escordvi | The Light is Off But I Still Work

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)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Alright then. Let's head out back. I've got some space.

[Darin leads Ranma out the back door to a place that's been cleared for both weapon testing and sparring. It's not a huge place but that just makes things a bit more challenging.]

It's a tight space here which means we shouldn't go all out. Wouldn't want any nearby buildings damaged or anything like that. So we should keep the spar in close quarters.

Figure focusing my strength in a tight arena would be a challenge. Thoughts?

[Following behind the big blue bruiser, Ranma looks around the extempore arena with a small hum. It wasn't the greatest he's seen, but he's trained and set-up worst impromptu training spots. Part of being a fighter is working with what you got.]

Not bad, not bad at all. The limited space just means a better chance at tempering your strength in an enclosed space.

[And if they put a few holes here and there in the walls, well, that's on Darin. Ranma takes a cool saunter over to the other side, doing a few quick stretches and warm-ups before they start the brawl.]

Ready when you are.

Yeah, that's the point. I use a lot of big, sweeping motions to try and temper my power. Spread it out over big movements rather than controlling it. I need to train my body to withstand the force feedback, otherwise I won't be able to access my strength properly.

[He's given this a tremendous amount of thought.]

Besides, I was trained as a sword fighter, not a martial artist. That's where I'm hoping you can come in.

[Darin watches Ranma carefully.]

I'm not usually the one to throw the first punch...but I guess I need to start wandering out of my comfort zone.

[Darin falls into a loose, brawler's stance. Come to think of it, didn't he say the exact same thing to Ranma when they first sparred six months ago? Regardless, he closes the gap in two lightning fast strides and throws two hard jabs with his left hand. Assuming Ranma would dodge them easily, he brings his right knee up to try and snap kick Ranma should he lean in that direction. He's barely using any strength. This is just a warm up.]

[He nods, listening along to the other's words carefully. Ranma'll have to say, he's thoroughly impressed with how much thought Darin put into honing in his ability. Unsurprising, given this is literal demon-king-doomsday-bringer level powers, Ranma knows he needs to be mindful of his own abilities as a martial artist alone. Couldn't even begin to fathom that kind of power. Darin's not that much of a dunderhead as he pinned him as.

Opposite to the blacksmith, the martial artist studies the other's posture and movements meticulously. Like the starting pistol signaling race horses to run, Ranma braced for the blue bullet shooting his way, feet instinctively pulling him backwards to dodge out the fists coming for him. Exactly as Darin predicted, Ranma leans into the direction the bruiser kicks in. This time, he raises an arm to block it, wavering as it held it there.

Barely any strength is being put into this match on Ranma's end too. After all, this is merely warm-up. They'll get serious and let loose when it comes. For now, Ranma flashes a grin Darin's way and push the leg he kicked with away, blitzing in to throw a one-two punch into the other's gut.]

[One thing Ranma will likely notice is that Darin doesn't adopt any form of defensive stance or form. He's never had to. Any damage dealt by the people in his world was negated by either his natural resilience or the fact that he heals so much faster than a normal human. When Ranma pushes him back, Darin takes the blows, knowing full well this is just the first volley.]

[But taking those blows affords Darin the chance to strike back. And that's where the crux of Darin's 'style' comes from— he's a counter fighter. The fear of his strength has instilled within him the need to never throw the first punch. That first strike on Darin's part was him trying to break out of his habits, but that he's in the throes of a fight, he settles back into what feels comfortable.]

[And what feels comfortable is a devastating right hook coming diagonally down at the side of Ranma's head.]

[The lack of defensive maneuvers didn't slip past his trained eyes. What is he doing, taking it brazenly! Yes, from what Ranma knows, Darin's built like a brick wall and is ten times sturdier than one. But even someone virtually indestructible should still block! All it takes is one precise strike, and it's game over.

That'll be something to keep in mind when they go over Darin's performance later, so future castigating will be saved then. Fortunately for Darin, Ranma ruminating this over left him wide open to any counter. The right hook came down true on Ranma's crown, forcing the boy down. His legs tremble from exertion keeping him from introducing the ground to his face.

A pivotal aspect to Ranma's fighting style is adaptation. Many lessons were browbeaten into his head - some in the literal sense - to help him learn how to go with and counter others' styles. One key lesson instilled was how to roll with the punches and strike back twice as hard. You have to know how to take a hit and recover in the same span.

Reactive in the same second his head was forced down, he rose back up quickly to throw an uppercut into the bottom of Darin's jaw, putting extra oomph behind this punch.]

The Light is Off But I Still Work

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Sorry for wait aaaaaaa

IT'S COOL DON'T APOLOGIZE

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