this is Salem, a land filled with magic and maladies. It is a place where witches and their elemental familiars gather, a home to legend and
lore that predates time itself. Yet of all the wicked and wonderful stories the past can tell us of, the most magical are the ones yet to happen.
This is Salem - this is the start of your very own journey. Welcome to starfall
Starfall is an animaga witch roleplay set in mostly modern times. Members play as witches in a world plagued by monsters, where the only safe spots are walled cities. Starfall strives to be a character-driven roleplay with expansive lore and a highly interactive plotline. We want to allow members to
create and look back on a magical journey, and mold the site and its plot as their characters grow.
Dry blankets for when he inevitably crashes into the harbor? Check.
Zephyr was determined to get the S. S. Black Widow to the sky; it'd been a dream of his ever since he was a kid. First, though, he needed to find a way for something that was larger than a broom carrying something at least as heavy as a human to stay suspended above the ground without enchantments. Unfortunately, Zephyr hadn't discovered much other than dozens of methods that couldn't work. Even so, he refused to listen to the non-believers who said it couldn't be done.
As the wind picks up, the crafter lets the sail unfurl on what appears to be a modified windsurfing board. Networks of thin lines glow on its surface where mana is pulled in and concentrated, and the board at its base hums vibrantly with energy.
"If you switch places with me while you're underwater, I will stab you in the lung," drifted the ever-so-encouraging thoughts from Spock into his mind. The spider monkey had taken up a comfortable seat in a makeshift hammock hanging from a ship's bow, gazing at her human through tinted sunglasses.
"Your faith in my abilities is truly inspirin'," the crafter notes with no small hint of sarcasm. Although undoubtedly eager, Zeph's grip shifts on the frames supporting the sail, hands unfamiliar with piloting with the vehicle's mechanisms despite having built them. "But, b'fore ya ask, I ain't makin' any bets." Before she could protest or make any additional comments, the crafter leaped off the ship, hugging the central mast of the smaller board as it fell with him.
But -- BUT -- for about three glorious seconds, he actually glided, hovering more than a meter above the harbor's fairly gentle surface. Was this it? Had he found the solution? The crafter laughs, ecstatic that he'd even achieved this much.
The sound would quickly turn to a yelp of alarm, however, as he attempts to turn and the board instead pivots on its side and, put off-balance, plunges nose-first into the water with a violent splash. For some brief, panicked moments, he thinks he might actually start to sink. Despite having multiple spells under his control which could help, the knowledge that his legs are not at all buoyant takes precedence in his mind. However, flailing arms thankfully manage to clamp themselves around the floating board of the crashed device, while the rest of him takes a moment to recover.
Spock, ever the encourager, applauds his efforts from her hammock.
@open edit: making this an open thread due to 0 replies, so go wild /o/
WHIP, WHIP, Run me like a racehorse; Pull me like a ripcord- break me down and build me up. I wanna be the slip, slip, word upon your lip, lip- Letter that you rip, rip,break medown and build me up. Whatever it takes, 'cause I love the adrenaline in my veins. I do whatever it takes, 'cause I love how it feels when I break the chains. Whatever it takes. You take me to the top I'm ready for whatever it takes- 'cause I love the adrenaline in my veins, I do what it takes.
❞
“Huh.” He’d never quite seen so much water in one place. Ponds for sure, but saltwater in such an expanse? Where he’d grown up was surrounded by trees rather than seas, so even obscured by the shapes of dozens of boats and masts, the sight of so much open water was impressive. Even the air here was tinged with salt. Malicei moved along next to his partner, taking great disgust in each footstep that came back moist. [It stinks here.] The excited fledgling rolled his eyes in response, as they headed further down the pier for a better look. “What do you expect? I’m sure there’s mildew and dead fish everywhere.” At the thought of fish, the large coppery cat set his sights to finding a snack rather than things to complain about.
The end of this pier was slightly less populated by boats than some of the others. It had a (semi) clear view of the sea and if you had sheltered your eyes from the sun you could have even seen some of the ships that were departing from or returning to the port- mere specks on the horizon. “Wow…” He took a seat on the edge as his familiar moved to settle in across his lap, and the pair of them watched the sea for some time.
It was almost peaceful.
Almost.
Amid the sounds of the hustle and bustle of working in the background, in the foreground, a scene played out. He didn’t quite know what he was looking at, but it seemed that someone was trying to… Was that Zeph? Rafik blinked in disbelief. This kid just seemed to be everywhere- and what was he even doing? The red-head watched as Zeph soared (not too high) above the water, laughing up until taking quite a plunge. Amazing. [Do you think he drowned?]
Not a moment after his familiar’s inquiry, The pair watched the boy emerge partially from the brine. he seemed to be clinging on for what appeared to be dear life. [Oh… Guess not. Shame.] He takes a moment to flick Malicei's ear. "Quit that."
Still not quite certain what he’s watching, Rafik stands and places a hand on his hip, the other hand cupping halfway around his mouth as he shouts out towards the blondie “Hey! Are you okay!?” The lack of concern in his voice was almost astounding; but, as a Helios Knight, it's almost in the code to help out innocents… or something. He couldn’t remember- orientation felt like it was 30 years ago- Even, he wasn’t sure if he’d actually gone to anything like that. “Do you need medical attention?”
? ? ? WORDS ● Zephyr Hart ● I TRIED,,,, ITS BEEN SO LONG THOU
[attr="class","gearcore"] The familiarity of the voice asking if he's alright causes Zeph to lift his head from the almost-flying machine and glance around the docks in search of its source. To his surprise, Rafik had wandered over to this part of the city and stumbled upon his prototype testing. Despite the lack of concern in his tone, Zeph grinned and raised a hand in greeting. "Nah, no need. Haven't broken anything yet!" he calls over.
Now that he could breathe again, it was easy to use a blinking spell to jump over to his pile of towels, and then over to his roommate, each time appearing to vanish in a cloud of deep orange smoke. "I think I'm actually gettin' somewhere with this one," Zeph says as soon as he re-appears next to Rafik, tousling his drenched hair around with the towel in an attempt to dry it off. The rest of his attire was more minimal than usual to prepare for the possibility of failure -- just light pants and a t-shirt which shows more burn scars along his arm than usual.
"Did ya get to see it fly? Or did ya just look over when ya heard the spla-- ah, fuckin' scrap..." His bright eyes, practically sparkling at the result of his experiment, had flicked back over to the water and darkened instantly. Where his contraption had once been, there was now just a small patch of air bubbles breaking the surface. He immediately reached out his hand to pull the sinking device towards him. It was a bit slow compared to when he used Witch's Call to summon something in the air, but, sure enough, it emerged again next to the dock where they were standing. However it stubbornly clung to the surface of the water, no matter how much Zeph glared at it. With an annoyed sigh, the crafter crouched down and grabbed its base to pull it up by hand. Even more waterlogged than himself, however, that was no easy feat.
"I, uh, could use a hand gettin' this up, though."
Rafik Bousa'id NO WORRIES, MY DUDE, I'm hype to see Rafik again /o/
Post by Rafik Bousa'id on Jan 19, 2018 19:24:41 GMT
❝
WHIP, WHIP, Run me like a racehorse; Pull me like a ripcord- break me down and build me up. I wanna be the slip, slip, word upon your lip, lip- Letter that you rip, rip,break medown and build me up. Whatever it takes, 'cause I love the adrenaline in my veins. I do whatever it takes, 'cause I love how it feels when I break the chains. Whatever it takes. You take me to the top I'm ready for whatever it takes- 'cause I love the adrenaline in my veins, I do what it takes.
❞
“Well, that’s a relief,” he snickers, “Though I was a bit more worried your lungs might have ended up waterlogged.” His familiar took a spot on the edge of the boardwalk, with a leg hanging off the edge. “If you fall in, I’m not saving you.”
Rafik rolls his eyes in response to Malicei’s sass and returns his attention to the blonde in front of him. “Yeah, I saw it fly a bit- But, why not just use a broom? I mean it’s probably much safer than," He gestures to the thing, "whatever that is- in it's current state at least.” He watches Zeph focus on calling the boat and uses the opportunity to take off his cloak before he drops it on top of his familiar. Once the strange contraption is close enough, he takes a spot crouching next to Zephyr and gives the old college try to help pull the waterlogged base from the bay. “It seems like a bit too much of a hassle. But, then again, I’m not much of an innovator…. I’m more of a performer.” He begins to muse on the subject, distracted somewhat obviously from what he’s doing, and now only absentmindedly helping his roommate.
“I'll admit though that it is pretty impressive looking, did you make it yourself?” If nothing else, whatever this thing was, it was surely a way to draw attention to yourself. Maybe it was designed to be used in a kind of sport that was popular around here. He wasn't very well versed in any of the things that went on here in Sundial yet, but perhaps that was just one of the things that people here on the coast were accustomed to. Where he was from, the largest body of water was the lake he used to fish in, and even there, you could see the bank on the other side rather clearly. Maybe things here were required such a mode of transport aside from the standard. Or maybe Zeph was just weird.
[attr="class","gearcore"] "Eeh, well, my legs might be a bit waterlogged, but the rest of me's fine," Zeph replied with a slight grimace at the thought of drying his prosthetics out. There were a lot of crevices and seams where water could pool, and there was always the threat of rusting he had to worry about. He really needed to get around to waterproofing those things... Even so, the look of disappointment was short-lived, as the high from being right on the edge of of creating a fully functioning aircraft overtook him like a wave.
"Safer? Yeh, well there ain't much of a competition there; this thing's a fuckin' deathtrap," Zeph admits with a short laugh, "But! It's gonna' be faster n' be able t' carry more than a broom... If I did th' math right."
Unsure if his legs would be able to handle the strain, he pulls at the contraption with his knees on the wood of the dock. He knew the phase was supposed to be "lift with your knees, not your back," but the mechanic had broken far too many prosthetics by following that advice. "Well it's not like... inventors n' performers're... that different..." Zeph says, pausing periodically to shift the direction he was pulling or to give a particularly strong tug. Slowly, the sail appears to peel off of the water's surface, and the mechanic and performer get the base of its structure up high enough to rest it on solid ground. Zeph takes a deep breath. "Thanks. What was I talkin' 'bout? Oh, yeh, performers. You guys gotta' try things out, too, right? Ya gotta' see what works n' what doesn't with an audience, n' go back t' revise the original idea 'til they react th' way ya want. Inventors are basically doin' the same shit but with physics instead o' people." At least, that was how Zeph viewed it.
Now that the windsurfing board was at least partially on land instead of being swallowed by the sea, Zeph was confident that he could get it out, albeit slowly. and carefully to avoid damaging anything too much. "I did!" he affirms in response to Rafik's question about whether he'd made the thing himself, making no effort to hide the fact that he's practically beaming. "Spock helped, too, obviously, but yeh, it's somethin' like seventy percent repurposed train n' ship parts."
