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agentleooc2019-02-07 07:00 pm
thestewards) wrote in agentleooc2019-02-07 07:00 pm
test drive 02
Can't move, can't grow When you've fallen on your knees
► All TDM threads may be considered canon provided both parties agree and are accepted into the game.
► Canon threads may be redeemed for influence and reputation depending on how you solve the issue at hand or how you engage with the prompt. They also count toward AC.
► Feel free to switch up your character's Jewel from thread to thread. Get a feel for how a Birthright Jewel may limit or enhance your character's abilities.
► Canon threads may be redeemed for influence and reputation depending on how you solve the issue at hand or how you engage with the prompt. They also count toward AC.
► Feel free to switch up your character's Jewel from thread to thread. Get a feel for how a Birthright Jewel may limit or enhance your character's abilities.
HOT UNDER THE COLLARD GREENS
The relationship between the Blood and the landens has never been easy anywhere, least of all Draega, and even less so now that the Strangers have arrived. Between Blood and landen, opinions on the Strangers vary wildly. Some Blood believe the Strangers were landen in their original worlds and thus cannot possibly have anything to offer, but some landens think this means that the Strangers will be more sympathetic to them—or that landens could gain the power of the Blood one day, too. Then there are the landens who think the Strangers have sold their souls to Queen Fayura to gain the Jewels and the Blood who think the Strangers have embraced what it truly means to be Blood. Whatever that means.
Tensions are high, and they're highest on the main street of the Old Town Bazaar, where two restaurants have an on-going feud. The Last Meal is owned by a Blood family, none of whom wear a Jewel darker than Yellow. Across the street from them stands the mockingly named Blood and Breakfast, owned by a landen family.
To say these two hate each other would be something of an understatement.
On this particular morning, Lord Harle, the Yellow Jeweled owner and chef at The Last Meal, comes storming out of his front door. "You've done it now, Laney Cook! Soured all my milk!"
Simultaneously, Laney Cook, who is the owner and chef at Blood and Breakfast, comes stomping out the front door of her establishment, brandishing a wooden spoon like a sword. "Aye, and you've replaced all my sugar with salt, you ripe old bastard!"
Without missing a beat, both turn to you and the Stranger at your side. Wrong place, wrong time, friend. The two chefs decide the two of you can be trusted to help them prove the other party guilty of sabotage because neither of you has a stake in this. And, well, if the Queen brought you here, you should be an independent party. Both Harle and Cook seem to think the Queen is pretty okay.
Truthfully, they're both equally guilty. Lord Harle and Ms Cook have been trying to ruin each other for years, but who knows what you'll find when you go searching for evidence. And even if you find evidence that decides one way or the other, perhaps you'll simply lie and manufacture a solution that suits you—or the Queen who brought you here.
TERRIBLE TWO(HUNDRED)S
You're not entirely sure how this happened, but you're starting to understand why Blood females constantly grumble about the caste of males they call Warlord Princes. Prince Loren has, somehow, managed to maneuver you to the place you're at now: the head of a classroom full of Blood children who all look like they're somewhere between the ages of eight and ten. It's hard to tell, and you're pretty sure one bossy little boy declared he was 203-years-old, so everyone else has to listen to him, thanks.
Regardless of how Loren managed to get you there, there you stand. Fifteen energetic elementary school children all wearing Jewels shriek and shout, using Craft to amplify already shrill voices. One girl floats near the ceiling, her face screwed up in concentration as she clutches a Rose Jewel. Two little boys are taking turns passing their hands through their desks, which strikes you as distinctly unsafe for eight-year-olds to be doing. (You're not wrong.)
At least there are two of you, and you only need to babysit these children for the morning. "They're here for Craft lessons. Surely, you can manage until Lady Sheera arrives," Loren had said before abandoning you to a battlefield full of powerful, pint-sized children.
There's a lesson plan on the teacher's desk, but maybe you should lead with the snacks.
REVENGE, SERVED STINKY
The air is crisp and cool; it's still winter, but it's not as chilly as it has been, and so you're out for a walk. You've made your way north through Old Town and now find yourself meandering down the roads in front of the landen Guild Halls. Even though they're all made of red brick, each building is entirely unique. The Hunter and Crafter Hall, the largest of all the buildings, has more in common with a hunting lodge than the university building it once was. The Elektriline Hall might be the smallest building, but it's covered in neon lights and impossible to ignore.
Equally impossible to ignore is Master Tinker Mari and her collection of landen young adults. They're clustered around a storm drain. When Mari sees you, she detaches herself from the group of landen students and bounds over to you. "Ahhah! Stranger! You have been brought here against your will and are surely sympathetic to our cause!" she exclaims.
That doesn't make you feel too great since, you know, you're aware that the Hunter Guild tried to kill all the Strangers maybe two or three weeks ago. They may have mellowed out, or they may just be biding their time. Thankfully, none of Mari's students bear the markings of a Hunter.
She pulls you to the group. Already, canisters have been lowered into the sewers. A handful of students have clambered down after the canisters. "The Blood wouldn't help us repair the damage in Old Town," she says, rubbing her hands together. "Our people's homes were unlivable. So we're going to make their workplace unbearable." She points at the canisters. "Stink bombs."
There's another Stranger in the group, and you make eye contact over the top of the storm drain. Are you of the same mind as each other? As Mari? The choice is yours: agree to Mari's plan and fill the buildings of the Ebon Council with untenable stench or try to convince them there's a better way.
AIR TIME
Whether you catch the news on a Far-caster in the city or you're spinning the dial on your own device, you'll hear…
etiquette with evandra and aren
[Evandra's voice is a little bit rough and a little bit husky, the kind of voice that gives bad ideas to young men and headaches to fathers.] Today we're talking about everyone's favorite subject.
[Aren's voice is chipper and bright. He sounds more like an eager boy than the full-grown man he is.] Food?
[A laugh from Evandra.] No, Lord Aren. Sex and flirting. Culturally, the Blood don't consider it rude to flirt quite blatantly with each other, even when one or both of the parties is married. Isn't that right?
[Aren:] That's exactly it, Evandra. Older males allow young witches to flirt because it's understood that the male isn't interested or available. He becomes a safe partner for her to practice on, and his approval lets her know what is and isn't acceptable.
[Evandra:] What does it mean if a married male or witch flirts with you?
[Aren:] Casual flirting means that witch or male thinks you're safe. It's their way of telling you they feel comfortable around you. Of course, it's always acceptable to ask them to step back! [He laughs.] As we all know, just because you can flirt with a Warlord Prince's lady doesn't mean you should!
[Evandra:] Let's take a look at casual flirtation between different Blood castes…
the weather
[A soft-spoken man's voice rumbles out of the Far-caster. He's pleasant to listen to, with a soothing cadence to his voice.] Warmer temperatures will see melting snow over the next week. Be careful around the Heartsblood River, as the heavy snows will result in flooding along the banks. Need flood insurance? The Transport Guild is looking to expand into…
the news
…amusing to hear that Grand Master Niall blames the Blood for the fires in Old Town. It is my understanding that members of the Blood, these so-called Strangers, went out of their way to rescue both Blood and landen during the fires set by the Grand Master's Hunter Guild. [The man speaking has a slow, clipped cadence to his voice. It's very posh and polished.]
[Another voice, presumably an interviewer:] The Council counts the Strangers as Blood, Lord Grejor?
[Grejor:] What else can they be? They wear the Jewels, therefore they are among our number. [He laughs, and the sound is cold.] The Council is pleased to welcome our new brothers and sisters.
the childrens (oh god)
[But here he is, stuck with Diana, in one of his worst nightmares. He's magicked up ear muffs because of all the shrieking. Because they're running wild and some of them have taken over the teacher's desk and chair, he has nowhere to sit, so to get away from sticky fingers and constant bids for his attention, he's climbed halfway up a wall to escape. He sits perched there, back to the wall, feet planted against it to hold him up, arms crossed, shoulders hunched, soundly ignoring the children gaping at him from below and all their questions. "How are you doing that?" "Do you have glue on your feet?" "Are you a bug?" "How come you're wearing ear muffs, are you cold?"]
[(He's ignoring them because he doesn't want to deal, not because he can't hear. He can still hear through the ear muffs. They just makes it a little less loud.)]
[Then Diana looks up at him, and ugh, now he has to interact.]
[He's so bad at this. Miles was an absolute delight to deal with, but he was older. And an amazing kid. And they're all so small. And loud. And sticky. Why are so many of them sticky??]
Thirty-eight.
[That's all he says.]
[And then, hoping it encourages Diana to handle most of this, he adds, brightly:]
I'd help more but I really think you've got this. You're doing so well.
[He gives her a thumbs up.]
FLEX THOSE DAD MUSCLES PETER
[Diana doesn't know what the thumbs-up means, but she assumes that it's meant to confer approval. Which she likes, even if it is a thumbs-up from a man stuck half-way up the wall as if he's trying to physically eject himself from the room. Now that.... hm, her brow furrows. This is supposed to be a team effort, Peter!!!!
The children seem to like Peter where he is just fine though. They like it so much that one of them uses their Craft to try and climb up the wall too, though their little limbs tremble a little from the use. Enough that Diana reaches over to peel the child off the wall, holding the little girl in her hands shrieking "UP! UP! UP!". HM]
...If it is up you desire, then up you shall go!
[Diana adjusts her grip, then.... tosses the girl up lightly towards.... Peter...........
THERE SHE GOES!!! CATCH, PETEr]
no subject
[He lets out a yelp and catches the girl, holding her away from him like a dirty dishrag.]
[Then she smiles a smile that's all dimples and says: "You're like a bug!" and he is actually kind of slightly charmed.]
You're a lot more on the nose than you realize, kiddo.
[He holds her differently now, normally, the way any parent would hold their child, and finally climbs down, placing her gently on the ground. She then clings to his pant leg, looking up at him with the wide-eyed interest of a kid that thinks they have found the coolest person in the world. He doesn't shake her off.]
We need a battle plan.
[They're all over the place.]
A way to corral them.
[Like they're cattle.]
no subject
Even if he does suggest corralling these youngsters, which should be an awful idea to anyone who isn't Diana. One of her tutors tried that on her once with lots and lots of rope. It kind of worked (for maybe twenty minutes). Her hand strays to the lasso at her waist, half-hidden by her coat, though she pauses.]
I... would prefer not to use my lasso. It is not a weapon meant for children. [and it's uncomfortably hot to touch and Hestia wouldn’t approve of such a thing if the goddess was still alive. And these kids are so cute!! They’re not doing anything wrong, besides asking lots of questions!! (and being little hellions but that's fine)]
However, simply using rope to tie them in place doesn’t seem like a good plan either.
[Diana says, watching a child phase his entire body straight through the desk, hm.]
Do you have anything on you that's made of something stronger?
sorry this is so late, ps your diana is amazing
[He flips onto an empty desk, landing in a crouch. There's something unconsciously springy and not-quite-human sometimes in the way he moves.]
Okay, what do bored kids want? [He taps his temples.] Think like a kid, be the kid.
[He steeples his hands together, deep in thought. This isn't exactly easy for him. He doesn't have kids of his own, hasn't really been around them that much. He has to think all the way back to when he was a kid.]
[He snaps his fingers.]
Got it. We need a story. Storytime. Kids quiet down and sit still for storytime. We can move all the desks out of the way, make room for a "stage" [quotey fingers] pulls out those nap mats over there and have them sit on the floor. And then?
[He holds a hand to his chest and flares the other slightly dramatically.]
We perform.