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seasonsgreetings2023-06-16 10:01 am
Test Drive Meme #3
Test Drive Meme #3
LOGS | NETWORK | OOC | MEMES | NAVIGATION
You arrive in an unknown space, dressed in white clothes (player choice what kind of clothes, as long as they cover everything). Whatever was happening to you before no longer happens. It's like everything was put on a pause and you were transferred away from the situation without you realizing it happened.
The space that you find yourself in is one of these four options:
An empty landscape filled with snow and ice, almost like a blank canvas.
A field with cherry blossom trees and spring flowers.
A sunny beach near an ocean that seems never ending.
A quiet forest with falling autumn leaves.
All of the spaces seem to continue endlessly. No matter where or how far you walk it almost seems like you're not moving at all. There are no animals here - just those who happened to wake up there at the same time, in the same place. Everyone is wearing the same kind of plain, white clothes.
Despite the possible rollercoaster of emotions you might be feeling, the place somehow feels familiar. Like somehow you belong there.
And it looks like you're not alone.
After half an hour has passed the surroundings change as everyone is teleported into a room with all the other new arrivals, no matter what space they woke up in. It's a large place with plenty of seats to sit in and beverages to enjoy. Medical attention is offered to those who need it and the doctors here are very prepared for any challenging situations.
Here, in this room, everyone gets an answer to where they are and why. A hologram of a man appears at the center of the room, waiting to be heard. He brings a message on behalf of the leaders of Ellipsa.
The Message [ Click to Expand ]
Hello, my name is Olwen. I'm one of the leaders of Ellipsa as it currently is. I'm also one of the four who summoned you here.
Our world is in trouble and we need your help. I apologize for tearing you away from your world and forcing you to come here but I hope you understand. The magic we used doesn't let us ask in advance, nor does it let us choose who we bring here.
This world is composed of four Seasonal Segments. All of them represent one of the seasons. They were the places we used to get our resources from, but now they're dangerous places no one should go into unless they have the power to fight back. All of them have their own sets of powerful monsters and natural catastrophes.
We used to have plenty of people here who could control the powers of the four Seasons. We called them Seasonal Power Holders. Unfortunately, due to a tragedy you can read about later, we lost almost all of them. Now only four of us remain and the world is in chaos. We have done our best to protect the world, but we need more power holders to do that.
That's where you come in.
All of you have been assigned to one of the seasons. Whatever space you were in just now is what season you represent. You will learn different skills based on the season and those skills are going to help you save this world.
These powers don't interfere with your own natural powers. They use a new energy that has formed inside of you. It's harmless to your health, but it's vital to your seasonal powers. Your own powers should still work, even if the dark energy outside the city might interfere with them.
Unfortunately bringing you here wasn't as simple as it sounds. We couldn't do anything about how to keep you anchored to this world other than making a simple spell that helps with it. That is, you need to touch someone else who is not from this world ideally at least once a day. It will help you stay in control of your powers and boost your magical energy. If you don't, the consequences aren't very good. But as long as you hold someone's hand or give someone a handshake, you should be fine.
That's all I have to say about the situation. The staff of the Research Center will give you more information about housing and other necessary things. I will, however, promise that you will be sent home once the situation becomes better. That's the least we can do.
In the Arrival's hall there are also several stands with information pamphlets.
First type of stand is for the local Guilds and about the benefits or joining one.
Second type of stands is for the Welcoming Committee that aim to show otherworlders what the world is like and help guide people in the beginning of the journey and helps in getting settled into the new world. They even have people to help if you're unfamiliar with the new phones.
Third type of the stands is for The In Touch Support Group that is led by the Otherwordly Ambassador, Kamisato Ayato. The pamphlets have contact information for businesses looking to help Otherworlders. They also focus more on the lore of the World and what they have discovered so far, as well as a guide on what to think about when preparing to venture out to the Segments.
Once you get your smartphone and necessary information, you're urged to go out and find your apartment. After that whatever you want to do is up to you.
The building next door is where everyone can find their new apartments. As you enter, you're told by a friendly native that for the first two months you can live anywhere rent-free and five meals a day are paid for you. After that they get a monthly payment that helps with some of their living expenses, but otherwise they have to have a job to support themselves.
All of the apartments are comfortable, two bedroom apartments with all necessary utilities. They are also completely soundproof. Sometimes the magic system, however, does glitch and you might find yourself rooming with a stranger. This is not the intention and the staff will immediately prepare you your own room if you ask them. But maybe having a roommate isn't all that bad?
The center of Nightwake never sleeps and there's always something happening, but today there's a lot of excitement in the air all around the center and every district! Locals and those who want to help them (for 100 Moon Coins or a gift card of their choosing), are walking to everyone to offer colorful fliers along with free vending machine tokens. There's also colorful advertisement on billboards and posters everywhere around the city advertising all sorts of things like items, clothes, drinks and more.
Local businesses, stores and restaurants are also going pretty crazy with their celebrations of anyone walking in being their 50th, 100th or whatever customer of the day and the prize among other things are gift cards and more free vending machine tokens but they aren't even for that same shop or restaurant? They also offer people to spin all kinds of different prize wheels, spin roulettes, buying a certain amount of things from them, and taking part in eating and drinking competitions for a surprise prize. Someone even put these surprise prizes into the Gacha Restaurant's randomizer, so for a week, you can choose it as a total surprise there too. (The surprises can be even more vending machine tokens and silly things like cute keychains or a 5-in-1 avocado tool as some examples.)
You can't find any of these shops, restaurants and other places, that they are advertising, in the whole city. The locals, posters and billboards will tell you where you can find them. There's a new entrance in every district, where locals welcome everyone to the grand opening of the Underground Mall!
Some may even drop into a sudden hole in the ground on their way and fall (or slide) somewhere far away. Don't worry, there will be very soft and huge pillows for landing in your destination.
The Underground Mall's upper floors give the vibe of a joyous mall with several restaurants and shops you won't see on the surface. The mall is definitely a must visit place for those who appreciate different fashion and exciting food choices. The party from the surface continues down here with various sales around the area. A good day for shopping!
For those who like games, there's a futuristic VR Arcade for you! This Arcade focuses on games that are played with VR goggles on. Even your regular DDR machine will now take you to dance in different environments and feel like you're dancing for your life or for an actual audience.
There are all sorts of vending machines lined up in their own, huge corner. You can find the usual ones with all sorts of different snacks, food and drinks, but there are also some with cake, cookies, mayonnaise, cream, flowers, engagement rings and other less usual but normal things. Nothing here is randomized, unless you choose the random option from the machine, otherwise you get exactly what you want. So pick your favorites or try something new, that sounds more or less good! You can find a machine that turns moon coins on your phone into vending machine tokens (or you can pay straight with your phone).
And, yes, you can find vending machines full of snacks and drinks all around the area too.
Then there's also an area for ufo catchers with all kinds of prizes like pokemon plushies and lots of other plushies, items themed to different season, plushies and other items themed to any fauna and flora from all around Ellipsa, puzzles, food themed items etc etc.
Moving inside the mall is done by escalators and elevators, but there are also regular stairs for those who prefer them.
The fastest way of traveling from floor to floor in the mall is by quick teleport nodes. You choose a floor you want to go to from the list of choices, much like an elevator and then you're transported into that floor's node within seconds. Unfortunately, they're still working out on the bugs in the system, so you may end up in the wrong place - including places that aren't on the list of choices.
There's also a Poké Ball Vending Machine, so anyone who recognizes poké balls may have some idea what they could get here. The vending machine somehow has enough balls for everyone in Ellipsa but everyone can only buy one ball! The balls don't have names in them and no one can see through them, so even those, who know Pokémon will NOT know what they'll be getting from this vending machine as it is entirely randomized!
Are you ready to get your first Pokémon? What about being ready to see how you two get along? Everyone, who plays this vending machine, gets either a Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Pikachu, Eevee, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup, Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Chespin, Fennekin, Froakie, Rowlet, Litten, Poplio, Grookey, Scorbunny, Sobble, Spirigatito, Fuecoco or Quaxly.
(And yes, ICly it is entirely randomized but OOCly you can decide which one you want your character to get... Of course you can rng the result too. More about Pokémon guidelines in the OOC Tips of this TDM.)
The third part of the TDM is under this details cut as it has Content Warnings, including Cursed things, Organized Crime, Illegal Activities, Monster Forms/Body Horror, Attempted Murder, Experimenting on People
The Third Part of the TDM [ Click to Expand ]
The lowest levels of the mall are only accessible by random quick teleport nodes around the mall (if you know you know is the motto with these). You can run into them on accident (they're usually hidden, but with so much traffic, the hiding place becomes visible) and they sometimes immediately just teleport people without any warning. The arrival can be in various places. A random shady hallway, in the middle of the floor, in a shady establishment and so on.
Anything that seems shady can be found from these floors. Even the local diners here are very weird and likely have illegal things on the menu. Clothing stores sell all kinds of clothes fit for thieves and assassins and the amount of weapons shops here is twice the amount than on the surface. Rumor has it there are also people trying to summon the devil somewhere around here, but that's still just a rumor.
One of the teleport node locations can take you to the front of a cursed vending machine corner. At first they look like ordinary vending machines, but upon closer inspection one may notice they are anything but ordinary.
The food vending machines are full of different "eatable" bugs with half-hearted warnings that they may or may not be poisonous (they didn't really check before putting them in the packaging), Mystery Food boxes (includes some very suspicious foods that don't look edible, but are actually alright in taste? But may contain some side effects like growing mushrooms out of your hair if you eat the mushroom ones), ones that is labeled Energy Drinks but all of them look more like creepy potions (they provide energy but at the cost of poisoning someone for 24 hours) and hyper realistic cakes that look like various body parts (the cake part is intentionally written in small print).
Other vending machines have various shark eggs (hatching them will provide a magical shark with little hands and legs that invades the first watery surface it finds and bites whoever comes too close - it does not belong as a pet, but one may try to tame one), Mystery Boxes (with anything from highly cursed jewelry to books that suck your soul if written into) and Cheat Slips (it's said these slips will let you master a skill immediately, but all it does is cause one's powers to go berserk for 2 hours).
The lowest levels are also a place for a large Casino. While they do exist on the surface, this one is a little different.
The Casino (named just that, "The Casino") is divided into four different sections; All of them are dominated by an organized crime group. This is the only area of the underground they work together in peace and sometimes come to relax. They don't cause trouble for each other here, but they definitely can try to cause trouble for everyone who is visiting the place.
Losing in this Casino can mean being taken to the back rooms by whichever group's area you ended up losing in. They will offer to let you go if you can pay off your debt you made in the Casino, but they have other options of compensation.
Name: Diamonds
Game Area: Card Games (Poker, Black Jack, Craps)
Compensation: They will send characters on a criminal quest to either steal or sabotage something or even smuggle a (cursed) item into important places.
Name: Spades
Game Area: Roulette
Compensation: They will attempt to kill the character that lost in the quietness of the backrooms.
Name: Clubs
Game Area: Pool, Darts
Compensation: They will just make characters clean their casino area.
Name: Hearts
Game Area: Slot Games
Compensation: They will drag characters into experiments in a different facility.
You may also end up taken to the back rooms for getting caught cheating, although it may also end up in a congratulatory meeting for an impressive sleight of hand instead or an invitation to join one of the groups. How would you feel about a life of crime?
Those caught in Hearts Group's Experiments will be subjected to series of tests. Mostly they're to check the characters' physical condition before proceeding. Once the tests are concluded, the character will be given a medicine (either via shot or a pill). This medicine will not show any signs of working for a while and characters are let go afterwards.
The same medicine can, however, later be consumed by anyone else in various foods and drinks (free samples, some restaurants, even some grocery store items), even in the higher levels of the Mall. The experiments were the final test before distributing the medicine secretly to the public. So your character may accidentally end up getting the medicine in other ways.
What are the medicine? Monster Form activators. They will awaken a monster form inside a character that will trigger under one of the (player) selected conditions: strong emotional reaction, full moon, near death situation or bleeding.
The form can be returned from by calming down and focusing on their sense of self, but there's a chance to go berserk, making this difficult. If characters go berserk, their powers will be a lot stronger, but they won't know who's a friend and who's a foe. Their form may also be a lot scarier than it normally is. They will likely only want to cause destruction around them or want to feed on humans.
| Monster | Description | Powers |
|---|---|---|
| Alraune | Plant monsters with a humanoid shape. They may have changes as simple as flowers growing in their hair or have complex body modifications such as roots for legs and long vines as hands. | Pollen with status effects like sleep/poison/paralysis, control over plants, poisonous kisses, etc |
| Gargoyle | Monstrous humanoid winged creatures with horns on their head and stony hides. | Super strength, tough skin, flight |
| Harpy | Human-bird hybrids. Anything part can be replaced with bird bodyparts, although the most common configuration is arms turned to wings and legs into talons. | Flight, sonic scream, hypnotizing voice, ability to whip up whirlwinds |
| Kelpie | Aquatic horses with a man made of seaweed and algae, covered in a sticky fur that makes it nearly impossible to get off if one is to ride them. Some may get a fish tail when underwater, although when out of water they have legs like any horse. | Water breathing, illusions |
| Lich | Undead humanoids, they may look skeletal or simply corpselike. | Raising the dead (into zombies/skeletons), necrotic touch |
| Manticore | Beastlike creatures with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion or dragon. They vary greatly, some sporting horns on their heads, or resembling a Chimera or Sphinx. | Super strength, flight if wings. |
| Minotaur | Animalistic monsters with the head of a bull and the body of a human, although some variations exist in which there are different animal heads. Some sport hooves and a tail in place of legs. | Super strength, overall size, super defense. |
| Taur | This refers to any number of creatures with a humanoid upper body and a lower body that resembles a non-anthropomorphic animal in the same sort of style as a centaur. This category includes things like Arachne and Naga, and other variations of such monsters. | Varies depending on animal the taur is based on |
| Werecreatures | Monstrous, bipedal animals, the transformation of which is often (but not always) triggered by the full moon. Common variants are wolves and bears, although they can be about any animal. The Pooka would be one of the variations in the werecreature category. | Depends on the animal the form is based on, but usually super strong/fast etc |
This effect can either be permanent or temporary, depending on how the players want it. Temporary can be up to just one transformation under the conditions or several.
- Ask your questions related to the TDM here.
- The TDM is available only to friends of the mods and their friends. If you want to play in the TDM, please leave a note here to inform us who invited you over. We will get to you as soon as possible.
- Test Drive is open for current characters to make a top level as well. New characters can add TDM (or "New" or anything else) on their subject line to indicate they're new!
- Current characters cannot access the starting area again to meet new arrivals. They can, however, be at the Research Center when the newbies are teleported in.
- The TDM is game canon so anything in the TDM can happen for your character(s) in the game as well.
- Remember to add Content Warnings wherever needed!
- Smut is not allowed on the TDM. You can play situations leading to it, but if the thread is turning into smut, please move it to a private space such a post in your character's journal, or a locked post in the game's log community if you decide to app!
- Pokémon Guidelines:
• Anything mindblowing crazy that the pokedex has to offer for any of the evolutions doesn't carry over to Seasons. They're closer to anime variants where people can get flamethrower at their face and live (we still do not recommend getting a flamethrower at face)
• Pokémon gain experience points much slower, even if they battle one another.
• You may be able to find a vending machine with weird stones mixed in for stone evolutions. Strange.
• All start at level 5.
• More Pokémon may appear later in the game but for now it's just the ones mentioned.
• More on all the available Pokémon here!
- Check Locations: City to find more areas to explore inside the city. Every place in the districts are open. The Underground Mall has been added to the locations page at the very end of it.
- Similarly, Locations: Segments is useful for outdoors adventures. You can find monsters to encounter on Beastiary.
- Minor NPCs page has been updated with the criminal organizations.
- FAQ has information on characters' smartphones as well as general things about the world that might be handy.
- Feel free to check and use out Questboard for additional prompts.
no subject
Incidentally, her question takes him back to that exact day, and he lets out an amused scoff in response. ]
Yeah, how could I forget? It was the closest call we've ever had! We really could've lost you that day...
[ Successful rescue aside, that day had been a personal victory to Shez in many ways: he proved himself over Shamir as the superior mercenary, recruited the enemy into his own merc unit and managed to clear up his standing... with Edelgard, at least. Hubert was an entirely different case. ]
Six months since then, and Hubert still doesn't really trust me. [ He doesn't sound upset, though; it's more a statement of fact. ] At this point, I don't think he ever will.
no subject
Her relationship with Shez hasn't been entirely straightforward. Her trust is measured out in increments -- what other choice does she have? -- but he's been a different story. His abilities are similar to those demonstrated by those who slither in the dark but his intentions never have been and she'd be willing to say she has rarely met someone so unapologetically themselves.
And he is a bloodhound when it comes to finding those with similar magic. What he says about Hubert makes her smile (that's her Hubert) but it's "six months" (six! months!) that pingpongs around her head. ]
From where I stand he trusts you quite a bit.
[ Reluctantly, yes, and not without reservation but trust without reservation is nearly impossible. In a way she thinks Hubert will always exercise a certain amount of distrust so she can feel less plagued by it. Over the past two years she has slowly grown more hopeful; living without the constant presence of Thales has given her a sense of freedom that she hasn't felt since...
Well. Since her visit to Faerghus, which was still limited freedom but she and Dee regularly ran off as they wished.
She wants to trust people when they have earned it. Hubert does not share that desire with any fervor. ]
If he trusted you any more you should worry that he is not who he says he is.
But has it truly been six months for you? You have much to catch me up on. I am only weeks away from the attempt myself.
no subject
Yeah, I know. Can you imagine him ever going like-- [ He straightens himself up and clears his throat, arms squarely resting at his sides; time for his best Hubert impression. ] 'I stand... defeated. We need you, my mercenary friend.' That'd be a sad way to go.
[ Thankfully, he trusts Hubert to... not trust anyone enough that those slithering fiends would never even get close to him. Odd how he's adjusted to that kind of Hubert-brand rationale, huh.
And speaking of rationale, Arval warns him of the dangers of sharing so much of their future -- something about a... butterfly? He's not sure he gets it, but Shez can at least silently agree to be careful with his privileged information, so to speak. ]
I can tell you if you really want me to, but wouldn't that be sort of like... changing the past? What if you try to correct course and an even greater mistake just takes its place instead?
no subject
No, I can't imagine. If he ever does, you must tell me immediately.
[ The undercurrent of laughter in her voice is quiet but there. It is a comfort to see him.
Even though what he says next surprises her. ]
I hardly think we call it trying to change the past when it is my present. [ Or... well, future. Unfortunately this place is her present. ] The fact that I am here at all means that I am not bound to the exact path you have taken here, don't you think?
no subject
Well... It is your present, but it's also my past. If something changes up too badly and I disappear right here, right before your eyes, don't say I didn't warn you!
[ It's a joke! ... probably. He's just a little meowmeow, you can't expect him to give deep thought to the inner workings of the fabric of reality and multiple diverging paths! ]
In any case-- [ Give him a second, he's gonna haul that sack of plushies over his shoulder again. ] That's probably going to be a long talk, so we should take this elsewhere-- and I should take these to my room. Wanna come along?
no subject
Is something she had not considered, to say the least. But he isn't serious.
Right? ]
You need not worry. I will not allow you to be eaten by unknown forces.
[ Fighting the Church is akin to pointing her axe at the Goddess herself. She will also fight the improbable forces of time and space if she must, and frankly she's starting to believe she must.
But in the meantime she'll just fight the urge to peek inside that sack. ]
I'm with you. Do you need a hand?
no subject
What, with this? [ A shrug of his shoulder to motion at his Santa bag. ] Nah, I'm good. It looks big, but the plush toys are pretty light.
[ Wait. Waaaaaait, he knows what this is really about! ]
Aaaaah, I get it. [ His smile is sly, just to complement the whole teasing attitude. ] You just want to check them out for yourself, huh?
no subject
Leave her meowcenary friend alone!Her eyebrows knit, heat blossoming in her cheeks all over again. Can they please stop talking about or existing suspiciously near adorable plush toys. ]
No, I am offering my assistance because that is what friends do.
...Is that all you have in there?
[ If so, why? A pressing question. ]
no subject
Alas, her meowcenary friend is likely dead in the Houses timelines, rip in pieces, Shez.]Oh, so it's all for my sake, huh?
[ Yeah, this is the look of someone who believes you, Edelgard. He does, of course, trust that she wants to help a friend, but he also knows her enough to be able to tell she has ulterior motives; sometimes it's about keeping him close so he could be held under tight scrutiny, sometimes it's about recruiting another asset into her plush force. ]
Yup, it's a whoooole lot of plush toys right here. [ He pats the sack slung over his shoulder as though the sight alone didn't capture Edelgard's attention as it was. ] And to tell you the truth, I have no idea what I'm gonna do with all them. A good friend might want to take one or two off my hands, lessen the load and all, y'know?
[ Fortunately, he knows the trick around Edelgard's squishy toy-induced self-consciousness: if he can make it look as though she is doing him a favor, she's a lot more likely to indulge. ]
no subject
I'd offer regardless of what the sack carries and despite how capable you seem of wrangling it.
[ There is no need to tease. A slow smile tugs at a corner of her mouth. ]
If you find that you have too many [ He definitely has too many. ] I will relieve you of one or two.
[ If she is trapped here for the foreseeable future it will be nice to have a few things in her bedroom that make it seem more personal and pleasant. ]
no subject
If it won't inconvenience Your Majesty too much-- [ Yes, the deliberate use of her title is extra teasing-- there's no true friendship without it! ] --then keeping one or two will be a big help. Honestly don't know what I'm gonna do with this many.
[ And as long as they have established she is "helping him" by indulging in her plush wants, he'll stop in his tracks and drop the sack down between the two of them again, loosening the string that keeps it (barely) closed. ]
Okay, there you go. [ Are they doing this right here in the middle of the underground mall? They sure are!! ] A friend has claimed a fair amount of these to himself, but there's still plenty you can choose from.
no subject
There is no need to mock me. [
[ He was just going to his quarters, wasn't he? ]
Why do you even have so many?
[ She didn't even know what a vending machine was before a few hours ago. The fact that there are basically vending machines dispensing stuffed animals is a weird but not necessarily unpleasant revelation... but just how much time and money did this sack of plushes take? ]
Are certain ones intended for this friend of yours?
no subject
If we're doing this for my sake-- [ they're not. ] --then yeah, we do. How else are we supposed to lighten the burden and all?
[ So he's just going to go ahead and dig through the sack to set aside the small multitude of plushies Byleth has claimed -- an entire dozen, plus that hideous fish -- so Edelgard can have her pick. Hopefully their taste in squishables isn't terribly alike... ]
Here, you can pick from any of these. [ He pats at the still generously stocked sack. ] As for why I have so many, I guess I just ended up being pretty good at the game and got a little carried away with it. Maybe something was telling me I should have a welcome package at the ready, hmm?
no subject
How quickly we have moved from this supposedly being my plan to it definitely being yours. Only you would ask me to parade through the city with stuffed animals.
[ She'll just ignore his little welcome package joke in favor of eyeing what remains in the sack. ]
Your friend must be a collector.
[ Or perhaps just a small child but she will say nothing else that potentially invites teasing!
Reaching into the bag she comes up with a connected pair of colorful little plush boars and in the process discovers that they have magnets in their snouts! Since they're attached with a thin rope making sure they stay a matched set it's difficult to hold one up without the other's snout eventually zeroing in on it.
It's criminally cute and, pink-cheeked, she decidedly doesn't glance at Shez as she tucks them under her arm.
Next she fishes out a bear with a sword and shield, just like the one that attracted her to the machine she so quickly abandoned once she was recognized. Being drawn here has felt... unfortunate, to say the least, but for tonight she can be temporarily placated by this turn of events. ]
I think these will do. [ Said as formally as possible by someone hugging a warrior bear to her chest. ] Thank you.
no subject
Besides. It's because she has so many burdens that he thinks she should be allowed to follow her whims on occasion. The woman is trying to revolutionize the entire continent, for crying out loud-- let her hug a plushie if she wants to! ]
No, thank you for relieving me from plush duty.
[ This is all for his sake, remember? And now that's over with, he can start picking up the earmarked toys and dropping them back inside the bag. They still have a long way to go! ]
And if you must know, my friend is more like a big weirdo with a love for all manner of cute things. It's actually someone you know, but I'm not sure you'd take my word for it...
no subject
I can't overwork you. It's important that you save your strength for the battlefield.
[ Now to ignore any and all looks she receives while walking around with her sword-and-shield bear in one arm and two little kissing boars in the other. ]
It's someone I know?
[ He did mention others from home here but who could it be? Who would surprise her most with an active interest in stuffed animals.
Seteth? Does Seteth seem like someone Shez might call "a big weirdo?" No. Balthus? He provides "big" but does he provide enough "weird?" ]
no subject
Well. At least this much is brand new information he knows for sure he can tell her without risking drastically altering the course of their history-- and it doubles as another harmless little indulgence, so: ]
Yeah, and I feel like you're gonna give me a weird look for it-- [ Because it is weird, both the revelation on its own and the fact that Shez has made friends with a former enemy -- one that he killed, no less, although this much hasn't come to pass from Edelgard's perspective. ] --but it's actually none other than the Ashen Demon. Crazy stuff, huh?
no subject
But the Ashen Demon was the only person he specifically mentioned earlier, now that she thinks back. This paints a wholly unexpected picture of developing friendship. ]
I would never have guessed.
[ She doesn't give him a weird look but that's definitely a curious sideways glance she's aiming at him. ]
The two of you have come to rely on each other in the last few weeks?
[ That's the more interesting part. ]