theianights | ❆ 2nd Present ❆ [public video post]

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❆ 2nd Present ❆ [public video post]

This place..... h-has anyone seen anything like it so far?

[Noël has been exploring a lot lately, trying to learn more about this strange, empty, ruined town they've been trapped in. He's scrambled around the burned ruins a fair bit, seeking out what he can find in the rubble. Today, he's managed to find a strange, unnerving store front--one that makes his skin crawl enough that he's decided to document the place over the network. The camera pans slowly across the ruins as he turns with his mirror, capturing a store whose merchandise selection is..... ominous, to say the least.

He props the mirror up on shelves to have his hands free, carefully lifting items off to show people. The first shelf is full of whips; he sorts through piles of riding crops, bullwhips, even cat o' nine tails with cruelly hooked metal barbs on the ends. Another has heavy chains and manacles; the cuff he lays his wrist into frames half of it perfectly, and he doesn't bother trying to see how well it might fit closer to being shut. Another has collars and leashes; he tries on a well-padded red leather collar in front of the camera, and finds that it fits perfectly. It's even surprisingly comfortable, for the minute or so he wears it--he wouldn't be surprised if it was meant to be worn for days, maybe even months at a time.

He takes a hefty chain with him, when he goes to investigate the cages; it looks like he could probably stand up and pace around in one, maybe even comfortably lay down in them. The chain gets tossed in through the door as a precaution, landing with a heavy metallic clank, but nothing happens--clearly motion and weight aren't enough to make the cages react. It's encouraging enough that Noël slides his cane out of his belt and steps warily into the cage to look for clues, cane held outstretched to ensure it can catch the door and keep it from locking, just in case it should swing shut behind him.]

Gyah!

[The only problem is how utterly ineffective his attempts at safety are. The moment he steps through the doorway, the cage door slams shut, violently enough that it nearly sounds like a gunshot. His cane shatters explosively, caught by an impact of such force; Noël cries out in shock, and both the mirror and jagged stump of cane are dropped as he recoils, slamming back against the opposite wall of the cage. It takes a moment for him to bend down and pick up the mirror from where it lies, camera view shaking from the way his hands are trembling.]

I-I..... ah..... Could someone help me out of here?

[He'd meant for this to be just documenting an unsettling find during his exploration, and maybe a way for people to share and discuss what they've found so far. How the hell has it suddenly turned into a cry for help like this?!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Did you just get trapped inside a super weird sex shop?

[Despite how amused Taako sounds, he's on his feet and moving, the background of the video sky.]

Just where is this place, exactly?

What's any of this have to do with sex? Some of those whips look like they could probably kill you if they were used wrong.....

[Noël, you sweet summer child..... you probably never got sat down for a Talk, did you? And definitely know nothing about kink, either.

He makes an effort to describe where exactly the shop is, though, and what landmarks can be seen--a rough location in the ruins on the west side of town, a little ways out from the housing district.]

Hey, I'm not here to judge, just to inform.

[Taako moves, trying to locate the place; if nothing else, he wants to get a good laugh at Noel before he uses Knock to let the poor guy out. Besides that he's curious about this crazy-looking shop himself.

As he walks, he continues speaking, though.]

What were you doing hanging out in there in the first place?

Doesn't sound very informative to me.

[So cruel, Taako. At least you're planning to let him out. ~~Unlike that traitorous roommate Kamui.~~]

I've been investigating around the ruins a lot lately, trying to find some sort of clues about this place. This is the first time I've seen a shop this..... unsavory looking in them.

Okay, sure, let me just give you the fuckin' sadism and masochism primer as I dodge elf-eating monsters on my way to rescue you from the weird sex cave you're stuck in.

[He's grinning, almost laughing as he speaks, and he glances down at the mirror in his hand with a quirk of his eyebrow.]

.....What the hell are you even talking about? Is that French or something?

[Complete and utter incomprehension; those words won't be coined for years. Sorry, Taako. He suspects he's being made fun of somehow, though, so Noël just scowls and shakes his head dismissively.]

You know what? Nevermind. Just focus on the monsters.

[Kara's been completing her rounds of daily patrolling, flying over the city and running into the invisible sky wall over and over again like a moth to light when she hears the... mirror... thing ping. She lands and taps the glass, her eyebrows rising higher and higher as she watches Noël's video.]

[her resulting video response is short, brow furrowed in concern.]

Hold on. I'm coming.

[up up and away it is then! she flies to the ruins, dashing around them until she sees the outside of the shop Noël had filmed, and she steps inside, staring at all the, um... the decor?]

Geez louise, what kind of place is this...

[it takes x-ray vision, peering through the shelves filled with weapons and traps and restraints, but she sees the cages in the back, and Noël inside of one. Kara rushes forward, appearing in front of Noël at the cage door.]

Are you hurt?

[There's a little snow on the ground once she makes it to the cages, just enough to scrape together a decent snowball; one side of the cage seems to be coated in ice from where he tried to blast himself free in the meantime with a freshly intact cane, clearly to no avail.

On the front of the cage, Kara can see a lock with a number neatly printed on the front; it looks like the sort of keycard mechanism used on hotel room doors.]

I'm fine. I might have lost an arm if I'd tried holding the door open, though.....

[He doesn't really want to think about the possibility of a door being able to shut with so much force that it could have torn his arm clean off--but given what it had done already, he's grateful he had used a prop instead of his body.]

((OOC: Do we want to pin down what they did during the intro party mingle, whether we continue it or not?))

[the cage looks like she's used some icy breath on it, and she looks it over, eyes wide, before moving on to the lock.]

Well, I'm glad you're all right. Just... stand back for a second.

[Kara tries first to cover the flat lock with her hand, fingertips trying to pry it up as she uses increasing strength. Screw finding a key for this, or whatever it would take. She grunts with effort, her fingers finally slipping free with no results.]

Oooh-kay. Well, definitely stand back for this part.

[she takes in a deep breath, channeling the energy that courses through her, her eyes growing hot and turning a sunny orange-yellow. Then she aims her gaze at the lock and surrounding metal, shooting twin beams of hot, burning light at the metal. If cold and ice wouldn't work....

weirdly enough, it's taking a super long time for the metal to heat or to do... anything at all. crap.]

((ooc: YEAH we should. I just tagged you there, but we can continue it or not, either way is fine with me! I'm guessing for the most part, there's lots of x-ray vision and a distinct lack of keys? we could ask the mods if they find anything ~special~ on the bodies too, or they can examine that note further and basically come up with the result of shrug emoji?))

R-right.

[It's strange to see someone just assume they can pry a lock off a door as a matter of course..... for anyone else, he'd probably question if they were out of their mind, but Kara seems to have some grounds for that assumption. Noël immediately backs away to press himself against the bars on the far side of his cage, watching incredulously as her eyes light up. What in the world is she doing? What is she?

It takes mere seconds for the ice coating the side of the cage to melt, and a few more before the pool of water hisses and steams as it starts evaporating. The heat rolling off the door is overwhelming even if he's not close to it; Noël is quickly drenched in sweat, heavy as his outfit is, lungs protesting each breath of scalding air. Still..... is the metal finally starting to glow?]

((OOC: I got us some answers on the FAQ. We can keep going to see how they get along, but they come up with basically nada.))

[Kara takes a break, gasping as she stumbles. She doesn't want to go into another Solar Flare and lose her powers, not here, not when she needs them so much.

But, she thinks it's starting to work - there's an orange hue to the metal. Whatever this stuff is made of, it's stronger than any other weapons or buildings she's used this on. And she's welded train tracks back together while holding up a train. Geez louise.

It's then that she notices the sweat of the metal, all the way around the cage, and... traveling back to Noël]

Oh, shoot! Hang on! Take your jacket off - wait, keep it on! I'll just -

[instead of continuing to babble helplessly, she strides forward to help instead, sucking up some of the hot, dusty shop air and blowing out a breath of ice. Given Noël's thick jacket and the ice that had been on the bars when she arrived, she's pretty sure this won't freeze him to death?

She hopes it won't freeze him to death.

Cold air turns to ice, curling around the bars, stretching out and building on itself to create a circular barrier around Noël, cutting him off from the rest of the cage, especially the lock. It'll melt when Kara gets back to work on the lock, but hopefully it won't take her too much longer. Still, she packs the ice on thick, until the rest of the cage is filled, except a small hole where the lock is, even if it's no longer glowing. Shoot.]

I'm going to get back to melting now. Tell me if you start getting hot!

[she shakes out her hands, bounces on her feet a little, almost like a boxer about to enter the ring, then she channels her energy and lights up, aiming her heat vision at the lock]

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