[DROP] for duck's sake

random event Not fishing for a duck - hook a duck. Has no one ever heard of the carnival game Hook-a-Duck? Whatever - anyway. "Nope," says the hooded figure to Hadama, while gesturing for those seeking permission to try their luck in the bobbing, sill slightly soupy waters of the swamp. Talyson and Everest are perfectly average in their efforts, both managing to snag one of the not-real-ducks-with-hooks-attached-to-their-heads, and on the bottom, they will each find, dun-dun-dunnnnn... a silver star. Aww. "You can have another go for that one," the figure notes. Lena, Alys, Edmund and Sah are regrettably less than average - they either do not manage to snag anything at all, or their ducks are NAKED blank of any stars. "That's too bad, you're out," says the figure. Oh - Hotaru is also out (sorry) but for markedly different reasons. Unleashing a barrage of lightning into the water has precisely the effect that one might imagine. A plethora of fish and other fauna instantly rise to the surface, creating a floating morgue amid the cheerful bobbing ducks. This transgression will find her mysteriously transported as far away from the proceedings as possible - and probably deep in the Feverlands to find her own way home. Now, Flora, Noah, Koa and Hadama have done exceedingly well. They haven't hooked a duck exactly, but they've snagged something beneath the murky waters. Something solid and heavy. Do they use their combined efforts to try and lift it to the surface together? Or does the era of fuckery continue? Those who are still in the drop, you have 48 hours to post!

your scars shine like dark stars
your wounds are where the light shines through

There were many times that, to Noah’s chagrin, his writer simply could not read — or got confused and after reading several other writers, took on their verbiage rather than the original writer.

Alas, he would continue to live with this embarrassment.

His pole bobbed and his heart lifted with a bit of excitement and intrigue. But he did not hook a duck. It was something, but it wasn’t a duck. His eyes flitted over the surface of the water for a moment then followed the other poles that seemed to be acting in the same way as his. Hadama, and Flora he knew, but the dragoon (Koa) he only knew from large gatherings and glimpses of him in Stormbreak before the war. His brows drew together, but he tugged, and nodded his chin towards their poles to insinuate they do the same.

---

Noah pulls on his rod and motions to Hadama, Flora, and Koa to do the same!


Regional Score bonus: +3 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +3 should be included)

Magic: Wise Hunter (FEAT) | Animals roll with disadvantage against Noah.
Type: Light | Rank: Basic

the forsaken

let's go there, to that place where
we sing these broken prayers, where the light shines through

candlewax & polaroids on the hardwood floor

"Wh-" Flora has time to say before her mother has suddenly vanished, leaving the smell of slightly cooked fish in her wake. Pulling a fake and scampering back slightly only to feel her rod hook upon something solid, the Doubletake glanced at those still around the pond.

"Uh." She articulates helpfully as she glances at Koa and raises her eyebrows. "Alright then valiant knight. I decree thee, er...retrieve...thine...duck?" Listen, Mateo was always the one who was better at doing voices and accents, okay?

Crinkling her nose, Flora tugs only slightly on her rod not wanting to snap the bit of line attached to whatever was down there. Maybe the others (read: literally everyone stronger than her) would break their lines leaving her the winner? Or potentially leaving her holding onto a monster?

---

TL Regional bonus

Regional Score bonus: +3 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +3 should be included)

Everest

Dropping the duck on the grass in time to see a flash of lightning and the sudden hoard of dead fish appear, the eagle blinked a few times before looking over his shoulder to see how Mateo had fared. Not seeing his friend, the eagle merely blinked, unable to frown or otherwise display the sort of emotion that accompanied the experience of, "oh no, my friend is not where I left him".

Concerned about Mateo though he might be, having been given an instruction (or an invitation, more precisely), the eagle bobbled his head before once again taking to the air and then diving down to select another duck. He could see that a few were apparently in some sort of fish-off for something below the surface, so he politely tried to avoid their efforts.

---

Ever flies up and down again, trying to avoid the area where the 4 are pulling up.

If I told you that you'd do nothing with it
I'd still be that cigarette that you couldn't finish

Upon realizing that what they were fishing for attempting to snag, Tal relaxed some, exhaling in relief. But only a little relief. He was still paranoid after various recent experiences with Caido's weird shit, and he wasn't at all sure that this wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass sooner rather than later.

At least he got an actual rubber(??) ducky, and even if the star wasn't a winner, it wasn't a loser either. "Tough luck," he commiserated with Alys when her own attempts came up empty. It was tempting to walk away while he was still unbruised, bitten, or bleeding, but the courier's greed won out over his caution and he nodded to the weird personage and tossed his hook in again, aiming for a particularly lucky looking duck.

---

Tal tosses his fishing hook towards another duck. This one looks lucky!

Regional Score bonus: +3 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +3 should be included)

Ah. He might not have been going about things quite the right way, but Hadama's luck was better than his knowledge of proper duck-hooking techniques and he certainly hooked... something. It was either a very large duck or it was not part of the game at all... But a glance towards their mysterious host didn't seem to indicate that they'd hooked anything out of bounds.

Hadama might have been cautious but he was also curious, and with Noah present to help out if things turned dangerous he was willing to lean into his curiosity. A glance at Flora and Koa's teasing reassured him that all was still well with the younger members of this impromptu expedition, so he met Noah's eyes again and gave a nod of acceptance for his friend's plan.

The mermanta also tugged at the hidden weight with his rod, pulling with a gentle, steady pressure.

---

Hadama joins Noah (and Flora?) in trying to carefully raise whatever it is that they've hooked!

Regional Score bonus: +3 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +3 should be included)

Koa

Now I just want to play on my panpipes
I just want to drink me some wine

Good news: he's definitely hooked something.

Bad news: doesn't seem to be one of them pleasantly bobbing ducks.

Koa gapes in stunned surprise as Hotaru goes from there to gone, but he doesn't really get a chance to wonder just what happened. Instead he's caught up dealing with a caught line, and it seems he's not alone. Flora, Hadama, and some dude he hasn't met before but recognizes as Important People all seem to be suffering from the same fate as he, their lines seemingly converging on some underwater object. "I'm starting to think the ducks were a lie," the soldier mutters to Flora, brow furrowed and lips pursed as he tries to tug in time with the others. Though not too hard, lest the line snap.

---

Koa does a tug with the others, though he's trying to be careful and not break his line.
No regional bonus, only vibes.

As soon as you're born you start dyin'
So you might as well have a good time

troy falls a thousand times // in every dream i dream

Unsure of how well she did, Kiada casts a glance toward everyone else gathered to see how well they’ve done in snagging their ducks. Her aunt, unfortunately, causing fish and the like to bloom to the surface before vanishing and Kiada can’t help but to grimace slightly as she looks back to the pond of floating, bobbing ducks and the fish among them.

She readjusts her grip on the fishing (hooking?) rod, and remains far enough away from Flora, Noah, Koa, and Hadama to prevent any of what they’re pulling up from effecting what she’s trying to catch, and she launches her fishing line back out trying to capture a duck.

---

Kiada tries to hook a duck again!

KIADA

( like ashes, like ashes // like a star burning out )

random event So it goes like this. Call it luck or call it demigodly prowess (it's luck, but we'll just say it's the latter), Noah manages to haul the whatever-it-is to the surface with almost a sickening ease. Indeed, given how terribly the others' efforts went (sorry Flora, Hadama and Koa - you're OUT), it's a miracle Noah did it at all. And what did he do, exactly? Put simply, he's hooked a duck. Put more complicatedly, he's hooked a duck (with a gold star on it) that's attached to a very large, very angry lamplighter. How about that? A haunting, ringing melody howls from its throat, and it does not seem happy to be on the end of Noah's fishing rod. Whether it's a good or a bad thing, Everest and Talyson manage to hook another silver-starred duck. They get another go... to try and get the duck from the lamplighter, I guess! (Have fun, guys!) Alas, Kiada hooks a blank duck and is also out of the running. (She might not consider this the worst outcome, though). Flora, Hadama, Koa and Kiada are out of the Drop! Everest, Talyson, Noah - it's up to you to find a way to hook the gold-star duck and/or remove it from the lamplighter! You have 48 hours.

your scars shine like dark stars
your wounds are where the light shines through

Luck? Divine Power? Whatever it is, Noah didn’t care as the lamplighter surfaced and sung its song. The demigod quickly blinked and pulled hard on the rod to keep the fish from stealing it from him. Memories danced behind his eyes but he held firm to reality, not letting himself slip in. Hotaru, grasping her head and screaming and then curling up onto herself was a memory the hunter would rather not relive, nor replicate.

As the only one holding it now, and seeing the flash of the golden star on the bottom of the duck, Noah was determined to get the lamplighter off of his prize. Calling forth his most powerful magic out from his center, a celestial dome arises around the area. Designed to create pain and damage for the lamplighter — his enemy — Noah hoped it would cause enough for the creature to let go of the gold-star duck that Noah sought.

---

Noah uses his Divine Opposition against the lamplighter and tries to reel in the duck.

Magic: Divine Opposition | Noah summons a celestial shield dome in a 60ft radius. Any allies within the shield receive Mastered Healing, and any enemies are damaged at an Mastered level. May be used 3x per thread with a two post cool down.
Type: Light | Rank: Mastered

Magic: Wise Hunter (FEAT) | Animals roll with disadvantage against Noah.
Type: Light | Rank: Basic

Regional Score bonus: +3 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +3 should be included)

the forsaken

let's go there, to that place where
we sing these broken prayers, where the light shines through

Everest

Absolutely none of this seemed like a good idea any longer (if indeed it had ever seemed to be one), but now the aviator felt as though he was entirely in the midst of it, and to fly away now would not only be cowardly but rude.

I can try and grab hold of it— Everest offered, fairly certain that as a demigod Noah would be able to understand him. I'm not trying to steal it, though. He was quick to add, just in case it appeared as though the eagle was trying to take advantage of Noah's hold on the rod and his divine strength.

Swooping low once more with an aim to try and snipe the duck away while Noah was distracting the lamplighter, the eagle tried to grasp the thing with his claws before swooping up and away out of danger.

---

Ever's tried to snipe the duck with his talons while Noah fights with the Lamplighter.

If I told you that you'd do nothing with it
I'd still be that cigarette that you couldn't finish

Okay, Tal had a question, and it went something like this: "Who the fuck sticks a duck to a Lamplighter??" he asked, though Everest might recognize it as more of a yelp of confusion, dismay, and/or indignation. "And how??" But questions notwithstanding, Tal couldn't just run away and let Noah try to deal with the freaky singing fish by himself.

Or rather, he could, on account of Noah being a whole ass demigod and Tal being just a measly mortal messenger, and he'd be lying if it wasn't tempting to just scoot into the background and let it play out... but the thought of the disappointment in Noah's eyes if he did that was enough for Tal to draw his Dagger and rush over after the golden eagle to lend a hand.

"An' stop singin' my ma's song!" he added, glowering at the Lamplighter with personal offense. There were talons and fishhooks getting up close and personal with the duck, so Tal kept his distance and took a swipe with his Dagger, trying to slice the duck free from the beast and probably taking some of the big fish's scales with it. It would probably mean Noah or the eagle getting the prize, but better that then one of them getting et.

---

Tal uses his Special Delivery Dagger to try and cut the duck free from a distance!

Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Special Delivery Dagger | A carefully crafted dagger veined with crimson markings, decorated with the foot of a blink hare. Upon making a stabbing motion in the air, the dagger may damage a target up to 30ft away from the user.

Regional Score bonus: +3 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +3 should be included)

random event Noah's assault against the lamplighter goes exactly as expected, to be fair, and while his allies might feel rejuvinated (even at full health), the creature all but disintegrates under the shine of celestial energy. This, of course, leaves the duck dangling in mid-air for a moment. And thus the ridiculousness plays out. There's the attempt to reel from the Forsaken, there's the fumble of talons from Everest, there's a snick of a blade from Talyson. And the duck is bumbling and falling (and flying, briefly, with Ever) before it slips from the eagle's grip entirely. It falls, and falls, and... Bonk!s right on top of Talyson's head and into his hands. Will there still be disappointment in Noah's eyes after this? Who knows, but the courier is a winner! Congratulations to Tal! He has won the drop and Cira has been awarded 500MP! ~FIN