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expiationmeme2023-08-06 09:08 am
TEST DRIVE MEME #4
Welcome to the TDM for Expiation, a pan-fandom adventure game with fantasy, science fiction, and some horror elements. We ask that top-level comments are reserved for new characters and players looking to experience a taste of the world and overarching storyline. Characters already in the game, however, are free to use TDM prompts in their own catch-alls and logs. Feel free to submit any TDM / prompt-related questions to the corresponding comment below.
New players / characters looking to app are free to use TDM threads as samples in their application. Preexisting players / characters may use TDM threads as part of their AC proofs.
You may find the below link helpful in getting to know themes of the world, locations, the people, and so on.
AS OF AUGUST 2023: We have decided to reduce the waiting period for new updates / canons to two months. So if your canon is two months old, your character is appable as of now.
The last thing you recall is waking in a room of blinding white light. You hear voices around you, speaking in muffled tones; you get the distinct impression that they’re talking about you. And you’re on the verge of figuring out what they’re saying, you’re so close...but then the floor drops out from under you. You’re falling into blackness.
You come to after falling through this dark void, and when your vision clears, you find yourself on a…beach? Many wake up covered in sand, but some wake in the shallows of the ocean, too. Surf’s up!
IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN...
SAND AND SALT (ARRIVALS)
After dusting off the sand (or drying off with a towel, if they had a really rude awakening), newcomers to the area find themselves greeted by the locals and directed to the city of Aldrip, where they can find food, shelter, and dry clothing, should they need it. There's mention of an inn, though some mutter that it's getting a little crowded, so maybe characters should find a roommate or make nice with the locals so they can crash on their floor—at least temporarily. Once they're in town, they'll notice that there is plenty of construction going on: building materials everywhere, half-finished structures waiting to be finished. Maybe you won't be sleeping on the floor for too long, after all.
Those who choose to remain on the beach will find the locals setting up for something that looks like a festival. Colorful tents are anchored in the sand, filling with strange-looking goods, delicious-smelling food, games, and other activities. Locals call this the "Festival of the Sun," a celebration of the hottest days of the summer, where crops begin to swell bountifully and the seas become warm and refreshing. The festival has not yet begun, of course, and there is plenty of opportunity to help out. Chosen who wish to lend a hand will find themselves enlisted to help set up or decorate tents—or even to run some of them, if they're so inclined. Grab the balloons and streamers! (Or…colored scarves and flowers, maybe.)
FESTIVAL OF THE SUN
The festival kicks into gear in the afternoon, and there are plenty of activities to draw attention. There are boat racing competitions and a sandcastle contest, as well as a grand seashell hunt taking place on the beach. All of these are free to enter, and the contests offer prizes both for participation and for winning. Participation prizes are small tokens of memorabilia: seashells, shark teeth, dried flowers, things like that. Contest winners will find themselves gifted a refreshing treat or a free meal.
Other tents boast all sorts of different games, food, and trinkets for purchase. Merchants will accept coins or other goods in exchange, but if you find your pockets empty, they may also have to help work the booths if they need a well-earned break. Better get to work, and don't forget to give your most winning smile!
Later in the evening, the locals light a bonfire and host traditional songs and dances as the sun begins to set. All clean-up work will be left until the morning; according to Those Who Were There—the locals' patron deities, apparently, though they offer little information about them—it's bad luck to work this evening after the sun sets.
THIS IS ECOLOGY
MAKE A FRIEND
It seems there have been new additions to Aldrip and the surrounding areas. Even the locals are surprised to see large, flightless warking birds now charging around the meadowlands in packs, not to mention the cute piglets with bunny ears and other strange animals that seem to have appeared. There’s even something that looks like it’s made of rock roaming around–its bark is worse than its bite, though. You may even find that if you befriend them, you can ride on them.
Most are harmless, but Chosen may find a few more monsters than usual roaming the area, too. It seems best to be careful—especially after dark and in the forest, when some of these creatures feel emboldened to roam a little closer to civilization.
[[WILDCARD: Players can use anything from this post to interact with! It doesn’t even have to be the ones we mentioned in the prompts.]]
STOP AND SMELL THE FLOWERS
It's not just animals that have begun to appear in the area, either. Strange new flowers and plants seem to be cropping up everywhere, as if this is a normal habitat for them. Most of them don't seem harmful, although some of the vines can be a little…aggressive. However, getting too close to some of the flowers and mushrooms could give someone a nasty surprise. This is particularly unfortunate because the locals seem quite interested in the new additions to their town, encouraging the Chosen to investigate and acquire samples.
The pollen from these new flowers isn't normal, so Chosen won't find themselves sneezing too much. Unfortunately, they may find it has some other effect on them, such as sleeping, confusion, temporary loss of sense (sight, touch, taste, etc), powerlessness, forgetfulness, or inability to speak. While these are all examples of effects the pollen might have, this is certainly not a limitation. Just about anything you can come up with—within reason—is fair game.
STRANGE MACHINATIONS
A PILE OF JUNK
Ask the locals, and they'll tell you all about the recent trip to the desert, including how several of them were rescued and owe the Chosen a debt of gratitude. While they're repaying this debt mostly by way of helping with building projects, they've also brought back piles and piles of…broken technology. Mostly tablets: dirty, sandy, scratched up, and missing critical components like batteries and chargers. They've very kindly piled all of these things in the eating hall at the inn, and anyone who wants to check them out is welcome to do so. It's possible that cleaning them up and matching them up with their missing components will activate them, but you may have to sift through a whole pile to do so.
But activation does not necessarily mean they're in perfect working order. They may randomly beep, as if pinging off of certain locations, or make strange static sounds if they're turned on for too long. Some of them seem to ping off of each other, too, beeping more quickly as they're brought nearer to the other tablet they seem to be paired with. When connected to the pair, they seem to stabilize a bit more. Not enough to find anything of value in the system itself, but characters might find that they can now text each other, play one of the games, or send pictures on a local network.. After about ten feet of distance, they fail again and aren’t able to be used on the local network.
GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT
Whatever happened to the locals at the beginning of the month seems to have passed—mostly. Every so often, Chosen might notice the locals acting a little strangely, stopping what they're doing for a second as if they've forgotten something, repeating something they've already said, or even flickering in and out of existence.
These experiences are minor, but Chosen might notice some other oddities popping up occasionally. Some animals seem very…odd, at a glance, like a fox that has two tails or a deer with three eyes. Look again, and you might think your eyes were playing tricks on you, because they appear normal. Fish with transparent scales, plants that change color—these are examples of the occasional oddities Chosen might encounter.
They might also sometimes hear strange noises, particularly at night. Beeping or static like the sounds coming from the tablets could easily wake a person in the night—as can the sound of a voice, perhaps even a familiar one, luring Chosen out of their beds and away from the town. The source of these voices is a mystery, and they always seem to stop before characters get too far, but you'd do well to be careful after dark.
You know the drill–this is the wildcard one. Just because it’s not listed in the prompts above does not mean it’s unavailable as an option. We encourage you to do whatever you’d like to utilize the setting to its full potential. If you have any questions about what is and is not possible, please don’t hesitate to ask!
Click to view:
| CANON | CHARACTER/TOP LEVEL |
| Arcane | Ekko |
| Arcane | Silco |
| Critical Role | Mollymauk Tealeaf |
| Digimon | Mimi Tachikawa |
| Final Fantasy X-2 | Paine |
| Fullmetal Alchemist: Broherhood | Pride |
| Honkai: Star Rail | Dan Heng |
| Land of the Lustrous | Phosphophyllite |
| Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story | Mitama Yakumo |
| Marvel 616 | Quentin Quire |
| Omnicient Reader's Viewpoint | Han Sooyoung |
| Persona 1 | Naoya Toudou |
| Persona 2: Eternal Punishment | Kei Nanjo |
| Persona 4 | Yu Narukami |
| Persona 4 | Yosuke Hanamura |
last updated: 8/16/23, 10:55PM
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It wasn't worth the risk as far as he was concerned.
He watched her head to the bar and make an order, wondering about currency of this place. He lightly patted one of his jacket pockets where he almost always kept some of Zaun's currency to bribe someone with and sure enough a small bag remained exactly where he liked to keep it.]
What about Zaun? [He reached up to help her with one of the glasses of water.]
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I... After you, uhm. ( jinx really doesn't know how to put this and she takes a deep breath to just embrace herself for the chance of abandonment that is in her future. )
— I shown 'em all like you always wanted us to. I... took Fishbones and shot a missile to the council.
( she balls up her fists on the table so tight, she might actually puncture her own palms if she's not careful. )
But one of the scientist guys were here. The one who helped create, uh... you-know-what. ( ... ) He was in the tower... at their meeting. He told me they all agreed to give Zaun their independence. We were gonna be free. But... But then, my... rocket —
( 'every time she comes something goes wrong. she jinx us at every job.'
she can't do this.
'she made a mistake!'
'name the one time she hasn't.'
she should had kept her mouth shut.
'it's only a matter of time before you implode. and silco finally gets the message that you're about as good for our cause as you were for your family.'
she abruptly raises up to her feet, already looking out towards the door. someone better will come along to tend to his wounds, someone who isn't a screw up or a walking curse that ruins everything that she touches. it's no wonder vi doesn't take her as a priority now and why should silco? there are plenty of girls her age who can be a better daughter to him than she could ever be. the words "i'm sorry" is right there at the tip of her tongue, but they're empty and useless. because they won't undo anything or make this any less tragic. )
I-I'll leave. Okay?
( because it'll be less painful than him walking out on her. )
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He liked to think that it also made him a better parent when it came to raising Jinx to the chaotic young adult that she was. Her suffer never went beyond his notice, but he knew if she was in Piltover that they would lock her up 'for her own good', and here in Zaun, she would probably already be dead in a trench somewhere after overdosing on something in a bid to self-medicate.
Silco brought the water glass carefully to the table and set it down. His mismatched eyes rose when she did, noting the look of panic of her on the verge of flight. He reached out and curled his fingers lightly around her wrist, not holding her in place but anchoring her to this moment.]
Good. [He said with word softly, calmly while keeping constant eye contact with her if she would let him.] Do you think I rushed you to weaponize the hextech so we could simply wave it around as a threat? No, Piltover needed to fear us in order to give us what we truly wanted.
[He tugged on her wrist lightly to encourage her to sit down close to him. Her memory of their conversation in the moments before she shot and killed him likely had slipped her mind; that was common when she was breaking apart. He didn't hold it against her.]
The boy offered me everything, Jinx. Trade routes, access to hexgates, a seat at their table, but he required the one thing that would make peace impossible: you. I would sooner burn Zaun and Piltover to the ground than give you to them. You're my daughter, and as your father, it's my job to protect you and love you for who you are. Now and always. Even when you don't want me to, even when you don't believe I should, even when the whole world is telling me not to....
[He reached up with his free hand to set his fingers in the holes currently in his chest requiring treatment.]
I will never forsake you.
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hearing "good" was something she hadn't expected, and the confused yet shocked look on her face shows it. and as her father speaks, she slowly retakes her seat when he gently tugs her back down -- giving him her one thousand percent attention. and the more silco spoke, the more her eyes are welling up again. jinx will refuse to cry right here and right now, not when there are lingering locals around the room, but... it's something to do much later when they're alone again. she wants to throw herself in his arms and yet that too, she refrains herself from doing so. not until his wounds are taken care of properly and cleaned. if this isn't proof enough to her voices that silco loves her infinitely, then they are clearly deaf or blind. and if only her big sister would just stop and see just how wonderful silco can be -- how good he is to her. none of this is brainwashing like others think or he has her arm twisted behind her back to force her to follow along with him. because with tenderness like this, who in their right mind would run away from someone?
sniffing briefly, jinx nods to her father silently -- understanding that he truly wasn't going to give her up and those dying words weren't false, but real as they come. his daughter wets her lips and blinks back the tears, clearing her throat too with a hastily look to the medical supplies. 'put on a brave face. there's people looking.' )
I-I believe you. — Thanks...
( for what? she isn't sure why that came out right after, but it felt right to say after that? at least in her head it felt like the best way to end that discussion or understanding.)
Okay, enough with the babble. ( this is her attempt to get everything back on track and the usual. ) It's fixin' up time.
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The chink to his usually impenetrable armour. She had wormed her way in instantly, and he was hard pressed to regret it. Honestly, if he thought too much about the subject, it scared him. No one was allowed that close to him, not in many, many years. His relationship with Jinx was the one thing he couldn't lose.
You'll die for a cause, but you won't fight for one. Was he becoming like Vander? Maybe.
As she settled, he released her wrist so that she was sitting there next to him on the bench on her own. He nodded his head to her words, accepting them. He did what he could to always tell the truth, to explain his point of view even when it was another lecture. He knew her, knew her fears.]
Very well. Perhaps a bit of privacy? [Don't request he take off his clothes here, okay?]
1/2
( where can they go for privacy? certainly not back up her sister's room since it's becoming their own swimming pool. and she really rather not coop silco back to his feet and have him walking again. he's done too much of that already. but being quick to think, jinx hops out of her seat again and makes her way to the bartender. he assumes she will ask him another round of water or of something else, but instead — )
2/2
it's pretty quick when this happens, the girl reaches the man's locks with force then tugs him down so his cheek squishes against the table. the glass, now a weapon, is pointing to his eye with him yelping in whimpers. the rest of the locals in the area gasp in fear and practically too stun to move or for words. with a blank expression, jinx glimpses up to the rest of the crowd. )
I need the room. Get out or witness this guy become "One-eyed Billy".
( well, she didn't need to say that twice as the locals scatter to gather their things and rush off either to their rooms or outside. once it's just the three of them, jinx lets go of the man's hair -- he is all shaken up and fumbles in his steps to give himself some distance. his daughter side-glances to the bartender with a frown to match as she lowers the weapon by her side. )
Skit-skat, Mr. Kitty cat.
( and on cue, he does just that -- dashing off somewhere into the kitchen to be as far away as possible. there. now it's just the two of them! jinx hops back over the table and happily skips her way to the entrance way to turn the locks. )
Privacy, check...!
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He didn't jump and only glanced over when his daughter made the kind of scene he would expect to have people streaming out of the area. He saw no reason to alter her behavior, not when it was for his own benefit. She was at her best when she was at work like this, so he was quite frankly going to enjoy it. The only other person who could move stranglers like this was Sevika.
No, his fingers were rising to work off his scarf and open his vest then the red collared shirt and then his undershirt. He shrugged each layer off, examining the damage to the fabric mournfully. Clothing of that quality was so hard to come by in Zaun let alone in this new open-aired hellscape. Ah well, he would simply have to make the appropriate repairs himself.
Except the blood. That was going to be tough to get out and it was soaked into layers of fabric, stiffening them. The ocean water hadn't done it any favours either, but he would concern himself with all of that once he had investigated the state of his person.
As he peeled off the last blood-soaked layer, two large entry wounds were present on his chest. There was still blood oozing from the wounds that went to his ribs, which happened to be broken, hence the difficulty breathing. Already, significant bruising was setting in on his chest. There were matching twin wounds on his back with the same look aside from being larger, making it clear that they were exit wounds. However, his lungs and heart - while damaged - were intact, healed from the mortal part of the injury.
One thing was for certain: he had died. He just wasn't dead now.]
Perhaps some strong alcohol to clean the wounds out with and then we can bandage them. It seems they will bleed for some time yet.
[And maybe some alcohol to numb the pain too. There was nothing wrong with double-duty on that.]
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he suggests the alcohol and she silently nods to that, making her way back to him again and the kit. jinx carefully applies the alcohol to a rag, then shifts in her seat to face her father. a brief pause for her pinks to lock with his mismatched eyes: )
It's gonna sting pretty bad. ... You ready?
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He watched Jinx steadily, meeting her eyes without flinching. He knew what was coming; this wasn't his first foray into ill-advised self-treatment.]
I've endured worse, I assure you. Go on.
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I'm joinin' this club called, "Teenagers With Abilities and Talents". I dunno what we're gonna do in it though. I guess show off our skills or somethin'.
( once that cloth/cotton ball is overfilled with blood, jinx reaches for a fresh one -- applies it with alcohol again, then returns back to the next bullet wound. )
I met a guy who has laser beam eyes. It was so cool seein' him just ka-plow stuff just by looking!
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He tilted his head, grimacing in pain before leaning forward toward her.]
His eyes were actual laser beams?
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( when he leans forward to her, jinx places a gentle hand on his left cheek -- patting softly to give him encouragement. not like he needs it or anything, she knows silco is a pretty strong guy for his age. but he is also an old man (by her standards) and they need to be reassured or congratulated sometimes. )
— He has to wear sunglasses or else he'll burn people alive. I made a new pair for him a few weeks ago.
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[He leaned even further forward until his elbows rested on his knees so she could have access to the twin exit wounds on his back. He cared little for reassurances, only focusing on the information that she was giving him. He needed to adapt quickly, especially since he was going to need to heal. At least a wounded old man disarmed most people.]
How much tickering have you been able to accomplish? You mentioned supplies are not particularly prolific here.
no subject
( oh right, the back! it's a good thing he leaned over when he did, otherwise she would had forgotten all about it. jinx gets a new set of cloth/cotton ball and begins to clean up the exit wounds. )
Mmmm... — Almost zip. You gotta have coins around here or have somethin' good to trade off. ( which is normal. if there's one thing that this place and zaun have in common is their trading system. )
But I ain't got much and no one here has a good ol' fashion welding kit. They do it by... smelting and with a furnace —
( there's some frustration and confusion in her tone when she describes the method to him. jinx even rolls her eyes as she continues to dab the blood off his back. )
— It's so... so old doin' it that way!! Y'know how long it'll take to make a grenade like that? Or a single bullet?! 'Less you are just THAT good with it.
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[There were so many different sentient species in their world that it wasn't odd to consider that someone could have laser eyes. It would also be very useful, and he liked to entertain the idea of such a surprise. He would judge later how useful it would be.]
Is it a specific kind of currency or more the metal make-up of the coins that are valuable? [Trade was typical. Silco had coins, as one never knew when they might have to bribe someone.] I have coins, whether or not they will be worth anything remains to be seen.
[His shoulders twitched in pain as she cleaned out his back wounds. It had to be done; Zaunites were a hardy lot.]
You know that's how some industrial lesser houses of Piltover operate too, yes? Think of it as an opportunity to learn a new skill. Perhaps you can find an apprenticeship...?
[He had ever confidence that she had the smarts and the experience to pick up new skills in this place. It might only be temporary, but it would also provide valuable information on who was forging what sort of items.]
I'm certain gun powder may be your more limiting factor. You have Fishbones here, do you?
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( which would be a shame really. not that jinx ever cared for money in the first place, but other zaunites would kill to have a sack of coins like silco in their grubby hands. literally. and at the suggestion or even the mention of becoming someone's apprentice, jinx scowls darkly at his direction. it's a frown she wears pretty often whenever he announces sevika is tagging along or is in charge of something. is silco really proposing she should work under someone else?
it's bad enough she has to work at all just to get by in this backwards village. can't she just get whatever she wanted by hand outs or by scavenging around like she use to? but if this what silco feels is best for her to do (or orders her to do), she'll do it. while he is her father, he is also her boss -- and that hadn't changed regardless if they are in runeterra or not. but that doesn't mean she will be taking on this job with a smile. in fact, she won't even comment to his suggestion just to show her distaste for it. )
Yeeeaaaah, I got him here. ( she grumbles a little. ) They're all here with me. They're all still loaded except for Fishbones.
He's pretty useless and all he does is yammer on about stuff without a rocket to keep his trap shut.
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[He expected some of the metals that made up the coins that he had could be used as conductors for Jinx if she was unable to locate certain supplies for her tinkering. It wasn't as if he was particularly exposed yet to the technology beyond her necklace and what he had seen laying around as far as structure went.
He noted the scowl that she threw in his direction, and he nodded his head slightly - almost absently - to acknowledge that she wasn't going to be heading for any apprenticeships any time soon. She was too into her own thing, and he too expected someone else would annoy or slow her down in her lively explorations. He trusted her to do what needed to be done.
For now, he would need to heal and have some time to settle before he would launch his enterprise again. He'd need her to be his eyes and ears for that time, something she was good at. She managed to slip into all the places no one expected to listen in.]
Then we will conserve resources for now until we understand more of what we are dealing with. [He was also used to talking to or about the voices that haunted her. It didn't bother him, and he didn't find it particularly odd.] We'll get him a rocket soon enough.
[He twitched his shoulders and looked back at Jinx.]
We should get things bandaged up. I don't want to linger too long with the attention we've drawn.
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( with all that cleaning done now, she reaches over the bandages, unwinding it. her pinks gazes over his chest one more time -- inspecting how exactly she wants to bandage him up without it being awkward for him to move around in. )
— And I gotta get somethin' in me before I fall on my face.
( because man, she is starving yet again and it's been a hassle to get a decent meal when she is running low in her own funds. but desperate times means desperate measures, they say. she can always threaten and rob a food joint to give her free meals or money. )
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[But boy did he know that he would pay for it if he didn't. What he wouldn't give for a recliner chair with good padding, but that was not possible here, so at this point, he'd be willing to take deep grass out of direct sunlight close to a fire so the smoke could blow in his face and stifle the constant clean air.]
Mmmm, that's a common side effect. We will have to source a good amount of protein or sugar for you.
[He wasn't confident on the sugar aspect, but from what he had seen, there had to be protein in this place. Hunting and killing wasn't above him, though it wouldn't be him right now. He wasn't certain he could move fast enough or stay upright enough long enough to even consider it.]
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( or not. it's not like she is a doctor or anything. finally deciding on how to wrap him, she scoots a little further to her father and begins to carefully curl the bandage around his frame. )
There's a seafood shack here I've been diggin' into. Food's sorta lame, though. No seasoning or anything. But it's something. And I ate some bakery goods once, but they're really expensive.
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[However, he had slept in worse places in his youth. That was a few decades ago, and he wasn't any better for it. No matter, if his coat was dried out by then, it would be a blanket that he would even consider sharing with Jinx if she felt like sleeping.]
We may have to consider finding our own food than relying on others to do it for us.
[He sat up more and lifted his arms so that he could accommodate her bandaging him.]
But I am open to suggestions. You have been here longer than I have.
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Huh? But why? ( she somewhat understands his reasoning, but when it comes to people like usagi or shinchi who helped her along thus far... )
Some people have been kind enough to help me. If they know good places to eat or whatever, why not take their advice?
( jinx returns back to wrapping him up, only a few more layers and that should be enough, she thinks. hopefully the kit comes with little clips to keep it all in place. )
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[He had eaten a lot of vermin as a boy. His family was very poor, and he was just another mouth to feed after a fourteen-hour shift in the fissures. He had to learn to contribute or go hungry quickly. It's why he never, ever forgot where he came from, and it's where he learned the gift of trading up.]
But the use of freely given information should never be discounted. We should be cautious though. Everyone here is a criminal, no?
[Criminality had very little weight in the undercity. It was a free city that traded in all manner of goods that others would consider illegal or elicit. There were rules, but loyalty had once bound them together. In the end, it was about survival and profiting even at the cost of the weak.]
I don't want you to go hungry.
dont mind me, just goofing around with the narrative by throwing in some german (:
but even if the enforcer believes she is innocent, she is in straight denial. her crime is waltzing into her life and brainwashing her sister to be on her side. so is it wrong to have a little faith on people like usagi, shinichi, scott, and ragna for instance? with the clamps ready, jinx slants forward to put them all in place. and ta-da, es ist vollbracht, gut gut. with all of that finished, she scoots up the rest of the materials and shove them all back into the kit. maybe it's better for her to keep this on hand (even though it doesn't belong to her) in case for another future emergency. )
I won't, I promise.
( except she kinda is already. )
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TIMESKIP A LITTLE BIT —; i'm not done rping with you!
<3 <3
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cw: issues.
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