deercountry | End of May - June Catchall - Swap Meet!

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End of May - June Catchall - Swap Meet! - OTA

Who: Gaia and others.
What: Working on the house, swap meet exchanges, psychometry shenannigans!
When: End of May and into June.
Where: Feed, Crenshaw, Various

Content Warnings: None Currently. Psychometry prompts may have various, will update as needed.

Housing Project - Feed - OTA

For months, Gaia has been living in a house that could, charitably, be called a 'fixer-upper'. Most would have said 'derelict'. But through the efforts of trading for services, lots of heavy labor involved in gutting the interior (with the occasional help from old and new allies and neighboring farms), and when you get right down to it, sheer teenage stubborness, there has finally been a turning point on the old stone house the young woman sheltered in at during her arrival in the harsh months of winter.

The exterior now has a proper roof, the stones have all been firmly fixed in place with new mortar (one can follow the 'old' and 'new' by the contrasting color of the mix laying between the old stones that has yet to be properly weathered). Windows and door frames are refurbished; no longer broken wrecks with missing panes or a series of boards covering a hole. The yard around the home is still looking very ragged but that's to be expected at any construction project in progress. But there's a fenced garden growing a little ways off and it looks like the surrounding area has had someone beginning to tame it. There'll be a proper pasture and yard soon. Small but obviously suited for a family. Well only one young lady living here now but that's beside the point!

The Interior? +expand+

Glimpsing through windows might net someone the sight of base board and framework in the interior; it's still in that stage where the insulation and internal wiring needs to be placed before finished walls and flooring is considered. The only place that doesn't completely feel like a work in progress is the kitchen. Though it'll have its turn in time, it's clear that this is the primary living arrangements. A cot, belongings, a trunk and accourtemants one would expect in a common area or bedroom are as present as dishware, canned goods and cooking implements.

There's many reasons to be traveling here. A visit for the few people that probably know Gaia well enough to have been given an address. Delivering a purchase? She'll have ordered fixtures, wires or even general goods that someone could be delivering. Or arriving to do some of the work that the teen (by herself or no) can't do in the construction. She's sure to have reached out to arrange for a project or two. One could just be passing by if they happen to have business in Feed!

A brindle-furred, on the larger side of medium dog is probably wandering, following the dark-haired woman as she moves from task to task. Some time in the garden at the moment; tomatoes are just beginning to ripen and she has made a promise to Sasuke to deliver some for his teaching. There's also the general weeding and watering care that any garden needs. Though Gaia is largely focused on the efforts of her work, she's not unprotected. The dog is clearly well trained and remains alert to the surroundings; most familiar with the Dog Keeper would probably recognize the look of one of the canines he's bred and sometimes given away. And there's a fair sized (for a fish) omen that appears as a crowntail betta swimming gracefully nearby. One or other of these will no doubt alert her of danger.

Swap Meet - Crenshaw - OTA

Some might remember near the beginning of May when Gaia talked over the network about arranging a place where Sleepers and natives of Trench alike could gather and trade in items they had in excess- for better or worse a swap meet.

But arrangements to make that type of event safe needed some planning and then there was the month of May itself with everyone dealing with transformations and flowery parasites. Was June going to be any better? Odds might be against but in Trench you couldn't just stop a plan forever because it was going to be dangerous or some horror beast was going to appear. Things just wouldn't get done.

Notices, signs and network announcements would be made, some by Gaia and others depending on the source. And there would be signs pointing directly to the venue from the Watch Tower Lamp.

Weekly Swap Market +expand+

When: For the month of June, held every mid-week day from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, with an hour's break at noon.

Where: Residents of Trench will be welcome to gather south of the Watch Tower in Crenshaw and engage in the exchange of items and basic services such as repairs and contracted work.

Rules: Spaces to set out wares are marked out and will be a first come, first served basis. One space per person. Everyone will be responsible for their own items and exchanges. There will be larger areas for 'standing room' exchanges.

Prohibited items include the trade of or services dealing in blood or that may cause a potential blood spillage on site. Livestock should not be brought to the venue but preserved foods and ingredients are welcome. Transactions considered 'monetary' in nature should not be conducted. The aim is to swap and exchange items and services for every day needs. For the safety of the district and participants, requests to remove other risk items should be followed promptly.

All exchanges will be the responsibility of the parties involved to agree upon and see through. Individuals are responsible for their own possessions. Security will be focused on keeping the peace and safety of the venue at large.

All participants are expected to disperse no later than one hour before dusk to for the sake of security to the Crenshaw district.

The area in question is a somewhat wide grassy swath south of the Watch Tower's lamp location. It has a bit of landscaping and paths, generally used as a small common park for the district. Every Wednesday in June, volunteers and Hunters will keep a sharp watch on the area in case the gathering and noise attracts trouble. They will also firmly escort or request removal of anything that would bring undue attention, noise or risk to Crenshaw; not the least of which the aforementioned blood trading, but also very loud noises or commotions. But they're here for the safety of the district from the threat of beast and monsters and outright violence or incidents of blood corruption, not to serve as a policing force against theivery and fraudulent deals. Spaces to set up a table or lay a blanket to display one's offerings are marked out, leaving wide aisles to prevent clogs in any traffic of bodies. Natives of Trench and Sleepers alike are all invited to participate in the exchange of goods and services; the emphasis will be strong on daily necessities and trade over specialized products and monetary transactions.

Have a hoard of items you've picked up, collected or salvaged over the past few months and don't know what to do with the excess? Maybe your extra junk will be someone's treasure.

[OOC: Players are welcome to use the Swap Meet Comment as a place to put prompts or use this event in their own TLs. Nothing major is planned; this is meant as a form to help generate CR both old and new!]

Psychometry - Various Places - OTA

[OOC: This is a bit of a wildcard. Looking for encounters dealing with Gaia's Darkblood awakening to unbidden psychometry this month. For her it'll be an odd mix of accidental glimpses of both good and bad things mixed with an innate gift that's similar to it- see: FFXIV's 'the Echo'. HMU if you're interested in working out an encounter!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If you want to use this to place some swap meet prompts, please feel free. You're also welcome to use the idea for your own top level. It'll be every Wednesday in June barring the unforseen.

A.

The advantage of being a driving force in organizing an event is being able to scope out the venue early in. Well time will tell if many people will show up, though there's at least a few natives who have placed their own small collection of items down for consideration.

Gaia has spread a piece of clean canvas on the ground. Of the items she has to present, there's still a variety of scrap metal- mixes of iron, steel and bronze that look like they come from disassembled tools, construction, fences and simple machines that probably couldn't be fixed. The 'selling point' if you will is that they all seem to be cleaned of rust and corrosion; though much of it shows signs of familiar rust 'pitting' to suggest it was there at some point. There's quite a bit that could be useful by simply repurposing it.

But there are many kitchen tools; useful pots, pans and wrought metal utensils used in cooking, particularly with a hearth fire, but there's probably more than a thing or two that could find a place in conventional kitchens.

But what else? Some early garden vegetables, including about a dozen tomatoes, a basket of potatoes and are those strawberries? That's certainly a couple small pints nestled in obvious sight. They're small and not very even in size so it's possible she lucked into a collection in her wanderings rather than succeeded in growing them herself. There are some other herbs and spices but they seem to have been dried and stored in a much longer term than 'recent'.

Another small jewel of an item is six small containers with a sign marking them as 'handmade lotion'. It'll contain a decent quality lotion with a pleasing neutral scent of herbs. It's definitely, so Gaia will be the first to opinion, many steps above... well, lard.

Another sign notes what the teen is looking for, who will be resting for now, a brindle-furred dog at her side and looking over her omni from time to time when there's no one nearby. The sign notes things she's looking for, which consist of help with restoring a house, furniture and fabrics; and possibly items to expand a sewing kit, particularly if she came across some cloth.

B.

Later Gaia will be wandering around to look for items of other hopefuls who have spread their wares for consideration. She can't expect them all to come to her after all. The dog will stick close to her side without a leash, following well-trained etiquette while in crowds. There's an omen, a crown-tail betta floating (swimming?) in the air beside Gaia, another layer of alertness. But it's clear from his behavior that the teenaged girl is in a fairly good mood.

By now some things have been exchanged and she's obtained items that will (probably) be useful in improving her living conditions. But what other things are there to be had?

Edited 2022-06-01 03:13 (UTC)

At the start of June, Shouto gets the urge to swap many of his possessions for fruit, lots of fruit. He's a Paleblood on a mission to bleed himself dry for every piece he can get his hands on making him a prime target for the unscrupulous.

Weighed down by six full bags of the summer harvest, and feeling a little dizzy from peddling in blood, something's gotta give. In this case, it's a bag, full to bursting with papayas and dragonfruit, that finally gives. Without warning, the fruit tumbles out spilling all over the market forcing a few customers to hop out of the way. While the young man tries to save the fruit - It's just a little dirt - a few choice papayas come rolling to Gaia's feet. Please take pity on this idiot.

Six, full bags. Gaia had been observing the situation with some concern. Maybe she didn't recognize the signs of anemia or anything like that; those sacks do a lot to disguise dubious conditions but they had been pretty wobbly. And she had been considering stepping forward and lending a hand.

A step later and suddenly everything gives. Oops, a bit too late. Gaia huffs a sigh- more at herself than at Shouto's circumstance and begins to call over.

"Do you need some hel-- Uri, no!"

The dog, clearly the 'Uri' in question, had been nosing at the papaya in a way that could have been musing whether or not it should be picked up and brought over. Certainly not eaten. The teen does a bit of a whiplash motion to return to pick up the fruits she'd stepped past on the way to help Shouto putting the bags down.

"Hey, if you need help you should ask for it." Why on earth was he carrying so many bags at once anyway?

Uri hears the order and sits down, licking his chops and waiting patiently. He'll just guard the papaya then.

Edited 2022-06-01 03:44 (UTC)

Busy balancing the bags while trying to bend down and salvage the fallen fruit, he misses Gaia's first call, which is how he ends up startled when she appears in front of him and RIP! another bag tears and four pineapples hit the ground with a solid THUNK while a dozen mangos go rolling down the street towards freedom.

"Watch out!"

Shouto tries to reach them but freedom comes at a price and they get trampled by incoming traffic leaving no survivors.

Edited 2022-06-01 04:09 (UTC)

Okay now the fruit's just getting feisty! Well Gaia probably doesn't look at it that way but there's a sense of purpose in her gestures as she waves a hand at the pineapples. Rather than a 'thunk' of hittig the ground, they stop just short and lift upward, saving them from some dire crime against fruit. A darkblood's manipulation of gravity comes with benefits.

Or someone tripping and injuring themselves. The mangos? They are a terrible tragedy that she can't help. It's too late for them.

"Hold still!" Shouto is given a look that indicates that he might be the next of Gaia's levitation victims if he doesn't hold still and stop shedding fruit. But she's concerned. Really!

Just look at the way her omen is now guiding a papaya back toward the the central focus of the incident with graceful curves of his body to knock the fruit continuously forward. Uri, bless his intelligence, has begun to copy the gesture but without the grace. Sometimes it wobbles off sideways and he has to circle around to nose it properly forward. Pray consider it to be a lost cause as well by the time it arrives.

"Are you alright?" the teen finally asks Shouto.

Or doing their best to run away from a fate worse than death. Pickled plums, canned fish, honey mustard. Just your everyday ingredients for a ~~cursed~~ jam recipe. Thankfully, the display of power is enough to bring him to a halt. He stills, eyes flicking down to the floating pineapples rising in the air.

A darkblood.

Almost a year in Trench, and he can identify the blood types by their powers, and this one - gravity manipulation - belongs to only one class he's rarely come across. Maybe that's why he refrains from moving as instructed, or it could just be he's trying to preserve the other bags after two went down back-to-back.

"I'm not injured."

If anything, the mangoes - with their guts spilling into the streets - got the short end of the stick here. At least the papayas seemed to have survived the ordeal. He catches sight of one being rolled so delicately by a dog; nose to fruit with determination.

He looks a Gaia, grey and teal, settling on her with a questioning look behind those mismatched eyes.

"Is that your omen?"

Edited 2022-06-01 06:51 (UTC)

One may question if the dog is turning it into a game. Sometimes Uri pauses, dropping down low and staring intently at the Papaya to intimidate it as if it were a sheep, but then continues to roll it further. But since the goal seems to be to 'get it to Gaia', it will end with the same result.

Gaia seems to be focusing. Ingredients that can be saved, will be saved and pulled back to a collection (more terror for those who will be in a pickled jam later, no?). And the bags he's still trying to juggle? Hopefully he won't protest too much, she'll lessen the weight of them. Suddenly he'll find them far easier to heft.

"Alright. Give me a moment, I need to focus." Many scattered targets after all. Pulling out a blanket from her satchel, she puts it on the ground. And once the ingredients are grouped together, they'll be placed on top of it to be collected in a more orderly fashion. Gaia looks pleased with herself.

But she looks up and around, a little confused by Shouto's question. "What? Oh, the fish is my omen. His name is Arte. Uri is just a dog. But a rather smart one."

As though it would be perfectly normal to be uncertain whether it was the air swimming fish and not the dog that was an omen in this equation.

Fondly Gaia chides Uri as she approaches to retrieve the papaya that's nearly present. She does this is a more mundane fashion. "Here, let me have that."

This is of course so she can pet the dog fondly. "You really are smart, aren't you? Were you copying Arte?"

Arte adds the Papaya he was taking care of to the blanket. Then with a flick of the fancy fins, he's flitting off again.

Edited 2022-06-01 07:58 (UTC)

He appreciates her efforts in saving his lost ingredients. Some make it, others aren't so lucky. He'll have to wait till tomorrow because he's feeling a little too dizzy with his recent purchases. Why else would he suddenly feel the weight of the bags begin to lessen? He looks up, catching sight of her performance.

"Is that your power?"

It's so familiar, that he almost doesn't recognize it: Uraraka's gravity quirk.

Gaia's they type of teen that acts a little cooler when she's pleased by appreciation. Maybe a little standoffish at being seen as altruistic if you will.

~~perhaps tsun in some ways.~~

"Well I'm certainly not taking credit for someone else's work by standing here and holding out my arms you know. But I'm a Darkblood if that's what you're asking." Said arms are now folding over her chest with a solid 'hrmph' expression. But she's soon to relent and gestures at the bags he's holding.

"You should really put those down before you fall down. I've got some water you can have. Honestly you look like you're about to fall over." Whether she's got a keen eye for his condition or it's just the sight of all those bags and she's making a guess, she seems to think Shouto needs a moment to collect himself. She's already reaching for her satchel to bring out the canteen.

Summer has been fast approaching and here it is, June already. Gaia has been fairly cheerful these past few weeks and a lot of this can be attributed to progress on the place she's chosen to call home. Or in this case, notable forward progress, wherein the outer walls are now structurally sound and there is a proper roof that isn't rotted through.

Anyway there's a small problem that needs to be addressed. The roof over the kitchen area had been replaced during the winter while the new roof within the last couple of weeks. The place where these separate installations joined proved to leak. Something easy enough to fix now. Part, if not all of it can be seen to from the inside which might be the important point for the person who's offered to address the matter in lieu of that occasional place to sleep.

Gaia was happy enough to leave him to it and go around tending to other chores and tasks. There are ample supplies, tools are easy to find and that should be that. Still, it's not like the teen won't come up to the attic to check on her occasional houseguest.

"D? Are you still around?" The teen announces herself before finishing the ascension of tight attic stairs into the eaves of the house. Though if the windows are closed and the curtains drawn, she probably will have a bit of an expression on her face. A summer attic without the windows open is probably low on the list of places she'd want to be.

D had taken the invitation to stop by whenever he wished as an invitation to do just that. Sleeping in the attic was perhaps more than Gaia had intended, but she didn't seem to mind. Between the place to sleep and the errands she had run for him, D definitely owed her.

While it wasn't something D did often, he was more than capable of handling repair tasks around the house. With the sun up, he much preferred to patch the leaky section of roof from the inside where it was comfortably dark.

"Yes."

He wasn't always easy to see with how his dark clothing and hair blended in with the shadows and that was before taking his natural affinity for Dark into account. If the heat bothered him he showed no sign of it, still dressed in his coat and scarf and hat.

If it was more than Gaia intended, then she got over it. Case in point is that after a visit or two D would have just found a blanket, a pillow, and a sleeping pad from a certain point on. Proper furnishings will have to wait until the house's interior is finished.

Once he answers and despite the shadows, Gaia at least seems capable of discerning his general location. At least in the sense that she's more or less comfortable stepping into the attic proper without worry that she'll bump into him. Despite this confidence, the teenager is still hume... human enough to divert to the nearest of the windows.

If not for the dhampir's sake, then her own and probably with a shake of her head at D's habit for stuffing himself into dark corners or whatever assumption is going through her mind at that time.

"I wanted to see if you were willing to go with me on a trip into the forest," Gaia explains as she's reaching to draw the curtains back, probably to open the window and get some circulation going. "I found a patch of herbs the other day that I think would trade well, but it'd be comforting to have someone watch my back while I'm collecting them. I'd be willing to split the profit of course."

It's really an innocuous offer. Nothing wrong with it and D just happened to be in the right place for it to be made. The problem actually rest in the window which probably will, once uncovered, threaten the space the man occupies with the early afternoon sunlight.

"Sure," D said. Splitting the profits meant it wouldn't count towards paying Gaia back, but he could stand to have more trade options for the few things he couldn't readily provide for himself.

He didn't give much attention to Gaia's specific location until he heard her hand touch the fabric. Then he was beside her in a moment, his left hand reaching for hers to stop her from opening the curtain. "Don't."

D could stand sunlight, and forced himself to do so regularly to avoid becoming complacent. But it didn't change the fact that he was a creature of the night and more comfortable away from the sun.

This and that were different things after all and it hadn't seemed right not to offer a split of profit before considering favors owed. Gaia isn't in a rush to be paid back.

Being aware of D's general location doesn't mean she's completely aware of what he's doing. Not to mention he moves fast. Her hand is able to grasp the curtain and start to shift it, but stills at the simple mention of 'Don't'.

"What?" She won't think to move her hand. A bit too distracted, too startled to find he's suddenly right beside her to think he might also be reaching out to touch her.

Because it's not as if she isn't aware, by this time, that touching someone or being touched is not a great idea. Wide-eyed, she looks up at D. A certain 'weren't you just over there?' confusion becomes shock and a sharp gasp on the contact of D's hand with bare skin. Of course she wasn't wearing gloves in her own home as she would outside. Why would she?

That something is starting to go wrong becomes very evident very quickly as the teen's pupils begin to constrict, her body freezing in place while on a metaphysical level, something massive surges toward her.

There was a brief spark of connection D couldn't quite identify when he touched Gaia's skin. Whatever it was he felt on his end, it was clearly much worse on her end. D's unearthly nature was far more obvious when a touch included more than the feel of his skin.

His unfiltered unearthly presence was immense, an ancient and deep all-encompassing Dark and death capable of freezing the life fount that fueled all living things. In addition to that, there was also the vast amount of time he had existed. Even with the memories that had been altered and removed, there were still thousands of years of existence.

"Gaia."

Thousands of years spent wandering alone and hunting Nobility. Thousands of years before that learning all manner of combat and art and science, the former in particular from a void of darkness older and deeper than D wearing the shape of a beautiful man.

Elegant, beautiful clothing and technology that almost surpassed imagination.

A woman with skin as pale and nearly translucent as D's, her hair just as dark, but longer and straighter.

Dying. Again, and again. His heart pierced by wood held by different hands in different times and places.

An ever-present, almost unbearable thirst and desire to sink his fangs in. The beautiful sight of tempting blood vessels visible clearly to him beneath the skin of human necks. So very many throats he longed to bite.

The pain of watching, again and again, as people he wanted to see live died in front of him. People he killed himself because the had become Vampires.

And the thousands of years long pursuit of that very same dark shadow in the shape of a man. Sinking his sword into the heart of a man as beautiful as D and with a very similar face but with red lips and pearly fangs and glowing red eyes. Receiving nothing but delighted musing that 'the two of them' might actually be able to kill him. The crushing and bitter understanding that he'd come so close only to fail.

Edited 2022-06-08 06:06 (UTC)

If the teenager hears her name, she doesn't- possibly can't- acknowledge it.

But Gaia's soul is far older than the mortal frame and it is long familiar with the primordial Darkness of her reality. And it had once even existed in its own eldritch state in a previous life and touched even in this one. Even sundered from her original form and a mere sixteen years into this life, there exists a resilience to her will, one that defied the lure of death when risen out of a mortal shell time and again to aid in the effort of a Great Work. There is nothing to indicate she's profoundly affected by the eldritch nature that exists behind the facade of D's physical existence. Her own affinity to Darkness adds its layer of protection and thus she will be fine where others might have been crushed under the weight of that unearthly presence.

It is instead the thousands of years which begin to flow into her unchecked and without control which get through her defenses. Vibrant and real, sometimes seeming like something watched and other cases as real as if she'd experienced it herself. But too, too many for the young Darkblood to keep up with and keep aware of her surroundings. The real surroundings, in the here and now, that stuffy, dark attic in Trench. It ripped away Gaia's senses and added more. Far more and least alien to her current life.

She suffers a thirst unending, knowing humankind as a source to fulfill that desire. The blood that ran through their veins would sing sweet temptation. And maybe even a taste, a knowledge she could have lived a thousand, thousand lives of her own and not have ever wanted to understand.

Spiraling and lost on pathways with traits of memory or vision- or both. Studying and growing and experiencing high technology as commonplace. Knowing a greater, terrible darkness that birthed her (him) and a beautiful pale woman.

Living and dying over and again, returning to life and forging on an eternal path. That, at least subconsciously, had an almost familiarity but it was no less painful in the times her perspective was the dhampir's rather than that of an observer.

Others die around her. They could have lived, should have. A loneliness and grief that the core of Gaia's soul, that which waits until one day it will meet its other half again, quails in the face of.

Gaia's body trembles. Pain? Yes, it seems to be increasingly written across her features for all much of it is experiencing the dhampir's suffering as if it were her own. Paling features, the beads of cold sweat. The girl had seemed able to stand on her own for a staggering few minutes' time before beginning to slump over; whether to drop or be caught entirely up to the man who had grasped her wrist and accidentally began all this.

Though small noises of pain and.... anger? Outrage? escape her throat, she doesn't scream. It does not seem to be through lack of ability; rather it's like she's trying not to. Even in the midst of it all, a part of her recognizes these are not her experiences and is trying to find the way out. Sometimes a roiling energy starts to manifest; a darkness made of swirling black and purple veins where she tries to use something, perhaps just raw force, to change her circumstances.

It's never enough to break free. But it's possible this is why she finally manages stutter two words as if through numbed lips.

"C-can't... stop."

There was something else there, with the two of them. Only it seemed to not be something else at all, but rather Gaia. Some part of her that had been asleep and was beginning to wake up, some ancient Dark that was very much unlike the Dark he knew so well.

But it doesn't seem to be getting any more awake or present as Gaia continues to struggle with whatever it is she's enduring. D watches for several long moments, trying to discern what's happening.

In order to tell what kind of mental or mystical effect she's under, he'd have to touch her with his left hand. But touching was what had started this to begin with. Was it some magical resonance between their shared dark nature? Either way, it became apparent this was a risk he would have to take. D touched her shoulder, not making skin contact because it wasn't needed for Left Hand to reach out with mental energy to push her into a dreamless sleep.

There was a chance it would only make things worse, that Gaia and the darkness D sensed weren't as united as he thought and that pushing her mind down would leave room for that part of her to rise up. But whatever struggle she was going through was clearly too much for her, and this was the only remotely safe option D had without knowing the cause of her distress.

Swap Meet Prompts!

Items for Offer

Weekly Swap Meet

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Whispers of an Attic - Psychometry prompt for D.

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Meeting New Old Friends - Closed to Nara'a

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