The Light is Off But I Still Work

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Who: Darin Altway and You!
Status: Open
Where: Eltrut and Nogard
What: MANTA quests and general catch-all
Warnings: Will Mark As Needed



-SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF THESE-

[Darin sure as hell has no idea where this Tapir plushie craze came from but the markets are absolutely inundated with stalls selling tapir themed wraps and goods. A few days ago, that wouldn't have been a problem. He wasn't all that interested and fads come and go. He's a tradesman, he knows how it is.]

[But then he heard about what the tapir plushies do. And considering that someone precious to him is in some sort of sleep coma, he decided to go out and grab one. How hard could it be?]

[Hard enough that every stall is showing they're out of stock. And when one pops up with stock, they're overwhelmed within minutes.]

[So now, Darin's camping out one of the lesser known corners of the market on Eltrut. He's been out here all night and it's now 8 AM. Someone in this corner of the market is going to have a plushie and dammit he's going to get it. Trouble is...he's not the only one looking to get a plushie here.]

...Is it bad form to use your god-gifted superpowers to snag a plushie ahead of a bunch of crazed, entitled shoppers? That's bad form, right?

[He's talking to himself but hey, you're free to be there to help him.]

[Or compete with him.]

-PAINTED SKULL-O-LANTERNS-

[Coming from a world that usually has harvest festivals this time of year, hearing about all of the spooky happenings and upcoming events doesn't have Darin especially thrilled. He's got enough on his mind as it is! And while Darin might not be the most superstitious sort, he'll tend to try anything once. Especially if it means warding off scary monsters or even death itself.]

[Besides, decorating the forge could be fun.]

[So, he's sitting out front of the Starmetal Forge with a basket of (hopefully) fake skulls. He's got a small table set up and a whole bunch of paints and...a potter's wheel? Darin places a skull down on the center of the wheel and begins to spin it, then selects a color of paint and carefully drips it on the spinning skull, creating wild, circular designs. He's also making a big mess and he has more paint on him than he does the skull.]

[But there's plenty of room for someone to join him! And plenty of skulls and paint to go around. Hopefully you have a smock of your own if you're worried about making a mess. Because you probably will.]

-STARMETAL SPARRING-

[Darin has had a lot of nervous and anxious energy to get out. He hasn't had the focus to work on any projects at the forge. He's got too much on his mind to sit at home and work on personal projects. And with his body healing up nicely after crossing paths with Ganondorf, he's itching to start training. Problem is, how does he start? Well, if there's one thing he's learned is that riftfarers seem to have all sorts of crazy powers. And learning to adapt to their abilities would not only give him some valuable training, but it'd allow him to blow off some steam as well!]

[He's fashioned a small sparring area behind the Starmetal Forge. Nothing inherently fancy but enough room to move around in. He mostly uses it to test some of his projects but...well, today he's repurposing it. Finally, he hangs a sign out front that reads:]

Feelin' Frustrated? Come On In For a Pounding!

[Does Darin understand the connotations of that sign? You be the judge!]

-INFILTRATE AND LIBERATE PART 2-

[After the recovery of the tragic cargo last month, Darin's been keeping abreast of the situation regarding the victims' treatment. Since it looks like the victims can be saved after the crystals are painstakingly shaved off, Darin is currently researching and engineering a way to make the process even the slightest bit less arduous.]

[He's hunched over his workbench at the Starmetal Forge, toying with some precision tools. There's a small pile of elemental stones nearby that he's currently rummaging through.]

Gotta be a way to magically enhance the edge of a knife or scalpel...my first instinct is wind but...ice could work too. Or fire? Heating the crystal might make it easier to remove...

-UNDERWATER RUINS- HIDDEN CHAMBER

[Somehow, checking out these ruins without a certain somebody by his side isn't as fun as he was hoping. How is it he's gone on two expeditions and he's gone alone each time? He heaves a despondent sigh as he wanders into the large chamber. He wouldn't be surprised if someone was already here...these ruins have been around for over a month now. But he had to get off Eltrut for a bit. Even for a day. And being able to examine ruins would at least give him something to distract himself.]

[Darin stops and takes a careful look around the room. All of the mirrors had to serve a purpose, right?]

Why so many mirrors? They're just going to reflect themselves...

[Darin drops to a sitting position and pulls out his notebook. He starts to sketch the room in its entirety as he puzzles out the...well, the puzzle.]

(OOC: Please feel free to top-level with something else if these prompts don't work for you! And if you want to double check an idea with me, hit me up through PM or on bitterbearface)

Comments

Sweet Dreams

[telepathicignorance]

(Oh hey, it's Darin.

Sidestep snorts.)

I stole one from a crazed, entitled shopper. (They hold up the tapir. Somewhere not too far away, a very much grown and seemingly quite wealthy woman is throwing a screaming tantrum.)

Want me to get you one?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Darin slowly cranes his head Sidestep's way.[

Wait, you stole one? Why?

[Darin looks terrible. He hasn't slept in over 24 hours and also he just generally looked like garbage before that.]

[telepathicignorance]

My powers aren't stable. I can't control them when I sleep.

(The Tapirs aren't the only way to get good sleep, but they're the most accessible one that's been around in a while.

...And they still feel gross about being Ganon's personal prisoner torture device.)

She only wanted it because of the fad.

(They've never felt much guilt stealing from the rich. They're usually terrible people.)

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Your...powers? You've got problems with your powers?

[Almost immediately Darin forgets the cranky rich woman. Someone else with powers they have issues with? Darin was beginning to feel like maybe there were a lot more people here that he could empathize with than he thought.]

I didn't know. What goes wrong with them?

PLUSHES

[thearchangel]

You look like hell.

[Well, that's a greeting. It's not a good one, but it's a greeting. Garrus, out of armor for the moment, some kind of cobbled-together outfit instead, had honestly no intention of stopping. Plushes and other kinds of merch like it aren't his thing. Wading through crowds was seriously making him consider hopping on a boat for the rest of this craze.]

[Until the blob of blue hair stuck out.]

I'm pretty sure that's illegal. For reasons other than superpowers.

Re: PLUSHES

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Has is that illegal? I'm not stealing anything. I'm just shopping with an advantage.

[Darin turns to Garrus and...raises an eyebrow.]

...Tired of wandering around in armor all the time? Don't blame you.

[No comment on why he looks like hell.]

[thearchangel]

It could be. If you took them out of someone's hand.

[He doesn't actually think Darin's going to do that. But giving him crap is some kind of ritual now.]

[One shoulder flicks in a shrug.]

It's my day off. [Sort of. He just didn't have any job lined up.] So... why the sudden interest in toys?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

I wouldn't do that! I'd just beat them to the punch. That's all.

And defend my purchase if someone tried to take it out of my hand.

Day off? But Justice never takes a day off~

[He sighs.]

It's not for me.

[He's not going to expand on that right now, sorry Garrus.]

Underwater Ruins

[emet_sulk]

[ Emet-Selch is in much the same situation, although in his case he prefers to work alone anyway. But that doesn't mean he's not displeased to see a familiar face squatting in the ruins. ]

Greetings, blacksmith. Figured anything out yet?

[ The last time Emet-Selch had come down here, he had spent time with the octopuses. They probably missed each other. ]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Darin jolts a bit. He was lost in thought.]

Oh...hey, Emet. Well...the one thing I'm puzzling out is why there are mirrors down here at all. The creatures down here are sensitive to light so I'm willing to bet we need some form of light source to reflect off of the mirrors. Thing is? Which one. There's got to be some kind of pattern to it.

[emet_sulk]

Well, 'tis unusually dark here. When I see a dark place with tiny sources of light, there is only one thing which comes to mind, is there not?

[ The night sky. And by extension, the stars. Which means constellations.

It probably helps that his encounter with the Night's Blessed back home is still fresh in his memory. ]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Darin pauses and looks up at the ceiling in thought. Tiny sources of light in the darkness?]

[Darin used to stargaze all the time back home so he quickly picks up on what Emet-Selch is insinuating.]

Okay, so...stars. Constellations. Constellations are usually used to navigate the ocean, right? Do you know anything about this world's stars?

Painted Skull-o-lanterns

[astudyinviolet]

[ Sherlock happens to walk by, plush tapir in tow, when he sees Altway in front of his forge. He stops to watch. His own attempts at painting the skulls have gone poorly, and this is a novel way of doing a colorful design. Sherlock won't comment on the artistic nature of it because that is not his expertise or interest.

However, this method is messy, and paint isn't the easiest to clean. ]

Do you have a large box, or perhaps some waste material?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Darin jumps a bit as he looks up from his work. He had been so invested in his little art project that he didn't hear anyone come up.]

Huh?

O-Oh! Hey, Sherlock. Yeah, I should have some storage crates. What did you need it for?

[astudyinviolet]

If you place your potter's wheel within it, you could save yourself the mess. You could also line the inside with paper if you wish to continue your artistic endeavors.

[ The splatters might make interesting patterns for gift wrap? ]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

...Huh. Yeah, that would probably make a little less of a mess...

[Darin looks down at himself and he's...well, he's certainly colorful.]

That's a good idea. Let me go grab one.

[He stands and starts to head into the forge, but he calls back just the same.]

What brings you out this way?? Looking to paint some skulls to ward off ghosts..?

starmetal sparring

[hasapoint]

[Lashan saw the sign and is here, primarily, to judge if Darin knows what it means. It's funny either way, of course, but she keeps a straight face.]

So are you giving or receiving this pounding? Or does it depend on who takes you up on it?

[She enjoys sparring but isn't sure she trusts the boy's restraint enough to propose a bout. Lashan doesn't bounce back from strain and minor injuries - or major ones - the way she used to. Augmenting her own ability, ignoring that her body just can't move as it had when she was a youth, has a price. A few minutes of that exertion here and there is quite reasonable, but it won't be if he uses that ridiculous strength she's heard about.]

[forgeabettertomorrow]

[Darin looks up from his work, smiling cheerfully.]

Well, back home I would have been pretty confident I'd be doing the pounding but...riftfarers seem to pack bigger and more varied style of punches!

[He absolutely has no idea what his sign is implying.]

What brings you in? Looking to spectate?

[hasapoint]

[She presses her lips together to suppress a smile and wonders if she should tell him and what would happen if she did so.]

Yes, I'm sure they do. Getting antsy, eh? Got that itch?

Well, I wouldn't say no to watching. I used to do a lot of that kind of thing myself and I'm not incapable these days, but I suspect that'd be a lose-lose proposition for you. The pride of a young man and all.

after a million years, i finally am here (starmetal sparring)

[catsgothistongue]

[Does—?

Is he aware—??

This is Darin, so...

There's only one thing he can do at a time like this: mess with him. Oh, he's also rearing for another spar after their last convo too. He's flexible enough to do both.]

Someone's feeling brazen today. [Spoken in the tone of someone who absolutely gets the connotations and is all too happy about being in the know of the joke.] You looking for someone to pound your ass 'til you're sore next month?

[It is very hard keeping a straight face right now.]

My new art summoned you

[forgeabettertomorrow]

That depends, really! Are you actually going to consider training me or are you just stalling for time??

[Jury's still out on whether or not Darin gets the joke yet but he's not the type to back down from a challenge.]

and now i resummon myself after a week

[catsgothistongue]

[Ranma leans on a nearby desk, forcing a stiff upper lip. If he doesn't, he'll floor himself laughing.]

I'm not going back on my word anytime. Figured you'd want to give your aching bones time to rest after screwing with Ganondorf.

[Snicker.]

under water ruins and then stuff

[ramuhs]

[Finding time to head back down to the ruins, Cid has brought more of his lanterns. After setting them down, he spots Darin and grins as he swims over.]

Hard at work as usual, eh?

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Oh! Cid!

[Darin laughs lightly as he turns Cid's way.]

Well...you know me. Not really one for sitting still. Wanted to get away from the forge for a bit...

[ramuhs]

You did seem fairly busy there.

[He'll look over Darin's shoulder at his notes.]

Find anything interesting?