those dam imps...

[webdesigned]

CHARACTERS: characters participating in "dam imps" bounty!
DATE: sometime... in the mission.......
WARNINGS: nerd, violence, work??
SUMMARY: working on that sweet sweet special bounty...

there's some work to be done, and somebody has got to do it. that somebody is apparently going to be members of Ophelia.

after assessing the site, the inventors need to find a plan. observing the imps and their need for a water source, the plan is put in place to make a dam that can avoid disruption of the water flow. it'll take some work to assemble all the parts, draft plans, and put that plan into action.

there's a need for bruisers to help keep the river clear of confused and potentially dangerous imps as their dam is deconstructed. of course, there might be some need of some muscle in deconstruction, too.

sentinels are welcome to help look after characters as they work, protect those that need it and patch up any injuries that might crop up. knowing some of the inventors at work here... it will be needed.

last but not least, once the dam is constructed there's still a matter of convincing the imps to utilize it. negotiators have the task of convincing imps to trust a structure they didn't make and aren't used to, and it won't be an easy task!

all in all, though, it's doable. thanks to teamwork... go ophelia!

ooc: this is a basic place to tag in for the DAM IMPS quest! if you are interested in participating feel free to tag in and make the most of these prompts. Or make your own! That's cool too! If you post here I will tag you back, esp if we chatted about this, but if you would like to also tag someone else (or i am slow...) feel free to tag each other as well!

Comments

ota

[abortz]

[They have heard the plan. They just don't particularly like it.]

Why not just dispatch the imps instead?

[Look, they are helping. They're carrying wood for this dam structure everyone wants to build -- a pretty significant load given their delicate-looking stature, holy shit -- but their impatient tone and the sour look on their face suggest they probably think it's a waste of time.]

[webdesigned]

( he's had this conversation too many times over too many missions at this point. for peter it is like a weird deja-vu, trying to explain (again) why non violence can be a good strategy. )

They're just trying to survive, their actions aren't malicious. It'd be like... killing a bunch of sparrows because they're making nests in your barn. If we can resolve this without hurting them, why not?

( the imps are a little different than an endangered species and Peter is aware, but... when in doubt, he always tries nonviolence first. )

[abortz]

Birds' nests don't actively harm anything. The locals are suffering because of these creatures.

[They certainly don't sound convinced. But they drop their load of lumber where it's convenient for the builders putting it all together, and turn to go gather more.]

open!

[polarising]

[ Lorna is an inventor, and while she's not too keen on her designation, she does want to do her part here. Inventing's what she's been assigned, so she'll be hovering around that group of people for the most part. Although in the beginning, she can be found standing by herself and observing the imps in their "natural" habitat. ]

So... We're building somewhere for them to live?

[ Kind of. Or they're building a structure for people to have clean water from a fountain source that didn't have imps eating/sleeping/bathing in it. ]

[webdesigned]

Mm, kind of.

( peter looks like a total idiot with a pencil behind his ear, one in his mouth, and another in his hand as he stares at the currently drafted plans. realizing he's a bit hard to understand with a mouth full of pencil, he removes it, only to find both hands preoccupied with pencils. are they multiplying??? that's clearly more likely than him continually picking more up since he forgot he already had one. bemused, he sets both down. )

They're damming the river for... lots of things, honestly. A few of them might live in the structure but they also clean fish, bathe, drink... If we can make a dam that doesn't divert the flow of water, both the village and the imps can use it without incident. ...hopefully.

( since they can't really teach imps about dam maintenance........ might need to tell the villagers about that. anyway, now that he's not dead eying blueprints, he remembers some form of manners. ) It's Lorna, right? Peter... did I say that already? ( he might have... he's easily distracted when working on a Project. )

[polarising]

[ He might look like an idiot, but there's something earnest about him that makes her pay attention, instead of writing him off immediately. There's also the factor that he clearly seems to know what he's doing, and she's a little lost in the inventing stage. She can feel her way through other people's constructions and get an idea of how they work through reverse-engineering, but she needs the invention itself to exist beforehand.

So she's trying to learn from people at this stage. ]

Yeah. [ It's Lorna. ] Hi, Peter.

[ She gives a little wave from her previous posture of crossed-arms. Fortunately, she's not actually all that interested in manners, so she didn't object to the order he did that in. Getting down to inspect the blueprints next to him, she has to admit... ]

I've never really designed anything like this before. I'm good with metal and electronics but it's more the...physical aspects. [ Vague handwave. ] Of them.

clark / open!

[signifies]

[ He talked to a lot of the farmers first. They don't treat the imps like vermin, but Clark can understand wanting them out of sight and out of mind. He doesn't mind rats, but they're not usually good news for a farm.

He can be found near the dam itself, helping to chart the best way to either move it or smash it depending on what the others decide. As for what he's doing, he seems to be staring very intensely at sections of the walls, but he will clarify. ]

I'm just looking for structural weaknesses.

[ Clark will be helping with any heavy lifting and would oblige as an air taxi for anyone who needs to get around quickly. ]

[polarising]

You can tell from here?

[ Color her impressed. Lorna is taking a break from hunkering down with the inventors to stretch her legs. And admittedly, she is curious about getting a look at these imps for herself. ]

[signifies]

Yes.

[ He smiles at her. Being honest about his powers is still new to him, even though it's such a relief to be able to use them openly. ]

I'm Kal, what's your name?

[webdesigned]

Probably a good idea. ( Peter hadn't asked, though he appreciates the explanation. Clark's abilities entail an impressive amount of control, something Peter is deep down rather envious of. it seems like half of his come out on accident,
and not always when he wants them to. )

It collapsed earlier. I caught the worst of it, but, it still wasn't fun. ( he'd gotten sliced pretty bad by some unsecured metal while he was at it. since he heals fast, Peter had barely done more than wash the cut resulting and wrap it up. it'll probably be fine by tomorrow, but the red might be seeping through the barely attended bandage... he's fine, though, clearly, still tinkering with constructing the dam like nothing had ever happened. )

[signifies]

[ His abilities are often invasive. Clark knows Peter will give him more leeway than most, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't ask his permission, or explain what he's doing.

He had accidents of his own, even though he's a quick learner. There were so many unexplained fires from his heat vision. ]

Let me look at that.

[ Mom Friend Activate! Peter might heal quickly, but there's no substitute for medical attention. ]

ota!!!

[feytality]

[So, build a replacement dam and convince the imps to do it. That doesn't sound so hard. As a negotiator, the convincing is going to be up to her... but she's really going to have to sell this thing.]

[Maya gives it a kick (like the rude ass she is), and though it doesn't collapse, she taps her cheek with her finger and turns to whoever's closest]

You sure this hunk of junk won't just fall over?

[rude af tbh]

[webdesigned]

It'll work better if you stop kicking it.

( Peter brushes a hand over the dam like he can soothe any hurt feelings spurred by Maya's cruelty. since it's in an inanimate object, it's probably fine. )

That's not the point, Ms. Negotiator. You're supposed to be the expert on getting them to use it.

[feytality]

I'm testing its durability! If it can't stand up to a few kicks, how is it going to withstand a bunch of imps?

[Gosh, Peter. She rolls her eyes at his patting of the inanimate object]

Aaaaand I need to know what I'm selling before I sell it.

ota!

[moneyman]

[ he's starting to figure out that being a sentinel is going to involve quite a bit of standing around until someone needs his attention. for now, at least—they're all new at their jobs, and this particular task won't involve much danger.

...whiiich means it's not super exciting, but he won't complain. yet. ]

Sooo... [ don't mind him kinda... hovering nearby, observing. ] You think we can get through this without having to kill any of these things?

[ not that he's a true pacifist, but... they're just imps, right? ]

[signifies]

I hope so.

[ Clark doesn't mind the standing around and waiting, he likes to keep an eye on things.

He nods when Vaughn approaches. ]

They don't seem all that aggressive unless provoked.

[moneyman]

Right?

[ phew, someone else who's not on the murder train yet. what a relief. ]

I mean, if one of them decides to go rogue or whatever, that's one thing, but... I dunno, it seems like they just want water. I don't think they're thirsty for human blood. And if that means I have nothing to do for awhile, I'm okay with that. I'm sure there'll be plenty of other opportunities for action.

[ he really hopes so, anyway. ]

ota!

[wyvil]

[Wylan seems to be adapting to his inventor role well. At least, this project seems more his speed than ambushes or negotiating with warring clans. Designing a new dam that will serve the imps and won't disrupt the village's water flow is something he can do. He hopes.

He's currently pouring over several drafted plans, and drawing out another on a fresh piece of paper. He seems focused as he analyzes the best parts of each design, adding those elements to his final sketch. He's rather preoccupied with his sketching and working out measurements for the proposed structure.]

Do you think we're making the new dam too complicated?

[He asks the question out loud, but it's not entirely clear if he's talking to someone or just himself, as he's still focused on the plans in front of him.]

[webdesigned]

Maybe?

( an inventor himself, Peter is not unused to taking his smarts and putting them on paper and putting them to action. in fact, being a member of ALASTAIR and now, Hathaway, he's often finding more opportunities to think than he is to crawl on walls and websling. or, perhaps it's better to say he finds more productive opportunities. because he still wall crawls like crazy.

still, as the plans get drafted again and again, they do seem to be spiraling a bit out of control. ) You know, my uncle had a saying. Keep it simple, stupid. I'm not sure we're very KISS right now.

[wyvil]

[Wylan's father has called him "stupid" enough times, that the word, even though he realizes it's just a saying, makes him frown, giving the design he's working on a critical look. But he knows Peter isn't calling him stupid, and that the other inventor has a good point. He nods in agreement, trying to push his self-doubts out of his mind. He needs to focus on the project at hand.]

Some of these designs are the opposite of simple. I'm worried they won't be able to maintain them once we leave.

[sadgay]

[Having been roped into coming along, Connor has so far made himself useful by convincing the water imps to give their crew a chance. The creatures had been distrustful, assuming that these humans must want only to harm them and take the territory for themselves. (In their minds, the act of building their dam here makes it their land.) But once they accepted that no weapons would be raised against them, they had slowly acquiesced to the possibility of receiving aid from the Hathaway recruits.

Now Connor is left watching the others draft plans and discuss semantics while he has little to contribute. He has zoned out to the point that he catches only the latter half of Wylan's question.]

Hm? [He tries to appear as if he's been paying strict attention this whole time.] Oh, uh-- It looks good to me.

[Of course, he has no background in any sort of engineering...]

[wyvil]

[It might not be Connor's expertise, but Wylan seems ready to accept his input. He lays out a few of his favorite plans from the stack, including the latest one he had been drafting. He wasn't exaggerating when he said they were getting more complicated. They look like far more complex structures than the original dam the imps has created.]

Really? You don't think these will be too difficult for them to maintain?

ota

[rhinostagros]

[ ooc: Visibility rules for Laphicet are here! ]

[ Depending on whether you can see Laphicet or not, his teammates will either see a small boy holding one of their draft plans or a piece of paper floating in midair. He's sitting in the grass, looking over what they currently have in place for the dam.

He was assigned as an inventor, but aside from poking his nose in how-to books in the past, he's never actually built anything with his own hands. He'd left the diagramming part up to the other inventors, be he still oversaw what they had. The one he's holding now is what he copied for his own reference. Where he's more useful, he's hoping, is assembling the parts.

Laphicet's aware of his lack of visibility to most of the guild, so communication comes via magitek. Everyone working in the area will receive an audio message from an @laphicet: ]

I've never built anything like this before. Do you think it needs a little reinforcement?

[webdesigned]

( Peter can't see Laphicet, yet he is sort of getting used to things floating in his presence now that they've met. so he knows Laphicet is around and he is used to communicating through the magitek, even though he really wishes that he didn't require a technological work around. )

It probably will, yeah, ( he answers, not through magitek, just simply spoken out loud. they are close enough to each other that Laphicet will hear him, even if Peter can't boast the same. ) During winter or after heavy rains, the amount of water filtering through will increase, so some sort of fortification will be important. You have any ideas where would be best?

( Laph has the plan, so he can probably help with drafting some ideas. Peter himself will keep working on the frame of the dam as they talk. )

[rhinostagros]

[ He lets out a thoughtful hum as he looks over their plans. Over his magitek, he pops open the TekFlex app, loading up some diagrams of additional dams to use as an extra reference and inspiration. It didn't necessarily have any "how-to" guides, but it seemed like a good resource. ]

What about here?

[ The paper rustles as he prods at it lightly. He lifts up a pencil, circling lightly around a wall on the diagram. ]

Reinforce it with concrete or a similar substance.