other side of the universe (open)

[slaughterous]

WHO: Agent Maine & YOU
WHAT: tattoos, training, and polar bears, oh my!
WHEN: early June
WHERE: all over Nightwake
WARNINGS: n/a


Frostreign — Winter Guild

Maine hits up the Winter Guild right away. Seems like the most sensible thing to do. If he's gotta learn magic—or seasonal powers, or whatever—then going to the Guild is the obvious first step.

The place is surprisingly cozy. A little on the cold side, but so is outer space. There are warm blankets scattered around, and the interior of the stone building gives Maine the impression of some faraway castle. Not that he's ever been in a castle before, but if he had, he imagines it would be like this.

He does some research, then sets about training. He's easy to spot: seven feet tall and built like a barge, with a shaved head and a determined look on his face.

Find him on the second floor as he attempts to create steam … but what he's creating instead is a fine veil of mist that swirls around his feet.

Or spot him later, when he's holding an elemental ribbon weapon and looking at it with extreme doubt plastered on his face.

Amberfall — Tattoo Shop

Magical tattoos? Now, this Maine had got to see.

They give him the option of a permanent versus a temporary tattoo. His instinct is to scoff. He doesn't need some pasted-on crap that'll flake off soon. But they assure him the process is the same. So he decides on the magical effects he wants (Danger Sense and Minor Regeneration Powers). Then it's time to figure out the design.

Catch him standing there in a tank top, muscles on muscles, as he studies various designs on the wall. Looking over, he asks in a deep, gravely voice, "These things work?"

Sunwaning — Weapon Training HQ

Today, Maine is training with a combat knife.

He has some experience with the weapon. That much is obvious from the ease with which he holds it, respectful but unafraid of the blade. But it's also apparent that this isn't his weapon of choice.

After practicing forms for a while, he moves onto the knife throwing range. There, he takes up a blade, aims, and flings it down the range.

SHINK!

It sticks! … Handle-first.

Solarpeak — Giant Pool

There is a polar bear in the pool.

How did the polar bear get there? Who knows! No one saw it arrive. One minute, everything was fine. The next, there was a polar bear in the pool.

The polar bear seems pretty content in the water, but should it be there? Maybe it'd be better to try and convince it to leave…

Wildcard

( ooc: hmu by pm or @ bicepsbrigade for any wildcards! will match prose or brackets )

Comments

[slaughterous]

Maine blinks.

Slowly.

Then again, a bit more normally. Because that's either a whole lot to take in, or a hell of a baldfaced lie. He can't decide which he'd prefer. On the one hand, being lied to would be irritating. On the other … a five thousand year old not-vampire who definitely sounds like a vampire.

Not that vampires are real.

… Are they?

"Huh," he eventually says. And then: "Really old."

[sangreine]

Shoulda been here a bit ago, dude. Not that she'd wish those vermin on her worst enemy.

She laughs at his statement, always trying to be in good humor about people's reactions. "I am, yeah. I spent most of that time on Earth, and then bounced around to three other worlds before landing here. This is the nicest place by a longshot. The multiverse is a fucked up place."

[slaughterous]

Maine's brow furrows. This is the second time he's heard about someone bouncing around the multiverse, the first being his friend Wash.

"That common?" he asks. "Bouncing around?"

Is that something Maine should be wary of happening, or maybe even expect to happen now that he's here?

[sangreine]

She thinks for a second. "The other three worlds I was kidnapped to before this one, it wasn't common at all to have had any place between their home and that world. But here, there's a much higher percentage of people who have been to at least one world other than their homeworld before coming here."

"It must be a quirk in the way the Power Holders pull people in. Or an enormous coincidence."

[slaughterous]

Maine hums, considering that. What would be the advantage to having people experienced in dimension-hopping? Maybe they're not as hooked to their own reality?

"First time," he says, pointing a thumb at himself. That said, "Been to different planets."

Spacefaring and all.

[sangreine]

She's thought about that very question and gave up guessing before she got anywhere. This beats prison, a cursed city, and literal hell, so it's whatever.

"Ah. I can't imagine that's the same experience as being brought to another dimension, and one that relies on magic instead of tech at that."

Sunwaning — Weapon Training HQ

[shatteredprison]

Shadow's on training range duty today. He's observing the people training and Maine is impossible to miss. He watches the man run through his forms then give throwing the knife a try. It hits its target but not in the intended way. The hedgehog zooms over to retrieve the knife and zooms back to hold it up for Maine. This guy is so short compared to the living brick house.

"Strength clearly isn't your issue. Try again."

[slaughterous]

Maine shakes his head. No, it's a very different experience. There, Maine is in an experimental Project at the forefront of military technology. Here, he got stuck as a fucking bear.

"Magic's weird," he admits. "Confusing."

[sangreine]

"I agree. My natural abilities aren't magic, they're biological, so the last world I was in before this one is the first time I've used magic, and it was all... like inputted into us so we naturally knew how to use it. Not like this place where you have to learn it, painstakingly."

"I started training like six to ten hours a day until I could be satisfied that I had all my Summer abilities down and could use them with my normal method of fighting seamlessly." She enjoys training so it wasn't a big deal, it was kind of fun experimenting. She also doesn't really need to sleep much, that helped.

[slaughterous]

Judging by Maine's reaction, training six to ten hours a day sounds … perfectly reasonable, actually! He nods, evidently already thinking. Considering how many hours per day he should spend on each type of training, once he establishes a routine.

"Train at your Guild?" he asks, curious as to where she did all that work. "Visited Winter. Nice training area."

[slaughterous]

It's a good thing that Maine has already met some nonhumans here. A good thing he noticed Shadow while practicing forms, having time to accept the idea that this … furry little dude is a person. Just not a human person.

It's a good thing, because Maine's first instinct is to kick at the short, zooming figure when it approaches. He actually jumps a little, then visibly restrains himself as he goes still, quieting those instincts.

He takes the blade with a grunt of thanks, then takes aim. Again, he throws…!

SHINK!

… And again, it sinks in handle-first.

[sangreine]

It is reasonable, isn't it?

"Sometimes. Sometimes at home, since we have a very large field and a training room. Sometimes at the huge battle dome, but that's pretty new and I usually only go there when I'm sparring with another person. Sometimes on quests, which is the most fun."

"If you could use a training partner, I'm always looking for those." With her strength and experience she'd be a challenge even if he wasn't new. No better way to get good than to fight someone like her. "Summer versus Winter would be a good test."

for @ mayoninofukucho | dragon blessed

[slaughterous]

[ The fact that Maine can't go through this ritual with someone he knows well is honestly fucking irritating. But thanks to Wash's warnings, he's taking magic seriously. So he partners up with a stranger who has gone through it before, the Winter Guild thinking that would be best for a newcomer like Maine.

Maine refrains from telling them they're being assholes and, once again, tries to take magic seriously.

When they come face-to-face in the designated spot, Hijikata will likely have a hard time missing Maine. He's seven feet tall and built like a barge, with a shaved head and an intense expression. Right now, that expression is locked on Hijikata. ]

Hijikata, [ he says in a deep, gravelly voice. ] The cop with Pokémon?

for @ wickedprayers | dragon blessed

[slaughterous]

[ It's after Maine has gone through the ritual once himself that he contacts Thane, suggesting they perform it together. He has no idea how it'll compare to the first time he went through it. No idea if his side of the shared mindscape will be the same. But Wash told him to make friends, and Maine is trying.

Part of friendship is looking out for each other. Learning about each other, and all that shit. What better way to do that then to perform this ritual with Thane?

They stand together before a dragon—a fucking intimidating sight—and Maine offers his hand. Ready to take Thane's and step into that other-world. ]

[slaughterous]

Training while on quests does sound like fun. It's likely what Maine will end up doing the majority of the time, though he'll have to get some experience under his belt first. Thanks to Wash's warnings, he's decided not to wander off into the segments without first learning a few skills.

It pricks his pride, and he grimaces slightly. But he has to admit, "Can't fight with powers. Yet."

He's working on it, that's for damn sure. But he's not so foolish as to pretend he can wield Winter magic when all he's done so far is create mist.

[mayoninofukucho]

[How could Hijikata say no to partnering with a new arrival after being approached by the guilds about it? Nothing flatters his ego more than being recognised for the isekai veteran he is!

At a glance, Maine sure looks imposing, but in a good way - so he hopes, at least. Sometimes, it's hard to tell for him who's a fellow cop (or suchlike) and who's more on the delinquent side (maybe he just has trouble telling both apart because he's been both in his time), but in any case, the man doesn't give off hapless homebody vibes. At his greeting, a hint of a grin makes it onto Hijikata's face.]

That's right. So my pokémon are the most notable thing about me now, huh? I need to step it up!

[slaughterous]

[ It's tough for Maine to get an immediate read on Hijikata. Shorter than him, but that's nothing unusual. Around the same age. Seems talkative.

That Hijikata is a cop could be either a good or a bad thing. Good if he's one of the well-meaning ones, bad if he's one of those threatened by military-types. Which, after a few minutes together, Hijikata may well be able to read in Maine.

Maine has a straight-backed posture that only emphasizes his height and imposing build. He wears combat boots, cargo pants, and a fitted t-shirt that—once again—seems to deliberately emphasize his build. This is someone who is used to being the biggest, strongest guy in the room. Proud, but not domineering. ]

Rinku mentioned you, [ he explains in the abbreviated sentences he favors. ] Got a pokémon. Said yours fight with you.

[ Which had certainly intrigued Maine! ]

[sangreine]

You don't say... that polar bear performance was more than convincing.

"I actually made the most progress with my Seasonal abilities when I sparred with others. It forced me to get creative, try new things. But not everyone prefers that." She can respect that. "That could have been the associated emotions, I suppose. Summer is anger, passion, tenacity. All things that fit the way I fight, conveniently enough. Winter's are... hm, I keep forgetting the other season's emotions..."

[slaughterous]

At the pause, Maine is quick to supply them. "Fear. Patience. Pride."

It's apparent at a glance which of those emotions Maine feels the most. He doesn't seem to have a lick of fear, and he's not the most patient sort. But pride? That practically drips from his stance alone, spine straight and shoulders back.

It also explains why he was so embarrassed by that polar bear fiasco.

[sangreine]

"Ah. Right," she says, thinking of Yuri. Fear was a no (unless it was about Flynn, that fucking coward), patience depended on the circumstance, but pride? Absolutely.

She can see that Maine has a similar quality. Just less one-liner-y about it.

"Those are useful for training in their own ways."

[slaughterous]

Maine hums, the corner of his lip turning up slightly in amusement. "Pride helps. Stubbornness."

He knows himself well enough. He can admit to being a bullheaded motherfucker.

And it helps, too, that he knows how to train in the first place. How to push himself. How to repeat a move over and over until muscle memory takes over.

Will training his Winter powers be similar? He can only hope so.

[sangreine]

"If the Winters I know and have known are anything to go by, it definitely does."

Odd, thinking about Yuri and the others doesn't hurt so much anymore.

"And by the looks of you, I'd bet all the mooncoins in my tip jar that you know how to train. Same principle, just more of a mental component."

[slaughterous]

Maine's smile broadens a little, pleased that he's apparently found himself in stubborn company. It makes him feel a bit better about being a Winter. He wasn't sure how to feel at the sight of "fear"—unless maybe the point is to feel it and do shit anyway?

He supposes he'll find out soon enough.

"Lotta training is mental," Maine says, nodding. "Push until your limit. Then push past."

[sangreine]

"Right. It's even more mental with the magic, is what I mean. You have to take what's second nature and relearn at least some of it. That's how it was for me, at least."

She remembers not knowing how to fight after her various bouts of amnesia, and even then she knew how, so maybe it's just her. Being naturally strong and fast means you require less training for the physical things.

"But if you're already used to handling things between your ears, you'll be great in no time."

[slaughterous]

Maine nods. "Thanks."

He appreciates the assurance, even if they've only just met. And even if all she's seen of him is a very uncomfortable transformation into a polar bear.

"And for…" He trails off, gesturing at his own head. Helping with the bear thing, he means.