⇨ SHINIES

[ringleaders]

Who: Anyone who wants to pick on Tamatoa.
When: Day 45 onward.
Where: In and around Tamatoa's lair.
What: People getting up into Tamatoa's grill for some reason or another. Anybody is welcome to participate, but please communicate with the mods first so that we can discuss how to set up the thread and what your characters are attempting. Tamatoa may attack people outside of his lair, too, but you'll need some kind of narrative hook to prevent him from just eating you if you want to engage him that way.
Warnings: Crab related violence.

TAMATOA'S LAIR↴ Tamatoa lives in a giant clam shell, inside of a mysterious cave that lies about a half hour's swim away from the city. This is also where he keeps most of his loot - either stashed somewhere in the lair or (mostly) sitting on the back of his shell. He hangs out in this cave most of the time he isn't stomping around looking for sunken ships. Tamatoa is gigantic. In fact, he's even a bit more gigantic than he appeared in the movie Moana - and those combating him will find that he also seems to be somewhat resistant to magical affects. A human is the relative size of a pen cap in his claws, and he could crush a normal person will trivial effort. He could also pretty easily toss them into his giant mouth - which he usually will, given the opportunity. Facing Tamatoa could come with great reward, but with equally high risk.

Comments

[drrdrrdrr]

"Holy crud!" Amethyst yells as the claw pounds down in front of them, tinted rosy pink by Steven's bubble. "I didn't think he was gonna be that big!" Her impulse is to reach for her whip, but... not much that's going to do inside a van inside a bubble. "Steven, did you get everyone--?"

[starseedling]

Steven quickly rolls down the window and pokes his head out, searching for Lapis.

"Lapis, are you okay?!" he yells, frantically leaning halfway out.

[mirrortide]

Lapis has, more or less smooshed herself flat against the top of the van on her stomach. She looks over the side at Steven, and while she definitely seems a little panicked, she's fine.

"I'm fine! Are you okay, Steven?"

[fragileandsoft]

It's not super clear if the brakes would have stopped them before the claw or not, but the bubble sets them rolling back a bit either way. Greg's heart is in his throat, ears ringing, mouth dry. Ohhh man this isn't supposed to happen, this isn't how today was going to go, oh jeez oh man.

"Everyone--is everyone--?" He looked back around the van to check on his passengers, heard Lapis' assurance from above, and forced himself to breathe. That's... that's one tally in the "Pro" column.

But there's one big, big tally on the "Con" side. Greg leans forward over his wheel to peer up, and up and up. This is just a misunderstanding. They don't have any valuables or anything! They can make it out of here, and laugh about it.

"H-hey there! Sorry, we're just passing through, we--we didn't expect to see anyone, um, but..."

[npcarnival]

"What??" Tamatoa says, either not comprehending what Greg said or not listening. He pulls back, looking at the round pink bauble that has appeared in the place of the van he'd been chasing. "What... Where did this come from?"

He experimentally lifts one of his claws and hits the bubble with it. Not as hard as he could, but hard enough that it plows it part way into the sand. When that doesn't do anything, the crab leans down closer to the ground, prodding at the outside of the orb experimentally.

"Hello?" he calls. "Are those voices I hear?"

[periphrasing]

By this point, Peridot has basically flattened herself to the floor and wedged herself in a corner. There is ink floating in the water inside the van now.

"What are you doing don't talk to it!!!" she hisses at Greg, frantic.

[starseedling]

The violence of Tamatoa's strike knocks Steven fully out of the window, allowing him to flop against the exterior wall of his own bubble, his head ringing from the exertion of keeping up the bubble together under that king of pressure.

He swoons for a moment, dazed, putting everything into holding up his shield instead of doing things like thinking and talking.

[fragileandsoft]

"Steven!"

Greg scrambles to check on his son, but he can't quite reach him from the window. "Steven, are you--"

He grits his teeth as a claw keeps poking at the bubble. "S-stop! Please!" Where his voice was fairly small and anxious before, desperation's made sure Tamatoa will hear his yells now. "We're in here, please, take it easy!"

[drrdrrdrr]

Sorry Peridot, Amethyst is already yelling. "Yeah it's voices, ya big crusty moron! Get outta here, we don't have any treasure or whatever you want!"

[mirrortide]

Poor Peridot. Literally no one is listening to her. After Lapis swims down towards Steven to make sure he's alright, Lapis will shout right back up at him. "Yeah! Go away! We don't have anything you want!"

[periphrasing]

RIGHT. FINE. OK THEN. No one listen to her that's cool.

Groaning to herself, Peridot scuttles her way over to a window while everyone else is yelling and cautiously pokes her head out. Getting another good look at Tamatoa nearly sends her scurrying back to her corner, but she steels herself and settles for simply grimacing at the unpleasant sight of GIANT GODDAMN CRAB all up in their grill.

She's doing her level best to stay as flat against the contours of the van as she can while she extends a suckered squid arm and gently. Hooks Steven's ankle. Without looking? To try to tow him back into the van, while she keeps her eyes fixed on Tamatoa.

[npcarnival]

This seems like a convenient moment for Tamatoa to lean in close, listening for more voices, but also letting his stalk eyes roam around the surface of the orb. With Peridot, Steven, and Lapis briefly piled out of the window, there is the glimmer of something incredibly shiny, and also just outside of the crab's enormous grasp. How infuriating!

He knocks his claw against the exterior of the bubble one more time, making a sound of annoyance.

"You can't fool me, little mers," he booms, sounding proud of himself for how observant he is. "I can see the treasures you are hiding in there!" He clasps a giant claw around the outside of the bubble, hefting the entire thing up to raise it to his eye level. "Now... come on out and share. I'm sure we can come to some kind of... arrangement?"

Like him taking your treasure and also eating you, that sound great.

[fragileandsoft]

Greg grasps the wheel as the van rocks, eliminating that last slim chance of driving away.

"Woah woah woah, come on, mister!" It's hard to sound polite when everyone else is shouting in frustration, and also you yourself are not really feeling it either.

And, quite frankly, his first thought is less to think of his friends and family as valuables and more to think Tamatoa's playing misguided hardball. "I'm telling you, we haven't got anything!"

[starseedling]

Steven gets lugged back into the van through the window, conscious enough to make it in without injuring himself on the way up. He's trying really hard to focus on the bubble, but the arguing and the constant crab prodding is making it difficult.

He's inadvertently staring down at his belly as he tries to recover, and as he notices the glow of the gem something occurs to him.

"What if he means our gems?" he gasps in a harsh whisper.

[mirrortide]

Once Steven is safely(?) inside the van, Lapis, who remains outside of it, does the most intimidating thing she could ever possibly do.

She blows a raspberry at the giant crab, completely oblivious of what Steven is saying because she's outside the van and can't hear shit.

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst blinks. Her eyes widen. "You think?" She leans forward again to try to get a good look at Tamatoa. "No way he can see that stuff in here with those beady lil eyes."

But...

"... C'mon, Steven, drop the bubble so we can get out there and smush him."

It can't be that hard, right?

[periphrasing]

"How are we supposed to accomplish that!?!" Peridot hisses, glaring incredulously at Amethyst. Her regular arms, her squid arms, and two more sets of tentacles are all hugging Steven close in a defensive sort of way; more for her own comfort than his, though.

[starseedling]

Amethyst, his eyes is like bigger than you are.

Steven has no objections to Peridot enveloping him at the moment, but his reaction to Amethyst telling him to drop the bubble is to become extremely anxious. Oh no, this is bad.

"No, Amethyst - somebody's gunna get hurt!" he pleads. "I can protect you guys!"

[fragileandsoft]

That big eye is still watching them, giving Greg the serious heebie-jeebies. He swallows hard, and doesn't dare turn his back as he glances towards the back of the van.

"It's all right, everybody. We're safe in here." He looks to Steven, eyes running over his son to make sure he's not hurt. He really doesn't want him to risk taking another hit like that, but saying as much in front of Tamatoa is asking for trouble.

[drrdrrdrr]

"Ugh, no!" Amethyst is clearly getting super antsy being stuck in here while the gargantuan crab threatens them. She desperately wants to get out there and do something, even if that something ends in her being poofed. "He's gotta have weak points! Lapis!" She raises her voice a little. "C'mon, can't you control water, you could wreck this guy!"

[periphrasing]

...Now that's a good point. Peridot perks up a little. "Hey, yeah...! LAPIS!!!" she shouts, taking her hands off Steven to cup around her mouth, egging the blue gem on. "Come on, rearrange his stupid crab face like you'd rearrange the surface of a new planet!"

[mirrortide]

It's a good thing Lapis is outside the van and not inside, or she'd be shooting Peridot A Look. But she does gather up as much water as she can, slamming it as hard as she can into the giant crabs side in the hopes that he'll be knocked over.

Look. It's. A lot of crab.

[npcarnival]

It is a lot of crab - and it's also a lot of water. Tamatoa buckles under the sudden current, largely caught by surprise. Unfortunately, the fact that the bubble is currently being held aloft by him makes this kind of uncomfortable, because when he stumbles over onto his side he takes the van with him.

He seems confused more than anything. The idea that Lapis is doing this doesn't seem to have crossed his mind, despite the fact that everyone in the bubble has been yelling about it.

"Whoa ho ho," he says, clamoring as he tries to pick himself up. "Current's picking up today... better take these indoors."

And, he goes stumbling towards his cave, because who even has time for this weather.

[periphrasing]

"...LAPIS WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT YOU DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING," Peridot yells again. She's a helper. An encouraging helper.

[drrdrrdrr]

"What the heck." Amethyst stares at the gently buffeted crab, and then at Lapis. "This is stupid, we need to take this guy down!" She reaches a paw out for Steven. "C'mon, Steven, let's steam this crab."