Intro Log.

[awashmods]

It's raining, it's pouring. The old man is snoring. He bumped his head and went to bed And he couldn't get up in the morning.

ou wake in knee-deep water, cold as ice and stagnant, in a space that is far too echoey and spacious. It feels like a massive cave, but looking up... there's only one small, circular opening that shows grey sky and shines any sort of light. It looks like a long trip upwards, a small cylinder with walls of brick that's just a little too high to reach, even when jumping. Getting out is probably going to be a bit of a task, especially considering the water is more than cold enough to make limbs go numb. The dark makes it impossible to see much further, but the space seems large, all filled with water, but with no other way out, stone walls the only thing for an intrepid explorer to find. Oh, and to make things even better, it's raining today. Water from below (though thankfully only like, knee-deep), and water from above... how fun. But most importantly of all... you're not alone. Welcome to Awash's second intro log, everyone! Please review the FAQ and rules before playing. New characters have all woken at the bottom of the well in the middle of the town (which seems a lot bigger on the inside, somehow), and it looks like they'll have to put in some work to get out. Thankfully, they have some friends on the outside, this time. Once out, they'll be free to explore the various locations the Town has to offer at will. Just try not to die on any of the far-too-rickety walkways. Please feel free to ask any questions here and don't forget to greet your fellow players here!

Comments

[buncho]

Don't underestimate Josephine! I'm sure she—-

[ ...Mafuyu looks down at the pigeon in her arms. ]

Actually, I dunno if she's a girl.

[ it's not a girl and Josephine isn't its name ]

[cupiditates]

Your plan was seriously to bring a bird and hope that it might be able to lay an egg?

[buncho]

I didn't bring her! She was here when I got here— you know, when somebody kidnapped all of us and dumped us into that well.

[cupiditates]

I meant why did you-- you know what. Never mind.

[He skips down off the roof, landing in the street below. Keep up, girl! They're going back to his place to complete this quest.]

[buncho]

[ Fine, fine--
Mafuyu has no trouble jumping off rooftops and slamming down on the ground hard enough to shatter anybody else's kneecaps but not hers, and keeps pace with Greed. ]

Where're we going? Your house?

[ Do you really want Mafuyu to know where you live? ]

[cupiditates]

Yep.

[He'll cope with her hanging around . . . somehow. Anyway, it's easier to just head into his Ruga house and skip up the stairs. There's eggs there, as well as water and a stove, and he nods towards her.]

Go on: show me, kiddo.

[buncho]

[ He didn't trust her to find eggs.

Mafuyu almost looks affronted when she sees them and realizes this fact, but she quickly recovers, because she can always redeem herself by boiling a perfect pot of water. She rolls up her sleeves and plants herself in front of the stove, staring down at the many dials that she never once touched in her life, because her boiling water was done with a water boiler that has literally one button, that all you have to press.

This seems easy to figure out, though. The knob gets turned towards high, there's the smell of gas, and a faint click- click- that sounds from the stove.

But no fire.

She gives the stove a swift kick in the side— the smell of gas is stronger now, but still no fire. ]

Hang on, I gotta get you a working stove first.

[cupiditates]

Uhh--

[Look, he can survive a fireball, but he's not too sure about her (though she seems sturdier than most, but he'll ask about her later). But he's already settled in this house, and he's got his weird magic box, so . . . maybe let's not blow up the house?

Besides: he isn't exactly a good cook, but nor is he stupid.]

Nah, nah-- go open a window.

[Because no matter what, all this gas isn't good to just, like, have hanging around.]

[buncho]

I'm not going to burn water!

[ He doesn't trust her at all!! But she's dutifully bounding towards the nearest window even as she shouts over her shoulder, reacting automatically to orders without thinking. The window's pried open— pried because this house, like all the others, is shoddy and the window frame is warped, and there might be a faint cracking noise when Mafuyu finally manages to unstick the window, but at least the pane doesn't shatter completely. ]

Your stove's not lighting up. Just give me a few minutes and I'll figure something out.

[cupiditates]

Shut up.

[BRISKLY SAID, not so much unfriendly as coming from a man who is very used to having his orders obeyed. Only once he smells more air than gas does he try the stove again, grimacing at that click-click-click--]

Oh, hah!

[FIRE. HE IS TRIUMPHANT. PERHAPS IT IS MAFUYU WHO HAS LEARNED SOMETHING TODAY.]

[buncho]

[ SHOW-OFF ]

I would've gotten it! My kick loosened it up for you!

[ It's the same principle as opening a stuck jar; she's sure she contributed more than turning his house into a fire hazard. ]

[cupiditates]

Yeah, yeah, girlie, whatever you gotta tell yourself . . .

[He's smirking like an asshole, ridiculous pleased with himself for . . . beating a little girl? Wow, Greed.]

Go on. Do the egg trick.

[buncho]

You can't just drop an egg into cold water, you gotta get it boiling first.

[ ...

...

...

No, two and a half seconds pass and she's already getting antsy about having to wait; why does boiling water take so long. She wiggles the knob, but it's already turned as far as it'll go, and it's got all that extra gas already too. ]

Is there no way to make it go faster? Should've just microwaved it...

[cupiditates]

You sure you know how to do this?

[The water is doing its best!! let it live!]

[buncho]

I fed myself for two years on cup noodles. Trust me, I know how to do this.

[ This is just... different than she's used to. A water boiler pings when it's hot enough. How's she supposed to tell with this one?

By sticking her finger into the water to test the temperature, that's how. ]

[cupiditates]

[AND HE JUST . . . WATCHES . . . Greed, what kind of guardian are you . . . well, he's not a guardian, is the thing. So he just watches, his hands in his pockets, both eyebrows raised in mild disbelief.]

[buncho]

[ Mafuyu will take the silence to mean "Yeah, you do your thing." and so she does, standing there with the tip of her finger submerged in the water as it slowly heats up. Like that one experiment with the frog in boiling water or like sitting in a hot tub, it's easy to get used to the temperature, until scorching hot becomes ice cold and

boiling water bubbles

yes, that could have also been used as a benchmark for "hot enough." ]

[cupiditates]

All right, all right, don't cook yourself.

[He reaches for her wrist, tugging it back.]

The egg, cook the egg.

[buncho]

[ It'd be times like this where Mafuyu's very high pain tolerance works against her, because there's no need to stubbornly hold her finger underwater to prove some sort of point that doesn't need proving, pulling it out to be bright red and starting to blister, and her first aid measure is to stick it in her mouth and suck on it like you'd do for a paper cut.

The next hurdle is cracking an egg with one hand. Easy, easy.

Hold the egg in one hand. Crush it in your fist. Sacrifice your other hand to pick the pieces of shell out of the now furiously boiling water. ]

[cupiditates]

[Okay, see, on the one hand? Greed doesn't eat, so what the fuck does he know about food. He sure doesn't know how to make any kind of egg.

On the other hand: somehow, this does not seem to be the way.

But shit, who cares? She's teaching him her way, that's all that ought to matter. So he watches her, gaze unimpressed, as her fingers turn red as she picks up bits of eggshell out of boiling hot water.]

Hey. You human or what?

[buncho]

[ Why is she boiling eggs for him if he doesn't even eat, omg, she wouldn't do all of this just to feed herself--

She ignores his question for a bit, just until she plucks all the shells out before they start to sink too far and she scalds more than just the tips of her fingers, flinging the shells off to the side and then leaping over to the sink to run cold water over her hands. The eggs can do their thing, overcook or whatever. Greed shouldn't care since he's not eating them. ]

Yeah, I'm human. What's that supposed to mean?

[cupiditates]

[maybe he'll try it! who knows! LIFE IS A MYSTERY]

It means most humans don't stick their fingers in boiling water.

[Just saying . . . he glances over at her, though, flashing a grin.]

Don't get huffy. I'm not human. It's not a bad thing.

[buncho]

Most people's got money so they can buy their soup and don't have to. This is what you call self-sufficiency!

[ She pounds a fist on her chest, proud of everything she's done for herself. Boiling water? Done. Eggs? Cooking. Bland and tasteless unless they add stuff too it, so she goes around flinging open the cupboards to see what this house has in stock. Nothing but a whole lot of grey powders that may or may not be dust, because that's what it looks like. ]

What's your "I'm not human" thing all about? You look it.

[cupiditates]

[it's what you call something, anyway . . . no, but he's endeared despite himself. What a strange little girl this one is, fiercely independent and yet kind of useless all at once.]

Looks can be deceiving.

[But a practical demonstration is more fun. Even as he says that, black carbon spills over his arms, a shiny metallic surface that stretches from his fingertips upwards and downwards, til it reaches the top of his neck, just short of his face. And it's easy to see now that the carbon is what he'd been using as a shirt beneath his vest, because why not.]

[buncho]

Holy fucking shit.

[ Mafuyu stares, awestruck, as the black spreads all over Greed's body. It's enough of a surprise that it leaves her shock-still for a moment, but then realization dawns upon her and she breathes out. ]

—like a chameleon!! Do red next!

[ Cool power, bro! Being able to change color. ]