test drive meme.

[fablemods]

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away... You snap awake with a sudden jolt, the sounds of nature surrounding you. The ground is warm beneath your hands, a press of fabric under your head. Sit up. Look around. This isn't where you fell asleep. Not even close to it. But with no one around you, answers as to how you got there in the first place are a little beyond your reach for now. If you decide to head off, don't forget your bag. You'll want that if you plan on making it out here. If you want to survive. And if you don't want to move, well...good luck. There's a shadow on the prowl. A rustle of leaves, a snap of twigs. Glowing eyes in the distance... -------------------- Characters find themselves waking up on the bare ground (or a bed if they're very lucky), a leather pack beneath their head, and entirely alone. It's not where they fell asleep that night. Isn't even close. The sky is the wrong shade, the ground isn't quite right. The only note of familiarity are the clothes on their back. Searching through their pack, characters will find a change of clothes, a few food rations, and something personal to them. They'll also find a pouch of wooden coins and a shard of mirror. Before they get a real chance to investigate those items though, they'll hear a rustle in the distance. The sounds of something moving around. It's their cue to get moving too. And somehow, all characters find their feet guiding them in the same direction. Off towards the Great Lake, less than ten minutes walk away, no matter where on the island they first woke up. Welcome to the island of Leutheria. Welcome to the Fablelands test drive. Above is an arrival prompt that players are welcome to use to introduce or test out any characters they are interested in bringing to the game. Below is an on-going event that takes place throughout the first two weeks of a character's arrival.(Though the wolf will still remain a constant presence on the island for the months to come). And of course, you are free to use this post for any other prompts you wish to use, or mirrorshard conversations too. All threads are able to be used as game canon, providing both players agree to it, and can ultimately be used for bonus AC if you wish to. If you have any questions, please direct them to the FAQ. And without further adieu, let's get on with the show! premise | faq | locations | wishing well | taken | reserves | applications | hiatus/drop | bonus ac

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away... You wake to the feeling of being watched. Of a set of unfamiliar eyes, of warm breath on the back of your neck. A jolt back to the land of the living, and it's gone. No matter how quick you are, how sneaky, the source of the disruption has long since disappeared, so you have no choice but to try and ignore it. To continue on with your day and try to set that moment of strangeness aside. You eat, drink, speak with others. Perhaps you explore a little. Whatever it is you choose to do for the day, that feeling from the morning won't return. And by the time the sun sets and the moon glows brightly above, you've likely set those moments of strangeness aside. It's not like it's anything new, after all. It's the same again for the next few days. No better, no worse. Something best ignored, right? A speck of blood on the doorframe. That wasn't there before, was it? A snap of twigs in the distance. A crunch of leaves. Claw marks gouged deeply into the door. Into the wall above your bed. Scraps of red fabric, turned darker with blood. Pieces of fur. Of flesh. Do you run and hide? Do you fight? Whatever you choose, it's definitely time to make sure your body parts aren't scattered next... ...what a horribly big mouth you have. -------------------- Since first waking up on the island, characters have been stuck with that feeling of being watched. It isn't a constant. Isn't more than a few seconds at a time, dotted throughout the day. Investigation has never turned up much, and there's never been any sightings of the cause of it all. Until now. Throughout the first half of the week, characters will find themselves suffering from that feeling of being watched on a far more constant basis. Rather than it being a one-off, few seconds occurrence each day, that feeling will last for minutes at a time, and on multiple occasions. However, it isn't until the fifth day that they'll start stumbling across physical signs of their monitoring. There are claw marks on doors. Spots of blood on the paths outside. A crack of twigs in the forests, or the imprint of bloodied paws in the snow. Ten days in and those signs start finding their way indoors. Wet footprints, tinged with red. Claw marks in the walls, the floor. Torn sheets and the smell of wet...something. Whatever it is that's been watching you, its finally decided to come and say hello. Two weeks in and characters will begin to have sightings of the creature, its fur dark and its eyes a glowing yellow. At times it looks like a wolf, prowling in the distance. At other times, it's walking on its hind legs, almost human were it not for the muzzle full of gleaming sharp teeth. Get too close, and it slips away like a shadow, gone between one blink and the next. It decides when to reach out to characters, not the other way round. It's after characters finally get a good look at the creature that it starts leaving...gifts. Characters will start to find familiar items from their home worlds amidst the mess. The remains of a childhood pet, perhaps. Photographs of loved ones, faces torn almost beyond recognition. It's only once it delivers its final gift that the creature retreats to the trees again: a blood-splattered item of clothing that clearly belongs to the person the character misses the most at the time, alive or dead. [credit 1 & credit 2]

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Toph Bei Fong | Avatar: The Last Airbender | OTA

[blindearthgirl]

I. Arrival

Toph startled awake as if from a particularly bad nightmare. Upon waking, Toph realized right away that something was very wrong. This isn't where she went to sleep last night. Instead of the upside-down stone structures of the Western Air Temple, Toph found herself to be in some kind of tunnel. Not only that, but there was no sign of Aang, Katara, or Sokka anywhere. She quickly got herself to her feet and kicked the ground, sending the pack that had been her pillow into the air with her earthbending so she could catch it...

...except that it wasn't her pack. She rooted through it, finding familiar-feeling clothes as if it was hers, but it was also full of stuff she didn't recognize, like the leather pouch with something smooth, like glass, and another pouch filled with wooden coins of some sort.

Toph suddenly dropped the pack, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. It felt like someone, or something was watching her, but she couldn't feel anyone else nearby. "Twinkle-toes, if that's you, you better stop your little airbending dance and get back on the ground." It was almost overwhelming. She hadn't felt this creeped out since the gaang's run-in with Hama and the screaming she had heard under that mountain where that crazed waterbender kept her victims. Receiving no response, Toph raised the ground in front of her to make a wall, then sent it rushing forward to the entrance of the tunnel. If it hit something, she would feel the vibrations through the ground, and those would tell her what it was that was stalking her.

Except that it didn't hit anything, but the feeling that she was being watched faded away. She frowned, but picked up the pack she woke up with and headed out of the tunnel. She wasn't going to find out what was going on by hiding. She wasn't one to hide from anything anyway. Stomping the ground hard, she tried to see if there were any clues that would tell her which way she should go to find out what was going on. Luckily, there seemed to be some kind of town nearby. She headed towards it, hoping that she'd at least be able to find her friends.


II. Wishing Well

Displeased with her lack of success of finding anyone among the houses along the large lake, Toph eventually came upon a well. Why a well was so close to such a large source of water, she didn't know, but it was there. She wasn't going to pay it any mind, except that as she was walking past it, she felt something. It wasn't a physical something, but rather some odd sixth sense, similar to how she felt when she had first arrived and felt like she was being watched, but this wasn't a threatening feeling. She couldn't place it, but whatever it was, it was telling her that something was up with this well. She approached it and dropped a pebble into it's depths, hearing the small plunk as it fell into the water. Nothing happened. But then, why would anything happen? Weird feelings or not, it was just a well. Shrugging, she pulled herself away and continued her walk around the lake to see what or who she could find.


III. Something Wicked This Way Comes

Toph was getting pretty sick of the seemingly random feelings of being watched. As the days went on, they became more frequent, but her feet continued to feel nothing that would give her any clue as to what it was that was making her feel so on edge. The only thing she could guess was that it was something that was flying, since she couldn't "see" anything that wasn't on the ground.

This morning however, there was a clue left for her. She got up from her bed and stepped in a puddle of...something. "Awww, gross!" It wasn't water. It was thicker than that, and it had a bad odor to it. "Is that blood?!" It certainly smelled that way. Toph wasn't easily disgusted, but stepping in bodily fluids, especially those not belonging to her, was pretty gross no matter who you were. She hopped back on the bed and used the sheets to wipe the bottom of her feet off. That feeling came creeping back. The hair rising on the back of her neck, the chill down her spine, like someone's eyes were trying to dig into her back, and this time, some evidence to show that she wasn't just imagining things. Even the sounds of the other occupants of the island didn't seem to comfort her, and she used her bending to bust the wall down and jump out into the street where she wouldn't be caught by whatever it was that was stalking her.


IV. Wildcard
I'm open to pretty much anything. If you've got something you wanna play out, toss it here.

wishing well

[aromantically]

Peter has taken to hanging out by the well. There's just something about it that... draws him in, makes it easier to think. He's sat on a rock overlooking the water, his pack next to him and an orange in his gloved grip, peeling it as he watches. The water is calm and so is the sky and even if he usually hates being alone, today he's finding something calming in it maybe. Centering. That is, until the drop of the stone startles him Not that he'd admit as much, even as he stumbles to his feet, dropping the orange on the ground as he looks around for the source of the noise. Seeing it's just a kid, his heart rate slows in the midst of ratcheting up and he puts a hand to his brow to shield his eyes from the midday sun.

"Hey, kid! Are you new around here?"

[sinistral]

Arrival / Immediate;

Waking up with a start isn't a new experience. Waking up in a location — or hell, a decade — different from the one in which he went to sleep isn't exactly new either. But it's not something that should happen now, he thinks. And there's something about opening his eyes and looking up at the sky that makes him uneasy.

That's not hard, these days.

He takes a breath to say his name to himself (James Buchanan Barnes, his name, he can't forget it, it's his name and he knows it now, it'll not be taken from him again) before rolling to his feet. The feeling of unease is growing and there's enough in him that's still the wild, feral thing that HYDRA made him to have him gathering up that pack without a second thought and moving silently away from where he'd woken. Reconnaissance skills help a little, the brain making a mental map with the small clearing as its starting hub.

He's been in every conceivable wilderness terrain but this just feels off. He can't put words to it but that's hardly important. What's important is the instinct that prompts him to keep moving.

He also can't explain why he feels compelled to be moving in this particular direction above all others, but he still keeps moving.

Lakeside / Shortly After Arrival;

The lake is a lake; big enough certainly, with structure and geography that doesn't match anything in his memory. Then again, his mental map of the earth is hardly complete; if it didn't relate to a mission, he hadn't needed to know it. And the rest is just— lost. Incomplete. Something on which he cannot dwell, not in this moment.

He turns his attentions instead to surveillance, what he is able to see: a town, perhaps? Habitable looking buildings anyway, though it's hard to discern more from this distance. What he can discern is that there doesn't appear to be much activity, or so it looks. A closer look is probably in order.

He makes sure his left sleeve is tugged far down on the wrist, overlapping the gloves he'd fortunately found in the pack he still carries. Right now, subtlety is probably for the best. Only once he's sure that there's no hint of metal showing does he start to make his way toward the buildings.

My What Big Eyes / Day 5;

The sense of unease Bucky had felt on waking in this strange place hasn't abated. Though lodging had been logical he still treats it as a temporary thing; mistrust runs too deep and the impulse to keep his life transitory is still strong. That impulse, and the unease, had grown as of late with the feelings of being watched.

Even so getting up for a morning run in the predawn hour has become a habit, both as a training regimen and a way to settle the mind — as much as the mind would settle, anyway. Though he's found few enough satisfactory answers to his questions and added little to the journal he keeps, the routine still helps.

The claw marks on the door frame put him on immediate alert, however. He'd heard nothing in the night — concerning, with his skills — and to think that something had gotten so close as to gouge wood so deeply without his notice concerns him deeply. And it begs the question: is it an isolated incident or not? Had anyone heard or seen anything that he somehow had not?

Or — the truly uncomfortable thought — is his brain betraying him once more?

Wildcard;

Whatever idea you have I'm likely willing to roll with it; feel free to drop a prompt or PM this journal if you'd like to discuss anything. While I tend to write my starters in prose, if you prefer to tag in brackets I will shift to match.

Arrival - aka paranoid Bucky, wanna meet paranoid Loki out for a stroll?

[wearenotdoinggethelp]

Upon first arriving - or rather, waking up - here, Loki had the feeling of being watched. Now that wasn't surprising.

The key to success - and sanity - was to somehow discover by whom he was being watched, and whether it was or wasn't the person he suspected he might be being watched by, right now.

Being toyed with. Because wouldn't that be fitting?

And so, while he tries to make himself look like he's just walking around at leisure, he's keeping his senses sharp, keeping the maximum awareness possible for an Asgardian prince, every second, though that might be... an overload, in too long a time, he knows.

A hunter cannot hunt many days and knights without a moment's rest, a swimmer cannot swim without a break for years, he knows. He knows that he cannot be over-aware forever. But for now, he isn't sure who's observing him, so he, he, he needs to be. Aware of every living being around here, in the closest proximity. Even if it's tiring. Just for now.

At the same time making himself look calm and pleased at confident. Because he had that feeling, in the morning (truly?) of being watched, that's why he'll look carefree. It's imperative.

After all, if he looks rattled, he's already lost first battle. And he won't.

And so he needs to be hyper aware - and cheerfully, lazily carefree. Easy peasy. No problem, unless somebody looks into his soul.

And then he crosses paths - well, not yet, and if he will cross paths, it'll be very deliberate on his part - with somebody.

Just some Midgardian. A stranger, at that. Fine, then.

Let's cross paths while pretending to ignore him. Might be nothing, might be a spy of whoever's observing. But might be nothing. And he won't know if he hides, so, no hiding.

"Hello. New around here? Because I am. And currently looking for directions. A map would be nice. I've been walking in circles!"

What Big Eyes

[clawandscars]

There's someone watching Bucky, true, but it's not the same pair of yellow eyes as before. These ones are much more golden in color, though he keeps his distance much as the wolf has. Indeed, there's something...off about the teenager, something that's compared much more to the wolf watching them all then the human beings roaming around.

Bucky will find that where shoe prints should be in the dirt, instead, there's paw marks. They're nowhere near the size of the beast that left the claw marks. But they are similar even if smaller in size. There's definitely someone just beyond his sight in the tree line, peering out from around the edges of the bark. If approached, he won't run, but he's definitely reluctant to come any closer. This man is a human and Tsume learned a long time ago that humans aren't kind to wolves, even when they have the illusion of looking human on their side.

[arachnerds]

Its been over a week since he found the tattered remains of her sweater. A week since he forced himself back together and went out hunting with his two new friends. Teammates? Whatever he can get away with calling Gamora and Starlord. The sweater may be lost now, but with his new found connection to the two Guardians, Peter hadn't wasted any time in moving from the remains of one cabin, and in to the spare room of another. One he's not alone in occupying.

With the others off somewhere, Peter had taken the opportunity to continue his search of the remaining cabins, hoping to scavenge up whatever supplies he could. With a metabolism like his, he knows his supplies won't last long otherwise. And there's only so many times he can ignore the fact that his plate is a little fuller than the others when they sit down to eat.

It's by the time he's leaving his sixth cabin of the day that his senses pick up, throwing him on high alert. His grip tightens on his pack, fingers curling back under his sleeve to the webshooters hidden beneath his hoodie. Scanning the area, he laments once again that he isn't wearing his costume. That he can't ask Karen to scan the area for him. So instead he's stuck looking around to try and find the source of the disturbance. To spot--

"Woah."

The word escapes on a breath, and Peter finds himself relaxing almost automatically. Sure, the last time he saw the man, the two of them were fighting against one another. But that doesn't detract for the fact that, that is Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes. The war hero. Captain America's best friend. The...new arrival?

"Mr. Barnes. Sir?" Darting down the street with all the enthusiasm of the teenager he is, Peter skids to a stop in front of Bucky, a wide grin on his face. So much for subtlety?

"Hi. My name's Peter. I know we haven't met properly before, but I wanted to say hi and see if you needed any help. I, uh- I'm a friend of Mr. Stark?" Which means he can trust him, right?

Loki | The Bifrost Incident | OTA

[gotaholdonme]

[Arrival

Loki wakes slowly, the sounds of the forest gently pulling her out of her sleep. She blinks at the trees, a small frown crossing her features. This..this isn't right.

She pushes herself upright, fingers entwining with the grass around her. There's sun here, there's the smell of nature and she feels like, if she listens hard enough, she can hear voices. People, actually other people, and not just voices in her own mind.

Where is she?

Loki gets to her feet, shaky and uncertain, and collects the bag that she'd been resting on. Then she turns around once, looking at the area around her, and starts to laugh.

Is she free? Or has she died somehow and this is what the afterlife is? Or is it a test? Maybe she's supposed to survive this for some reason, supposed to prove something or find it or...

She shakes her head. It doesn't matter. She gets the sun, she can feel it on her skin, smell the grass and touch the bark of the trees. Whatever this is, she is choosing to look at it as a gift, rather than a curse.


[Five Days In]

The thing is, Loki knows how to live with paranoia. She's used to feeling that there's something creeping in the corners, something watching her, waiting for her to fall into sleep before it strikes.

What she's not used to is seeing more physical signs of its presence.

She touches the claw marks on the door, frowning and blinking as her hands trace the marks over and over again. This isn't how things work. The things want in, they want to get to where she is, but they had no way of actually doing that, not yet.

But...But she's not where she used to be, the rules are changing and she doesn't know what this means.

The wood around the marks is splintered and she doesn't notice when they start getting caught in her fingers. She's tracking blood against the door but Loki is lost in her own thoughts, distracted by trying to puzzle out what this means.


[Or throw someone at her!

Five Days In

[clawandscars]

There's someone watching Loki as she examines the blood. At first glance, he looks like the creature that might have left the claw marks and done. But a closer observation reveals that this wolf is far too small to have his paws match the marks. His eyes are also much more golden rather than the supernatural glowing yellow of the big beast. Though he keeps his distance, it's not with the same deliberateness of the wolf over the past days.

No, Tsume's wariness is just that of an animal that has had too many negative encounters with human beings to think that they will show him any kindness. The X-shaped scar on his furry chest shows he's been a survivor of things in his past before. He's mostly wondering what she's going to do now that she's found the signs of the other wolf.

Mordred | Fate/Apocrypha | OTA

[arrogator]

[A, arrival]

“What the hell is this?”

Angrily stomping through the forest in a full set of armor probably isn't the best way to handle waking up in a strange place, but Mordred is definitely pissed off about this. One, it's not where she's supposed to be and two, there's something out there watching her, or there was? Yeah, the hell with that. Oh, and three, her Master's not here, which raises even more questions about what's going on.

“Hey, whoever's watching out there, get out here now. I'm not gonna ask again.”

She's not expecting that presence to show itself, especially since it seems to have disappeared, but she's still looking as she heads in the direction of the lake, the mystery pack in her free hand.

[B, five days in]

It's been five days. Five days of being separated from the Grail War and all of that. Five days of also having that creeping feeling that she's being watched return for a moment every day, with nothing to show for it. Which hasn't done much for her mood.. If it's an Asssassin or some sort of creature, Mordred wishes it would just show itself already.

But nothing yet, except for these new prints in the snow. She'll stop to check those out, kneeling down to inspect them closer, but also keeping an eye out just in case whatever left them decides to return. And also so she's not caught off guard if someone else shows up to volunteer information about whatever left them.

[C, two weeks in]

She's got answers now as to what the hell that was, and hasn't taken too kindly to any of this crap. Not the wolf dodging her attempts to cut it down, and definitely not it leaving creepy presents for her. No thanks. She's not even going to get into that last present, that mystery wolf is going down for that one. So she'll head out, sword in tow, looking for the thing. Mordred hasn't seen it since that last present, but it's got to be out here somewhere, right?

“Tell me you've seen that damn wolf around here, I'm sick of this disappearing act crap it keeps pulling."

She'll just flag down whoever she runs into, hoping somebody can help her with tracking this thing. The hell if she's letting it show up leave weird shit at her door and then ghost on her. There's got to be some sort of consequences for that, not just because of her pride as a knight but because this is a pain in the ass she can do without.

C

[whirlrock]

Howzer touched down in the forest after trying to use his wind magic to fly up and survey--finding no sign of a better path or the wolf he swore was following him. Instead, he found a knight in imposing, silver and red armor. Howzer patted his own breastplate with a mailed gauntlet and smiled, albeit witheringly. He had spent plenty of nights worrying over his mother and father. The scraps of bloody cloth the wolf brought to him were from their work aprons--something he recognized without any real need to look twice.

If there was any stress or fear in Howzer, he was doing his best to avoid showing it, especially when he didn't make it a habit of wearing his helm.

"Hey--I haven't seen you around, sir," Small-talk could at least help, he hoped. "So, you're being plagued by that beast too, huh?"

B

[amongfriends]

Mordred isn't the only one hunting that wolf. Gamora knows that it's harmed at least one woman. That's enough to get it on her bad side. She's taken to stalking every sign of it in hopes it will reveal itself. Today is no exception. The face hunting is new.

Gamora stares only briefly before nodding to acknowledge their presence. "Any luck?" She asks like she expects none, but will always ask anyways in case she's wrong.

C

[clawandscars]

Tsume doesn't answer the woman at first. His eyes move slowly up and then down again, measuring her silently, taking in the sight of such a very large sword. He apparently doesn't like what he finds. The teen's golden eyes narrow in suspicion, his voice a lot deeper than his pretty boy looks might suggest. "Even if I had, why would I tell you that?" Sorry, human. His loyalty goes towards a fellow wolf first.

Even if it has been acting rather odd, Tsume's been willing to give the creature the benefit of the doubt. There was no one way that a wolf reacted to being around people. Some kept their distance, some preferred to stay right in their midst, and some even seemed to prefer the company of humans to being around wolves at all.

Son Gohan (Future) | Dragon Ball | OTA

[lamentingly]

>A - Arrival

Waking up with a start, the first thing Gohan did was snap to his feet. The hardened warrior instinctively settling into a combat stance, glancing around him... before he stretched out his senses, and realized there was no one around. He was acutely aware of the fact that this wasn't where he went to sleep, especially as his senses expanded further, and the unfamiliarity of the area (and the ki) hit him.

But of course, that begged the next question: How did he get here? And where was here?

"... Hello?" He called out, letting his stance drop. Standing upright, as his gaze caught the leather bag on the ground. With his one arm, he reached down and grabbed it, preparing to open it. But it was during that moment when his senses spiked, a nearby ki uncomfortably close to his position, causing him to tense and glare.

"Who's there!"

>B - Big Bad Wolf

It was infrequent, but he could sense it. Something intruding into people's homes, hanging just outside of his senses. He could sense something was there, but not what, where, or how strong...

But that ended tonight.

Its presence was getting dangerous, leaving people terrified. Hints of blood and claws left in its wake, making the escalation obvious. It wouldn't be long before someone got hurt, or worse. So tonight, Gohan took the straightforward approach.

He stood in the middle of the village, in the dead of night. And to draw the presence out, let his aura flare around him, like a beacon.

"I know you're out there!" He called out, not even caring how late it was. "I can sense you!"

> C - Wildcard

( ooc: Go nuts! I'm game for anything! Send me a PM if you wanna plot something out! )

B

[aromantically]

Peter hears something outside, which isn't so strange. Not after weeks of being terrorized by this wolf demon guy. But more and more people keep arriving and that's... worrisome. Especially since none of them are his family. What's the hold up? Oh yeah, he almost forgot to check on the noise.

He pokes his head out of the cabin he shares with Gamora, one blaster in hand though he has on pajamas under his jacket. Okay, that is not a wolf. That's just a guy screaming in his yard. Peter edges out into the clearing, rubbing his eye with one hand, his gun flat at his side rather than trained ahead.

"Uhhh. It's, like, really late, bro. You okay?"

A

[whirlrock]

In stark contrast to Gohan's paranoia, Howzer presented himself with a wide and confident grin. He came down barreling from the sky--smashing into the ground with a cushion of wind beneath his feet. He could feel an air of tension in the air around where Gohan was and came rushing to help, looking to present himself as the confident leading Knight he was voted in to be. Admittedly, he stumbled on his introduction--

"Heetings! I'm Gowzer--"

His hand extended in a pleasant, open gesture as if welcoming a handshake, Howzer froze up once he realized what he said.

"I..."

The moment was lost and, despite the tension that was very much apparent in Gohan, Howzer saw fit to pity himself more than anyone else.

"I'm... here..."

B

[forhyrule]

Zelda was a light sleeper. Although this had never been a problem at home, where anyone near the princess's sleeping chambers was always mindful of their noise, her rest was frequently disrupted in this new place. Between the noise of the other people who shared this makeshift village and the increasingly frequent feelings of being stalked by the wolf, it was difficult for Zelda get more than a few hours of sleep each night.

And tonight, naturally, she had only just fallen asleep an hour or two ago when another resident began shouting outside. Trying to bait the wolf, from the sound of things. Could this not wait until morning? It would do no good to start a fight with the beast at midnight, while everyone was tired.

With a sigh, Zelda drew herself out of bed, donned her boots and cloak over her nightgown, and left her cottage. Perhaps she could talk some sense into the shouting man and then catch a few more hours of sleep before sunrise.

"Sir," she called as she approached Gohan. "Surely you do not mean to start a fight with the beast in the middle of the village."

zelda | legend of zelda: twilight princess | ota

[forhyrule]

(ooc; Pick any format you like and I will match, regardless of starter.)

1 - arrival (awakening at the lakeside)

Zelda jolted upright with a scream, spooked from a fitful sleep by the sense that something nefarious was looming over her. Her first waking thought was the certainty that she was about to be attacked by a large, snarling beast, and her hands shot out to jerk the bedsheets over her head in a hopeless attempt to protect herself.

But there were no bedsheets; her hands grasped at nothing. As she let them fall, the rest of Zelda's mind caught up with her fearful instincts, and she noticed that she was missing more than just bedclothes. There was no bed beneath her, no stone walls of her bedchamber surrounding her, nor even a roof above her head. She sat in the sand at the edge of a lake, with water lapping against her bare feet.

"Where...?" Zelda began, looking around.

As she scooted backward up the bank to get her feet out of the water, she immediately bumped into a large, lumpy object. She looked back over her shoulder to see a leather bag with a large indentation, as though it had recently been used as a makeshift pillow. When she grabbed it and looked inside, she found it filled with her own clothing.

The feeling of being watched returned with a vengeance. "Who's there?" she called warily, praying it wasn't the fanged beast from her nightmare.

2 - mirror shard (an hour later)

[ Not long after awakening in the sand at the lakeside, Zelda has changed out of her nightgown and into the clothes from her bag. It's strange that a kidnapper (because she's clearly been kidnapped from her castle, right?) would pack a change of clothes for her, especially such a regal and recognizable outfit. But despite the unshakable feeling of being watched that came upon her every now and again, Zelda hadn't seen so much as a hair of her kidnapper. ]

[ While she waits for her kidnapper to return (because running away and getting lost would do her no good), Zelda lays the shard of mirror in her lap to fix her hair. Anyone happening to look at their mirror right now will be treated to a beautiful young woman awkwardly attempting to braid her long brown hair. ]

3 - wishing well (four days later)

Several days had passed since Zelda's arrival, since she found her way to the little crop of cottages near the lake that housed other newcomers to this strange, haunted place. Though it was clear to Zelda that she had not been kidnapped (not in the traditional sense, at least), she still did not understand how or why she was here. Nor, it seemed, did anyone else.

Besides the strangeness of their circumstances, residents often also discussed a wishing well, located not too far from their makeshift homes. After asking around, one of the other newcomers agreed to take Zelda to see it.

Zelda immediately sensed an air of magic about the place as they drew near.

"Is this it?" she asked of her companion as she looked over the arching rocks. It didn't look like a typical well, but it seemed to radiate magic so strongly that the air felt dense, almost humid.

2

[aromantically]

[ oh hey there's someone on the mirror thingy. he's still trying to get used to this but he offers a big smile and a wave. ]

Hey, don't freak out, but I can see you. Hi.

Loki Odinson | MCU | OTA

[wearenotdoinggethelp]

☆Arrival☆

He's being observed. Maybe constantly so.

I didn't get away from Thanos and now back to Thor for this, this, this constant...

Well, at least they have more finesse than Ebony Maw. They're more invisible than him or Other or Thanos, and don't stink so. Ha!

Second day is worse than second.

I'm losing my mind. That would be fine, but, right now, Asgard needs it. Thor needs it. They're fools, they will run straight into Thanos and death without my guidance.

Loki ventures out. For the sake of the last shreds of sanity he's got, and you know what? He's been getting along quite well with the last vestiges of his torn sanity, lately, thank you very much, he'd like to keep them.

And so, he ventures out, paranoid though if you ask him, he'd say it's rationally wary. Observant of everything around.

Whoever pulled him here, he'll find them and then--

Well. He must find the perpetrator first. How can he plan any next move without learning what sort of person that is and how can he hurt them the most?

Of everything around.

Were he some puny mortal, he'd suffer from sensory overload after first hour of his wandering around in search of clues.

Especially since he also spends energy on looking casual and sardonically relaxed.

If he spots anybody nearby, he simply bows slightly and says.

"Hello. Beautiful place, isn't it? Maybe I made a right choice for vacation spot. How about you?"

[clawandscars]

The one Loki speaks to is young, not even more than eighteen at the oldest even if he does have silver-white hair. He's dressed oddly for the setting, though he wouldn't have looked out of place in most major cities on Earth. It still is an awful lot of leather.

Tsume's golden eyes look over the man with suspicion. He's not really used to being around humans, having spent the majority of the past couple of months in the company of mostly other wolves and a girl made of flowers. His voice, when he speaks, is surprisingly deep. "Where are we?"

It smells off to a wolf nose. He can't quite put his paw on why it's off, but it definitely is.

Sigyn | The Bifrost Incident | OTA

[aworldanew]

[ arrival ]

Sigyn doesn't stay put long once she's woken up and taken stock of the unfamiliar scenery. Nobody's sitting there waiting for her, which means no Odin or anyone who works for her, which is better than the alternative -- but also that she's separated from the rest of the resistance, and she has no idea how it happened. She's fairly certain that, with only days before the launch of the Ratatosk, Odin wouldn't bother playing with them if she'd figured out they were infiltrating the launch; no, Sigyn's fairly certain she'd be dead, in that case, which means this is something else entirely.

Well, that or this is some sort of afterlife, but she'll assume she's alive until there's a good reason to think otherwise.

She takes a moment to sift through the pack, but only a second, before closing it up and swinging it onto her back. She won't get any answers in the middle of a forest by herself; for that, she'll need to find people, so she starts walking, picking the direction her gut tells her to go in. One way is as good as another.

She keeps an eye out as she goes for any sign of other people around, moving towards whatever noises she hears and occasionally lifting her voice in a hum to try and draw attention of any people close enough to hear -- it's easier to keep up than a shout and hopefully sounds non-animal enough to draw attention.


[ ten days in ]

Sigyn hasn't left the home she's been staying much in the last five days, not since the first signs of something on the doorstep. It's the first sign that the feeling of being watched isn't just baseless paranoia, and she's more or less staked out her front door trying to catch whatever it is if it comes back. That's where she fell asleep, leaning against the wall, listening for something moving around.

She wakes up, and it takes a few hazy seconds to register the claw marks in the wall opposite. The chair falls over as she jumps up, stepping forward, only to take a step back as she steps on something wet, something that definitely wasn't there when she fell asleep.

The scream that comes out of her is frustration and anger more than actual fear. It was in her home, right in front of her, and she still has no idea what's happening.

She moves outside to take a look around, and she'll be there for a while, studying the door and the windows, looking around, trying to find any sign of how it got in and out again without disturbing her. Nothing's really helping, and it's only serving to make her more frustrated, but she really doesn't know what else to do.


[ wildcard ]

[[Or throw whoever you want at her, wherever! I'm good with anything, but feel free to shoot me a PM if you want to work anything out.]]

ten days in - you know you saws this coming...

[gotaholdonme]

Loki's been disrupted too, finding the thing had entered the place she was claiming too. SHe's not looking for help, she's not sure what she's doing exactly, but hse's outside, breathing in the air and trying to steady herself.

SHe's found clothes, comfortable and easy to move in, and a pair of boots she can use. She's still not been getting rest but she might look a little better since she's been in and out of the sun for the past few days. SHe certainly doesn't look like her old self but at least Sigyn won't have seen her the way she was when she first arrived.

Loki sees the woman examining the outside of the house and she finds herself almost drawn to her, confusion obvious on her face as she watches, just watches, and barely breathes. There's something about her that is ringing loud in Loki's brain, something she can't ignore.

LShe just stands there, int he middle of the open air, watching and waiting and unsure of what needs to be done now that her brain is practically singing with this sight.

Tsume | Wolf's Rain

[clawandscars]

Arrival

Tsume wakes up on a forest floor that's softer than most he's slept on. When he wakes up, he immediately notices the scent of the place. It's off in an imperceptible way, something he can't really explain in human words. He noses through the pack, ignoring most of the items as his nose seeks out the one that matters most. It's a lunar flower, the kind that Cheza was made out of, blooming only under the light of a full moon. He inhales the scent deeply, something familiar in this completely foreign place.

Packs aren't really meant for wolves to carry, so he ends up dragging it along by the straps using his teeth. The human illusion will just show it slung over his shoulder. When he reaches the Great Lake, he stops, and pauses to get a drink.

He looks entirely human, just another seventeen year old with some odd clothing choices, but the more observant will notice some odd details. Instead of shoe prints, there's paw prints leading off in a trail behind him. His shadow looks off, clearly that of a big dog or other large canine. But most tellingly is his reflection in the lake. It's clearly that of a large gray wolf, the same X-shaped scar that's on Tsume's chest reflecting on the wolf reflection in the water.

Two Weeks In

Tsume had been watching the signs for days now. He knows exactly what's been stalking him. It doesn't make him afraid. In fact, he welcomes the signs that shows the creature is drawing nearer and nearer as time passes by. The scent is unmistakable. There's another wolf here. Still, just like the forests, there's something a touch...off about the scent, something he can't quite put his paw on. Still, he's almost glad to know he's being watched.

When he spots the wolf in the distance, mostly hidden by shadows, he calls out to it. "You can come out if you want to. We can talk." He, of course, receives no answer as the wolf slips away like smoke on the breeze. He didn't really expect one, but the offer is there nonetheless for the other wolf to find him. It would be nice to have one of his own kind around. Feel free to encounter him at any point actually trying to talk to the beast with big eyes and sharp teeth. He's not crazy even if he seems like it.

Arrival

[whirlrock]

The sight of another human being was always good, Howzer found. It was even better to find someone when he was lost in the woods with hardly anything on him except a spare pack, his armor and his lance. Being dropped in the elements was fine on most given days but he had no idea where he was and it was starting to get to him. Cluelessness was a step too close to ineptitude for his liking.

He came to a halt in his marching, looking over a moonlit lake in the middle of the woods. In front of him, there was another man looking down to get a drink. Freshwater sounded fine, so he decided to follow after and approach him--making himself known with a casual 'Hello' to Tsume. He wasn't a particularly nervous man but Howzer found himself wondering if he would come off as a dangerous looking guy, suddenly appearing in armor with a weapon, coming across a civilian in the middle of the woods.

"H-Hey, there! Do you live around here?"

Baby Bonnie Hood | Darkstalkers

[dokkans]

1. arrival

Despite the sudden jolt, there wasn't a measure of anxiety that came from waking up in a new place. It was a bit surprising to be pulled into one dimension then yanked into the next, though it was moreso an issue once she noticed she was missing a few things from her person-- the basket she would rarely be without seemed to be gone, along with most of her weapons! Someone definitely had a lot more guts than brains to take anything from her... but, they'd have to be dealt with momentarily. After all. She did still have a knife, and that'd be enough for her.

What was more important right now was figuring out where she was. Even if it didn't feel like Makai anymore, she was certainly being stalked in some form or fashion. For the time being, B.B. picked up the bag that had been ever-so generously left for her. Despite the impending danger at her back, she's careful to root around a bit in her basket. Clean clothes, a pouch that seemed to jingle just the way she liked, and-- well, she'll have to look more into it later. Right now, all that'll happen would be her being a sitting duck.

Closing the bag, she sniffled, turning a bit towards the rustling bushes. Anyone coming near at this point would encounter a teary eyed little girl, fear evident on her face.

"H-Hello? Is anyone there?" A soft gasp, as it looks like she's trying to adjust a bit. "D-Don't come closer!"

2. Two Weeks In

It really didn't take too long for Baby Bonnie Hood to get herself acclimated to the area, or to let her scared facade drop. At this point she's already taken to acting every bit of the Darkhunter she was, including trying to get a better glimpse of whatever's been lurking about. Yes, while it may be a better idea to avoid the thing altogether, it was starting to be a bother; especially as it seemed to be actively going after her. Bloody pawprints, claw marks... if it wasn't a Darkstalker of some kind, it was still a beast that had to be killed as soon as it could.

Four days passed and nothing came of it. She may have asked a few questions about what anyone else may have seen or heard, remaining the sweet and sociable girl that had a little bit of a fixation on monsters and seemed to be treating this a little more like a game. It was this day that during another sweep of the wood, she finally got her first glimpse. On all fours, bared teeth as clear as day. What big teeth it had indeed... and how badly she wanted to cut it down right then and there. Only issue being, as soon as she even makes an advance, it's gone.

At this juncture, one can find her having attempted to stalk it right back, and in this case, with her holding two things in one hand. The first would be a knife, grip tight on its handle... but not too tight, due to the other item she held. A blood-stained collar. His blood-stained collar. Whatever this thing hurt her puppy.

It was making fun of her, and her response was to harshly jam her knife into a tree in frustration.

"That bastard--" She was going to kill it. It didn't matter how many people were on this island... she wanted to be the one to kill that wolf. That was all there was to it.

3. wildcard

[ Hit me up! I'm open to all things. ]

1

[clawandscars]

What comes through the bushes is apparently a seventeen year old who looks like he has a leather fetish. He blinks in surprise at the sight of a little girl all on her own out in these woods, taking a step back to reorient himself to the sight. His hands come up, showing he's unarmed. "I'm not going to hurt you," Tsume says reassuringly and with far more kindness then he's shown anyone else thus far.

He's got a soft spot for those smaller and weaker than him. This girl definitely seems to fall into that category. "Did you just wake up here too?"

Abigail Hobbs | Hannibal | OTA

[climbingwalls]

[ arrival ]

It's been a while since Abigail has been able to be outside -- Hannibal keeps telling her they'll take a trip soon, that he has something to show her, but he's been busy -- and she thinks, at first, that she's dreaming. She dreams about being outside often, about being back in the house she grew up in, though more often than not lately, Hannibal's there too; but in those dreams, she always has both ears, and it only takes a few moments to realize that's not true right now.

She runs her hands through her hair nervously as she sits up, making sure it's covering the place where her left ear is gone even as she's peering around, trying to make sense of the surroundings. She doesn't recognize anything, not even the bag sitting behind her, and it makes her uneasy. Even more so when she goes looking through it and finds clothes she knows sitting on the top; it spooks her enough for her to close it again, leaving it in her lap as she tries to figure out what to do.

The rustling gets her to jump to her feet, the pack clutched almost automatically in her hands, whirling around to try and spot the source of the noise. She's alone with no weapons, and the idea of animal and the idea of unknown human are about equally scary, but at least the second might not rescue her. Or it could just be some random skittish animal not planning to eat her, so maybe if she makes noise it'll run?

At least if she makes noise she might figure out which one, so she calls out into the trees, "Hello? Is anybody there?"


[ two/three/four days in ]

The feeling of being watched isn't exactly unfamiliar for Abigail, but if anything, that makes it less comforting. She does a fair bit of avoiding people, even though it doesn't seem to really make a difference; she's more comfortable exploring on her own anyway, wandering out more and more. She doesn't really have the resources to make it far, especially since she'd rather not sleep out in the open, but she pushes out here and there, seeing how far she can get before the terrain starts to get unfriendly, exploring where the borders meet.

She's not looking for people, but she'll do her best not to be unfriendly if she runs into anybody else taking a look around, giving them a smile and responding easily enough if she's addressed. At least unless they catch her right as that weird feeling of being watched hits or has just passed, in which case, she'll be jumpy and suspicious.


[ wildcard ]

[[Or throw whoever you'd like! I'm open to anything, but PM me if you'd like to work anything out.]]

Arrival

[clawandscars]

There's a teen who comes out from behind the trees, perhaps around Abigail's own age. Aside from the unusual coloring of golden eyes and silver-white hair, the most obvious thing about Tsume is the X-shaped scar on his chest. It's only one of many he has covering him, though the rest aren't easily seen unless someone is right up close to him. Wherever he came from, he's survived some shit.

He looks Abigail over as if deciding whether she's a threat or not. It seems like he doesn't trust as he doesn't come any closer, but neither does he disappear back into the treeline. "Did you just wake up here too?" He says in a deep voice that doesn't quite fit his pretty boy looks.

Johannes Cabal | The Johannes Cabal series | OTA, will match format

[mildlyinfamous]

ARRIVAL
Upon waking, Cabal quickly assess his situation. On the bright side, his body was human and it no longer felt like he was dying. On the less bright side, this was most certainly not where he passed out. Was he somehow back in the Dreamlands, or someplace else entirely? Cabal was used to all things odd and supernatural, so he wasn't surprised, but he did just have a very trying experience and he really wasn't in the mood for another one so soon.

The distant rustling sounds send him on his way before he gets to fully examine the bag, which only adds to his annoyance. At least they (whoever "they" are) had left him the Webley.

When the rustling returns, much closer this time, Cabal immediately turns around toward the sound, gun at hand.

"Who's there? I'll have you know my patience is worn so thin it long since snapped; if you do not step out this instance, I will shoot."

A real charmer, this one.


WISHING WELL
It seems simply enough – pay a coin, make a wish. However, Cabal knows such things have always some sort of trick, like backfiring horribly if one doesn't use precise words. So he makes sure to phrase his request succinctly and carefully:

"My Gladstone bag, and its entire content as I had with me before I ended up here."

Unfortunately, using precise work didn't work, and Cabal is now convinced that the after mentioned "they" are most likely playing a joke on him and everybody else.

""Oi! Is that you again, Cabal? And who's there with you?"

The well gave him one item that was in his bag. Said item is a flaming, chatty skull.


TWO WEEKS IN
Cabal hates being toyed with; he wishes the creature would come out and get it over with. He'd like to say a few things to it, mainly that its provocations are obvious and clichéd.

Then he'll kill it. It's only rational to eliminate this thing before it gets sick of playing and kills them first, but also - the obvious and clichéd provocations have the nerve to work. Cabal refuses to believe this is really her blood stained scarf, but that doesn't make it any less insulting.

You as well?" He nods at someone else picking at a chewed-on souvenir. "I wonder if ignoring it will make it show itself faster? It seems to be aiming for a reaction."

Arrival

[clawandscars]

The triangular looking face that peeks out from the bushes is furry and golden-eyed. This is either a humongous dog or a wolf. Once he spots that Cabal is holding a weapon, he ducks down until only his eyes and ears are peeking out over the top of the leaves, watching him warily.

He doesn't like that gun. From the way his eyes are trained on it, it's clear that the wolf knows exactly what that is and what it does. He snarls softly, ears flattened back. He's not coming out until he puts that thing away. Tsume's gotten shot at too many times in his life to trust human beings that point guns at him.

Connor ⭕️Detroit: Become Human ⭕️OTA

[licksthirium]

I ⭕️Arrival

Weird. Connor didn't sleep. Sure he may have been going through some things ever since becoming a deviant himself, but when did he lose track of what was going on around him? Not only was he not in the DPD or Hank's house with Sumo, but he was in a completely different location.

Wait. This location... Was there even a spacious, grassland like this in Detroit? Maybe a park, but even then it didn't seem like he was still in Detroit. Looking around, surveying the area confused and curiously, there was no one around to speak to. Well, staying here isn't doing him any good, so he'll just get up and try to figure out what's going on.

Wait. A bag? Had he been lying on it this entire time? Well, it seems to have been left there for a reason, so he'll take it for the time being. He was about to check it out when he heard a snap in the distance. There were no one around and suddenly there was signs of life.

Something wasn't right. He thought to reach for his gun, but he hadn't been in the middle of investigating a case, so he would have to do without for the time being.

"Who's there?" he finally called out, cautiously observing his surroundings. It was best to stay on guard for the time being.

II ⭕️Two Weeks In

Connor hasn't been ignoring the signs. He's been keeping tabs on the events going on, but finally seeing signs of whomever (or whatever) was stalking him (and probably the others as well) has made him more diligent on staying on guard. There wasn't much to do at that time besides going about his day with that in mind.

He didn't exactly have a lot of personal belongings to begin with. So maybe whatever was after him had to get a bit more creative with him than the others. It didn't make too much sense at first. Why was there dog fur all over his floor? It looked familiar, but he was hoping it wasn't what he thought it might be. And then he saw it. A picture of Hank, Sumo, and him after all of the events; except it was clearly scratched up and torn.

It wasn't particularly alarming. Not like the shirt that was lying underneath it. It was -- without a doubt -- one of Hank's shirts with blood on it. That's what alarmed him the most. He took his finger to try to see if he could get a trace of it to diagnose whom it belongs to. It seemed pretty obvious, but he could hope he wasn't right this time. Licking the blood, he looked back to the shirt with a sigh.

It was Hank's blood. It didn't look like he'd been seriously injured, so it wasn't something that Hank couldn't bounce back from, but it made him double check his surroundings for any other evidence of his stalker. Was Hank here? Or was this just some criminal or animal trying to get their rocks off on messing with him? He reached for the glass shard that he was given upon arrival.

"Is it normal to receive items from your own world?" he asked, pausing before adding in, "... in less than optimal condition?"

Takashi "Shiro" Shirogane | Voltron LD

[padadin]

((ooc: Shiro is coming from the end of s7, let me know if you want to avoid spoilers! Although there's a physical change that I can't avoid describing for obvious reasons.))

1. Awakening | Northern Drifts

[Snow. He wakes up on the snow, and at first Shiro thinks he's dreaming. He hasn't touched snow in forever. The Garrison was in the desert, and he spent time in space after that... only to return to more desert. So lying down on the snow, feeling the chill through his military uniform, brings back memories of his young life in Japan. Of his grandfather, teaching him how to make snow bunnies. Or his dog, digging in the snow to find her lost ball. Of building snow forts against imaginary aliens.

This definitely isn't home, though. One quick look around tells him as much. Has he been wormholed here by accident? Has he been kidnapped? But a kidnapper wouldn't leave a bag with supplies, now would they? Shiro only takes a superficial look into the bag to check what is before throwing it over his good shoulder. He can see some houses in the distance, so it's time to do some exploring and try to find other people.

Before leaving, though, he can't help taking in that nostalgic feeling one last time, and so he decides to leave a little something to mark the place where he's woken up. Want to find it?]

2. Mirror Shard

[The feed starts with him sitting inside a house, the light coming from a fireplace that he's had no trouble turning on. He has some fruits he's picked up with him, too, because unlike hunting, this doesn't require cooking. Trust him: you don't want him to cook.

When he talks to the mirror, it's with a serious voice and a firm posture. The military uniform with quite a few stripes should be a clue already, but obviously this is a trained man, and a leader who is ready to take action.]

This is Captain Takashi Shirogane speaking. Does anyone copy? If anyone else finds themselves in this precarious situation, then it may be a good idea to meet up. Organize a group. Chances of survival are bigger if we work together, especially to gather supplies. [Shiro is ready to give a speech about teamwork and nobody is surprised.] Information would also be appreciated. All the houses I've checked so far are empty.

[Answer through the mirror or feel free to find him in the room too!]

3. Exploring / big bad wolf (mentions of blood and imprisonment, PTSD)

[Something -someone- is watching him. Following. And it's getting on his nerves, making the paranoia that usually haunts his nightmares worse. The first day he can ignore it, but as time passes, he gets more and more jumpy, and the signs he's finding are not helping. Blurry memories of blood on the walls of the room where he was kept try to leave the back of his brain and assault his senses, the smell of death almost pushing him to the edge of a panic attack--

Crack. It's just someone stepping on some twigs, but it's enough to make him snap, and Shiro sends his arm flying to punch the trunk of the tree next to the poor random that has found Shiro like this - aka you. Sorry about that, this (a bit over) six foot beefy man is usually gentler than this.]

Who are you? Are you the one that has been following me?

2! ... makes vague gestures at the initial encounter

[sharpshooterpaladin]

[ Lance shoulders open the door. Should he have knocked? It's their house, right? Anyway, here he is, both hands busy with branches for firewood, backpack full of stuff - most noticable, there's the handle of a hatchet sticking out of it. He briefly looks over his shoulder, as if he has any reason to actually worry about Keith, before smiling at Shiro. ] And we're back!

[ Chores like this are so stupid. Scavenging can be cool at least, like today, but too much of the time it's disappointing. ] Hey Shiro. Hear anything from anyone yet?

[ He walks over to the wall by the fireplace, as good a spot for a pile of firewood as any. ]