaniment to complete the scene. A young girl sings at the church, but not of the God she should.

It appears she is trying to help the flowers get on track. Their lyrics may be ungodly, but their vocals sure do not need to be. ]

goldcliff trust

[ Morgana supposes that helping is all she can do in this instance. As such, she finds her approaching Goldcliff, but it is with all the presence of a mouse skittering around in the walls. You'd be forgiven, again, for thinking you're going this alone. Maybe you don't even notice the girl's presence until she's acknowledged by the guard, who looks at you, then her, and nods. That', too, would be forgiven. It's kind of what she wants, in the end, to not be noticed. It allows her to pick and choose what interactions she has.

Morgana does not speak, however. She only nods back, so quick and small that it's hard to see. It's enough, though, and the pair of you come to the vines where she finally shows a modicum of personality. Reaching out, she touches a single finger with the very tip of the pad of her index finger. Nothing happens, so she presses her finger tighter to it. Again, nothing. Her hand slips down. ]

I have seen plenty of situations in which these plants grew in this manner. A bit of weeding might do it well enough, but somehow... I doubt that.

[ she pauses. ] In such a case, I don't carry shears.

post heist outcome

[ Let's not beat around the push here; Morgana is a teeny tiny thing. The smallest gust of wind is enough to knock her over as is. Anything above that - must less something specifically made to be an attack on her person - is a real danger to her. She's probably come out of this with a few bruises and would do good to find a healer of some kind, but the girl is stubborn... Instead of finding a healer, she runs off to mope and consider how dangerous that was. Fear is something she's grown accustomed to, in her life, but this... still, it's enough to terrify her.

As such, Morgana bails. She runs away. She takes to the streets, narrowly avoiding people as she goes, and hides in the only place she might be able to find some kind of nostalgic comfort: the church.

There's a little cloaked figure in the courtyard, elbows and knees to the stone of the steps into the church. Try not to step on her! ]

wildcard

[ i'm contactable through pm and plurk @ weirdautumn if you would like to discuss a different scenario with morgana. on the other hand, just hit me with your own prompt! please feel free to get creative. ]

feed me, seymour

[rancori]

[Maria's just about ready to cover her ears and hightail it away from the flowers, honestly.

But then there's another voice, a different song she actually recognizes, and she couldn't even dream of just leaving.]

...Huh. [She lowers her hands from where she'd been rubbing at her temples, not quite looking at the singer.] You sound a hell of a lot better than them.

Natasha Romanoff | MCU | Dancer

[widows_kiss]

( Gonna be playing her as a Dancer, because of course I am. I am a terrible person. Also this is a spoiler-free zone! )

a. bank heist

[ Charming vines is not a typical use of her skill set - and to be honest, she hadn't even been certain it would work, but here she is, climbing in one of the first floor windows to hopefully make a subtle entrance off the main foyer. Which would have worked swimmingly, for the most part, but she suspects one of her new little vine friends may have tattled on her.

The moment she sets foot into the hall, there's a rustling of leaves and the groaning of branches as a massive tree... monster? turns to stare at her. Guess what? He doesn't look happy to see her.

Well, shit.

Natasha stares back at it for a moment, a little caught off guard because whatever she'd been expecting to greet her in here, it hadn't been... a tree? So she tries the first idea that pops into her head. Improvising, it is! ]

...........I am Groot?

b. off to the races

[ Alright, she'd picked the mask she thought would be the easiest to blend in with, picking up one that looked like a black cat - there was no spider, sadly, although she had no idea how that would have worked as a mask anyway. And no hawk that she could laughingly collect. But the cat reminded her of T'challa and she thought he would have gotten a kick out of that.

It hadn't taken her long to figure out something was weird moments after she'd slipped it on and she cursed her own oversight for not thinking there might be something strange about it. But the Raven had been wearing one of these and looked perfectly fine when fleeing the bank. Natasha, on the other hand...

Well. Let's just say she does blend in easily enough and can listen in on just about any conversation for a while, because no one seems to give the black cat with the long dark wings a second glance, other than to maybe occasionally pet her or offer her a treat. Time to start finding leads on those Battle Wagons...

Or maybe just troll some of the other Reclaimers when they least expect it. Who would suspect the pretty, purring black cat of anything, after all? ]

c. be gay, do crimes

[ Being a cat had been fun in itself and also given her plenty of time to snoop for information. Some of it was even useful. Like having been picked up and taken back to the Hammerhead's garage before being fed her weight in tuna. Who knew they had a soft spot for cats? But it's a day later and she's strolling back into the premises in her normal form, all full of confidence like she owned the place. Then again, that's often her style.

Did you come with her? Or were you watching for your own way in and spot an opportunity? Either way, she stops just inside the garage, hands propped on her hips as she surveys the surprised gang members inside, and gives them a little smirk. ]

Where's Marv hiding?

d. wildcard!

( Feel free to hit any of the above prompts, tweak them, or give me something entirely different. She's very flexible and good with rolling what you throw at her. ;) If you wanna check with me first, feel free to PM her journal or hit me up at chaneystarr )

off to the races

[rockymountaindie]

[ The literal worst thing to run into when you've inexplicably turned into a German Shepherd is a cat. Winged or otherwise. ...Well some may say it's the best thing, but honestly Alex is kind of uncomfortable with all these canine urges. He's not sure how he knows he smells a cat, but he sure does. And that's exciting, and he hasn't felt genuinely excited about something in, uh...awhile? A long while?

So uncomfortable as he may be, before he knows it he's following that scent, tail wagging. Everything looks sort of muted, but it's amazing, because he can see much better in the dark than he usually can. And oh, the a flicker in the night! The sight of a cat's tail, just the tip of it! He can't believe he could pick that up!

(...Would being a dog make it easier to see signs? Results inconclusive. Come back to this later.)

An overwhelming energy fills his body and he can't help but bark as he runs for the winged black cat, lost in the dog instincts. ]

Ruby Rose | RWBY | Sorceror

[scatteredpetals]

A. Chauntea-rs

Oooh, but they're so pretty!

[ Famous last words to come out of Ruby's mouth as she takes in the sight of the pretty hydrangeas visible even from the tightly-closed windows. They're vibrant and alluring and she doesn't see what the problem is here at all. Maybe someone has really bad allergies?

...And then Brother Lance opens the Temple doors and the raucous chorus from inside finally drifts out.

Oh. Oh. That's terrible. It's a travesty!

She's quick to clap her hands over her poor delicate ears, wincing at this massacre of music. ]

So this is why they're looking for gardeners? That's way worse than just a sneezing fit!

B. Racing Off!

[ Okay, she's hearing all these rumors about "The Raven" and that's just... unsettling, honestly. Having missed the daring escape in the bank because she'd never quite made it past the very persistent vines outside, she eventually gives up and goes exploring instead. Which is how she stumbles across the slightly shady-looking vendor down an alleyway she probably shouldn't have ventured down, but the sight of the colorful and varied masks had been too tempting a draw. ]

Oooooooh! These are so cool! [ She might have more than a few stars in her eyes right now as she bounces back and forth in front of the stand, trying to take in all of them at once. ] There's so many to choose from! How do I even pick?!

C. Wildcard!

( Hit me up with a different prompt if none of these tickle you! Feel free to PM this journal or hit me up at chaneystarr if you have any questions. I'm trying out two characters to see who ends up meshing best. (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ )

[bromeo]

[there's so much to worry about in a town coming completely raveled up in an entanglement of botanical bizznasty, but out of everything out there, the singing flowers has to be the worst of it all. hedge mazes, people coughing up flowers, a bank getting poked and prodded at by thorns... nothing compares to the unholy sound that's piercing through Sun's ears.

which he immediately places both hands over.]

What did you water those things with?! Mutant miracle grow?

[Brother Lance is eternally searching for a salvation in the sweet release of death, but today is not his lucky day.]

Ruby, you have to make them stop!

Alex Browning | Final Destination | Warlock

[rockymountaindie]

FEED ME SEYMOUR (sage gardens version)

[ Look, there's...there's shouting. And a maze. And Alex, for all his cautiousness, is a bleeding heart idiot, at times. So, like...he'd be forgiven for rushing in and finding a dead-end...or two. Or three? ]

'Least they aren't trying to kill me? [ Yet, he adds mentally, as another shout punctuates that far-too-optimistic thought. Okay, time to try and read the...well, if this world-or-whatever runs like his, then there should be signs, right? Things he can look for to lead him through the maze. Time to get looking for those.

Or, maybe someone else, because jeez he's hopelessly lost. Once he runs into someone, he sheepishly grimaces and shrugs, rubbing at his neck. ]

Sooo, you found any weed-whackers around here?

off to the races

[ If you'd asked him when this all started, Alex would not have thought saving the world- worlds, multiverse, whatever- involved skulking around for a masquerade mask.

And he is skulking. There's no other way to describe it, since he's still not quite used to being in the open, around people, any of it. Three months of self-imposed house arrest will do that to a guy. It's more trying to dodge others than actual hunting for a mask that brings him to the questionable mask shop. And really, honestly- he should've known better. He should've seen the signs, but maybe death made him soft, or...shit, something besides dead or something.

The point is, he doesn't mean to be cursed by a mask. He doesn't mean for a lot of things, but they still happen. ]

Shit, damn it. [ He'd just been trying the thing on and suddenly it's just, like, stuck. Despite the fact that he's been tugging on it for, like, an hour, he's gotten nowhere. ] Rookie move, dude.

[ At least he can see out of it. Even if it seems to be...really itching his ears? Or, maybe it's something in the air. Or, something he ate. Or, the anxiety that's settled into the corner of his head in the past year, whispering all the awful things that can - and, in his experience, probably will - happen if he makes one wrong move.

Not here. It doesn't work like that here...as far as he knows. It already killed him, it's not like it can follow him across universes, or- fuck, it really itches, fine!! As he stops pulling on the mask, Alex lets out a frustrated gurgle mixed with a growl, one that sounds a little...strange, honestly. A literal more guttural than usual. He takes note of that, as he just casually scratches at the base of his left ear, right where the fur meets his skin and-- ]

What the jesus FUCK?!

[ Like he's been electrocuted (again), Alex jerks his hand back and practically spasms in shock, not really caring if he runs into anyone or not. He may have chosen a mask that looked quite similar to Clear's old dog, but still, but no, that doesn't mean he wanted to spout fucking German Shepherd ears! ]

be gay, do crimes

[ ...So anyway, that stupidity over, it's time to find a damn Battle Wagon and not spend another day chasing his own tail and licking his own balls.

Should the universe be restored, he is never telling Clear about this. Ever.

That little adventure, however, has made him a liiiiittle hesitant about his original plan of just stealing a Battle Wagon. (...What, it's for the best, or...whatever, don't judge him--) Kinda funny that instead it sends him down to that kinda seedy bar. He has to wonder, only after he's inside and listening to that cat-man with the strange accent, if his brush (okay, collision) with the afterlife's given him a death wish?

Look, it's fine, it's- it's cards. He can do cards. That's all about looking for signs, which is all he's been doing, so...it works, alright? And if he loses, then the price is just a little-- wait, did he just say blood?

...

Luckily it doesn't come down to that. (Now he knows Death didn't follow him here, because that'd be the perfect opportunity for a good ol' round of Tetanus.) A little while after walking into the seedy bar, Alex is leaving the vicinity, to claim his prize. Nice, shiny and blue, not red like flames, so that's already a good sign! His very own-- ]

Okay, seriously, this is just a weird car. [ A beat. A genuine smile, for the first time in awhile. ] Oh, man. I finally got my own car!

wildcard

[ And, well, ya know, if you have any ideas, hit me up, of course! PM this journal or message kabunevermind, I'm happy to play with you. c: ]

feed me seymour

[disciplineissues]

[ Keith, similarly, has run right into the maze, because if there are people who need help, he can't ignore them. Keith has never been able to ignore someone in need, and here is absolutely no exception.

He starts a little, when the other guy nearly (literally) runs into him. ]

Nope. No weed-whackers. [ He grimaces. ] Sure would be nice.

yuna | final fantasy x | druid

[aeons]

goldcliff trust

[ yuna was always one for taking an unexpected route. in particular, she tries to solve problems through peace. she's careful not to crush any of the vines, approaching them with care and a genteel demeanor. she whispers to them, hoping to hear a reply, a reason for their being here, guidance towards their source. her newfound power allowed her to commune with plants — convenient, or maybe purposeful, she thought. her words are intentional. anyone who heard her quiet whispers would perhaps assume she was an ambassador, someone trained but also invested in the art of negotiation.

she had done her time communing with divines. parleying with plants should be no sweat.

after a drawn out conversation, she stands from her knees, looking puzzled. ]

They're.. finicky, I can say that much. But I don't think we necessarily need to drive them out. [ she turns to a nearby companion — a fellow agent, obviously. ] This might sound ridiculous, but you wouldn't have anything to offer them? I think they'd be more willing to clear us a path if we gave them something in return. Water, or especially nice fertilizer maybe? We'll call it.. an olive branch.

[ she chuckles at her little joke. ]

be gay, (don't) do crimes

[ stealing isn't really yuna's thing (not yet, at least). so, once again, she chose to go down the path less traveled. it was more rewarding! sometimes, at least. thankfully, she had a few factors in her favor.. quite literally, actually. she had consorted with some of the local wildlife — pigeons, squirrels, mice — to scavenge for scraps. they brought her any screws, planks of wood, or metal sheets they found around the city. you might see the little guys scurrying through the cities alleyways and curiously follow them to a nearby park, where yuna had set up a modest workstation. it was complete with bottles of water, snacks purchased from a convenience store, and tools she had found and thought she could potentially use.

in all honesty, it was sort of fun. because of her fuzzy companions, she was able to stay in one place and work on her wagon, pounding away with a hammer. it was a lot of work, but it was something she could be proud of — a wagon she could call her own. and even if she could only craft a rickety wheelbarrow, she was going to race with it! that she was sure of.

she certainly would take any pointers offered her way. ]

call to arms

[ her poor wagon.

for a moment, it looks pretty bad for yuna. following closely behind the raven, she slips right off the cliff with her, presumably only concrete below — until a tree springs to life, curving and wiring and stretching its branches as if to declare preemptive victory. if she wasn't quite literally flying through the air right now, she might try to talk with it, to figure out what's really going on here — as it stands, it wasn't particularly an option.

instead, she relies on an old trick. she outstretches her arms, forming fiery orbs that circle around her — and soon, from behind the clouds, a creature arrives to her aid, scooping her onto its back. she rests on it like an early bed, looking out to the impressive horizon as it docks at the nearby, titular cliff. it was a beautiful view, and the tree was awe-inspiring. it made her wonder how deep the raven's tale went.

she waves at a nearby agent, beckoning them to hop on. ]

This is our only chance! Let's figure out what's going on!

wildcard

[ i'm completely willing to play another scenario! hit me up at vanilladome if you want to discuss something else, or just surprise me. note i might adjust her path in a wildcard prompt, i'm still trying to pin down which i'd like to go with :) ]

don't do crimes!!

[rancori]

[Seriously? Is this girl for real?

This is not even remotely what Maria was expecting when she followed those damn squirrels. It's...

What the hell? Seriously?]

...So, how'd you get the helpers?

[She doesn't know a damn thing about building wagons, sorry.]

Ginko | Mushi-shi | Druid || CRAU

[iattractmushi]

[A1, Sage Wisdom]

[For all his experience dealing with nature, Ginko is a little... uncertain about apparently-sentient plants. Apprehensive, you might say. Not scared, of course, but... come on, these things are seemingly attempting to free their plant-brethren from the greenhouse, and that kind of forethought should be regarded with a certain level of wariness, surely.

So he doesn't enter the maze immediately. Instead, he's going to cautiously poke a leaf with a finger. You know. Just in case.]

[A3, Tree fight]

[So he's a little out of his depth here, considering he has no combat skills (other than throwing knives, or pins, but neither of those will really work on a tree), but he'll do his best. He has a staff. Maybe he can be a good distraction?]

He's pretty big. How do you want to do this?

[...please know what you're doing, since he has no idea.]

tree fight!!!

[stormblooded]

[Well, now, doesn't this bring back memories? Fortunately, Lyse knows exactly what to do with rowdy treants. She grins and cracks her knuckles.]

The old-fashioned way!

[Any last-second objections before she Rushes In?]

Catra | She-Ra | Rogue

[scapecat]

Feed Me Seymour

[Catra isn't sure if she's much inclined to do what the Director told her. Does she really expect her to just sit down and start following orders? Then again... she remembers the ending of her world, the darkness swallowing everything... So the old lady isn't lying either.

So she wanders through the mazes of the Sage Wisdom trying to find this fool who got trapped in her own building.]

Hello? Person who somehow trapped themselves in their own shop! Come out if you have the brain power to understan-

[Something strikes at her and she dodges (cat-like) of course and lands on the tips of her toes. There she sees the owner and a massive venus fly trap. The owner seems to be trying to reason with it.]

Seriously! That's why you're stuck in here?

Be Gay, Do Crimes

[Breaking and entering seems straight forward but she'd still have to go buy a car to race with. So, she's gonna go to a faster source: the Hammerhead Gang. She has plenty of experience getting idiots to do what she wants.

Which is why you'll find her in the middle of a pitch to let get them to sponsor her. She paces back and forth, tail twitching.]

Listen boys. I'm just here for a short trip, a detour. And I'm your best shot at winning this thing. I've been captain of all sorts of ships. So driving this will be nothing. Plus I'm nimble and can think -[She gives Maarv-whomever a tap on the forehead]- on my feet faster than all of you put together.

Isn't that right?

[She sees you, a fellow reclaimer and grins.]

Also if I lose, you can just take this one in exchange.

C A T R A

[snyaiper]

[Ogata had basically followed along out of a vague sense of curiosity, to see how this bluff would pan out. He regrets this choice, but only momentarily, looking shocked but quickly settling back into a vaguely smug expression.

Throw him under the bus, will you? That's fine. He's dragging you under the wheels with him.]

Sure. You can conscript me into your gang if she loses, I'm pretty useful. I can take out any failed wagon racers at 300 meters.
[He smiles back at Catra in a way that's only passingly friendly.]

farnese de vandymion / berserk / druid

[vandymion]

the goldcliff trust;

[ Well, she was rather thankful that Captain Captain Bane (was that really his name? That seemed too ridiculous to be true) had recognized the affiliation and wasn't making it difficult to get in. Although she'd done her share of forcing her way into places she shouldn't be for the sake of the common people, it made her rather nervous to do so without Guts and Serpico and Schierke by her side.

Now came the real struggle. Although she'd been given permission to enter, who knew how she was going to get away with actually doing just that? She'd watched as a few others hacked and chopped at the vines, only to have them replaced just as quickly.

She knew from experience that while a big sword could solve many a problem, there were things that magic alone could do, too. Perhaps this was her chance to help out and finally feel like she had been contributing to this Bureau she'd somehow found her way into.

She stepped forward towards the vines. Maybe ... they just needed to be spoken to?

She thought of the way she spoke to Casca to soothe her when she was agitated, the way that calming words and soft touches made her relax and more comfortable ... and then, she reached forward to tentatively put a hand to a vine that had wrapped its way around the main entrance. ]

Excuse me, um ... I'm terribly sorry to bother you, but ...

[ She cleared her throat. ]

I won't hurt you, we just ... we just need to come inside. Is that all right with you?

[ She swore she saw the vine twitch a little in response to her words ... Did you see it, too? ]

off to the races;

[ The concept of a vehicle like these battlewagons alone is enough to throw Farnese for a loop. She's decided that she's probably better of watching from the sidelines, rather than actually trying to build or race these monstrous things.

Still, she can't help but be charmed by some of the little masks for sale as she passes on by the stand. She lifts each mask to look at the quality and detail, but she seems to have taken a particular interest in the Wyrm mask ... is that the last one, though? ]

goldcliff trust

[gitanes]

[Lila's been watching. Sort of unnervingly, as it happens, watching without blinking much or saying anything. Behind her eyes, she's thinking about it: how the plants are definitely responding, how she might be applying sentience where it doesn't exist, personifying things that aren't anything like people.]

[But then there's a very deliberate twitch in response to Farnese's question, and she blinks (finally), straightening up. Her shoulders go back, halfway to defensive, before she relaxes into a gentler posture.]

You think those things understood good cop, bad cop?

[It's like 75% a joke.]

lila zacharov | curse workers | druid

[gitanes]

i. feed me, seymour ( cw emetophobia, body horror )

[It would seem like a joke, if she didn't look so godawfully serious about it.]

["She" in this case is a human girl, a very small, slight human girl who gives off an overall air of sharpness. Halfway up a vine just outside the entrance to Shady Pines's central building, she's barefoot, the insides of her soles clamped grimly to the trunk of the vine. Her fingers are white-knuckled on a branch above her head, her grip so tight it's almost making the plant creak.]

[Perhaps more strikingly, there are black petals standing out stark from her blonde hair in a dramatic, crownlike pattern. There's a small, scattered pile of black petals on the ground beneath her, too, and — she coughs into her free hand, glaring.]

Fucking what—

[Another cough, and she spits a mouthful of black petals onto whoever is standing below. Very deliberately.]

[So. Nice to meet you.]

ii. off to the races

[It's pure, stupid curiosity that makes her pick up the tressym mask and put it on. Pure, stupid curiosity, which will sicken her with irony later, but for now — well, she puts it on, because it's pretty, and because she doesn't understand the feathers coming out from the side of a cat's face.]

[Later, she'll find out that they're meant to be wings. For the moment, she buys it, because she might as well have something and she sure as hell isn't going to be a dog. But when she walks out of the alley into the daylight, she realizes she probably looks ridiculous and tries to take it off.]

[And she can't.]

[She pulls again. Can't get it off. A third time, beginning to panic — and when it doesn't come off, instinct takes over and sends her to a familiar form that's been inaccessible for some time now.]

[Where Lila stood a moment ago, there is now a sleek white cat with one green eye and one blue, fur standing on end, growling at nothing much. It's not a big cat, but it looks ready to fight and win.]

iii. be gay, do crimes

Oh.

[For the first time this whole stupid mission, she brightens. She's been watching the Hammerheads for long enough, and she absolutely has a good idea of what they're dealing with now. That is, not very much at all.]

Cool. They're idiots.

[With a sharp, not very nice grin, she turns and folds her arms over her chest.]

You have ten seconds to present a plan good enough to make me ditch my lethal one. [There aren't any laws against murder, right?]

what's new pussycat WHOA-OH-OH-OH

[fwahaha]

[He doesn't have any intention of getting involved with her while passing her by. That's not why he chooses to stop. She merely manages to catch his attention with the increased desperation and panic in her attempts at pulling the mask off her face. It's a ridiculous mask and one should not be struggling that much to remove it. That seems to be all there is to it, however, and he's about to lose all interest when suddenly where there once was a girl is now a cat.]

[Gilgamesh stares, and...]

[...]

[C'mon, you know he's busting a gut laughing.]

Ogata Hyakunosuke | Golden Kamuy | Ranger

[snyaiper]

[1. SHADY PINES]
[As far as illness goes, Ogata's hard pressed to think of anything stranger, but he's definitely seen far worse. So he's simply soldiering on, despite the nausea and discomfort, and presently he's loitering outside the resort lobby, observing the plant monster silently until someone else walks up.]

Oi, I don't suppose you're the close combat type? My specialty is more- [A sudden cough interrupts him, and petals of a dark navy blue hue flutter to the ground.]

-long range support.
[He finishes, gesturing to the bolt-action rifle slung over his shoulder.]

[4. OFF TO THE RACES]
[Of course Ogata had opted for the shady back alley mask store, gravitating towards the mask the old shopkeeper had referred to as a "tressym." As far as he could tell, it was a cat, but figured it would be rude to say given that the shopkeeper also seemed to be a cat. There was a lot better left unsaid about this stranger other world.

The problem of course arrives later, when a far more feline Ogata has wandered into the city marketplace after spending a solid hour trying to remove the mask. At this point he himself looks rather like a tabaxi. And he's got an insatiable urge to cause some mischief. What he settles on is grabbing at the lowest fruit in a carefully constructed pyramid display, dashing off as the entire thing comes tumbling to the ground and the poor fruit vendor yells after;

"HEY! Someone catch that man!"]

[5- THE NEW LEAF]
[Frankly, he's not that invested in actually aquiring his own Battle Wagon. He figures he can hop a ride on someone else's, offering his skills at taking out other vehicles and/or racers from a distance.

But he's developed an affinity for these cat people and this one's offering high stakes gambling for a wagon and he can't help but be interested. Still, it's not a bad idea to stack the deck a little. He can only assume a shady old man in a bar would expect nothing less. So before he's committed to approaching the old tabaxi, he leans towards whoever's next to him at the bar.]

You interested in the gamble that old man's offering? Two heads are better than one, they say.
[Definitely "they." Ogata would never say that. But a second person presents another body he can shift the blame onto if need be.]

[WILDCARD & NOTE]
[NOTE: Particularly studious Japanese teenagers may recognize Ogata's military uniform as coming from early 20th century Japan.
If you have a specific idea of your own feel free to hit me up at agentmaine]

1

[vandymion]

I ...

[ She hesitates; compared to what some of her companions can do, she wouldn't call herself an any combat type. But then again, given what she's been though lately ... maybe she's a little better off than some. ]

I could hit it up close, if I needed to. [ She grips the piece of wood in her hand; it doesn't look like much, and isn't it kind of fucked up to hit a tree with a piece of wood? Best not to think about it. ]

Lyse Hext | Final Fantasy XIV | Monk of course

[stormblooded]

[Lyse is no stranger to grief. Nor to loss, war, slaughter, calamity... But no matter how often it happens, it never hits her any less hard. Losing her whole world, though? Being the one soul, out of so many millions, chosen to survive? No amount of tragedy could have prepared her for this.

Still, there's only so far a person can collapse in on herself, and before long, she emerged to start taking on missions. In this way, at least, it's the same - she'll feel better if she's doing something constructive. She'd do anything to stop the same fate from befalling any other star. If these "Grand Relics" are the key, then so be it. She'll throw in her lot with the Bureau.

Anyway, her friends would want her to carry on fighting. Especially the Warrior of Light... For those we have lost, they'd say. For those we can yet save.]

1. goldcliff trust (do it for the vine)

[Lyse's attempt at clearing the vines was probably at least a little amusing, because her plan was just "what if I punch it really, really hard." In fairness, it worked better than you'd think, but still less than you'd hope. The vines are at least as thick as ever.

So now she's kind of milling about, thinking and offering suggestions.]

... Oh! Did you try burning it? ... You did, huh? Okay, um... what about cutting it up and burning the insides, so it can't grow ba- what? Oh, you've tried that, too...

[... Maybe she'd be better off implementing somebody else's plan.]

2. floor 69 (nice)

[Our intrepid heroes have made it to the top floor somehow, only to find a burglary in progress! Presumably, by the same person responsible for all the vines. Lyse wastes no time on formalities -]

Stop right there!

[- before dashing forward and clocking her right in the face.

The Raven stumbles, but gets her gust attack off before Lyse can go back for seconds. With her concentration interrupted, though, the power goes a little wild, kicking up a whirlwind that flips chairs, knocks books off shelves, and sends paperwork flying in all directions. Lyse, at the epicenter, is flung halfway across the room and rolls a few times before she can stop herself.

The air soon settles - but the Raven is gone. Lyse hauls herself up, spitting stray hairs out of her mouth.] Damn it! Come back here, you coward!

1 - FOR THE VIIINE

[notthatbutler]

Yes, we tried different types of magical fire. Including Arcane and sacred.

[It's more that he's overheard her questions rather than being questioned, but Dwyer seems relatively calm about the situation with...all the vines. The many, many vines. The loads of vines.]

I almost wonder if it's worth the effort to just ask the vines to leave...

sonya / fire emblem: shadows of valentia / wizard

[witchwiles]

the state of the city (sage wisdom)

[Her first big mission as a Reclaimer and she's still tromping through the undergrowth. In a city.

Really?

Still, assistance is assistance. She was dragged out of certain death, so might as well make the most of it.

Sonya tries the straightforward approach for as long as she can, which to her merit, is a good five minutes of running through the labyrinth before she throws in the towel, brushing her damp hair back with a grimace.]

Sorry, but getting sweaty like this really isn't my style.

[And why should it be? She's honed her powers for years, after all, and while her magic isn't quite as potent here as it once was, she can at least clear away some greenery. What kind of useless wizard would she be if she couldn't at least do that?

Sorry to anyone on the other side of the maze wall, because Sonya isn't pulling any punches with the fireball spell that's currently blasting a hole through it.]

the goldcliff trust

[Fireballs can't fix everything, but it's not for a lack of trying.

Oh, Sonya doesn't expect it to work just for her, not after everything that's already been done. If it was simply a matter of incineration, she figures, they wouldn't be having such a difficult time with a bunch of overgrown plants in the first place.

The fireballs slung by here are more of an attempt to gauge exactly how fast the plant growth is. Which turns out to be rather fast.

Figures.

Sonya sets her hands on her hips and tilts her head slightly, pursing her lips before calling out to whoever's next to her with a smile.]

Think they'll move aside if I say pretty please?

[She's joking. Mostly.]

off to the races

[Sonya is a woman of class and style. She is, of course, going for that adorable tressym mask. Cat girls are stylish no matter the world, it seems.

Still, doesn't mean she actually wanted to spend a day in the life of a flying cat thing. She would be embarrassed at the lack of control these senses offer her, but, well. Tressyms aren't ashamed to be themselves, are they? Besides, she's actually having a little fun leaning into those wild instincts right now. You feel yourself being followed, but it isn't until she finds you most unaware that Sonya pounces, literally pounces, and pulls you close to her.]

Well, I hope I at least caught something worthwhile.

[Is she talking about you? She's talking about you.]

wildcard

[Feel free to make up your own prompt! If you'd like to discuss something beforehand, I can be contacted at drilnos.]

goldcliff!!

[rancori]

[Maria snorts. Sure would be nice if they did.

A shame the fireballs didn't work.]

Hell no. They'd probably just get worse if you did.

You ask me, they're just gonna fuck with us as much as plants can.

Yona | Yona of the Dawn

[burningchains]

[feed me seymour]

[Keeping track of the passage of time in her head is something Yona has never been very good at, but she's pretty sure she's been lost in this maze for at least an hour. Her sense of direction is awful without her friends to guide her and worse, everything looks the same when your surroundings are a bunch of tall plant-covered walls. She tries a left turn, tries a right turn, tries to double back and do the opposite, but no matter what she does...

Coming to a dead end that looks familiar, her shoulders slump, her hooded head dropping foward in defeat.]

I think I already came here... This is no good, Ao.

[As she turns, it's at least clear she wasn't just talking to herself. Hiding in her hood and holding onto a tassel earring is a small red squirrel who looks just about as dejected as she sounds.

But she hadn't realized she wasn't the only one on this path, so her retreat ends in a soft oh! and knocking into whoever is behind her.

Oops.]

I'm sorry! I didn't see you!


[bank heist]

[So admittedly, she's feeling almost entirely out of her depth here. The maze was bad enough, but then when she had decided to try to do something she knew, tried to help with the sickly citizens of the town...

Well. She wonders what Yun would have to say about flowers being the symptom of an illness.

Suffice it to say that's something she struggles with as well, but she does her best. She eases the pain of those suffering the best she can, and eventually she moves on to something that looks a little more her speed. She is still a princess, after all, and riches are what she had known for the first fifteen years of her life.

Standing just inside the doorway of the bank, she can't help staring at the glinting of gold and wondering how much food and medicine this could provide the townpeople, can't help wondering what settlements farther from this place look like. Is it like her own home, with her castle an oasis of decadance and the surrounding area teaming with the sick and hungry?

Her hand tightens around the bow she's been carrying since stepping inside and saw the guardian there, but it isn't him making her angry. What if she stole some of the broken of pieces of gold plating? What if she took it and left the town and searched out these imagined poor villages, sick citizens? First she'll have to finish up here, though, and that treant doesn't seem all that keen on letting anyone pass.]

I can distract it while you sneak past.

[She draws an arrow as she says it, stepping around to the side and bringing her bow up to take aim.]

If it's annoyed with me you shouldn't have a problem getting up there.

[Hak would probably kill her for this but hey, a princess has to do what a princess has to do.]


[be gay, do crimes]

[Look at that, theivery does have its benefits!

Ordinarily she would never condone stealing from someone to help yourself, but did it really count if a giant tree monster smashed up gold plating and just left it sitting around? Is it really stealing to pick up all the chunks of gold you could carry in your knapsack just in case you can find a good use for it?

Buying a... a Battle Wagon, who names these things, that's a good use for it, but she isn't going to pretend for a second that she knows what a good option is. She has the gold, and when she spots a familiar Bureau of Balance bracer on the arm of a fellow Reclaimer she's quick to hurry to their side. With her hood up she looks a little suspicious, but it helps with the whole covert whisper thing.]

Here. This should help.

[Why yes, she is trying to push broken bits of gold into your hand. Happy birthday?]


[Wildcard!]
(Feel free to hit me up with literally anything that isn't covered on here! Also, I'm on plurk at blahblahren for any plotting or questions or anything!)

feed ao, seymour

[gitanes]

[Jeez, you'd think some of these people had never been lost in a maze before. Noobs. Lila bristles when Yona backs into her, grabbing onto her shoulders instinctively — they're about the same height, that is, tiny, but she's got maybe an inch on Yona and she's going to use it for all it's worth — before letting go abruptly at the sight of.]

[A squirrel, apparently.]

[She backs up in shock, gloved hands forming into defensive fists. This is what we call an overactive startle response, folks.]

What the hell. Why do you have a squirrel? [Why is that your first question . . .]

Dexter Grif | Red vs Blue | Wizard

[grifshot]

[A - It's a Really Big Cat]

[Racing, huh? Sounds kind of cool. Not that Grif is really looking to get involved with anything. But he can get the secrecy part of the whole deal and it might be kind of fun to watch. Or he could buy a mask and maybe find a place to take a nap. Then no one would find him for a while. That seems like a good idea. Maybe there's one with invisibility. Invisible naps are the best after all.

God Simmons would love this nerd shit.

He's not really sure how he ended up down the alley, or how he got to the creepy mask shop. He really should know better by now, but the Tressym mask looked kind of cool. So he gets it and then goes to find a spot to nap. So he's sort of in an outdoor bar kind of area, with the mask on. He's probably not as subtle as he thinks he is.

Especially with those ears.

Or that tail.]


[B - Why are there six pedals if there's only four directions]

[Okay, they have a battle wagon and a pile of scrap metal that somehow goes on the battle wagon. And Grif, looking between the two piles with growing dismay. This is not what he wants to be doing. He does not do. He delegates.]

Stupid Lopez, never around when you need him. I don't even know what half this shit does.

[Magic cores? Who needs those when you have diesel.]

Think we could give it tusks?

[C - Insert theme song Here]

[Well they're in the thick of it now. The race has started and Grif is at the wheel.]

Ohshitohshitohshitohshit!

[It's not that Grif doesn't have driving experience, or that he has combat driving experience, because he does. And plenty of it. It's just that he's usually doing more recreational driving, or it's a form of retreat rather than attack. Not racing, with other drivings shooting at him and god knows what else.

He wrenches the steering wheel to the right to avoid a near collision.]

Hey! DO BETTER BACK THERE! WE'RE GONNA DIE!

B

[sometimespawnskillkings]

[Temple is not happy about having to work with Grif.]

[One: they’re enemies.]

[Two: Grif is like Biff but not Biff, and that feels way too weird for Temple.]

[But since they have been assigned to work together on the Goldcliff mission, Temple has decided to put his feelings aside - as much as he can, anyway - and work with him.]

[Sighing, he says:]

Me neither.

[But he kneels down, and examines the battle wagon and the scrap metal anyway, hoping that he remembers enough of Loco’s machine talk to help him with this.]

And we should probably save giving it tusks for when it’s all put together.

[Temple supposes he could just veto the tusks idea but... he doesn’t want to. Not when Grif reminds him so much of Biff.]

Mari Ohara · Love Live Sunshine!! · Merchant

[prettybomberhead]

shop in the shiny city!

[ Okay, let's set something straight here; putting aside the excessive amount of plants, the townsfolk hacking up rose petals, and, y'know, the general pandemonium that spreads as far as the eye can see, Goldcliff is positively radiant. It's easy to see why this place is so popular amongst wealthy tourists! If Mari's family were here, she's certain that her mother would push to own a nice vacation home by the cliffside...assuming they came at a better time of year, of course. There's way too much hustle and bustle going on right now to consider potential summer homes! The vines might ruin the grout-work, or leave cracks in the pavement, and it would just be unsightly--

Ah, but, this is no time to get lost in first-world problems! With a pandemic like this, it's only a matter of time before people start getting hurt, and Mari doubts that the solution will be as simple as paying a few nice, strapping young gentlemen to run in headlong with some crabgrass-be-gone and call it a day. But every little bit helps, and where there's demand, it's a merchant's job to come in with supply, isn't it?

It isn't hard to get a little stand settled just outside of Shady Pines, after hiring some help to build it for her. But just because she didn't put it together with her own two hands doesn't mean she hasn't made every effort to stick out like a sore thumb, and if the obnoxious paint job of her little travelling trading post doesn't catch people's attention, her enthusiasm might just do the trick.

The girl knows how to project her voice, let's put it that way. ]

Come one, come all! Have no fear, Mari is here with all of your gardening needs! We have everything from shovels to shears, from spades to snippers! Pointy things, diggy things, forky things, rakey things, all on sale! Watering can't? Oh, no, no! We have plenty of watering pots and cans too, and if you spend over 20 gold coins, you'll get one free, a gift from Mari!

[ Will they help? Well, that depends on how you use it, right? Her prices are certainly fair, and it probably won't hurt to grab one... ]

...Oh, I almost forgot! Big, big, big sale on cough drops! Strawberry or honey flavor?

[ Look, she's trying her best-- ]

build a shiny wagon!

[ Despite its ambiguous legality, there's certainly no question that the merchants in town are making a pretty penny off of Battle Wagon culture; tourists and locals alike seem to eat up the masks, in particular, but if Mari wants to put in her fair share and help her fellow Agents, she's going to need to be a little more involved in the sport itself. She doesn't know the first thing about making a battle wagon, and frankly, she doesn't have much interest in getting her hands dirty and making one herself. But what she can do is get the scoop on the parts one needs, and how to get them.

It isn't too hard to learn, once she learns the ins and outs of the trade. It isn't the most well-kept secret, after all, what with the sport being as popular as it is. With the profits she made from her gardening gig, it's not hard to hire more help to do the odd jobs she needs to get the proper pieces, and multiples at that. But since it still isn't quite legal, Mari feels she might have to be a little sly when it comes to showing off her wares to prospective clients.

Unfortunately, even when she's trying to be, it's hard for Mari to be subtle. For one, she couldn't be bothered to repaint that garish stand of hers, even if she's moved it towards where the racetracks are; she's decorated the whole front of her little kiosk with masks, and will sell them to passerby while wearing one herself to conceal her face (a cute penguin, at that!). But the blonde loop on the side of her head is a dead giveaway, and if she catches a comrade passing by with a hint of silver on their wrists, she'll call them over discreetly. ]

Pssssst. Psssssst.

[ ...Or, maybe not so discreetly. ]

Psssssssst!

[ And once she finally has their attention-- ]

If you're trying to build a wagon, Mari can help with that!

[ So much for being inconspicuous. ]

shiny ✨

[lifehacking]

[ Thousands of hours spent on playing various games taught Futaba a very important truth—if someone's standing out, this can only mean one thing: they're either going to join your party sooner or later or they have a special request and an even more special reward for completing it. At this point it's impossible to tell which one is it, but she decides to try the special quest route first. A new party member would have been great, but she needs to deal with her few layers of anxiety first before bringing that up in a conversation. ]

I-I'm not here to b-buy anything! [ Her voice is a bit shaky, but she's doing her best to speak as loudly and pronounce words as clearly as possible. ] L-Lay it out on me! I'm ready!

[ Ready for what? That's for Mari to figure out. ]

Keladry of Mindelan || Tortall Universe || Paladin

[polearmed]

A. State of the City

[Kel falls into the shadow of the city's walls and looks up at its buildings with a strange mix of homesickness and resentment. This place, even with its panic-laced streets and swarming plants, manages to be grand. The buildings, the waterfall, the great cliffs.

It's no Corus. No Port Caynn. It's... pretentious. Self-important. She hates it on principle and can't walk away, not while people are in trouble here. And not when it gives her something to do that doesn't involve trying to remember exactly what happened when she was brought to the Bureau's moon.

So at first she spends her time helping the locals in any way they seem to need her, whether that’s cutting back plants from shopping stalls or freeing trapped people and animals from the vines. Busywork. There’s plenty of it to do. ]


3. Bank Heist

Eventually she makes it to the Trust building, and with a little help from one of the guards outside makes her way in to the building. It’s disgusting, the display of wealth in here, and immediately makes her wonder what this place does to help its poor, if anything.

She doesn’t have time to wonder about that for long—not with the treant taking a swing and smashing (very satisfyingly) through several couches and a moneychanger’s window.
Kel takes the opportunity to duck under the thing’s attack, wrestling her warhammer loose from her belt and slamming the hooked end into the treant itself as she starts to scale the monster. ]


4. Off to the Races

[ Kel picks the Tressym mask. She’s on the fence about whether or not (and how) to enter the race, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.
It isn’t until she leaves the alley, until she discovers her mask won’t come off and her back is starting to itch in a strange, persistent way, that she begins to suspect she’s been had. ]

City

[clap_on]

[The Nomad is trying to do his part, and it's...a sight to be seen, that's for certain. He's a bit of a pied piper right now, with half a dozen gardening implements walking behind him in simple file, looking for errant misbehaving plants with their googly eyes. The Nomad brought them to life for a purpose, and they are determined to accomplish it.]

[The Nomad, for one, greets his fellow newcomer with a cheery wave. Does she need help with those vines she's working on?]

[Behind him, his cadre of newly-sentient gardening implements spots the target and attempts to look intimidating. It's...largely a failure, on account of them being gardening implements with googly eyes and stick figure limbs. They're trying, though!]

Steve Rogers | MCU | Fighter

[wontdoanyless]

bank heist

[Getting involved in fights is nothing new to Steve, with a lot of them taking place in alleys or parking lots in Brooklyn. Anywhere outside, really. But right now he's in a building that's the furthest from what he's used to, with the walls and everything lined in gold. The sheer excess of it all leaves Steve wishing he was back in an alley.

Of course all of that pales in comparison to the large tree that's currently blocking his way to the elevator. Can't forget the elephant in the room. Or the creature that actually poses a life threatening encounter to him. He needs to form a strategy, it's probably the best idea.

But he might have to improvise quick, as it has definitely noticed him, its glowing eyes and large mouth opening with a deep groan coming out of it. Steve's already decided that he doesn't like faces on trees, at least if they're growling at him. Not a great sight, but he isn't about to run away, especially not now.]

Okay, Rogers...

[At least he's a small target? It's not a gamble he wants to bet on, so he grips the small sword that he's been training with. He definitely might need some help with all this.]

new leaf

[It's not like Steve has never been to a dive bar before. Sometimes the opportunity just presents itself to him, especially after a long day in New York, but this visit is purely for work. Find someone that might help him with a battle wagon. Sounds simply enough, right?

Of course, one thing leads to another, especially when he suddenly has a talent for starting brawls. Look, that fella was bein' real rude, he can't stop himself, even if it lands Steve on his back, his face bruised from the punch the guy landed on him.]

I can do this all day.

[After slowly getting up, Steve swings his fist at him, the man just standing there with a look of arrogance, although it's quickly wiped off when the blow sends him flying through the air. Even Steve looks shocked for a moment, because he really isn't used to 'winning' fights like that.]

Oh, erm. [He looks around for a moment before all hell breaks loose, with the occupants starting their own brawls with each other.]

make one

[Sometimes, just building something from the ground up is the best option. It's rewarding in its own way! And while Steve is more than willing to work hard to get the needed parts, which he already has some on hand, he really knows nothing about engineering or making something like this. He can't give up, but he's staring at his pile of parts with a very lost expression.]

Know it's not as simple as putting one piece to another...

[Steve's honestly still missing a couple of parts, but he doesn't notice that yet.]

(time) heist!!!

[noblegarnet]

[The young man in expensive-looking robes that accompanied Steve isn't terribly happy to see the angry treant either, though he seems slightly more irate than anxious.]

Why did it have to be trees again?

[With a flourishing gesture from Ferran, frost begins to sparkle around his hands, and he prepares to fire the spell as a raven lifts off his shoulder to dart towards the thing and hopefully distract it.]

I'll slow it down if you can get some hits in. [If Steve's got a sword, Ferran has to trust that he can use it reasonably well.]

Choromatsu | Osomatsu-san | Druid

[shikosuki]

A. Hanahaki (cw: emetophobia)

[ Well this isn't... great. But Choromatsu feels fairly certain that if he can just TALK to the plants here a little, he might be able to work something out with them. Or at least gather some information on how to treat the disease. And if it doesn't work well... at least they tried.

But his stomach had started feeling bad not long after approaching the villa grounds... sure enough the petals start to come up right when he's about to make it to the lobby. He stops walking and hunches over, a hand to his mouth as he starts to cough them up and apologize to others around him. ]

Ugh... sorry...

[ When he pulls his hand back to look at the petals still on his palm, he gets confused. He turns to whoever is closest to him. ]

Hey... do you know what the black ones mean...?

[ Ah. ]



B. Goldcliff Trust

[ Well talking to the plants has had... mixed success. But he's still trying damnit! Eventually being able to talk to plants has to pay off somehow, right? ...Right?

At least these vines seem a little more open to conversation. They're not ignoring him or making him sick so that has to be a good sign. Actually, he's finding them to be quite chatty! ]

Uh huh... uh huh...

[ A pause. ]

Er... okay. I'll tell them.

[ He turns his head back towards his companion. ]

They want me to tell you that tunic makes you look fat.

[ Hey Choromatsu? You could have just... not... shared that. ]



C. Wildcard

[ Feel free to pm me or hit me up at mulberii for anything. ]

b

[disciplineissues]

... Really?

[ Keith doesn't buy it. He crosses his arms and raises his eyebrows, and he looks to the vines. He really doesn't care what they think of him, but... ]

Maybe they should be nicer to people who have hands.

[ And his is going to the sword at his hip, uh... ]

The Nomad | Nomad of Nowhere | Bard

[clap_on]

1: Sage Wisdom

[Getting into the shop wasn't too hard; the door was all too willing to let him in once he woke it up, though it had to struggle against the vines growing over it. The labyrinth is presenting a different set of issues, in that 1) he's lost and 2) he can't wake up the vines to give him directions or let him through.]

[So he's woken up the only other implement he could find - a pitchfork - and it's now walking behind him on spindly little legs, googly eyes looking out for danger. They have to find the center eventually, right?]

[Or they could find someone else instead. The Nomad pauses, sees the bracer on the newcomer's arm, and waves an incongruously cheery greeting. Hello!]

2. Shady Pines

[The thing about inhaled diseases is, you have to breathe in order to contract them, and that's one thing the Nomad doesn't do. He's safe from the weird flower petal disease, but that doesn't mean anyone else is! He approaches the latest person to have a coughing fit and pats them on the back. Are you okay?]

[And that's when a handkerchief with googly eyes attempts to wrap itself around their face. It may be taking its job a little too seriously.]

2. also how do you do fellow mute homeless guy

[jintetsu]

[Jintetsu, unfortunately, does have to breathe, and by the time he heard what was going on in the area, he was already infected. As he coughs, some of the black petals make it through the mouth slit on his mask, but most of them are getting stuck behind it and he has to keep adjusting it to let them fall out.

Haganemaru, his... animated sword with a googly eye... wow there really are a lot of common beats in here aren't there. Anyway, Haganemaru is beside himself with worry and frustration.]

Damn...! Come on, don't stop walking! You're almost there.

[Buuuut, fixated on the immediate problem as they are, neither of them notice the Nomad until he's right next to them. Jintetsu was actually almost done coughing, but with the pat on the back he feels something sort of dislodge in his lungs and the whole thing starts again.

And that was bad enough, but then all of a sudden somebody's thrown a cloth over his face?? The handkerchief, in taking its job too seriously, has gone for his entire face - eyes, mouth, the works. And this is a problem because he doesn't know what's happening and he's still expelling petals into his mask and if he can't get them out he'll suffocate. So he panics, clawing at the googly handkerchief with both hands to try and get it off.

Haganemaru's eye goes wide, then swivels to glare at the newcomer, the little tassel on the hilt waving furiously.] Oi, what the hell do you think you're doing?! Stop that thing!

((oh whoops almost forgot to throw in the first impressions post))

Eleanor Shellstrop | The Good Place | Bard

[coolranchbaby]

a) Temple of Chauntea

[Do a little gardening while the people who actually know what they're doing do the hard stuff? No sweat. What's the worst that can happen, she needs some Fantasy bendaryl? Eleanor is set and ready to spread some weedkiller-

Right up until she actually opens the doors to the church and slaps her hands over her ears to drown out the noise.]

Oh-! Oh that is bad! Like Taylor Spliff’t bad, Jesus!

b) The New Leaf

[Oh good, finally something that isn't weird and medieval but somehow still weirdly modern (seriously, what is even up with the elevators?)! Eleanor struts into the establishment and straight to the bar with all the confidence of someone ready to get absolutely shitfaced and forget their responsibilities for a few hours. Sure, there's some kind of cat person in the corner but that's a problem for Later Eleanor.]

Hello, barkeep! I would like your five gold-iest bottle of wine please.

B

[eudaimonikos]

Is this how you approach every bartender?

[Granted, he's not even sure if she remembers that time - she was pretty drunk already, it was another year at least before they met again, and she's never mentioned it. But Michael's followed her in here, so.]