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

[witchhooded]

[ jade's never been around someone smaller than her before. it's a strange thought, and it strikes her like lightning. jake's hand is so much smaller than her's. she breathes in short, rapid intakes. he needs her. that's something she's always wanted out of someone, a sense of need, a sense of belonging. family. she had bec, and then she had john and nanna. and then there was davesprite, of course, but - bec was her best friend and he took care of her. she needed him. nanna had a whole life of people that she could rely on, and john never really needed jade, either. she was his sister, someone he chose to have around (and it's an honor, truly, and a blessing) and davesprite

well

he had davesprite things to worry about.

so a tiny hand wrapping around her's like she's the only thing between it and certain death is familiar and comforting and it makes her spin a little bit. jade thinks she might hobble on her feet as she does so; it goes against her better judgement but she does it anyway. she pulls from jake and lifts him from under his armpits to balance him on her hip, so they're eye to eye. ]

It just so happens that my aim is one of the things about me that I do not need to be humble about!

[ which is to say: it is fucking great.

jade's not sure staying on the path will keep them out of harm's way, but she is positive that jake needs her responsibility settles on her shoulders like a royal cloak. (no one was ever around for when she put plush blankets over her shoulders as a child, no older than jake is now, no one was there for when she played pretend court with all her squiddles and manthro chaps, no one was there to show her how to tie a knit but this feeling in her gut reminds her of that, in some way) ]

Point in the direction you want to go, Jake!

[ if there's anyone who can understand why someone would dream up a scenario where someone helps them prepare their guardian for the afterlife, it's probably jade. ]

[precedents]

[ ah. hello loneliness and resignation, her old friends. A2 actually doesn't even register the weight of it at first, having carried enough of her own for so long that it had become a part of her; melded into her chassis, through her circuitry and systems to rest side by side with her black box. it's only when she descends further that she realizes the weight slowly lifting, and gives lil cal another careful glance.

weird.

but hey, at least the view is nice. she's always liked the flood zone back on their earth. that's neither here nor there, however. ]

> Go through the other door, while making another wry attempt at humor to no one in particular.

Since you asked so nicely.

[witchhooded]

[ so like

they both totally knew jade was gonna cheat for the first one, right? because moments later a vine bursts out of the ground, dislodging another moonflower at it's roots. it's still attached to the soil, but a little dusting will take care of that! jade looks pretty pleased with herself. ]

Of course there are other ways! But digging is really step one!!!

[ THAT'S NOT DIGGING, JADE ]

this is just gonna be his life now i guess

[witchhooded]

[ oh! a new voice. jade... had not realized that she was broadcasting the music? it surprises her so much that she almost drops the vine she's been cutting. ]

Yes that is what it is!

[ music, that is. ]

Although it is not your ears you are hearing it with, hehehe.

[rootandbranch]

[Geir glances after the strange, unrecognizable movement for a moment, but he's distracted by Dirk's conversation. swimming side by side seems easy like this, and it is fun to share it with someone.]

I still don't really know what Norse and Greek are, but even Dad never got up to anything as weird as I've heard here! Your friend Jake told me he was his own grandfather.

[the city below is interesting, closer to Aimintas than any city he's ever seen at home. his eye refuses to parse skyscrapers as buildings at first, seeing them as strangely uniform rocky crags pushing into the sky, but he eventually gets close enough to swim closer to the clouded mirror-glass windows and stare into his reflection. he's never seen it on a surface this big before.]

How did the water even rise this high? Nobody built these underwater on purpose, right...?

[splinten]

Technically, Jake's only his own dad. It's the same as my situation.

[This is no clearer. He follows down to the skyscrapers, pausing to look at the windows murky but still enough to mirror back a giant dragon. He remembers a time when the sun hit the sunken city just so, and he lets that memory come in so that Geir can see his reflection better.]

Essentially, an alien tyrant invaded our planet and, among other things, completely huge repositories of ice that we have at our poles. The released water was enough to essentially flood the entire planet.

[(since says this isn't true, but homestuck insists it is, so I guess the ice caps are REALLY BIG in homestuckworld)

Another flickering glitch.]

It was rumoured that she wanted to make our planet look more like her home world.

[splinten]

[pause]

You realize this particular method isn't digging, and also isn't available to me.

[j a d e]

[splinten]

Lil Cal is happy to accompany you! His presence continues to soothe the CONSTANT LONELINESS. You know he'll always stick around.

You find that the robot parts feel COMFORTABLE and FAMILIAR in your hands. You also find that you have an intuitive sense on how to put them together. In fact, you may have no damn idea what ANY OF THIS IS, but you find that could quite probably BUILD SOMETHING WITH IT, right here, right now. The parts all appear to be from humanoid designs, which suggests the creation you could follow.

Of course, there are also doors and other things to investigate if you decide against getting your ENGINEER on.

>

[splinten]

Neither Lil Cal nor, indeed, the narration MIND IF YOU DO. In fact, you are quite welcome to DO, and perhaps the general dream appreciates the humour.

You enter a MAIN ROOM. The GENERAL LAYOUT is very open, but unlike in the image JUST LINKED which is the same apartment from ANOTHER TIMELINE, you find the room decorated with ROBOT PARTS AND HORSE THINGS. So much weird junk.

The ROBOT PARTS are strewn casually about, like someone was working on them. The HORSES are carefully placed to be a chaotic yet artistic mess. The kitchen is stocked with FOOD rather than random weaponry (which is kept elsewhere), and the WIRES are NEATLY ORGANIZED because FUCK FIRE HAZARDS.

The OLD FRIENDS of resignation and loneliness persist, and looking at the robots REMINDS you of this. It may also make you think other things, things that belong uniquely to your mind and memories, but they certainly give you the feeling that you CAN'T LIE TO YOURSELF about being alone. Even LIL CAL's presence is only a partial comfort.

There are, of course, lots of THINGS TO INTERACT WITH, as well as a variety of APERTURES of VARIOUS KINDS.

>

[precedents]

[ it's the first time she's ever been in a bedroom before and the amount of belongings in it actually overwhelms her briefly. the room anemone had offered her back at the resistance camp seems barren compared to this, and A2 takes a moment to get her bearings while wondering if it's even her place to look at anything in the room. they obviously belong to someone, despite how casually some things are thrown about: the horses briefly catch her attention, but the main point of interest are the robot parts.

something surges in her systems at the sight of them. they aren't part of any yorha models from what she can see, but it still invokes a sense of deja vu. something that calls to mind the image of a dark warehouse surrounded by the empty chassis of the machine children, the despair in pascal's voice.

"i need you to delete my memories. and if not, then i need you to kill me."

how many more will she lose? how many more must she destroy?

"you and i... are the same. we have no one to help us. we can only cry and scream--"

her hands clench tightly into fists, setting her jaw as she turns away. ]

> Examine the horse things instead.

[talim]

[ jude turns to jay, more than a little surprised to see him of all people there. ]

... No, not exactly, but a 60 hour round of Snakes & Shackles sounds pretty good right about now. Teaching you the rules should only take about twelve, more or less.

[ a light laugh. it's strained, but... ]

[actus]

Right. And lying gets you so much further.

[ okay he's getting pissed now. this probably isn't for the best but he's just so irritated. ]

As if you're the only one of us that's been hurt and kicked around by a shitty adult. Sorry, but you don't have the monopoly on that.

[talim]

[ he glances at sorey, eyes widening with surprise, but a beat passes and then his expression softens into something warmer. he leans in and bumps sorey's shoulder right back, resisting the urge to just sort of lean on him. ]

Is it strange, to think such a beautiful place can be lonely?

[ there's a weak smile on his face, but his eyes are somewhere else, looking past the sky and searching for something neither of them can see. ]

[talim]

It's hard to describe. Sort of like... something is just off.

[ more importantly, don't think he doesn't notice that her smile is a little off, too. ]

Putting that aside, how have you been holding up?

[talim]

Nazuna?

[ out of all people... why him?

but the company isn't unwelcome. ]

This is a dream, isn't it?

[ it's an incredibly lucid one. ]

But I still didn't expect to find you here.

[secondadvent]

Pfhh. Just look at all those politicians and other crooks out there, building their careers on lies. People don't want honesty, they want you to give them what they want to hear.

[ The tone of his voice remains light and amiable, like they're having a casual chat about the weather, but there's a slightly mocking quality to it. ]

But you're too stupid to realize that, so you should shut your mouth.

[actus]

[ people don't want honesty. they want you to give them what they want to hear strikes a chord in him. it makes something snap like a wire pulled too taut and akira grits his teeth. his hands are curled into tiny fists by his side and fuck this. just fuck this because akechi doesn't get to say that. akechi of all people doesn't get to mock him about any of this.

so akira being the dumb teenager he is - grading and angry and still hurt by a myriad of things, including the idiot standing in front of him and his sacrifice - akira snaps. ]

Screw you.

[ and he punches akechi squarely in the jaw. ]

[spaceforged]

Planet Arus. We're still got some time until the princess and Coran complete the repairs.

[He glances back at the lounge and plunges into the hallway. The hallway is as sleek as the lounge with lights leading the way forward. It has a grace to it that suggests a place of importance. Shiro pauses at the intersection of two halls, nods to himself and takes the right side.]

We'll take my lion. Unless the Galra sends another assault force at us this soon that should cover any trouble we might run into.

[spaceforged]

It's just an option. It isn't often we get time to relax like this.

[Shiro leads the way to a grand ballroom, and up the massive staircase in the center.]

We should enjoy it while we can.

[secondadvent]

[ The punch successfully connects with Akechi's jaw, the momentum sending him staggering back and he's unable to maintain his balance, dropping to the floor with a loud thud that echoes off the walls.

His face contorts with the pain and he glares daggers at Akira as he moves to get back up on his feet so he can punch punch back

But then Mementos instantly shatters like broken glass around them when Akechi jerks awake, having accidentally kicked the wall in his sleep. He blinks a few times, lifting a hand to rake his fingers through the front of his hair and he stares blankly up at the ceiling. There's an unpleasant feeling sitting in stomach and he feels like he just had a bad dream, but he's already forgotten almost everything about it.

All he can remember is the sound of rattling chains, painfully loud in his ears, and being chased. ]

wildcard - loosely on d.

[meritedly]

[ spiritual energy was something yamato was acutely familiar with. while this power had no name and no familiarity to it, the rawness of it was hard to ignore. the way it poked at his subconscious was similar to the way his own powers did back home, ever present at the back of his mind. he hadn't noticed it before this which begged the question: did it just start or was it always there, rumbling lowly? and did it have something to do with returning to their respective worlds? god, he hoped so. there was only so much inefficiency he could handle before he snapped.

so it may look odd that this guy is standing in the middle of the beach, near the huts, unmoving. he's trying to feel out where the spike in spiritual energy is and if he can take ahold of it. it isn't working. it's upsetting him and his brow is pinched, lips turned into the slightest frown. ]

Ugh. [ and he's vocalizing his distaste apparently, the sand at his feet turning into shards of ice. ]

[talim]

[ jude doesn't realize that this is as dream, so as far as he knows, he can't use his spirit artes. martial arts are all he has, and it's been made clear that he can't hurt solon if he can't hit him at all. ]

I'll fight if I have to. If it means protecting Jay from a monster like you, then...

[ then he'll fight. he'll fight with everything he has. jude keeps a careful eye on his sword, jumping back once more and watching solon's movements. ]

C

[spaceforged]

[He'd stepped outside to clear his head and almost run into Alphonse.] Whoa! Alphonse...didn't see you there.

[The faint threads of his dreams linger like fog. He scrubs his face to clear it. Shiro waits until he can damp his worries down to a dull roar.]

...I'm wondering what caused this. This didn't happen last time all of you were on this island...or you'd have warned the rest of us about it.

[talim]

It doesn't sound like one.

[ jude vaguely recognizes velvet from their brief meetings, but she doesn't seem to recognize him, so he decides to keep quiet. besides, down here, she barely looks like the woman he met on the island. a shadow of her, maybe. a broken shell.

he glances up, then looks back at her, mouth set in a thin line. ]

Is there a way I can help you get out of this place?

[ his words are sincere, but he'd be lying if he said he knew how, exactly, he can accomplish that. ]

A

[spaceforged]

[He takes everything in slowly and allows himself time to adjust. It's nothing like his usual thoughts or dreams. The war, the qri, and all that he's been through seem very far away. He sits down in the offered chair while his mind whirls.]

It's a very quiet shop. Sorry for intruding, but it seems like I'll be here for at least a conversation.