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

Kind of an all-A mashup plus C1 because it's Thelema and this is how she makes friends?

[notnaughtyjustfriendly]

(((LMK if I ought to change anything up! I figure she's basically in Encanto looking for signs of Bruno lurking about. ...if necessary, by scrying, although she's trying to be subtle.)))

[Since the opening of the village and resumed contact with the outside world, it had been only a matter of time before rumors would begin to spread. After all, the rest of the village had years of distrust and wariness about Bruno, but without the same connections as the Madrigals who so gladly welcomed him back, and Bruno himself had more than a little adjusting to do after a decade without real human contact. Of course, they did their best to be polite about it out of respect for Doña Alma, but their stiff manners and concealed grimaces were hardly undetectable, and their discomfort did nothing to help Bruno relate to them on a day-to-day basis. Additionally, uncomfortable grumblings and unflattering anecdotes were exchanged between villagers who quietly dreaded Bruno possibly seeing something grim about their futures, or dropping some hint of a vision they couldn't ignore. Some of those stories leaked gradually out of Encanto, expanding and clouding into the regional folklore as tales of the harbinger of doom who lurked about a town amid the mountains, communing with vermin and conveying curses (either unprompted or as punishments depending on the version of the story), a dark and foreboding figure balancing the blessedness of his family.

While the stories were merely an interesting footnote in the regional folklore for interested tourists and ethnographers, there were those to whom they were of more interest. Just as there were miracles and those blessed with wonderful gifts, there were calamities and those cursed with terrible afflictions, even hounded or tempted by malevolent supernatural forces.

Any occultist would have found the appearance of such shifts in folklore intriguing, but for one with Thelema's resources, reach, and special interests in witchcraft, curses, and demonology, it was irresistible. Certain details broadly consistent among the stories were too remarkable to dismiss, and such things are best addressed early to minimize damage--whether to the region or to the unfortunate innocent at the center of the stories. She'd quickly made her way to Colombia to investigate in person and collect details of the stories, herself, tracing them back toward their source.

It's a late afternoon, the sky still bright but the shadows of the mountains stretching across the town when she arrives in Encanto, guided by a resident returning from the next nearest settlement outside the mountain pass. She stands out rather obviously, silver-haired and very fair-skinned with bright blue eyes, wearing an innocent yet almost-revealing sundress, and with the cheery curiosity of a tourist. Seemingly in no rush, she takes her time exploring the town, making acquaintances--and as she soothes the residents into speaking freely, it doesn't take long for her to recognize that the Madrigal family is central to the stories.

Surely, they would be understandably wary if she were to show up at their door asking about magic; instead, she takes a subtler approach, watching patiently for signs of one who makes the townspeople uneasy. Whatever dark portents he may represent, Thelema is certain that she's encountered worse.

If necessary, she's confident she could cause far worse.

Still, she hopes to settle matters with compassion, warmth, and kindness. Humans respond well to such things, after all, and friendship can make them far happier, less dangerous, and more useful.]

[sandinmyhair]

[It doesn't take long for those telling tales of a stranger and those who tell tales of Bruja Bruno to intersect, especially given the fact that everyone blithely assumes that everything they say can somehow be heard. It's a thread that weaves everything together--the idea that someone's not so much listening as simply... hearing. It means they go to great lengths if there's something they don't want heard, but also that such instances are few and far between, as though everyone simply lives a life with nothing to hide.

Be that as it may, their chatter does sometimes shut down on the subject of that dark presence. They can't really say what's so... 'bad' about him.

'Well, it's those visions, you see. Nothing good comes of knowing the future.'

'He predicts something unfortunate and sure enough, it happens. Every time.'

'Nothing against the rest of the family, you know. Only every family's got its black sheep, hasn't it?'

It's probably kind of funny when they grow quiet and eye a green-clad figure making his way along the road. A few people cross themselves out of habit. For his part, the object of their stares appears to shrink in on himself morosely, dropping his gaze.

He's not the wraithlike apparition some of the stories had painted him to be--indeed, he seems small and unassuming and rather scrawny, his clothes oversized, his overgrown hair hiding a good deal of his face. His tread is silent and his movements furtive, giving the impression that he's more scared of the villagers than they are of him.

'That's him. You'll want to stay away, Señorita, nothing good comes of dealing with Bruja Bruno. There's dark magic around him.'

Bruno's stopped in the town square by a woman in a teal dress and apron, her hand lingering gently on his arm. They exchange words, then he nods and turns to head back into town. He takes maybe a step and the woman wraps her arms around him in a hug, laughing.

The aura of mystery and foreboding around him breaks in that moment as he splutters, objecting halfheartedly before returning the gesture. They stay in that embrace for a few beats and it becomes clear there's a lot of emotion behind so simple a gesture.

Then she lets go of him and sends him on his way with a light pat to his shoulder. He smiles, but the smile vanishes quickly, replaced by the sad and tired look he had before. He heads into another part of town, taking a quiet, less-populated route.]

[notnaughtyjustfriendly]

Diplomatic as ever, Thelema is more than content to play along with the villagers' assertions without really commenting, herself. No need to contradict them and make them feel she isn't listening to them and respecting them--or to make them think she's more than a peculiar, naive but sweet tourist.

When she catches a glimpse of him, this man of whom the rumors speak, this bruja whose footsteps are shadows, whose stride sets the pace for the marching of doom, she almost--almost--wonders if she missed him and the villager she's speaking to was trying to indicate someone else. He looks profoundly ordinary, the most uncommon thing about him his meekness, and perhaps the way the villagers' attention focuses on him.

The villager, busy indicating Bruno, misses her briefly calculating look. It's not impossible that the whole trip was for nothing and he's just a slightly weird villager and there's nothing more to it. ...but there is magic in the air, and she's very well aware of it, and the stories are still a little too consistent. She should at least arrange to meet him, shouldn't she? Especially seeing him briefly cheered by that gesture of... of what, fondness? Maybe appreciation? And how quickly it falls away once more as he moves on.

Politely excusing herself with an apology for keeping that last villager from their own business, she continues strolling at a leisurely pace, but having noted the direction in which Bruno was heading, she adjusts her course to meet him. With a cautious glance around each street corner, she monitors where he's headed, down the quieter, more remote streets, and with a brief hesitation, arranges the scene: just as he passes by a street corner, she's strolling into the same intersection, just in the right time and place to (literally) bump into each other.

"..oh..!"

Other than stumbling a little, though, and putting on her best Oblivious Tourist look of surprise, she deliberately hesitates, in order to tailor her response to his reaction. Will he be stunned, or frightened, confused? Will he fall over, himself, or try to catch her? How he handles a surprise will be valuable information.

Besides, far be it from Thelema to flinch from a little physicality.

[sandinmyhair]

It's like running into a bundle of sticks wrapped in fluff, a human being comprised of balsa wood and marshmallows and draped in soft, floppy linen. With a small huff of air he does, indeed, fall over, and unsurprisingly so, given how small he is, but scrambles back to his feet immediately.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," he natters and frets, his voice even more incongruous to the stories then the rest of him--soft and light and a bit raspy from disuse, genuine concern obvious in his tone. "Are you okay?"

Close to, this Bruno is a delicate-looking fellow, all the more for also appearing as though he's recovering from something if the somewhat pallid complexion and the circles round his eyes are any indication. Magic courses through him and radiates off of him, all but crackling in the air around him. It's a magic he isn't entirely comfortable with, as though he'd much rather have something less powerful and more suited to the soft and unassuming personality that manages to seep into his every motion.

He smells kind of nice, though, smoke and sage over the faint musky undercurrent of someone who keeps animals.

"Oh!" he says after a beat. "You must be new here--I mean, it's a small village and everyone knows everyone else and it's still easy to recognise people even after ten years and we don't get a lot of strangers and I'm not making this first impression any better, so I'm... gonna try again," he finishes, wilting slightly. Then he puts out a hand to shake, with a bashful smile. "I'm Bruno. Uh, welcome to the Encanto?"

[notnaughtyjustfriendly]

Thelema almost feels badly when he bounces off of her and topples right over--she hadn't anticipated him being quite that delicate--but he's back on his feet before her surprise settles, and she blinks at him with a slight tilt of her head. He's definitely strange, not only for the village, but in general; the stories of magic are certainly true, there's no question of that, but he seems somehow ill-suited to it. For all the talk of him bearing curses for others, he seems more burdened with one of his own and worn thin from bearing it.

She smiles reassuringly, but only has a chance to nod in the affirmative to his question before he's realizing out loud that she's not exactly a local (she certainly doesn't look like one). She giggles softly at his flustered, self-conscious rambling, delicately placing her hand in his, palm-down. He's welcome to shake it if he wants, but it's oriented perfectly for him to kiss it instead, if he'd rather, her blue eyes bright and inviting as they meet his.

"Ah, thank you, although I am only visiting. My name is Thelema. I am very pleased to meet you, Bruno."

Her accent is certainly distinctive and more than a little exotic; the Encanto hasn't exactly seen a huge number of Eastern Europeans.

"And, it is quite all right... I should have been more careful as well, yes? You were not hurt when you fell, I hope..?"

She certainly didn't miss that mention of ten years, but she files it away for the moment, focused on warm and comforting introductions.

[sandinmyhair]

His hand is warm, the skin almost humming with that same magic, a sensation that could just as easily attract as it could confuse and repel, depending on one's opinion of such things. A beat passes as he seems almost at a loss as to what to do next before rusty social skills clatter into gear.

He does indeed kiss her hand, a light touch of lips to knuckles, as though he'd learnt the proper way to do such things a long time ago. And as he does so a whole list of emotions and thoughts whirl in his head--anything from 'I've always wanted to do that' to 'Bruno, you idiot, what do you even think you're playing at?' and everything in-between. He looks up at her, large, dark green eyes meeting hers. He feels strangely giddy.

All this happens in the space of a couple beats before he gently releases her hand, his whole mien going bashful again. He rubs the back of his neck with his other hand.

"No, no, I'm okay. 'M' not as fragile as I look," he jokes, knowing full well he looks as though a stiff breeze would snap him in half. "So, uh... what brings you to visit our little village?"

[notnaughtyjustfriendly]

Thelema's smile brightens when he kisses her hand, his flustered hesitation unsurprising but charming, and she seems to be in no hurry to withdraw her hand from his. Even when he releases it, her fingers trail against his lightly as if to prolong the contact, startlingly blue eyes lidded as they meet his without hesitation, disarmingly cheerful and outgoing. She giggles softly behind her hand at his bashful manner, eyes lidded with a flutter of her lashes.

"Mm, well, I have heard so many stories, lately... it sounded like a place of beauty and wonder, and it certainly is a very beautiful village, and very welcoming."

She pauses a second, smiling to herself and tapping a fingertip against her lips as she regards him.

"And very charming, it seems."

The way her attention's focused on him, and the way she separates that statement from the one before, she may or may not be talking about the village still.

[sandinmyhair]

Is... is he being flirted with? He finds, after her fingers trailed along his, that he regrets having let go of her hand. Her gaze and the way she stands so near has him flustered and bashful, yes, but more than that, he's realising an odd, unplaceable hunger is stealing over him.

He's so very touch-starved, after all. He'll put two and two together soon enough, and likely be horribly embarrassed at his own needs and instincts and the potential they'd have of imposing anything on another person. But for now it seeps out in unconscious ways, making him push his hand through his hair slowly.

"It is. Welcoming, I mean. Well, to most people. Especially strangers. Everyone finds visitors so interesting that they probably won't give you a moment's peace." A slightly nervous laugh follows this. He's conflicted--a part of his mind doesn't want her to go away, but another part is fearful of what being seen with him would mean for her. Nothing good, surely. Even if they are in a nearly-unfrequented part of town.

He takes a deep breath. "I, uh... I gotta warn you, though. I don't... I don't have the best reputation. It... might not be good for you if you're seen with me. The villagers, they... some of them really don't like me and I don't want you to end up hurt because of me...."

[notnaughtyjustfriendly]

Casually soaking up his body language as well as the desire quietly beginning to rise off of him, Thelema giggles softly at the suggestion she won't get any peace. There are a few ways that could be true--but most of them would likely scandalize the village too much to be feasible, so she only gives him an intrigued look as though to tacitly ask how she'd be so completely occupied. No need to put words to it, though. She's curious whether he's aware of his own words' ambiguity.

She looks puzzled for a moment as he continues, but smiles reassuringly once he trails off.

"Mmm..? Ah-... is that so? My... you seem to me perfectly sweet. If you were not, you would have no reason to worry so about how someone else's opinions might affect me. Mm, but I am certain I will be all right, I assure you. And besides, we are alone, here, and would have to be very loud to draw anyone's attention, yes?"

As sweetly as she smiles, there's definitely something ambiguous about what exactly she means, her turns of phrase just a bit peculiar. ...but maybe it's a language thing? She tilts her head lightly, her attitude still warm and welcoming even as her smile grows a touch more troubled at the not-so-cheerful topic.

"I hope I am not prying too much, but
I must wonder why anyone would not like you, darling. Some misunderstanding? Strife between families?"

[sandinmyhair]

"Well, mai-mainly because they'll be asking a lot of questions. And I mean a lot of questions."

It wouldn't be entirely honest to say that the thought of more scandalous ways for her not to get any peace and quiet don't occur to him. She is, after all, very attractive. And the villagers are, after all, not dead.

He almost doesn't catch having been addressed as 'darling'. Almost. He blushes slightly.

His emotions sort of tangle around two very conflicting things, though. On the one hand is the soft and vague ache of dawning arousal, so vague to start with that it takes him a small while to identify it. On the other is the rather depressing subject of his reputation. Still, he'd best explain.

"Uh... it's... it's a pretty depressing story, really. I... have visions of the future and, well, a lot of people don't like what I see. So they think I'm bad luck. A curse." He waggles his fingers mysteriously for a beat or so. "'There goes that Bruno with his creepy visions that'll kill your goldfish.'" Then he wilts. "'Bruja Bruno,' they call me."

The part of his brain that'd been mulling over what she said finally pings at him and he blinks. "What... what would we be doing that'd be loud?"

He's not going to assume or even hope anything right now.

[notnaughtyjustfriendly]

Ahh, it seems as if he does realize, at least given a moment to think about it and a subtle prompt. Thelema laughs lightly at his answer, followed by a soft "ooh, I see," but she quiets as he goes on to explain. Listening attentively (even though she already knows all this), she gives him a reassuring smile and steps just a little closer--not crowding him, but very clearly not withdrawing from him--resting one hand lightly against his chest.

She giggles softly at the question that follows, though, her smile brightening just a little.

"Hmm..? Ohh, I suppose there are many possibilities..... ahh, but to see the future is quite a gift, even if it is a difficult one to bear. Tsk... I am sorry to hear that you have been seen this way. It is difficulty to be so misunderstood..."

Her smile softens a little more, sympathetic and gentle... and faintly welcoming, the hand resting on his chest applying no pressure at all, bit merely touching delicately.

"I am sorry you have been blamed for the things that you see... especially when your kindness seems so obvious, thinking first of protecting me. Hmm... but I would be very pleased to keep you company--if you would like to be with me, of course."

She smiles more warmly again, just leaving that double entendre out there for him to pick up, said entirely innocently and leaving the rest entirely up to his imagination.

[sandinmyhair]

"It... it is difficult. Sometimes."

A hand on his chest--Bruno's greatest weakness... well, one of them. The warmth of her hand seeps through his clothes and he leans into the touch without even realising it, instinctively craving more. A small part of his mind wonders why he's suddenly breathless, why his skin hungers.

"I think I'd like that," he says quietly, almost dreamily. Even just a conversation, as long as she'll continue to touch him. Maybe even hold him. Maybe more.

[notnaughtyjustfriendly]

Thelema smiles warmly as he leans into her touch, her eyes subtly lidded. She'd been intrigued to begin with, given the stories, and he seemed like a sweet, gentle soul right away--but that desire she can feel crackling within him, that's really too tempting to resist when she doesn't even really have any reason to. She's confident she can charm her way around any wariness brought on her by association, and might even help smooth things over for him.

"Perhaps I can help to make it not quite so hard for you..?"

Although she makes no clear sign of the innuendo being deliberate, her expression is definitely a couple notches less wide-eyed and innocent than it had been at first, and she gingerly offers her other hand to him.

"Hmm... if you are not comfortable here, is there another place you would prefer to have me? Intimate things should be handled somewhere you feel safe, yes?"

[sandinmyhair]

"I... I do know a place."

'Intimate' could mean just about anything, but when it comes down to it, any of it can be conducted in the place he's thinking of. He takes her hand gently and leads her down the street and... out of the village.
Not far away, over a bridge that spans a small river, a stand of rocks shelters a quiet spot of springy grass surrounded by flowers. It's quiet--sound dampened and, more importantly hidden, by the rocks.

"We can talk about anything, here," he says with a hesitant smile, his hand lingering on hers. "Or, ah... whatever else you might want to do?" he finishes only a little awkwardly. He's starting to twig to the the idea that more could very easily happen and a vague kind of anticipation steals over him. He's only just met her and yet something about her has sparked this desire in him.

"Though I should probably ask... what you might want to do...."

[notnaughtyjustfriendly]

"Ah, good."

Answering with her usual faintly playful innocence, Thelema lets him lead her by the hand, casually lacing her fingers with his as he guides her out of the village. She seems to be cheerfully admiring the scenery, giggling softly at the little bridge and flowers. She tilts her head curiously at his hesitant manner, answering it with a warm smile.

"Oh... why, is there something else you want to do, darling?"

Her hand remains in his, the other reaching to rest delicately on his chest, although it applies no pressure and she only eases closer with a lazy sway of her hips making her sundress swish.

"I want to help you to relax, and to feel appreciated, yes? Mm... how can I satisfy those desires, hmn?"

Whether she means the desire to relax and be appreciated, or some other as-yet-unspoken desires, she's perfectly happy to leave up to interpretation.

[sandinmyhair]

He could continue to prevaricate, hemming and hawing in his usual tentative fashion, or he could get to the point and address what's rapidly consuming him. His tongue flicks over his lips.

"I..." He swallows audibly. "It's not... I'm not exactly an innocent," he starts, hoping she takes his meaning. "But I, uh..." Words fail him and, instead, he pulls her nearer, into his arms. His embrace is gentle and he's trembling, but he's soft and warm and something about him--maybe the magic in his every cell, maybe just something that's uniquely Bruno--acts like a magnet that draws a person in. "Please don't think me too forward. I... I-I I've never been hit with desire this strongly, or-or this fast..."

Before he even realises what he's doing, his lips ghost along her neck, almost burning hot skin light and wet against it. "I need you... please..." he murmurs, voice going velvety. "As much as you're willing to give... I've been alone for so long...."

[notnaughtyjustfriendly]

"Hmm..?"

Thelema smiles patiently, tilting her head curiously at him as he hesitates, starts, stops--and then wraps his arms around her. She gasps softly as if startled, but puts up no resistance at all.

"Oh..!"

Her hands rest lightly on his shoulders and she giggles softly, seeming not to mind at all the way her breasts squeeze up against his chest, her sundress doing very little to conceal her curves in any way.

"Goodness... my poor sweet Bruno, you-.. ooh..."

She shivers a little as his lips brush against her neck, tilting her head aside to expose more of it and arching her back a little, making her breasts press and rub up against him a bit more. One hand reaches up from his shoulder to comb loosely into his hair, gently encouraging him to continue as his impulses clearly urge him.

"Mmm, my, you do... you do desire very much, yes? You are not alone now, darling. Mm, I would like to give you all that you wish for, if I can."