⇨ 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

[starseedling]

Steven immediately pulls back from the windshield, looking startled. He casts a side eye to his dad with a clear expression of 'oh no, do not want.'

"Uhh..." he starts, uncertainly, his voice quavering a little. "Maybe we should turn around..."

AND DRIVE REALLY FAST.

[mirrortide]

Why does this always happen whenever Lapis is starting to finally relax--

She looks between the giant enemy crab and the van. "I definitely think he's coming this way and that we should get out of here." Also Lapis can't actually tell if she wants to get into the van with everyone else or stay outside of it in case a quick retreat needs to be made.

[periphrasing]

"EW!" is Peridot's only contribution. She sounds genuinely offended? She's staring out the window at the rapidly approaching crab and just. Wincing. SHE DOESN'T LIKE IT.

[fragileandsoft]

"OooouhhhhhiiiiI'll take it as a compliment!" Greg's voice hits an awkward pitch as he cranks hard on the wheel--hoping Lapis is holding on--and hits the gas. He heard plenty enough about Tamatoa at Triton's castle, and he has no interest in tempting fate there.

[npcarnival]

Unfortunately, their lack of momentum in the opposite direction has Tamatoa catching up extremely quickly. Have I mentioned that he is extremely massive? As he gets close to the van that fact becomes more and more obvious, until his striding legs are pretty much right over to of the van, caging it in for fear of one of his legs accidentally stabbing it through the middle when hitting the ground.

Meanwhile, Tamatoa is trying to reach beneath himself with his claws to crab the van like someone trying to gather papers that are blowing in the wind.

"And what's this?!" he coos to himself, apparently not considering that the van is already filled with people, quite yet. He didn't really get a close look at Lapis yet, because he's frankly quite distracted. "Some kind of metallic contraption - ? Hey, you stop that. Stop spinning around this instant."

A claw plunges into the sand in front of the van.

[starseedling]

Steven screams, and abruptly envelopes the entire van in a large pink bubble. He doesn't even think about it really, sometimes bubbles just need to happen.

"AAHHHHHH-"

[mirrortide]

Greg cranks the wheel and floors it, and Lapis grips the roof as hard as she can to keep from falling off. Which is a near miss, by the way. This is why you keep your arms and body inside the ride at all times.

Also, Stevens' bubble is pretty great at making sure that Lapis is just as trapped underneath the giant crab as the rest of them.

[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!"