[Open] 🚬 June Flames

[burnitblack]

Who: Dabi & others
What: June Catch-All
When: Various
Where: June

Content Warnings: Potential mentions of domestic/child abuse, potential mentions of murder, violence, adult language or subjects

Notes: General and specific starters will be below. More to come, including event prompts. Contact under cut.

If you want to hit me up for ideas on prompts or plots, feel free to comment on Dabi's CR plotting post or his Event plotting post (tbd), hit me up on my contacts – Plurk (StarSeed69) / Discord (StarSeed#3572) – shoot me a PM, or drop an ooc comment down below, and we’ll hash it out. I'm down to write a unique starter for our threads if you prefer.

NOTE: I'll be with limited computer access the first week of June, and will get event prompts up when I return.

Comments

[swellter]

Algae grows fast in still water. The water here isn't flowing that much. It's mostly still. If the boat was in the water for a few days, the bottom would be covered in a layer of algea which is sticky and slimy. [ Hence, touching it. ] There's not much of a layer on the boat which means it hasn't been in the water for very long.

[ He rolls back onto his heels and stands. ] It doesn't mean someone's here, only that the boat hasn't been here long.

[ He was taught detective work at UA, so he takes what he says and adds it to the image he's forming in his head of their current situation. ]

Hikers use piles of rocks to indicate where they've been. Maybe they're exploring like us.

[ Did they... get lost? He almost frets at the thought and looks over Touya's shoulder. ]

We can check out one of the tunnels. Maybe there's something of interest there that made them take it.

[burnitblack]

Kinda like the slime in the sewers. [about what he's going to compare it to, since marinas are not places he's been to in his life. none he recalls at least. shouto's explanation works well enough, though he's not about to go touching the damn thing.

touya reaches out with a leg and props the sole of his foot on the rim of the boat's side, then gives it a slight push to rock it atop the shore and the water, sending a few ripples out into the water.]

If the boat's not been here long, then it means someone was here recently. [unless it's been drifting for a while, and just now got stuck in this part of the river. so far nothing's jumped out of the water or made any other movement, so he's deeming the river relatively safe... for now. not going in it though.] They are. Met two other people explorin earlier. One yesterday and one the day before.

[they made sure to leave marks or signs that they went one way or the other.]

If someone's already been down a tunnel, then they either already found what might've been in there, or died in the process.

[so an argument for going down a previously-explored tunnel, with the pros being traps already sprung, but the cons being, provided the explorers survived the dangers, anything of worth already being gone.

oh and finding dead people.]

[swellter]

[ He's not wrong with that analogy. Not that he has enough time to examine why he'd think about the sewers first when he abruptly walks up to the boat and shoves it straight into the water. He's going to assume you want to go that route. ]

You've been here before?

[ Somehow, he didn't peg you as the underground explorer type and adds that little nugget of information to his image of him. Also... why do you have to bring up dead people?! Can't they just have a nice outing without someone dying?! ]

You want to explore the down the river?

[ He's just going to casually invite himself on his little trip down the river and climb aboard, creating a long pole made of ice to guide them through. ]

[burnitblack]

[oy! he didn't shove it into the fucking water! he just rocked it! not his fault the boat was only "gently" run aground and thus a simple rock or two was enough to dislodge it back into the water. well... at least this would tell them whether the river's current really is strong enough to carry a boat or if they'll have to go punting along the shore... which'll mean needing sticks or something to push with.

as for the sewers... take a wild guess.]

I've been down in the cave twice before since they appeared.

[he's not the underground explorer type, but he's curious and this was the "thing" that was happening right now. plus there are some items down here that he's heard are interesting if you can recover them, so that's an allure.

don't blame him! blame the people who were too weak/stupid to stay alive. sheesh. always gotta blame the villain... how heroic.]

It'd be the easier route.

[touya gets in the boat. almost immediately regrets it when the damn thing wobble. oh fuck... carsick is one thing. but this shit? he immediately sits down he braces himself, trying to stop the boat from moving much. keep steady, steady...]

[swellter]

[ Twice now. Was he looking for something? There were treasures down here, maybe he was searching for that.

If he were more self-aware he'd notice the way he wobbles onto the boat, bracing himself, trying to keep steady. Almost as if he didn't like the water. Shouto on the other hand doesn't get sea sick. He stays upright, ice pole in hand. He's used to surfing through the streets with his ice or flying through the air with his fire. The boat's unsteady motion doesn't phase him.

Once he's in, he pushes off the bottom of the river with the pole, propelling them forward like some kind of gondolier. ]

What are you looking for down here?

[ He asks as he maneuvers them into the tunnel where the glow worms provide a glowing blue light to their travels. ]

[burnitblack]

[searching. exploring. wasting time. whatever you want to call it, he was doing it. though he didn't spend a long time down here and certainly wasn't engaging in it often. not worth his hide to risk himself frequently.

well how fucking lucky for the perfect golden child. didn't have to deal with queasy stomachs like the rest of his mere mortal siblings. touya lets shouto handle the punting, leaning back in the boat instead and resting his arms on either side. ostensibly to allow himself a way to keep the thing as balanced as possible. so long as it's not wobbling back and forth with any frequency, he'll be fine. there's a big difference between flying under his own power and being stuck at the mercy of a car or boat.

start singling like some gondolier and he's gonna throw you overboard...]

Not sure... heard a few things from people. Lunar orbs, tools for makin bloodstones, books, even items from other worlds.

[huh, that's kinda pretty actually. the worms and what they do to the black water and cave walls.]

[swellter]

[ He's used to adjusting his weight with changing surfaces when he rides his ice, this isn't any different. It's all in the details, small changes to keep your balance, all of it instinct by now giving him the freedom to focus on driving them forward with his gondola-like ice pole.

Singing costs extra and Touya's already getting a free ride mainly because Shouto invited himself in as he usually does with his brother. ]

I found an item from another world the last time I was down here. It cursed me with corruption. I was with two people who can nullify it. [ So, he lived. ] Not all the items are safe, you should be careful what you pick up.

[ Be careful what you wish for~ ]

[burnitblack]

[don't rock the boat and he won't snarl. simple agreement that was never made, right? touya's a little more at ease with the ride, looking up at the glowing worms at the top of the cave. his eyes wander along the sides every now and then, half for exploration, half to make sure there's no markings something or someone has been coming this way. the river's gotten larger as well... so that's worth noting.

though he really has no evidence to the contrary, the idea of taking the river boat versus going down one of the unknown tunnels was more appealing to him. don't sing...]

I got gloves. I'll be fine. [they're in his pocket, like they usually are nowadays.] Found a lunar orb on my second time down here. [the ninja he met along the way was actually an interesting travel companion. touya wouldn't mind meeting him again further down the line.] Wouldn't mind findin those tools. I'd rather be able to make bloodstones myself.

[swellter]

[ Don't snarl and he won't rock the boat. Maybe if he told him not to rock it, he'd make a greater effort not to. You know, communicating your feelings. What you want. What you don't. You do realize he's a literal idiot, right? He's never going to 'read between the lines'. So he can either live with it, or tell him.

Gloves might help, as far as the lunar orb is concerned, well... that is a treasure isn't it? ]

What do they look like? The Bloodstone tools?

[ He keeps pushing them steadily down the still and quiet river. Above them, the glowing blue lights mesh together to create an otherworldly scene. Almost like they were passing through a wonderland of sorts which means it can't last. Nothing worth having in their lives ever does. ]

The river splits up ahead. Which way do you want to take?

Right or left?

[burnitblack]

[rock first, snarl second. didn't tell the lizard off for his driving until he drove like a maniac. and he does communicate his feelings. what little of them he actually has left. he told you that during the war. so far shouto's not done anything that's made him want to communicate those preferences, so he's content to rest where he is.

yeah, he's partial to the lunar orbs since they serve as electricity in this world. which means... someone's got a working toaster oven in his place. and a mini fridge. he found a lot of shit that month.]

No clue. Mostly third-hand talk.

[touya has some idea about it being smaller chisels and some magnifying glasses, but he's not really sure. though he's interested in getting his hands on them. might be more willing to do blood trades if he's the one controlling his own blood.

so long as they don't encounter glowing mushrooms with hookah-smoking caterpillars...

the question and split earn narrowed eyes and touya turns his head to look at the paths. clicking his tongue he orders shouto not to move, then carefully sits up and turns around, both hands on either side of the boat as he faces forward. once they get to the split---stab the pole into the ground, shouto--he lingers, tilting from side to side and breathe down one tunnel, and down the other.]

Left. The current is stronger at left and the air isn't stale. It's got more chance of leading to an exit. The right's likely a dead end or a drain we can't pass.

[how's that for some sewer crawl knowledge...]

[swellter]

[ Ah... and here he is still living in the stone age with no electronics to speak of. If he had the blood to spare he'd get a lunar orb or two. But considering his expenses getting ripped off! he can't afford one.

Well, they're in the same boat there. He has no clue what those bloodstone tools look like either, so he won't be of much help in that department. At least Dabi has an inclining of what to look for.

The order has him looking of his shoulder, but his legs remain planted on the ground, knees slightly bent to absorb the unsteady shifting of the boat that comes with Touya's movement behind him. Not sure what he's up to, Shouto follows his lead without complaint, stabbing the pole into the water at the split.

Oh... That's actually pretty impressive. He has no issue with his logic and turns left, dipping the pole into the water and finding that it comes up short by a foot within a few strokes. ]

The water is deeper here. It also gets wider up ahead.

[ He leads them down the left fork, noting one other thing. ] There's a pretty strong current here.

[ Strong enough to take them to their destination if they want to drift. Somehow, that doesn't seem to be in the books. ]

How did you know to look for that back there?

[burnitblack]

[hey, he had to find out that kinda stuff for himself. initially he thought it was the feudal ages for all of them. but after learning about the lunar orbs and the way they worked to power things, and that there were some technological things still in this world, it was a changed perspective. good to know. hence why he grabbed electronics in his month-long thieving.

yeah, no one was all that helpful with the information offering when he'd poked around for more answers. so going in semi-blind, but knowing what kind of thing you wanted to come out with, wasn't entirely a horrible way to venture.

with their route picked, touya opts to stay facing forward to watch what's coming ahead of them, though it's likely not his best plan due to the current picking up. this better not turn into some kinda aqueduct roller coaster. shouto's comment about the depth doesn't help much and he scowls at the glowing tunnel ahead of them.]

Great. [he sounds so thrilled with his choice. faster current means getting outside faster too, so... the wider tunnel also suggests something with banks, or a place to pull out of the current if needed.]

Ain't my first time being in subterranean places, Shouto.

[if the current starts to quicken at a more noticeable pace, however, he's going to direct the younger man to keep the boat towards the side in case they need to bail or halt.]