Test Drive Meme #3

[diceofthegods]

GOLDEN GREENERY

Bloom by The Paper Kites

1:24 / 3:33

▶︎

Click here to listen.

The Paper Kites are an Australian indie rock/folk rock band from Melbourne. The band was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist/guitarist Sam Bentley and keyboardist/guitarist Christina Lacy. Their 2010 single "Bloom" has been certified Platinum in the United States.

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Recently, Town was decorated by locals and Fae folk both. Things are a bit more colorful and the sun is shining more and more instead of the continuous winter gloom from before. The world finally feels like it's coming alive again.

Sorry about your possible allergies as trees blossom and spit excess pollen.

There also seems to be an emphasis on both green and gold. Crowns or other accessories of clovers are being made for luck. Whether or not they're actually lucky, who knows! Dragon-bonded are also being enlisted in helping with post-winter (and post Mind Flayer) repairs. Those creatures did quite a number skittering around some homes so why not lend a hand - clawed or otherwise - now that you're here? It'll help with offworlders reputation if nothing else!

Meanwhile, the Fae appear to have taken to the opposite of helping as they are wont to do. They are instead trying to trick locals and offworlders both with glittering chests of gold that most would know are too good to be true.

These are mimics who will attempt to devour someone that falls for the temptation of quick riches. Not to worry though, they're relatively harmless and all just for a good bit of fun. You might need some help though getting unstuck since they can be pretty persistent once their trap has been sprung.

CH-CH-CHANGES

There comes a time in every young dragon's life where they begin to experience some changes. That might be nothing new to those established in Town by now, of course, as the majority of their changes have come and gone. Nothing can surprise them anymore about their dragon-bonds.

...Or so they thought!

Whether established characters or ones just pulled through the summoning circle, springtime is a season that throws almost all dragons for a little bit of a loop. It is a common rutting season and those hormone fluctuations can strike when least expected.

Even if outside of your specific dragon's season or newly arrived, they'll be swept up by the rest being in so close proximity and likely be at least mildly affected as well. Some handle this season better than others, but there are still specific things to watch out for as more 'universal' experiences.

⁂ Heightened aggression - The ways that this can manifest varies wildly! Perhaps you're more easily irritated or frustrated. It's also possible that this presents as an increased competitive drive with someone else or just in general.

⁂ Brooding - While usually described as an instinctual behavior of sitting on eggs to incubate them, for most dragon-bonded this will instead appear as a compulsion to cuddle up with someone dear. You have the instinct to keep them safe, warm, and where better than right here with you?

⁂ Nesting - That stick is really neat. It'd look great in your home, wouldn't it? Dragon-bonded will feel the desire to create a safe and comfortable environment for themselves and friends. This often involves cleaning, organizing, and preparing a space. For what? Maybe your character doesn't know, but will feel the urge to do it anyway!

⁂ Increased Libido (The NSFW Option) - For those of age, there will be a distinct increase in sexual desire that can be noted as well. While not everyone will experience it, it is something that can be present as an undercurrent either on its own or coupled with other instincts. (For example, the compulsion to cuddle isn't just that or nesting will be a result of attempting to breed.)

PLAYTIME

To help dragon-bonded with their seasonal and instinctual urges, Charlie and others have put together some games. They understand this might be a bit overwhelming and strange to those unfamiliar. So, why not make it as fun and enjoyable as they can?

⁂ Horn Locking - All dragon-bonded will find that due to the season 1) if they have horns then they aren't going away no matter their attempts to shift and 2) they're extremely itchy. Even the newest among them will have small stubs of horns pre-maturely! To help combat this and channel some unexpected aggression, dragon-bonded are encouraged to lock horns with one another. It hopefully scratches both the literal and metaphorical itches they're dealing with.

⁂ Scavenger Hunt(s) - To help with the nesting urges, a list of miscellaneous items has been given to dragon-bonded to search for. The reward for completing this list* is five (5) bond points. Charlie trusts that you'll find what has been asked for... but doesn't need to see it. Yes, that is a nice rock. It can stay in your home though, really.

⁂ Baseball - Even if called something else here, people will realize quickly enough: this is just baseball. Dragon-bonded will be encouraged though to hit the ball with one of their draconic extremities rather than a bat. They can use their tail, their hands, or even their horns to whack a small ball as far as possible. This game is set-up to help release some of that pent-up energy as well as indulge in that competitive instinct.

Rocky Talky

One of the things that was given to you in your welcome pack from Charlie was a summoning-stone. Although it looks like, well, an ordinary stone- It's actually magic! You can look through it and see someone else's face too if you're both viewing your stones at the same time. It can also record your speech and deliver that to someone else in a snap.

One of the other features is that you can scrawl on it. It will turn your writing into legible text that you can send others to read on their stones. Of course, you need to attune yourself to your stone first. To that end, it prompts you to set up a Rockstar Profile:

COMMENT CODE TEMPLATE

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Notes

⁂ Hello and happy Spring! Welcome to Children of Bahamut's third drive meme! If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback then feel free to ask here.

⁂ We have a top-level directory drive for ease of finding new players to tag! After some feedback, we ask that only new players link their top-levels though current players are allowed to top-level and enjoy the TDM if they so wish as well!

(Example header: character name | canon )

⁂ The list provided by Charlie will have approximately ten (10) miscellaneous items on it to find and collect. You can decide what they are and we're operating on the honor system here of your characters going out and finding everything if you so wish. (Just let us know when you turn in your bonds that's what your character did and provide a link if possible, but know that one isn't necessary!)

⁂ You can customize the the Rockstar Profile however you wish! So long as its readable, have fun. The profile image appears best when a 250 by 250 square image. Anything too tall might stretch it strangely or cause issues. If you need to edit or crop a picture to suit, we recommend using Pixlr as a free option for up to three images! We're not sponsored or anything, it's just neat and convenient.

⁂ Full Navigation ⁂

Comments

QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS, & FEEDBACK

[diceofthegods]

If you have any other ideas for games to play or rutting season behaviors to be added, you can let us know here!

TOP-LEVEL DIRECTORY

[diceofthegods]

New players can link their top-level here!

Please put in the header:

character name | canon name

BYLETH EISNER | FE3H | OTA

[perfectteatime]

1) Zoomies

The warm weather is a welcome change for Byleth. Now with his body fully changed, it feels amazing to be able to stretch his wings. He feels oddly at home in this form, and Byleth wonders if it might be because of the memories of Amani or the deeper influence of the Nabateans. Regardless, that doesn't change things right now...

When he feels that no one is looking, he gets a bit of a frolic on. If one could call it that. Feeling oddly restless and energized, he darts around in a grassy clearing, occasionally laying his head down and...scooting across the way, then flopping over to roll and kick before springing to his fours to do it all again. Even the trees are not spared, bearing claw and horn marks from his ministrations. Do you dare interrupt...whatever this is?

2) Egg felonies

Well. Perhaps there is something amiss here. Outside of feeling endlessly energetic, certain compulsions cloud his usually sensible judgement. Byleth is not satisfied with building a nest of sticks or straw... no.

He wants to steal.

Perhaps if you are someone he considers himself a friend or more to, you may find a piece of clothing or a favorite blanket mysteriously missing. An addition to the- well. If one could even call it a nest. It's more like a pile nestled between two trees atop a bed of moss. You may find the thief quite contentedly sleeping in it, only his snout and tail poking out as he rests in his ill-gotten construction materials.

3) I’ll soar away into the dawn. (POSSIBLY NSFW OPTION)

He's not quite sure why it fills him with a small sense of dread, realizing what this feeling is. He's never really been shy about physical affection, but perhaps it confuses the part of him that still frets over those memories not his own. Still, there is naught to be done for it.

He feels hot and itchy, and in a bid to somehow cool his body and his desires, he's taking a dip in the cold water of the fishing pond. He spends most of his time now at least half-transformed. Feathers are more difficult to bathe with though, so he has only left them on his neck, tail and extremities as he submerges himself.

Surfacing, he shakes himself, droplets trailing down long ears, as he scowls at the rippling water. This is not helping.

[relentless_sentinel]

How long will this broody season last?

Also, an idea for a mating behavior thing: Perhaps those who want to mate feel the urge to bring their potential partners special items, like shiny or colorful things? Maybe they can even come from their new nests!

Nephenee | Fire Emblem: PoR/RD | OTA

[relentless_sentinel]

[Scene setting ahoy, just scroll down past the asterisks for prompts if you don't care.]

**
Spring is a special time for the country girl from Crimea. As much as she loves the chill of winter, spring has always signified the return of plants and crops and new life, as well as the chance to feel the warm sun on her skin again. Her plants all come outside her abode, and even more than usual, the Sentinel yearns to run and climb and now soar.

And that's just what she does. Garbed in what might be best called strategic wrappings, Nephenee steps into the early morning quiet, the extra cloth secured at her waist rustling softly in the breeze. The world is still, and she lets the calm of the dawn wrap around her, steadying her nerves, before she transforms. It's a fluid process that begins deep within, a steady pulse of strength and change that courses through her. Muscles and bones reshape and realign with ease into the form of something that feels both alien and natural all at once.

Her scales come first, covering her light skin in a layer of mist-silver that shifts between light silver and pale blue in the early dawn's light. Next, powerful wings unfurl, the leaf-shaped feathers on the membranes seemingly edged in frost. Claws are next, sharp and focused, and then gracefully curling antlers, their silvery-white surface reflecting the first warmth of spring as they take root, their delicate appearance belying their natural strength, like the earth beneath her feet. Her tail is last, unfurling like a banner in the wind, long and sinuous and tipped with strong ridges whose shapes are reminiscent of a willow's leaves.

The transformation complete, she exhales a white plume of icy breath, the energy inside her building into something she can't quite contain. The need to feel the wind against her wings and her claws digging into the earth she loves is too much to bear, and with a joyful laugh that thrums with the new power in her, she takes off into the air.
**

1) A romp, a somersault, and everythin' in-between!

At almost any time during all of this spring-time madness, there can be found either a young woman with long, free-flowing green hair and loose, earth-toned clothing that seems to be tied in such a way to allow her to change quickly, or, more often, a silver dragon speeding around, either in flight or running along the ground. In both forms, there's a grace to the run or flight, but in the form of a dragon, there's a certain majesty to the movements.

Or there would be, if the woman in question didn't have the energy of a hyped-up border collie. She can be found all over the place, clearly enjoying the sun and spring weather, and maybe a little flushed. From exertion or hormones? That's anyone's guess. You might just find yourself challenged to either a race on land, sky, or the water! Or perhaps you'll find yourself startled by a Unidentified Low-Flying DragoNeph maybe flying a little too low.

2) Ah'll fight all y'all!

That energy that begs to be released also manifests in other ways. Nephenee's always had a playful competitive streak and enjoys training, and how better to work off this endless energy than by doing just that? Maybe you find her at her usual training area near a river, or perhaps there's a pair of emerald eyes trying to watch you without being noticed as you do your own workouts? She's dying to fight people!

3) Gotta get the perfect stuff for...whatever this is! (Scavenger Hunt)

A glittering rock, a interesting leaf, a large red flower, a smooth stone, three different feathers... What an odd list she's gotten from Charlie. Still, she's been trying to find interesting items anyway, especially soft things. Why? She hasn't a clue, but it feels important.

Maybe Ah should find a pillow, too? It's not on the list, but that feels like something that she should get, on some deep, dare she say instinctual level. And until she finds the right items, it's going to bother her, a lot. It has to be the right things, or it won't work. Why? She's not sure, it just won't.

Somewhere in her noggin, this behavior is questioned, but anytime it gets too deep into the weeds, she thinks it's better to put that line of inquiry off for later.

"Hey, ya lookin' for stuff, too?" She asks of anyone nearby who seems to also be searching for their own items. "Want help?"

4) Snuggle-starved and perhaps something more

There's some other instincts at play, as well. At first, it just feels like a slight gnawing or burning inside, but soon, it's gotten her full attention. What has, you ask? Why, the need to snuggle...At least, she thinks that's all it is. She knows it's been awhile since she's been hugged by her family, but she never thought it'd feel this bad...even just someone's touch would make it better, it feels. Maybe others are feeling this way, too...Just in case, she puts a post up on the network.

There's a few people that she feels a bit more drawn to, though, and if she's not doing something else, she might be seeking them out...

[OOC: Feel free to contact me through this journal, Discord, or Plurk if nothing here strikes your fancy! I'm really open to ideas!

Ryu (Odjn) | Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter

[soldragon]

I: Changes/Arrival
When Ryu Odjn dreams of his Link, which has become rarer of late, now that they have seen the sky, he dreams of flaming red eyes, burning in the dark. Scales of gold and sapphire and ruby, and wings of light.

"Hello, old friend. Did you miss me so much?"

What is different, this time, is that instead of speaking, Odjn roars, and dissolves, and-- just like that time, deep in the Genic Dump, their wills and power combine. "It's time to go, old friend. Do not worry. We shall be among friends soon."

And so, Ryu awakens, and climbs to his feet, and... Well. All of this is new, isn't it?

He might as well talk to people, while he's here. Indeed. You should talk to others. Do not fret. Your life is not at stake. Not anymore.

Well, that's suspiciously specific. Perhaps one of these dragons nearby can be treated with. Can't be worse than Chetyre, right?

II: Scavenger Hunt
A celebration, eh, old friend?

Ryu nods. "And a Ranger mission. Materials hunting."

When done as a game, I believe it is called a 'scavenger hunt'.

Ryu nods. "Oh, is that so? Well, either way, it doesn't do to keep people waiting."

He looks at the list again, not sure this is really necessary. "... but... are you sure it's just these...?"

Odjn laughs.

"What? Come on, fill me in!"

You shall understand soon, old friend. Let us find these things for dragons near here.

III: Horn Locking
"... Hey. Are we Diving?"

No. There is no need.

"Then... What's going on?"

It is the nature of this place.

"Mm." Ryu pauses. Feels his horns. Growls. Draws his Ranger Blade. Several fairies stop him.

"wait, wait, waiiiiit! If you need to get out some anger, try butting heads with people!"

... Not the first time he's listened to fairies, anyway. Who's next?

IV: Rockstar Profile

Rockstar Profile

RYU ODJN | 18

Ryu 1/8192 was a Ranger in the bunker city he knew as home. A chance meeting between him, a rebel, a true dragon, and an unethical human biological experiment propelled him to open the bunker and reach for the sky, at the risk of his own life. It's two years later.

While he's still connected to Odjn, well-- he's about to be a lot more so, wouldn't you say?

[diceofthegods]

Just this month but honestly however long you like or not, it's wholly up to you how much you take part!

And totally! Go for it and add whatever fun flavor you like!

Ryu (Odjn) | Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter

[soldragon]

Ryu Top Level

2)

[soldragon]

For all butting heads is what the fairies asked, and for all he's inclined to listen to fairies-- the ones back home helped him out a lot!-- there's just something to be said for keeping in practice.

So he decided to find a nice spot on the beach, take up his good old Ranger Blade, and run through the basic attack forms he learned in training. Vertical, lunge, side sweep, basic defenses, defense-opening techniques, on up to more complex, less practical forms meant for conditioning and building muscle more than raw effect.

Not that he didn't find a use for even those, once in a blue moon.

He is, sadly, as yet unaware of the Pouncening about to be enacted upon him. Not that he has any traps available right now.

Zevran Arainai | Dragon Age

[mmmleather]

🐦‍⬛ ARRIVAL
[Well that's new. All of this, really. It's not where he'd gone to sleep at camp, it doesn't even look like the right part of Fereldan, actually. Nor Antiva. Nor anywhere else he's been to before. Maybe it's the Fade. Wouldn't that be fun?]

I see the... creativity in names is unsurpassed.

[Good work, Zevran, you've found the sign that says TOWN. Way to go. Regardless, if he found it, maybe the others did too. Perhaps they left him in some kind of joke, or something Morrigan prodded them into. Strange, he didn't hear any complaining, or even Dog barking.]

[So that's how the elf finds himself. Hands on hips near the fountain in Town, casting about for anything familiar, and, well, failing that. So hailing down some random (possibly local) is the ticket.]

Hello! I... do not suppose you have seen a party of [Don't say Wardens.] heavily armed and intimidating travelers passing though this place? Possibly with a mabari?

[Yes, because that's the most identifiable thing about the Warden's party, the dog.]


🐦‍⬛ BROODING
[Right, well, by now, Zevran's managed to make the best of it. It's not what he expected - but there's nothing to be done and he's nothing if not adaptable. A whole house though? All to himself? What a new and unexpected luxury for a disgraced Antivan Crow!]

[... Which probably explains why it feels not great. Why he feels a bizarre need to pull someone else in, too. It's just unease. It's isolation. Even with the Crows, he hadn't worked alone - until the end, at least. Totally why he's stepped out to find someone. Anyone, really, to turn the Antivan Charm™️ onto. The first adult he sees gets it. Dramatically.]

Alas - what chilly weather we're having. And I, with only a blanket to my name. How will I survive?

[... Okay, he's rusty, so sue him.]

Arrival

[soldragon]

[Ryu pauses, and then gently pats his sword. Ignore the red nubbin horns starting to grow out of the side of his head, he is.]

Sorry. The most heavily armed person I've seen so far is me.

Ryu, 1/8192. I'm a Ranger.

Describe what a 'mabari' is to me, and I might be able to help you look.

Vash the Stampede | Trigun Maximum, post-canon | OTA

[celestialcrybaby]

1) Helping Around Town

If there's one thing Vash knows how to do, it's get his hands dirty and put a little elbow grease into things when he can see that someone needs help, so when left not knowing what else to do with himself now that he was stuck in this strange little place, he quickly decided to head out looking for people who needed an extra hand making repairs and fixing things up after the winter.

So it wasn't unusual to find him hefting around heavy boxes or repairing roofs or fences, dressed in a simple dress shirt and jeans with his bright, red duster kept tucked away in his bag. It was taking him a little bit to get used to the cold temperatures of the early spring of such a temperate environment, but he couldn't help but enjoy the chance to drop the burden of being Vash the Stampede for a little bit and just try to be...well, as normal as he could be. Which might have been easier, if it weren't for the strange patches of scales that had started peppering his skin in places. Feathers, he was used to. He knew how to deal with those, even if he didn't like to. But scales were something else entirely. And they were just as itchy when they were coming in, apparently.

Oh well. At least in this regard, he wasn't all that unusual. Not if the things he'd heard about others who'd been brought here were anything to go by. In fact, it almost seemed to help him blend in with the people around him instead of stand out. He...honestly wasn't exactly sure how to feel about that. Still, he did his best to keep them covered by his clothing as much as he could, just like his scars. He was very used to hiding his body. Same shit, different day, as they said.

2) Heightened Aggression and Brooding

The cabin he'd "claimed" was one of the smaller ones on the edge of town, tucked away a little closer to the outskirts and unassuming. He wasn't used to having his own house. If he settled down at a place to rest his head in the past, it was always due to someone else's good graces and the use of their spare beds. Ship 3 was as close as he got to having a "home," and even then, it was a shared communal space, and his living quarters there were smaller even than the cabin he'd taken here.

So the sudden bouts of irritability and the want for physical contact didn't strike him as overly odd at first, with how out of sorts his life felt in general at the moment. Maybe he was feeling homesick, lonely for the people he had no possible hope of seeing again even if he had decided to take the risk of seeking them out. And the melancholy he felt every time he remembered a certain figure in a dark suit and carrying the scent of cigarette smoke everywhere He went wasn't new at all, only the difficulty he had in distracting himself from His memory and the sharpness of the need he felt to be able to express that want of physical contact with Him in particular. He was used to shoving his grief down on a regular basis, but at the moment, it was as if it were omnipresent.

It came to a head one morning with a strength that left him cranky and unable to care if he weren't putting on his nicest face. That was why he could be found sitting on the small steps outside his front door, putting on a rather grand, pouty little sulk and doing his best not to break down into tears but unable to deal with the feeling of being cooped up inside where he could hide his emotions from everyone else. It was all he could do not to dwell on the loss that he'd been dealt barely a year ago, and even then, from time to time he would give a little frustrated noise, kicking his boots in the grass in childish little outbursts before he simply settled for burying his face against his knees and wrapping his arms around his own shoulders.

It wasn't as if He would have been particularly open to Vash's sudden, strange need for a cuddle if He'd been alive, anyway. His stye of physicality had never been the type for cuddling. This was just rubbing salt in a still very fresh wound, and Vash hated it.

"Why this? Why now??? Man, this sucks! It's just not fair!"

Ok. So maybe the whining little noise he made was him giving in to the urge to have a cry about it for a while, after all. It was fine. It wasn't like he knew anyone here and should expect visitors, anyway. He was alone here, for better or for worse!

That thought just made him give another, louder, more frustrated little fit into his arms, cursing and kicking his feet again with a noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob.

3) Baseball

The last thing he expected to see people doing here was playing baseball of all things! It was already such a rare thing to get to do back on No Man's Land, where humanity had brought the knowledge of the game with them into the stars. But here, so separated from that culture and in a completely foreign place and time? It never would have crossed his mind!

Which meant when he saw the small crowd playing in the field and began to recognize what was going on, his face lit up with surprised delight and he gave an excited little shout before moving closer to watch from the sidelines. He itched to go out and join them, always happy to get to play games with others and forget about his worries for just a little while, but he held back to avoid imposing himself where he wasn't invited and instead cheered them on without regard for who was winning or losing. That didn't mean he wasn't visibly vibrating with the barely contained energy, the grin on his face undeniably genuine for once, if anyone were perceptive enough to be able to read his normally carefully-schooled expressions.

Vash the Stampede | Trigun Maximum, post-canon

[celestialcrybaby]

For once, he's not being as much of an unintentional menace.

1

[celestialcrybaby]

Vash caught sight of the creature as it scampered around the field as he was making his way home from helping an older woman fix her chicken coop, and he couldn't help but stop to watch, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans. He couldn't really tell if they were a beast or another person brought to this world and changed by its "magics," but there was no denying the joy it must have been feeling as it rolled around in the grass and tore around the foliage like an adolescent whatever it was, full of unrestrained Play energy.

Honestly, it was little things like this that helped remind Vash of the brighter moments in life. He loved watching beings - people or animal or plant or otherwise - getting to just be unabashedly happy. And it was a bit infectious, making him feel lighter until some of the dark clouds in his head eased and his curious, watchful expression shifted to a smile as he found himself laughing at the sight of them flopping and rolling and nuzzling their face in the dirt like a puppy with the zoomies.

1

[celestialcrybaby]

He was carrying a stack of lumber on his way to help the little old lady who lived not too far from the house he'd taken up residence in fix her fence, when Vash's path was suddenly and unexpectedly crossed by a rampaging, frolicking dragon. It gave him a bit of a start and he let out a whoop of surprise as he backpedaled and did his best to keep from dropping the wood, and then let out a loud peal of laughter.

"Careful there, friend, this is heavy! You don't want it dropped on your head!" He took a moment to watch the obviously happy creature bounding around, smiling at the obvious joy they exuded before continuing on his path, keeping an eye out for them to try and avoid stepping in their way again.

Arrival

[celestialcrybaby]

[Truth be told, Vash had barely just arrived himself when he found himself being hailed by a person who looked like they had walked out of some fantasy book kept in the library on Ship 3, long pointed ears and all. He stared for a moment before shaking his head, looking frankly just as bewildered as they must have felt.]

Can't say that I have, thankfully. What's a mabari?

[Was that like a toma? He didn't know if they would have the faintest clue what that was if he asked, and with the thought that it was better to only have one confused person in the conversation than two, he kept the question to himself.]

Aurelia Sharr | Pathfinder | New Player

[aureliasharr]

Golden Greenery

A quiet day, the fae up to their normal tricks. Familiar, to the regular residents. Not so to the wizard recently arrived, whose reaction to the discovery of mimics is … less than ideal.

The ground shakes, lightning flashes, and the fae run screaming as she unleashes her wrath on the mimics. Fireballs first, questions later. Tracking the source of the noise is all too easy, and laying eyes on the petite noble woman is even easier. Blood red eyes glaring at the world, hunting for targets, an aura of necrotic power radiating off her as she stalks after the fleeing fair folk.

Not the best time for a polite introduction, but maybe someone should distract her from her warpath?

Once suitably distracted from her crusade against all things Mimic, Aurelia will be
more than willing to help with repairs.

Rockstar Profile

**Aurelia Sharr** | **120**

Necromancer, Illusionist, Master of the Arcane. Advisor to the Knight-Commander of the fifth crusade. A Dhampir Noblewoman too preoccupied with unwavering all the mysteries of the universe to figure out how to make friends.

Wildcard
[ooc: Short one point starter, but feel free to toss other starters at me! I’m open to Changes of any variety, and Scavenger Hunt specifically, but am happy to plot out anything! You can find me on plurk at Morgana9971.

2, actually.

[recreator]

Emet-Selch stares dispassionately down at the misshapen lump of blankets and now-dirty laundry he's discovered in a shady patch beneath the trees, eyes narrowing at the familiar tufted tail and the soft gray muzzle poking out from each end.

Surprisingly enough, they've no lessons scheduled for today. Even so, once his meeting with Charlie was concluded, Emet-Selch had struck off in the direction of Byleth's color until the path led him here - and for very good reason.

Thus. For his next trick...

Without preamble, Emet-Selch's fingers grasp the edge of a thick velvet throw that has been incorporated into the pile and gives it a sound, precise yank(!) - just as one would when attempting to remove a tablecloth without displacing any of the china or cutlery resting thereupon.

An audible "whoosh" can be heard, and Byleth will no doubt be greeted with a sudden gust of cool air - if Emet-Selch's presence doesn't awaken him first.

"Resorting to theft, now, are we? I did wonder why my favorite blanket suddenly vanished the moment I left the house to take care of business."

Golden Greenery

[recreator]

Slow clapping can be heard amidst the chaos from a man who stands a relatively safe distance away - and one who has not raised so much as a finger to help, neither against the mimic itself nor to come to the aid of the fleeing faefolk (who really had it coming a few dozen times over by now, in his personal opinion).

"I daresay we were well overdue for some pyrotechnics," he says, offering a wide, lazy shrug. His dress is modest - black robes and a scowling red mask hanging about his neck. Atop his head is an impressive set of horns which may go some way towards explaining his slouched posture.

"You might wish to be just a touch more gentle with them, however. Some of the residents are rather fond of the fae and will likely not take well to their slaughter - irritating as they are."

OMG OG VASH!!!

[perfectteatime]

At the sound of laughter, Byleth is immediately on his fours, ears forward, staring at the newcomer. Hm. Someone he hasn't seen yet. He supposes he must make quite the spectacle romping around like this. If he is embarrassed nothing shows in his body language or expression at all.

Instead, he takes a few slow steps toward the man, head lowering to give a less aggressive posture, he hopes.

"You're new." It's said as a statement rather than a question. Byleth likes to think he's kept track of most of the comings and goings of this town since he arrived with the first wave. With a slightly more pronounced bow, he begins his checklist of appropriate social interactions that people consider normal.

"I am Byleth. And you?"

[perfectteatime]

The comforting warmth and familiar scent is abruptly gone from his world, and Byleth's tail curls around him in a vain attempt to compensate. He groans, snout crinkling up in an annoyed expression as he's so suddenly awoken.

Ah. That's... Emet-Selch.

Green eyes snap open and he sits up quickly, feathers and fur rumpled still on one side from sleep.

"I was going to return it." That doesn't un-steal it at the moment, Byleth. He knows, and without hesitation, lowers his head.

"...I am sorry." He would say he could barely help himself, but excuses rarely go over well with Emet-Selch and he could have probably held back if he really tried. Maybe.

[recreator]

It's an expression and annoyance that the sorcerer can relate to, given that he's normally the one on the receiving end of such rude and untimely awakenings.

Of course, whatever irritation he feels himself is rather quick to be snuffed out when the creature lowers his head and utters what sounds like a sincere apology. He's always been weak to such things, and now is no exception, either.

Ah. Well...

"Just don't do it again," he replies with a pronounced sigh, draping the blanket across his own shoulders for emphasis. (Sorry, Byleth. This one is his. And he won't be giving it back.) "Or, failing that, ask before you borrow. No doubt I could have conjured up something for your...'project' had you given me a moment's notice."

1

[soldragon]

Honestly? If you'd asked Ryu about the local weather, you'd get a shrug and a 'at least it's not polluted to the point it's hard to breathe'. He's had to survive a lot harder than hauling a bunch of materials hither, thither, and yon. Guy's had to eat genetically modified maggots to have a meal, there's really not a lot he won't do.

So, with his horns rather obviously coming in on the side of his head (something Odjn assured him would be fine, but considering their previous relationship, a good question), why not help this other fellow out? Maybe he should take up carpentry. That sounded nice.

"You're new, too?" he said, finally breaking the silence.

Angeal Hewley-Rhapsodos | Final Fantasy VII | current player

[firsteditionbfs]

A - Totally Normal Competition

For some in town, whether new arrivals or old hats, the feelings of aggression and competitiveness and being absolute weirdos may be a wholly new experience.

For the three men who were known as the best of Midgar's best, this is just another Tuesday.

Part of it is just how some of their personalities are. (By which one means Genesis and Angeal's personalities.) Part of it is because Jenova likely tapped into some very weird genetics when trying to adapt to what it thought humans were. The result is the same either way, and has been well exercised in the past. Perhaps because of the nerfing abilities that arriving in this place, they've actually been much calmer than normal!

That changes with some mild explosions in the sky, lots of arguing, and maybe a very On Fire crash landing.

Hopefully it wasn't near anyone. If it was, or someone hurries over to investigate, they'll find Angeal straightening up covered in soot and surprisingly little burns. There's also - did something (someone) bite right at his neck, leaving it positively smothered in blood? Don't worry about it!

"That shit- oh. Hey, you alright?" Maybe he should be asked this question himself instead of being the one doing the asking, but Angeal isn't caring about that.

B - Repair Job

As it turns out, sometimes the local god tells you to maybe chill the hell out and stop flirting setting each other on fire and making explosions and fighting so near to town. Fortunately, Angeal is fairly personable outside of.... things like that.

He's also occasionally creative in his problem solving.

That's why anyone going through Town might find themselves being waved down by the large baker - sporting some brilliant branching golden horns from his head. That's the extent of what gives him away as one of the dragons, however. "Hey," he says, casually keeping his boot atop a shaking chest that's making some noises of distress. It seems he's lodged it into a hole in one of the buildings. "Do you think you could get me some spare wood boards? Kinda preoccupied here, so I can't do it myself."

C - Scavenger Hunt

Considering how he gets with regular competition, Angeal wisely decides that things like sport and horn-wrestling just aren't going to be for him this month. So he opts for other things to help get some of his restless energy out.

Unfortunately, his lit has him being... weird. And perhaps specific.

Anyone in the marketplace investigating the fruit selection will have Angeal sliding on over to them, looking at what has their attention. The question is simple. "You gonna keep that?" he asks, indicating specifically the leaves still attached to the stems.

A normal thing to want!

D - Wildcard

[I'll style match. If you want to make up a different scenario, just let me know, I'm pretty flexible for whatever, and Angeal tends to be around. Just because he doesn't plan on joining in the competitive stuff doesn't mean it won't happen! I'm also not opposed to NSFW prompts exactly, although be warned that Angeal is already in a pretty busy polycule lmao.]

Geralt of Rivia | The Witcher | New

[lovelybottom]

1. Labor

Geralt knows little about the very aptly-named Town; it is merely where he has to be, since he has no current method of getting himself back to his proper universe. And while that rankles him-- he has more than just himself to look after these days, he has Ciri to think of-- he also can't do anything about it. Not yet, at least. He just has to trust that Yen would look after her in his absence and figure something out here.

For now, though, the best thing to do is keep himself occupied.

The notice board makes it clear that there's witchering of a sort to be done here, but there's also the more immediate issue of rebuilding. After a little information-gathering-- much easier in this place where no one seems to have an innate repulsion towards witchers, or even know what a witcher is on sight-- it becomes clear that Town is still recovering from a strange attack. (Geralt makes a mental note: find out more about illithid and what manner of creature they are. Another entry for his hunting journal.) As an able-bodied man, Geralt is quickly drafted into helping with the repairs. The many winters at Kaer Morhen have given Geralt plenty of experience in repairing damaged walls and fallen roofs, and it's an opportunity to find out more about this brave new world that he's landed in. A chance to listen to the townsfolk talk, to observe, without anyone paying too much attention to him.

While this isn't exactly what a witcher is made for, it's certainly true that a witcher is worth about ten men in terms of labor. You may come across him up on a roof, nailing shingles into place, or dragging a sledge laden down with timber beams over to rebuild cottage walls. It's a weight that you'd normally hook up to a draft horse, but Geralt drags it one-handed as though it weighs no more than a few sacks of flour.

2. Nest

Witchers do not nest.

But they do camp, and even though Geralt could probably have gotten one of the intact cottages near Town, being so near to a human settlement is... not ideal. Even though these people seem to have no qualm with him, he doesn't trust their good humor, and he's never liked the bustle of human places. He doesn't trust-- or like-- much of anything, really. In light of that, it seems best to travel out towards those overgrown orchards to the east and set up there, about as far out as he can reasonably go.

In the absence of anything that can be done to get him home, Geralt focuses on the practical. Shelter is a need; he fulfills it.

It's hardly the worst place that he's ever camped. There's tree cover, and enough leaf-litter and fallen limbs to start a fire with, and the weather's fair enough that he won't mind spending it outside. A bedroll might have been nice, but it's a luxury that he's done without before. He digs out a serviceable pit for the fire, ringed with stones; drags over a log to have a place to sit; gets himself enough firewood to last a night or two, and breaks the branches into manageable pieces with his bare hands. There's a certain... familiarity about putting up camp that sets some part of him at ease, even when he's far from home. (There's a lack of enthusiastic child wanting to learn everything, a lack of humming bard deep in the midst of composing. Geralt does not think about these things.)

His payment for an afternoon's labor comes in the form of dinner-- not as good as coin, but it'll keep his belly full. He has it set on a stone next to the merrily burning fire, warming up while he whittles at a piece of wood. Not one of his best skills, whittling, but most of his kit has apparently been left behind on Roach, and he'd have good use for a cup.

The thing about witchers, though, is that they have ears and noses that would put a bloodhound to shame-- all it takes is an upwind breeze or a careless step on a dry twig to give up a man's position, no matter how stealthy they think they're being.

3. Rockstar profile

Rockstar Profile

Geralt of Rivia | No

Witcher.