escordvi | AUGUST CATCH-ALL

Entry tags:

AUGUST CATCH-ALL | OPEN TO ALL

Who: Darin Altway and You!
Status: OPEN
Where: The Starmetal Forge and around Eltrut and Nogard depending on the quest!
What: The Starmetal Forge Grand Opening and MANTA Board quests!
Warnings: None!

-STARMETAL FORGE GRAND OPENING-

[It took longer than he would have liked but after months of hard work, he's finally managed to do it. He'd saved up enough money and made enough connections to rent out and properly refurbish a big enough workshop then applied for his formal business license. And now, finally, after all of that and months of preparation, he can finally say:]

Welcome to The Starmetal Forge! Whatever your wish may be, with this hammer, I'll forge it into reality!

[The workshop isn't massive. It's actually rather modest, but Darin's invested all of his time into preparing for this day. The forge is fired up and he has two very meticulously organized and cleaned workstations ready to go with pristine tools. There's plenty of space for people to come and watch him work and even a sizeable storeroom for more rare materials; including the small horde of elemental gems he'd recovered from the Abyss.]

[But the crown jewel of this endeavor is the sign above the door. A sign bearing his personal emblem; a shooting star whose tail curls into a perfect circle with the handle of a smith's hammer coming from the comet itself, as if the star was the hammer's head. It's an emblem he'd kept ever since he took up the hammer. One he'd hoped would adorn his own forge some day. And now, the day has finally arrived.]

[He'd placed a MANTA board request specifically for this month. Anyone with any rare materials and wish for new items or equipment could bring it to him and all he'd charge is a small labor fee. He can't wait to see what people bring in!]

[When you come to check the place out, he's already tinkering with something or other. But you'll catch his attention soon enough and he lifts his head, smiling.]

Hey, welcome to The Starmetal Forge! Name's Darin Altway, Master Smith and Forgemaster! What brings you in today?

-GEMSTONE RESEARCH-

[With an abundant supply of Gemstones at hand, Darin has already been tinkering with ideas. But first, he needs to see just how powerful these stones are and if their various elemental effects can be combined.]

[Darin has had in mind a variation of a grappling hook for some time now. Something that can be fired with some sort of propulsion mechanism and retracted with a small motor. But he'd like to incorporate some of the gemstones as a way of magnetizing the grapnel. Something that will allow him to grip metal surfaces as well as wooden or stone.]

[So he's in the testing area, working on a glove with an elemental gem of wind and lightning slotted into the back of the hand to see if he can create some sort of magical, magnetic effect. This surely won't end poorly for anyone who wants to look over his shoulder.]

-TRAILING DAWN-

[Darin doesn't spend as much time on Nogard as he should. Honestly, being a Corsair never really sat right with him, but it was better than being a Paladin. Just another instance of never seeming to fit anywhere specifically. But since he's on Nogard doing some testing of his gear, he's decided to take some time and wander the beaches like he used to do back home in Kenmore.]

[When he finds the large, deepwater fish dead on the beach, Darin finds himself kneeling and examining them.]

What the hell are these doing way up here...? Deepwater fish don't usually wash up on shore...

The hell is going on...?

(OOC: I am open to other threads and quests so feel free to ping me on Discord at bitterbearface or Plurk (

bitterbearface)if you'd like to do something else!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah, I'm sure you can melt the numbers off of a calendar, I'm real proud of you, buddy.

[Darin crosses his arms.]

I'm protesting the exactly right amount! We fought and then we worked it out! What, do you want me to soliloquize it for you? Write a play??

I understand... you're jealous. I know, I know. It comes with the territory of having heart-melting sets of vocal cords.

[Yeah, plural. Turians are weird man.]

[He's grinning, though. Clearly enjoying this more than the whole talk about hauntings.]

Uh huh. Most times, the more people repeat "it's fine", the less fine it ends up being.

[THANKS, SHEPARD.]

Too bad your personality is as appetizing as an old potato!

[LOOK, HE DOES THINK GARRUS' VOICE IS REALLY COOL. AND HE HATES IT NOW, THANKS.]

The hell do you want from me?! Want me to call her up and have you tell her everything is fine?? Because I won't because I'm sure she's busy!

[Check and mate?????]

See? Jealous. It's okay, you're not the only one.

[He's just trolling. So much trolling. Tali would be proud.]

Nah, I can probably ask her. Save you some time, hm?

...Garrus, I could put you in a headlock strong enough to make sure you never talk again and you know it.

[He won't but still! He can!]

[But he shifts his weight, uncomfortable at this new turn of events.]

...Ask her? What are you gonna ask her?

And then who would you call in the middle of the night to bail you out of a dumpster?

[Let him live, Darin!!]

[He shrugs. Really, he hadn't intended to pry, here, but now it's just interesting.]

Just chat, probably. See where the conversation goes... Haven't talked to her in a while. She'll probably have a lot to say.

Literally anyone else at this point!

[Okay. Okay, calm down. He has no idea why this is getting under his skin but he's better than that.]

...Fine. Call her. I've got like a hundred other things I need to do anyway.

Including fixing your armor. Take that off so I can get some measurements, will you?

Uh huh.

[He'll lay off, at least about the voice... or maybe...]

You know, I really could make a joke about you getting me undressed. After the whole conversation about my voice.

[But he's undoing the clasps on the armor, regardless.]

Garrus, you and I both know you couldn't handle me.

[Darin's already clearing off his workbench. Banter like this he's used to. He can handle this.]

I'm not into krogan, you're right. Though, I have heard most of them find facial scars attractive...

[The chest piece comes off. And what do you know, said facial scarring goes all the way down his neck, down under the side of the suit he has beneath.]

Listen, everyone knows scars are attractive. I've got one myself.

[Darin shrugs off his sleeveless jacket and turns as he peels off his black undershirt to reveal a jagged, worn scar that starts at his right shoulder and crosses all the way to his left hip.]

See?

[At this point, he doesn't even bother putting his shirt back on. He just walks over to retrieve the chest piece but also uses the opportunity to casually look at Garrus' scar.]

So, who'd you piss off to get that?

[With the armor in hand, Darin wanders over and sets it on the bench and starts to pull out some tools.]

[Contrary to the argument of turians being birds, they can't whistle. No lips. But the noise he makes serves the same purpose.]

Looks like you tried to be a lightning rod.

[He's never actually seen a Lichtenberg figure before. Lightning strikes are pretty rare on the Citadel, and in space.]

[His expression flickers briefly, before he schools it back to the usual confidence. Though his answer lacks the drawl he'd been using up to now.]

A rocket launcher. A really big, explosive projectile. Meant to take out really big, heavily armored targets.

Actually, someone almost cut me in half.

Only reason I survived is because my brother got in the way. That's the night I learned I'm notoriously hard to kill.

[Despite the subject matter, talking about it at this point doesn't really bother him. It happened. And while Darin has a lot of guilt about surviving that night, the lighthearted nature of the conversation serves to dampen the sting.]

[With tools in hand, he starts to measure the length and width of the damage while simultaneously taking notes.]

Gonna have to weld this part here...

A rocket launcher? I might not be familiar with future projectile launchers but even I know it's stupid to try and stop a cannon by putting your mouth around it, Garrus.

[Are they back to making dick jokes now?]

... Huh. [You know, that's not even a skeptical noise at this point. That's kind of a "well then" noise. That may as well happen.] I'm honestly more and more convinced you're related to Wrex and his people.

If he ever showed up here, he'd probably give you clan rites himself.

[Or just headbutt Darin and laugh about getting a headache afterward.]

They really, really wanted me dead. Guess I made an impression. [See he's funny.] I don't know if you noticed, but my mouth isn't really suited to fitting around large objects.

[He'll lift the glass, still in his hands, for emphasis. ~~god it's the dick jokes again~~]

Are these the big turtles you talked about before??

[With the measurements complete, Darin sets about filing down the more jagged edges of the cuts in the armor.]

Funny. With the way you run it, I thought you'd at least be able to cram a foot or two in it. I can't imagine why people would shoot at you.

May... be? They don't have shells, though.

[Humps, yes. Hard heads, yes. Maybe they're turtle-y?]

Neither can I. I really had to work at it. Then again, I ended up wiping the floor with three whole squads of them... so maybe my smooth talking does have a way of getting people riled up.

Honestly, they sound pretty cool. If one ever washes up here you better introduce me.

[There's some sparks as Darin files down the metal, seemingly unperturbed by them. Usually a smith works with a heavy apron but here this clown is working completely shirtless.]

You see, you talk like that, and then I remember you flailing about in the water and it just really puts your whole story at odds, you know~?

[He shoots Garrus a teasing smirk.]

If it's one I know, then you'll be the first I call. If it's not one I know then... I'm going to make myself scarce.

[He can't rely on them knowing he was on Shepard's team, after all.]

How exactly does my not being able to swim affect what I do on the battlefield? On land.

Why? Got some bad blood?

[With the filing done, Darin starts to measure each gash and noting every measurement down in his notebook.]

Just that you cultivated this "badass" persona but all I have to do is knock you into a swimming pool.

You could say that. It's what happens when your people drop a bioweapon on another.

[Let's be real, that's what the genophage was. But... at least it's done with, now.]

That's murder. That would be a murder. Or an attempted murder.

Bio...what? The hell is that?

[Darin turns and scoffs.]

No, it's only attempted murder if I let you drown. If I make you look dumb and then pull you out, that's called a "prank." Do Turians not have pranks?

Biological weapon. It was a... disease, I guess, is easiest way to explain it. To decrease the birthrate of the krogan. [Way simplifying it.] It's been reversed, since, but. Bad blood is putting it mildly.

[He just kind of stares for a minute.]

[Is this how Javik feels?]

... No. Pranks are punishable by death.

[Yeah this is absolutely how Javik feels. No wonder he's such a troll.]

Yeah, holy crap. Why would anyone do something like that? That's...beyond cruel.

[Darin whips around completely.]

Bull. I'm not falling for it this time, Garrus!

It's... complicated. Really complicated. [It's not really, but if you're from the Mass Effect world, it can be.] But - suffice to say, one of the people who made it ended up curing it.

[At the expense of his own life, too.]

[His expression looks unchanged. You know, for a turian.]

No? Would this face lie to you?

That's...good? Sounds like you come from a complicated universe.

[Darin turns back to his work and pulls some precision tools from his desk and starts to disassemble Garrus' armor to separate the damaged cowl from the rest.]

That face? Hard to tell, honestly. Either it's not capable of much emoting or you're just the most stoic bastard I've ever met.

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