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promittere) wrote2024-05-11 10:12 am
promittere) wrote2024-05-11 10:12 am
eastern mission
LACRIMOSA FOR THE CLOCKWORK MOON
It's just as dawn breaks on this dreary morning when Lazuli seeks out Shinjiro, Yamato, Mikaela, Phillip, and Ginger. He isn't gentle with the way he handles them, and though he is typically stoic, things are a little different this time—there's an urgency, a pensiveness to the way he ushers them into the lounge.
Tatara is waiting for them there, pacing, uncharacteristically. Once the five are sat down, Lazuli locks the door and casts soundproofing over the whole room. Whatever this is, it's a sensitive matter.
"I know this is sudden," Tatara begins, still standing, his voice low and even. "But a letter came in from the City of Rain and I don't think this can wait."
He pulls out a letter from behind his back, bloodsoaked, and begins to read aloud:
"What with the blast, its possible connection to the moon fragments, and the City of Rain's role as a witness, I can't help but think this mission is going to be crucial. I need you to go to the City of Rain and free them from this siege immediately."
Afterwards, Tatara and Lazuli escort the five wizards to the manor tower. Tatara expresses his regrets that neither he or Lazuli can go with you, but he bids you the best of luck. He drops a mana stone into the mechanism, pulls the lever, and waves you off.
Tatara is waiting for them there, pacing, uncharacteristically. Once the five are sat down, Lazuli locks the door and casts soundproofing over the whole room. Whatever this is, it's a sensitive matter.
"I know this is sudden," Tatara begins, still standing, his voice low and even. "But a letter came in from the City of Rain and I don't think this can wait."
He pulls out a letter from behind his back, bloodsoaked, and begins to read aloud:
On behalf of the City of Rain, we hope this letter finds you well.When he's finished reading, he folds it and hands it to Phillip.
We would like to thank you once again for your assistance in cleaning up the blast site outside of the city. Our gratitude cannot be overstated.
However, we have another urgent request: Despite our best efforts and precautions, the city has fallen under siege by the very clockwork automatons we were attempting to scrap the week prior. It seems not all of the affected pieces made it to the scrap pile, and some have even found their way out.
We are unsure why or how these automatons have come to life—they speak and move as though they have sentience. They are hostile and aggressive towards us and refuse to let us leave our homes until their "plans" are ready. We do not wish to wait long enough to find out what those are.
Please help us at your earliest convenience.
"What with the blast, its possible connection to the moon fragments, and the City of Rain's role as a witness, I can't help but think this mission is going to be crucial. I need you to go to the City of Rain and free them from this siege immediately."
Afterwards, Tatara and Lazuli escort the five wizards to the manor tower. Tatara expresses his regrets that neither he or Lazuli can go with you, but he bids you the best of luck. He drops a mana stone into the mechanism, pulls the lever, and waves you off.
OOC NOTES
Welcome, Eastern wizards, to your mission!
Missions are mod-guided events that are partial CYOA, partial play-by-post instances. In general, you are free to interact with a scene as you please, and the mod will tell you how the scene reacts as a consequence of your actions. Some scenes will allow for more flexible threading, such as exploration or conversation, while some scenes will require strict turn order to preserve rounds, such as combat or other time-sensitive conflict. The mod will inform you if strict turn order is required at the start of a scene. Regardless, always be sure to bold any important actions you take.
This mission has been specifically tailored to Eastern disposition, attitudes, and magic. If you find yourself struggling to tackle a situation, refresh yourself on the description of the East on the locations page, and make sure to confer with your teammates too!
As a bonus, here's your theme music!
You will have until 11:59 AM EDT on Saturday, May 18 to reach a conclusion for this mission. Good luck!
Missions are mod-guided events that are partial CYOA, partial play-by-post instances. In general, you are free to interact with a scene as you please, and the mod will tell you how the scene reacts as a consequence of your actions. Some scenes will allow for more flexible threading, such as exploration or conversation, while some scenes will require strict turn order to preserve rounds, such as combat or other time-sensitive conflict. The mod will inform you if strict turn order is required at the start of a scene. Regardless, always be sure to bold any important actions you take.
This mission has been specifically tailored to Eastern disposition, attitudes, and magic. If you find yourself struggling to tackle a situation, refresh yourself on the description of the East on the locations page, and make sure to confer with your teammates too!
As a bonus, here's your theme music!
You will have until 11:59 AM EDT on Saturday, May 18 to reach a conclusion for this mission. Good luck!
no subject
I do think... we have to consider if this is... a trap. The blood seems fresh, so - if the sender died trying to get the message out, it's not impossible that... the person who killed them is the person who...
[ Dramatic trail off... bc he's from a BL. ]
no subject
I don't think we can entirely discount that possibility. Or if the blood itself was staged... it certainly makes for a strong motivation to lure us to charge in without considering our actions first.
no subject
[ Mmmmmmmm. ]
How do we proceed, then?
no subject
We just need to trust ourselves first. [ Nooot exactly saying don't trust humans, but... BUT. ] Let's run things by each other before we make big decisions.
no subject
It may also be a good idea to share what sorts of magic we've been each been focusing on so that we're all aware of each others' strengths and weaknesses on that front.
no subject
[ It's like. Not the strongest, but he learned it from Urianger! ]
no subject
[ He's really working on it for himself,,, ]
To... suggest that my target feels a certain way. But - ah, of course I haven't used this on any of you! My success rate isn't that high, it's just something I could do before - because of what I am. So it... was just instinctive to work on it here.
And. I've also been playing with the idea of a reflective barrier.
no subject
I too have been attempting to adapt my own offensive artes to this world's magic, with moderate success so far. As for the magic from this world... I admit that I've been focusing more on seals than on curses, but that would be due to personal preference.
The wider the spread of the abilities we have at our disposal, the better, I would think.
no subject
As for the rest... Mika has seemed unperturbed by the mission, the death, and the automatons - though the news of it seemed to surprise him, slightly. The scent of blood, as ever, provokes a reflexive swallow in him; one he resents himself for. It's this group who worries him; Shinji seems sturdy, but the rest of them don't seem particularly made for combat. Yes, magic can close the gap some, but that doesn't doesn't make up for experience.
He's been quiet as the group has discussed, his lips pursed into a thin line. He'd have to be the one to make sure they don't get hurt, this time. As much as they may say the past is the past, Mika remains wracked with perverse guilt - a need to atone. Maybe it's because he's still not wholly sure how to parse love.
He speaks up finally, once they begin to discuss specialties. )
... I can fight. I've been fighting since I was a kid. So leave frontlines stuff to me.
( He isn't sure what Phil can do, but if it's hocus pocus wizard stuff, then he's probably ranged, right? (And he better be, with a body made of papier-mâché like that.)
Mika thumbs the rapier at his hip. )
I can lock down enemies with vines. Large groups of them, if I have to. ( Within their current capabilities. Yay CC. ) I can also sap their strength and give it to myself, to make me stronger and faster, or to you all, to do the same, or to revitalize you. It's not as good as real healing, though, so don't get hurt.
... I have to spend a bit of blood to use my magic, too.
( His heart's decay has caused him a lot of trouble when trying to use magic, and he's found blood has worked as the most reasonable medium so far. Most pertinently, because these are all drain-type abilities, he needs a victim to drain in order to use them. He can't do much to patch someone up without a willing sacrifice.
(... Which he'd probably offer himself for.) )
... I think what we should do first is survey the area, possibly from our brooms. We need to be careful, because we don't know if they can attack us up there or not - ideally, they can't. If there's a lot of them, we might want to bait them out of city - or, at least, bait waves of them away from their allies, and take care of them one by one.
( He glances at East for their assessment. )
no subject
[ The surveying thing, baiting them... Can they get a vantage point like that without getting seen, he wonders - he's sure there's a way. ]
I think we can pull it off. What about the rest of you?
[ He'll keep the blood thing in mind, though, but he won't say it. ]
no subject
But - he did pack some things. He has a small vial of dandelion wishes, a couple of healing towels, and bag of coffee beans. No food because he doesn't need to eat unless it's a Mika night. ]
We can work with the blood. [ As for the rest: ] How would we bait them? Do you mean... send only one of us in first?
[ He does NOT like that idea. ]
no subject
[This is Phil's Business Voice, a far cry from his usual much softer timbre. It's likely for that exact reason that he's quick to explain:]
I'm more than capable of defending myself, but when it comes to appearances, I suspect they might find me less immediately threatening than some of the rest of our number.
[He doesn't look like any sort of combatant and he knows it. In a situation like this, that fact would most likely work to all of their advantage.]
no subject
No way. Yeah, you might not look scary, but you have the most to lose if something goes wrong.
( An extremely pointed remark. He's not totally outing that Phil is made of glass bones and paper skin, but he's not afraid to reference his outwardly poor health. )
Look. It depends how smart these things are. How sentient is "sentient"? There's a chance we might have to use physical bait, but I'd rather we didn't start with that. Can any of you use illusions?
We could scout, look out for any somewhat alone automatons, and see if it takes the bait and goes for an illusionary person.
( Considering it attacked a mailman, Mika assumes they might be operating on an "attack on sight" level of hostility. He folds his arms. )
... The downside is that if it parses illusions, it'll probably alert its allies. But we shouldn't be too close, so we should be fine enough to evacuate.
( Thinks... )
... We could also always use one of those rich guys from the ball.
( mika, )
no subject
[ YAMATO. He's...kidding, though. Probably. ]
Just joking. Anyway, I haven't learned illusions yet, so that's out of the question for me.
no subject
[ So if that is an option - ]
And I agree with Mika. Phil, let's not risk you.
[ But Ginger's no illusionist either. Maybe they could work out something with his reflective shields... Do they have time to test that? ]
Well, it's not exactly just the bunch of us. We do have some... friends? [ Not a word he's used to using when it comes to himself. But you know what, he's talking about the group, so. It's. Fine. And since they're already up high, where Ginger feels the most comfortable, where he draws the most magic, he takes a breath and asks whichever spirits are listening: ] You'll help us, won't you?
[ He hopes they'll answer for everyone to hear, but he wouldn't know what's normal and what's not. If they don't, he'll relay their message to the others. ]
no subject
Once during the mission, Ginger can choose to forego a roll for himself or an ally, and instead allow them a result as if they rolled a natural 20.
They're watching, and they do your bidding as normal, but if push comes to shove, they will save you.
Use it wisely! ]
no subject
They'll help.
[ How? Who knows, but Ginger feels certain. And that's at least one sure thing this mission. ]
no subject
[He's a Fusion mirrist, not an Imagination mirrist, so it simply hasn't occurred to him to spend much time or thought on them here despite the fact that there shouldn't be any real reason he can't create them. If Mileena were here... but she's not, and he can't let himself get caught up in wishing for things that aren't reality.
He's distracted from his thoughts by Ginger's next words, though.]
They will? You're certain of this?
no subject
... We can trust Ginger on it.
( And given Ginger is all feelings, opposite of Mika, Mika trusts in his ability to connect with the spirits.
Still, no illusions does put a bit of a wrinkle in things, but he knew it was a long shot at their novice level - illusions weren't really East's specialty. Punished once again for hoping smh... )
... Then we might as well bait them out with magic. ( If the spirits want to help them, might as well lean on them. ) Maybe we can't pull off a full illusion, but if they're really so aggressive...
( Hrrmmm. )
... Phillip. If you can strike one from a far enough range to draw one to where we're waiting with you... that might be viable.
( reinventing ffxiv tank mechanics, )
no subject
[ Thank you Ginger. He thought he'd have to sing another song for them to listen. ]
Alright. We'll be counting on you for that, then.
no subject
[ To the spirit and to the group. ]
I don't know if my suggestions would work on them, but we could try that, too.
no subject
Strike from a distance... yes, I should be able to manage that much. We would still need to be fairly close by, however-- say 20 feet or so. Would that be acceptable to everyone else?
no subject
... It's going to have to be. We're just going to have to be extra careful about staying hidden.
( He doesn't like that they're basically white room
theorizing right now, but what better can they do when faced with a sudden and unknown situation?
He takes a deep, needless breath - a sign of his unease, in this situation. Okay, okay... )
... So Phillip is going to draw them out. I think Yamato and Ginger should see if their specs work on them - the curses and suggestion and stuff.
Once those two have made the target(s) more vulnerable, me and Shinjiro will clean up.
( Assuming he's seen Shinjiro or heard Shinjiro hold his own (or just seen it from afar like the stalker vampire he is), we blow kisses to Cocoa. )
Phillip, you can help Yamato and Ginger or me and Shinjiro. ( Depending on where he feels his strength lies after the initial bait-in. ) Ideally we'll get to test this on a single automaton first to see how well this works, but the situation probably won't be ideal. Which means...
( He looks at everyone with a sharp, serious gaze. )
... When things go wrong, because they will, everyone needs to drop what they're doing and evacuate. Help each other; ignore civilians. ( Can't save the city if you die trying to help one person. ) We can meet up on city limits, around the point we're flying in from.
( And he doesn't seem like he wants to argue on this. He's not too happy they have to risk themselves for these humans - he's only going along because it's probably tied to these moon problems. But he's not going to stand for anyone getting grievously wounded for people they don't know, who don't matter. )