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

[presomnio]

[ she rushes into it at first, as if to compensate: ] I'm ready right now, Madoka- I've been ready for a while, I think, I just... I had to see everything...

[ but then trails off as the burst of initiative fades and the words she'd spoken in haste sink in. 'had' to see everything, that sounds right. not even because she was trapped, maybe. maybe to remind herself that all of her dreams really did happen, all the good and bad both. all the hearts she's trampled on, it'd feel wrong, somehow, to just forget about them, even if she wanted to. because like she said earlier... even if it'd all amounted to a dream, in the end, it doesn't mean all those timelines she abandoned never existed, and that the people within them never were hurt. she has... a duty to remember all of it.

she pushes past the guilt from that and the guilty feeling that strikes her at Madoka's smile, not as bright as it would usually be, and the instant of that's her fault she made it be that way Madoka didn't have to see all this in response to finish the thought. ]

And then I got stuck, because that's all I know how to do. I got caught up in it, all these things that are so far away. [ she laughs a little, nervously, still as tremulous as her smiles, but she seems a bit more grounded now, finally, by Madoka's presence. they're just screens, after all. just pictures behind glass, locked away until they need viewing. ] I'm sorry for the trouble.

[ there's another moment's hesitance; but then Homura takes the hand offered her. ]

Let's go, Madoka.

[soulcomet]

Please don't apologize. You haven't done anything wrong, Homura-chan.

[it is simply the nature of nightmares — very few people have complete control over them, after all, and there is rarely anything rational about them, or the feelings that they evoke. and for her part, she is able to keep smiling, not only because that's just how she is, but because she's also decided that what they're seeing here has no basis in truth. they're simply fears. nothing more.]

[this is what Madoka knows how to help with. turning subconscious, unpleasant feelings into happy ones. she can do this for Homura. she gives her hand a gentle, friendly squeeze, and leads the way to the glass.]

On three, then?

[presomnio]

[ 'ah, you wouldn't say that if you remembered what I've done.'

but she can't say it. she just smiles wanly, dips her head, and holds on a little tighter. and truthfully: ]

... I don't know how someone like you can always have so much faith in me, Madoka.

[ but it's that same faith in her that's helped to give her strength all this time. the faith that even a doomed Madoka had managed to have in Homura, back when she couldn't even pretend to have the strength she does now.

the violet ribbons still in her hair unravel fully to join the red ones holding the bars apart as Madoka leads them over to the glass, bright spots of color in the greyed-out world. without restraints, her hair shakes itself loose while the hospital gown she's dressed in weaves itself into her uniform into her puella magi outfit. she takes a second glance at the frozen world around them, a brief moment of concern for whether it's okay to leave everything like behind her, but it's only brief. somehow, she knows that everything will start moving again once the two of them leave. ]

On— on three.

[ the nighttime skyline of Mitakihara sprawls itself out before and below them, beneath a sky full of so many more stars than can actually be seen in its truer self. ]

[soulcomet]

[there's an easy answer to Homura's first remark — it's simply that Homura is her best friend, and Madoka not only cares about her, but she would do anything for her. it's probably obvious in the way she smiles at her.]

[Mitakihara has always been so beautiful. the sight of it makes her feel homesick, for a brief moment, before a different thought suddenly occurs to her: that perhaps the stars illuminating it feel even more like home than the city.]

[it's strange. and it isn't the first time, or even the first dream she's stumbled in on, where she's had that same feeling.]

[but that's not really important right now. in a small burst of pink, Madoka's changed into her own outfit of pink and white, ribbons and curls. her bow unfurls in her hands, and she takes aim.]

All right. One ... two ...

[presomnio]

[ her magic continues to swirl for just a heartbeat longer than Madoka's. it revolves in tight spirals around her left forearm as if momentarily unsure of the form it should take, remembering a shield she can no longer use but was the tool most familiar to her— but that's before one each of the pair of twin ribbons unfurls and pulls away to join the formless light.

and like that, it all falls into place. ]

[antemeridian]

[ her borrowed—remembered—bow blooms to life in her hands to mirror Madoka's own, violet fire flickering to life atop its bough as she pulls it back to full draw, stance square.

(the red ribbon from earlier snakes its way into her hair like an old friend.)

she takes a deep breath, focuses, takes aim— ]

—Three.

[ she finishes the count, and her arrow of bright violet magic is loosed to pierce its way through the glass surrounding them. ]

[soulcomet]

[a tiny part of her is surprised, perhaps, at the bow and the ribbon — Homura's surely mentioned her weapon to her by now, of course, but for a moment, Madoka can't tell whether her surprise is simply because of the surreal nature of the dream, or if maybe it's another symptom of how far apart their realities truly are.]

[but that isn't important right now. Madoka draws back and fires her own bow on count, assisting in breaking through to the calm and familiarity that must lie beyond.]

[there. they will have sweet dreams together from here on out — she turns her head slightly to offer Homura another reassuring smile.]

[antemeridian]

[ Homura smiles back as the borrowed weapon vanishes. there's more reserve in the expression now, but somehow — something about it seems more sincere.

even with the clockwork pendulum hanging over their heads like a deadline, a countdown to — what, really? not walpurgisnacht, after all. it doesn't matter. she can unwind, just a little.

she reaches out, pushing past the slight hesitation in her to interlace her hand with Madoka's again — they'd had to let go to shoot, of course — before they leap. Mitakihara almost mirrors the skies above it, and it's familiar and soothing. still there is always that small part of Homura apprehensive of diving into the unknown—

but it's okay, because she's not alone. and it's not the unknown, not really. ]

... Lead the way. [ she says softly, then reaffirms: ] I'll follow you, Madoka.