( TDM #9 | FAUX 4TH WALL LOG )

[spellbindmods]

TDMs can be used for anyone interested in the game and/or testing out a new muse.

Test Drive samples are encouraged to be used for your application sample, though they are NOT a requirement. For this app round, you can utilize both a linked sample OR a written sample!

Feel free to use one prompt, multiple prompts or make up your own!

These threads can be considered game canon upon game opening if you so choose.

Telepathy and game-given magic can be used at any point in time on the TDM, from Prompt A to your wildcard prompt. A specific prompt exists, however, that makes sure all characters have an equal chance to use this mechanic within the TDM. You're encouraged to have characters use telepathy and their magic accidentally or even purposefully on any TDM prompt.

If you aren't set on your character's power yet or want to try out a few, you're still able to use the test drive. Maybe your character is a late bloomer and hasn't fully unlocked their intuitive drive yet. In the case of multiple powers, only prompts that contain the power you choose for your application will count as potential game canon threads.

While only one character can be apped or reserved during a cycle, feel free to post with more than one character if you like! This is for those who are uncertain of their first choice or who would like to try out different characters within the setting.

IMPORTANT: This world is low-frequency. No canon powers or abilities are allowed! Also check out the setting information for more info about Shehui.

IMPORTANT: This TDM should be treated like a 4th wall of sorts. While the threads can be considered canon, it can be a character free for all -- you're allowed to toss in any character, duplicate or AU that you'd like for a surreal experience.

IMPORTANT AGAIN AND NEW: This is post, while an OOC TDM, does count as a log! Any threads on this post can be used as activity outside of AC bonus and considered game canon if you do so wish.

You blink and that's all it takes. At first, the picture doesn't come in clear, like you're waiting for a screen to fully load -- more aptly, it's like you're waiting for a camera to focus so you can find image clarity. Before you happened to rapidly close your eyes and open them, your life was normal...well, normal for you, anyway. Fighting an alien, making a quesadilla, dying. And then that blurry picture suddenly takes over. There's a lot to take in here -- you feel weird, your surroundings are weird. Everything is just weird. For starters, there's that new piece of jewelry inserted in the space above your chest. That certainly wasn't there before you opened your eyes. For some of you, the shock is a bit more sudden. You've packed up your belongings and you've been escorted through the city into a building similar to the one utilized during the jailbreak -- down a pothole-like door that's extremely similar to the other one you might have been familiar with during that same incident. There's a long tunnel with no windows that you travel through, slowly but surely. It's dimly lit, and you can see others in front of you -- don't worry about any repercussions for cutting in line. You eventually get to a closed door and your monitor escort opens the large turnstile for you, gesturing for you to continue onward. The walk won't be much longer, they reassure you, but they won't be traveling with you from here. After a fifteen minute walk, you'll reach another door, though this one is much more manageable when it comes to opening it on your own. Once you step through, things are certainly...different. A ▢ As soon as you step outside, a sort of blackness hits you. It's hard to describe -- it feels more like everything around you, even the people, become a void. The blackness is a concept, not a color. Then something comes into focus...it's something you recognize? Or maybe something that you're unfamiliar with altogether. There's a person there, or maybe you're alone for now. For a few minutes you're in a classroom, but then it's a clearing. This entire experience, no matter what it looks like, leaves a strange taste in your mouth...it's like the one you may have found in your mouth once you discovered that magic you were told about for the first time. That isn't to say these voids are endless. In reality, the space around you is tainted, but you still exist on this plane -- the outside of Shehui. Things feel very real, but once you force yourself to move outside of these spaces, you mind your shoes are firmly planted in grass that is inches long, potentially surrounded by other people with no idea what's going on; they too have just escaped their own little void. From here you can feel it near to you -- you can sense the magic that's seeping out of somewhere, and you can even see it if you squint. The air around it shimmers with a certain sparkle. It's, again, hard to accurately put into words. But you can see these voids once you really focus on them. However, you can't see the people who happen to be trapped inside. B ▢ Once you reach these safe havens of non-magic, raw and in its purest form, you'll find yourself in a reality that is somewhat...overgrown. There aren't any buildings outside of the giant dome structure of Shehui in the background, as far as you can see. There are trees and plains, grassy fields and the occasional oddly-colored deer. If you look hard enough, you can find a small pond here or there. Just watch out. Magic can leak into that water, and that means... C ▢ ...ingesting that contaminated substance carries that magic with you. Absorbing this magic directly into your body creates that void, except it's contained within you. Once you do, you carry around whatever you might see or hear with you. This might create a comical scenario, like you're ordering from an invisible pizza man. It may also trap you in something more sinister. This magic can use your mind against itself. Whatever is in that void, which can last for hours, is up to you...whether you can control it or not.

[ OOC: For this TDM, characters testing in can create their own scenarios and interact with characters in very bizarre and imaginative ways. Want your character to be the judge in a murder trial, roping in other characters as defendant and accuser? Or maybe you'd like to do something different with your character -- age them up, give them different powers? Anything can happen in these voids of concentrated magic, and that also means anyone can appear. Your creativity can create any situation you'd like to put your character in, and these situations can also pull in other characters. Everyone is there, after all! Characters can also take a break and do some minor exploration -- though more info will come out about the setting and potential in a later post, don't worry. For ingested magic, the character will be in a scenario like the one mentioned above, except it won't be a potentially public experience. For instance, your character can project a horrible experience into the void in Prompt A, but in Prompt C? That horrible experience would be stuck in their own mind...speaking on the negative end of the spectrum, anyway!

GAME NAVIGATION

Comments

percival [ . . . ] de rolo | critical role (testing)

[dealed]

[ TW: critical role can be A Lot and there will be dead bodies and whatnot in this prompt (especially in Part A), so please tread carefully!!! ]

( a ): welcome to [vampire] whitestone.

[ you are suddenly thrust into a town square, but it looks . . . dead. the sky has constant cloud cover over it and the grass is dead. the roads are dusty, and in the center of this town square, there is a massive leaf-less tree. but strung from the branches of the dead-looking tree are bodies -- not only bodies, but bodies that are painted in specific ways. one has glasses, another has feathers in her hair . . . and they swing gently in the breeze, almost looking like they are a specific warning.

all be warned, ye who enter here.

but near you is a young man with a shock of white hair and glasses, wearing a rather fancy looking cloak and boots, with what appears to be a collapsible rifle-looking contraception on his back (along with a bunch of other things). his eyes are transfixed on the tree itself, and you would think that a twenty-something-year-old young man would look horrified or shocked or even remotely bothered, but instead, he just looks irritated.

he takes a few steps forward, with half a frown (seemingly not noticing you, at first) before shifting to remove what appears to be a pistol-like object from his belt, carefully checking the barrels of the gun before speaking in a flat tone: ]

You are going to have to try a bit harder than that to frighten me.

[ percy is already 150% done and he just got here. ]

( b ): don't put that in your mouth.

[ in the non-magical areas, percy can be found exploring. this place reminds him quite a lot of the feywild; overgrown and untamed and wilderness. still, it is very much not the feywild, but it is similar enough that percy is taking an extraordinary amount of care tip-toeing around plants, absurdly hesitant to disturb any greenery, and should he find anyone edging too close to the water: ]

Don't -- don't touch that.

[ it's said quickly, because percy is still 100% convinced this is a weird ass plane and he's pretty done with it. ]

Best to be safe than sorry, you never know when something is going to act up.

[ trees can strangle and water can be magic, dude.

d&d is weird. ]

a

[moneytwin]

Percy..?

[Her voice comes not from the tree ahead, nor the bodies dangling above, but from a figure emerging cautiously from the shadows to his left. With feathers in her hair (black; the blue long traded for raven feathers from her brother), and clad in fine white dragonleather armor, Vex is well and ready for a hunt.

This wasn't where she'd planned to do it, however.

(She remembers how Percival had been, had acted, during their infiltration of this city just over a year ago. This version, this perversion of the city she'd helped to free and restore, isn't a place she'd ever wanted him to come back to, never mind herself.)

The whitehaired figure is unmistakable, yet everything about this place has Vex's skin crawling, and she's uncertain just how real it is -- or he is, for that matter. ]

What is this place? [besides the obvious]

B

[courtpainter]

[Narsus had been about to dip a hand in the water, to taste a little and see if it seemed safe to drink. He pauses when addressed, hand still hovering near the surface.]

Do you think something is wrong with it? It looks safe enough to me... [He's aware that magic is a thing, but doesn't have enough direct experience with it to think of it as an environmental hazard.]

a!

[trickfoot]

[It's been some time since they've all seen the city like this.

The last time she was in Whitestone was to visit everyone, after they had all gone their separate ways after the ending of it all - after the world threatened to fall and villainous beings tried to gain control. It seemed so long ago that they had saved the city. She remembers praying - begging - Sarenrae to send her to help, and the warmth of the Everlight sending her astral self there. Of fighting and winning, bringing the city back to life. Scanlan still tells everyone how he singlehandedly led the rebellion to take back the city.

Despite being here yet again, that memory brings a smile to her face. Confident enough, she steps up behind Percy.] It's been a while, hasn't it?

lancer | fate/hollow ataraxia

[bluespearmanofthewind]

a.

[it was just a moment ago when lancer felt a pitch black darkness around him. the next thing he knew, he was thrown from the sky towards seemingly... a wild forest. it was a hard crash and it took him some time to recover himself. he tried to brace himself after the fall and observed his surroundings. it's pure nature. somehow he also found someone else lying near him. must be one of those guys. he moved towards you to check whether you are alright or not. a helping hand won't hurt in this kind of situation.]

ya okay, mate?

[he asked. but soon after that his focus was diverted to another sight. it seemed to be a wooden sign placed near their landing place. lancer walked closer to see what was written on the sign. his eyes widened a bit after observing the sign for a while and let out a question:]

what does this mean?

[soon enough you'll know what was written as lancer read it out loud:]

catch, or get caught. [he then turned to you, with a bewildered expression. time to have some adventure.]

c.

[lancer was also dumb. his e rank luck also did not help him at all. After he drank the water from the pond, everything became weird all over again. namely now as he opened his eyes he realized he was transported to a town full of beautiful women. his face of confusion quickly turned to a face of relief and happiness. he swiftly walked towards a certain lady he was eyeing on, leaned towards her a bit while saying:]

does falling from the heaven hurt? i bet it is. [ he was talking about angel guys. ANGELS. what a cheesy guy.

except, it was only on his mind. in reality, he was leaning towards a ugly broken statue and flirted with it. definitely not healthy and not normal. wait, how's he gonna break from the curse again? help him. please.]

c, i'm sorry in advance

[secrowtary]

Not as much as that terrible pick-up line. Try harder next time, please.

[ Hibiki's squatting behind said statue and taking up the role of a beautiful woman Lancer is hitting on, apparently. Why is he doing this? Who knows. But it might be fun. And he's definitely not here to help him, oops. ]

You Watanabe | Love Live! Sunshine!! | Testing

[ayes]

[A]

[It's strange.

You had thought she'd been in Uchiura, stepping out the door of her house, swimsuit under her shirt and shorts, heading for the shore to do some swimming. But the world around her-- sky, sea, sand-- flickers. It fades.

She looks out at the sea she loves, the sea that always gives her comfort. The sand underneath her feet is warm and soft. She curls her toes in it... grass? No, it's just sand. When did she walk down to the beach, anyway?

You's expression is a mix between befuddled and concerned. This is the place she feels most comfortable in the world.

Why does it seem so off?] ...d'you ever feel like, uh, you've come down with a fever even though you feel perfectly fine?

[She said, to the person next to her. You've been standing there the whole time... right?]

[B]

[As it turns out, no, it wasn't real. It wasn't her beloved sea, and You's heart aches at the idea. She's not sure where she is or what's going on, or sure of anything at all, really.

(She hasn't ruled out that she is feverish, and this is all a particularly elaborate hallucination, honestly.)

But there are trees around, and that means things to climb to the top of, to get a better vantage point from. And You has always been the sort of girl to leap into something like that before she thinks it through. Or, as it turns out, before checking her sneakers in this case.

Which is why she's about thirty feet up when her shoe slips off, and with a shout she nearly follows, catching herself on a branch and holding tight... as her sneaker slips to the ground below.

That was close. She's just going to let her heartbeat slow for a bit. Ah crap, her shoe's on the ground now. But what luck-- there's someone!] Hey! --heeeeey!

Can you throw that shoe up here?

B

[courtpainter]

[A rather pretty man dressed in white is the hapless passerby. He looks up at the girl in the tree with mild concern.]

I can...but you'll need both hands free to get down. Are you sure you can put it back on without falling?

b, hello idol friend!!

[idolpedia]

[Dia isn't even going to try and explain anything that's going on right now. Void this, void that, and now an overgrown reality. Cool, everything is cool and Fine.

Until she hears another familiar voice.

She picks up the sneaker, and then looks up.]

You-san?!

a!! ♡

[oceanaria]

...I think I did.

[ The one standing next to You is no one else than Riko herself. She doesn't reply right away—the sight of the sea makes her speechless for a little while. Captivated, she doesn't even realize that someone is here with her.

And then she peeks to the side to see the person. Well, their voice sounded oddly familiar, but she might as well been making it up. ]

You-chan?!

Narsus | The Heroic Legend of Arslan

[courtpainter]

A: Gilan

[This is a beautiful, bustling seaside city, and you are in the marketplace. Everything is low-tech; there are guards here and there in mail or leather armor, wielding nothing more advanced than swords and spears. The dusty, sun-baked street is lined with stalls selling goods from many lands, silks and jewelry and spices and fresh produce. As you walk along it, the merchants cheerfully display their wares to every passerby, looking for the next sale.

At the end of the street, the docks are visible. A ship is docked there, full of crates of goods to be displayed in the market. A man on deck whips the scarred and ragged slaves that are bringing them down the ramp, shouting for them to work faster.

A man dressed in a white cloak and light blue tunic is standing near the docks watching this with an intense stare, apparently oblivious to the cheerful air of the rest of the scene. When he notices someone else nearby, he smiles pleasantly at them.]

Either I'm having a lucid dream for the first time in my life, or these merchants are flouting the will of the Crown Prince. Would you care to accompany me while I find out which? [He can handle himself in a fight, but backup is never a bad plan.]

B: Reality?

[Sooner or later, he'll manage to escape from the void, and wander through the forest. Magic is a bit outside his experience, but Narsus is insatiably curious. Right now, he's examining a brightly-colored flower that's growing from a vine.]

Do you have anything I might use to take a cutting of this? Assuming I ever get home, I'd like to try to see if they'll grow near my cabin.

[That is, he'd like to paint them, but he didn't arrive with any art supplies.]

C: Nightmare

[Really truly, he's not used to magic, okay? And the water looked clean, and he was thirsty. Now he's dodging around the grassy meadow with a fierce, focused expression, swinging and parrying with an invisible sword. He glances over his shoulder and his eyes widen with something like panic.]

DARYUN! [Now he's turning and running in that direction like his life depends on it - hope you're not in his way.]

b

[dividepain]

[ Laphicet had noticed the man just a little while ago and decided to see what is he planning to do. The moment he comes closer it becomes apparent that he's been examining a beautiful flower. ]

I do! [ He pulls out a small knife out of his bag, smiling softly just like it was normal for boys his age to carry such things on themselves. ] Here.

[ Perhaps it would be better to leave the flower be, but Laphicet doesn't say a thing. It's so stunning that he'd like to pick up one for himself, too. ]

Have you seen another flower like this somewhere around, mister?

A and oh my god one of my favorite characters from anything!! *A*

[teratias]

[Waver's reaction to such a request was to first stare, completely confused by the man's bearing (way formal) and then to doublecheck the words he was saying.

...jeez. Another poor person dragged into this. Waver's sigh spoke to a weariness that was pretty out of place on a 19 year old.]

I mean, if you've got an idea of where you're even going, fine. But if I tell you what's actually going on, you don't get to think it's a dream. Got it?

C.

[poisonparadise]

[The well-dressed man seemingly from a few centuries after Narsus had nary a second to move when he heard a voice nearby. Though he fancies the idea of letting the poor man run headlong into that nearby wall, the despaired cry changes Valerius’ mind in an instant. Whatever could -that- be about…? Could there be regrets behind this? He had to know.

So yet again, Valerius puts on a mask of kindness and gently braces the other man’s body before he can pitch himself into a painful injury]

Now, I don’t know who you’re calling for, but that wall was certainly not going to be of any help in finding them.

roy mustang | fmab

[insubordination]

( a ): central.

[ you find yourself, suddenly, in the midst of a cobble-stone street. there are cars, but they look old, to the modern viewer -- more model-t rather than anything high-tech. steam power seems to be in full effective, here, and there are people wandering around the street. narrow alleyways, stretching all sorts of ways. it's an impossible labyrinth.

should you wander about, you do, eventually, find roy -- who looks . . . well, certainly not uncomfortable, but definitely slightly confused. in his element, here, but he takes half a turn on his heel, to look down an alleyway, eyes flickering to the street names, the numbers . . . ]

-- it should be this way . . .

[ from what it sounds like, roy seems to recognize at least some small facet of whatever world he's found himself in, but something is not right. amiss, even. help him? ]

( a ): equivalent exchange.

[ it only takes one step before you vanish again. another scenario. another image. another room.

suddenly, you are ripped through time and space. it's an endless rush of wind, as you step into this next pocket of magic, and you suddenly find yourself within a brilliant white room, with two doors. a room that seems to have no exit, aside from these doors. and in the center of this room, a figure with no face, no eyes, but a grinning mouth, pale skin, with fuzzy black outlines to their form, and as it talks, it seems to speak to you: ]

Why are you here? You didn't choose . . .

[ the creature does not move. should you try to open the doors, they will not open. no, the doors will only open when it is time to take their price. and the being in the center of the room is debating that. what should it take from you? you get a feeling of dread, the longer you stay in this room. and surely, by now, roy has figured out this is not real. another pocket of magic, another scenario, another vision.

but you're going to have to find him, first. he is within the room, near one of the doors, and is relatively easy to spot once you tear your eyes away from the truth. but when you do find roy, who has his hand pressed against the stone of the wall, fingers gripping the transcription, the carvings on the door you are going to have to help him move.

he may not be able to see. ]

central

[witchwithoutacause]

[ Amanda doesn't seem unsettled, but now she's full on acting for at least the moment. This is not great. Well, no, it's interesting, and if she knew for certain that she was relatively safe she might actually be curious about it, but for the moment, it's swallowing fear and keeping her cool as she walks along the streets of... of retroville.

Retrocity.

Someplace old. As she rounds a corner, she spots Mustang, waves casually. ]

Hey big man.

[ Maybe Roy's too distracted to see her hand shaking? ]

equivalent exchange

[teratias]

[Waver doesn't know what the hell is going on. It feels...it feels like magic. Like summoning Rider. Like real magic, the kind that used to exist when the earth was younger and the gods were still roaming the planet. It's terrifying and exhilerating and he can't help but grin as he feels everything swirling around him and then...

..and then it stops. He blinks, the whiteness of the room a sharp contrast.]

What is this place?

[Waver looks around and then at the door itself. Those are symbols he knows, he's run across them in alchemy textbooks before. Which means that if he doesn't know what this place is then...

...then he knows who the hell to look for. To the creature, Waver states his purpose clearly.]

I didn't. But I have to find someone who's here. Excuse me.

[And so he starts to walk. He yells, rather loud.]

Mustang?! You in here?!

equivalent exchange

[eccitato]

[ Despite his conversation with Nike, and Riza's announcement to the coven at large, Leo spent much of February with nothing of reportable interest happening to him beyond the initial "abduction," as he calls it. Nothing serious, either. And he's been fine with that, as he waits to learn more, and chases all the inspiration that being with the coven and in Shehui brings him.

So, of course he'd wind up walking into some weird, empty space. There's some amount of confusion for a long moment, even after the entity in the middle of the room speaks. Whatever this is, he... he doesn't like it. The dread, he could've ignored on its own. By sheer virtue of who he is. But in tandem with the silence, his nerves start to feel a little frayed around the edges.

It's then that he notices that the strange creature has company, by the doors. ]

Mmmn... [ Yeah, he might not have chosen to come here, but he's going to choose to head over to the man that's just standing there. Even with how strange that is, it's not the presence that this room has itself. ] What, is it not opening?

maes hughes | fmab

[payphoned]

a. got lost inside

[ The library never ends. Each row only circles back upon itself and every time you try and find your way back to the main aisles? You're looped right back around to bookshelves. The titles on the shelves themselves appear to be different, giving you the sense that you're getting somewhere, but no real distance is being covered.

Well, until you run face first into someone else. Maes holds up his hands in surprise, a bark of laughter rumbling out of his chest. ] Whoa! Hey there. Where'd you come from? I've been walking this place for hours now...

[ He's going crazy. He has to be, right? ]


(cw: blood! )
a. you called, i can't hear a thing

[ The night air slowly drops in temperature. The night sky overhead fills to the brim with stars, twinkling delicately against a dark backdrop. You might think so many stars don't belong in a city, but the lampposts flutter to life, illuminating a cobbled street and high, bricked buildings with dimly lit windows.

Just as you round the corner, the lampposts flicker and a sound sharp and shrill crackles through the air. There's a man standing at the door of a telephone booth and blood pools out of it, around his feet, onto the sidewalk, as though endless. The man stares down at his own hands, bloody and sticky, then to the ground, then up at you. ]

Someone's been shot. We need to find them, we need to get them help.

[ What he doesn't realize is that the one that's been shot? Himself. ]


b. the grass just won't stop growing
[ Whatever pseudo dream he'd been trapped in before has left Hughes feeling a little more than disoriented. The tall grasses hiss in the breeze and although everything feels real enough, he doesn't quite trust it. No less there's multi-colored deer and creatures wandering about.

When he starts seeing others come to, he approaches one, reaching a hand out to steady the shoulder of the person blinking back into reality. ] Hey... you okay? Careful, the grass makes it hard to see. Guess no one's been looking after the lawn for a while, huh?

[ Sorry for him. ]

HAHAHAHA u know the one. 1/2

[insubordination]

[ by now, roy has figured it out. he needs to find the non-magical areas and stay in them, but finding his fellow coven members takes priority. there are children here, potentially stranded, and tracking them down takes priority over his own level of uncomfortable terror.

he's been through hell before. a few hallucinations aren't too bad. and so he finds himself within another magic spot, his eyes adjusting to the new scene. and it's a familiar street, one that roy is intimately familiar with. perhaps it's part of his grieving process, but he spends a lot of time here. confronting the reality of the situation, and all that.

he knows he shouldn't approach the phonebooth, but he does -- and he immediately starts, when he sees the blood. and inside his head, he tells himself that this is likely a figment of his imagination, but for a precious two seconds, he is struck absolutely dumb at the figure standing at the phonebooth: ]

Maes?

[ it's a hoarse tone, questioning -- but his eyes flicker to the blood, and to the phonebooth, and then he hears maes' request.

we need to get them help -- of course he would be focused on that but -- no, this isn't real. none of it is -- ]

2/2

[insubordination]

[ roy immediately strides forward to take hughes by the arm, squeezing gently -- real, before pulling him away from the phonebooth. away from the blood, his grip firm. this isn't real, none of it can possibly be real, but an annoying little voice in the back of his mind -- edward, reminding him that time is in flux.

-- fuck. ]

-- you're right, we need to get help. [ focus on the immediate problem, and figure out the rest later. he puts himself between maes and the phonebooth, so maes has something to look at, and roy immediately moves to put pressure on the wound he already knows is there, because he's read the autopsy report so many times that he has it memorized. ] I'm here. Focus -- can you hear me?

hibiki kohaku | blazblue | oldbie

[secrowtary]

( A )

[ The void surrounding him isn’t as scary as one might think—many things might have happened, yet he’s still used to this feeling of emptiness. The darkness doesn’t make him feel uneasy, but Hibiki makes sure to stay alarmed in case something happens. That being said, he doesn’t have to wait for too long. Various shapes start forming in front of him until he finally realizes what this place is.

His home. The Kohaku residence hidden from everyone’s eyes.

So many years have passed since he was here for the last time. Keeping in mind that this might be some kind of an illusion, he reaches out his hand forward and blinks. ]

Hm? [ Much to his surprise, his palm is much smaller. These aren’t hands of an adult but rather of a child. ] Hm.

[ Standing in the middle of the room that used to be his, Hibiki lets out a soft sigh. His connection to this place was lost long ago, so it doesn’t feel familiar nor unfamiliar. Lost in thoughts, Hibiki doesn’t pay much attention to his surroundings, when— ]

Oof. [ What was that? Something soft and round has bumped into him and now nuzzles into his chest. ] Oh, it’s you.

[ Seeing his pet crow brings a smile to his face. It’s been a while. Still, the reunion doesn’t last for too long as the bird flies away eventually…only to nest in the hair of whoever is trapped in here together with him. That’s also the moment Hibiki realizes he hasn’t been alone all this time. ]

He likes you, I suppose.

( ooc: of course it’s up to you whether you want to de-age your character or not! )

( A(gain) )

[ To Hibiki, the void felt much better than seeing this witch again. He pulls his knife out and immediately gets into a fighting stance. He's been through this already, so at least this time he's prepared for what's about to come. The witch, truly amused, will try to coax you to share your wish with her.

"I can make your dream come true. You do have one, I can tell. And you don't deny it like this boring man standing next to you." ]

Don't listen to her, she won't do anything.

the first a

[mapsio]

[Navigating all of this was rather disconcerting and confusing. She wasn't sure where she was at this point. A house? Somewhere? Wasn't she in some weird void world? Leaving Shehui was the worst, but what can you do when you literally get evicted from where you were staying.

Her thoughts are cut off by something round and feathery....nesting in her hair.]

Hello there, little bird.

[She's reaching up to give it scritches when she hears a voice....]

Oh, my....

izumi sena ★ ensemble stars ★ tdming

[annoyings]

A.

[ izumi sena probably needs a tw for being an overbearing stalking creep and i'm very sorry.

when you blink, fuzzy and out of focus, you aren't presented with a nice medieval town or a beautiful landscape, but rather, a photography studio. it's bright, and there's a big, white backdrop set up, a young man kneeling in front of it with his hands on a camera. it's as if he's taking a picture of someone, and he's... ]

That's it, that's it ~ smile for oniichan, Yuu-kun ~ ♪ [ ...obviously extremely enthusiatic about it. he's practically slobbering over the camera, to be honest. ] Y~u~u-kun, you're so beautiful, this is why you need to give up your stupid ~ useless dreams and come back to me. You were destined to be a gravure model, after all ♪♪

[ but. abruptly, he blinks, looking in front of him. he has yet to turn around to you. ] ... Yuu-kun? [ and it's a little more menacing sounding, just for a second, because yuu-kun is gone. he stands up, turns around, and spots a person standing there he's never seen before. at first glance, izumi sena is beautiful, a model, something finally carved out of marble, but he's just as cold, and the look on his face could freeze hell itself. ] You. What the hell did you do with Yuu-kun? What are you even doing in here?

[ uh oh. ]

A2.

[ another blink and you miss it magical interlude takes you to a beautifully lit blue and white stage, where that same silver haired young man stands, holding a sword. he's not actually a knight, but rather an idol, judging by the microphone on his ear, the pack tucked into the belt of his gallant looking outfit. the stage itself should have a few other people on it, but currently, it's empty, and sena taps his sword against the ground.

it's sharp. who gave him a sharp sword. ] Honestly, you would think after all of that fuss, he could at least show up on time. Where the hell is he?

[ tap tap tap. he looks up, and happens to spot the poor person who came into this particular void. ] You. Can you help me with this costume? Make yourself useful. [ and sure enough, when he turns around, there are three or four buttons undone up the back of it--the spot he couldn't actually touch. ]

B.

[ there's nothing like realizing everything you thought was normal might have been a lie to really put you in a mood. though izumi comes back to reality--if you can call it that--a little surprised, perhaps a bit dazed, he looks from left to right and presses the tip of the sword he's still carrying into the ground, looking around him. nose wrinkling, he scowls. ] What the hell is this?

[ when no one answers, izumi sighs, a long: ] So~o annoying. [ and starts walking. there's not much to see, or much to do, but at one point, he stops near the pond. sitting on the edge of it is one of the deer, beautiful, pinkish in color and getting a little too close to the water. izumi looks at it for a moment, then squats down, holding out his hand. ]

Hey... hey. Watch out where you're drinking, huh? [ the deer looks at him for a moment--they stare at each other, and then the deer takes a tentative step forward, two, three, until izumi reaches out to gently put his hand on its head. his face changes from impassive to smiling, warm and soft, as he scratches it gently where it's ducked towards him. it seems like an awfully tender moment. don't spook izumi. (or the deer.) or do. ]

B. let someone else suffer under cranky Sena's wrath

[eccitato]

[ For the past month, it's just been Leo. Sure, he's made a few friends - even some idols! - but he hasn't had his Knights. He hasn't had Naru to fuss over his hair and makeup before a shoot or a live, no Rittsu to take a nap with under the kotatsu, no Suo to pester and mentor. No Sena, no Sena at all, not a bit of nagging the entire time.

But he hears a familiar phrase, as he's trying to figure out what's going on with the coven this time. Everything about his curiosity is flung straight out the window, and he perks up immediately, wondering if it's another magic trick that comes with their relocating. He doesn't know, but he doesn't care.

He's not risking missing any of his Knights, let alone Sena. A dozen songs filter through his head at once, and Leo goes straight for where he hears that voice. And then, no matter what, he sees him. He sees Sena, looking soft and beautiful with a cute deer. Look at him! Sena Izumi has always been gentle with animals, and it warms his heart.

... so yeah, he has to ruin the moment. ] Sena! [ Incoming. ] Sena!!!

naoka ueno | koe no katachi

[slapdown]

( A )

[Her dreams are usually more engaging than this. Where did all of the strangers from before go? She's alone on a massive suspension bridge, surrounded by a fog, which makes it impossible to see very far into the distance – and equally impossible to tell what's below. Wind tousles Naoka's hair while she walks. She walks and walks and walks, even though there's a feeling in her gut telling her that there's no end to this bridge.

Her legs aren't getting tired. She loses track of time. It's only boring at first, but as the minutes keep crawling by, a sense of unease grows in her chest. Can she wake up now? Anytime would be great.

When a figure appears out of the fog, she lets out a relieved and very audible sigh. Light on her feet, Naoka approaches, but then veers towards the edge of the bridge. She grips the guardrail and looks back over her shoulder. There's a somewhat intense look on her face.]

I could really use a change of scenery. Think I should jump?

( B/C )

[Is this worse than the bridge? Not really, but it still isn't any fun. Naoka didn't sign up for a wilderness trek. And unlike with her foray into the void, her legs ache and her feet are throbbing. She should probably leave the exploring to the hardier folks, but sitting around doing a whole lot of nothing is not an inviting alternative.

Tired limbs aside, she's also a sweating a lot and her mouth has gotten dry. There's a pond nearby, but that only makes Naoka frown. The water looks clean enough, but like hell she's going to throw caution to the wind. Better idea: coercing some sucker into testing it for her, and there just so happens to be someone nearby. Naoka tugs on their arm, showing no respect for personal space.]

I'm so parched. Hey hey, I need you to try some of that water over there for me, OK? I have a sensitive stomach.

( ooc: Naoka's tentative magic is lie detection. It's totally opt in, of course, so let me know if you're fine with her using it on your character. Using it too many times will give her a headache, and she won't be able to control it well right off the bat. )

B/C

[skiouros]

[Naoka didn't sign up for a wilderness trek; Eizen didn't sign up to be touched and dared to ingest potentially lethal water. He turns, sizing the stranger up, before he glances at the pond and then back at her.]

Your stomach won't grow stronger by shying away from risks. If you've neglected to bring water of your own, take control of your own fate and drink from the pond yourself.

[poisonparadise]

A) Lost in the Abyss
[Wonderful, thought he, another void. Just what he always wanted to see after finally managing another form that was at least nice to look at. The dark shapes pass by him with a furious speed, making Valerius cringe at the nebulous shapes. He wasn’t liking this one bit.


At least, until the void begins to shift. Crystals rise out of the corner of his eye and for a moment, his displeasure dissipates. While he hated the void he was thrown into by his “beloved” other half, he can’t entirely deny that there’s a certain comfort in that darkness. At least this time, he seems to have an option to leave as he pleases. But as the space surrounding him continues to grow multitudes of crystals and thick, syrupy pools, Valerius finds himself unwilling to do so just yet. At least here, he could be his real self….that is until he looks at his hand and realizes it’s still humanoid.

He hisses through his teeth at the sight. His hand closes into a fist, then he dares to venture forth with telepathy, not entirely unused to it, except he’s hoping he can be heard. His voice is clear and concise, and perhaps a little loud at first]

Is anyone there? Can you hear me at all?

B) Drink It In
[As tempting as it was to look around this new, strange place, there was a bit too much…life for his liking. Valerius remained stone-faced as he looked back to the silhouette of Shehui, more than happy to finally be out of that magic-forbidding hell. Whether he was human or beast, he was a being of magic in itself. Sure, it was mostly death magic, but that’s beside the point. To be restricted in its use pained him, but he managed. In a way, that restriction encouraged him to try harder at playing the part of a person..But he was starting to get tired of that.

Perhaps He thought, eying the pool with hungering, dead eyes, A drink of this may restore me a little… Forever thinking only of himself, he kneels at the pool and dips his finger in. He takes just a small taste first, then stares down at his reflection in the pool]

It can’t possibly make any less sense than anything else here.

[He laughs to himself, then takes another drink of the water with cupped hands.]

C. Assault of Memories

[Belated as it is, the shock of the magic rushing through his veins knocks the man over nonetheless. Valerius finds himself on the ground, but not on grass. Instead, he feels a familiar, slick substance between his fingers. His eyes widen as his gaze slowly trails down to the ground. The familiar texture belongs to a platform of sickly slime, surrounded by bone pillars jutting up from the sides like fingers. He crawls to the edge tentatively, dumbstruck by the setting.

He was...well, it wasn’t home, but it was familiar, and it prods his heart with an apprehensive twang of hope. If he was here, in the liquid hell he was sealed away in, then certainly…
In an instant, he’s at the edge of the platform, looking eagerly into the disgusting depths of liquified souls. A face stares back, but it’s not his own. It’s the form he lost to Qri, when he ended up in the Coven. His expression changes to one marred with wickedness, his thin lips drawn into an unpleasant combination of a grimace and a grin. He speaks to someone he swears is bound before him, unresponsive, but glaring daggers. Valerius chuckles and reaches out to twirl his finger in the ‘slime’ and pat the man on the head...He’s actually just splashing near a river, lazing about like he’d just woken from a nap.]

Finally awake, dearest? I take it that means you’re ready to confess your sins to me...you can’t leave this place until you do, you know.