sandinmyhair | PSL Musebox

PSL Musebox - OTA (wip)

A place where I dump all my off-game RP ideas! Warnings for... well, just about everything.

ENCANTO-BASED
A Place To Write Stuff In The Canon Setting
Got an Encanto character? Got someone else you can AU into the setting? Try some:

A1. Fluff!
Bruno's back and it's everyone's chance to love on him, now! He needs fed and washed and all manner of happy things, after all. Just be warned, he will wibble and tear up. A lot. He has a lot of catching up to do and a lot of hugging to do....

A2. Angst!
Bruno's back and he's not re-integrating very well. Ten years in the walls has not been kind to him, after all. Maybe he has it out with the others, or he tries to hide again, or starts some unhealthy coping or other. Maybe his Gift finally destroyed his health.

A3. H/C!
Bruno's back and other people are not happy about this fact. There may be, for example, an increasing belief that he's demonic and clearly in need of an exorcism.

MULTIVERSAL MISCELLANY
A Place To Write Stuff In Any Other Kind Of Place, Including Settings Of Current Games

B1. Gives New Meaning To 'Lab Rat'
Someone somewhere decided a person who could do what he does is very much worth studying. Maybe they wanted him to only see the future for them. Maybe they saw him as a way to manipulate time or travel through it or simply tap the immense energy that courses through him.

B2. Wibbly Wobbly.
Maybe the Time Lords sent you to investigate. Maybe you discovered it on your own. Whatever the reason, here you are in 1950s Colombia. Something has been poking at time. And there may or may not be an unregistered TARDIS in the area....

NSFW
Because I Can't Not Have The Occasional Smut Thread

C1. Buried Desire
Somehow you can tell that an incredibly powerful sex drive lurks under that shy, awkward exterior that's just begging to be seduced out. Granted, it won't take much to do this.

C2. Married Bliss
Welcome to the Family Madrigal! Somehow Doña Alma managed to finally marry off her son. But it's not her you have to worry about, it's his sisters and his brothers-in-law and all their wink-wink-nudge-nudge.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

((OOC: And likely smut eventually because I mean, it's me. But I have no specific plans. Also I know I said this before, but this is like, not so much a voice test as a "making the voice up as I go along" so if it seems a bit inconsistent it probably is. >_<))

Lots of strange things have happened in Avery's life up to this point. It's enough that he's not sure he'd recognize "normal" any more if it came up to him in an alley with a sock full of quarters. But stepping into a clearing only to fall through said clearing and ending up landing with a splash face down in a river when there was definitely no river anywhere in the woods he was in? That's... a new one.

At least it's not cold he supposes, which is good, because he's completely soaked through. Also his blessings include the river not being very deep, though he does know how to swim quite well. It's an easy matter to just stand up and wade to the bank, looking around curiously.

This is definitely a different forest than anything he's ever been in before. He could look around and visually tell that, for starters, but he can also feel it in his bones. After a moment of just standing there, listening, trying to orient himself, he lets his eyes slip closed and holds out a hand, laying it on the bark of the closest tree.

His mind follows from one tree to another to another, faster and faster, until suddenly the trees stop and turn into a village. He might be able to jump further, move from living thing to living thing within the village to search for something specific, except that as soon as he moves to do so he notices two things and comes back to himself with a sharp gasp.

First: the flowers within the village aren't his to command, an experience he's never had before.
Second: There's power crouched in the middle of the village and it's like nothing he's ever seen.

Simultaneously intrigued and also with... literally nothing else to do at this point... he slogs his way in wet shoes towards the village.

((And because it's me. Things'll get smutty, 'tis true.))

The river is shallow but wide, and flanked by reeds. The air hangs close and hot, nearly tropical. The heat and rich soil have combined to give a home to long grass and broad-leafed trees and massive, colourful flowers. The trees themselves, palms and cycads, seem... newer than such species ought to be. As though they can trace back only to a point within living memory instead of to the dawn of life on this planet like so many other examples of this ancient plant can do.

It very likely has something to do with that wall cutting him off from the flowers and plants, and with that massive power that sits in the centre of the village.

The village itself, nestled in a valley (the trees would speak of mountains younger than any mountains should be), also seems strangely new, as though settled only within three generations at most. The people, a colourful mix who speak South American Spanish...

...only they don't, do they? Or, if they do, it's suddenly become as easy to understand as English--something to do with that magic permeating the place...

direct him toward the giant hacienda that dominates the settlement. If he's lost, and it certainly seems as though he is, the Madrigals should be able to help him, right? There isn't much any of the villagers can do, in the midst of finishing all their repairs.

The hacienda. It's the source of that power, and at closer observation the power seems less like a singular thing and more like a kind of tapestry, woven tightly and securely of vastly diverse but united threads. A family? Quite possibly, if the front door is anything to go by, bearing what looks like a carefully wrought image of twelve people.

The place feels... alive, somehow.

It's a strange walk. He's no stranger to being an outsider somewhere, but he's never felt it quite so keenly as here. He's soaked to the bone and no one here looks like him in the slightest, and clearly don't speak his language either. He's large and pale, with freckles covering the bridge of his nose and his cheeks making him look younger than he is, a mop of bright ginger hair on his head in curls that he's got absolutely zero control over (he jokes that everyone who's ever tried is dead... it's only a joke in that it's funny)

He is definitely lost.

Still, everyone is very kind and since the hacienda is where he's headed anyway, it's very convenient that everyone leads him to it. It's also very convenient that no one else comes with him or follows him, so he has a moment to stand in the building's scant shade a moment and stare up at it.

The door is interesting, but it's the power that draws his attention, fairly bursting at the seams for someone with eyes to see it. Mages in his world, he has found, are stuffy, not always boring but a little frightening for the power they wield-- an impression he does his best to dispel where he's concerned, to mixed success. This feels... warm, an impression of welcome and family that he can feel shining on him like the sun. Cautiously, he reaches out and, very gently, lays his hand on the doorframe rather than the shining door itself.

There's no attempt to push or force his own will on the house, nor to convey any particular message other than perhaps Here I am. Here is who I am., a polite recognition and announcement all in one. He has a feeling that will work better than any knock, but if it doesn't, he's not against knocking.

When he does that there's a beat and the house itself reacts. There's a deepening of that warmth, and then an unmistakably cheerful sound, the musical noise of the tiles around the door rippling, almost like a delighted laugh. The ripple of tiles changes pitch as the ones on the floor take over, the effect travelling into the house. There's a lot of light and jolly rattling and clattering until voices take over. They call out to one another, carrying on something of a shouted conversation from different rooms until someone agrees to go and see who this new and interesting person at the door is. A stranger! How exciting!

After a couple beats the door opens, revealing what might be one of the figures in the image, only the image was a lot more flattering in its simplicity. It had given no indication, after all, of just how thin this little fellow really is, or how much he looks like he's recovering from something. Huge eyes (though not as prodigious as the nose they flank) in a small, stubble-dusted face stare blankly for a moment before he shakes his head and gives a sheepish grin.

"Sorry, that was rude of me. We don't get a lot of strangers," he says, his light and quiet voice clearly unsuited to shouting. "Come in!"

He's not exactly a harbinger of doom most of the time or anything but even so, he can't remember the last time his arrival somewhere was met with such joy. It warms him, charms him, brings a little smile to his face, but it also makes him feel profoundly nervous. He is not a dour person, but he is not often either the originator or recipient of this kind of welcome and it's a bit unsettling, deep down.

It's almost a relief when the person opening the door is just... a person and not some kind of glamorous hospitality faerie or something. Avery doesn't seem to take offense to the staring, just stares back, feels a little uncomfortable for a moment in how large he must seem next to the other. Avery isn't even really a very large man, but he's broad-shouldered and a bit wild looking, like perhaps he hunts for more of his food than he gets at a supermarket somewhere and possessed of an easy sort of health that matches that impression.

"Ah, no offense taken," everyone else has understood him if he just relaxes into it and doesn't think very hard about what he's saying or hearing, so he hopes that's true here as well. And then, "I'm going to drip on your floor a bit. I fell into a river."

It's said a bit awkwardly and also he's still just kind of... standing on the stoop. Though Bruno may figure out that's because he hasn't actually opened the door all the way or stepped back.

There's a blank stare, then Bruno startles. "Oh!" He pushes the door open a bit further and steps back, letting the other actually come in. "It's okay, don't worry about the floor, it's used to a little water." In any other setting that statement would be absurd, but this is a living house, after all. Moreover, the atrium is open to the sky, with all that that entails. "Lemme get you something to dry off with."

A random door swings open and he reaches into the closet it reveals, producing a big, fluffy towel. Just why there's a linen closet in the atrium is anyone's guess.

A voice calling out is preceded by a young girl in riotously colourful clothes: "Tío Bruno, who was at the do--oh!" She stops, blinking up at the stranger, a rapid succession of expressions flickering across her face until she settles on a wry grin, her eyes cutting to the older and slightly smaller figure next to her before going back up. "Just a guess--he forgot to ask your name, didn't he?"

"Uhm," is Bruno's witty rejoinder, holding the towel out toward their guest at arm's length. Then he takes a breath, looking up at the undeniably interesting features of this stranger. "I'm Bruno. And you are?"

Edited 2022-08-02 08:57 (UTC)

Avery wastes no time in at least trying to dry his hair off, though it's dried already at least somewhat. The rest of him is probably a goner until he can get some dry clothes, but he wraps the towel around himself anyway, grateful for anything at all to make the situation better.

"Thanks," it's said with a warm smile, a bit wry with the entire situation but genuine, and there's a bit of humor in his tone as well. This isn't the weirdest situation he's found himself in, but it's weird enough to throw him and he's well aware he's thrown. Until he figures out what this is about, he feels like it's probably best to treat the whole thing like he was thrown into the faelands and be both polite and not take anything too seriously until the people around him do.

He can't help but laugh at the young woman's words, and shakes his head,

"It's alright, I hadn't asked his either," he winks, charmed, then turns back to Bruno, "I'm Avery," well, maybe not quite like the faelands, as he wouldn't have offered his name so easily if he really thought this was faerie magic. "Pleased to meet you Bruno," and then he adds, jokingly, "and your towel."

"The towel's happy, too," Bruno answers. "This is Mirabel," he adds, indicating the girl. She bobs a small, quick curtsey, smiling.

"I'm happy to meet you, too, Senor Avery. We don't get a lot of strangers here, so... people are gonna be interested, I'm afraid."

"Oh, I'm sure word's all over town by now," Bruno adds. "But maybe I'll have some time to make some tea before everyone else comes piling in to have a look. It's pretty much all I can do in the kitchen."

Mirabel giggles. "I'll run Abuela interference and give our guest a minute to breathe, huh?"

"Probably a good idea."

"I'll be back soon!" She waves and hurries out the door. Bruno watches her leave with slight, fond smile. Then he sighs. "Tea?"

Anywhere else he would have laughed the comment about the towel off as something quirky to say in an awkward social situation, but given the state of the house and the flowers, he's partially inclined to believe that maybe the towel is actually happy to meet him.

"Tea would be lovely," he's usually more of a coffee person, but he's not going to turn down an offer of hospitality, and he does like tea. "Particularly if I'm going to be answering questions. But the truth is, I'm not really sure what's going on either." He follows Bruno towards the kitchen (he will gently prod him to lead that way if necessary, he's already starting to see the man is easily distracted) and adds as they go,

"I'm not completely ignorant of what happened, but I definitely don't know why. I was just out for a walk," he always feels weird sussing out the power situation in a place as someone who has power, but he doesn't have any need or desire to hide it, either, even if announcing it outright always feels crass to him, "Uh... are you the one responsible for the flowers?" he asks, instead, because that seems like a good way to open the door to this particular conversation.

Oh, no, Bruno isn't allowed to even attempt anything so treasured as coffee. Tea's simple and just about all he can manage.

He did have to be nudged in its direction, but once he's going he leads the other there easily enough. More easily than he understands what Avery's on about, at least. He pauses, the kettle in his hand.

"Sorry, what kind of a walk were you taking that you accidentally ended up here?" He doesn't sound suspicious so much as... baffled. The Encanto hasn't been un-hidden long enough for anyone to twig to the concept of its being a South American Brigadoon.

“A strange one, apparently,” he says with a slight shrug. “I was sent here. Brought here, maybe? It certainly wasn’t intentional,” if he sounds relatively calm about this, it’s because he is. So far, at least. He’s not in any immediate danger and there’s no particular reason for him to hurry home just at the moment, so this feels a lot more like a strange little adventure than something he ought to be worried about.

“Truth be told, I don’t really even know where ‘here’ is. I just sort of… landed in the river. This isn’t like any place I’ve ever seen before.” He pauses for a moment because he’s not wholly sure what Bruno or anyone else in this family would think of his wider family, the way he’s been raised. But, in the end, there’s no reason not to be honest, and if he’s not telling ALL of the truth, well, he can only tell so much of his own story at a time, after all, “This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a house that seemed to be alive, though, and the other one I’m familiar with would be more than capable of bringing someone into it’s space if it had a reason to,” he looks around at the walls as though the house might speak, “What reason, though, I couldn’t say.”

"Huh." Bruno's reply is almost as calm. "I don't... think Casita's ever brought anyone here...."

There's a waving of cupboard doors and a rippling of tiles that manages to convey Nope, pretty clearly.

"Well, there we go, then." He hangs the kettle over a cookfire and busies himself pouring fragrant tea into what looks a lot like a french press. "You're in Colombia, in a village we call the Encanto." A beat. "And the year's 1951," he adds, as though it's a data point that needs brought up on a regular basis.

"You know, I've never met anyone outside the family who has any kind of Magic, but it sure sounds like you teleported," he concludes, just... talking shop. About Magic. Like you do.

"Well, if I wasn't brought, then I imagine I was probably sent, but I don't have any ideas on the 'why' of that either," he shrugs slightly. All this is, is shop talk to him as well and it's actually relieving that Bruno doesn't seem to be particularly shocked or discomforted by what's happened.

The Colombia part makes sense immediately and calling the village 'Encanto' makes as much sense as the rest of it, certainly. But it takes his brain to fully process 1951 and when it does, he blinks,

"I... think I might be from the future," he says, simply, as though it's just another problem to overcome, another piece of the equation. "And I definitely didn't teleport myself through space and time, but I imagine you'd call what I can do magic."

Personally, he doesn't see much connection between himself and a lot of the actual mages in his own place and time, but he does understand that that's mostly semantics.

That succeeds in flustering Bruno and he nearly fumbles one of the mugs he'd retrieved from a cupboard. "The-- hang on, the future?" he fairly squeaks. He stares at the other for a moment.

"You're... real, though. I mean, Mirabel saw you... Casita saw you...."

He reaches out a hand to lightly poke Avery's shoulder, the gives a sigh. "Oh, good, you are real, I was starting to think my visions were getting really vivid..."

Then he goes back to the tea as though nothing's happened. "The future, huh? Boy, will that throw everybody else for a loop. What year is it where you're from?"

Okay, now that's an interesting reaction.

"Yes, I'm real. As far as I know, anyway," he quips, trying to go for levity since Bruno is now a bit more discomforted. And then there's that bit about the visions and he raises an eyebrow a bit,

"You can see the future?" it's not really a question. He's met one or two oracles, but none of them have ever seemed much like Bruno to him. If anything, it always seems to make the people he's known seem almost supernaturally calm, floating on the surface of a surety most people would kill for. Something... else is clearly happening here, though.

"Where I'm from it's 2018, though I live uh, what we would call 'off the grid', so I don't think I'm carrying anything to prove it." Probably not a bad thing, actually-- most electronics would be toast from the dip in the river.

"Yeah... doesn't do me a whole lot of good, but I can," and even though it sounds a bit like a complaint it's said very nonchalantly, as though he's more than used to it.

The kettle and its shrill whistle stop him dwelling in that thought, though, and he carefully removes it from the fire, managing to pour a measure of water over the tea leaves with a minimum of spilt droplets. He sets it on a ceramic tile and then regards the tea as it starts brewing.

"What's it like that far ahead? I don't think I've seen into the next century," he asks a little wistfully.

Avery considers that question for a moment while the tea steeps.

"I'm not sure if I'm the best person to ask, even though I also know I'm the only person to ask," he quips with a warm smile. "My life is definitely atypical for most people. But I'd say it's a lot more convenient but also a lot more hectic. You can get whatever you want basically whenever you want it, but most of the people I know who are living a more 'normal' life seem to move through it so quickly."

He pauses, considers the tea,

"I live a bit apart from all of that. This particular type of 'magic' that I have... it has it's drawbacks. I'm not exactly a hermit, but a lot of the things that have been invented in the last 25-30 years don't work the same for me as they do for other people."

The smile brings a similar one to Bruno's face. People tell him he's far too cute when he smiles, but he's never believed it. One hand rests on the knob of the French press, gradually pushing downward, swirling the water around the tea leaves.

"I do see that in visions--people rushing about everywhere. Nobody ever seems to take their time with things. It's kind of a chicken and egg, though, isn't it? Are people in a hurry because they can do things faster, or do they do things faster because they're more and more rushed? Maybe that isn't a question that can be answered."

He shakes his head and starts pouring the tea. "I'm getting philosophical."

No sooner does he set a cup down in front of Avery then a flicker of green light flashes across his eyes, accompanied by a flare of magic. His face goes blank for a beat, then he slips himself into an out-of-the-way chair at the same table, his own mug held securely in his hands. He blinks, then his eyes cut to the right.

There's the sound of a door opening and a multitude of footsteps.

"Meet the family," Bruno murmurs into his mug as eleven other people enter the room apparently in ascending order of age as the first one on the scene is a little boy of about six or so, then a collection of teenagers and young adults, followed by what's clearly their parents. Behind all of them is an old woman who positively radiates the Platonic ideal of matriarch. She remains quiet even as everyone else bursts into a babel of questions and exclamations....

"Probably a bit of both. I'm certainly not immune to it, either. But it still takes the same amount of time to brew tea," he adds, somehow both philosophical and also a bit teasing.

Avery tilts his head to the side at the flash of magic, a show of power that he can't interpret precisely but can feel flicker through the room as easily as someone else might hear a bit of a tune or a chirp of a smoke alarm.

He opens his mouth to ask about that, as well as why Bruno seems to scoot himself out of the way, makes himself somewhat scarce. Perhaps he just doesn't like the attention, but something about it seems... more than that, somehow. Either way, he doesn't get any kind of a chance for either thing, because there are a gaggle of Madrigals to deal with almost immediately.

He tries to answer what questions he can: about himself, about where and when he's from, about his magic. But he doesn't know why or how he's here and he doesn't know how to get back, and he's soon looking a bit more beleaguered and tired than enthusiastic and polite. Avery certainly isn't a child to break down over a bit of trouble and he's more than aware that when you find yourself in strange circumstances it always pays to be polite. But he's miles and years from anything he knows and has no idea why, or if there's even a way back, and the strain is starting to show around his eyes.

The rest of the family might not be as keenly and--to be frank--uncomfortably observant as Bruno often is, but that doesn't mean any of them are oblivious. Once Avery's weariness starts to show, the questions noticeably die down. It's the one who'd introduced herself as Julieta who suggests their visitor get some rest.

"It'll be a while before dinner's ready," she says, confident that he'll stay a while. "Maybe you should lie down for a while. Casita can make sure the guest room is comfortable for you." Tiles ripple and clatter in agreement.

The family reach an impasse, though, at this point. Each one has things they need to do to start getting the place ready for nighttime--each one, that is, except Bruno.

"I'll, uh, I'll show you to the guest room, then?" he says a little sheepishly.

Just outside the kitchen, though, Bruno's steps slow and then stop. He goes still, staring sightlessly, and there's another flare of magic, a much stronger one, this time. His eyes glow a brilliant emerald green for a couple beats and his lips move soundlessly. Then it cuts out and he sways before recovering.

When he looks at Avery again, however, he blushes bright red. "Uh... uhm... it's... it's- it's this way." The rest of the way there, Bruno seems partly embarrassed, partly nervous, partly... anticipating?

He's grateful that it's not too overwhelming before they let him go and also that he doesn't have to awkwardly inquire about where he can stay. It's going to be an adjustment to stay here in the sense that he's usually much more of a loner, but he doesn't mind having people around, he's just not used to it.

Still, he finds that he's grateful it's Bruno that ends up leading him to his room. There's something calming about the man, moreso than the rest of his family, at least to Avery, who's not used to volume, if nothing else. He's turning to give a gentle sort of smile to Bruno and maybe ask if it's always like this when he notices that he's having one of those flare ups again. He steadies him with a warm hand on his shoulder (which... might not actually help with the steadying, actually, considering) and looks concerned when he looks back,

"Are you alright?" it's only then that it clicks for him what a surge of magic like that might mean, "Is that what it's like when you see something from the future?" Luckily for the moment, he's more fascinated by the answer to that question than about the rest of Bruno's reaction.

Bruno leans slightly into this touch for a moment, without realising it--it almost seems as though he's terribly touch-starved. After a beat, though, he somehow manages to blush even redder.

"Ah, uh... I'm okay...." His gaze darts until the other question follows it. "It... well, this is what it's like sometimes. Other times, I do it on purpose. Have a vision, I mean." Wow, this explanation sure is falling down the stairs.

Thankfully his voluminous clothes are hiding the extent of the effect all of this is having on him.

Bruno opens a rather unremarkable-looking door to reveal a small but cozy and well-appointed room. This manages to make him even more flushed and breathless, and as soon as his guest is inside said room, he pushes the door shut again. Now they're both inside.

"The trouble is," Bruno continues as though simply picking the thought back up from where he left it. The... stuttery, flustered thought. "My- my visions are never wrong. And... and-and now we're here where it takes place, and... really, I have no idea why I had the kind of vision I just had, I usually don't, I mean it honestly blindsided me, it was the last thing I might have expected to see but I saw it anyway, so what I'm trying to say is the future apparently involves you and me and that bed...."

He's probably going to faint. Especially if he twigs to the fact that he's drawn very close to Avery, now.

"Not that I'd mind..." he finishes breathlessly. "If... I mean... if you don't. Mind, that is...."

The first part he follows with little effort-- sometimes Bruno can control the visions and sometimes he can't. He can at least relate to that a bit with his own powers, though it doesn't seem like it's to the same extent. But why does Bruno seem so flustered about it? Is it possible that he's just not used to someone seeing? It's not as though Avery has picked up every little nuance here, but even he can tell Bruno is different within the family. Is not being able to control the power something shameful?

Similarly, it's easy enough to pick together that Bruno had a vision that happened in this room and that it involved the two of them, just from the first bit as he stumbles through that, but even so, the revelation of what kind of vision Bruno has just had of them hits Avery like a baseball bat. He blinks, staring, mouth slightly open for a moment while his mind races.

It's not something he'd been thinking about before this. The way he relates to his magic and the magic of the world around him is sensual-- touch, sensation, warmth, texture-- and that naturally lends itself to sex, but he rarely considers that in a more partnered, traditional sense. But, once he does, he's certainly not opposed either. It's an intriguing option, if nothing else.

Avery isn't always kind in the same way nature isn't always kind, has always had a sort of wildness about him that occasionally leads to perceived cruelty, and there's a part of him that can't help but push back a little, tease, even if he's already mostly (and quickly) decided that he's not particularly interested in fighting against fate in this case. By the time he's closing his mouth, his lips are already curling into a bit of a smirk, and he reaches up to brush the side of his thumb along Bruno's cheek, the gesture deliberately tender to underscore the truth behind words that are a bit cooler,

"Well, that's certainly a new technique for trying to get into my pants."

Bruno's skin is warm and softer than one might think; and his scent, woodsmoke and sage, the faint musk of pet rodents, the slight pungency of cannabis, wafts almost reluctantly into the nose. Again, he seems to lean into the touch unconsciously, eyes closing briefly.

At the words, he gives a nervous laugh, still a bit breathless and shaky. "Well, that's me, I never do things the normal way," he quips.

"Are you sure the vision you saw was from now," he settles the other hand on Bruno's waist, "It's not particularly like me to move that fast." He says that, and that's true, but he's also definitely not protesting either. Bruno's so warm and he smells delightful (rats notwithstanding) and without a sexy vision he's not exactly ready to "perform" as the case might be, but getting into bed, pressing closer, sounds lovely.

He tugs Bruno just a little closer, gently, picking up that he's already gravitating towards him, just encouraging that a little.

PSL Musebox - OTA (wip)

some kind of MULTIVERSAL MISCELLANY

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I picked a year in the general time period at random

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