October 2022 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

OCTOBER 2022 TDM

INTRODUCTION

[ TDM Questions ★ Jump to Comments ★ Full Navigation ]
Welcome to Folkmore's monthly Test Drive Meme! Please feel free to test drive any and all characters regardless of your intent to apply or whether you have an invite or not.

All TDMs are game canon. You can choose to have your TDM thread be your introduction thread upon acceptance or start fresh. Each TDM will provide a scenario for how characters arrive in-game that particular month.

Playing TDMs will allow characters to immediately obtain canon items from homes especially weapons or other things they may have had on their person when they were pulled from their worlds! There will always be a prompt that provides some sort of "reward" to characters who complete certain tasks.

Current players are allowed to have in-game characters react to TDMs via the Network or make a log with the prompts. Current players are always encouraged to tag new people on the TDM!

TDM threads can be used for spoon spending at any time by characters accepted into the game.

[ Prompt One ★ Prompt Two]

SHINING

Content Warnings: Possible insanity via freezing. Temporary nullification of abilities.

COLD AS YOU

You were falling...

The world snaps into place all at once; you are laying on the ground, surrounded on all sides by towering bushes that stretch up towards a beautiful sunset sky. The bushes were clearly flowered at one point, but now the flowers have died and all that remains are browning leaves that are beginning to fall. On the chill air you can sometimes hear the sound of music, too faint to completely determine.

As you stand, you are filled with an intense desire to find someone. You might have an idea of who, but chances are you do not - you just know that somewhere ahead of you is someone that you need to reach. Whether they are friend or lover or enemy remains to be seen.

You wander the maze. If you're the impatient type and you have the ability, you might try to fly out but you will simply be vaulted right back down if you do. Something clearly expects you to play by rules which were never actually explained. As you move through the twisting passages of nature, you will notice that there is a frost creeping along the branches on either side of you. This frost brings a deep chill with it, and it encourages you to move faster, to find that nameless person now now now! If you take a very long time to wander the maze you may very well be on the verge of freezing and half mad with the desire to find someone. If you try to force your way through the bushes, the frost will crawl over your limbs and inspire both the freezing and near madness at once.

When you find your Person, the cold evaporates. The air suddenly feels merely crisp, and the leaves on the bushes seem more vibrant. The two of you now can focus on finding the way out - so much easier now - but any sense of urgency will have passed and you may just walk for hours, talking and sharing things about yourselves.

It is possible to solve the maze alone, but it is much easier (and more pleasant!) with someone else.

KEEP YOUR BRITTLE HEART WARM

When you exit the hedge maze you will find a stunning display of lights: hundreds of candles and lanterns decorate the ground and hang from trees, illuminating a clear path over a gently sloping hill. When you crest the hill you can look down and see a beautiful hot spring sprawled out below. It too is lit up by hundreds of lights, all of them glowing under the late autumn sky as it darkens towards night. There are changing rooms where you can stash your clothes (yes, there are bathing suits for the very shy) and bathing stations to ensure that you are clean before entering.

The water of the springs soothes madness and heals physical injuries or any frostbite that may have been sustained in the maze. It also relaxes you, making you perhaps more likely to open up to anybody else present.

The hot spring is staffed by many mice. They don't speak, but they squeak to one another in such a way that it sounds like they are singing - high lilting chants that seem to promise that everything will be okay. They are happy enough to band together to bring you towels or hot tea. The spring is open 24/7, always with lights to fight the cold and darkness of winter.

HIGH STRANGENESS

Content Warnings: Monster sighting, optional violence.

GLITCH

Folkmore has trains and of course the cat bus, but it also has roads, mostly utilized by horses and bicycles. Maybe you're looking for the convivence store, or maybe you just like walking. However it happens, you find yourself on a lonely road at dusk. It is unusually quiet, almost as if the world is holding its breath.

Suddenly you hear the sound of wings. A man-sized creature soars above you, something with huge red glowing eyes. It drops something at your feet: a walkie-talkie. The creature lands some distance away, staring at you, and a thought arises unbidden in your mind:

Help them.

The walkie crackles and you can hear someone speaking, asking if anyone is there. It is another Star Child, brought into this trial as well. They are in danger somewhere nearby; maybe stuck on the edge of a cliff, or trapped on a rope bridge - whatever it is, they need someone else to help them get to safety. If they have any powers, they have been temporarily nullified, but if the rescuer has powers they remain intact. That's where you come in! Using the walkie you must communicate with one another so that the rescuer can reach the person in trouble in time!

But what if you don't make it in time? Or decide that you're not the hero type? Well. The rescue-ee will suffer a terrible fate... for a few seconds. Then the entire world fuzzes and resets, but this time the roles have been reversed. Both parties will remember what has already happened, so if you just ran off into the woods with no intent of helping the first time you miiiight get your just desserts! This process will repeat over and over, people switching sides every time, until someone is finally rescued or the sun rises. Whichever comes first!

If you do succeed at a rescue, you will hear the rustle of huge wings once more. This time you don't see the mysterious creature, but you will find a mystery trunk. Inside you will each find some of your canon clothes and a canon item. Looks like teamwork is rewarded! Nearby, there will also be some unenchanted weapons sticking out of the ground: basic swords, guns, shields, etc.

BAD OMEN

You don't necessarily have to have completed the rescue trial to get some goodies, though! Those aforementioned weapons are scattered all over Folkmore. But if you just go to grab any of them you'd better be prepared to fight; after all, nothing comes for free!

As soon as you have pulled a weapon out of the ground, a tall, man in a black suit and hat will appear from seemingly nowhere and attack you. He has no weapons but he is extremely strong. He's also just really creepy - his face looks like it might be fake, somehow. The only way he can be killed is with a wound to the heart - any other supposedly mortal injury will result in another man in black appearing. It is possible for someone with no combat training to beat these creatures, but they really might appreciate a little help from someone with more experience!

The good news is that they won't mess up your clothes any, as none of these creatures bleed. Because that is totally normal.

Good luck!

Comments

Questions, comments, concerns?

[folkie]

Right here!

jaskier | the witcher (netflix)

[bardicdisaster]

cold as you

[Jaskier begins the walk through the maze at a fairly leisurely pace. Although the air is certainly a crisper cold than where he'd been moments ago, it doesn't begin as enough to cut through his layers. If anything, he's content to take the time to consider this thought that's occurred to him about finding someone else. To some extent, it should be almost expected that he'd want someone along for something like this. Jaskier's never been one to do perfectly well on his own, preferring pleasant conversation greatly over merely mulling over his own thoughts. But even as he finds his own natural drive not to be alone carrying him forward, there's something curious about the thought all the same. Almost as if it were not his own, but rather the result of some unheard whisper...

Still, he finds no distress in that sensation and just mere curiosity. Why should he be troubled after all? It seems like a very odd dream he's having right now and there's never really any harm in odd dreams to be found.

But the thought becomes all the more distracting. Even as he observes the blossoming frost on the foliage around him, he can't really focus on the delicate spidering of ice along leaves or begin to start formulating some poetic way of framing the juxtaposition of preserving something in its final moments in such a transient manner. He can only really think that he needs to keep moving. He needs to find someone.

Especially once it begins to get cold enough that he needs to fold his arms tightly and then tuck his hands as much as he can beneath his arms and then all he can focus on is the way his teeth click incessantly together as his jaw chatters and fuck he is so cold. He is so, so, so cold. His doublet was not meant for this weather in the slightest and was far better suited to keeping him from succumbing to the heat in Posada. Jaskier needs to find someone and he needs to get out of this damned maze that's long since lost its appeal to him. He starts moving quickly as he can, trying his best to outrun the frost. There's the distant thought that he'd like to wake up now from this shit dream, but it's quickly superseded by the other.

He needs to find someone.]

Oh, fuck me!

[He's rounded yet another corner and come across yet another dead end it would seem. Jaskier's breath puffs shakily in the cold as he lets out a disappointed sigh. Part of him wants to do little more than act like a child and throw himself on the ground, and simply let the frost take him! But another part of him, a part that doesn't feel like himself completely, wants to keep going. He stands there in a moment of hesitation and indecision (although absolutely not stillness with how he's begun shivering) between these two urges before he stubbornly opts for a middle option.]

Hello!? Is anyone else walking in circles or is it just me!?

[One benefit of being a bard, one certainly knows how to project. Hopefully, even with as thick as foliage and frost are becoming, someone will still be able to hear him.]

glitch

Erm, well. Not that I'm opposed to helping—I am quite the charitable sort, you'll find—but what exactly am I meant to do about that?

[Jaskier winces a little. He's not certain how the other will likely take it, but he genuinely doesn't mean to necessarily pass off responsibility. It's just more an acknowledgment that Jaskier has been on one (1) adventure thus far in his life that involved any true semblance of danger and wasn't some game of make-believe as children are often wont to play. When it comes to his skillset, Jaskier is quite confident in his knowledge and application of it. This particular situation does not fall within that purview in the slightest as far as he's concerned and he's never had such delusions of grandeur to even consider otherwise.]

I don't mean to worry you unnecessarily, but if you're truly relying upon me for a rescue, you are well and truly fucked.

[Sing them a beautiful song? Tell them a wonderful story? Witty conversation and banter? Jaskier could dazzle them with very little effort. Rescuing from mortal peril? Yes, well. As he said: well and truly fucked.]

wildcard
((feel free to riff on any of these prompts or toss one of the other ones at me! any questions or something you wanna run by me first? hmu via pm or on plurk [rebreather]. also for point of reference, taking jaskier at his babiest and fresh off his first episode in season one!))

Shikanoin Heizou ❖ Genshin Impact

[shikanoinheizou]

((ooc: Heizou is coming along to the TDM with about a month of CRAU from Jigoku, purely for the fact that a previous nugget of CR might be apping too. This won't affect his personality at all, but might be the source of a couple of odd comments here and there if the conversation goes that way.))

---

i. Cold as You

Oof--!

[It's that sensation of falling right as you're trying to fall asleep, and Heizou shoots up into a sitting position with a few leaves and twigs stuck in his hair, looking wildly around himself for a few moments before he quietly subsides.]

... Well. [He murmurs.] That was discombobulating.

[And he sits there for a minute, puzzled. He pinches himself. He picks up one of the dead flowers on the ground nearby and peers at it, then looks around himself some more. Looks like Hell isn't that difficult to escape after all, but he isn't sure he's keen on the new location either.

Eventually the detective pushes himself up to his feet to investigate these new surroundings, brushing leaves out of his hair as he goes, and though his desire to find someone is entirely genuine at first it does slowly begin to build to a level of urgency that even he realises is out of character. The chill moves in and he pulls the fabric of his haori tight around him as goosebumps race along his skin.]

Not good...

[Ahh, it's cold, it's cold--... He needs to find...

Who?]

ii. Keep Your Brittle Heart Warm

[It's difficult to turn down a hot spring, especially when you've just spent far too much time feeling like you're about to freeze to death, so Heizou stashes his clothes and doesn't waste any time in stowing his clothes away and dipping himself straight into the warm water.

No bathing suit required.

As the dull aching from the damage the frost had wreaked on his body eases, Heizou feels himself relaxing by degrees. He puffs out a breath and sinks in deeply enough that only his nose and eyes are visible above the water, along with his half-damp red-purple hair, then quickly ducks his head under entirely before coming up to rest at the edge of the spring.]

I could probably get used to this. [He muses out loud. It's relaxing for the moment, though it's only a matter of time before the detective's keen mind is going to start itching for something to investigate.

Heizou stretches his arms out and taps with his fingers, then worries his lower lip as a flicker of anxiety darts across the back of his mind.

Hmm.]

iii. Glitch
(a)

[Heizou does enjoy walking, and as someone with expertise in both Anemo manipulation and martial arts he has no concerns about walking alone. He almost considers this stance as a large shadow falls over him, a vortex beginning to form in his palm that immediately dissipates as the walkie-talkie drops to the ground in front of him. He picks it up, turning it over in his hands, and his expression lights up as he hears a voice coming from it.]

I'm on the case. [He assures the person on the other end of the device, keeping it close to his ear as he starts to hunt for them. They're nearby, so there must be evidence of their passing - footprints, a broken branch, a torn scrap of fabric, a few strands of hair caught on a hedge - and Heizou is just the kind of person to find that evidence.

The young man speaks into the walkie-talkie again, his voice firm and commanding.]

Shout up, let's see if I can hear you. We'll have you out of trouble in no time.

(B)

[Or maybe it's Heizou's voice you hear coming from the walkie-talkie? He sounds fairly calm, if somewhat breathless as he requests assistance from the person on the other end.

When they find him he'll be a couple of metres down the side of a cliff, clinging to the rock with a white-knuckled grip with no handholds available above him to pull himself up the rest of the way. Heizou is a strong young man and usually more than capable of rescuing himself even without any abilities, but he can't climb up smooth rock!

As soon as he spies someone peering at him over the cliff he looks up, puffing out a sharp breath.]

Ah-- Be a pal and find me a rope, would you?

iv. Bad Omen

[The 5'4" detective probably doesn't look like he's up to much of a fight, unless you look closely enough to see that his frame is almost entirely solid muscle. As soon as he has the jitte in his hand the attack comes, and Heizou darts out of the way of the first strike as if the wind itself is carrying him.]

What the--?!

[What the heck?!

Heizou prefers not to fight as a general rule, but the martial arts that his father made him learn as a child do come in handy at times like this. He clenches his fist tightly around the jitte, and the aqua-coloured Vision peeking out of his clothing begins to glow faintly.]

You don't wanna do this--... [He says levelly.] But if you insist...

[A quick look is shot to the person currently with him.]

Can you defend yourself?

v. Wildcard

[Nothing here catch your eye? Shoot me a DM or hit me up at hardtostarboard and we can work something else out!]

kaedahara kazuha 🍁 genshin impact

[mapleleaves]

|| cold as you.

( upon arriving, Kazuha opened his eyes to see a curtain of autumn leaves towering over him where he lay. being greeted by a colourful visual of nature immediately soothes any concern he may have: for if the trees and wind are here, he can listen to them. Kazuha pulls himself into a seating position before closing his eyes to try and regain his senses. the elements are beckoning him to rise and follow the maze, as he detects. once he spots it, he can't help but take a moment to survey his surroundings, seemingly far more interested in the foliage than the maze itself. in his palm, he gazes at some of the greenery, truly fascinated ... but as a result of this, he receives a harsh bite of the frost on his hand which makes him retract it. all right, nature, he's listening. )

You really are quite eager for me to find someone. ( yes, he's talking to the leaves. this is just standard Kazuha, honestly. ) Very well. I will listen to you.

( it's a harmless request, after all. calmly, the young samurai heads through the maze, a few paces ahead of the frost that is herding him in the direction of another person. he is lucky to have escaped the brunt of its bite, but he will tend to anyone who needs it. anyone who he comes across ...

... right now! )

|| keep your brittle heart warm.

( a hot spring certainly seems like the most perfect remedy for soothing the autumn chill. Kazuha is used to the elements - both on land and at sea, rendering him mostly undisturbed by frost or bitterness. even still, the opportunity is something he certainly can't turn down. while surveying the spring, he is reminded of Inazuma for a passing moment. although Inazuma didn't have singing, squeaking mice, that's for certain. he finds himself immediately charmed.

ever traditional, after removing his clothing he fixes a towel around his waist, rinsing off before he sinks into the incredible warmth. for a moment, he asks himself why he doesn't do this more often. natural bodies of water are well and good to bathe in, but this warms him straight down to his bones. it even makes him smile, sighing in content while his eyes fan shut. )

... My time as a wanderer has brought me across many sights and experiences. ( a chittering of squeaking interrupts him, which makes him push out a soft laugh. ah, yes, the mice. that's not an everyday sighting. ) But nothing quite like this.

|| glitch. ( i )

( there is no hesitation what-so-ever from Kazuha when he is granted the desire to help another. he leans down and picks the walkie talkie off the floor, delivering a calm introduction as to not panic the person in trouble. )

Do not worry - I am here to help you. ( he surveys his surroundings, trying to memorise any landmarks or places of notice. ) What can you see right now?

|| glitch. ( ii )

( in this instance, Kazuha is the one in need of rescue. and despite everything, he sounds ... calm. surprisingly calm, actually. he is stuck on a cliff ledge, lacking his Vision and therefore rendering him incapable of gliding down. the rocks are too slippery to climb, as well ... but the view is pretty outstanding. he leans back on the grassy ledge, speaking calmly into the walkie talkie. )

My current placement is on the ledge of a cliff ... there is grass beneath my feet. I can see across a ravine so gorgeous, it is an unmistakable symphony of autumn ... the red trees are blazing intensely with a scarlet so passionate, you would think they are on fire ... ( a pause. ) But they aren't on fire. Do not worry. ( Kazuha you can't get inspired to recite poetry in the middle of a rescue!!! )

|| wildcard.

(( ooc: feel free to do something else if nothing grabs you! ))

cold as you (😳)

[descender]

[It feels not so long ago he was solving a puzzle with Kaeya and now he ends up in another one? At least his wings work here, so he extends them out, flying high enough to pass over it when suddenly an invisible and strong force smacks back and into the ground. He is not prepared for that happening at all and loses his cordination.

He crashes right in front of Kazuha, dropping rather hard onto the ground. The impact makes his wings retract as he lies on his back. The leaves that are on the ground are kicked up, flying in the air due to his impact.

Talk about finding a shooting (or is it fallen?) star, Kazuha. Did you make a wish?]

Hngh...

[mapleleaves]

( honestly, Kazuha was pretty unassuming, just quietly committed to his task and then-- OH. )

!!

T-Traveller-! ( he crouches down to see if he's okay. mildly panicked! that was quite a hard fall! )

Are you injured? Do you hurt? ( speak to him, Aether! )

Glitch - B

[foundpurpose]

Nope, I’ve got something better. [He stuffs the walkie talkie into his belt. The jet black wings of his armor snap out and he leaps from the cliff.

He dives down and his wings beat to slow him once he reaches Heizou.] Come on, let’s get out of here.

[He’s a tall man with jet black hair, partly pointed ears, and wearing dark leather armor covered in scroll work. And looks rather calm all things considered.] I can hold you and fly just fine.

Bad Omen

[descender]

[He's been told by a friend that he'd find his weapon, and well, he finally finds it. He finds his silver sword, but there is a price to pay. It takes him creating about four of these "men" to figure out how to defeat them. He's on high alert after defeating them. Getting his sword back is worth it.

He's going to return back to Lapine when he sees another one of those creepy creatures. His instincts kick in, grabbing his sword as he extends his wings. He runs, launching himself so his wings can make him move forward quickly. As he gets closer, he hears a familiar voice and another figure. There's no mistaking this is Heizou; another one of his friends from Teyvat has found themselves here. This can't just being coincidences.

He intercepts, blocking an attack with his sword. This should buy Heizou enough time.]

They can't be reasoned with. Aim for the heart!

cold as you

[demonicbeauty]

[At this point, Ariadne's started getting used to finding herself in completely foreign surroundings. It can be a little scary, but her faith in Thirteen has only grown, over the course of these trials. She's genuinely starting to believe that everything happens for a reason. It's simply her task to discover what that reason is. Fortunately, this goes well with her aggressive optimism. And her intense believe that there is a perfect possible future. It just needs to be found.

Of course, that isn't to say she's beyond irritation. And seeing as she grew up in the rainforest of Deleo, far away from kingdoms with winters...well. She doesn't much care for the cold. And it happens that she was wandering in her leathers, without anything to cover her head, and certainly without a coat.

Rubbing her hands together, she winds her way through the maze, certain she'll find the way out, but rather wishing it's sooner than later. The intense need to find...someone is to be expected, she supposes. Alastrians are pack animals, social creatures. She's always done fine on her own, but never exactly enjoyed it.

Something else that Thirteen has helped her to realize.

Turning corner after corner is getting her nowhere. So her heart leaps up in excitement when she picks out the sound of another person's heartbeat, followed almost immediately by some remark about...fornication?

Well, no matter.]

Hello!

[She has a gentle voice. Bright as a bell.]

Yes! I'm here! I've been...walking about for a bit.

[It's a little embarrassing to be a spy who's gotten lost...]

Keep your brittle heart warm

[shadowsincryo]

That’s how it is here in Folk. New experiences all the time. [Kaeya has his back against one side of the hot springs. His arms draped over the edge.

He has a towel around his waist and his wolf tail over his own lap. If the towel ever came loose he still has modesty.] Just get here?

[His hair is wound into a bun to keep it up out of the water. He tips his head back and shuts his eyes. He could fall asleep here.]

[descender]

[He pushes past the pain and his dizziness, sitting up. He's still a little disoriented from being smacked like you were a small insect. He wishes he landed on something much softer, too.

It takes him a moment to realize a voice is speaking to him. He turns his head and sees... Kazuha (!?) crouching beside him.]

I'm, okay... [He thinks. The fall was unexpected, but that matters little to him right now.] What are you doing here? [Says the guy who just crash landed right in front of someone.]

[mapleleaves]

( not a single part of him can resist fussing, just a little. checking Aether over for any scrapes or broken bones. fortunately he seems to be all in one piece, despite the force of his landing. Kazuha casts out a sigh of relief and sits back on his knees. )

Perhaps the very same reason you are. I saw her appear, a brilliant red fox ... a creature with a scent so magnificent, one carrying traces of all four seasons and the stars. ( come to think of it, the only time he smelled a being quite like that was Aether and Paimon. Kazuha extends a hand to Aether and attempts to stabilise himself. )

When you are ready, would you like to try to stand? You can lean on me for support, my friend.

[mapleleaves]

( much like Kaeya, Kazuha is also walking the path of a familiar. while he is not a wolf, he has a fluffy fox tail much like his, which is swaying in the water beside him. )

I did, yes. ( having an appendage he can move is ... brand new, and slightly strange. but ever the nature lover, he finds that he quite likes it. ) I was guided here by the fox whose fur burned so brightly like an autumn hearth. She smelled like all of the seasons and the stars simultaneously ... what a fascinating creature. As a wanderer, I simply could not resist following her.

How long have you been here for? ( it relaxes him to hear that another has been here for a while, removing some of his concerns for danger. )

[shadowsincryo]

Months. [Kaeya responds as he settles deeper into the water.] From Teyvat it has only been some of us from Mondstadt.

Until recently. Nice to see other nations represented. [His tail is so long he could drape it over his shoulder like a furry ruff.

He should do that sometime. He grins at the idea.]

It hasn’t been too bad. A bit invasive but that’s all.

[mapleleaves]

( months, huh? ) So I am the only one who has been called from Inazuma thus far, and those of Mondstadt have been here longer ... how very fascinating ... ( there is wonder and an inflection of awe in his voice - there is nothing disingenuous here. not when it comes to Kazuha. it seems that the fox left quite an impression on him. a creature carrying the smell and colours of the seasons themselves is one he certainly wants to know more about. )

Invasive? In what way might that entail?

[bardicdisaster]

[Jaskier perks up almost immediately upon hearing another voice calling back to him. Any sign of additional life is most welcome at this point, but there's an almost warmth to the sense of relief he finds flooding him right now. Or maybe that's just hypothermia starting to set in. Or frostbite.]

[Jaskier has no idea! He's a bard, not a physician.]

[Regardless, there's hope now. Or some close approximation to it because while her lovely voice is most certainly welcome to wandering about this increasingly frozen maze all by his lonesome, she doesn't really sound as though she knows the way forward any better than he does at present.]

[...Which when he thinks about it, that does make a lot of sense. She is, after all, answering him and if she knew the correct path out, that likely wouldn't happen. Still, Jaskier's not the sort to give into such thoughts. Especially since two minds are objectively more than one. That counts for something.]

Really? [he says with a teasing grin she cannot see but he hopes she senses all the same.] Well, I'm completely lost and turned around at this point. So, I'd say you're certainly faring far better than me!

[Jaskier looks in the direction he thought he heard the voice coming from and begins to walk again, trying to see if he can navigate himself closer. Perhaps he might even be fortunate enough to find her directly!]

I, ah, don't suppose you could be convinced to share your keen sense of direction with me, could you?

[demonicbeauty]

I'd be only too happy to. If I could find it.

[Nevertheless, she feels a strange certainty as she follows the sound of his voices. The proper turns are practically instinctive. She barely hesitates.

It feels good. It feels...right.

Anyway, Ariadne knows better than to question her instincts. They serve her well. Especially here.]

I think I may have lost my sense of direction. Although...

[She takes a final turn and spots him. Even before he says anything, she just knows it's him. The voice. The person she's been trying to find...

And there's something about him that's strangely and aggressively comforting. It's not just that he has a handsome countenance--although she's not complaining--but the way he's dressed, the way he carries himself.

It reminds her of home. That's what it is. He looks like someone she could have encountered walking through the palaces of Valeria.

Which is a rare and wonderful thing to find here. She lets out the tiniest sound of delighted surprise.]

[shikanoinheizou]

[Well, now. Look who it is!]

Given you're the only one carrying a weapon with a pointy end I'll leave that to you, shall I?

[Though Heizou is not sitting on his laurels. He dislikes fighting as a general rule, finding brute force to be uncouth and unbefitting of a detective, but this does not look like a scenario that is going to be solved simply using cunning.

His surprise to see Aether was clear enough on his face when the other man approached, but there will be time for pleasant re-introductions later. They have a more pressing matter to attend to. He spins the jitte in his hand and darts forwards, landing a sharp strike with a blast of Anemo against their assailant's shoulders that knocks them into a stumble.]

Now, Aether!

[shadowsincryo]

Compelling us to talk about things we would rather not. Sharing memories. [He waves a hand dismissively. Normally he would sigh and look put upon, with the water working on him he merely shakes his head.]

Nothing here suggests that Thirteen’s intentions are not what they say they are. Everything seems about us working through and getting to our full potential.

Lady Alcina Demitrescu | Resident Evil VIII : Village

[sanguinarydelight]

Cold As You

Alcina has always considered herself the sort of person who hit the ground running. Even in the days before Miranda, before her glory and splendor, when her own body ravaged itself, Alcina had been confident (Arrogant, some may argue, but she never much concerned herself with the bleating of sheep).

So in this moment, after reforming in a burst of light, and leaving a seven yard trail on impact, Alcina takes a moment to breathe and let the most recent events sink in.

She was dead. Or rather, she had died. She was a little uncertain what her current status was besides 'conscious' (and even that was a gamble; for all she knew she was within the hivemind of the mutamycete).

Back then she'd fallen too, dragging that wretched Ethan Winters down with her. Miranda and her plans had meant nothing, nothing in the face of what he'd done to her daughters.

She hoped he died too. Let him suffer the same as she did, the vile little toadstool that he was.

Those had been her final sentiments as Alcina knew her body was failing her, her flesh calcifying and crumbling. And then there had been the fox and a promise of a second chance.

Oh, what the hell, she had thought. What's the worst that could happen...?

Gradually, she picks herself up, brushing herself off. Flakes of frost scatter in a glittering cloud, and she takes in her surroundings. Some manner labyrinth.

"Oh, how quaint."

There had also been a story, popular in the region she was from, of a little girl who got away from her mother in a tangled forest and the poor lost dear encountered all manner of creatures, and then a witch. Alcina wondered what role she'd play in these twisting corridors...

"Let's see what we have here, then."

She steps inside, the crackle of spreading frost not far behind.

Glitch

Alcina has long since developed a high tolerance for ...peculiarities. When your beloved daughters are three separate hives of flesh-eating insects forming the simulacrum of human women, you do learn to take certain things in stride.

A strange shadowy creature dropping a walkie-talkie into her lap while she's trying to have a nice smoke warrants, at the very least, an imperious and perplexed lift of her brow.

Someone is calling for help, it seems.

"Do be a dear," she says, sounding quite put-upon as she takes a last long drag of her cigarette before snubbing it out, "and tell me where you are. And be quick about it."

She curls her lip into a contemptuous smile at the strange creature.

"Time is of the essence, after all."

[shikanoinheizou]

Well, if that isn't something.

[It isn't every day that Heizou can be impressed or surprised and certainly not both at the same time, and he might have shown it better had he not been currently clinging to the edge of a cliff.

He reaches out and grabs hold of his saviour's arm, dropping the walkie-talkie but not even looking after it as it falls. One arm wraps firm around Vax's waist, the other hand coming up to clasp tight around his shoulder, and the detective lets out a giddy little gasp.]

Talk about a leap of faith. Don't drop me.

[Despite the strangeness of the situation he has no issues with being close to such a strapping individual. Small mercies.]

[bardicdisaster]

[He picks up the pace as he goes, feeling a nagging sense of impatience that it would be better to simply cut through the shrubbery and through all the nonsense even as something inside him says each turn is the correct one to make. It's only once they finally spot one another that Jaskier comes to a stop and there is a moment in which he is absolutely staring at her, but who could fault him? She is a natural beauty to match that voice of hers and after having nothing to look at but browned leaves encased in light ice? He'd truly have to be mad not to take a moment to appreciate the sight of her.]

[But even if he does end up letting that moment go on a touch too long than he perhaps ought to have, Jaskier shakes himself from his reverie to smile warmly at her.]

Ah! There she is! [By his tone, one would think they had known each other for years, not mere moments by voice alone at first. Especially when he throws his arms out wide for a theatrical effect.] My savior!

[But even as the chill in the air begins to recede, Jaskier certainly hasn't yet adjusted to this warmer temperature. He brings his arms back in, folding them tight against his chest as vibrancy and life seems to return.]

You are a most welcomed sight, my lady. I must say, if I am to freeze to death in this place then I am glad to have been graced by your company before the end.

[mapleleaves]

( Kazuha places his thumb and finger to his chin, while his brows knit in thought. hmmm ... )

I suppose that exposing matters we may not feel inclined to share otherwise may assist in achieving that. Whatever our "full potential" looks like, and what it may be exactly ... ( as for himself, though ... well, Kazuha always kept his past behind him - but never far out of sight. he always kept one foot in front of the other, moving forward, not letting the storms of days long gone chase him any which way. if the natural world has plans for him here, he would do his best to listen to it. )

I recall my conversation with the fox vividly on my walk to this place. If what you have experienced over the past few months is in line with the words of the creature who walks with the scents of the seasons in her pawprints, can anyone who arrives expect just as they were told?

[demonicbeauty]

[Her relief comes out as a misty cloud. One that dissipates rapidly as the world around them seems to be warming. Remembering her manners, she dips into a deep curtsy, her long, rope-like braid falling over one shoulder. It doesn't quite have the same effects in leathers as it would in a ballgown. Still, the respect is there.]

No lady, good sir. And I don't know about a "savior," but I'm glad we were able to find each other, at least.

[Straightening out, she walks over to him, folding her hands behind her back, her messenger bag thumping against her hip.

And she can't help but examine--and admire--him as she gets closer. His build is fine enough. And his scent his Human. At least, she thinks. It's harder to catch scents correctly in the cold but...no. Definitely Human.

A bit of a dramatic one too. Perhaps a player? Gods, she always loved seeing the players when they came to court.]

I've never seen you before. Are you one of Thirteen's new arrivals?

Glitch

[sanguinarydelight]

[Something skitters through the dense foliage, only a shadow, darting through the darkened woods. Alcina occasionally deigns to glance in the direction of the movement, but it has yet to see fit to make an appearance, and she's not about to give it the satisfaction of sparing it any more thought than it deserves.

When her 'help' arrives, lamenting how useless he is, she smiles. Perfect.]

Oh, oh dear - you are sorely mistaken. I don't need a rescue...

[She chuckles, smile widening like the maw of some terrible predator about to pounce.]

...I need bait.