isleofavalon | fifth shot ⊗ open august log

Entry tags:

fifth shot ⊗ open august log

🧙 WHO: Eustace and anyone
⚔️️ WHAT: all three animal mage related quests
🕒 WHEN: throughout August
🗺️ WHERE: various
⚠️ WARNINGS: none except for animal deaths for the hunt task and any potential violence that might happen in the combat oriented prompts

⊗ a: task - don't treep, man

[Near the beginning of the month, Eustace helps with the farmers, taking it as more opportunities to work on his communication with other animals. But he'll also help out with some of the physical labor aspects as well.

1. Herding. Taking the form of a black sheep dog, Eustace will run out to help corral those wayward animals, even help by communicating with any other dogs that might be around to direct them. Of course, sometimes trying to get clues to where the other members of the herd can be difficult, and there are times a dog can be seen lowly growling at a cow or sheep as he tries to make sense of what they're saying. He'll even pair up with anyone else who is out there, animal mage or not, and will be useful to get in close to the animals to drive them back. Of course he has limits to his magic, so there when not using magic, he'll ride out on a horse instead. It never really occurred to him to use his magic on it, but he does find communicating with it a lot easier.

2. Helping hand. When not out running around trying to get the animals back, Eustace will be helping repairing buildings. Mending fences, bringing in wood, sorting the feed—he'll be displaying a surprising amount of knowledge and ease working in a place like this.

Also do not mind the gratuitous fanservice as without his cloak on, the Erune fashion preference of wearing backless, sideless tops will be on full display.]

⊗ b: task - invasive species

[Knowing full well the necessity of controlling animal populations, Eustace heads out to site to help deal with it. It would be nice if they could convince the animals to move, but that could cos other problems in other ecosystems, so culling may just be the best answer here. However he's bringing a cart with him as he's not going to let this go to waste.

1. On the Hunt. Although he prefers working by himself, if there is anyone who is not as experienced he'll offer some advice or walk with them to help with the hunt. Otherwise, anyone wandering might be surprised if an animal suddenly falls and Eustace drops down from his perch in the trees, the gunshot that took out the creature silent.

2. Loading the Cart. After each kill, Eustace will carry it back to the cart he brought with him, arranging them in a certain way. And towards the end he'll even make an offer.]

All of these can be taken back and used as food or materials for goods. If you want any for your own use or to sell, go ahead. I can also prepare it if you can't.

[3. Carcinuses. Since the Carcinuses are only out because of the excess food, Eustace is less inclined to try and actually kill them. He will if there's no other choice, so he's ready to shoot down the lightning, but he'll try to help drive them back. The methods employed are to either bait them back in the water by chucking his own kills into the lake or...try and actually communicate.

This is a little tougher, but he'll try. So some might see a...very small, strange looking silvery gray crab staring up at a giant Carcinus who is just staring right back at the puny thing with some curiosity.

...Yeah he has no idea if this will work, but an attempt is being made. Or he could be mistaken as a little crab being intimidated by a big giant scorpion tailed crab when it's really probably the opposite. The claws are up, could there be a show down!?? (No, no there isn't.)]

⊗ c: task - animal mage hunt

[Eustace is not only an animal magic user, but because of his ears he can be easily mistaken as a "victim" of this ritual. So he's getting a double whammy on this one. The two options are:

1. Getting an Earful. Eustace was already used to people staring at his ears or even outright asking about it, but the past few days have been aggravating. Too many people have come up to him and either expressed pity or asked personal, invasive questions that were borderline disturbing and some outright propositioning. Some even had the audacity to try and touch them or worse—look to see if he had a tail hidden. For the most part they have more harmless so he just ignored and walked away (or smack a hand that came too close), but there's a point where the limits of his own patience is reached and he'll snap. Some might see someone fleeing from him in fear...or perhaps you might be daring enough to inquire while he's in this foul mood?

2. Targeted. There will be a few key incidents, but over the next few days Eustace will first notice he's being followed before he finds himself having to defend against sudden attacks. He'll also be on the hunt for the assailants as they are clearly a threat. For the most part he can handle it, but there are still times he could slip. Anyone who sees Eustace fighting off his assailant is free to intervene and help, perhaps even stopping one before he even realizes one is tailing him. Alternatively, anyone who wants to target and fight him is free to do so as well! Just PM so can figure out how it turns out.]

⊗ d: wildcard

[Thanks to the Animal Mage Hunt, he's going to end up suffering a severe injury later on that will limit his activity for the second half of the month, so most of the activity would be better set earlier. But if anyone wants to do a thread to check on him while he's recuperating, that's doable! If interested in anything else not included here, just hit me up on

laenavesse or discord and we can work something out!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[There's something special about going out to see a movie. In Midgar, it was always a rare thing for her, especially when money was tight or Avalanche had to keep inconspicuous and out of the watchful eyes of Shinra, but once in a while, it was a luxury she could afford. Oftentimes, it would be just her and Marlene. Jessie or Wedge would tag along occasionally. Barret, too, but having a massive gun for an arm did tend to draw unwanted attention, especially topside.

So going to see a movie isn't just any old thing for Tifa. It's a treat, and this time, not only for her, but for Eustace as well. "Do whatever you want," he'd said, and she intended to hold him to every word. She's instructed him to meet her at the theater, and before he even arrives, she's equipped herself with two giant bags of popcorn and a pair of soft drinks to match—nothing fancy, just your regular cola. It's a safe bet.

The moment she sees him coming, she rises on her tiptoes so that her head pops up just over the rest of the people milling about and beckons him over.]

Come on! We don't wanna miss out on good seats.

[He's going to start regretting giving her that blanket permission... But this had been expected after that particular conversation and given their last "meet up," maybe not a bad thing to do something...normal. Really Eustace feels a little weird. He's been dragged to do things with other people (~~coughZidanecough~~) and this in particular is making him realize that he's been living a...fairly normal life compared to his life back home. He still participates in jobs and missions, but he never really bothered or had the time for mundane things like hanging out with others.

...Is this the kind of peace and quiet he's been wanting? Is he even suited for it?

Although he's not really thinking about it too much, little thoughts similar to it flit through his mind as he approaches the movie theater. He's about to glance at his phone to double check he's at the right place and contact Tifa when he happens to see her head popping up over the crowd. ...How excited is she about this...

Walking over, he notes she's already armed herself with refreshments and just arches a brow.]

How long have you been here?

[True to form he at least arrived right on time with maybe a couple of minutes to spare, but it's clear she's been here long enough to wait in line to get drinks and popcorn. Speaking of which, he's going to reach out and take his share. It should also be noted that although he's dressed more casually to fit the outing...he still has his gun holster strapped to his leg with Flamek visible. At least it looks natural?? Maybe???]

Not long. Wanted to get a head start on the snacks so you wouldn't have to wait in line.

[Now they have extra time to pick out a movie! Which she's about to drag him off to do, but her gaze roams to the weapon strapped to his leg and her brow wrinkles with an unamused frown.]

Did you really have to bring that?

[It's not like they're going to be fighting Godzilla or whatever monster might appear in the film. It doesn't seem that others mind or have noticed, and perhaps there are others here who have done the same, but she thinks it's a bit overkill...]

[His eyes follows hers, and he just shrugs at her question.]

Just think of it as an accessory.

[Yep. Definitely brushing it off.]

[Tifa's cheeks puff in silent defiance, but it's all she says on the manner. It's not like she can turn him around and send him home with it, so she exhales and deflates.

Her voice is a touch sharper, and she punctuates every syllable.]

Anyway... [But she's right back to her usual self soon enough.] There're a few movies to pick from. Wasn't sure what you wanted to see, so figured I'd wait on that.

[Posters line one of the walls of all the movies they have to choose, and Tifa beckons for him to follow her to where they can easily see them. There's a movie with a giant bug monster climbing a building, one about a spy called 009, a movie called Galaxy Wars that looks like a sci-fi in space, Lord of the Pendants, and a movie about a dog that plays soccer.]

[He never leaves Flamek behind okok. Especially not in this world. Should anything ever happen to it... But that's neither here nor there. He ignores her attitude and turns his attention tot he line of posters. They are...

...

Int...eresting...

His brows furrow as he wonders about this whole movie and film thing. He's at least used to videos and all that, but it's still...weird. And of course there's a slight change in expression when he sees the poster with the dog playing soccer.

Dog...playing soccer...

How would that work...

But, well, that would be silly to watch wouldn't it? Well he does kind of want to watch it... But it might be weird with Tifa. However what might have sealed its fate was him hearing and seeing numerous families and kids talking about it. Now as cute as it is for kids to watch movies, he doesn't really want to deal with their noise while trying to watch a movie for the first time.

The other one that sort of pinged his interest was Galaxy Wars if only because it made him think of his recent dealings with those from the moon. The idea of other civilizations in space is foreign but now rather real for him. Spy...he has a feeling he'd end up critiquing whatever they did so that's out. Lord of the Pendants...might could be interesting.

...]

Galaxy Wars.

[In the end he chooses the sci-fi. Would he even like sci-fi??? Who knows.

Just ignore how his eyes keep looking back at the dog int he soccer uniform as he continues to wonder how it would work... And how fun it might be...]

Edited 2021-08-06 19:13 (UTC)

[Tifa's not very picky about the choice of movie and can watch just about anything and not be bored or upset. She's much more interested in watching Eustace pick out a film, eyeing him for any shifts in his expressions while he mulls over their choices, and lo and behold...

She's surprised by his pick. She would have guessed the dog movie, but yeah... Maybe watching a movie about a dog on a soccer team is a bit farfetched. At least the sci-fi one isn't? In comparison to their own worlds, of course, space travel and blaster guns really wouldn't be that strange.

Although she doesn't miss the way his attention seems drawn to the very happy looking pup in the poster, and she tucks an idea to the back of her mind for later. For now, she pops a single piece of popcorn into her mouth with a grin.]

Galaxy Wars it is! I'll grab the tickets, wait right here.

[And off she goes to the booth to grab them. Thankfully, these lines aren't so long now that it's close to movie time, and even better: they don't have to wait long for it. And just as Tifa is handing Eustace his, she feels a prickle on the back of her neck.]

... Huh?

[She turns around to peer over her shoulder, looking for something, but... nothing seems out of the ordinary. Just a bunch of people wandering about as they do.

Weird...]

[While Eustace waits, his attention drifts...although really he just scans the area more closely. Despite it being a more casual atmosphere, it's hard to stop the habit of knowing his environment and try and spot any potential security weaknesses. Of course he isn't looking for them necessarily. Just the odd behavior here, noting the number of doors and exits, a brief calculation of how many people are in the crowd. It's all second nature that the information from even just idle observation is noted in his well trained mind.

There is something that...makes him feel a little uneasy. While he's once again observing the soccer dog movie post (Is it a golden retriever?), there's a brief moment where he feels as if he's being watched. He glances over in the direction he felt the gaze, but he doesn't see or hear anything aside from the groups of people that were already there. He even tries to look beyond, but he doesn't notice anything and the feeling disappears just as quickly as it appeared.

...

It could have just been someone staring at his ears... He's gotten used to it so he started to pay little mind to it, but maybe it's another sign he needs to learn to relax a little more. He then directs his attention to where Tifa had gone to get the tickets and sees she's already on her way back. Taking the ticket, he glances up when she looks over her shoulder.]

Something up?

Uh...

[Tifa's eyes flit to the side, and it takes all of her strength not to glance back again. Something is up, or perhaps she's just paranoid. Ever since she learned that Sephiroth is also here, she's been hard-pressed to find it in her to relax. Now, her nerves are always on edge, and the smallest prickle of anxiety feels amplified threefold.

But she isn't going to bother Eustace with any of that, so when he takes his ticket, she rubs the back of her neck, trying to will away the shivers that are there.]

No, it's nothing. Think it must've just been a draft.

[It's possible...! With a gentle nudge, she leads him over to the admissions counter, and when the boy there takes their ticket, he hands them a pair of sunglasses.]

... What're these for?

[...There is a clear look of doubt as he arches a brow at her, eye narrowing slightly. However he doesn't press as it's almost time for their movie and if it was really something troubling.........well he's not sure if she would tell him, anyway. But despite having his own odd occurrence, he tries to tell himself to not overthink things and that he doesn't have to be on guard all the time. Granted a little might not hurt, but for now he'll just follow Tifa over the counter.

...And stare at the odd glasses. Why would they need to wear sunglasses...?

But the attendant is quick to answer.

"Oh, first time using them? These are special 3D glasses! Just put them when the movie starts and the images on the screen will look like they're popping out! It's pretty cool with certain effects, really makes things feel more realistic."]

...Hm. Interesting.

[He's familiar with more simple holographic imagery and has heard of holographic projection but not quite like this.]

I had no idea!

[This is so cool! Tifa's seen holographic projections before, stood in them even, but Shinra propaganda doesn't have quite the same flair to it as a sci-fi movie. She takes her hair with excitement, looking to Eustace to gauge his reaction with a glimmer in her eyes, and then she's off to the theatre, dragging him along with her with a thank you to the attendant.]

I've never seen a 3-D movie before. Heard about them, but they were always so expensive.

[The theatre itself is almost full, with plenty of people already having chosen their seats by the time they enter the dim room. There are some near the back in the centre that she eyes, and points.]

Guess there's a first for everything, and today we're knocking out two for you.

[While he's not as excited as she is, he at least looks a little interested. Which is a giant step up from always looking like he's indifferent or bored or something. But then he's dragged along until reach the theatre. Following up the steps, he glances at the crowd around them, reminded of the packed seats of a theatre house back in his world.]

So it would seem. I didn't think there would be other ways to watch movies...are there other methods? [~~does imax exist—~~

And after they reach a pair of empty seats right at the very back row—something Eustace does not mind as taking the highest point is more natural for him, anyway (and he gets to avoid having people kick the back of his seat or hear annoying talking)—he looks at the glasses curiously.

...

How...should he wear this. Will it stay on if he just stuck the arms through his hair and have it balance on the bridge of his nose? Maybe he could just hold it and pretend to be one of those aristocrats wearing opera glasses in the box seats—]

[Tifa, too, wonders how he plans to wear them, and watches with keen eyes as he looks them over. She hasn't spotted another set of ears on the sides of his head, so he couldn't wear them the way she does, so her gaze flicks up to the ones atop his head.]

I think they need to sit on straight to work.

[Or else he'll get a weird, blurry image through the entire movie and come out of it with only a headache, and the last thing she wants is for it to sour his first experience.

A brow shoots up.]

How do you wear glasses...?

I don't.

[Just a blunt answer as he continues to ponder this.]

Only sunglasses on occasion and those are designed for Erunes. There are attachments that can also be used with human designed glasses.

[After frowning a bit he just puts on the glasses. The arms do go through his hair and he can feel the weight of the frame precariously balancing on the bridge of his nose as he keeps it in place by holding one side of it.]

I'll just hold it like this, it's fine.

[If he leans his arm against the armrest that should help deal with the tension since he'll have to do this for almost two hours........]

[Tifa watches as he takes up an entire armrest, lips parted in amusement and confusion while he presses his finger to his nose.]

That'll get old pretty quick.

[From where she's sitting, it doesn't look very comfortable, so she's just going to place her own on top of her head and—very gently—tug the glasses off from over his face. With a firm enough grip, she's able to bend the plastic arms until they face upward, hopefully far enough that he'll be able to slide them over his ears.

And then, she reaches out to slide them back onto his nose.]

Might have to tilt your head back a bit, but it's better than sitting with a hand over your face the whole movie.

[First she invades his personal space to take off the glasses. And now his eyes widen slightly when she actually bends the arms. It's not like the thought didn't occur to him, but given that he's under the assumption these are the theater's, he didn't want to risk damage to them. But it's too late to try and stop her so he can only watch with a slightly troubled look. Fortunately they don't break and it looks like he can set them back to normal later...

But oh hello, she's putting on the glasses for him.

...She really goes at her own pace, huh. But all right let's see. He reaches up to adjust the glasses, feeling the hooks just barely catching the back of his ears.]

...Hmm... This should do for now. But what were you going to do if you broke them?

Get new ones?

[Tifa's answer comes so swiftly that she can hardly contain that matter-of-fact tone of hers. It's not as if the theatre is in any shortage of glasses, and they really should be making them with their customers in mind. As it would seem, not everyone has ears like humans do, and that might be something she'll have to consider politely bringing up with management later. Surely Eustace isn't the only person with a set of ears like that in this place...?

She's about to invade his personal space again when she sees how crooked they sit and readjusts the arms around his ears before giving the top of his head a playful pat.]

That should do it. Now you're ready to enjoy.

[Pleased with herself, she pops a single kernel of popcorn into her mouth and chews with a grin.]

What made you pick this movie anyway? Didn't think you'd go for the sci-fi.

[He just makes a slight disgruntled sound and a look when she adjusts the glasses and gives him a pat on the head. What is he, a dog?? Though whatever look he's giving her is likely masked by the glasses.

So he just leans back in his chair to regain his personal space before answering her question.]

It was a little difficult to pick as most them looked interesting in their own right... [Except for the bug one, that just looked dumb.] But the concept of other civilizations in space is actually a new one for my world. Even if it's fictional, I thought it would be interesting to see how it could be portrayed.

Fair enough.

[A world with space civilizations... She tucks that piece of information away with all of the other smaller tidbits she's learned about him—another piece of the puzzle. And she's about to ask for more when the lights dim until the room is black, and the giant screen in front of them flickers on.]

Oh, it's starting...!

[Following the trailers for upcoming smash box office hits, the real film starts and... well, needless to say, Tifa is a little (read: very) confused. She hadn't realized that Galaxy Wars: The Kingdom Strikes Back was a direct sequel to its predecessor, The Return of the Hope, when she offered it up as an option for them. To no one's fault of course, she hasn't been around long enough to know that it was a trilogy and this was the second of the three.

At any rate, it tells the story of Luke Hamill, Indiana Solo (why does he have a whip in a space movie?), and Princess Andrea fighting against the big bad, Marth Zader in space. Zader goes after the rebel base and destroys it, kidnaps the whip-wielding Indiana Solo and the Princess. Luke searches for the wise master of the Energy Arts to learn from him, and then goes after Zader to rescue his friends and in the process, loses his foot and learns that Marth Zader is actually his second uncle, twice removed. "NOOOOO!" In between all of that, there is plenty of opportunity for spaceship wars and explosions, and even a dash of romance—Indiana Solo continues to try and woo the Princess, and their feelings rise to the surface when he is turned to ice.

~~Yes, it's basically a Chinese bootleg version of The Empire Strikes Back.~~

And the movie ends on a cliffhanger that has the entire audience, except for Tifa, up in arms about how it ended.

...

...]

Well, that was... uhhh, interesting. Not sure I understood most of the story, though...

[That's, uh... Yeah. The plot...he could sort of follow, but it seemed more like some kind of overblown soap opera. And what was with the characters? Grootdoot and Rocky a giant raccoon... A significant amount of budget was certainly used as the effects were well done. The 3D aspect was also interesting, and he was amazed at how added to the realism, affecting his senses so that he actually flinched a bit whenever there were a few surprise pop outs that he didn't anticipate.

But...yeah. Not exactly his type of movie, but he could give it credit for entertainment value.]

It reminded me more of a soap opera with the dramatic storylines and reveals. Given that it's a sequel I expect it would have made more sense if we had seen the first.

The production value was more than I expected.

[Okay, to be fair, Grootdoot was her favourite character, and she would absolutely watch a full-length feature film on him.

The audience is starting to rise through the credits, with music that's as big and dramatic as the rest of the film. Tifa waits a little longer, and chooses to kill some of that time munching on her popcorn while they wait for most of the crowd to clear.]

Guess we'll just have to find time to see the first one.

[It was dramatic, to be sure, but she still had a good time. The movie had its moments, and maybe it's silly, but the love story spoke to the hopeless romantic in her. She isn't going to admit that out loud to anyone, least of all to Eustace, though.

And she's about to open her mouth when— Huh? —there it is again. That shiver that comes screaming up the back of her neck. Could it be the draft? Even then, it isn't that cold, and it shouldn't leave that uneasy feeling in her stomach. Tifa turns in her seat, only just far enough that she can look behind her, and when she does...

There's a woman a few rows back, staring right back at her. What in Shiva's icy tits...?

She immediately jumps to her feet, almost dropping the half-empty bag of popcorn.]

Uh, we should go... Give them some room to clean, yeah?

...We're watching another?

[Yes, he is asking and looking at her as if this has never occurred to him and as if she's dragging him into something troublesome. Which...it really isn't, but it's still a strange idea to him.

But then her expression...changes? His brows furrow slightly as he watches her look back, and he's about to do the same to see what caught her attention when she suddenly jumps up. He even hastily reaches out to grab the popcorn before it falls and just looks up at her bewildered.]

What?

[As he rises up, he looks back then, but the woman had already disappeared, leaving only a few other stragglers talking about the movie and waiting for the "hidden egg" or whatever.

Reminded of her peculiar behavior from before and sensing something amiss, he looks back at her.]

Tifa, what's wrong?

[At this point the woman that had been glaring at Tifa is on the far side on the stairs behind Eustace, and she's once again just staring at them before vanishing as another person passes her, as if disappearing into thin air.]

[Tifa spots the flicker of her before she vanishes behind the line of people leaving—it's so fast that she thinks she likely hallucinated it, but she's not going to waste any time in getting them outside into open air and a wider space, where she can easily see everything and everyone.

She ponders it for a moment before she loops an arm through Eustace's and presses herself close, and nudges him out of the theatre, still looking back at the stairs every now and then. Meanwhile, she's close enough that she's able to whisper to him without running the risk of someone else hearing her.]

Outside. Just... stay close, okay?

[Whoever this woman is, Tifa has a bad feeling about her, and her intuition is usually right. So once they're out in the open, through the front doors of the building, Tifa brings him to the wall and gazes around.]

There was someone in the theatre. Don't know what it was, but... I didn't like the way she was looking at us.

[He is so confused and just stares at her startled when she loops her arm and pulls him to her. He opens his mouth to speak but stops at her words. Seeing her tense... He just frowns slightly before following her lead as they head outside. Once there, he positions himself so that he's slightly in front of her, arm leaning against the wall as if trying to shield her. His head is also lowered closer towards hers. Not too much into her personal space, but enough so that they can keep their voices low as they speak.

Of course it will look a lot different to others but he isn't thinking about that.

Instead he just listens to what she has to say and his eyes sharpen.]

What do you mean? What did she look like?

Edited 2021-08-24 17:02 (UTC)

[Even Tifa is surprised by their proximity, but... well, if she hadn't just been stared to death with daggers for eyes, she might have said something. However, she's far too preoccupied with looking past him at the crowds, eyes darting left and right to try finding the woman.]

Uh... Brown hair, medium length? She's wearing a green shirt and—

[Her words suddenly catch in her throat when she makes eye contact with her at the other end of the theatre's wide entrance. There she is staring right back at her. If looks could kill...]

Twelve o'clock.

fifth shot ⊗ open august log

🎬🍿

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

wrapping!

with a nice bow