EVENT ★ BACK TO THE FUTURE

[futurologists]

BENDED TIME As outlined in the OOC post, things start to slow down and grow quiet in Oska for a few days as the bugs crawl away and slowly disappear. But then the cocoons hatch. Fully grown temporal insects claw their way out of them, each about the size and temperament of raging bulls. They come out far more aggressive and eager to fight, are are willing to take on anything that moves with jaws and claws alike. Except, of course, another insect — when two of them encounter each other, they enter into a mating dance and then slip away into another dimension, leaving behind only the temporary ghosts of years gone by. If you can’t find a way to pierce that thick shell to take one down, better find another one to pair it off with instead. Just try not to get bit while leading them around and find yourself suddenly 5 years old again. The insects aren’t the only thing going on in Oska, though. As it turns out, unicorns really hate this adult form of the temporal insects, and will start kicking their way out of their stalls in the stables to get at the insects in an attempt to impale or trample them. According to Uruz they’re gallant warriors, but not always quite cut out to take on a bug, and can easily get themselves hurt or killed. She would really appreciate recruits taking a moment to recapture any stray unicorns they may come across and leading them back to the stables. Try to avoid any insects on the way, or you’ll find yourself suddenly fighting insect and irate unicorn, which is no one’s idea of a good time. The lake is getting more active, too. All the fighting has woken up something in the depths of it. Dark red tentacles sometimes creep up onto shore — and don’t worry, this time they don’t belong to a sea goddess. The tentacles don’t attack unless attacked, and can in fact be quite agreeable. Nodes along the length of them act as primitive eyes, which see well enough to interact with anyone nearby. They’re also all a little peckish. Toss a tentacle a bit of food and watch it curl around and ingest it using tiny mouths on the underside. It might even be willing to play a few rounds of fetch or slap a bug into the sky for you if you put it in a good mood with a morsel of food. The senior ALASTAIR members can be seen out and about and doing their part, too. Uruz and Dagny fight as a team, centaur and elf, sometimes fighting back to back and sometimes as mount and rider. They’ll stop and lend a hand, but the cats are a little less generous. Cherenkov and Crowley fight inseparably and use magic and science in deadly combination to ward off and destroy the bugs, but can usually only be seen darting on their way from one place to another. They have a lot of magitek to repair in the destructive wake of the insects. Pomarr, neither as senior nor as invested in actively picking off the bugs, offers shelter near a tentacle-free portion of the lake, calling down storms to toss away bugs for her and anyone in the vicinity. OOC NOTES This log spans a week ICly. Characters will find themselves beginning to understand each other again as the bugs first vanish, as the effects of the cats’ work on the magitek pays off. The translation problem will be completely fixed by the time the cocoons hatch. All of the bugs will have been killed or shipped off by the sixth day, leaving the last day before their departure to the next mission blissfully relaxing. Any temporally misplaced recruits will be back to normal by the last day, as well. A reminder to anyone still texting: the texting feature of magitek jewelry operates based on thought! There are no physical keyboards, recruits merely think the message that they’d like to send to another recruit.

Comments

Papyrus | OTA

[boneafide]

1. TIM

[After Papyrus had put that acid-proof collar on the lethal timebug he had affectionately named "Tim," the bug had become even more slippery and impossible to catch. It was a bit like watching an episode of Roadrunner, with how frequently Tim would elude Papyrus' grasp at the last moment, no matter how many puzzles and traps the skeleton laid.

Catching Tim again was a feat in impossibility. And yet, Papyrus had always been able to find him again, even after the bug got away from him for hours. It was much easier to pinpoint him versus the other bugs given that bright red collar Tim wore.

But then suddenly, Tim was gone. As were all the other bugs, somehow. Papyrus had figured that perhaps, they had all just gone home! At least then Tim would be safe.

Except that's not what happened.

At first, Papyrus doesn't believe that these giant preying mantis-like creatures COULD be the same thing Tim was. They're huge! And a lot sharper. But Papyrus would recognize that bright red collar anywhere.

"Tim! Wow, you got... very big! Good job! It took me a lot longer to get this tall, and you did it in a matter of days!! Very impressive!" Papyrus compliments loudly, as Tim continues his disgusting habit of hissing and spitting, now paired with the slow approach a horrific beast might do before striking. The skeleton seems to show no concern for this, and is actually very proud that Tim seems to be accepting the offer of friendship. Which is... not really what's going to happen.

One might encounter Papyrus, still trying to reason his way through a conversation with this "Tim," but all reason and logic has left the monster's mind if someone attempts to try and kill the creature.

Helping him pair it off, though... That's an idea. ]

2. BITTEN

[Unsurprisingly, Papyrus has managed to get himself bitten once again by the bugs. He escapes from the ordeal mostly unscathed this time, but the gnaw marks on his arm don't seem to fade with healing, as the others did.

In typical Papyrus fashion, he runs up to the nearest person, whether he recognizes them or now, throws up his arm in front of their face while pointing to the gnaw marks. ]

DOES THIS LOOK INFECTED TO YOU?

3. KING PAPYRUS

Where...

[Papyrus trails off, the words dying in his mouth. He's in a castle. But he's not in the right castle. He should be... in New Home. This isn't... the royal castle, this is some other castle.

It's unsettling. Something's wrong here.

Clad in an outfit most would find unfamiliar on Papyrus, but along with that, he seems to be wearing a crown, and carrying a very large trident. He clutches onto it, not like one would if it was their proper weapon, but more like a toy to cling to.]

S...Sans?

This is a very poor joke! It's not even a good anti-joke! Where are... Where am I?

[There's only silence in reply, it seems.]

...Maybe this is just a part of the castle I haven't seen before! Yes, that must be... it...

[Sure would surprise him if someone else suddenly showed up right now, right?]

3

[grunehexin]

[There's no actual answer to his questioning, even though there's a rustle of cloth, the pitter patter of... well, not the pitter patter of feet. More like the shuffling of hands and knees.

And a small, dark haired head that pops out around a corner, looks, ducks back... then slowly looks again, eyes widening almost comically wide.

A walking skeleton...]

GENJI SHIMADA (younger) | OTA

[lowtier]

A. "ARRIVAL" (FIGHT ANYWHERE????)

Whoa.

[ This isn't his home. Or the arcade. Or the ramen joint.

Genji realizes that he probably needs to expand out where he hangs out a little more than what he does, but there will be enough time for that and he's now, well, somewhere he's never seen before. ]

Oh. Lemme guess. You're thinking about kidnapping the youngest son of the Shimada Clan for some quick money, or whatever, am I right? [ He opens his hands as he addresses the first person he sees, not letting them quite get a word in. His hand reaches to grab onto the hilt of the sword strapped to his back. ] Probably should have disarmed me before that... but I get it. I'm not my brother, so you thought that this [ And he unsheathes the Dragonblade. ] was for show, am I right?

B. FLIRTING (DINING ROOM)

[ Okay, so, not kidnapped.

That's weird, but this entire situation is weird, isn't it? He kind of gets it. Kind of. There is a lot of information about what's going on, why he's here, yadda-yadda, but he's thinking that he really could give two shits less.

Hey, if his own family can't get him motivated to do anything, how do these people think they're gonna get him motivated to work for their little organization?

Ah, well, he finds a chair in the dining room and props his feet up on the table to lean back. The bugs are still scurrying around and he sees the ghostly projections, but eh, whatever. It isn't really his problem. This isn't his place and if this ALISTAIR isn't better at dealing with their pest problem, how are they gonna save the world?

But he pauses in his negative musing to catch sight of someone. ]

Hey... come spend some time with a lost recruit, beautiful?

C. WILD CARD

[ Hit me with your best shot! ]

A. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

[fateality]

Well, if this ain't hell of a situation.

[Quickly, he realizes he's being addressed by this kid, though he's far from underestimating him. Looks Ionian, but definitely accusing him of kidnapping. Which, granted, he's not exactly above, but he's not at fault for this one.

Quickly, he flicks a glowing card into his hand, twirling it in his fingers.]

Ease up, carrot-top. Couldn't rightly say I know who you are exactly.

[Though if there is money involved... ah, no. Unless he can pull it off on his own, he shouldn't. Without Malcolm and the others around, any scam like that would be hard to pull off solo.]

So why don't you put the big knife down before you do somethin' you might regret?

natasha romanoff | ota

[expatriates]

normal nat / ota

[expatriates]

[ greenhouse | normal natasha | ota ]

[ Two days into the invasion (for that's what it was, at this point, no matter how peaceably it had started), Natasha developed the firm and staunch belief that the insects were indestructible. Bullets hardly made a difference against their shells, and she didn't have enough to spare to go firing them off willy-nilly, although it did make her reevaluate what she could get ALASTAIR to provide. No harm in asking.

Still, when she encountered one of the massive creatures in the halls, it brought her to an abrupt stop, silent as the grave and graceful enough to look planned. She straightened her spine, drew herself as tall and even-shouldered as she could, and began to back slowly away.

Then she turned and ran for the nearest exit to the greenhouse, driving it out with her, and shouting and waving at whoever was in her path to wave them out of the way. ]

dark rey / ota

[forcevisions]

[ This lightsaber wasn't hers.

It wasn't the most frustrating thing about being trapped here, but it was hard to get used to. She hadn't used Luke Skywalker's lightsaber since before she'd first begun her training with him, and even that felt like a lifetime ago now. She missed the weight of the staff, the resonance of the purple spikes' hum.

It wasn't hers, but it would suffice. Rey flicked the blue beam in a spiral arc before she finally jabbed down with it into the insect's skull, and the heat of the plasma combusted it, a spray of acid sticking to the thick woven, black tunic that was belted around her. She flicked it off with her gloves and closed the blade, hanging it at her hip. ]

Disgusting.

[ It wasn't working. These insects, whatever they were, could not give her answers for how she had returned here again, which meant that she needed to muscle her way through whoever she encountered until she found someone who could. Her silhouette darkened the hall as she marched through them, and god help the poor soul that ran into her looking for a cinnamon roll baked in the Jakku sun. ]

[secondnature]

Yeah, they are, aren't they? [He's not standing by her when she says it, but he's close enough, arms crossed grumpily over his chest. Her disposition seems different, but what does he know? Everyone has a bad day. He's having a terrible day and he doesn't even know the full scale of it, what with having fur on his face and possibly being of the very alien race he wants to end because of all the evil they've done.

It'll be a trip when it's all over.]

I'm surprised you think so, but I guess you have some sense. [Yes, he's speaking to her as if she should recognize him, even if there's a chance she doesn't. (Then again, he doesn't get the whole Force thing, so via that it's likely obvious who he is.)]

Twisted Fate | OTA

[fateality]

♠ the bite - normally aged

[fateality]

[Usually, he knows better. Twisted Fate isn't that reckless, after all; he keeps his distance, whether in a fight or even when interacting with a person. This, though, he hadn't seen it.

Damned bug took a good bite out of him.

He sits and gives a sigh, looking over the bite mark on his forearm.]

Son of a bitch.

[Maybe this is a good time to call for Papyrus or something to get it healed. He has no idea if these things are venomous or not.]

jesse mccree | OTA

[beforenoon]

I. A FIELD SOMEWHERE

[ Jesse McCree does not know what the hell is going on. That's hardly unusual these days, given his recent recruitment into Blackwatch, but this is more than military schedules and high-precision shadow ops. This is straight out of a fantasy novel, and he's not a huge fan of the genre. He prefers his fantasies with deserts and tumbleweeds, thanks.

The gargantuan insect barreling towards him does remind him somewhat of a bull, though, so he makes like a matador and rolls out of the way at the last second, drawing his revolver from its holster as he does so. At seventeen, he's tall and lithe, with shaggy brown hair and just the very scruffy beginnings of a beard. His youthful face is handsome, but surly, he looks like he's got a chip on his shoulder the size of a tree branch. The easygoing gentleman known to some members of ALASTAIR had a rough upbringing, and he's only just beginning to grow past it.

He's still got the hat, though, and the belt buckle. No serape--only a red bandanna around his neck. The body armor is different, too: it's black and padded, and looks like military issue. There's a symbol on either shoulder that looks like a red-eyed horse's skull.

Jesse rolls to a kneeling position and lifts his gun to shoot, but before the creature rushes him again, it suddenly stops. Loses interest in him. Because, he realizes, there's another creature racing past him, towards the first one. Jesse whirls around, gun still at the ready. ]

Just what in the god damn hell is going on? You!

[ He waves his gun, angrily. ]

Tell me you got an answer for this! Or tell me I'm fucking dreamin', for God's sake.

II. THE FOREST

[ He dresses like a cowboy. He tries to act like a cowboy. He is, to his own mind, as cowboy as an ex-gang member from New Mexico is likely to get. But in his as yet short life, he has never touched a horse.

And he sure as hell has never even seen a unicorn.

When he comes across one drinking from a stream in the forest, stamping its hooves irritably and looking for all the world like a slice of the moon itself given form, he's at a loss. He takes his hat off of his head and clutches it to his chest, and all his own irritation and cynicism and fear temporarily melt away. But they're replaced by a fresh anxiety, by a powerful desire to get close to this creature, to set hands upon it--to maybe even convince it to bear him as a rider.

Jesse exhales slowly, clearing his throat. He's never felt so nervous, and he's not keen on anyone seeing him this way. But Oska is a small world, and it can't be helped. When he hears leaves crackling and twigs breaking behind him, he hisses. ]

Hey. Shove off. I'm busy, here.

[ Busy not knowing what the hell he's doing, but busy, nevertheless. ]

III. KITCHENS

[ Presuming that 2070 America has not relaxed its alcohol laws, Jesse is still too young to drink. But it's been years since that pesky little fact stopped him--at least until Blackwatch dragged him in off the streets. Reyes and the rest put a stop to anything beyond a root beer, and he's been hurting for some real booze. Fortunately, these kitchens don't seem bound to U.S. law.

He's sat down with a tumbler of bourbon, into which he is also splashing some tequila, just for good measure, and looking very much like the cat who ate a whole family of canaries. ]

Can't say I got the first clue as to what kinda crazy dream I'm in right now, but the drinks are pretty damn good.

[ He gulps down some of the burning mixture in his hand, and sighs like he's just touched heaven. ]

That's somethin', all right.

[ He leans forward on the table, his expression leering (provided you are not much younger than he is). ]

How 'bout you, sugar? You want some?

IV. WILDCARD

[ This embarrassing child is ranging far and wide, looking by turns surly and lascivious, depending on who approaches him. ]

iii

[smarterthandad]

That doesn't look like root beer.

[Do not offer the tiny child alcohol, Jesse.

Valeria, wearing a superhero suit and an air of nonchalance, sets her plate on the table--she couldn't find dinosaur chicken nuggets; what terrible hospitality--and climbs into the chair across from Jesse.

This probably isn't going to help convince him he's awake.]

koltira deathweaver | open

[brightdawn]

I. THE COURTYARD

[ When was he bitten? Hard to say, because he doesn't recall it. There's a red mark on his ankle, throbbing beneath his armor, but he can't say how it happened. The last thing he recalls is a mild spring day back in Eversong, the terrace of the temple, and a table laden with a banquet. Dewy apples, plump grapes and suntouched wine, pale cheese and fresh meat, soft rolls glistening with melted butter. He had just stolen an apple.

And now he was here, fighting off the charge of some terrible insectoid creature. Its claws make his broadsword sing as it parries his strike, and he leaps back, his eyes bright with determination.

For this is Koltira Deathweaver as he once was: eyes blue like summer skies, fair-skinned and fair-haired. His armor is silver and worked with sapphires, his fluttering azure cloak trimmed with a silver ivy filigree. He moves swiftly, balletic, dancing around the monster and making quick, elegant strikes. He seems to be enjoying himself, but it's also clear that he could probably use a hand.

Koltira calls to anyone approaching, his jovial voice rich and lilting and entirely free of the haunting scratch that mars his present self. ]

My friend! Join me in battle, and we'll make quick work of this beast!

II. CASTLE OUTSKIRTS

[ Azeroth is a world of rare sights and wondrous creatures, but even unicorns are exotic to Koltira. He finds one pacing agitatedly in a field not far from the castle, and he's so surprised that he stops in his tracks. Just for a moment, though, and then he's on the approach. He speaks softly to the unicorn in Thalassian, a language that flows as beautifully as a brook.

Soon he's right up beside it, patting its flank, his smile radiant. His cloak and his long hair stir in the afternoon breeze, and the whole effect is a little bit fantasy romance novel, if we're being honest. If he hears someone coming, he turns to them, excited. ]

Bal'a dash! Have you ever seen such a magnificent creature before? If she permits it, perhaps she will bear us back to the castle--together.

[ He offers his hand. ]

What do you say?

III. KITCHENS

[ Koltira doesn't know why, but he's starving. He feels like he hasn't eaten in fifteen years, though he's sure he was just biting into an apple when he appeared in this strange place.

So he's in the kitchens, and he's got a tremendous spread before him: roast chicken, thick slabs of seasoned beef, grilled fish, bread golden with butter, piles of sliced peaches and pears and peeled red and green grapes. He's got dessert, too: dark chocolate tarts, cakes encrusted with sugary fruit and topped with buttercream frosting, plates of gingersnaps and oatmeal cookies, etc.

Despite this bounty, Koltira eats carefully, like a nobleman, like someone who's spent the better part of his life attending elaborate feasts. Which: true.

He raises his glass of wine to you and gestures for you to sit. ]

Come, take your repast with me. These kitchens are a marvel, are they not?

IV. WILDCARD

[ Koltira's here; there; everywhere. Striding around, looking really really ridiculously good looking, etc. ]

a

[lowtier]

No, that's okay.

[ Genji replies in a much more lackluster manner. He finds a tree that's relatively close to the action to lean himself against -- and slide down it. A bowl of some fruit that he stole from the kitchen rests on his lap. ]

But I can be here for moral support. You go. [ He lifts his hands to lightly clap them together. Whoo. Yeah. This almost feels like the same amount of effort that he would to his brother. No, it's about the same.

He starts peeling an orange with his fingers. ] You, you got this, guy.

ramir | open + some closed

[heavyhitter]

for Sigma

[heavyhitter]

[ Ramir is vaguely aware that the bugs are back and much larger than they used to be, but there aren’t any bugs in here, where she hasn’t even gotten out of bed yet, so she can’t bring herself to care all too much. Not yet, anyway. Gotta at least roll out of bed and find breakfast before you start saving people’s asses. And since Sigma’s not up yet, she’s got a great excuse for lying around a little longer.

She’s been alternating between staring sleepily at a pattern in the grain of the ceiling and sleeping for at least the last ten minutes, but finally one very convincing thought filters firmly enough through her consciousness: ]

Waffles. Oh, shit. [ That’s out in a sleepy mumble, and she shifts to nudge an elbow over at the form lying next to her. ] Sigma. Let’s go make the kitchen do waffles.

Hanzo Shimada | OTA

[whatshimadayou]

i. young man, there's no need to feel down
[In the outskirts, Hanzo sits.

The man is much younger, no more than eighteen; his hair longer, his face clean shaven. Almost unrecognizable, perhaps, if you are familiar with the eldest of the Shimada brothers. He's frowning, which is easy to recognize, and his eyes are closed as he contemplates.

Should you approach, he does not even open his eyes.]

You are bold to kidnap the heir of the Shimada clan, and to take my sword at that.

However, you did not leave me unarmed. Not that I need a weapon to deal with a fool like you.

You will explain yourself. If you do not, you will be dealt with. Do we have an understanding?


ii. young man, pick yourself off the ground
[It's been at least a day, and Hanzo has calmed himself. At this point, the heir seems more concerned than he is outright threatening. He's sitting in the kitchen, holding a cold cup of tea, gazing hard into the bitterly brewed tea.

He is concerned. He has to be. He is... here, far far away from Hanamura. Far away even from Father's influence.

One might revel in their freedom, but instead he worries. Frets. What can he possibly do now?]


iii. young man, 'cause you're in a new town
[A few more days in, and Hanzo seems a little more relaxed, holding the bow in his hands as he takes the time to fire off arrows at targets that have been arranged.

Should he notice you approaching, Hanzo hesitates, lowering his aim.]

If... you need this area, I can move.


wildcard, baby!
[choose your own adventure!]

i

[dbag]

[ Rhys feels an immediate urge to say, "How did you do that without opening your eyes, that was incredibly cool." Clearly, this isn't the most pressing matter, so he sticks it in his back pocket; he's still going to ask, just later, once he gauges exactly what level of crazypants he's dealing with. Slowly, he raises his eyebrows, hands dangling uselessly at his sides, looking terribly unintimidating. Maybe it's better that Hanzo keeps his eyes closed.

He replays the words in his head, trying to make sense of them. The more he thinks about it, the less sense they make. Do we have an understanding? He scoffs a little. ] Not even at all, no.

kylo ren | ota

[sololoquy]

original flavor | ota

[sololoquy]

Murderfest (Pre-Bite Kylo Ren)

[He had always been an exterminator of sorts. As such, the task of taking down the various insects is one that he almost finds entertainment in. If nothing else, it is more comfortable than any other task he has been given.

After killing one or two of them, he learns the signature they give off in the Force -- it makes it a game of cat and mouse, and forces him into a rotation that earns him several corpses. Its efficient...but messy.

Ren stalks with his helmet on, lightsaber aglow as he follows the Force to his targets. He focuses on the strongest signatures first, those which are already engaged with other residents. Their shells mean nothing to his weapon, but their size is much harder to overcome. So the second he finds someone running away or fighting, he reaches up and tries to stop the bug in question with a clench of his fist. Their signature is strong enough to make his arm shake with effort.

A mechanical voice snarls beneath the helmet:]

Move.

Zenyatta | OTA

[iomnic]

1. 20 YEARS OLD - STILL A DISNEY PRINCESSBOT

[The unicorns are restless. Not a sentence Zenyatta ever thought he would think in full seriousness, but here he is. He can't blame them, the bugs that seem to be running rampant around Oska are pretty frightening. The problem in encouraging them back to their stalls is that they probably won't be sticking around for much longer until the bugs are entirely driven off or killed.

The other problem is that Zenyatta is not exactly… an expert on taking care of animals. He knows horses like apples, and that's about as far as he knows, not to mention these aren't even horses. Unicorns might be entirely different! Turns out they're probably a lot more dangerous than regular horses, because now they also have a giant horn on their forehead, and like to take to charging at their targets. Fortunately, said target is not Zenyatta. Unfortunately, it means it's trying to pick a fight with a bug.

After a brief, but messy encounter and elimination of the giant bug that had been tormenting this particular unicorn, Zenyatta returns to trying to calm the poor creature, petting it's mane and finally bringing out the apple he had been carrying in his pocket. It seems to appreciate the treat enough that it allows Zenyatta to begin leading it back to the stables without much hassle.]

There, there. You are safe now. If you can understand me, please do not do that again.

2. 10 YEARS YOUNGER - NOT QUITE TEKHARTHA YET

[In the courtyard rests a rather nice garden. Zenyatta sits in the middle of a nice clear patch of grass, clad in an outfit of off-yellow robes with intricate patterns. One might thing, oh, he's simply meditating again, but no. He's looking around too much, at the sky, and the flowers, and literally anything that moves. He can't focus whatsoever.]

Now… if Master Mondatta was here, he would say that I should meditate on my surroundings. "Anchor yourself in peace."

[He looks down, at the grass beneath him, spotting a caterpillar, and letting it climb up onto his fingertip. It continues to climb, and Zenyatta watches it with curiosity, until it begins to crawl into one of the larger gaps between his joints.]

Oh no- wait do not- climb in there, you will-

[It doesn't stop climbing, of course, and so Zenyatta winds up wildly waving his hand around trying to fling the poor bug off somewhere where it won't get squished by his joints.]

… Maybe I should sit inside if I am ever going to focus…

3. 5 YEARS OLD - GLITCHFORTUNATE

[Zenyatta is not Zenyatta. Not yet. He hasn't chosen a proper name. If he's going to pick something, he wants it to be something he likes and wants to use for the rest of his life- regardless of how long or short that will be.

For now, he's simply calling himself Omnic. It's what he is, and no one can quite get his serial number right anyway- it's in the hundred thousands, who would want to say all of those numbers in one go? No human he's met, at least. And since he hasn't seen any other omnics here so far, it'll be fine.

The name thing, that's the least of his problems right now. Right now, he's completely lost, more than a little frustrated, and he saw two talking cats earlier. He's got to be malfunctioning, in some way. Great. And he doesn't even know if there's any sort of omnic diagnosis place around here, so he's going to have to live with these weird vision glitches he's surely having. Like, giant bugs? Unicorns? What?

To those who would recognize Zenyatta, he's not floating. He's walking. That might be the first tip off that something's unusual.

The second would be that he's not wearing clothes. Those horrible mustard yellow pants he usually wears? No where in sight.

Once he's annoyed enough with how confused he is, eventually he'll seek out someone to answer him. If they're a human adult, they get a nice:]

Hello. I am lost, and malfunctioning. Do you know of the nearest Omnic refuge?

3.

[whatshimadayou]

[The sight of an Omnic is familiar. Hanzo never thought he would revel in something he knew, but it was better than being lost and dealing with... all of this, wondering what Father must be doing.

And if he cannot return, how badly of a position this would be putting the clan.

But right now, there's nothing he can do about that, and he doesn't have the heart to be cruel. He doesn't think much of Omnics, but he would accept the company of one right now, ironically, over most things.]

I am afraid that there are none here.

How are you malfunctioning?

keith | ota

[secondnature]

[For Keith, the bite comes rather early: like any teenager who seems to be itching for a fight even if he doesn't seem like it, his first interaction with one of the overgrown bugs hadn't ended well. In the process, he ended up bitten, slammed against a wall, and just barely left holding on to his bayard. When he manages to shake off what happens, he's a little older, covered in purple fur, and sporting bright yellow eyes. He's the young adult version of an alien species, and his understanding of his surroundings is thorough enough.

After all, he's been here before, and as far as he knows, he's just undergone one of those weird ... blips he's heard about where he's flickered back home and returned some time later. Of course, there's a catch: as he looks toward his right and sees a bug coming his way, he seems to recall these circumstances. (The weird thing is that he doesn't think this happened to him around then. How odd. He knows that he wasn't transported home around this time. He knows that.) For him, this was some time ago, and what he also knows is that none of his teammates knew what to expect.

This is going to be complicated.]

a: claiming land for the galra empire

[Like any good Galra, he has to be invested in taking over just about everything. To Keith, none of it really makes any sense. Maybe it's because he's the last person who would ever be introduced to the inner workings of an empire, and maybe it's because they don't trust him to be completely on their side. Whatever it is, the superiority of their land has to reign supreme, and somewhere along the ten thousand years in which they were left to take everything over ... they decided that quality and quantity came in the same package.

The same giant package.

There are two things that he has to do here: find out if the Galra have any control over ALASTAIR and ruin their image at the same time. Therefore, he has to both be a very good Galra and a very bad Galra at the same time. Aiming for exactly this, he comes to stand in front of the castle with his arms crossed. Since his bite, he's been walking around in a set of dark purple armor lined with red, indicating that his red paladin status lives on.

The thing about taking his "proper" form as a Galra is that it hasn't made Keith any taller. So, he stands there, being short for a Galra, arms crossed, and he says:] Just so you know, this castle has been claimed by the Galra Empire.

[He doesn't sound as intimidating as he'd like. Instead, it sounds more like he's passing along a memo.

Look, he doesn't have an Empire of ships and everything. He has to make do with what he has—and what he has is himself, and the hope that someone will wonder why the Galra Empire wants to take over this castle.]

b: the mechanical room door

[In the event that the memo doesn't work, Keith has a plan B: to finally get into the mechanical room. His assault is near constant, believing that his strength should now be enough, and should anyone happen by, he's bound to be quick to demand why they're there. No matter who it is, he's determined to be as intimidating and as grating as possible about why he's trying to get in the room, spouting off nonsense and trying to pick a fight.

And the entire time? He's going to feel terrible about it. But he wants that fight. He has to sell this, he has to make it look good—

He doesn't really have any other choice.]

c: information for the galra empire

[And then there is one more step: demanding information. No Empire would try to take over a place without seeking out as much information as possible. Again, this isn't exactly a task that Keith would be left to. Violence against random people would be closer to what he'd be asked to do, but he's not sitting here with loads of other Galra officers trying to claim glory. It's just him ... and a lot of tech that he's fairly certain Zarkon would want. If anything, if he gets back and they find out that he didn't ask about the technology of this world, he's going to be in a world of trouble.

It occurs to him that maybe he should think up a better lie to cover for why he doesn't ask, but Keith doesn't think that would end up working out. To keep them from prying into his head, he has to deliver as much as possible, and the good thing is that he isn't Hunk or Pidge. Whatever he does bring back, they won't be able to use. He can build some things, but not a whole lot. Not like them.

Still, it's a risk either way. And if he can rip away some of the power of this world or any of the worlds that ALASTAIR visits, then it might be the ticket to stopping Zarkon. He knows by now that the Emperor leads everything. Ten thousand years has made him into a cult figure, and even Keith has seen why he commands so much respect. He's terrifying, but that's all the more reason to stop him.

That means playing this part the right way. That means being demanding. Being intimidating. That means deepening his voice badly and trying to sound like he's truly terrifying.]

Hey, you. Tell me everything you know about ALASTAIR's inner workings.

[Whether the "you" knows Keith or not, it's obvious that this is not his normal voice.

Like, really, really obvious.

Just because he has a somewhat decent plan doesn't mean every leg of it will be executed well. Or even any synonym of that word.]

d: alone time

[Heading out into space had led Keith to finally feeling like he belonged somewhere in life. The moment he got hit with a beam and revealed for who he was the entire time, he felt lost, uncertain, and he actually wondered if he was meant to be one of the bad guys. What if he was meant to be kicked out of the Galaxy Garrison so he didn't endanger anyone else? What if he was meant to fail fighting Zarkon that day? What if ... a lot of things were supposed to go a different way?

Learning that his entire life had been a lie had been hard. Keith's decision at the end of it looked downright stupid. Betraying his teammates had been impossible by all standards, but he had managed. Every fight he takes against them is like trying to kill someone he loves—and that's just it. He does love the other paladins. They're his family. No matter what the higher officers say about him in the Galra Empire, he knows they're his real family.

That's why he has to take this alone. But it's hard, not having anyone he can be honest with, and just as he always has, when things grow too hard he takes to solitude to try to calm down.

Keith sits in front of the water with food, occasionally tossing some of it the way of the tentacles. He heard that they like it, and he can both be alone and not alone whenever they wriggle in the air. It's something, and right now, he'll cling to that.

But if anyone sees his face, he's definitely troubled and uneasy. This isn't the life he wanted, but he wants to help the people who matter ... and the multiverse, because of Zarkon gets here, all of this is sure to get a whole lot bigger.]

c

[smarterthandad]

[And here Val was, minding her own business for once, gosh.

Keith has chosen to accost a human woman in some manner of skintight costume, who glances up from her book and promptly fails to be intimidated, a tolerant smile tugging at one corner of her mouth.]

Absolutely nothing.

[She says it amicably enough, though.]

Sakura Kinomoto l Cardcaptor Sakura

[featherings]

Bitten:

[Okay. So she's still not entirely sure just....what happened here exactly. But it's still instinctive regardless of where this Sakura might be from and what she might have experienced, that she reach out to help as best she can. This isn't necessarily going well, given this particular Sakura is far less experienced with magic or fighting necessarily, at least, not without a weapon. Which she has none on her person. Still, she's trying to herd anyone looking like they are in trouble back and hopefully out of trouble while she figures this out, particularly any younger children.

This probably means more running than outright offense against these bugs but she's doing what she can at least, okay? Even if the whole timey-wimey business is reminiscent of her own powers over time and space.]

This way! [No, she doesn't have much if any more idea on the directions exactly. But so long as it is in the opposite direction of these bugs, right?]

Unicorns:

E-eh....? A unic--n-no, wait! Unicorn-san, stop!

[So she doesn't have the Cards at present but that doesn't stop her from physically attempting to stand between the unicorn and the bug to try stop them fighting once one of them shows up.

Which is. Probably a terrible and dangerous idea. Even if she is taller and apparently slightly older again.]

Wildcard?

[If there's a prompt/situation you'd prefer/we've discussed prior, hit me with that and I'll roll with it!]

Bitten

[perma_banned]

Don't worry about it ♪.

[A sudden flurry of crushing blows reduced each insect to pulp in a heartbeat. Stepping down the hall with a bit of a skip in his step was Ban, clad in dark red armor from neck to foot. Long hair trailed to the middle of his back. He was popping his knuckles behind the muffled clatter of his armored gauntlets and grinning wolfishly.

There had been a need for escape and yet--it disappeared in an instant.]

I've got your back, missy.

[historiology]

Bitten; Explorations:

[So, amid all of this, there's another addition to the cast of 'characters that were stupidly/ignorantly reckless and ended up bitten and is now like five years old' group. Yeah. This now much younger and smaller Sorey, prior to ever actually leaving Elysia. He's pretty cute, and possibly far too curious for his own good, in spite of the likely expected fear and nervousness given how sheltered his life has been up until now.

Which of course means he is off exploring, probably places he shouldn't be, but has no idea. Chances are, he also has Mikleo with him too.]

This place is weird. It's definitely not anywhere near Elysia....Maybe this way? [What is 'this way' and where exactly he is trying to get to, he has no clue. But he won't figure anything by just standing around. So onwards he goes, his precious Celestial Record with him. Though the maps in it don't seem to correlate at all to this place.]

Lake:

[Okay so he can't swim. But Mikleo's there, right? And he has his artes. So it can't hurt to check it out and go closer, when he first sees the lake and all but lights up at the sight, rushing towards it in excitement.]

Wow! It's so big! Look at it!

[It's only when he gets closer that he notices the tentacles. His head tilts as he pauses just in front of one, peering at it with wide eyes as he watches it move.]

What's that.....? Maybe it is hungry....?

[Why did he make such an assumption? Maybe cause he himself is hungry by now. Or something.]

Wildcard:

[For any other prompts people might want him for, have at!]

wildcards - let me know if this works!

[onethousen]

[ By now she's fairly sure that low level to outright chaos is the normal state of events in Oska. Sure, people say otherwise, but all she's had to adapt to are bugs of varying sizes with vicious appetites destroying everything they could and causing ghost-like apparitions to dance through the areas where they eat.

When the bugs had gone into the chrysalis, she'd been hoping that would mean easier times of trying to cart them away. Or maybe prettier end results. She could understand bugs acting like caterpillars, waiting to metamorphise into something beautiful, like a butterfly.

The worse butterflies ever come out of the cocoons, and the cocoons were made just about everywhere. Chihiro had outraced one of the bugs down toward where the hot springs were located, discovering two things along the way: she runs faster than she gave herself credit for (and better keeps her head), and there actually are hotsprings. Woah!

It's a startling enough realisation that she comes to a dead stop and stares out at the wooden walkways and the rising steam, blinking like a fish. Some other memories are fighting really hard to come to the surface right now. ]

A hot springs?

[ She's unaware of the cocoon nested on the underside of the wooden walkways, its inhabitant makings its slow, steady progress back to the active world. Dun dun dun... ]

mikleo

[circulets]

bitten:

[ Mikleo barely recognizes what has happened to him until it's too late. For those who may still remember him, Mikleo looks a little different now than he did only a while ago. For a moment, he looks around - rather unsure of himself. ]

Where is this...? Where did Gramps and Sorey go? [ He folds his hands to his chest, frowning as he looks around this strange, alien planet. ] It doesn't look like any place Gramps told us about...

[ He'll be standing still, unsure about where to go before he takes off. One thing is for certain, he needs to find Sorey, and find him quickly. If he spots your character, he'll be as quick to approach your character as possible. ]

'Scuse me! [ Could they see him? He's been told that humans can't see him, but he needs some help, any help. ]

at the lake:

[ Luckily, Mikleo's managed to avoid confronting anything far too dangerous. However, he has ended up stumbling across the nearby lake, immediately fining himself taking a liking to it. Anyone who's wandering around may find him siting at the edge of the lake, humming quite happily to himself.

He'll be practicing his artes, small bubbles forming above the lake, and then floating upwards. ]

Lake aka Magic

[historiology]

[Of course, there was the pond back home. And he spent hours on end playing with Mikleo and his seraphic artes. But there wasn't anything like this lake. So of course Sorey's curious and approaches it with the water seraph. Sitting next to Mikleo and dangling his feet in the water a little, his boots next to him as he splashes a little and claps his hands. He always admires the seraphic artes even if and perhaps slightly because he can't use them himself.]

Do it again, Mikleo!

KARA DANVERS | OTA

[ex_clobbers559]

Courtyard ► Day 1

[ex_clobbers559]

( Now this is really the kind of invasion Senator Crane had feared, isn't it? Kara doesn't need to know the people here in order to rush in to help; it's just what she does. There's no worry about proving herself for a change, or having a literal doomsday countdown—it's just an all-out brawl.

Which happens to be what she's best at. In her quest to figure out just what height to drop the bugs from in order to squash their tough exoskeletons, Kara ends up sending more than a handful flying.

It's raining bugs! And as what appears to be a praying mantis sails through the air into a tree, the unfortunate person in the direct line of fire will hear a sheepish: )

Sorry!

Sieglinde Sullivan ⚝ OTA

[grunehexe]

⚝ 01; KANON | OBSERVE THE MATING RITUAL

[How amazing the natural world could be.

Of course, this was using the word "natural" quite loosely, but one supposed it could be quite natural somewhere, even if it wasn't in one's own world. After all, the "unnatural" was often just the "misunderstood". Sieglinde had taken it upon herself to document their bizarre, timeline chomping insectoid guests, and she'd studied the corpses and behavior of the larvae as best she could... Which left the adults.]

Shh, do not disturb them- I believe they are locked in some sort of... instinctive ritual of some kind...

[She tries to stops whoever it is from proceeding forward, raising a bandaged hand to wave them back, peeking around a lower tower hall corner at two of the creatures, eyes wide and not even looking down at the notes she was scribbling in German shorthand onto an already chicken-scratch covered piece of parchment.]

⚝ 02; JÜNGER | A WHOLE NEW WORLD

[You might think it's your imagination- it's quite faint, so no one could blame you. If you do stop, listen for the faint sound and try to make sense of it, you might find it sounds a bit like someone stifling tears, sniffling and whimpering intermittently... and it's coming from a corner, tucked away behind a stack of supplies.

A young girl, probably only a few years old, small as she is, dressed in garb meant more for decor than actual practicality. She has her hands pressed tight to her face, hiding it, tightly bandaged legs and unnaturally shaped feet held anxiously, painfully tight to her chest, whispering to herself in between hiccuped attempts at calm.]

It is just a dream, Sieglinde... you have to remember the dreams... if you do not remember them the Crone will be angry with you again... a witch must remember everything...

⚝ 03; ÄLTER | THE HUNT FOR THE UNICORN

[There are unicorns about- and in the midst of the hunt for the escaped creatures is a young woman, dark of hair, green eyed, and dressed befitting a well-off young lady if you excuse the numerous leather pouches and pockets about her person. She has a bridle in one hand, the other on her hip, frowning somewhat at the unicorn in question that has been evading her efforts.]

If only I were younger...

[With a sigh and a shrug, she looks about, spotting the nearest person, who is treated to the point of her finger, whether male, female, young, or old.]

Say- are you a virgin?

[If so, you're about to be shanghai'd.]

⚝ 04; ÄLTER | NERD SEDUCTION

[No matter her age, there is no place you're more likely to find Sieglinde in Oska than in the library. She's made herself comfortable, regardless of feminine propriety, legs slung over the arm of a comfortable chair and her lap filled with books, humming to herself and idly braiding a length of her long hair as she read...

Until she sits up a bit, radar pinging, for the presence of... a male. An intellectual male. Curious, she sits up on her knees in her chair and turns to look over the back, lips curling into a smile at the corners to find someone going through the bookshelves behind her, appraising... appreciating...]

Looking for something in particular... ?

[Smooth.]

⚝ FÜR MEALLAN | IF I ASKED YOU TO DANCE

[With all the teams in Oska, all the worlds, there would always be someone merry, always someone in the mood for entertainment. Sieglinde can only assume that's why someone's playing music in the courtyard that night, why some people are clapping, no one singing because it's not their world and not their music, but you don't really need to know something to enjoy it.

She finds a foot tapping to the rhythm where she sits, nursing a drink and watching things pass. People who seemed younger than she recalled, some people she hadn't seen in years, some who'd changed... With as long as she's been with ALASTAIR now she isn't exactly surprised to find herself in this situation, but... as she's taking a sip, she spots someone she recognizes, raising an arm to get his attention.]

Is that Meallan I see- ?

⚝ WILDCARDS WELCOME

04;

[moneyballer]

[Asher eyes the bookshelves warily, brows furrowing as he considers his options.

He's had some time to shower and get some sleep, so he looks better than he did just a few days ago during the early stages of the infestation. This is how he feels most comfortable, away from all the fantastical creatures and in a library, which is possibly the only thing in this place that even vaguely resembles Middleton law school. After spending a few days in his uniform, he has changed back into something a little more his speed.

In fact, he is so engrossed in his search that he is alarmed by Sieglinde's sudden appearance, although he relaxes as soon as he gets a good look at her.]

Uh, yeah, actually.

[She's... Really close, so he's going to take a polite step backwards as he looks down at the ground and then back up at her again.]

Do you know anything about the history of ALASTAIR? Like, if there were other recruits before this batch, or... If there are any records of, y'know, others?

Widowmaker | OTA

[araigneedusoir]

A: Deciding maybe retreat is better

[The bugs had disappeared; or so she'd originally thought. She'd enjoyed that small period of quiet and had finally taken to exploring entirely undisturbed by the skittering creatures.

Even found herself a room.

She found out the hard truth during one of her errant trips to another -- still unexplored for her -- part of the castle. For a few seconds she freezes, blinking at the large insect staring her down before she decides, for just once in her life, she was going to flee. Her retreat is collected but fast and anyone who encounters her during the process will get waved away.]

I wouldn't go up there if I were you.

B: Fragments of a forgotten past

[Retreat had not been the better part of valor, because at some indeterminable point -- maybe she saved a unicorn, maybe this was karma for all the bugs she'd shot or squished -- she'd ended up on the receiving end of an insect's bite.

Now she's wandering the castle like she'd walked into a page of one of the books that had been shoved at her a week ago because; 'you have to read this Amélie it's so good!' Of course as much as she had been enjoying it she wasn't enjoying whatever this was.

A Dream? No. It was a little too realistic to be one of those.

Whatever it is one thing is for sure to anyone who met her, she's not blue anymore and she looks particularly distressed.]

Hello?

[plz stop her before she runs into a bug.]

C: The What Could Be

[The next time she's seen she's back to 'normal' again, but this time her air of aloof indifference is completely absent. She looks tired, haunted and a few years older, there's scars spidering across her cheek and nose...frankly she looks like she's gone through hell and back.

Which to say the least is true.

She vaguely remembers this place, but it reminded her more of a dream she had then an actual part of the life she'd lived. Still being here is taking time away from her personal war and she still owes a few people a good beating before the weight of everything she's done completely gets to her.

For the moment, however, Widowmaker has settled by the lake, sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms draped across them, staring out at the water.]

C

[perma_banned]

You know... This is probably a lousy spot to sit and think.

[Ban's reflection in the water simply 'appeared' as he stood beside Widowmaker. Out of thin air. He had been looking around to exterminate more of the lingering giants insects--checking out what he presumed to be isolated spots very few others bothered venturing to. He realized quickly enough that the insects had no sense of preference for location. They mostly just looked for victims.

Spotting someone out by the water alone--he was compelled to warn them off. When he saw who it was, Ban hardly felt he recognized her immediately. It wasn't an issue of simply being dismissive rather than the fact that he had scarcely seen anyone from ALASTAIR in a few centuries.

Her blue-tinted skin did strike him as familiar, though.]

Herve (Keats) | OTA

[skipabeat]

A. THE LAKE

[Those are really quite some dreadful tentacles coming out of the lake - anyone with probably a modicum of common sense would stay away. Those tentacles probably belong to some kind of man-eating creature, ready to drag down a hapless victim when they aren't looking.]

[And yet there's a young boy, probably around 10 years old, sitting on the bank of the leg with his knees pulled up to himself, allowing a tentacle to wrap around his slender arm without the slightest bit of fear. In fact, he looks delighted.]

Oh, you're really quite interesting, aren't you? [He lets out a giggle as the tip of the tendril winds through his fingers lazily.] Ah, I wish Cecelia could see this! She'd like you a lot! I do need to bring you some more food sometime, don't I?

[And he lets out another laugh - he seems quite oblivious to the fact there's a whole set of raging battles going on around. He'll find his small delights where he can.]

B: AROUND

[Herve's peace won't last forever, though - the bugs are quite active and vicious enough to chase him off, and he's going to do what he can do best in such situations:]

[Hide. He hasn't got a single fighting bone in his frail body.]

[He's been cowering behind this boulder, trying his best to keep his composure as he tries to make himself seem as unnoticeable as possible. But if you see him and approach, he'll jump up like he's stepped on a spring, his voice wavering in absolute shock.]

Ah! D-Don't hurt me! I swear, I'm not food! I'm not tasty-!

[He has yet to realize the thing that spooked him is a person, not a time-eating bug.]

C: WILDCARD

[Herve will be around and about, trying his best to keep out of trouble. He may or may not be asking everyone and everything about their powers/who they are/what's going on like the curious little boy he is.]

B

[boneafide]

[ Now, one can't blame Herve for being afraid when a walking skeleton comes up to him, clad in armor, a crown and carrying a giant trident. That's a pretty scary thing to see, really.

But Papyrus is just as startled at the human child jumping up and screeching a little. Papyrus jumps back himself, waving a hand in front of him. ]

I'm not going to eat you! Please stop yelling!!

kung jin | ota

[pummelling]

ten years old

[pummelling]

one; this is what happens when you fail the qte

[Not long ago, nursing a fresh bite wound to the forearm, Jin had fought his way back from an especially aggressive temporal insect, only to find one that'd been set on mating with the one he'd just killed. That'd been two hours ago, on the dot. Now he's ten years old again, pushing four and a half feet tall, and with an arm still stinging from the insect's teeth. Maybe taking on multiple bugs on at once hadn't been such a good idea?

Well, not much to do about that now. Jin might be a kid again, but he's not an idiot. And his memories have been left largely intact by whatever temporal energy has affected him, thank goodness. Helping ALASTAIR, saving the other recruits-- he can totally handle this. He's too small to fight more bugs, even with the, er, now wickedly heavy bow he's armed with, so instead, he's opting for carefully corralling unicorns around the castle grounds. As careful as a ten-year-old with zero stealth skills and very heavy footsteps can be, in any case.]

two; hardcore parkour

[Being a hero is hard work, and as the hours go by, more and more of his memories of his older self are beginning to slip away. Obviously, he can't have this-- not if he still wants to help save any world at all. And, hey, if he's not physically powerful enough yet, knowledge is power, right?

Studious little thing that Jin is, he makes a beeline for the Oska library. He's got it in his head that something-- anything-- will give him an answer for how to change back, or how to get rid of all of the bugs once and for all. Of course, the books don't yield any information that's immediately useful. (Even if they're pretty interesting. And super above his reading level.)

Not that it'll stop him. Jin hurriedly pulls his long hair into a ponytail, and, as soon as the librarians are out of sight, clambers on top of the table he's covered in books. If he can just get to the higher shelves, maybe there'll be a book that'll give him any kind of answer...]

three; calamari sounds good rn

[He's been ten for a whole day now, and with little hope of turning back anytime soon, he's indulging in a little bit of sulking, if only for a little while. Toting a basket of food haphazardly grabbed from the kitchen, Jin flops down on the banks of the lake and glumly weaves his long hair into a rough braid.

Being little really sucks.

He lingers at the lake for a while, half-heartedly tossing the tentacles large hunks of bread, before he wanders back inside the castle. He'll figure out how to help somehow... eventually.]

wildcard;

[Jin will be sneaking around and getting into trouble as a ten-year-old for about three days; feel free to tag in with your own prompts or pm/pp me if you wanna thread something else!]

Loki | Open

[selfimage]

NOTE | kid loki comments will be coming from badnewsboy. if you want another loki (there are lots of those), give me a holler and we'll work something out!

Kid Loki

[selfimage]

A · JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY

[ honestly, Loki's not sure how he got here. not-so-honestly, he's not sure that it isn't somehow his fault. the last memories he has are of Surtur's wrath, the abudance of ka-blam that was about to turn everyone to toast, Odin's forced hand, and Asgardia's victory.

he figures that there must be something that went wrong for him to be in a foreign place, down an unfamiliar hallway and completely and utterly alone. for the first few hours he does what any Loki would do: sneaks around corners and seeks out Thor. while there's no Thor to be found, there's certainly quite a lot of giant bugs. greetings with exclamations of well met! are taken poorly.

it leads him to being chased by a mass of insects. ]

I didn't go looking for trouble! [ he announces, for anyone within earshot and before the accusation could come to mind. ] Especially not this time!

[ with an insistent tug he pulls his hood over his cowled head, darting down the hallway with a few bugs in hot pursuit. ]

Goawaybugsgoawaybugsgoawaybugsgoawaybugs!

B · MATCHMAKER

[ after giving chase, he quickly begins to realize that the bugs are lagging once they pair off, dancing and disappearing. forgetting about where he is, how he got there, and that he needs to get home—he heads off with renewed vigor.

stray bugs that are here and there, ones sitting on long stone walls and others in the most frustrating of places get shouted to and mocked with a tongue poking out between his lips until they give chase. figuring out the location of the closest bugs is the easiest part, he begins to lead one bug to another, watching them forget about following him and take to their new partners.

he may be darting past, leading a bug through the gardens or the maze of hallways, jumping over counters in the kitchen and skittering around corners. ]

Come on—there's someone for everyone, eh? Even you!

C · STEALING FINGERS

[ after so much bug chasing, it's time for a little relaxation. if you happen upon a short, gangly boy in a green get-up with his hood pulled up, screaming trouble, you may notice something.

there's something on you that's missing: a wallet, something that you've obtained from the kitchens, a note or a book that you might've been holding: poof, it's gone, just like that.

Loki picks up his pace, trying to trot away innocently. ]

urahara kisuke | OTA

[predomination]

(normal) unicorn wrangling | ota

[predomination]

[Let it be said that while Urahara has no future as a cowboy, he's also not the type to leave things alone, and when angry unicorns are getting in his way... well, he has to do something about that.

Presently, he's dealing with one particularly unhappy one that is not responding to his natural charm... aka it probably can sense he's one shady ass motherfucker and is not having his gentle, sweettalking bullshit.]

Now see... I didn't want to have to do this... [As the unicorn gets ready to bolt, he throws up his hand and calls up an incantation.] Bakudo 9: Horin.

[A tendril of orange energy emerges from his hand, locking around the unicorn's neck and torso like a harness. It tugs and Urahara tugs back, holding it tight, as he begins trying to manuever back towards the stables.] It would've been much easier the other way, you know...

rhys | ota

[dbag]

handsome rhys | ota

[dbag]

[ warning for general awfulness?? ]

A | NETWORK

[ Listen up, fives. A ten is speaking. ]

Morning, kids — boy, have I got a story for you. Okay, so, I'm taking out this bandit camp, right, people are screaming, kids are dying, the whole shebang. This one guy, I'm carving a path through the camp, right, literally just carving. And this guy, he sees me coming, and I swear, he pisses his pants. And he's crying, he's all, "No, no! I have a wife and three kids!" And he's running around, he's tripping over shit, his pants get pulled down. At this point, you've just got to feel sorry for the guy, he's curled up in the fetal position, in his underwear, bawling his eyes out! Oh, man, it was just. You had to be there, you know? You had to see it. Anyway, I shot him in the face, and it was awesome.

Ah, man, mmm. Sorry. Got lost on a little trip down memory lane there. I had a point, though, what was it. Oh, right, I'm gonna need someone to point me towards who I've gotta kill to get on the next magical fairy cloud out of here. K, thanks, bye.

B | ACTION

[ Long story short, there is a bug and it's ready to get its kill on. But then another bug wanders its way in, and it is on; these bugs are so thirsty, all anyone can really do is stand there like, "Can I get you guys anything? Some snacks? A condom?" In a few moments, all that's left is slightly warped time around the hall, vague apparitions of people who walked here years ago, but that isn't the most interesting thing. At all. ]

Did they just bang their way into another dimension?

[ INCREDIBLE. ]

Arima Kishou | ota!

[prodigism]

WANDERING

[ So here is one Arima Kishou age 16 as he wanders around Oska by his lonesome. What's a sixteen year old doing wandering around, we just don't know?! But he seems pretty capable of taking care of himself. Well in any case he might look over at the nearest person with his usual blank expression as ask a simple question. ] Where is this?

[ Cause, you know, he actually had important business to attend to back in the 13th Ward. Ghouls to kill, friends to make (sorta). ]

FIGHTING BUGS

[ Okay, so they were exactly ghouls but they sure were aggressive. Arima takes that as a sign to just go hardcore on them with his weapon in hand. It's pretty obvious that he's used to fighting as he ducks and dodges everything the monster throws at him. He might skid in front of your character after being knocked backwards by said monster bug. But he'll only turn around once with that usual expression on his face and say one thing. ] You should go. You'll only get in the way.

[ Arima please?! At least he didn't say you'll make a good decoy. ]

WILDCARD

[ Please hit me with anything. Arima is pretty anti-social and in general very quiet. Though when he talks he says things he probably shouldn't /sweats He's really frank. But if anyone wants to do anything else with him feel free to drag him places! ]

fighting bugs

[ex_oblige932]

[In all his wanderings, Kaneki has yet to find anything of striking familiarity. He's already roamed what seems the length and breadth of this tiny place, steps carrying him into mist only to bring him right back where he'd begun. Like some old side-scrolling video game he can only move so far, looping to his point of origin, no matter how he might try.

So it is that he returns to the castle to seek his answers. They must exist somewhere in its halls, he decides, and with this determination his strides gain strength of purpose.

That is, until he rounds a corner and someone skids to a stop in front of him. Speaks to him. Someone wielding a quinque — and he's long since come to understand what such a weapon denotes, though he'd never seen this particular face before]

Dove-

[The word escapes him before he can quite catch himself, staring at Arima as though for all the world he's the giant bug in this scenario]

daenerys | semi-closed.

[thereddoor]

[ NOTE: As a trial run, I'll be limiting my tags for this event to people I've either spoken to about threads or heard from on the plotting post, so that my tag load for the next couple of weeks is manageable. If you didn't catch me this time, let's chat via PM or on the CR meme. :) ]

a. bugs bugs bugs

[thereddoor]

[ Please, please, Viserys, I don't want to be his queen.

Her brother had refused her pleas most cruelly, but it seems that the gods did not. In truth, she cannot remember why she is standing in a corridor, or why she was permitted to leave Khal Drogo's feast at all. Stunned, she halts her footsteps, the amethyst-encrusted bracelets she wears jangling lightly against one another with the movement. This hall does not even smell familiar. The manse had smelled of pinchfire and cinnamon, of lemon and spices--

Her heart begins racing: a familiar song. Years of fleeing knives in the dark have instilled in Dany a queerly keen sense to know when she is being watched, and she feels eyes upon her now. It is people she suspects--men, more oft than not--but never animals. Never giant monsters.

One of her bracelets clatters to the floor, bouncing once and rolling toward the wall as the creature begins to charge for her, giant pincers clicking in malice. Her face frozen in silent horror, Dany turns on her heel and positively flees down the hall, a gilded sandal nearly causing her to trip and twist her ankle. Eventually, both shoes fly off, and then she is running barefoot, her plum silk dress a banner in her wake.

She has long been timid, meek and afraid, but Dany finds her voice when she skirts around the corner, searching for an open door--an Unsullied guard--anything. ]

Stop it! [ she cries out to anyone who might be near, her heart a violent drumbeat in her ears. Her voice is pleading, terrified, the bug's six legs fast closing in on her two. ] Stop it, please!