PSL Musebox - OTA (wip)

[sandinmyhair]

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.

Comments

[sciencesquid]

[Thank god for nighttime. Trying to pick someone out of a crowd is always an uncomfortable, tough moment, but the green glow works like a charm and once Otto's gaze locks in on Bruno, he smiles warmly. The distance is closed with a few firm, hasty strides.]

Bruno, good evening. I hope I didn't keep you waiting.

[sandinmyhair]

Nah, not really. I'm still on my first drink! [He indicates the glass, which is mostly full of... something that smells like it could peel paint.] Have a seat!

[Otto isn't the only one dressed casually. The suit jacket Bruno usually wears instead of his ruana when he's out at night is draped over the back of his chair and his tie is even looser than usual, collar unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up, hints of some subtle jewellery of leather and hemp and little dark beads--someone's gone to some trouble tweaking his appearance and it's entirely possible that someone wasn't him.]

[sciencesquid]

[Color Otto impressed. He doesn't know much about fashion or aesthetic, even if Doc Ock went wild with trenchcoats and shades. It's the sort of attire that was pretty much cobbled together in the heat of the moment. Normally, he's one for comfort. Still, he can appreciate good fashion when he sees it.

As he takes his seat, he gestures towards the bar with one hand to get someone over. He still has his own drink to order.]

God, it's been years since I was last out in a bar like this.

[sandinmyhair]

I think that might be the case for a lot of us... probably why there's so many bars here to begin with. We all need a drink or twenty.

[Someone steps up promptly to take Otto's order, their friendly grin maybe a little too friendly--Bavan is a town full of people who really like Monsters, even if they don't quite know why or what to do with that admiration.]

Something on your mind? [Bruno asks after they go to fetch Otto's drink.]

[sciencesquid]

[Bourbon. He's getting some bourbon. He's not one for beer, nor is he in the mood for wines tonight. Bourbon is an actual spirit that's settled very nicely between 'take it easy' and 'get stupidly wasted'. The too-friendly grin of the bartender is ignored, because quite frankly, Otto doesn't know what to do with that admiration either.]

No. [The reply was an almost reflexive one, and he scolds himself for it.] ...Well, it's as you said. We all need a drink or twenty. I'd rather do so in good company.

[sandinmyhair]

[Bruno's usual half-smile results at that and he's about to make some kind of a self-effacing joke like he always does, but he's been trying to cut back on those. Not good for the psyche, as it turns out.]

That is true. Drinking alone's never done anyone any good. [He takes another long pull of whatever's in that glass, squinting slightly, and his voice is a little rough when he speaks again.] Especially here. Well, here as in this world, but here in this bar, too. They do not mess around with this stuff. Fwooh!

[Something Otto will find out for himself, soon enough, as his bourbon is placed in front of him.]

[sciencesquid]

[He chortles quietly at Bruno's reaction. It's rare to meet someone so open and so lighthearted.]

I like to think I can hold my alcohol well enough, but we'll see what this place has to offer, then. I'm not one to shirk from a challenge. [And here comes the bourbon! It looks and smells typical, at least. He gestures to Bruno's glass with one hand.] Is that the sort of thing you used to drink back home?

[sandinmyhair]

[It is pretty normal, except it's the bourboniest of bourbons, somehow stronger than it ought to be. They make their booze a little stronger for Monsters, after years of learning that some altered physiologies called for it.

Not... Shade physiology, but don't tell Bruno that.]

Nope. Back home I usually drank wine or things involving rum or tequila. This is... this is a few things put together and given a nice and dramatic name: Demon's Tooth. [He snickers and chortles.] Conjures up images of dust-covered bottles of something that screams when you open it....

[sciencesquid]

[At the notion of 'a few things' being put together, Otto can't help but remember the person trying to hand out free samples of alcohol mixed with ecstasy. God. Well, surely a bar wouldn't pull a stunt like that. It's likely just alcohol mixed with even more alcohol.]

Hah... It does, doesn't it? I expect it lives up to that image through sheer alcohol percentages alone. [He takes his own glass in hand, finally.] It makes my own drink feel rather dull in comparison.

[sandinmyhair]

[Red Alert's just the thing when you're going to eventually lose your body entirely, but Bruno knows better than to sing its praises--far too many folks have a different opinion and it's not a hill he's willing to die on.

But, yes, this thing he's drinking is just three different kinds of booze and maybe the idea of club soda.]

Well, it's... certainly got a bite. [Heeheehee, stupid joke.] I wanted to try something new, and... this is definitely new.

[sciencesquid]

[Ha haaa, Otto sees what he did there! That earned Bruno another chuckle.]

As long as you don't come to regret it, that's all that matters. [He raises his bourbon to his mouth for a sip, but his features contort soon after the liquid's gotten through to his taste buds.] Oh! Hmm. That's... That's a bit harsher than I was expecting.

[sandinmyhair]

Don't think I'll regret it. I might go with something a little less dramatic after this, though.

[He's done more to increase his tolerance in a few months than he has his entire life before now. The place is driving him to drink. Or something.]

[At the other's reaction he tilts his head and then grins.] As long as it's good, right? [He leans back a little, looking down at his own drink, grin fading to a thoughtful smile. His eyes don't quite glow brightly enough to obscure how pleasant they look like that, gazing a bit dreamily. Then he shakes his head and downs the last of this concoction, the dark grey of his skin flushing a dusky brown.] Yeah, that's... Oooh, that's enougha that stuff....

So, is bourbon what you would usually have back home?

[sciencesquid]

[Is it good? Otto certainly doesn't think it's bad, it's just not entirely what he was expecting. But it's fine. He can adapt. Part of him even thinks that he has to adapt to it, so he takes a larger gulp and appreciates the sting of it.

But when silence falls for a moment, with Bruno staring down into his glass, Otto can't help but throw a sideways glance his way. He's thought for a while now that Bruno's eyes are fascinating. Beautiful in an eerie sort of way, and the dreamy haze that's washed over them now increases that vibe. But once Bruno shakes his head and downs the rest of his drink, Otto snaps out of his own reverie as well.]

Sometimes. I usually only had wine with dinner. [... With his wife. Damn. He needs another gulp of bourbon at that thought. There it goes, down the hatch.] It's never too late to loosen up more.

[sandinmyhair]

[Bruno quietly orders something else, a whiskey sour, interestingly enough, and then sits back again, unaware that he'd had any kind of effect on anyone. The strong stuff is still working its effect on him, so that he flushes further, the warm brown colour spreading to his neck.]

We need every chance we can get to let go of what this place piles onto us, even for a minute.

[This time, when he looks at the other man his gaze remains lidded. He's sliding into a comfortable state a little more than a buzz, but not quite enough to be tipsy.] This seems to be working just fine, I think.

[sciencesquid]

[The lidded gaze catches Otto off guard a bit, sending something down his spine that's not quite a chill, but overwhelming nonetheless. So he breaks eye contact and pretends to stare down into his glass instead, blaming the feeling on Bruno's Shade powers. Even so, he's smiling.]

I expect you probably have a lot of friends wanting to meet with you like this, hm?

[sandinmyhair]

[When he's brought his drink he murmurs his thanks and then returns that warm gaze to his companion, still unaware of any effect.]

Sometimes, yeah.

[sciencesquid]

Only sometimes? [It surprises him a bit. He rather expected Bruno to be one of the most popular people around, with how eager he is to make friends and extend kindness. It's only after he's raised the question that he realizes how odd it might sound, so he tries to make a joke out of it.]

I'm surprised your schedule wasn't booked months in advance.

[sandinmyhair]

[This makes Bruno huff out a quiet laugh, a slightly sheepish grin crossing his face.] Nah, not really. I can't even imagine what that would be like. Before I got here I was isolated for ten years--I wouldn't even know where to start....

[Whups. Not a road he figures anyone else would want to go down. He takes a drink of his whiskey sour and tries to think of a different topic....]

[sciencesquid]

[He was what-. Otto's itching to ask about that, but it doesn't feel right to actually do it. It'd defeat the whole purpose of this drinking night to dredge topics like that to the surface. He ends up nudging Bruno's arm with his elbow in a soft, chummy manner.]

This is where you start. One step at a time.

[sandinmyhair]

[One wouldn't think someone so small and wispy would be so warm, but he is, and it's oddly like nudging someone who's close instead of an almost-stranger. As though he'd known Bruno for ages.

Bruno's little grin doesn't change, and his gaze drops in an unfairly charming way before coming back up.] Heh, that's true. I'm so glad to not have to face a really new place like this alone. You could probably fit the whole population of the village I'm from into that mall with room to spare.

[sciencesquid]

[The feeling is nice, really. Otto doesn't know whether the warmth comes from the alcohol, Bruno's shade identity or something else entirely. Whatever it is, he likes it. He smiles wistfully, ducking his head a bit.]

Is that so? God, I can't imagine something like that at all. I came from a city that's so big, it's the size of a small country. Millions of people, all stacked on top of each other in the hustle and bustle. [He pauses for a moment, then grins and takes another sip from his drink.] ... I don't miss it one bit.

[sandinmyhair]

That's... wow, that's a lot of people.... [He tries to imagine it. Like multiple Bavans all crammed together? He starts laughing.] Buildings all crammed in there, like 'we'll make them fit,' 'But this man's bathtub is in this other guy's kitchen!''It still fits!' [He giggles and snickers and leans companionably against Otto.] 'But where's he gonna make his soup?''In his other neighbour's tub--the first one's taking a bath!'

[sciencesquid]

[Otto laughs along, not because Bruno's joke is too wild but because it's eerily accurate. New York City is a hellhole and mocking it is just too easy.]

You know, I'm sure I've heard someone mention this tub soup once. He said it was... Souperb. [And with that terrible pun out in the open, he laughs again.]

[sandinmyhair]

[This makes Bruno sporfle and laugh harder.] Bet the other guy stewed over that for a while!

[He's not even all that drunk and he's giggling like a loon.]

[sciencesquid]

[Otto was just about to raise his glass to his mouth again, but ends up snorting very loudly. That likely wasn't flattering at all. And he can't stop himself from firing back, either.]

Well, it certainly took his broth away. [Someone stop him.]