tampered | log; in progress

As Riou made his way through the gardens to the designated meeting spot, he felt a slight twinge of apprehension. After all-- being thankful for it or not in retrospect-- the last time he'd messed around with Clow's magical doohickey hadn't gone too well for him in the mirror city. Of course, there was no curse today --he hoped-- and others knew where he was headed. And it wasn't as if he should pull away his fellow city watch members to fuss around with such an early prototype when they were in the middle of a reorganization, not to mention the investigation on the recent attack on Rem.

Oh, and of course there was his hyperactive, lacking in a filter between the mind and mouth, with all the restraint of a five year old, furry little squirrel of a soul babbling embarassing things to Clow during the day's previous curse until he finally managed to break the thing's tablet. He really ought to wonder about the state of his soul after that. Muttering to himself and shaking his head, he finally caught a glimpse of the magician through the trees.

"Hey, Clow!"

Pulled from his reverie by the sound of his name being called, Clow turned to face the source of the voice and smiled as the younger man emerged from behind some nearby trees. "Ah, Riou!"

They stood now in something of a small clearing, a bit out of the way but not so much so that no one would hear the screams if something went terribly wrong, affording both privacy and security. Not that this project was a secret, since Clow and Riou hadn't filtered any of their communications about it, but nobody needed to see what they were doing, either.

"I expect that you made it here okay?" he asked by way of small-talk before moving to hand Riou the object in his hand. The 'handcuffs' looked absolutely nothing like the handcuffs from many versions of earth. It was an imperfect, sphere just about two-thirds the size of a baseball made out of a black, hematite-like metallic substance, but it didn't weigh nearly as much as a metal object of its size should. There was an obvious wing and feather motif in the design of the object, but why it is there if not for decoration is probably quite uncertain. "So, that's it."

A pause.

"... I suppose you might want to know how to use it."

"Yes, no problems there, it seems to be a quiet day," Riou replied, glancing down at the device in curiousity.

He's not much accustomed to normal modern handcuffs himself, with they're using ropes and chains back in his home world when he got tossed into prison-- a rather long, involved story that he's glad hasn't had to be repeated in the city. But this lopsided metal ball-thing didn't bear much of a resemblance to the magic chains that had held him bound for so long during the curse.

". . . . but yes, that would rather help. I suppose I'm not just supposed to bean people in the head with it?"

"You could do that," Clow observed thoughtfully and paused to consider the idea, but then shook the thought off. Violence is not the answer, and the handcuffs weren't heavy enough to knock someone out, anyway. "... Alas, I originally designed it to activate upon being thrown at someone, before realizing that it might not always be appropriate or necessary to throw things at suspects. So, as an afterthought..."

He reached over and placed two fingers on either side of the device so that Riou could see. There was a spot underneath each silvery 'wing' that was sensitive to pressure, and when both were pressed simultaneously the wings came off as part of a pair of thin shackles - handcuffs, essentially - connected by a light and delicate chain of similarly silver-ish material, in contrast to the darker metal of the rest of the device. "... they're stronger than they look, I assure you."

Meanwhile Riou had paid not another thought to beaning people with the thing. Nothing more than a joke, as running around whacking people with objects wasn't particular condusive to apprehending someone without hurting them. He reached out to gently touch the slender arcs of metal-- delicate enough that they almost looked like jewelry-- and carefully filed away the information on how to activate them.

"A normal binding? Or is there something magical to the metal as well? And to activate the more magical chains does the device have to touch the person or would having it near them be enough?"

"There's some magic to it, but mostly just to make the chains stronger. The unlocking mechanism and off switch for the whole thing is magical, so I figured that by giving it physically weak chains the risk of having people permanently stuck in it is reduced should magic suddenly stop working." Of course, the risk of escaped prisoners is also heightened in that case, but you can't win them all. Clow presses the arcs back into place with a small click and hands the device back to Riou. "And, the device needs to be thrown at the person but it will activate before it would hit them. If that seems a little odd I can probably change it, but I was thinking that it might make it easier to apprehend fleeing suspects that way."

"Ah yes, the less chance of getting stuck and requiring spontaneous combustion of fire magic, the better..."

Riou held up the device closer for a moment before pressing on the inscribed wings to make the shackles reappear and disappear.

"Not having to hit them is far better in my view. So shall I or shall you?"

"I'll be the guinea pig, if that's what you're asking," he replied, already beginning to take a few steps back so that the device could be safely thrown.

Riou looked down at the device once more, hefting it carefully. It was quite a bit lighter than what he would have expected. "So I just lob the thing or...?"

"Yes! That should work." Clow continued to back away until he was at a good throwing distance, hands behind his back.

"Will this automatically activate whenever it's tossed or does there have to be intent behind it?" Riou asked as he put the device into a slow arc over to Clow's left, images of a sudden earthquake rocking the city causing magical doohickeys to start activating all over the police headquarters.

There was a quiet sound of grinding metal as the device approached Clow, and once it was exactly a foot from him a series of black metallic chains seemed to shoot out from it and envelope the magician, binding him completely. As when he used the spell on Riou, the chains seemed to be anchored at their ends to the air itself. Connecting them all where the device would normally have landed on Clow's person was a wing emblem that very much resembled the device's previous form. Clow struggled against his bonds a bit both to show how strong they were and to make sure that they were tight enough and yet not too tight. "There isn't a requirement of intent, no, but it can only be activated by a person who has at least a basic understanding of what it is and what it's supposed to do. So, it can go off accidentally but not by falling off of your desk or something."

Riou tilted his head slightly. So that's what it looked like from the other side... He walked a part circle around the magician.

"That's good to know. Although I suppose there could be complications if someone with wind magic or something such made the device rebound back to the user before it was close enough to activate... Unless it can dampen magic?"

Riou finished his somewhat meandering circuit with a somewhat amusing ping pong game between magic users over the device playing through his head. Or, well, not so amusing if it was a city watch member who lost the game, but...

"Outside of exploding them off, is there any other sort of weakness that could be exploited to get free of them?"

Clow turned his head to talk to Riou while the other man was behind him. "I actually hadn't thought of that; perhaps I should build that into the next version. Even so, it shouldn't be able to backfire on its user if that happens."

The second question gave him pause as he thought. "... Very strong wind magic might be able to move the air that the chains are anchored to, but it shouldn't break anything. That's all I can think of."

"That's even better to know." Riou shifted back over to more easily talk to Clow without the other man having to crane his neck. "And someone extremely powerful wouldn't be able to break the chains themselves? .... otherwise I may try to neutralize the magic and see what happens."

"They'd have to be as powerful as I am," Clow answered with a smirk. However, magic-nullifying spells were an entirely new concept to him so his arrogant attitude quickly faded in favor of curiosity. "Go right ahead. How do you intend to do that?"

"It's not exactly my forte and there are probably better spells to try with this..." Riou loosened the glove on his right hand. "But it's something I've used in a pinch before."

He idly wondered what a Silent Lake spell would do the device-- or really the area in general, considering how magical the entire city seemed to be. But without a current runemaster, he'd perhaps have to strike a deal with the deities to have a flowing rune attached. And if he was going to make stupid deals with the deities again, it would be for something far more vital. Riou's attention circled back to Clow and the magical doohicky in front of him.

"The way that I'd do it, is a bit harder to explain. I suppose you could say that my rune can suppress other magic. Or shield it away. It should at least give some indication how other magic nullifying spells might react to the thing."

Not that he was about to go overboard if Clow's magic really was that strong, especially with Bright Shield being somewhat tetchy since his latest
fit of temporary evil insanity.

Clow considered that for a moment. "Ah, I think I understand. Go ahead, and let's hope that it doesn't make this thing explode while I'm in it. ♥"

He already knew that it wouldn't, of course, but to Clow the idea made for an amusing mental image.

But not quite so amusing for Riou, who had sudden flashbacks to exactly how he managed to escape the device back during the mirror city curse. He froze in the midst of his casting and facefaulted.

". . . . . . . . it wouldn't really do that, would it? I can't say that I've ever had that particular reaction to my magic."

"No, I don't think it would," Clow replied, still smiling and apparently unphased by Riou's reaction.

Riou looked warily over at Clow. But really... how could his trying to supress magic have that effect? And he'd tried --and failed-- to use something similar when he had been stuck in the magical doohicky himself and nothing-- well, it had kind of exploded in the end, but that had been due to an entirely different spell at the time.

". . . . . I certainly hope not," Riou said with one last wary look at the magician wrapped up in the chains.

He finally partially raised his right hand -- still gloved-- and concentrated on sending out a tendril of power towards the air magic that he knew must be anchoring the chains. Just a bit... he certainly didn't want to overdo it. Unlike last time, he felt the surge of warmth from the back of his hand that indicated that Bright Shield was responding. He thought of pushing down and a faint gold aura began to surround his body.

Once the spell hit, all of the chains anchoring Clow to the air fell limp. He wiggled a bit in his bonds, testing them, but the chains holding him refused to give way. "Well, isn't this interesting?"

Standing still again (he had tried not to move around too much for fear of falling over), he mentally pushed against the magic that he could feel suppressing his own, curious even though it wasn't really part of the testing. He could feel what was behind it, but the concept of runes was so alien to him that he was looking for what was behind that.

Riou felt Clow pushing back. He held on for a moment longer before letting his power dissipate. No need to get into a wrestling contest, especially as he really oughtn't be dithering around too much with Bright Shield in the first place. It really was a shame he didn't have a flowing rune to test.

"Very interesting! I suppose it might be possible then, depending on the type of neutralizing magic. Something that nullifies it entirely or... what do you think would happen if we tossed the device at someone who cast repelling magic?" Riou raised a hand to his chin thoughtfully.

Edited 2008-05-30 07:43 (UTC)

"I'm not quite sure!" came the reply after a moment's thought. Most people might have felt a little interrogated by now at being asked so many questions while tied-up, but Clow remained cheerful and casual about it. "We might have to test it out somehow. The most likely outcome, however, is that it will fail to activate and simply hit the target."

What exactly did Riou mean by 'repelling' magic, anyway? Was it that same sort of thing that he just did, or... something else? Whatever the case, it was becoming clear to Clow that Riou's world had too many words to describe what was known on his simply as 'sealing magic'.

"All right. I've had Canopy Defense cast on me-- that would normally make all outside magic directed at me unable to touch me for the moment. Shall we try tossing the device at me, next?"

Riou paused a moment and eyed the older magician in his gear.

"I don't suppose you can get out of that thing by yourself?"

Clow nodded at the idea of tossing the handcuffs at Riou to test them, the still-limp chains dangling around him rattling with his every motion. He could get out of them himself, but it was neither necessary nor a good idea to make that known as his way of doing so amounted to magical 'hacking'.

"Now might be a good time to tell you how to turn it off, yes!" he replied, chuckling, and then tried to indicate without using his hands the 'heart' of the device - that winged emblem thing that connected all of the chains. Obvious button was obvious, for in the middle of the emblem was a smooth, circular and mirror-like surface. "You just have to press that; before you ask, yes, it only works for the person who activated it."

"Yes, knowing how to turn it off without explodey explosions of doom would be a rather nice thing," Riou said as he walked up to Clow.

He tilted his head, getting one last close-up look at the device in action-- at least from this side if Canopy Defense failed to thwart it-- before lightly tapping at the mirror surface and taking an expectant step back.

"I suppose if the person who activated the device suddenly got booted out of the city before deactivating it, we'll be hoping that neutralizing magic really does work, eh?"

The chains loosened at first, but then appeared to liquefy as they were pulled back into the main part of the device - which assumed its original form and was caught by Clow before it could fall to the ground.

"I hadn't considered that possibility. It seems unlikely, but maybe I should modify the unlocking mechanism so that it will respond to any current police officer," which he can do, without even knowing who is currently on the force. "That would also make it more secure in the event that someone gets a hold of it who shouldn't."

Tossing and catching the device in the air with one hand, casually - it apparently doesn't go off when you do that - he takes a few more steps back. "Let me know when you're ready, Riou."

Riou stood stock still staring in fascination at the apparently liquefying of the device. Well, that certainly looked... different. He finally gave his head a little shake and took a few more steps back himself.

"That sounds like a good idea. But would you need to keep updating it as the various officers cycle in and out of the city? Because that tends to happen... a lot."

Not to mention certain ex-officers who proved to be rather... murderous. And a couple more steps back.

"Ready when you are!"

"I shouldn't, no - I would have to use a much more complicated spell, but it can be done and be self-maintaining. Be ready to catch it~!" And with that, Clow tossed the object at Riou as if it were a ball and they were merely playing catch - an effect that was only heightened when the device did not go off.

"Now that'd be handy--"

Riou paused, reached out and easily caught the device sailing towards him. He blinked down at it a moment and wondered what would have happened if he'd tried to do that sans Canopy Defense. He supposed it would have activated before he could have touched it.

"Interesting. So we will have to keep an eye out for neutralizing magic then." Not that he actually knew who had that kind of power in the city. "Speaking of which, the spell is fading now... should I be concerned about that?"

"Yes, probably," Clow replied... right before the device activated. Despite that Riou was holding it at the time, the chains bound him in such a way that he maintained his original position quite comfortably. Clow paused before approaching the younger man to deactivate the binding mechanism, thoughtful. "... I'm not sure whether to consider that a bug or a feature."

Blink. Well. There he was again. Although he was in more of a position-- and less deranged-- to appreciate it this time. He shifted and tested at his bonds, although he'd already had an ample demonstration just how strong they were were from this side already.

". . . . I think that would depend upon how large the window of opportunity is. If you throw it at someone who's cursed and miss, and the next day they go past and it nabs them... maybe not quite so much of a feature."

"Well, if you miss it should activate on whatever it comes within a foot of first - though that might not be such a good thing if that happens to be someone you didn't want chained up," Clow mused as he reached for the button that released the chains. "Just be aware that this might end with you deciding which bug you like better, unless I'm to have it rely a lot more on intent."

"Whatever that it comes within a foot of-- so that includes animals? Trees? Inanimate objects? I suppose the ground would preferable of all that," Riou said, amongst a slew of mental images of the police force suddenly wiping each each other, and half the city, out with magical webbing. "I suddenly foresee a lot of ball-throwing practice in the city watch."

Oh well. It was still probably going to have a far better aim than the results he'd seen with the net gun.

"Well, I could change it to only react to living things," Clow replied as the device released Riou. "The only reason it works that way now is because I tested the original spell on moving inanimate objects and thought that it might be useful that way."

[ooc: sorry for the delay, and the short post. @_@ I was in a slump; hopefully it's over.]

Surrepticiously releases a pent up breath. Apparently he'd been slightly more creeped out by being in the binding again than he'd first realized.

"No, it's probably better that it reacts on inanimate objects instead of waiting to nab the next person who goes past it, in the cases where the thrower misses. I'm assuming the original caster would be able to pick up the device again safely, activated or not?"

Clow nods. "Yes, you can't activate it on yourself.

"So, is there anything else you wanted to try out while we're here, or did you want to take it home and play with it for a bit while I work on the next version?"

[ooc: Aww. D: ]

"Oh yes," Riou grinned and seemingly casually tossed the device from hand-to-hand. "Not being able to accidentally activate this on yourself is a very good thing. I think that's about it for now-- so you don't need this to work on the next version? If not, then I might keep fiddling with it then."

"No, I took very careful notes when I was making it, so those should in fact be more useful than actually having it on hand." This would mean that the ~~GUI design~~ outward appearance of the ~~beta~~ next version might not be completely consistent with this one, but Clow didn't think that Riou would mind too much one way or the other. "Besides which, this way you can let me know if you find anything else out.

"So, how many of the next one do you think I should make? I imagine you'll want at least a few for training purposes, whether or not it ends up being the final version." Of course, as with technological developments, there may or may not be a final version. It might always need some tweaking.

[ooc: Sorry, the more I think about this device, the more I see it as technology and Clow as a developer. XD ]

"I think three should do it for next time. I'll basically be letting my unit members play with them at that point-- showing it to the warden and the chief of police can be held off until the final version. It will be up to them if and how many will be used by the other divisions."

Riou debated whether he should try for a magical doohickey for each member of his team, but in the end decided to curb the amount of prototypes floating around lest some unfortunate bug be found in them. Maybe it was his rather explosive experience with various inventors and their inventions but... But that did remind him.

"Have you come up with a name for this yet? Besides 'thingy'?"

Clow nodded. He would probably make an extra one for himself, to experiment on and make minor adjustments to - so, four.

"Hmm, not really. I had been mainly calling it the 'handcuff device' in my head, but I suppose that if I really wanted to be pompous we could call it the 'Binding Chains of Wind'." He paused, thinking. "... I really like that name, actually. It's a bit of a mouthful, though."

"Well, that certainly beats 'magical doohickey' which is what I've been calling it in my head." Riou stopped tossing the device to inspect it slightly closer as he repeated the name in his head. "It does suit it, but I agree about it being a mouthful. BCW? BCow... BeeCow? If it was just 'Chains of Wind' it could be 'cow'." He smiled slightly at that.

Clow laughed. "Chains of Wind it is, then!"

Now, thanks to Riou, the device was now personified into a cow in Clow's head and kept going, 'MooooOOO!' ... Clow's mind was a strange place.

"So the cops will be tossing cows around then, eh?" Riou also laughed. And then paused at the mental images that brought up. But no, that was just his mind being weird like normal, right?

"Speaking of cows... do you have time for a late lunch? I was about to head over to the Dewi Shri before I go on duty."

"Certainly!" Clow smiled, and then realized that he wasn't sure what sort of place Dewi Shri was. Indian?

"Ah, I'm afraid I don't eat out much and haven't had a chance to go to most of the restaurants here yet," ... well, not the ones that aren't bars, anyway, "so... I'm afraid I don't even know what kind of place that is."

"I've probably eaten in every restaurant and cafe this place has by now. I could probably give eating tours." Riou smiled back at Clow. Especially considering his sister's cooking. Yep, just keep smiling.

"Dewi Shri has food like the southeast of Dunan-- which probably doesn't help you much." Clow was from Earth, right? He tried to fumble for the world for this particular style of Earth cooking... and failed. Oh well, so much for getting more knowledgeable about other world's cultures! "Ah... rice and noodles and such, lots of spices? It kind of fits in with the whole ambiance of the hot springs and dojo and lotus gardens in the area."

"Ah, so Southeast Asian food." Clow still wasn't sure specifically which kind, but he'd find out. He was somewhat in a rice and/or noodles mood, anyway. "Lead on~."

"Southeast Asian, is it? I'll have to keep that in ... with little cowbells attached to the harness--mind..."

Riou carefully tucked away the cow-- err Chains of Wind device into his ever present knapsack, lest they suddenly have a rather more interesting experience in the restaurant than they were aiming for. And then with one last look around the clearing, he set off with Clow for the Dewi Shri.

Little did he know, but he was really going to need the fortification for the rest of the day.

log; in progress

Aaaand off to bed *coughs* >_>

My timing is amazing, isn't it? >_>; Sorry it was so late.

Better than right after I went to bed? But nooo hurry... I'm about to POOF again myself...

Yeah, I like to be kinda chill about logs. Also, I should draw a picture of this thing.

Good because this one might take awhile XD ... it'd be funny to draw a pic of someone in them too...

You bondage fetishist, you.

Me? I'm as innocent as a little baby goat!

Are you kidding?

*innocent look* No devising bondage gear over here!

Perrrrrrrrvert~~~

*completely innocent look* 0:D

So, I assume you want these to be /sexy/ concept pictures.

Completely innocent concept images, I say! Of a bondage device. ^_^

So, I'm the only one who is imagining Riou staring at Clow's behind while inspecting the chains?

Yes... Totally not wondering what Riou thought when he went behind Clow either! And I go POOF again

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How strong is this spell, so that I have an idea?

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laaaaaawl, sorry for the one-line tag. Next one will be longer, I swear.

It's fine, Riou's been basically dithering for a few replies now XDDD

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For some reason, I find this part of the scene hot.

... and I'm supposed to be the one who's mind is in the gutter? XD;

Dude, I'm a TOTAL pervert! You have no idea!

.... oh, I think I may be getting an idea. XDD

*innocent look*

We see the truth behind that innocent look! Also, you want to describe what happens when the thingy

Who is this "we"?! D: Of course you forgot - I never told you!

Me and my multiple personalities? .... and I'm glad my memory isn't failing <i>that</i> much!

late tag is late; I got distracted by the curse. Also, I hope that the godmodding is okay.

That's fine, I was busy today too. And since I asked you to describe what happened in the 1st place

shhh, this post isn't late. srsly.

What, we didn't want to leave Riou tied up for 2 days again? XD (And I'm asleep & not posting this)

Again, I'm made of fail =_= dear god, a WEEK.

Wheeee.... eh, most of the logs/spams I'm part of peter off like that... XD;

I think it's a sign that we're nearing a natural ending to the scene, though?

Yep, seems to be... and don't mind me randomly switching into present tense for one bit >_>

That's fine. I didn't mean to, but I ended up doing the same.

My evil influence! Ha, well it's easier to think of tech for us mere muggles? XD

You don't know how badly I wanted to come up with a name whose acronym was "BDSM".

Argh, must come up with acronym.. Binding Device Squall Magic?Binding Drafts of Shackle Magic? XDD;

XD CoW is so much better, though. Watch the next version be vaguely cow-themed.

Riou says Dear god, what has he done?! XD;;

Never give a mad scie-- I mean magician silly ideas.

*is totally imagining a cow-ball that goes 'moooooo!' when tossed now*

fdjaklsfjl DON'T GIVE ME IDEAS, EITHER XD And we can end the thread at any time, rly.

... with little cowbells attached to the harness-- I mean binding!!! (J/K) End w/ them leaving here?

Aaaand off to bed coughs >_>

innocent look No devising bondage gear over here!

completely innocent look 0:D

innocent look

is totally imagining a cow-ball that goes 'moooooo!' when tossed now