soddersays | APRIL 2021 TEST DRIVE MEME

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APRIL 2021 TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to April's Test Drive Meme!

All Test Drive Memes contain at least one clue to the Deerington's upcoming in-game events for the month! Keep your eyes peeled! But...not literally.

Characters may die during TDMs, but you do not need to count it towards a game-canonical death unless you want to. Consider it a freebie. All TDMs can be considered game canon as TDMs introduce minor aspects about the world of Deerington that can be revisited by characters later on in the game. You may also use TDMs for your application writing sample as well as AC.

CW: Ghosts, talk of suicide, drowning, violence, zombie-like humans, blood
Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Character Arrival
Master Navigation

THE LADY IN WHITE

Swamps are hardly pleasant place during the day, but at night, they’re even worse. The creeping fog, the full moon, the overall sense of dread... None of it makes you feel comfy cozy and ready to pitch up a tent for the evening. You want to get out of here quickly, but it’s hard to see too far in front of you and it’s easy to end up straying off the path. As if alligators and poisonous snakes weren’t enough to worry about, there’s a chill in the air that is strange for such a ridiculous hot evening.

I’ve been waiting for you...

The voice seems like it comes from all around you but you can’t see anyone near you. You can keep walking or try and search her out, but no matter which direction you go in, you can still hear her voice like she’s standing right behind you.

I’ve missed you. I loved you... She never loved you...

The voice becomes more distressed and you start to feel more of a pull to find her. As you wander through the fog, she’ll start to talk of a past as though it’s yours; a deep love you shared for one another, a romance that was denounced by her family, but you never failed to come to her. She will talk of how she begged her father to understand and begged him not to hurt you. But all the while, you were straying. Eventually, she found out she was pregnant, she tried to tell you, she wanted you to love her and your new family. She begged her father not to shoot you for what you’d done to her, and in the end? You ran off with the new woman who caught your eye. You left her alone. You left her unwed and an expectant mother. She begs you to do her one last favor, to come and meet her by your tree.

Eventually, in the distance, near a large willow tree, you see the image of a woman, shining brightly in the moonlight, her large, flowing dress as white as her skin. It seems like she’s floating over the ground, before you notice she’s not floating; she’s hanging. Her body swings in the breeze, the rope creaking, and finally an anguished, furious shout rings through the air:

I LOVED YOU!

The woman’s body disappears, but the rope stays behind. It turns out you weren’t the only one to explore this voice, looking for the desperate woman in the trees. Another person stands on the other side of the trunk, another Sleeper, someone you can hopefully team up with in this lost wood. You can discuss the grief stricken past of the woman you just heard or maybe together you can work together to get out of this swamp.

As soon as you leave the shadow of the tree, you’ll hear a woman again. Perhaps the same one? Only instead of words, she sobs incoherently. Maybe it’s someone who’s been hurt. Try to leave or go to explore. Either ultimately takes you to the same place...

A FINE NIGHT FOR IT

The lady in white—though perhaps a different one? How many are in this damn swamp?—is crying by the edge of the water. It’s hard to ignore and as you get closer, the crying grows louder. Maybe one of you gets close enough to reach out and touch her. Or maybe you call out to her when you’re in hearing range. No matter what, she eventually looks up to see you, and her face is covered in blood that runs from her eyes instead of tears. Her skin is sagging and wrinkled, rotted like that of a body that has been left too long in the water after drowning...

She lets out a scream before she rushes at you. Luckily, if you have a weapon, magic, or are particularly fast and strong, you can get the best of her easily. She’ll go down with one shot and her body will seem to disappear into the depths of the swampy water around you. There’s just one problem: she wasn’t alone. Her scream has clearly alerted others.

Strange looking people, their pale faces painted with mud and ground powder, come rushing from out of the trees. Their skin has a quality to it that doesn’t seem right, the same sort of rot that the woman had had, but they are definitely alive. And extremely strong, unlike your most recent foe. They carry all sorts of weapons, but they’re all ones you’d expect from people living in the woods: pitch forks, axes, machetes, hatchets... Anything that could stab you or chop you into pieces. They’re also clearly coming for blood. Some will try to tackle you to the ground and get a rope around your wrists and neck to tie you up into the trees and hang you. The Night Folk who roam these swamps want nothing more than to kill the intruders who have come into their territory.

They won’t speak. They grunt and shout at each other, but never say any actual words. The best way to kill them is to cut off their heads, but they’ll also go down if you beat them badly enough. Make sure to double check that they’re really dead though: it’s not uncommon for one to spring back up the moment your back is turned to try and kill you. Work together and maybe you’ll get out of this attack alive.

Character Arrival

You can read how all characters arrive in Deerington here.

There is not a collective "all these characters showed up at the exact same moment" occurrence in Deerington. Since characters fall asleep, die, or pass out at various times throughout all their worlds, it wouldn't make too much sense if they arrived in game all at the exact same time. There should be some discrepancy between character arrival, whether by a couple minutes, hours, or even days up to a week.

The players are entirely in control of how/when they want to play their characters arriving in Deerington. For TDMs, you can play it like your character has just arrived and that can be maintained as your game canon, or you can wait until game events for that moment. Or you don't need to acknowledge it at all. The flexibility for character allows a bit more of an organic feel to the character arrival situation, so please play it to whatever feels right for you.

If you are interested in having an "arrival" introduction for one of your TDM prompts, you are more than welcome to explore that option.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

a,

Swamps, Bolin decides, are only creepy if you decide they're creepy.
Sure, all the darkness and the mist and ghostly pregnant women screaming at you is pretty bad but-

No... no it's just pretty bad, actually. This swamp is definitely creepy. It's creepy as all get out!

Pabu chitters form his place down the front of Bolin's shirt and he places a hand over the lump as he walks towards the tree.

"I know buddy, but we'll get out of here soon, you'll see."

This doesn't look like any swamp Bolin's ever been in but hey, it can't be worse than the swamp in the spirit world, right? This is just some extra.. extra super creepy version of that no, no, no he doesn't want to be here. But he sees the woman and bolts towards her even if she's the scariest thing he's seen in a long time. Just as he gets close she screams and disappears and leaves the rope dangling in the nothing.

For a long beat there's nothing at all, just the echo of the space she used to occupy and the creaking of the branches that used to support her weight. Bolin watches, wide eyed, before rallying his courage and taking a long, slow breath.

It's only then that he sees the shadow of someone else and braces for a fight, fists curled with the earth under his feet already pulling.

"Hey- Hey, did you just see that!?"

b,

Skip the hellos and the other tree and whatever, you're surrounded by angry zombie swamp people! Where's Bolin? No idea, but as you search- because there was definitely a guy here with you a minute ago and you popped that weirdo lady off together- you're distracted by the distressed noises of a red, fluffy ferret about the size of a raccoon that comes bounding up. It climbs your body to your shoulders and begs for help with a series of chittering squeaks.

You found Pabu! Great! Now help his owner because he's over there on the ground hogtied and surrounded by angry hillbillies.

c,

Well that was scary!! But today is another day and Bolin has recovered (mostly) and is cautiously exploring the town with Pabu on his shoulders.

He's a friendly lookin guy, broad shouldered and approachable as he strolls with his hands in his pockets. Come find him having a gander at this! beautiful!! town!!! or lurking outside the grocery inspecting the ads in the windows.

You might even see him inside casually slip an apple into his pocket. Hey, he's broke what do you want from him!

d,

Wild card! Come at me bros.

Edited 2021-03-25 22:20 (UTC)

This is all too familiar. The swamp, the woman blaming Wu for everything that's gone wrong in her life. It's happened before, but at least this time he's pretty sure that it's not actually his fault. He didn't do this. He didn't father a child and leave.

That doesn't make it any less jarring, though, when the rope swings from the tree, and Wu is left, he thinks, alone.

He shouldn't even be outside. He's still sick, but he was chasing Fritter around and feeling a lot better than last week, but here he is in a swamp, with Fritter in his arms, his fever making him feel weak and dizzy, adding to the fear and heartache of this place.

But then he hears a voice, and a sound that's so familiar, the sound of earth being bent. He yelps and Fritter chitters, her hands grabbing on tight to his shirt (he gave up on wearing suits around her after her claws ruined the first one). Taking a few steps back, Wu looks around, trying to find the voice, then:

"Bolin?!"

Lady In White

[She had felt the emotion, felt the empathy too sharp and real in her ears. The pleading and the tragic tale of her being an expecting the man's child...and her hanging from a tree...

Rei cried. It wasn't in sobs or anything, but the tears trickled down her cheeks, seeing the corpse hanging there, so lonely, so desperate.

It took her a few moments to realize she wasn't alone, and someone had witnessed her tears. Embarrassed, Rei brought up a knuckle to wipe her eyes clear.]

Something in my eye.

[Which is how her voice was still choked up. It's fine. Absolutely fine.]

A Fine Night

I

Ssssh.

[Rei wasn't someone very powerful. In a lot of ways, Rei was...quite mundane. Unremarkable really. But she had learned a few things in her traumatic time in the Manor of Sleep and...well...here. The memories were blurry and soft around the edges, like remembering a long lost dream.

But that sobbing was clearly a lure now. There was pain, and she wanted to help but...it was too much of a trap.

Which is how she ended up touching someone she just found in this strange swamp lightly on the arm and raising her finger to her lips. After a few moments, she murmured:]

Don't attract her attention.

[It's just a terrible idea.]

II: CW, violence, possible death

No! No!

[It'd been such a small thing. She was so good at running, dodging, and the like- she had some good reason to learn from her previous experiences- but it was a tree root, or a plant, or something less pleasant.

But that's how the Night crew ended up getting on top of her, tying her wrists and dragging her through the mud. She knew what would happen. Rei knew the moment she saw the ropes.

Panic made her normally soft voice crack and raise to a scream.]

There has to be someone out there! Help me! Please! I don't want to die!

[She managed to get another breath, and one of them choked her off, causing her to cough and wheeze. This was just...unpleasant and rude.]

Character (Re) Arrival

[She remembered that dream.

She remembered that sensation.

She had felt it before.

The pain, the tattoo, waking up in a bed...waking up in a dream...she remembered it. It was so vague, soft, and blurring as if her memory couldn't quite catch what had happened.

But there had been the black deer, in the white snow. The horror of October. A statue filled with crows. Dog carriers.

The doghair and the bar.

Rei had cradled her head in her hands for a few long minutes. Some things didn't come easy to her, and some where just out of reach. Some people she remembered, but only faces.

Only faces.

She needed air.

That was how Rei was found: sitting outside, legs curled up and looking through the Dog Keeper notes, a frowning growing as she looked through the files. Gently, her fingers moved over her lap.]

The unmasking...I remember.

[Gently, she touched her cheek, as if the mask was still there. After all of it...where did she go...?

She didn't remember.]

Wildcard

(ooc: feel free to go wild! Rei was here near the start awhile back, but it's all kind of a blur.)

THE LADY IN WHITE
[There is something about this place that has a feel of the uncanny. Faolan is not particularly familiar with the sensation, but he has felt it before. The tickle of magic rising the hairs on the back of his neck, the sensation of eyes on his back and other, more otherworldly feelings he does not have the words to explain.

And then, of course, there is the woman.

He has followed the sound of her voice here to this tree. Haunted by the accusations she had been trying to pin on him and the distress in her tone. A shiver runs down his spine now though, as he watches her apparition disappear before his eyes, leaving behind nothing but the rope swinging from the tree before him. A part of him wonders whether there is a curse on this place, and how much it has already settled on him.

The other, somewhat more self-preservation part of him is noticing the shifting in the shadows on the other side of the tree. He draws the dagger from his belt in the blink of an eye and is two breaths away from letting it loose in that direction when the figure steps forward and he lets out a soft curse.]

By all that is holy --

A FINE NIGHT FOR IT
[He has tracked her down this far, if perhaps against his better judgement. Here to the edge of the water by the swamp. It isn't hard to do, not if you follow the awful sound of the woman -- spirit's? -- weeping. The night seems to swallow everything around them but the sound of it. Frankly, he just wants to make it stop, one way or another.

It seems wrong, perhaps, to draw a knife when approaching a distraught woman. Faolan does it anyway. In retrospect, he will not feel so bad for doing so as, when he tentatively reaches her side, the banshee -- for he cannot think of her as anything other, at this point -- turns to shriek at him.

He gets one solid moment to take in the sight of her -- trails of blood running from her eyes as though they were tears, her skin limp and wrinkled like that of a body left too long in the river, and the noise she makes...

She lunges at him, clawed and bony hands reaching for his throat and Faolan may be a master assassin but he has never seen anything like this before. Caught by surprise, she topples him over into the murky shallows.]

WILDCARD
[is there something else you'd like to play with faolan that isn't written here? let me know/shoot me a pm/throw something at me and let's make it happen! :)]

The creaking earth beneath them abruptly stops when he hears his name.

Wu is the last person Bolin is expecting to meet in a place like this but the relief that it's someone he knows wipes away any other hesitations.

Well, kinda knows, but it's someone who knows him and that's what's important.

He drops his hands to his sides and releases his grip on the chi he was absolutely about to rip up and fling at whoever was on the other side of that tree. Sorry, but a guy can't be too careful when a creepy spirit swamp is involved.

"Wu!" an enormous sigh of relief.

Forget the noose, this is great news! And he rounds the tree, himself, hands open. (Definitely giving that rope some side eye, though. No thank you.)

"Man I am so glad to see you. What are you doing out here? Are you alone?"

Wu thought Mako had said that Bolin was gone, but-- here he is. Wu smiles in relief, too, that Bolin isn't going to earthbend anything at him. The smile is weak, he's tired, sick, and scared, but it's there.

"Uh, no. I have Fritter," the raccoon in his arms chitters again, and glares at Pabu, her little limbs flailing. "Fritter! No, I can't chase after you again!"

She doesn't exactly settle down, but huffs and twists to climb up Wu's arm.

"We really shouldn't be out here-- wherever here is."

It has been a very, very bad month.

One of the worst in Mako’s memory, actually, and that includes his parents dying and Korra disappearing and Bolin getting kidnapped. He is only upright and functioning because he has no choice: Mako has to be okay, has to be working. He doesn’t know how to do anything else. He can’t slow down or he’ll start thinking about the dreams plaguing him or Wu’s silver-bright form full of fear or Kristoff, gone, and Anna with him. Mako is unmoored and practically sick with worry and there’s sand just everywhere.

He hovers around the house most days, coordinating supplies from his Fluid, trying to put together the disparate threads of knowledge they have. It’s like the town is crumbling to pieces in Mako’s hands. Taking care of a death-sick Wu and his new baby raccoon is easy by comparison.

Today, though.

Today Mako can’t handle the silence and the new and raw holes in his life. Wu is sleeping upstairs, Fritter with him. He never wakes before 10 anyway, and it’s only 8 in the morning, the sun streaming too-bright in through the windows. Mako is unfocused and itchy with it, keeps imagining blonde hair or blue from the corner of his eye. He shoves himself up from his desk after half an hour of reading the same few sentences in his notes over and over again, shoves his feet into shoes, and heads outside with his head buzzing.

The backyard is all sand and cactus now, and it’s already hot at 8 in the morning but Mako flings himself into familiar bending forms anyway, sinks into heat and fire and twisting bright light until he’s panting and aching, has to head inside nearly an hour later.

“Wu?” He calls as he heads in the door, “You up yet?”

He is not expecting the kitchen to be occupied, of course. The house is empty most days.

"Fritter, huh," he says with a smile and leans in, finger outstretched for her to sniff. She does but is Not Super Keen about Pabu being close. Pabu is curious but seems offended he wasn't met with graciousness and arches his back.

Uhho, no there isn't time for this.

"Be cool, bud" to Pabu, and he stands back again.

"No idea on that front, I blinked and here I am. I'm thinking.. haunted spirit swamp? Where's Mako? Or Korra?"

Because if Wu is here then Mako can't be far. And if there's a haunted spirit swamp Korra can't be that far away, either, right? Regardless, he's taking it in stride. He's been to all kinds of weird places.

...but this is really spooky and the idea of that ghost woman he definitely didn't cheat on is crawling up his spine again. Eugh, yeah, time to go.

"Fritter," Wu chides her, petting over her head. He wobbles on his feet, really wishing he hadn't left the house. But he and Bolin aren't exactly what you'd call close, so he just bites his lip, looking him over.

"You just... poof? Appeared here? I was chasing Fritter and ended up here. Probably weird Deerington stuff. Uh," Wu shakes his head, trying to clear it. "Mako was helping Korra with more food caches today? I think? I really shouldn't be outside without him, not right now."

Not after everything. Mako's been more of a guard dog than usual after everything with Sam.

But at least Bolin is here. He's strong. He can probably protect them both.

But that leads Wu back around to: "Where were you before here?"

>> THE LADY IN WHITE

This place is strange.

It looks strange, it feels strange, and nothing quite behaves as it should.

Anduin should not be here.

It feels as if it must be a dream, but this is nothing like the dreams he's had before. There's no shadow of N'Zoth here, not exactly, but the whole place still feels wrong -- feels... surreal. He cannot explain it, only nothing works as he feels it should. His presence feels that of an outsider. That would, he supposes, point toward a dream. Being an outsider is something he would dream of.

He doesn't know why he keeps walking as the sun sets, only that he's desperate for something to make sense. The moon rises, the air chills, and as the fog sets in he realises his mistake.

The voice catches him off guard.

He draws shalamayne, wary, and picks his way through the fog. The voice doesn't seem to be getter closer -- it seems quite convinced of his identity, no matter his entreaties. Yet he didn't -- it makes no sense, she must be confused, if only he could --

The fog clears, and Anduin feels his breath catch. A banshee, perhaps? His breath catches as she screams, her voice echoing in his ears, but then she's gone -- leaving him gripping his sword tighter for a moment.

He isn't alone, though.

Anduin takes a few slow, steadying breathes before moving warily around the trunk.

"Hello? Is someone else here?"

His fingers feel stiff, cold -- in fact his whole body still feels wracked by shivers. He swallows again, trying to press confidence into his voice.

"Show yourself."

Better to try a little confidence, just in case there are more angry spirits here.

>> A FINE NIGHT FOR IT

One banshee was enough for the night -- Anduin isn't going to approach another crying woman too quickly after that experience. Yet he cannot stop himself from calling out to her -- what if he were wrong, after all? He's always been told softness was his weakness. He supposes, as she turns toward him, that isn't entirely wrong. She throws herself forward and he blocks her attack with his sword, presses forward until she stumbles. She darts forward again and he swings, sends her flying back and melting into the swamp.

Silence.

Anduin breathes hard, eyes darting around the swamp. Then, slowly, he sees more figures start to materialise from the trees and dart forward. Scourge? They look -- undead, certainly, painted. Not... coherent. He grits his teeth, widens his eyes as he spots someone else nearby. Better not to be alone here, in truth, but he cannot be sure his new companion can fight.

"With me!"

He gestures with one hand, gold light trailing after his fingers, then gasps suddenly as if burnt. Anduin barely has time to process the pain before it's too late -- he adjust his grip on his sword, grinds his teeth together and swings it at the Night Folk.

[ ooc: If you prefer action, I'll match you! If you have another idea, just wildcard me! ]

Edited 2021-03-26 01:10 (UTC)

[ Ah.

Anduin lowers shalamayne slowly, a wary frown still pulling at his features. The person he's facing now certainly looks more... solid, less undead, but he isn't taking his hands off his weapon just yet. Not until he's sure. ]

I mean you no harm.

[ That feels like something that needs to be said. After all, the stranger could be just as confused and distressed as he is. Anduin swallows, tries to even out his own breathing and ease the race of his heart. He keeps shivering, still, but that's at least less noticeable from the outside.

Calm. Confident. If he can at least appear that way, then it might reassure this person. ]

Are you hurt?

[ The spirit didn't do him any damage, but that doesn't mean it wasn't capable of it. ]

She'd taken to patrolling with Naga. Looking for newcomers, keeping an eye open for trouble. She hasn't...been sleeping as much as she did, when she first arrived. Everything was so up in the air, and there'd been so much loss lately.

She's lost in her own thoughts when Naga's head drops suddenly, having picked up a familiar scent. Then she's just off, with Korra holding on tight. "Whoa, Naga, what are...."

Naga skids around the corner, Korra nearly being toppled off. Naga, for the moment, doesn't care, because she's Found a Friend. Not Bolin, though he's ok, but she's smelled Pabu. And when she comes to a sudden halt right in front of Bolin, it does slid Korra right off, but she's up on her feet in a moment, astonished.

"Bolin?!"

The first question gets sidelined by the second and all the information Wu gives him in between. Because Bo isn't picking up what Wu is laying down and the look on his face says as much.

But that last thing he can answer, itching his cheek as he thinks.

"Home, in Republic City."

Where else would he be?

Wait- oh no. He deflates a little and groans.

The President is not going to be happy when I don't show up for work tomorrow."

Well not today it isn't.

Today it has a very confused but familiar shape prodding around in a basket on the kitchen table.

Dressed in his usual and very uneasy about all of this, Bolin is crouched over the contents of his gift; half like it's precious and half like it might bite him. Both are possibilities at present.

Pabu is doing the same from Bolin's shoulders, stretched up the back of his neck and over the top of Bo's sleep mussed hair, peering down with an equal, matching intensity.

He's woken up in some crazy weird places before but this place has to take the cake. (He could seriously go for some cake right now, too, just saying).

Mako's voice, then appearance, so clear and familiar breaks the staring match with his collection of inanimate objects and the pair of newcomers pop their heads up.

"Mako!"

Oh thank you! Something familiar! Everything here is weird, even the architecture of the house they're in. (House? Manson? Possibly a palace??) But if Mako is here (and apparently Wu?) then that makes all of this so much better.

"Bro, I had the craziest dream, where are we?"

[A gunshot fires through the fog and the creature stumbles, and as she turns to look at the source another fires off and she falls to the ground. Arthur's footsteps splash loudly towards Faolan as he rushes to offer him a hand, gun lowered but eyes keenly scanning their surroundings for more problems.]

Hey, you alright?

...
...
...

Rei?!?

[There was a bit of a shocked tone to the voice of the one who reacted to seeing her curled up like that on the road. It had been, frankly, over a year, close to two years since they had last spoken. So much had happened that she barely remembered, and yet she and Jesse used to reminisce about the girl from time to time.

Seeing her, it sparked a weird hope that others might reappear. And so, one of those faces started to make its way over. How familiar was this one? Who could say, but three eyes was certainly distinctive.]

Is that you, Rei?

I.
[First of all: the outdoors in general suck.

Secondly: swamps in particular are the worst kind of outdoors in existence.

Which is exactly why Pidge is not at all happy to find herself in the middle of a swamp in what seems to be the middle of the night all by herself. The only real comfort she has is that she's in full armor, and she can at least keep the face cover down to avoid mosquito bites and leeches and poison ivy and whatever else might be out there trying to kill her via allergic reaction.

Some Guardian of the Forest she is.

And third; Pidge has no real logical explanation for why she seems to be tracking down the source of a mysterious voice. It seems to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, and she doesn't understand what exactly she's hearing, and with every step forward she takes she has to mentally explain her actions to herself. Convince herself that finding a person out here will ultimately be helpful. A local might know how to get out of the swamp, be able to lead her to civilization, and that's a good thing! Except as soon as Pidge is actually able to get a visual, she's pretty certain that this was a Bad Move after all.

The scream and the sudden disappearance of the woman leaves her momentarily rattled, her hand hovering over where she can pull out her bayard from her suit. Pidge doesn't notice if anybody else is around her, but she has to let out a shaky breath as she mutters to herself warily.]

What the quiznak was that...

II.
[It's times like these that Pidge is grateful to be a Paladin of Voltron. It means she knows how to hold her own in a fight and has the equipment to support exactly that. So running from a mob of angry hillbillies who are all clearly suffering from something weird and potentially magicky isn't the weirdest thing she's ever dealt with. It ranks high on the personal list, but somehow it's not Number One. (What Number One on that list actually is currently evades her mental processes, since she's. A little busy.)

She fights back for long enough to realize that they aren't going down as easily as the freaky Lady in White, and she quickly realizes that she's not strong enough on her own to take them all down. So Pidge takes to running away instead, and with her armor in working condition she's eventually able to use her jetpack to propel herself up into some of the higher trees. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to stop them, not while some of the folks have axes on hand.

And that's how Pidge finds herself trapped, her current tree surrounded, bayard out and crackling with just enough electricity to keep any swinging axes at bay.]

Oh, bump off already!! I'm just trying to get out of your dumb swamp!

[This paladin could definitely use some help.]

III.
[WILD CARD, Y'ALL]

[So... funny story. For some reason, this whole swamp situation has been murder on his bike. And the Lion won't leave the house right now - not with how weird everything is getting. Not that he blames it. But - again, with how weird everything is getting, there are still supply runs to make. Caches to stock up on. And one form of transportation open to him.]

[Bob.]

[That's right. Shiro's on horseback. The big animal making good time down the narrow track of dry land. At least until he hears the sound of chopping wood. Crackling electricity. And a familiar voice...]

Pidge!?

[Just like that, the horse whirls, lighter on its feet than a giant war horse should be, and charging off to assist her. Night Folk or no Night Folk.]

[Raya's sword comes clattering back into one piece as she jumps back, eyes still on her opponents even as she feels that light weight climbing up onto her shoulders. She spares the little creature a glance as it starts chittering wildly, and really she's no stranger to animals making noises at her; she's used to Tuk Tuk, after all, who just so happens to still be nearby. Rolled into a ball of course for safety, but nearby.]

What's going o--

[The glance is all she needs. Apparently the guy she'd jumped in to fight alongside has gotten himself.... in a fix. With a short sigh Raya runs to his aid, sword out and flashing as she brings the closest hillbillies to their knees.]

Are you serious?! How'd you let them tie you up so fast?!

[Pidge is a little mentally occupied right now, Shiro. She absolutely does not notice anyone coming up on horseback, primarily because she didn't know anybody could ride up into a swamp on horseback. And also because she's actually managed to taze one of the bigger hillbillies into the ground and the sound of his grunts and screams are kind of filling her ears.]

That's right, guys, circle up for some more of that!!

[She sounds confident, maybe even a little cocky. But honestly? This is not going to last forever. So when she finally takes her eyes away from her little group of bloodthirsty buddies and finally catches sight of Shiro - on a quiznaking horse - it's more than a small relief. Even if there are a hundred questions flashing through her mind all at once. And because her filter is currently a little broken, a few of them come tumbling out.]

Shiro?! Where'd you come fro-- How'd you get a horse- wait, your hair's not white anymore!?

[Yeah, this is the perfect time and place for that. Absolutely.]

[Look, that whole weird Fantasy War month kind of taught him a few things. Like how to slap some Night Folk with a glowing hand while you're on a horse the size of a small tanker truck. And that's exactly what he's doing.]

[Bob's hooves may have trampled one of them into the mud, but oh well. It's some weird Deerington nightmare, again. Nothing to worry about. The horse is basically made for battle.]

Not the time, Pidge! [Yeah, that's definitely her all right. How did she get up in the - no. Never mind. Not the time for questions.] Can you jump?

We'll catch you! [Somehow. While the horse kicks one of their assailants in the chest, and Shiro's hand cuts through another's axe.]

[Rei jerked up at the mention of her name. Here she thought she had been on her bed...where? What house? What sheets?

Was this a street?

Rei wasn't sure, but she was sure of one thing: she just gave herself a case of whiplash.

Wincing, Rei rubbed the back of her neck.]

Last I checked, yes.

[Rei's voice was soft, even as she took in a deep breath. She knew this three eyed woman...what was her name again? Rei frowned, trying to remember.]

It's...Vira right?

...I'm sorry to ask this but...were we kidnapped again? I don't usually fall asleep on roads...

[Her memories...didn't feel as clear as they should be.]

"Peace."

Rei came into the light, what little there was, her hands raised up in the air to show she was unarmed. With her tights and shirt, she couldn't hide any weapons.

Mostly she was wet and shivering from walking through the swampy waters, and her gaze was steady.

"I was lured here just like you. By the woman who was left by her love? If you heard the same as I?"

She hoped he did, or else...that was a bad sign.

lady in white ——

( a nightmare.

this a nightmare. it has to be. or was this some kind of messed up fever dream? catra can't really tell what it is, but the deep chill that permeates through her bones is real enough to keep her moving. it feels like there is nothing but more forest ahead of her, which makes her hair stand on edge because it isn't like any forest that she has known before. it's creepy and unsettling, and—

she never loved you. . .

it sounds like it's right behind her, close enough to be whispered in her ear. she shrieks both in fury and surprise, dropping down onto all fours to bolt away from the sound. there's a pull in her chest that encourages her to move closer to it, but she knows better! she knows better than to take a chance trying to fight some ghost—ghosts weren't even real! not that she is going to take any chances testing the validity of it.

yet, she still runs directly into the very thing she had been desperately trying to avoid. she feels her face go cold and she lets out a feral yowl, ears flattening. she skids against the ground and propels herself directly into whoever had the misfortune of being close enough to catch a chestful of cat. )

Get your hands off of me—! Get off, get off!

a fine night for it ——

( there's a rough grunt and a hiss as catra's back slams against the ground with a heavy thunk. the collision kicks up a small cloud of dirt as several hands reach for her thrashing limbs, each one trying and failing to keep a hold of her as she fights against their advance. the spectre from earlier had been torn apart by her claws and her ever increasing rage, banished back to whatever nasty underworld she must have come from, but the locals weren't so easy.

it really did feel like a nightmare.

she had sliced the faces and much of anywhere else she could reach, but it hadn't stopped the advance against her. it hadn't even managed to slow them down. they just continued on as if they felt nothing at all, but catra can't spare the time to be properly horrified by it.

slamming the bottom of her heel against the chin of one of the creepy bastards, she disorientates them well enough to slip out from underneath their filthy hands. then, she vanishes neatly into thin air.

and so do you just as you notice a hand slapping over your mouth. with a quick nod of the head she gestures to the strange cat she's holding onto by the collar with her free hand. it seems a little obvious that the invisibility is dependent on touch. )

Don't say anything. Move, move, move.

wildcard ——

(( prompts don't work for you or have another idea in mind? hit me with a wildcard! ))

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APRIL 2021 TEST DRIVE MEME

APRIL 2021 TEST DRIVE MEME

THE LADY IN WHITE

A FINE NIGHT FOR IT

Character Arrival

QUESTIONS

Bolin | Legend of Korra

a

Rei Kurosawa | Fatal Frame Three |OTA

Faolan | The Bridei Chronicles | action or prose!

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d wild card, your bro comin at you with an ARRIVAL

no subject

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Anduin Wrynn | Warcraft

> THE LADY IN WHITE

C!

no subject

COMIN' IN HOT

a fine night indeed

Re Arrival

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2

B for I Can't BELIEVE It's Not Korra!

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Lady in White

CATRA ✲ SHE-RA & THE PRINCESSES OF POWER