Hijinks Mingle

[potentite]

Who: Everyone!
Where: Anywhere around the hub!
When: Days 103-105
Open/Closed: Open mingle!
Notes: See this post for details on the moon prompt and this one for the telepathy/dream/spirit prompts!



[A | Flower Gleam and Glow]
[The nearby moon is still passing close to the hub island, meaning the effects are still in play. Perhaps now is the time to stop and smell the large lit up sparkling moonflowers that have bloomed? Or be annoyed by the mosquito-like insects that came with them.

Alternatively, the deer seem to draw some sort of energy from the moon's light. Given their size, at least their sudden aggression and proximity to the base camp isn't the worst thing in the world but a kick would still break a rib or other bone so be careful! Possibly help each other deal with these cute but troublesome fauna.]



[B | Eavesdropping]
[For some reason, the telepathy will suddenly get rather wonky. Characters won't know why it's happening, though of course no doubt there will be ponderings, but it means characters won't be in control of their ability to broadcast — or more specifically, not broadcast — their thoughts. Time to find out secrets of an embarrassing nature. Or maybe something sadder is going on in your character's head.

If this wasn't bad enough, the area around the signet might experience burning or tingling. Just try to keep a lid on your brain for the day and distract yourself from any annoying pain.]



[C | Talking In Your Sleep]
[Or maybe your character just doesn't have the most interesting thoughts. Maybe they're busy thinking about pie instead of their upsetting childhood. That's fair. Pie is great.

But surely sometimes it haunts their dreams. With the telepathy running amuck, it's no wonder dreams and nightmares are leaking through, too. Of course, it doesn't have to be an accident. Feel free to grab a friend and share a fanciful dreamscape together on purpose! But for those nuts that are tougher to crack, accidents can and will happen.]



[D | Who You Gonna Call]
[Last but not least, as Friday rolls around, there seems to be something odd going on with the island. If your character is inclined towards the spiritual or supernatural, they'll no doubt notice the strange heavy thickness hanging around. There are whispers in the air and all of new energy just feels solemn. Might be good to give people a heads up and keep an eye on it.]

Comments

[guerrilla]

I'm running as fast as I can, you -

[Oh. That's a doozy of a mistake to make, especially since they still haven't even introduced themselves to each other.

Well, now isn't the time to talk about how awkward this is for the both of them, or to ask what the hell that thing Akechi summoned was. Hopefully there will be enough time for questions on the next floor, assuming they get there.]

...Shit. Should we split up...?

[If they both went down separate paths, they might not be able to communicate they found the door to each other, though.]

Trust your gut, kid, I'll follow you. You know the place better than I do.

[Though that's really not saying much. More importantly, if they die, Robin doesn't want to be the one who picked the wrong path, like a responsible adult.]

[oneandmikleonly]

...

I feel obligated to point out that this is a lot more coherent conversation, if not environment, than I usually get out of my dreams. I don't even know those references when I'm awake.

[clasps his own arms with uncomfortable lucidity--Dirk is in this case contagious. the glitch sparks off little fragmentary flashes of other around him, scales, the blue-white curve of some kind of weapon, the shine of something gold and green around one tense hand]

Maybe we should get out of here.

[guerrilla]

[He's a little flattered by the compliment, but getting out of this fake Moon Cell is a little more important.]

Okay. One...two...three!

[He pinches Hakuno's cheek, and gets ready for her to pinch his.

...Nothing seems to happen.]

[sealeted]

[She pinches as well.

...

She can't feel it.]

...yeah, it's a dream.

[rootandbranch]

[that wasn't really what Geir was asking. he more simply wanted a definition of what a role was and how someone could play different ones in real life and not in a poem or play; or at least, Jay's perspective on that. luckily, the explanation Jay does make gives him a different sort of context, and he's able to puzzle through it a bit more.

he sets the pieces together as he always does, as his logical, tilted perspective sees them: Geir asked about roles and Jay talked about things that he did on the Legacy, so playing a role must deal with successfully doing tasks towards a goal. but he names what he was to people, too, and talks about who he acted towards in that role... hm.

that's what's tugging at the back of his mind. used in this context, playing a role sounds awfully like using yourself as a tool to a purpose, rather than being used; that's not something Geir has ever thought about as an option before. interesting...

he senses the shift from enjoyment to uncertainty in Jay, and leaves off his mulling over the implications to look at Jay with wide eyes.]

...Jay?

[guerrilla]

Great. Well, I guess we don't have to worry about anything even if something does show up.

[What concerns him, though, is...]

So how the hell do we wake up? I guess if worst comes to worst Beech'll get hungry...

[The thought of her being so upset and hungry makes him upset, though.]

[sealeted]

Maybe we'll wake up if we leave? The front gates never actually let us pass before, but...

[But this isn't the actual Moon Cell, is it?]

[rootandbranch]

...

If you ever have a lot of trouble sleeping, I can-- I can take away nightmares. I mean, I can make people sleep, and usually it's peaceful. I can sort of do it even here. Just let me know.

[sealeted]

Do you have to have them yourself?

[rootandbranch]

What are we going to do?

[the baby dragon's voice is very small.]

[guerrilla]

It's worth a shot.

[He begins dismantling his makeshift barricade, not bothering to be quiet about it now that he knows there's nothing to worry about.]

...Do you have dreams about this place a lot, Master?

[The dream can only be hers, since Robin doesn't know the first thing about the school building on the Far Side.]

[sealeted]

Not this part of it all, not usually. But... more than I'd like to.

[The Core still haunts her.]

[rootandbranch]

Vern? Is this where you are...?

[the firefly-lights are Vern. he's sure of it. he'll find him at that battle, wherever it is, when he gets there.

he's the wrong size, and this is wrong, but for whatever reason he isn't frightened. Vern is more important than worrying about his size or his welcome or what he's going to do when he gets there.]

[splinten]

[Dirk turns and he sees a kid. It would take a level of obliviousness he has never been blessed with not to notice the connection. A ridiculous fear crosses his mind: murdering Solon has jarred Jay's worldview so heavily that he has regressed back to childhood. Dirk has Ruined his Mind.

Stop fucking panicking, Strider. Approach the kid.

>Approach the kid]

Yo.

[Nailed it.]

[rootandbranch]

Oh! N-no, I just have to see someone -- or get them to listen to my voice. Um, I used to hunt with it when I was little and couldn't chase the deer. If they could see my eyes, they'd freeze or get groggy...

[does that trick sound weird when described to a human as a thing to use on them? this is the first time he's described it to a human. possibly... yes?]

[sealeted]

...I might take you up on it, sometime.

[Not always. It isn't fair to rely on him so desperately.]

[rootandbranch]

Okay. That's fine. Sometime's fine.

[he doesn't mind. no one except Vern has ever asked him to use his eyes or voice to soothe them before, but Hakuno is someone who's been through a lot. he's glad she trusts him.]

...is somebody there with you? Or can you get someone?

[sealeted]

Robin and Beech are inside. I-I needed some fresh air.

[She didn't want to disturb them.]

...I'll go back inside in a little bit.

[presomnio]

[ it's supposed to be reassuring, telling her that it's a dream. it's a little difficult, however, to see what effect it has on the other girl; she continues to shove weakly for a little while longer before relenting, going limp in Madoka's hold. more tellingly, perhaps, a cast of greyscale starts to slowly overtake their surroundings as both the ticking and laughter slow. whatever images the screens held last freeze like that, whether for good or ill.

but the girl's violet eyes still seem somewhat distant and unfocused, as if seeing something beyond this current scene. she shakes her head in further frustrated confusion, a small keening noise in her throat. ] Dreaming...? Of course I'm dreaming. You're here. [ she repeats, as if those two words could convey the entirety of everything she means, knowingly or not. ]

I've always been dreaming, I think— [ she hiccoughs, pulling back a little to paw furiously at her face and rid it of the tears that don't come. the braids come a little further undone, but not quite, not yet. ] But that doesn't mean it doesn't matter. It doesn't mean it never was true.

[ high above them a few windows recount the tales in freeze frame, the times she was too slow, too distant, too cold to help.

she pulls back further, then fixes Madoka with a weak, helpless sort of smile despite her glassy clouded stare. ]

But you don't need to be dreaming with me. I... I can't protect you here. S—so, if I'm dreaming you— Mado— [ ...Madoka? ] Kaname-san, please leave and be safe.

[rootandbranch]

Wake one of them up, okay? For me? I'll worry otherwise.

[damn. Geir plays dirty.]

[sealeted]

Beech is just a baby, she needs her sleep.

[rootandbranch]

Robin then?

[sealeted]

...yeah. He probably heard me get up anyways.

[rootbound]

[he doesn't find a battle, but he finds a cave where the roaring and noise are loudest, under where the last light sparks and gutters, a raw wound in a cliffside, dark earth and darker scales spilling out its mouth.]

[guerrilla]

...Servants don't usually have dreams, but when I was still alive, I had a lot of nightmares.

[He doesn't offer any other information, but it feels unfair somehow if he doesn't mention it.

With a clatter, the last of his barricade falls away from the door, and he slides it open.]

Let's go.