𝔽𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝔸𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕤 ℝ𝕖𝕓𝕠𝕣𝕟

aevum-affiliated wanderer of genshin impact erudite rank; housed in eterna village 108 interpreted by 星 xing.

[windfavord]

* . ⟡ . * "eternity stretches things out over a long time, but each moment within it becomes all the more fragile." * . ⟡ . *

. * ~ ⟡ ~ * .

affiliated   WANDERER ("HARUKAZE")  from   GENSHIN IMPACT    private.   not indie-friendly.   written by 星 xing.

. * ~ ⟡ ~ * .

A puppet who once strove to become a god, now cast adrift upon the wild winds with few to remember who he once was.

A pure soul twisted by betrayal and misunderstanding alike, he once sought to bring ruin upon the world-- but on discovering that he had been deceived all along, abandoned these pursuits.

Once, he attempted to erase himself from existence-- but only succeeded in erasing the memory of him.

Now, he has reclaimed his old memories and shouldered the burden of past sins.

Aloof and distant on the surface, but he has a soft spot for those who have been abandoned and used by others-- those who he sees himself in.

Though he is far less hot-headed than he once was, he still holds his grudges-- against those who have harmed him in the past, and against himself, though he is slowly learning to let them go.

The road to redemption is long... but perhaps someday, he'll reach its end.

ASK | APP | STATS | RULES

[windfavord]

I'd like to get some new things going, so please like this post for a little starter from Harukaze ! No cap !

[hypnoticallycaucasian]

Badou sighs. He had the feeling it wasn't quite over, but he was hoping to pull the wool over his own eye, trick himself into thinking maybe it'd be okay. That's how you don't stay on your toes, however...

"Dammit. Can't imagine two egos like that working together....but who the hell knows. Was hoping it was over...."

[windfavord]

"Heh. It'd hardly be a smooth collaboration, but you can bet it'll still cause a lot of problems for the rest of us," Harukaze replied with a shake of his head, crossing his arms.

He'd broken out of the Conductor's grasp once, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to the chance for revenge... especially with the new memories swirling in the undercurrent of his mind.

His fingers curled into a fist.

"Don't get complacent," he muttered with a tsk of his tongue. "By now, you know this world isn't as peaceful as it might seem. With people like that, you can't let your guard down until they're dead."

[windfavord]

. ⟡ * random starter for @dancingxflames !

"Do you miss your homeworld?"

Harukaze paused, realized that it was probably a foolish question-- just about anyone would answer yes to that. So, he added, "If this world suddenly gave you a chance to return, would you?"

Something like that might be a little more complicated.

They were sitting out in the forest, atop a sturdy branch. The late spring weather was nice, breezy and cool from the storm that had passed through earlier, and Harukaze after much deliberation and contemplation had invited Tae to join him on a patrol in the Aether Reserve. They'd spent a while looking for any birds' nests that had been knocked down by the wind and setting them back, making sure there weren't any branches fallen over the paths... things like that.

Because that was what friends did, right?

He sighed softly, glancing up toward still-grey sky.

"Why don't you tell me about Concordia?" he asked. "There are some books in the archives, but it's not the same as hearing it from someone who lived there."

[hypnoticallycaucasian]

"You ever wonder about all these guys with names like that, here? The Conductor...the Collector. They got some kind of complex."

It isn't surprising, in a place like this. Apparently. The pattern would be apparent to a blind mouse.

"Don't tell me you've stopped checking under your bed at night?" Badou certainly hasn't.

[windfavord]

At that, Harukaze actually laughed. It was a little bit bitter, but still a genuine laugh despite that. "You've got that right," he muttered, and the corners of his lips were getting dangerously close to an actual smile.

He definitely knew "those guys with names like that." After all, he'd been one of them, once. "You know, I wonder if those two are working together," he mused. "It would hardly surprise me."

He stretched out his arms over his head and sighed, the almost-smile disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. "I know for a fact it's not over... bastards like that, they're much too fond of their 'experiments' to just sit down and accept failure. I'm sure we'll have to deal with them again sooner or later."

Probably sooner, if the track record was any indication.

[randrageon]

                 —  𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃  𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐃  𝐍𝐎  𝐒𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃  in  his  hand  ,  but  then  he  did  not  need  one  .  he  had  long  discovered  that  the  serrated  edge  of  his  prison's  bed-frame  more  than  sufficed  .  drawing  upon  all  that  lan  had  taught  him  ,  rand  flowed  from  form  to  form  .  the  rat  gnaws  the  grain  bled  into  the  water  flows  downhill  .  the  water  rising  flowed  into  the  courtier  taps  his  fan  ,  then  into  the  boar  rushes  down  the  mountain  into  moon  on  water  .  rand's  head  jerked  towards  the  man  who  aided  him  ,  but  there  was  no  time  to  question  him  .  theirs  was  time  too  little  time  to  spare  .            another  man  bolted  out  from  behind  the  cover  of  a  desk  .  rand  grit  his  teeth  and  continued  through  the  forms  .  men  cried  out  as  they  fell  ,  but  rand  deafened  his  ears  to  them  .  blood  smeared  across  pale  linoleum  tiles  .  it  splattered  across  the  jumpsuit  they'd  stuffed  him  in  ,  like  a  turkey  to  truss  and  pass  around  on  a  platter  .  rand  bolted  between  one  broad  shouldered  man  as  he  tried  to  beat  his  newfound  ally  across  the  back  of  his  head  .  he  speared  him  through  ,  and  then  turned  his  wild  gaze  across  the  room  for  anyone  else  who  dared  .  i  am  the  hunter  now.  AND  SO  RAND  HUNTED  DOWN  EACH  AND  EVERY  ONE  OF  THEM  .

          when  it  was  done  ,  rand  wiped  the  blood  from  his  makeshift  blade  and  ,  by  habit  ,  nearly  went  through  the  motions  of  sheathing  it  .  he  caught  himself  just  before  then  ,  and  in  the  sudden  STILL  AND  QUIET  ,  surrounded  by  death  on  all  sides  ,  rand  looked  down  at  the  other  man  .  the  one  who  had  barreled  in  and  aided  him  .

        ❝  good  work  .  ❞ 

[windfavord]

Once, the sight of floors painted with blood, piled high with bodies, might have horrified him-- but that was already ancient history. Now, he was more than familiar with this sort of thing, and though the feeling of blood on his hands was a little unpleasant and sticky...

These people, at least, more or less deserved it.

And if they didn't, then they shouldn't have associated with those who did.

The battle wrapped up surprisingly quickly. The researchers had been caught off-guard-- though as word spread throughout the facility, they would probably be more and more prepared.

Fortunately, this guy... the guy who looked only a little crazed, Harukaze thought... seemed to be a decent fighter.

"Let me guess... they snatched you up out of nowhere and brought you here too?" he muttered as he wiped blood from his chair leg. Then, he walked over to one of the open computer screens, clicking through the files, gaze flicking from side to side as he took in the information. Then, back to his newfound companion. "I usually work alone, but maybe in this kind of situation, it wouldn't hurt to have allies. You want to tear this whole thing apart? Then you're welcome to come along."

[hypnoticallycaucasian]

'They'-- most of the time Badou doesn't mind the word of mouth about his business-- you need business, you need advertising. Sometimes, though, it just brings him caution.

"That incident? He's been quiet, if he's still alive," he says after a moment.

[windfavord]

No... he definitely was still alive. After all, he hadn't been present the moment Harukaze's disparate 'selves' had recombined, almost as though he had anticipated the puppet's escape from his grasp. Besides that...

"That bastard wasn't even the slightest bit concerned," he shook his head. "Trust me, he's still out there. People like that... have an annoying tendency to stay alive."

Still, it had been almost a year now since he was kidnapped, and everything had been quiet. Harukaze knew better than to let down his guard again.

[hypnoticallycaucasian]

Ah, and not human. An observer, a little like Badou.

"What, like a storm's coming?"

The info broker scoffs, but he doesn't deny his companion could be right. "Usually the way out here, not gonna lie."

[windfavord]

"Hm," he crossed his arms, gaze flicking back and forth. It really was quiet today. Even the usual thugs didn't seem to be especially active, just a few lurking around the shadows here and there.

Then again...

"They say you trade in information." Harukaze tilted his head slightly. "What do you know about that person called 'The Conductor?" he asked.

It had been almost a year since that time... since he'd escaped that man's clutches. Since then, things had been quiet enough... but he wasn't naive enough to think it was over for good. After all, if the first round was punishment for accidentally killing some gangsters, then surely blowing a hole in a facility would be trouble too...

[windsofcourage]

LINK SLOWED TO A STOP . soon enough , the flicker of surprise that had overtaken him dwindled . one look confirmed that this man was not the one link was looking for . ❝ i'll be able to find my way , ❞ he confirmed , ❝ but i thank you for the concern , friend . ❞

THE GUY WAS RIGHT , THOUGH . it was going to get dark soon . sunlight seeped through branches and evergreen needles , painting the trucks a bleeding orange . normally link would find it beautiful . normally , though , he wasn't hiking in vain pursuit of lost folk , and so painfully aware of the night's fell chill .

LINK SLIPPED THE SHIEKAH SLATE from his belt and drew up his quick log of his assignment . one man and one woman had entered these very woods . their friends had mentioned their trip had been an intended few hours . they had not been seen overnight . he showed the screen to his fellow traveler .

❝ i'm looking for two individuals . lost hikers that i'm worried might have gone too far off trail , or gotten hurt . have you seen anything ? ❞

[windfavord]

Missing persons... it seemed like way too many people went missing in these woods. It wasn't all that surprising-- humans had a tendency to bite off more than they could chew, to lose track of time, to downplay the dangers that lay ahead until the trouble had already caught up to them...

Harukaze sighed lightly and shook his head. "I've seen some people. I've even sent a few back toward the path," he said. "It seems like with the first hint of spring, everyone wants to go on a hike, but no one remembers that it still gets far too cold at night."

It was troubling, though. It would be one thing if it were a pair of Echoes that had wandered off like that. They'd either have a miserable time, or they'd just end up back at the tower, after all-- probably also quite miserable. Some of them took that sort of thing harder than others. The Aercon, though...

He glanced up through the gaps in the boughs above, criss-crossing against the sky's fading light.

They'd already spent a night out here, and the cold wasn't the only danger. More than likely, they were already dead, but... who knows, maybe they were sturdier than he thought.

"Why don't I help you look for them?" he sighed. "I can get an aerial view, after all."

[hypnoticallycaucasian]

"Could ask you the same thing. People in this part of town usually know trouble could be right around the corner."

Badou tries not to look for trouble, but it just finds him!!! He hopes this won't turn into trouble, but he could appreciate a good conversation.

"But I'm not looking for any, no. Not today."

[windfavord]

He propped his chin on his hands, scoffing lightly. "Heh. It's not like I'm not used to it," he said. "Maybe I just like seeing what kind of messes humans get themselves into."

Gazing out across the neon streets, he sighed, then hopped down from his vantage point. Now that he'd been spotted, it wasn't much use staying there. He could find a better spot later.

"It's all too quiet right now," he muttered, and shook his head. "You'd better be careful. I bet that's due to change any time."

Whether he was talking about the streets, or the isles themselves, he didn't specify. Maybe it was both.

[cagedfreedom]

"Getting yourself in some deep trouble as always, huh?" It's nice to see a familiar face, though it would have been so much better if they hadn't met in a place like this.

"Nah, you keep that," is said with a teasing look. You needed whatever you could get to use as a weapon. "Let's fuck some shit up."

[windfavord]

"You really think you can take on one of those machines with your bare hands? Suit yourself," Harukaze raised an eyebrow, then shrugged, tossing aside the chair leg in favor of the blade he'd stolen from the machine he'd pounded into rubble. He preferred a sword to a bludgeoning tool anyway. "Maybe if I have to come to your rescue, I can repay you for when you helped 'me' back then."

He still felt strange, after his ordeal at the Conductor's hands. He was settling, slowly, but it was still strange.

Harukaze glanced down the corridor. "I want to find out who's responsible for all this," he said, his voice laced with a sharp, profound bitterness. "It feels too... gratingly familiar. I've been searching for someone with access to the Palpus Wing, but no luck so far. The highest card I've managed to find is specialist."

He held up the access card he'd been using now. It was rather conspicuously stained with blood, the same as Harukaze himself.

"Luckily... we can still get into a lot of places with this."

[hypnoticallycaucasian]

Badou keeps smiling, a sincere sort of curve to his crooked mouth. He's joking, he is! Teasing, even.

"You think so? I've seen a few at night, maybe that's in the big city...what about stray cats?"

They might be stray cats out here looking for scraps, looking for a warm place to go. But that might be too deep.

[windfavord]

A sigh. A moment's pause, as if debating internally whether he should bother to reply. Then, he shook his head.

"Heh. More likely, maybe," he muttered.

Things had been resolved, they were... peaceful, at least for now. But that 'for now' held a lot of weight... and peaceful times had always been some of the hardest.

"So... what are you doing in this part of town this late anyway? Looking for trouble?"

The people hanging out under the indistinct neon glow tend to be a little rough, and the guy doesn't seem like much of a fighter, despite the eyepatch and cigarette. More like the type to run away from danger, screaming his head off.

Or maybe that's just what Harukaze has heard about him.

[cagedfreedom]

There's nothing more that Uriah hates than being contained and caged like some animal. However, he doesn't lose his cool. It doesn't take long for the man to start getting to work. A lot of the things here are electric, and that meant he'd have some way of escape. The camera. He can do something about that.

-----

Removing the camera and using that to disrupt the electricity is easy, and it's what allows him to escape (albeit not without its own challenges)

The electrical current courses through him, affecting the metallic plate drilled at the back of his neck. He's out on the other side, though.

"Shit..." he exhales a shaky breath and proceeds to move before he's caught again!

[windfavord]

“So, you're here too, Snowy? Ha... why am I not surprised?"

Wearing the same plain white jumpsuit and lacking his typical wide-brimmed hat, Harukaze's rather delicate appearance was even more apparent than usual-- to the point of looking just a bit pathetic. Though the blood and machine oil staining that white fabric told quite a different story... some of it was the dark burgundy of his own, though far more was still-bright red, emanating a faintly metallic scent. The bloodied chair leg he'd used at the beginning had long since been swapped for a blade that had been attached to a now-dismantled machine.

His expression was mostly annoyance, but there was still a slight touch of delight there.

The chair leg, which he'd kept on him just in case, was offered to Uriah.

"Want to help me tear this place to the ground?"

[windfavord]

@randrageon - instar labs s.c.

Just because Harukaze did not wear his rage so openly as his former self, did not mean that he was without it. Indeed, though it had faded away to something simmering within the back of his mind, all that was needed was just the right combination of stimuli to unleash it again.

And perhaps it also had something to do with the fact that he still didn't get the chance to end the Doctor's life with his own hands, and that he had only just barely escaped from the grip of the Conductor, that made his fingers itch for the warmth of blood flowing over them.

Kidnapping sentient beings, locking them up without explanation, subjecting them to all kinds of unknown experiments...

Harukaze wasn't a good person, and he didn't care all that much about being one-- but in this situation, at least, he knew that the people weren't deserving of mercy.

So after he escaped, he killed one of them. Quick and messy, a snap to the neck, and as the light faded from the man's eyes, he snatched up his access card. Only Associate rank... it wasn't much, but it would let him leave the cell block, at least.

Of course, he wanted to destroy this place-- but there were still others trapped in cells, and he ought to let them out. But he had no intention on babysitting them, so... it would be better to clear out this wing a little so that they could fend for themselves.

Harukaze opened up his cell again and took off a leg from the chair to use as a weapon, then left the cell block. He'd be back later.

Without an ounce of remorse he cut down another scientist coming down for some sort of test or monitoring-- which it was, he didn't really care. Before he opened up the laboratory door, though, he paused. There was already a scent of blood on the air...

Gripping his chair leg, he scanned open the door, revealing a trail of blood and bodies, some dead, some unconscious, alarms blaring above. So... he wasn't the first with this idea. He broke into a run, and when he caught sight of another jumpsuited escapee fighting off a group of researchers... well, he didn't usually work well with others, but if they shared a common goal, why not?

"I'll watch your back," he called out.

Then sent the jagged end of the chair leg straight through a white-coated researcher's head.

[hypnoticallycaucasian]

If he wasn't already looking up at the sky, just for the hell of it, he probably would have missed him, aside from his feet dangling down.

It's a strange sight, but he's seen stranger.

"Nah, I was trying to figure out if there was a pigeon up there about to shit on my head," Badou laughs, shaking his head a little.

[windfavord]

His brow furrowed, expression turning a little bit sour. He couldn't quite tell whether the guy was trying to insult him or not... and he wasn't sure exactly how to respond either, so he just propped his elbows on his knees and rested his chin in his hands.

"Tch..." he muttered. "You know, pigeons are only out in the daylight. They're not going to be on the rooftop at this hour. You'd be better off watching out for bats-- after all, they carry all kinds of diseases, and their teeth are so small that you might not even know you've been bitten."

His expression remained completely serious the whole time, even though he was half-teasing.

[windfavord]

. ⟡ * ESCAPE FROM INSTAR LABS - escape starter call.

Harukaze has been kidnapped! Fortunately, he managed to escape by using the Eye Light. Even though he's a little ragged and worse-for-wear after crossing the barrier, that won't deter him from his self-imposed mission: find the heart of this facility, and the person who brought him here, and demand answers-- then, destroy the whole thing.

Like this post for a starter somewhere in the laboratory, post-escape! If you have a preference, please put in the replies if you'd like him to free your muse, or find them already free. Capping this at 2 for now.

[windfavord]

. ⟡ * ESCAPE FROM INSTAR LABS - escape starter call.

Harukaze has been kidnapped! Fortunately, he managed to escape by using the Eye Light. Even though he's a little ragged and worse-for-wear after crossing the barrier, that won't deter him from his self-imposed mission: find the heart of this facility, and the person who brought him here, and demand answers-- then, destroy the whole thing.

Like this post for a starter somewhere in the laboratory, post-escape! If you have a preference, please put in the replies if you'd like him to free your muse, or find them already free. Capping this at 2 for now.