[OPEN] I'll cut through the mirage then

[heart_demands]

🧙 WHO: Shinsou and new CR (which is everyone!)
⚔️️ WHAT: Magic Training (Kinetic and Siphon), Quests, and Familiar Bonding time.
🕒 WHEN: April (catchall)
🗺️ WHERE: See prompts.
⚠️ WARNINGS: n/a - will edit if they come up.

[[ Action Tags or Prose are fine; I'll match. I just didn't want to write the prompts in tiny font. ]]

A: Achieve the future with our might / Hearts alight, Still we fight! [Magic Training: Kinetic and Siphon]

Shinsou leaves early in the morning each day to go to the Training Grounds that Yaoyorozu told him about. People who knew better than him declared that his magic type was "e;Kinetic"e;, but he hadn't managed to do much more with it yet. He was getting over the difference between a Quirk that required interacting with someone else and this magic that he could just... make happen all on his own. Ironically, it was a much more internal experience, even for someone whose Quirk was all about the mind.

Yet, when he wakes up surrounded by thorns and doesn't find any answers on AOL as of April 1st, he gets frustrated. "I really am behind," he mutters in frustration as he clears the sleep from his eyes that morning. The perpetual bags are still there, of course, but he forces himself out of bed anyway. In the following days, he ends up learning more about what Kinetic magic can actually do, and what even newer abilities he can unlock. Eventually, he'll uncover that those abilities don't connect to Kinetic magic at all. They're something else entirely: Siphon.

If anyone on the Training Grounds mentions or demonstrates similar kinds of abilities, he'll approach with a quiet regard at first - just watching from a seemingly respectful distance, albeit for perhaps a creepy amount of time. "So what was that all about?"

• Physical prowess could get his attention very easily. "You build that up where you came from, or just while you've been here?"
  
• Just as much though, people who don't move much at all but wield magic out in front of them: "You've got a calm air about you for someone using a new skill."
  
• For the people who didn't look human, he would approach a bit differently still - his informal drawl is still there, but his words don't have any bite to them: "Didn't mean to stare. You'd think there'd be more people who didn't look like me around here. 'S pretty common at my school, but less common around here. Was just watching you use your magic."

B: There's bright blue sky behind it! (I'll be singing to the sky) [Quests]
[Salacious Sailors]

Shinsou is nothing if not ambitious. While hunting for answers on AOL, he eventually finds the bounties on the pirates: their Captain for 500KG, another 1.5MG for each ship, totally 5MG for all four bounties. That's the kind of thing to get Shinsou's attention in a heartbeat. Not only would it make buying things around here a lot easier, but he figures it'll make a hell of an impression.

The first step would be scoping the place out, along with anyone else who feels like they can handle this kind of stealth mission. They'll need costumes, intelligence, and the right kind of skillset to get in. He won't go into many details over AOL other than a meeting place, then discuss further plans in person, along with the scope of what they want out of working with him - a ship, the captain, or both.

[[ OOC: I'd prefer to only play capturing the captain once, then 1 ship per thread, min 3 max 4 threads, but any number of additional threads for just casing the joint - or maybe a failed attempt! ]]

[Labyrinth Part 2: Reserved for Deku]

It starts with a simple voicemail. "Hey, Midoriya. Uraraka thinks I should give you a chance, so here it is: what do you know about this Labyrinth? Until then." And he hangs up. Simple as that, for now.

[Any others? Wildcard me! :D ]

C: 'Cause I've been meaning to tell you / Those things I should've told you [Familiar Bonding]

Every so often throughout the month - depending on how wet you want to get - you can find Shinsou hanging around in the rain. Normally, he would have some kind of poncho or umbrella, but not so much. He does try to position himself under awnings and roofs, but always at an edge - somewhere near one of the big puddles or rivers or even the Lady's lake.

"Protostega."

Out of the rainy mists, a turtle fully 3 meters long emerges; if it doesn't seem to take a long time, it's because those flippers are so big. "So I was right. That is your name." The creature nods its head in understanding. "Well, I know you come and go as you please, but if you're the reason I have this magic now... I might need to rely on you even more. I've got to do big things, and soon. So if you like water all that much, this weather should help me out, right?"

He gets a head tilt for that logic.

"Hm. Maybe not. Alright. Well then... as long as you lay low while I'm working, that's good enough for me for now. You just watch." He raises his hand into a fist while pulling it tight to his chest. "Quirk or no quirk, I'm not gonna let people underestimate me anymore. Not here, not anywhere. Leave it to me."

That time Protostega bows its head and it stays there, giving Shinsou a much warmer feeling. Then, it slinks away into the rain again.

The conversations vary throughout the month, with Shinsou giving Protostega updates, and occasionally asking questions that don't get any answers, but he keeps asking in the hopes that maybe Protostega does talk like some other familiars. Does he know what these Fairies are? Is Merlin as important as he makes himself sound? Is this the "rainy season" for this country, or will the rain stop soon? What's up with two magic types? Any sort of tidbit he can think of.

In particular, the more water there is later in the month, Shinsou will be traveling through those flooded areas alongside Protostega at a leisurely walking pace... above the water level. He's practicing his Kinetic "flight" by just focusing on hovering. Depending on if his concentration gets broken, you might catch him falling into the water - or pulling himself back up out of it afterwards.

D: Don't you laugh at me, laugh along with me / I need you... to reach my destination [.*]

Catchall! Wildcard! Plot with me! Find me on plurk frudence or discord frudence#7874 and let's chat!

Comments

B

[friendsallover]

[Not really one to pass up a job, Din's been keeping an eye on both Quest boards. The Dark web is definitely closer to his skillset and the types of jobs he's done before. Not that he prefers them, but someone has to do them and it might as well be him.

He's a little surprised to see Shinsou at the designated meeting place. Seems there's a lot of interesting kids running around, if nothing else. Granted he was doing much the same at their age.]

You Shinsou?

Re: B

[heart_demands]

[ Shinsou turns at the voice and nods. ]

That's me. Don't know that I was planning on going after those guys tonight, but you're certainly dressed for some action, huh?

[ Now to see if the man would balk at working with a 'kid' like one of the Pro Heroes back at U.A. ]

[friendsallover]

Never hurts to be prepared.

[Din replies with a shrug. Granted, he's not completely kitted out if this is meant to be a scouting mission, but you never know when something's going to go south.]

So, what are we looking at here?

[heart_demands]

First thing to figure out is how you feel about subtlety, taking targets alive, and steering a ship. I heard there were 4 rewards to consider, 1 human.

[ That's a short list, but he figures it covers the basics. ]

If that's worth sticking around to discuss more, then you can add what I should call you in return.

[friendsallover]

[Why does everyone keep asking for his name? He's nobody and and would like to stay that way.]

Mando works.

Otherwise, generally positive to everything you mentioned. I know I can't really blend in, but there are other ways around.

A

[crimsongirl]

Fortunately, Homura didn't mind people watching her; it was just training after all. She tended to do the same thing when it came to fights, learning how others used their magic, mostly to try and mimic and evolve the concept. It was how she learned to boost her speed with wind magic, using it quite similarly to how she moved before. The issue though, slowly being ironed out, was the ice magic she practiced with when moving too tended to freeze her in place at inconvenient times. Now there were just small fragments left in her wake. Occasionally, she might be tripped up while on the ground, though in the air, there were no such issues.

After landing and slashing a training doll clean in half, she sheathes her swords, all while staring at Shinsou finally speaking up. "Guess you could call it mixed. I'm more used to moving like this back in my world since I was a little kid, but I got nerfed down, so gotta use magic to make up for the shortcomings. Kinda like starting from square one."

At least some strength was still there, given how she didn't use magic for those swords yet.

Re: A

[heart_demands]

"Nerfed down, huh?" So it wasn't just the ones with Quirks from his... 'world', if they were going with that terminology. This girl referenced a video game concept, so... "Sounds like our 'worlds' are similar, then." Especially if it was from when she was younger.

"You're used to amplifying your physical attacks with something like magic?" Even if she did have Elemental magic, he figures he could try to learn some pointers.

Re: A

[crimsongirl]

"Kinda sorta. Probably easier if I just explain. Basically, I'm a shinobi, but those who train to be one rely on more than just intense physical strength. Like right now, you would just call that my base form."

And for the first time in a long while, she pulls out a scroll from her pocket, showing it to Shinso.

"This is supposed to amplify my power more by transforming. But in this world, I can't do that anymore, and even my base power has been cut by a ton. So I gotta rely on magic to even feel like half of my old self."

It's why she could move this fast without throwing up; barring blood loss but she doesn't want to ever bring that up.

Re: A

[heart_demands]

An item that amplifies your power did make sense to him, as a parallel to his own world. Pro Heroes needed gear, sometimes for aesthetics but often not. A lot of them had Quirks made more useful through Support Equipment. That was something he had to study a fair bit about in the General Studies course.

"This scroll... you had it when you arrived here, even though it doesn't power you up here?"

A strange parallel was occurring to him, but he couldn't figure out why that parallel should exist. If the items that were in that Shit Box included things like her scroll, did that explain the two mystery items that 'belonged' to him, but didn't remember owning?

Re: A

[crimsongirl]

"Guessing we arrive with what we value most. Even if it's a glorified paper weight here, this scroll is still important to me."

It was more than just a mere tool. It connected with her soul, brought out all the power no other tool could provide. To lose her abilities sucked, but losing what she had since childhood would have been far more devastating.

A.

[floatsaway]

[Ochako actually comes to the training grounds quite often, and had made it a bit of a routine to come at least every other day, to keep up with her workout and to try and practice both her martial arts and her magic. This time around, she's starting things off with a solid workout of her martial arts - shaolin crane style. It's not one she uses very often, but one that Ochako likes nonetheless, mainly because its focus is so rooted in maintaining one's balance and center of gravity.

There are others practicing their magic against her, too. Hilariously enough, kinetic magic users like herself and Shinsou alike. They're firing off small objects at her, Ping-Pong balls and plastic discs, as she balances on a slightly elevated platform...about three feet from the ground. Twisting and jerking away from the projectiles, Ochako is doing...pretty damn well balancing on just the one leg and avoiding being struck. Gravity, after all, is something she's highly attuned to. But it is strenuous all the same, as she wobbles just slightly on the platform as she exhales and slowly drops the positioning of one of her katas to go back to her neutral pose.]

Re: A.

[heart_demands]

[ Shinsou doesn't know that she has kinetic powers yet. The longer he watches her defend against magic users, he's not sure they do either. They might as well just be decent baseball pitchers with speed and no aim. ]

So that's the Hero Course.

[ He mutters approvingly from a distance, knowing that those skills would apply as a Pro Hero just as well, being able to neutralize people of all Quirk types without expending any energy of her own.

For his part, he'd only barely managed to "climb" up a tall pole with Kinetic magic to boost his personal strength, which isn't great, and has been perched up there watching everyone attacking Uraraka. When he sees her 'dropping' to neutral pose, he stands and 'glides' down to the ground to approach her. ]

I took your advice, by the way. Thought you might like to know.

[ Still purposefully enigmatic as always, Shinsou is also wondering if Deku already blabbed to her about the initial contact. ]

[floatsaway]

[Indeed - there is not magic being used yet from Ochako, simply what she's learned both back home from Gunhead as well as here in this world, from another marital arts master she's practiced with, and learned from. She's very good, and it shows, though it's clear that even Ochako's not perfect - a few items managing to just graze her arms and torso, making her wobble a bit on the heightened stand before she realigns herself on one leg...indeed like a crane.

Blinking, Ochako looks up, then beams when she sees her fellow UA student, waving her hands at the people for them to stop (so they don't hit him by mistake), and Ochako actually hops down from the platform and stretches a little bit.]

Hi, Shinsou-kun!! Mmmh...what advice was that again? Eh...hehe, I don't remember. [Because Ochako's not...the brightest in her class, cough.]

[heart_demands]

Uh... to give Midoriya a chance? Working together as schoolmates?

[ He pauses while she starts stretching. He was already a little embarrassed to have to re-explain this out loud like that, and as much staring as he'd done, it shouldn't have mattered to keep staring up close... but it is different because of how much more... high-definition things are this close.

He looks off to the platform she just jumped down from, grimace still in place. ]

Plus Ultra?

[floatsaway]

[If Ochako noticed Shinsou staring, she made no real note of it. Not like she hasn't stared or closely watched different classmates and students in general back home. Hell, Ochako has had to watch, in length, a lot of her classmates recently...and remember things about her friends' quirks, even those not here - like Kaminari and even Iida.]

OH!! You really started working with Deku-kun and the others?! I'm so glad! [Really and truly, and the sincerity and delight on her face is very apparent as Ochako seems to hop a bit in place. This is wonderful!! It's just like the joint training exercises!! Shinsou was rough around the edges for sure, but his quirk was such an asset to Tsuyu's team...and if not for him, Deku's quirk would have gone wild when it did, and she never would have been able to save him on her own...] I'm sure they're happy, too, Shinsou-kun, you're a wonderful ally to have!

Did you come here to train? Let's do it together!! I finished my martial arts just now, so I wanted to practice some of my magic next.

b labyrinth part 2

[fullgauntlet]

[When Izuku gets the message at first he debates if he dreamed it real or not. But when he listens to it again he's pleasantly surprised that it really is a message from Shinsou. He's actually taken part in the quest beforehand so after some fussing with himself he does return the message.]

Ah- Shinsou-kun? It's Midoriya. [Yes, he probably knows!!] I was able to search some of the libraries that are in the labyrinth before with a friend about a month ago. I guess the labyrinth is infested with slimes now. Are you thinking of investigating?

Re: b labyrinth part 2

[heart_demands]

Libraries, huh... So maybe they're after information...

[ He takes a deep breath and responds, this time a bit more directly. ]

Yeah. I wanted to investigate. Heard there was some kind of reward involved, but it sounded like they only expected people who'd been there before to want to go back. I thought you might be one of them.

[ Another question that wasn't a question. ]

[fullgauntlet]

[...!!]

Y-yeah! I am- The last time I was down there it was heavily guarded by spectres as well. It's fairly dangerous so it's better not to go alone.

[Which means?? Izuku might be trying to hide that hopeful little high note in his tone.]

W-would you like to work with me, Shinsou-kun? I'll go with you and I'll be more than happy to split the rewards with you.

[heart_demands]

[ Geez Midoriya, slow your roll, he's trying here. He pauses - and intentionally takes a calming breath. ]

Spectres. Explain what those are first before I make that decision. The rewards don't really matter to me.

[ Not so much as the prestige - and learning how these things work in the first place.

... But he's gotta admit that it's tempting, knowing that Midoriya's already been down there once. ]

[fullgauntlet]

[He can't help it, he's been wanting a chance to work with Shinsou for a while and a chance to make up for their first meeting. Working with Shinsou would be a good thing! And he hopes this might be his chance to maybe smooth things over and be ... hopefully, a friend?]

Aha... Well, while I was down there Nanaki-san and I ran into floating lanterns that would attack us if they spotted us in their light. Spectres are a lot like ghosts or I guess in this case... poltergeists? Either way, they're like spirits but are aggressive. But I don't think they're the issue down there anymore.

[Mutter mutter.]

I think the slime infestation would be our goal to deal with first and foremost.

A; hope you don't mind the format change!

[eardrums]

[Jiro's been spending a lot of time training out here, herself; she may have the physical manifestation of her quirk, but without being able to actually use it, she has no choice but to rely on the magic she's been given instead.
Right now? She's settled by herself in front of a pile of debris from others' training; her main goal is to figure out all the ways she can control her magic.
Obviously, hand gestures are the main way to go.
One hand lifts, and she manages to pull up a bit of debris with it. She drops it and moves to the other hand, lifting debris up like that as well.

But after a moment of thought, one of those quirkless jacks of hers points at a chunk of cement, and after a second... that starts to lift, too.
Though, maybe that's not too surprising, considering who this is.

She stops and drops all of it when Shinsou finally makes his presence known, however.
"You've got a calm air about you for someone using a new skill." ... his statement gets her to look down at her hand with an extra bit of thought.]

I mean... I was focusing pretty hard. I think it'd be hard for anyone to look stressed when they get in the zone, right?

Not at all, I just got caught up in RL

[heart_demands]

Guess that's true.

[ If not for the ears, he might not have remembered her as a member of his class. He wondered if she recognized him. Best not to be any more forward than he already has been. ]

Still didn't expect to find anyone here who could get in the zone when it came to Magic, since I thought it was pretty new to everyone. I would've thought it would depend on how similar the Magic here worked to the abilities people were used to before. Would you say that applies to you?

oh yeah, i hope the move and stuff when smoothly!

[eardrums]

[Jiro smiles a little - just a little - and her jacks lift in curious little curves.]

You're testing me, right? Wording it like that... Just cause I'm not jumping up and down doesn't mean I don't remember you.
It hasn't been that long since the joint training. At least for me.

[... Though she's casually stepping around needing to use his name. It's fine, that's what Momo's for!
She's basically Jiro's memory bank, at this point.]

But nah, it's not all that similar to my Quirk at all. You saw me use it back then, right?
Blasting out sound and telekinesis are pretty different... it can be kinda hard to figure out what I'm doing with it, sometimes.
That's how I end up zoning out. I gotta focus when I'm trying out something new with it.

An ongoing process! But thank you

[heart_demands]

'Remember me? Joint Training? No wonder so many of them got skittish around me. Gotta keep her talking...'

Sorry, my bad. Let me rephrase. You were moving your hands a lot just not, as well as your ear-plugs. I don't know how you invoked your Quirk down to physical gestures. Everybody else has lost their Quirks, so with your ear-plugs still there, I wasn't sure what that meant in your case.

[ Especially since their Cavalry teams hadn't clashed; he'd only been able to observe her from a distance, and even then it was because she was the 'horse' in front for her team. ]

I have to ask a lot of questions, you see, since my Quirk was Emitter type and yours looked like it might have been as well - now here we are both learning the Kinetic magic. That's interesting, don't you think?

[eardrums]

Sorry, but no dice. My Quirk was Mutant type. I'm pretty sure it's the only reason I can still move them around; I can't actually use them, but they've still got their muscles.

[Or tendons. Or whatever makes them move. Don't think about it too hard.
It's probably pretty weird how casual she is with how his Quirk worked back home, too... sure, she clearly knows he doesn't have it here - but muscle memory should remain, right?
Or maybe it's tendon memory?]

But if you've got any other questions, feel free to shoot. I'd be happy to help if you're stuck on something - I mean, we may as well get a head start learning how to work with each other anyway, right?