darkness falls across the land

[deadtective]

WHO: Hazel & SUPER OPEN
WHERE: Heropa and Maurtia Falls
WHEN: All through the first week of October.
WHAT: New arrival! Acclimating to her unfamiliar surroundings and generally being a pain in the ass.
WARNINGS: Menacing a thief with a sword? I'll edit in if any actual warnings pop up later.

heropa;

[this is not the first time that Hazel's woken up in an unfamiliar location with strange people looming over her, but she has to admit that this is probably the most pleasant of those experiences. her clothes had still been on and the demand of eternal servitude to a dubious cause had been phrased as a polite suggestion, thus making it easy to completely ignore as soon as she was dropped off from the military base.

the nanites were a problem, though. she'd have to see about getting a siphon and a sharp knife once she found somewhere relatively safe and secluded to see if she couldn't do something about that.

the answer to that particular question should've been as obvious as the rest of the data written neatly in her little file, but she was far too paranoid to simply accept that as fact. the last time she'd taken something at face value she'd ended up knee-deep in a swamp looking for a newly turned werewolf. it was far better to do a little investigative work before committing, especially where free things were involved.

and so this is how anyone passing through the government housing area in Heropa might find her with her face pressed up against the windows of various homes. her assignment had designated her new residence as number four, but she wanted to see what the state of the neighbors were as well. a couple nice roommates didn't mean much if the people next door were cult murdering psychos. again.

if she isn't wading through someone's well kept rosebushes in order to spy on the state of their kitchen, you might catch her going through people's garbage cans and mailboxes instead. Hazel appears to show absolutely no shame in any of these actions, meeting anyone who dares glance over at her with a level stare. the suit she's wearing does give her an air of authority...]

maurtia falls;

[it didn't take long to find out from local chatter which of the Porter cities had the seediest reputation, and even less time for Hazel to gravitate right there. what could she say? garbage attracted garbage.

it also attracted trouble. she'd only meant to walk around the city for a while, get a feel for the ugliest dives and maybe ascertain where the easiest spots would be for her to pick up contacts down the line. simple stuff. it was almost akin to sightseeing, low key and discreet and maybe with a nice little trinket purchase at the end as a reward for getting through the whole thing.

unfortunately, fate never really worked out that way.

anyone minding their own business while walking down the street will easily be able to hear the sound of a teenager in great distress wafting from one of the nearby alleyways. if they're justice-inclined or simply curious a quick peek while give them an eyeful of Hazel sitting sedately on the back of said teen, twisting his arm painfully around while she shouts in his ear.]

No, go on, I really wanna know. Where's this firecracker supposed to go if not up your ass?

[between the frightened-looking cat cowering several feet away and the aforementioned pyrotechnic in Hazel's other hand, it's pretty easy to figure out what kicked off this confrontation.]

heropa...again;

[this was a completely new world full of danger and uncertainty, but some things simply never changed. what you did during the month of October was one of them.

Hazel was never one to ignore an obvious sign from the heavens - clearly she'd been given a break from her miserable usual existence in order to finally use her hideous state of being for good and make this the most intense Halloween experience anybody walking by her house had ever lived through. to this end she was browsing through one of the local seasonal stores, packed to the gills with all manner of macabre offerings. her expression is almost comically serious for such a task; it was as if she were shopping for a state luncheon rather than a silly holiday.

nowhere is this more evident than when she realizes that some young boy has got his hands on the last of a particular item that she desperately needs to complete the freshly budding vision she has in mind for her yard. a normal person might simply give up and ask for another to be ordered at the counter, but a normal person also has absolutely nothing to do with the mobile natural disaster that is Hazel Lockwood.

and so she moves over to the boy instead, leaning down to look at him with a genuinely concerned expression on her face.]

Oh my god, did you just pick that up? You know why it's still here, right? It's super cursed.

[the child is young enough to believe such a tale, especially from a source as earnest as this one, and fearfully asks what sort of curse is placed upon it.]

The evil eye's gonna follow you around now until you go crazy. The only way to get rid of it is to carry around a charmed eye of your own. Hang on a sec -

[and without further ado she digs her fingers right into her own eye socket, pulling her eyeball out with a disturbingly organic noise. Hazel holds it out to the horrified child, all smiles.]

Here. That oughta keep you safe.

[his screams as he practically flies away from Hazel and the aisle they're occupying can be heard from nearly every corner of the store.

the culprit, meanwhile, simply chuckles to herself as she pops her eye back into place and leans down to pick up the abandoned decoration. she was supposed to be keeping a low profile...but really, that was completely worth it. all she had to do was not think about the way her vision hadn't wavered at all even with the impairment.]

closed to Josuke because I have faith;

[this was kind of the most boring job in the world, but in a strange way that ended up working for Hazel. she wasn't able to sleep anyway, meaning her nights were basically the same level of boredom whether she was here or at home. this way she was actually being paid to be inattentive and unwelcoming.

even better, this shift was practically as dead as she was. in the few days she'd been here she could still count on one hand the number of times someone had actually come into the convenience store section for any reason. it was quiet in a peaceful sort of way, and she was making impressive progress on all her reading.

tonight, however, could loosely be described as 'hopping'. two whole people were browsing around at the same time for whatever a human being could possibly need at this hour. she's not really paying much attention - at least not until one of them approaches the register and pulls a gun on her.

Hazel can't see what aisle the other guy's wandered off to, but it doesn't really matter. he doesn't seem to be involved and even with the products partially muffling things the gift of their conversation still carried through the entire store. from the sound of things, it seemed that she was less than impressed by this turn of events.

things are tense enough as it is - until suddenly the robber begins shouting in alarm. if the only uninvolved party decides to choose now to rush to the front of the store, he'll find himself just in time to catch sight of Hazel leaping over the counter with a very wicked-looking sword in her hand, making to pursue the hastily retreating miscreant.

uh, ok.]

Comments

heropa;

[taraincognita]

[ the thing about having a super-annoying arch-nemesis is that when she suddenly disappears, one is left more than a little confused. and feeling just a little bit abandoned, because tara has hella abandonment issues, and jesus fuck why does everyone have to leave?

even if she supposedly left first.

but whatever.

in any case, tara is actually being a productive member of society when hazel peers through the window like a fucking creeper. she's focusing on some homework, puzzling over a few ridiculous math problems, when she happens to look up. and. holy fuck. ]

You. Fuckin'--Hazel!!

[deadtective]

[maybe if you'd been a better arch-nemesis then she wouldn't have gotten bored and taken so long to come back, Tara. ever think of that? no. you only think about yourself.

meanwhile, Hazel's not too pressed about being caught by someone. she doesn't really care that what she's doing is super creepy and has every confidence in the world that she can lie or annoy her way out of any situation that may come her way. what does startle her to a terrifying degree is when said person calls out her name.

in any world, but especially a strange one, the only people who'd know her name were other necromancers familiar with Edith. that was beyond bad.

so Hazel does what any rational person would - she punches the window, sending a shower of glass raining down on the other girl as a distraction while she ducks out of frame. flawless.]

[taraincognita]

[ that. wasn't exactly rational. at least, to most people. tara is right up there with you.

but regardless, she launches herself through the window, immediately giving chase. it would occur to her that their situations are kinda reversed, this time, but tara actually isn't the brightest. surprising, right?

she definitely cuts her (bare) feet a little, with a stunt like that, but tara doesn't seem to care. if she's able to catch up in time, she is going to take a running leap towards hazel--and do her best to tackle her. these confrontations really only go one way, huh. ]

[deadtective]

[Hazel is pretty fast, especially when she's motivated the way she is right now, but unfortunately for her Tara is equally motivated. she really was counting on a little more extra time from the glass stunt, but that was silly. since when did anything go right for her?

thankfully she at least gets an opportunity to make things right when the other girl collides with her. she goes down hard, but not only does she fail to feel any of that, it's close enough to the street for her to use her lingering momentum to roll right out into the middle of it. it really does always seem to involve pain and rapidly moving vehicles.]

these encounters really only go one way

[taraincognita]

[ she yelps when they move into the street, glaring at hazel and pulling away slightly. ]

Jesus Christ, you come to my fuckin' prison cell to taunt me and then just disappear. Did you get Ported out?

[she does her best to tug hazel toward the sidewalk, but it may or may not work. ]

....Do you know who the fuck I am?

heropa 1

[jojoceanman]

[ it's morning and while most people are getting up, jotaro is ending his day. he's had his coffee, did some field work, and is ready to hit the bed in the next couple hours. so color him irritated when he's walking back to his house and finds someone digging in the garbage can just outside his home. sadly hazel won't find anything really fascinating in there. some empty bulk bags of fish food, empty plastic tv dinner trays, shredded documents that needed to be disposed of sensitively.

he's not going to bother calling out the weirdo going through his can, their back turned to him in the moment. what he will do is grab them by the back of their collar and hoist them up and out of the can, giving them a small dangle so their feet are off the ground. ]

[deadtective]

[given how inexplicably light said weirdo is, it's entirely possible she hoists a little further than he intended. either way Hazel is startled by both this and the sudden shadow which had completely blocked out the sun immediately before, and she lets out a sharp yelp before beginning to try and squirm out of her suit jacket.

her tone, however, remains fairly level, if irritated. this is clearly not the first time she's been busted for something like this.]

Once it's in the trash it's free to take.

[jojoceanman]

[ he is also startled by how light this person is. like, absurdly so for an average person. but since he is only grabbing the suit jacket, squirming out wouldn't be difficult. it's when he hears her voice that he does a double-take because...

he rotates his wrist so that he can turn the body over while still keeping the gripping, now able to actually see the face of the trash digger. this was... unexpected to say the least. ]

You should have worked faster. [ he clips back. ] I assure you, there are people here with far more interesting trash.

[deadtective]

[to add to the bizarre situation that Jotaro's walked himself right into, there is absolutely no hint of recognition, concealed or otherwise, on Hazel's face when he flips her around. the only thought that really floats through her mind is that it should be illegal to create people this large.]

I've got an entire block to get through, sue me. I'm not gonna know who's worth avoiding right off the bat.

[it's impressive that she can keep up such a straight face as said face slowly begins disappearing into her jacket as her squirming pays off and gravity gradually begins taking hold. it's a bit like watching someone disappear into a pit of quicksand.]

heropa

[h2no]

[unfortunately for hazel, archie lives nearby. heropa 1. not for much longer, but he's still in the process of renovating the new place and slowly moving. he's out in the front garden when he sees hazle stalk past and ruin the neighbour's rose bushes.

there's no denying that face.]

Oh my god-- Hazel! Hey, shithead, you lose your key?!

[deadtective]

[once again, there is really no reason for people to know her name. especially people who look like they wander around street corners demanding people take them to the white whale. since there's no easy way to escape as there had been with the Tara Situation, she goes for her second best option: lying her ass off.]

Fuck off, of course I've got a key.

[and to prove it, she digs the key they'd provided her upon porting in out of her pocket and waggles it around for a few moments before putting it back. eat shit, now leave her alone so she can ruin more gardens.]

[h2no]

[she's not getting off that easy. archie just grins, genuinely happy.]

Well! It's nice ta see you again, lass. How long've you been here this time?

[deadtective]

[this is just even more suspicious, honestly. no one should be happy to see her unless they're going to try and throw her into the Outer Plane again.]

Like, an entire month. Did you really not notice?

[it seems mean to use the time she's been resurrected as a basis for this lie, but you know what they say. work with that you know.]

gotta have faith, faith, faith

[unbreaker]

[Things that a teenage human being from the 90s might need in the middle of the night: gossip magazines, music magazines, maybe a newspaper because suddenly it isn't 1999 anymore, snacks, soda, and ten more seconds to finish checking his reflection in one of the fridge doors at the back of the store...

In his preoccupation with resetting his pompadour and halfway singing along to a certain George Michael song (streamed through a cheap set of headphones he'd purchased earlier that morning from the local dollar store, an extremely good use of the yen the bank had been able to change over to American dollars), Josuke hadn't noticed the commotion taking place at the register. In fact, it wasn't until someone began shouting and he could no longer hear the lyrics to the song that he decided to investigate what was happening like any good honorary detective. Tucking his comb away and yanking his headphones off his ears, he stood to his full height and peered over top of the short aisles of junk food in the direction of the storefront.]

Oi, mouthpiece! The lady doesn't want...

[That was as far as he got before the petite girl working the register hurled herself over the counter with a sword in hand and went tearing after her aggressor like some kind of tarantula hawk.

What the hell did he even just witness?]

somebody's gotta right now

[deadtective]

[there's a sound right before Hazel exits the door, screeching like a banshee with the sword held high over her head. it's a bit difficult to make out at first, but upon reflection it can only be discerned as a single sentence:]

If you touch the register while I'm gone then you're fucking next!

[as the automatic doors begin sliding shut, the wailing of the former robber slowly begin to fade. it almost sounds as if he's on the verge of tears - which is understandable, given how quickly his adversary is catching up to him.]

a true hero

[unbreaker]

[An auto-translate feature provided by nanites wasn't required to understand whatever demonic language Hazel was speaking. The meaning was made loud and clear in the tone of her voice alone. Josuke stayed well away from the register with his pending purchases.

But not well away from the large window panel nearest the automatic doors.

It wasn't very sightly, but the way in which he pressed his cheek up against the glass to get a better view of the tiny girl chasing down her quarry could only be likened to a spectator at a wrestling match trying to get his dollar's worth.

This was real life, right? He wasn't on a game show?]

that's me

[deadtective]

[this was no game show, although if you didn't know any better you really might think you'd just wandered into a live promotion for a professional wrestling league.

the robber very nearly escapes his fate, but just as they're beginning to hit the property line of the gas station Hazel gives him a furious shoulder tackle that sends him sprawling on the ground. he tries desperately to kick, roll, or do anything to get her off his back, but is only met with a sharp crack across the head with the flat side of the sword.

she takes advantage of his momentarily stunned state to get up and grab his legs, dragging him off into the nearby bushes and (unfortunately for the bystander) out of Josuke's sight. the sound effects could still be heard, at the very least - the robber's wails reach a fever pitch as he begs for mercy, then suddenly leap into gut-wrenching agony. he falls seemingly silent several seconds later, but a determined ear might be able to pick up the low echoes of his despondent sobs.

a few moments later Hazel returns through the automatic doors...without her sword. she pauses when she notices that her other customer hasn't left yet, giving him a hand gesture that implies 'wait'.]

Just gimme a sec, ok?

[and just like that she's duck back behind the counter as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, reaching for the ancient phone back there and quickly dialing a number. she cradles the device with her shoulder as someone finally picks up, voice calm and assured.]

Hey, I'd like to report an injured person by [PLACE IN HEROPA IDFK]. I dunno what drugs he's on but he's in pretty bad shape.

[as she gives the remaining cursory details the 911 operator required, Hazel makes eye contact with Josuke and waves him over. she'd be done in a second, he could dump his shit on the counter now.]

Heropa

[drivesadesk]

When Jonathan spots a woman peering in the window of one of his neighbor's homes, he pauses, suspicious. Especially since it was import housing, and he knew there was at least one group that didn't have the best of intentions when it came to imports.

So he decided to investigate in the most direct way possible.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

[deadtective]

Hazel turns at the question that could only be directed at her, no sign of chagrin or guilty on her face at being caught in the act. If anything, she seems mildly irritated at having been interrupted for such a trivial matter.

"The hell does it looks like I'm doing?"

[drivesadesk]

"You look like you're peering into people's windows like a creeper," he said, crossing his arms and waiting for an explanation.

[deadtective]

"Well, there you go then."

And that's it. Hazel not only offers up no further explanation for the actions, she shrugs blandly and turns back to squinting through the window as if that should completely suffice on its own. Here she'd thought this might be a difficult conversation and it was already over.

HELLO DARKNESS MY OLD FRIEND aka maurtia falls

[ghoulking]

[ Kaneki always minds his own business, but specially in maurtia falls that is always a bit difficult. Something always happens, someone is always in some sort of trouble and there are always some commotion going on. Case in point: right now.

He hears something coming out of a alley, and curiously looks inside, only to find a very familiar face sitting on top of someone. ]

Hazel?! [ YOU SURE KNOW HOW TO MAKE AN ENTRANCE ]

i've come to cry with you again

[deadtective]

[this is starting to get to the point where it was really troubling her. the amount of people who not only knew her name but were aware of intimate details about the way her body operated were far too high, and completely without explanation.

she really doesn't like it, and every new example of how little she truly knew about this world put her even higher on the defense. that's why when she hears her name again now, Hazel leans a little too hard on the poor kid's arm in surprise and something definitely pops or cracks in it. sorry not sorry, bud, you're going to have to explain this one to the ER later.]

...no.

[that seems like a decent answer here.]

[ghoulking]

[ there is an explanation hazel. You have to ask why and people will explain INSTEAD OF DENYING YOUR NAME IS HAZEL

the sound of the kid's arm breaking (or dislocating?) causes Kaneki to wince a bit, but he is not going to pay attention to him - he doesn't matter at all, right now. ]

Yes. [ yes, it IS her ] When did you get back?! [ he is a bit offended she didn't even tell anyone. or him. ]

[deadtective]

[NO THAT'S STUPID SHE SHOULD DEFINITELY NOT DO THAT]

I really don't think that's any of your business when you're shouting at a total stranger.

[how long will Hazel cling to this clearly nonfunctional lie? as long as she possibly can, as is her way. sorry, bud.]