Body Heat

[justformemes]

THE BODY HEAT MEME

Post with your character! They're now stuck in a very cold place of your choice. It can be anything, such as a freezing chamber, a cavern or a small cabin in the midst of a blizzard. The choice is up to you.

Comment around! Now your character has some company in this bone-chilling environment. The two of them share two things in common: clothes completely unfitting for this weather (be they summer clothes or even lingerie) and a blanket.

A blanket? Yes, just one warm blanket and no other ways to escape the cold. The two of them will have to share it in order to stay alive in this weather. Don't worry, you're sure to find a common language in this terrible situation!

So, uh, have fun, I suppose. Try to not freeze to death!

Protip: friction and body heat are both excellent ways to fend off cold.

Comments

Alternate Milla Maxwell || Tales of Xillia 2

[retconciled]

[ooc; let me know if you want to be spoiler free!]

[akisazame]

[They were making good headway in their journey before the storm hit them out of nowhere. By the time they retreated to the cave it was too late--their clothes were soaked to the bone, and the chill of the cavern certainly didn't help matters. Guy peers out at the pouring rain with a sigh.]

What a nasty turn of luck...

[retconciled]

[She hates being cold. And wet. And this is so stupid. Why did she have to get lost in this place? Talk about a divergence; nothing here is the same at all! Well, at least everyone knows the Four Great Spirits.

But 'Maxwell' means nothing-

Milla sighs and shakes out her hair like a dog.]

Ugh, I thought you knew where we were going? I'm never getting home at this rate...

[Well. Back to her friends. She's never going home is true.]

[akisazame]

[He's accustomed to dealing with pushy nobles. Namely: Luke. Milla's attitude is something he handles with grace, with a tired familiarity that comes from dealing with countless situations like this one.]

We're still on the right way, don't worry. But it looks like we won't be able to go on in this weather.

[He sits down. The floor of the cave is cold and unwelcoming. He might as well have stayed standing up.] Sorry. All we can do is wait.

[retconciled]

[Waiting is not in Milla's vocabulary.]

What? Afraid your grip will slip on your sword in the rain? Get real.

[And the next second she's coming towards him, hands on her hips.] Come on! I need to find my friends!

[akisazame]

[Guy screams. Without thinking about it he scrambles back, pressing against the cave's walls.]

P-Please don't get any closer! We won't wait long, I promise! Just-- stay where you are!

[retconciled]

[She blinks, staying still.]

...Huh? What's wrong now? Don't tell me you're afraid of girls. What are you, five?

[Milla remembers something the village boys did at the girls and grins, holding up her hand.]

I'll give you a cootie shot, free of charge.

[akisazame]

[hell no

Since there's no more room to scoot back Guy's inching off to the side.]

Sorry, it's... I'm not... it's not personal, so please, leave me alone!

[retconciled]

[Milla throws up her hands and walks to the opposite side of the small cave. She sits with her arms crossed, glaring.]

Could you at least try to be a little tactful?

[Sulking aside, though, she does realise that is kind of... odd.]

...So what's wrong with me?

[akisazame]

[It's moments like these that makes Guy despise his phobia. Now that she's further away he can think clearly again and he offers her an apologetic smile.]

... it's not your fault. I had a bad experience as a child and it carried over. It's got nothing to do with you. Just me.

[retconciled]

Well you should explain that to women you meet in the future.

[Huffing that out, she hesitates before continuing.]

You could think of me as non-human. Would that help?

[akisazame]

I'm... not sure if that'll work. [He laughs, trying to smooth it over.] Sorry. But I promise it won't get in the way of getting you home.

[retconciled]

[Milla raises her hand.]

What if a monster knocks my sword away and I can't use my artes in time and your sword has been knocked away too. Then the only solution would be to pull me out of harms way!

[A pause.]

Or I could trip.

[akisazame]

[She makes a good point with that. It's a good thing that the party's bullied him enough for him to have experience for an answer.]

I can manage it in a life-or-death situation. If I need to protect you I'll do it with all my strength... even if I'm terrified.

[retconciled]

O-Oh... [She's not blushing. She's really not. Milla curls up a bit, just making herself comfortable in the cold.] Right, of course you should!

Well, lucky for you I happen to be one of the best with a sword and my artes are second to only the Great Spirits themselves. [Wait did they call them that here she can't remember. Uh.] You know, second only to Undine herself, something like that.

[akisazame]

That's right... you're a great fonist. I admit, I feel safer traveling around with someone like you. [He doesn't understand what the Great Spirits are--a lot of what she mentions are things he doesn't get--but isn't now a perfect time to ask about them? They have only time to kill, after all.

Wrapping his arm around himself in a futile attempt for warmth, Guy scoots just a bit closer.]

Where did you say you were from again?

[retconciled]

Nia Khera. Most people haven't heard of it, so don't worry if you haven't. It's a very small village in the mountains with little contact with the outside world.

[Should she really open up to this guy? But it doesn't matter. If this world survives or not, it doesn't effect her. All worlds are just the same thing: not hers.

Someone at least deserves to hear about it. Now she just has to make it sound like something possible for his world. Damn.]

We worship the, uh... [Fonons?? Would that sound stupid. Whatever.] ...the spirits of the fonons. Undine, Gnome, Sylph and Efreet. Maxwell, the Lord of Spirits, was the greatest fonist who ever lived. He controlled all the elements effortlessly, so we consider him a great spirit, just as the others, too, are great spirits.

[Though the more she talks, the more embarrassed she feels and she sinks down a little.]

W-Well, you know how those things go. It's all superstition. I'm supposedly descended from Maxwell. That's why I'm so powerful.

[akisazame]

[He listens attentively, nodding as she talks. It's an interesting religion that he hasn't come across before. Worshiping the spirits of the fonons--that wasn't unusual in itself. It was part of what the Order of Lorelei was centered around, in a way.]

Wow, that's fascinating. You're a rare find! Almost everyone's heard about Lorelei and the Score in this day and age... I didn't think it was possible for a group to cut off all contact like that.

[retconciled]

Lorelei...

[Milla frowns, rubbing her arms. Did Muzet ever mention a 'Lorelei'? Not that she can remember. Then maybe that's the divergence catalyst. The existence of some Great Spirit called Lorelei is the cause of this entire world's strangeness.]

Hey, who's Lorelei? What does he govern? And what's the Score...?

[She realises that must be super strange so she quickly adds.]

As a descendent of Maxwell, I was a little sheltered. [It's not a lie technically.] I'm not crazy so don't give me a weird look for all this!

[akisazame]

I'm not assuming anything. [Yeah, he is. But he won't say that aloud--he's learned from Jade to keep important plot details locked away.] But you really don't know? It's pretty common knowledge.

You know about the Seventh Fonon, right? Lorelei's the aggregate sentience, well, spirit of that fonon. The Score was a prophecy for mankind's prosperity, but things have changed a lot in the past year or so. It used to be that everyone tried to uphold the Score the best they could. It's not that way now.

[retconciled]

[She frowns. What kind of world is this? Some Great Spirit thinks they can toy around with the lives of humans?]

Humanity's destiny is their own. Why should you ever rely on anything or anyone? Having a blank future is a gift itself. I don't like this Lorelei. If I could speak to him, I would.

[akisazame]

You just missed him. [A joke? Not a joke? Guy's expression doesn't give anything away as he continues.]

For some people, knowing what will happen makes them feel safer. If they have an idea of where their future will be headed, they won't have to face the uncertainty and danger that comes with making decisions blindly. Not knowing or understanding is a good source of fear.

[retconciled]

[She wants to question that joke but the rest of what he says sinks in faster. Milla looks down.]

...When I was very young, my sister took a terrible blow for me. She couldn't see after that. Her personality changed, too. But I know... through a Score reading, I suppose, that if that hadn't happened... Muzet and I could have been happy sisters.

[Among many other things. After all, if she hadn't finished the job when she was six, she would have grown into the Milla everyone loves and relies on.]

But this is the life I have. Sure, it'd be nice, to just have something planned for me forever. I'm not saying it wouldn't. But I wouldn't exist if it had. I regret a lot of things. But at the same time, if I regret them, doesn't that make the sacrifices meaningless? I don't know. But because I don't know, I have to work harder to make a future where I can exist. Isn't that what you have to do now too?

[akisazame]

[Guy doesn't say anything, but that smile doesn't leave his face during the brief silence. He looks at her, really looks at her. At last, he lets out a sigh, straightening up.]

... I'm sorry to hear that.

I think that's a question we all have to ask ourselves, now that the Score's gone. Looking back on the past, wishing for an easy way out... that won't get any of us where we want. It's like you said. Now's the time for working hard.

[retconciled]

[She frowns, waving it off.]

I don't need pity or anything! I'm just saying... I've always had to live not knowing my place in the world or if I even have one. [Oh. No that got way too personal and she quickly laughs, awkward and too loud, shaking her head.]

Well, that's how I thought everyone lived! Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it. And if I ever do get to talk to Lorelei, I'll scold him, promise. Even Sylph calmed down when I scolded him-

[Oops.]

...You know what, just find me something warm.