TDM/September.

[fablemods]

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

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

Comments

peter parker | mcu

[arachnerds]

Arrival.

[it may not be the strangest place he’s ever woken up in, but it’s certainly the most unexpected. it isn’t the metallic surface of the ship he'd been clinging on to for dear life. isn’t even a trash-filled alleyway in queens. it’s…a forest. one that makes him think of camping trips with ben. of field trips to state forests. but he’s alone here. alone, and something feels wrong. off in a way that has nothing to do with his senses, and everything to do with his lack of memories. of him not knowing how he got here in the first place.

or why.

sitting up, peter takes a few moments to try and get his bearings. to pat himself down and make sure that, yep, he’s still in one piece. somehow. another few beats, and then he’s scrambling to his feet, eyes flicking around in a panic because where is everybody?

…

it’s almost an hour before peter finds his way to the lake, his suit swapped out for the clothes in his pack, and gaze constantly flicking back towards the trees. there’s something out there, and something tells him that now isn’t the time to go find out just what that is.

so instead, he heads as close to the water as he can get, tracking a slow path around the edge of the lake in the hopes of stumbling across a familiar face. or perhaps just an answer or two.

…a boat wouldn’t go amiss either.]

Big Bad Wolf.

[since arriving, peter has been on edge. that constant feeling of being watched, of having something following him around is something he can’t shake. can’t ignore. he’s spent days wandering the island, doing his best to try and find some kind of clue as to where he is. why they’ve been brought here. but magic is something he’s only recently experienced first hand, and it’s far from being familiar to him yet. it’s one thing to see people like wanda and doctor strange do things beyond the realms of science. but it’s another to have to try and explain it. to work out how to use it to his benefit here.

(he really needs to find a magic user.)

at the start of the week, peter can be found continuing his explorations, a map slowly being formed on the wall of the cabin he’s (semi) claimed a bed in. whether it’s unofficially become a joint effort or not with the other people who live there, he doesn’t know. but the map looks different every day, and he knows he isn’t the only one making changes to it.

it’s over a week later though that the map has its largest changes made, and peter definitely isn’t to blame here. not with the set of claw marks gouged into the wall. the map may be destroyed now, but that really isn’t his biggest concern here. not when someone, or something, has decided to leave a calling card like that.

by the end of the second week, peter is nearing his breaking point. no matter how much he tries to stay awake, tries to keep watch over what’s happening, he can’t be everywhere at once. can’t really keep his eyes open for as long as he’d like when he’s running on such a limited amount of food here. so waking up to find the remains of may’s sweater bundled at his feet brings a cold sense of dread to him. of panic.

don’t mind the teenager huddling in the corner as he fights to remember how to breathe again.]

Wildcard.

Want something else? Hit me up at rebelled for a starter or leave something here.

big bad wolf, week two

[amongfriends]

[She's trying to track it. Gamora is still convinced on some level Thanos is involved. While she wishes she could run, she'd never doom these people by doing so. She can't be sure of where she could go under the circumstances regardless. Her efforts to find whatever is stalking them lead her to a terrified teenage boy. Her heart aches for Groot for a second before she's going to his side with one hand on her sheathed blade. If it thinks she will allow a child to be picked off while vulnerable, they have another thing coming.

Her expression and demeanor is soft as she goes to rest a free hand on Peter's shoulder, positioned so she can watch the entrance and him at the same time. Whatever comes will have to get past her. It won't on her life.] It's going to be alright. Just keep breathing; deep and slow.

[arachnerds]

[there's a distinct lack of a response at gamora's touch. something he knows that mr. stark would tell him off for if he was here. but with how tightly he's clutching that sweater, he'd at least like to believe tony would understand why. why it takes so long for gamora's words to sink in. why his breaths still come far too quickly to be normal. why he isn't running away from the stranger who could very well be responsible for it all.]

W-who...

[there's a question there. but one he can't find the words for. he wants to know who she is. wants to know where the hell may is. but instead, it's taking every ounce of his focus to try and remember how to do that whole breathing thing first.]

peter (the lame one) quill ☆ starmunch

[aromantically]

So I was left out in the cold. (arrival)

[ he wrenches himself off the ground with a violent snap, blinking his eyes unseeingly before rubbing at them to try and bring the world back into focus. ]

Crash landings really need to come with a gentle cycle.

[ he murmurs, rubbing at his neck. where's his team? he remembers a moment later that it was only drax, mantis and himself, rocket and groot having gone with that super dumb and not at all handsome thor guy, and gamora- he'd find her. he'd always find her. ]

Okay, Morons, Olly olly oxen free! [ he yells before reaching behind him to push up off the ground only to be met by a backpack under his hand. what the...? ] Okay, who left their... bag.

[ he looks around before digging through the thing, throwing things carelessly behind him. wooden disks? useless. snacks? less useless. good looking out, whoever you are. his walkman? wait. why is his stuff in here?? there's also a tiny sapphire frog, like the same one he buried with yondu. he takes it out and swallows. this is starting to really freak him out. he sets his personal items down more softly and dives back in, ripping open the leather pouch and immediately cutting his finger. ]

Who the hell does that? Ow. A-holes. I really need to stop gettin' kidnapped already.

[ it seems like it's on him at this point by now. and he can only really think of one person who wants to kidnap him. the thought makes his blood run cold. he sticks his bloody finger in his mouth before finally getting to his feet, glancing nervously around. ]

Clap for the wolfman. (big bad wolf)

[ something wakes him up, face dripping with sweat. he edges towards the door on bare feet, hearing the scratching and not all that eager to find out what's making the sound. still, he's the captain. he has to be the brave one, right? peter gulps and shoves the door open and - nothing. he's greeted with the cool air of the night and a whole lot of nothing looking back at him. peter starts to breathe a sigh in relief when he catches sight of the bloody claw marks on the door and throws it shut with a loud slam. loud enough to likely be heard by neighboring cabins. ]

Wrong Kevin Bacon movie. Wrong Kevin Bacon movie.

[ just give him a minute to not flip the eff out when you come to check on him... ]

Romance ain't keeping me alive. (wildcard)

[ once it becomes clear he's not immediately getting out of here, peter loads up his pack and sets out to explore as much of this unfamiliar planet as possible. it seems uninhabited save for the people inexplicably dropped here, but that seems highly unlikely for the infrastructure in place. and the terrain reminds him of earth, it makes him want to return more than ever before. feel free to encounter him anywhere along the way!

there's nowhere that's off-limits for him and he walks often from sun up until sundown, often making camp by one of many bodies of water. he always ends up at the same place, however, something about it intriguing him more than any other location: the wishing well. peter thinks it reminds him of stonehenge - some mystical place that should make him feel some type of way. when he peers into the waters around it and notices the wooden disks like the ones in his pack he's rifling through to tear one out. huh. ]

[amongfriends]

Peter? [She finds him on the road while approaching from behind. It shouldn't come as a surprise. Gamora was always the faster walker. She isn't in a rush to overtake him. This must be a trick. She doesn't want to find out what happens when she reaches him. She commits herself to saying nothing, walking slower. She forgets (or ignores) one vital thing: Peter, real or stone created, would always feel her gaze on him. He turns and she freezes. The fear in her eyes is plain to see. She doesn't think he's real. He's just another illusion to manipulate her. She has to be strong. The fate of the galaxy is at stake.]

Don't do this. [Gamora pleads as she backs up. Her only comfort really is that it isn't Groot or Nebula. They'd be even harder to take than this already. She stops moving back if only because she had a lifetime of cowering to Thanos. This is low, but she can take it. She stands firmly and her resolve returns. She won't fight back if only because it's a fool's errand. It'll be another illusion. She doesn't have to run away either.] It isn't going to work. I wouldn't believe a single word you put in his mouth.

[She braces herself for the next trick. He won't take kindly to her resistance for long.]

[aromantically]

[ he feels her presence though that isn't how it should work and as always, her steps fall silently. peter spins on his heel quickly like if he were to turn around in measures she'd vanish. but there she is: gamora. his throat immediately grows tight, eyes filling up with water. her words echo in his ear, I love you more than anything but then she's upset with him and he frowns. it stops him in his tracks from trying to close the gap. he opens his mouth and then shuts it again about three different times and he realizes what's happening. a hot tear trails down his face as his heart squeezes in fear. she thinks thanos is controlling this simulation, and honestly the thought had crossed peter's mind as well. ]

I love you, Gamora.

[ he says it with every ounce of conviction he feels in his chest, both of them knowing it's the one thing thanos would never allow him to say to her. even as a cruelty, his ego is too much for anyone or anything else to love her the way he does. bile rises up his throat even as he runs to her, physically unable to restrict himself anymore. he doesn't stop until his arms can slide around her shoulders and grip tight as he drags her in against his chest, not caring if she fights him now. ]

I love you.

Arrival

[houmaprotector]

[This is what Alec has learned. This place is...not empty. He doesn't know what or where or how, but it's not empty. This too, any attempts to leave are still met with failure. Scientific Method can kiss my ass...

He doesn't like how close he feels to Holland. It makes him nervous for reasons he can't explain. His mind keeps wanting to go to the pack secured inside his body. To the lock of hair, to the wedding ring. Are you two here? Is that what this is?

He hears- ...I really need to stop getting kidnapped already.

And his armor dissolves. He can't fully dissolve without leaving these things behind. Worth it to abandon them?

I'm done hiding. I'm scarier then whoever the hell this is.

There's a loud rustle and the sound of heavy footsteps off to the left. Rustling bushes. Like something out of a horror movie.]

[aromantically]

[ the rustling has him reaching for blasters that aren't at his hip, but still he spins on his heel, frowning at his finger when it starts to bleed freely the second he takes it out of his mouth. who keeps broken mirrors in bags and gives them to sleeping people??? his stuff is still strewn all around, but he ignores it now in favor of the creepy moving bushes. okay, so that's how today is gonna go? cool. ]

I'm warning you, whoever you are - or what...ever, you are. I am the legendary outlaw they call Star-Lord. I'm a guardian of the freakin' galaxy! Show yourself or I'm gonna get seriously violent. Think like, Bruce Lee levels of whoopass here.

[arachnerds]

[with all the shouting going on in the distance, peter spends more time than he'd care to admit trying to weigh up his options. on the one hand, the voice means potential answers. or at the very least, someone he can talk to. but on the other, stranger danger. especially when it sounds like the man is angry.

ultimately though, it's that need to investigate, to find out whether he can help in any way, that wins out. so surely enough, peter heads off to take a look.

with his suit swapped for a hoodie and pair of jeans, peter looks every part the teenager he is, right down to the awkward and almost uncomfortable look on his face when he finally rounds a tree and catches sigh of the other man. the other man who is...looking just as lost as he is.]

Uh...hello? Sir?

dorian 'not a peter' pavus | dragon 'not mcu' age

[stereotyped]

Arriving: somewhere, who knows

[ Honestly, Dorian would be more upset but that was the best sleep he’s had in weeks. There’s something to be said for not being stuck in the depths of the Emerald Graves with a tree root digging in to your back and the Inquisitor’s snoring ringing in your ears. There’s a moment of delicious enjoyment as he stretches luxuriously, relishing in the feeling of a bloody good night's sleep before –

He jerks awake, like a mis-step climbing a flight of stairs, with a horrible feeling of what he can only call oddness. There’s grass where there should be a bedroll, a leafy canopy where there should be a tent. His breath catches in his chest as he thinks, hard and fast, and digs his fingernails in to his palm until he’s sure he isn’t somehow still asleep.

But no, here Dorian is, jolted awake in an idyllic little woodland glade with somebody’s ugly bag under his head and the onslaught of nature all around him. He stares at the (disgustingly lovely) wooded glen that surrounds him with a look of incensed suspicion before announcing with crystal-cut sharpness: ]

Oh, yes. Haha, very funny.

[ Because this is obviously a joke, isn’t it? Sera’s handiwork, most likely. They’ve taken his tent and moved the campsite and in two minutes time Sera’s going to fall out of whichever tree she’s hiding in and give the whole game away. A stupid prank and nothing more.

...Hopefully. ]

Exploring: the shores of the Great Lake

[ Right. Fine. Maybe it isn’t a prank after all.

Ten minutes later Dorian finds himself on the shores of a vast lake with an expression of mystified annoyance. Normally he finds knotty little problems like time travel and rifts in the fabric of reality are fun, but not this one. This one is aggravatingly confusing, all the more so for how very painfully alone he is.

At least the view isn’t bad. There are plenty of trees for people who like that kind of thing; a rather elegant castle that looks like it might hold some kind civilised life; a pretty lake that would probably look prettier if Dorian wasn’t so alarmed by it all. He doesn’t recognise the landscape (except perhaps in that distant way of having a nagging feeling he’s seen something like this in a book perhaps) but it’s all beautifully peaceful.

Deceptively so, apparently, because the water ripples as black-green scales break the surface. Something – something huge and scaled and mean (probably) – roils the water as it lurks beneath the glassy water. ]

Oh, well that's wonderful. [ Dorian bites out waspishly, gesturing as the creature – whatever it is – dives back in to the depths. ] A monster in the middle of the lake, of course! Because crossing it couldn’t be simple, could it?

---

( ooc: or wildcard me up! catch me on disco @ shaz#0911 if you wanna do something specific /fingerguns )

[talents]

[its been less than an hour since he first arrived, and already, merlin has found himself enamoured with the island. sure, this isn't really a situation he's ever imagined finding himself in. but being in another land, so far from albion-- it's something he's actually happy to be a part of. to have some time to begin to piece himself back together after suffering through the damage that camelot has suffered. the loss of their countrymen. their king.

it's his curiosity that has kept him dwelling on his failure for too long. his need to find out where he is. where this land, so deeply ingrained with magic, has been hidden for so long. so naturally, his feet carry him towards the great lake. to the well that draws his attention for so long.

crouched by the water's edge, merlin allows his fingers to trail across the surface of the water. a brush against the rocks that stand so proudly. this is old magic. something both familiar and yet brand new to him at the very same time. but before he can attempt to delve any further, there's movement across the lake, and merlin scrambles backwards to get away from the water completely.]

What--

[the word barely escapes him before he hears another voice nearby, his head snapping in its direction to find its owner.]

You saw it too?

[he isn't imagining things then?]

arrival!

[sidequestings]

Dorian!

[ the voice may possibly be familiar, but the figure jogging up to him probably isn't. the petite elf's hair is such a light red-orange it's almost pink in the sunlight, and the look on his tattooed face is a mix of annoyed and relieved as he approaches.

he flips his long braid over his shoulder as he slows to a stop in front of the human man, frowning in faint concern. his pale eyes flick over dorian as if searching for injury-- or maybe some clue about how they've come to be there. ]

You're the only one I've seen thus far. [ he offers a hand down without hesitation, brows lifting questioningly. ] --Do you have any idea where we are? [ because mahanon has no clue. his clan moves a lot, but this place doesn't seem familiar at all. and regardless, how would they have been stolen right out of skyhold? ]

Oracle-Babs | DC Preboot

[allscreening]

On Either Side the River Lie Arrival

[For a woman who only recently woke up on a forest floor, sprawled out in front of her wheelchair, surrounded by mysterious items, she is... actually pretty calm, really. It is the utter calm-angry-annoyance of someone as inconvenienced as humanly possible by their situation. She has no computers. She has one (1) batarang. She is mildly annoyed that she has it instead of her escrima sticks. At least sticks aren't in short supply around here. And she doesn't remember ever seeing a single ramp in any fairy tale ever filmed or illustrated.

It took her half a minute to collect the stuff and get into the chair, and a few to start looking for somewhere halfway decent to set up camp and survey the situation.

High ground. She'll need high ground, since she can't cover the chair tracks. A hill that isn't too steep, with trees thick enough she has to pull herself between some of the trunks to fit through.

And that creeping feeling of unseen eyes on her at all times has her wondering if she's died, and this Hell's Poetic Justice Department tailor-made for her.

And the first person who comes across her gets something heavy gets tossed just to the side of their head. She's not flinging a bladed weapon at a stranger when she only has one. So the warning shot is with just a plain old rock.]


Willows Whiten, Aspens Quiver The Wolf

The first thing it leaves is her father's pipe. The one she snuck down to smoke when she was 14. It smells like blood instead of tobacco.

After that, it's scraps of purple fabric. A ticket stub from Haley's circus, untorn but stained. It's the broken coffee cup that really sets her off. What's left of it shatters against a tree as she tosses it as far away from herself as possible.

You really think going there is going to scare me?! Seriously!?

You have so much more homework to do.

[talents]

[it isn't the first time he's had something thrown at him before, and doubtlessly it won't be the last. but that doesn't mean he's any more prepared for it when it comes, a violent flinch as he tries to duck out of its way. his gaze flicks back to watch as the rock bounces along the ground behind him, before he's tracking it back the way it came. and spotting a figure in the distance, sat in a chair.

with wheels?

confusion sets in briefly, before he's holding his hands up in, what he hopes is, a placating manner. he isn't there for a fight. not even close.]

Apologies, my lady. I didn't mean to startle you. [because something makes him thing that using the word "frighten" here wouldn't go down well.]

Are you alright? Um-- Or as well as you can be, given that you've been brought here too.

The Wolf

[houmaprotector]

[Alec is getting annoyed with these trees. They're a special level of frustrating. He's tied himself to this green, albeit temporary. That said it only sees fit to summon him when they're in danger and not provide any information.

He is honor bound, instinct bound to listen however so when a gossipy pine tree says "help, help!" There's a big pair of bright red eyes staring down at the woman in the wheel chair from above the spot where she threw the mug.]

No reason to throw things.

Swamp Thing/Alec Holland | DC Comics

[houmaprotector]

New Soil (Arrival)

[The first thing he feels is a sense of disconnect. The sort of thing you feel when you wake up in a strange place only he never wakes up in strange places. There is no place on earth that is strange to him and he, Swamp Thing, Alec Holland, Alec Holland the Swamp Thing got used to it. Except...

This...Alec Holland is close now and it makes his big green body seem unnatural for the first time in years. Cumbersome. His mind instinctively reaches out for the green and meets something unfamiliar, something unusual. Like being in a strange town with a new language.

It takes a moment and the big green human dissolves briefly. More like melts. His toes root into the dark sweet earth and another root pulls itself to the soil and he feels...more human. Alec Holland recedes by a hair as he pulls them up. Welcome Avatar but questions about where and when and how to get back? Silence. The threat of trouble if he tries to travel away.

He tries it anyway and his body dissolves into compost in a heartbeat - remaining in place. A face in the dirt.]

Well.

[Interesting.

He rebuilds himself a body standing at 7 feet tall but adds thick bark armor. His arm shifts and reforges into a sword and, after a moment, he adds rose thorns. Let whoever wants to come from him try. Let them come...

One foot crunches something and he looks down. A pack? The armor fades away like a breath and he digs through it, adding two vines to his wrists to look through things only to find...

My notes. Congratulations you've stumped the Swamp Thing. They're notes in a chickenscrawl and it takes him a moment to realize that this is his handwriting. His hand writing from when he was alive. Chemical formulas and equations and little drawings of flowering plants.

Something small falls out from it and he extends a delicate vine to pick it up to reveal...a gold ring. If he had a heart it would begin to pound because there's writing engraved on it, on the inside of the band. Our love will blossom forever.. My wedding ring. Linda had this engraved.

I haven't thought about Linda in years

There's a book, 100 years of solitude, and upon opening it he's grateful for the fact that he doesn't have blood to chill. Trapped in the pages is a lock of white hair with a few strands of black marking a page.

He has no answers from this green and their parliament is silent. Very well. He buries himself in Sequoia bark, forming armor. He debates leaving these treasures but if there are any wizards here, if Abigail is here (I would know. I would know if she or Linda were here.) he might need it...

After a moment he packs it all up carefully save for his notes. Staring at them he debates crumpling them in one huge green hand before he grimaces, faint distaste at the human sense of self he can't let go and folds them into his pack. Once that's done he absorbs the pack into himself. It takes barely a moment for more bark to spread across his body and thicken to look like armor. By the end he resembles a pricker, the sort of burr animals catch in their fur.

He glances around the area, to each of the trees.]

You are making a huge mistake. Holding me captive like this.

[Only silence. He hrrms. His left arm turns into a sword. No spikes this time.]

So be it.

[Anyone nearby might hear the sound of something moving through the brush. Something big. Be warned.]

[conjobs]

[He has no idea exactly how much he drank last night - who's he kidding, it was probably just as much if not more than what he usually drinks every night - so he's got the mother of all hangovers when he wakes up in the middle of-... some brush. With no one night stand in sight.]

...bollocks.

[Well. It could be worse. He could be in Hell. A hand gropes around groggily and recoils when it finds a bag. Reaching out for it again and pulling it in close, he takes a quick glimpse inside. Cigarettes. Hallelujah. That's all he needs to know. Throwing it over his back, John scrambles to his feet and stumbles, reaching out to steady himself on the nearest thing. That moves.]

Sorry mate I'm a little p... [Bleary eyes widen as he looks up. And up a wee bit more.] ...issed... [WHAT THE FUCK]

Ron Swanson | Parks & Rec (haven't RPed in years, so forgive if I'm rusty)

[epicandprivate]

[His brow already furrowing, Ron Swanson opens his eyes to discover a woodland that he has not yet experienced.]

...Did I fall asleep at work? Because I'm either dreaming, or the wish I've made every morning before I walked in that place finally came true.

[He dusts off the twigs and leaves that were stuck to his long-sleeved polo shirt, and begins rifling through the leather bag that was tucked underneath his head before haphazardly emptying it on the ground.]

Let's see what my brain packed for me. A new flannel shirt, some jeans, my old football, 7 years of bad luck, and some [he sniffs the wooden coins] oak that smells like red cedar? This must be a dream. Wait.

[He looks through the food rations with a look of dismay.]

No emergency bacon. It's a nightmare. But then again, where's Tammy?

[aromantically]

[ peter hears someone else unpacking his stuff nearby and quickly starts packing his stuff back up in hopes of not being noticed. when he gets to yondu's trinket, he puts it in his pocket for safekeeping before shrugging the bag over his shoulder and creeping through the clearing until ron comes into view. but someone with that good a mustache can't be evil, right? he's still not sure he can trust any of this, but he wears a lot of buckles and... guns. it's pretty hard for him to stay quiet. ]

Stupid... trees. [ he's shaking leaves off his jacket as he makes himself known to the other man, just in time to catch him talking about bacon. ] Do you have bacon? Man, you know that thing where you forget how much you miss something until you remember it exists?

That's happening right now.

gamora | mcu

[amongfriends]

arrival;

[Gamora is convinced it is a trick. She's not sure how leaving her in an illusion like this serves his cause. She knows all too well he didn't keep the name Mad Titan for nothing. When he doesn't answer her demands to show himself and end this, what else can she do but, move forward to see this out? She takes the pack with her on the journey to whatever he wants her to see so badly. It'll eventually lead to Peter, but for now? She's just a woman walking down a path with a hard look on her face.

Join her? Ask why she's shouting at the air? That's up to you.]

big bad wolf;

[She thinks the wolf is her former captor toying with her before coming to snatch her again. Gamora is determined to find him first. She'll be searching for the creature with little luck on the first week. By week two? She's following the trail of gifts and checking in with whoever has received them.

Do you need a shoulder to cry on? A person to hide behind? Look no further than the green-skinned woman with a blade in hand. She refuses to let the torn up remains of Nebula's clothing spook her. Her sister is fine. She always is.]

wildcard;

[PM this journal or leave whatever here.]

big bad;

[houmaprotector]

[Alec is not used to not involving himself in things that don't particularly concern him. That said, his gifts were...personal and he hasn't been particularly open about just what they mean.

He's debated explaining but the only person who knows anything is John and John...doesn't know him. It's starting to hurt that the only connection he has to home has forgotten him but at least he's among others in the same boat.

Some even with a few others.

So he materializes behind her - a trick she may or may not have seen at this point.]

...Can I speak with you?

[One big green to another?]

groot | i am groot

[sap]

Arrival

[O-Oh. This isn't home. Not that he has a home exactly, but he knows it's wherever Rocket and the others are. It's where Gamora and her warm hugs are, and where Drax always lets him win staring contests. Wherever this is, it isn't home. It's cold, and dark, and it smells strange. He cautiously grabs the tiny Groot-sized backpack he's been given and takes off with it at a run. It feels like he's being watched, and he knows from Peter that it's a very bad thing to have that happen.

He's not exactly easy to be spotted in the middle of a forest, being basically a tree and all, but if he ever ends up under foot he'll be sure to pipe up with an alarmed GROOT!! to get someone's attention.

When he finally makes it to the lake, he takes the time to toss his backpack onto the ground and start sorting through it. He ends up halfway stuck inside the thing, pulling out and biting at wooden coins. Each one is tossed aside before he decides that maybe he does want them. After that point, he scurries around to scoop them up, happily depositing them right back into his bag. That being done, he figures he might as well do what Peter would do and play nice with the locals. There's people here, so he slowly approaches one of them and gives their shoe a nice and gentle kick.

Hey, down here!

Whenever attention is given, he eagerly waves, smiling hopefully. ]

I am Groot.

[Yeah, that's how he says hello.]

[aromantically]

[ he might be hard to spot if you don't know what you're looking for, but peter has been tirelessly searching for his son since he got here, albeit in a more lanky, teenaged arrangement. all his many buckles and weapons clink as he walks along the path to the waterside, heralding his arrival even before he catches sight of groot. he has his headphones on, the walkman his father broke inexplicably whole again. he's distracted by the heavenly tones of stevie nicks for a whole second before he registers what he's seeing before him. and then he's taking off at a run, his backpack left carelessly behind and his headphones sliding around his neck as he scoops groot up and swings him around in a circle. ]

Groot. You're okay. Is Rocket with you?

[ he doesn't want to think about why groot is tiny again, he's just going to revel in being able to hold him when teen groot would have shoved him off by now. ]

[amongfriends]

[She's been looking for him too. Unlike Peter, Gamora never expected to see him again. She planned to die whether it be by Peter's hand or her own. She was ready to give up her life to save half the galaxy. Now that they seem to be given an out, however unlikely, she wants to steal some time with her son. It's a mixed blessing that what she finds is Groot at this age. She doesn't understand why. She's scared as to what could have caused it. She doesn't hesitate to get on her knees once she spots him chewing on coins. Her best memories with Groot were at this age. It's a pleasant reminder of when it felt like they had all the time in the world.]

Groot! [She offers her hands to him so he can climb up, her eyes shining with tears. She may not know why it's happening, but she's so happy that it is.]

[houmaprotector]

[Searching, always searching, reaching out parts of himself into the green and examining the webs that connect the plant life here from tree to another, one plant to another. He steps through the clearing and spreads his presence through the trees. Learning a new green takes time.

This is not a good thing. His connection to the green fades in and out. How can he trust his abilities? He needs to take time to center himself, to root, to connect to the green-

He stops just short of stepping on the thing shouting "Groot!" and his red eyes widen.

That's a baby tree.

It's a...baby tree person.

Like I am. A sapling? A sprout? His mind wanders to Tefe and he shakes it off before peering downward. This tree seems sentient. like him. Even if he's unsure if he's a man or a tree at this point, he's struck dumb by the creature. All he can do is stare for a moment before he raises a root in greeting.

Words are kind of useless at this point.]