isleofavalon | it started out as a feeling; [open & closed]

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it started out as a feeling; [open & closed]

🧙 WHO: Machi Kuragi (

imperfectwish) & others
⚔️️ WHAT: Catchall for August w/ TDM & quest prompts
🕒 WHEN: All of August
🗺️ WHERE: All over Camelot
⚠️ WARNINGS: None for now.

I. FRESH WATERS;

[This was what Machi got for her determination to explore, to help and to change for the better while here. When she had thought about change she had meant becoming more open, more honest, less abrasive perhaps. More confidence at the very least.

What she hadn't meant was a change like this -- tentacles and pointed ears. Not to mention the gills too! At first all she can do is look absolutely aghast at the very helpful nurse but she's shuffled off soon enough to find her own way back to the surface.

... Once she can figure out how to operate -- well, all of this. Did she have to have so many tentacles? They all seem to respond just fine but it's definitely a mental adjustment to go from two legs on land to eight or more tentacles underwater. She just seems so flustered by it all it's... kind of cute to watch in a way? Not her fumbling around but the stern frown and wrinkled brow that accompanies it all.

Help a girl out? Or at least don't get too offended when she outright bumps into you or one of her tentacles ends up grazing your tail / tentacles.]

II. OPEN HOUSE -- ROYAL BATHS;

[Though Machi hadn't quite expected water park levels of attractions going on here she had shown up in a bathing suit. Odd for a public bath? Maybe. But she had been more curious than wanting a bath to begin with so it seemed to make sense to her at the time.

She's sort of marveling at just how big the slide is though.]

... This doesn't seem suited for a bath.

III. OPEN HOUSE -- GLOWING COLORS & ROSE GARDENS;

[The library had been fascinating. Some of the books hadn't made much sense to Machi while others had been so dense she didn't think she could finish them anytime soon.
Could she check things out like a library back home? She wasn't sure and had ended up tucking all the books back after a glance over.

Then there was the forbidden section. Machi wasn't one to break rules typically but well... curiosity and all that. That was why she was out in the rose garden now, more or less hiding away among all the flowers -- at least until someone stumbles across her.]

Ah, pardon me.

[She's an entertaining shade of red. And not just her face either. The glow isn't blinding or deep but there's this subtle shade of red to her that can't help but be eye catching.]

IV. DON'T TREEP, MAN;

[When the call goes out for green mages Machi knows the right thing to do is go and offer her help. She's been trying her best in classes all month and succeeding rather admirably to be honest. She's a decent student back home and here she's become quite devoted to her new studies. Without the pressures of others to perform to a perfect standard she's found school is actually pretty fun, particularly the magic courses. Studying for them definitely isn't a chore for her.

She's still green with her green magic though and it definitely shows. On the first few days she's directed to the orchard given several people can work on the trees and such at one time. She's pouring herself into helping one of these trees alongside someone else when the tree just starts budding out fruit like mad on Machi's side. She flusters, quick to draw back her hands and stop herself, eyes wide as she glances upward.]

A little too much then...

[On some other days she's directed to the fields and there she's having a hard time getting anything to sprout. She looks rather frustrated too.]

V. WILDCARD;

[Feel free to leave other prompts under this. Plurk and PMs open for plotting!

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[Parties aren't really 2B's thing, and this is exactly what she would call it. A large gathering of people might as well be that, especially when she catches sight of the baths. She's far from an expert on what human baths should look like, but from what she does know, it isn't this. This is extravagant, obviously fit for a king, but the slides...?

She winces when someone comes piling out, splashing and sending water up to the edges of the pools, and 2B can feel the droplets against her face next to Machi.]

Are these common? Slides in baths?

[Her voice is sharp, laced with frustration, as she wipes away the water from her cheek and the front of her simple, one-piece black bathing suit.]

It seems unnecessary for their purpose.

[Ah yes, the spray of water. Machi swipes droplets from her face as well but she's not near as frustrated as 2B sounds.]

Not at all. In fact, it's ridiculous.

[And yet here she is in front of one in a supposed "bath".]

This place seems full of odd things though.

[Abilities, familiars, you name it. It's one odd thing after another and Machi isn't sure if she won't be wore out of seeing weird things before too long.]

[More than you know, Machi. More than you know.

2B is silent while she watches another person climb the stairs up to the slide, and she hums low in the back of her throat, mentally preparing herself for another wave of water to come at her.]

I don't understand.

[And here they come, back down and into the pool.]

What's the point? Is it just for fun, or does it serve another purpose?

[AKA: what the hell even is a waterslide???]

[... Had she never seen a waterslide before? Machi hadn't in baths and had thought perhaps the other woman had never been in a public bath before but evidently she had never been to a waterpark either?]

Usually they're for fun. They're typically around pools and waterparks though.

[Then again given the size of this place... it's more of a waterpark, isn't it.

Another resounding wave, another near drenching. Pushing now wet hair out of her eyes Machi offers:]

Would you like to try it?

[Normally Machi herself would never go on the slide. She wasn't quite ready to dive into something like that alone. If 2B came along though...]

Uh...?

[2B's face suddenly flushes with colour, and she winces when the next splash comes, this one feeling bigger than the last. Or perhaps it's her sensory circuits overloading. A human... inviting her to do something "for fun". She isn't quite sure what to say to it, given that she never was someone who did things for fun, and had chided 9S for insinuating they do so many, many times in their travels and battles, but...]

... Sure.

[It would go against her programming to scold a human for suggesting it, which makes it even harder. Her lips turn upward into a small, shy smile.]

Will you go first?

[Would it make the other woman feel more comfortable if she did? Machi nods before she deeply thinks it through.]

It's only fair since I suggested it.

[Yes, perfect, that's her reasoning. Machi leads then around the main pool the slide seems to deposit everyone into. On the other side is the ladder she expected to find leading upward.

It's... surprisingly tall, isn't it. Or does it just look that way? Machi isn't precisely afraid of heights but it's somehow still surprising even though she's been looking at the end of the slide for a while now.

After a brief moment of hesitation Machi swallows her nerves and starts right on climbing upward.]

[It is surprisingly tall, now that she's standing next to it, and 2B watches Machi expectantly, noting how she seems a bit nervous, but overcomes it when she climbs the ladder. She follows behind and will stand on the platform to see it all better—she wants the full experience!

And when the two of them get to the top, she pauses partway up the ladder and prods Machi with a gentler voice.]

Are you alright?

[This is... pretty high. She hadn't meant to make her feel nervous by suggesting she go first...! Has she made a mistake?]

[It is surprisingly high, isn't it. Who would have guessed? And yet from up on the platform one can really see the whole of the baths. And what Machi sees astounds her at first.]

Ah? Oh! Yes, I'm alright.

[Her nerves have apparently vanished now that she's caught the view around them.]

I didn't expect there to be so much to the baths.

[She hasn't even explored half of it yet!]

[2B does pause to take a good look around, only noticing now that the baths do seem a bit excessive. From what she knows, all they should need is a small tub, or even a shower, not a massive indoor waterpark. They seem to stretch as far as the eye can see, with the room's high ceiling making it feel even bigger than it is.]

Maybe the King is just very dirty.

[It's hard to see through the stoic, very serious way she says it whether she's joking or not. Maybe she is jesting a little bit, but one does have to wonder what kind of man needs this much water just to clean himself off...]

What reason would he have otherwise?

[There's something about the idea of the King needing massive baths because of massive amounts of dirt that Machi can't seem to decide if it's funny or it baffles her.]

How would he even get that dirty?

[Finally she cracks, delivering the smallest of amused snorts.]

That sounds like a fairy tale.

[Another, more like a laugh this time. Even Machi looks surprised by it.]

[2B's brows rise up, appearing from behind her visor when Machi starts to laugh, lips parting in silent surprise. Was what she said really that funny? Did she make a joke? Is this what Izuku was talking about when he told her that she could learn how...?

She's far too stunned to laugh with her, but there's an air of intrigue about her, curious to know how being dirty would constitute as—]

A fairy tale? What is that?

[Please be patient with her, she knows very little.]

[Hm? Oh, was the other woman not familiar with them then? That's both surprising and not giving the range of people and worlds here. ... That's still such a weird thought though, other worlds.]

A fairy tale is a sort of story typically told to children. Most of them have a lot of fantasy to them, things that wouldn't happen in real life. Some of them have morals as well.

[Like in this instance.]

The idea of a King so dirty that he keeps building an increasingly big bath to wash off in but can never seem to get completely clean sounds like something that wouldn't be entirely reasonable in real life.

So, it would be in a fairy tale instead...

[2B concludes with a small nod.

The concept is quite simple, and she wonders if a story about a scanner model android being stuck in a world of humans when he otherwise thought it impossible would be something told in a fairy tale back where they're from... Where other androids could only dream of meeting humans and seeing how they lived. She thinks that 9S and Operator 6O would both enjoy something like this, because it truly is like a fairy tale, going off of Machi's explanation.]

I like that idea.

[It's almost whimsical, the tone in her voice, but it's a passing moment, pushed away by the bratty kid at the bottom of the slide.]

"Hey, lady! You gonna go already!?"

[In an instant Machi's head snaps in the kids direction.]

Are you done being rude?

[She says it so deadpan with such a blank expression that it's downright comical compared to moments before. The kid himself isn't exactly impressed or anything but equally Machi doesn't look like she cares.

Also they might be having a staring match for the next few moments. Or until Machi sighs out.]

Let's go then.

[Okay, gotta brave this long slide now. Machi looks resolute and unintimidated at least -- probably because of still being fired up by the bratty kid.]

[2B is built to be a quiet, level-headed android, meant to not care about such trivial things like waterslides or bratty children, but she isn't perfect. She has a bit of a petty streak, so she joins Machi in the staring contest, even if she forgets in that moment that he won't be able to see that she's staring daggers into the center of his face.]

Go ahead, [she tells him in a steady voice, but beneath that, there's some resentment there for ruining a perfectly interesting conversation about fairy tales with her new friend. Then, she nods to Machi.] I'll be down in a moment.

[The kid pushes past her, mumbling something about them taking forever under his breath, and waits for Machi to go first while 2B watches on, lips pressed together in silence.]

[One moment Machi is sitting there and the next -- yep, there she goes!

What goes on next is sort of a blur. Machi doesn't have the time to be angry at the kid anymore because she's going at a pretty decent speed. The slide isn't just a straight down affair but it has twists and turns, loops that one manages to stay on somehow? A magic slide maybe??

By the time she's spit out into the pool at the end Machi looks frazzled to say the least. She gets dunked down into the water and after she resurfaces she just sort of gazes back up the slide in amazement.]

... It really doesn't look like it has that many twists and turns though...

[It's quite the trip down, judging by how long Machi took to get there. From the outside, it looks like a normal slide, and by virtue of that, she should have hit the water much quicker, but it's several seconds after 2B expects her to emerge that she actually does. She raises a brow, confused by the look she's giving the slide, but—

"Alright, my turn!"

Ugh. There goes the kid, hardly waiting a beat for Machi to collect herself at the bottom. He's down much faster than she was, just by being smaller, and hopefully she's moved out of the way before he splashes down!? Because here comes 2B, doing the same to him.

...

Her speed is unlike anything else, and she's surprised that the slide can even hold up against the 325 lbs of steel android scraping over it. Although there are indeed more twists and turns than she was expecting, the bends surprising her when she's whipped around each one of them before she's forced out the end. And what follows is a giant splash—one that sends giant waves of water that force those near the edges of the pool out of it, and soaking everyone else, including the boy.

The water is shallow enough that he and Machi, as well as the rest of the guests, are in no danger—thanks to her tactical visor, she'd made those calculations before she climbed onto the slide—and all he can do is sputter water and wipe it from his eyes when he rises from the waves again, several feet away.]

Next time, don't be rude.

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