Nov Catch all, manta prompts [Open]

[vermilloci]

Who: Rem & you
Status: Open
Where: General location
What: Settling in, Manta quests, etc.
Warnings: none so far

Spellbound Circuitry (General)

A: It's, ah... different than what I imagined. [ There is magitek in her own world, yes, but the kind from Milites are made more for war.  Over the years, she's seen the empire produce a great number of terrifying machines, ranging from the artillery mounted on stealthy flying mechs, to colossal structures that transport resources over their frozen tundra, to chilling devices meant to negate the power of the Crystals themselves. Ordinary devices-- such as lightbulbs-- needn't have magic power them.

So, imagine her surprise when she's presented with the prototype above a workstation table, that of a lamp. Rem leans over, examining the metal fastenings that hold the contraption together. One of the researchers mentioned using a bone substrate for some of their magitek, and there it is, right in the center of the glass: the assembled skeleton of a fish. Her eyes lift upward, uncertainly, to meet yours, and she gives you a dubious smile. ] If we power it with magic, you don't think it'll make this room smell like fish, do you?

B: [ Afterwards, she lingers in the building, looking through one of the display windows of the latest magitek to come from the scientists' developments. This one appears to be an automatic sorter for coins of some sort. ] I don't suppose that, somewhere, instead of magitek research, there is... a purely magical researcher?

[ There are archives upon Elah, she's heard. Perhaps she can find something of use there, even if she is not a Paladin. ]

Leap of Faith (General)

[ You. Her. A cliff above, the fresh, cerulean lagoon below, and in case there were any doubts as to who is the more forthwith in their trust, Rem is already sprinting past you and leaping off the edge. What was that about taking turns of one remaining below and one leaping off? Or that one must be from a different armada? Too late, she's jumped.

Rem plunges into the water, clothes and all, with a spectacular splash, causing modest waves the ripple out like the petals of a lotus. Within seconds she surfaces, tossing her brown hair then swiping the remaining strands back from her face. While the distance between the surface and the top of the cliff might be too great to actually see her expression, her voice carries what can only be a wide, relieved grin. Her words are quick and enthusiastic, charged with excitement. ]

Come on! It's your turn, it is! [ To a weary body, the warm, tropical water is beyond soothing to her. She tilts her head back and floats some meters to the side, making room for you to join. Raising an arm, she beckons you. Let's see your best splash. ]

Healing Mix-up (General)

[ It seems that both you and her have decided to consult the poster of the quest at the same time, and let's just say that as a preview of the reward, one snippet of the novel has been shared. For inspiration, of course, because who wouldn't want to start their noble quest of gathering bat drippings, dragon scales, monkey flakes, and cat knuckles without knowing a taste of the prize that comes after?

By the time Rem finishes reading the first two sentences of the paragraph, she's already turned a bright pink. An audible gasp escapes her, and she jerks back, clasping her mouth with her hands. Oh no. (Oh yes?) Oh no, it's one of those books, and, Crystals, just reading that much feels as if she's intruded on something private. She's not sure whether to laugh or to apologize. ]  A fair warning, even that paragraph is... [ Still sporting a bright shade of red upon her cheeks, Rem lowers her voice to a conspiratorial level. ] spicy.

[ Well, she's here now. She's here because she needs to have a healer on standby for herself, she needs a good one, and dammit, she will get those ingredients to put her in good favor with a healer (the book is just a plus, shh, no she's totally not interested in it).  ]

Gallows Gambit (Corsair but OTA)

[ The shackles around her hands are not the sturdiest of things, but then again, she can't imagine them being made for anything else but to constrain and intimidate. Quality isn't really a thing when it comes to ironworks used against prisoners.  With a soft sigh, she tests their weight, clinking the metal against the iron bars of the cell in which she's held.

All her life, she's managed to escape being a prisoner of war (not ture, a gut feeling tells her, but she cannot remember when or where or how it ever was, only that someone died, long, long ago)-- ah. Blinking once, she shakes her head from an oncoming headache, deciding to refocus on the task at hand. How ironic is it that she willingly gets herself put in chains in order to find the paladin behind this mess? Mission accomplished on that one, if only partly. She now has a face and a voice, attached to the man, but not his name. Unfortunately, now she's stuck with another problem. She must escape. It's not the most difficult thing to do should she do so by magic and force, but it would be better to not draw attention at all.

Rem peers through the bars, looking at what awaits her if she doesn't: a guillotine. A semi-public execution, then? Not only that, but the swiftness of the steel against a neck is by far one of the most humane methods she's ever seen. Relatively, anyway. Neither Rubrum nor Milites would bother.

Maybe you're here to help her escape. Maybe you're in the cell with her. Maybe you're one of the gallows' hired help knowing she's been falsely accused, willing to set her free.  Either way, she asks a simple question: ] You wouldn't happen to know the time...?

Untilted Goose Gambit

[ This is embarrassing. The eight-headed goose that is supposed to be the bounty she's after has, in fact, made her a victim of its shenanigans already! There it goes, waddling off with what appears to be a silver necklace of some sort. ] Get back here! 

[ Rem rushes after the goose. Help her, maybe? Or maybe laugh at her. Or maybe you've also had something stolen by one of the other heads. ]

Wildcard

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also 1/3

[vermilloci]

[ The change she sees is like watching the end of autumn without its warm splendor. What emotion she traces upon his mien falls like leaves from a tree, and before she can even catch them to cherish their brilliant colors, they've already decayed. Never had she thought she could perceive something so beautiful but fleeting, and miss it more all because of it.

...No, that's a lie. She's seen such shifts before. She's seen it in the l'cie, the spark of passion, of fear, of grief, of anger, the vibrant colors of who they once were, misplaced but true, as what they once felt comes alive, only to be snuffed out. She's felt it, herself, when she became one. Perhaps there is something tragic to be found in the loss, the loss of beauty found within emotions and humanity.

But it is a price, and--

"Was it worth it?"

"Yes."

--having made a similar choice before, she understands. Sacrifices are warranted. Sacrifices must be honored.

And so, Rem watches this change in him occur with neither a startle nor shock, but instead both respect and... sorrow. Sorrow for whatever circumstance led him to this, and sorrow that he must withhold such vibrancy from the world, when it would surely be as brilliant as spring. ]