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( mini-plot post: open to all )
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jawdacity & all of cerealia!
When: towards the end of the event (so this won't conflict with any event threads you may already have going). 2-3pm.
Where: Abandoned village + surrounding jungle
What: THERE ARE EXPLOSIONS. And mushrooms.
Rating/Warning: Possible NSFW for gore?
Details about this mini-plot HERE
(theme song of this post, courtesy ofmoribound.)
[ it's another muggy, meandering day in the jungle; nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. ]
IN THE VILLAGE
[ if your character is near the center of the village, they'll bear witness to the curious sight of a herd of shuffling mushroom beasts. in terms of threat level, to the experienced hunter they may have ranked low on the scale: slow, lacking an external fang or claw, they seem to be interested only in their endless march forward.
but, if your character is close enough, they may catch sight of a red-haired young man, a manifesto of anger written across his face. one breathless moment, the calm before the storm, and then he hurls a metallic pair of gloves at the closest beast, the gloves trailing arcs of flame.
what may strike your character first is the searing heat, the thrum of the earth below their feet. the whole village is demolished in a moment, the dying cries of the beasts rising above the din. the explosion lasts much longer than it should, the line of mushrooms going up one after another.
if you're too close, you might be torn in two. you might lose a limb, or two, or three. you might go deaf, you might lose your sight. you might lose all your eyelashes, your clothes. maybe the bag of mushrooms you'd collected for dinner is now little more than ash.
keep running. the smoke trails into the air. someone is screaming. the smell of charred meat follows you even after you disappear into the jungle. ]
IN THE SURROUNDING JUNGLE
[ if your character is close enough to the village, they'll feel the blasts, one after the other. the jungle is on fire, quickly spreading. maybe you'll hear the screaming, too; maybe your lungs will fill with smoke. maybe you'll run into one of the last mushroom beasts, fleeing from the explosion only to trigger a lesser one in the depths of the jungle.
it came from the village, didn't it? maybe someone you love was swept up in the explosion.
if you manage to escape the stampede of terrified jungle beasts (some of which may stop to crunch you up as a quick meal as they dash away from the blast), maybe you can venture closer to see what's happened.
or maybe you should get as far away as possible. ]
jawdacity & all of cerealia! When: towards the end of the event (so this won't conflict with any event threads you may already have going). 2-3pm.
Where: Abandoned village + surrounding jungle
What: THERE ARE EXPLOSIONS. And mushrooms.
Rating/Warning: Possible NSFW for gore?
Details about this mini-plot HERE
(theme song of this post, courtesy of
moribound.)[ it's another muggy, meandering day in the jungle; nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. ]
IN THE VILLAGE
[ if your character is near the center of the village, they'll bear witness to the curious sight of a herd of shuffling mushroom beasts. in terms of threat level, to the experienced hunter they may have ranked low on the scale: slow, lacking an external fang or claw, they seem to be interested only in their endless march forward.
but, if your character is close enough, they may catch sight of a red-haired young man, a manifesto of anger written across his face. one breathless moment, the calm before the storm, and then he hurls a metallic pair of gloves at the closest beast, the gloves trailing arcs of flame.
what may strike your character first is the searing heat, the thrum of the earth below their feet. the whole village is demolished in a moment, the dying cries of the beasts rising above the din. the explosion lasts much longer than it should, the line of mushrooms going up one after another.
if you're too close, you might be torn in two. you might lose a limb, or two, or three. you might go deaf, you might lose your sight. you might lose all your eyelashes, your clothes. maybe the bag of mushrooms you'd collected for dinner is now little more than ash.
keep running. the smoke trails into the air. someone is screaming. the smell of charred meat follows you even after you disappear into the jungle. ]
IN THE SURROUNDING JUNGLE
[ if your character is close enough to the village, they'll feel the blasts, one after the other. the jungle is on fire, quickly spreading. maybe you'll hear the screaming, too; maybe your lungs will fill with smoke. maybe you'll run into one of the last mushroom beasts, fleeing from the explosion only to trigger a lesser one in the depths of the jungle.
it came from the village, didn't it? maybe someone you love was swept up in the explosion.
if you manage to escape the stampede of terrified jungle beasts (some of which may stop to crunch you up as a quick meal as they dash away from the blast), maybe you can venture closer to see what's happened.
or maybe you should get as far away as possible. ]
no subject
IV stares back, a faint smile of amusement tugging at his lips. It doesn't escape his notice that Leia's blocking his way to the stream. He isn't about to detour just for that, so he sets the coat aside and then climbs onto his feet to pull off his boots.]
Well, since you're there . . .
[A quick glance at the edge of the stream lets him know it's fairly shallow between himself and Leia. He tests its depth with one foot, before he reaches forward and clamps down on Leia's shoulders to "steady" himself as he drops into the water, applying pressure to submerge her temporarily.]
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[To be fair, IV testing the waters with his foot is a major clue. In that split second, she steps back to finally make room, though she's quickly caught by the shoulders and her eyes close abruptly as she sinks under his weight, breath lost.
Once under, her eyes open again as wide as they had been. The surprise still has a hold on her, though she takes it well, even as her hair starts to come undone. Her cheeks are slightly puffy from the last-minute breath she tried to take, but upon seeing him (his face, his hair, floating wildly--), she can't help but snort in an attempt not to laugh, which comes out as bubbles in the water and a gurgling sound to accompany it.
If this is a contest in holding breath, she is quickly losing.]
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His hair sticking to his face in every which way, IV rakes a hand through its thick mane to push the strands back. In the motion, his wet shirt pulls against his skin – and no matter how annoying that'll be to deal with later, it feels good right now. He looks to the left and then the right as if to gauge the quality of the stream.]
Not bad. I'd have gone in sooner if I'd known it'd be this clean.
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Who knows where her hair tie went.]
It feels great.
[Beneath the yellow overcoat of hers, which remains abandoned on the shore, what's left is a plain white button-down that looks rather formal. On top of that, there's a black vest that makes her look like a waitress or bartender. She looks down upon feeling their weight, though her gaze settles on the water.]
I wish we could put this stream to good use, but . . . we could at least stay nearby. [Camp out for a while, though no more fires will be necessary, thanks. Some of the guilt returns in her voice as it tapers off.] Maybe monitor things from a distance, until . . . you know.
[Until it's safer. Until something changes.]
That might be best.
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"You know." He knows, and it feels like she's been censoring herself all this time. IV studies Leia's face as droplets of water roll down to their chins. He wipes his forehead and eyes with the back of his forearm.]
You can say it, you know.
[As if to emphasize, he takes that first step by looking behind them, through the path they'd taken to come this far and where the fire must be dissipating – or spreading. He doubts it'll reach their location, but at least they're in an ideal spot for safety.]
If the fire makes it this far, we'll use the water somehow.
no subject
She didn't leave anyone behind.]
You know how I feel about waiting . . . but if I've gotta do it, at least it's with you.
[Haa. She has to turn her head slightly, not quite being able to meet his eyes. Suddenly her hair is the most interesting thing in the world, and she starts to wring out the excess water. While she never saw herself as particularly secretive or prone to hiding things, she's also not used to being this open about her feelings . . . at least without some ridicule.]
That's okay, isn't it?
no subject
He looks up when he notices movement from Leia, only to notice that she's turned her head away by the most minuscule angle. She's playing with her hair, and that can mean one thing.]
Why wouldn't it be? This is how it should be . . . We're partners.
[In more than one sense of the word.]
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Then again, they don't really need her.]
Yeah.
[She lets out a small laugh, though she quickly dips underwater as she wipes at her eyes when she feels tears forming.
She finally leaves her hair alone, and when she comes up . . . she splashes him. (Is that a challenge?)]
A jungle can't take that away, no matter what happens to it!
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Ah, that's right. The jungle can try, but it won't succeed.
[He decides to back up then and seat himself at the edge of the stream near their washed clothes, leaving his body submerged up to the lower half of his waist. He brings a hand to one sunburned cheek and then the other, so that the cool temperature of the water may take away the faint stinging. The tips of his fingers linger on the cheek with the scar before he drops them.]
. . . I won't let it, because I'm going to take care of you.
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She joins him, and for the first time, she really feels the extra weight from her vest. She tugs at it as her cheeks warm at his words.]
Then I'll have to take care of you.
We'll make it out of here together and save ourselves for real. [And maybe teach whoever that was the meaning of the word "save," while they're at it.]
no subject
[IV's mind goes to their respective worlds. He pushes the thought aside in favor of himself, Leia, and their current predicament as he watches the stream rush down its stony path. And then he tosses his head, emphasizing his next words, before he slaps at the water to spritz Leia.]
That's a given. I'm not one to give up . . . and neither are you. We'll save ourselves and all the others while we're at it.
[Pretty words have a way of boosting morale. He likes them.]
no subject
After a bit of a fight, the vest actually comes off, and she puts it with the rest of her drying clothes. It's a literal weight off her shoulders to match how she feels, leaving her with only the collared, painfully white top . . .]
After we get our strength back.
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Somehow, he still manages to register Leia's words and hums in agreement, though the sound stutters. He tips his head enough to focus on Leia's chin instead. It's not that he's flustered, but more taken aback by seeing something he wasn't expecting.]
. . . And you're going like that?
1/3
It's too late by the time it hits her.]
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As if the weight on her shoulder returned, she willfully sinks into the water, stopping just above her mouth so she can still talk.]
N-No! I was just . . . It was heavy, and it needed to dry, and I forgot I . . .
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She comes up just enough to splash him again.] D . . . Don't look at me like that!
no subject
Me? What are you going to do? Get up and retrieve your vest, or continue soaking? You might even catch a cold.
[He lets her stew on that for a punctuated second before he continues.]
I don't exactly mind, you know.
[Not to say he wants to ogle her bra, but they are in a relationship. He's seen his brothers, whom he loves, shirtless. What's Leia without her vest in a soaked, transparent shirt? Besides, if she conveniently forgot and wasn't flustered until now, he thinks she'd be okay.]
no subject
What he says next doesn't exactly help. He must be doing it on purpose.]
I'm staying with you.
[They did go over this . . . Whether it means they linger and soak or if she retrieves her vest so they can leave, it doesn't really matter. It doesn't seem like she's too eager to get out of the water, though.]
no subject
[She said she would, so IV isn't worried. He leans back, propped up by an elbow on the ground behind him, and parts some more hair clinging to his face. Eventually, his hand slides down to fix his wet collar. What's concerning is the nagging thought now in his mind about the fire – what if it didn't snuff itself out with the village? – but he keeps it there in the corner.
Already, he can feel the humidity working against the moisture on his skin and making the air around them stifling. Rather than a swim, he might as well have just gone on a marathon.]
It's too humid to get out just yet. Good grief . . . this jungle.
no subject
I know. I wonder how long I could hold my breath . . .
[It's an idle thought, mostly.
But she looks at the water and the space between them, creeping closer after having shied away before. She wants to go under again.]
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If you're that curious, I can count.
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Not if I take you down with me. Why don't we see who comes up first?
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Just don't stay down there so long that you pass out.
[IV shrugs in a flippant tone as he says this, and then promptly drops into the water. Ironically, it's the one type of head start that counts against him.]
no subject
[That was easy.
Leia protests, but of course, she quickly realizes she has the advantage now. Not long after him, she takes a deep breath and drops below the surface as well. Her eyes are closed tight. Her cheeks are puffed, and after a moment, she reopens her eyes to meet his.
Time feels slow . . . everything does, just like her movements. Seconds feel like minutes.]
no subject
He just feels stifled, but at least Leia is suffering with him (something like that). He's already lost track of how long they've been under.
And then, an indiscernible amount of time later . . . ]
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